Mulder ran out of the building following Scully angrily.
"Mulder I don't want to talk to you right now!" Scully shouted. Mulder stood in front of her, not letting her by, "your going to have to Scully, you can't just walk out every time something doesn't satisfy you!"
"That's not what it's about! You just let him walk all over me, you didn't stick up for me!"
"You were the one eavesdropping! You don't know what you missed!"
"All I know is every single time I've been dragged into Skinner's little office and he's bagged on you I've always stood up for you! I've always had your back!" Scully shouted back even louder.
"Hell you have! Come on, face it Scully- It's always been your career first—no one, nothing, or anything has ever mattered to you but your job!"
"Bullshit!"
The yelling continued to become louder and louder. Pedestrians watched and hurried by as the two continued to brawl.
"You know what Mulder, fuck you-"
"Fuck you!"
"Mulder if you took two seconds out of your busy day you'd notice I do a lot on the x-file's too—your not the only in this team!"
"Oh get over yourself!"
"Agh! I can't deal with this right now!" Scully shouted once more as she walked around him stubbornly.
"Yeah! You run! Like always, Scully! Running!..." Mulder yelled as she climbed into her car… "just keep running!" he shouted again as she started her engine.
Scully shook her head in anger- she breathed heavily trying to control her emotions, and it wasn't long until tears dripped down her cheek. It seemed like there was so much tension between the two of them and when they couldn't be any closer it drove them apart.
Mulder meanwhile remained on the steps of the building. It had been awhile since they had got into such a heavy argument. The unfortunate part was that Mulder hadn't stuck up for her like he should have. The quilt was excruciating.
He was heading back into the FBI building shamefully when he heard a loud noise.
Scully hadn't driven but only a few feet when an escalading car came crashing into her. Her car was pushed into the next lane where another car slammed into hers. And just like that it was a chain reaction. By the time cars stopped hitting there were eight fender benders and three heavily damaged cars.
Mulder began running over to the accidents. He slid over a few car lids- not worrying about calling the cops since it seemed everyone else was. He jumped onto the hood of another car, looking into Scully's car through the passenger window. Neither of the air bags had properly worked.
Scully wasn't in good shape, her body hung limp over the steering wheel. Mulder slid around her car, thankful there was enough room to open her door. He knew he couldn't touch her, it could promote harm and hurt her even more: god forbid. He alone had hurt her enough.
"Hang in there, Scully! Hang in there!" He told her, "Keep breathing Dana, just hold on… hold on…"
Three Hours Later
Mulder paced in the waiting room of the ICU ward. Finally a woman came in calling for a "Mr. Mulder?...Mr. Mulder?"
"Yeah! Where's Dana? Is she ok?" The nurse was silent.
"Is she ok!" Mulder shouted loudly. The nurse turned out of the room, "follow me, please."
Mulder walked at the woman's feet anxiously worrying. The nurse stopped at a door way, and Mulder walked in quickly. Scully lay on a bed, the tubes in and out of her were a bit overwhelming.
"Is she going to make it?" Mulder asked the doctor who looked at her charts. The doctor, like the nurse, took a long silent pause.
"As of right now, nothing is for sure."
"Tell me the truth, I need to know, tell me the truth…" Mulder's voice broke up. The doctor looked at him, back at the chart, then at Mulder again.
"In a doctors opinion the chances are slim that she'll recover this bad of an accident, especially with her prior health problems…"
Mulder looked down at the floor, holding back anything visible, but the doctor knew- everyone knew.
The doctor paused before leaving the room, "personally, I believe in miracles, if you don't- maybe it's time you do…. You have fifteen minutes."
Mulder took in a deep breath as he walked slowly to Dana, to his Dana. He leaned against the bed and placed his hand on her cheek carefully, worried he'd knock a tube.
"You've lost so much Scully, last year your dad and sister, this year your mom… but Scully- Dana- it doesn't mean that its time for you. You have me, you have me and your other brothers. We love you, I love you, I can't lose you…. But maybe I'm not enough… I mean, I understand that you miss your family- I really do understand, but still… that doesn't mean…" Mulder's bottom lip shivered, "that doesn't mean it's your time… not yet…" He bent his forehead down against her hand. He held on to her sweaty hand, kissing it lightly as he sat up again.
