********
(The next night)

Vaughn dropped his head back on the hotel pillow with a moan 
as I drew the chocolate covered strawberry across his bare 
stomach. He tugged on the cuffs binding him to the sturdy 
headboard even though he knew there was no chance of him 
getting free until I was finished with him and sighed. 

"I thought you were going to fuck me until I passed out not 
tease me until I go insane," he muttered.

I wrapped my free hand around his twitching length and 
squeezed. He moaned and arched his back helplessly. "For once 
in your life, Vaughn, just lay back and shut up."

His cock twitched in my hand. "What'll you do to me if I 
don't," he asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

I gave him a withering look and let go, popping the strawberry 
in my mouth and moving across the room to retrieve our new 
vibrator from the luggage. "I'll gag you," I replied simply. 
"But I'd rather not." 

I turned and held up the vibrator for him to see. He moaned 
and squirmed in anticipation, the handcuffs clinking softly 
against the wooden headboard. 

"I want to hear you moan and scream and beg me to fuck you 
until you can't see straight," I continued huskily as I 
returned to the bed. "Do you promise to be a good boy and stop 
being so bossy and demanding?"

He sighed heavily and relaxed into the bed. "Yes, sir."

My cock surged and I groaned.

His eyes darkened in understanding at the noise. His 
expression softened suddenly, becoming vulnerable. He spread 
his legs and tilted his hips invitingly. "Please sir," he 
begged.

I groaned. Vaughn could play me like a fiddle sometimes. I 
tossed the vibrator on the bed and snatched another strawberry 
from the cart, stuffing it in Vaughn's mouth. "Don't test me."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine," he sighed around a mouthful of 
fruit. "I'll be good, just...get on with it...please."

I dipped a strawberry in the pot of melted chocolate and 
resumed painting dark swirls across his abdomen. He gasped as 
I ran the strawberry in a slow path up the underside of his 
straining cock, leaving a thin trail of chocolate. He 
whimpered, his hips bucking as my tongue licked the warm fluid 
away shortly after.

He came minutes later, the furtive thrusting of his hips 
curtailed by my firm grip. He lay limp as I licked him clean, 
moaning softly when I slid the vibrator gently into his 
dripping channel.

"Lift up," I coaxed softly. He raised his hips and held them 
up, his thighs quivering with the effort, while I strapped the 
harness around his waist. I eased him back to the bed when I 
was finished and picked up the remote, leaning over him to 
brush away tiny droplets of sweat that were already forming on 
his face. I kissed him gently, plundering his mouth with my 
tongue and slid the hand not holding the switch down his side 
to cup his hip. He raised his knee, squirming beneath my 
touch.

"Until you pass out," I vowed.

I subtly flipped the switch and he bucked into my hand, 
moaning as the vibrator stimulated his sensitized nerves. I 
abandoned his mouth in favor of his throat, working my way 
down to his chest and then methodically licking away the 
chocolate I had spent the last fifteen minutes painting onto 
his skin. Impassioned noises spilled incoherently from his 
lips as his nipples hardened into stiff peaks against my 
tongue.

"You realize," he gasped. "That this is cheating. You said 
*you* would fuck me until I passed out."

"Yeah, well, without pharmaceutical aid, I'm afraid you're 
going to have to settle for this," I muttered. I brushed his 
hair back and smiled, looking into his rapidly dilating eyes. 
"I can still make you scream my name."

He grunted and moaned, his hips jerking rhythmically. I 
smoothed my hands over his chest, pinching his nipples 
roughly, forcing a string of whimpers from him. I slipped my 
leg between his thighs and lifted his hips, pressing him 
against me. He rode my thigh unashamedly. I could feel his 
juices drip past the vibrator onto my skin.

"Please," he breathed. "'m almost there..."

I hit the switch on the remote that would bring the vibrator 
to second speed and he yelped, his movements stilling, his 
eyes rolling back in his head. I held him still as he came, 
his limbs spasming from the force of his orgasm. 

He gasped and moaned as the last wave of pleasure rolled over 
him. "Turn it off," he slurred.

I stroked his hair back lovingly. "No."

"Mulder," he gasped. "'s too much. Turn it off. Please."

I dropped the remote on the bed and took hold of his hips with 
both hands, holding him firmly. I pressed my thigh up higher, 
tight between his legs, feeling the end of the vibrator jab 
against my skin and driving it deeper inside him.

Vaughn yelped and struggled against me, trying helplessly to 
escape the stimulation, twisting his hands against the cuffs 
holding him prisoner to the bed. His whole body shook in my 
arms as he came again, barely recovered from his last climax.

"Oh, god," he wailed between desperate gasps for breath. "Turn 
it off."

"Not yet," I murmured in his ear, pressing my lips to the hair 
that was quickly becoming plastered to his scalp with sweat. I 
reached for the remote and flipped it to its highest setting, 
pressing myself against Vaughn as he fought mindlessly. He 
screamed, yanking hard against the cuffs as the added 
stimulation quickly brought him to the brink for the fourth 
time in one hour.

I pressed my thigh hard between his legs, forcing the vibrator 
as deep as I could and holding him there with a firm grip on 
his hips, absorbing his frantic attempts to buck me with 
concerted effort. I kissed him, swallowing his scream as he 
vaulted over the edge into mindless pleasure, fighting to keep 
a grip on him as his skin became increasingly slick with 
sweat. 

He jerked and trembled for a good three minutes, buffeted by 
waves of ecstasy. When his eyes began fluttering and pained 
whimpers began tumbling from his lips I released one of my 
hands and reached for the remote, flipping the vibrator off. 
Vaughn relaxed somewhat, his body still jerking against me 
with a cascade of aftershocks.

I stroked his face gently and kissed his cheek. "Are you still 
with me," I asked softly.

He whimpered. "No more," he panted. "I can't..."

"Yes you can," I argued.

He shook his head. "No...too much..."

"Shhh," I soothed, stroking his hair back from his face. "Look 
at me."

His dazed eyes found mine. 

"What's the safeword?"

He groaned and let himself relax a little bit more into the 
mattress. "Spooky."

"Good. I know what I'm doing baby. If it gets to be too much 
just say the word and I'll stop."

He seemed to debate this. "It hurts," he whispered.

I groaned. "That's because you're overstimulated. Just relax." 
I kissed him, gently coaxing his lips to respond, which they 
did clumsily. "I want to take you past the point of pain to 
pleasure so intense it feels like you're dying. I promise 
you'll be safe but if you get scared just say the safeword and 
I'll stop immediately."

He moaned. "I trust you."

I smiled. "Okay. I love you."

He nodded and mouthed the words back to me as he fought to 
control his ragged breaths.

I flipped the switch to first speed and held him as the 
vibrator flared to life again. He arched his back against me 
and moaned, his head thrashing back and forth on the pillow.

He came again within minutes, a soft broken wail spilling from 
his swollen lips, punctuated by ragged gasps for air. 

"Breathe, baby," I whispered, kissing his stubbled chin. He 
gasped, his chest visibly heaving to draw air into his 
spasming lungs. My cock twitched eagerly and I took deep 
breaths, both to calm myself and to encourage him to copy me. 
His whole body shuddered and a stream of whimpers tumbled from 
him, his hips stuttering beneath me and I realized that he was 
coming again.

I uncuffed his hands and he wrapped his arms around me 
instinctively, clinging to me as the waves pounded him, 
leaving him weak. I turned off the vibrator and fumbled to 
undo the straps, yanking the friction heated latex from him 
and pressing myself inside. I groaned as his muscles fluttered 
wetly around me, the flesh swollen with blood and 
hypersensitive from repeated stimulation. 

I helped him wrap his legs around my hips and dug my elbows 
into the bed on either side of his head, fucking him with 
deep, hard thrusts. His fingers dug into my shoulders, the 
blunt nails scratching into my skin. His lips formed the word 
"yes" but he no longer had the breath to speak.

After several minutes of thrusting his eyes began growing 
glassy, his counterthrusts (such as they were) sloppy. His 
arms slid from my shoulders, his nails no doubt leaving long 
red trails down my back before flopping bonelessly to the 
mattress. I grinned inwardly. This was it. I reached one hand 
between us and stroked his swollen length, feeling it harden 
against my palm. I adjusted my angle until I knew I had to be 
battering his now painfully sensitive prostate.

He came with a soft whimper, his entire body trembling with 
the force of an earthquake, nearly bucking me from him. His 
cock exploded in my hand, painting his stomach with milky 
fluid, his skin flushing hotly, his muscles squeezing me 
mercilessly, coating me in slick juices. I groaned and let him 
pull me over the edge right behind him, painting his insides 
with my semen. 

When I came back to my senses Vaughn was still writhing 
against me in the throws of orgasm. He bat at me 
ineffectually, whimpering, no doubt unable to bear any more 
access stimulation. I pulled my rapidly softening cock from 
him and leaned back, spreading his legs wide and leaning down 
to take the head of his cock in my mouth – not sucking or 
licking as I knew he wouldn't be able to tolerate that in his 
state - just holding it in my mouth, applying gentle pressure 
with my lips. I slipped two fingers into his drenched opening, 
pressing them against his front wall and gently massaging his 
prostate.

He shuddered and gave a sharp cry, a tiny amount of fluid 
dribbling onto my tongue, his slack opening fluttering against 
my hand. Then he went still, boneless against the sweaty 
sheets, the only movement the rapid up and down of his chest. 
I crawled up beside him and looked into his dazed eyes, 
lightly massaging one of his wrists, bruised and irritated 
from his attempts to free himself of the cuffs. I kissed his 
slackened lips, parted with his breaths and watched as his 
eyelids fluttered shut and his breathing deepened. 

I smiled and gently drew the sheet over him. "Until you pass 
out," I whispered. 

********
(The next day)

Vaughn came awake with a groan as I attempted to wash the 
dried mess from his abdomen. "Spooky," he mumbled.

I laughed. "It's okay baby, I'm just trying to clean you up a 
little."

He groaned. "I think every muscle in my body is sore." He 
hissed as I draped the cool cloth over his groin. "Especially 
that one."

I stretched out beside him and entwined my fingers with his, 
bringing his hand to my lips and then holding it to my chest. 
"Other than that, how do you feel?"

He groaned again. "Exhausted." A slow smile spread across his 
face. "Incredible."

I smiled. "Good."

He sighed. "I know I said we weren't going to spend the entire 
week in bed, but I don't think I can get up."

I smirked. It was good to know that at my age I could still 
render my husband incapable of normal movement with sex.

"Stop smiling like that," he scolded. "You realize you're not 
coming anywhere near me for the next twenty-four hours at 
least until I recover, right?"

My smile faltered. That hadn't occurred to me actually. 
"Fine," I grumbled. I was willing to sacrifice a day of 
lovemaking for the incredible experience last night. I paused 
as an idea occurred to me. "Hang on..." 

I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, turning on the 
water in the big Jacuzzi tub. When I got back he was already 
trying to get up, grunting and groaning with the effort, 
wincing as he sat on the edge.

"Hey, stay still," I scolded.

He rolled his eyes. "Mulder, you are not going to give 
yourself a hernia trying to carry me."

"Not if I do it right." I dragged him to his feet and bent my 
knees, pulling him over my shoulder in a fireman's carry. 

He yelped and swatted my back as I carried him into the 
bathroom. "Put me down!"

"Fine," I said, setting his butt down on the edge of the 
Jacuzzi. Then I shoved him into the half-full tub with a loud 
splash.

"You're going to pay for that," he growled.

I laughed and climbed in with him. "I hope so."

He splashed water in my face but that only made me laugh 
harder. I turned off the tap once the water was at a decent 
level and sat in one of the curved seats, pulling him into my 
lap with his back to my chest. He sighed and relaxed into my 
arms. I massaged his shoulders and he groaned.

"That feels good," he murmured.

I massaged his neck, shoulders and lower back until he was 
completely limp in my arms. 

"Mulder, no," he mumbled as my hands wandered around to his 
front and began massaging his lower abdomen.

"Hair of the dog that bit you," I said, smoothing my hand 
lower.

He grunted. "Fitting analogy."

I paused. "Are you calling me a dog?"

He smirked. "Something like that."

I rolled my eyes and dunked his head underwater. He came up 
spluttering. "Bastard," he muttered.

I splashed a little water in his face and slid out from behind 
him. "Now be a good boy and hang on to the side."

