May 2017

It had seemed simple enough: go and check an area where a suspect was known to have lived.

Once arriving at the location, it did seem as though it would be quite easy. The house in question was falling apart and had obviously not been lived in in quite a while. A search of it showed the initial viewing proved correct.

There was also a barn on the property that looked to be in worse shape than the house. Mulder had raised his eyebrows at her and motioned to the barn.

"That place looks like it's seen better days," she said.

"Looks can be deceiving, Scully," he replied and set off towards the barn. With a sigh she followed him, knowing he was right.

When they opened the barn door it was apparent that he was correct. From the outside it looked dilapidated, but on the inside it seemed somebody had been there recently. They looked at one another and nodded, each taking a side to sweep across the bottom of the barn, guns drawn.

Finding nothing, he gestured with his chin to the ladder leading to the hayloft. She pointed to herself, indicating that she would go first, and he nodded, looking behind them.

She stepped onto the wooden ladder and began to climb, her gun still drawn as she stopped to look around before continuing all the way up. Seen nothing in eyesight, she stepped onto the hayloft and looked down at him. He nodded and holstered his gun, grabbing a hold of the ladder, and climbed up to meet her.

Just as he reached the top of the ladder, she heard a crack and turned to look at him. He slid and quickly grabbed at the boards of the hayloft. She stepped hurriedly toward him to help, grabbing onto his back to hold him steady.

Between the two of them, they got him up onto the hayloft, and onto his stomach. As he got his legs under him, he accidentally kicked the ladder, causing it to fall with a thump to the ground below them. Both of them breathing hard, she turned to look at the ladder over the side of the hayloft.

"Sorry," he groaned and she turned to look at him. He got up on his knees and looked at his hands.

"Oh, Mulder," she said, stepping to him and examining the cuts on his hands.

"I'm okay. You need to go check the perimeter." He hissed as she touched a cut and then looked up at her. "Go."

She picked up her gun and stepped away from him, walking around the hayloft. It was not exactly an easy task, considering the hay on the ground and the heels that she was wearing. Making a complete turn around the hayloft, she came back to him.

Holstering her gun, she knelt down beside him, and took his hands in her own to examine them.

"Oh, Mulder," she said again. There were multiple scratches on his hands and what she could see were numerous splinters under his skin. "I have water… in the car…" Looking over her shoulder, she realized she would not be getting that water for him.

"It's okay, Scully. It's not that bad," he said with a gasp, as she pulled out a large splinter and tossed it aside.

"Bullshit. What happened?" she asked as she pulled out another large splinter.

"The rung on the ladder broke just before I made it to the top. I caught myself and obviously scratched the shit out of my hands." He hissed again as she hummed and rubbed her thumb lightly across a scratch.

"Well, the good thing is they're not very deep cuts, but they absolutely will be painful for a few days."

"And there are about 1,000 splinters in there," he moaned and she smiled.

"I would say that's a bit of an over exaggeration."

"Well, that's how it feels. Christ." He opened and closed his hands gently and released a large breath. He looked at her and she scratched her chin at him giving him an apologetic smile.

"Shit," he said looking over his shoulder and down to the floor below them. "There is no way to get down from here aside from that ladder, huh?"

"I didn't see one, no."

"Well, we need to call it in and let Skinner know," he said and she sighed.

"My phone is in the car," she said quietly. He gave a soft chuckle and they both shook their heads. Moving his hand toward his inside jacket pocket, he winced, and she stopped him.

"Let me do it," she said, reaching into his jacket and taking out his phone. Unlocking it, she called Skinner and updated him on their situation.

"How did you know my password?" he asked her, as she slid his phone into her own pocket, in case they needed it again.

She gave him a look, tilting her head to the side.

"Seriously? After all this time, you think I don't know what your password is?" she said, staring at him incredulously.

"I could have changed it. Made it something else." She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"You, Mulder? You make a change? Especially to a password?" she laughed softly and stared at him. He smiled and then looked down at his hands.

"So, what did Skinner have to say?" he asked, once again attempting to close his hands into a fist. He winced and shook his head.

"Stop doing that. It's just going to aggravate the splinters," she said reaching out to touch his hand gently. He sighed as he looked at her and nodded, opening his hands. She brushed her fingers softly across them and he sighed again.

"Skinner?"

She nodded and moved her hand. "He was glad to know that we didn't find anything, but upset to hear that we are now stranded. He's going to send out a local officer to pick us up, but it might be awhile as they have a parade today and apparently the police are all there." He looked at her and she raised her eyebrows in response.

"Every single one of the police officers are at the parade?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Apparently. So he said we might as well get comfortable." She sighed as she sat cross legged beside him and took off her shoes, setting them beside her. She glanced at him and he gave her a half smile.

"Sorry for getting us stuck in the situation," he said sheepishly.

"It's not your fault that the ladder broke."

"No, but it does seem that calamities follow us around."

"Us?"

He looked at her and smiled and she smiled back.

"I'm going to have to start keeping a first aid kit on me apparently," she teased, glancing down at his hands.

