The flight was smooth as he expected but Mulder couldn't keep his eyes closed. Something kept pushing them open. Twisting in his chair again he tried to get more comfortable. A deep sigh escaped past his lips as he sat forward trying to stretch his back.
"Can't get comfortable?" she turned down the corner of the page she was reading and slipped the book into the pouch in front of her.
"No."
"My Liam was like you. Tall and awkward."
"I'm not awkward…it's these planes. They were designed back in the fifties when people were by nature smaller."
"Well I hate to move you after you've settled but would you mind letting me out. At my age when nature calls you gotta pick up straight away."
"Of course."
Mulder stepped out into the corridor and let her by. She managed to squeeze out and went down to the toilets at the back of the plane. Mulder took the opportunity to move his legs about and stretched them out into the aisle. When he heard the soft click of the toilet door latch he stood up again to let her by. She was smiling as she approached him but her foot caught on the loose end of a seatbelt that hadn't been buckled and she went down.
He lunged forward to catch her but was too late. Her moan of pain was soft but he could tell by the frown on her face and the redness in her cheeks that she had hurt herself more then she would admit to.
"Is there a doctor there?" He yelled to the faces that had turned at the commotion
"What happened?" One of the stewards arrived and brought a blanket.
"We need a doctor. I think she may have twisted her ankle falling over that belt. Is there first aid service here…or a doctor?"
The steward went over to the intercom and called for anyone with medical experience to come forward. A young medical student put up his hand and came over to where Mulder had lifted the lady into his seat. He was holding her ankle on his lap as he knelt before her.
"I eh I'm only a first year student…" he stammered wiping sweaty palms onto a heavy woollen jumper.
"Do you have any first aid skills?" Mulder asked impatiently wondering why he stepped forward when he didn't have a clue what to do.
"I have a first aid kit here," the steward said handing it to the student.
"But I…eh…" he looked in at the array of bandages and ointment. "I'm only a first year."
"Give it to me." Mulder took the kit and set it on the floor bedside himself. "What's your name?" he asked glancing up at the lady's pained face with a smile.
"Rachel."
"Well Rachel it looks like you've taken a spill. I'm going to put some Ice on it and strap it up. We'll keep it elevated until we land and get a doctor to get a look at it!"
"Excuse me, is there anything I can do? I'm a doctor."
The voice stiffened Mulders back and he turned to the parting crowd to see a matching expression of surprise on Scullys face.
"What happened?" she asked kneeling beside him and looking at the swollen ankle.
"She tripped over a seatbelt."
"Well it looks like a sprain. Can I get some ice?" Scully asked the steward who was hovering overhead. Another steward set about clearing the small crowd that had gathered while the other fetched ice and wrapped it in a towel. "Thanks."
Scully pressed the ice against the ankle and winced at the jerk Rachel made at the contact of the cold ice.
"It'll be okay Rachel. Just relax. Doctor Scully here is a really good doctor."
"Pass me that grip bandage will you Mulder?"
Mulder gave her the large dressing that looked like a sock and held the foot while Scully secured the ice against Rachel's foot. After making sure it stayed in the right place Scully wrapped it with a strap and secured it with medical tape.
"We need to keep it elevated…preferable higher than your hips. Maybe you should take my seat at the front there will be more room to stretch it out there."
"If you're sure," Rachel said obviously not wanting to be made of fuss of.
"I insist."
"If you stand up Rachel I'll help you get down there, try not to put any weight on your foot."
After a struggle Mulder eventually made it to the other end of the plane and helped Rachel into her seat. The stewards' seat that was folded into the wall in front was pulled down and secured so that Rachel could rest her foot on it and with a few blankets placed over her and 2 painkillers from the first aid kit she was soon settled in.
Scully gathered her stuff and made her way down the aisle towards the two empty seats at the back. Mulder had taken the book Rachel had been reading and had left it bedside her before her joined her.
"So…" he said as he claimed his seat and looked over to see her watching out the window.
"So…" she mimicked.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked unable to keep it in any longer the shock turning into anger at the loss of his anonymous retreat.
"Me?" she asked incredibly turning to face him her face a picture of thunder. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm not following anyone that's for sure. I'm not hounding them, banging on their door, ringing them in the middle of the night, turning up out of the blue."
"What? What are you saying?" she half turned in her seat ignoring the curious glance from the person sitting in front of them
"I'm giving you space Scully. Isn't that what you want?" His tone was short and clipped.
"Space? So you go to a different state without telling me."
"I didn't know I was under any obligation to clear my schedule with you." He deliberately picked up the flight brochure from the pouch before him and leafed through it idly.
"You're not." She let the silence sting in the air for a few moments as she turned back to watch the clouds pass below the window. "Skinner called me looking for you. He said you left a strange message on his phone."
"So you came to find out what Spooky Fox was up to?" he bit out.
"No. I went to your place to talk to you. But you were gone so I called the lone gunmen to see if they knew where you were." She waited for a response from him but when none was forth coming she continued. "Frohike said you were going to a conference in Ohio."
"So you followed me. What is it you had to say that was so dammed important that made you catch a flight to Ohio?"
She looked at him directly catching the challenging gleam in his eye the emerald colour swirling with need but it was too much for her so she looked away.
"Yeah…that's what I thought."
Mulder turned away, rested his head back and closed his eyes. His arms he folded across his chest and his feet poked out into the aisle. She couldn't move only watched out the window as the plane came down in Columbus airport and the rain started. It seemed like hours before the plane finally landed and taxied to the right terminal. As people clambered around to collect their bags Mulder remained still waiting for the rush to pass. Eventually he stood gracefully in the empty aisle and pulled two bags from the overhead compartment. Without a word he walked down to the front of the plane and sat down next to Rachel. Scully watched for a moment as he spoke with her softly and decided as a doctor she had an responsibility to check on the patient before she rushed off the plane.
