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The tiny cabin was dark except for the single light burning in one room. One room could be lighted. That was it. One room. One lightbulb. No one could leave the room. Not without the possibility of being eaten alive and wrapped in a cucoon. Scully sighed restlessly, wishing she could sleep in the light. But she didn't have a choice, other than not sleeping at all. Sleeping in a lit room was like trying to sleep in a heatless sunshine. It was bright and annoying. She hated it. She rolled over on the uncomfortable excuse of a bed she was laying on. She opened her eyes and looked across the room to Mulder's bed. He was sitting cross-legged on his mattress, watching her. He smiled. She tried to return the gesture, but couldn't do it completely. She was still pissed at him. A lot.

Their lives were in danger. A quarter of a tank of gas in the generator that had to last till morning. Or all three would die a horrible, gruesome death. And it was Mulder's fault. Mostly, at least. He never should have given that Monkey-Wrencher, Doug Spinney the last of the gas. She didn't believe that Mulder could believe him when he said he'd come back for them. That was her partner's problem: he could trust Spinney, a criminal, but not a government official. Completely the opposite of what most people are like. He made such a stupid mistake, she could have killed him. But he knew what he did was wrong, and he had apologized for it. He *is* only human, after all. People make mistakes. People learn from them. People move on. Which is exactly what Mulder had done. The last step of the goofing-up process was forgiveness. And that was up to her and Moore. And she was nearly finished with being angry.

She sat up and looked to her right to where Moore's bed was. He was sleeping. She moved to Mulder's bed and sat next to him.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hey," came his soft reply.

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"I can't sleep in a bright room," he said.

"Me, neither."

"How ya feeling?" she asked.

"Stupid. Really, really stupid. I'm sorry, Scully. I don't know what I was thinking-"

"Mulder-"

"Jesus, I should have at least *asked*! What kind of FBI agent makes such a dumb decision?"

"Mulder, it's okay," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Her hand moved up to his neck and her fingertips gently rubbed his skin. She could feel his pulse against the side of her index finger. He looked at her and closed his eyes, putting his hand on top over hers, feeling the warmth of her palm. His fingers found their way between hers and held her hand gently. She smiled at him.

"It's not okay. We've got 5 hours till sunrise and the light is starting to flicker a little bit."

"No, its not. You're seeing things. The light hasn't started flickering yet."

"It's still not okay. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be here," he said, pulling her hand down to his lap, his other hand holding her hand now, too.

"Yeah, but I'm the one who agreed to go on 'a nice trip to the forest,'" she replied.

"I suppose you've got a point....."

"Look....Mulder....don't beat yourself up over this. Please. You made a mistake, yes. You're not always the brightest crayon in the box, but who is? It happened. No turning back. It happened for a reason. Maybe God was the one who took all your FBI training away for about 15 seconds when you made you choice. Everything happens for a reason," she said, trying to be re-assuring.

"Yeah, but I still feel like shit," he said, his voice barely audible. He was looking down at their hands, gently massaging the back of hers. She tiltled her head to the side, shifting her legs next to her, and brought her free hand up to the opposite side of his face. He turned to look at her. She allowed a corner of her mouth to raise a little bit as she saw his sad puppy-eyes, and pulled him toward her. It was awkward for her; she and her partner had very little physical contact, but he needed a hug. Anybody could see it. He leaned into her and let her arms encircle him. He sighed, closing his eyes, allowing Scully's comfort. His arms came around her and he held her in a loose embrace. He felt surprisingly soothed, like she had cleansed him of his screw-up. He pulled back a little with a slight grin.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"A little bit."

"Good," she replied. He looked at her, as if to ask if it would be all right for him to stay with her a little while longer. She nodded, and he moved, lying down on the mattress on his side, his head on Scully's thigh. She rested her back and head against the wall behind her. Her fingers ran through his hair, and after awhile, he was sleeping. Before she knew it was happening, she started dozing off. It was then she realized sleeping in the light wasn't so hard after all. In matter of minutes, she was asleep.