Title: What He Knew
Author: Gillian Leigh
For summary and disclaimers see earlier chapters.
RoswellNew Mexico
-Desert-
They were quite an odd-looking group. In a more populated area, they would have seemed suspicious, six adults all traveling together in the middle of the night, but the desert was far from being what one would call a 'populated area'. At first they had attempted to be inconspicuous, but they soon realized that they were alone and in no danger of attracting attention, unwanted or otherwise. The Gunmen's data led them to a remote part of the desert, which, according to the aforementioned data, was a hotbed of UFO activity and unexplained phenomena. They hoped it would lead them to the space craft that took the Assistant Director.
As they stood outside their rented Ford Excursion, a bright light appeared two hundred yards away on the horizon.
"What the hell is that?" Doggett queried. Reyes also stared in wonderment, while Byers went slack-jawed. Langly and Frohike shared a look.
"It's what we're looking for," Frohike proclaimed.
"Everybody in the car," Mulder instructed, hopping into the driver's seat. As the engine roared to life he tried to ignore the tiredness that he felt, attributing it to jetlag. "Hold on tight." The tires squealed as Mulder whipped the SUV off the road and out over the bumpy desert terrain. The force sent Reyes flying over onto Doggett, who didn't seem to mind too much having a pretty woman literally fall into his lap. Reyes blushed and immediately straightened up.
"Sorry," she said quietly. He smiled at her.
"It's alright." Mulder didn't miss the look the two shared.
As they grew close to the light the craft rose upward in the sky. While five others watched it, Mulder depressed the clutch and rapidly up-shifted. The SUV nearly flew across the desert, bouncing over the rough terrain. They had nearly reached the when it rose higher into the night sky and then jetted off.
They stopped the SUV and all six got out.
"Shit!" Frohike exclaimed, "It's gone." Mulder slammed his door. Though no one had known what to expect of the craft, they had hoped that it would still be disabled and that they would be able to find a way to gather information about it. A feeling of despair settled over the group, and they stood in silence.
It was Byers who spoke first, noticing something reflected in the truck's headlights. "What's that?" he asked, pointing some twenty yards ahead of the vehicle. Reyes stopped in the middle of lighting her cigarette and squinted, trying to discern what it was that she too saw.
"Oh my God," she said. "It looks like a body." The horrified group ran across the barren landscape, and found that there were five people thrown together on the ground. They were barely clinging to life and all of them were naked. Among them were those who disappeared in Oregon nearly four months before. Theresa and Ray Hoese; Billy Miles, Gary, and A.D. Skinner, who looked worst of all.
-Two Hours Later-
RoswellGeneralHospital
Doggett paced the floor, hands in his pockets. To his left, Reyes slept in a chair, the Gunmen had gone off to take yet another walk around the hospital grounds and Mulder, as far as he knew, had gone off to get in touch with Scully and Skinner's assistant Kim. The situation was not good. Four of the five abductees were dead. Skinner was the only one alive, and as it was, he was basically circling the drain. All five showed signs of severe abuse and neglect, and had been clearly deprived of nourishment for indeterminable periods of time. The surgical scars on his face, chest wrists and ankles baffled all of the doctors, who told Mulder, in no uncertain terms, that there were no medical instruments currently in use that could have created the wounds that Skinner and the deceased abductees displayed.
Doggett glanced at his watch again. It was one in the morning New Mexico times, but his body was telling him that it was hours later. They weren't allowed to see Skinner yet because his condition was so mysterious, and he was currently in the Intensive Care Unit, in a hermetically sealed environment. It seemed to Doggett that the doctors didn't know if the room was to protect Skinner from what germs they might bring in, or to protect them from what Skinner could have contracted while he was missing. His legs were complaining, and he sank into the chair beside Reyes. All that was left to do now, was wait.
-x-
Mulder was surprised when Scully answered the phone on the first ring.
"Scully," she said.
"You're awake," he said.
"You sound surprised," she replied. Standing in the parking lot, Mulder took a moment to admire the night sky. It was beautiful country, that's for certain.
"It's got to be nearly four in the morning at home... you need your rest," he said, sinking down on to a bench near the butterfly garden. Back home in Georgetown, Scully rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine, Fox. The babies are getting their rest, but I've been a little too anxious for news to get mine. What's going on out there?" she questioned. She shifted the quilt she was working on in her lap and checked the stitching. This was something she was grateful her mother had taught her how to do, and it had been good for calming her worries this evening by keeping her mind occupied. When Mulder didn't respond, Scully pushed him again for an answer. "Mulder? Have you heard anything?"
"It's not good, Scully," he said quietly. Her heart dropped, and she found it momentarily hard to swallow.
"How bad?"
"They're all dead..." Scully nearly dropped the phone, and Mulder took a breath and finished the sentence. "...except Skinner, and it doesn't look like he even has a snowball's chance..." Mulder closed his eyes.
She searched for the right words, but all she could say was, "Oh."
"I asked if there was any way that we could get him back to D.C., but the doctors told me that they'll only be able to transport him if his condition stabilizes and improves a little. But they told me not to hold my breath on that one," he said. "Kersh is flying out in the morning, along with a few other FBI higher-ups."
"I'm coming too," she said, setting her quilting project aside.
"No you're not, Scully. Dr. Rosenthal said you're not allowed to fly," he countered, pacing in a small circle.
"She said I'm not supposed to fly, never that I'm not allowed to fly. I'm sure if I explained the situation I could get special medical clearance," she argued, struggling to get up off the couch.
"No, Scully. You're not coming. I don't want to you risk anything. I'll stay a few more days and then come home. There's nothing I can do here anyway, and maybe by that point Skinner will have improved enough to be flown home," he said, not even bothering to get his hopes up. On the other end Scully gave in. There was no point in arguing with Mulder, especially if he promised to come home.
"You'll keep me in the loop, right?" she questioned, waddling over to the refrigerator.
"Of course," he responded, meaning it. She smiled.
"Good. I'll let you go, and you should try to get some sleep, Mulder. Even though you've been taking your iron supplements, you still seem pretty worn out..." she paused, but before he could even protest, she spoke again. "I know that there's a lot going on out there, but you need to keep your health in mind. Skinner isn't the only one whose life is at stake here." Mulder sighed--he couldn't fault her logic.
"Alright. I'll get some rest, but you should too. You've got three times as many people to be concerned with as I do," he said, thinking about their unborn children.
"I will. Goodnight, Mulder."
"Goodnight, Scully. I love you."
"I love you too, bye sweetheart."
"Bye." The line went dead and Scully sighed again, glancing longingly at the phone before hanging it up. She decided then that it would be best to try and get some sleep before the babies woke in the morning and started pummeling her various internal organs.
It wasn't until three hours later that her phone rang again.
"Scully," she said sleepily. As the person on the other end spoke, her eyes grew wide in shock, and her hands shook. She choked back tears, and offered whispered responses.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." It was about Mulder, and it wasn't good.
Author's Notes: A bit of a cliffhanger for ya there kids. I don't know how many more chapters there will be in this story, but I still have to resolve the issues of why Skinner was abducted, Mulder's cancer, and the birth of the twins. I have the whole thing mapped out; I just have to get it written down. I'm working on chapter 12 before I have to go back to school, because once I go back it's going to get pretty hectic. Thanks for reading!