Maggie Scully left her daughter's hospital room and made her
way quickly down the corridor to the Nurses' station there.
One of Scully's nurses was sitting behind the desk and,
recognising him, she approached the desk hurriedly.
"Hi Ken."
"Mrs Scully. What can I do for you? Does Dana need something?"
"No, Dana's fine - she's getting some rest just now. I came out here to ask you something. It may sound a bit strange and you may think it's not your place to tell me but..."
"What is it Mrs Scully?"
"I... Dana and I were wondering if anyone saw Bill talking to Fox in the hall about two hours ago."
"Bill's your son right?"
"That's right."
"And Fox?"
"He's Dana's partner at work - and a good friend. You must have seen him about, he's been here almost everyday."
"Oh, you mean Mulder?"
"Yes. I mean Mulder. His first name is Fox."
"Now I see why he didn't want any of us calling him that. Well, I didn't see them talking but Susie might have. She's on her break at the moment - she's up in the cafeteria at the moment."
"It's quite important - is there anyway you could contact her and ask her to come down. Or I could go find her I suppose. Do you know where she will be sitting?"
"It's okay Mrs Scully. I'll page her and she'll phone from the cafeteria. Her break's nearly over anyway."
"Thank you."
Maggie patiently waited while Ken paged Susie and, a moment later, the phone rang. Ken picked it up and gave Maggie a thumbs-up when he realised it was Susie. Neither of them noticed another nurse walking down the corridor, and coming to a halt right beside Maggie.
"Susie can you come back up here slightly early? ... No, there's no emergency ...Mrs Scully wants to talk to you if that's okay... Alright, see you in a minute, bye."
"Is she coming?"
"Yes. She was just on the 6th floor talking with the nurses there on her way back from the cafeteria. She should be back in a couple of minutes."
"That's great. Thanks again."
"No problem."
The nurse who had joined them was Kelly from the ER who was still searching for a clue to the identity of her John Doe. Hearing Ken say Mrs Scully's name on the phone, her heart leapt as she realised that she might have just found the elusive 'Scully' that her patient had been talking about. Not wanting to interrupt but desperately wanting to find out if this woman was indeed the one she was looking for, she waited until the two had stopped speaking and then gently tapped Mrs Scully on the shoulder.
"Excuse me ...is your name Scully?"
"Yes it is. Who are you?"
"My name's Kelly Winters. I'm a nurse down in the ER. One of my patients..."
"Mrs Scully?"
"Susie! Would you excuse me for a moment Kelly? I really need to talk to Susie."
"Of course."
Mrs Scully rushed down the corridor while Susie was still hurriedly coming towards her from the elevator. When they met they were still in earshot of both Kelly and Ken so they both could hear the conversation between the two women.
"Mrs Scully. I was so sorry to hear about Dana."
"What are you talking about Susie? Dana's doing great."
"What, but I thought...never mind. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"I was wondering if you had seen Bill and Fox - Mulder - talking earlier in this corridor? If so, did you happen to hear any of what was said?"
"I did actually. I was taking Ms Gibson for a walk when I saw the two of them. I heard most, if not all, of their conversation because she's such a slow walker."
"What did they say? ... Susie? ... Please, it's important."
"Um... well Bill told Mulder your daughter's prognosis. He was really angry with him because Mulder had thought she was going to be okay. Of course Mulder looked devastated - as if he couldn't believe what Bill was saying. He looked lost, really lost."
"Susie, what are you talking about? Why would Fox be upset that Dana was in remission? Why would Bill be angry because Fox was right when he thought she would be okay?"
"Dana's in remission? That's wonderful news...but Bill didn't say that. He told Fox that she wasn't getting any better. He said that she was probably going to spend the rest of her days in the hospital. I thought he was right, that's why Ken did her night check instead of me. I just couldn't face her so soon after finding out."
"No, Dana's going to be fine - the doctor told her. Bill was there when we got the good news, why would he tell Fox that she wasn't getting better?"
"I don't know Mrs Scully."
"What happened after that? Did Bill say anything else?"
"He told Fox that Dana didn't want to see him - that she hated him for building up her hopes."
"He said what?! Bill Scully when I get my hands on you... Sorry Susie. What did Fox do then?"
"He was totally crushed to hear that she hated him - but he just walked away. He turned away from Bill and walked down the corridor to the elevator. I don't know where he went after that."
"I do."
