Title: Crop circles
Chapter 5: Full Circle
Summary: Mulder investigates a case alone, while a healthy Scully is in a coma. Unfortunately for him, Fox Mulder isn't alone for long... MSR in later chapters, set sometime after Amor Fati.
Archive – Really? You like it that much? *eyes shine* Yeah, just ask and be sure to link back to my site.
Contact – Yfandes10@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: They're not mine. They belong to 1013 productions, Chris Carter, Fox, and probably some other people I forgot to mention. But my birthday IS coming up soon, and I have no objections to owning Mulder…
Goal: At least 1500 words.
Notes: Touched NOTHING of the content from the original. Parts of this chapter may be a bit…dry. Especially near the conversation parts…But I actually revised and edited, so it should be one of the best written, if least passionate (though there are those parts), chapters. Only one more after this!
-----1-----
Scully stumbled through a fog, more of a mist, really, lost amidst the swirls and spirals of ghosts. Bare feet touched nothing, walking on air. On glass? No – there was no reflection to stare back at her. She raised her head from her feet, slowly, calmly, despite the knowledge that something was wrong. Something was going to happen that wasn't supposed to happen. She watched, as several swirls in front of her broke off, cascading and meshing, merging slowly, rotating. At first she thought it was a baseball, but it slowly grew larger and longer, developing a stem, becoming a polished wine glass, sparkling, shining. She reached out her hand to touch it, as it slowly revolved around some unseen point, slowing, slowing, slowing. Her hand passed through it just as it stopped. She watched with morbid interest, as one does when a cheetah, in the heat of the chase, finally manages to defeat the zebra, and sinks its ivory teeth into the flesh of the still live animal. This Dana did with the glass, watching as it gradually developed a deep color where the stem met the glass, so dark that at first she thought it was black but soon realized as it spread over the verre that it was indeed red, a deep red, the color of dried blood. Hey eyes were marbles, her face white as the mist around her, her hair becoming the same hue as the blood as the stain on the glass lightened. A letter flashed through her mind.
F.
The glass began to spin faster, this time falling slowly, softly, timelessly.
W.
It fell quicker, and she groped for it with empty hands, hands no more substantial than mist.
M.
Blood formed on her lip. It was a word this time.
Becomes.
The glass was mere inches from the floor, the invisible plateau of air she somehow stood on, defying all the laws of physics that she knew so well. A tear slid down her face, shining, bright as the glass, sparkling as sunlit snow, bright as a flame in the night.
The very bottom of the glass grazed the air, bounced off nothingness, shards of the glass flying into the air, tinkling like broken bells, tainted silver, shattered dreams.
Sullivan.
The tear slid from her cheek, falling to the surface, where it pooled, becoming more than a single tear, becoming a hope, a wish, a prayer. She touched her fingers to it, knowing on some instinctive level that she had to, reached for the glass once more as it plummeted, seeming to stop and plunge at the same time. As her fingers clasped the glass, a word rang through her head, ricocheting off the walls of her skull, trying to be, trying to complete the death omen. It failed.
Biddle.
* * *
Convulsions wracked his body, near seizures, and Fox had little choice other than to surrender to them until they subsided. His back arched, fire running through his veins, coursing so hot they felt frozen. His body contorted unnaturally, pulling, twisting, muscles he didn't even know he had screaming in agony. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the mental torture.
Flame seared his skull, consumed his mind, a thousand times worse than the voices…The voices which had returned, wailing, screaming, mumbling, whispering, shouting, crying, talking, laughing, a ceaseless haze of pain with bolts of fire, visible to his mind's eye. One voice prevailed among them all, so loud as to make the others seem like soft background music.
I am Sullivan.
No…I…I'm…
Sullivan Biddle.
NO!
Sullivan.
FOX! MY NAME IS FOX!
Sullivan Biddle. Sullivan Biddle, Sullivan, Sullivan, Sullivan, Sullivan Biddle, you are Sullivan Biddle, Biddle, Biddle, Biddle…
No…Mulder…My name…is Mulder…
His fingers clenched at the earth, the grass already uprooted in his fit, dirt encroaching under his nails, pushing against the skin. Teeth red from bloodied lips, eyes wide and vacant, staring not out but in.
MULDER! FOX WILLIAM MULDER!
No, you are Sullivan Biddle, you fight for the Rebels, Melissa, Melissa, Melissa, Civil War, Sullivan Biddle, Sullivan, wake up, Sullivan, wake up.
No, NO! Melissa is dead. I am MULDER. Mulder…
Sullivan, Sullivan…wake up, Sullivan…
No..no…
He was weaker now, the pain as sharp as ever and his body weak and tired, sweat oozing from every pore of his body. Mulder…my name…is Mulder…
Feeble, desperate…grasping…
Mulder…
* * *
She clenched the glass in her hands, carefully yet possessively, sweat beading her forehead, hair limp. She slowly opened her eyes, her vision gradually returning. She blinked twice to clear the moisture clouding her sight. She was in a field…a familiar field…She stood shakily, glancing at her hands. Nothing.
