CHAPTER ELEVEN

Georgetown Memorial Hospital, 10.07pm

Dana Scully woke up from her groggy deep sleep, the pain killers and with drawl symptoms of the anaesthesia wearing down on her hard. She frowned in confusion, trying to get her bearings. There was a dull pain in her lower abdomen and she winced as she moved a little, quickly deciding not to do that again.

Being a medical doctor made it easier to deal with operations and hospital stays as she knew that was going on, however it was still horrendous waking up after an operation. It didn't make the pain any easier.

"Mmm.. Mul-Mulder.." She called out weakly, wondering if he was with her or not. He would usually be right there, by her side. She felt a hand close over hers, but she knew it wasn't Mulder's. "M-Mom?"

"Yes sweetheart, I'm right here." Margaret said, squeezing Scully's hand in hers gently. She looked down at her daughter with loving eyes.

She never stopped worrying about her, especially now that she was her only daughter. She loved her so much that it hurt. When she had received the call earlier she had been out of the state, visiting an old family friend. She had drove back as fast as she could, but at least she knew that Mulder had been there for her when she couldn't be.

"How are you feeling?" Margaret asked her daughter as she saw Dana's eyes flutter open slowly, a pained expression on her face.

"Not bad Mom." She said through gritted teeth, lying slightly as she didn't want her to worry. Scully winced again as the pain in her stomach got worse. "Where's Mulder Mom?" She asked immediately, worried that something had happened to him. "Is he all right? Where is he?"

"Shhh, Dana. The nurse said he has been here most of the day, waiting for you to come out of surgery. But when you did come out, you were still asleep. I think he checked on you then went home, he must have been exhausted."

"How long was I… what time is it?" Scully asked, her eyes now moving around the hospital room. She finally rested her eyes on the reassuring sight of her Mother.

"It's just gone ten p.m. You were in surgery for over four hours. He stayed here the whole time." Margaret said, smiling as a warm feeling filled her heart as she thought about how devoted Mulder was to her daughter. "He gave my details to the hospital, I'm so sorry I couldn't have been here sooner."

A Mother's guilt was never ending..

"It's all right Mom. You're here now." Scully said, smiling a small smile and squeezing her Mother's hand back now. She could see the worried expression on her face. "Don't worry Mom, I'm all right."

"I'll never stop worrying about you Dana, for as long as I live." She said, her eyes glistening with tears. "Tell me what happened?"

Scully sighed weakly and closed her eyes for a moment, reliving the moment that Tom had stabbed her in the side. She remembered a gun firing, which she assumed was Mulder's although she couldn't be sure.

"Someone was trying to kill us Mom." She said with teary eyes. Margaret's face was suddenly full of fear. "I met him as a stranger, he seemed nice. He was very handsome and charming. It turns out he was just flirting with me to get me alone, to kill me."

Margaret was silent, feeling pain in her heart for her daughter. Scully blinked a tear down her cheek.

"Mom, Mulder has a girlfriend." She blurted out suddenly, taking Margaret by surprise. She watched as the tears rolled down her face and she saw what she had known all along. Dana loved Fox.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry."

"No Mom, it's not like that." Scully said, defending herself immediately, her face flushing red. Margaret kept her mouth shut and nodded, staying supportive.

But she knew her daughter better than she even knew herself...

"Oh? Then what is it?"

"I thought that she was the one who was trying to kill us. I never trusted her and I told Skinner about her and…" She started, her voice cracking with tears. She was rarely this emotional with anyone apart from her Mother, "..it turns out that I was wrong. Mulder was so disappointed with me. He was so angry."

Margaret felt her heart break for Dana and she threw her arms around her, holding her close but taking care not to touch her wound. Scully reached her arms up around her Mother's neck as if her life depended on it. The stitches pulled slightly but she didn't care. She needed her Mother.

Margaret knew how much falling out with Mulder would upset her daughter. She had seen it once a few years ago, when she had been sick, paranoia affecting her mind. It was something to do with the case they were working on, she didn't understand the ins and outs of it exactly, but Scully had been convinced that Mulder was working against her. She had come to her in fear, heartbroken and afraid of the one person that she trusted with her life.

Yes, she knew how much her daughter treasured her relationship with Mulder.

"I'm sure that he forgives you sweetheart. You were only looking out for him, rightly or wrongly." Margaret soothed into her ear.

Scully nodded through her tears, remembering now that Mulder had told her that he did forgive her when they had been waiting for the ambulance. But it still didn't make her feel any better about herself. She knew deep down that she would never like or trust Sophie, because she loved Mulder...

"Now, please Dana, you have to rest." Margaret pleaded after Scully's tears had subsided, her motherly instinct taking over. She wanted to protect her daughter. Even if she was a brave, independent FBI agent, she was still her baby. She helped her lay back down in the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead. Scully settled back down on her pillows.

"I love you." Margaret whispered, brushing a piece of damp hair away from her cheek. "It'll all be all right. I promise."

Scully sighed heavily as she closed her eyes, trying to get some more rest.

"I'm going to tell the nurse that you're awake." Margaret whispered gently.

But Scully was so tired that she was already falling back to sleep.

PLEASE REVIEW! XX

I love Mummy Scully xxxx :(