Title: A Lucky Man

Rating: K

Status: Complete

Spoilers: Tithonus

Archive: Sure, just drop a note first.

Feedback: Yes, please

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, characters and show reference belong to their creator CC and 1013. I wish I could be so creative as to have invented them but sadly…I am not. If you know the characters, they aren't mine. Blah, blah, blah, you know the drill but please leave a review.

Summary:

I always thought Mulder's comment to Ritter was underplayed. As he approached Scully's room and sees Ritter speaking with her Mulder's rage and thought of how Scully ended up shot wells up inside of him. A mere comment isn't enough for him. I gave him a little more satisfaction.

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He felt like the last man on earth as he entered the "bullpen", the crowded room he now shared with twenty other FBI Agents doing mundane, braindead background checks on prospective new hires. He looked longingly at her empty desk and threw his jacket over his chair. He was incomplete without her lost, he needed that smile, that sassy wit and her eye rolls. He dropped his eyes, feeling the anger rise in his throat, he wanted to punch Kersh for assigning her to Agent Ritter in New York on a case. He knew, he knew Kersh was trying to separate them, using her to get him to quit or make a mistake so they could fire him. She was his breath, the only person to ever invest in him, and his work. She may not have always agreed with him, but they shared respect, a deep loyalty, and unquestioned trust. He loved her, God how he loved her and looking at her empty desk was the agonizing reminder she was gone. It was day two of her absence.

Two days earlier Kersh called her into his office to advise her she was requested by the New York office to assist some young gun in his investigation that looked a hellava lot like an X File to Mulder. He sighed and turned back to his desk, staring at hers wasn't going to bring her back any time soon. He had hacked his way into her files and had been reading her notes. He knew her so well it didn't take him long to figure out her password was Queequeg. His hacking was her fault, she should have made her password ore difficult, or maybe she made it easier so God forbid if anything happened to her, he could access her notes. The day before they talked and she knew he was reading them, she secretly liked he inserted himself she valued his input, but she feigned her ire, for him.

Scully realized very quickly Ritter wasn't a thorough investigator. She knew he was looking to make this case his steppingstone for a promotion. She saw a lot of Colton in him and like Colton Ritter was just looking to make a name for himself any way he could. Mulder knew what she thought of Ritter, she told him she couldn't wait to get back to DC and he smiled when she finally admitted she thought it was an X File, and his expertise was greatly appreciated.

His phone rang, breaking him out of his reverie. It was Skinner, he bolted upright in his chair.

"When. Where is she." he asked as he jumped up and grabbed his jacket. "On my way. No, I don't need a ride. I'll let you know as soon as I get there."

He ran out of the office, hit the stairs to the parking garage and pulled out. He was breathing heavily and with each passing minute became more and more angry. Why was it that every time she was out of his sight she got hurt. This was all Kersh's doing. If she dies, he thought… but he couldn't think any further, he was driving and he needed to be by her side so, attention to the road was priority. He tried her cell phone several times but there was no answer. Did she have it, was she conscious, alert, was she in surgery. Skinner didn't have a lot of information. The New York Office called him and as her emergency contact Skinner notified Mulder.

It seemed like the drive took hours longer than it should have. He parked the car and ran into the Emergency Room, practically diving over the triage desk causing the nurse to back up. Security stood up and began approaching him, he pulled out his credentials and asked where she was.

""I'm sorry." He turned to security and reiterated "I'm so sorry, Agent Dana Scully, brought in a few hours ago, she was shot. Where is she." he asked as security stood nearby.

The triage nurse must have seen the look of desperation on his face and pointed to the elevator as he turned to run to it, he heard her call out "ICU West, Room three."

He walked off the elevator, looking for room #3.

"Can I help you sir." The nurse behind the desk called to him.

He swung around. "Room three Agent Dana Scully."

The nurse grabbed a chart and quickly scanned it. "Sir she's still in surgery. It will be a while. She'll need to stop in recovery then they'll bring her up. There's a waiting room down the hall to the left. Are you, her husband."

"Ah… ye.., ah, no, no I'm her partner." He decided to let them interpret that word on their own as he ran his hand across the back of his neck.

One of the nurses approached and smiled warmly at him then escorted him to the waiting room asking if he needed anything. He advised no and she left leaving the promise of updates as they came in and told him the cafeteria was on the third floor.

He sat in the waiting room for an hour, finally after his nerves got the better of him, he ventured out into the hallway. He noticed a door that had the word 'chapel' on it. He gathered himself and pushed the door open. He found it to be a strangely comforting spot. There was no religious affiliation, no crucifixes or pictures of Jesus, just a few seats and benches with a stained-glass window depicting flowers, birds, and the sun in the top corner. It was quiet with low volume music playing, relaxing, calming, soothing melodies. He sat down, his thoughts racing it had been over an hour and no update, he dropped his head trying to forget the slow movements of the watch on his wrist.

"Sir, sir." He felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He sat up realizing he had fallen asleep.