He grumbled but threw his arms over the side of the tub, 
letting his head hang over the lip. I spread his legs and 
lifted his hips until they just barely broke the surface. His 
legs flailed slightly and I stroked his hip. "Relax," I cooed. 
"I won't let you fall." 

I leaned down and took his stirring cock in my mouth. I let go 
of his hips with one hand and gently rolled his balls in my 
palm. He moaned and squirmed, his cock lengthening, gradually 
filling my mouth. I always loved that feeling. Knowing that I 
was causing it.

I brought him to a shuddering climax and eased him through the 
aftershocks, gently lowering his hips back to the seat and 
watching him slowly recover. His skin was damp with water from 
the tub, steam and sweat. His chest heaved with panting 
breaths as his control gradually returned. His eyes drifted 
open as I settled on the bench next to him.

"I'm starting to think marrying you wasn't the best thing I 
could do for my health," he muttered.

I smirked and drew him into my arms, kissing him sweetly, 
letting him taste his own ejaculate on my tongue. "Eat more 
protein."

He groaned and draped himself across my lap, dropping his head 
on my shoulder. 

I kissed his forehead. "I love you," I whispered.

He hummed and snuggled deeper into my arms. "Love you," he 
murmured sleepily.

I shook him gently. "Don't fall asleep on me."

"Mmmnot."

I chuckled. "I mean it. I'm not carrying you back to bed."

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Fine." He pulled away from me 
and ducked his head underwater, surfacing on the other side of 
the large tub and shaking water from his hair like a wet dog. 
He sat opposite me, drawing his knees up and resting his feet 
on the bench on either side of me, letting his legs fall open 
to give me a clear view of his flaccid length bobbing in the 
soft jets of water and the swollen folds that framed his well-
plundered passage.

"What," he asked innocently in response to my growing smirk.

"Nothing. I'm just getting mixed messages."

He sighed and gestured toward his face. "My eyes are up here."

I reached out to rub his left calf. "I think I prefer this 
view."

He splashed water at me and sighed, settling into his seat and 
letting the warm jets massage his likely sore muscles.

"I wish I had some artistic ability," I murmured after a long 
silence.

"Mmm-why," he asked lethargically.

"So I could capture just how unbelievably sexy you look right 
now. So completely open and unselfconscious. Not to mention 
thoroughly ravished."

A slow smile spread across his face. "Don't you have enough 
pictures of me naked?"

"Those were for documenting your pregnancies."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure. Like you didn't use it as porn when 
you were away on assignments. Don't think I didn't notice 
there were some missing."

"Hey, at least I was thinking about you and not paying for 
prostitutes."

He cracked one eye open to glare at me. "If you had even 
thought about paying other people for sex I would have left 
you and taken the kids with me."

I smirked. "Hence the pictures."

He rolled his eyes and dropped his head back with a contented 
sigh. "If it wasn't for the kids I don't think I'd ever want 
to leave here."

"If you want to go home early," I started reluctantly.

"I didn't say that," he interrupted. "In fact, I was thinking 
maybe we should get away more often. Go to Martha's Vineyard 
once in a while. You liked it there, right?"

I scoffed. "I could barely pry you away from the kids for a 
honeymoon."

"I said 'more often' not 'every other week'. Just a weekend 
every now and then. Sarah is almost old enough to take care of 
Will and the twins by herself for a couple days. We could go 
somewhere – just the two of us. Get away from everything and 
relax..."

I hummed and let my hand wander up the inside of his leg. 
"Sounds nice."

His hand clamped over mine, stopping my exploration. "Mulder, 
if you want to have sex again before this honeymoon is over 
you're going to have to give me the rest of the day to 
recover."

I groaned and let my hand fall back to its original position.

He smiled and drew his feet from the bench beside me, moving 
smoothly through the water until he was almost in my lap. "You 
*have* been dipping into the Viagra, haven't you?"

I swatted his backside, the blow dulled by the water. "I don't 
need to take a pill to be aroused by you."

He smiled and lifted his chin. "Sit on the edge of the tub."

"Why," I asked playfully. I knew what he was thinking, I just 
wanted to hear him say it.

I gasped as he wrapped his hand around my cock and squeezed. 
"Because while I may be able to hold my breath for a long 
time, I'm not about to risk drowning myself trying to suck you 
off," he growled in my ear.

I was out of the tub and sitting on the tile ledge in record 
time. I moaned as his mouth enveloped me almost immediately. I 
groaned and tangled my fingers in his hair. Vaughn was one of 
the few people I knew who didn't mind having his head held 
during oral sex. Of course that was probably because I knew 
that if I was too rough or didn't let go when he needed air he 
could force me to let go by breaking my arm. 

He only waited a few strokes before taking me all the way into 
his throat and swallowing, likely knowing I wouldn't last very 
long. I groaned loudly as his throat constricted around my 
sensitive tip. He looked up at me through his lashes and 
gently coaxed my thighs open, fondling my sac delicately 
between his fingers.

I came within a few short minutes, one hand still tangled in 
his hair, the other clawing at the edge of the tub. He nursed 
me through the spasms and gently detangled my loosened fingers 
from his now hopelessly mussed hair, kissing my knuckles 
sweetly. He smiled at me and carefully climbed out of the tub, 
helping me stand on wobbly knees.

"Come on old man, let's get you to bed," he teased.

He yelped as I smacked his backside again, the blow unhindered 
by the water this time. "Let me put on a robe first."

His eyes roved up and down my body appreciatively. "I think I 
prefer you naked."

I groaned. "At least put yours on then. As much as I would 
love to have you naked all the time I'm afraid it would be too 
much temptation today."

He rolled his eyes but reached for his robe anyway. "I didn't 
say you couldn't come at all. You just can't come anywhere 
near my crotch to do it."

"Yes, but if I have to look at your gorgeous naked body all 
day I may not be able to control the urge to throw you down 
and fuck you until you bleed."

He smiled as he finished tying the sash around his waist. 
"We're too old to be acting like this."

"Speak for yourself. Between you and the kids I don't feel a 
day over twenty-five."

He shook his head and kissed me sweetly. "I love you."

I smiled and kissed him back. "I love you too. Now let's see 
if there's anything good on television that we can watch while 
you're resting."

**********
(8 years ago)

I moaned gratefully as Vaughn draped a cool washcloth over my 
forehead. 

"Do you think you might throw up again," he asked gently.

"Don't know," I slurred. "Keep the trash can close just in 
case."

He dragged the small lined plastic can closer to the bed. 
"It's right here, baby."

I sighed and squeezed his hand. "You're too good to me." 

Sarah had come home from school a week before with some sort 
of bug. She was almost fully recovered, but it looked like I, 
unlike the other kids by some miracle, had caught it anyway. 
Vaughn had taken a few days off work so he could stay home 
with me and the kids until I didn't feel quite so much like I 
was on death's door. He had told me it was because he didn't 
want me to infect the other children or drive myself to 
pneumonia. I had argued that that was what we had a regular 
babysitter for, but he had insisted. I had a feeling he was 
just using the opportunity to spend more time with the kids. 
And me. Even though the time he spent with me mostly consisted 
of taking my temperature every few hours, feeding me fluids 
and rubbing my back while I threw up.

"How are you not catching this," I grumbled.

He smiled. "I spent half the time I was growing up in France. 
I have a stronger immune system."

I groaned. "Sometimes I hate you."

He kissed my cheek. "You love me."

The door to the bedroom creaked open, letting the sounds of 
the Disney movie the older children had been watching drift in 
from the living room. "Mom," Sarah whined. "Lizzie and Lilly 
are trying to draw on Will with the markers again."

Vaughn sighed. Once one of the twins got an idea in her head 
it was difficult to dissuade her from doing it. It didn't help 
that the other twin would almost always join her and the two 
would then egg each other on until what had started as blowing 
spit bubbles at the dinner table, for example, escalated into 
an all-out food fight. "I'll be right there."

Sarah started to leave.

"Hey, come here and give Daddy a kiss," I called, my voice 
ragged from repeated bouts of coughing and vomiting. Sarah was 
the only one I knew I couldn't infect and I intended to take 
full advantage of it.

She crawled up on the bed and gave me a big, sloppy kiss on 
the cheek. I kissed her back and pulled her into a lopsided 
bear hug. "I feel much better already," I groaned. She giggled 
and scampered back out the door the second I let her go. 

Vaughn laughed and gave me a peck on the lips. "Get some rest. 
I'll have one of the kids come get you when dinner is ready."

I squeezed his hand and smiled in spite of my misery. "I love 
you."

He smiled, the sentiment implicitly returned by the look in 
his eyes. "Call me if you need anything," he said on his way 
out the door.

*********
(Present)

We spent the day watching movies on television, feeding each 
other from the room service cart he ordered when our stomachs 
started rumbling.

"This is the dumbest movie I've ever seen," he grumbled 
halfway through some lesser-known romantic comedy the display 
menu identified as "It Had to Be You". "I could figure out how 
it's going to end by the end of the first scene."

"It's a romantic comedy," I argued. "Of course it's 
predictable. What, you expect them to *not* get together at 
the end of the movie?"

"They're using every movie clichι known to man! And they're 
not even doing it well. I've seen better acting in elementary 
school plays."

I chuckled. "Yeah, but the main actor is pretty good looking."

Vaughn glared at me.

I laughed and handed him the remote. "Fine. You find something 
you want to watch while I visit the little boy's room."

I could hear him flip through channels while I was in the 
bathroom, finally settling on one. When I returned, Gary 
Cooper was sulking at the screen from underneath a cowboy hat 
while Tex Ritter begged his darling to not forsake him. 

"'High Noon'?"

"It's a classic."

"I know. I saw it when I was Sarah's age."

"We can try something else if you want..."

"No, I don't mind seeing it again," I said as I crawled back 
into bed beside Vaughn. He smiled, tossed the remote to the 
foot of the bed and curled against me, his head on my chest.

"I always wanted to be a cowboy when I was little," I added.

"I think every boy did at some point," he replied. "At least 
the ones who didn't want to be pirates."

I chuckled, remembering our son running around the house, 
brandishing a child-size hockey stick and insisting that we 
call him Captain Jack Sparrow. "It feels like just yesterday 
Will was threatening to make the girls walk the plank," I 
mussed.

He groaned. "It feels like just yesterday I was giving birth 
to him."

We fell silent for several minutes, watching the movie. 

"So," Vaughn asked when the station broke for commercial. 
"Gary Cooper or John Wayne?"

"Paul Newman. I had a crush on him ever since I saw 'Butch 
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'."

Vaughn raised his eyebrows. "Really? Not Robert Redford?"

"I wanted to *be* Robert Redford in that movie. He was so 
cool...plus there was his proximity to Newman."

Vaughn chuckled. "So I take it you liked 'The Sting' too?"

"Oh, yeah. But it was still Newman in that cowboy hat that I 
fantasized about." I paused. "What about you? Who did you 
fantasize about?"

There was a long pause before he reluctantly replied, 
"Princess Leia."

I laughed. "Child of the seventies."

"Deeply in denial," he added. "More often than not my 
fantasies about her turned into fantasies about Han Solo but I 
tried to convince myself that it didn't mean anything. It 
wasn't that I couldn't get turned on by women, I was just even 
more turned on by men. It wasn't until college that I finally 
gave in and admitted that to myself or anybody else."

I kissed his hair and silently thanked Harrison Ford for 
unknowingly invading my future husbands' pubescent daydreams. 

We watched the movie again quietly. I rubbed Vaughn's 
shoulders and as far down his back as I could reach absently, 
hoping to massage away the soreness left by our repeated 
lovemaking. 

"I want to do some shopping tomorrow," he said at the next 
commercial break. "Find some souvenirs for the kids." 

"Anyplace in particular?"

"I was thinking Santa Monica."

Normally a shopping expedition to Santa Monica could be 
guaranteed to take the entire day and leave the shopper 
feeling exhausted and sore from hours of walking, but Vaughn 
had never been much for shopping for the sake of shopping. I 
knew once he found presents for the kids he would be ready to 
leave. I figured we could be back in the hotel room by early 
evening.

"Sure, baby," I said, pressing another kiss to his hair. "That 
sounds good."

*********
(The next day)

"This doesn't quite look the way I remember it," Vaughn said 
as yet another group of people babbling in Spanish bustled 
past us on their way down the Santa Monica pier. 

"Welcome to tourist season," I said with a smile.

