Chapter Four - He's Gone
George Washington Hospital Tuesday 4:40am
The ICU nurse Sheryl was slowly doing her rounds when she thought she heard a noise coming from the room of the FBI agent who had been admitted earlier than evening.
She jogged down the hall and into Scully's room surprised to find that her good looking partner was no longer there. Apparently, even in her drugged state Agent Scully was missing his presence too.
Scully's head was thrashing side to side and she was muttering something under her breath.
Sheryl leaned over to try to hear what Scully was saying.
"He's gone. He's gone."
Sheryl started stroking her head softly whispering to her. Scully noticed her there and her eyes flew open and she looked at the nurse with her eyes filled with fever and fear.
"He is trying to leave me. Don't let me him go. I can't do this without him."
Sheryl did her best to comfort Scully and paged an orderly to join her in Scully's room. The orderly arrived shortly only to be chastised by the nurse.
"Bobby, I sent you to look for her partner ages ago. Where is he?"
"I searched every where for him but couldn't find him anywhere. I assumed he went home."
Scully moaned "He's gone" again.
"There is no way that he would have left her. He insisted on staying here tonight."
Sheryl glanced over at the monitors lining one wall of Scully's room. "Her breathing is up and her blood pressure is dropping." She paused and laid a hand against Scully's cheek. "She is also getting warmer by the minute. I suspect a secondary infection. I will call her doctor and you go look for Agent Mulder again. Things are not looking so good right now and I would hate for her to die alone."
Mulder wasn't sure whether it was the shaking of his body or the sound of his name being yelled in his ear that woke him from his slumber. His brain felt like it was filled with cotton candy as he looked up at the young man dressed in blue scrubs who was so frantically trying to get his attention.
"Agent Mulder - you must come right now. There may not be much time."
Without thinking Mulder eased his way out of the pew and followed the orderly through the corridors of the hospital.
Images were flashing through his mind and he couldn't remember exactly why he was there. All he could remember was that Scully was in trouble and he had to get to her fast.
He ran into her room and looked down at a sweat-drenched Scully who was asking for him in her sleep. He sat immediately on the bed and took one of her hands in his and rose it to his lips. He kissed it lightly and at his touch Scully seemed to settle down immediately.
Only then did Mulder look up to see Scully's doctor hovering over them. "What's wrong?" He said trying not to show the panic he was feeling on his face.
"I am not really sure" the doctor said frowning slightly. "It really was the strangest thing. I checked Agent Scully over thoroughly right after you left and she appeared to be doing much better. About an hour and a half later she started taking a turn for the worse. Her vitals started dropping she got a fever and started calling out."
"Really?" The fog in Mulder's brain had receded enough for him to be intrigued. "What was she saying?"
"She kept saying over and over again 'He's gone' and 'Don't let him leave me'" Sheryl answered.
"But" the doctor interrupted "about ten to fifteen minutes ago everything seemed to go back to normal."
"So is she going to be okay?" Mulder asked a bit confused.
"I think so, but do us a favor Agent Mulder, stick close by. She definitely seems to do better when you are around."
The first thing Scully saw when she opened her eyes was Mulder sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was leaning over her bed and had placed his head on his folded arms and had fallen asleep.
She looked at him for a minute smiling at how peaceful he looked. She reached out to gently stroke his hair only to awaken him.
"Hey"
"Hey yourself" Mulder replied rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot" Scully joked "but I have felt worse."
Mulder took her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. "I am glad you are awake. You seemed to be having some pretty horrible nightmares last night. Do you remember any of them?"
Scully paused a moment as if trying to recall. "All I really remember is that I had this terrible feeling that you were going to go away and if you left that I would just disappear."
Mulder had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he began to remember his own experiences from the night before.
"Pretty silly dream, huh?" Scully continued "since you and I both know that try as I might, I can never get you to leave my bedside. Mulder, are you alright?"
Mulder had turned a bit pale. "I don't know Scully, but I think you and I may have experienced an X-file last night."
Scully raised an eyebrow at him and Mulder slowly told her his story about his meeting Clarence and how Clarence had given him the chance to see what life would have been like without him.
