Title:One step at a time
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: A tragic incident leaves Mulder dependant on Scully for
help
Rating: R
Scully looked at his face, she knew that he was still in
there, somewhere, maybe far away,
but he was there. The sparkle was just hidden in his lifeless
eyes. His dry wit and humour was
still underneath. It was just the hospital that made him seem so
helpless.
"Come on Fox honey" she said to him "open your
mouth" she put the spoon in and wiped the mess
as it dribbled down his chin. "Good boy, that's it" she
smiled. "Are you going to talk to me
today Fox? hey?" she asked him. He looked at her with a
puzzled expression. "O.k, maybe not
today then, but how about a cuddle?" she asked him, placing
the bowl of food down she put her
hands on Mulder's shoulders, he leant in and rested his head on
her pushing his face into her
neck, he let out a contented mumble. " I've got you Fox, I
love you sweetheart" she sighed.
"We're gonna get through this Mulder, I promise you
that"
Two weeks previously
A disused building Washington DC
Tuesday April 4th 1998 10:34pm
"Mulder, you sure this is the place?" Scully
followed her partner with her gun at the ready,
she picked her way through the warehouse, it smelt bad, dead
rats, urine and general garbage
odours reached the two agents noses.
"Smells like my apartment hey Scully?" Mulder giggled.
"No, the apartment is far worse" Scully laughed
"Anyway Mulder, you didn't answer my first
question" she sighed.
"This is the place, I can guarantee that Losley is hiding
here" he whispered.
They were on the trail of a killer, one identified as Kenneth
Losley, he was suspected of
committing 8 murders, all of them teenage girls. Mulder had drawn
up a profile of the man and
had traced him back to this building. He and Scully went there
(without the knowledge of AD
Skinner) and were planning on his arrest.
"He's in there" Mulder murmured, he gestured to a room
with the door shut, "cover me Scully,
I'm going in" he said to her, as he ran the door flew open
and a man stood there with a shotgun.
"MULDER" Scully could only scream as her whole world
catapulted into slow motion. Mulder
crumpled to the ground, making horrific gagging noises, another
shot, blood flowed freely from
Mulder's head. Aiming her gun she fired, straight in the head,
Losely fell to the floor
motionless.
"Oh...God...Fox" Scully ran to him, she was amazed when
feeling his neck that she felt a pulse.
"You're going to be all right Mulder, don't you dare die on
me, don't you dare!" she shouted.
Punching in 911 on her cell phone she sat down on the floor,
tears rolling down her cheeks.
Clutching Mulder's hand in hers she prayed that he wouldn't be
taken from her.
1:25am Washington General hospital
The news was not good, a CAT scan showed extensive damage to
the brain, which would lead to
loss of motor functions, i.e. speech and all other motor skills,
loss of memory and attention
span. Scully listened numbly as the doctor reported the
information to her. She couldn't quite
take in that they were talking about Mulder, her Mulder, Fox, her
partner and best friend whom
she loved more than anything in the world.
"Can....I see..him?" she asked.
"He's still unconscious, we won't know the full extent of
his injuries until he comes round,
but I can say that his prognosis is not good"
"I know that" Scully snapped. "I just want to see
him"
"Of course, I'm sorry" the doctor led her to the ICU,
she looked at the pale form lying on the
bed, tubes and monitors surrounding him. The only sound was of
the cardiac beep and the
ventilator.
"Can I have a moment alone please" Scully looked at the
doctor, he nodded. Slowly She walked
over to the bed, he looked the same as always, obviously a little
pale, but he'd be all right,
he'd come through surgery, the CAT scan could have been wrong, it
wasn't always right, she was
sure that when he woke up he'd be just fine. "Come on Fox,
don't leave me in suspense, I want
to prove the doctors wrong don't you?" she whispered.
"They say your brain is damaged, you've
got to show them that a Mulder skull is tough, nothing's gonna
break through it" she took his
hand in hers and held it to her face. "I want you to fight
Mulder, as hard as you can, don't
let me down"
Two days later
"Fox, it's me, it's Dana" she whispered to him, he
stared at her blankly, a dribble escaped
from the corner of his mouth which she wiped with a tissue.
"Listen to me buddy, and listen
good. I am going to help you, you understand me? You will get
better, I know you can do it.
I'll be there for you every step of the way. It's just going to
take some time that's all,
just a little time" She gently pushed a lock of hair away
from his forehead.
"Agent Scully, a word please" AD Skinners voice came
from the doorway. Scully kissed Mulder's
cheek gently. "I'll be right back" she whispered.
"Sir?"
"Dana, I was told that you have decided to take Mulder home
with you"
"Yes Sir, that is correct" Scully folded her arms
defensively. "Why?"
"Dana, Fox is going to need constant care, it's a hell of a
lot to undertake, are you sure
you know what you're doing...there are places he could..."
"Institutions?" Scully interrupted him "Sir, I am
not about to sit back and watch them lock
Mulder up. He will get better, it's just going to take a hell of
a lot of time that's all.
Time and work. I am not going to leave him Sir, he is my partner
and he is my best friend. I
don't care what you say, I will take care of him. Now if that's
all, I'd like to get back to
Mulder" she stated. Skinner nodded, he watched the
diminutive Agent walk strongly back to
where Mulder lay. She sat down on is bed and took his hand in
hers. Skinner sighed, it was a
sad sight. Fox Mulder had been one of the best young Agents in
the bureau and now, so easily
he had had that taken away from him, so cruelly. It wasn't fair,
life just wasn't fair.
Two weeks later
Scully was sitting talking to Mulder, or at him, she didn't
get any response, he just stared at
her, he made the occasional noise, which signified pleasure or
discomfort, but his basic
reactions were not there. Suddenly Scully was aware that his gaze
shifted to behind her. And
to her surprise he opened his mouth.
"Mo..m..ma" he murmured. Scully turned to see Elizabeth
Mulder walking towards them, Mulder
shifted in the bed, he eagerly looked at the woman.
"Fox honey" she said, sitting down on the bed. He threw
himself into her arms, and rested his
head on her shoulder. Tears rolling down his cheeks. Mrs Mulder
gently rocked him. "Shh,
it's
all right baby, shh"
"He knows you?" Scully said, "he actually knows
you...that's amazing, I'll get the doctor"
she got up and ran to find Mulder's surgeon. "He can
remember..." she said out of breath, "he
knows his Mom"
"He does?"
