"Run! Run for your life!"
The words echoed through the forest and seemed to disappear faster than believable. A man, not older than 25, ran fast and strong, over grass and hills. His shirt was covered in blood, ripped harshly over his back.
"No!"
The man, whose feet had been running faster than lightning, stopped and looked over his shoulder. The fear shown in his face, spread to the rest of his body and formed a scream. Only the trees and those animals that hadn't fled could see what happened. Out here, no one with a human mind could hear him scream.
October, the best month of the year. I never thought I'd be questioning my own beliefs about that statement. Mulder, of course, had something to say about it, but I didn't mind. As long as he spoke to me. I'd never thought I'd be in this position, questioning my own work over a man. But, I guess that's only because I hadn't met any man like this one before.
We'd driven for hours now. Hours that felt like days. Our relationship had changed, despite me trying, to something bad. He wasn't his jolly old self, but, I guessed, neither was I. It wasn't because of any event or cause, we'd just drifted apart.
This crime scene, or haunting place, more likely, was placed miles in to the northern American woods. Apparently, a hunter had found two male bodies out there. I hadn't paid much attention to the rapport. I didn't feel like working. I didn't feel like myself. Mulder sighed hard and pointed out through the window. Dead end. We had to walk the rest part. He stopped the car, and I thanked my lucky star that I had taken the good shoes this morning. The wind blew through the trees, in a very Octobery way. I've always liked that wind. After the hot summer the winds of October felt like waking up again. A cold breeze of life.
Mulder got out of the car with a sigh. He'd never enjoyed the October wind. I'd never asked why.
The quiet walk took around then minutes. I'd gazed over at him now and then, in an attempt to read his mind, steal his thoughts. I could before. I can't anymore. Sometimes I closed my eyes and listened to his calm breathing, wishing I was as close to him as the air in his breath.
We got to the scene of event and were greeted by a blonde, all-dressed-in-green man. Judging by his rough skin and hair, I would say that he was about 40, but his eyes looked much younger.
"Hi, agents, my name is Salvadoe Frank."
I didn't smile. Mulder, however, did. He always did. Salvadoe, I thought, sounds like Ivanhoe. I wanted to laugh, but didn't.
"Agent Mulder, agent Scully." Mulder introduced me by pointing his right index finger at me. I didn't listen. I wasn't myself.
"I wanted to show this area with a field expert." Salvadoe turned around and shouted at a nearby tent. Only seconds later, a tall, thin woman crawled out of it and hurried up to us. She had long, brown hair that reached halfway down her back.
"Hi!" She smiled and introduced herself by shaking both our hands. "I'm Sandra Frost."
I smiled. Mulder, however, did not. At that point I realized what his mind would be filled with. It wasn't me, and I felt somewhat defeated. I looked at her once again and, suddenly, saw what he saw; perfect mouth, perfect white teeth, perfect small nose and, above all, dark eyes with long, intense eyelashes. I realized that I had been staring, and looked at Salvadoe with a smile.
Mulder had been talking, I hadn't been listening. At all.
"…right, Scully?" He turned to me and met my eyes, for the first time since this morning. I nodded, did a funky, halfway thumb-up. I wasn't me.
He looked at me with puzzled eyes, wondering what I was doing. I couldn't answer, I didn't understand that myself.
Sandra showed us the place of the murder. Not much to see, it had been washed away by the rain. Ah, that wonderful October rain, I thought. Of course, in this case, it wasn't at all wonderful. But still.
By reading the autopsy rapport, I figured that the men had been attacked by a puma, or something. Mulder, however, directly thought of goblins. I was surprised. No aliens? But, then again, aliens do not scratch. I've learned that. Nor do they bite. Not even the little ones.
I watched Mulder and Sandra together. They were of similar heights, same colour in hair and eyes. They looked like they belonged together. Maybe I could settle down with dear Ivanhoe, I thought.
I lifted my eyes and looked from Mulder to Ivanhoe. Lucky for me, the wind blew hard enough for making them not to hear my sigh. I looked up at the sea of burning leaves, as I tried to hide my tears. I thought of the leaves. Yellow. Red. Orange. Brown. I wished I was a leaf. Follow the wind and get lost wherever it took me.
" Scully?"
I looked up.
"Are you okay?"
I felt his hand burn on my shoulder.
"I'm fine, Mulder. Fine."
He kneed down next to me, tried, I assumed, to catch my sight. I was not fine. I was as far away from fine one could be.
"Well, we're ending this day. They're gathering their things. So, I thought that we could go and find a good motel. You look tired, are you?"
Three. Two. One. I met his eyes. I wished that he could read my thoughts; it would be so much easier that way.
"I think it's a great idea. I am tired."
Liar.
He reached out his hand and stroke away a leaf that had followed the wind and landed in my hair. I closed my eyes. Not for long, but yet long enough for him to notice. I hadn't planned for that to happen. But it did.
