**Disclaimer in part one**
10:23 AMBonne Terre
"He didn't go for her. The bastard just sat in his car and watched. You knew he wasn't going to do anything, didn't you, Mulder?"
"I suspected, but I didn't know. He's already a day ahead of schedule, or at least what I thought was his schedule. I wasn't going to chance being wrong again. A grab like this is too public, too much room for error and too many chances for being seen. No, he's got another time planned to make his move."
"Well, what do we do now?"
"Let's go talk to Mrs. Hammond again. I want to review her daily routine, walk through it, step by step. There's something we're missing, something that may be so routine, so automatic, that she's taken it for granted."
1:45 PMScully's apartment
Scully never did explain her outburst of laughter, leaving Byers wondering about her overall stability, but at least she wasn't glaring at him anymore. He'd tried to start a conversation once or twice, but she cut him off with short, clipped responses. The TV was on, but neither of them was watching. Scully spent most of her time staring blankly, while he watched for signs of...something.
"You want to talk about it yet?"
She turned to look at him. "Talk about what?"
"Something, anything. What happened this morning, maybe? You tell me."
"If you're looking for an apology, forget it. I had every right to be mad at you. How dare you spend the night in my bed, without benefit of an invitation? What the Hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that you were scared and near hysterical. I was thinking that you needed someone to chase the bad dreams away and since I was the only one here, it looked like that someone was me. You know you're not the only one who hasn't been sleeping well this week. I'm sorry Mulder's not here to do all this for you, but until he gets back or the doctor says it's OK for you to be alone, we're stuck with each other and I will continue to take care of you the best way I know how."
"Fine, I guess I can't do much about that, now can I? Just don't plant yourself in my bed again."
"Don't flatter yourself, Dana. Right now, yours is the last bed I want to find myself in. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make us something for lunch. And no, you don't get a choice, you'll eat what I make, because I'm going to cater to my whims for a change."
Scully watched as he stormed into the kitchen, suppressing the urge to throw something in his general direction. The sound of his exasperated huff as he stomped into the kitchen, was her undoing. *John's got more backbone than we give him credit for. * She stifled a giggle. *Stop it. This is not funny. I'm losing it again. Still? Mulder, where are you? *
2:30 PMLaw office of Stegner and Wallace
Mulder had gone over and over the day-to-day routine of the office. Nothing stood out. Other than the daily run to the doughnut shop, there wasn't a time when Gail was an accessible target. While Stanton and Lee took turns watching Longford from the window, Mulder paced the floor talking to himself. A noise from the other room disturbed his thoughts.
"Hey Gail, don't forget to take the recycling bin out this afternoon."
"Today?"
"Yeah, remember? The route changed last week, they'll be coming on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays."
Mulder ran his fingers through his hair. "Are you the only one who takes care of the recycling, Gail?"
"Yeah, I badgered everyone into joining the program, so I take care of putting the bin out each week and yelling at anyone who accidentally tosses a can in the trash."
"Where does the bin get picked up?"
"Out back, by the dumpster."
"That's it, that's what he's waiting for and that's why he's ahead of schedule. Changing the pickup day necessitated a change in his plan. When do you usually put the bin outside?"
"It's usually one of the last things I do before leaving for the day, about quarter 'til and five, I guess."
"Lee..."
"I'm on it."
3:45 PMLone Gunmen HQ
"Find it yet, Langly?"
"No. What the heck did I do with it? I remember bringing the bag in from the car, but I was so beat, that I can't remember what I did with it once we got in."
Frohike reached down and picked up a pile of papers, as well as something fuzzy that he wasn't sure he wanted identified. As he surveyed the hellhole that they called home, a light bulb went off in his head. "Oh man, Byers is gonna kill us when he sees this mess."
"It's not that bad, dude, just a few extra stacks of paper lying around."
"Oh really, Langly? Then perhaps you can identify this," he said, dropping the unidentified fuzzy object on the table in front of him.
Langly poked the UFO with a pencil and was relieved when it didn't try to poke him back. "Point taken. Grab the trash bags. I'll start on this end, you start over there, and we'll meet in the middle. With any luck, we'll uncover the lost book and make the place Byers-friendly at the same time."
"Good idea. I don't think he's gonna be in any condition to face this mess, not after the time he's had with Scully. He's had enough stress to last him for a long time."
4:40 PMBonne Terre
Stanton watched from the window. Longford was nervously drumming his fingers on the dashboard and checking his watch. At 4:45, he started the car and drove down the street. Stanton turned toward Mulder. "He's moving."
Mulder nodded. Gail started pacing in earnest. "OK, Gail, it's almost time. You ready?"
"Yeah, I suppose so. He's really going to be out there this time, isn't he? I mean, he's really going to try and grab me, right?"
"You don't have to do this, but..."
Gail bit her lip and tried to smile. "I know, but this is the best chance you have of catching him before he kills someone else. I understand that Agent Mulder, that's why I agreed to help. Doesn't make this any less frightening, though."
"We've got officers staked out at every conceivable location; we won't let him hurt you."
Officer Hamilton motioned to Mulder. "Sir, he's in position."
Stanton picked up the recycling bin and carried it over to Gail. She took it from him. "Let's get this over with."
Lee took his position at the back door. "All right, we're ready Mrs. Hammond. Just walk on out there like nothing's wrong. We're all around, he's not going to get you."
Gail smiled a close-lipped smile and nodded her head. She balanced the bin on one hip and used her free hand to open the door. *Just like every other week. *
Pushing the door wide open, she moved the bin back in front of her and walked out into the alley. The pick-up point was only a hundred feet or so away from the door, but the fear pounding in her brain made the distance seem much longer. She couldn't see Longford, but she knew he was there. Watching. Waiting. Finally, she reached the pick-up point and placed her bin next to the others. When she turned around, he was there. She jumped, but remembered that she was supposed to stay cool and let him make his move. "Oh, you startled me. Either I was lost in thought, or you move quietly."
"Maybe a little of both," Longford said, taking a step closer.
Gail moved to one side. "Could be. Well, excuse me I need to get back in and finish up so I can get home at a reasonable hour tonight."
She'd taken three steps toward the office door when he slapped a hand over her mouth and started dragging her to his car. Gail struggled, trying to break free of his grip. She bit a finger, temporarily distracting him. As he looked down at her, she caught a glimpse of someone coming from the street end of the alley.
