Work Text:
Scully was reclined against the couch arm, her legs extended out towards Mulder seated at the other end with her feet in his lap. He firmly pressed his thumbs into the arch of one foot, eliciting a groan from her. This pregnancy hadn't been easy for her and as she neared the homestretch her body seemed to ache constantly now. Though, thankfully, this time around she wasn't going it alone.
Placing her hands atop her swollen middle she gazed appreciatively at him. Throughout her entire pregnancy Mulder was as attentive and supportive as she'd dreamed he would have been the first time. She had tried to convince him the past couple months that "high risk" didn't equal "bed ridden" but he'd hardly let her lift a finger around the house. He'd even single handedly put up all the Christmas decorations this year. The ones that she was certain hadn't seen the light of day in the years they lived apart.
"Tree looks good," she sighed as he found a particularly sore spot on her foot.
"Well, you did tell me exactly which one to cut down."
It's true she had followed him out into the woods beyond the house and told him which one was THE tree but only because he tended to overestimate the ceiling in the living room. Most years he was forced to take the tree back outside and trim more off the bottom so it would fit, grumbling all the while. This one was perfect.
She playfully poked him with her other foot. "I meant the decorations. You did a nice job."
Their tree held an eclectic mix of older ornaments her mom had saved for her and some newer ones they had purchased together the year they moved into the house. She had so looked forward to celebrating that first Christmas no longer on the run. Their first real one together.
Mulder switched to her other foot applying the same delicious pressure on her aching tendons. "Do you think the nugget will make their grand entrance by Christmas?"
"I certainly hope so," she groaned. "I don't think I can get much bigger."
He smirked at her. "Told you not to swallow watermelon seeds."
"Yeah well, I feel like a watermelon. "
He gazed at her with unrestrained adoration then, "You're beautiful."
She smiled at him and sighed happily. After all these years, he still looked at her as if she was his entire world. The feeling was mutual.
Letting go of her foot, Mulder reached behind the couch and produced a small wrapped gift he presented to her.
"What's this?"
"Something I found in a box that I apparently never unpacked all those years ago," he explained. "I forgot I still I had it."
Wrapping paper torn away, the lid opened to reveal a green porcelain egg ornament nestled in a plush red box.
"Mulder, it's beautiful," she breathed as she pulled it out carefully.
Scully ran her fingers along the intricate gold leaf designs covering it. A Limoges maybe?, she thought.
"It belonged to my great grandmother. We used to hide gifts inside it."
"Inside it?"
He smiled and silently took the ornament from her, turning it around in his hands until he found the clasp that had previously gone unnoticed. Raising himself off the couch he knelt in front of her and opened it carefully. A ring with a large diamond flanked by smaller emeralds sparkled back at her.
She gasped at the sight of it. "Oh, Mulder..."
"This was my great grandmother's too," he whispered, his hazel eyes glittering. "Marry me, Scully."
A long ago conversation flitted past her as as she considered the brilliant, thoughtful, stubborn, handsome man in front of her.
'What if there was only one choice and all the other ones were wrong...'
'...Then all the choices would then lead to this very moment.'
They'd been through so much together. So many forks in the road that had ultimately led them back together. Back to this moment. She didn't hide her happy tears from him as they slid down her cheeks.
She held his face in her hands, seeing the deep and abiding love she felt reflected back at her.
"Yes."