"Yea how is she." he asked with the nerves of an expectant father. He rose to his feet and looked at his watch, it had been two hours since his arrival.

"Agent Scully is in recovery sir; she'll be there for a few hours so they can monitor her vitals. She's doing well, the bullet penetrated her abdomen area. It nicked her spleen but other than that she was extremely lucky. No major organs were hit, and the bullet was retrieved near her spine but again no major organs."

"How close to her spine, any damage to her nervous system."

"No sir, no damage she's very, very lucky."

He let out his breath and with it the tension on his nerves. He sat back in the chair as the nurse left him alone. He felt his shoulders and neck relax, his thighs and even his feet relaxed as he rested his head against the wall. He allowed himself a quick soul-cleansing cry. It wasn't a cry of grief, it was a cry from his nerves, the tension he had carried for the last four hours, a cry of relief, a cry she was still here. He gathered himself quickly, he needed to call Maggie. Why is it he is the bad news bearer to this poor woman. He hung up the phone assuring her he would not leave her side and would call her with any updates. He stayed on the phone with her until her crying subsided and he had her calm enough to talk and ask questions. He advised her to take the shuttle if she came up and not to drive. Maggie told him to keep her updated and she would take care of her when she came home. She trusted him to take care of her in New York, she would pick up supplies and stay with her when she got back home.

It had been a week since she was rushed to New York University Medical Center after being shot by Ritter, that incompetent, rush-to-judgement, overzealous agent just trying to make a name for himself. She was out of intensive care and in a room until the doctors deemed her well enough to do basic tasks and walk short distances.

Mulder stepped off the elevator and as he approached her room he saw him through the window. There he was, Agent Ritter standing next to her bed, that pompous, arrogant son-of-a-bitch. It appeared Ritter was saying something, but Scully didn't raise her head to face him. Her face was expressionless, and she looked tired. He waited for him in the hallway. He didn't have to wait long. Ritter walked out of the room head down, not even seeing Mulder as he leaned against the wall. This is probably the same way he didn't see her when he entered the room before firing his weapon. Ritter barely glanced at him as he walked to the elevator. Mulder checked her through the window, she hadn't seen him.

He stepped away from the wall and followed Ritter to the elevator, Ritter looked back and saw him, seemingly unfazed.

"Hey, Agent Mulder, I want to apologize for what happened." Ritter said in a low voice.

Mulder just stood there waiting for the elevator doors to open. When they did, they stepped inside, Mulder was about to burst just waiting for the doors to close. After they did, he waited for the car to begin its descent. As it jolted downward, he slapped the "STOP" button. Mulder grabbed his collar and slammed him into the wall he was closest to. He jammed his lower arm against his throat and for a glorious split second enjoyed the fear on his face. Mulder's face was two inches from him, close enough for a head butt if needed but the man under his clenched fists froze, Ritter didn't even appear to be breathing under Mulder's grip and he couldn't have cared less.

"You are one lucky son-of-a-bitch." Mulder breathed to him through clenched teeth as he laid his weight into him pinning him against the wall.

He was close enough for him to know if Mulder brushed his teeth or had garlic with dinner last night. Mulder's jaw hurt from being so taught. His legs were shaking with the pressure he placed on them holding him there against the wall, knowing the railing was pressing against his lower back. His arms hurt from being coiled up like a snake ready to launch itself at the nearby prey. He would have killed him right there had he not loved Scully so much. Sitting in a prison watching her only from a distance, should she visit him at all wasn't anything he was willing to risk for this guy.

"You're lucky I don't kill you right here. She is my partner, my partner, and you almost took her from me. You asked for her help, when she gave you her best advice you scoffed at her, then shot her."

Pulling him away from the wall Mulder slammed him back up against it, hard with all his rage. His eyes bore into Ritter's so he could see Mulder's comment was meant as more than just a work partner. He meant it as her partner. He was shaking, Mulder loved it, loved knowing he was afraid because he couldn't imagine what Scully felt when she realized she had been shot by he who asked for her help.

"I didn't..." Ritter gurgled.

"Shut up, shut up." Mulder whispered as he pressed him harder against the wall of the elevator, had it been drywall he would have pushed him through it. "You were looking for an atta boy, a promotion, you just wanted to make the arrest and close the case. You didn't care about the truth. You didn't announce yourself; you didn't look at your back stop you didn't even know it was Fellig you were shooting at." Mulder hissed at him.

"I should beat the hell out of you but then we'd both have to explain it. Don't ever, ever think about calling the FBI for her help again, do I make myself clear, ever. Forget her name, forget she's an FBI agent, forget her skills, her ability to help you with anything and I don't ever want to hear your name in my presence again. Do you understand my words."

He nodded his head the best he could. Mulder let go of him and hit the "STOP" button freeing the car to continue on its descent. The car sprung to life as he pushed the button for the next floor down. When the doors opened, he didn't look back. He straightened his coat, shirt, and hair then headed back upstairs.