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Chapter Six: Reveiller
Author: Gillian Leigh
Summary: I can't really tell you much, and if I translate the title, it gives away the idea of the chapter. Just know that they're in a hospital in San Diego.
Disclaimer: The X-Files and its characters belong to Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen Productions. I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them intact and in mint condition, though I might hang onto Mulder a little while longer. :o)
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Four Weeks Later
It pained Mulder to watch his wife sitting vigil at the bedside of her comatose stepdaughter. He turned away, and left the room, remembering all too well what it was like to find her. She had been bound to the wall, her wrists wrapped in chain, which was bolted to the wall. Mulder could tell that Parker had severely beaten her, but the extent of the psychological trauma could not be evaluated until she was conscious again… if she ever came out of the coma. The doctors were unsure that she would ever wake again.
Dana didn't even shift her gaze as her husband left the room. She continued to hold Elena's hand. Since Mulder was gone, she shifted in her chair to be more comfortable, and began speaking to Elena.
"Hi, Laney. I don't know if you can even hear me, but I'm hoping that you can. Regardless, I'm going to talk my fool head off to you," she said, smiling slightly. "I know you're probably very comfortable and content to lie here sleeping. I wonder if you dream. You'll have to tell me when you wake up. Well, no matter how comfortable you are, you need to wake up and come back to us, sweetie. There are so many people here who love you, and I need to tell you that the terrible man who hurt you and your mom so is going to jail, and he won't be getting out. He'll most likely get the Death Penalty. But there are some people here I want you to meet. People who are going to be like your family. We're going to build a life together. There's my husband, Fox, but you can call him Mulder. He's got three kids of his own; Eve's sixteen. She'll be that big sister you told me you always wanted. And then there's Jake, he's nine now, and Gwen's the youngest at six. And guess what, Lanes? I'm going to have a baby. I'm so nervous. I've never been a mom to a little baby before, but I'm going to have four sets of helping hands. And when you come home with us, I'll have five sets. It's going to be wonderful. Please, Laney, I need you to wake up," she concluded in a whisper, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Come back to us."
She rose out of her chair and wiped her tears away. With her left hand she tugged at the waistband of her slacks, which seemed too tight. She didn't expect to be outgrowing her slacks in two months. Walking toward the door, she opened it and stepped out into the waiting room in search of her husband. She found him standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the lobby, staring out at the city lights. They had found since they arrived in San Diego that the city hardly slept. It was nearly three a.m., and there were still thousands of sets of headlights traveling the freeways, and the landscape was also dotted by lights in the windows of buildings.
"This city looks so beautiful all lit up," Mulder said quietly as his wife joined him. His voice was barely above a whisper. The pediatrics floor was the only one that seemed to sleep in the hospital.
"Yes," she began. "It almost makes you forget the horrible things that happen here." She sniffled and fought back tears as her husband put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him so that she was facing him. She rested her head on his chest, and tears slid down her cheeks. "The doctors have given up hope," she continued in a defeated whisper.
"No, Dana, surely they haven't," he said, stroking her hair. "She's breathing on her own."
"They have, Fox. They told me so, just this evening. She may be breathing on her own, but they don't hold out hope that she'll ever wake up."
"We can't give up on her. When you had cancer, you felt so defeated, and you wanted to give up. The doctors told us that you might as well quit fighting, but you didn't. You kept on fighting, and you won. You cheated Death, Dana, and Elena can do the same. You haven't lost Faith yet, and you can't do it now," Mulder said, wrapping his arms around her. She responded simply by grabbing his hand in hers, and giving it a firm squeeze, assuring him that she wasn't going to give up just yet.
"Mrs. Mulder? Mrs. Mulder?" the disembodied voice grew more and more urgent each time it said her name, and finally roused her from her sleep. Dana was instantly aware of the fact that she had been sleeping in her husband's lap, and she jumped to her feet. Dr. Crenshaw stood just in front of her, and he looked into her eyes.
"What is it?" she asked frantically. "What happened?" Mulder rose off the couch and stood behind her, taking her hand into his as he too looked at Dr. Crenshaw with urgency.
"You should come with me quickly, Mrs. Mulder. Elena's awake, and she's asking for you."
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Author's Notes: Wooooo! There you go! Okay, so I'm sorry that this one is very short, but I'm working on the last chapter/epilogue, which will be the conclusion to the story. Feedback is appreciated, as always, and I hope you like it! :o)
Stay tuned!!
P.S. According to the free online translator Éveiller means "to awaken" in French. THE ONLINE TRANSLATOR LIED!! Thanks to Sabrina for pointing out the correct verb. That's the last time I trust the online translator! Evil, evil machines!
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