TITLE:  Summer's Lease 2:  July
by Brandon D. Ray

EMAIL ADDRESS:  publius@avalon.net

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT:  Do not archive at gossamer; I've already sent
it there.  Anywhere else is fine, so long as my name stays on it and
no money changes hands.

FEEDBACK:  Go ahead; knock yourself out.

Ephemeral: *FEEDBACK*publius@avalon.net

SPOILER STATEMENT:  Through the beginning of Season 7.  Specific
spoilers for "Lazarus", "Fight the Future" and for most of the mytharc
episodes from "Redux II" through "Amor Fati".

RATING:  NC-17

CONTENT STATEMENT:  MSR.  Explicit sex.  MulderAngst.  ScullyAngst.
Sc/O (past)

CLASSIFICATION:  Story, Romance, Angst

SUMMARY:   Continuation of "Summer's Lease 1:  June".  I still haven't
got a really corking good summary for this one -- although one of my
beta readers suggested, "Scully's past comes back to bite her in the
ass."  AKA Brandon's version of the obligatory "a man from Scully's
past resurfaces, just at the wrong moment" story.  And may I just say
that sometimes I like writing these summaries better than other times?

The previous story can be found at my web site:
http://www.avalon.net/~publius/MyStories.html

THANKS:  To Brynna, Sharon & Trixie, for beta etc.  And thanks to
Vickie Moseley for advice on matters Catholic.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This is the second in a series.  There is one more
part planned; deus volent and the crick don't rise, it will be fairly
short, and quickly written.

DISCLAIMER:  In my dreams...

=========
Chapter Four
=========

"Need a lift?"

Scully jumped at the sound of her brother's voice.  She'd been so
absorbed in her own anger and despair that she hadn't heard the car
approaching from the rear.  Now she turned and looked at him warily,
sitting there in the driver's seat of his rental.  His face was calm
and expressionless, his body language stiff and uncomfortable.

"That depends," she said coolly.  "Are there strings attached?"  The
last thing she needed tonight was another fight with a family member.
On the other hand, she did want to find a pay phone so she could call
Mulder.  She'd stormed out of her mother's house in such a hurry that
she'd left her purse -- and her cell phone -- behind, and there was no
way she was going back to that house.  Not tonight, anyway.

"No strings," Bill promised, reaching across the seat to pop open the
passenger door.  "Hop in."

Scully moved towards the car, and was about to climb in, when she
spotted her purse sitting on the seat next to her brother.
"Actually," she said, "all I really need are my purse and my phone.
There's no need to inconvenience you."

Bill shrugged.  "It's up to you, but it's not that big an
inconvenience."

She hesitated, then replied, "I'm not going to my place, you know."

"That's okay," he said.  "I didn't figure you probably were."

Scully nodded, let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been
holding, and finally climbed into the car.  Bill threw the car into
gear and pulled away from the curb, and for a few minutes, brother and
sister rode together in silence.

"You know," Bill commented, as he maneuvered the vehicle up onto the
freeway, "you were a little hard on Mom, back there."

Scully closed her eyes in despair -- and then she forced them open
again, and shook her head angrily.  "Bill," she said warningly, "you
promised --"

"Just chill, Dana," he snapped, cutting her off.  "I'm not trying to
get on your case about this."

"Oh?"  Scully didn't even try to keep the anger from her voice.  "Then
what do you call it?  Surely you're not saying you *approve* of what
Mom did!"

A brief pause.  "Of course not."

"Then what *are* you saying, Bill?"  He did not respond, but she could
see his jaw muscles bunching in apparent frustration.  Finally, after
it had become clear that he didn't intend to answer, she prodded him.
"Well?  What is it?  What's on your mind?  Are you trying to tell me
that you agree with Mom?  Do you think I've committed a sin by falling
in love?  Am I going to be damned to hell for this, Bill?"

Her brother remained silent for just another moment, but then he shook
his head, and spoke a single word.  "No."

Scully took a deep breath, then let it out again.  "Thank you," she
said quietly.

"You're welcome."

Scully turned her gaze away from Bill.  Two or three more miles went
by, while she stared out the window at the passing scenery.  Maybe the
evening was finally over, she thought.  She didn't kid herself that
the whole, excruciating experience was behind her -- she knew her
family better than that.  But maybe, at least for tonight, she'd be
allowed to forget about it.  Mulder was waiting for her.  Mulder ....