He sighed and leaned against the metal railing, gazing out at 
the ocean, it's smooth surface broken by dozens of sailboats. 
"It's beautiful at night," he murmured. "The moonlight 
bouncing off the water...the waves crashing against the pier 
supports...the lights of the Ferris Wheel."

"I thought you were too busy trying to calm a hysterical 
Sydney to pay attention to the sights."

Vaughn chuckled. "That wasn't the only time I was here. I've 
just always come here at night when it's a bit more...quiet."

I stepped up to the railing beside him and wrapped my arms 
around his waist, pressing my chin to his shoulder.

"Her pager is probably still out there somewhere," he murmured 
absently.

I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off when a short, sharp 
blast of a police siren sounded from nearby, causing us both 
to jump. I turned to see a police car stopped at the 
intersection of the main pier and the area around the pier's 
amusement park, his passage blocked by another police car 
heading back toward the police station at the entrance to the 
pier. 

"Had enough reminiscing yet," I asked, watching the small 
traffic jam slowly break up.

Vaughn sighed. "Yeah. Let's go."

********
(That evening)

It had taken a little longer than I had anticipated to find 
suitable gifts for all four kids, but we still got back to the 
hotel within a reasonable amount of time after a stop for 
dinner at a small restaurant Vaughn had insisted had the best 
Mexican food in the state.

"Are you going to tell me what's in that bag now," I asked. 
Vaughn had abandoned me briefly at the mall for what he 
claimed was a trip to the bathroom and had come back nearly a 
half an hour later with a large paper bag in hand and a smile 
on his face. He had refused to tell me what was in it and 
guarded it fiercely from all attempts to peek inside, 
insisting that it was a surprise.

He smirked. "Eventually," he said mysteriously. 

I squinted at him for a long time, weighing my odds of being 
able to wrestle it away from him, and then lunged toward the 
bag suddenly. He backed away from me and held it behind his 
back with a grin. "Ah, ah," he scolded, shaking his head, a 
mischievous glint in his eyes. "Be a good boy and you'll find 
out."

I held back a frustrated whine. "Come on, baby. How long are 
you planning to tease me?"

He smiled and boldly moved toward me, trusting me to not make 
another grab for the bag clutched firmly behind his back. He 
kissed me, his lips parting to suck my lower lip into his 
mouth briefly. "Get on the bed," he said simply.

I groaned but followed his directions, sitting on the edge of 
the bed.

"You're not going to take your clothes off first," he asked 
innocently.

My breath caught and a slow, almost shy smile spread across 
Vaughn's face. Well, this was looking promising...

I crawled, naked, to the middle of the mattress two minutes 
later and looked at him, still standing in the middle of the 
room holding his paper sack. I wrapped my hand around my 
lazily stirring length. "Are you just going to stand there?"

He smiled. "Hold that thought." He grabbed the tube of 
lubricant I had left sitting on the dresser and disappeared 
into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. 

I groaned. "Need some help with that," I called.

"No," his muffled voice replied amid rustling noises. "Just 
get a condom ready. I'll be out in a few minutes."

My cock twitched as I pictured him stretching himself, getting 
himself ready for me. I fumbled a condom out of the bedside 
drawer we had stored them in, my hands shaking so badly in 
anticipation that I nearly dropped it on the floor. I leaned 
back against the headboard, closing my eyes and taking deep 
breaths. 'Relax,' I repeated over and over in my mind.

I listened to the ticking of the room clock, distracting 
myself by counting the seconds until Vaughn returned. I had 
just reached 316 when I heard the bathroom door creak open. 

I opened my eyes, looked up and coughed out a noise that was 
somewhere between a laugh and a groan. There, standing in the 
doorway, was my husband...wearing nothing but a cowboy hat.

He smiled. "You like it?"

I got myself back under control and nodded. "Oh, god, yes."

He approached the bed slowly, looking not unlike a panther 
closing in on his prey. He drew his left hand out from behind 
his back and handed me a small, disposable camera. "So you can 
update the collection," he said simply.

I groaned and took the camera from him, setting it on the 
bedside dresser before pulling him in for a kiss. "God, I love 
you."

I tried to pull him into the bed but he resisted. "Lay back."

I obeyed unquestioningly, laying with my head on one of the 
rumpled pillows. He climbed onto the bed once I was settled 
and straddled my hips, grinding down so I could feel his 
rapidly hardening length press against mine. I felt his hand 
slip behind my neck a second before his lips collided with 
mine, hard, demanding a response. I opened my mouth to his 
tongue, nipping at it lightly.

"The kitten has claws," I murmured against his lips when he 
came up for air. 

"Shut up," he hissed before claiming my mouth again, running 
his tongue over every inch possessively.

My hands framed his hips, pulling his lower body tighter 
against mine. He swatted at one arm without letting up on his 
kiss and I let go reluctantly, smoothing my hands up his back, 
digging my fingers into his shoulders and holding him tightly. 
He gave one last, lingering swipe of his tongue against mine 
and pulled back, his eyes looking deep into mine.

"Don't make me handcuff you to the bed," he said in a deep 
husk.

I groaned and loosened my grip. "Then get on with it," I 
begged.

He smirked and deliberately flicked my nipples with his 
thumbs. "You've never shown me any mercy," he murmured, his 
lips brushing my neck. "Especially last night."

"Yeah, but you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"That's not the point," he argued, swiping my nipple with his 
tongue. "The point is that I'm always the one at your mercy."

"So, what, you want to be on top?"

"In a sense, yes." His hand slipped down to wrap around my 
cock and I groaned. "You'll still be inside me, but I’ll be 
the one calling the shots."

"How is that different from what we usually do," I asked with 
a grunt.

He swatted my thigh. "Because you're actually going to listen 
and obey me."

My chuckle was cut off by a groan as my cock throbbed in his 
tightening grip. "Yes, sir."

He smiled. "Good."

I groaned as he continued his leisurely path down my body, his 
tongue painting broad strokes on my skin. I tried to gently 
nudge his shoulders, guiding him toward my straining length, 
and he made a disapproving noise. I blew out an exasperated 
breath and clenched my fists at my sides, resisting the urge 
to roll him forcibly onto his back and fuck him until he 
screamed my name. I held back a whimper as I caught sight of 
him in the mirror above the bed, his naked hips swaying 
invitingly as he moved down my body.

I hissed when his tongue found the sensitive spot just below 
my hip bone. He paused there for a while, tongue swirling, 
teeth nipping maddeningly, then moved on, purposefully 
avoiding the pulsing flesh begging for his attention. He 
continued his lazy exploration of familiar territory, teasing 
the sensitive spot on the inside of my knee until I nearly 
levitated off the bed.

"You realize," I gasped. "That if you keep going like this I'm 
going to come and you can forget about me being 'inside you'."

He hummed against my thigh. "Then you'll just have to control 
yourself," he murmured. He lifted his head and waited for me 
to look him in the eye. "You are not to come until I give you 
permission," he said huskily.

I groaned. "Honey, I..."

Whatever I had intended to say devolved into a lusty groan as 
Vaughn's mouth suddenly engulfed my twitching cock. My back 
arched and I made a couple awkward thrusting motions before 
his strong hands anchored my hips, keeping me still. 

"Be reasonable," I gasped.

He hummed and I yelped as the vibrations shot through me, my 
cock surging in his mouth. I held my breath and tried thinking 
of anything but the feel of the wet heat surrounding me in an 
effort to ignore the tension building in my abdomen. Fire. 
Maggots. Baseball stats. Anything.

He nudged my legs apart and let go of my hips with one hand, 
reaching to cup my balls.

"Don't," I begged.

He ignored me, rolling the tightening sac in his hand gently, 
applying just enough pressure to drive me absolutely insane. I 
realized suddenly that he was doing exactly what I had been 
doing – completely ignoring everything I said and pushing me 
beyond what I thought I could endure. 

"Okay, you've made your point," I yelped.

He lifted his mouth from me, releasing his grip on my 
testicles and smiled. "Good." He gave one last swipe to my 
tip, licking away a bead of pre-ejac and crawled up to kiss my 
lips, letting his hips press into mine so I could feel his 
hard length against my own. I pulled the cowboy hat – already 
knocked askew by his actions - off his head.

"I thought you enjoyed it," I muttered between kisses. 

"I did," he whispered. "I just wanted you to see what it's 
like to beg for mercy and not get it."

"You had a safeword," I argued. "You didn't use it."

"I'm not talking about last night. I'm talking about all the 
other times I've told you to slow down and you didn't. We're 
not getting any younger. You need to take it easy or one of 
these days one of us is going to pull something."

I frowned at him and opened my mouth to say something more but 
he cut me off with two fingers pressed to my lips. 

"You don't have to work so hard to prove to me what a great 
lover you are. You don't have to make me come at least three 
times every time we have sex."

I gave him a tiny smirk and wrapped my arm around his hips, 
pulling him in tighter. "Who said I was doing that for you? Do 
you have any idea how gorgeous you look when you come?"

He groaned. "Just listen to me once in a while, okay?"

I smiled and rubbed his hip. "Fair enough."

He gave me a quick kiss and reached for the condom I had 
dropped on the bed, lifting up long enough to unroll it over 
me. Then he guided me to his already prepared opening and sank 
until I was buried to the hilt. We both groaned and he 
stilled, his hands braced against my chest. 

"You okay," I gasped. 

"Yeah," he breathed. "Just give me a minute." He noticed the 
hat still clutched in my hand and gently pried it from me, 
replacing it on his head. He grinned. "Save a horse..."

"Ride a cowboy," I finished with a groan. 

He chuckled and began to rock gently against me. "So, does it 
live up to the fantasy?"

I grunted and moved with him, letting him control the speed 
and depth of my thrusts. "Are you kidding? Paul Newman wasn't 
half as sexy as you."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't overdo it. You might hurt 
yourself."

"No, I mean it," I said seriously. "You're amazing." I circled 
one of his tightening nipples with my thumb. "You've put up 
with me for nearly eighteen years and given me four wonderful 
children." I cupped his cheek loosely. "And I swear you are 
more beautiful every year. I don't know what I did to deserve 
you." 

He stopped moving and smiled softly, turning his head to kiss 
my palm. "Did it ever occur to you that I might feel the same 
way?"

"How," I asked innocently.

"You've been so good to me," he murmured. "You practically 
worship the ground I walk on. And you're a great father to the 
kids...and I don't know if you've looked in a mirror lately 
but you're not too bad looking yourself." I laughed. He 
smiled. "I feel like *I* don't deserve *you*," he said softly.

I pulled him down for a kiss, pouring as much love and 
gratitude as I could into it. "I love you," I whispered 
against his lips.

He nodded and kissed me sweetly.

I groaned as he shifted slightly, feeling the walls of his 
tight channel rub against me. "Can we talk about this later?" 
I bucked my hips, moving the slightest distance inside him and 
he groaned and nodded, sitting up and resuming his slow 
movements.

I dug my fingernails into my palm, resisting the urge to grab 
him by the hips and force him to speed up, letting him move at 
his own pace. He leaned back and began riding me in earnest, 
letting me slide a few inches out of him before slowly taking 
me back in. I raised my knees, rolling my hips in a steady 
counter-thrust.

He closed his eyes, his head lolling to one side slightly, and 
moaned softly. He smoothed one hand down his chest and 
stomach, gasping as he wrapped it around his jutting cock. He 
gave a few tentative strokes and whimpered. I groaned and 
reached to cover his hand with my own. He bat it away with a 
warning growl. 

"Don't come until I tell you to," he gasped as he reached his 
other hand down and slipped two fingers into his other 
opening. His hand rotated until I knew he was rubbing them 
against his prostate and he moaned, riding me a little faster.

I ground my teeth and settled for watching him take his 
pleasure from me. His eyes fluttered closed, his jaw gradually 
growing slack, his nostrils flaring with his gasping breaths. 
A slow flush crept onto his face and his skin began to shimmer 
slightly with moisture. I smoothed my hands up and down his 
thighs, feeling the muscles underneath the skin flex with his 
movements. I groaned as his tight opening spasmed around my 
cock, as if trying to draw me deeper into his body, knowing 
instinctively that it was at least in part the source of the 
pleasure humming in his veins.

"Please, baby," I whined. "Let me..." I gently drew his 
fingers from inside his dripping channel and brought his hand 
to my mouth, licking the fluid away from each finger one at a 
time. He gasped, his eyes visibly darkening even in the shadow 
of the cowboy hat and the hand wrapped around his cock 
faltered. He lifted off me suddenly and hastily ripped the 
condom from me, tossing it in the direction of the waste 
basket. 