"He said it, she came in and he said Momma, as clear as
day" Scully had tears in her eyes.
"He's not as bad as you say, I told you he wasn't" she
smiled.
"Dana, whoa, slow down. I need to assess Fox, I need to
check what you're telling me here"
"Come on, come and see" she pulled on his hand,
"please" the doctor followed Scully to the
room and went in. Mulder was still huddled up to his Mother. She
looked up.
"Mrs Mulder?"
"Yes, hello" she smiled at the doctor.
"I'm Doctor Thomas Rauche, Fox's surgeon, I'd just like to
take another look at him"
"Right, Fox sweetheart lie down honey" She laid him
back on the bed, he whimpered and tried
to get back to the safety of her arms. "I'm here honey, it's
all right Mommy's here" Elizabeth
whispered, she held onto his hand.
"Fox, can you tell me who this is?" Dr Rauche asked. He
gestured towards Mrs Mulder.
"M..o.mmy" he murmured. Elizabeth smiled at him, gently
stroking his arm.
"That's good, good" he smiled. "Fox, can you tell
me how old you are son?" there was no
response, "Fox, would you like anyone else to be here?"
"Da..da" he said slowly. A distressed expression took
over his face.
"All right, you're doing well, I'll leave you alone
now" he beckoned Scully outside. "This is
a little odd" he said. "he seems to have reverted back
to extremely early childhood"
"That has been known to happen" Scully said. "it
could be due to a swelling"
"No, not looking at his brain scans. When I say early, I
mean very early, maybe under a year
old, he knows his Mother and Father, but that's it, in all senses
he's in the same position he
was before, except it may be better for him because he knows his
Mom"
"So, what happens now?"
"We continue as we were, he has physio and speech sessions
and we treat this as we treat all
brain damaged patients" Scully winced, she hated hearing
that term.
"When can I take him home?"
"Oh...Dana not for a while yet, we have a lot of ground to
cover, a lot. He has to relearn
everything, and it's going to be tough, really tough. He'll get
frustrated and so will you"
"You have to let me help him" Scully wiped a stray tear
from her eyes.
"Of course Dana, of course" Dr Rauche smiled. "Why
don't you go and get some rest, you look
exhausted, besides his Mom's with him, he'll be all right"
Scully nodded, she was tired, she
hadn't slept since the shooting.
"I'll um.....just go and say bye bye" she nodded.
Walking into the room she was pleased to see
that Mulder's eyes acknowledged her. "I'm going home for a
little while Fox, I'll be back soon
though promise" she kissed his cheek. "Be good for your
Mom" she smiled.
"He will be" Elizabeth replied, she took Scully's arm.
"Dana...thankyou so much for taking
care of him" she smiled warmly. "It's going to be
hard"
"I know, he'll make it Mrs Mulder, Fox is a tough one"
at that she had to leave, the tears
were about to overcome her, and she didn't want him to see her
like that.
As she got to her apartment Scully threw herself onto her couch
and sobbed, she cried hard
both for herself and for Mulder.
3 months later
"Hello Dana" Maggie Scully came into the hospital
room.
"Mom, hi, how are you?" Scully walked over to her
Mother and embraced her. Fox was still asleep,
he had been in some pain and the doctors had put him on some
quite strong drugs.
"Good Dana, good. You look tired though honey"
"I'm fine Mom, really I am" Scully smiled.
"So, how's our boy doing?" Maggie went over to the bed
and gently stroked Mulder's soft hair,
"he's dead to the world isn't he?"
"Yeah, they upped his painkillers a little earlier on, he
was having a bad inter cranial
headache, poor thing. He's so much better though Mom, really he
is. He walked yesterday" she
smiled.
"Dana, that's fantastic"
"Yeah, not that far, and he got a bit fed up, but he still
walked. And his speech is getting
much better too, he's going to get better Mom, I know he is"
There was suddenly movement from Mulder, he rubbed his eyes and
whimpered.
"Hey there sleepyhead" Mrs Scully said. "How you
doing?" he looked at her with drug hazed eyes
and reached up his hand. Mrs Scully took it in hers and smiled.
"You're a sleepy one aren't
you?"
"Yeah" he said. "whe'..Mommy" he murmured.
"Gone home for a rest Fox, she was tired" Scully said.
"Has your headache gone now?" he
looked at her and frowned, indicating that he didn't understand.
Scully touched his forehead
"headache" she said slowly and clearly "gone away
now?"
"Yeah" Mulder tried to sit up, Scully helped him, he
rubbed his eyes again. "I wen' for walk"
he looked at Mrs Scully and smiled "an' ..Dana...powed"
he said.
"That's right honey, I was very PRoud" she emphasised
the letters. "You did very well didn't
you hey?" she stroked the back of his neck tenderly,
"you're going to have another go soon
aren't you?"
"Mmm....wha' that?" he looked at the bag on the floor
by Maggie's feet,
"You don't miss anything do you Fox?" Maggie smiled,
she took out a t shirt, "it's a present
for you, a Knicks t shirt" she showed it to him, "when
you're better you can have a go at a bit
of basketball hey?"
"Oh, he knows basketball don't you Fox?" Scully smiled
"he's been watching the games on t.v"
"Mmm...thank...you" he smiled at Maggie.
"Oh that's all right sweetheart, no problem" she pecked
him on the cheek. Mulder smiled at her,
he liked her and he liked Dana, they were so nice to him, giving
him gifts and showering him
with so much love and attention. He couldn't understand what had
happened to him, but whenever
he did something they liked he got a hug and a kiss, which to him
made it worth trying.
They were interrupted by a nurse coming in with a tray of food.
She put it down on the table,
Mulder looked at it, he hated eating, he couldn't do it, no
matter how much he tried, the two
metal things he was given were no help in getting the food into
his mouth.
"What have we got today then?" Scully took the lid off
and thanked the nurse, "I'll help him
with it" she said to her.
"Sure" she smiled, and left the room.
"Fox, looks good huh?" he looked at the plate, he
couldn't say he agreed, he didn't really
know what good food looked like, but he guessed better than that.
