The next day.

Scully sat alone in her hospital room. She couldn't get her mind off of what had happened. She wasn't able to sleep as every time she closed her eyes she could see him, feel his hands on her skin, his breath on her neck, his eyes wandering over her body. The doctor had examined her when she'd arrived at the hospital, their findings making the ordeal official. She had been allowed to take a shower after she had finished but she still felt dirty, cheap, violated

She'd refused counseling, even though her doctor recommended it. She didn't want to talk about it; she just wanted it all to go away.

A soft knocking at the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and Mulder entered the room. He smiled at her slightly and came and sat on the edge of her bed.

"How you feeling?"

"Ok. I have a few cracked ribs, slight concussion and lots of cuts and bruises. The doctors say I should be able to go home soon. They're just waiting on some test results." They had taken a blood sample to test for HIV and hepatitis. After a brief pause she began talking again. "What will happen to him?"

"If he makes it he'll be put on trial charged with abduction and imprisonment of an agent of the FBI, as well as stalking," Mulder replied. "Scully I know this is going to be hard for you, but you really need to tell me what happened in there, what he did to you."

She didn't answer. Mulder touched her cheek lightly and tilted her chin so she looked into his eyes.

"Scully? Please."

She took a deep breath.

"He raped me Mulder." She kept her voice even but a single tear slipped down her cheek and landed on his hand. More threatened to fall but she blinked them away.

Mulder sat there, letting the full weight of what she'd just said sink in. His emotions wrestled between blinding anger and overwhelming guilt. How could he have let this happen to her, let that bastard hurt her in this way? Gently he pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. She placed her head on his shoulder and clung to him.

Tenderly he smoothed her hair down and kissed the top of her head. He felt her shiver slightly against his actions but she made no move to pull away.

"It'll be ok Scully," Mulder said into her hair. "There's no way he's going to get away with this."

"Even if he doesn't I still have to live with the memory of what he did to me for the rest of my life," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"You're going to need help to get over this."

"I'm not going to counseling. I can do this by myself." She pulled away from the comfort and security of his arms.

"No one can Scully." He touched her arm gently and she shivered slightly. "You're only human." Before she could reply a doctor entered the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to speak with Ms. Scully. If you wouldn't mind waiting outside I'll only be a couple of minutes." Wordlessly Mulder stood and left the room, closing the door behind him. The doctor walked toward Scully's bed and sat down in the chair beside it. "We have your test results back Ms. Scully."

"And?" Scully held her breath.

"There was no evidence of, hepatitis or any other STD. You'll have to wait a few weeks for us to be able to do the AIDS test" Scully breathed a slight sigh of relief, tempered only by the news about the AIDS test. But being a doctor, she'd known that they couldn't do it straight away. Noticing her pensive expression, the doctor spoke up.

"For the time being you just concentrate on healing, physically and mentally. And let people help you." Off Scully's look she carried on. "I know you think you can do this by yourself but believe me you can't. Even the most independent of people needs a little help every now and then. And I know from experience." She stood and walked towards the door.

"I'll check and see when you can be discharged and also book you an appointment to come back for that other test," she said over her shoulder and left. After a few moments the door opened again and Mulder stepped inside. He went back to his position on the edge of the bed. He looked anxious.

"What she say?"

"I'm fine. The tests were negative." He smiled with relief.

"That's good. Do you know when you can go home?"

"The doctor just went to check. It should be soon though." There were a few minutes of silence.

"Scully, if I can help you please let me." Mulder touched her face gently, tracing a cut lightly with his fingertip. She was about to answer, tell him that she was fine and didn't need any help from anybody when an image from her captivation flooded back to her. She had been on the floor after Evan had thrown her into the wall. He'd been standing over her, a psychotic glint in his eye and a smug, proud look on his face. The sight petrified her. She gasped and began shaking uncontrollably.

Before she knew what was happening Mulder's strong arms were around her and he was rocking her gently, soothing her with his voice. She clung to him like a child waking scared from a nightmare, needing the comfort and support his arms offered her. She hadn't even noticed that she'd started crying until Mulder wiped away the tears from her cheeks. In that instant Scully realized she couldn't do this alone; she was going to need some help if she wanted to get past this. She'd let Mulder help her, even if that meant letting him in to her soul.