Author's Note: Psyche was a Greek nymph who fell in love with Eros, but
the spiteful insinuations of her family caused her to doubt him.  Now,
it is Psyche's special job, in assisting her husband the god of love, to
undo the damage caused by in-laws whisperings. (Side note: for a GREAT
interpretation of this story, read C.S. Lewis' "Till We Have Faces.")

I started wondering what it would have been like if Scully had never
joined the FBI, but my firm belief in fate led me to think about how
all these funny things would have turned out if Mulder and Scully were
not partners, but a couple.  I took liberties with the timeline, wanting
to cover those episodes with the most romantic tension, but not wanting
to be constrained by what was supposed to happen when.

Thanks go out to Tinka and Audrey for beta services.  You bad.

***

On Tuesday, Scully met her mother for lunch at a restaurant near the
capitol.  "How have you been doing, Dana?"  Margaret asked gently as
she watched Dana pick despondently at her food.

"I've been a little preoccupied," she answered evasively.  As if that
wasn't apparent.

"With what?  Is work getting to you?"

Dana bit her lip.  "No..."

"Have you met someone?"  Margaret probed.

Dana's eyes met her mother's.  "I think...I'm in love, Mom."

Those words were every mother's wildest dream and her worst nightmare.
Questions sprang to Margaret's lips, but she remained silent, knowing
that Dana would speak when she was ready.

"I met him when I was still engaged to Ed.  He floored me, Mom.  For
weeks he was all I thought about.  And then he called me, and we...we
had a disagreement, and the whole time that I wasn't speaking to him I
was going out of my mind.  I missed him, and I had only met him twice.
This is the kind of relationship I dread, Mom.  But I love every
minute of it."

"What had you disagreed about?"

Dana smiled sadly.  "He was seeing a woman and didn't tell me.  He
knew they were about to break up.  He says that he didn't want to
cause any setbacks when my marriage to Ed was still on."

Margaret felt a thrill at her daughter's words.  "That's pretty
romantic."

"Yeah."  Dana pondered whether to tell her mother about Alex Krycek,
but imagined the scene that would ensue and skipped ahead. "We
started spending time together again about six weeks ago.  We were
together every night.  We didn't sleep together," she assured her
mother hastily when her eyes flickered.  "I think he knew that I was
scared.  But then he came over on Friday night.  And we...when we..."

"I understand," said Margaret, her cheeks pink.

"Um, afterwards he told me some things about his life.  He's got some
real problems.  And now I'm scared all over again."

"Tell me, Dana."

Dana sighed and took a sip of wine.  "He thinks his sister was
abducted by aliens when she was eight.  He's been looking for her ever
since.  He claims that there's some government conspiracy and we're
all going to be annihilated."

Margaret swallowed.  "Oh, Dana," she whispered.

"But the thing is, I don't think he's crazy, Mom.  He's incredibly
intelligent and perfectly normal in most respects.  He just misses his
sister, and he's come up with the most hopeful thesis he can."  Scully
sighed.  "Or maybe I just can't bear to think that he's crazy.  I
don't want him to be."  A tear slipped down her cheek.  "I want to
marry him, Mom.  I want the kids and the wedding band and the whole
bit.  And I want it yesterday."

"How does he feel?"

"He feels the same.  I think.  He's so passionate and driven, Mom.  I
mean, he calls me every night and we eat lunch together every day that
we're both free.  The nights that he stayed over," here Dana
studiously ignored her mother's uncomfortable shift, "He did my
laundry, Mom.  And he found some daisies in some park and brought them
back for me.  They were all buggy and wilting."

Margaret laughed a little through her sniffles.  "He sounds like a
gem."

"Do you think he sounds too good to be true?"

"Almost.  But the buggy daisies changed my mind."

"What do I do?"  Scully moaned, resting her forehead on her hand.

Margaret covered her beautiful daughter's other hand with hers.  "Take
it very slow, Dana.  I know you're head over heels for him.  But this
is a delicate situation and you have to be careful."

Dana nodded.  "He said a while ago that he was afraid of what he could
become if we got too intense.  He said something about stalking me and
killing people.  And even though he was kidding," she said to
Margaret's wide eyes, even though she wasn't at all sure Mulder *had*
been kidding, "I understood exactly what he meant.  If we broke up, I
would go a little mad, Mom.  I would lose all faith in everything.
And I would dry up and waste away like a plant that everyone forgot to
water."

Margaret knew that this fear was what had prompted Dana to accept
Edward Jerse.  "Dana, you'll have plenty of opportunities to -"

"No, Mom.  I'll never have an opportunity like this again.  He's my
one in five billion."

***

Mulder called her that evening, his voice worn and ragged.  He was
negotiating with a terrorist who had a bunch of hostages holed up in a
bank.  "I don't know when this will be over," he said to her.  "I
might not see you for a while."

"Will you be all right?  You're not in any danger, are you?"

"No, Scully.  Everything is going to be just fine.  I know exactly
what's making this guy tick, and I can talk him out.  Just sit tight
and I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Love you," she said in a tiny voice, but she wasn't sure whether he
heard before he hung up.

"Was that him?"  Missy swirled her tea.

"Yeah.  He's working."

"Sounds mysterious.  Is everything okay?"

"He's working on a hostage situation.  I hope he's not planning on
going in or anything."

"What in the world does he do?"  Missy asked, wide-eyed.

"He's with the FBI.  On a special project.  I don't know what he's
doing on this case.  It's not his usual fare."