She should have known better.

"You make it very hard for people to love you, Dana," Bill said
abruptly, in a low tone of voice.  "You know that, don't you?"

She glanced over at him, and saw that his expression was walled-off,
reserved.  He was giving nothing away.  And so she just shrugged, and
replied, "I know you feel that way.  I'm sorry.  I never wanted to
distance myself from you. From any of you."

He looked sharply at her, and then back at the traffic.  "Didn't you?"
he asked.

Scully shook her head.  "No.  Separating myself from the family was
never my intention."  She stopped abruptly, and added, "It's this
exit."  She waited while her brother steered the car through a small
knot of traffic to reach the off ramp.  Then, picking up the previous
thread of conversation:  "But I don't think you've ever really
understood what it was like to be our father's daughter."

"What do you mean?"  His brow was furrowed now in thought, the
suppressed anger of a few moments ago apparently forgotten.  Was he
finally, actually listening to her after all these years?  One way to
find out.

"What I mean ...."  She let her voice trail off as she struggled to
find the words.  Try again.  "I loved Dad," she said at last.  "More
than I loved anyone else in the family, I think."  She saw Bill
nodding out of the corner of her eye; this was not news to him, she
thought.  "But much as I loved him, he had his flaws -- and he
transmitted those flaws to you and Charlie, and I think Mom at least
accepted them and finally came to believe they were virtues."

"Everyone has flaws, Dana," he replied.  "Is it this corner?"

"The next one," she said.  "Do you remember where Jefferson High is?
It's not far from there."  Her brother nodded, and she continued,
"Yes, we all have flaws."  Her gaze flicked at Bill, and then away
again.  "Including Dad.  And one of his flaws was that he didn't ...
respect women very much."

Bill's brow was furrowed again in thought, as he replied, "You think
he was a sexist?"

Scully hesitated, then shook her head.  "Not in the truly bad sense of
the word," she said.  "He certainly never caused any trouble about my
interest in science, or sending me to medical school.  But he seemed
to have difficulty accepting the idea that women could really think
for themselves."

She saw her brother start to shake his head, and she reached out and
touched his arm briefly.  "Think about it for a minute, Bill," she
urged him.  "Think about all the arguments you and Charlie had with
him, and then think about the ones Missy and I had.  He was always
getting mad at you boys for breaking a window, or putting a dent in
the car, or something like that.

"But with Missy and me -- he was questioning our *judgment*."  She
shook her head again, this time in frustration.  "He didn't mind if we
made our own decisions -- he even gave us choices, and encouraged us
to think about them.  But we had to make an *approved* decision, and
if we didn't, we got in trouble for it.  Every single time.  And you
and Charlie ... you had a lot more latitude --"

"It wasn't easy for us, either, Dana," Bill said, cutting her off.

"I know that."  She closed her eyes for a moment, and felt a tear
trickling down her cheek.  She had loved her father -- hadn't she?
Just because he frustrated the hell out of her sometimes ....  She
forced her eyes open again and looked back at her brother.  "As you
said about me, sometimes he made it very difficult for people to love
him.  He didn't ... accept very well."

"And you do?"

Once again, as had happened while talking to her mother, Scully felt a
terrible weariness settling over her.  He wasn't getting it after
all.  But she had to try one more time.  "Bill," she said, very
quietly, "I spent the first 25 years of my life trying to live up to
other people's images of who I was supposed to be.  I studied the
subjects I was supposed to study, I got the grades I was supposed to
get -- I even married the man I was supposed to marry.

"But it wasn't working, Bill," she said firmly.  "Even before I
married Jim, it wasn't working, although I didn't really admit it to
myself until after the divorce.  I wasn't happy doing the things I was
doing; I felt like I was living someone else's life."  She stopped
again, and said, "One more block -- the second building on the right."

"Are you saying you didn't really love him?" her brother asked as he
followed her directions and brought the car to a halt in front of
Mulder's building.  She immediately saw that the light was on in her
partner's window.  He was waiting for her, and the realization
immediately made her heart feel a little lighter.  Soon ... just a few
more minutes ....

"No," she said with a sigh and a shake of the head.  "That was what
was really hellish about it.  I *did* love Jim, and I *was* proud of
my accomplishments at Georgetown.  I worked hard on both my marriage
and my education."  Once again she felt tears forming in her eyes.
"But it wasn't who I wanted to be, and for a long time, I didn't know
what to do about that."  She paused, and added, "And then I found the
Bureau."