Maggie and Susie turned round in surprise to find Kelly standing right behind them with a solemn look on her face. They looked at her with expectant faces, waiting for her to continue but, overcome with emotion for her patient, she found herself unable to make a sound. Swallowing hard to get rid of the lump that had formed in her throat as she was listening to the story behind Mulder's grief, she tried again and this time she was able to speak.
"I think I know where he went - if we're talking about the same person. I saw him get off the elevator on the ground floor. He'd been crying and he'd hurt his hand somehow but when I tried to take a look at it he snatched it away and told me to leave him alone. The only other thing he said was that he needed her - he needed Scully. I'm guessing that's your daughter, Mrs Scully."
"Yes, that would be Dana. Oh Fox. ...Where did he go after you spoke to him? Do you know where he is now?"
"Yes...yes I do. He left the building through the main entrance and I thought I'd seen the last of him."
"But...?"
"There was a car accident outside the hospital."
"I know. Mr Skinner - that's Dana and Fox's boss - he got held up in the traffic jam caused by it. What does that have to do with...oh no...you can't mean...?"
"I'm afraid so Mrs Scully. He was knocked down by a speeding car and had to be brought straight back into the ER."
"Where is he now? Is he still in the ER?"
"No. His injuries were pretty bad and he had to be taken up almost immediately for emergency surgery."
"Is he okay?"
"He's stable but he's in the ICU. He's in a coma."
"Oh my gosh. Where's ICU? Can I go see him?"
"I'll take you up just now. I've been looking for you ever since he went into surgery."
"Thank you. you tell...?"
"I'll tell Dana, Mrs Scully. Don't worry about that. I'll let her know where you are and, if she's feeling up to it, I'll bring her up to see him later."
"She'll be up to it. Wild horses couldn't keep her away."
Susie watched Kelly take the older woman by the arm and guide her towards the elevator. She saw the look of shock and disbelief on Maggie's face and realised that telling Dana the news was not going to be easy. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to Scully's room and knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. Scully was fast asleep so she was just about to leave again when something caught her attention. Lying on the pillow next to her was a jacket and, when she looked closer she saw that it still had the ID badge of her partner clipped to its lapel. Thinking that it would hurt Scully if she rolled over onto it, Susie tried to gently ease the jacket out from under her, meaning to put it on the seat. Scully moaned in her sleep and hugged the jacket closer to her so Susie gave up and, smiling, walked out of the room. Scully quietened and burrowed her face into the jacket, inhaling the scent of Mulder as she did so.
"Hi Ken."
"Mrs Scully. What can I do for you? Does Dana need something?"
"No, Dana's fine - she's getting some rest just now. I came out here to ask you something. It may sound a bit strange and you may think it's not your place to tell me but..."
"What is it Mrs Scully?"
"I... Dana and I were wondering if anyone saw Bill talking to Fox in the hall about two hours ago."
"Bill's your son right?"
"That's right."
"And Fox?"
"He's Dana's partner at work - and a good friend. You must have seen him about, he's been here almost everyday."
"Oh, you mean Mulder?"
"Yes. I mean Mulder. His first name is Fox."
"Now I see why he didn't want any of us calling him that. Well, I didn't see them talking but Susie might have. She's on her break at the moment - she's up in the cafeteria at the moment."
"It's quite important - is there anyway you could contact her and ask her to come down. Or I could go find her I suppose. Do you know where she will be sitting?"
"It's okay Mrs Scully. I'll page her and she'll phone from the cafeteria. Her break's nearly over anyway."
"Thank you."
Maggie patiently waited while Ken paged Susie and, a moment later, the phone rang. Ken picked it up and gave Maggie a thumbs-up when he realised it was Susie. Neither of them noticed another nurse walking down the corridor, and coming to a halt right beside Maggie.
"Susie can you come back up here slightly early? ... No, there's no emergency ...Mrs Scully wants to talk to you if that's okay... Alright, see you in a minute, bye."
"Is she coming?"
"Yes. She was just on the 6th floor talking with the nurses there on her way back from the cafeteria. She should be back in a couple of minutes."
"That's great. Thanks again."
"No problem."
The nurse who had joined them was Kelly from the ER who was still searching for a clue to the identity of her John Doe. Hearing Ken say Mrs Scully's name on the phone, her heart leapt as she realised that she might have just found the elusive 'Scully' that her patient had been talking about. Not wanting to interrupt but desperately wanting to find out if this woman was indeed the one she was looking for, she waited until the two had stopped speaking and then gently tapped Mrs Scully on the shoulder.
"Excuse me ...is your name Scully?"
"Yes it is. Who are you?"