"You give it a go then"
Scully pushed it toward him, he shook his head. "Fox come
on, you have to learn, look I'll cut
it up for you, watch me" Scully cut up the non descript meat
and the potatoes and vegetables,
then handed Mulder the fork, "come on, push the fork into
the meat" he looked at it, then at
her. With all his concentration he stabbed the fork into the meat
and slowly lifted it to his
mouth, just before it got there it fell off.
"Oh" he said, "oh...no" he looked at Maggie
Scully.
"All right, doesn't matter Fox, try again" Scully said
to him, she smiled, he tried again,
this time missing the meat completely, and stabbing at nothing.
Tears of frustration were
welling in his tired eyes.
"Dana, he's tired" Maggie said, "let him try
tomorrow"
"Mom, he has to learn"
"I know, but he's just getting upset Sweetheart, help him
out tonight"
"Mom, he needs to try, if he doesn't try then he'll never
progress!" Scully shouted and stood
up. Mulder looked at her, tears now were falling down his face,
he pushed the tray away and
curled up into a foetal position hugging himself.
"Mom....Mom...Mommy" he murmured, rocking himself,
"made...Dana...cross" he sniffed.
"Fox, shh it's all right honey, shh" Maggie sat down on
the bed and lifted him into her arms,
holding him gently. "Dana's not cross with you, it's all
right Fox" she looked at her daughter.
"Mom's right Fox, I'm not cross with you, I'm sorry I
shouted, I know you're trying I know" she
put her hand on his back and gently rubbed it. "I'm
sorry" she whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry,
I love you Fox, I love you" she whispered. He looked at her
and went to her to be held. She
kissed his cheek and stroked his head. "Shh, I'm sorry, come
on, I'll help you, sit back" she
got the fork and gently put the food to his mouth, he took it
from her and chewed. Maggie sat
beside him rubbing the tears from his cheeks with her thumb.
Mulder didn't eat much of his
dinner, the drugs hadn't given him much of an appetite and he
felt so very sleepy.
The next day was to be a big one, Mulder was being moved to a
private hospital, which really
a rehabilitation centre. Scully had wanted to take him home, but
Dr Rauche had advised that
this was the best course of action while he was still suffering
from raised inter cranial
pressure. He had assured her that the place was good and that
Mulder would be comfortable
there.
The move was scheduled for 11am the next day. Mrs Mulder, AD
Skinner and Mrs Scully would all
be present as well.
24 hrs Later: Sparrows Lane rehab clinic.
"Right then here we are" Scully smiled at Mulder, he
was sat in the back seat of the car with
his Mother and Maggie Scully. Walter Skinner was in the front.
"You're hotel awaits you Fox"
she said. Walter got out of the car and opened the back door.
Elizabeth Mulder unbuckled
Mulder's seat belt for him.
"I love you honey" she smiled at him , gently she
kissed his cheek.
"Come on Fox, let's get you out" Skinner reached in and
guided Mulder out of the car, "in we
get" he said, gently he guided him into the wheelchair.
"Dana.." he looked around worriedly.
"I'm right here Fox" she took his hand. "I'm with
you all the way sweetheart, you know that"
The party went up the pathway where a smiling Dr Rauche greeted
them.
"Hello, how are you all?"
"Good thanks" Scully smiled.
"Hey Fox, ready to see your room?" he didn't answer,
but instead looked down.
"It's unnerving for him" Elizabeth said quietly.
"He'll be all right when we get him settled"
she gently stroked his head. "won't you Fox?" again no
reply.
They all traipsed up the long hallway until finally they came to
a door marked 134, Dr Rauche
pushed open the door to reveal an almost self contained
apartment. In one corner was a bedroom
type area, with a bedside table and wardrobe, in the other corner
was a couch, and a
television. To be honest it was nicer than his own apartment
which he lived in before.
"This is really nice" Skinner smiled. "Fox, you
think you'll be all right living here?"
"On....my...own?" he murmured.
"locke..d...in?"
"No, Fox" Scully bent down opposite him "honey, no
one is locking you in anywhere, this is
just for a while, I told you.....I ...I promised you, I will take
you home with me, when
you're ready. Now I will be here every day, I promise you that,
you will never be alone, your
Mom's here, my Mom, Walter....we're all here" she took his
hands in hers. "We are all here,
got it?" she smiled.
"Got...it" he repeated.
"Right then, I'll let you guys get settled , and I'll be
back later to give Fox his meds" Dr
Rauche smiled.
Mulder was still on quite a cocktail of drugs, he was taking a
regular anticonvulsant without
which he was prone to fits and seizures, commonplace with severe
head traumas. The pills
sometimes made him a little groggy, and he didn't like to take
them, but he knew that if Dana
told him that he should do, then they were helping.
"You want to have a lie down honey?" Elizabeth asked
him "you look tired" she stroked his
cheek.
"Yeah......Mom...watch...me" he said, looking at Scully
he held his hands out.
"You want to walk it?" Scully asked him
"Mmm" he nodded slowly. Walter Skinner stood by his
side, ready to support him if he fell.
Mulder very slowly pulled himself out of the chair, he shuffled
very very slowly along to the
bed, he was exhausted when he got there. Elizabeth had tears in
her eyes as she watched him.
"Good...huh" he looked at her as Scully swung his legs
up onto the bed for him.
"I'm good...Mommy huh?"
"That's fantastic Fox sweetheart" Elizabeth smiled, she
came over to him, "Well done my
clever boy" she kissed his forehead. "You rest
now"
"He should wait for his meds before he takes a nap"
Scully suggested. "Fox, you want to put
some posters up on the walls in here, the doctor said it was all
right"
"Mmm" Mulder's eyelids were drooping. Scully came over
to him, "Sleepy...Dana" he yawned.
"I know, but you have to take your medicine first hon, oh
here's Dr Rauche now" she smiled.
"I'll give him those" she took the pills off the
doctor. "Come on Fox, down they go" she
handed him the beaker, he held it with both hands (as a child
does) and gulped the water down,
swallowing his tablets.
Within 10 minutes he was fast asleep. Elizabeth unlaced his
sneakers and took them off,
pulling a comforter over him she sat by his bed, softly stroking
his hair.