"And that makes you happy?" he asked.  "That's who you are?"

"Yes," she said firmly.  "That's who I am."

There was yet another lengthy silence, but this time it was almost
comfortable.  Finally, Bill said, "So where does that leave us?"

Scully smiled slightly, and replied, "That leaves us ... where it
leaves us.  For now, it leaves us with me getting out of the car and
going upstairs to see Mulder, and you driving back to Mom's and trying
to make her feel better."

Bill was staring at her now, his expression an odd mix of curiosity
and surprise.  "Will he make *you* feel better?" he asked, gesturing
with his head towards the apartment building.

Scully hesitated; she knew there was no love lost between her brother
and her partner.  But things seemed to be going pretty well tonight,
at last.  Maybe she could take one more risk.  "Yes," she said, very
softly.  "Yes, he will."

"That's good," Bill replied, the words obviously costing him a great
deal.  "Everybody should ... have somebody.  Like that."

"Thank you, Bill," she said.  "Please tell Mom that I love her.  And
ask her to call me tomorrow."

Her brother nodded soberly.  "I will."

#          #          #

Scully hadn't expected to find Mulder asleep on his sofa when she let
herself into his apartment, but there he was:  sprawled out in a
position she would not have believed could be comfortable if she
hadn't known him, wearing running shorts and an old t-shirt that had
been cut off at the midriff.  The TV was playing softly on the other
side of the room, while Mulder clutched the remote control against his
chest, the way a child might cuddle a teddy bear.

For a moment she stood there in front of the sofa, taking advantage of
the opportunity presented to her and allowing her gaze to drift across
her partner's sleeping form.  She had noticed his raw, physical
attractiveness before, of course -- she had noticed it so very many
times.

But tonight there seemed to be something more; tonight she could
almost *feel* the comfort and reassurance radiating from him, soaking
into her, calming and steadying her.  It was all she could do to
restrain herself from climbing on top of him and cuddling into his
arms as he gradually came to wakefulness.  It would be so wonderfully
soothing simply to allow him to hold her like that, to sink down on
him until she lost track of where she left off and he began.

The old Scully would not have even considered allowing such a thing to
happen, but the new Scully, the Scully who was in love with Mulder --
she would revel in it.  And she would give this to herself, and allow
him to give it to her, in just a few more minutes.  But first, she
needed to clean up a bit.

With some reluctance, she turned away from Mulder and headed down the
hall to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes as she went.  While
she'd been at her mother's house, she'd thought wistfully of a long,
hot bath, followed by crawling into bed and making love with Mulder,
but it was already getting late, and Scully's patience was stretched
to the breaking point as it was.  For tonight, a shower would have to
do.

Even at that, she stayed under the hot spray of water longer than she
really wanted to, letting it soak into her pores and relax and soften
the muscles that were aching from accumulated stress.  She knew that
this wasn't really necessary; she knew that Mulder would be able to
tease the tension out of her body, and that they would both greatly
enjoy the process.  But that would lead to a loud, sweaty explosion,
and that wasn't what Scully wanted tonight, much as her body quivered
and tingled at the prospect.  Tonight, she wanted it to be slow and
sweet, and very, very gentle.

A few more minutes, and she'd waited as long as she could.  She
stepped from the shower and dried herself off, then wrapped a towel
around her body and headed back up the hall.

Mulder was still sprawled out on the sofa when she stepped back into
the living room, but now he was awake, although clearly not by much.
He blinked at her sleepily as she approached, and as she knelt down
next to the sofa and ran her fingers through his hair, a slow, happy
smile spread across his face.

"You didn't call," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

"No, I didn't," she agreed softly, allowing her fingertips to trace
the outline of his ear.  "Bill gave me a ride ... here."  She tilted
her head slightly, realizing that she'd almost said "home" -- and then
she wondered why she hadn't.  Of course, this wasn't her home ... she
simply felt more happy and comfortable in this apartment than she did
anywhere else on earth.  But that was because it was so strongly
associated in her mind with Mulder.

Wasn't it?

"How'd it go?" he asked, drawing her attention back to him as he
struggled to a sitting position.  He reached out and fondled a lock of
her still-damp hair, and added, "Looks like you've been back a little
while, anyway."

