Out of the Triangle.
"Mulder?"
There was just darkness all around; a voice broke through the darkness again.
"Mulder it's me"
"Where am I?" Mulder says as he startles awake.
"You're in a hospital"
"Oh..." Mulder stirred groggily trying to sit up.
"Lie still."
"I feel…like hell."
"I don't blame you. You've been through the wringer, I'd say."
"What happened to me?"
"You did something incredibly stupid."
"What did I do?"
"You went looking for a ship, Mulder, in the Bermuda Triangle."
"Say that again?"
Just then three figures appeared at the door.
"Gilligan awakes." said Frohike as the Lone Gunmen enter the room.
"You were there." said Mulder to Scully.
"You were there, Scully."
"He's delirious." said Langley
Skinner appears in the room.
"And he was there too." Mulder says implying towards Skinner.
"Right me and my dog Toto."
"You were there with the Nazis."
"Mulder, settle down. It's an order."
"Not that he takes orders." says Skinner.
"Yeah" agreed Frohike
"You saved the world, Scully"
"Yeah. You're right. I did."
"What kind of drugs is he on?" Frohike asked
"I want some." said Langley.
"No, no, the Queen Anne. I found it. You were there with Thor's Hammer. I told you you had to turn the ship around, then I jumped overboard."
"Yeah, I bet you did. The boat you were on was busted into a million pieces. And as for the Queen Anne it was nothing more than a ghost ship."
"No, no, no, you and I were on that ship, Scully, in 1939."
"Get some rest, Mulder, 'cause when you get out of here, I'm gonna kick your but good." said Skinner
"Come on. Let's go."
Skinner and the Gunmen left the room.
"I thought I'd never see you again. But you believed me."
"In your dreams. Mulder I want you to close your eyes and think to yourself "There's no place like home""
Mulder chuckled quietly. Scully went to leave.
"Hey, Scully" Mulder called after Scully.
"Yes?" Scully said
"I love you" Mulder said.
"Oh, brother." Scully said.
With that Scully left the room, but as Scully left Mulders last words resonated in her head. Scully shook it off, explain it to herself it was not what Mulder meant, that it was the drugs.
Later that night as Scully laid in bed those last words just kept playing over and over in her mind. Scully remember the panic Scully had felt when Scully first learned of what Mulder had done, how he had risked his life by going out in the boat alone. The two of them had been through so much together Scully began to wonder if Mulder had meant it when Mulder said he loved her. Scully knew Mulder cared for her, was her friend, but Scully did not think that Mulder would think of her as more than that. Yet Scully continued to be troubled by those words. Scully could not sleep. Scully tossed and turned again, eventually succumbing to exhaustion, the stress of find Mulder, of getting him back to a hospital.
The next day Scully awoke, feel no better than Scully did the previous night, her body ached. Scully got up and dressed and prepare to return to the hospital to see if Mulder was able to be released so they could go home. As Scully drove to the hospital Scully suddenly became nervous of seeing him, would Mulder even remember what he said.
Scully got to the hospital to see that Mulder had slept better than Scully had the night before and in fact was still fast asleep. Scully did not know to wake him or not, she left him sleeping and went to look for his doctor.
"Doctor, how is Mulder?" Scully asked
"Agent Mulder is doing just fine, I think the ordeal has exhaust him, he has been asleep ever since you left him last night." the Doctor replied
"And his injuries?" Scully asked.
"Apart from the bruise to his face there really are no significant injuries. It is almost like he was not in the water as long as we thought."
"What does that mean?" Scully asked
"I am going to discharge him and he can go home." replied the Doctor.
Scully went back to Mulders room thinking about what the Doctor had said. Could Mulder be telling the truth? No, Scully immediately shook the thought from her mind, it's impossible, Scully told herself.
When Scully got back to Mulders room he was awake. Mulder was looking round the room, he saw her.
"Scully?" Mulder asked
"Yes Mulder."