"Sit up against the headboard," he ordered.

I followed his directions eagerly and groaned as he straddled 
my hips and guided me to his wet opening, engulfing me in one 
swift plunge. He rode fast and hard, his heated length pressed 
between our bodies, throbbing against my abdomen. I wrapped my 
arms around his back and grunted as his nails bit into my 
shoulders. He kissed me demandingly, his tongue filling my 
mouth. 

He broke for air with a gasp. "'m almost there," he moaned. 

"Be right behind you," I gasped. I nudged him back a little 
and worked my hand between our bodies, wrapping it around his 
cock and giving a firm pull. 

His movements faltered and his eyes rolled back in his head, 
his whole body shuddering as he fell over the edge into the 
abyss. When the last wave of pleasure left him he slumped to 
the side, landing sideways on the bed, his hat tumbling from 
his head. I followed him, thrusting into his still clenching 
channel a couple more times before my orgasm hit with a 
blinding flash. I groaned and shuddered, vaguely feeling his 
hands on my shoulders, steadying me.

I collapsed against him when it was over and he accepted my 
weight, clutching me to him tightly. I kissed his exposed 
throat as I came back down from my euphoria. He sighed and 
wove his fingers through my hair, scratching my scalp lightly. 

I moved to get off of him but he tightened his grip. "Not 
yet," he said simply.

I settled against him, humming as his fingers danced up and 
down my spine lazily. I reached down to rub the back of one of 
his thighs where it rested still wrapped around my waist. "Are 
you okay?"

He sighed contentedly. "Perfect."

"No, I mean...do you need anything else?"

He cracked one eye open. "I'm fine. Now shut up and let me 
enjoy the moment."

I chuckled and settled against him again, feeling him press a 
kiss to my hair. 

He moaned in protest when I pulled out of him several minutes 
later. I pressed a hand to his chest when he moved to get up. 
"Stay there." I piled pillows behind his back, pushing him 
into a reclining position and reached for the camera. He took 
the cue and retrieved the fallen hat, plopping it on his head 
and smiling at me seductively. Then he spread his legs and 
tilted his hips, reaching between his thighs to lift his sated 
length out of the way, giving me a clear view of his swollen 
passage. I groaned as a thin rivulet of semen slipped from the 
glistening folds. 

Snap.

My fingers trembled slightly as I advanced the camera to the 
next frame. The rumpled sheets rustled softly as he tilted his 
hips upward, exposing his other opening – also swollen from 
its recent plundering.

Snap.

He ran his fingers lazily along his sated length and looked up 
at me through hooded eyes. I set the camera down for a moment 
and crawled onto the bed next to him, silently looking to him 
for permission. He nodded and I bent my head to lick and suck 
at his nipples one by one until they stood out in sharp relief 
from his chest, reveling in the tiny sounds of pleasure that 
spilled from his lips. 

I hesitated and pulled back suddenly, snatching the cowboy hat 
from his head and placing it on my own. "This isn't right. I 
want you to do what you normally do when I'm gone on 
assignment."

"Drop the kids off at the babysitter's and invite a couple 
dozen people over for wild sex parties?"

I tossed a bottle of lubricant at his chest. "Very funny."

He laughed. 

"If these pictures are supposed to be for when I'm in the 
field I want them to show me how you pleasure yourself when 
I'm gone. Just pretend I'm not here." I swallowed the sudden 
excess of saliva that had formed in my mouth.

Vaughn rolled his eyes. "You've seen me masturbate before, 
Mulder."

"That was different," I argued. "That was you putting on a 
show for me. I want to see what you're like when I'm thousands 
of miles away."

He hesitated.

I leaned over him and whispered, "Close your eyes." He did so 
obediently. "You're at home. You just got the kids to bed. 
You're exhausted but you can't sleep. You..."

"I miss you," he cut in. "The bed feels so cold and empty 
without you. I want you next to me...inside me." He groaned 
and shifted restlessly. "I'm so frustrated I want to scream." 
He opened his eyes suddenly. "Where did you put the vibrator?"

"I thought I wasn't here," I teased.

He smiled sweetly. "Just...get the vibrator for me first, 
baby? Then I promise I'll ignore you all you want."

I shook my head with a smile and moved to retrieve the 
vibrator from the suitcase, dumping both it and the remote 
control on the bed next to him. "No more talking," I said 
gently. "I'm not..."

"I know," he interrupted. "You're not here. You're away at a 
conference and the kids are asleep down the hall." He smiled. 
"Shut up and let me concentrate."

I smiled back and pulled a chair close to the bed, sitting and 
watching as he closed his eyes and mentally transported 
himself to that empty bed in Virginia, the camera cradled in 
my lap. 

"Mulder," he sighed.

I opened my mouth to scold him for involving me again but 
snapped it shut when he sighed and shifted on the bed, rolling 
onto his side and running his hand against the cool sheets 
where I should have been. He was deep in the fantasy. He 
groaned softly and rolled onto his back, throwing his arm 
across his eyes, frustrated. Then he sighed in resignation and 
brought his hand to his chest, gently rolling a nipple between 
two fingers. When it had hardened to a stiff little peak he 
started on the other one, his free hand smoothing down his 
flat stomach to wrap loosely around his stirring length, 
coaxing it to full glory. 

Snap.

He reached for the bottle of lubricant and squeezed a small 
amount on his palm, using it to coat his erection and ease his 
strokes. "Oh," he whispered, his head dropping back on the 
pillow at the smooth friction. He spread his legs and reached 
his other hand down, dipping two fingers tentatively in his 
wet channel. 

Snap.

I bit my lip to hold in any noises that might disrupt him. It 
took every ounce of my willpower to resist the urge to go over 
there and shove his hands aside, replacing them with my own. I 
wanted to touch him, kiss him, feel him come apart under my 
hands. But that would defeat the purpose here. I took a deep 
breath and quietly advanced the film.

Vaughn teased himself for a while longer before reaching for 
the vibrator. He greased it with lubricant and easily slid it 
into his welcoming passage, a soft whimper escaping him as he 
did. I bit back a groan. He pulled the vibrator out and pushed 
it back in slowly.

Snap.

My hands trembled as I advanced the film, my eyes fixed on the 
slick plastic as it slid in and out of his body. He moaned 
softly and reached his right hand to his neck, his fingers 
brushing over the sweet spot beneath his ear that I had 
discovered long ago, likely imagining the feel of my lips 
there while we made love.

Snap. 

After several thrusts he pushed the vibrator as deep as it 
would go and buckled the straps around his waist. He reached 
blindly for the remote and flipped the switch. His back arched 
and he gasped as it hummed to life inside him. Then he slumped 
back, his hips moving in furtive thrusts, biting his lip to 
corral any sounds that might wake the kids who, in his mind, 
were just down the hall.

Snap.

His head lolled from side to side, his breathing accelerating. 
He gave a tiny cry as he pushed the vibrator to the next 
speed, his hips pulsing steadily. He reached the hand not 
clutching the controls down to stroke his neglected cock, his 
movements rapidly becoming frantic and uncoordinated.

Snap.

After a couple minutes he flipped the vibrator to its highest 
setting and dropped the remote, freeing his hand to roll and 
squeeze his rapidly tightening sac. 

Snap.

He gasped suddenly and his hands flew to his sides, clutching 
the already mussed sheets in tight fists.

Snap.

He came moments later with a soft grunt, his bottom lip 
clenched firmly between his teeth. Even in the throws of 
orgasm, he was completely in control.

Snap.

A tiny string of whimpers escaped his lips as he came back 
down from his peak, turning off the vibrator and sagging into 
the bed, sated, a flush spreading over his chest and face.

Snap.

I groaned and tossed the camera onto the dresser, crawling 
into bed beside him. "God, baby, you are so incredible." I 
brushed a few strands of his sweaty hair back with trembling 
fingers. 

He smiled up at me and reached for my newly aroused cock, 
brushing his fingers teasingly against the heated skin. "You 
liked that," he asked with a smile, the twinkle in his eye 
telling me that he knew damn well that I did.

I groaned again and leaned down to kiss him, tilting my hips 
to give him better access and moaning into his mouth as his 
hand wrapped around my throbbing length. He let go suddenly 
and reached to unbuckle the harness holding the vibrator 
inside him without breaking the kiss.

"Baby," I murmured against his lips. "You don't have to..."

"No," he interrupted. "I want to." He sighed and pulled his 
lips away from mine. "Just don't get any ideas. I'm not going 
to come again."

"Are you sure about this? I could just..."

He tossed the vibrator to the other side of the bed and 
manhandled me into position over him, wrapping his legs around 
my hips. "For god's sake, Mulder, just do it!"

My resistance all but crumbled to dust I sank gratefully into 
his welcoming heat, groaning as the slick walls rippled around 
me. I propped myself on my elbows above him and thrust 
tentatively. He hummed and tilted his head to the side, 
exposing his neck to me. I took the offer gladly, kissing the 
smooth skin sloppily.

He moaned and rocked in a steady counter-thrust, his hands 
smoothing down my back to cup my ass.

I lifted my head and looked down at him questioningly. "You 
sure you can't come?"

"Don't push your luck," he growled.

"It's just that I would have settled for a handjob..."

Vaughn pressed two fingers over my lips, silencing me. "I said 
I wouldn't come. I didn't say I wouldn't enjoy it. The two are 
not mutually exclusive."

"Really?"

"Really," he said honestly. "Sex with you always feels really 
good. Orgasms are an added bonus."

I smiled, finally fully understanding the point he had been 
trying to make earlier. "I love you."

He smiled back. "I love you too. Now move." He bucked his hips 
slightly, forcing me to slide deeper into his core.

I moaned and dug my elbows into the mattress, fucking him in 
earnest, the slick sounds of our bodies joining filling the 
room.

Vaughn made soft humming noises of pleasure and opened his 
mouth to my kiss.

I hesitated again, pulling back from his embrace. "Are you 
sure this is okay because it feels kind of like I'm forcing 
myself on you..."

He sighed loudly and surged up against me, rolling me onto my 
back and straddling my lap without sacrificing our connection. 
"Is that better?"

"Much," I moaned.

"Good." He braced himself against my chest and began a steady 
rhythm of thrusts. I took the opportunity to run my hands over 
every inch of his body, feeling the powerful muscles clench 
and release beneath his skin.

I hissed as he pinched my nipples suddenly. Hard. "What was 
that for?"

He raised an eyebrow and looked down. I followed his gaze and 
found my hand, frozen in its downward path, my fingers half 
buried in his pubic hair, dangerously close to his softened 
sex.

"Can't I touch my husband's gorgeous body while we're making 
love," I asked defensively.

He rolled his eyes. "Knock yourself out. But right now, *this* 
is off limits." He yanked my hand upward pointedly, resting it 
higher on his abdomen.

"Fine," I grumbled. "Just keep going. I'm getting close."

He smiled and resumed his movements. I ran my hands sensuously 
over his chest and stomach, skirting his cock and running my 
palms up and down his thighs, feeling the muscles work as he 
rode me.

He leaned down over me, his palms digging into the mattress on 
either side of my head. "I dream about you when you're on 
assignment," he whispered heatedly, his lips brushing my ear. 
"I dream about your cock filling me until I feel like I'm 
gonna burst."

I groaned and bucked against him in a sloppy counter-thrust, 
watching the play of muscles across his back in the ceiling 
mirror.

"I dream about you throwing me down on the nearest surface and 
fucking me until I can't breathe," he continued. "Filling me 
with your come until I can't move without feeling it drip down 
my thighs." He moaned softly and squeezed his vaginal muscles 
around me. "You feel so good. Come for me, please."

I surged against him, fucking him from below. He hissed and 
spread his legs wider, meeting my thrusts easily. 

"Yes," he growled. "Come for me, baby."

I exploded almost immediately, my back arching, my vision 
blurring into nonsensical splashes of color.

I felt him slide from my lap as I came back down, my cock 
slipping from him unceremoniously. When I came back to my 
senses I saw him propped on his elbow beside me, his free hand 
toying idly with my chest hair, smiling triumphantly.

I groaned. "You are insanely good at that."

His hand stopped moving and he gave me a look of mock offense. 
"You're just now figuring that out?"

