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atths--twice · 6 months

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Take Care

A storm forces Mulder and Scully to leave work early, going their separate ways. But not for long…

Fictober day 16 (I know I'm running late)

Prompt: Who takes care of you?

“We should make a run for it now,” Scully said, looking up at the window in the office, leaves scattering around as the wind blew. “This storm is only going to get worse.”

“It’s just rain,” Mulder said, shrugging as he read a file. “Nothing we haven’t seen before. It’s not like it’s a hurricane.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she turned her head and glared at him.

“Fine. Have it your way,” he said, grinning at her as he placed the file back into the drawer. “Let’s get out of here.”

And so they left, saying their goodbyes at their cars, as they shivered in the cold garage. He watched her drive away before he left, shaking his head as he witnessed the trees swaying wildly in the wind, the sky dark with heavy clouds.

The first raindrop fell as he was parking his car. He hurried up the steps, shaking the water from his hair as he reached the door.

Changing out of his suit, he put on black sweatpants and a dark gray long sleeved shirt. He watched the rain pelting against the windows and heard the wind whistling through the trees. Glad to be out of the wild weather, he simultaneously now felt trapped within the walls of his apartment.

“Well,” he said, turning away from the window. “Better get used to it and get prepared for the worst even as I’m hoping for the best.”

He went into the kitchen and checked his cupboards and found that his food stock was dangerously low. Two cans of soup, a bag of dried pasta, a bottle of marinara sauce, and a box of crackers was hardly enough to last for more than a couple of days.

The lights flickered and he hummed, shaking his head. Abandoning the food on the counter, he went in search of candles and flashlights.

He turned the television on as he passed it, needing to drown out the noise of the wind. An old black and white movie he could never remember the title of, but had seen a few times, was playing and he smiled as he continued into his bedroom.

As he came out of his bedroom with a four pack of votive candles he did not remember buying, he realized he was just in time to catch one of his favorite scenes from the movie.

Helen, the main female character, was a giver. She was always doing for others, but never having the same treatment bestowed upon her. She was an afterthought, someone pushed to the back, if it meant others could get ahead. No one noticed or cared, coming to her only when they needed her.

Carl, the main male character, saw all she did for everyone. He saw the way she shouldered the responsibilities of others. He loved her, as the viewer could clearly see, but he never said it, worried it would change their relationship. But he tried to find ways into her life, to show her she was worthy of love and caring just as much as anyone.

The turning point in the movie, when Carl finally does tell Helen how he feels, was one of Mulder’s favorite scenes as it was quite romantic and as he watched, he quoted the dialogue along with them.

“Look at you, Helen,” he said. “You’ve run yourself ragged.”

“No, Carl.”

“You’re ill. You’ve not had enough sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t believe her, Carl,” Mulder muttered, shaking his head as Carl and Helen both fell silent. “You and I both know she’s not fine. I’ve got a Helen of my own who claims she's fine quite frequently. You see through your Helen in that oversized robe with her tired eyes, every bit as much as I see through mine when she looks the same. We see them.”

“Fine, are you?” Mulder quoted again, putting the candles on the couch and crossing his arms as Carl began to speak. “You’ve lost weight, you’re tired, you’re not yourself.”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“But I do.”

“Well stop. Because I don’t need-”

“Who takes care of you? Tell me that, Helen.”

“Yes, Carl,” Mulder muttered with a nod, the movie quiet again. “Straight to the point.”

“What do you mean?”

“I meant what I asked. Who takes care of you? You help others. All the time. But who cares for you ? Who makes sure that-“

The lights flickered, then everything was plunged into darkness, before coming back on once again.

“Shit,” Mulder said, looking around and realizing that even with the lights on, it was still dark.

He abandoned the movie and picked up the pack of candles. Taking them out and adding them to the stockpile on his dining room table, he then went to find some matches or a lighter. Finding both, along with two flashlights, he laid them on the table and then sighed.

