Condoms (7/18)
by Lola

e-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com

Time: Set during and post-The Truth.
Spoilers: Everything up to the end of the series.
Summary: Mulder hates condoms for more than the obvious reasons.
Overall Rating: NC-17

I do not own the characters.  I do not make any money from this.
Enjoy!

***

After over a month in the wilderness of New Mexico Mulder and 
Scully were running out of supplies and it was time to head into 
town for more. They had packed up their gear and once the water 
for their trip was boiled they were headed off. 

Mulder sat and watched Scully.  She was sitting on the grass 
reading a book and letting her newly dyed and cut brown hair 
dry in the sun.

"How's the colour look?" she asked without looking up from the 
page.

"Different" he countered with a hint of sadness.

"You sound so enthusiastic" she said as she put the book down to 
her chest and looked at him "actually, less than enthusiastic."

"What can I say Scully? I like you the way you are, naturally." 

"Well Mulder, I hate to burst your bubble, but my red hair has 
not been natural for years."

He laughed at her admission knowing it was true but also knowing 
that his Scully, the Scully he knew and loved, was always going 
to be a fiery redhead deep down inside.   

"So the brown isn't to your liking?" she asked fishing for a 
compliment as she ran a hand through her hair checking the 
dryness  "I think it suits my complexion better than the red."

Mulder quickly checked the water and walked over to sit next to 
her on the grass.  He sat so their hips were even with each 
other and just touching.  Placing one hand on her bare knee he 
sighed.

"I just wish that was one thing about yourself you didn't have 
to give up."

"Mulder..."

"No wait, let me finish" he starts as he raises a hand to ask 
for her silence "you gave up your family, your job, everything 
you own, your security, your name, hell Scully, for the rest 
of your life everyone is going to call you Irene" for this he 
got a snicker from her.

"Scully, you've given up so much for me, don't you ever wonder 
if it's all worth it?" he asks in all sincerity.

She carefully lays her book on the ground next to her and turns 
to face him completely, squarely looking him in the eyes.  Legs 
tangle and her two hands grasp the sides of his jaw and hold 
him in place so he can see nothing but her.

"Not for one minute." she answers plainly "Mulder, I don't mind 
the brown hair, the lack of a job or even that my new name is 
Irene, what I do mind is your guilt, it surfaces in little ways 
everyday and I want that to stop."

Mulder looks at her knowing exactly what she is talking about.

"Scully, it's just that..." 

"Just nothing.  From now on Mulder, no guilt.  I chose you.  I 
chose this.  I know what that means.  I don't regret those 
choices and I hate feeling like you think I should. We are both 
adults--there are no victims of circumstance here.  I don't 
question your choices.  So, don't question mine."

"Scully, I can't promise no guilt, but I can promise I will try
and stop the self-flagellation." he snickers   "Sound like a 
plan?"

"Sounds like a plan." she says as she leans in for a quick kiss 
to seal the deal "I do have one question though."

"Shoot."

"Why Irene?"

"Ohh," he snickers keeping the joke to himself "you mean out 
of all the names in the world to choose from, why did I pick 
Irene?"

"That's what I mean" she says growing impatient.

"Irene was the name of this cute little strawberry blonde-
haired girl that I had a crush on when I was 8."

"Oh, that explains it."

"Explains what?" he scoffs.

"Why Irene" she begins "we were involved at the time and..."

"Oh, no Scully" he interrupts "I picked Irene long before 
that."

"What?" she asks obviously confused "Irene and Gary Hewitt 
didn't exist until..."

"That is where you are wrong Scully," he interrupts "Irene and 
Gary Hewitt have existed for over 7 years."

"What?" she asks startled at the revelation.

"The Lone Gunman helped me create them over 7 years ago.  They 
had been building a file under those names until..." he stops 
not wanting to talk about the death of their dear friends.

"Mulder, what do you mean 'building a file'?"

"You know, employment history, credit history, banking records, 
that sort of thing. So, if we eventually needed the ID it 
wouldn't be like these two people just fell off the back of a 
turnip truck."

"So, you are saying 7 years ago you prepared for the possibility 
that we may need false identities at some point?" she asks 
mystified at the information.

"Well, we wouldn't be in such a good financial situation as we 
are now, and I didn't buy the house until last year, but yeah, 
we were good to go."

"I'm sorry Mulder, I'm trying to keep up here." she pauses to 
gather her thoughts "Seven years ago, if needed, we would have 
all the ID required to fall off the face of the earth and never 
look back?  Just the two of us? Posing as husband and wife? 
Seven years ago?"

"Yep."

"How could you be so sure seven years ago that I would have 
agreed to this?  That I would trust you to do this with you? 
That I would agree to pose as your wife?"

"I didn't.  I just hoped that if the situation called for it 
you would trust me enough to know that I would do anything 
to keep you safe.  And," he paused to grin "I really hoped 
you wouldn't deck me for making you my wife without your 
knowledge."

"Seven years ago I might have."

"Well, then I guess I'm glad we didn't have to do this seven 
years ago."

"Mulder," Scully starts as she presses the tips of her fingers 
to her temples "you still amaze me sometimes."

"You want to know amazing Scully, wait until you see the 
house.  It's crazy what you can order online now."

"Oh, god" she groans as she rises to check on the boiling 
water.  They have a long hike ahead of them.

***

Continued in Part 8