Scully's first steps into the core of the mysterious Deep Valley were cautious and slow, permanently edging over a precipice that would be a fast but fatal short-cut towards Mulder —so tempting, yet so foolish.

However, as might be expected from a woman of reason, her resolve managed to fight against the hasty impulses of her heart and light her way through the hormones of passion clouding her mind —but, hell, how hard and upsetting.

For half an hour she remained focused on her mission and steady on her feet, finding and clearing her way through darkness and green dense bushes with a shaking flashlight —each step moving her body further away from Mulder's, each step cutting her heart in half.

Then, as the night was weakening, the geography became less hostile and a narrow but gentle animal's trail sped up her feet towards the spot she intended to reach, her new pace and easier walk freeing her thoughts.

How many times had she feared for Mulder's whereabouts and health? She had never counted and she was suspecting it became second nature to her quite long ago.

Yet, what was the difference now they were a real couple? She was feeling as worried as usual and as determined to rescue him as she had been back when they were just young FBI partners. She would take all the risks, exhaust all her strength and do anything in her powers to find and heal him.

Still, there was something more, something she couldn't entirely grasp; she could feel its constant presence like a seed in her guts, microscopic but as weighty and tectonic as Mount Rainier; an indescribable entity that had taken root and grown in her inner core then irreversibly changed her chemistry. Having been intoxicated by Mulder's words of love and his lustful gestures had certainly changed her deeper priorities and instincts. She would now dive into the most extreme decisions, ones she might have dismissed a couple of years ago; she believed she would be able to cut off one of her arms with her teeth if it were the only way to embrace Mulder once again. Maybe she would even fatally jump off a cliff if he were lying dead at its bottom, because she couldn't conceive a future without his flesh and blood anymore.

Most probably, she would let herself die from love starvation, her body clutched onto his, there in Deep Valley when finding him too late, cold and stiff.

She made a stop, wiping the tears falling down her cheeks. She took out a bottle from her bag and swallowed a whole gulp of fresh water, trying to wash out the images of death that had invaded her mind.

Maybe that was just it: she had become oversensitive and was now prone to let her darkest emotions spread over her nerves at speedlight.

She could control it and she would.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Scully closed her eyes, clearing her mind while opening her senses to the environment. Birds were singing, a gentle breeze was caressing her cheeks and the strong smell of the forest was tickling her nose.

Breathe in, breathe out. All will be okay.

Then, as she opened her eyes on her surroundings —appearing no more menacing under the faint light rising up— she felt a vibrant tingle in her neck.

She put her fingers over her neck scar, massaging the chip below her skin. She could swear she was feeling a purposeful vibration under her tips, like a Morse code she had to decipher. Strange things had been happening since day one and she had to open up her mind as Mulder would do.

Scanning thoroughly the vegetation around her with the flashlight, she noticed a vague trace of an animal's trail on her right, descending the now softer slope of the hill. She picked out the map from her coat and analyzed the topography. This direction would be a short-cut of the path she had thought about earlier, still difficult but not that insanely risky. Moreover, the map was seemingly indicating a stream below, and, if paying attention, she might hear its flow.

Water. It makes sense to aim for water.

As an answer to her inner statement, the chip sent her another impulse —or, at least, she believed she felt one— finishing to convince her she was making the good decision.

Mulder.

Let's hope you're close to the water.

Let me find you, I need you.

I need you as much as my cells need water.