AUTHOR: Dana Hale
RATING: K+
SPOILERS: "Provenance" (Season 9)
SUMMARY: You know the scene in "Provenance" where Doggett asks Scully if the guy who tried to kill William had a weapon, and she answers "A pillow" and then she just about collapses against the door to William's room with major angst? OBVIOUSLY she was wishing at that moment for some Mulder comfort. And OBVIOUSLY Mulder wouldn't be able to stay away had he known that an attempt was made on his son's life and Scully was once again beaten up by a very bad man. By the way, I took creative license with Scully's injuries to add to all the angstyness.
DISCLAIMER: The X-Files television show and characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and the Fox Corporation.
Part 1/2
"Come home. Scully needs you."
The message left on his voicemail was short and to the point, but the meaning of it was enough to stop his heart. He had told Frohike to call him only if it was an emergency. Something in the tone of Frohike's voice told him that something was seriously wrong.
He never would have thought of going home at this point, even though that's clearly where he wanted to be. But the secret life that he was now living had become a complicated web of truth and lies. He was getting very close to something. He could feel it. To leave now just when he was on the brink of finding a better way to protect his new family so that he could go home and be with them for good...
But the message was clear. He could not ignore it.
When he opened the door to her apartment, he could not help but remember the last time he had stepped into the warmth of her home. A brand new baby had changed the atmosphere in an instant, making her apartment seem more like heaven. He remembered walking into her bedroom the day that she came home from the hospital. Their son was in her arms and Mulder's heart was overflowing with love for the both of them. Life was so beautifully complicated. He had to do everything in his power to protect them, and that meant leaving them. Or so he thought.
Now standing in her living room, the atmosphere was off compared to what he had remembered. She wasn't here and neither was William. Just a few hours ago, he was miles and miles apart from them, but being in her home now without her here, he felt even more alone. The apartment was dark and void of any goodness. It felt eerie, dangerous.
He found enough nerve to walk towards her bedroom but something horrific caught his eyes. Were his eyes playing tricks on him, or did he really just see what he thought he saw? He pushed the door open to the nursery just a little bit more and was shocked to see that he was right. He certainly didn't want to be right.
The carpet near the crib was violently stained with blood. A lot of blood. Mulder swallowed hard and closed his eyes. Maybe if he waited a few seconds it would go away when he reopened his eyes.
"William's fine."
The quiet voice behind him startled him. He opened his eyes again, but the nightmare that was before him had not gone away.
"My God. Byers...what happened?" Mulder's voice sounded like a frightened child who was lost. He couldn't tear his eyes from the ugly pool of dried blood.
Byers grabbed Mulder's arm and tried to pull him gently out of the room. Mulder was transfixed in place and would not budge.
"Mulder, we can't stay here. It isn't safe."
"Where are they?" Mulder hoarsely croaked.
"William is with Frohike and Langly. They're taking good card of him. He's safe. He's fine."
Mulder finally turned around to look at Byers. The words were hard to say, but the question was eating him raw and he had to know. "And Scully?"
Byers was silent. He was shaken up himself over what had almost happened.
"WHAT ABOUT SCULLY?" Mulder was beginning to unravel now. He was really scared and the reality of the situation was making him angry.
Byers didn't quite know how to answer his worried friend. "She's...uh...I mean, considering what happened..."
"BYERS, if you don't start telling me what happened here..."
"NOT HERE, Mulder. Come with me. I'll take you to her. She needs you right now."
Mulder walked on shaky legs to the Lone Gunmens' van outside the apartment building. Once they got going down the road, Byers began telling Mulder the frightening story.
"A man broke into the apartment for the specific purpose of killing William." Byers stopped at this point to let this sink in with Mulder. Mulder took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out.
Byers continued. "Scully wasn't home when he broke in, but Margaret was in the living room and Will was in his crib. The man knocked Margaret out, and made his way over to the nursery. Scully came home just in time. She fought him hard, but it wasn't enough. She had her gun on her but she lost it in the struggle. He ended up pushing her out of the room, locked her out, and proceeded to...uh...with a...pillow..." Byers slowly trailed off, not knowing how graphic he should get.
Mulder brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose trying to stay in control of his emotions. "No...don't...you don't have to..." He looked at Byers with wide eyes. "Then what? You said William was fine..."
"Margaret regained consciousness and found Scully's gun and ran to give it to her. Scully kicked the door open and shot the bastard. Three times. He died before she could get any information out of him other than he was working within the FBI and he said that William must die."
Mulder clenched his jaw in anger. "So the blood on the carpet is..."
"Yeah, no...it's not Scully's. But he beat her up pretty good. I'm taking you to Georgetown Medical to see her. I'll have to sneak you in. Visiting hours are over, and you really shouldn't be seen in public around here, anyway."
"How bad is she?"
"Broken ribs, broken wrist, several cuts and bruises, concussion. They're keeping her overnight for observation. She's more emotionally shaken up than anything, though, Mulder. This really affected her big time. She needs you."
"Does she know I'm coming?"
"No."