Gone.

Glasgow, Kentucky.

May 20, 2010.

Scully rushed from place to place, never really stopping to take a breath. She even tapped her foot in the back of the taxi, her heart stirring when the house came into view. She was outside before the car had come to a complete stop, shoving money through the window and ignoring the change she was due. She stared at the door, her world slowing down for the first time since she heard the news. She was really here. She was really dealing with this.

He opened the door as she walked up the driveway. His face was grim, as were the faces behind him. She walked alongside a muddied van, glancing inside, as if she expected to see her goofy partner looking back at her. He was supposed to be with them.

"Where is he?"

She was beckoned inside, and the man who had opened the door introduced himself. "I'm Gene Foster. I was the one who contacted Mulder about the disappearances."

"That's great," she said dryly. "Where is he?"

"He's gone, ma'am," another man responded. He had a badge around his neck identifying him as a park ranger. He was holding his hat against his chest, looking sadly at the ground. His demeanor was echoed around the room, and she hated it.

"He can't just be gone," she said, glancing around at their mournful eyes. "Why aren't you looking for him? He could be injured! He could be freezing to death down there!"

One of the other men, this one much younger with ridiculous curly blonde hair, piped up. He would not meet her eyes. "We all saw it happen. He didn't fall or wander off… he's just gone."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Gene indicated the couch. "You should sit down."

"I don't want to sit down. I want to know what happened to Mulder."

"What I'm about to tell you might shock you."

"Believe me, I can take it."

He took a breath, frowning, and then spoke. His voice was sad like the others, but also full of wonder, and regret, and fear. He was the only one who looked into her eyes, and what she saw in him was startlingly honest. It made his words much more powerful.

"We were looking for him. He disappeared – jumped right off a cliff into the river. We found him on the shore, sitting up. He was talking to someone." He glanced around, not making eye contact with anyone else. "We all saw her. And then… Mulder was just gone. I'm so sorry."

Scully was at a loss. She heard herself speak, heard herself sound like a scared little girl, and her own words kept repeating in her mind. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"He just disappeared. Both of them did."

She sunk into the couch, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. Within moments the fear passed into determination. She looked at the motley crew, the crew that had left him down there, and locked her jaw. "You're going to show me where it happened."

"But we can't-" the blonde man tried to object.

"I'm going down there one way or another," Scully snapped at him. "I'm going to find him. One of you is going to show me how to get there, or draw me a map."

For a moment she only got blank stares, and then the ranger cleared his throat. He flipped his badge around, gazing down at it. "I'll take you down there."

"I'm going, too," Gene said.

She glared at him. "You're the reason he was down there in the first place."

Gene swallowed, looking away from her blazing eyes. She saw a fire in him, too, but it wasn't nearly as radiant as the guilt. "I know. I owe it to him. I'll help however I can."

She could not stop herself from speaking. "If he dies… if he dies…" Everyone in that room knew what she was going to say. She scowled at him for another moment, and then she went to the door, grinding her fist into the frame. "Are we going or what?"

"Just let me get my gear together," the ranger said quietly.