Title - Wake To This Nightmare
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG-13
Spoilers - Up to beginning of Season 8
Keywords - Mulder/Scully romance
Summary - Scully sinks deeper and deeper into a depression as the hunt for
Mulder seems to wind to an unsuccessful conclusion. As she struggles to hang
on to hope, Mulder awakens to a life he doesn't remember and faces his own
struggles to maintain his grip on reality.
Disclaimer - Most of these characters aren't mine. You know that. And I
know that. They're property of someone else and used without permission
strictly for entertainment purposes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 5
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
San Diego Zoo
3:57 PM
Mulder looks at his watch one more time. It was about time to put the next
phase of his plan into action. Bill would be at the front gates soon for
Emily. All he Mulder had to do was put the girl into Diana's care and then
somehow manage to distract her so that Emily could slip away, making it seem
like Diana lost her. He looks around and figures this was a good enough
place. There was a public restroom to the left with some benches in front.
To the right, directly across from the benches, was a souvenir shop attended
to by a cute and perky red head.
"Okay, kid," he whispers to Emily. They were lagging a bit behind Diana
who's been complaining about the heat. "You ready? The front gates are
right up this path and your Uncle Bill will be there waiting."
"I'm ready, Daddy," she says, taking a deep breath and grabbing on a little
tighter to her back pack.
"Diana, wait up," Mulder calls. "Em has to use the bathroom."
"Again?" Diana whines. "Didn't she go with us when we all went right after
lunch?"
"I have to go again," Emily adds, doing a little squirming dance to emphasize
the dire necessity.
"You take her," Mulder suggests. "I'll be right in that shop with that nice
looking red-haired lady."
"Nice looking?" Diana fumes through clenched teeth.
"I meant, she looks nice . . looks like a nice person, I mean," Mulder says
quickly. He has to stop himself from patting himself on the back at the way
he's playing Diana. He feels her eyes on his back all the way into the shop.
He planted just enough doubt to make her keep a close eye on him. There was
no way she'd let him out of her sight. Which should give Emily just enough
time to get away.
Mulder gets inside the shop and stands at an angle where he can see both
Diana and the bathroom door. Just like he expected, Diana sent Emily inside
alone while she waits on the bench, staring daggers at the shopkeeper Mulder
was now flirting shamelessly with. While attempting to pretend like he cared
about the contents of the store, his mind begins to wander to Emily. She had
15 minutes to get from the bathroom up to the front gates where Bill would
be. He imagines the scene in the restroom while browsing the selection of
souvenirs. He imagines Emily pulling off her jeans, revealing a pair of
white capri pants. He imagines her taking off her pink t-shirt to reveal a
yellow tank top underneath. He sees her taking off her little tennis shoes
and putting on a pair of slides. A wig with two long black ponytails and a
pair of sunglasses top off the ensemble. Flipping her reversible back pack
and storing her old clothes is her final act in the transformation.
Sure enough, Mulder is able to finally let out a sigh of relief when the
little disguised girl pokes her head out the bathroom door. Seeing that
Diana's attention was elsewhere, she slips out the door and heads up the path
towards the exit. Mulder smiles when she's out of sight. He picks up two
stuffed pandas and goes to the register to pay for them. Walking back to the
bench, he gives Diana one of the bears.
"For you, my lady," he says gallantly with a little bow. "Where's Emily? I
got one for her too."
"What? Oh, she's in the bathroom," Diana says distractedly, still rejoicing
in the way Mulder was being so nice to her.
"Still? Diana, I was in the shop for like 20 minutes. Are you sure she
didn't leave? She's been dying to get to that sea otter show all day. Maybe
she snuck past you and went without us." He tries to mix the right amount of
panic in his voice for the act.
"Fox, I was right here the whole time. I doubt she got past me," Diana says
defensively. "Stay here and I'll go in there to get her."
Diana goes into the restroom and comes out five minutes later with a look of
mild irritation on her face. Emily is gone she informs him. Which wasn't a
big surprise, but he had to act like it was. They called the zoo officials
and searched the entire ground. But to no avail. There was no sign of Emily.
