Title: Sacrifice
Author: X_fairy (fairy175@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: The X-files belong to CC and Mulder and Scully belong to each other, not to me! No infringement intended!
Rating: PG? I never really know.
Category: A, friendship, MSR, I don't know, decide for yourself
Spoilers: Very small ones for Irresistible, Paperclip and Terma
Archive: Anywhere, with my name and addy, but please let me know!
Feedback: Anytime!
Summary: Sort of Redux revised....
**********
Sacrifice
By X_fairy
**********
He had ditched her again. And this time it had been fatal.
She sat at his bedside and looked down at his comatose form. He'd probably never regain consciousness. She hadn't really listened to what had happened when they had called her this morning. The only words she had heard had been 'comatose' and 'never again'.
He would never unnerve her with his 'out there' theories again. He would never smile again. Never laugh again. Never hug her again. She bit her lip to keep herself from crying, but it was of no use. She leaned forward and grasped his hand, and her tears dropped down on the snow-white sheet.
When she had recomposed she stood up, leaned down to push back a strand of hair from his forehead and brushed his cheek with a kiss. "I won't let you die on me like this, Mulder."
*****
She drove to his apartment, sat down on the couch and wrapped herself in a blanket. She buried her face in the familiar scent and lost herself in memories of the few occasions when she had actually been in his arms.
After Donnie Pfaster... When her sister had died... When he had returned from Russia... When... A loud rap brought her out of her reverie. She jumped up and frowned. Who could possibly know she was here?
She opened the door only a small gap and peeked out. "Yes?"
In front of her stood a man she had never seen before. Nonetheless he seemed to know her.
"I knew I would find you here, Agent Scully."
She was instantly suspicious. "What do you want?"
"This concerns your partner's... disease. Can I come in?" He stepped forward.
She closed the door a bit more.
He shot her a warning glance. "This is something I'd rather not discuss in a hallway."
Reluctantly, she opened the door, but always kept a hand near her gun.
He closed the door behind himself and sat down in an armchair. She sat across from him and unconsciously felt for the blanket again.
He got right to the point. "We have means to cure your partner, Agent Scully. But of course this would require a little... favor from your side in return."
Her heart screamed, "Anything!", but she managed to keep a straight face. "And what would this 'favor' be?"
"We want you. Your expertise on paranormal phenomena would be of great use to us."
"And this would mean...?"
"You'd have to give up your life. Your *whole* life. We would fake your death, you could even get a corpse for your family to bury, but of course you could *never* see anyone again."
She felt her heart shrink to a little hard core, but she nodded, "Of course."
"Do we have a deal, Agent Scully?"
"How will I know he is really cured?"
"We will monitor him for the duration of the healing process. And of course, if you're not cooperative, we will make sure he doesn't survive this."
She swallowed hard and nodded again. "We have a deal."
*****
Two hours later she sat in her car on the drive to her apartment. She would pack up a few belongings (they only allowed her a small bag) and meet her contact at a monitoring van. As soon as she was sure they had administered the cure, she would go with them... and never see him again. She had written a letter to him in a few copies she had deposited in different places, one at her mom's (it had been difficult to explain why this was necessary), one at his apartment, one would stay at hers.
When she was ready, she bit her lip, straightened up and looked around her apartment for the last time. She had no idea how she could get out of this without destroying either her partners life or her own. She didn't know how she was going to 'die', and she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
In an attempt to secure at least a bit of her independence, she picked up the phone and called the Gunmen.
She would use Them the same way They used her.
"Frohike? This is Scully. Listen, this is really important..." She told him as much as possible in a fast, low voice.
He was shocked, but not hopeless. "Agent Scully, I think I have exactly what you need. I'll have somebody dump it on your doorstep within the next... ten minutes. I'll take care of the other part."
She smiled, "Thanks, Frohike, I don't know what I'd do without you." She put down the receiver and sat on her couch to wait.
