Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they belong to Fox and the creators of "The X-Files."
Spoilers: Season 2 Episode 13 Irresistible
Do you ever have those moments where you feel totally and completely safe? For example, you wake up on a Saturday morning, the sun is shining through the open curtains, the sound of birds chirping filling the room. You have no requirements or duties to deal with on this particular gorgeous morning. Everything is safe and comfortable. Today all is right with the world.
This was quite the opposite to how Special Agent Fox Mulder felt as he frantically struggled to find his kidnapped partner, Special Agent Dana Scully.
They had been working a horrific case in Minneapolis involving a man, if you could go so far as to give him that title, named Donnie Pfaster. He was a necrophiliac who took pleasure in pilfering certain "treasures" from the corpses of young women. Scully had been abhorred by this case from the beginning. The defacing of the dead is not something taken with a grain of salt by the average sane individual. However Mulder sensed her fear was exacerbated by her own experiences and her recent abduction.
The two had separated, to investigate the case more fully, but Scully was set to meet Mulder after her evening flight. Three hours past and Scully still had yet to return. At this point to say that Mulder panicked would be a severe understatement. When an agent informed him that they had found Scully's rental car, crashed along the side of the road, his heart dropped into his stomach and fear constricted his chest. Given his FBI, cool under pressure training, Mulder did not let himself get lured into the blinding effects of hysteria and anxiety over the unknown fate of his partner, but urgently set to investigate the scene of the crash and work to find where that bastard, Pfaster, had taken her.
Together with Agent Bocks, he discovered, in a seemingly excruciatingly slow period, the type of white car that ran his Scully off of the road. Bocks then restated a item from Mulder's profile of the Pfaster that sparked hope within Mulder, the fact that the necrophiliac's unconventional relationship with women started with his mother. Meaning, he would likely take refuge in a place that he connects to his mother. After a quick search in the government's database, they found an abandoned property belonging to Mrs. Pfaster. At long last they were getting somewhere, they had a possible lead.
The drive to the Pfaster house was more arduous than the restlessness of waiting for test results. To be so close and always getting ever closer. Each momentary lull in the forward motion of the vehicle was a burden, each hit of the breaks a hardship. But worst of all was not knowing what they would find when they arrived; that was a breed of slow, agonizing torture.
Mulder quickly recounted all the factors and attributes that could aid in keeping Scully alive; she was a FBI Agent, a ruddy good one at that. Scully was strong, independent and intelligent, if she saw an opening for escape or to attack Pfaster, she would take it. His girl was a fighter. His girl. His beautiful, funny, caring girl... who was probably tied up...or drugged...or alone in a dark room...or being attacked by Pfaster right now, hoping that he, her partner, would find her in time, busting through the doors and...and...Mulder could not bear the consequences of where his frantic mind was wandering. He would find her in time. He had to.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime and a half, but was only in reality several minutes, the cars stopped and Agents filed out, surrounding the house with a For Sale sign. Mulder opened his car door before car even fully stopped, and rushed at the front door mindlessly, barging through just as the other Agents broke the door down.
And there he was, poised to give a hard blow, Pfaster. He looked up shocked and scared as his was pinned to the floor, surrounded by agents and police holding firearms. But Mulder did not hear or see any of that, he was too busy looking at the girl he had picked up off of the floor. Scully, his Scully. She was trembling, shivering, as he held her arms to steady her. She preached that she was alright, but she could not bare to look into his eyes. He studied her beautiful face, scratched and bruised, and hopelessly wondered if there was anything he could have done to prevent it, her fear and her pain. Needing her to look at him, he gently placed his crooked finger under her cut chin, tilting her face to his. As her impossibly blue eyes met his and found sympathy and love there, Scully, who has always been a vice of stifled emotions, finally let go. Sobbing into his open arms, he held her tightly, needing to feel that she was okay. Mulder kissed the top of her head and marveled at how, despite everything she had been through, her strong presence made him feel comforted even as she soaked his jacket with her tears. In that moment he released the haggard breath he had been holding since Scully and himself had been separated.
Later, after Scully was thoroughly examined by the doctors and released with bandages and some pills for the pain and to help her sleep, Mulder drove her to the airport, knowing that even though they would have to endure a plane ride, Scully would rather spend the night in her own bed and away from the town full of terrible memories.
They sat next to each other on the last flight leaving from Minneapolis to Washington D.C.. Scully was soon lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the plane. Looking into her face, marked with bandages and bruises, Mulder mused as to how Scully still managed to look stunning. Gently, so as to not wake her, he removed his jacket and placed it around her. In the soft hum of the dark plane, Mulder was able to fully comprehend those last few hours. The rushed searching, the confusion and his crazed worries of the fate of his beloved partner. If he was a religious man, Mulder would have thanked God that he found Scully in time, that she was in the seat next to him on a homeward bound flight. But he wasn't so he thanked the universe. In her sleep, Scully rested her head on his shoulder, and kissing it, Mulder dozed off too, a slight smile of his face.
As the plane touched down Scully awoke, her head still on the comforting shoulder of her partner. She poked Mulder in the stomach, by way of greeting and a wake up call.
When they arrived in the airport and navigated their way through the familiar parking lot, Mulder lead Scully to the passenger side door of the car, she was too tired to push off his acts of chivalry and let him help her into her seat. Mulder drove to Scully's apartment, the darkened car peaceful and quiet.
Mulder opened the door to her apartment with his spare key and guided Scully to her bedroom. Leaving her to get changed, as directed by her pointed look for him to get out, Mulder opened the bottle of pills he had been given by the doctor and filled a glass with water. When he knocked on her door, Scully was sitting up in her bed already under the covers. Already she started to look more peaceful. She took the pills he handed to her, and thanked him, holding onto his hand for longer than normal. As he turned away saying goodnight to Scully, preparing to sleep on the couch, she surprised him. Scully did not let go of his hand, when he turned back she implored him to stay with her. Asking him to sleep in her bed. The request and the need she felt to be protected were so simple and open hearted that Mulder agreed without a pause, changing into his sweatpants and t-shirt in her meticulously tidy bathroom. Mulder flipped off the light and nervously climbed under the covers. He would not dare try anything tonight. Tonight he was comforting his partner who had just endured a nightmarish experience, not snuggling with the woman he had dreamed about for the past year. However Scully surprised him again by quickly moving to his side of the bed and crawling into his arms, placing her head of the crook of his shoulder and chest. Mulder moved his arms to surround her, as the beautiful girl who was as strong as steel, fell asleep almost instantly in his arms.
Do you ever have those moments when you feel totally and completely safe? That is how Mulder felt as he awoke snuggled up behind his partner and crush, Dana Scully. Despite all of the horrors they had been through together, for now they were both safe and loved in each others arms. As Scully moved closer to him in her sleep, Mulder could not help thinking that he had never felt more content and safe as he did in this perfect moment of time on a lazy Saturday morning.