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Stronger
He can see her staring straight ahead, her eyes dead and unseeing. The blood oozed from her destroyed skull as she lay before him. The shock felt unreal. She was gone. Dead. She had shot herself in the skull. No, Linda Bowman had forced her to. Then he spins round firing his own gun before he asks questions.
"No!" He sits up in a bath of sweat, the sickening images of what it? leaving him as he took in the living room around him. The television in the corner silently played out a black and white film. He ran a hand over his messy brown hair reminding himself that she was alive. No one had shot her. He closed his eyes, dragging air into his lungs he wasn't sure what the reality was, he just knew he had to talk to her. Grabbing the phone he pressed speed dial before he could talk himself out of it.
"Mulder. It's 2 am." Scully stated as she tried not to yawn. "What is it?" She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She had known Bowman had affected him but they had beaten Pusher before. They'd held their guns on each other as targets before, it was horrible and frightening but they'd moved past it. She didn't know why Mulder didn't now.
"Yeah." Mulder sighed.
"Are you ok?"
"I nearly shot you."
"No you didn't."
"Scully. I saw you, you were dead."
"No, you saw what she wanted you to see. She made you see that. It wasn't real." Scully sighed. "I shot her."
"Dana."
"I'm ok. You're ok, try to sleep." She sighed. "Promise me, go to bed don't sleep on the couch."
"I can't sleep." Mulder almost whispered. "I keep seeing you there. It was real, it was so so real."
"I'm coming over."
"No, no you're ok. I'm being a jerk. Go back to sleep." Dana sighed.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Cxxxxxxx
3am
Dana stared at the ceiling. She hadn't been able to sleep since Mulder had woken her. They'd been partners and friends for so long she couldn't imagine life without him. He'd been with her through some of the darkest times, the death of her father, Melissa and Emily. She knew there was no way she'd have survived without him. In that moment she understood why Mulder had been so unsettled. He'd had to imagine her dead - after her cancer it was something they both avoided but Bowman had forced the fear to the front of his mind. Sighing heavily she pulled the duvet back before climbing out of bed.
Xxxxxxx
Mulder poured hot water onto the coffee granules in the mug. He knew he would need copious amounts of caffeine to get through the next day. A knocking on his door starker him but he knew there was only one person who would visit him at 3:30 am.
"I told you." He started as she walked into the apartment.
"You never listen to me." Dana smirked. "It's over Mulder. We won, we stopped her." She stepped a little closer. Mulder hung his head, clearly exhausted.
"Yeah."
"So, don't do this." She reached up and touched his face as his eyes closed. He held her hand as he opened his eyes. "We're both ok."
"You were dead. I saw you. You begged me to stop her and I couldn't. I let you down, I couldn't save you. I."
She kissed his forehead before letting him pull her into his arms. He held her tightly, barely able to let her go. She hugged him back tightly, finally seeing what he had been through mentally.
"I'm here. I'm alive and you did not let me down." She pulled back to look in his eyes. "Do you hear me? She is not going to do this. We're stronger than her."
"Yeah." Mulder smiled slightly as he leant forward, meeting her halfway his lips brushed hers. "Yeah, we are." Dana smiled back, linking her hand with his she tugged his hand before leading him to the bedroom.
Xxxxxx
A/N please review