Moonlight spilled upon the field, stray swans, lost in the night yet not wanting to return home. Detail was muted, fining the edges, making all appear softer, gentler. A hesitant step, then another, toward a man lying on the ground, barely breathing, clothes in shreds.
"Mulder…?"
A moan was all he could manage. A weak moan.
"Mulder, it's me." Her voice shook, body and mind in a state of trauma. Kneeling, she did a cursory inspection, looking for broken bones, cuts, bruises. Nothing of the sort, though a trembling suggested muscle tension.
She fumbled in what remained of her pockets for a cell phone. When her search proved fruitless, she turned to Mulder's. His were more obliging.
"Hello, this is Special Agent Dana Scully with the Federal Bureau of Investigation," she paused to take a breath, and continued, her voice steadier, "I have an agent down, location is Apison, Tennesse, near the Temple of the Seven Stage…Yes. Thank you."
She hung up, slipping the phone into her pocket before examining Mulder more thoroughly. Several minutes later, an ambulance came into view, and with it in sight, she allowed herself to succumb to the exhaustion that she had been battling with. She fainted.
-----2-----
"…Scully?" His eyes blinked open, trying to clear the mist from his eyes. Tears? No, no…why would he by crying? He spoke again, his voice rasping, unused in a reasonable matter for several days now. "Scully?"
"Mmmhnnn…"
"Scully?" Curious, now. He somehow managed to prop himself on his pillows to glance – painfully – at the bed to his right. A pair of brown eyes set in a wrinkled face regarded him with confusion.
"Oh…"
He looked to his left. Blue eyes regarded him with amusement, twinkling, set in a face framed by limp fire. He chuckled, shaking his head softly, vainly attempting to avoid dizziness.
"You're going to hurt yourself."
"Bit late for that, Scully." Her grin widened, then faded to a thin line at his next words.
"How long was I gone?"
"Nearly…nearly a month."
His eyes became more pupil than iris.
"The X-Files?"
She knew what he meant without elaboration. "They're still open…Assistant Director Skinner had been helping me with this…case. He's…been trying to keep it quiet."
A barely perceptible nod.
"How long do we have to stay here?"
"No more than a week…the doctors want to run some tests – on both of us – try and figure out what happened."
Mulder flopped back onto his bed, eyes staring at the ceiling for a time before closing. Just as he drifted off to sleep, he felt warm fingers wrap around his cold ones.
----- 3-----
"It feels good to be back."
Scully glanced at the walls, the familiar "I Want to Believe" poster, the two desks crammed into a room originally intended for storage, the archaic file cabinets, the pencils jammed in the ceiling.
"No it doesn't."
"Aww, come on Scully. Look, the Bureau was even considerate enough to leave all the work for us while we were gone so we wouldn't miss one exciting case!"
She chuckled, taking the proffered case file.
----- 4-----
"Mulder, it's 11:30."
"11:26, Scully, gimme a minute."
"This isn't healthy."
She glanced at Mulder, head bent over the same case file as the one four hours ago. The lights flickered off at the touch of her finger.
"Dana, in the basement? I'm appalled."
The lights were on in a heartbeat. A deep laugh filled the room.
"So much for trying to hint at something."
"What exactly were you hinting at?" He grinned teasingly, shutting the folder and stuffing it into an overflowing drawer. "See, I'm not even taking it home." He looked pleased with himself, which did little to help Scully maintain a stoic demeanor.
They left, switching off the lights, this time with nobody in the room.
-----5-----
He was halfway home when his phone rang, once, twice, three times before he could fumble it out of his jacket pocket and open it.
"Mulder."
"Mulder…" the voice paused to cough, loudly, making retching sounds.
"Scully? Are you all right? What happened?"
"I just called 9-1-1…they should be here soon…"
"Why, what happened, Scully, where are you?"
"I took the back roads…" more coughing, this time weaker. "I think I broke several ribs…something happened, to my leg…" she grimaced, coughing again, before continuing.
"I'll meet you at the hospital, all right?"
"I…I don't know if I'll make it to the hospital." Her voice faded out and the call ended, ominously.
* * *
It was a beautiful night. A crescent moon shone from a cerulean blanket of stars, twinkling mirthlessly from above. Pockets of clouds drifted across, clumping together, the sky growing ever darker. Crickets chirped, softly, as if unwilling to intrude upon the night. A gentle breeze cooled the air, making it crisper, fresh, bringing with it the familiar scent of rain. But mankind had other ideas.
Beneath a tree, a mangled pile of metal lay twisted, broken and bruised, the remnants of a car. The passenger seat was completely crushed against the rest of the car, and the driver's had not fared much better. Swallowing, he approached slowly, fearful of what he might discover.
Please…please…
He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to inspect the vehicle.
