Chapter 12 (Mulder)

It did not take me long to catch up to her since I still had the advantage of longer legs. Once I did, I walked beside her, matching her pace. "I'm not the enemy here, Scully," I told her after a few seconds of silence.

"I know," she said through gritted teeth.

"Your mother isn't either."

"I know!" This time, her voice was louder.

"Come on, stop this." I enforced my words with a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped her furious pace, turning to look at me.

"Why can't she just accept it? Why does she have to start telling me what I can and can't do and talking about how I've changed, how I've disappointed her?"

"You haven't disappointed her, Scully."

"I'm pregnant at fifteen."

"But we want this baby. And we'll raise it right. Together."

"She thinks it will screw up my future."

"It won't."

"I know." Here she paused, biting her lip. "She doesn't see me the same way any more," she choked out before the tears began to fall. I thought that might be what was bothering her. Gently, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close.

"Just wait. She'll see those changes are for the better," I assured her. "In the meantime, I think we should go back and explain exactly how much we want this baby and how it's not going to change your plans for medical school."

"What if it does?"

"It won't," I repeated, more firmly this time.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you." I pulled her close again, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Just as we pulled apart, I heard a familiar cry in the distance. Scully looked to me, her eyes wild with fear.

"Charlie!" she exclaimed, and we were soon both racing toward the sound. It did not take us long to discover Charlie; he was standing behind a couple trees, struggling against two shadowy assailants. Scully and I did not even take time to think; our FBI training kicked in, and we immediately sprang into action. I approached the figure on my left, leaving Scully to deal with the one to the right. We had the element of surprise on our hands, so my first blow to the side of the figure's head went undeflected. As I raised my arm to deliver another punch, however, the assailant raised his or her own fists in self-defense, countering my blow. Wishing I had my gun, I blocked a punch to my abdomen before barely countering a second blow to my face. Grabbing the assailant's arms, I pushed back forcefully, simultaneously kicking his feet from beneath him. The assailant stumbled backwards but miraculously retained his balance, once again coming at me swinging.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught something glinting in the moonlight. "Scully, knife!" I yelled, running toward her and throwing myself on top of her attacker. Though this action did succeed in preventing the knife from piercing my partner's flesh, the blade instead sought refuge right below my left rib. A stream of curses left my mouth as I pummeled the rather surprised attacker, driving the base of my hand forcefully into his nose in a move I knew would incapacitate him. As I had suspected, he stopped resisting though I gave him another couple blows to the side of the head to be sure. Glancing around, I found Scully now engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the assailant I had earlier been fighting. Stumbling to my feet, still cursing the blade embedded deep within my skin, I teetered over to the fighting pair.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down. I saw Scully deliver two hard blows—one to her opponent's instep and the other to his groin. He went down with a wince of pain just as I noticed the movement of a third figure in the woods directly behind us. I don't know what alerted me, but I instinctively knew that he had a gun. I would say it was a psychic ability, but Scully would probably tell me that my subconscious had heard the click of the cocking mechanism or something similar. Feeling as if I was running through a pool of Jello, I sprinted toward Scully and Charlie, screaming for them to get down. Even my words seemed to take forever to emerge my mouth, and when they did, they sounded slow and garbled. My legs would not cooperate correctly, but I kept pushing anyway. I would make it in time. I had to.

Just as abruptly as it had slowed, time resumed its normal pace again. I fell against Scully, extending both my arms so that I could tackle both her and Charlie to the ground just as the unmistakable rapport of a gun sounded in the distance. Six shots later, the shooter seemed to be out of bullets, for the gunshots abruptly ended, leaving all our ears ringing. We remained on the ground a few moments longer until we were sure that the shooter had gone. As I slowly pushed myself off of Scully and Charlie, Scully jumped to her feet, intending to take off after the shooter. "Scully!" I called. She turned to me, and I could see her face clearly in the light of the nearly full moon. Silently, I reminded her that we were no longer FBI agents. We did not have guns or training. We were not supposed to chase after shooters; we were supposed to call the cops and let them deal with the situation.