Ten minutes later, she heard a knock on her door. She opened and picked up a little package.
Inside she found a device that resembled nothing more than a walkman with sunglasses, but what she knew was the receiver to a video camera. She packed them on top of her bag and headed out the door.
*****
He felt like he was standing in a warm summer rain. He couldn't open his eyes, couldn't see for some reason, he could only feel the rain on his skin. Suddenly it stopped. He felt the warm pressure of a kiss on his cheek, and then, nothing anymore.
He had no feeling for time. He seemed to float through darkness, for what could have been a second as well as an eternity.
His next sentiment was one of something cold... and stinging. Yes, it stung like hell. He squirmed and tried to get away from it, but it wouldn't let him go.
Suddenly, the stinging went away. After another uncertain amount of time he could open his eyes again and time was back. He blinked a few times and focused his gaze on an unfamiliar face. A nurse.
" Where am I? Where's Scully? "
"You're in hospital, Mr. Mulder. But I can't tell you where your partner is."
"Why am I here?"
"You were comatose for the last two and a half weeks. You were considered a hopeless case. We have been trying to reach your mother to find out about a possible living will..."
"You mean I was..."
"...as good as dead, yes."
"I want out of here. I want to find Scully." He was up and going instantly, but she stopped him and had him back in bed very quickly. "Take it slow, Mr. Mulder."
Reluctantly he lay down again.
A moment later, Maggie Scully came in. She looked like she had been crying heavily.
"Mrs. Scully? What's wrong?"
She hugged him tightly, tubes and all. "I'm so glad you're alive, Fox, I couldn't bear losing you too," she sobbed.
He put his arms around her. "Too? Is it... Did something happen to Dana?"
"She's dead, Fox. She's dead. Her flat is all burned out, and she died in the fire." She broke into tears again.
Mulder swallowed hard. "She's dead, Mrs. Scully? Are you sure?"
Of course she was sure. He held her tightly while they both cried.
*****
Scully bit her lip till it bled. She wouldn't be able to endure this for any more time. She had to do something. But she had no idea what that could be. Getting out of here was next to impossible. And she couldn't allow Frohike to let them know where she was, then nothing would hold Mulder back from coming to get her.
She thought about her situation.
She was on the 23rd floor. Jumping out of some window was no possibility, since she wasn't allowed somewhere nearer to the ground than 50ft, and a jump from that height would be lethal. She opened her window and leaned out... and saw an electrical window cleaner passing a few floors below. She couldn't believe that they might be careless enough to do this, but they were. She knew that this was *her* chance. She picked up a coat and ran down the stairs.
She was lucky. The window was one of the few ones that did open in this building. She was showered with a wave of soapy water, but that didn't matter. She climbed out and pulled the window shut behind her, crouched down on the small platform that was hardly half a square meter wide, and covered herself with her coat.
Lucky again. The platform was just on its drive down. She trembled and nearly fell a few times, but she managed to keep a hold.
The platform came down at the back of the building. There were no entrances and therefor no guards. She managed to get away unseen.
But she had no idea where she was. She had no money and no means of transport. Her only hope was hitching.
*****
Mulder stood in the burned out shell of Scully's apartment. He had been crying most of the time since he had gotten out of hospital. He felt it was his fault. He shouldn't have left without her, he shouldn't have been in hospital, he should have been here with her, should have saved her, or at least died with her...
He heard the door open. "Don't worry, Mom, I won't commit suicide, I won't do that to you." He heard a low sob. "Mom?" He turned around, and there she was. His Scully. Wet and bruised, with her hair dyed black and dressed in rags, but still his Scully. In an instant, he had her in his arms with his face buried in her hair.
"You're alive. You're *alive*." He couldn't stop saying it. She put her arms around his waist, and they stood like this for what seemed like an eternity.
When they finally pulled apart, she stepped back to look into his eyes.
He smiled tenderly. She smiled back and slipped her hand into his. "Let's get out of here."
The End!