"Freeze."
More footsteps. Soon, the whole alley was awash in cops. Longford froze, not knowing what to do next. This wasn't part of the plan; he wasn't supposed to get caught, he still had letters to collect. "No,no,no,no,no. Not yet. I'm not done yet."
Mulder put his gun up to Longford's head. "Let her go, Douglas, it's over."
Stanton inched closer and closer, hoping to help free Gail, should Longford decide to make things ugly.
Longford looked around. Everywhere he looked he saw armed officers training their guns on him. He slumped in defeat. "So many more to go. I'll never get finished now." He dropped his arms, allowing Gail to escape. Stanton grabbed her and escorted her to safety.
"That's it, Douglas. Good move. You did the right thing."
Two more officers advanced. They cuffed Longford and took him to a waiting squad car.
Mulder found Gail back inside the office, holding a cup of coffee, shaking and trying hard not to cry. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, you did a brave thing tonight. You may have saved not only yourself, but as many as nineteen other women. You should feel good about that."
"Thank you, Agent Mulder. Maybe I'll feel good about it later. Right now, I just want to go home and be with my family."
Mulder nodded. "I'll have Officer Hamilton take you home, I don't think you should be driving right now."
"What about my car? I can't just leave it here. How will I get to work tomorrow without it?"
Mr. Stegner, one of the partners in the office came into the room as the words were leaving her mouth. "I'll arrange to have your car taken to your house, Gail. As for you coming to work tomorrow, forget it. You're off, with full pay, until Monday morning. Go home, be with your family."
His words broke the last of her resolve and her tears came. "Thank you," she whispered.
Officer Hamilton appeared, carrying Gail's purse and coat. She handed them to Gail. "Come on, let's get you home."
7 PMScully's apartment
Scully was feeling trapped and helpless. Byers had stopped hovering, but she desperately needed a few minutes to herself. She ran her fingers through her hair and was disgusted by how oily it felt. She needed a shower. If she had Byers put the kitchen stool in the shower, then she could sit under the stream and bathe herself without fear of falling, should she become dizzy. She could put her bathrobe and towel on the toilet, within arms reach of the tub, so if she needed help getting out afterwards, she wouldn't have to worry about exposing herself. Satisfied that she'd thought through all the details, she decided to try it out on Byers.
"John, I want to take a shower. Before you object, hear me out." Scully detailed her plan, then waited for his inevitable objections.
"I think that's a good idea, Dana."
"You do?"
"Absolutely. Go in and sit under the hot water as long as it holds out. Be warned though, I may knock on the door every so often, just to be sure you're all right. Oh, you have to promise me two things: One, that you won't make any attempts to stand under the water and two, if you feel at all dizzy, you have to call me before you try to get out of the tub. Deal?"
"Deal."
"OK, I'll get the stool set up and you can get in whenever you're ready."
For the first time in days, Scully smiled. Really smiled. Not that half-hysterical, "I'm losing my mind" smile she'd used a few times, but a real ScullySmile.
John couldn't get the stool put down in the bathroom fast enough. *She's smiling, she's happy and she's likely to be in here for a good half-hour. * He was more than a little excited about the prospect of thirty minutes alone. Thirty minutes out from under the watchful glare of one Miss Dana Scully. He checked the stool to be sure the grip strips on the tub would keep it from slipping. Between the rubber feet of the stool and the grip strips on the floor of the tub, he felt it would be reasonably secure. He draped a towel over the seat, as a cushion against the ridged rubber of the seat, then placed a second towel on the toilet lid. After looking around, he decided to move her showerhead rack of shampoo and assorted hair and body products down on the floor next to the stool. This wasn't exactly ideal, but she'd be able to reach everything without standing. One last thing remained, the bagging of her hand to avoid getting the cast wet. "It's all set, Dana," he said, as he walked out of the bathroom. "Let's get that hand bagged and you're good to go."
She held out her hand and waited while he wrapped her hand up in three layers of plastic, sealing each layer with surgical tape to be sure no water could get through. He made a move to add a fourth layer, but she stopped him with a glare. Her shower was waiting, damn it, and her patience was wearing thin. "OK, enough layers. I think you've sealed it off sufficiently, John. Thank you. Now help me to the door, I'll take it from there."
He looked at his work and decided that she was probably right. "OK, I'll be just outside if you need me."
"I'm fine, John. Now go."
John closed the door behind him and smiled broadly. Thirty whole minutes! What to do first? He wandered out to the kitchen and noticed the full trashcan. Not exactly exciting, but it had to be emptied. He removed the bag from the can and tied it securely. He considered telling Dana that he'd be out of the apartment for a couple of minutes, but the water had just started. *She won't even know I'm gone. * Grabbing the keys, he closed and locked the door behind him.
The telephone rang seconds after John left. Dana didn't hear it through the sound of the shower. The answering machine tried to connect after the fourth ring. Instead, it made a grinding sound as the machine ate the tape. The phone rang six more times before the caller gave up. Scully's cell phone rang almost immediately. No one heard that either. Five minutes later, John returned, unaware that anyone had tried to call.
6:25 PMMark Twain Motor Lodge
Mulder hung up the phone, irritated by the lack of response on the other end. "Where are you, Scully?" She wasn't answering her cell and now her answering machine wasn't picking up either. He didn't like this at all. Maybe she'd turned off the cell phone, but her answering machine? He paced the room, trying to decide what to do next. The last time they'd spoken, he'd had to cut her short, promising to call back later. Who knew that 'later' would turn into two days? The time before that, she'd practically taken his head off. Calling the Lone Gunmen was an option, but the last thing he wanted to do was to have Frohike and Company charging over to check up on her. No, sending the boys over was not a good idea. No sense sending them into the line of fire. He decided to be patient and wait a few hours, then try calling her again. That final report had to be filed anyway and he only had until tomorrow morning to get it finished. His flight home left St. Louis at 11:56 AM tomorrow and nothing was going to stop him from being on it. He'd been away long enough.
7:30 PMScully's apartment
John unlocked the door and stepped back inside. He could hear the water running in the shower and a strange noise coming from inside the bathroom. Stepping to the door, he put his ear against the wood to see if he could determine what it was. His hand flew up to his mouth to stifle the laugh he felt trying to come out. It was Scully and she was singing. Or at least she thought she was. *Don't quit your day job, Dana. *
7:45 PMLone Gunmen HQ
Langly hauled the last of the trash out to the dumpster. It had taken them four hours, but the place was finally Byers-friendly again. They still hadn't found that diary, though. He frowned and tried to retrace his steps, for the fiftieth time that day. Frohike met him at the door. "Hey, you hungry?"
