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The sound of coughing and wheezing filled the small apartment, numbered 42. The source of the horrible sound sat up in bed and coughed into his arm, mucus emptying out onto his sleeve. He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. 6:05. Five minutes after he was supposed to get up for work. He must've slept through the alarm clock, which he almost never did.
Mulder suddenly felt as if he was going to vomit, so he threw his sheets back and hopped off his bed. Unfortunately, it was too late. Mulder doubled over and vomited on his already stained carpet. After he emptied all of his stomach contents, Mulder wiped his mouth and slopped back on his bed. There was no way he was going to work.
So, Mulder reached over and grabbed his landline phone, weakly dialing his red headed partner's number that he had memorized easily.
After a couple of rings, she answers. "Scully," Mulder heard her cheery voice answer into the phone.
"Hey, Scully its me," he choked out, before erupting into a fit of coughs once again.
"Mulder? Gosh, you sound horrible," she remarked and Mulder heard some rustling in the background.
"I know—" he pushed to cough again. "I'm sick. I think I have a fever or something," he told her.
"Oh, Mulder," Scully sighed, sadly, which surprised him because he wasn't sure that she would care.
"Can you—" cough. "Can you tell Skinner for me?"
Scully breathes heavily through the phone. "Yeah, of course," she said then paused before speaking again and Mulder thought briefly that she had hung up. "Mulder, just um drink lots of fluids and get some rest, okay?"
Mulder nodded even though she couldn't see him. "Thanks Scully, will do," Mulder said, smiling slightly. He was glad she cared. Mulder was sure she would have just brushed him off and rolled her eyes like she usually did. Instead, she seemed to care about Mulder's well being, even if it was hard for her to express.
"Alright, I have to go," Scully said, after a few moments of silence between the two. "See you later. Oh and Mulder? Take my advice, please?"
Mulder nodded again but it was broken by his loud cough. "I will, Scully. Bye."
Mulder hung up the phone and slumped back down against his pillow. He was much too tired to clean up his vomit and all he wanted to do was sleep, anyways. Even though his sleep would definitely be interrupted plenty of times due to vomiting or coughing fits, he figured it would be worth a try.
***
Mulder awoke to another fit of coughs and sweat that dripped down his face and soaked the pillow and bed sheets. He buried his face into the pillow and sobbed. He hadn't been so sick in a long time. Throughout the course of the day, Mulder had awakened to bile rising in his throat and mucus building in his throat. A few times he had gone to the kitchen to get some crackers or toast, but no matter what he ate, he always ended up vomiting it up in the toilet.
This time, Mulder couldn't just fall back asleep. He desperately needed to use the bathroom and it couldn't wait. Sighing, he glanced at the clock before standing up. Scully would be getting out of work soon. He felt extremely bad for leaving her to do all the paperwork for the both of them. They both hated paperwork day, any agent in the FBI did. It was a dreadful day. As bad as some days out on the field could be, paperwork day was the worst. It meant filling out endless pages of agreements and signing pages for Skinner of some random victim of a recent case. Mulder felt horrible for leaving Scully to do all the work. She already hated spending time with him during cases. She hated his stupid theories and his lame jokes. She hated working with him and leaving her alone on paperwork day was the worst thing he could do to her.
Shaking his foggy head, Mulder stumbled into the hallway, his bladder feeling as if it could explode, along with his head and stomach. Almost as soon as he was finished in the bathroom, a loud knock sounded at his front door.
Mulder heaved a sigh, but shuffled over to the door anyways and swung open the door. To his surprise, Scully stood there, a grocery bag in hand and a small smile on her face.
"Scully?" Mulder asked, in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"I came by to see how you're doing," she explained and Mulder let her in. She set her bag on the coffee table. "How are you?"
Mulder sat on the couch and ran a hand through his messy hair. "I'm okay. I've been feeling crappy all day. It hasn't gotten any better since I called you. How was work?"
Scully glanced at his legs before averting her eyes to the ground and trying to hide the blush that crept up her cheeks. "Well, um it was alright. Double the paperwork but I guess it wasn't too bad."
Confused, Mulder glanced down at himself and almost smacked himself when he realized he was only wearing boxers. He looked back at Scully, who was still holding her gaze at the ground.
"Shit, Scully I'm sorry," Mulder sighed and swiped his favourite Indian blanket off the back of his couch and covering his legs, but leaving his bare chest uncovered.
Scully looked back up at him and gave him a smile. "It's um it's alright," she stammered, scratching the back of her neck.
"So uh, what's in the bag?" Mulder asked, changing the subject from his awkward appearance to a the mystery contents in the bag.
"Why don't you take a look?" Scully said, pointing to it with a slight smirk.
Mulder bent forward and riffled through the grocery bag. He smiled when he pulled out the first item, 'Plan Nine from Outer Space.'
