Part 10
Skinner stared in deadly silence. The office was still and for a moment, Skinner felt as if everything had stopped, as if all time had ceased and it was just him looking at the limp figure of his agent whom he was supposed to be responsible for, for whom he had to tell to work, and for whom he had to be on good terms with. Skinner couldn't help feeling slightly guilty. He was supposed to keep the agents safe. He stared at Mulder blankly and wanted to kick cancer man, kill him even. Slowly he raised his head to face him. His eyes darted madly and he felt himself shake, not with fear this time but with absolute rage.
'YOU.. YOU..' Skinner said, his voice quivered with rage.
'I'm going to leave now and you're not going to tell anyone I was here.' The smoking man said simply.
'NO CHANCE!' Skinner shouted. The two men reacted and clicked their guns into place. Skinner looked at them with rage, but felt awfully hopeless. 'I don't care if you kill me.' He said. But then regretted it.
'I'm not going to kill you Mr Skinner, I would just like your cooperation.'
'You'll never get my cooperation! Never in a million years! WHAT THE HELL HAS MULDER DONE TO DESERVE THIS! Go on! Kill me!' He said forcefully. One of the men looked confused.
'No need. Come on.' The smoking man said calmly. One of the men followed him out of the door. Skinner was so desperate to run at him, to knock him down and to put handcuffs on his wrists and arrest his sorry ass. But he still had a madman with a gun to his head.
When the smoking man and the other gun man had left the man remaining looked at Skinner with a wild expression and even laughed.
'No movement.' He said madly. Skinner sighed, furious. He looked at Mulder on the floor and saw that he didn't move. His heart sank.
'He's dead isn't he.' Skinner said. The gun man laughed, louder this time.
'Pretty close.' He said with a wicked smile. Skinner let out an angry grunt and made a movement towards the man.
'Oh! No you don't!' The man said and pushed Skinner up against the wall roughly. Skinner shouted out in pain as he lost his glasses. The gunman laughed and then deliberately stood on them.
'Oh.. I'm sorry.' He said sarcastically. Skinner felt pathetically helpless, however the man wasn't small and although Skinner would be seen as a large man, this man was bigger. Suddenly there was a crackle and the man looked to his side. Skinner looked in confusion. A small beeping noise started. Skinner started to panic, what was it? A bomb?!
'Must be time for me to say my good byes.' The gun man said. He took a step backwards from Skinner. Skinner stared at him in confusion. 'It's been fun terrorising your agent here.' The man said in a carefree fashion. 'But now, it's my time to say good bye.' The man said.
'You'll be put in prison before you know it..' Skinner said with anger. The gun man laughed.
'No use havin' a dean man in prison is there.' He said. Skinner frowned.
'Don't..' Skinner said. This man was clear evidence and was what he needed. Skinner felt desperation in his body, he knew the man was going to kill himself.
'Bye.' The man said simply and before Skinner could stop him, he raised the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger.
Scully heard the phone ringing in her ear. It was ringing in her ear then her head. She thumped her pillow and grunted in protest. Sighing, she yawned and tried to stretch. She groaned and rolled over in tired agitation. Attempting to open her eyes she made her way to the phone blindly. Her hand knocked over her glass of water by accident. 'Dammit.' She said in a whisper. Her hand grabbed the phone and with effort she managed to bring it to her ear.
'Hello?' She said with a yawn.
'Scully?' Skinner said. She could tell by his tone of voice that something was wrong. Scully suddenly sat up.
'What.. what is it.. it's Mulder isn't it.' She said with fear. Her heart thumped in her chest. She just knew.
'Yes.' Skinner said quietly. 'He's here.'
Scully bit back tears as she spoke to Skinner briefly. He gave her the name of the hospital and his condition. 'Critical', he had said. She knew what that meant. The word had hit her like a falling rock. Scully rushed out of bed, got changed into the nearest piece of clothing she could find, grabbed her car keys and headed outside in the rain for her car. She could pretend that it had been the rain that had made her mascara smudge, not her tears.
The hospital was white. As white as her cell had been. It smelt of antiseptic and was full of doctors with white coats running around or checking computers, some were rubbing off writing on a white board. Scully saw them in a blur which was making her slightly dizzy. She ran a hand through her wet hair. She knew this hospital well, she'd been here herself a lot of times. So had Mulder. Mulder. Scully felt her chest tighten as she repeated his name in her head. Her eyes were not blinded with angry tears. She managed to make her way to the reception and banged on the desk desperately.
'I'm here to see Agent Mulder.' She said. A young woman with a nose ring and a wild haircut turned round on her chair. She must have been at least eighteen. Scully stared at her with desperation. The woman's face softened and she gave Scully a smile.
'Can I ask who you are?' She said. Scully nodded.
'Yes.. yes..' Scully blurted out. She felt herself shaking as she reached for her badge in her pocket. 'I'm Agent Dana Scully with the FBI Agent Mulder is my partner.. sorry.. he's probably Fox Mulder on your files.. or.. or.. may be not.. do you.. can I please.. please see him..' Scully said in a hurry. She was trying hard not to cry.
'He's Fox Mulder on our files.' The woman said with a smirk.
She said in a whisper
'Are you with those guys?' The woman said. Scully turned around to look where the woman was looking. There were a few agents with dark suits on around what must have been Mulder's room. 'They're with the FBI,' the woman said with a slightly excited expression. She laughed, 'cool.' Scully turned to look at her and saw her start to dial the phone. Scully looked at her with surprise. She seemed so carefree.