A knock sounded loudly at the door and he jumped, swearing under his breath. Heart pounding, he checked the peephole and then pulled back, opening the door in disbelief.

“Scully?” he asked just as the power went out again, the hallway pitch black.

“Well, I’m certainly glad that didn’t happen when I was in the elevator,” she said, laughing as he opened the door wider and she stepped inside. “The power is out down the street and it was an absolute madhouse trying to get through it. People seem to forget everything about driving when there’s a storm.”

“People are idiots,” he said quietly as he closed and locked the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, it’s good to see you too,” she said sarcastically as she set the bags she was carrying onto the table.

“Not what I meant.”

“Mmm,” she hummed, taking off the backpack she was wearing and then her wet raincoat and boots. “It’s absolutely pouring out and I had to park two blocks away. Good thing I had these new boots. I’d nearly forgotten about them. Could you put them and the coat in the shower? Let them dry in there?” She handed him her things and he nodded, still confused as to why she was there and not at home.

He grabbed a flashlight and took her coat and boots into the bathroom. He hung the coat on the shower head and placed her boots in the tub. Walking back through his dark bedroom, he came into the now brightly lit dining room and turned off the flashlight. She had lit every one of his candles and was even adding her own that she had brought with her.

“Let’s spread these around the apartment. I already put two in the kitchen.”

“You brought candles with you,” he stated, picking up two of her larger ones.

“I wasn’t sure if you had any. Or if you did, how long they would last.”

“And you brought food,” he said, the scent of it filling his nose and making his mouth water.

“Chinese. And I also got some things at the grocery store. Bread, eggs, nuts, chips, bananas, apples, and pasta… nothing that requires refrigeration as I knew the power would go out. How could it not with this wind?”

“Is it out at your place?” he called out as he placed candles in the bedroom and bathroom, the apartment unnaturally quiet.

“No,” she called back. “Or at least it wasn’t when I left.”

“Why did you leave? Go out in this storm?” he asked when he was back in the room with her. “Despite your raincoat, your clothes are still slightly damp and so is your hair.”

“That is precisely why I packed a change of clothes,” she said with a grin, fluffing at her hair. “You put away the groceries and dish up the food, I’m going to change.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, saluting her and she laughed as she passed him, carrying her backpack to his bedroom.

He did her bidding, again aware of the quiet in the apartment as he dished up the food.

“The fish,” he said, realization dawning on him as to why it was so unusually quiet. Putting down the spoon, he walked over to the tank. “Hey guys, sorry about the heat turning off. I��m gonna…”

He turned his head, looking around and saw the laundry basket of clean towels he had meant to put away days ago. Taking one from the top, he walked over to the fish tank. Folding the towel to fit it, he covered the tank, intent on keeping the water as warm as possible with the heater out of commission.

“It’s the best I can do for you,” he said. “Stay warm.”

“Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving,” Scully said, walking out of his bedroom wearing a pair of black pants and a long sleeved dark blue shirt that dipped lower than the shirts he normally saw her wear. He had to force himself to look away, lest he get caught staring.

He followed her to the dining room, smiling at the sight of her black socks with silver stars.

“It took all of my willpower to not eat the egg rolls on the way over here,” she said as they sat down and she pulled her plate closer. “I was practically salivating in the car over them.” She picked up an egg roll and took a bite, her eyes closing as she chewed. “Yeah, that’s delicious.”

He laughed as he took a bite, his eyes landing where her shirt gapped, showing off just a hint of cleavage. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus on his plate.

“I didn’t want to be alone,” she said quietly and he raised his head quickly to look at her. “That’s why I ventured out. I would have been fine at my place, I know that, but once I was home, I just felt…”

“Trapped?” he suggested and she shook her head.

“Not exactly trapped, but close.” She smiled and he nodded, his eyes quickly dropping to her chest again. “Plus, I thought about you. I figured that you wouldn’t have anything to eat, or enough candles to make it through the next couple of days, if it became necessary.” She smiled again and he feigned hurt, a hand at his chest.