"That's going to be tough to do with those tighter suits you've been wearing," he said, not meeting her eyes.

"Excuse me? Tighter?" she asked, giving him a look. His eyes widened and then traveled down her body as she held her breath.

"Umm… they… it… maybe not tighter but more like…" he stammered and she raised her eyebrows.

"Tailored?" she suggested and he nodded quickly.

"Tailored, yeah that's what I meant," he agreed, his eyes traveling back up her body to her face. "I definitely meant tailored." He stared at her and she took a deep breath hoping he could not hear her heart pounding.

God, but he could get her blood racing. Still after all this time, one look or cadence change in his voice and she was instantly aroused.

"Are you insinuating that you do not like the way I'm wearing my suits?" she asked him, knowing full well with the answer would be.

"Don't like it?" He dropped his head down, shaking it with a scoffing chuckle, then looked up at her with a smile. "I'd have to be an idiot to not enjoy the way you're wearing your suits, Scully. A goddamn idiot."

"Well…" she said, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head as she looked down at the open barn door. He chuckled softly and she looked back at him with a smile.

A raindrop was heard overhead and then a few more, causing them both to look up at the roof, which would undoubtedly not keep them as dry as they would hope it would.

"Finally there's something good to come out of the situation," he said and she looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if it's starting to rain, then that means the parade will be canceled and the police officers will be here sooner," he said, lying back onto the hay and closing his eyes.

"Mulder, the entire police department is at the parade, I don't think they will let a little rain stop the parade," she said, staring at him, his hands laying open in his lap. He chuckled with a nod and let out a breath.

Watching him, she took his phone from her pocket and put it on silent. Opening the camera app, she snapped some pictures of him and sent them to herself, erasing the evidence as soon as she did, not wanting him to know what she had done.

"Scully, what are you doing?" he asked in a low voice and she felt it in her bones. Looking up at him, she took a deep breath, deciding if he could be truthful, then she could return the favor.

"You're not the only one who has made a change to the way they wear their suits," she said quietly. He stared at her and she looked at his mouth, that full bottom lip one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, let alone felt on her own lips.

Setting the phone down, she made a spontaneous decision. Moving quickly, she straddled him, surprising them both if the look on his face was any indication. She leaned down and captured his lips with hers, her tongue plunging in and kissing him in a way she had not done in three years.

He moaned into her mouth, his hands landing on her hips, breaking from the kiss and seething in pain, as rain began to fall harder upon the roof.

"Christ," he grumbled, looking at her with desperate eyes.

"Just keep your hands down," she said, bending to kiss him again, her own hands popping open two buttons on his white dress shirt.

Her fingernails scratched at the flesh she found underneath, feeling his chest rise and fall as they kissed, hungry for one another. Rocking into him, she could feel him hardening beneath her, and she thanked her tailored suits for making the feel of him more pronounced.

God, she had missed kissing him.

He touched her again and broke from their kiss, moaning in pain, his eyes closed.

"You would have to pick now, when I am injured and unable to touch you how I want, how I've longed to, wouldn't you?" he asked, using his forearms to wrap around her, thrusting up and causing her to moan.

"I'm not the one lying in the hay, looking like a literal snack. That's what the kids are saying these days, right? A snack?"

"Fuck a snack, I want the whole meal," he growled, holding her secure and rolling her onto her back. He hissed as he moved his hands, but then his mouth was on hers again, and all pain was apparently forgotten.

Her legs wrapped around his as he thrust into her, their clothing restrictive, but the sensations amazing. He nipped her lip as rain fell harder and sirens were heard in the distance. He was kissing at her jaw, when the sirens grew closer and she nearly cried.

So close. They had been so close.

"I think the cavalry's here," she breathed out, pulling him to her for one more slow kiss.

"Goddamn…" he said against her mouth with a groan. He dropped his head to her neck and sighed loudly, causing her to laugh.

She loosened her legs and he rolled onto his back, breathing hard, his hands red and slightly bloody in spots.

"Oh, Mulder. Shit," she said, sitting up and holding them in her hands. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"Worth every fucking second," he said, with feeling, squeezing her fingers lightly with a grimace.

"Hey! Y'all okay?"

Scully looked down and saw a police officer standing in the rain at the door of the barn.

"Did you need an ambulance? We were not exactly sure what was needed. The fire department is on their way."

"We mainly just need a ladder," she called down, as she stood up, brushing off her pants and sliding on her shoes. "Agent Mulder needs medical help, but we mainly just need the ladder."

"Yes, ma'am, we have the fire department coming and they have the ladder," the officer said, before stepping back outside into the pouring rain.

"Scully, I don't need medical help. You can take care of me once we're out of this hayloft," he said.

She turned and looked at him, glancing down at his hands and raising her eyebrows.

"Medical help is what you're going to get, Mulder. Don't argue with me."

He sighed with a nod. "At least I'll have some time to let this calm down before the fire department gets here," he said waving a hand at his crotch and she smiled, seeing that he was still noticeably aroused.