He took my hand and helped me get to my feet. He didn't let go. I could feel the warmth and strength in him, through his hand. It actually took minutes for him to let go. By then I was like a walking zombie, trying not to fail this tiny thing. I didn't want to jinx it. Luckily, I didn't.
"Maybe we could grab something to eat later? Just you and I?" He smiled.
Hell yes, I thought, but, for him, only nodded.
We reached the car, and then drove to a motel. All in complete silence. He booked our rooms beside each other, and I didn't bother to unpack. I sat down on the bed, trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. Stupid. Cupid.
After 20-something minutes he knocked on my door. I opened with a smile. I shouldn't have.
"Sandra and Salvadoe wanted to come along, I thought it sounded nice."
He raised his eyebrows in a wide smile; I followed his lead and smiled back.
"Great." I coughed.
The dinner was a living hell. Ivanhoe was a true sceptic, while Sandra believed in aliens. I swore I saw the devils face on the fish I ordered.
"Lucky bastard…" I whispered to it, wishing someone would just stick a fork in me and eat me alive. Now, please.
"Have you ever been abducted by aliens, Mr. Mulder?"
Sandra seemed so young. Mulder seemed like a boy.
"No."
"I have." I coughed out.
"Agent Scully?" Ivanhoe dropped his fork.
Mulder glanced at me. His eyes sparkled as they met mine.
Dear dinner, end now, I demand.
2 whole hours later, I crawled up in my bed, kicking my shoes off and whispering what an idiot I was. After a dinner filled with unreal laughter, Mulder smiling boyishly at the brunette and me, trying hard not to shed any tears, I finally reached the point where we all thought it was getting a little late.
I sighed, closed my eyes and fell asleep.
About forty minutes later, something woke me up. At first, I didn't care, but then the lamp on the nightstand hit the ground. I sat up. Something in the dark moved, made noises.
I reached out, dumb as I was, to grab a flashlight in my bag. I clearly shouldn't have. Something grabbed my arm, with such power that I flew to the ground. It felt like something was biting me, like a thousand needles digging into my skin.
I screamed, like I've never screamed before. The thing stopped by my scream, crawled back into the dark and vanished.
Seconds later, the door was kicked in. I'd almost passed out from the pain, but his voice brought me back to life.
"Scully?"
His hands touched me, checked my temperature and wrapped a piece of towel around my bleeding arm. He kept repeating my name, trying to make me respond. I did, by opening my eyes.
I saw something I would have a hard time to forget; tears. His eyes were filled with tears.
"Mulder…" I whispered.
He reacted, met my eyes and formed a smile.
"God, Scully. What happened? Are you okay?"
I looked at him, closed my eyes and tried to remember.
"Something… bit me."
"What? What did this to you?"
"I don't know… Too dark."
I tried to roll around, but ended up groaning with pain. Mulder stopped me, but instead of laying me back on the floor, he helped me get up on the bed.
"Where did it go?" He asked me.
"I don't know, it just vanished."
I looked at him, looking at me.
"I've got to take you home, Scully. We've got to get you to a hospital."
I shook my head, trying to convince him that I was fine. I failed.
Then, I passed out.
My eyes flung open, but reacted to the light of the day. I tried to figure out where I was and, seconds later, I recognized my own bedroom. I rolled around, drew my hand over my pillow, as in thanking I was where I was, and got up on my feet.
My footsteps didn't make any noise at all, and I was soon in my kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water.
"Scully?"
I almost dropped the glass, but turned around to the familiar voice.
"Mulder?"
He smiled at me and came over to me to give me a hug. I was surprised.
"What? When? Aren't you supposed to be out in the woods with the brunette?"
Ooops. My yaw fell at my own mistake. He laughed.
"The brunette? Scully, you were hurt. I'm not leaving you here alone to do some field job I know I suck at without you. No matter how many brunettes there are out there."
I sat down on the sofa, smiling.
"Are you okay?" He sat down next to me, closer than I thought he would.
"I'm fine. I'm not feeling any pain at the moment, so I guess I should be happy. How long has it been?"
"Four days."
"Four days?!"
He nodded.
"Actually, I brought you to a hospital nearby the motel. They took care of you that night, doing whatever doctors might be doing. But, God, do you know how boring it is to sit at a hospital?"
I repeated my smile.
"So… I brought you here; more fun to me. And, I hope, better for you."
"But, Mulder… You can't just take me out of a hospital like that. You've got to have a licence to move a patient. Be a doctor."
"Yeah, I know."
"But… No! Mulder, you didn't!"
"Say hello to Dr. Mulder!"
He laughed.
"How did you do it?"
"I flashed my FBI-batch, did a little magic dance and zipidydoda! A doctor I was!"
I joined his laughter.
The day passed us by, followed by a calm and dark night. We'd spent the day just resting. He had to visit the boss' office, do some work and file some rapports. But, lazy as he was, he took the files with him home, and gave it the clear name "Homework". I hadn't forgotten about my previous thoughts; his breath, the wind and the brunette. He still hadn't spoken about her, or the case. And I hadn't asked. But, I wanted to. Real bad.