"My brave child" she whispered. "You're going to
be just fine sweetheart. I promise"
Continued in part II: to follow
Well that's part one, comments if you please
xfiler_uk@yahoo.com
Title: (One step at a time part II)Mommy's here
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: Mulder's slow recovery continues.
Rating: R
Mulder had been in the rehab centre for three weeks now, and
had settled in quite well. He got along well with all the doctors
and nurses and was fairly coopertaive. His progress although slow
was good. He had mastered taking a walk with a walking frame
which he was delighted with, it felt good to have some form of
independence.
It was the weekend, which was Mulder's time off rehab, it was a
gruelling schedule and he did often get upset and frustrated, the
weekend gave him a chance to relax a little and have some home
comforts.
Elizabeth Mulder walked into her son's room, he was curled up on
the couch watching television, if she hadn't have known, she
would have said that there was nothing wrong with him. He looked
up as she came in.
"Hello Fox" she said. "How are you today?"
she came and sat down beside him. She was instantly alarmed at
the pallour of his skin. "Honey, do you feel sick?" she
felt his head, he was burning up. He nodded slightly, and patted
his tummy,
"Hu..rts" he murmured.
"All right, I'll go and get Dr Rauche, hold on Fox"
Elizabeth stood up just as Scully walked into the room. "Oh
Dana, Fox isn't well"
"What's wrong?" Scully asked. "Fox?" she bent
down by him "Fox what's wrong, can you tell me?"
"hurts....too..hot" his face creased in pain. Scully
placed a cool hand on his forehead, "You're running a bit of
a fever here Fox, I wonder what brought this on" she looked
up at Mrs Mulder. "He'll be all right" she smiled.
"We should just keep an eye on him"
"Won't it hinder his progress?" Mrs Mulder sighed,
"he's been doing so well"
"Well yes, it may, but that doesn't matter does it?"
Scully said quietly "he's getting better, but he's a bit
sick. We should just make him as comfortable as we can that's
all" she smiled at Mulder, he looked at her with sad eyes.
"What is it?" she said to him "you o.k Fox?"
she gently stroked his head, he nodded slowly. "I'll go and
tell Dr Rauche that you're not feeling too good today sweetheart,
all right?" Scully kissed his head, and left to find the
doctor.
Five Hours Later
Mulder had become very congested and feverish throughout the
day, he was very uncomfortable. Mrs Mulder had gone home to rest
a while, she had been staying with Mrs Scully since Fox was shot,
and still frail from her stroke she found the long hours at the
clinic with Fox took their toll.
Scully was sat with Mulder on the couch, he was huddled against
her shivering and wheezing. Every breath he took in hurt, and
nomatter what he did he couldn't get warm.
"Feel ..sick....Dana...sick" he muttered.
"Want......Momma...want...Momma"
"I know honey, I know" Scully kissed his sweaty head,
"She'll be here soon sweetheart, she's resting. I'm here
though Fox, I've got you" she rubbed his back as he coughed.
"You'll feel better soon I promise, why don't you try and go
to sleep?"
"No....Mommy......want.......MOMMY!" he screamed. The
scream sent him into a huge body racking coughing fit. This made
him cry out even more. Scully reached for her cell phone and
dialled her Mother's house. Gently rubbing Mulder's back, trying
to sooth him she waited for her Mother to answer *come on Mom,
pick up*
"Hello"
"Mom, it's me"
"Dana, is that Fox crying?"
"Yeah, he's not too well Mom, you need to get Elizabeth here
now, he's very feverish and he wants his Mom" Scully pulled
Mulder into her side, rocking him gently. "Mom, hurry"
"I'm coming honey, I'll get Elizabeth now, see you
soon"
"Bye Mom" Scully put the phone down. "Fox, Mommy's
coming all right, she's coming"
"Gonn.a....be...sick..D..ana" he murmured.
"Are you? all right honey, come on" Scully rushed and
grabbed the bin, Mulder bent double and was sick, quite
violently. "O.k, it's all right Fox, I know it hurts...I
know" she soothed gently as she rubbed his back in small
circular motions. Mulder began to get more and more distressed,
his sobs turning to screams so loud that the nurses came rushing
in to see what was wrong.
"What's happening?" one nurse asked.
"He'll be all right" Scully looked up "he's sick,
I've got it under control" she said quietly.
"With respect Miss Scully, I think Dr Rauche should be
called"
"Dr Scully" Scully looked at her, "he's just sick,
he doesn't need anything else, all right Fox, shh" she
comforted, "he'll calm down in a minute, his Mother's on her
way" Mulder let out another scream,
"MOMMY" he howled.
"Fox, she's coming darling, she's coming, shh sweetheart
shh" with that last outburst several orderly's and Dr Rauche
came rushing in, grabbing Mulder they pushed him towards the bed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Scully demanded, she
watched in horror as they put restraints on his wrists, strapping
him to the bed, "No, don't!" she shouted, "he's
just scared, leave him alone"
"This is just to calm him down , so he doesn't hurt
himself" Dr Rauche produced a needle. "Fox, keep
still" he said as he pulled his t shirt up and jabbed the
needle into his hip. Fox screamed in pain, tears were streaming
down his red cheeks.
"He's just frightened" Scully had tears in her own
eyes. "He's just scared" she came over to him
"what have you given him?" she asked angrily.
"It's a mix of drugs, it'll keep him calm, I can't allow
outbursts like that Dana, he'll disturb the rest of the corridor.
"He's sick, he was crying for his Mother, that's all. He's
scared and he's not well, how dare you do this to him, how dare
you strap him down, remove those restraints at once!" she
ordered. Dr Rauche nodded, he undid the buckles on the
restraints. "I am not happy about this" Scully gently
stroked Mulder's arm. His eyes were half open, and he stared at
her, as the drug went into his system he got more and more
vacant. "What the hell is that stuff, he's on another
planet?" she grabbed a tissue and wiped Mulder's chin,
"he's drooling, he's not done that since he first woke
up!" she shouted. "I'll be writing a letter of
complaint about this, I really will. This is a blatant violation
of his rights, he was just crying, he wasn't doing anything wrong
damn it. He's like a scared little boy, three months ago he woke
up not knowing where he was, who he was, he didn't know how to do
anything. Now he's come on so far, and you stick him with some
drug that puts him right back where he was!" Scully's tears
were flowing freely now. "I'm taking him home, as soon as he
comes round from this, he is coming home with me"
"Dr Scully, I don't advise that, not yet"
"And I didn't advise you pump him with knock out drugs, but
you still did it didn't you?" she sighed. "I'm taking
him home in the morning, now if you'll leave us in peace Fox's
Mother is on the way" she turned her attention back to
Mulder. Dr Rauche nodded and left the room. "Fox, can you
hear me sweetheart?" she whispered, she gently stroked his
cheek with her thumb "Fox?" He stared at her, he could
just about hear her, but he couldn't make out what she was
saying, he went to answer her, but it came out as a incoherent
mumble.