'Excuse me?' Scully exclaimed at the rudeness of the woman.
'Come on Scully.' A man said as she was grabbed gently by her shoulder and was being pulled away from the receptionist. Scully looked at the woman with angry confusion. She took a deep breath and realised that she was getting too worked up.
'Sorry.' She said quietly. 'Wait..' She said, stopping in her tracks. The agent turned to face her.
'What?'
'Why.. why are you here?' Scully asked with sudden suspicion. The man gave her a sympathetic smile.
'We're here to sort out why Mulder's in this condition and what happened to him.' He said. Scully searched his face with her eyes. 'It's all right. We're here to help him. We knew that you'd be coming along. Skinner had told us.'
'He did?' Scully said quietly. She looked down the corridor and saw a police officer. Suddenly she was full of rage.
'HEY!' She shouted. Scully ran towards the man, the agent tried to hold her back but was so surprised he couldn't hold her. Scully's long black leather coat flew behind her as she ran. Her face was angry and determined. The police officer looked round at her with surprise.
'Agent Scully?' He said with confusion.
'Yes! I'm Agent Scully! Tell me what the hell you're doing here!' She said. Her heart was thumping.
'Excuse me?' The officer said with anger.
'If you're here to investigate how Mulder killed a man..' She started. To her horror she also saw a young handsome looking journalist with a note pad. He looked terrified at her outburst.
'Well in our view he did Agent Scully. We have to investigate all the possibilities.'
'REALLY?' She fumed. 'Well not while I'm here! He didn't do anything!'
'Sorry, I can't just take that as evidence.' The police officer said. Scully felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
'Agent Mulder did not kill that man it was all staged! I'm going to prove it to all of you!' She said with anger. The police officer looked at her with a quizzical expression. The journalist shifted nervously on his feet.
'I was.. hoping to.. get a story from you Agent Scully.. if that would be..' He started. Scully was fuming.
'NO!' She screamed. 'This is FBI business!' She said and then to her horror she felt hot tears run down her face. 'Don't you dare write about this!' She said desperately as she brushed the tears away from her face. Her body shook and she suddenly felt herself feeling faint and alone, very alone. With a deep breath she made her way to the chairs and sat down carefully. The agent turned to her.
'May be you could come back in a while.' The agent said to the officer and the journalist. 'When Scully's gone.' He said. The officer let out an irritated laugh.
'Yes, may be that would be a good idea.' He said. The journalist nodded nervously then left the corridor. The officer left after him. The group of agents and Scully stood in silence for a moment. Scully shifted awkwardly.
'Is he.. is he awake?' Scully said slowly. She felt so embarrassed and fought back tears. She tried not to meet the agent's gaze.
'No.' He said. Scully nodded.
'Is it awful?' She said, her voice wavering.
'I..' The agent tried to say something appropriate.
'No it's all right.' She said. 'Which one is his room?'
'201. He's down there.' He said pointing to a room. Scully nodded and walked towards the door. She took one look back at the group of agents then sighed. The door handle was beckoning her in but she couldn't make herself. She was terrified. Scully felt the tears rush to her eyes again and she brushed them away angrily. With one deep breath she opened the door and walked in. Scully had to put a hand to her mouth to stop her from crying out at the sight.
Skinner was walking to his office in large, strong strides. He was angry. Very angry. He knew that Scully must be at the hospital. He thought of the night before, although it was six in the morning now and it had all happened about four hours ago, he was still fuming from the encounter he had had. His office was sealed off with investigators and police all around it. He wasn't surprised, someone had killed himself there. Skinner walked towards his door and was met by one of his friends, Agent Cates or Tommy as Skinner knew him.
'The man's a John Doe. We've got no name for him.' Tommy said. Skinner sighed.
'Rat bastard shot himself before I could do anything.'
'Don't worry about it, there was nothing you could do. The good news is that we've got Mulder back.'
'Everyone thinks that he killed that man. The police were at the hospital.'
'Told them where to go didn't you.' Tommy said with a small smile. Skinner rolled his eyes.
'Sure I did. I told them to go away, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I don't want to see Scully's reaction.'
'The ice queen strikes.' Tommy said. Skinner shook his head.
'She's not an ice queen.'
'I know, but it's a good nick name right?' Tommy said smiling. Skinner sighed. 'I'm only trying to make you feel better. I'm sure she's not an ice queen.'
'More like a fire queen.' Skinner said.
'You've really got a brilliant team of agents haven't you. They're always behaving themselves.' Tommy said with great sarcasm. Skinner looked at him blankly.
'That's really funny.'
Scully stared at Mulder's limp body lying on the bed. She felt weak and so afraid for him. She knew he wasn't well, anyone could see that. Scully took a few steps towards the bed and lowered her hand from her mouth and took a deep breath. Her breathing was fast and nervous. Scully looked from his feet and up to his chest then to his shoulders. She saw that his chest was bandaged up and she saw it stretched from his shoulder to his lower left. She thought that it was a probably a wound that stretched diagonally from his right shoulder down to his left hip. She looked at his wrists and saw that he had red marks around them. Scully frowned in concern and saw that they were rope marks. She was sure of it. She suddenly felt quite sick.
