Going Home

As the plane neared the American embassy base Mulder looked out to see the doctors who were coming out of the building out of the window. They looked up to see the plane approach and Mulder admired their loyalty. Looking down to the surroundings he felt safer and more reassured however he just hoped that Scully would be all right.

'It's a code blue people she's crashing!' Lucef shouted suddenly and Mulder frowned in confusion to see the doctors rush towards Scully and him and one of them pulled him out of the way. The sound of the beeping of the life monitor made Mulder look up in a start and he looked down to Scully who was now moving violently in stroke like movements and was groaning in pain and frowning as if having a bad nightmare. Mulder opened his eyes wide with shock and gasped as he felt his worry for Scully take over him and he shouted out to the doctors.

'What's happening!' He shouted desperately over the confusion.

'Sir, we're going to land. You need to be seated and secure!' One of the Agent said to him and pulled him down next to him and fastened his seat belt. Mulder looked at him sadly and frowned with sorry.

'But… Scully…' Mulder said hopelessly. The Agent shook his head and sighed.

'Just let the doctors do their job.' He said softly and turned away from Mulder. The plane started to dip and the descent took place. Mulder frowned in concern and put a hand over his eyes in exasperation and annoyance and sighed deeply, picturing in his head the Russian government and their part in this. Mulder was sure that it had something to do with the government as it was basically a military base. Mulder thought back to the contact to who had told him about the case in the first place and thought about his apartment again and longed to be back there. But he couldn't help imagining that the whole case would be covered up. It had happened way too many times. Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he frowned in surprise and looked at Scully's body. He knew that the answer was inside her. She had idiolatic solution inside of her…

'EXCUSE ME!' Agent Lucef said as the place touched ground and the huge metal door unfolded onto the runway with a loud rumble. Four other agents grabbed Scully's stretcher and moved her out as quickly as possible. Mulder knew that he wanted to help but he also knew that he would be useless. This was one of the situations where he needed to sit back and let the doctors work, however he would need to get them to keep some of the solution for him so that Scully could study it when she was better. Mulder sat back in the plane and let the rush of agents leave the plane and then reached for his own seatbelt and unlatched it. He turned to see the rest of the Agents look to him and they joined him off the plane.

As he left the plane he walked across the runway and to the building, the cold air hitting him again with great fierceness. Mulder still didn't understand properly. This still needed to be investigated. He turned to one of the Agents in charge who wore various colours and medals on his suit.

'Excuse me. Will the site be investigated?' Mulder asked again, he needed to make sure. The chief looked at him with a serious expression and didn't answer but turned back to face the direction he was travelling. Mulder frowned with anger at the rude reaction and moved towards him more. 'Look Sir, I don't mean to sound rude I just need to know if there will be an investigation?' He said eagerly and the officer sighed and carried on walking. Mulder sensed that something wasn't right and looked around him again to see who else was there. However; to his shock and horror, there was hardly anyone. All of the agents who had been with him were now... gone.

Mulder suddenly stopped walking and felt as if time started to slow down and he felt as if he was the only person there. He frowned in confusion and slowly turned to see if the American agents were around him. Mulder puffed out long cold breaths which looked like smoke in the air and felt as if the world was spinning around him. He opened his eyes wide and looked back to the plane. As if he were seeing the plane for the first time, he felt his eyes blink slowly and to his horror… he saw the Agents lying on their backs and in unnatural positions and blood spilled from their clothes. Mulder took a huge gasp of shock and felt his heart skip a beat and then when he realised that this had been a disaster from the pick up, he turned to the man he had been asking but as he turned to found himself face to face with the barrel of a rifle which was aimed between his eyes.

Mulder gasped in horror and closed his eyes in surrender. He put up his hands in defence and shaking, he feel to his knees on the floor. He felt anger burn inside him but there was nothing he could do. He put his good hand behind his head and bit his lower lip in sadness and waited to die.

Suddenly from the right of him he heard footsteps and shouting and then massive gun fire. Mulder opened his eyes quickly to see a mass of men in protective clothing shooting and shouting at each other. He opened his mouth in shock and put his hand up in surrender and confusion. As explosions started to go off he found himself caught up in large amounts of smoke and he felt weak in the chest. Mulder coughed and spluttered and just as he remembered in panic that Scully was no where to be seen, he fell to the ground as his body gave into the intoxication of the smoke and other explosion went off, much nearer this time.