A mixture of relief and worry filled Mulder's heart. Thankfully Emily had
gotten away. And hopefully she was on her way to her mother. But he'll
never know for sure until he completes his plan and gets Diana out of their
lives for good.
* * * * * * * * * *
Scully waits patiently in the car as Skinner and Doggett perform a thorough
sweep of the area, making sure the location is secure. They've both been
pretty protective of her lately, and normally she wouldn't stand for it. But
she refused to take any chances where her baby was concerned. And because of
that, she tolerated the extra care attention showered on her by her
colleagues.
She sighs a sigh of relief when she sees Skinner finally coming back around
the corner and towards the car. She gets out the car and meets him halfway.
"Is this all really necessary, Sir?" she asks her boss.
"I didn't want to take any chances. Your brother sounded pretty spooked.
And he insisted that your meeting place be secure. You should get inside.
He should be here soon." Skinner escorts her into her mother's house.
"You know, I don't know how you convinced my mother to allow you to agree to
this. She hates her space being invaded and . . ."
"Scully, your mother was fine with it. She's actually in there having tea
with Agent Doggett as we speak," Skinner laughs. Doggett wasn't thrilled
with having a tea party, but it was necessary to appease Mrs. Scully for her
to allow the invasion of her home.
Scully and Skinner go inside, joining Doggett and Mrs. Scully at the kitchen
table. Scully is understandably distracted and no one bothers her much over
her lack on input into the conversation. She just couldn't help but wonder
what her brother had planned. This wasn't like him. She just hoped he
wasn't planning on trying to convince her to leave the FBI again. That was
one reason she didn't tell him about the baby yet. Because he flipped when
he found out about Mulder's disappearance and how it was affecting her. She
hated to think what he'd do if he knew she was pregnant. But, it wouldn't be
a secret to him for much longer. He'd be there any minute and her small body
couldn't exactly conceal the bulge anymore.
There's a knock at the back door that registered through Scully's preoccupied
mind. She jumped at the noise, knocking over her cup of tea.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I got tea all over the tablecloth," Scully apologizes.
"Don't worry about that, Honey. Just go get the door. That must be your
brother."
Scully follows Doggett and Skinner through the living room to the back door.
This was getting weirder by the minute. What was so secretive that Bill
couldn't come to the front door? However, all thoughts leave her head the
moment her brother and his companion step over the threshold.
"You must be Agent Doggett," Bill says, sticking his hand out to the man.
"Bill Scully. We spoke on the phone."
"Nice to meet you," Doggett says before looking down to the person at Bill's
side. "And who's this little one?"
"Emily," Scully manages to barely gasp before falling to her knees.
Emily tentatively looks up at Bill, grabbing his hand a little tighter. He
nods and gives her a small push in Scully's direction. The little girl walks
slowly to her mother, stopping just inches in front of her.
"Mommy?" she asks quietly, almost afraid.
Scully lifts a shaky hand to brush an unruly lock of hair from the girl's
face. She'd changed a lot in the 4 years since Scully has seen her. But
still, she'd recognize her little girl anywhere. Her hair was darker and
longer than it was before. A sandy blond color with red highlights. But her
eyes were the same. The same piercing blue ones that Scully owned.
"Emily? Is it really you?" Scully sees the girl nod through the tears
blurring her eyes and doesn't waste another second with questions. She pulls
Emily into her arms, hugging her as close as her stomach would allow.
After a few moments of hesitation, Emily finally latches her arms around
Scully's neck and starts sobbing into her shoulder. The two stay entwined
for awhile until Emily's sobs slow into quiet snores. Scully tries to lift
the girl, but is stopped by Skinner.
"You shouldn't be picking her up like that," he admonishes. "Let me take
her." A look of panic crosses Scully's face and he has to amend his request.
"Just until you get to the couch. You'll get her right back."
"Bill?" Scully finally asks once she and Emily are settled on the couch,
remembering the person who delivered her precious cargo.
"He's in the kitchen with your mom. I'll go get him," Doggett offers.
"I don't understand," she says. "Where did he get her? How did he get her?
I thought she was dead. I was there with her when she died. I don't
understand."