I laughed breathlessly and pulled his head toward me for a 
kiss. "I love you."

He hummed an agreement against my lips.

********
(Six years ago)

Vaughn's fingers dug almost painfully into my shoulders as I 
moved inside him in long, deep strokes. I moaned softly in his 
ear and gently bit at the fleshy lobe, causing him to gasp. I 
pulled back and looked into his dark eyes, shining in the dim 
light of the bedroom lamp. They were wide and alert, darting 
to the door at the tinniest noise as if afraid one of the kids 
would walk in at any minute.

"Relax," I whispered, my lips brushing the shell of his ear. 
"I locked the door."

"They could still hear us," he argued.

"Are you kidding," I scoffed. "Our kids could sleep through a 
nuclear blast." I rolled my hips upward, aiming for his 
prostate. His back arched and his mouth opened in a silent 
cry. Bingo.

"Just...be quiet," he gasped.

I grunted softly and bent to suck at the fleshy part of his 
throat.

He came minutes later, his whimper muffled by my lips, his 
entire body shuddering beneath me. I swallowed a groan and 
redoubled my efforts, racing toward my own completion.

His eyes widened suddenly and he gripped my shoulders 
uncomfortably tight. "Stop," he whispered.

I froze with not a little difficulty. "What?"

I swallowed a frustrated groan when I heard the doorknob 
rattle seemingly in response. A small voice drifted in from 
the hallway. "Mommy?"

I sighed and pulled out of him with a wince. He reached for 
the box of tissues and hurriedly wiped the mess of semen from 
his abdomen. I crawled from the bed and retrieved both of our 
robes, tossing Vaughn's at him. He caught it easily and 
shrugged into it as he stumbled toward the door, his recent 
orgasm hindering his usual finesse. 

While he opened the door I disappeared into the bathroom to 
take care of my...problem. It didn't take long. After I washed 
up I put on my robe and returned to the bedroom to find Vaughn 
sitting up against the headboard. Lilly was curled in his lap, 
her head on his chest, already almost completely asleep.

"Bad dream," Vaughn explained softly.

I smiled at the image they created and carefully climbed back 
into bed. "Can you sleep like that," I asked as I gently 
fingered the soft blond-brown locks of our daughter's hair. 
She snuffled and burrowed deeper into Vaughn.

"I don't think I have a choice," he murmured with a soft 
chuckle.

I slid back out of bed quietly and went to retrieve a few 
extra pillows from the hall closet. I returned quickly and 
helped him lean forward, piling the pillows behind his back.

"Thank you," he whispered.

I smiled and kissed him in response.

He reached one hand to cup my cheek. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be," I said dismissively. "It's okay."

He sighed. "One of these days we need to get away for a 
weekend. No kids, no work..."

"We will," I vowed.

He smiled tiredly and I kissed him again, running my fingers 
through his hair lovingly before reluctantly standing up. "Get 
some sleep. I'll go check on Lizzie."

********
(Present)

I awoke to find myself spooned behind Vaughn, my arm wrapped 
around him, fingers entwined with his. I smiled as I realized 
he had cuddled himself up to me sometime during the night. I 
tightened my arm around him and pressed a kiss to his bare 
shoulder. He grunted in his sleep and shifted closer to me, 
his ass rubbing temptingly against my cock. Sadly, it failed 
to respond. I continued to kiss my way gradually up to his 
neck. He came awake slowly under my ministrations and 
stretched a little, sinking back into me with an appreciative 
hum.

"Always a nice way to wake up," he murmured sleepily.

"Mmm, glad you like it," I purred into his neck.

He sighed and stretched as much as he could in my grip. "You 
need something," he asked, brushing my knuckles with his lips.

"No. Just enjoying the moment." I sighed, wrapping my arms 
tighter around him. "I don't want this honeymoon to end."

He hummed and shifted in my grasp so he was facing me, 
snuggling against me and slipping his knee between my thighs. 
"I don't either...but I'm starting to miss the kids."

I chuckled. "Yeah. Although you know that in a few years 
they'll all be moved out of the house."

He groaned. "You had to mention that, didn't you?"

"Hey, I'd love to keep them children forever, but we're going 
to have to let them go eventually. Sooner than later."

He sighed. "I know. I'm just dreading the day the last one 
leaves. That house is going to feel so empty without them."

"Well, look at the bright side," I offered, feeling him lean 
into my touch like a contented cat as I rubbed circles on his 
back. "By the time the twins move out we'll probably have 
grandchildren."

Vaughn stilled, a look that was part horror, part sudden 
realization coming over his face. "I'm too young to be a 
grandparent," he groaned.

I laughed. "Come on, it'll be fun! Remember what your mother 
said? You get all the benefits of being around small children 
again but only in short doses and you don't have to discipline 
them. At the end of the day, they go back to their parents 
care."

He squinted at me. "You're going to spoil the hell out of 
them, aren't you?"

I feigned a look of surprise. "I thought that was the job of 
the grandparents."

Vaughn snorted. "I almost feel sorry for our kids."

I raised an eyebrow. "Almost?"

He smirked. "Having kids made me sympathize with my mother for 
all the crap I put her through when I was growing up. I can't 
promise I won't find a little satisfaction in watching our 
kids deal with toddlers in the throws of the Terrible Twos."

I chuckled and kissed his smiling lips. We lapsed into a 
comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the waves 
crash on the beach outside. I traced random patterns on my 
husbands sleep-warmed skin with my fingertips, feeling him 
shiver and curl closer to me. "So is there anything in 
particular you wanted to do today?"

He sighed. "I suppose we can't leave without seeing Hollywood. 
Maybe we can get on a tour."

"I thought we already did that a few years ago."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about a grown up tour that 
includes old Hollywood, the Walk of Fame and all the other 
things we didn't get to see before because we were taking the 
kids from one theme park to another."

I laughed. "Okay, I see your point. But maybe we should go 
back to Universal Studios while we're at it. I hear they added 
some things to the studio tour."

Vaughn shook his head with a smile. "You're worse than the 
kids."

"Oh, come on, it was fun, wasn't it?"

Vaughn laughed. "All right, fine."

I smiled triumphantly and kissed him. "Good." I detangled 
myself from him and climbed out of bed. "We should probably 
get going or we won't have time to do anything today."

He groaned and crawled out of bed after me, slipping past me 
into the bathroom while I dug my toothbrush from the suitcase. 
The shower sputtered to life as I stepped into the bathroom 
behind him. I could see him through the frosted glass, his 
muscles flexing as he ran a bar of soap over his chest. My 
cock stirred with sudden interest, my eyes following the path 
of the water trailing down his body. 

I dumped the toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter by the 
sink and opened the shower door, stepping inside. He didn't 
seem surprised. He merely glanced at my growing hardness and 
handed me the bar of soap. "Could you do my back," he asked 
innocently.

I swallowed a groan and accepted the soap. He turned his back 
to me and I stepped closer. But instead of washing him I 
wrapped my arms around his waist, coaxing his head to tilt to 
the side so I could kiss his neck.

He hummed. "I thought you were in a hurry."

"Hollywood can wait," I murmured against his skin.

********
(15 years ago)

I was standing at the kitchen counter making lunch when a pair 
of strong arms wrapped around me. I hummed and put down the 
knife I had been using to spread mayonnaise as my lover 
pressed heated kisses to my neck.

"Where's Sarah," I asked. 

"Taking a nap," Vaughn replied, his voice low and raspy. His 
tongue flicked hotly against my ear. "I want you."

I groaned, feeling all of my blood instantly rush south. For 
the past few weeks I had been reminded of just how insatiable 
Vaughn's sexual appetite could be during his second trimester 
of pregnancy. 

I turned in his arms and kissed him deeply. "Bedroom," I 
mumbled.

He shook his head and pushed me toward the dinette, hooking 
his foot around the leg of the nearest chair and dragging it 
from under the table before shoving me into it.

I groaned again and fumbled to remove his pants. He nearly 
ripped the button off of mine in his urgency. 

When we were both naked from the waist down he yanked me 
forward, straddled my lap and sank onto my cock.

"God, you're so wet," I groaned.

"And you're so big," he gasped back playfully, already 
beginning to move.

I smoothed my hands up his thighs and around to cup his ass, 
feeling the muscles squeeze and release as he rode me. "I'm 
serious."

"So am I."

I chuckled and brought my hands back around to his front, 
unbuttoning the bottom few buttons of his shirt and pushing it 
aside to expose his rapidly growing abdomen, smoothing my 
palms over the stretched skin. His breath hitched.

"Sensitive," I asked softly. 

He moaned. "Everything's sensitive."

A smirk spread across my face and I undid the remaining 
buttons on his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders. He 
shrugged out of it completely, letting the material flutter to 
the ground.

He gave a small cry when I leaned forward to flick one dark 
nipple with my tongue. "Gentle," he croaked.

I licked around the large areola, leisurely, reveling in his 
tiny whimpers and the stuttering motion of his hips. A tiny 
bead of milk formed on his left nipple and I lapped it away 
gently. He moaned, his head lolling on his shoulders. 

I reached between our bodies to swipe some excess moisture 
from him, coating my fingers. Then I reached behind him and 
massaged his puckered entrance. His breathing quickened, his 
movements faltering slightly. I plunged my middle finger 
inside almost to the second knuckle and he gasped, his eyes 
rolling back in his head. Two more sloppy thrusts later he 
came, his entire body shuddering.

I caught him as he slumped against my chest, his panting 
breaths hot in my ear. I held him quietly for several 
heartbeats, stroking his back, trying to ignore the throbbing 
of my cock. "I assume you're not finished," I finally asked 
gently.

"Fuck, no," he moaned.

I reached for the box of Kleenex on the table and wiped my 
fingers. "Can you stand up?"

I helped him climb from my lap. He stood before me on wobbling 
knees as I gently wiped various spilled fluids from him and 
tossed the Kleenex toward the garbage can. Then I stood and 
maneuvered him around, pushing him into my seat. He spread his 
legs and watched from beneath hooded eyes as I removed my 
shirt before kneeling on the floor in front of him.

I paused for a moment to admire the sight of my lover sprawled 
carelessly on the kitchen chair, one arm resting on the table, 
the other on the gentle swell of his abdomen. His skin was 
flushed and glistening with sweat, his chest heaving slightly. 
His eyes were bright, his lips full and kiss swollen. I knew 
part of it could be explained by his recent orgasm, but I was 
sure that even more of it could be attributed to his 
pregnancy. He was glowing.

I massaged the inside of his thighs, spreading his knees wide 
and moving between them. "You are so beautiful," I whispered.

A slow smile spread across his lips, the hand that had been 
resting on the table moving to stroke my hair lovingly.

I bent to kiss his abdomen reverently, marveling once again at 
the tiny miracle growing inside him. I kissed my way down to 
his bobbing length, taking the sensitive head in my mouth and 
sucking gently. He moaned, his head dropping back against the 
chair, his eyes closed. I dipped two fingers into his drenched 
channel, curling them upward to gently stroke his prostate. 

"I'm gonna come," he gasped a few minutes later, his cock 
halfway in my mouth, his body squeezing the three fingers I 
had buried in him. He groaned, gripping the table and chair 
until his knuckles turned white in an effort to stem the urge 
to thrust.

I responded by relaxing my throat and swallowing him to the 
hilt.

He cried out, his hips bucking, pumping his semen down my 
throat. I swallowed with practiced ease and licked him clean 
as he lay slumped in the chair, quivering with residual 
pleasure.

I kissed my way back up his body, lapping away a tiny rivulet 
of milk that had escaped. He accepted my kiss eagerly, opening 
his mouth for my tongue and moaning softly at the taste of his 
own essence. 

He pushed me away suddenly and stood on wobbly legs, shoving 
the chair aside and bending over the table, his elbows 
pressing into the hard wood. He spread his legs and rolled his 
hips back, giving me an inviting view of his splayed opening.

"Please," he whimpered.

I groaned and stepped between his legs, steadying his hips 
with firm hands and sliding my painfully hard cock inside him 
with a hiss.

He moaned and rocked against me, his back arching. I pulled 
out and thrust slowly back in, reveling in the way his body 
opened up and welcomed me inside. I reached under him and 
gently flicked his nipples with my thumbs, forcing a throaty 
groan from him.

"Harder," he growled after a few long strokes.

I thrust a little bit more forcefully, leaning forward to 
nibble at the back of his neck.