"What am I doing here?" Mulder asked
"You don't remember?" Scully asked, maybe the drugs were still affecting him.
"I remember water." Mulder replied.
"You were found yesterday in the ocean after the boat you were on was destroyed."
"Did you find me?" Mulder asked.
"Yes. I did." Scully replied.
"How?" Mulder asked.
"The Lone Gunmen came to see me and told me what you had done, we got some satellite images with thanks to Skinner, came down to Florida and set out to find you." Scully filled Mulder in.
"Oh." Mulder said
"Do you remember anything?" Scully asked
"I feel a little foggy." Mulder replied.
"You were quite out of it last night." Scully said, not really wanting to discuss it further.
"But the doctor says apart from a few bruises you are good to go home." Scully continued.
"Mm." was all Mulder said, and he lay his head back down and closed his eyes again.
Scully did not think Mulder was up to travelling at the moment, Mulder seemed to be still heavily drugged, even though Scully looked at his dosage and it was quite low. Scully wonder if this ordeal had a bigger effect on Mulder than they realised. Scully left Mulder to sleep; she went and told the Doctor to keep Mulder there for another day.
As Mulder slept he began to dream, he dreamt of a big ballroom with singing and dancing, and Scully in a red dress. Mulder had never seen Scully dressed like that or with her hair done that way. As Mulder stirred in and out of sleep the dream faded, only replace with another one. This time Mulder dreamt that he was with Scully and they were arguing in the rain, and he kissed her, and suddenly Scully punched him in the side of his face. This time when Mulder awoke he brushed the side of his face, the same side Scully had punched in the dream and he found the bruise. Was it a dream? Mulder asked himself. Or had he kissed Scully somewhere over these last few days that seemed all a blur to him, Mulder was not sure. Mulder tried to think. Had Scully been a bit withdrawn, even short in her answers to him? Mulder did think there was something she was keeping back not wanting to talk about.
Just then Scully came back into the room and found Mulder sitting up rubbing his bruised face.
"You should lie down Mulder." Scully said to him.
"How did I get this bruise? Mulder asked her.
"Could have been from anything." Scully replied.
"It feels like I have been punched in the face." Mulder was testing her to see her reaction, there was none. Good, he thought, it was a dream.
"When can I go home?" Mulder asked.
"I want to keep you here until tomorrow, give you a chance to get a clear head; the drugs seem to be effecting you. You need to rest, and I'll take you home tomorrow." Scully replied.
"Yeah, I think I was just having the most unusual dreams about that boat. I dreamt that you and I were on that boat in the ballroom." Mulder began." I have never seen you dressed like that before…" Mulder trailed off, he was not sure if he should continue. Scully had a look of concern on her face. Scully thought, will Mulder eventually remember what he said, oh please I hope not. What if Mulder did not mean to say it, what if it was the drugs that made him say it, what if it wasn't? Scully noticed that Mulder had stopped talking and was looking at her with great concern.
"Scully?" Mulder asked "Is there something you are not telling me?"
Oh God, Scully though, Mulder knows me too well, he knows when something is troubling me, he can read my face, I don't need to say anything, he can see it reflected in my expressions.
"Just get some rest Mulder." Scully said and she stood. "I'll come get you tomorrow and we can go home."
With that Scully left, and Mulder knew there was something Scully was not telling him, but he had no idea what it could be. Mulder laid in bed for ages thinking until he fell asleep, and he dreamed again of the boat, this time there were Nazis killing innocent people in the ballroom and he and Scully were there lying about the identity of the man known as Thor's hammer.
The next day Scully returned to the hospital and was glad to see that Mulder was doing much better. The Doctor discharged Mulder, and they drove straight to the airport. Mulder and Scully hardly spoke the whole journey home, after arriving back in D.C Scully drove Mulder to his apartment and took him inside.
"Here you go Mulder." Scully said at his door.
"Is that It?" Mulder asked her
"What?" Scully replied.