"I'm going to find a payphone and call 911," she announced.

"Good idea. Take Charlie with you. I'll stay here and watch these guys." I nodded to the two groaning men on the ground. The truth was, now that the adrenaline had worn off, I was beginning to truly feel the pain in my side, and it hurt like hell. It had taken a great deal of effort just to get up, and I had a feeling that walking anywhere at that moment would not be a good idea. Luckily, it was dark, so Scully could not read my face well enough to know the real reason that I had volunteered to remain behind. I had no doubt that she had her suspicions, but she had sense enough to realize that we needed to call 911 as soon as possible and that arguing would get us nowhere. And so she called out to Charlie, who was still lying on the ground beside me, likely scared out of his mind, and the two disappeared into the night.

I did not have to wait long for Scully to return. By the time she did, my vision was swimming. I had tried to stand up once, but my stomach had turned warningly, so I had deemed it wise to remain on the ground. The two men we had earlier incapacitated were still lying on the ground; neither had moved much. One had turned over and groaned, but I had moved closer to him in warning, and he had been remarkably compliant. When Scully saw me still sitting on the ground in a similar position to the one I had taken when she left, she immediately became suspicious.

"The police will be here in a few minutes," she told me.

"Good." I still did not move, keeping my head down to avoid eye contact, for I knew that if my eyes met hers, she would be able to discern what had happened despite the dim light of the area. Unfortunately, I could not hide anything from Scully for very long. Her eyes narrowed as she took in my hunched form.

"I told them to send an ambulance, too."

"That's good. I'm sure they'll need it." I nodded to the two groaning men.

"And you?"

"Me?" I decided to play innocent even though I knew I could never fool her.

"Yes, you. What did you do to yourself?"

"Nothing."

"Mulder." She crouched down beside me, and I could immediately tell that she had entered her doctor mode. I knew that no amount of protesting could stop her from examining me now, so I decided to eliminate at least part of my suffering and simply tell her where I was injured so that she would not poke and prod me indiscriminately.

"My left side," I told her, wincing in pain as she lifted my shirt. I heard her sharp intake of breath when she saw my wound. I imagined it must be a pretty impressive sight even in the dim light of the moon. I felt her fingers on my skin a few inches below the wound, and I sucked in a breath as a stabbing pain shot through my body originating near the wound. Shutting my eyes tightly, I tried to ignore the pain. "There's a flashlight in the inside pocket of my coat," I told her, gritting my teeth as I spoke. I had forgotten how much I hated knife wounds.

"Oh, so that's what it was." If I had not been in so much pain, I would have smiled. I knew Scully was attempting to take my mind off the pain by distracting me with a joke, and it was working to some extent. At least I was no longer seeing stars.

"Well, I might have just been happy to see you," I added, finishing the joke. Scully grinned, reaching inside my coat to find the flashlight. She was careful as she dug around in my pockets, avoiding my wound. Once she discovered the flashlight, she clicked it on and shone it on the wound, revealing that half of my side had crimsoned from blood. Scully was immediately back in doctor mode.

"You've torn this up a lot more than I thought, Mulder," Scully remarked. "It looks like the knife was moved around a lot after you were stabbed. You're definitely going to need stitches." Her fingers moved closer to the wound, and I cried out in pain. I heard a small voice behind us.

"Is Mulder going to be okay?" Charlie. I had forgotten about him.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's thick-skinned. He's handled worse," Scully assured the boy. Her fingers struck again, and I ground my teeth to prevent myself from calling out in pain again.

"Are you going to just keep poking me or actually do something about the wound?" I questioned. I was light-headed, a condition I knew had been brought on by loss of blood. Still, I was determined to remain conscious.

"There's not much I can do until the ambulance comes unfortunately. We really need to stop the bleeding though. Here." She pulled off her sweatshirt and pressed it firmly to my wound. "Hold that there."

"Of course, Dr. Scully." I pressed the shirt against my wound. Scully continued to eye me carefully. "What? Do I have something on my face?" I questioned, slurring my words slightly. The loss of blood was making me dizzy.

