CHAPTER FIVE

He placed her gently down on the sofa and she looked up at him, still wide eyed, taking in her surroundings and the familiar unmistakable scent of him. The whole place was so Mulder, it always had been. And now none of her stuff was here, it was completely Mulder.

It made her a little sad to think how she used to occupy this home too, her scent used to linger here as well, her shoes and her coat by the door, her handbag on the side table...

She blinked and looked down at the blanket she was laid on and she recognized it instantly. She reached to run her fingers over it as Mulder left her side to go get the bags from the car, and she was left alone for a few minutes, to be able to look around and see the house where she had spent so many years.

He always had this blanket on the sofa, he hadn't changed. It was still there.

Scully felt a tiny smile creep up the corner of her lips as she remembered she used to cuddle up under it with him when they watched some crappy TV, or when she was reading, she used to sit with him and put her legs over his knees and lean against the arm of the sofa while he snoozed or watched his Twilight Zone episodes. There were a good few times that this blanket had cushioned her naked butt too, she remembered with a slight blush on her cheeks, as they had made love on his sofa countless times, when they had been happy.

It seemed like a lifetime ago..

The sound him closing the door and locking it brought her back to the room and she blinked again and looked up to see him carrying her small bag and the bag of groceries he had picked up. She gave him a tiny smile from the sofa and he locked eyes with her again and carried the bag to the kitchen table, where he placed it there.

"You want a hot cocoa? Coffee? Tea?" He offered her and walked towards the stove. She followed him with her eyes and noticed he was in such great shape, he had really started to look after himself again, not like when she had left him, the illness had gotten him so skinny, a shadow of his former self...

"Tea would be nice." She said softly to him and moved her legs so she was sat on the sofa, rather than laid across it. She wanted to go and help but, he clearly wasn't going to let her.

"Tea it is." He said and started to make it. "How are you feeling now?" He asked her as he got out two mugs from the cupboard.

"I'm ok, I just keep having flashbacks." She sighed and ran a hand over her clammy forehead. "I think I just need rest, like you said."

Mulder nodded and edged back towards the sofa and looked at her while the water started to boil on the stove. "You look a little pale. Paler than usual.." He stated, with worried eyes. She was always pale but she was almost as white as a sheet. "Why don't you lie back on the sofa and I'll get you some fresh bedding, I need to change the bed anyway so I can strip it then bring you some fresh ones. We can watch some TV and I will make some dinner." He was rambling again, and they both knew it. She was polite enough not to comment however.

"Sure, but I am not sure I want to eat much, I'm so tired already." She said softly and moved back so she was laid on the sofa. Mulder wasn't stopping there though. He bravely moved towards her and bent down over her and grabbed her feet, where he slipped off her heels and moved a cushion behind her back and her head so she was comfy. Scully felt a tingle up her leg right to her groin as he took of her shoes and his fingers brushed against her sensitive skin on her feet. She was taken by surprise by it, that familiar and thrilling sensation of his touch. How long had it been..!? Since he touched her, since anyone touched her..?

"Thanks." She breathed out finally and for the first time in years, she let him take care of her. She hated being this vulnerable but she was trying to let him do what he needed to do. It was important for him to feel like he was helping her, and they were good right now, they were in a good place after so much heartache. She needed to keep it that way.

"No problem Doc." He whispered with a small smile and went to get another blanket off the armchair and put it over her. "Are you warm enough?" He bent down beside her and once again, bravely made a decision to touch her and went to rest his hand on her waist. Scully felt her heart skip a beat as he did that and she felt her sense go into overdrive. Just from the smallest touch, he was making her turn into a mess..

"Yeah." She whispered and met his hazel eyes again.

She studied his face.

He was so handsome, he had aged well, there were more lines on his face and he seemed to have some grey stubble, but he was still so handsome, still the same man she had fallen in love with, the same man she had given up a promising medical career for, and the same man who saved her life countless times over, the same man she would die for if it came to that…

"Good." He finished with a soft smile, then stood up slowly, running his hand across the blanket over her belly. She gasped quietly again and looked down at it as it moved over her abdomen and she felt all tingly again and her pulse quickened. Mulder walked back towards the kitchen and she wondered, if he had planned to do that. It wouldn't surprise her. He was sneaky like that. It hadn't been a sexual touch at all, just a friendly one, of concern and comfort may be, but it had affected her greatly.

Yes, she wondered if he had indeed done that on purpose, and if he had enjoyed it just as much as she had..

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