Skinner was afraid to break the silence, but he needed to know what was going on. "Mulder?"
Mulder's face was hidden from Skinner. He was clutching on to Scully who was lying still on the couch. He couldn't believe she was here. Was she real?
"Mulder, is she okay?" Skinner asked quietly, trying to stay calm.
Mulder lifted his head up, and for the first time he felt an urgency to get Scully to wake up. He gently brushed her cheek with his hand. "Her fever is gone," he said to Skinner. "Scully, wake up. Can you hear me?" Mulder took her hand in his and squeezed. "Scully?"
"I'll call for an ambulance. She needs to get checked out."
"NO!" Mulder immediately argued. "I'll take her myself."
"I'll drive," Skinner said.
As Mulder scooped her up in his arms, she suddenly awoke and surprised him when she said, "Mulder, what are you doing?"
He was shocked to hear her voice come out so clear, so casual as if nothing was ever wrong. He laid her back down on the couch, but she instantly sat up and looked around the room. "How did I get here?"
"Scully, take it easy." Mulder tried to get her to lie back down, but she wouldn't have it.
"Mulder?" The look on Scully's face turned from annoyance to confusion, and then to fear. "What...I...when did..."
"Scully, it's okay. It's okay. Just lie back down. You need to rest."
Scully finally obeyed. Her mind was spinning as Mulder carefully lowered her head back on the pillow.
"Just rest for a second, okay? I'm going to take you to the hospital in a few minutes."
"The hospital?" Scully asked in confusion. And then it came back to her. The cancer. The hospital. The chip in her neck. "Wait, what happened? Why am I here?" Scully bore into Mulder's eyes, begging him to answer her.
Mulder looked at Skinner to gauge whether or not it was a good idea to answer her now. Skinner felt out of place. "I'm going to call her family; let them know that she's safe." As he took out his cell phone, he turned and left the room, leaving Mulder alone with Scully.
"Safe? Of course I'm safe. Mulder, why...what happened to me?"
"You don't remember anything?" Mulder asked sympathetically.
"I remember being in the hospital. Dr. Zuckerman put the chip back in my neck. That's all I remember..."
When Mulder didn't say anything to her, she knew that something bad had happened. She took a moment to study Mulder's face. He looked extremely tired, distraught, and disheveled. Worry lines were permanently formed on his forehead. "They took me again, didn't they?" she asked in a quiet voice. She already knew the answer. Mulder remained silent. "How long?"
"Nine days." Mulder replied. "The longest nine days of my life."
Scully's heart sank. She reached for him then, knowing that he needed reassurance that she was okay, but also because she needed to feel his arms around her, comforting her in her state of fear and confusion. They drew strength from each other in their warm embrace, and neither one felt like ever letting go.
Skinner came back in the room, once again feeling out of place. He didn't want to interrupt their moment they were having, but he too was worried about Scully and thought it was best to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Your mother and Bill are meeting us at the hospital. We should go."
Mulder reluctantly released Scully from his arms. He took hold of her hands. "You really should get checked out."
"Mulder, I feel fine. Really, I do. Can't it wait?"
"Sorry Scully, but you can't argue with me on this one." He lifted her up from the couch and carried her off to Skinner's car.