'God.' She said in a whisper. 'Mulder.' She said slowly and took a chair from the side of the room and brought it to his bed. Scully lowered her head in sadness and reached from his hand. She quivered as she reached for it, afraid that he might wake up or cry out in pain. As she took his hand in hers he didn't react. Scully felt tears sting her eyes as she wondered if that was worse.
'Mulder?' She said weakly. Scully looked at his face and saw lot of bruises and cuts. Mulder had a large bandage around his head. A head injury. Scully needed to know the facts. She leant over and kissed his hand and held it tight trying to warm it up. He was so cold.
'I'll be back in a minute Mulder.' She said, wishing he could hear her. Scully squeezed his hand and sighed. Getting up from her seat she kept her eyes on him. Scully turned away with effort and went towards the door. She walked through it.
'Scully?'
Scully stopped dead in surprise. She was in the doorway. She felt herself turn slowly in shock. It couldn't be.
'Scully?' Mulder said again. He sounded very weak. Scully nearly cried. She turned towards the bed and blinked. She let out a cry of emotion as she saw Mulder with his eyes open, his arm stretched out for her.
'Mulder..!' She gushed running towards the bed. Scully quickly sat down on the chair and took his hand that was reaching for her. She squeezed it with both hands and kissed it. 'Oh my god..' she said in a whisper. She held the hand close to her face and closed her eyes. She heard Mulder sigh weakly.
'Scully.. you were just here..' He said weakly. Scully put his hand down to her lap and nodded desperately. She realised she was crying.
'Yes, yes I was. I'm here now, it's ok.' She said in a hurry. Mulder sighed again and as he did Scully looked at him with concern. 'I didn't expect you to wake up so fast.' She said with a small smile.
'I.. I feel awful.' He said. Scully squeezed his hand.
'It's all right. You're in a hospital and everyone here is looking after you.' She said sympathetically.
'I know.. I just.. my head hurts.' Mulder said weakly. He closed his eyes and grimaced in pain. Scully put a hand on his forehead and stroked it gently.
'I was so worried about you Mulder.' She said. She could feel the tears run down her face. 'It's been hell. I've been given a crappy job and I've been forced to let all the investigation to find you down.'
'They weren't trying to look for me huh?' Mulder said and looked at her. Scully sighed and tried to muster a smile. She didn't want to tell him about the fact that he was being called a murderer.
'I see that you're out of that cell.' Mulder said quietly. Scully nodded.
'I tried to escape.' She said with embarrassment. She was happy to see Mulder manage a small laugh.
'Really.' He said, and then grimaced in pain again. He let out a cough.
'You'd better rest. You've missed a lot around here Mulder.' She said gently. Mulder sighed and looked into her eyes.
'It sounds like I have. I.. I never knew.. that so much could..' he started, but was stopped by a cough. Scully squeezed his hand again, 'so much.. could happen to you when I wasn't there.' He said and managed to laugh again. Scully sighed.
'I'm wearing you out.' She said. Mulder squeezed her hand this time.
'No, please don't go Scully.' He said. Scully smiled as another sob caught in her throat. At that moment a young blond nurse came into the room.
'Wonderful!' She said when she saw Mulder. Scully turned to her and beamed with happiness. The nurse looked at them and smiled. 'I'll go and get the doctor.' She said, and exited the room swiftly. Scully kissed Mulder's hand again and held it close to her. She felt that he was warmer than before.
'Hey Scully...' Mulder started.
Scully rested a hand on his stomach. 'Hmm?'
'Is she hot?'
Skinner stormed into the head office and interrupted a meeting. He didn't care.
'Assistant Director.' A man said and stood up.
'I'd like to speak to all of you. Now.' He said forcefully. The stern woman stood up.
'What's this about?' She said. Skinner felt the anger in his blood.
'Agent Mulder. I was here last night..' He started.
'We've all read your report on what happened yesterday.'
'It was last night and it was an interview.' Skinner said, furious. The stern woman raised her right eyebrow in irritation. 'What's the problem Mr Skinner.'
'Isn't anyone going to investigate what I have said about the smoking man?' He said. They all looked at each other awkwardly, then back to Skinner. One of the men spoke up after the silence.
'We.. we don't know.' He said. Skinner sighed. He knew that this would happen.
'What do you mean you don't know.' He said with fury. He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead again. They all stared at him, the stern woman looked at him with raised eyebrows and her arms crossed.
'We don't have any evidence. You say this man works in the government?'
'Yes.' Skinner said. His voice was trembling with anger.
'So.. what makes you think that he would be working against us for?'
'Do you think I dreamed it!' Skinner said. He sighed and sat down. They all looked at each other again. The stern woman bit her lower lip.
'We have a lot of evidence that Mulder killed that man. He could have been captured by someone yes, but he is still a murderer.' She said. Skinner shook his head.
'What evidence! You have none!' He said. Suddenly an idea sprung in his head. 'I have evidence for you. Scully got given a package while she was in custody.' He said with a furious emphasis on the word custody. The stern woman moved as if she had been offended.
'What is that then?' The man who had spoken before said.
'Some of Mulder's hair with blood on it.' Skinner said. He got up and went from the room. 'I'll go and get it for you.'
Skinner couldn't believe it.
He was staring at the small drawer where he had remembered putting the evidence in only a few days ago. He had put it in there, locked it and given the agent in charge the code. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The head agent came over to him and Skinner realised he was blushing.
