NOTE: Sorry that the last chapter came out looking kind of funky. I hope this will be easier for you.
Daydr3am3r AND Brennan mulwray AND Samantha: Thank you all so very much!
BrokenHeartsAndShatteredDreams: Your hopes pulled through! It wasn't the end, but there's not much left either. Thanks for the review!
Bookyalex: Just curious: French your native language? Thanks for the review!
TLWROX: Have I seen you on the TLW board? Anyway, just so you know, I don't like Diana either. Lol. Thanks for the review and the compliments!
Cynthia: How could I say no to begging like that? Lol. Thanks for the review!
CHAPTER TWO
June 7 (Monday)
Georgetown Memorial
3:35AM
The emergency bay doors burst apart as EMTS bolted in with a line of five stretchers. All five bodies were soaked in blood, their faces pallid. The paramedics hollered for assistance as one of the female victims went into cardiac arrest.
Doctors and nurses came bounding down the corridor screaming out orders. Dana Scully was the first to reach them and took hold of the first stretcher. "What happened?"
One of the paramedics still holding onto the stretcher shook his head. "We got a call about fifteen minutes ago. The dispatcher told us that agents had been shot. Apparently, they were ambushed in a warehouse. Three were already dead when we arrive. These five were barely hanging on."
Dana peered down at the bloodstained face of her new patient. "Did you get the names of the agents?"
The paramedic picked up a wallet lying on the blanket next to the fallen man. "This one here is Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI."
Dana gasped, her mind flashing back to the night she was run over by the handsome jogger. She shook herself out of her reverie, pushing the stretcher into an operating room. "You assess how many wounds?"
"Two from what we could tell. One went straight through his left shoulder. The other one I believe is lodged in his right forearm."
"Okay, help me transport him." Together they pulled Mulder from the stretcher to the operating table. "Find me Doctor Poulson."
June 9 (Wednesday)
Georgetown Memorial
2:30AM
He groaned, his mouth tasting as though he swallowed a pound of sandpaper. He slowly pried open his eyes, squinting even though the light was on the dimmest setting. He rubbed his tongue over his cracked lips, wincing as the pain in his chest finally registered.
"You're awake," a gentle voice whispered beside him. "Would you like some water?"
"Yeah," he crooked from his dried throat. His wish was granted and he was soon taking small sips from a Styrofoam cup. "Thank…you."
"You're most definitely welcome, Agent Mulder."
Mulder turned his head slightly to the side, a tiny smile forming. "Hello…again…Doctor…Scully." He coughed then, hissed sharply as the stabbing pain shot through his chest.
"Try and take it easy, Mulder. You've been unconscious since they brought you in two days ago. You're body needs plenty of rest." Dana slipped some painkillers into his IV. "Why don't you just relax."
In three minutes, Mulder was snoring softly.
-*-*-*-*-
Dana glanced at her watch and sighed. Finally, her shift was over. She made a few more notes on Mister Goldblum's charts then headed off to the locker rooms. She couldn't wait to get out of her uniform. As much as she loved her job, she couldn't stand the standardized suits.
She slipped into her jeans and white T-shirt. She didn't bother applying on make-up. There wasn't anyone to impress. She strolled out of the room intent on going home to a nice hot bath, but paused as she passed Radiology. She turned back around, making her way up to the third floor. She didn't even hesitate; just waltzed right into his room.
To her surprise, the agent was wide awake and watching a paid program for a diet supplement. He glanced her way as she stepped into the room, his face unable to mask his pleasure at seeing her. He motioned to the TV with his head. "They say I can eat pizza everyday and still lose weight. I say, all I need is a few days in a hospital and I'll be as thin as a twig."
She chuckled softly, plopping down on the chair next to his bed. "You know, we tried contacting your next of kin, but the funny thing is – you didn't have one listed."
"I'm not much one for company when I'm injured." He flicked off the television. "So, doc, I think I'm going to live. When can I spring from this joint?"
Her look was incredulous. "What? You were shot – twice – two days ago. You won't be permitted to leave for a few days yet. And that's only if everything goes smoothly."
He released a frustrated sigh. "Damn." He closed his eyes, flinching at the memory of the warehouse. When he looked back at her, his features were etched from anguish. "How about the others? Did they make it?"
Dana swallowed back the lump in her throat. What's wrong with me? I'm not usually this emotional over patients. "I'm really sorry. Three were dead on site. Five of you came in critically wounded; two of which didn't make it."
"Oh God," he murmured. "Diana?" His eyes sparked to life and his tone rose with panic. "What about Diana? Diana Fowley? She was at my side when the guns went off. We had no warning. It was a crime scene for the love of the God! We were examining the body of the latest victim when the first ray of gunfire erupted. Diana…she was…she was hit in the back. God, please, tell me she made it!"
Dana bit her lip, her crestfallen eyes unable to look at his pain. "I'm so sorry, Mulder. No one by that name came through here. I can only assume that means she…she was one of the original three who…didn't survive." Then to her horror, he began to sob. His tears burned her heart.
"Oh God…no…she wasn't even supposed to be there. She was scheduled to be at a conference in Detroit. I made her miss her flight so she would stay."
Dana leapt to her feet, her hands caressing his face. Wiping away the tears, she soothed: "It's not your fault. There's no way you could have known. No one blames you for anything."
As if seeing her for the first time, he snapped out of his sorrow. He tensed under her touch. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I just…she was my partner."
"You're ex-wife, too, wasn't she?"
"Yes."
"You still loved her," she asked tenderly.
He looked away, peering at the wall with great interest. "It was complicated." He sighed. "Thank you for telling me, Dana. I'm glad I found out from you rather than the ten o'clock news."
-*-*-*-
Dana never got another chance to steal away from the ER to visit him. One evening after work, she went up to see him but was told he had been released. To her surprise, she found she was disappointed in the thought she would never see him again.
END CHAPTER TWO