"Damnit Mulder, harder," he groaned. "I'm not going to break!"

I hesitated before slamming into him with barely restrained 
force. He yelped and arched his back. "Yes," he hissed.

I held his hips steady, keeping him from banging his engorged 
abdomen into the edge of the table and angled my thrusts down, 
dragging the tip of my cock against his prostate, causing us 
both to moan. 

He came with a soft wail, his back arching from the table. I 
followed almost immediately, biting his shoulder as I poured 
myself into him in powerful spurts.

"Are you okay," I gasped when I came back to awareness.

He groaned and nodded.

I nuzzled his neck, inhaling the scent of hot sweaty skin 
mixed with the heady smell of sex. He shivered.

"Are you cold," I asked innocently.

"No," he slurred. "But this table is starting to feel 
uncomfortable."

I stood up and slowly pulled my limp cock from his body before 
helping him sit back in the chair. "Rest for a minute."

He nodded and watched as I cleaned up the mess we had made. 
Then he picked up his shirt from the floor and shrugged into 
it, fumbling to get it buttoned. 

I threw the last of the sodden paper towels in the garbage and 
stood back, watching him dress. He had finally succeeded in 
buttoning the shirt and was working on his pants. He smiled 
warily when he caught me watching.

"What?"

I smirked. "Just admiring the view."

He laughed. "Weren't you getting lunch ready?"

"Before I was so rudely interrupted? Yes," I said, turning to 
wash my hands. "You hungry?"

"Starved."

I picked up the knife and resumed making the sandwiches. "Can 
you get us something to drink?" I heard the fridge door open a 
few seconds later. "Thanks babe," I added.

I turned when I heard a loud crunch and discovered that, in 
addition to water, Vaughn had grabbed a pickle and was 
steadily devouring it.

I smiled and turned back to the sandwiches. I heard him 
rummage around in the cupboards a bit and open the fridge 
again in the time it took me to finish. When I brought the 
plates of sandwiches to the table he was sitting in his usual 
chair, using another pickle to scrape peanut butter out of the 
jar.

"Vaughn," I scolded. "You could at least use a spoon or 
something instead of getting pickle juice in the peanut 
butter."

He shrugged. "There wasn't that much left." He waved the empty 
jar at me for emphasis. "We're out of peanut butter, by the 
way."

I sat in the chair next to him. "I just bought some last 
weekend!"

"Yeah, well, tell that to your son," he muttered, tossing the 
empty jar at the open garbage can and taking a bite from his 
sandwich. "I also finished that bag of sunflower seeds," he 
added around a mouthful. "I put it on the grocery list."

"How are we going to teach the kids to not talk with their 
mouths full if you do it all the time," I asked.

He swallowed. "I'll worry about it when they're eating solid 
foods."

I pressed my lips together firmly to hold in a laugh and shook 
my head, reaching over to thumb a bit of mayonnaise from his 
chin. He grinned and took another big bite of sandwich.

We lapsed into a comfortable silence as we finished our lunch. 
No sooner had Vaughn put the last bite in his mouth than a 
tiny whimper drifted from the baby monitor by the stove, 
followed quickly by a full blown cry. 

"I assume she wants you," I said, observing the wet spots 
forming on Vaughn's shirt.

"Yeah, I got it." He gulped the last of his water and darted 
from the room.

I cleaned the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, 
listening to Vaughn's voice on the baby monitor as he soothed 
our daughter and settled in the rocking chair near her crib to 
feed her.

I followed after I had finished and stood in the doorway to 
Sarah's room, taking in the sight. Vaughn reclined comfortably 
in the chair, his shirt unbuttoned, cradling our daughter in 
his left arm. He watched her nurse lovingly, the thumb of his 
right hand absently stroking the tiny hand that held his index 
finger in a stranglehold. He looked up at me suddenly and 
smiled. "What?"

I smiled back. "Nothing. I was just thinking about how lucky I 
am."

Vaughn's features softened. "Come here," he said quietly.

I moved to stand beside the chair and bent to kiss him 
tenderly. Sarah made a soft gurgling noise and I looked down 
to see her begin to squirm, Vaughn's nipple sliding wetly from 
her mouth along with a slew of "baby speak" that only Vaughn 
claimed to understand. I snatched the towel from Vaughn's 
shoulder and draped it over my own, holding out my hands. "I 
can take her."

Vaughn transferred her to my arms and I automatically began 
patting her back gently. "Thanks," he murmured. "I'll go get 
cleaned up."

"Don't take too long," I teased, pausing in my burping motions 
to swat his backside playfully when he turned his back. 

He groaned and ducked out of the room without another word. 

********
(Present)

"Maybe we should retire here," I suggested as we walked along 
the beach. It was our last day in Santa Barbara and Vaughn 
seemed determined to spend the entirety of it outside. The 
restaurant overlooking the ocean had cost more than I thought 
reasonable for a dinner for two but Vaughn had insisted – even 
offering to pay the bill. I had to admit, the setting was 
romantic.

Vaughn hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe. It depends on the kids. I 
don't want to move all the way out here if they're going to 
stay on the East coast."

I smiled and squeezed the hand I held. "Okay."

We reached a rock-strewn path leading up to a lookout point 
and Vaughn immediately went to follow it. I tightened my hold 
on his hand, pulling him back. "Maybe we should start going 
back. It'll be getting dark soon."

He smiled and kissed me briefly. "That's why we have to 
hurry."

I swallowed a groan and clambered up the hill after him, 
tripping almost immediately over a loose rock and falling on 
my ass with a grunt.

"You okay," Vaughn called from several feet ahead.

"If I say no will you kiss it better?"

Vaughn laughed. "Come on you big baby."

I grumbled and climbed to my feet, forcing myself to pay more 
attention to the terrain underfoot and less to the sight of my 
husband's ass swaying invitingly.

When we reached the top, the path curved, flattened and ended 
abruptly. Vaughn stepped from the path and approached the 
lookout point close to a steep ledge.

"Hey, not so close," I yelped.

"Relax," he said. "I'm not going to do anything crazy."

I rolled my eyes but wisely chose not to comment. "So why, 
exactly, did we come up here?"

Vaughn reached for my hand and guided me to stand beside him. 
He smiled radiantly and nodded toward the ocean. "Look."

"Yes, I know. It's the ocean. We have a very similar view of 
it from our hotel room."

He rolled his eyes and grabbed me by the chin, forcing me to 
turn my head. "Look!"

I sighed and squinted, trying to determine what about this 
particular view made it worth having to find out way back to 
the hotel in the dark. My breath caught as I saw it – the 
unobscured view of the rapidly setting sun against the vast 
expanse of ocean.

"Can't see that in Virginia," he said with a hint of smugness.

"I should have brought the camera," I lamented.

Vaughn smiled and reached into one of the pockets of his suit, 
producing a familiar disposable camera. "Still have about half 
a roll left.

I shook my head in amazement. "You had this whole evening 
planned out, didn't you?"

He smirked and lined up a shot. "I've been planning it for 
years. Long before you finally proposed." He snapped the 
picture and advanced the film. "I still can't believe we 
forgot the digital."

"It's probably a good thing," I offered. "This way we won't 
have a memory card lying around for the kids to find.

Vaughn shuddered. "Good point. By the way, let me know where 
you drop this film so I know where I can never shop again."

"I wasn't planning on bringing it to a store."

Vaughn stiffened and looked at me with a horrified expression. 
"You are *not* giving it to the Lone Gunmen."

"Hey, I trust them," I said defensively. "I don't want some 
crooked one hour photo developer posting pictures of you to 
the Internet or handing them to a reporter at the National 
Enquirer."

He faltered. He knew I had a point. "You know I could never 
face them again knowing they saw these," he said, waving the 
camera for emphasis.

"They can be discreet. Besides, it's not like they haven't 
seen you naked before. Who do you think developed the pictures 
I take with me on assignment?"

"Yeah and Byers still can't look me in the eye," he fired 
back.

"That's not entirely due to the pictures," I said without 
thinking.

Vaughn stared at me. "Mulder, what did you do?"

"Nothing...it's just guy talk."

Vaughn groaned. "What have you been telling them?" I opened my 
mouth to reply but he cut me off with a wave. "Never mind, I 
don't want to know."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his neck. "They 
like you. Frohike always says you're a good influence on me." 
Vaughn snorted and leaned into my embrace. "They're your 
friends now too," I continued. "You can trust them."

"It's not that I don't trust them. I just don't want all of 
our friends knowing the details of our sex lives. I don't care 
what strangers think but I have to see these people on a 
regular basis. It's embarrassing. And I'm sorry but the 
possibility of Frohike knowing what I look like at the moment 
of orgasm creeps me out."

I laughed. "Don't let him get to you. He may be a pervert, but 
he's harmless. If you give back as good as you get he'll give 
you his complete respect." I paused. "He's sort of like a dog 
in a way."

"Only that way?" Vaughn muttered. Then he sighed. "Fine. Just 
don't be surprised if I never want to talk to any of them 
again.

"Deal," I laughed. I kissed his neck sweetly and he hummed, 
tilting his head to give me better access and leaning into my 
embrace. "You know, we don't have any pictures of me on that 
thing."

Vaughn held the camera at arm's length, turned the lens toward 
us and depressed the shutter. "Now we do."

I chuckled. "Okay, smartass." He twisted his head around and 
stuck his tongue out at me. I swatted his chest and he 
laughed.

We sat on the rocky lookout, Vaughn comfortably nestled in my 
arms, watching the sun dip below the horizon. "We should get 
back," I finally murmured, my lips brushing his ear lazily. 

"Mmm," he hummed. He reluctantly let me stand and pull him to 
his feet, kissing me on the lips. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? It was your idea."

He smiled. "Thank you for indulging me. I know I've been 
pushing you all day."

I shook my head. "Hey, you always were the hopeless romantic." 
I stroked his jaw, feeling the roughness of his stubble abrade 
my skin. "I'll go along with anything if it'll make you 
happy."

He smiled and cupped my face in his hands, pulling me in for a 
deeper kiss. He broke it to lean in further and I shivered as 
his breath teased my ear. "Should we see if the camera works 
on reflective surfaces," he asked, his voice dropping into a 
low register that never failed to excite me.

I groaned, instantly picking up the reference to the mirrored 
ceiling, feeling the blood from my brain begin to flow south, 
making me dizzy. "God, I love you."

He leaned back, flashing me a wide grin, and gave me a peck on 
the nose. Then he turned and started back down the hill. I 
took a deep breath, trying to calm myself for the long trek 
back to the hotel, and followed him.

********
(6 years later)

"I'm getting too old for this," I thought wearily. I should 
have been at home, enjoying a nice retirement. Instead I was 
sitting in a van near Central Park overseeing a joint FBI/CIA 
operation. I watched on the satellite feed as two figures 
approached a park bench and casually sat down. The comm unit 
in my ear came to life with a small squeak.

"Base, this is Boyscout," my husband announced. "We're in 
position."

"Read you loud and clear, Boyscout," I replied. "How's Monarch 
doing?"

"I'm fine, Dad," Vaughn's "partner" replied. "Relax. This 
isn't my first mission."

In spite of all attempts to guide her toward other, more 
normal lines of work, Sarah had followed in Vaughn's footsteps 
and joined the CIA her first year of college. She had risen 
through the ranks with remarkable speed, rivaled only by 
Sydney Bristow. She was an excellent agent, but that didn't 
stop me and Vaughn from worrying about her being in the field.

"Mountaineer, what's your status," the CIA tech expert - 
Rachel Gibson - asked from beside me.

"Approaching from the North," Sydney replied in a low voice. 
"No sign of the target yet." I spotted her several yards from 
Vaughn and Sarah, coffee cup in one hand, newspaper in the 
other. She sat on a bench across the clearing and opened her 
newspaper, pretending to read it, her tinted sunglasses 
keeping passerby from knowing that her eyes were really 
scanning the park, searching for potential hostiles.

It was late on a Monday morning and the area our target had 
chosen for the meet was off the beaten path. Public, but not 
too public. It was an easy mission, really. A former member of 
a Russian terrorist cell operating in the US had contacted us, 
claiming to have information valuable to the American 
government. He would tell us what he knew in exchange for our 
protection.

"Possible target approaching at six o'clock," Sarah murmured.

"Copy that, Monarch."

"I see him," Sydney confirmed. "Sending visual."

On the satellite, Sydney casually reached to adjust her 
glasses. 