"What's happened?" Elizabeth Mulder came walking into
the room, she put her handbag down on the chair and came over to
Fox's bed, "what is it? what's happened, Fox?" she
looked at him, he stared at his Mother. "Dana, what's wrong
with him?"
"It was terrible" Scully shook her head, "he was
crying, screaming out for you, it was the fever, he was in a lot
of pain, I told him you were coming, but he kept crying. Then the
doctor came in and restrained him, he gave him an injection,
drugs to calm him down. We've got to take him out of here, he's
not going to get any better if they treat him like this"
Scully wiped her eyes. "He was so helpless, he just
cried" she was choking on the words. "We've got to get
him out of here" she looked up to see her Mother standing in
the doorway. "Mom...he's got to come home with us" she
walked into her Mother's arms and sobbed.
Elizabeth gently lifted her son into her arms and held him
tightly, gently rocking him she kissed his head. He whimpered
softly.
"Mommy's here Fox, shh Mommy's here" was all she
whispered. "It's all right. Mommy's here"
End of part II
Part III to follow
mail me xfiler_uk@yahoo.com
Title: (One step at a time part III) Coming home
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: Mulder returns home
Rating: R
"Dana.......can't walk" Mulder murmured from his
bed. Scully sat beside him, gently stroking his hair back from
his forehead. He was still sick with his fever and Scully had
become concerned for him. Although she was sure of one thing, she
wasn't about to let him stay in the hospital, the minute she saw
that they had put restraints on his wrists, she wanted him out of
there. The drug that they had given him to supposedly 'calm him
down' was clearly still in his system. He didn't protest to being
carried out to the car by Walter Skinner, and he lay with his
head in Scully's lap for the whole journey back to her Mother's
house.
"Fox, we're nearly there honey" Scully said to him, he
looked up at her and gave her his traditional lop sided grin.
"You pleased to be out of that place?"
"Yeah......where....where's....Mommy?" he asked
quietly.
"She's at the house Fox, don't you worry" Mrs Scully
called from the front seat. "Fox, you want to take a nap
when you get in sweetheart?" she asked him.
"Maybe" he replied. "I....don't feel....well"
he sniffled.
"No, I know you don't, we'll get you tucked up in bed in no
time honey" Scully sighed. She was tired, tired physically
and emotionally. She had spent nearly every waking hour with
Mulder since the accident, it was draining and frustrating, he
was trying very hard, and she knew that, but it was so difficult
to see her once brilliant partner spilling his dinner down his
front and then crying about it, she hated the fact that she had
to bathe him, do up his laces and buttons. It seemed so unfair
that the bastard Losely had sent him into a living hell, and he
escaped by dying there and then. Of course Scully didn't hate
Mulder for it, she loved him with all her heart and she knew that
he wanted to get better, and that he couldn't do it without her
help. He had progressed remarkably well in the last few months,
but the recovery was going to be long, and it was going to be
hard. She had been warned of that, the AD had told her that, as
had the doctor as had Fox's Mother, but she wasn't about to prove
them right, she would get Mulder back to full health, *Fuck how
hard it's gonna be for me* she thought *it's harder for Mulder*
"O.K Dana?" her train of thought was broken as her
Mother spoke to her, "let's get Fox in"
"Yeah, sure Mom, come on Fox, sit up" she helped him
sit and he wriggled to the door, even that made him out of
breath, he was still burning up badly.
"Come on, let me help you out there" Walter Skinner
lifted Mulder up and carried him up the steps of the house,
Elizabeth Mulder was standing in the doorway smiling.
"Hello" she said, "Fox honey" she kissed his
cheek, Walter laid him down on the couch which had been made up
as a bed. "He's still very hot" she looked up at
Scully, "he'll be all right won't he Dana?"
"Yes, I should think so, it's just a little flu, he'll be
fine, we'll just have to keep an eye on him that's all"
Scully tucked the comforter around Mulder and gently stroked his
forehead "You get some rest Fox, you'll feel better
then" Mulder's eyes flickered shut and his breathing became
more contented. "You'll be safe here, no one will hurt you
here, I promise you that sweetheart"
Two Months Later
6:25pm Mrs Scully's Residence
Scully came in from the bureau, it had been a heavy paperwork day
and she was tired, she had been doing all the paperwork that
Mulder had never got to finish, that was a tiresome task and all
she wanted now was to take a long hot bubble bath. She put her
case down in the hall and went into the front room. Mulder was
sat with a pad of paper and a pen. He looked up at her.
"Hello" he smiled.
"Hi" Scully sat down by him., "what are you up
to?"
"Writing" he showed her some illegible scrawl.
"Read it to me" he beamed, obviously proud of his
efforts. Scully looked at it, she couldn't decipher it.
"What's it say Fox?" she tried to turn in around
"can you read it to me?"
"It's...my name" he said slowly. "Can't you
tell?" his face fell. Scully sighed,
"It's good Fox, it's good honey" she kissed his cheek
"I'm going to take a bath" he pulled away from her.
"What?" she asked him. "What's wrong?"
"You couldn't....read...it" his face dropped and he
started to cry. "You.....you...didn't ..try...an'.
you...you..." he was getting more and more upset. Scully was
not in the mood at all, she had a headache and was tired.
"It's messy Fox!" she shouted, "I couldn't read it
if I tried. You need to try harder! For fuck's sake Fox you are
useless! you're not a baby!" she stormed out of the room and
slammed the door, running up to the bathroom.
Maggie Scully heard the shouts and came running in, she rushed to
Fox who was huddled on the couch in tears. She gathered him into
her arms.
