October 30th

10:30 a.m.

"Are you always this bossy?" Arthur asked Ashley as she suggested he adjust his bed and ask the nurse for another pillow.

"Hey," she said, shaking her head as he smiled at her. "I was worried about you, okay? Forgive me if I want to be sure you're comfortable."

"I'm fine," Arthur said. "Now quit telling your big brother what to do. I'm older and wiser than you, you know."

"Shut up," Ashley said, smiling as she looked at him and then glanced at Mulder who smiled at her with a nod.

He was waiting for Scully, who was in the next room returning the coat she had borrowed and saying goodbye to Harriet, Renée, and Trevor.

Last night, after waking up in the hospital around midnight, Mulder had wondered if Sarah and the time spent with her in the cemetery had all just been an incredible dream. When the door had opened and Scully had come in with red angry scratches on her face and relief in her eyes, he knew it had been real.

"Hey," she had said, coming to his bedside. "You feeling okay?"

"Are you?" he had asked with a nod, reaching up to gently touch her face. "What happened to you?"

"Tree branches," she had said with a slight smile. "Like you, except I suspect that yours wasn't from a tree."

"Mine?" he had asked with a frown and she had stiffened slightly before pulling back from his touch as she cleared her throat and gestured to his head.

"There," she had said and he had reached up to touch it, finding a bandage above his eye.

"What happened? I don't remember hurting myself."

"You said it was from a tree branch, but it was pretty deep and it wouldn't stop bleeding."

"What?"

"At the motel earlier? You'd been searching for the other men with the sheriff and other people in the cemetery?"

"Yeah. I remember searching for them and then I… I spoke to Peter, here I think. Or in his room?"

"You don't remember anything else?" she asked, her expression neutral.

"I… I don't know. Did something else happen? Did I do something?"

"No," she had said, shaking her head and attempting a smile. "You didn't do anything."

"Scully, if something happened-"

"Nothing happened, Mulder. Nothing that was of importance to the case."

"Well, that doesn't sound like it was nothing," he had said, frowning again as he stared at her. "Scully…"

A knock had sounded on the door and then Doctor Huron had walked inside with a smile, checking in and seeing how Mulder was feeling, stopping any conversation they would have had.

He had been released not long after that and they had gone back to the motel where he had fallen into a quick and soundless sleep, his body exhausted and his mind in desperate need of rest.

When he had woken, Scully, already dressed and ready for the day, had been packing her clothes.

"Hey," she had said with a small smile, when she saw he was awake. "I talked to Skinner and booked us a flight at three. We need to check in with the sheriff and I have to return the coat I borrowed from Harriet."

"What time is it?" he had asked, still feeling a bit sluggish.

"Uh… seven," she had said, looking at her watch.

"Christ, how long have you been awake?" he had asked, sitting up and rubbing his face.

"Not long," she had replied, shrugging her shoulders, continuing to pack.

He had nodded as he stood up and stretched with a groan. Walking to the bathroom, he had felt her eyes on his back, but she said nothing.

They had left the motel, stopping for breakfast before meeting with the sheriff.

"I really can't thank you enough," he had said, shaking their hands. "I admit that I don't quite understand all that happened, but I'm beyond happy that everyone is safe and alive. Jesus… if any of them had died…" He had shaken his head and sighed deeply, Scully nodding in understanding.

Arthur Harvey did not have a clear memory of what had happened to him, his thoughts still foggy and unsure. He remembered being at a party with Ashley, going to the car to wait for her and make sure she had a safe ride home, but then it all got blurry.

"It's weird," he told Mulder, accepting the cup of water Ashley gave him and then telling her to sit and stop her fussing. "It's like I know what happened, but I don't at the same time. I know that doesn't help with your investigation, Agent Mulder."

"It does," Mulder said, smiling at him and nodding. "You're here, along with the others. That's why Agent Scully and I came here. The why it all happened… that's not always ours to know or understand."

"Seems kinda shitty," Ashley said, shaking her head angrily. "Someone should pay for what they did to all those men and their families."

"Ash," Arthur said, looking at her with a frown. "No."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I may not remember everything, maybe I never will, but I do know one thing: wherever I was, whoever had me… they paid more than any jail sentence could ever justify." He looked at Mulder as he let out a deep breath. "I don't know how I know that, but I'm right, aren't I?"

"You are," Mulder said quietly and Arthur nodded thoughtfully.

The door opened and Scully smiled at them, her chin scrunched.

"Hello Ashley. Arthur, how are you this morning?"

"I'm feeling good," Arthur said, nodding at her. "Thank you for everything you did. Ashley told me about it. I'm afraid that I don't remember."

"That's okay. It might come to you later, you never know." She glanced at Mulder and then looked back at Arthur. "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Me too," Arthur said and Mulder smiled as Ashley nodded.

"We should get going, Agent Mulder," Scully said and he nodded. "We have that flight to catch."

"Yes, we do."

He stepped forward and shook Arthur's hand and then Ashley's as she stood up to say goodbye.

"Take care," he said. "Maybe stay away from parties in cemeteries."

"No shit," Arthur said and they all laughed.

Leaving the room, they walked down the hall and Mulder glanced at Scully.

"We need to stop and get your coat from the cleaners, don't we?"

"Yeah. And I'd like to stop by Fauna's shop too."

"I'd like that too," he said, still watching her. "You think Arthur and the others will remember what happened to them?"

"I don't know. The brain has ways of blocking trauma and stress that we've endured, you know that."

"I do."

"So, I guess it would be dependent on them. If they choose to venture into those thoughts or stay content with where they are now."

"Hmm," he hummed with a nod. "That makes sense."

She looked at him as they separated to allow a bed carrying a patient to be wheeled past them. Something in her expression made him pause and fall behind as she continued walking and two nurses walked in front of him.

Catching up to her, he stepped close as she pulled the door open, and placed his hand gently on her back, waiting for her to step through first.

She inhaled sharply and he wondered if it was from the cold breeze that greeted them or from his touch.