True Love (R)

She pulled the car up to the gate and put it in park.  Wearily she stepped out, unlocked the gate and moved it inward.  She trudged back to the car, moved it in a few feet, stopped again and relocked the gate.  It was all automatic, like the drive home.  She was done in.

There were too many patients, too many parents to try to reassure.  She’d had to be ‘social’ all day and wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere and draw it in after her.  But she couldn’t.  Mulder had been here, alone again, all day and he needed some interaction.  She was all he had and he kept reassuring her it was enough.  She didn’t buy it, but there weren’t a lot of options.

She pulled the car into its accustomed space in front of the house and looked up.  Mulder was opening the door.  She took a deep breath and exited the car. 

He waited on the porch, not coming down into the yard to greet her.  “Long day.”  It wasn’t a question.  “Come on in, relax a little while.”

She tried to smile, and kissed him lightly.  The beard was still ‘in the way’ as far as she was concerned, but it didn’t cause the burn that the growing out had.

“Dinner’s in the oven and I can turn it to low.  Why don’t you soak for a few minutes in a hot tub?”

She looked up surprised.  “What?”

“A bubble bath.  You can just soak, rest for a few minutes.”  He had to grin at the look of longing in her eyes.  He took her coat from her.  “I’ll take that as a yes.  Go on up, I’ll turn down the stove.”

Her steps were still heavy, but lighter than they had been as she made her way upstairs.  How had he known?  Yes, the man could read her like a book, but . . .

He reached the bath about the same time she did and it was him that turned on the water and poured a small amount of her favorite scent into the water.  She turned to thank him, but his hands pulled her blouse from her slacks and he began unbuttoning it.  He didn’t seem to be asking anything of her, so she relaxed and let him remove the blouse.  She was slightly amused when he unbuttoned her slacks and lowered the zipper.  He held her hand as she stepped out of the slacks, then he sat her on the side of the filling tub and removed her shoes and socks.

She felt his arms go around her and unhook her bra, then slip the straps down her arms.  His eyes caressed her breasts, but his hands were innocent.  He held out one innocent hand to help her to her feet, then lowered her boy-cut panties to the floor.  He noted without comment that they were the same pale blue as the bra.  It was one of her deep dark secrets that they didn’t discuss.  She liked feminine, hell, sexy underwear.  It made up for the button down suits and scrubs she wore for the world to see.  And he knew now that quite often it was for him.  More than once he had wondered if it dated back to the first time he’d seen her underwear all those years ago.  He still made no comment, just keeping hold of her hand to help her step into the tub. 

He moved behind her then and gathered up her hair into a ponytail in his hand.  He twisted it and piled it on top of her head, fastening it with one of the clips lying on the counter.

She eased back into the tub and closed her eyes.

“I’m gonna check on dinner.  Relax.”

She nodded, her eyes closed, and heard the door close.  The water, the oil, the scent all relaxed her, but she found herself slightly lonely.

In just a few minutes she heard a tap on the door, but it opened before she could respond.  Mulder entered, carrying a glass of red wine.  He winked at her.  “Take as long as you want.”

She accepted the wine and looked him over.  He was wearing one of his endless gray t-shirts.  Not one of the original ones, this one had been purchased after they went on the run.  They had nothing from before that time, but this one had been washed enough to softly mold to his body.  His jeans were low slung on his hips and if she was right, he was commando under them.  He was barefoot and so damn comfortable in his body.  She watched him head back toward the door.  “Mulder?”

He turned back to her, his hand on the doorknob.

“You in a hurry?”

“Me?  Why?”

“Well, there’s room in here for two.”

“I thought you needed some alone time.”

“Turns out, I’d rather have some Mulder time.”

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled.  The whole world seemed brighter suddenly.  She watched as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.  Damn, the man did look good.

The buttons on his jeans came loose easily and she saw she’d been correct.  He was already at half mast as she admired him.  With a wink, he eased himself into the tub behind her.  His arms encircled her around the waist, below her breasts, though he did allow himself a smile as he watched those breasts peek above the bubbles.

She eased back against his chest.  “How did you know I needed some alone time?”

“Fifteen years, Scully.”

She lightly chuckled and nodded.

Brushing guilt aside, he lightly probed the surface of her mind.  Yes, nothing big, just too many things to think about.  He felt her relax completely and let his arms tighten around her.