"I'm not leaving you here, you're coming home with me, you're going to make it. And once you're healthy, once you're better- things will be different, things will change. I'll change them, we'll be different. I'll… we'll leave, leave the FBI, we'll do our own thing—it'll take us longer to get to where we are now, but it'll be worth it… I'd rather see you everyday for the rest of my life and never know the truth, then never see you again… please Dana, just… trust me, trust me and wake up- get better, survive like you always have….wake up." Mulder whispered, "wake up."
"Excuse me, Mr. Mulder, but I've got work to tend to," A male nurse spoke behind him. Mulder turned around, a tear dropping from his cheek, "Can I see her again tonight?"
"Of course Mr. Mulder, just as soon as I'm done your welcome to come back in, at least until visiting hours are over," the man smiled crookedly. Mulder nodded, "thank you." He turned back to Scully for another look, he leaned in and kissed her forehead gently, "I believe in you."
"She'll be fine in my hands, Mr. Mulder- don't you worry," the nurse, apparently Nurse Travis by the name tag, assured. Mulder nodded with another look at Scully, then finally departing, after acquiring the courage to step out of the room.
He walked down the long hallway at his slow pace. There was no reason to rush. Things weren't good, things weren't good at all. His last words were shouts, and curse words- unfair ones at that. He had caused the accident, if he had only come clean, if he told her, if he had admitted his faults- if he had—Mulder slammed his hand into a wall uncontrollably. This was all his fault.
An elder man in hospital garb grabbed a hold of Mulder's flying arm, finally getting him into his room. The old man sat Mulder down, then sat himself.
"You keep hitting walls like that and you'll be in the Looney bin," the old man said. Mulder looked up, realizing he had been stopped. Mulder's hair stood on end, his clothes wrinkled and matted.
"yeah…" Mulder gruffed as he got up.
"Sit! Please, sit… sit" the old man repeated when Mulder finally sat again in the rickety chair.
"You seem like a person in need, has something happened… well something must have happened you are in a hospital, you most likely wouldn't be in a hospital unless you had a problem or someone you know had a problem unless your one of those weirdo's who just goes to hospitals to see all the sick people which some how helps your self esteem….but you don't seem like that kind of person."
"I'm not."
"So?"
"My partner- friend, my friend was in a car accident… the chances are slim."
"A friend huh?... well, if I was losing a friend, from a car accident, and I thought the chances were slim I would be sitting here with an old man talking about good times and how I'll miss that friend and so forth… but, that's not the feeling I get from you- that's not the case is it," the old man stated, like he knew Mulder so well.
Mulder remained silent for a few moments, then slightly shook his head. The old man nodded. "So what do you propose we do?"
Mulder frowned, "look this is my problem, not yours… don't you have someone else to bother," Mulder stood.
The old man, with great difficulty, stood to meet Mulder, "Yes good man, I do. But you looked like you needed someone to talk to. So I took you aside and talked to you- I didn't think you'd be so stubborn about it…kids these days."
Mulder shook his head, "I have to go, I need to check on my friend," Mulder began to walk out of the room when the old man called, "you know where to find me if you need me."
Mulder walked into Scully's room again, only a few minutes had passed but he just couldn't leave her how she was, not again anyway. He stepped in to see Nurse Travis pouring something into a syringe then preparing to eject it into Scully.
"What are you doing?" Mulder called out. Nurse Travis who seemingly didn't notice Mulder before looked up with a smile, "just giving her something she needs, no worries Mr. Mulder."
Mulder nodded taking a few steps forward. "I have to take a blood sample, would you like to step out for a moment?" the nurse wondered. Mulder shook his head, "I'm fine" he said as he took hold of Scully's hand.
The nurse nodded then took out another syringe. He forcefully jabbed it into Scully, Mulder frowned upon his aggressiveness.
"Be careful," Mulder grimaced.
"Just doing my job," Nurse Travis assured Mulder once again. After Nurse Travis had finished his tests and blood samples he began to leave the room.
Mulder called out, "what do you think? I mean, you're not a doctor, but I've known better nurses then doctors- do you think she'll be ok?"
The nurse paused for a moment then replied; "what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger."
TBC