"My name's Kelly Winters. I'm a nurse down in the ER. One of my patients..."
"Mrs Scully?"
"Susie! Would you excuse me for a moment Kelly? I really need to talk to Susie."
"Of course."
Mrs Scully rushed down the corridor while Susie was still hurriedly coming towards her from the elevator. When they met they were still in earshot of both Kelly and Ken so they both could hear the conversation between the two women.
"Mrs Scully. I was so sorry to hear about Dana."
"What are you talking about Susie? Dana's doing great."
"What, but I thought...never mind. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"I was wondering if you had seen Bill and Fox - Mulder - talking earlier in this corridor? If so, did you happen to hear any of what was said?"
"I did actually. I was taking Ms Gibson for a walk when I saw the two of them. I heard most, if not all, of their conversation because she's such a slow walker."
"What did they say? ... Susie? ... Please, it's important."
"Um... well Bill told Mulder your daughter's prognosis. He was really angry with him because Mulder had thought she was going to be okay. Of course Mulder looked devastated - as if he couldn't believe what Bill was saying. He looked lost, really lost."
"Susie, what are you talking about? Why would Fox be upset that Dana was in remission? Why would Bill be angry because Fox was right when he thought she would be okay?"
"Dana's in remission? That's wonderful news...but Bill didn't say that. He told Fox that she wasn't getting any better. He said that she was probably going to spend the rest of her days in the hospital. I thought he was right, that's why Ken did her night check instead of me. I just couldn't face her so soon after finding out."
"No, Dana's going to be fine - the doctor told her. Bill was there when we got the good news, why would he tell Fox that she wasn't getting better?"
"I don't know Mrs Scully."
"What happened after that? Did Bill say anything else?"
"He told Fox that Dana didn't want to see him - that she hated him for building up her hopes."
"He said what?! Bill Scully when I get my hands on you... Sorry Susie. What did Fox do then?"
"He was totally crushed to hear that she hated him - but he just walked away. He turned away from Bill and walked down the corridor to the elevator. I don't know where he went after that."
"I do."
Maggie and Susie turned round in surprise to find Kelly standing right behind them with a solemn look on her face. They looked at her with expectant faces, waiting for her to continue but, overcome with emotion for her patient, she found herself unable to make a sound. Swallowing hard to get rid of the lump that had formed in her throat as she was listening to the story behind Mulder's grief, she tried again and this time she was able to speak.
"I think I know where he went - if we're talking about the same person. I saw him get off the elevator on the ground floor. He'd been crying and he'd hurt his hand somehow but when I tried to take a look at it he snatched it away and told me to leave him alone. The only other thing he said was that he needed her - he needed Scully. I'm guessing that's your daughter, Mrs Scully."
"Yes, that would be Dana. Oh Fox. ...Where did he go after you spoke to him? Do you know where he is now?"
"Yes...yes I do. He left the building through the main entrance and I thought I'd seen the last of him."
"But...?"
"There was a car accident outside the hospital."
"I know. Mr Skinner - that's Dana and Fox's boss - he got held up in the traffic jam caused by it. What does that have to do with...oh no...you can't mean...?"
"I'm afraid so Mrs Scully. He was knocked down by a speeding car and had to be brought straight back into the ER."
"Where is he now? Is he still in the ER?"
"No. His injuries were pretty bad and he had to be taken up almost immediately for emergency surgery."
"Is he okay?"
"He's stable but he's in the ICU. He's in a coma."
"Oh my gosh. Where's ICU? Can I go see him?"
"I'll take you up just now. I've been looking for you ever since he went into surgery."
"Thank you. you tell...?"
"I'll tell Dana, Mrs Scully. Don't worry about that. I'll let her know where you are and, if she's feeling up to it, I'll bring her up to see him later."
"She'll be up to it. Wild horses couldn't keep her away."
Susie watched Kelly take the older woman by the arm and guide her towards the elevator. She saw the look of shock and disbelief on Maggie's face and realised that telling Dana the news was not going to be easy. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to Scully's room and knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. Scully was fast asleep so she was just about to leave again when something caught her attention. Lying on the pillow next to her was a jacket and, when she looked closer she saw that it still had the ID badge of her partner clipped to its lapel. Thinking that it would hurt Scully if she rolled over onto it, Susie tried to gently ease the jacket out from under her, meaning to put it on the seat. Scully moaned in her sleep and hugged the jacket closer to her so Susie gave up and, smiling, walked out of the room. Scully quietened and burrowed her face into the jacket, inhaling the scent of Mulder as she did so.