"Hmmm…what? Oh yeah, starved. What time is it anyway?"
Frohike checked his watch. "Geez, coming up on eight. How about we order in Chinese?"
"Order in? No way dude. I don't want to bring anything back into the place until Byers gets back. Let's go out."
Frohike nodded his head. "Hang on, I'll grab the keys."
Langly met him at the van. Peering inside, he was grossed out by the state of their vehicle. *We're pigs! * He heard Frohike walking toward him. "'Hike, we're pigs! Look at the van."
Frohike unlocked the door and wrinkled his nose. "Aw man." He sat down behind the wheel, reached over and unlocked Langly's door. When Langly sat down, Frohike started the van. "Look, forget about it for now. Let's go eat. We'll deal with mess after dinner."
7:53 PMScully's apartment
John never did knock on the door. As long as he could hear Scully singing to herself, he knew she was fine. The water stopped. He could hear her pull the shower curtain back, so he waited a few minutes, time enough for her to get dried off and pull on her bathrobe, before he called out to her from just outside the bathroom door. "Everything OK, Dana?"
The door opened. "I'm fine, John." She leaned against the door, combing her hair. "I could use some help getting this plastic off my arm, if you don't mind."
"Sure. No problem."
He reached for the tape and began to unwind it. Scully's knees buckled, almost causing her to fall to the floor. Byers caught her before she went too far down. "OK, let's get you seated before we finish this."
She tried to take a couple of steps, but even with his support she was having a terrible time staying upright. He realized that they'd never make it to the bedroom, so he scooped her up into his arms, surprising Scully, to put it mildly. "John! What the Hell are you doing?"
"I'm carrying you into your room, Dana. What does it look like I'm doing?"
She stared at him in disbelief. Being swept off her feet and carried into her bedroom by an attractive man was a private fantasy, but this wasn't exactly how she'd played the scene out in her mind.
"Don't look at me like that. We both know you weren't going to make it, even with me holding you up. This was the logical solution." He put her down on the bed. "Here you go. Now we can get this off your arm, without having to worry about you falling over and breaking something else."
She sat there quietly while he removed the tape and plastic. Inwardly, she knew he was right, but it annoyed her to no end anyway.
"There, all done."
"Thank you, John."
"Still dizzy?"
She nodded her head and frowned. "I don't understand why I can't get rid of the dizziness. My body's had ample time to recover from the trauma and I know I'm not allergic to the medications. I know I'm not sleeping well, but this is extreme."
"Could you have damaged your inner ear?"
"I don't think so. Maybe. I did hit pretty hard when I fell. My ear doesn't hurt though."
"Dana, you've been taking a strong pain killer. Is it possible that the medication is masking any pain? It's a long shot, but that's the only other explanation I can think of. Might be a good idea to have the doctor take a look at it tomorrow."
"I will."
"OK, I'm going to go get your medicine, then you are going to bed."
"John, it's only a little after eight. Besides, my hair is still wet. I can't go to sleep with wet hair."
He walked out of the room before she had a chance to finish her argument. After he picked up her meds and a glass of water, he stopped in the bathroom to get the hairdryer. Walking into the bedroom, he handed her the glass and meds, then walked to the nearest outlet to plug in the hairdryer.
"What are you doing now?"
"You said you couldn't go to sleep with wet hair, so we're going to eliminate that problem. Take your pills, then we'll get your hair dry. And don't even bother arguing, Dana, you've had your bath, now you need to sleep."
She frowned, but agreed. He turned on the hairdryer and proceeded to dry her hair for her. Ordinarily, she would have fought him on that, but she realized that she really was tired, so she allowed him to continue. He realized that she was admitting defeat, but wisely said nothing. When her hair was dry, he turned off the hairdryer and combed out the tangles. "All done. You'll have to fix it a little better in the morning, but it'll do for now."
"I'm sure it's fine, John." She gave him a little smile. "Thank you."
"That's what friends are for, right? Now, need anything else before I leave?"
"Actually…you could get my pajamas for me. I only brought the bathrobe into the bathroom with me."
"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Where would I find them?"
"Second drawer. Get the blue ones."
He opened the drawer and quickly pulled out the requested pajamas. There was no way he was going to get familiar with the contents of that drawer. The Mulder tally was growing in his head as it was; knowing the contents of Scully's pajama drawer was one more mark against him. He handed her the garments, then said good night and closed the door behind him. Scully put on her pajamas and crawled under the covers.
"John?"
He was at the door in a flash. "What is it? Are you OK?"
"I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Is the ringer turned on in here? I don't want to miss Mulder, if he calls."
"No, it's not. I'll fix it for you."
"That's OK, I can do it. Thanks, John."
"Good night, Dana."
10:27 PMMark Twain Motor Lodge
Finally, the report was finished. Mulder looked at the clock and was shocked to find that four hours had passed since he'd last tried Scully. Damn, that made it 11:27 her time. *Screw it. * He picked up the phone. The phone rang three times, before she answered.
"Scully."
"Hi Scully, it's me. Did I wake you up?"
"Yes, but I'm glad you did. How's the case going?"
"It's over. We caught the guy this evening. I'll tell you all about it some other time."
"When are you coming home?"
"Tomorrow afternoon. My flight leaves here at 11:56; I should arrive in DC around 2:15." He paused. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too."
"Scully?"
"Yes, Mulder?"
"Can I stay at your place tomorrow night? No pressure, I'll sleep on the couch. I just want to be near you."
"I'd like that."
"Good. I'll stop by my place first and get some clean clothes. The ones I have with me are getting a little ripe. How about I pick up some dinner and meet you at your place around six?"
"That sounds wonderful."
"It's a date, then."
"Yes, it is."
"Hey, let me give you my flight information. That way if there's a delay, you won't think I've stood you up."
"Good idea."
Scully reached into the drawer of the nightstand, pulled out a pen and paper and wrote down the information. "Got it."
"Good. Go back to sleep now, Scully. You sound exhausted."
"I'm pretty tired; it's been a long couple of days."
"Yes, it has. See you tomorrow night. Oh, and Scully?"
