A/N: SO super sorry about the long wait for the update! I've been a very busy aunt/free nanny to FOUR boys! Ages 10 months to 10 years.
The story is almost over! I can't believe it! I feel like I just started! I want to thank those of you who have stuck with me through this crazy story! When this is over I'll finally be able to finish my other story as well. So sad.
Scully heard a car door close and got ready to pounce as soon as Vance walked back through that kitchen door. She pushed herself against the wall, trying her best to stay hidden behind the open door. She heard the storm door swing open. She gripped the knife so hard that it was almost painful, but she was afraid that her drugged state would make the knife slip from her hand.
Vance came into view. Scully mustered all of her strong and lunged at him. He moved at the last moment, resulting in her only slashing the side of his neck instead of stabbing him. When she realized what happened it was too late. She feel herself being lifted into the air, and the next thing she felt was her small body crashing against the wall. Somehow she still held tightly to the knife.
"Dana, that was a very stupid mistake. I was going to kill him painlessly. But now I think that he should be forced to watch while we make love, and then I will slowly bleed him dry."
None of that sounded like much fun to her. Scully decided that either he or she would not be leaving in that van. She slowly pushed herself back to her feet and stood up.
Vance had an amused look on his face. "You think that you can fight me?" he asked, laughing at her.
Scully took a moment to look around. Nothing stood between her and the door to outside. She saw her escape and went for it. She pushed the door open and ran out into the fresh air.
"Hel-" she tried to yell, but was quickly tackled from behind.
Vance turned her over to face him. He was smart enough to kneel between her legs. Any shots to the balls would be more difficult now.
"I know what it takes to break girls like you, Dana," he told her calmly.
She quickly reached up and pressed the knife to his throat. Just as quickly, however, he backhanded her across the face. He grabbed the knife out of her hand and threw it across the backyard. Scully tried to scramble backwards, out from under him, but he grabbed her throat and held her in place. Her hands searched the ground for something, like a rock, to use as a weapon. No luck there. Then basic self-defense training came back to her. She punched him hard and upward in the nose and drove her knuckles into his throat. At the very least, the attack shocked him enough to let go. However, the choking noise he made and the blood flowing from his nose let her know that she had, in fact, injured him.
Scully quickly scooted away, pushed herself up, and headed for the van. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She looked around, grabbed a football-sized rock, and smashed in the window.
"Mulder!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath and wake him at the same time.
She reached through the window, unlocked the door, and pulled it open. She climbed inside and hovered over him.
"Mulder! Wake up!"
Her eyes darted around the yard. Vance had disappeared.
"Fuck fuck fuck..." she muttered to herself, climbing back out of the van.
She dropped to her hands and knees to look under the van. No Vance. She stood back up and spun a small circle. No Vance. Where the fuck is he?
"Mulder!" She kicked him in the leg. No response.
Scully was thankful that her adrenaline was keeping her conscious. As each minute passed, however, it was getting more difficult to will herself to stay awake. Again, she thought that Vance was hiding somewhere and waiting for her to pass out. She knew that she had to find him before that happened.
She spotted Mulder's gun in the van next to him. Stupid Vance... she thought. She grabbed the gun and peaked around the van. She headed towards the house. If anything, she could at least call the sheriff to tell him who their murderer was and to ask for back-up.
As she got closer to the house, Vance came back out of the backdoor. He was carrying a shotgun. Scully aimed her gun and fired. Click. She fired again. Click. She looked at the gun, panicked and confused.
"No bullets, sweetie. Did you really think that I was that stupid?"
Scully backed away as Vance walked slowly towards her.
"Now, where were we? Oh, that's right, you were misbehaving. Now, Dana, I suggest that you start doing as I ask or I will blow his brains all over the inside of that van. Got it?" he said, his entire speech in an eerily calm voice.
Scully nodded, but her mind was searching for a way out.
"What do you want me to do?" she heard herself ask.
"Very good," he told her. "I would like for you to walk over to the van and close the door."
She did as she was told. Before she could close the door, however, she noticed that something was missing. Mulder. He had disappeared from the van. She quickly slammed the door shut before Vance could see inside the van for himself.
"Now move around to the passenger side and get in."
Scully kept doing as she was told, but her eyes scanned the yard for Mulder. She tried hard to contain her happiness and nerves. She knew that he was lurking around somewhere, waiting to attack. She just hoped that neither of them would get shot in the process.
***
Mulder regained consciousness in time to see Vance come back outside with a shotgun and Scully pointing a gun of her own at him. He quietly and quickly rolled out of the van and crept to the side of the house. He went back around to the front of the house and went back inside. He went straight to the phone and called the sheriff. He definitely needed back up.
The sheriff was shocked, but he agreed to come out with his men and an ambulance. Mulder told him to hurry and quickly hung up. Next he needed to find a weapon. His gun was missing. Eventually, after only a few seconds of a hurried search, he chose a baseball bat and a knife.
Mulder exited through the front of the house and ran back down the side of the house. He peaked around the corner to scope out the scene. Vance had Scully up against the passenger side of the van. Vance was telling her something. He wondered why Scully hadn't shot him. He figured that there was something wrong with the gun.
He kept low to the ground and crept towards them. Vance had his back to him, and Mulder put a finger to his lips in case Scully spotted him. If she did see him, she was doing a good job of not breaking eye contact with Vance. If she had, it would have given away Mulder's plan to sneak up behind him.
Once Mulder was close enough, he stood to his full height and swung the bat as hard as he could at Vance. Scully ducked. Mulder had finally gotten lucky, the bat made contact with Vance's head, either knocking him unconscious or killing him. All Mulder cared about was that Vance's motionless body was on the ground at his feet.
"Are you okay?" he asked Scully.
She nodded, staring at him like he had risen from the dead.
They heard the sirens of the police cars and were able to relax a bit. It was finally over. Mulder took Scully's hand and pulled her away from the van and the body of Vance Malloy. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. He only let her go when he felt her wince in pain.
"Wanna go on a hot date with me to the hospital? I think I may have a very sexy concussion..." he said, giving her a small smile.
"Why not? I feel like our romantic relationship started in a hospital anyways. Might as well celebrate it," she said, returning his smile. "Maybe we can get put in the same room. I just may have a broken rib or two."
"We're a mess, aren't we?"
"Yep."
"I have a question, how are you still conscious? Weren't you roofied?" he asked as they walked toward the ambulance.
Scully shrugged. "I think that my adrenaline helped. And the fact that I didn't drink all of the tea; therefore, I didn't take the full dose that he intended for me. I still feel very tired and dizzy, but I'm too happy to have you back in the land of consciousness to give in to those feelings."
"I bet you that as soon as you lay down in that ambulance you'll be out like a light bulb."
"Most likely," she agreed.
Mulder helped her climb into the ambulance before pulling himself up and in as well. The paramedics tried to protest, but the look that Mulder gave them shut them up very quickly. There was no way in hell that either of them would allow themselves to be separated from the other. At this point, death would be the only thing that could separate them, and they had overcome that today already. Anything else, Mulder thought, bring it on!