Mulder sat at Scully's bedside, holding her hand, quietly begging her to open her beautiful eyes. She had torn and stretched most of the ligaments in her left shoulder, broken four ribs, one of which had punctured her left lung. She had eight stitches in the cut on her left cheek and countless bruises all about her face and arms. Mulder was sure there were more bruises staining her body where it lay hidden beneath the blanket and hospital gown. He was also certain that her body held evidence of the rape through injuries that the doctors felt uncomfortable discussing with him, not knowing the exact nature of their relationship.
Mulder hadn't called Mrs. Scully yet. He didn't want to call her in the middle of the night and he didn't want to call her until Scully woke up. He needed the comfort of Maggie Scully more than Scully would when she woke up, but he wouldn't allow himself the luxury of that comfort.
'I did this to her. I should have stayed last night. We could've gone to the movie store together. Nothing would have happened then. But no, I couldn't keep my hormones under control. I wanted to wait and make my first night with her special. Well, she got fucked any way, didn't she?'
Tears fell unheeded down Mulder's face. "I'm sorry, Scully. I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll catch the bastard that did this to you and I'll make him pay. Oh Sculleeee, I'm so so so sorry."
He buried his face in the sheets next to her hand, sobbing uncontrollably. After several minutes, Mulder gained control of his tears. He kissed the back of her hand and squeezed it gently. Almost a minute later, he felt a gentle pressure returned.
"Scully?"
A soft moan escaped her lips and her eyes fluttered open.
"Come on, Scully, that's it. Just open those beautiful eyes. Wake up, Scully. I'm here for you. I didn't leave you. It's okay now. You're safe."
"Mulder? Oh, Mulder. No, no. I thought it was you, Mulder. I didn't run away. I couldn't get away." Her words were whispers and tears streamed down her face.
"Shh, Scully. Let me go get the doctor." He gently stroked the side of her face, wiping away the tears. "I'll be right back."
Mulder hurried into the hallway to let the doctors know that she had woken up. Her words haunted him. She thought it was him. What did she mean by that? She didn't think he would do something like this to her, did she?
While the doctors were examining Scully, Mulder called Mrs. Scully. He managed to tell her everything that he knew without breaking down. 'I'm already getting accustomed to admitting that the woman I love was raped.' He grimaced at the thought, closing his eyes. The picture of Scully huddled in her shower flashed into his mind. He quickly opened his eyes, banishing the image back to his subconscious. Maybe the VCS hadn't tainted his mind that much yet. 'It still tears me apart to remember her like that.'
He readied himself outside Scully's door, then entered quietly. A woman was seated on the edge of her bed, looking intently at Scully as she spoke softly.
Scully noticed him entering the room. "Mulder, you're back." Her voice was tinged with relief.
He moved to the opposite side of the bed and reached for her hand. He immediately pulled back. He was now forced to her injured side and moving her hand would undoubtedly cause her pain. 'I've caused her enough pain already.'
The woman, he noticed, was a nurse. Apparently, she had been detailing the nature of Scully's injuries. Thankfully, he had missed the more intimate details and she was just finishing up, telling her that once they felt her lungs had healed sufficiently, she would be released from the hospital. Mulder smiled to himself. As much as she berated him, she too, didn't enjoy lengthy hospital stays.
The nurse continued, "We just need to take some blood and test you for any sexually transmitted diseases. Also, the doctor prescribed the morning after pill. Here's your first set."
Scully nodded her consent for the tests, but refused the pills. "I, uh, I can't have children." A slow tear escaped and traced a path down her cheek.
"Scully," Mulder broke into the discussion. "We don't know that for sure. You haven't actually been trying to get pregnant since you found out."
"Mulder, all the others were sterile."
"But, there's no need to take a chance that you're wrong. There's no harm in taking the pills." He looked at the nurse for confirmation. She was confused by their discussion, but nodded her agreement.
Scully took the pills and the nurse left the room, only to return almost immediately with a needle. Once the blood sample was retrieved, she left again.
Mulder winced as she took the sample, not so much from the sight of the needle, but what it represented. Scully's ordeal was far from over. First she had to physically recover from her injuries and then start the lengthy emotional healing process. And through it all, there always stood the chance that the incident could come back to haunt her in the form of some untreatable disease, like AIDS. 'She's already fought off one life threatening illness. I don't think she could handle another.'
"Mulder, come sit on this side of the bed. I don't want you looking at my bad side." She managed a faint smile as she spoke.
He moved, happy to once again hold her hand. Mrs. Scully arrived shortly after and Mulder was ordered home to get some rest. It was now well into the afternoon, but Mulder opted to go to the office instead. He contacted the local PD to see how the investigation was proceeding.
"Agent Mulder, I'm afraid we didn't find too much. There was evidence of a struggle in an alley between your partner's home and the video store. We found blood at the scene and some pieces of fabric. There's not much to go on."
"What do you mean 'there's not much to go on'? You just said you found..."
"I know what we found, Agent Mulder, but the blood is probably your partner's. We're running tests right now. The fabric matches the fabric of her clothes. The only evidence found at that scene is evidence that your partner was there."
Mulder sighed in frustration. "Well, what about her clothes? Did you check them yet?"
"We have an evidence team working on the clothes right now. They're isolating hair and fiber samples along with anything else they might find. I'm getting a preliminary report ready for you as we speak, so if you don't mind..."
Mulder grunted a goodbye and hung up the phone in disgust. After a quick shower and change of clothes, he returned to the hospital. He arrived only to find that the local police were interviewing Scully. 'Already? She might not be ready for that yet.' Angry that his partner's emotional well-being had been ignored and that he was not informed of the man's intent to interview his partner, Mulder entered the room without knocking.
Scully paused in her statement. She was in the middle of describing the only man she could visually identify. Tears were streaming down her face. "Mulder..."
"Agent Mulder, we're trying to get a statement from Ms. Scully."
"And I'm involved in this investigation. You should have told me of your plans to come here and I would've been here from the beginning." He moved to Scully's side.
She reached for his hand, grateful for the strength it generated in her. She hesitated still, uncomfortable in relating the story to Mulder. She knew he would be a part of the investigation and she knew he would read her statement, but all those things were different then actually speaking the words in front of him, admitting it to him.
Taking a deep breath, she continued: "Then I was turned back around and my pants were cut off of me. They pulled my sweater off and I screamed from the pain, the pain in my shoulder. He turned me around then, that's when he cut my face." She continued further to describe, in sparing detail the repeated rape by, apparently more than one man. Mulder held her hand while listening to her, his other hand clenching and unclenching repeatedly. His anger with the bastards responsible coursed through him like a living beast.
"Thank you Ms. Scully. We'll be back soon with some mug shots for you to look at." The detective shot a disapproving look in Mulder's direction and then left. Mulder sat on the chair beside her, stroking her hair, kissing her forehead. Eventually, his attempts to comfort her succeeded and her tears abated.
Thanks for sticking with me this far. Just a few more chapters to go. Please R&R. Scarlet.