Mulder came round and blinked open his eyes slowly. He frowned in confusion as he remembered the guns going off in his ears and the explosions. He sighed and felt how heavy his chest was and started to cough. Mulder leant up and felt the covers fall from his bare chest. He leant over and coughed heavily and frowned in confusion as he slowly realised that he was in a bed and that the fighting had stopped. He was somewhere completely different.

Mulder slowly raised his eyes to his surroundings and blinked as the room swayed into focus and he shook his head slowly in disbelief as he finally realised where he was. Mulder recognised the room instantly and felt very much at home... he was in his bedroom in his apartment.

He threw off the covers and realised he was in his boxer shorts. Mulder felt his chest cease up again and leant over and rested his hand on the bedside table and leant over in heavy chesty coughs. 'What the hell happened?' Mulder thought to himself while leaning over. As he coughed he felt someone enter the room and he turned to see the feet of what looked like a woman. Mulder sighed and saw that she was wearing silk pyjamas and he frowned in surprise as to his amazement, he realised that it was Scully.

Mulder raised his eyes to where she stood at his bedroom door with a beautiful but tired expression on her face and with a slight smile of what looked like relief. Mulder opened his mouth with shock and relief as he realised that Scully was all right. He slowly got to his feet and Scully held a cup of coffee out to him and took a concerned step towards him. She reached out her arm and Mulder felt himself get ushered back into bed and he frowned in complete and utter amazement at her recovery and her concern for him. He felt as if he were in a dream as Scully's soft hair fell over her eyes and she put the coffee on the bedside table next to a glass of water that was there waiting for him. She moved to the bed and sat down by his side. She put a hand on his chest and picked up the glass of water. Mulder couldn't find the words to speak. Scully broke the silence for him as she looked into his confused eyes.

'How do you feel?' She asked softly and forced a small smile. Mulder opened his mouth to speak but he felt it get dry with air and he felt his chest tighten again. Scully's newly manicured nails tickled his chest unintentionally as she moved her hand towards his upper chest as if a gesture to calm his lungs. She frowned with concern and looked down at him with doctor's eyes. Mulder let out a small cough and Scully put an arm around his shoulders and pulled his pillow up to keep him upright and Mulder took the glass of water that she offered. He nodded and sighed heavily as he moved the glass to his lips and took a big swig. Scully noticed this and took hold of his wrist quickly.

'Mulder, don't drink too fast!' She said quickly and Mulder reacted by pulling the glass of water away. He looked at her with confused eyes and she seemed to collapse with worry. 'I know you're thirsty but you haven't had anything to drink like this for days, so don't force it down.' She said softly and then helped him sip the water.

When Mulder had had enough Scully took the glass from his hands and put it down on the bedside table. Mulder saw that her eyes were glistening with soft tears as she looked into his confused face. Scully bit her lower lip and stroked the side of Mulder's cheek. He felt safe at her touch.

'Mulder, I can only imagine how confused you must be feeling at this moment.' She said in a low voice which seemed to wobble with tears. Mulder closed his eyes and took a long deep breath. Scully took his hand and caressed it softly. Mulder opened his mouth to speak again but found that he couldn't. He looked at Scully with frustration and she blinked a tear away. 'Mulder… you've been slipping in and out of consciousness for nearly a whole week. I got out of hospital two days ago, I made a speedy recovery as I had extra strength. They managed to get all of the solution out of me slow enough to make sure that it wasn't critical. I can only recall what happened when we arrived at the American embassy… it's like a blur to me.' She said, her voice cracking and she lowered her head. Scully felt Mulder squeeze her hand and she sighed and raised her eyes to his again and carried on; 'You were outside when our back up came in and ambushed the Russian fleet. Somehow the Russians had taken control of the situation when we landed, and everyone except Agent Lucef and some others were killed. I was in critical condition at this point and they managed to keep me safe in the back room of the embassy and we hid there for a few hours until the fighting had stopped.' She said seriously.