'I'm sorry. I swear to you, no one asked for the code.' The agent said. Skinner looked at him and felt that he was telling the truth.
'It's.. it's all right.' He said. 'I can't believe it's gone.'
They both stared at the empty drawer in silence.
Scully took a sip of her coffee and sat with Mulder's doctor in the hallway. She felt her body shake a little from what he had told her. She felt quite cold and shivered.
'Are you all right?' The doctor said with concern. Scully managed a smile and shook the feeling away.
'Yes, just a little chilly.' She said. The doctor looked at her with surprise. It was very warm in the hospital.
'May be you should get some rest.' The doctor said. His face burrowed with concern.
'No, I'm all right.' Scully said firmly. The doctor nodded and sighed. He turned back to the file he was holding. Scully looked at him and took another sip.
'Injuries to the back of the neck include a fracture of the bones and on his head he has been hit several times to by a heavy instrument.' The doctor said. Scully nodded.
'Any idea what it was?'
'It's not really my field but I'm guessing a large metal object, a pipe may be.'
'A pipe,' Scully repeated deep in thought. It seemed strange trying to evaluate Mulder's injuries as if he was another dead body she had to autopsy, but he couldn't remember what had happened. 'What about his chest, why is it bandaged up? Was he cut?'
'Yes, it's a deep slash across the upper body in a diagonal line. I've never really seen something like it. Normally people cut in small lines or just stab the victim. This is almost as if..'
'he was tortured.' She said, interrupting him. The doctor nodded slowly. Scully felt her stomach turn. 'Mulder can't remember much about what happened.'
'I know. The blows to his head must have caused that. You know that Doctor Scully.' The doctor said. Scully sighed and nodded.
'Do you have any idea who could have done this, to an FBI agent?' The doctor said incredulously. Scully looked at him and saw that he was looking very shocked. She sighed and thought how wonderful it must be to be an ordinary member of the public. She was sure that the doctor must have seen a lot of nasty things, but Scully felt she had seen them all.
'Yes.' She said quietly. 'But you'd never believe me if I told you. And I don't think I'm allowed to.' She said, rising from her seat. She turned and looked through Mulder's window and saw that he was asleep. Relief passed through her blood and she closed her eyes sleepily. She felt the doctor walk away slowly as she heard his footsteps fade. She felt herself falling into darkness and found that she was nearly falling asleep. She opened her eyes suddenly and took a deep breath. She sat herself down and ran her hands through her hair. Suddenly she jumped as her phone rang.
'Hello?' She said with surprise.
'Scully?'
'Sir?'
'Scully are you at the hospital?'
'Yes Sir.'
'I've got some bad news and some good news.' Skinner said slowly. Scully sighed.
'Tell me the bad news.' She said.
'I wanted to use the hair that got sent to you in the cell as evidence that Mulder had been taken away, but I went to look for it and I'm afraid that.. it isn't there.' He said with difficulty.
'What!' Scully said angrily. 'That son of a bitch must have taken it! Why does this always happen!'
'I know I know calm down.' Skinner said hopelessly.
'Sir Mulder and I always lose our evidence! It's not right anymore this is ridiculous! How can we let this man slip through our fingers!' She shouted. An old lady in a wheelchair looked at her with confusion. Scully sighed and turned away pulling the phone closer to her ear.
'I know Scully, I'm just as mad as you are.' He said. 'But there is one thing.'
'What.' She snapped.
'The head office has agreed to do a search for the smoking man.' Skinner said. Scully nodded.
'That's good. We know his name though.' She said.
'I know but are we sure he is CGB Spender?'
'Pretty sure.' Scully said. 'It's worth a try.'
'Ok, I'll give them the name. Now you stay with Mulder, I'll sort this out.'
'Thank you Sir.' She said with relief. She felt herself yawn.
'How is he?'
'He's sleeping. He can't remember what happened.'
'What do you mean? He doesn't think it was cancer man?'
'No he remembers that, but he says that cancer man showed him something but he can't remember what it was.' She said.
'All right. Do you think he will remember?'
'I don't know. Only time will tell.'
'Right. I've got to go.' Skinner said. Scully nodded.
'All right.'
She heard the phone line cut. She put her phone away into her jacket pocket. She realised that she didn't have her gun or her badge. She'd forgotten them that morning. Turning towards the window again she saw Mulder move a little. She smiled again and made her way to his door. She opened it.
'Hey partner.' She said quietly. She saw Mulder turn towards her slowly.
'Hey.' He said weakly. Scully smiled and walked over to him.
'How are you feeling?' She said sitting down on her chair. She took his hand.
'I'm.. sorry..' He said slowly. Scully looked at him in concern. Mulder turned away from her.
'What?' She said squeezing his hand. 'Mulder? What's wrong?'
Mulder shook his head and sighed. Scully reached over to stroke his cheek.
'Mulder?'
'I'm sorry I can't remember anything Scully.' He said quietly.
'Mulder don't worry its all right.'
'No its not.'
'Mulder, it's not your fault.' She said, tears welled in her eyes again. She tried to blink them away. 'Look at me Mulder, please.'
'I.. I can't remember anything. He showed me something.' He said weakly. He still faced the other way as if he was hiding in shame.
'Mulder.. come on it's not your fault. You got hit on the head it's obvious that you won't be able to remember things. You can't feel that it's your fault..'