"Dana, the story only gets more bizarre," Bill says from the doorway. He
makes his way to the couch and sits next to his sister. "Why don't you let
me take her up to bed. You and I need to talk."
"I'll take her," she starts, but is given a warning grunt from Skinner.
"No lifting, Agent Scully," he tells her again. "Don't be so hard headed
about this."
"Fine," she sighs, growing annoyed with Skinner's constant warnings about
what she can or can't do.
"What was that all about?" Bill asks after Skinner leaves with Emily.
"He's been like that since Mulder left," she says. "Since I told him about
this." She looks down and runs her hands over her stomach, revealing the
protrusion.
"Dana, you're . . ." Bill looks up at her face with shock. "You're
pregnant?"
She's surprised that he didn't have anything to say about it. No smart
remarks about Mulder running off and leaving her in this condition. And how
he'd find him and kill him with his bare hands.
"What? Nothing to say, Bill? No death threats directed towards Mulder for
knocking up your baby sister and deserting her?" She asks him sarcastically.
"Dana. Why didn't you tell me? I didn't know. I'm so sorry. If I had
known I would have dragged him back here myself," Bill babbles.
"Wait a minute. Back up. Dragged who back here," Dana shrieks.
"Dana, what is it?" Mrs. Scully asks frantically after running into the room.
By this time, Scully is clawing at Bill's shirt, trying to force answers out
of him. Skinner and Doggett have to work together to pry the small woman
from her brother. She takes a moment to collect herself before continuing
with her questioning.
"Bill, you saw him? You saw Mulder?" Her voice is small and shaking from
her attempt at holding back her tears.
"A few days ago. At a bookstore in San Diego." Bill calmly tells her,
waiting on her to erupt again. When he sees that she's too shocked to say
anything, he continues. "He has amnesia, Dana. He didn't even know me. He
didn't remember anything about his life."
"But he had Emily? And you brought her here and left Mulder there?" she
asked, still not understanding what was happening.
"No, he begged me to bring Emily to you . . . "
"But you said he didn't remember anything about his life. Did that include
me? What about Emily? How did he know her? Why did you leave him, Bill?
You knew I was looking for him. Do you hate him that much?" Scully starts
to get worked up again with her rapid firing of questions.
"Calm down, Scully," Skinner firmly suggests. "Let Bill tell us what
happened. Bill, why don't you start at the beginning."
"Okay. A few days ago, Matthew and I were in downtown San Diego at a
bookstore. That's where we ran into Mulder and Emily. Needless to say, I
was shocked to see him, but he didn't know who I was. I explained to him
that I was your brother and that you were Emily's mother. I told him as much
as I knew about his life, but he still didn't remember it. He said he woke up
about a month ago and some woman claimed to be his wife. Then she introduced
Emily as their daughter."
"Wife?" Scully interrupts.
"Yeah. Some woman named Diana. Whoever she is, he was terrified of taking
Emily back to her. He was desperate to get her away from that situation."
"Diana?" Scully interrupts again.
"Yeah, Diana. What? Do you know her or something?" Bill asks.
"Oh, I know her alright . . ." Scully says angrily before getting another
warning glare from Skinner to calm down. "She's an agent with the bureau.
Used to be Mulder's partner . . . in more ways than one. Supposedly she
died, but apparently that's not the case."
"Well, whoever she is, Mulder was determined to get Emily away from her. He
said that no matter what that woman told him, he knew his heart belonged to
someone else. To you, Dana," Bill tells her. "He cares a lot about you. I
know I haven't been the guy's biggest supporter, but I never realized how
much he cares."
"Where is he, Bill? I have to go to him," Scully begs.
"I promised I wouldn't tell you. He wants to protect you. This Diana woman
is up to something. Mulder doesn't know what. But as long as you and Emily
are safe, he can deal with her."
"Bill I can't let him do this alone," Scully says, briefly taken back to the
moment four months ago when she said the same thing to Mulder.
"He won't have to. I'll go," Doggett offers. "You said that this Diana
woman was in the bureau, so she would know you or Skinner. But she won't
know me. I could go out there and bring him home to you."
"Well, then. What are we waiting for?" Bill asks, standing with Doggett.
"Let's go get Mulder."