Mulder frowned with surprise. 'Mulder, I owe them my life.' She said softly and shifted her weight on the bed and sighed. 'Anyway, after that the American agents got us out of there after finding you still alive. Lucef said that they were sure you were dead; however they didn't give up looking for you. You had fallen unconscious after major smoke inhalation which has severely damaged your lungs and poisoned your blood flow.' Scully said with concern and Mulder closed his eyes in amazement. Scully paused for a second and took his hand in the other hand too and held it close to her tenderly. Mulder looked back at her and she blinked another tear away.

'This is why you're finding it very difficult to breathe and speak. Your lungs have been damaged, but you'll be all right soon. You need a lot of rest and you need to take it easy. This can only heal itself.' She said softly and Mulder seemed to sigh in relief. She nodded and looked down at her dressing gown. 'I've been here since yesterday after noon to make sure I was here when you woke up. I've been resting too and I think I'm a lot better. I still can't believe myself at how quickly I recovered from two gun shots, however… that Idiolatic solution…' Scully gushed in amazement, 'Mulder I've managed to keep some of the solution and I'm going to get it analysed so we can find out just what this substance is made of.' She said to him and looked into his eyes. Mulder nodded in relief and she could see that he was happy they had kept some evidence. 'I know that what you'd like to hear is that the military base has been investigated but…' She said with difficulty and didn't meet Mulder's eyes, 'It was burned to the ground, leaving no traces.' Scully said in a low and disappointed voice and she squeezed Mulder's hand in sadness as if trying to apologise. She sighed heavily as she turned to see how disappointed he looked. Scully blinked a tear away from her eyes and then wiped them away and they stayed still for a moment in disappointment. Mulder shifted in the bed to break the silence and sighed and she felt him caress her arm affectionately. Scully looked at him and smiled a sleepy smile and looked at him with concerned eyes. She pulled his hand to her chin and then kissed it softly.

'At least we're still OK. I'm so glad you're all right Mulder.' She said tenderly and felt her heart well up inside of her. She moved over to the other side of the bed slowly and felt Mulder's eyes on her. Without feeling any discomfort, she slipped under the covers and lay down next to him. Mulder slowly turned to her and let out a controlled breath and he looked at her beautiful eyes and face. Mulder was processing everything she had told her, but at the moment he was just thankful that she was there with him. He felt a surge of emotion take over him as he was so happy that she was all right and still alive. He felt her take his arm and then cuddle up to it sleepily. Mulder enjoyed her warmth on his body and he closed his eyes as Scully rested her head by his shoulder and closed her eyes. They drifted off into a peaceful sleep of exhaustion.

Mulder awoke with a start as the alarm clock next to him went off loudly in his ear. He frowned and looked across at his bedside table and felt that his chest was going to explode. He grit his teeth and sat upright to try and get some air into his lungs and he put one hand on his chest which was now covered with a t-shirt. He frowned with confusion and looked across to see Scully turned away from him and faced the other side of the room with her head tucked up and she lay sleeping. Mulder let out a small smile at her sleeping figure and felt a twitch of cheekiness when he realised that she had put a t-shirt on him and undressed him. Mulder looked at the alarm clock and felt the air enter his lungs willingly. He tried to figure out what day of the week it was and why his alarm clock was going off at 1pm. Suddenly Scully jumped out of her sleep and moved violently taking most of the covers off Mulder. Mulder frowned in surprise and looked down at his boxer shorts while Scully looked up at him with surprise. Mulder saw how her hair was going all over her face and he let out a small laugh but it quickly turned into a cough. As he tapped the alarm clock off he frowned in pain as the coughing got worse. Scully quickly grabbed the glass of water on the bedside table as if on auto pilot and sat up next to Mulder and put a caring arm around his shoulder.

'You're awake!' She said in a bright voice and helped Mulder drink the water and he tried to force it down again. 'Slowly… Mulder!' She said with a motherly tone. She sighed in an almost angry way. 'All right that's enough for now.' She said taking the water away from Mulder quickly and Mulder frowned to see it go and let out few more hacking coughs. Scully's forceful tone turned sympathetic again and she rushed to move his pillows upright against the back of the bed and carefully helped him lay back down against them in a sitting position. Mulder sighed heavily and let out a last cough. Scully got out from underneath the covers and walked to the door.