“You think I’m not prepared to weather a storm? I’ll have you know, Scully, I do have food.”

“Is it the food that I saw on the kitchen counter?” she asked in a monotone voice. “The soup and crackers? Yeah, you’re ready.” She rolled her eyes and he grinned.

“There’s also pasta there. Which you also brought,” he pointed out.

“Plus eggs, bread, fruit, snacks... and this,” she said, gesturing to their meal and tilting her head.

“Hmm. Fine,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “You got me.”

“Yeah, I do,” she said, looking at the candles and the food, before looking back at him and smiling as she took another bite.

He gathered their plates when they were finished and washed them while she put away the small amount of leftovers, quickly putting them into the freezer, hoping they would keep longer in there than they would in the refrigerator.

Drying his hands on a kitchen towel, he turned to look at her and shook his head.

“I wasn’t expecting you to come over,” he said and she turned around, her eyebrows raised. “I’m glad you did, don’t get me wrong, I just… You surprise me sometimes, Scully.”

“Do I?” she asked and he nodded. “Hmm… So if I…” She walked over to him and placed her hands on his chest, sliding them up and around his neck, his pulse immediately quickening. “… did this, would it surprise you?”

“Very much,” he whispered, putting his hands on her hips and pulling her closer as he bent his head to kiss her.

It was not the first time they kissed, or the first time for anything for that matter, but it was new and the ease at which it happened still shocked him.

“It surprises you? Really?” she asked, pulling back to look at him.

“It does.”

“Why?”

“I don’t ever want to assume anything will or won’t happen,” he said, shrugging with a smile. “Too many years were wasted on assumptions.”

“Then maybe I need to buy even lower cut shirts,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips as she looked down then back up at him. “I thought this one was expressing how I felt, what I wanted, but I guess not.”

“Oh, I definitely like it, please don’t think I don’t,” he said and she smiled, her fingernails scratching gently at his neck. “I’ve just trained myself over the years to not stare at your chest. Knowing I can now and it’s even encouraged…” He hummed and bent his head to kiss her again.

“Let me attempt to be more direct with what I want,” she whispered, her lips kissing his chin and then down his neck. “I want you. I want you to undress me. Kiss me. Take me to bed.”

“Jesus Christ, Scully,” he growled, his heart now racing as blood rushed to his groin. “We… the candles… we gotta put the candles out.”

She laughed as he pushed her away from him, blowing out the candles quickly and then pushing her through the kitchen.

“Get these, I’ve got the ones in the living room.”

He hurried to blow them out and when he turned and saw her standing in the archway, her hands at the buttons of her shirt, he took three long strides to stop her.

“You wanted me to do that,” he reminded her and she looked up at him with a seductive smile.

“I still do. I was just beginning to feel impatient.”

“We’ve got nothing but time,” he said, the wind howling as if to prove a point.

“Then let’s use some of it up.”

“Hmm,” he agreed with a hum, his fingers slowly working the buttons loose as they stared at one another, and then pulling at her open shirt, leading her into the bedroom.

The candles flickered and he smiled as he stared at Scully’s naked back and the curve of her hip. She was so beautiful, but even more so in candlelight, her skin appearing golden.

The rain hammered against the window and he thought about how he had felt trapped earlier.

Not anymore, he thought, smiling again as he watched her breathe.

He scooted closer to her, wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her shoulder. She hummed and nudged her head against his.

“Happy now that I ventured out?” she whispered and he chuckled, his eyes closed as his lips pressed to her sweet smelling skin.

“Is that a question I really need to answer?” he whispered back and she hummed again as she placed her hand over his, interlocking their fingers.

“Someone’s gotta take care of you,” she teased and he opened his eyes, thinking of the movie earlier.

Who takes care of you?

“Who indeed?” he whispered with a grin.

“What?” she asked and he shook his head. Closing his eyes, he kissed her shoulder again and placed a leg over hers.

“Nothing, Scully. Nothing at all.”

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