Title: Struggling
Category: X-Files XRA
Author: Singing Violin (Pearl on Ephemeral/Gossamer)
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: The X-Files characters and universe are not mine.
Summary: What happens after the screen goes black in "My Struggle II"?
Archiving: Anywhere, just let me know.
When she awoke again, Scully was groggy, but as Spender had promised, did feel slightly better, although this was in part because of the more comfortable accommodations: she found herself in a large, soft bed, with blankets pulled over her and fluffed pillows under her head.
In the back of her mind nagged the feeling that there was somewhere else she needed to be, something she needed to be doing.
Mulder. He needs my help.
The last thing she remembered, her partner was dying in the car, stranded on the highway bridge in stopped traffic, and something—a spaceship?—was hovering overhead, shining a light down on her. She'd looked into the light and then...
Nothing.
Cut to her brief period of lucidity in horrendous conditions sometime prior.
And now, the comfort of a bedroom?
It didn't make any sense.
And where was Mulder?
"Dana?" queried a familiar, warm, comforting voice. "Are you awake?"
Scully blinked furiously. It couldn't be.
The older woman walked over and took her hand. "How are you feeling?" she asked worriedly. "You gave us all a scare."
Shock registered on the younger woman's face, and tears sprang once again to her eyes. "Mom?"
Then she shook her head. "No, you're not here. You're dead."
Maggie chuckled. "Of course I'm not dead, Honey. I'm right here."
"Mom...no...you had a heart attack. You changed your living will, without telling me! And they took you off life support...and we sat with you, Mulder and I, just a little while, and...why am I telling you this? You're not real. I need to get back." She attempted to get out of the bed, but her mother's hand on her chest stopped her from rising even as a wave of dizziness overtook her.
Mrs. Scully frowned. "I don't know what to tell you, Dana. I'm real. We're both right here."
"Both? You and...?" Scully prompted, not daring to guess who else might be present.
"The man who saved my life," Margaret explained. "And yours."
"Mulder?" she asked hopefully.
Her mother shook her head sadly. "Fox is dead, Sweetheart. Has been for quite some time."
She shook her head vigorously. "No," she argued. "That's not possible. I was just with him! The world was ending, and he was sick...everyone was sick...this must be some sort of hallucination." She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep, shuddering breath. "God."
When she opened her eyes again, her mother was still there. "Oh, honey. What can I do to help?"
Scully steeled herself, desperately trying to figure out a way out, and summon the courage to do what it took to execute such a plan. She instantly decided upon the first step.
"I want to see him," she told Maggie. "The...man who saved our lives."
Mrs. Scully nodded. "He's looking forward to speaking with you."