Scully said little during the story only interrupting Mulder to ask for a drink of water and to have her blood pressure checked by Sheryl.
"So you are trying to tell me,Mulder, that you had a bit of a temper tantrum in the chapel and that because of it God sent an angel to you to show you why you were wrong?"
"Pretty much."
"That makes no sense Mulder. First of all, you don't even believe in God. Second of all, it is obvious that your guilt about my latest injury was manifesting itself in a dream. And most importantly, I know that Alex Krycek would never in a million years try to kiss me."
Mulder laughed. "I don't know Scully, he did seem to have the hots for you when he and I were partners."
"Really, I thought you were the one he was after." Scully retorted smiling. She then got serious and picked up one of Mulder's hands. "Mulder before you beat yourself up any more over me remember this. I am happy with my life and my work. I wouldn't trade it or you for anything or anyone. Okay?"
"Okay" Mulder muttered feeling a bit embarrassed. He was about to start his own declaration when there was a soft knock on the door.
Scully and Mulder looked up to see Maggie Scully standing in the doorway.
Mulder rose to greet her and Maggie quickly embraced him. "I knew Dana would be okay if you were here to watch over her. From what the doctor told me, if not for your quick action in the field, Dana probably wouldn't be here right now."
Mulder just shrugged off Maggie's comments and turned back to Scully. "Now that your mother is here, I think I will do the world a favor and go home and take a nice long hot shower."
He walked over to Scully and gave her a kiss on her forehead - an action that did not go unnoticed by Maggie.
"I will come back later tonight. Is there anything can bring you?"
Scully shook her head. "Just you will be fine"
Mulder finished up his goodbyes and was almost out of the room when Maggie called him back in.
"Fox, I'm sorry, I forgot to give this to you." She handed Mulder a small package wrapped in brown paper. "A man in the hallway asked me to bring it to you."
"Thanks" Mulder said taking the package and tucking it under his arm. When he got out into the hall he looked at the package. On it was written 'Fox, Thanks for the wings. Clarence."
Mulder carefully opened the package to find a worn copy of "Tom Sawyer".
End of story. Any comments?
George Washington Hospital Tuesday 4:40am
The ICU nurse Sheryl was slowly doing her rounds when she thought she heard a noise coming from the room of the FBI agent who had been admitted earlier than evening.
She jogged down the hall and into Scully's room surprised to find that her good looking partner was no longer there. Apparently, even in her drugged state Agent Scully was missing his presence too.
Scully's head was thrashing side to side and she was muttering something under her breath.
Sheryl leaned over to try to hear what Scully was saying.
"He's gone. He's gone."
Sheryl started stroking her head softly whispering to her. Scully noticed her there and her eyes flew open and she looked at the nurse with her eyes filled with fever and fear.
"He is trying to leave me. Don't let me him go. I can't do this without him."
Sheryl did her best to comfort Scully and paged an orderly to join her in Scully's room. The orderly arrived shortly only to be chastised by the nurse.
"Bobby, I sent you to look for her partner ages ago. Where is he?"
"I searched every where for him but couldn't find him anywhere. I assumed he went home."
Scully moaned "He's gone" again.
"There is no way that he would have left her. He insisted on staying here tonight."
Sheryl glanced over at the monitors lining one wall of Scully's room. "Her breathing is up and her blood pressure is dropping." She paused and laid a hand against Scully's cheek. "She is also getting warmer by the minute. I suspect a secondary infection. I will call her doctor and you go look for Agent Mulder again. Things are not looking so good right now and I would hate for her to die alone."
Mulder wasn't sure whether it was the shaking of his body or the sound of his name being yelled in his ear that woke him from his slumber. His brain felt like it was filled with cotton candy as he looked up at the young man dressed in blue scrubs who was so frantically trying to get his attention.
"Agent Mulder - you must come right now. There may not be much time."
Without thinking Mulder eased his way out of the pew and followed the orderly through the corridors of the hospital.
Images were flashing through his mind and he couldn't remember exactly why he was there. All he could remember was that Scully was in trouble and he had to get to her fast.