To be continued . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG-13
Spoilers - Up to beginning of Season 8
Keywords - Mulder/Scully romance
Summary - Scully sinks deeper and deeper into a depression as the hunt for
Mulder seems to wind to an unsuccessful conclusion. As she struggles to hang
on to hope, Mulder awakens to a life he doesn't remember and faces his own
struggles to maintain his grip on reality.
Disclaimer - Most of these characters aren't mine. You know that. And I
know that. They're property of someone else and used without permission
strictly for entertainment purposes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 5
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
San Diego Zoo
3:57 PM
Mulder looks at his watch one more time. It was about time to put the next
phase of his plan into action. Bill would be at the front gates soon for
Emily. All he Mulder had to do was put the girl into Diana's care and then
somehow manage to distract her so that Emily could slip away, making it seem
like Diana lost her. He looks around and figures this was a good enough
place. There was a public restroom to the left with some benches in front.
To the right, directly across from the benches, was a souvenir shop attended
to by a cute and perky red head.
"Okay, kid," he whispers to Emily. They were lagging a bit behind Diana
who's been complaining about the heat. "You ready? The front gates are
right up this path and your Uncle Bill will be there waiting."
"I'm ready, Daddy," she says, taking a deep breath and grabbing on a little
tighter to her back pack.
"Diana, wait up," Mulder calls. "Em has to use the bathroom."
"Again?" Diana whines. "Didn't she go with us when we all went right after
lunch?"
"I have to go again," Emily adds, doing a little squirming dance to emphasize
the dire necessity.
"You take her," Mulder suggests. "I'll be right in that shop with that nice
looking red-haired lady."
"Nice looking?" Diana fumes through clenched teeth.
"I meant, she looks nice . . looks like a nice person, I mean," Mulder says
quickly. He has to stop himself from patting himself on the back at the way
he's playing Diana. He feels her eyes on his back all the way into the shop.
He planted just enough doubt to make her keep a close eye on him. There was
no way she'd let him out of her sight. Which should give Emily just enough
time to get away.
Mulder gets inside the shop and stands at an angle where he can see both
Diana and the bathroom door. Just like he expected, Diana sent Emily inside
alone while she waits on the bench, staring daggers at the shopkeeper Mulder
was now flirting shamelessly with. While attempting to pretend like he cared
about the contents of the store, his mind begins to wander to Emily. She had
15 minutes to get from the bathroom up to the front gates where Bill would
be. He imagines the scene in the restroom while browsing the selection of
souvenirs. He imagines Emily pulling off her jeans, revealing a pair of
white capri pants. He imagines her taking off her pink t-shirt to reveal a
yellow tank top underneath. He sees her taking off her little tennis shoes
and putting on a pair of slides. A wig with two long black ponytails and a
pair of sunglasses top off the ensemble. Flipping her reversible back pack
and storing her old clothes is her final act in the transformation.
Sure enough, Mulder is able to finally let out a sigh of relief when the
little disguised girl pokes her head out the bathroom door. Seeing that
Diana's attention was elsewhere, she slips out the door and heads up the path
towards the exit. Mulder smiles when she's out of sight. He picks up two
stuffed pandas and goes to the register to pay for them. Walking back to the
bench, he gives Diana one of the bears.
"For you, my lady," he says gallantly with a little bow. "Where's Emily? I
got one for her too."
"What? Oh, she's in the bathroom," Diana says distractedly, still rejoicing
in the way Mulder was being so nice to her.
"Still? Diana, I was in the shop for like 20 minutes. Are you sure she
didn't leave? She's been dying to get to that sea otter show all day. Maybe
she snuck past you and went without us." He tries to mix the right amount of
panic in his voice for the act.
"Fox, I was right here the whole time. I doubt she got past me," Diana says
defensively. "Stay here and I'll go in there to get her."
Diana goes into the restroom and comes out five minutes later with a look of
mild irritation on her face. Emily is gone she informs him. Which wasn't a
big surprise, but he had to act like it was. They called the zoo officials
and searched the entire ground. But to no avail. There was no sign of Emily.
