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.
Author's Note: I am so sorry about the extreme delay continuing this. But now I've got a deadline (the release of S11...yay!) so I'm motivated to finish more quickly.
Cancer Man stood alone, on the other side of the room, holding the baby, rocking it gently and murmuring to it quietly. Scully couldn't make out the words.
She took a few steps towards them, and the elderly man raised his eyes to meet hers. "Agent Scully, would you like to hold the baby?"
She gulped and nodded.
He laughed. "In time, perhaps," he responded. "But not today."
She swallowed her ire, having learned to anticipate this sort of derision from Spender. "Whose baby is it?" she asked, dread rising within her chest.
"Mine," Cancer Man replied easily. "I created her. With your help of course. And Mulder's. Not that you knew."
Scully blinked and took a step backwards. "She's mine?"
"No, Dana." Scully suppressed a flinch at the use of her first name. "I told you, she's mine. I chose to bring her into existence, and I knew you would approve of the reason."
"And what reason is that?" Scully retorted, curiosity and anger warring within her.
"To save lives, of course. It's the only thing I've ever wanted, and I know you want it too." Spender replied smugly.
"And how is she going to save lives?" Scully asked dubiously.
"Scully!" she heard. The voice was urgent, pleading, and unmistakably that of her former FBI partner.
She automatically turned towards the sound, and saw Mulder in the distance, looking panicked. Torn, she looked back to where Cancer Man had been standing with the baby, but they had disappeared.
She walked towards Mulder, who looked no less upset as she approached.
"You need to wake up," he called to her.
She blinked and momentarily halted in her tracks. "What?"
"Wake up, Scully!" he insisted, and moved towards her, then placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently.
She blinked again, and suddenly she was lying on the floor of the public library, though she didn't remember how she'd gotten there. She looked up, and the concerned face of Fox Mulder swam into view. Scully surmised that she had fainted.
"I'm fine," she insisted reflexively, then attempted to rise, but was met with a hand on her chest.
"Whoa, Scully, take it easy," he insisted, then held out a hand, which she reluctantly took as he pulled her into a sitting position, then reached his own hand around her to support her back and began rubbing light circles on it.
A wave of dizziness overtook her and she reached out to steady herself against his chest. All of a sudden, she realized she was going to be sick, and was surprised to find a trash can in front of her just in time.
"Yeah, you're fine," Mulder mocked darkly as he placed the waste basket aside after she was done.
"I'm sorry," she told him, looking around to see if she'd attracted any unwanted attention. She was surprised to find them still completely alone in the large room, and wondered why the library was unpopulated at this hour—had the plague targeted the educated, or in the time she'd been missing, had libraries fallen completely out of fashion in favor of personal electronic devices, or had Mulder done something to make sure they got a private space? She looked back at her erstwhile partner, who seemed about ready to jump out of his skin. "I don't know what's wrong," she admitted, "but I think I'm okay now."
"I want to take you to the hospital," he admitted. "If the best doctor I know doesn't know what's wrong..."
"Then the doctors in the hospital aren't going to be able to figure it out either," Scully supplied for him. "Especially when they have dubious loyalties." She paused as his eyes widened at her immediate jump towards paranoia; that had always been primarily his domain. "Although..." Her voice trailed off.
He eyed her curiously. "What is it, Scully?"
"I'll go to the hospital, as long as it's my hospital, and not the ER. I think I might still be able to call in some favors."
Mulder nodded in agreement.
"Do you think you can walk?"
"I think I'm completely fine," she reiterated, earning her a disapproving stare. Feeling like she needed to explain herself, she added, "Lots of common and benign conditions can cause fainting spells." Like pregnancy, she thought silently, remembering the last time she'd experienced similar symptoms, and wondering if he was recalling the same events. "But there's something...I have some questions I'd like to get answered."
Obviously displeased at the vagueness of her reply, but not daring to question her further, most likely due to years of experience angering her or being shut out after doing similarly, Mulder rose to his feet and then reached out an arm to help her to a standing position.
Their purpose for visiting the library temporarily forgotten, they headed out and to the car, and although he stayed close, protectively keeping his hand on the small of her back—as had once been his custom, but which he'd mostly neglected since she'd moved out of the house they'd shared—she managed to walk the whole way unaided. As she settled into the passenger seat, she breathed a sigh of relief that her body had not betrayed her assertion of general health. She contemplated for a moment whether they should stop for food, since simple low blood sugar could have been the trigger for her episode, but she found no appetite as her stomach flip-flopped with anxiety about what she might find during her examination.
The ride seemed to last an eternity, but when they finally arrived at Our Lady of Sorrows, she was relieved to find that the desk staff on duty were all new enough that they did not recognize her, but that her friend, Nurse Sandeep, was not only still on staff, but currently working her shift. Mulder looked on with muted amazement as Scully spouted what must have seemed to him like medical technobabble in order to obtain a meeting alone with the nurse, who seemed much less surprised than she should have been to find that Scully was in fact alive and well. Apparently news of her demise had not spread widely, at least among her former colleagues at the hospital. They must have thought she'd just disappeared back into the world of the FBI and had no need for their medical services, or had obtained them elsewhere.
Mulder expressed a desire to attend the meeting, but Scully insisted he wait outside, and again, he gave her a disapproving look, but did not press further, knowing that arguing would be useless. He had no reason to suspect she would be unsafe here, and it was no longer his right to demand satisfaction of his curiosity regarding her personal matters.
Nearly two hours elapsed before she returned to the waiting area and bade leave of Sandeep with a light hug. He put down the magazine he'd been flipping through—she wondered how many he'd gone through, or if he'd actually read any of them—and looked up expectantly at her, but did not speak.
Scully eyed him in silence for several moments before finally telling him, "I found something."
His eyes implored her to continue, even as impending panic spread over his countenance.
"I'm not sure how to explain it, and I definitely don't want to do it here."
He nodded. "We can go back to the hotel," he offered. "But, are you okay?"
She nodded uncertainly. "Yeah, I'm okay."
He clearly wanted more, but even at that small concession, relief flooded his features. "Good. Let's go home and talk." And with that, he rose and, once again, placed his hand on the small of her back to lead her out to the parking lot.