Disclaimer: No.
Spoilers: None.
A/N: I don't know when this takes place or what's it's doing here. Just wanted to post a little something during this dry-spell I seem to be having. Oh bother..
Mulder paced back and forth in his office, rubbing his fist. He had just tried to put it through his filing cabinets and the wall and was now seriously considering how much damage his foot could make. He hated bringing Scully on cases like this, but he knew he had to. And now she was gone. They had no idea who had taken her, although Mulder could profile the man right down to the footwear he preferred. They had been tracking him for a week and had just found out that his alias was Thomas Gacey when Scully had disappeared. Right out of her apartment, again. She had a cold, and Mulder had come over to check on her. He swore he locked all the windows and doors when he left, but somehow Gacey had gotten in and taken her away. It had been five days. They still didn't know what kind of car he was driving or where he lived. All they knew was that he would take women, torture them and leave them for dead.
"Agent Mulder," Skinner said, poking his head into the office.
"What?"
"We got a break. Gacey's real name is Arthur Douglas. He was born and raised in Montana."
"Who called it in?"
"His ex-wife. She saw it on America's Most Wanted and was pretty sure he's the man we're looking for. She said that he's probably back in Montana, and could possibly have gone back to a ranch he worked on as a teenager."
Mulder grabbed his coat off of the back of a chair and started to head out the door.
"I'm going out there. Get a flight for me."
"Mulder,"
"What?"
"We're not sure he's our guy."
"I don't care. I'm going to find her."
Skinner let him go. There was no use arguing when Mulder put on his hero glasses, especially when Scully was the one he had to rescue.
"We've checked all of the buildings and there's no sign of your partner. Either he didn't bring her here or he's got her stashed away somewhere."
"Let's hope that's the case. How much land are we talking about here?"
"As far as property lines go, not much. But Arthur was always wandering off into the woods and surrounding caves. It could take years to find all the nooks and crannies he knows about. There are some caves about a mile's hike from here. It's quite a large system, but easy to navigate. If she was struggling at all that would have been the easiest place to take her."
"Let's go."
Mulder headed off in the direction the sheriff indicated, slowing his pace for a moment so the man could catch up.
"So you knew Arthur all his life?"
"His father and I went to school together. Arthur was a good kid. Popular, well behaved."
"Until?"
"Until his father committed suicide. Arthur went a little crazy. Started drinking, driving fast… normal teenage stuff, but not for him. His mother didn't know what to do with him, so she sent him over here to work for Tom. We thought that straightened him out. Then after his divorce we started to see some of the same stuff again. When he started moving around all the time we figured he was out of our hands and we didn't have to deal with him anymore. No one ever thought he would do something like this."
"His ex-wife, what was their relationship like?"
"Good for a while. I guess he started to beat her. He never expected her to stand up to him."
"You said his boss at the ranch was Tom?"
"Yeah, Tom Gacey."
Mulder almost stopped walking.
"Sheriff, Arthur's alias is Thomas Gacey."
"Well that's certainly interesting."
"No kidding. Any idea why he would do that?"
"No. Tom was nothing but good to him."
Mulder nodded and grew quiet, trying to digest this piece of information. It certainly changed his profile of the man. And not in a way that bought him any more time to find Scully. He sighed and reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out Scully's necklace. It always seemed to find him when he had lost her. He held it tightly, hoping that it would help him find her. He knew it would be cold in the caves, and being sick when Gacey had taken her made it that much more critical that they find her soon. She could have pneumonia by now. And if he had hurt her in anyway, the wounds would be getting infected. He shook his head, trying not to think about the pain she was in.
"Agent Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"You're probably going to want to get a flashlight out."
"Oh, yeah."
"We can split up into groups of two, make the search of the caves faster."
"Yeah."
The sheriff relayed the plan to his three deputies.