Scully was still in the car, her midriff crushed and held in place, leaning over the steering wheel. Her cell phone lay next to limp fingers on what remained of the dashboard. She was pale, too pale, even from the cold night. The metallic scent of blood wafted up from the floor, and he could see a mangled bit of flesh of what had once been her leg.
Fearing, hoping, he reached out his fingers to check her pulse. He almost didn't feel it over the pounding of his own heart, but it was there, fluttering, a bird with crushed wings, fighting to stay aloft.
"Scully…can you hear me?" The low rumble of thunder.
Blood pounded in his ears, pumping, thriving. The blood beneath his fingers fought, struggled, not ready to give out quite yet.
"Mmm…Mmulder?" She tried to raise her head but could not, could only manage a faint bobbing, a twitching of a finger. A flash of lightning.
"I'm here, Dana, I'm here. You're going to be all right…Listen…can you hear the sirens?"
She chuckled, which turned into a fit of violent coughing, as violent as could be, given the circumstances. Blood dripped from her mouth to the dashboard. "Dana…"
He grinned. A small grin, but still a grin, nonetheless.
"You're going to be all right, just hang on for a few more minutes…Do you know what happened, how this happened?"
"Drunk driver…going the wrong way…" She'd resorted to phrases, not sentences…
This isn't good.
"I can see them, Dana. They're almost here. You're going to be all right."
If she could have nodded she would.
"Your eyes…" The barest whisper. "Let me see… your eyes…"
I lifted my shaking hand to her head and as carefully and painlessly as possible, I turned her to face me.
In the darkness, she couldn't see my tears.
But she felt them, just as I felt hers, and when she slowly opened her eyes, I felt that, too. And then I was frozen, transfixed by her eyes, somehow visible in the night. A million words passed through them in a second, feelings that no word in any language could describe. There was fear and there was knowledge of her fate and there was regret for a thousand little things she wished she could have done, a thousand missed opportunities, and never being able to make them right, now, and there was pain, oh so much pain, pain from her regrets and pain from holding back, pain from within that far outdistanced the pain from without that she was experiencing. There was sadness for him, a begging of forgiveness, a silent apology. There was love, love for the world, love for the shining sun and azure sky and emerald grass and painted sunsets and all the little things she'd miss, love for the people who'd made up her life, love for the ones that had made it special, that had made her special, that had made her something more. Love for the one person that had made her complete. Nothing was held back, nothing protected, hidden, kept secret. It was a window to her soul, a terrifying, inspiring, bittersweet window.
And then it was gone.
"No…no…" tears streamed down my face in shameless rivers, just as the clouds finally broke, and a rain of grieving fell upon me, mixing my tears with hers and the sky's. "No…" I wiped the tears from her face just as the last dying spark faded from her eyes. Her lips moved soundlessly, but I could hear her words in my mind, a whisper, a promise.
Always and forever, Fox…Always…and…forever…
I couldn't forget those last moments of her life. I wanted to forget, badly, oh so badly, so badly nothing else mattered anymore. She'd filled the void in my soul, completely in those last seconds, without a single seam to show that she was a separate person. She'd left me with that feeling, with memories, with hope. She'd left me, knowing that after all she'd been through, after all she'd faced and fought, to be murdered by some kid out on a joy ride with a few beers under his belt was demeaning, an injustice to her and her work and the people she loved. I didn't want to live with this, I didn't want to live with this knowledge, I wanted to forget, to forget everything, to never remember her. Never remember her or Sam or Mom or Dad. Everything I'd fought for had demanded a price, a steep price, but this, this was too deep, too high. I had no one left, no one left to turn to, I was, for the first time in my life, completely, truly, and utterly alone. No matter what I might uncover, no one would believe it, not without hard science or at least the confirmation that it could be true from a scientist.
And it wasn't worth it.
Mulder stood shakily, sending a silent apology to Scully for what he was about to do. She wouldn't have wanted it, but she wouldn't have denied him the option either.
His trembling hands took his gun from the holster at his waist, slick with the rain. He cocked it, shivering at the sound, then slowly raised it to his head. Quick and clean. The paramedics were just pulling up, he couldn't have them trying to save him. Sometimes the best intentions were the worst things you could do for person. Mulder took a deep breath, his last breath, savoring the air, senses stretched to the fullest to capture every detail. In his mind, all he could think of were her eyes, deep, fathomless pools. Crickets chirped, a breeze slanted the rain into his face.
And a single shot rang clear in the night.
-------------------------------------------End Ch. 5------------------------------------------------------------
Goal: 2606 words/1500 words
YAY!
a/n: Hmm, the POV changed suddenly from second person to first person…now how'd that happen? As you can see, I got caught up on the story, which is always a wonderful thing. ^-^ I also did some experimenting with saving as certain types, as italics were very important to this chapter… You likes? I was really trying to get some tears with this one! Read and Review, please!