"Yes, Mulder?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Mulder."
She hung up the phone, hugging the note pad and feeling better than she had in days. A quiet knock on the door brought her back to the present.
"Dana?"
"Come in, John."
"Was that Mulder?"
"Yeah. He's coming home tomorrow afternoon." She held up the note pad with his flight information. "He's coming home," she said with a smile.
"Good. Think you can sleep now?"
"Yeah, I think I'll sleep well now. Good night, John."
"Good night, Dana."
12:30 AMLone Gunmen HQ
The boys pulled up in front of their home. Frohike killed the engine and started heading inside.
"No way, Frohike, you're not leaving the van for me to do by myself."
"Just going in to get couple of trash bags, Langly. Lighten up, will ya?"
"You got five minutes to get back out here man. Don't make me come after you like last time."
Frohike walked up to the house grumbling. "Geez, fall asleep one time and they never let you forget it." He returned, less than five minutes later, carrying two trash bags and two bottles of beer. Langly took one of each.
"I'll get the back, you take the front. I was going to make you do the back, but since you brought me a beer, I'm giving you a break."
"You're a cheap date, Langly."
"Yeah, lucky for you."
They worked quickly to detrash the van, tossing out what looked like months worth of fast food wrappers, newspapers and assorted weirdness. Frohike pulled a mass of something out from under the passenger seat in the front. "Langly. Any clue what this is?"
Langly moved toward the front of the van and peered at the oddity in Frohike's hand. "I don't know, man, and I don't think I want to know. Get rid of it."
Frohike tossed it into his trash bag with a shrug. Sticking his hand back under the seat, he felt something hard and pulled it out. "Well I'll be damned. Hey Langly, I think I found the diary."
"No way! Where was it?"
"Under your seat, man. You must have dropped it."
"I know I brought that inside with me when we got home that day."
"Well here it is, plain as day, my friend. Obviously you were mistaken."
"Dude, I remember bringing it inside."
"OK, fine, Langly, I brought it out here and hid it under the seat just to piss you off. Happy now? Look, it probably just fell out of the bag. What difference does it make? We have it now. Let's get it inside and see what we can find out for Byers."
"I know I brought that damned thing inside," Langly muttered under his breath.
"Jesus, Langly! Will you shut up already?"
1:10 AMScully's apartment
It had been over an hour since Mulder's call. Scully seemed to be sleeping soundly. Byers hadn't heard anything from Langly and Frohike, so maybe they'd given up on the ridiculous idea that the dream catcher was possessed. He shook his head. *I can't believe I even considered the notion. *
He wandered out to the kitchen to put his glass in the sink, then returned to the couch to bed down for the night.
1:52 AMLone Gunmen HQ
Frohike and Langly had been taking turns reading excerpts from the diary out loud to each other. The story just kept getting weirder and weirder with each entry. Once the nightmare pattern started becoming clear in the diary, they knew their fears were not without some basis. As the nightmares got worse, the diary entries became more disjointed.
"Oh shit, 'Hike. Listen to this. 'The dream catcher glows. I don't know how, but I caught it tonight, when it thought I wasn't looking. It thinks it can fool me, but I know better.' "
"Creepy."
"Didn't you say you thought you saw it glow the other night?"
"Yeah, so?"
"The entries stop three days after this guy first noticed the glow."
"We had dinner with Scully Monday night. This is Tuesday. No wait, technically, it's Wednesday."
They exchanged looks, then grabbed the keys and ran for the door.
2:07 AMScully's apartment
Byers finally fell asleep around 1:30, comforted by the lack of noise coming from Scully's room. He prayed that, tonight, she would be free of the demons that plagued her dreams. He missed the glowing light that came from her room at 1:59, the silent messenger that signaled the onset of the nightmares.
"Mmmm, that's nice. Right there, Mulder. Oh yeah, that's the spot. God, I've missed you."
Warm fingers caressed her breasts. Kisses on her neck. A mouth closing over first one nipple, then the other. Sucking, then biting. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough to arouse. Hands traveled lower. Touching her belly, touching her thighs, touching the damp curls, touching her…"Oh God!" Fingers moved inside her, first one, then two, finally three. Reaching, pumping, probing, taking her breath away with every movement. She felt him shift, positioning himself between her legs, ready to make that sweet thrust that would finally join them, make them one.
"Open your eyes, Dana."
"Mmmmm, don't want to."
"Open your eyes, Dana."
"No Mulder, let me keep them closed, just a little while longer."
"Open your eyes, Dana. Please. I want you to look at me."
She struggled to open her eyes. As they fluttered open, he thrust into her.
"Oh my God! John, what are doing? Get off of me!"
She screamed and fought, hitting him as hard as she could, trying to kick, but finding her legs wouldn't cooperate. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the bed. She tried to fight, but she couldn't move. All she could do was scream.
"You know I've been in love with you for years, don't you Dana? I know you think you love Mulder, but you'll love me in time. You'll see. He won't be there to get in our way anymore. I've taken steps to insure that."
The words chilled her to the bone.
"What do you mean you've taken steps? What have you done, John?"
He grinned at her, his eyes taking on a greenish glow. Pulling her up, without leaving her body, he turned her head toward window. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, then she saw the lump under the windowsill. The room suddenly turned bright and in the glaring light, she saw Mulder. His eyes were open, but vacant. Blood still flowed through two holes in his chest. In his arms lay a single, yellow rose.
She started to scream once again. Her stomach churned and threatened to empty itself.
"I told you I could take him. He wasn't so tough."
As the words left his mouth, he began to laugh, long and hard. She screamed and screamed, until her world went black.
The screams woke John and he rushed into the room, turning on the light as he entered. Scully was tangled up in the sheets and she looked like she was pounding on someone or something. Without thinking, he grabbed her arms and tried to pull her into an embrace. She caught him on the side of his head with her cast. It made his eyes rattle in his head, but he kept at it until he had both arms securely wrapped around her. "Dana. Wake up, Dana. It's all right; it's all right; I'm here. Come on, Dana, wake up."
She started to calm down, but when she opened her eyes and saw him, her screams started anew. "GET OFF ME! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MULDER!" She flailed wildly at him, dangerously out of control. He let go of her and ran for the door.
"Dana? I haven't done anything to Mulder. He's still out of town. He won't be home until this afternoon, remember? You just spoke to him a few hours ago."