"Just shut up and hold that sweatshirt there," Scully instructed, placing her hand over mine to increase the pressure. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered a pleasant feeling as her hand settled on top of mine, but I was rapidly losing focus on everything around me. I tried to retain consciousness, forcing myself to focus on the warmth of her hand over mine. Unfortunately, it was not working.

"Scully," I said, her name slightly garbled as it emerged from my mouth.

"What is it, Mulder?"

I don't really know what I was trying to say. Scully told me later that it sounded suspiciously like the words to an Elvis song, but I highly doubted this. At least this time she did not accuse me of speaking in falsetto. But as soon as the mumbled, incoherent words had left my mouth, I turned to the side, purging myself of most of the dinner I had eaten earlier. I felt one of Scully's hands on my back, soothing me. Everything around me was swimming in and out of focus; I felt myself slipping away. Though I struggled, the blackness eventually overcame everything else, and I fell unconscious.

When I came to, I was lying on something soft. The smell of antiseptic and bleach assaulted my nostrils, and I realized immediately that I was in the hospital. Again. Scully was certainly not going to be happy about this turn of events. Speaking of Scully. . .

I turned to see her standing beside the bed wearing an expression that I could only describe as loving bemusement. She reached down and took my hand between hers, and I gently rubbed the back of it with my thumb. "What happened?" I queried, finding that my voice was much weaker than I wanted. I cleared my throat, reaching with my free hand for a glass of water beside the bed.

"You were stabbed," she told me needlessly.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"You blacked out from loss of blood. You actually lost a lot more than I first realized. They gave you a transfusion when you got here just to be safe."

"How long have I been out?"

"Around two hours now."

"And Charlie?"

"He's with Mom outside. She wants to talk to you, by the way. I'll just go get her."

"Wait!" She turned around to face me again. "The baby?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, I know stress can cause-"

"The baby's fine, Mulder. Once I was sure you were out of the woods, I had the doctor check just in case. Its heart is still beating."

I released a breath that I did not realize I was holding. It's funny how your priorities can change in such a short period of time. Scully gave me a small smile before leaving the room. A couple minutes later, the door opened again, and Maggie walked through it. I looked her straight in the eyes as she approached my bed, mentally preparing myself for another lecture. What she said, however, surprised me.

"Thank you." She must have noticed the confusion etched onto my face at this statement, for she hastened to clarify. "For saving the lives of two of my children."

"It was not big deal," I assured her, stopping myself before I added "I was only doing my job." At this point in time, it wasn't my job. Well, it would always be my self-assigned job to protect Scully, but I had taken no oath, having not yet joined the FBI.

"Trust me, Fox, it was a huge deal. Dana explained everything that happened tonight. The two men you brought down were wanted by the police for a string of kidnappings and murders in the area. If you hadn't been there. . . well, I shudder to think what might have happened."

"I had help," I told her, recalling Scully's part in the fight with a fond smile.

"Still, it means a lot to me that you would do that for my children."

"I'd do anything for Sc-Dana. Charlie, too. I'm growing rather fond of him."

"I believe you when you say that, Fox. I really do. Which is why I accept you into my daughter's life. And I want to be a part of my grandchild's life. I know the timing's not ideal, but you're a good man, and I trust you will take care of Dana and my grandchild. And that's what's most important."

"Of course you will be a part of the baby's life, Mrs. Scully."

"Oh, and Fox?"

"Yes?"

"I imagine you'll be needing a place to stay tonight."

"I have a room at a motel."

"Nonsense. I'm not letting you stay in a motel. You can stay at our house. You can sleep in Charlie's room. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

"I really don't want to impose."

"Trust me, Fox, you wouldn't be imposing. With four kids, I'm used to a lot of chaos. It's actually been rather quiet lately, and I miss the disorder."

"Thank you, Mrs. Scully."

"You're welcome."

