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Chapter 12

2 hours later Scully is standing in the kitchen making coffee when the
phone rings. She rushes into the bedroom to get it.

"Scully." She says.

"Hey Scully, it's me."

"Hey Mulder, what's up?"

"Nothing really...how are you?" He asks her. Scully just sighs.

"Mulder...I'm fine."

"Good. What are you doing?"

"Well...I'm making coffee and afterwards I wanted to read a book." She
tells him.

"Sounds good. Scully, what-" He says but Scully interrupts him.

"Stop, Mulder! Seriously, you need to stop this!" She says, loudly.

"I'm sorry...I'm really worried about you, Scully." He tells her,

softly.

"I know." She just says.

"I just wanted to make sure you're all right..." He explains.

"I told you I'll call if anything's wrong, Mulder. I've been all right this
morning, I'm all right now and I'll be alright when you come home."

"Yeah..."

"Well...I'll see you in a couple of hours." She says and hangs up. Scully
sighs and walks back into the kitchen. With a cup of coffee in her hand she
sits down on the couch in the livingroom and turns on the tv. She zaps through
all the channels, not finding anything interesting at all. She turns off the
tv again and leans back against the backrest. She reaches for her book on the
table and looks at it.

"It's going to be a long long day." She mutters and begins to read.

3 days later.

Scully is feeling very good and wants to go to work again but Mulder refuses
to let her and Skinner, too.

She's lying in bed, Mulder's arm is wrapped around her middle. She shakes his
arm off, waking him up, and climbs out of bed.

"Scully..." Mulder says but she ignores it and rushes into the bathroom.
Five minutes later when Scully unlocks the door and opens it, Mulder is
standing right in front of her, his hands against the doorframe.

"You're standing in my way." Scully just says.

"I noticed."

"Could you let me pass, please?" She asks quite angrily.

"Scully, I don't like what this is doing to us." He says, gently.

"What are you talking about?"

"Everything that happened...it changed us..."

"No, you're wrong. It changed you, Mulder. I am ready to live my life like
it was before but you won't let me..." She tells him.

"What?"

"You heard me, Mulder. I want to go to work again I actually want to do
something. Do you know what it's like to just sit here doing absolutely
nothing? I'm feeling worthless..."

"You are not worthless, Scully." He says, softly.

"Well...I feel like I am. I just- Mulder...."

"You know what? You're right," He admits, making Scully smile a little,
"I'll talk to Skinner today." He says.

"Okay. Thank you." She says but he shakes his head.

"You don't have to thank me, Scully. You were the one who were right after
all." He tells her. Scully nods. Without a word Mulder pulls Scully in for a
hug. He holds her close for a moment, inhaling her scent. He pulls away to
lean his forehead against hers, a wonderful gesture they shared so many times

before.

"Could you let me pass now, please?" She whispers with a smile.

"Yeah, of course." He says and chuckles. She feels his lips against her
cheek for a second, making her blush. He steps aside, letting her pass.

"Mulder, have you seen my bathrobe?" She asks him, turning around.

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen on the chair." He tells her.

"Why is my bathrobe in the kitchen?" She asks, confused and not
remebering putting it there.

"Well...I don't know, Scully. I didn't put it there..."

"Mmhh...okay." She mutters, walking into the kitchen to get her

bathrobe.

"What are you up to?" Mulder asks, coming up behind her.

"I just wanna take a shower and afterwards...I don't know yet." She

says.

"I'll call you when I talked to Skinner." Scully nods.

"Tell him I'm ready and tell him I wanna start as of tomorrow."

Mulder smiles.

"I will." He says and walks out of the door.

20 minutes later. Scully turns off the shower and steps out of it. She is
humming the melody of her favorite song as she towels herself and puts on her
underwear. She looks into the mirror for a moment. She lets her hand run over
her face, over her freckles she always covers with make-up. She sighes and
puts on her bathrobe. She unlocks the door and opens it. She walks out of the
bathroom and into the bedroom. She quivers and wraps her bathrobe tighter
around her body as a gust of wind whizzes through the room. Did Mulder
open up the window before he left? She rushes to it and closes it. She turns
around...the door of her wardrobe is wide open. Why should Mulder open the
door to her wardrobe? Scully shakes her head.

"What the-" She hears slamming of a door. She runs to her nighstand and
opens the drawer. Gone...her gun is gone. "Oh my god." She whispers as
tears floods her eyes. She lets herself fall to the floor and grabs the phone
quickly. By now she can hear steps coming closer and she starts to sob, scared
to death.

"Mulder."

"Mulder! Help me, Mulder. My gun is gone...oh god." She says, shakily.

"SCULLY! Oh god! Hold on. Hold on, Scully."

"DON'T LEAVE ME, MULDER!"

"I'll never leave you, Scully."

"DON'T HANG UP THE PHONE!"

"I won't. I promise! I won't hang up. Where is he?"

"I don't know! I didn't see him! But he's here...I can hear him!"

"Scully, I need you to calm need to be as quiet as possible."

"NO, I CAN'T! I'M GOING TO DIE HERE!" She sobs into phone.

"No, Scully! DON'T SAY THAT! I'm on my way, Scully. Hold on! Oh god..."

"Mulder, I think he knows exactly where I am! He's playing with me...MULDER
TALK TO ME! I NEED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE!"

"Scully, it's going to be okay. Just- just hold on, Scully. Please...I'll
be there in 10 minutes. It's just 600 seconds, Scully. I'm sure you know that
since you're the math geek. Hold on, Scully! God...please hold on."

"MULDER, I'M SORRY." She says, sobbing into the phone.

"No...what do you mean?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I'm just sorry for everything I should be sorry for."

"No. Please, Scully. Don't apologize. Just don't. Don't give up, Dana!"

"HE'S COMING!"

"NO! SCULLY!"

"MULDER!"

"SCULLY, HOLD ON!"

Click...

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A/N: Sooooo, what do you think? :D