'But I know it was important.' He said slowly facing her again. To her horror Scully nearly burst into tears when she saw that his eyes were glistening with his own.
'Hey.. its ok.' She said soothingly. Mulder closed his eyes. He looked exhausted and upset. 'You'll remember one day. It's not that important Mulder. What's important now is that we find the smoking man..'
'CGB Spender..' Mulder interrupted. Scully nodded.
'Yes, CGB Spender. We need to find him and make sure that he gets what he deserves.' She said and cupped his cheek in her hand. Mulder sighed.
'They'll never find him, or prosecute him.' He said sadly. Scully hated seeing him like this.
'Don't say that. If they don't I'll kill him myself.' She said firmly. Mulder managed a small smile.
'I'll do it with you.' He said. Scully smiled too and suddenly felt so much better.
'Don't worry Mulder. I'm sure you'll remember. It's ok I'm not angry with you.' She said. 'In fact I've hardly thought about it.'
'I just know it was important, I know it. I think it holds the answer to everything that we've been looking for.' He said slowly and looked into her eyes. They stayed there for a long time. Scully stroked his cheek and squeezed his hand. Then Scully shifted.
'Well, I'm not surprised you can't remember because if that's the answer to everything we've been looking for then its not going to be little.' She said softly then let out a giggle. Mulder smiled then kissed her hand which was on his cheek.
Part 11
Scully had left the hospital now and was making her way home. She felt relieved and tired however incredibly angry and desperate to get revenge. She was so angry she almost drove into a young mother with a cot walking over the street. Her car had swerved when she'd seen them and she'd thumped the horn. Desperate to say sorry she got out of the car and apologised to the shocked woman. She'd nearly cried as the baby burst into tears. Scully shook her head and in a hurry said, 'I'm.. I'm so sorry I've had such an awful day. I'm sorry I need to get home and I'm tired. My mind was somewhere else. I'm so, so sorry.'
The woman had said it was all right it had clearly been an accident and had looked at Scully with concern.
Scully was especially careful as she made the rest of the journey home. She was shaky and tired. She felt awful.
Finally, as she pulled up outside her apartment she stopped her car in surprise. There by the door of the building was a man looking lost. Rain started to fall heavily and Scully parked her car. She got out of the car and ran towards the door to get out of the rain. At the door she got out her key. The man looked at her then turned away, Scully gave him a small smile. The man then turned to her again, this time faster and more desperate. He took a step towards her. Scully took a step back in fear and held her arms up.
'WAIT!' She shouted. The man stood still and looked at her desperately. She could see fear in his eyes. 'Who are you?' She said. The man sighed.
'Are you Agent Scully?' He said fearfully. Scully thought about how she should answer.
'That depends who's asking.' She said. The man swallowed nervously. Scully shifted uncertainly. There was a silence. The man looked down at his feet. 'Sir?'
'Look, I'm not here for anything except my own fear.' He said. Scully felt tired and weary, she didn't need this right now. She looked at him. He was small, about a foot taller than her and had dark brown hair. He was of medium build and looked about forty. Scully sighed.
'Look, are you in danger or something?' She said. The man's eyes opened wide.
'You.. you do work for the FBI don't you?' He said. Scully nodded.
'Yes.' She said. 'What do you want from me? Do you need my help?'
'Yes. I do! I don't know where else to go!' The man said. Scully realised he was shaking. She suddenly felt concerned.
'Come inside. It's cold out here.' She said, opening the door. They went into the hall. It was dark. Scully switched on the light. The man flinched at it.
'How did you know where I lived?' She asked. The man looked at her and shrugged.
'The police gave it to me and told me that you and Agent Mulder might listen to me.' He said. Scully frowned at the mention of Mulder's name. 'Where is Agent Mulder?' He asked. Scully looked down.
'He's erm.. he's not here.' She said slowly. 'He lives somewhere else.'
The man looked at her with embarrassment.
'Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you two were.. you know.' He said. Scully frowned.
'I don't know what you mean.'
'Well for some reason I thought that you were a couple or married or something.' He said blushing. 'I'm sorry.'
'It's all right.' Scully said with a small smile. 'We're partners, good friends. We work together.'
'Yes, yes I know.' The man said nervously. Scully sighed.
'What's the problem?'
'Well,' He started, 'I come from Seattle and something has been going on down there. Something really big.' He said. Scully frowned.
'Seattle?' She said with surprise.
'Yes. There's something, something horrible and unearthly.' He said. Scully saw him shake again. She felt awkward in the hallway.
'Would you like to come into my apartment?' She said with a friendly tone. She was pretty sure this man wasn't any trouble.
'No, no its all right. This won't take a minute. You see, I went to the police but they didn't help me. Lots of things go on in Seattle people don't care about. One of my friends.. my.. my girlfriend was..' he stopped and looked down at the floor. Scully's heart filled with pity. The man shuddered. 'My girlfriend.. Sandy.. she was.. killed.' He said. Scully shook her head.
'I'm sorry.' She said.
'Thank you.' He said sadly. Scully thought he was crying but she wasn't sure. His face was low. 'I saw it happen. It was in our garden. Someone had been calling her from work. A man, and she was a bit afraid of him because he was being unreliable and when he talked to her he would threaten her and ask her to meet him.' He said. Scully frowned in thought, her mind going into overdrive. 'I told her to forget it and that it was all right. She stopped talking to him and everything was fine, until he knocked on our door one day.'