Rachel tapped a few buttons on her computer and an image of 
our target appeared on the screen, transmitted from Sydney's 
photographic lenses.

"Copy that Mountaineer, we're receiving the image now," I 
confirmed.

Rachel ran the image through the CIA database and a name 
flashed across the screen moments later. "Got him," she 
announced. "His name is Yuri Plachenkov. Formerly K-
Directorate, current employment unknown."

"Copy that, Oracle," Vaughn murmured.

Yuri halted in front of Vaughn and Sarah. He said something in 
rapid fire Russian. Vaughn replied smoothly in near equally 
fluent Russian.

"I thought you were coming alone," Yuri said nervously, his 
English thickly accented.

"She's my daughter," Vaughn replied evenly. "She works with 
me."

Yuri laughed and sat beside Vaughn on the bench. "I should 
have guessed. She looks like you."

"Were you followed," Sarah asked.

"I do not think so."

The satellite image stuttered suddenly, the pixels moving in 
seemingly random, jerking motions for a moment before fading 
completely into static.

"What happened," I asked.

Rachel began typing frantically. "Somebody hacked into our 
feed."

I dimly heard Vaughn, Yuri and Sarah continue their 
conversation. "Is it local or remote," I asked.

"Get down," Vaughn shouted suddenly. A second later the sound 
of gunshots filled the comm channel. The world around me 
seemed to come to a grinding halt, the breath freezing in my 
lungs as I imagined the worst.

"The target has been shot," Sydney said urgently. "I have a 
visual on the shooter! I'm going after him!"

"What happened," I demanded. "All team members, do you copy?"

My daughter's frantic voice came over the line a moment later. 
"Boyscout is down! I repeat, Boyscout is down! Request 
immediate medical assistance!"

I was out of the van and running toward the park before I even 
registered the movement. I dimly heard Rachel call my name, 
but I didn't respond. I couldn't. All I could think about was 
the fact that my husband was hurt - possibly dying

I arrived at the park to find barely contained chaos. What 
bystanders hadn't fled the scene were standing cautiously 
nearby - not helping, just gawking. I had a fleeting urge to 
scream at them to get lost, but it subsided quickly when I 
caught sight of Vaughn. He lay on his back on the sidewalk, 
his gun fallen beside him. Sarah knelt over him, pressing her 
already bloodstained sweater to his stomach, whispering 
frantically to him.

I dropped to my knees on his other side and automatically 
removed my jacket, sliding it beneath his head. "Are you 
okay," I asked Sarah.

"I'm fine," she said thickly. "He jumped in front of me."

'Of course he did,' I thought. I would have done the same 
thing. I pulled off my suit jacket and draped it over his 
shoulders, hoping to stave off shock. "I'm here," I murmured, 
soothing his forehead.

His dazed eyes found mine and he breathed my name, holding a 
bloodied hand out to me. I took it and squeezed gently. "The 
ambulance is on its way. Just stay with me." I gently pulled 
the comm unit from his ear and turned it off, yanking out my 
own and slipping them both in my pocket. Sarah took the cue 
and reached one hand up to shut off her own comm, leaving a 
small streak of blood on her cheek.

"Shooter," Vaughn asked, wincing as Sarah reapplied pressure 
to the wound.

"Sydney's taking care of it," I assured him gently. "Don't 
worry."

He nodded and reached his other hand to cover Sarah's. "It's 
okay."

I wanted to laugh at the irony. Trust my husband to try to 
console our daughter when he was bleeding from a gunshot 
wound.

"You shouldn't have done that," Sarah muttered. "I could have 
ducked."

Vaughn shook his head with a wince. "No time." He shivered and 
moaned softly as the adrenaline began to wear off, letting the 
pain and shock rise to the surface.

I bit back my anxiety and stroked his hair. "Stay with me, 
baby."

He visibly struggled to keep his eyes open. They were shining 
with moisture – likely from pain or fear or both – as they met 
mine. "Tired," he whispered.

I squeezed his hand. "I know, baby, but try to stay with me." 
I heard sirens in the distance and mentally urged them to 
hurry. Vaughn whimpered, a frown wrinkling his forehead.

"Sorry," Sarah muttered, her voice thick and unsteady with 
tears. "Hold on Mom."

He was barely conscious by the time the ambulance arrived. The 
EMTs replaced Sarah's hands with a pressure bandage and pushed 
us gently aside so they could load him into the ambulance. 

Sarah stood to one side, her bloodied hands held in front of 
her, watching as Vaughn was transferred to a stretcher. I 
placed a hand on her shoulder, gently drawing her back to the 
present. Her worried gaze met mine belatedly. "Go with him. 
I'll meet you there." I knew we would both need to report back 
to our director but I also knew that at that moment Sarah 
would be too rattled to do so. I could remain composed for the 
time being – though I knew that composure wouldn't last.

Sarah nodded and hugged me tightly. The EMTs loaded Vaughn 
into the ambulance and Sarah clambered after them. I caught a 
glimpse of her reaching from her position out of the way of 
the medics to grip his hand before the doors slammed shut and 
the ambulance drove off.

**********

By the time I arrived at the hospital, Sarah had cleaned up 
somewhat, though she still had errant bloodstains on her 
blouse. She sat stiffly in a waiting room chair, her knee 
bouncing impatiently.  A bag containing her bloodstained 
sweater sat on the chair next to her. She leapt up when she 
saw me and hugged me tightly.

"He's still in surgery," she murmured in my ear, her voice 
calmer but now holding a trace of anger. She pulled back and 
fixed me with a firey gaze. "Did we catch the son of a bitch?"

I shook my head regretfully. She hissed and glared into a 
corner of the room past my shoulder, her fingers twitching 
against my arms as if imagining what she would do if the man 
who had shot Vaughn were to saunter into the room at that 
moment. 

"You said he jumped in front of you," I prompted. "Is it 
possible he wasn't the target?"

She sighed, her anger simmering to a low boil. "My guess is he 
intended to kill us all, starting with Yuri. He didn't realize 
Sydney was with us. When she and Mom made him he panicked and 
ran."

Sydney had already said as much. Why the shooter had tried to 
take out Sarah before Vaughn had initially made little sense 
until I thought about the way the silver hair at Vaughn's 
temples glinted in the sunlight. Likely, the shooter had 
overestimated Vaughn's seniority and assumed he would be less 
of a threat than his younger "partner".

I guided Sarah back to her seat and sat beside her, holding 
her hand firmly. 

"I called Will and the girls," she continued. "They're on 
their way. And I called Brad. He said he'd be here as soon as 
school lets out."

Brad was Sarah's fiance – a charming high school teacher she 
had met through mutual acquaintance. He knew what Sarah – and 
her parents – did for a living, though not the specifics. He 
wasn't any more fond of the idea of his future bride taking 
dangerous assignments than we were but he supported her 
nonetheless – worshipped her even. "I had something I needed 
to tell Mom, but I didn't get a chance..."

I squeezed her hand. "Hey, he'll be all right. He's been 
through worse." I smiled. "You know your mother – he's 
stubborn. It'd take a lot more than one bullet to make him 
give up."

She laughed in spite of herself. "You always have to be the 
positive one, don't you?"

"Yes," I said honestly. "My job was always dangerous enough, 
but your mother's...I can't count the number of times he came 
home bruised and battered. We hid his injuries from you kids 
when you were really little. Every time he was on assignment I 
had nightmares about him never coming home and I panicked 
every time the phone rang – certain it was bad news. But I 
learned to trust him. He's a good agent and he has good 
instincts."

She shook her head. "I knew." I frowned. "You hid his injuries 
from us but I always knew. You were...different when he came 
home injured. More nurturing, I think. That and you wouldn't 
let him do any household chores and scolded us for being 
'rough' with him."

I smiled guiltily. "We could never hide anything from you."

A tiny giggle escaped her. "Oh, believe me, I know enough to 
keep a therapist busy for years."

I groaned and cursed the house's thin walls and creaky bed.

"Ms. Vaughn," a tentative voice asked.

Sarah looked up at the woman in surgical scrubs standing a 
couple feet away. "Vaughn-Mulder," she corrected.

The woman smiled and held her hand out to shake first Sarah's, 
then mine. "I'm Dr. Price." She regarded me questioningly, 
silently prompting me to introduce myself. 

"Fox Mulder. I'm Michael's husband."

She nodded. "I just finished Michael's surgery. He should be 
moved to recovery soon." She paused, her expression suggesting 
she had both good and bad news. "We were able to remove the 
bullet, but it had already done significant damage to his 
uterus. I'm afraid we had to remove the organ."

My stomach sank and I felt Sarah's grip on my arm tighten. "Is 
he going to be okay," she asked softly.

"I can't say for certain yet," Dr. Price said cautiously. "But 
right now I don't see a reason he shouldn't make a full 
recovery."

I felt rather than heard my daughter's sigh of relief, my own 
shoulders sagging, the worried tension flowing from me. "When 
can we see him?"

"I'll have someone come find you when he's moved to a room."

Sarah nodded. "Thank you."

Dr. Price smiled. "No problem."

"Dad," a voice yelped seconds after the doctor left. I looked 
up to see Lizzie barreling down the hall toward us, followed 
by Lilly and Will. At one time the twins had been nearly 
impossible to tell apart, but in their teen years, in their 
quest for individuality, they had become as different as night 
and day. Lizzie, the "good girl", dressed like any other 
teenage girl, but Lilly had developed a rebel streak. Her hair 
was always dyed jet black except for two strands which always 
hung in her face and changed color depending on her mood. She 
wasn't really different from her sister below the surface, but 
I was waiting with dread for the day she decided she wanted a 
tattoo.

I stood and nearly got the wind knocked from me as Lizzie 
collided into me. "They pulled us out of class," she whimpered 
into my shoulder. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He just came out of surgery and the doctor says he 
should recover."

"What happened," Lilly demanded. "Will wouldn't tell us 
anything."

"Hey," Will yelped. "Don't blame me! Sar wouldn't give me the 
details."

"Mom's been shot," Sarah explained as she hugged each of her 
siblings in turn. She repeated the information Dr. Price had 
given us.

"Did you guys catch the bastard who shot him," Lilly asked, 
fire lighting her eyes, looking not unlike her older sister.

"We're trying," I answered. It wasn't a lie so much as a 
partial truth.

Will blew out a breath and sagged in his chair. "Guess it's a 
good thing you guys weren't planning on having more kids."

Sarah whapped him in the arm and I gave him a withering look. 
"Thanks for trying to look on the bright side," I said, my 
voice dripping with sarcasm.

He smiled. "Hey, it's always worked before."

I was struck, as I always seemed to be, by how much Will 
looked like Vaughn. Same eyes, same nose...same smile. His 
perpetual need to cheer people up and crack jokes no matter 
how tasteless and inappropriate, however, he got from me. 
"Have you registered for next semester yet," I asked, 
welcoming the reprieve of topic change. He was right. Worrying 
wouldn't do any good right now.

He groaned. "Yes, would you guys get off my back already?"

"Hey, do you want to graduate by the time you're thirty?"

He rolled his eyes. "I will. Don't worry."

The twins were hesitantly discussing their day at school when 
a petite Asian woman arrived. "Are you here for Michael 
Vaughn?"

I stood. "Yes."

She nodded and reached to shake my hand. "You must be the 
husband." I nodded. "I'm nurse Wong. I can take you to him 
now."

We followed her down several hallways to his room. My stomach 
twisted in painful sympathy. He lay peacefully on the bed, 
though I knew that was mostly due to the drugs. An oxygen mask 
covered half of his pale face and various tubes and wires ran 
in and out of him.

"He will not wake for several hours yet," the nurse explained. 
"I can have some chairs brought in if you would like..."

"Yes," I heard Sarah reply as I moved to Vaughn's side. "Thank 
you."

I stroked his forehead and bent my face close to his. "Hey, 
baby. We're all here for you. We'll be here when you wake up."

I turned as Sarah placed a hand on my shoulder. "I should go 
give them my statement before Brad gets here," she said 
apologetically. I nodded in understanding and craned my neck 
to kiss her cheek. She reached for Vaughn's hand and squeezed. 
"I'll be back soon," she promised. "Hang on, Mom." She 
sniffled slightly and turned to address me. "If anything 
happens...if he wakes up..."

"I'll call you," I promised.

