*Chapter 4*

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When I woke up however, I was in a room that looked particularly unfamiliar to me.

I stood up curiously and headed into the next room to see if anyone else was there with me. I saw a woman lounging in a mauve sofa facing the opposite direction. Her long auburn hair draped over her shoulders.

"Excuse me," I said to get her attention.

She got up from the couch and turned, facing me. "Mulder... I was waiting for you," she said pleased, a smile of contentment spreading across her face.

I was speechless, it couldn't be her.

"Melissa?" I replied, confused.

She moved closer towards me. "Do you remember what happened to you?" she questioned.

"Scully and I were on a case. I was...shot," I told her flatly.

She looked at me as if she knew. That's when I understood... I must be dead.

But this was not my idea of heaven.

"I know what you must be thinking." She paused for a moment.

"The reason you are here is because something has gone wrong, something that was not meant to happen," she explained.

I remained silent, allowing her to continue.

"When you were shot in that gas station, you not only changed your fate, but Dana's as well. She should have been the one to pay for those items."

"And that man trusted her.." I was finally putting the pieces together.

"Tell me how this affects Scully," I demanded.

"The doctors have discovered another mass of cancer in the same spot as before. It's spreading...rapidly. She knew about it for a few weeks but didn't want you to know."

That was the last thing I wanted to hear.

The cancer didn't anger me as much as the fact that I had failed her.

The fact that she felt like she couldn't tell me.

And that the time she needed me most, I couldn't be there.

"The point is, you are the only one who can save her. It's is also the only way that you can release yourself from here. You can save my sister Fox, you have to set things right."

"Tell me what I have to do," I asked simply. I was determined to do whatever it took.

"You are not alive or dead. You are trapped in between because of a simple twist of fate. You yourself are the key to my sister's recovery. You must give yourself in place of her, then she will live.

Here's the directions and the number of her hospital room."

I took the shred of paper from her with a nod, showing her I understood.

"Thank you, Fox." ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...