Not that she had anywhere to rush to, she mused as she approached them.
"And there she is," Rachel said taking Scullys hand. "My angel."
"How are you feeling?" Scully asked removing the bandage slowly. She struggled to hold up the foot and unwrap the dressing so Mulder joined in and held up Rachel's leg.
"It's kinda sore but I've had worse."
"You are very lucky." Scully removed the ice and checked the dexterity of the ankle by gripping it and moving it a bit. "It doesn't look too bad."
"Thank you, for all your help." Rachel smiled at the both of them.
"Would you pass me that fresh bandage Mulder please?"
"Do you know eachother?" Rachel asked curiously.
"Yes. We work together in DC."
"Well isn't that something else!" Rachel exclaimed glancing between the both of them and catching the tension.
"There you go."
"Ms Haddock, we have a chair to take you through to the terminal. Your son has been informed and is waiting for you there."
Mulder helped her up and into the wheelchair but the stewards insisted on pushing her. Not wanting to go through he company policy speech again he said goodbye to Rachel and watched her leave. When he turned back to Scully she was reaching for her bag in the overhead compartment but it had obviously been moved during the flight and was too far back to her to reach. She was about to step onto the chair to retrieve it when he reached over her and took it out for her.
"Thanks." She took it off him and spun around to leave.
"What are you going to do?" he called after her. It was only then he noticed the black jeans and grey long sleeve. Not her usual attire he admitted but still flattering. "What did you really come out here for?"
"I-"
"I'm sorry but we're trying to clean up for the next flight, could you please step through to the terminal?" a steward asked them interrupting Scully before she could get any further. Mulder couldn't help but smile a little at the disheartened look that crossed his partner's features as she nodded. Together in silence they walked through the gangway and out into the terminal to the baggage collection carrousel.
"Did you have any other luggage?"
"No just this."
"Lets get out of here."
He grabbed her elbow and led her through the crowds at the arrivals lounge. She didn't protest as he took her out of the airport and hailed a cab on the strip.
"Colombia Hotel on Washington Street please," he called out to the driver who drove swiftly out into the traffic and merged into the city.
"Mulder I-"
"No. Wait. Wait till we get there."
The journey took all of fifteen minutes but by the time they pulled up outside the hotel she was dying to speak to him, dying to tell him what she was thinking. How mad she was, how angry she felt.
He walked in ahead of her and checked in while she perused the lobby wondering why he had picked a four star hotel for himself when he usually took her to barely one star roach motels. She was leafing through the hotel brochure suitably impressed when he called out to her. Turning she found him already walking towards the elevator so she hurried to catch up. He pressed the button for the fifth floor and leaned back against the glass wall his eyes closed and tired.
"Mulder."
"Nearly there," he whispered without opening his eyes.
As he searched for the room she followed silently like a servant behind her master but when he opened the door and tossed his bag down he turned to her with out stepping further into the room. She closed the door behind her and turned to admire the opulence of the room when she found herself staring into his chest.
"So…you were saying?" he said resting his hands lazily on his hips
"I was about to say…" she said looking away from him and down to the floor then glancing back up to his face. Not an encouraging image she had hoped for but it was all he was offering. "I came to see you. I was worried."
"Worried?"
"Skinner said you sounded strange."
"Worried I might do something stupid? Don't flatter yourself Scully, I've been rejected before." He turned away from her and crossed the room to where the mini bar was. Grabbing a small bottle of whiskey he poured it into the plastic cup and drank it whole in one gulp.
"Mulder. I didn't reject you."
"No? Sure felt like rejection," he hissed through gritted teeth as the whiskey burned his throat.
"I thought this was what you wanted. No repercussions? You said it Mulder," she yelled back angrily.
Startled he looked at her and for a moment she was almost fearful of the anger in his eyes as he approached her.
"You think I want this? You think I want it to be like…like this?" he waved his arm between them.
"What do you want? A summer fling? A holiday romance? What do you want?" her voice was loud and her face was red but her eyes sparkled with life finally able to vent the thoughts and worried she'd been storing.
"What do I want…" he murmured threateningly as he stepped over to her and grabbed her arms. His fingers pressed into her roughly but she scarcely had time to argue when his lips came down to hers in a crushing kiss. He pressed her against him and released her arms to pull her closer still. Wrapping one arm around her waist the other found it's way to her neck to hold her head in place as he met her lips again with a barrage of kisses that left her mouth and travelled the length of her throat to the base of her neck.
A soft moan escaped her and she couldn't help but let her hands roam over her back as he kissed her again over and over. Her legs felt weak and if he wasn't holding her against himself she was sure she'd fall to the ground so she gripped his shoulders to stay upright.
Finally his tongue trailed a soft line over her throat and he kissed her lips once more before pulling away she moaned at the loss of contact before her mind could stop it.
"That Scully…that's what I want."
Letting her go he turned his back on her and fished another mini bottle of whiskey out of the bar. Listening to the soft rustle of clothes behind him as she fixed herself Mulder longed to turn to her to take her in his arms again and finish what he had started and what he knew she wanted when the sound of the door closing made him turn. Greeted by nothing but an empty room Mulder cursed his hesitation and drank the whiskey slamming the empty bottle on the counter.
**Eeep two updates in one day (small as they are!) about time says you! Sorry for the delay! Been a little sidetracked.**