Chapter Thirty Seven

Floating, she was endlessly floating. Somewhere along the way she had lost the feel of William's hand in hers and moved away from him and Fox, but she held tight to Daniel. As much as she wanted to return to the land of the living, she refused to go anywhere without him. Their souls were connected, interwoven, and had been for years.

She felt despair from him, and sadness that he had not defeated the demon more soundly and kept them all safe. Disappointment that he had needed their help for something he thought he should have been able to do on his own. And most of all he was ashamed that Carolyn had been forced to see one of his true forms in the spiritual world, a form he had kept hidden from her at all costs. She could tell that he was repulsed by his inability to hide that frightening image from her.

He was weak, his power, his essence, almost drained beyond the point of recovery, and she could sense that he didn't care. He only wanted her to be happy and he was certain that she was now taking him back out of pity or obligation. Now that she had seen him in the spirit realm, how could she possibly ever love him again?

But Carolyn was tough, a fighter when need be, and she had seen the worse and was doing okay with it. It should have occurred to her that he would, of course, have a different appearance in the spirit plane, but somehow she hadn't expected what she saw. Even with that, she felt his soul, it shone through to her and she knew it was her Daniel, and would always be her Daniel. Mind you, there were still a few things she had to work out in her mind once everything settled, but he had saved them all, and she wasn't about to let him get away because he was having a pity party.

With deliberate precision she concentrated on the strong spiritual bond they shared and followed it to his soul. She knew he felt her as despite his attempt to suppress it, she felt his joy at her presence. He felt so weak, even though she knew little about connecting to him, so she did the only thing she knew how to do, she opened herself up to him allowing her love for him to shine through, allowing her strength to become his.

It was as if he woke up and felt her there. She pulled him into her embrace and he felt her love, warmth, and acceptance and knew that he was helpless to resist her anymore. He gave in to her and opened himself up to her and their souls began to join as one…

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"Is she coming around?" Mulder asked as three sets of faces peered down at Carolyn as she groaned in her sleep.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a translucent shape next to Carolyn.

"I need to go check on her." Then she put a hand to the bandage on Mulder's head. "And you need to go to a hospital."

"So do you," Mulder said. "Do you think we both have concussions?"

"It's possible, we should be checked out." She paused and looked at Carolyn whose groan of pain was changing to another type of groan completely. Mulder caught Scully looking at him with a raised eyebrow. It was a 'what exactly is happening' look.

"No, I think we need to go," Mulder said, and stood up as he extended his hand to Scully.

"We can't leave her like this, what if she doesn't recover?" Scully said.

"I think she's bringing Danny back, and I don't think we should be here," he said now remembering a specific conversation from his time at the other side.

"Why not?"

"They're together," William chirped, "and they'll be together when he's solid again too."

Scully raised an eyebrow and looked at her husband, who nodded. She knelt down and did a quick check of Carolyn's pulse, and looked at her eyes even though she was still unconscious. Reluctantly, she withdrew her hand and stood up, leaning into Mulder. With a last worried look for Carolyn, Scully left the room with her family. They went downstairs to call a taxi to take them all to the hospital where they could be checked out properly.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Carolyn became aware that she was breathing again and took in a deep lungful of air, the next sensation was that somewhere along the way her clothes had been removed. Panicked, she felt for Daniel and found that he was indeed with her, though not visible, that their bond had flared to life and was now burning brightly with the union of their souls, which was now starting to spill over in the physical realm.

She felt him in her, but not yet in the physical sense, their souls were intertwined with all insecurities and secrets burned away, they were aflame in the love they shared for one another, the passion for each other that was forever ingrained within them. She felt as his spirit body, the invisible one that was truly him in the physical realm, began to materialize. It was the most incredible feeling when they made love like this, it was a spiritual high and a physical high all at once as both parts of them combined to bring out the best of each other. He was suddenly there and in her, and she in him, everywhere. Their touch was electric as they consumed each other, his spirit self took her in the physical world as they joined in a way that no one else could ever do. He pushed into her seeking his release and she gasped as he filled her mind, soul and body with his spirit essence, and she completed him.

They awoke several hours later, and she shivered from the cool air of the Master Cabin. She couldn't see him yet, but she could feel him next to her and for now, that was enough. His form was still asleep, or whatever it was that spirits did when they rested, but he seemed as normal as he had ever been while in this state of being and she relaxed, convinced he was back among them. He still felt very weak to her but already seemed to be on the mend. The room spun just a little when she opened her eyes so she realized that she must be weak as well.

Slowly, she got out of bed, and made her way to the bathroom. When she returned, she knew that he was still there, but awake now. She pulled a blanket over them and pushed herself against his spirit self.

"Carolyn…" he croaked.

"Daniel, shush. Go back to sleep, or whatever it is that you do, you need your rest."

"But what happened back there…"

"We can talk about it later." Since she couldn't see his face, she reached out and traced her fingertips over the contours of it. She often did that when he allowed himself to be like this with her.

"But how can you love me? It seems that you still do?" His puzzlement and confusion were genuine and it caused Carolyn to laugh.

"Daniel, we know each other's soul, and when it comes down to brass tacks, that is what we really love about each other, isn't it?"

"Yes, but for you to care…after what you have seen…" she could feel him shaking his head in disbelief.

"How much would you do to save me?"

"Anything and everything," he answered.

"Then how could you expect me to do any less?"

"Even knowing what I am?"

"Daniel, we just finished the most intense intimate act I have ever experienced. Do you really need to ask that?"

"No, I guess not," she felt the smile on his lips and felt them as he kissed her. "Let's rest then." He paused for just a moment. "Though I think I shall need some more assistance building up my strength later. And since I am unable to completely resume my corporeal form until I am stronger I am left with two options."

"Which are?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I will go away for a while until I have enough strength to resume my normal routine here, or you can help me to get stronger." He paused and kissed her again. "That would mean more bonding which brings us even closer together, and make you weaker as well. We shouldn't risk it."

"I will risk anything to keep you here with me. I love you, Daniel."

"And I love you, Carolyn."

"I need sleep if we're intertwining again," she murmured.

"Then sleep, my love. I'll be here when you awake," he said and pulled the blanket up over both of them.