Scully looked at his sad expression. The man was terrified. She shifted on her feet and quickly glanced at her watch.
'We had to take him in, we're not rude people and he looked so upset. He needed some help from Sandy and she offered it. When they were talking in the study I couldn't help standing by the door in case he did something to her. I loved my Sandy..' He said with a sob. Scully felt awkward as the man cried in front of her. She put a hand on his shoulder.
'I'm so sorry.' She said softly. The man nodded and gathered himself.
'Anyway.. Sandy and I were getting the table ready for dinner, making a third place for the man when we heard a sound from the bathroom, where he was at the time..' He said. Scully nodded and urged him to go on. 'Sandy ran to the bathroom and knocked on the door. There was no noise. I banged on it and asked him if he was all right, and the door was locked, but suddenly.. suddenly the door swung open with a great force. It hit the wall.' He said. 'He wasn't there. He'd vanished.'
The man stared at Scully. He looked desperate. She frowned in thought and realised that Mulder would have been immediately interested in this case, however it seemed just like another impossible happening to her. Nevertheless, as she always had to do, she asked him to carry on and reassured him that she was listening.
'The next day, Sandy and I were in bed asleep and she got up to get a drink of water. I went back to sleep and then after a few minutes I heard a horrific scream from my garden.' He said, his face white. Tears ran down his face. Scully sighed and looked at him sympathetically. He took a deep breath. 'Sandy was in the garden, her body was all tangled and almost.. almost ripped apart..' He said. Scully felt fear rise up her spine.
'How awful for you.' She said softly. The man nodded.
'I told the police! I told them everything and they didn't believe me, just said it was a normal murder. I know it wasn't! It was something to do with that man! There were no footsteps anywhere in the garden, it was as if he just disappeared and reappeared when he wanted to.' He said in a hurry between sobs. Scully shook her head in confusion. 'They told me to come to you, because you and Mulder work on cases like these. The same sort of murder happened again only a few days ago in my town. It was the same sort of death.' He said. 'That must mean that its the same person right?' Scully nodded.
'It sounds like it yes.' She said. The man nodded and looked at her with pleading eyes.
'Will you help me?' He said. Scully felt tired and ill.
'Of course we will. If you could come to the FBI building tomorrow at eleven. I'll meet you there. You can say you've come to see me.' She said. The man looked at her with huge relief.
'Oh, thank you.. thank you so much Agent Scully.' He gushed and shook her hand vigorously. He smiled a little and went towards the door. 'I hope that the FBI realises what a good agent you are, I got nothing out of the police back in Seattle. It was almost as if they didn't care.' He said, then went out of the building.
Scully took a deep breath and turned to walk up the stairs to her apartment. She shook her head in disbelief and managed a tired smile as she walked slowly towards her door.
'You're going to just love this one Mulder' She said to herself quietly as she put the key into the lock.
Mulder sat in his hospital bed and as the morning sunlight spilled into his room he immediately felt as if he didn't know where he was. He looked around a little and blinked in the bright whiteness of the building. He felt pain pang in his neck and his head. He felt dizzy. Looking over to he window he tried to lift up his arms, but he couldn't. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He suddenly remembered. He was in hospital. He was safe and was in hospital. Relief poured over him and he managed a smile. He then remembered Scully coming to visit him and he remembered the happiness he had felt to see her again. He was so grateful for it. He squeezed his eyes shut as he struggled to remember what the smoking man had shown him. He just couldn't remember. He remembered a warehouse, a large building, the rain and being dragged along the ground over stones. His knees ached from bruises and cuts. Mulder felt the soreness of his chest again as his body slowly started to wake up. He winced in pain and tried to take a deep breath but was surprised when he didn't have the energy. Suddenly his vision was swaying. Mulder felt his heart race in panic.
He turned towards the window, but the light wasn't bright anymore it was getting darker and darker. Mulder knew something was wrong. He struggled to get his focus back but he felt weaker and weaker. Suddenly his head started to ache, this time it was excruciating. Mulder's vision was getting worse and he felt his head thump with pain with every heart beat.
'oh god..' He murmured as he felt sick. Mulder tried to steady himself and attempted to grab the sides of the bed but realised that his body wasn't responding. He felt panic soar through him and then his vision was gone. He couldn't see. Mulder started to shake. He felt so weak. He was disappearing, slowly and painfully. His head was heavy and so painful he felt faint.. may be he was fainting.. he wasn't sure.. it was getting darker now, the pain getting worse..
Scully made her way to the FBI building. It had been sunny that morning because of the rain last night. It must have cleared the skies. Scully made her was through the big glass doors and up to the security desk. She got out her gun and badge and put it in a box. Mike met her gaze and smiled.
'Hey Scully, how are you?' He said. Scully smiled a little and did up her navy jacket.
'I'm ok.' She said walking through the metal detector. Mike gave her badge and gun back.
'You're all clear as always.' He said. Scully smiled. 'Hey, where's Mulder?' He asked. Scully sighed.
'He's in hospital. He had an accident.' She said. Mike frowned.
'Too bad. Well I hope he's ok.' He said with a friendly smile. Scully nodded.
'He's getting better.' She said when walking away. She put her gun back in the holder and her badge in her pocket.