By the time we had stopped at the motel to pick up my suitcase and returned to the Scully household, it was after one in the morning. Charlie had fallen asleep in the car and now half-sat, half-lay in the back with his face pressed up against the window. Maggie shook him gently awake, and he blinked confusedly a few times before realizing where we were. With a yawn, he pushed himself up and out of the car, leading the way to his bedroom. Once there, he insinuated himself under the covers and fell asleep without bothering to change.

I, however, wanted to take a shower, hoping to wash away the memories of the day (well, some of them at least). Scully saw me on my way to the bathroom with my shower stuff and called me into her room. I walked in, and she instructed me to sit down on her bed while she went to get something. I did as she asked, and a couple minutes later, she returned with a roll of gauze tape and some Ziploc bags. "Take off your shirt," she told me.

"Well, Scully, that was a bit forward, but if you insist." I lifted my shirt off my body as she rolled her eyes at my comment. I wondered how long she would continue to have that reaction to my remarks. After all, she had only been hearing stuff like that for twenty years. One of these days, her eyes were going to stick backwards.

"I'm going to tape some plastic on your bandages so that they won't get wet in the shower," she told me as she began to cut up the Ziploc bags. When she had finished, she set her supplies on the table beside her, and I stood, stretching my arms above my head, purposely allowing my rather impressive (if I do say so myself) muscles to show. Again, Scully gave an eye roll. "Get your shower, Mulder," she told me, tossing my shirt at me. I caught it with a grin before leaving the room.

I woke up the next morning to the muffled sounds of a drawer opening and the soft creak of a floorboard as someone moved across the room. I opened my eyes slightly and saw a small figure shuffling around the room, a pile of clothes clutched in his arms. "Sorry. I was trying not to wake you up," he told me. "Mom and Dana said that you needed your sleep."

"That's okay, Buddy. I should be getting up anyway." I groaned and sat up, throwing the blankets off of my body. Yawning, I stood and rifled through my bag until I found a clean t-shirt, and I pulled this on over the sweatpants that I already wore. I figured that showing up to the kitchen shirtless might not be the best way to ingratiate myself with Scully's mother. Though seeing the look on Scully's face if I did could make the risk worth it.

In the kitchen, I found Missy and Scully nearly finished with their breakfast. Mrs. Scully looked up when she heard me come down, and she instructed me to sit down while she brought me breakfast. Deeming it best not to argue with her, I sat in the seat she indicated, waiting until she placed a plate of food in front of me. Scully suddenly pushed her chair back and stood, excusing herself quickly. Glancing over, I noticed that she had left a couple bites of food on her plate, a fairly unusual occurrence as Scully usually was good about clearing her plate. Excusing myself also, I followed Scully out of the room, ignoring the curious glances I received from the rest of her family.

I found Scully fairly easily in the upstairs bathroom. She was bent over the toilet, emptying the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl. Without hesitation, I knelt beside her, pulling her hair out of her face as my hand automatically went to her back. My thumb rubbed small circles through the fabric of her t-shirt, soothing her in the only way I knew how.

When she had finally rid herself of her breakfast, I stood to get her a drink, but she stood, too, probably quicker than she should, and reached for the glass by the sink before I could grab it. "I can get it, Mulder."

"Just trying to help," I told her.

Her tone softened. "I know. And thank you."

"Anytime. Whenever you need a hair holder, I'm here."

"Thanks. I'll remember that." We stood there for a moment, staring at each other with small smiles on our faces. "I should probably be getting to school," Scully finally announced, stepping towards the door.

"Right. Feel like some company?"

"You already followed me around one day. I would think you'd be bored of that."

"I could never be bored of you, Scully. Besides, it beats sitting at home with your mother."

"You could find something else to do."

"I guess. Maybe I'll go to the park and see if anybody's up for some pick up."

"You just got stabbed last night, Mulder. You should not be doing anything strenuous," Scully chided. I grinned.

"I'll be careful, Dr. Scully. I promise." She looked as if she did not believe me, but Missy called out to her before she could respond, telling her that it was time for them to leave.

"Don't do anything stupid," she warned before walking out of the bathroom to join her sister. I smiled after her.