"When are you going to tell me what is really going on?" Mulder asked
"What are you talking about, Mulder" Scully said
"Whatever it is that you are not telling me about, whatever it is, was or what I did or did not do, there is something, I can tell." Mulder replied
"Mulder I had trouble getting the information I need for the Lone Gunmen so we could come find you. I found Smoking Man in Kersch office, then I went down to Agent Spender, and Smoking Man called the office and I answered the phone, he thought I was Agent Fowley." Scully hope this information was enough to keep Mulder from digging to deeply into what was really bothering her, which was his three words, I love you.
"What are you trying to say?" Mulder asked
"Nothing": Scully began "I just don't know what kind of trouble we will be in this time."
Mulder was relieved, he believed her, she did look concerned, and this made sense. Scully was always cautious, warning him that he better follow the book or he may get suspended or worse lose his job.
"Scully, it'll be alright you were only doing it to save my life, it was my incredibly stupid mistake." Mulder said.
As Mulder said this he pictured Scully standing over his hospital be saying those exact same words. Mulder shook it from his head.
"We will worry about it tomorrow, Ok?" Mulder said
"Good night, Mulder." Scully said, and she turned and left.
Mulder watched her leave, closed the door. Mulder made himself at home, he had left in a hurry the other day the place was a mess. Mulder started to think what would happen to his stuff if something had happened to him out there on the ocean. What would have happened if Scully had not found him? Well that's depressing, Mulder thought. Mulder settled on the couch, turned the TV on but soon was asleep.
Then there was another dream, Mulder was in the hospital, Scully, the Gunmen and Skinner were all there looking over him as he tried to explain about the boat. They did not seem to believe him. Soon the men left the room, leaving only Scully. She was telling him "There's no place like home" Scully went to leave, Mulder had called her back, Scully had stood next to his hospital bed. Mulder heard himself say.
"I love you."
Mulder woke up. Was that it, had he really said that? And if he had said that to Scully did he really mean it? Mulder though back to all his stuff and how he had wondered what would happen to it if he had not returned. Mulder though what would have happened to Scully if she had not gotten to him in time. Mulder thought to himself what am I going to do?
Scully had left Mulder at his apartment and had driven home. Scully settled herself in and got ready for bed. Then her phone rang. There was only one person in the world who would call her at this hour. Scully hesitated, she did not want to talk to Mulder right now, but she knew he would not let it drop if she did not answer. So she picked up the phone.
"Hello." Scully said
"It's me." Mulder said.
"What's wrong Mulder?" Scully asked
"Have you ever had a dream that felt more like a memory than a dream?" Mulder asked.
"Can this wait till tomorrow?" Scully asked.
"I need to know if the dream I just had was a memory, because it affects everything." Mulder explained.
Scully hesitated. "What was the dream?" Though she wonder whether Mulder had remembered more of the conversation from the first night in the hospital, in particular, those three words.
"Did you, Skinner and the gunmen visit me in the hospital?" Mulder asked.
"Yes" Scully said weakly.
"When the others left, were we ever alone?" Mulder continued.
"Yes" Scully said quietly, barley a whisper
Mulder sensed Scully's discomfort and he knew he did not need to ask any more questions, he had said it, he had said I love you.
"Thanks Scully that helps, I'll see you tomorrow." Mulder said and hung up the phone before Scully could say anything. Scully just stood there looking at the phone in her hand, she almost could not believe it, but she knew that Mulder had remembered saying those three words. But know Scully knew that Mulder was not even sure why he had said them, she sensed this from the way he just abruptly ended the conversation. He did not mean it, Scully thought, she felt relieved.
Later she awoke from her sleep, she had dreamed that she did believe Mulder when he said those three words but she did not know what to do. What am I going to do? Scully thought.
The next day when she arrived at the FBI she found Mulder was not at his desk. Scully settled down to begin her work running background checks when another Agent came up to her desk.
"Agent Scully, I have been asked to bring you up to Assistant Director Kersch's office."
Oh great, Scully thought.