Scully walked with big confident strides to the elevator and felt her boots click on the floor of the hall. Her suit trousers swished a bit as she walked. Suddenly she bumped into someone coming towards her very fast. She cried out and fell backwards but caught her balance. The man was a lot bigger than her. She frowned with anger.
'Hey.. SIR?' She said in astonishment. Skinner turned to look at her very fast.
'Scully.' He said seriously.
'What were you going so fast for.. did you not see me coming?' She said with a small smile. Skinner didn't smile back. Her smile dropped.
'Scully you need to go, now.' He said looking at her. Scully frowned.
'What?' She said nervously. Skinner sighed and suddenly looked very distraught. Scully felt fear in her blood.
'What.. what is it.' She said. 'Where! Where do I have to go!' Her voice was panicky. Skinner sighed again and looked at the floor.
'I'm afraid..' he said slowly, 'I'm sorry Scully, Mulder's got worse.' He bit his lip and shook his head. Scully stared at him. Tears stung her eyes.
'What.. what do you mean worse. What do you mean?' She pleaded. She felt her heart beat fast.
'I'm sorry Scully. They phoned me about half an hour ago I was trying to find you down here. I think you should go and see him for yourself.' He said with great pity. Scully felt a sob creep up her throat. She put a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes. Skinner stared at her. She looked away from him, she had to she couldn't bear it, and slowly turned to face the door. Her whole body suddenly stopped, all the relief was gone and now sadness was washing over her. She felt so worried and realised that she was shaking. Scully started walking briskly towards the door of the building and then got faster, the more steps she took the faster she got, desperate to find him. As she ran out the door Mike saw her from the corner of his eye. He frowned with concern and confusion.
Skinner made his way into his office, part of it was still sealed off for investigation.
'Morning Shelley could you get me a coffee please?' He asked as he walked into the door. Shelley nodded and walked off. Skinner sat down on his desk and sighed. Suddenly the phone rang. He answered it.
'Assistant Director there is someone down here who wants to see Agent Scully but I can't get hold of her.' A man said from the reception. Skinner was confused.
'Who is he?' He said.
'Erm..' there was a sound of rustling papers, 'a Mister Ralph Parenski.' He said. Skinner rubbed his forehead in thought.
'Well, Scully's not here right now. He can come and see me.'
'Are you sure Sir?'
'Yes. Send him up here please.' Skinner said and put the phone down.
She hurried through the hospital doors and up to the reception. The young woman was now an elderly man.
'I'm here to see Agent Mulder? Please?' She said desperately. The elderly man looked at her with a sorry look.
'All right darlin.' He said. Scully felt her heart sink.
'Is he all right?' She said feeling tears in her throat. She couldn't help it, she started to sob. The man cleared his throat.
'He's in the intensive care unit now Mam. I'll call down there and tell them you're here.' He said sympathetically. Scully nodded and took a deep breath. As the man dialled the number she turned away and leant against the desk. She lifted her head up and closed her eyes in sorrow. The sobs were heavy now and she didn't care who heard her. She couldn't believe it. People passed her and looked at her with pitiful faces. Scully held her head in her hands and felt so alone. She couldn't face life without Mulder, not now.
She jumped as the man was tapping on the glass behind her. She turned and faced him.
'They'll see you now, the doctor is coming up to get you dear.' He said. Scully nodded. The man smiled a little, 'He'll be all right love.' He said. Scully sobbed again and nodded a small thank you. She heard a voice behind her and turned to face Mulder's doctor. He stood in front of her with a very serious look on his face. Scully broke down again when she saw him.
'I'm so sorry Agent Scully.' He said. Scully nodded.
'Is he.. is he all right? Is it awful?' She said desperately. The doctor looked at her with concern.
'Come on, I think it would be better if you come with me and see him.' He said. Scully nodded and followed the doctor down the corridor and some stairs. They walked past a few doors and Scully felt so afraid of what she was going to see. She suddenly felt a rush of anger.
'Can't you just tell me? I'm a doctor you know!' She said loudly. The doctor looked at her with concern and Scully felt the tears come again. 'I'm sorry, I'm just really.. really...' She said quietly. The doctor nodded and they stopped outside Mulder's room.
'I know.' He said resting a friendly hand on her shoulder. Scully stared at the door.
'His head injuries have made his body less responsive.' The doctor said. Scully was suddenly horrified.
'He's in a coma!' She said. The doctor shook his head.
'No, we found it out before that happened. He's just very weak and needs a lot of rest. His body has been completely drained of what it needs for over a weak which has broken down his immune system. Some of his brain cells must have been destroyed from the blow to the head.' The doctor said. Scully shook her head in fear.
'He's not brain dead is he?' She said distraught.
'No, its not that bad. He's just a lot weaker. It's almost as if his body is refusing to work. It needs time to get back on track. He can't move his arms or legs at the moment and his brain is telling his body to shut off. It could be like a coma yes, but its not that serious. We caught it in time.' The doctor said. Scully couldn't help congratulating him.
'Has he been waking up at all?' She said softly. The doctor shook his head. Scully bit her lip and nodded. 'He's breathing on his own?'
'Yes. We don't need to give him any help. We just hope it stays this way. You know the risks agent Scully.' He said. Scully nodded.
'Mulder will come back.' She said quietly. The doctor smiled.
'I hope so.' He said. Scully sighed.