"HE'S RIGHT OVER THERE, JOHN. YOU KILLED HIM, YOU KILLED HIM. HOW COULD YOU?"
The boys banged on the door, but no one answered. John heard the knock, but was afraid to step away from Dana's door. Dana screamed again.
"YOU KILLED HIM, YOU BASTARD!"
Langly picked the lock and Frohike almost knocked him down trying to get through the door first. He ran into the bedroom and put his arms around Scully. "It's OK, Scully, we won't let anything hurt you anymore. Langly, get Byers out of here." Frohike held Scully as she clung to him, crying hysterically in his arms.
Langly tugged at Byers, leading him away from the bedroom door. "You OK?"
"I didn't do anything to her, Langly. She thinks I've killed Mulder. I think she's seeing him in her room. I didn't do anything."
"Chill, Byers. I know you didn't do anything; it's the dream catcher. The thing's possessed. It's not your fault." Byers turned to Langly. When he did, Langly saw the huge bruise forming on the side of his head. "Jesus, Byers, what happened to your head?"
John reached up. "Here?"
Langly nodded.
"Scully clocked me with her cast. What do you mean the dream catcher's possessed? That's ridiculous."
"Damn! Lemme go get some ice for that, man. It's gonna hurt like a mother later on." Langly got up to get the ice, but stopped before he left the room. "Here, read the last few entries and you tell me if you still think the idea's ridiculous."
John tried to read the entries, but he could still hear Dana crying hysterically in the next room. He wanted to go see her, but he knew that would be the worst move he could possibly make at the moment.
Langly came back with an ice pack and held it out to him.
"Do me a favor, Langly? Go check on Dana. I can't go in there, but she might let you. I need to know how she is."
"Sure, Byers. Put that ice on your head."
Langly walked down to Scully's bedroom and peered inside. Frohike was holding on to her for dear life as she sobbed hysterically against him. He looked toward the door and motioned for Langly to come in. "Get the van started, we're taking her to the hospital. I think she's snapped. She keeps saying that Mulder's under the window, dead, and that Byers killed him and raped her."
"Oh man, Byers is gonna freak when he hears that!"
"He's not gonna hear that. He doesn't need to know any of this, all right? We know it's not true, but he won't be able to handle the guilt. Did you see him when we walked in? He's barely holding it together as it is. Now, go start the van. Tell Byers to call Skinner. He can swing by and get Byers. Tell them to meet us at Georgetown Memorial."
"On my way."
Langly relayed the message to Byers. He wasn't thrilled at having to be the one to call Skinner, but it had to be done.
Frohike passed Byers on his way out the door. He was carrying Scully like a babe in arms, making sure her head was facing away from Byers. John raised his hands in frustration. Frohike shook his head. 'Don't worry,' he mouthed. John stood there, feeling helpless, as he watched Frohike take her out the door. When they were gone, he picked up the phone.
"Skinner? It's John Byers. I need your help."
3:43 AMGeorgetown Memorial
Byers paced back and forth across the waiting room. When he'd heard the doctor request a rape kit, the boys had had no choice but to tell him of Scully's accusations. Skinner assured him that they were only doing this as a precaution, but Byers still felt guilty. The doctor called Skinner back into the examining room, leaving the boys to care for Byers. They understood his frustration, but the pacing was starting to get on everyone's nerves.
"Mr. Byers?"
He looked up to see a nurse calling to him.
"Yes."
"Mr. Byers, Mr. Skinner asked me to take a look at that bump on your head. Will you come back here with me please?"
"It's nothing; I'll be fine."
"He thought you'd say that. He asked me to remind you that Miss Scully will be most upset if she finds out that you haven't taken care of your injuries."
John frowned. Damn Skinner for knowing just the right buttons to push! He nodded his head and followed the nurse back to an examining room. Skinner came out a short time later.
"Did Byers go with the nurse?"
"Yeah, she just took him back a few minutes ago. How's Scully?"
"They have her sedated now. She should sleep for a couple of hours. What the Hell happened, Frohike? She keeps insisting that Byers shot Mulder and raped her. Now I know that Byers didn't shoot Mulder and the rape kit proved negative, not that I believed he raped her, mind you, but where Scully's concerned, I'm not taking any chances."
Frohike and Langly exchanged glances, debating on how much to tell Skinner. They decided to go for broke and tell him the whole story, as they knew it. Skinner listened attentively. He was having a difficult time with the possession aspect, but after all the years of dealing with Mulder, he wasn't surprised to find himself accepting their explanation. He agreed with their decision to keep the rape allegations from Byers. That man had been through enough and telling him that part would serve no purpose. "And you have this diary?"
"Yeah, it's probably still over at Scully's. I gave it to Byers to read before I split to start the van."
"Has anyone called Mulder? He should be informed of Scully's condition."
"Uh… well you see…Mulder doesn't exactly know about any of this." Seeing Skinner's surprised expression, Frohike continued. "Scully was adamant about him not knowing anything. You know how she feels about having anyone coddle her, most of all Mulder. She made us promise not to call him."
Skinner nodded his head and frowned. "I didn't call him when she broke her arm, because I knew she wouldn't want me to bother him in the middle of an investigation for a personal matter. I did assume that she'd tell him, though." He sighed. "So you're telling me that he has no idea about the arm, the nightmares, anything?"
Frohike and Langly nodded their heads.
"Great." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
"Mulder, it's Skinner. I need you back in DC now. No, it can't wait. Get to the airport and get your ass back here ASAP; Scully's in the hospital, she's had breakdown. Yeah, we're at Georgetown Memorial, Langly Frohike, Byers, and me. We'll stay with her, but she needs you. Yes, Mulder, I'll tell her." Skinner dropped the phone back into his coat pocket, then turned to the boys. "Someone want to tell me when these two finally figured out their relationship?"
"What do you mean?" Frohike asked.
"Mulder just asked me to tell Scully that he loves her."
Langly and Frohike shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
"Wait, does this have anything to do with that shiner that Mulder was sporting last week?" They looked at him, then at each other. "Never mind, I think I've got the picture. It's about time they figured it out."
The nurse who'd taken Byers earlier walked back into the waiting room. "Mr. Skinner?"
"Yes?"
"We're going to admit Mr. Byers, for observation. He has a concussion and appears physically exhausted. He's not too happy about it, I'm afraid. Would you mind coming to talk to him? He seems terribly concerned about Miss Scully and I think he's going to fight the sedative until he hears from you."