"Only a few minutes," she replied, leaning her head slightly into his
touch.  "As for how it went ... well, it was pretty awful, to be
perfectly honest."  It felt so good to be telling him the truth about
how she felt about something, and Scully wondered for the thousandth
time since they'd become lovers why it had taken her so long to
discover that.  It was so soothing to have someone who would just
accept her for who she was ....

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, softly.

"Maybe a little."  She paused for a moment, trying ot organize her
thoughts.  Then:  "Mom wanted to talk to me about ... about Jim, and
my marriage and divorce.  She has some pretty strong opinions and ...
they aren't ones that I share."  The feelings of hurt and anger that
she'd experienced earlier in the evening were suddenly welling up
inside, and Scully felt tears forming in her eyes.  "Mulder?  Why
won't she let it go?  Why won't she let me be happy?"

Before Scully quite realized what was happening, Mulder was leaning
forward and scooping her up in his arms, and settling her down onto
his lap.  And for a few minutes she simply cuddled there, her head
resting on his shoulder as he rocked her gently, back and forth, back
and forth.  His touch as he stroked her back through the towel, and
the feel of his body against hers, were just as calming and soothing
as she'd known they would be, and once again Scully felt the tension
draining out of her body.  This was what she'd wanted; this was what
she'd needed.  Mulder ....

She was distantly aware of his hand undoing the knot that held her
towel in place.  In another instant he had unwrapped pulled it off of
her and away, and then he was rising carefully to his feet, still
holding her in his arms.  As he started walking towards the bedroom,
she wound her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, but
she knew he wouldn't drop her.  It just felt so good to be with him
like this, and she wanted more.  And a moment later he was laying her
down gently on the bed.

She looked up at him as he straightened up again, expecting to see
uncertainty in his eyes, but there was none.  Scully smiled, then.
There was a new Mulder, too, she'd been coming to realize; a new
Mulder to go with the new Scully.  A Mulder who was gradually learning
to banish his doubts and insecurities, at least as far as she was
concerned.  A Mulder who was slowly discovering that it truly was
possible for someone to love him and need him.

A Mulder who was finding out that she loved and needed him, as much as
he loved and needed her.

She watched with langorous eyes as he undressed, quickly and
efficiently, admiring each plane of his body as it was revealed to
her.  His arms and chest, and his flat, hard belly.  His legs and
pelvis, and finally his long, hard penis, that seemed to be straining
eagerly towards her as he lowered his running shorts down off his
hips.

Scully reached out and gently stroked his cock as he stood naked
before her, and Mulder shivered and closed his eyes.  She wondered if
he could possibly understand how much pleasure she took from touching
him like this; she wondered if he knew how good it made her feel.  She
could hold him and fondle him like this for hours, she thought, and
never grow tired of it.

She continued to lightly caress him, allowing her fingertips to
traverse the length of his shaft from base to tip.  His penis was hot
to the touch, and pulsed slightly whenever she touched it, each small
movement sending a jolt of electricity up her arm and then down her
spine to the center of her own arousal.  Finally, she reached out and
took his hand, and drew him down next to her on the bed.

Scully felt herself surrendering control, then -- what little control
she had retained.  Mulder gathered her into his arms and pulled her
close against him, tenderly and lovingly stroking her back and sides
with those huge, gentle hands.  His body pressed against hers, hard
and warm and masculine, seeming to transmit love and comfort as he
rolled her onto her back and covered her like a living blanket.

And then he was kissing her, his lips full and moist, his tongue
probing deeply into her mouth, touching, caressing, exploring.
Already Scully felt dizzy with arousal, but she willed herself not to
clutch frantically at his shoulders, not to try to take back control.
Instead, she  slipped her arms around him, slowly and deliberately.
Slow and sweet, she reminded herself.  Tonight was going to be slow
and sweet.

Somehow, Mulder seemed to know what she needed.  He broke the kiss,
pulled back a little and looked down at her, his eyes dark with a
tender passion she could not recall seeing there before.  And she
barely had time to register that fact before his head dipped down
again.

And sweet Jesus, it was good.  He was licking and nipping at her neck
and shoulder, now, his tongue, lips and teeth moving constantly from
one spot to the next, never giving her time to adjust to their
presence in one place before they assaulted the next.