She nodded, gave Vaughn's hand one last squeeze and patted my 
shoulder before turning to leave. "Will, can I borrow your 
car?"

Will jumped at the chance to do something useful. "Uh, yeah, 
sure. Actually, I'll drive you."

"Thanks," Sarah murmured, following him out the door. 

The twins hovered uneasily. I gestured for them to come closer 
and Lizzie sidled up to me, tentatively placing her hand over 
Vaughn's. "He's cold," she said, surprised.

"I'll ask for another blanket when they bring the chairs," I 
promised.

Lilly stepped closer on the other side of the bed. "Can he 
hear us?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But it can't hurt to talk to him 
anyway. Let him know we're here."

She nodded and placed her hand on his arm.

I smiled softly at our daughters lending their mother their 
support and marveled, not for the first time, at how truly 
lucky we were.

***********
(Hours later)

I half listened to Lizzie ramble on about her day and the 
various social dramas at school to Vaughn. She had calmed 
since her arrival and was now anxious for Vaughn to wake up. 
Lilly sat beside me reading a magazine, rolling her eyes every 
time her sister said something she thought was especially 
ridiculous. Will was out in the lobby talking on his cell 
phone. But most of my attention was on Sarah, who was standing 
in the hall talking quietly with Brad, as she had been since 
she got back from the operations center. His body language 
made it clear he was worried about her. He was also angry, but 
it wasn't clear who or what he was angry with. Sarah kept 
nodding, visibly fighting back tears. I could tell, even 
without hearing the words, that she was reassuring him that 
she was all right and possibly explaining to him – in 
necessarily vague terms – what had happened.

"What, are you trying to annoy Mom back to consciousness," 
Will joked as he came back in the room. 

"Shut up, you jerk," Lizzie retorted.

Will stuck his tongue out at her and flopped into his chair. 

"Shouldn't he be awake by now," Lilly asked worriedly. 

"He was shot," Will said not unkindly. "It's not like he had 
his tonsils removed. It's gonna take a while."

Sarah came back in the room, her fiance right behind her. "Any 
change," she asked.

"Doctor Will here thinks it's going to be a while still," 
Lizzie said, her voice dripping sarcasm. 

"How did it go," I asked.

Sarah sank into the chair beside me. "Same as usual. Sydney 
promised she'd come by as soon as she gets a chance. She said 
if we need anything..."

I nodded. Sydney was always willing to do anything for my 
family. And she was as much of a protective mother bear toward 
our kids as she was her own. I glanced at Brad, who was 
talking to Will about girls, as usual. "Is everything okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I just...there's something I really need to 
tell you and Mom."

I turned in my chair to face her more fully. "What? Is 
something wrong?"

"No, I..." she hesitated. "Nothing's wrong. Now is just a 
really bad time."

I frowned. "Whatever it is, you can talk to me..."

She smiled sadly. "I'd rather wait until Mom's awake."

I wanted to push further but reminded myself that she was an 
adult. She was also smart. If she felt she needed to talk to 
us both at the same time then she probably had a good reason 
and I should respect her decision. "Okay," I said reluctantly.

*********

After being assured that Vaughn was showing signs of returning 
to consciousness but that there was no telling how long it 
would take, the kids settled in to watch old sitcoms on the 
hospital room television.

I drifted off to the sound of canned laughter, only to be 
shaken awake what felt like seconds later. I was instantly 
alert, though my brain was slow to kick in in all but the most 
basic fight or flight response.

"Mom's awake," Will's voice said as his face swam into focus.

I shook the cobwebs from my head and looked to the bed. Vaughn 
still lay in the same position but his eyes were open and 
focused on Sarah, who hovered by his head, speaking softly to 
him. Lilly hovered behind her and Lizzie perched at his other 
side, clutching his left hand tightly.

"Water," Sarah said softly and Lilly made for the door. 

"I've got it," Will announced before she got there and rushed 
into the hall in search of a nurse.

I stumbled to my feet and nearly knocked over my chair as I 
moved around Lizzie and leaned over Vaughn. His eyes met mine 
slowly and he smiled faintly beneath his oxygen mask. I smiled 
back, relieved. "Hey, baby, how do you feel?"

"Like I've been shot," he whispered, barely audible from 
beneath the mask.

I laughed softly and ran my fingers gently through his hair. 
"You're going to be okay," I said firmly. "But I'm not letting 
you do this anymore. You're retiring if I have to file the 
paperwork myself. And before you even try to argue with me: 
I'm not doing this to protect you. I'm doing it for my health. 
I can't take any more ulcers worrying about you being on 
assignment. I get enough of them worrying about Sarah."

Vaughn reached up with the hand Lizzie didn't have a death 
grip on and pulled his mask off. Sarah helped him, resting it 
beneath his chin in case he needed it again. "You first," he 
whispered.

I smiled. "We'll both retire. I think my mother's place in 
Martha's Vineyard is up for sale. It's not Malibu but it has a 
good view."

Vaughn smiled. "That sounds nice..."

Will came back with a cup of ice chips and a nurse in tow. 
Sarah and Lilly moved to allow the nurse to look Vaughn over. 
She asked him several standard questions to determine his 
mental state (where are you? what's your name? what year is 
it?) and checked his pulse and pupils.

She smiled as she straightened. "I'll have Dr. Price come by 
to look at you when she has a chance, but I'd say you're doing 
very well so far. Just don't let these guys wear you out." She 
winked at him and left. Sarah returned to her former position 
and spooned ice chips into his mouth.

Vaughn coughed lightly. "Liz, honey, I need that hand," he 
said, his voice getting stronger.

"Sorry," Lizzie mumbled guiltily, loosening her grip.

Vaughn smiled and gave her hand a light squeeze. "It's okay. 
I'm not going anywhere."

"How's the pain," I asked, my fingers still tunneling absently 
through his hair. 

"Okay...the drugs must still be working. I had worse giving 
birth to the twins."

I held back a flinch. "Honey...the bullet damaged your uterus. 
The doctor had to remove it."

Vaughn's expression barely changed. "How bad?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What are the repercussions?"

"Oh." I cleared my throat. "Uh, well, you shouldn't need 
hormone therapy at your age. There's no reason you shouldn't 
be able to function normally, though now that vasectomy seems 
redundant. 

Vaughn snorted lightly and winced.

My own smile faltered. "Hey, easy," I soothed.

Vaughn groaned. "I think I'll be happy with grandkids from now 
on."

Sarah cleared her throat. "Uh, speaking of kids...there's 
something I've been meaning to tell all of you. Now's probably 
not the best time but...oh, hell, I can't wait any longer. I'm 
pregnant."

The ensuing shocked silence was broken by a sharp squeal from 
Lizzie. She dropped Vaughn's hand and ran around the bed, 
throwing her arms around her big sister's neck. 

Lilly beamed and hugged Sarah once Lizzie released her 
stranglehold.

"Has anybody offered to plan the baby shower yet," Lizzie 
asked.

"Ah, no," Sarah said with a laugh. "You guys and Brad are the 
only ones who know yet, so the job's yours if you want it."

Lizzie clapped her hands gleefully, practically vibrating with 
excitement. 

I felt anger bubbling up inside me. "Brad knows and he didn't 
try to stop you from going on this mission?"

Vaughn put a hand on my arm. "Mulder..."

"I didn't know we would be shot at," she said defensively. 
"But if it makes you feel any better he's not happy about it 
either."

"If Vaughn hadn't jumped in front of you..."

"Mulder," Vaughn said, his voice a little louder, if not any 
stronger. "I was in Argentina when I found out I was pregnant 
with Sarah," he admitted when he'd gotten my attention. "I 
fought two guards twice my size and engaged in a pretty heavy 
firefight on that mission."

"Well, that explains why Sar turned out the way she did," Will 
joked, putting a hand on her back and bending to kiss the top 
of her head. "Congratulations, sis."

She smiled and ruffled his hair playfully. Then she smiled 
nervously at me and Vaughn. Vaughn gestured for her to come 
closer. 

"Try to be careful," he said as she leaned closer. "Don't take 
any jobs that you know are going to be dangerous. Recon only, 
as much as possible. Let other people go into enemy territory 
and diffuse bombs."

"Don't worry, I was planning on it," she assured him.

He smiled. "I'm sure you'll be a great mother."

She grinned and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Mom."

He kissed her back and reached to brush a stray hair behind 
her ear as she pulled away. I stood and hugged her loosely 
over Vaughn's bed. "I'm happy for you sweetheart," I said. I 
pulled back and looked at her pleadingly. "But won't you at 
least consider leaving the agency? There's plenty of jobs you 
would be great at..."

Sarah slapped her palm over my mouth and gave me a look she 
had clearly picked up from her mother. "Dad...stop. I'm not 
quitting. You said you trusted Mom to be careful and know his 
limits when he was in the field. Now you have to trust me."

I relented reluctantly. She was right - as hard as that was to 
admit. And she was definitely her mother's daughter. "I do 
trust you. I just don't trust the bad guys to not turn a 
simple mission into a dangerous one. But," I added as she 
opened her mouth to comment. "You have your mother's 
instincts. I know you'll be careful."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"So when is the wedding going to be," Lilly asked. "I mean, if 
you wait to long you're going to have a hard time getting a 
dress that fits."

Sarah made a soft, hissing noise. "Shoot, I didn't think about 
that yet. I just found out. Brad and I still need to figure 
out how we're going to make this work. Maybe we should wait so 
I don't have to keep resizing..."

I leaned back over Vaughn, letting the kids continuing 
discussion of Sarah's wedding fade into the background. He 
smiled up at me and leaned into my hand as I stroked his 
cheek. "Are you tired?" His energy level seemed to have 
depleted over the course of the conversation.

"A little," he admitted. "I'm feeling old suddenly."

I chuckled softly. "You're feeling old? I have almost a decade 
on you."

He smirked. 

"How's the pain," I asked seriously. "Should I get the nurse 
to give you something?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I might be feeling it later though."

I brushed my knuckle over his cheek absently as I gazed into 
his eyes. Even dulled by the painkillers they seemed bright 
and alert. I gently pressed my lips to his and he responded 
easily, tilting his head to get a better angle.

"I love you," I murmured, running my thumb over his chin, 
feeling the rough scrape of stubble.

He smiled. "I know. I love you too."

"Get some sleep."

He nodded, his eyes already drooping slightly.

I cleared my throat and addressed our children, still deep in 
discussion. "Why don't we get out of here and let your mother 
get some rest?"

Sarah halted in her assurance that her siblings would 
absolutely be maids of honor and groomsman and both Vaughn and 
I would give her away. She turned to Vaughn guiltily. "I'm 
sorry. Of course." She bent to kiss Vaughn again. "I just 
wanted to give you a reason to get better soon. I want you to 
be there when your grandchild is born. I know Brad will be 
there for me, but..."

"Hey," Vaughn interrupted. "I'll be there. Even if I have to 
get myself to the hospital on crutches I *will* be there. And 
we'll expect you to visit often."

She beamed and hugged him gently, careful not to disturb any 
wires or tubes. "Don't worry. Whenever we need babysitters you 
guys and the twins will be at the top of my list."

"Hey," Will squawked. "What about me?"

"When you're able to keep a plant alive for more than a week 
we'll talk," Sarah retorted.

Will scoffed. "That only happened once! And it was one plant. 
I've kept all the other ones alive when you're off in 
Tajikistan or Alibubu or wherever it is you go that you can't 
tell us about."

"We'll talk," Sarah repeated with an air of finality. 

"Fine," Will muttered, reaching over to squeeze Vaughn's arm. 
"Get better soon, okay, Mom?"

Vaughn caught his hand and squeezed, nodding. "I love you 
too."

The twins hugged him and said their goodbyes and I herded 
everyone toward the door as Will offered to get a pizza to 
celebrate. I paused in the doorway, looking back at Vaughn. 
Now that he was awake it was hard to imagine how we could have 
thought he wouldn't make it through this. I realized the truth 
in the words I had said to Sarah earlier when I had been 
trying to convince both her and myself that his strength would 
be more than enough to allow him to fight his way back from 
this trauma. It would take more than one bullet to take him 
down.

He waved at me tiredly and made a small shooing motion. 

"I'll be back," I promised.

"I know."

"Get some sleep."

"I will. Now go."

"I love you."

He sighed. "I love you too. Now go before I have to get out of 
this bed and make the doctor redo my stitches."

I smirked and closed the door softly. Yeah. He would be fine.


THE END