"What is it?" she asked "Fox?"
"Dana....said....useless" he wheezed.
"Oh honey....I'm sure she didn't mean that. She doesn't
think that"
"Does" he sobbed. "an' she's right"
"No, no Fox, don't you think that, you are doing so well, so
well" she kissed his head. "Shh" she whispered.
"Shh"
"What's happening?" Elizabeth Mulder walked into the
room.
"The kids had a bit of a fight, that's all. I'll go and talk
to Dana" Maggie kissed Mulder's head. "She wouldn't
have meant it Fox, I promise you that, Dana loves you honey, we
all do" she looked at him. "O.k?" she cupped his
face with her hand. "Fox?"
"'K" he murmured. He looked up at his Mother.
"Momma" he said quietly. "Sit with...me" he
sniffed. Elizabeth nodded and sat down by her son, he lay down
with his head in her lap.
Maggie went up the stairs to the bathroom and knocked softly on
the door.
"Dana honey, can I come in?" she asked, a quiet 'yes'
came from her daughter and Maggie went into the bathroom, Scully
was in the bath, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom, I was so horrible to him" she cried, "I was
so nasty and I didn't mean it. I called him useless Mom"
"I know, he told me. Dana you are tired honey. You have been
doing two jobs in taking care of Fox and being back at work, no
wonder you snapped at him. He'll be fine, he's tired too. He's
had a hard day, he was a little resistant when he was doing his
physio today. He's not been in the best mood" Maggie got a
sponge and gently washed her daughter's back, "go and tell
him you're sorry, he'll be fine. He knows you didn't mean it. I'm
sure he does"
"Mom, of all the things I could have said, that had to be
the worst, what if he really took it to heart? I'm meant to be
his strength, then I say that to him" she got up and Maggie
handed her a towel. "I have to apologise to him" she
dried her eyes. "I love him Mom, I really do, I just lost it
for a moment there. It's so hard you know? He was brilliant Mom,
a genius, all his hard work, it's all gone, all his education,
those years at Oxford, working at VCS, it's all been lost. The
only good thing may be that he doesn't remember what happened to
Samantha. But everything is lost"
"Not everything Dana" Maggie stated, Scully looked at
her Mother quizzically. "He still has you, and that is what
counts" she smiled. "As you just said, you're his
strength, without you to help him, he wouldn't have come this
far" She embraced her daughter, "go and make up with
him, tell him how you love him, that's what's upset him, he
things he's a burden to you, that's all. It was inevitable that
he'd think it. Just go reassure him he's doing fine" she
kissed Scully's head. "I'm very proud of you Dana, very
proud"
Scully pulled her robe on and went down the stairs into the front
room, she swallowed awkwardly, as Mrs Mulder looked at her icily.
"Can I have a minute with Fox please?" she asked her.
Elizabeth got up and as she went past Scully she pulled her arm.
"I don't know what the hell you said, but if you dare upset
him like that again..." she walked angrily out of the room.
Mulder lay on the couch looking up at her, the tears had stained
his face, and his eyes still looked bloodshot and watery. Scully
bent down beside him and tried to bite back her own tears.
"Fox" she began, "You have to know that I didn't
mean what I said" she took his hand in hers. "I was
tired and I was angry"
"With me?"
"No, not with you, you didn't do anything wrong. I was in
the wrong, I took out my anger on you, and I am sorry. Fox, I
love you, you know that don't you?" he shrugged.
"You shouted" he murmured "at me"
"I know I did. I know, and I'm so sorry that I upset you. I
didn't mean to, I am so sorry" she reached out and stroked
his hair gently. "Please forgive me Fox, I know you have
every right to be upset with me, and I know I don't deserve for
you to talk to me, but please Fox, you have to know how sorry I
am" she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. Mulder sat
himself up and leant in to hug Scully, he nuzzled into her neck.
"Don't get...cross..again" he sniffed "don't like
it" he tightened his grip on her.
"No sweetheart I promise I won't. You are not useless, I
want you to forget I ever said it" she rubbed his back.
"Said..what?" he muttered. Scully smiled, there
suddenly was a flash of the old Mulder. She kissed his cheek and
smiled. "You want to get a movie out? my treat. You can have
pizza" she sat down beside him on the couch. "That
cool?"
"Yeah" he nodded. "What's this?" he picked up
Scully's ID badge from the table, "that's you" he
pointed to the picture and smiled.
"Yeah, that's my ID sweetie, gets me into places" she
showed him. "This is FBI, it stands for Federal bureau of
investigation"
"What do you do?" he asked her. *God this was painful*
"We catch the bad guys Fox" she smiled.
"Will I catch....bad guys someday?" he snuggled up to
Scully and took the badge out of her hand, looking at it
carefully.
"Someday Fox, someday you will, and you'll be the best at it
in the world" she kissed the top of his head. "Right
then, I'll go get a movie and order that pizza" she smiled.
The following day
11:34am
Mrs Scully's residence.
"Elizabeth?" Maggie called, "I've got a cup of
tea for you here" she slowly pushed open the spare bedroom
door, the lights were off and Maggie was surprised to see
Elizabeth still in bed. She must have been exhausted, she had
after all suffered a stroke and with the stress of taking care of
Fox an elderly lady would be quite ground down by it.
"Elizabeth?" Maggie called, she went to shake her, she
felt rigid. "Elizabeth?...oh..oh no" she drew the
curtains and placed her hand over her mouth.
Elizabeth had her eyes open, but they were glazed over, her lips
were slightly parted, there was a blueish tinge to her skin. It
looked like she had died from a heart attack during the night.
Maggie slowly got up and left the room, poking her head round the
door she checked on Mulder, he was sleeping soundly. Picking up
the telephone receiver Maggie hit the programmed number 1 in.
"Scully?" came the receiving voice.
"Dana, you have to come home honey, something's
happened"
End of part III
IV to follow.
What do you reckon so far?
xfiler_uk@yahoo.com
Title: (One step at a time part IV) Setback
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: Fox's Mother's death has a profound effect
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I forgot to do this in the other parts, oops. Sorry
Chris, don't sue me!! They're just on loan to me for my selfish
purposes!