'Scully?' Mulder asked in a rasping voice as she left the room without speaking. Mulder frowned in confusion and sighed heavily, feeling the air fill his lungs like cool soothing lotion. 'Scully?' He called again painfully from the room and Scully seemed to react this time and came rushing back with a frown on her face and a pointing finger.

'Mulder! There's no need to raise your voice like that it'll make it worse!' She said angrily then turned away from him and went back into the apartment. Mulder let out a small laugh of disbelief at Scully's motherly reaction to his actions. He put his head back and tried to relax, thankful of her caring nature for him. But something seemed a little serious about all of this. Scully seemed to be on autopilot and also she seemed to be very strict which was never a good sign.

After a few minutes Scully returned with a cup of coffee for her and what seemed to be tablets for him. She moved to her side of the bed again and put the hot coffee down. She then went over the Mulder's side and sat down on his bed. As if relaxing from her outburst of action, she closed her eyes for a moment and let out a deep sigh. When she opened her eyes again they seemed caring and concerned again and Mulder felt his heart ring out to her at that moment and he reached for her hand.

'Scully, what's happening?' He asked softly in a weak voice. Scully's face suddenly seemed to change completely into a sad expression and Mulder could swear that he could see tears stinging her eyes. He frowned in surprise at her reaction. 'What?' He asked. Scully lowered her head slightly.

'Mulder.. you've been ill for a lot longer than we anticipated.' She said slowly and Mulder looked at her confused.

'Who's we?'

'Me and your doctors.' She said quietly and raised her eyes to his again and Mulder saw her blink away a tear. He felt his heart soar with concern for her and adoration.

'Scully…' He started in a sad voice but she shook her head and continued.

'Mulder, you've been under my treatment and Doctor Fessen's for a long time.' She said with a difficult tone. Mulder's head turned in surprise to the door to see a man enter the room with concerned eyes and a kind face. However, Mulder found his unknown presence unnerving and Scully felt this.

Feeling pressure on his hand Scully moved a little further towards him and frowned with concern and worry. 'Mulder, it's all right he's been treating you since you came back from Russia.' She said softly and Mulder kept his eyes on the man who stood awkwardly at his door. 'He's a good doctor Mulder.' She said, trying to convince her friend that he was in safe hands. Mulder flinched as the doctor walked towards him slowly.

'Good afternoon Mr Mulder.' Fessen said in an embarrassing tone, obviously concerned with the awkward nature of his obvious intrusion in the friendship and trust shown between the two people in front of him. Fessen's head ran around in circles with medical solutions and ideas and he frowned with concern and worry. This man was in trouble and he didn't know how to say it, or let him have his trust. He looked at Dr Scully's expression which seemed apologetic and he turned to leave the room and went back into Mr Mulder's dark lounge and stood by the fish.

Scully sighed and left Mulder's apartment as quickly as she could to stop the tears flowing heavily in front of her friend. She threw her long black coat over her shoulders and tried to take her mind away from the memories of what had just occurred in Mulder's apartment. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she closed the door behind he and went out into the cold air and the familiar apartment corridor she knew so well. Leaving Mulder with Fessen was possibly the most cruel thing she could have done to him at that point after learning that he was more ill than he had ever imagined before, however she couldn't face seeing him and she believed that her presence there would have made him more concerned as she was close to shedding tears and confidence.

Scully sniffed away a heavy group of tears that fell across her cheeks and she felt her lips tremble with sadness as she imagined life without Mulder…

'No…' Scully said under her breath and fell over to clutch her stomach as she felt a huge surge of emotion hit her and she had to rest her arm on elevator door to stop her from falling. She closed her eyes and felt her head spinning as she realised that the thought and worry was driving her mad.

'Three weeks.' Scully whispered under her breath as she heard the sound of the elevator bell ring loudly in her ears.

Three weeks had been the time that Mulder had been in and out of consciousness. To him however, when he had just woken up he must have thought that he had only been asleep for one night. Scully remembered back to the day he had first woken up and what he had said to her, how confused he had been. She sighed heavily and walked into the open elevator slowly. She tried to keep calm but it was so hard. With one look at the buttons on the wall of the elevator she felt herself start to feel sick and to her horror she retched and felt tears fall from her eyes as she imagined life without Mulder and how it would affect her. The reality of this horrific situation was setting in dramatically…