"Scully," said the all too familiar voice of Skinner, DA of the FBI. His normal almost monotone voice was edged with what seemed liked to be a mixture of panic and childish excitement.
Sully, who had just gotten off after a 16 hour shift at the ER, was less than exuberant in her reply. "What?' She asked groggily. Scully had just fallen asleep when she heard the annoying vibrating of her cell phone placed on the night table besides her bed.
"We found him," said Skinner, this time the excitement took over in his voice. "We found him!" If Skinner had been in the room with her, he would be jumping up and down.
Sully sat up straight in bed as soon as she heard those words. She felt an intense shiver run down her spine. "What?" Her voice this time was shaky like she could barely breathe.
"We found Mulder,' said Skinner. He let his words skink into Scully.
Scully gasped. Mulder had been missing for over ten years. He had been taken, abducted, by aliens or by the government, and there had not been a single trace of him. In the early years of his disappearance, Scully has searched for him. Scully had run herself ragged for three years, traipsing the globe in hopes of finding him. That had finally stopped after Scully had a mental breakdown. Scully was given mandatory medical leave, after she got better, she decided that it would be best if she did not return to the FBI. She had been working as an ER doctor for almost six years now. Scully loved the job, it was something different every day. Sometimes she missed working for the FBI, but if Mulder wasn't there, there was really no point in her returning. "You're kidding me," said Scully quietly. Her voice had disappeared with shock. She thought for sure that he would be dead at least by now. "Where is he?" She had a million and one questions running through her head and that was the only one she could think to say.
"New Mexico," said Skinner. He was practically screaming into the phone. "The Albuquerque police department picked up a man, who was wondering near the dumpsters of a restaurant. He was exposed indecently and they took him to the station. Upon questioning him, they learned that he appeared to be suffering for amnesia and was undernourished. They finger-printed him, found the match, and called us. He is now being held at UNM hospital."
Scully was silent for a couple of moments as she let the words sink into her. She had really given up hope of ever seeing him again. She noticed that her heart was pounding in her chest. "Do you know how severe the amnesia is and what could had caused it?"
"No, I just gave you all the information I had," said Skinner sighing, "They did not give me much information over the phone." He cleared his throat. "If you want, you can come with me to New Mexico to pick him up. I can book another ticket."
"Of course I will go!" shouted Scully. "Jesus Skinner, why would you think I would not want to go? This is Mulder!"
"Well, I wasn't sure, if you were comfortable with seeing him," said Skinner. "We have no clue what his condition is."
"No, I want to go," said Scully. "When is the flight?"
"I will book a flight for 2pm," said Skinner. "I will come and pick you up."
"Okay," said Scully." I will be waiting."
Scully got up and started packing. Even though she had only an hour of sleep, she was now too awake to care. Many thoughts ran through her head. So, he had amnesia, but how bad was it? He wasn't wearing any clothes and he was rummaging through dumpsters, which must mean that he was in some sort of mental distress. So many things ran through her head, it made her dizzy.
Skinner came and picked up Scully at noon. Scully had bought a small house a little out of the city after she got out of the FBI. Scully ran out of her house as soon as Skinner pulled into the driveway in a black SUV.
Scully saw Skinner a few times a year. To her, he was her closest friend. Scully had never been one who had many friends, but since Mulder had been abducted she had become more isolated. Scully visited her mother, her brother with his two children numerous times a year, but other than that she did not really have any friends. She worked and then spent days at home with her dog. Scully had always been more of a solitary person, but now she was practically a hermit.
Scully often had often been asked out by her single male colleagues and she had accepted a few. However, the relationships always ended after a few dates because the men always felt she was too cold. This had hurt Scully because she wanted to have companionship and a semblance of a normal life, but she had envisioned that future with her former partner Mulder.
Skinner got out of the SUV. Skinner was those rare types of people who did not seem to change or age over the years. "Hey," said Skinner as he grabbed her small black carry-on. He looked at her with an odd expression like he could not decide whether or not if he should be happy or solemn. His brown eyes looked Scully up and down a searched for her mood.
Scully gave Skinner a small smile ."Hey," she said. Sully could not decide on her emotions, so she looked expressionless.
Skinner through her bag along with his in the trunk. Then he opened the door on the passenger's side for Scully. She climbed into the seat and fastened her seatbelt.
Skinner closed the trunk and then went to his seat and started the car. He backed out of her driveway. "I can't believe we are doing this." He said.
"I know,' said Scully. She looked out the window. The day had started out cool for a day in June. It was cloudy and now the clouds had begun to weep. The softer pitter patter of the rain was soothing until it was interrupted by the obnoxious noise of Skinner turning on the windshield wipers. "I was beginning think that this day would never come."
He nods, "Truth be told, I had given up." Skinner had blamed himself for Mulder's abduction. He had been with Mulder in Bellefleur Oregon. Mulder had forbidden Scully to go back to Oregon because "they" had been taking abductees. However, Mulder had been wrong, "they" had actually had been taking people who believed in the existence of extra-terrestrial beings. A few months later they had found Billy Miles and few others that had been abducted dropped off dead. However, they never dropped off Mulder, which made Skinner and Scully believe that they were keeping Mulder alive. This had kept hope going, but their hoped waned when the Mulder case grew cold and they no longer had any leads.