"If you find her, don't touch her. Holler for me first," Mulder instructed, picturing Scully's freak out when a total stranger tried to help her after an ordeal like this. It wouldn't be pretty. He turned and went into the cave, opting not to take a partner. He only had one partner after all, and he was going in to get her.
He had been in the caves for 20 minutes when he sat down and ran his hand through his hair. He had one cave left to search, and if she wasn't there… he wasn't sure what he would do. He stood up and forged ahead, his flashlight beam criss-crossing ahead of him. The small tunnel he was in suddenly opened into a large room. It was pitch black and it took a long time for his flashlight beam to play over the room.
Scully was laying on an old metal cot, her legs chained to the frame. She was sleeping and he approached her carefully, setting the flashlight on the ground so it lit up more of the room.
"Scully," he said, touching her hand. Her eyes flew open and she backed away from him as much as she could.
"Scully, it's me. It's Mulder."
She paused in her movements then scrambled back towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.
"I knew you'd come," she said, her voice quiet and scratchy. "Did you find him?"
"Gacey? No, not yet."
"I want to go home."
"I know. Let me try and get you out of these things," he said, looking a little closer at her bindings. They were metal ankle bracelets, attached to the chains, much like the prison bindings from old Westerns. He pulled his lock picking kit from the pack he had brought with him, and began to work on her left ankle. It was swollen and her shoes were missing. The lock opened after a moment and she whimpered in pain.
"I'm sorry Scully. Just one more and I can get you out of here."
He reached for her other ankle and she began to cry. He worked as fast as he could, opening the leg iron in record time. Her tears came loudly. Upon closer investigation, he found that small metal teeth had been welded to the inside of the leg irons. Opening them had ripped them out of her skin. He reached for his pack again, glad he had thought to bring water and sterile bandages.
"Drink some of this water, Scully."
She was laying back down on the bed, her breath coming in short gasps.
"I can't."
"Yes you can."
He helped her to sit up and get a small sip of water before she lost her energy again. He used the rest of the water to clean her wounds as best as he could, then dressed them carefully.
"Home," she said softly, reaching her hand out for him.
"I know, we're going."
He gathered everything, then lifted her into his arms. He wasn't sure how they were going to maneuver through the caves and tunnels, but he knew he had to get her out and to a doctor.
"I'm still here," Mulder shouted through the bathroom door. Scully's first request upon arriving in town was that she get a shower. Mulder had persuaded her to go to the doctor first, resulting in a 12 hour saline drip and about a month's worth of antibiotics. She had grumbled and complained, but had thanked him later for making her go. Once he had gotten her into the light at the doctor's office, he had gotten a better look at her. Her lips were cracked and swollen from dehydration, her face was dirty and tear tracked, and she had bruises up and down her arms. Her hair was tangled and matted, and she was still in the same pajamas that she had been wearing when he went to check on her several nights before.
Both of her ankles were infected, and the doctor had stocked them up with topical ointments, waterproof bandages, and more antibiotics before they left the clinic.
Mulder heard the water go off and a few minutes later, Scully emerged in her favorite pajamas and a big robe. He congratulated himself again for packing her a bag.
"I'm tired," she said softly, her head coming to rest on his chest.
"I know. Let's get your hair dry and call your mom one more time before you go to sleep."
She nodded and he toweled her hair dry until he was satisfied that the dampness wouldn't worsen her condition.
"Can we call mom in the morning?" she said finally, rubbing her eyes.
"Okay. Get in bed."
She obeyed and he tucked her in as tightly as he could.
"I'll be right in the next room if you need me, and I'll leave the door open."
"You're not staying?"
"Scully, you know as well as I do that you need to sleep alone tonight."
"Mulder… please?"
"I'll stay until you fall asleep."
"Thank you."
He sat down next to her, rubbing her back in small circles until he felt her relax.
"It didn't take long to give your statement," he commented.
"I know. I don't really remember much."
"That might be better."
"Maybe, but I want to catch this guy."
"We will. All in due time."
"I hate due time."
