Dana gave him a sleeping pill. He didn't ask for it, but she presented it like a diamond. It was the size and color of a robin's egg.

"God, is this what Rip Van Winkle took?" Elliot asked, eyeing the blue pill. They had just finished pushing another bed into Olivia's room. Dana just shrugged at the comment in an offhanded way. She started wiping Olivia down with cool water.

"She was stabbed in the neck once, wasn't she?"

Elliot wheeled around. The pill felt like it had gone down sideways. "Yeah. In a bus station. A few months ago," he said, wincing at the heavy memory.

Dana just nodded and went back to her work. She was a small woman but she had a way of filling a room with her presence. Everything she did seemed so assured. For just a moment Elliot wished he had known the whole group before whatever it was that blew them apart. Munch had a way of talking about it that made them all sound like the Knights of the Round Table. It was funny to think that John Doggett got all tangled up in this, the same guy that bitched Elliot out once for leaving a candy wrapper in the patrol car.

And what about Fox Mulder? Always on the run, maybe dead or maybe not. Elliot wanted to ask Dana, but was unsure if she'd open up. Because for all her assuredness, there was an etheral, delicate air that surrounded her. There is a willow grows aslant a brook/That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream/There with fantastic garlands did she come...

Elliot's eyelids began to grow heavy. His mind was wandering. Dana loomed over him and smiled. "See? It's not so bad. Wait here and I'll get you some more water."

She disappeared for what seemed like a long time. The feeling of drowsiness was like drowning and Elliot was struggling to keep his head above water. Olivia's hand was soft and warm in his. She was so beautiful. John was probably sleeping with Monica, so he'd know how it felt. Maybe they were even married. Who marries fugitives? Where do aliens go to register?

Cancel my subscription to the resurrection/Send my credentials to the house of detention/I got some friends inside...

The cool water slid down his throat.

"Goddamn it, I told you not to leave trash in the patrol cars," barked Doggett.

His mind jumped dangerously off course until two voices seemed to float down the hallway. One was Dana's but the other was definitely male, low and scratchy. Two faces appeared. They seemed to be talking but Elliot could just make out some words.

"...stay and take care of her..."

"...come out of it soon...trouble is all about..."

Elliot felt a soft kiss on his cheek. "Take good care of her," Dana whispered. Through groggy eyes he could see her doing the same to Olivia. The male figure loomed in...Fox Mulder!...and shook Elliot's limp hand.

"She's a pretty girl. A very lucky, pretty girl," the male voice said.

Elliot finally closed his eyes and saw the purple desert night inside them. The stars were blinking down so bright, and four people were under that big moon, shifting like sand in the wind.

In his sleep, he cried out "Come back!" but there was no answer, just the sound of emptiness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There were no dreams that night for Elliot. When he woke up, it was to full consciousness, not the half-groggy morning fog that sleeping pills usually induce. Sunlight was streaming through the blinds, sending slants of light on Olivia, who was still a sleeping beauty.

He woke up and roamed the hospital. Dana was gone. All of her papers and most of the food was gone from her office, save for a box of MRE's and some of the bottled water. He poured some of it onto a wad of paper towels and tried to freshen up. Then he brought the jug back down the hall to Olivia.

She was looking much better. The suntan was peeling less and the head wound had scabbed up quite a bit. Dana had left some extra gauze and painkillers on the bedside table, along with a leather bag that contained what he figured were Olivia's clothes and effects.

Elliot sat on the side of her bed and pulled her into his arms. Slowly and softly, he rubbed her face and back with the cool water, kissing her shoulder at every opportunity. Her hair was clotted with blood, so he blotted away until it faded to a dusty streak. Beyond the copper scent of the blood, she still smelled the way he'd dreamed. That low note of apricots sent a shiver up his spine. When they'd lean in close at the precinct, it had the same effect.

He spent the day be her side, eating the military food and reading from a moldy pile of Reader's Digests. Sometimes he'd sing little bits of songs and recite nursery rhymes just in case Olivia was listening. The wind picked up, blowing puffs of dust and tumbleweeds by the open window. Restlessly, Elliot put down the magazines and squinted out into the desert. The bleakness of the torn blacktop and the forgotten cars set into his bones. So this was Dana's life, and Monica's life and Mulder's life and John's life. The tiny part that had touched Elliot and Olivia would leave a lasting impression, something deeper than footprints and tire tracks scoured away by sand.

He sighed and again sat beside Olivia, brushing his fingers lightly across her cheeks. Some of her hair was greying at the tips. It wasn't really noticeable, just something that stands out if you stare at someone all day. They weren't getting any younger. That was an honest truth and all the love and beauty in the world couldn't change that.

But could they change?

Elliot didn't think he could go back and pretend they were just partners. They'd both been pretending for so long that their only ties came from the badge, the streets, the crime tape and the bloody mess. In the hospital not so many months ago the truth almost popped out. He cared too much. Neither of them meant for it to happen. But he ran, then Olivia ran. When they reunited their bond was shaky. When she left to undercover, Elliot couldn't hide the fact he was heartbroken. They protected each other. The past two months he'd felt like a one-armed man, like part of his soul had been sucked away.

Dani was a mistake. Just a warm body to hold and conquer to prove he could function without Olivia.

He couldn't.

"Hey, wake up, okay?" he said out loud, jumping at the sudden sound of his own voice.

Olivia didn't move. He washed her face again and put a hand on her chest. The slow rise and fall of each breath was soothing. Elliot sat down again and dug back into the stack of magazines, always keeping one eye on his partner.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At 9pm, Elliot was down the hall trying to find something else to read when a scream echoed off the tile. He ran slipping and sliding towards the room, thinking she may have fallen out of bed or something was in there or she was in pain or...

When he charged in, nothing had changed. Olivia's eyes were still closed. There was no one else in there. He stood beside the bed panting, adrenalin rushing, ready to pounce on anyone or anything. A piece of something fell outside and "tinged" on the concrete. Elliot's eyes narrowed as he walked back into the hallway, scanning left and right.

When he went back into the room, Olivia's eyes were open.

"Liv? You awake?" he said franctically, grabbing one of her hands, kissing it over and over. Olivia's eyes shifted from left to right until she spotted Elliot.

"Water," she said softly. He poured a glass and tipped it to her face. She downed most of the glass and gave him a weak, grateful smile. "Where are we?"

"New Mexico," said Elliot. Bending over, he kissed her and felt her arms encircle his shoulders. "I missed you."

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," she said in his ear. Their eyes met and they spent a moment locked in each other's gaze. "I don't remember anything, but I feel like someone was taking care of me. Were you with me the whole time?"

Elliot sighed and sat down, holding her hand. "I've been here for two days. Someone else was taking care of you up until then. I don't have any idea how you got from Oregon to here," he said, staring at their intertwined fingers.

"Did someone take me into custody?" she asked. "Where's Jeff?"

Elliot shrugged. Olivia looked very confused. "This isn't really a hospital, is it?"

"Used to be. It was abandoned some time ago, but it's okay. You got better and that's all that matters," Elliot said.

Olivia was silent for a long time. She stared out the window at the darkness. The sky was a dark purple, lit by the stars and the occasional passing airplane. "Someone had to bring me here," she finally said. Elliot knew she was to stubborn to stop asking.

"Your sister did," he said quietly. Olivia turned to him quickly. "Monica and John dropped you off and Dana Scully patched you up and waited until I got here."

Olivia started to say something. Instead she turned to the wall, covered her battered face with her hands and started to cry.

To Be Continued