A mixture of relief and worry filled Mulder's heart. Thankfully Emily had
gotten away. And hopefully she was on her way to her mother. But he'll
never know for sure until he completes his plan and gets Diana out of their
lives for good.
* * * * * * * * * *
Scully waits patiently in the car as Skinner and Doggett perform a thorough
sweep of the area, making sure the location is secure. They've both been
pretty protective of her lately, and normally she wouldn't stand for it. But
she refused to take any chances where her baby was concerned. And because of
that, she tolerated the extra care attention showered on her by her
colleagues.
She sighs a sigh of relief when she sees Skinner finally coming back around
the corner and towards the car. She gets out the car and meets him halfway.
"Is this all really necessary, Sir?" she asks her boss.
"I didn't want to take any chances. Your brother sounded pretty spooked.
And he insisted that your meeting place be secure. You should get inside.
He should be here soon." Skinner escorts her into her mother's house.
"You know, I don't know how you convinced my mother to allow you to agree to
this. She hates her space being invaded and . . ."
"Scully, your mother was fine with it. She's actually in there having tea
with Agent Doggett as we speak," Skinner laughs. Doggett wasn't thrilled
with having a tea party, but it was necessary to appease Mrs. Scully for her
to allow the invasion of her home.
Scully and Skinner go inside, joining Doggett and Mrs. Scully at the kitchen
table. Scully is understandably distracted and no one bothers her much over
her lack on input into the conversation. She just couldn't help but wonder
what her brother had planned. This wasn't like him. She just hoped he
wasn't planning on trying to convince her to leave the FBI again. That was
one reason she didn't tell him about the baby yet. Because he flipped when
he found out about Mulder's disappearance and how it was affecting her. She
hated to think what he'd do if he knew she was pregnant. But, it wouldn't be
a secret to him for much longer. He'd be there any minute and her small body
couldn't exactly conceal the bulge anymore.
There's a knock at the back door that registered through Scully's preoccupied
mind. She jumped at the noise, knocking over her cup of tea.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I got tea all over the tablecloth," Scully apologizes.
"Don't worry about that, Honey. Just go get the door. That must be your
brother."
Scully follows Doggett and Skinner through the living room to the back door.
This was getting weirder by the minute. What was so secretive that Bill
couldn't come to the front door? However, all thoughts leave her head the
moment her brother and his companion step over the threshold.
"You must be Agent Doggett," Bill says, sticking his hand out to the man.
"Bill Scully. We spoke on the phone."
"Nice to meet you," Doggett says before looking down to the person at Bill's
side. "And who's this little one?"
"Emily," Scully manages to barely gasp before falling to her knees.
Emily tentatively looks up at Bill, grabbing his hand a little tighter. He
nods and gives her a small push in Scully's direction. The little girl walks
slowly to her mother, stopping just inches in front of her.
"Mommy?" she asks quietly, almost afraid.
Scully lifts a shaky hand to brush an unruly lock of hair from the girl's
face. She'd changed a lot in the 4 years since Scully has seen her. But
still, she'd recognize her little girl anywhere. Her hair was darker and
longer than it was before. A sandy blond color with red highlights. But her
eyes were the same. The same piercing blue ones that Scully owned.
"Emily? Is it really you?" Scully sees the girl nod through the tears
blurring her eyes and doesn't waste another second with questions. She pulls
Emily into her arms, hugging her as close as her stomach would allow.
After a few moments of hesitation, Emily finally latches her arms around
Scully's neck and starts sobbing into her shoulder. The two stay entwined
for awhile until Emily's sobs slow into quiet snores. Scully tries to lift
the girl, but is stopped by Skinner.
"You shouldn't be picking her up like that," he admonishes. "Let me take
her." A look of panic crosses Scully's face and he has to amend his request.
"Just until you get to the couch. You'll get her right back."
"Bill?" Scully finally asks once she and Emily are settled on the couch,
remembering the person who delivered her precious cargo.
"He's in the kitchen with your mom. I'll go get him," Doggett offers.
"I don't understand," she says. "Where did he get her? How did he get her?
I thought she was dead. I was there with her when she died. I don't
understand."
