Five years earlier:
Scully rolled her Mercedes neatly into her usual spot on the gravel drive. It was late. She'd had a long shift at work doing overtime as usual. She turned off the engine and sat for a moment in the drivers seat, wonder what state she'd find him in this time.
The door was unlocked when she tried it. For such a paranoid man as Mulder, he was becoming extremely lax on security.
She found him on the coach. At least it made a change from his usual pose; passed out at his desk in amongst a stack of papers. His stubbled beard indicated he'd neglected shaving yet again. He probably hadn't left the house, even though she'd asked him to pick up milk from the store. Any excuse to get him out and about, he was such a recluse nowadays.
She switched on the lamp beside him where an opened packet of Eszopiclone lay; its contents entirely consumed.
"Mulder" She nudged him, half wondering if he was still breathing.
He grumbled in his sleep, adjusting his position so his hand rested haphazardly across his face.
"Wake up!" She kneed his side.
"What?" He snapped, a little more argumentative than he'd quite intended.
"How many did you take?" She held the blister pack to his eye level throwing him a disapproving look.
"Enough… to put me out for a while"
She waited for him to swizzle his body so his legs were dangling off the coach. He sunk his head into his hands willing her to just vanish from existence. At least it would get her off his back for a moment's peace.
"Why?" She pressed, losing patience with his childish behaviour. It wasn't the first time she'd caught him necking handfuls of pills to numb the pain.
"Why d' you think? I haven't been sleeping."
"And overdosing on prescription medication is the answer to that, right?" She jabbed sarcastically.
"What can I say? It's handy knowing a doctor who'll prescribe them"
She blew air through her nose, "Unbelievable."
She'd had enough of his shit. It was late and if he wanted to turn borderline hypothermic passed out on the coach it was his decision. She was beyond caring at this point.
She stormed into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, stopping in fury when the fridge was absent of milk.
"One thing. I asked you to do one thing today, Mulder, and you couldn't even manage that." She slammed the refrigerator closed, shaking her dead in disbelief.
He slouched against the doorframe scratching his head, "I forgot" He admitted honestly.
She marched to the bedroom, pulled the small black suitcase from the wardrobe and began stuffing it with clothes.
He followed her in shortly after.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm done." She said bluntly.
"You're done?" He repeated blankly.
"Yes, Mulder. I'm done. I can't live like this anymore. I can't watch you slowly destroy yourself!"
She slammed the lid of the case and zipped it closed, turning on her heel with the bag in tow. Mulder followed like a lost puppy, bordering on panic.
"Where are you going?" He called when she bleeped the car open.
"Anywhere but here."
She banged the car door shut and the engine rumbled awake. She was pulling out of the driveway in autopilot, refusing to look in the rear-view mirror she knew that his perplexed expression as he stood in the porch watching her leave would only infuriate her further.
….
Scully felt for the vaccine stuffed deep inside her pocket. She moved it around her hands, reminding herself it was still there and it was safe. A small comfort in an otherwise disturbing situation.
The hinges were beginning to shake loose on the steel doors, and the bodged welding on the barricades was starting to give. It wouldn't be long before they refused to hold out.
A screw fell from one of the top fixtures and rolled across the floor coming to a stop by their feet. No one spoke, just kept focus on their failing defences and what lay behind it.
Just as they were convinced that one final blow would have hundreds of greys cascading in on them, it ceased, leaving with it a haunting silence. Given up when they were so close, it made no sense. Scully gulped, a shimmer of sweat now running down her brow. This wasn't going to be pleasant.
In the tiniest gap above the doorframe three elongated fingers crept through the slit, feeling carefully around for the bolted chains. It wrapped its clawed extremities over the lock, feeling for it, working it all out. They could have broken the door down in one last blow but they didn't, they wanted to toy with the humans inside, like mice trapped in a maze.
Skinner pulled the safety off of his shotgun, ever so slowly and with delicate movements he rose it into position, getting as close to the alien as he dared, and aimed directly at the creature's hand.
He hesitated, and everyone quickly realised why. If he were to shed the creature's blood in a confined area such as this it could infect everyone in the room in less than a minute.
"Smartass motherfuckers" Morgan breathed, "…What do we do?"
No one offered an answer.
The sound of gunfire resonated about the room and it took a while for Scully to realise that no one had fired a weapon. It was coming from outside. Then another, and another, until someone appeared to be scattering shells left right and centre right outside the doors. There were hideous cries resonating from the creatures as bullets rebounded from wall to wall taking out dozens of greys in its wake.
It fell silent once more and the five of them watched as the long fingers of the creature drooped lifelessly before falling along with its body back through the other side, resting in a heap on the floor.
"Was that our guys?" On of the technicians asked apprehensively, "…Do you think it was the team protecting unit sixteen, did they come up to help?"
Skinner shook his head, "No. We don't have weapons capable of that. Those sounded…bigger, more advanced"
Scully turned to her former boss, "I don't like this"
The technician approached the door and pressed her ear against the flat surface to listen, "Sounds…mechanical"
There was a bleeping, a countdown that appeared to be placed on the far side of the door.
"Uh-oh"
"Move!" Scully yelled, wrestling the woman to the floor just in time for the entire door to be blasted open and the room filled with smoke.
They coughed against the dusty debris that quickly filled the enclosed space. Half shielding her eyes from the cloud, Scully squinted up at the intruders. Instead of the looming, gothic figures she anticipated finding, a group of men in black stood over them. They looked casual, unnervingly so.
"Who are you people?!" Skinner yelled through the rubble.
They never responded.
Scully watched as one by one they were hoisted to their feet; the emotionless figures restraining a rebellious Skinner with surprising ease. One of the men gripped her arm tight and pulled her outside along with the others.
"Why are you doing this?!" She cried, still uncertain whether to be thankful or fearful.
Someone had Mulder. They heaved him over their shoulder as though he were a ragdoll, a six-foot-two unconscious ragdoll. There was only one explanation for it and she hated to admit it.
"They're bounty's!" Scully declared, deciding it best to be compliant with whatever the bastards had in store for them.
She visualised the vaccine in her pocket, hoping she could keep it from them long enough to figure out how to escape this mess. But they knew exactly where to find it, exactly what they were looking for. She didn't bother to put up a fight. A broken arm would render her even more useless, and either way they'd get what they wanted.