Scully felt as if her body had turned into cement as she stirred. She felt herself pressed hard against the concrete...straining against the nearly suffocating silence. It was then she remembered a bright light from a ship coming towards her and Agent Miller. She nearly jumped up as if the dead weight was suddenly lifted. The quiet around her amidst the terrain of cars sent chills down her spine. She saw Agent Miller on the ground next to her and quickly checked for a pulse. It was faint, but he was alive. She scrambled to put one of the IV packs which lay on the cement in his arm. He moaned. "Agent Scully...Mulder."

She gasped. Nearly stricken that she had forgotten about a near death Mulder in the car. How could she forget that? Guilt ridden, she grabbed the last IV pack with the vaccine and threw open the door. "Mulder," she yelled desperately.

She felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest and thrown to the floor. His eyes were closed and she checked his pulse. As she did so, she felt her blood run cold as reality started to sink in. How long had she been out? Why didn't she put the damned IV in before wasting time telling Agent Miller that it might not work?! "Oh god, Mulder...no. Please," she started to sob as her trembling fingers felt their way up his stone cold arm...shaking so much that she had great difficulty getting the IV in.

"Mulder, wake up please, I'm here. Please wake up."

She did her best to perform quick CPR to no avail. He was completely unresponsive. She felt herself hit her head in frustration against the top of the car. "God, it's all my fault. Why did I wait so long?!"

She should have noticed the deafening silence around her, but all she could focus on was how she had manage to lose him, again. She fell to her knees and held onto him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Mulder. For not getting to you on time. For leaving. For everything. I was afraid. I was a coward."

"I lied, it wasn't because of your depression that I left. It was because I couldn't live with myself anymore...with everything that's happened. I wanted, needed someone else to blame. I'm the reason for all of this. I couldn't get to you on time and I gave up your last chance of survival when I gave our child up for adoption."

She felt herself holding onto him tightly for dear life as she felt her body shape violently between sobs. "You were all that I had left and I gave up. I'm so sorry, Mulder. If you could just open your eyes...I would do anything. I would come home to you and never leave again. Please."

She sat in that awkward position for what seemed like an eternity before what happened next shoot her from her stupor.

"Scully."

She looked up and gasped, letting a few more tears loose. He gingerly reached his free arm up to run his fingers through the waves of her strawberry blonde hair. He had been wanting to do that for some time and she finally let him after all these years.

"What you said, don't forget I'm going to hold you to that," he smirked.

She managed a heavy laugh. "Oh god, I guess you got me there."

Jeeze, how long was he listening for before he decided to say something? She looked over at the IV in his other arm. It seemed to be working, though she doubted for now long.

"Please don't tell me it was all to get me to wake up," he muttered.

"No, I meant that Mulder. I did...I do."

She took in his breath as he started to close his eyes. "Mulder, stay with me, okay? I need to get you out of here."

"Scully," he muttered as she fumbled with her phone. "Bright light," he continued. "Took you away."

That stopped her short as she looked at him earnestly. "No, I'm right here, Mulder. It didn't take me away. They didn't take me."

"They took you, Scully."

"Mulder, you're just delirious," she insisted more for herself than anything else.

"No, Scully. You were gone. Ship took you...you were gone for a while."

Scully did recall the light that focused down on her and the dire fear she felt of being abducted again. But she was here. They didn't take her, they couldn't have.

"Mulder, if they took me, we wouldn't be here talking."

"You don't...believe me."

Her heart sank. The whole reason we went on his little escapade despite being so sick was for this very reason. He still thought she didn't trust his judgement. She wished she could kick herself for making accusations at him for endogenous depression. As a doctor she knew they were too close for her to properly make that diagnosis. He had resented her for that.

He sighed and closed his eyes once more. It was that moment that she noted the eerie silence. She struggled to get her legs to cooperate and used the car door to pull herself back to hear feet.

Something wasn't right. The whole bridge was bathed in utter silence. Everything was black and absolutely still. Was this really the end. She swallowed back tears as she looked back towards Mulder and Miller. They both needed to get to a hospital, but there was no way to get them out of this gridlocked bridge on foot.

And what of Mulder. She was certain her treatment wouldn't work. He had been sick for God knows how long and more than likely suffering organ damage, to which extent she couldn't tell. She looked down at her cell phone, which read "No Service". All of the infrastructures had fallen, so this shouldn't have been any surprise. But she couldn't dare give up hope.

"Dana, I know where William is," Monica's voice echoed in her head. "They killed his adoptive parents after I told the cigarette man initially that I wouldn't cooperate."

Scully fought back tears as she recalled the sting of Monica's words that she had been working for CSM all these years. She wasn't sure if it was that fact or the fact that he was somehow still alive that stung her the most. "Three years after he came to me, I agreed to do his dirty work...but I had a condition of my own."

"Monica, you still haven't told me something. Where is Agent Doggett? He's been gone from the FBI nearly as long as you."

Monica swallowed. "Agent Doggett is with William...somewhere safe. That was the condition that we had."

Scully closed her eyes. She couldn't dare ask her next question. All these years, she had wondered where her son was...if he was safe or happy. He had been with John and Monica this entire time? As much as she wanted to see William or go to him in that moment, she knew that doing so would have only jeopardized his and Monica's lives.

But now, looking down at her useless smartphone, she felt the tears start to fall. Her strawberry blond locks falling into place around her face. He was Mulder's only chance of surviving this and maybe everyone else as well.

After all these years, she didn't want their sacrifices to be all for nothing. She wanted Mulder to be able to see the child he hasn't seen since he was just a few days old. Even if it was only for a moment.

A sudden movement in the deafening brought her out of her reverie. She glanced around in every direction. Suddenly, amidst all the gridlock, she could see a figure coming in their direction. As it got closer, she stumbled, bracing herself on the roof of the car. Panic and anticipation filled her at the same time. It was a man, no a boy...a teenager. He was tall, but felt oddly familiar. "Oh, God." That was the last thing she could recall before her knees his the cement and the world seem to collide around her.

To be continued...