"How's he doing?" Maggie Scully came and sat down
quietly on Mulder's bed, Scully had hold of him, just rocking him
gently as he cried into her. He had been sobbing hard for two
hours solidly since he was told about his Mother passing away.
Now his sobs had been reduced to whimpers and sniffles. "Fox
honey, would you like something to drink?" Maggie gently put
her hand on his back. "Sweetheart?" he didn't look up
from Scully's chest where he had his head nuzzled into her.
"He's still in shock Mom, this is a lot for him to take
in" Scully whispered, she tenderly stroked Mulder's hair.
"Fox" she tried to get him to answer. "Sit up a
minute honey" she sat Mulder up, his eyes were streaming
with tears and his cheeks were flushed. "Fox, listen to me
sweetheart" Scully cupped his face in her hand. "Your
Mom loved you very very much and she wouldn't want to see you
tear yourself apart over her. She wouldn't" Scully gently
stroked the side of his head. "You have to know that, it's
o.k to cry honey, that's better than bottling it all up inside of
you. But you've got to keep going, your Mom would want that"
she whispered. "Come on downstairs and have something to eat
hey" Scully smiled at him. He just stared at her. "Fox,
don't do this, come on. Come downstairs" She stood up and
held out her hand. He took it and pulled himself to his feet,
slowly he followed her down the stairs. He shuffled to the couch
and threw himself down on it, pulling his knees up to his chest
he curled up in a foetal position, just staring into space.
Scully went into the kitchen to fix him some lunch, his appetite
wasn't huge and so she just set him a bowl of cereal and took it
into him. He didn't acknowledge her when she went back in.
"Fox, come on honey, try and eat something" she put the
bowl on the table infront of him. "Sit up, you can't eat it
lying down" she smiled. He looked at her, his eyes looked
distant. "Come on, you don't need me to feed it to you now
Fox, sit up" still no response. "O.k, come on" she
sat down cross legged on the floor beside the couch and took the
bowl, she filled the spoon with 'Captain Crunch' and put it to
his mouth, he took it in, milk ran all down his chin, he made no
effort to wipe it off. Scully was worried, the shock of his
Mother's death appeared to have made him have some kind of a
relapse. *but he walked down the stairs* she thought, *it must
just be shock* She wasn't going to push him though, she knew that
it was painful for him, his Mother was who he had first
recognised, and she was a source of great comfort to him. Now she
was gone, he had accepted his Father's death when told about it,
but he hadn't had him there with him. Elizabeth Mulder had been
there, to hold him, to help dress him, to comfort him. Now She
was gone.
Scully put the bowl down and sat down beside Mulder, she lifted
his head and placed it onto her lap. Gently she stroked his hair,
silently cursing Elizabeth Mulder for leaving him when he most
needed her. She had hardly been a model Mother to him when he was
a child, but she had somewhat made up for that in the past six
months. Now it seemed Mulder may have been catapulted right back
to the beginning again.
Later that evening
Walter Skinner had come around to visit, he wanted to see how
Mulder was doing, especially after he heard about Elizabeth. When
he saw Mulder he had a shock, he looked worse than he had done in
a long while, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was as white
as the day he was brought into ICU. He looked up at Walter as he
came into the room.
"Hey there fella, how you bearing up?" he sat down by
him.
"Momma's....gone" those were the first words he had
spoken since he had been told the news. Walter put his arm around
Mulder's shoulder.
"I know Fox, I'm sorry" he gave him a comforting smile,
"we're here for you, you know that don't you?"
"She's gone" Mulder repeated. "Like...Sam"
"Fox, what did you say?"
"Sam....Momma...gone...Sammy gone" he shut his eyes as
tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Yeah, I know, you loved your sister didn't you?"
"Mmm...she...had..her hair in..braids...and...she...she..I
tried to..stop them from...taking her..and" he broke down
into sobs. Walter pulled him close to him and held the young man.
Scully came in when she heard his tears. Walter looked at her.
"He's getting memories back Dana" he said.
"What?"
"He just started talking about the night he lost Sam"
Walter Skinner bit his lip. "I think we should tell the
doctors about this on his next appointment. When is it?"
"Tomorrow actually, Elizabeth may have spoken to him about
Sam Sir..Walter. It's extremely unlikely that he'd get memories
back like that. Not after the extent of his injuries. Fox"
Scully bent down by him. "Sweetheart, come on let's put you
to bed. You look exhausted" Mulder looked at her through the
torrent of tears.
"I'm...tired" he murmured.
"Come on" Walter stood up and hoisted Mulder into his
arms, he carried him up to his bedroom and gently put him on the
bed.
"I'll settle him, go and say hi to Mom" Scully smiled.
She had noticed a strong friendship growing between the AD and
her Mother.
"Sure" Walter nodded. "I'll see you later on
Fox" he smiled. Mulder nodded slowly. Scully undid his shirt
buttons and slipped it off him.
"We need to get some more food into you" she smiled
gently stroking his tummy. "So thin" She unbuckled his
jeans and helped him wriggle out of them. Gently pulling the
comforter over him she leant in and kissed him. "You're
going to be all right Fox, you hear me?" she stroked his
hair back from his forehead. "You get some sleep, and
tomorrow we'll go to the doctor's and show them how well you've
been doing honey, all right?"
"Yeah.....Dana?"
"Yes sweetheart?"
"I'm sorry" he wiped his teary eyes with the back of
his hand. Scully looked at him with sad eyes.
"Fox, why are you sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for
sweetheart"
"I.......I made you sick...once" he stated. "I
don't know how...or when...but I did didn't I?" he sniffed.
"Cancer" Scully stared at him.
"Fox, where did you get that from? did someone tell
you?" Scully took his hand in hers and stroked it.
"No....just....remember" he wiped more tears away.
"So..sad...I was so sad...I cried by your..bed and
you...you...it was my fault....Bill...who's Bill"
"Fox, Bill's my brother honey, he's been at sea for the past
few months. Listen to me, I was sick, yes. But it wasn't your
fault o.k. Not at all. I don't blame you at all" She pulled
him into her arms. "Fox, do you remember anything else,
anything good?" she rocked him in her arms.
"I know...you've always...been there" he sniffed.
"That's good" he nuzzled into her neck.