Skinner got up from the couch and followed the nurse to Byers' room. He assured Byers that Scully was resting comfortably and that she would be well cared for. "You did a good job, Byers. Get some sleep now. We'll let you know how she's doing. I promise."
John nodded his head and let the sedative put him to sleep.
4:17 AMMark Twain Motor Lodge
Mulder tossed on his clothes and began shoving everything else into his suitcase. He picked up the phone and dialed Lee. "Lee? I need a favor. I know it's early, but I've got to get to the airport now. It's Scully, she's in trouble. I need to get home, Lee. Thanks, I'll be waiting."
Lee shot up out of bed and threw on the first things he found. Grabbing the keys to the squad car, he raced over to the MT to get Mulder. He squealed into a parking space, just as Mulder came out of the door. Mulder opened the car door, tossing his suitcase in the back seat. As soon as the car door closed, Lee backed out of the space and floored it out of the lot. "What happened, Mulder?"
"I don't know. Skinner called and said that she'd had a breakdown and that I needed to get home right now."
"We'll get you to the airport as soon as humanly possible then. Did you call to see what the flight schedule is?"
"No, I didn't think that far ahead."
Lee picked up the phone. "Hey, it's me. Call the airport. Tell them we have a federal agent who needs the next flight out to DC. We'll be there in about an hour." He hung up the phone and switched on the lights and siren. "Taken care of, we'll have you out of here and on a plane before you know it."
They spent the next hour in relative silence. Mulder kept looking out the window, then at his watch, then out the window again. He didn't have any sunflower seeds, so he settled on chewing his thumbnail instead. By the time they arrived at the airport, his thumb was raw and bleeding. "Jesus, Mulder! You're bleeding all over the upholstery." Lee reached into the glove compartment and retrieved the first aid kit. He pulled out a Band-Aid and handed it to Mulder. "Here, take care of that thumb."
Mulder gave him a half-smile and put it on while Lee grabbed his suitcase out of the back seat. "Come on, let's see who has the honor of carrying you home."
When they entered the terminal, a representative from United met them. "Agent Mulder? We've been waiting for you. Sheriff Dryden's office called and requested that we hold the flight until you arrived. Let's go, shall we?"
"Well, Mulder, I guess this is it. I want to thank you for all your help. We couldn't have done it without you."
"Just doing my job, Lee. Besides, Reggie would have haunted me for the rest of my life if I'd let you down."
Lee chuckled. "I believe he would have at that. Take care, Mulder. Bring that partner of yours down to visit sometime, OK?"
"You got it, Lee."
Mulder reached out to shake his hand, but Lee pulled him into a bear hug. "Now get out of here, you've held up this gentleman's plane long enough."
Mulder smiled and waved good-bye.
"Right this way, Agent Mulder."
7 AMGeorgetown Memorial
Scully awoke and was startled to find that she wasn't in her own room. She had no recollection of being brought here and no idea as to why she was there in the first place. Her first instinct was to call for a nurse to get an explanation, but she decided to wait and try to bring up her memories of last night, on her own. She closed her eyes, but try as she might, the last thing she could remember was falling asleep after talking to Mulder. "Damn it, what happened last night?"
"You went caveman on Byers, that's what." Scully's eyes flew open and found herself looking at Frohike, standing in the doorway.
"Frohike? What do you mean I 'went caveman' on Byers?"
"You don't remember anything?"
Scully sighed in frustration. "No, I don't. Are you going to tell me what happened and why I'm in the hospital, or are we going to continue to play this little game all morning?"
Skinner pushed past Frohike and walked over to Scully's bedside. "I would suggest that you stop badgering Frohike, Agent Scully. You had…an incident… last night. Frohike made sure you got here in one piece."
"What kind of 'incident', sir? Frohike said I did something to Byers. What did I do?"
Skinner and Frohike exchanged concerned looks. They knew that the truth would come out sooner or later, but neither was sure if now was the proper time. Skinner made the decision to tell her, but before he could, Dr. Childers came into the room. "Nice to see you again, Agent Scully. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Would someone please tell me what the Hell happened last night?"
Dr. Childers glanced at the chart at the end of the bed, for no other reason than to have something to do, while he stalled the inevitable. She needed to hear what had happened last night, but the circumstances were delicate, at best. He took a deep breath and began. "Your friends brought you in early this morning. You said that you had been raped and that your partner had been murdered by the man who raped you."
Scully looked shocked at the revelation.
"You don't remember any of this?"
She shook her head.
"We did a thorough exam, rape kit and all, but found no evidence to back up your claims. Mr. Skinner and Mr. Frohike stated that your partner was very much alive and that they didn't believe that the person you accused of raping you was capable of committing such a crime."
"Who did I accuse?"
Skinner and Frohike looked at Dr. Childers. Childers nodded his head, giving them permission to fill in the missing information. Frohike took Scully's hand and squeezed it. "Scully…" he paused, not quite knowing how to say it. "Langly and I showed up to give Byers some information about that dream catcher he gave you. When we got there, you were screaming and Byers was holding his head. You kept saying that Mulder was dead, that Byers had killed him. You were pointing over to the corner of the bedroom, insisting that Mulder was lying there dead. You also said that Byers had raped you. We had to keep Byers out of the room to get you calmed down. We called Skinner to come get Byers, then Langly and I drove you here. We've been sitting outside your door all night."
Scully's hand flew up to her mouth. She'd accused John of raping her and killing Mulder? The idea was beyond her comprehension. How could she have done that? John would never hurt her or Mulder. Mulder wasn't even in town. "Oh my God, Frohike. Where's John, I need to talk to him."
"Uh, well, you can't really talk to him right now."
"Why not? Where is he?" She looked from Frohike to Skinner to Dr. Childers. All three of them looked uncomfortable. "You didn't have him arrested, did you?"
"No Scully, he's not under arrest," Skinner said. "He's down the hall. You…uh…clocked him with your cast when he tried to calm you down. We had to admit him last night." Upon seeing Scully's horrified expression, he added, "He's fine, Scully. The doctor wanted to keep him overnight for observation. He was pretty upset by the whole incident. They had to give him a sedative to knock him out."
"Can I see him later? I need to talk to him, to apologize."
"That's up to his doctor," Skinner said, looking over at Childers.
