By now the fire had grown to considerable proportions but the current condition of Mulder and Scully allowed them to pay no heed to the smoke filled house. Their lungs strained for oxygen with or without the carbon dioxide filled air.
Mulder stood hunched over Eddie's lifeless body. Not quite wanting to take chances, Mulder shot at the body once more in the head. Now he was dead for sure.
Feeling the sting of the deep cut in his shoulder, Mulder knew that time was running out fast. He had to find Scully.
"Scully!"
He wondered if she could hear him. He wondered if she could even respond.
"Scully!"
As Mulder staggered down the hallway, he tried each knob he passed by, each not giving way. But as he passed them by, he was certain that Scully was in neither of these rooms. He coughed in desperation and as his head involuntary moved downward, Mulder saw something he had not seen before. There was blood on the floor. Hard to see with the smoke, but visible nonetheless. He was certain that it was not his blood.
The blood trailed off to a door nearby and ended suddenly. That was the room Scully was in. At the first try, the door would not budge. Eddie had locked the door. There was no time to go back to his body to search of the key.
"Scully! I'm going to shoot the door!"
No response. Mulder hoped that she heard him. He hoped that he would not hit her.
The bullets hit the hinges of the door and with one strong push, the door gave way.
And there she was. After days of wondering and days of missing and days of yearning, there she was. Dying.
"Scully?"
Mulder ran to her side. She still lay on the bed, her face towards the ceiling, her eyes trying to focus on the light fixture above but failing horribly.
"M…"
She couldn't get the word through her lips. Her entire body was failing her. And perhaps, her mind was too.
He reached out to touch her. Her body instinctively stiffened.
"Scully? It's okay. It's me. I'm here."
"I know …"
Scully grasped for air. Her eyes came into focus and for the first time in days, she felt safe. Mulder's face was directly in front of her, his hands over hers, trying to keep the blood in her.
"You're hurt."
She saw the blood running down his arm and knew that it was not hers. Mulder chuckled. It was like her to worry about him when she was the one on the brink of death.
"It's nothing."
Scully saw Mulder's eyes examining her body. His hands stayed in place but too much blood was already lost. She was a deathly shade of white.
"I'm okay."
Mulder made no reply. He was trying to fight back the fear, the anger, and the pain. What right did he have to complain of his own injuries when his own partner lay dying in front of him?
Scully watched closely. She felt renewed though her body did not show it.
"Help is coming."
Mulder said this more as a reassurance towards himself than anything. He felt Scully's hands moving beneath his. He grasped them without relieving any pressure on the wound.
"Help is coming."