Then, she called.
"Scully."
My voice echoed though the telephone.
"Yes, hi, agent Scully. It's Sandra Frost. How are you?"
"Hi, Sandra... I'm… fine."
"Good, I was worried. Well, I just called to say that we caught the killer. He was hiding around the motel and had both victims blood on his shirt. I actually felt sorry for the guy. He didn't look like most people, but different. Weird, or so. Anyway, he confessed to both killings and to the attack of you, agent Scully."
"Well, that's a relief. Did he say why he killed them?"
"Not actually, no. But he murmured about something like the fall. Yes, the fall. He thought that the forest was too beautiful at the fall for the people to ruin it."
"Well, I guess he has a point there."
"Okay. Well, you would know, you're on the X-Files."
Some people just don't get it.
"No, it's not that, Sandra. It's the fall. Let me ask you; what is your favourite month of the year?"
"That's easy; July!"
"Why?"
"Because it's warm and all the flowers are in bloom. And all the cute boys in hot outfits, of course."
God, I thought.
"What about you, agent Scully?"
"October."
"Oh, that's an odd month. Why?"
"Because of the winds and leaves. Because it feels like a new beginning of life. Because I finally can breathe after the long, exhausting summer. Because the leaves teach me how to dream. Because no other month does all that."
The other side of the telephone got quiet.
"Well, I have to go now, Sandra."
"Wait! Is agent Mulder there?"
No! You've got to be kidding me! Lie! LIE!
"No, he isn't."
Good girl.
"Bummer. Well, tell him I called."
"I surely will."
Not.
"Thanks. Bye."
I hung up. Then I laughed. And cried. He quietly closed the door in front of him, tried to add the a to the b, without me seeing him.
Does broken hearts still beat? What happens with unsaid thoughts? Why is this so easy for some people when I have to struggle hard to cover the pain in my eyes? Why couldn't he just see the pain and try to release me from it? He could, if he knew.
"They've caught the killer." I said as he walked in to the room.
"Great."
He didn't seem too excited.
"Sandra called."
I couldn't keep it inside, no matter how much I wanted to.
"Yeah."
Yeah?
"What is that to me?"
He met my eyes. I swooned. Double-swooned.
"Should it be something to me?" He asked without taking his eyes of off me.
"I don't know."
This made me nervous.
"It's the leaves, Scully. The wind. The depth."
My heart stopped.
"She didn't have any of that."
He just kept on walking down that path.
"You have. You've always had. I just didn't realize it."
"What made you do?"
"The leaf in your hair."
I wanted to smile, but instead I dropped a tear to the ground.
"I've always known my feelings for you, I truly have, but I didn't think you could ever fall for me. So, I hid it. I've been hiding it for years." He said.
He touched my cheek; drew the tears away.
Then, the damn phone rang again.
"Scully."
I answered, by his demand. Otherwise I would've just let it ring.
"Agent Scully, is Mulder there?"
"Yes, sir, he is."
I laid the phone in his reaching hand.
"Hi, sir. Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Right away, sir."
I sighed.
"Skinner wanted me at the office." He said after hanging up.
"I figured."
"Look, Scully, what do you say about dinner tonight? Just you and I now, I promise."
He picked me up later that night. He looked tired, but said he wasn't. I asked where we were going, but he just smiled and sang out "Surprise" as he drove out of the city. I didn't bother to know, really. Not now. Not when I suddenly believed. No, not in the little green ones, but in him and me. If this wasn't meant to last, tell me, what would?
After driving endlessly all night long, he finally pulled up and got out of the car.
"Here we are."
His words sounded proud.
"Where are we, exactly?"
"You'll see. Come on!"
He grabbed something in the back, a basket, I thought. I just followed him; what more could I do? He led me to a field. A huge field. Then he opened the basket and pulled out a blanket. I helped him lay it out on the ground, wishing I had brought those good shoes this night too. It was to dark to see, by now, but I thought I saw a tree next to us. Actually, I wasn't sure if it was a field anymore. I thought there were trees all over the place. But, I was probably wrong.
"It's late, Mulder."
I sounded bored, but I didn't mean to.
"I know, that's the beauty of it. Literally."
He dragged me down on the blanket, gently wrapping his arms around me.
"Try not to fall asleep, Scully."
I smiled, wondering what he was up to. I laid my head on his chest, crawling closer to him, feeling his hands wrapped around mine.
"It's close now."
As his words reached my mind, I saw it. Sunrise. And, a thousand trees, burning with colours of red and yellow. I looked up and saw that we were under one, that the ground we sat on was filled with dropped leaves.
"Mulder…"
"Shh. Close your eyes."
I'll do anything for you.
Then I heard it. The sound of millions leaves, shivering as the wind made its way through the trees.
I got up on my feet, took off my shoes and walked out in the sea of leaves, followed by the man of my dreams. Never could I imagine a place like this. This was too good to be true.
"Better than brunettes?"
He smiled. I laughed.
Then he kissed me.