'I have so much work to do.' She said running a hand through her hair. The doctor smiled and walked away. Scully put her hand on the door handle. She thought about going in, about seeing Mulder in such a state, but realised it would be too much to handle. She brushed a tear away and forced herself to leave the building and get back to work. It was the only thing to get her mind off him.
Skinner sat in his office and was thought about his conversation with Mr Parenski. He was also smiling because something had happened which he couldn't wait to tell Scully about. He picked up his desk phone and dialled her number.
'Scully? How are you?' He said.
'I'm OK, I've just left the hospital and I'm making my way over.' She said. Skinner nodded.
'I have some great news for you Dana, it'll make you feel better.' He said. He heard the line crackle.
'Pardon?' She said, Skinner realised that she probably couldn't hear him.
'I said..'
'I can't hear you Sir, wait a minute I'm just coming into the building.' She said. Skinner held the phone away from his ear for a few minutes. 'Hello?' She said when she'd returned.
'I'll see you in my office right now Agent Scully.' He said.
'Oh.. yes Sir.' She said in a confused tone. Skinner put down the phone and smiled.
When Scully entered she looked tired and uncertain. Skinner smiled at her and told her to sit down. Scully sat and looked at him expectantly.
'What is this about?' She said slowly. Skinner learnt forward on his desk.
'They've found the smoking man.' Skinner said. Scully almost jumped out of her seat. She leant forward in amazement.
'Really?'
'Yes. They brought him in just about half an hour ago.'
'Well.. well where is he?' She said excitedly. Skinner shrugged.
'Somewhere downstairs in custody.' He said. Scully smiled and felt happy tears sting her eyes.
'This is so good.' She said shaking her head. 'I have to tell Mulder. When is being questioned?'
'I don't know, soon.' Skinner said. 'How was erm.. how was Mulder by the way?' He said, now serious and sombre. Scully forced a brave smile.
'I didn't go in and see him. I didn't want to see him.' She said. Skinner looked at her and was silent for a moment.
'I understand.' He said. Scully nodded.
'I don't want to get all upset again. I'll wait until he asks for me. He needs his rest anyway.'
'Yes.' Skinner said. It suddenly felt very awkward in the room. Scully forced away her sad feelings and stood up. She smiled and Skinner did too.
'Well, could you tell me when he is being questioned?' She said brightly. Skinner nodded.
'I'll try.'
'Thank you Sir.' She said, and walked towards the door.
'Oh wait..' Skinner said as she reached the door. Scully turned round. 'I held a meeting for you today, a man came looking for you his name was Mr Parenski.'
Scully looked at him with surprise. 'Mr Parenski?' She said confused. She tried to remember.. 'The man from Seattle?' She said more confidently. Skinner nodded. Scully smiled awkwardly. 'I'm sorry you had to do that Sir that was my fault I wasn't here..'
'It's fine Scully I know exactly where you were. I've written some notes down and may be you could start work on the case straight away?' Skinner said. Scully raised her eyebrows.
'I'm allowed to work on a case?' She said slowly. Skinner paused for a moment.
'I forgot you weren't allowed to.' He said. 'Well, seeing as I'm in charge of you, I'll let you have a look at it.'
'Thank you Sir.' Scully said with a smile. Skinner nodded and she left the room. She walked past Shelley and through the corridor. She made her way to the elevator and with a hopeful spirit she pressed the number for the basement. She was going down to her office at last.
Later that day as Scully was leaving to go home she arranged a meeting with Mr Parenski for the next day so that she could speak to him properly. She'd made a good attempt at the case but she felt so strange doing it without Mulder. She picked up her briefcase and turned the light off as she exited the room. Her mobile rang in her pocket.
'Hello?' She said, uncertain who it could be.
'Hello pretty red head.'
Scully froze. The voice was not familiar.
'Who are you?'
'Who says that I'm going to tell you?'
Scully shivered. The voice was low and threatening. It was also unnervingly flirtation, in a slimy way.
'You'd better tell me or you can hang up your phone.'
'I don't want to hang up Agent Scully.'
Scully felt her heart thump in her chest.
'Who the hell do you work for then?' She said, fear rising in her voice.
'Me? Well, wouldn't you like to know. I can see you pretty one.' The voice said. Scully gasped in fear and swung round to see if anyone was near her. She was suddenly terrified. She fumbled for her light switch and when she found it the room exploded into light. She blinked in fear.
'Who and where the hell are you!' She shouted.
'Aww don't turn the light on, you'll ruin the romance.'
'Shut up.' She said. She was beginning to feel sick from his manner. 'What do you want.'
'I want to meet you.'
'No chance.'
'Meet me in the FBI parking lot two days from now, at 11pm. I'll give you something that you're looking for.' He said. Scully took deep breaths and tried to think of something that she was looking for.
'I'm not looking for anything thank you very much.' She said confidently. The man laughed.
'Yes you are. You're looking for the files you're missing.'
Scully's brain kicked into gear. It had been so long ago that she'd forgotten. She almost kicked herself for forgetting it, Mulder never would have. One of the files the smoking man had taken had been the one on Mulder's sister. Scully sighed.
'So you do work for cancer man then.' She said. The man laughed again.
'Quite possibly.'
'Then I'm not going to meet you.' She said firmly. The man sighed.
'Well, you won't get the files back..'
'I don't care. I'm not risking it.'
'What would you be risking sweetie?'
'Shut up and go away.' She said, tears brimming her eyes. She put the phone down quickly.