"No, you are," Missy said, straight-faced, until Dana hit her in the
face with a pillow.

"If you tell Mom or Dad any of this, I will personally shave those
pretty red locks of yours," Dana said threateningly.  "I mean it,
Missy."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Missy said.  "Dad would have a heart attack
and Mom would dive for the rosary.  Bill, on the other hand -"

"Oh, God, if you tell Bill *or* Charlie -"

"Calm down, Dana," Missy giggled.  "I'm not telling.  But why does he
call you Scully?"

"Oh..." Dana fumbled.  "It sounds right, coming from him.  It's like a
pet name."

"You'd prefer to have a man in bed with you going 'Scully, oh Scully'
instead of using your first name?"  Missy shrugged.  "I'd have visions
of Dad coming in or something.  No one has ever called me Scully."

"I can't explain it." Dana sighed.  "The thing is, I can hardly think
at all when I'm with him.  It's like he sees something in me,
something he has to have to survive, and he reaches for it."

"It's that good?"

"It's better than good.  Think of all those trashy books we used to
hide from the family when we were in high school."

"Wow.  Does he dress up like a pirate or a Viking?"

"He doesn't have to."  Dana sank down into the couch, her eyes closed.

"You're not just showing off, are you?  He's really that good?"

"I don't know whether it's him so much as it is us.  We're like fire
and gunpowder."

"Those are some nice hickeys, there," Missy observed, and Dana
blushed, rearranging her collar.

Missy took a sip of her tea.  "You have got it *so* bad, little lady."

Dana and Missy talked deep into the night about Mulder, about Missy's
life, about their futures.  Dana had made a fire and they were cuddled
up in afghans on the couch when a knock came to the door.

Missy looked at Dana questioningly.  "It's nearly one o'clock."

"It's him," Dana said, and rose from the couch with profound
excitement.  She couldn't wait for her sister and her lover to meet.

As soon as she opened the door, she was caught in a crushing embrace
by a very tired, very dirty Mulder.  He buried his face in her neck
and rocked her back and forth.

"Mulder," she began, but he stopped her mouth with a kiss that
communicated all his despair, his fatigue and his passion for her
within the framework of the physical.  Scully felt her knees buckle.
She dug her nails into his shoulders.

Missy cleared her throat delicately, and Mulder went still.  Slowly,
his hold on her eased.

"Ah, Mulder, I'd like for you to meet my sister Melissa," Scully said
breathlessly.

His face was flaming. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth
and looked up at the couch, where Missy was tactfully looking away.
Dana could see the tightness around her mouth, though, and prayed that
her sister would not start giggling and add to Mulder's mortification.

"I'm very glad to meet you, Mr. Mulder," Missy said placidly, rising
to offer him her hand.

"Melissa."  Mulder took the proffered hand and squeezed it.  "I'm so
sorry..."

"It's all right, Mulder," Scully said soothingly.  "How did it go?"

Mulder closed his eyes.  "Badly.  The whole thing just went completely
wrong."  He sank down on the couch.  Scully sat beside him, running
her hand over his shoulder.

"Would you like anything?"  She asked gently.  Missy looked on gravely.

"Got any hard liquor?"  He joked weakly.

"I have some vodka," she said, rising.

"That's okay, Scully.  I'll take a beer."

"Well, Dana," Missy said, "I think it's time that I got on home."

"Please, don't leave on my account, Melissa," Mulder said.  "I'll be
heading home myself soon."

Dana made no comment from the kitchen, but mentally shouted at Mulder
to get her sister out of there as fast as possible.

"Nonsense," Missy said firmly.  "You need to talk this out with Dana.
I'll pray for you, Mr. Mulder," she said, and as she left pressed his
hand in a way that left him looking after her in bemusement.

"Affectionate, isn't she?"  He said when Scully handed him a cold
beer.

"Missy believes in the power of love."  Scully sat down next to him.
"Tell me what happened."

Mulder spent the next ten minutes pouring out his heart to Scully
about Duane Barry and the horrible mess that he'd made of the
operation.  "I believed him, Scully.  I thought he was actually an
abductee.  But he was just crazy.  Maybe as crazy as me."

"Shh," she whispered, kissing his shoulder.  "You're not crazy,
Mulder."

"I have to report to work early in the morning," he said.  "I can't
stay."

"All right."

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Yes."

He kissed her again, one of those "I'm-going-to-die-if-I-can't-kiss-
you" kisses, hugged her tightly, and was off.

Scully went immediately to her computer, knowing that Missy would have
written her as soon as she got home.

     To: dscully@gmh.org
     From: whisper@juno.com
     Subject: Whoa...
     CC:

     I thought you two were going to spontaneously combust.  Am I
     mistaken, or was there a distinct weakening of your knees?  I
     guess you really weren't showing off.

     I'd be careful with this one, "Scully" (by the way, I see what you
     mean about the name.  He uses it like an endearment). A girl can
     get burned by someone with that kind of fire.  He reminds me of a
     supernova that collapses as soon as he's burnt out because he
     flamed too hot.

     I will seek details tomorrow.  Have a "restful" night.

     --Missy

Scully closed Eudora, feeling her loneliness seep into her bones.
Missy had assumed that Mulder would spend the night. So had she.  And
it was getting too cold to sleep alone.

She turned despondently towards her bedroom, but a movement outside
her window caught her eye and she peered out into the dark.  A face
was looking back at her.  And that was the last thing she remembered
before everything went dark.

to be continued...