Childers nodded his head. "I'm sure that can be arranged. We should be releasing Mr. Byers later this morning."
"Good. How about me, can I go home now? I feel fine."
"Sorry Agent Scully, but you're going to be with us for another day or so. I want to run a few tests to, see if we can determine the cause of this dizziness you've been experiencing. It also wouldn't hurt for you to get some rest. Mr. Skinner tells me that you still aren't sleeping. On a positive note, it looks like your arm is healing nicely, in spite of your activities last night."
Scully opened her mouth to argue, but looks from both Skinner and Frohike stopped her. Skinner had on his best 'don't argue with me' look, while Frohike had his patented 'I've got a plan' face on. Dr. Childers, seeing that he was going to get no argument from his patient at this time, left to go about his morning rounds. As soon as he was gone, Frohike began to fill her in on their suspicions about the dream catcher. By the time he finished, Scully was on the verge of believing, while Skinner was rubbing his temples and shaking his head. "You're not really buying this crap, are you Scully?"
"Well, no sir, but if you have a more plausible explanation, I'd be willing to listen. All of this started the night Mulder put the dream catcher up in my apartment and the pattern does follow that reported by the previous owner…"
"Oh, speaking of Mulder, he's on his way home." Skinner stopped to check his watch. "He should be getting in about forty-five minutes from now. Frohike, why don't you and Langly go pick him up. I don't think he's going to be in any shape to drive."
Frohike nodded in agreement. "Will do. See you later, Scully."
Scully stared at Skinner. "You called Mulder? Sir, I didn't want him to know about any of this until he got home."
"What would you have me do, wait until it was convenient to tell him the woman he loves has had a breakdown? He's going to be furious with all of us as it is. If I had known that this relationship had taken a new turn recently, I would have called him days ago."
Scully blushed from embarrassment at Skinner's words. How in the world had he found out?
Skinner tried hard not to grin. "Oh, by the way, Mulder said to tell you he loves you."
"Sir….I…"
"Forget it, Scully. It's about time you two figured it out."
8:45 AMDulles Airport
The boys rushed over to the screens and checked arrival times. On the positive side, they'd made it to the airport with fifteen minutes to spare. On the negative, the gate was on the other side of the airport. Frohike sent Langly ahead, saying he'd meet them there. "I'm getting too old to do this running through the airport routine," he mumbled.
By the time they arrived at the designated gate, the passengers were just coming down the chute. Mulder came barreling out, almost knocking over a businessman in the process.
"Mulder, over here," Langly yelled.
Mulder made his way over to the boys. "What are you doing here? How's Scully?"
Langly grabbed Mulder's bag and started toward the exit, while Frohike explained. By the time they got to the van, Mulder was fuming and the boys knew it. They got into the van and waited for the inevitable to occur. Mulder sat in the back, strangely quiet. Frohike wasn't sure if this was a good sign, or a very bad one. "Mulder?"
"What?"
"You wanna say something? You're freaking us out."
Mulder leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. His face was set in a tight-lipped frown and his fingers were locked in a death grip with each other. He let out a long breath, shook his head and sat back against the seat.
"Look, we wanted to call you, but Scully wouldn't let us and Byers thought he could handle everything until you got back. We didn't make the final connection between her nightmares and the dream catcher until early this morning. I know you're pissed, but hey, when it comes down to having to decide which one of you to side with, she's gonna win every time, man." Mulder gave Frohike an incredulous look. Frohike grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, you just yell; Scully kicks ass and takes down names. I'm not getting on her shit list."
A grin slowly crept across Mulder's face; Frohike had a point. Mulder dropped his head and started chuckling at the absurdity of the whole situation. He'd traveled halfway across the country to chase a serial killer and missed an x-file in his own backyard. Frohike gave him a puzzled look.
"Relax, Frohike. You're right, I wouldn't want to be on Scully's shit list either. I just want to get to the hospital to see her. Langly, can't you make this bucket move any faster?"
"Mulder, I'm pushing the speed limit as it is. Skinner sent us to pick you up to make sure you got there in one piece, so chill out; we'll be there soon."
Frohike shifted in his seat. "Speaking of Skinner… Mulder, do you know what you said to him this morning?"
"Said to him? What do you mean?"
"When he called you to tell you about Scully. You don't remember?"
"Remember what? Frohike, it's been a long week, could we cut through the crap? What did I say to him?"
Frohike grimaced, then blew out a deep breath. "Just before you hung up, you told him to tell Scully you loved her."
Mulder replayed the conversation in his head and his eyes opened wide when he realized that he had, indeed, told his boss to tell his partner he loved her. "Oh shit!"
"Don't worry, Mulder. Skinner's glad you two finally figured it out. Everyone's known for years, we've been waiting for the two of you to catch up."
9:20 AMGeorgetown Memorial
Scully was asleep when Byers came knocking on her door. He started to leave, but Skinner insisted he come in and sit for a while. "I don't want to disturb her."
"Byers, stay put. She's worried about you. She doesn't remember any of it; we had to fill her in. When we told her she'd accused you of raping her, she was horrified. She knows you wouldn't hurt her."
"God, no! I'd never do anything to hurt Dana."
"I know, John."
Skinner and Byers turned toward Scully. She reached out her hand to John, waiting for him to come close. He hesitated, but finally moved toward her when she smiled at him. "Dana, I am so sorry. If I'd known that I was in your nightmares, I never would have come into your room last night. I wouldn't…I couldn't…do what you thought I did."
"I know, John. Let's just forget the whole thing ever happened, OK?"
"I'd like that, Dana."
"Good. How's your head? They tell me I hit you pretty hard last night."
"Well, I'm only seeing one of everything now, so I guess that means it's getting better. They're going to release me later this morning."
Scully smiled and closed her eyes. "Guess I'll have to find a new babysitter now."
Mulder, Frohike and Langly walked into the room, just as the words were leaving her mouth. Byers started to say something, but stopped when Mulder shook his head. He approached the side of the bed, then bent down and kissed her. She didn't have to open to her eyes to know whose lips were on hers. Raising her good arm, Scully circled his neck and brought him closer. They stayed lip-locked, until Skinner cleared his throat. Not that he wasn't amused by the show; he simply felt it prudent to remind them that they were not alone. They reluctantly released each other. "Agent Mulder, might I remind you that you are on duty and that Agent Scully needs her rest right now?"