"Really? Scully, you're the best!" Mulder exclaimed, looking over the DVD, before setting it down beside the bag. He pulled out a few other items, vegetables mostly, a box of tissues, a fleece blanket, some cough medicine, saltine crackers and some ginger ale. Mulder was surprised at the generosity of it all. He didn't expect Scully to be here, let alone bring all this just for him. "Wow, Scully this is awesome. But uh why all the vegetables?"
Scully chuckled and collected the carrots, broccoli, potatoes and the other vegetables that Mulder had laid out on the coffee table. "I'm making you soup, Mulder. I figured you had some noodles lying around her and the broth I can make from scratch."
"Scully, you've done enough already," Mulder sighed, leaning into the couch. "You don't need to make me soup."
Scully shook her head and walked into his kitchen. "Not a chance, Mulder. This soup is my Mom's recipes. It cures almost anything and I don't want to get stuck doing your paperwork again."
Mulder chuckled lightly but that brought on a coughing fit. When it was over, Mulder sobbed and laid down on his couch, covering himself with the blanket that Scully had brought over.
"You okay in there?" Scully called from the kitchen, where she stirred the steaming vegetables.
Mulder couldn't help the tears that ran down his cheeks. Everything hurt. His head was foggy and he had a pounding headache. His stomach churned at the smell of Scully's cooking but also ached at the thought of food. His throat burned from the acid of his own vomit and his lips were cracked and dry. Every time he took a breath, his chest ached and it got even worse with every cough.
"Mulder, just hold on. I'll have your soup in no time," Scully assured and Mulder sobbed again, this time burying his face into his pillow. He began sweating again. His fever was back and he kicked off the blanket.
After a few more quiet moments, save for the sound of Mulder's occasional cough of sob, Scully came into the living room and set Mulder's soup on the coffee table next to the DVD.
"Here, it'll make you feel better, I promise," she said, softly, mindlessly massaging his scalp. "Here, I'll help you sit up."
Mulder nodded and she grabbed his arm as he shifted into a sitting position. Scully handed him the soup and he stirred it idly.
"What's in it that makes it so special?" he asked, swirling the spoon in the salty concoction.
"I can't tell you that!" Scully laughed and watched as he took a bite of the stuff. "It would give it away. Is it any good?"
Mulder nodded and let the warm liquid seep into him. He could feel it travelling through his body until it settled in his stomach, which churned at the new food.
"Mmm," Mulder mumbled through another bite. "Really good."
"I told you," Scully chuckled and sat next to him. "It cures practically everything. Colds, flus, fevers."
Mulder's stomach flipped as the second bite settled into his stomach and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold the food down.
"You alright?" Scully asked, leaning forward to look at him better.
Mulder nodded as his stomach settled. "Yeah, just a little nauseous, is all."
"Just keep eating," Scully insisted and Mulder gave her a 'look' but obliged and shoved another spoonful of vegetables and noodles into his mouth. "It helps, really."
Mulder nodded, shovelling another spoonful of veggies into his mouth. "Mm, Scully have you ever seen 'Plan Nine?'" he asked through a full mouth.
Scully shook her head and smiled at him, leaning back into the couch. "No, I haven't. What's so great about it?"
"Scully, you must," Mulder gasped, as though that was the craziest thing he's ever heard. "Put it on, Scully! It's so great. Everything about it is just—mmm just put it on."
Scully laughed at Mulder's childlessness, but grabbed the DVD and popped it in anyways. As the beginning of the movie started, Mulder excitedly ate his soup. He was almost finished it by the time the first scene was over. He set the nearly empty bowl on the table and pulled his feet underneath himself.
"Can you pass me the blanket, Scully?" he asked, remembering that he was only wearing boxers and nothing else.
Scully nodded but didn't seem bothered by his absence of clothing. Still, Mulder covered his legs with the baby blue fleece blanket and left his chest uncovered like earlier that evening.
Scully shifted closer to Mulder and slipped under the blanket, her slack clad leg pressing up against his bare one.
"Oh, hey, Scully," Mulder chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling hugging her close. "Thanks for the soup and—and everything. I really appreciate it. Really, I do."
Scully smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder, with a sigh. "I like coming here, Mulder."
"Really?" he asked in disbelief. "I always got the impression that you didn't like my apartment or well—me."
Scully chuckled and glanced up at him. "I never said that, Mulder. I enjoy your company and well you apartment, it could . . . well it could use some work but it's not that bad."
Mulder laughed and with his other hand brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I think the—the soup is working," he spoke softly, letting his hand linger on her face a little bit longer before dropping it.
"I told you," Scully said with a smile.
Mulder smiled and bent down to kiss her forehead. "You're the best, Agent Scully," he whispered in her ear before turning his attention to 'Plan Nine from Outer Space.'