"Dana, the story only gets more bizarre," Bill says from the doorway. He
makes his way to the couch and sits next to his sister. "Why don't you let
me take her up to bed. You and I need to talk."
"I'll take her," she starts, but is given a warning grunt from Skinner.
"No lifting, Agent Scully," he tells her again. "Don't be so hard headed
about this."
"Fine," she sighs, growing annoyed with Skinner's constant warnings about
what she can or can't do.
"What was that all about?" Bill asks after Skinner leaves with Emily.
"He's been like that since Mulder left," she says. "Since I told him about
this." She looks down and runs her hands over her stomach, revealing the
protrusion.
"Dana, you're . . ." Bill looks up at her face with shock. "You're
pregnant?"
She's surprised that he didn't have anything to say about it. No smart
remarks about Mulder running off and leaving her in this condition. And how
he'd find him and kill him with his bare hands.
"What? Nothing to say, Bill? No death threats directed towards Mulder for
knocking up your baby sister and deserting her?" She asks him sarcastically.
"Dana. Why didn't you tell me? I didn't know. I'm so sorry. If I had
known I would have dragged him back here myself," Bill babbles.
"Wait a minute. Back up. Dragged who back here," Dana shrieks.
"Dana, what is it?" Mrs. Scully asks frantically after running into the room.
By this time, Scully is clawing at Bill's shirt, trying to force answers out
of him. Skinner and Doggett have to work together to pry the small woman
from her brother. She takes a moment to collect herself before continuing
with her questioning.
"Bill, you saw him? You saw Mulder?" Her voice is small and shaking from
her attempt at holding back her tears.
"A few days ago. At a bookstore in San Diego." Bill calmly tells her,
waiting on her to erupt again. When he sees that she's too shocked to say
anything, he continues. "He has amnesia, Dana. He didn't even know me. He
didn't remember anything about his life."
"But he had Emily? And you brought her here and left Mulder there?" she
asked, still not understanding what was happening.
"No, he begged me to bring Emily to you . . . "
"But you said he didn't remember anything about his life. Did that include
me? What about Emily? How did he know her? Why did you leave him, Bill?
You knew I was looking for him. Do you hate him that much?" Scully starts
to get worked up again with her rapid firing of questions.
"Calm down, Scully," Skinner firmly suggests. "Let Bill tell us what
happened. Bill, why don't you start at the beginning."
"Okay. A few days ago, Matthew and I were in downtown San Diego at a
bookstore. That's where we ran into Mulder and Emily. Needless to say, I
was shocked to see him, but he didn't know who I was. I explained to him
that I was your brother and that you were Emily's mother. I told him as much
as I knew about his life, but he still didn't remember it. He said he woke up
about a month ago and some woman claimed to be his wife. Then she introduced
Emily as their daughter."
"Wife?" Scully interrupts.
"Yeah. Some woman named Diana. Whoever she is, he was terrified of taking
Emily back to her. He was desperate to get her away from that situation."
"Diana?" Scully interrupts again.
"Yeah, Diana. What? Do you know her or something?" Bill asks.
"Oh, I know her alright . . ." Scully says angrily before getting another
warning glare from Skinner to calm down. "She's an agent with the bureau.
Used to be Mulder's partner . . . in more ways than one. Supposedly she
died, but apparently that's not the case."
"Well, whoever she is, Mulder was determined to get Emily away from her. He
said that no matter what that woman told him, he knew his heart belonged to
someone else. To you, Dana," Bill tells her. "He cares a lot about you. I
know I haven't been the guy's biggest supporter, but I never realized how
much he cares."
"Where is he, Bill? I have to go to him," Scully begs.
"I promised I wouldn't tell you. He wants to protect you. This Diana woman
is up to something. Mulder doesn't know what. But as long as you and Emily
are safe, he can deal with her."
"Bill I can't let him do this alone," Scully says, briefly taken back to the
moment four months ago when she said the same thing to Mulder.
"He won't have to. I'll go," Doggett offers. "You said that this Diana
woman was in the bureau, so she would know you or Skinner. But she won't
know me. I could go out there and bring him home to you."
"Well, then. What are we waiting for?" Bill asks, standing with Doggett.
"Let's go get Mulder."
To be continued . . .