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The gentle river outside of the tent woke her, the water tripping musically along the rocks and over fallen logs. Scully stretched with a light moan and then let out a deep sigh.
The sun was barely up, the faint light shining through the fabric of the tent. Wishing she did not have to get up, but unable to ignore her bladder, she unzipped the sleeping bag. Shivering as she put on her hoodie and then her shoes, she stood up and stretched again.
Mulder had a small fire going in the space they had created the evening before, clearing a spot and placing rocks from the riverbed in a large circle. They’d had a fire, cooking a simple meal over the metal wire rack they kept to hold their pans and pots.
A walk along the river by moonlight had been taken, scoping out their surroundings and making sure they were truly alone.
It was a rather lonely life, living as they were, but Mulder was alive and they were together. That was all that mattered.
Not seeing Mulder by the fire, she figured he had gone looking for more wood to stock up, as the day was quite chilly. She shivered again as she kept walking, swinging her arms to warm them.
Back at the fire a few minutes later, she saw Mulder had indeed been gathering wood and kindling. The fire crackled, then popped loudly, and he jumped back, meeting her eyes and laughing softly.
“Scared the bejesus out of me,” he said and she smiled. “Coffee will be ready soon. I just set it on to brew.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Bagels this morning?”
“No. We bought eggs, remember?”
“Oh… and that bacon. I forgot.” She smiled happily and sat down on the log he had drug over yesterday. A towel lay across it now and it helped with the comfort.
“It will be a kingly breakfast this morning, then tomorrow it’s back to a peasants meal of bagels,” he teased, poking at the fire. Shaking her head with a chuckle, she put her hands out to warm them.
When the coffee had percolated, he moved it away from the fire and looked at her.
“Close your eyes,” he said and she frowned. He stared at her and sighed.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to.”
“You didn’t ask. You demanded.”
He stared at her and sighed.
“Could you please close your eyes? Please?”
“See, that’s much better,” she said, closing her eyes and raising her eyebrows.
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled and she smiled. She heard him moving around and then he tapped her hands, placing a mug into them. “Okay. Open your eyes… please.”
She smiled again as she opened them and looked down at the mug.
“Mulder,” she said softly, running her thumb across the words written on it. You, me, and a cup of tea.
“It’s not tea, but… we’ll get some soon. I saw this in the store we stopped at last night and wanted you to have it. We don’t have much that we couldn’t leave at a moments notice, living this way, but…” He shook his head and she looked at him, placing her hand on his cheek. “I wanted you to have something that mattered.”
“I love it. Thank you,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him.
“It’s all I need,” he whispered as she pulled back. He tapped the mug at the word you and she smiled. “All I need.” She kissed him again and then he stood up to get their breakfast ready while she drank her coffee.
A couple of years later, on one of the first nights in their little house in a nowhere neighborhood at the end of a long driveway, he brought her tea in that same mug. It was chipped and the handle had a slight crack that had been glued, but it made her smile as she looked at it.
“Still all I need,” he said, tapping the you on the mug, and kissing the top of her head.
When she got her job at the hospital, she brought the mug with her. As she carried it to her office, she thought of those days on the run, the places they had stayed, the tea, coffee, and even wine she had drunk using that mug.
As she set it on her empty desk, she took the small flashlight from her pocket that she’d had for years, old habits being hard to break, and placed it into the mug. Pens were also added to it, the ones she liked best.
Smiling as she looked at the mug, prepared to serve a new purpose, she nodded as she let out a deep breath, ready to begin the next chapter of her life.