His hands were active, too, first resting lightly on her waist, so
that his thumbs could caress her hip bones, then sliding up her sides
to cup her breasts.  Scully moaned and arched her back, seeking more
contact, more pressure, more friction.  She realized that her eyes had
drifted shut as she concentrated on the things her lover was doing to
her body; now she forced them open again, and looked down at the top
of his head ... just as his lips closed around one of her nippes.

Oh ... God ....

Once again her eyes slammed shut; instinctively, she wrapped her arms
around his head, trying to pull him closer, wanting to make sure his
mouth stayed where it was.  She was dimly aware of the hand that had
been on that breast drifting lower again, trailing across her ribs and
pelvis and coming to rest on her thigh, but for the moment, all she
could feel was his lips ... his tongue ... his teeth ....

Nothing could feel this good; it was impossible.  Her nipples were
hard and tight, so tight that they ached, and the ministrations of his
fingers on one side, and his mouth on the other, were only making it
worse.

Or better.

Scully was no longer really capable of rational thought.  She knew she
was in bed, and that Mulder was with her, but past that there was
nothing.  The entire world -- the entire universe -- seemed to have
contracted into a small, intimate bubble just large enough for the two
of them.  She gasped at the intensity of the image that presented:
just her and Mulder.  No one else, anywhere.  Just the two of them,
slowly, ecstatically merging into each other ... becoming one ....

She did not remember letting go of his head, but she must have done
so, because now that wonderful mouth of his was browsing across her
ribs and down onto her belly.  The hand on her thigh was moving again,
too, creeping slowly upwards, touching her and caressing her at random
spots along the way.  Scully whimpered, and then she moaned, as she
realized where that hand and those lips were going to meet.  She
angled her hips and opened her thighs a little farther, and her
fingers tangled themselves in Mulder's hair, urging his head to move
ever lower ... lower ....

And then he was there, oh, Jesus, he was there, his tongue gently
forcing itself between her lips at the same instant that he slipped
two of his fingers into her opening.  Her hips moved restlessly,
lifting and rotating almost of their own volition, trying to help her
lover find the perfect angle.

Yes!  That was it!  Yes, yes, yes!  She hadn't realized she was saying
the word aloud, but she must have done so, because she heard Mulder
grunting something soft and loving in response.  His fingers were
pumping into her, now, sliding in and out with a firm gentleness that
made her ache for more.

This was so different from their normal lovemaking; so very
different.  Usually they were fierce with each other -- strong,
forceful, almost violent.  Scully loved that about Mulder, loved the
fact that he could let go with her like that, was excited that she'd
finally found a man who wasn't afraid that she might break.  She would
never willingly give that up.  But tonight, tonight he was being so
sweet, and gentle, and delicate, and it was just what she needed ....

And then, suddenly, she was there.  With a final flick of his tongue
against the tight bundle of nerves at her very center, Mulder pushed
her over the edge.  She felt her orgasm flowing through her, so quiet
and intense, rippling inside her body like a tide, pouring into and
through her every crevice and washing her clean.  It was wonderful, it
was perfect, and it seemed as if it was never going to end ....

And then, somehow, Mulder was on top of her again, staring down at her
with those liquid, hazel eyes of his as he slipped his hard, swollen
cock into her body, filling her completely ....

Scully was dazed and stunned, nearly overwhelmed by sensation and
emotion, and dear God she was still coming, even as he began moving
his hips in slow, steady, strokes, and it was going on and on and on,
and she could tell from the beautiful expression on his face that he
was close, too, he was so very close, and she wrapped her arms around
his neck and drew him down for a kiss, and as their lips met she felt
his body shudder against hers, and he was giving himself to her,
spending himself completely, emptying himself into her ....

Long into the night, long after their final shivers and spasms had
ceased, Dana Scully lay blissfully in her lover's arms, her body
pressed against his, waiting to see if the rest of the world was going
to come back, and hoping that it never would.  And at last, she slept.

================END CHAPTER FOUR================

To be continued in "Summer's Lease 3:  August" ... coming soon to a
computer monitor near you ....

--
Build a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a single night.  Set a
man on fire, and you keep him warm for the rest of his life!
==========================
My fanfic wants to keep you warm:
http://www.avalon.net/~publius/MyStories.html
And here's the page of recs that light *my* fire:
http://www.avalon.net/~publius/MyRecs.html