Sorry for the late update- please review and let me know what you think! J
Scully awoke to the sound of trees rustling in the wind and a cool breeze that fluttered across her face. Her eyes were just beginning to open, and she felt a small twinge in the crook of her elbow. She slowly opened her eyes completely and realized that she was in some type of room in a log cabin.
Scully went to sit up but immediately put her head back down as she felt a wave of dizziness overcome her. She took it slowly, inching herself up as she took in her surroundings.
As Scully sat up, she looked around the room. The source of her pain was now evident; she saw a bag full of IV fluids hooked up to her arm. She examined the cord in which was connected to her; whoever had set up the IV had very little, if any, experience in medicine. Whenever Scully had had blood drawn, the phlebotomists had always said how she had great veins (probably due to her fair Irish skin and visible blood vessels). Whoever had played doctor on her most likely didn't have any more experience than an eight-year old playing Operation.
As Scully sat up straighter, she felt a sharp pain just under her ribcage. Suddenly, she remembered…she had been cut. She gently lifted up her hospital gown to reveal her bandaged abdomen. Against her better judgment, she pulled back the bandage and looked at the puncture mark. As she peeled back the dressing, she was surprised to find that the wound itself had crusted over and the area around the wound was a light pink. She was healing.
Surveying the rest of the room, she noticed that on the nightstand next to her was an opened and half eaten bag of sunflower seeds, a sports magazine, and a pitcher of water. Mulder, thought Scully, as she attempted to get out of bed.
As Scully shifted herself to the side of the bed, the door opened and in walked a familiar face.
"Frohike?" Scully said, confused.
"Scully!" Frohike exclaimed, holding a half empty bottle of alcohol. "I didn't realize you was awake, I'll go grab Mildred!"
Mildred…Scully thought. I wonder how much he's had to drink.
Though her head was pounding, Scully's mouth felt incredibly dry and dehydrated. She reached over to the pitcher of water, accidentally knocking it over when the cord from her IV snagged the side of it.
Dammit. She thought, as she bent over to clean up the mess, when a searing pain in her abdomen caught her. She knelt to the floor, when she felt a familiar pair of arms steady her.
"Easy, Scully, easy. You don't want to open your wound." Mulder said, continuing to stabilize her.
"Mulder!" Scully said. "Mulder, where are we? How did I get here?"
"Well…you've been unconscious for about 50 hours. We're in Virginia-the mountains, no one can find us here. I was starting to get worried, but Dr. Evans said…"
"Who's Dr. Evans?" Scully asked.
"Um, well, we went to see him after we left the compound. He's the one that gave me the IVs." Mulder explained.
"A doctor set up this IV?" Scully asked, as she looked at her bruised and beat up arm.
"Well, not exactly. He gave them to me and I hooked you up to them." Mulder said, looking away and running his hand through his hair.
That made much more sense. No wonder Scully's arm looked like it had been tie-dyed purple.
"But anyways, Scully, let's get you up." Mulder said, lifting Scully carefully back onto the bed.
"Mulder, what happened to the doctor?" Scully asked.
"He got shot. He's dead."
"Wait, what? Mulder, what the hell is…"
"Scully, I'm sorry, I'll explain everything in a bit, but, this was the only place where we could go. They're after us."
Scully looked at Mulder quizzically as she attempted to untangle the mess of the IV from her arm. She finally got it loose when she realized she was wearing a sparse hospital gown, making her instantly self-conscious.
Mulder left the room and came back with a glass of water. Handing it to Scully, she downed it in less than a few minutes.
"Thanks, Mulder. The fluids definitely helped but my mouth was super dry." She said, handing him the glass.
"Maybe I should look at your wound-"
"I'm fine, Mulder. I'm a doctor, I can take care of it."
"But-"
"Mulder, I know I have no idea where we are, but is there a change of clothes I can change Into? And maybe a shower?"
"The door to the left," Mulder said. "Do you want something to eat first?"
"No, I'll be fine. I just want to get cleaned up."
Scully got to her feet, feeling wobbly at first, then walked to the bathroom. Mulder left a change of clothes on the bed and went out to the living quarters.
As Scully cleaned up, Mulder sat at the kitchen table with his head holding a set of radio earphones to his right ear. Byers sat opposite of him on a laptop, deep in thought. Langley wasn't there, but Frohike sat next to Mulder, making himself useful by taking a swig of aged Bourbon every few minutes.
"Did you tell her, Mulder?" Frohike slurred.
"Not yet," Mulder said, half ignoring his friend.
"Yuh shud prob's say shumthin before she geets mad," Frohike responded.
"Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" Byers asked Frohike, lifting his gaze from his computer.
"Donchu sink you habbent?" Frohike slurred back, waving the bottle at his cohort.
Mulder looked at Byers and then back at Frohike. "I'm afraid if I tell her, she's going to get impulsive and risk her life to-"
"Mulder?" Scully said. She stood in the doorway, hair still damp, wearing jeans and an oversized plaid flannel shirt, which obviously didn't belong to her.
"How ya feelin', Scully?" Mulder asked.
"Mulder, what's going on? Tell me what?" Scully walked forward, concerned.
"Scully-"
"Mulder, just tell me, please."
"The FBI thinks we're dead." Mulder said.
"What?" Scully exasperated. She took a seat next to Mulder, across from Frohike, who was now flirtatiously waving at her. Scully ignored him.
"Cancerman, the men who were chasing us…they followed us to the clinic. We got away, but they killed the doctor and his nurse. They killed her first and he helped us get to the car but then they shot him…he died."
Scully nodded her head, still looking confused. "Okay…but Mulder, that still doesn't…"
"They burned it down- the clinic. The news reported that it was our bodies that were found in there. As far as the FBI knows, we're dead."
"No, Mulder, you-we-I…we need to do something, we need to tell them we're alive!"
"We can't do that, Scully. These men have infiltrated the FBI, they know who we are, how to get to us….they're trying to say we're dead so that no one will come looking for us…they're doing this to draw us out."
"Mulder, we have got to do something. My mother thinks I'm dead; I can't do that to her, I can't! She lost my sister not six months ago, she can't handle this!" Scully said, quickly rising from the table.
Scully had almost forgotten about her wound when she felt the sharp pain and gripped her side tightly. Mulder rose, lightly grabbed her arm and helped her back to her seat.
"Scully, I know exactly how you feel. But, if you go back there, you're putting her life at risk as well as your own."
"Mulder, my mom…she can't handle this." Scully said, turning her head to avoid being seen crying.
"Maybe we can tell her without telling her." A voice came from behind Mulder and Scully.
Mulder and Scully turned around to see Langley standing behind them.
"What do you mean?" Scully asked, stifling her tears.
"What's something that means a lot to both you and your mother?" Byers chipped in.
Scully thought for a moment, before reaching behind her neck and unclasping her little gold cross that hung around her neck. She held it for a moment and handed it to Langley.
"Tell her…tell her that I'm sorry I opened it early that Christmas morning. I wish I had waited for it to be a surprise."
Langley nodded. "We'll deliver the flowers to your…uh…funeral. We'll get the message to her."
Byers looked at Mulder. "Mulder, what about-"
"No," Mulder said. "If you go to my mother, it will be too suspicious. Get the message to Scully's mom. Hopefully this will be over with soon."
Scully looked at Mulder with concern. "Mulder-you just said that we can't go back…that they're looking for us…how are we going to get back soon?"
"Because I have something they need." Mulder said.
"What?" Scully asked.
"I know where Alex Krycek is."