The boys snickered at the distinct lack of sternness in Skinner's tone. Mulder smiled, but never took his eyes off of Scully. "About that, sir. After I file my report, I'd like to request a leave of absence to care for my ailing partner. I don't think she should be left alone and I know I have plenty of vacation time coming to me."
"Maybe you'd better consult Agent Scully, before you go making assumptions about what she needs, Mulder. How do you know she even wants your sorry ass hanging around her apartment?"
Mulder opened his mouth to reply, but Scully beat him to the punch. "Sir, there's no one else's sorry ass I'd rather have around right now, than Agent Mulder's."
That did it for the boys. Langly and Byers choked and sputtered, while Frohike grumbled something about always losing to the pretty boys. Skinner chuckled, in spite of himself, then cleared everyone out of the room, leaving Mulder and Scully alone.
Mulder pushed the hair back off of Scully's face. She closed her eyes and began to nod off, once again. "I'm pretty irritated with you, you know? You should have told me what was going on, Scully."
She wanted to open her eyes, but the need to sleep was rapidly taking control of her system. "I know, Mulder. Gotta sleep now. We'll talk later."
"Count on it, Scully."
He climbed into bed with her and snuggled up close. "I love you, Scully," he whispered.
"Love you, too," she replied, before dropping off to sleep.
11:28 AMScully's apartment
After springing Byers from the hospital, the boys made a stop at Scully's apartment to collect Byers' things. John made sure that Scully's place was clean. He had Langly empty the trash and sent Frohike off to the grocery store to pick up a few things to be sure that Mulder wouldn't have to worry about leaving the apartment for food for a day or two. The doctor had told him to rest for the next few days, but he had one thing to take care of before could happen. He went into Scully's bedroom and removed the dream catcher. Langly spotted the object in his hands and turned pale at the sight. "Geez Byers, get rid of that thing."
"What do you think I'm trying to do. This is going straight down to the furnace and I'm staying until I'm sure the damned thing is incinerated."
"I'll come with you. I'd like to be sure that thing doesn't reappear myself."
Langly saw the diary on the table and picked it up. "What about this? Think we should hang on to it?"
"No, let's get rid of that, too. I don't want any trace of this thing left for Scully to see when she gets home."
Byers' head was pounding as they walked down the steps into the basement. Just a few more minutes and he could go home. He just hoped that he would be able to make it back up the steps without Langly's help. The closer they came to the furnace, the harder the pounding became. His eyes lost their focus and he almost fell down the steps. Langly caught hold of his arm just in time to keep him from falling.
"Easy dude, maybe you should let me take it from here."
"No, I need to do this. I bought the damned thing; it's up to me to destroy it."
Langly nodded his head in agreement. "I see your point. This thing has some major bad karma to it and since you bought it, you have to be the one to get rid of it so you don't add anymore karmic debts to your soul, right?"
Under normal circumstances, Byers would have jumped all over Langly's karmic debt crap. These were not normal circumstances. "Yeah, right, whatever. Look, just help me down the steps will you please? My head is killing me."
They made it down the stairs and over to the furnace. Langly opened the gate and tossed in the diary. It caught fire and burned quickly in the flames. They watched as the pages turned to cinders and floated in the heat. When the book was reduced to ashes, Byers tossed in the dream catcher. A noise, something like a scream, sounded out in the belly of the furnace, then a flash of green light, before the dream catcher caught fire. The web went first, popping and cracking as the strands broke away from the frame. When the final strand separated from circle, the frame itself burst into flame and burned quickly down to nothing. As the frame disappeared, Byers' head ceased its pounding.
"That was freaky. Did you see that flash of green?"
Byers nodded his head. "It's gone now. Let's see if Frohike's back , I want to go home."
Scully's apartmentTwo days later
Dr. Childers had run every test in the book, but couldn't determine the cause of Scully's dizziness. After her first solid night's sleep, her symptoms had disappeared, so they decided to chalk it up to extreme exhaustion and leave it at that. The nightmares had disappeared, as well. Having no excuse to keep her any longer, Dr. Childers signed her release papers.
Mulder pulled up in front of Scully's apartment. Neither had said much since leaving the hospital. Over the last two days, they'd talked about her nightmares, the murder case, Byers and the boys, everything but what would happen when she got out of the hospital. Now that they were finally here, he wasn't sure how to proceed. *Getting out of the car might be a good place to start. * He pulled the key out of the ignition and opened his door. She really didn't need his help, but she knew that Mulder would like taking on the role of the chivalrous suitor, so she forced herself to stay still until he opened the door.
"Thank you, Mulder."
He smiled, then opened the back door to retrieve her overnight bag and his, somewhat larger, suitcase. The original idea was for him to leave last night, pack his bag and bring it over to her apartment, but once he'd finished packing at home, he found that he was more interested in getting back to her side, than worrying about where his suitcase was. Now, with his arms full of luggage, he regretted that decision. Good thing Scully was strong enough to make it to the door without his help.
Scully unlocked the front door and went inside. She smiled when she saw the fresh flowers on the table, a gift from the boys. Mulder walked into her bedroom and put her overnight bag down on the dresser, then carried his suitcase back out to the living room and put it beside the couch. Scully frowned. "Mulder, what are you doing?"
"What?"
She pointed to the suitcase. "That. Why is it out here?"
Mulder shrugged. "This seemed like the right place to put it, Scully. We haven't exactly discussed the sleeping arrangements. I didn't want…I wasn't going to make any assumptions."
Scully pursed her lips, then nodded her head. "I see." She walked into the bedroom, leaving Mulder standing there, not knowing what to do with himself. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to decide what to do next. "Mulder, would you come in here, please?"
He walked slowly to the bedroom door and peered inside. Scully was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him. She motioned for him to enter, then pointed behind her. On the pillow was a small card. He couldn't read it from the foot of the bed, so he looked at her, then moved toward the head of the bed to pick it up. The writing on the card made him chuckle. "Reserved for Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI."
"Does that clear things up for you, Mulder?"
He bit his lower lip and came back to sit next to her.
"Are you sure, Scully? When we started this, you said you needed a little more time. Besides, you just got out of the hospital…"
"Mulder!"
"What?"
"Are you trying to talk me out of this?"
"No! I just want to be sure that…"
Scully gave him an exasperated look. "Mulder, shut up and kiss me."
He smiled. "Yes ma'am."