Location: St. Mary's Hospital - Emergency Treatment Unit, Washington D.C

Time: 1.56 pm

Scully took a deep breath as she tried to settle into the uncomfortable hard plastic chair of the waiting area. It was a cold room with dim lights that made her feel more pessimistic about what to expect once the surgery is over. She tried to remain calm despite the deep banging of her heart against her chest and the bitter taste in her mouth.

The day had been quite strange and troublesome from the morning. She had been trying to call Mulder; one of their very recently established gestures of affection. She felt something was odd when there had been no answer but still didn't fully expect the situation to be this bad when she left home hoping to find him with an apologetic grin in the basement.

Sooner, her confusion turned into a fear laced with anger as she learned that not only she but A.D. Skinner is also expecting Mulder's graceful appearance with a long due report of a field visit they covered last month.

Still, even by the late morning, there was no news from him. She had no choice but to work on the leftover report as A.D. Skinner assured her that Mulder might have gone on a sneaky evidence hunt and might return with an alien fingerprint by the evening. She was mad, scared and disappointed as she forced her fingertips to type in the leftover pages of the report that she didn't even understand well.

It was only a few minutes passed in the afternoon when she was called to A.D. Skinner's office. She was already exhausted and was expecting him to explain why Mulder should be more responsible as a federal agent with the full count in numbers that he has broken major office rules. But as soon as she saw his blood drained face she knew something was pretty wrong.

"They found Agent Mulder, in the Ferry House stockyard"

"What do you mean by they found, is he ok" she knew that the situation should be serious by the way he avoided her gaze.

"He was shot and was found hours later as a maintenance worker has heard his phone ringing continuously; they have taken him to surgery at St. Mary's as he was already unconscious with blood loss"

"I need to go"

That was all she could manage as she gulped a heavy bitter breath and left the room.

She gasped to the sudden click and then the cranky noise of the theater. She got up to meet the surgeon as he passed by.

"He is extremely lucky that they found him before it's too late" he murmured as she introduced herself.

Location: St. Mary's Hospital - Room No 2089, Washington D.C

Time: 3.39 pm

Mulder felt as if he was in a bad dream. The throbbing pain on his upper left side was the only thing that made him realize that it is in fact not exactly a dream. His entire body seemed weighted down as his other arm slowly reached to his chest. He could feel the hard bandage underneath his hospital gown as his fingers traced around stopping only to find someone fallen asleep beside him.

"Scully…" He murmured. Now fighting hard to open his droopy eyelids to see if It is her.

It was her, sitting on a chair by the side of his bed. She looked tired as she slept leaning towards his bedside.

He felt empty and broken. He has broken a promise again. He has broken a promise that he has sworn by her heart and soul and dragged himself into darkness that made him feel like a loser. Despite the intense pain, he reached and stroked her hair slowly.

She gasped and woke up.

"I think I fell asleep" she managed in a dull tone that was as cold as the air between them in the hospital room.

"How do you feel" she asked him as she stood up and leaned against the sidebar of his bed.

"I'm ok..I just.." she interrupted him before he could say more.

"I wonder how easy it is for you to just disappear without any clue Mulder." Her tone was fierce.

"You were extremely lucky that some guy found you.."

He sighed. Still fighting to keep his eyes open despite the heavy dose of the painkiller, he managed to mutter a few words.

"I'm so sorry Scully..I can expla.."

"I don't want any explanation Mulder" she sighed as she wiped a tear before it rolled down her cheek.

"This is why I was afraid to fall in love with you in the first place. I was afraid that I would wake up one day to find you have gone without a trace. I was afraid that I would just have to wait without knowing what to do and will find you too late"

Location: Apartment No. 35, 3170 West 53 Rd, Maryland

52 Hours Later

Scully was in the shower when the doorbell rang.

"Shit" she muttered as she was halfway through a much-deserved routine. She wondered who it was as she quickly washed off the foamy lather to step outside. Now moving outside, she secured her robe with a tight knot.

The doorbell rang once again as she was about to open the door. She was surprised to see it was Mulder.

"Mulder, what are you doing here? You are not supposed to walk around.." Her response was fierce.

"I just.. I thought I would need to talk to you. Can I come in please?"

"Since when have I asked you permission Mulder" she whispered as she closed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry if I have disturbed you with your shower..um I was thinking that you might come by tonight"

"Mulder, Skinner wanted me to hand over the report that you forgot while you went on this little treasure hunt of yours. He kept me there until it was almost 7. From the morning Mulder..from the f**king morning!"

He covered his face with his hands, regretting the entire decision of believing in an unknown caller who wanted his help to resolve a code that Aliens believed to be sent.

"Maybe you are right, Scully. You don't deserve to go through all this. After all you went through you deserve so much more than just waiting for me..you deserve peace..and you deserve so much that I now doubt if I ever would be able to let you have. I'm honestly sorry that you had to go through all this. I know I broke my promise like an irresponsible mad man and.."

She couldn't figure out where he was trying to end his conversation and looked at him in disbelief. He sighed deeply as he continued.

"I don't know how I would really survive without you at this point..um.." He looked around uncomfortably. She saw how his hands were trembling as he purposely avoided touching her.

"Go..go away if that is what you really want Scully.." his gaze stopped at hers for a mere second.. "Go away while I have made up my mind"

"Are you insane Mulder?" She punched him harder on his chest to push him off and he bumped against her door and stopped. His hands rushed to cover his wound as the pain shot across his torso.

Without second thoughts she crossed the gap between them. Her mouth reached for his wildly as if to captivate him in a lustful spell. He was already spellbound. It was the beginning and the end of their argument.

The rest of the night was hers and he gave her all the time in the world.

Later, he had to confess that he made a mistake. He would never be able to let her go. Never again.

- The End -