"Well, if anybody understands what it's like to be aroused, it's firemen," she said, and he looked up at her as she smiled. His eyes narrowed and she laughed.

"Because they're so hot," she explained further, winking at him.

"Yeah, I got it, Scully," he said, rolling his eyes, sirens now sounding in the distance, and he groaned.

"I'll go down first," she said and he huffed out her name. "Down the ladder, I mean, Mulder. Such a dirty mind…"

"I'm not in any state right now to hear you speak that way, Scully. Jesus…" He shook his head and she smiled.

The sirens grew closer and soon the firemen were trooping into the barn, carrying the ladder with them. It hit the then edge of the hayloft and one of them climbed up, dripping wet, and looked between them. Scully pointed to Mulder and he nodded, stepping over to examine his hands.

"Okay. You'll come down first, sir. I'll help you out so you don't injure yourself further."

"No, I want her to go first," Mulder said, shaking his head as the fireman helped him carefully to his feet, and he caught her eye.

She smiled at him with a nod, stepping over to the ladder and carefully climbing down. A hand landed gently on her back as she was halfway down.

"Careful, ma'am. The ladder is wet and those fancy shoes are not exactly the best for climbing ladders. Or walking around haylofts," a different fireman said with a grin. She would have been annoyed, except for the adorable dimples she saw in his cheeks.

As they walked out of the barn, an umbrella was handed to her and they walked together to the waiting ambulance. Stepping inside, they were both examined, the female paramedic clucking over the mass amount of splinters in his hands. She shook her head and looked at him.

"I know it was obviously a wooden ladder, but that barn is old and no doubt teeming with germs. When was your last tetanus shot?" she asked, crossing her arms and staring at him.

"Umm," he stalled, looking at Scully, who pursed her lips together, knowing it had been longer than ten years.

"Mm-hmm, we need to get you to the hospital," the paramedic said, shaking her head.

He sighed and looked at Scully who nodded. She handed the paramedic his cell phone and she put it in a small plastic bag with a smile. Climbing out of the ambulance and grabbing the umbrella, Scully smiled at him and he shook his head, his eyes running quickly over her body.

"I'll head back and touch base with Skinner and I'll talk to you later, Mulder," she said over the sound of the rain, despite the puppy dog eyes he gave her. He sighed as the paramedic looked at her with a wink.

Handing over the umbrella to the police officer waiting by her car, she got in and sighed as she shook her head. Taking the keys from her pocket, she turned on the car, checking her phone before she drove away; there were already three missed calls from Skinner.

Arriving home two hours later, she dropped the car keys in the bowl by the door, closing it behind her and locking it. Her shoes were kicked off as she began to strip off her dirty clothes, dropping them where they landed.

Stepping into the bathroom, she turned on the shower. As she waited for it to warm up, she looked at herself in the mirror and saw that there were stray pieces of hay stuck within the strands of her hair. Smiling happily, she pulled them out and tossed them in the trash, running her fingers through her hair.

Washing away the day, she dressed for bed, and grabbed her phone. Seeing a missed call from Mulder, she called him back and waited as it rang. Just before the voicemail answered she heard a fumble and him swearing, before he said her name.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to do, anything, with your hands bandaged?" he asked, with a tone of irritability and she tried not to laugh.

"How many splinters did you have in your hands?" she asked, sitting down on the bed and waiting for his answer.

"37. 37 goddamn splinters in my hands, Scully," he huffed out an exhale and she laughed quietly. "And my right arm is incredibly sore from that fucking tetanus shot. You could have told her that it was within the last ten years."

"And lie to get you out of needed medical help and have you end up with lockjaw? Think of how that would affect me…" she said, licking her lips.

"Did I mention my hands are heavily bandaged? Don't be talking about things like that with me right now. It was bad enough earlier, I don't need a repeat. Not now anyway, but later would be nice."

"Just nice?"

"Hmm… has it ever been just "nice," Scully?" he said quietly and she closed her eyes.

No, it had never been just "nice."

They were both quiet for a few moments and then she heard him sigh deeply. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay, Scully. I'm… I'm gonna let you go, just wanted to let you know that I was home and that I'm okay. Well, as okay as I can be with my hands wrapped this way," he said, sighing again.

"Good night then, Mulder. I'll see you in the morning."

"Uh huh. In the morning, Scully," he whispered and she smiled.

"Good night," she whispered and he sighed, whispering goodnight back to her, as she hung up. Taking a deep breath, she turned out the lights.

Apologizing silently to Mulder and his bandaged hands, she opened her messages, and stared at the pictures of him she had sent to herself earlier. Walking to her dresser, she took out her little pink friend, and got into bed.

Breathing deeply, she turned it on, as she stared at his face and thought of the feel of him hard under her, and the taste of his kiss. It was not long before her toes were curling, her legs were shaking, and she was breathing his name; the scent of hay and rain seeming to surround her.

Taking a deep breath, she licked her lips and went to use the bathroom, her core still thrumming. Putting her little friend away, she left her phone open, staring at his face as she fell asleep, wishing his arms were around her and holding her close.