He ran into her room and looked down at a sweat-drenched Scully who was asking for him in her sleep. He sat immediately on the bed and took one of her hands in his and rose it to his lips. He kissed it lightly and at his touch Scully seemed to settle down immediately.
Only then did Mulder look up to see Scully's doctor hovering over them. "What's wrong?" He said trying not to show the panic he was feeling on his face.
"I am not really sure" the doctor said frowning slightly. "It really was the strangest thing. I checked Agent Scully over thoroughly right after you left and she appeared to be doing much better. About an hour and a half later she started taking a turn for the worse. Her vitals started dropping she got a fever and started calling out."
"Really?" The fog in Mulder's brain had receded enough for him to be intrigued. "What was she saying?"
"She kept saying over and over again 'He's gone' and 'Don't let him leave me'" Sheryl answered.
"But" the doctor interrupted "about ten to fifteen minutes ago everything seemed to go back to normal."
"So is she going to be okay?" Mulder asked a bit confused.
"I think so, but do us a favor Agent Mulder, stick close by. She definitely seems to do better when you are around."
The first thing Scully saw when she opened her eyes was Mulder sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was leaning over her bed and had placed his head on his folded arms and had fallen asleep.
She looked at him for a minute smiling at how peaceful he looked. She reached out to gently stroke his hair only to awaken him.
"Hey"
"Hey yourself" Mulder replied rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot" Scully joked "but I have felt worse."
Mulder took her hand and gave it a gently squeeze. "I am glad you are awake. You seemed to be having some pretty horrible nightmares last night. Do you remember any of them?"
Scully paused a moment as if trying to recall. "All I really remember is that I had this terrible feeling that you were going to go away and if you left that I would just disappear."
Mulder had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he began to remember his own experiences from the night before.
"Pretty silly dream, huh?" Scully continued "since you and I both know that try as I might, I can never get you to leave my bedside. Mulder, are you alright?"
Mulder had turned a bit pale. "I don't know Scully, but I think you and I may have experienced an X-file last night."
Scully raised an eyebrow at him and Mulder slowly told her his story about his meeting Clarence and how Clarence had given him the chance to see what life would have been like without him.
Scully said little during the story only interrupting Mulder to ask for a drink of water and to have her blood pressure checked by Sheryl.
"So you are trying to tell me,Mulder, that you had a bit of a temper tantrum in the chapel and that because of it God sent an angel to you to show you why you were wrong?"
"Pretty much."
"That makes no sense Mulder. First of all, you don't even believe in God. Second of all, it is obvious that your guilt about my latest injury was manifesting itself in a dream. And most importantly, I know that Alex Krycek would never in a million years try to kiss me."
Mulder laughed. "I don't know Scully, he did seem to have the hots for you when he and I were partners."
"Really, I thought you were the one he was after." Scully retorted smiling. She then got serious and picked up one of Mulder's hands. "Mulder before you beat yourself up any more over me remember this. I am happy with my life and my work. I wouldn't trade it or you for anything or anyone. Okay?"
"Okay" Mulder muttered feeling a bit embarrassed. He was about to start his own declaration when there was a soft knock on the door.
Scully and Mulder looked up to see Maggie Scully standing in the doorway.
Mulder rose to greet her and Maggie quickly embraced him. "I knew Dana would be okay if you were here to watch over her. From what the doctor told me, if not for your quick action in the field, Dana probably wouldn't be here right now."
Mulder just shrugged off Maggie's comments and turned back to Scully. "Now that your mother is here, I think I will do the world a favor and go home and take a nice long hot shower."
He walked over to Scully and gave her a kiss on her forehead - an action that did not go unnoticed by Maggie.
"I will come back later tonight. Is there anything can bring you?"
Scully shook her head. "Just you will be fine"
Mulder finished up his goodbyes and was almost out of the room when Maggie called him back in.
"Fox, I'm sorry, I forgot to give this to you." She handed Mulder a small package wrapped in brown paper. "A man in the hallway asked me to bring it to you."
"Thanks" Mulder said taking the package and tucking it under his arm. When he got out into the hall he looked at the package. On it was written 'Fox, Thanks for the wings. Clarence."
Mulder carefully opened the package to find a worn copy of "Tom Sawyer".
End of story. Any comments?