"I know. Go to sleep sweetheart."
"Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for finding me. Again."
"It was my pleasure."
"I think I owe you one or two."
"Just stay safe and we'll call it even, okay?"
"Okay."
"Goodnight, Scully."
"Night. I love you."
"I love you too."
She woke several times in the night, calling out for him as the nightmares came full force. He went into her, helped her fix the blankets and fluff the pillows, then kissed her forehead and left. It was better for her in the long run if she worked through the nightmares herself. As much as he wanted to go in there and be with her, he would rather have the nightmares go away sooner. He didn't sleep most of the night, preferring to stay up and profile Douglas further. It was turning his brain into goo and making him sick, so he decided to go for a run. He scribbled Scully a quick note and left the room, planning to go around the block a few times.
His feet pounded on the pavement, loud and angry. Sure, she'd been found safe this time, but how much longer until his luck would run out? He shook the thought out of his mind and tried instead to think of a way to talk Scully into taking a vacation for a week. She needed it, but she always insisted on going straight back to work after something bad happened. Talking to a therapist wouldn't be such a bad idea either. That decided, he turned and went back to the hotel. He opened his door as quietly as he could, and found Scully sitting in the middle of his bed, her face pale.
"Where were you?" she asked, standing from the bed and walking towards him.
"I went for a run. I left you a note."
She just stood there, looking small.
"I'm sorry, Scully. I should have woken you up…"
"Yeah, you should have. I was scared."
He reached for her hand.
"No," she exclaimed, jerking it away. "I'm mad at you."
"Scully, I'm sorry. I left a note, right by the phone where we always leave notes. I did what I was supposed to do."
"You weren't here."
"Dana," he said softly, taking her face in his hands and making her look at him. "I'm sorry I wasn't here. But I'm here now. And I won't go away until you tell me to."
"Alright."
He ran his hands down her shoulders and rubbed her arms gently.
"You're cold, sweetie. Go back to bed."
"Will you tuck me in?"
"Sure."
He followed her back to her room and kissed her forehead as she laid down.
"Still mad at me?" he asked, handing her the note.
"Well, you did sign it 'love Mulder'. I guess you're off the hook for now."
"I'll take it. Go back to sleep for a little while."
"Mulder," she said as he started to pull away.
"Yeah?"
She was quiet for a long time, not meeting his eyes.
"What, Scully?"
"I don't want to be alone," she finally admitted, her eyes filling with tears.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Just stay here. Don't leave when I fall asleep."
"Scully, you know-"
"I don't care, Mulder! I just need you."
He brushed her hair from her face and laid down with her.
"Okay. I'll stay. Go to sleep."
She kept her eyes opened and focused on him.
"What?" he asked, giving her the skeptical eyebrow.
"You promise you'll stay?"
"I promise."
"Really?"
"Scully have I ever left when I promised I would stay?"
"No."
"What makes you think it would be different this time?"
She was quiet.
"What? What's the matter?"
"He came to get me after you left."
"What do you mean?"
"Before. When I was sick and you came to check on me, I asked you to stay, but you said I needed to sleep and you left and then he came."
"Oh, Scully," was all he could think to say. He held her a little tighter and placed a long kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I won't leave you this time, I promise."
"Never. Not until he's caught."
"Scully, what'd he do to you?"
"I don't know. I don't really remember anything."
"Everything checked out with the doctor, right? He didn't give you any sedatives did he?"
"No. I was just so dehydrated I was delirious. I don't know if he even ever touched me."
"You don't know how he got you out here?"
"I don't think so. He knocked me out pretty good. I kind of remember… maybe a train?"
"Did he ever say anything to you?"
"He asked me if my leg irons were tight enough."
Mulder was quiet for several minutes.
"Go to sleep, Scully. I'll be right here when you wake up."
"Okay."
A/N II: I have some 2 ideas brewing right now. Maybe later i will write summaries and have people vote on which one they want. Stay tuned.