"I'll always be here Fox, always" she laid him back
down again. "Get some sleep, big day tomorrow" She
kissed him again. "Love you"
"Love...you too" he shut his eyes and within minutes he
had gone off to sleep.
Scully went downstairs to the lounge where AD Skinner and her
Mother were sitting. She sat down heavily in the armchair. She
rubbed her eyes.
"He is getting memories back. He remembered my cancer, he
remembers Bill telling him it was all his fault" she sighed.
"Poor sweetheart, Fox doesn't need this now"
"Dana, it's good that he's remembering, it's very good
honey" Maggie said.
"I know, but it's what he's remembering which is worrying
me. He's getting bad memories back and it's upsetting him so
much. All this on top of his Mother dying, it could really do
some damage"
"It could do some good too" Walter said, "look,
see what the doctor has to say tomorrow. For now let him
rest"
3:35am
Mrs Scully's residence.
Scully was awakened as her bedroom door was slowly pushed
open. She fumbled for the light and turned it on. Mulder stood in
her doorway, drenched in sweat, tears pouring down his face. His
hair was stuck to his forehead and he was breathing hard.
"Fox, what's wrong?" She sat up in bed.
"Dana...can I sleep in here....had a bad...dream" he
murmured.
"Come here" Scully held her hands out, he walked to her
and she took them. "Come on then" she pulled her covers
back and he climbed in. "Fox you're shaking" she put
her arms around him and held him tightly. "It's all right,
you want to talk about your dream?"
"No" he sniffed. "Scared" he buried his head
in the crook of her neck. Scully nodded, she rubbed his back
tenderly.
"You're safe now Fox. I've got you" she reached and
turned the light off. Snuggling up to him she closed her eyes.
"Go to sleep now honey, it's all right" She whispered.
Mulder's breathing soon became more content and Scully realised
he was asleep.
8:00am
Scully had been awake for a while, Mulder still lay cuddled up
to her, she just lay with him fondling his hair, and looking into
his face. His sweet face, he looked so young and untormented in
his sleep. Just like all the cares in the world didn't matter. He
was safe when he was asleep. Safe from the approaching day of
more hard work and pain for him.
Suddenly he awoke, he gave a sleepy whimper and rubbed his eyes,
Scully looked at him with a smile. He opened his eyes slightly.
"Hey there" Scully whispered "how are you
feeling?" she stroked the side of his face. "You got
back to sleep all right huh"
"Yeah....don't want to go to hospital" he buried his
head back into her. Scully hugged him gently.
"It's just a check-up Fox. It's going to be all right. The
doctor just wants to see how you're doing. It's all right"
She kissed his head. "Come on, let's get you all clean and
dressed" Scully got out of bed and came around Mulder's
side, she helped him sit. He looked at her, tears were welling in
his eyes again.
"What is it Fox?" Scully knelt down infront of him and
gently put her hands on his thighs. "What's scaring you
honey?"
"I keep....getting thoughts....I ....I...my Dad" he
looked away. "blood, on my hands and...Dana.....what's
happening to me?"
"Fox, I don't know how, but you're remembering things. It
seems like you're remembering all the bad things. All in one go,
now you dealt with these things. And although it may not seem
like it, good things happened too. Really good things. I want to
talk to the doctor today and see what he has to say. There is a
chance that you may get your memory back, which will be a good
thing. It'll mean that you'll get better sooner" She smiled.
"I'm....so....scared" Scully put her arms around Mulder
and held him tight.
"I know you are sweetheart, but I'm here. I'm here. Come on,
let's get you ready"
And so began the morning ritual. Mulder had recently become well
enough to take a shower instead of being bathed by Scully,
although she did stay present in the bathroom incase he fell. He
wasn't embarrassed about being naked infront of her, he wasn't
embarrassed about anything where Scully was concerned, she was
his strength and he didn't know what he'd do without her.
Scully held open the warm fuzzy towel and Mulder stepped out of
the shower into it. She wrapped it around him taking another
opportunity to give him a cuddle. Then sitting him down on the
edge of the bath she got his razor to shave him, he wasn't quite
co-ordinated enough yet to manage that one. He also found
cleaning his teeth hard, but with Scully's help he managed.
He could get as far as picking out his clothes, but his buttons
and zip and belt buckle were a daunting task. He needed Scully's
help for those. She helped him dress and then put a sweater over
his head. He held his arms up helpfully. She combed his hair for
him, slapped a little after shave on his cheeks and smiled.
"All handsome" she smiled.
"You think?" he gave a lopsided smile back.
"Well I love you" she kissed his head. "Come on,
time to go Fox"
Washington General
11:00am
"Hello Dana" Dr Rauche stood up as they came in,
"Fox, standing tall I see. That's good, very good"
"He's doing very well" Scully took hold of Mulder's
hand as they sat down.
"Yes, so I see, Fox I need for you to do some tests for me.
Dana's going to have to wait here" Mulder's grip on her hand
tightened. "It's nothing to be scared of, just a few mental
tests. That's all" Scully looked at him with a smile.
"I'll be right here Fox, I'll wait here for you"
"Promise"
"Course I do honey. Now, the quicker you do this the quicker
we get home for you to see that Nicks game"
"Yeah" he slowly got up and followed the doctor out to
another room. When he went in he was told to sit down at a table.
After twenty minutes of various tests, such as writing, pointing
out shapes and verbal exercises he began to tire. His
concentration span was not great at this time anyway, plus with
the events of the past few days he was drained. So when it came
to physio he wasn't too obliging.
"Come on Fox, lay down" the nurse said.
"I'm too tired" he muttered. "Where's Dana?"
"You can see her as soon as you've done your exercises"
"I DON'T WANT TO!" he suddenly screamed. "I WANT
TO GO HOME" he got up and threw all the paper and pens on
the floor and pushed the table over.
"Fox!" Dr Rauche shouted. "Come on, calm
down"
"I...I...I don't like this" he got down on his knees
and crawled to the corner of the room. "I don't want
it" he cowered there. "I want....Mom...I
want...Mom" he started to hug himself tightly.
"Get Miss Scully" Dr Rauche said, he turned to a tray
and filled a syringe. Scully came in to the room to see him
pushing the needle into Mulder's arm.
"NO! no drugs....what the hell are you doing?" she
screamed.
"He's hysterical Miss Scully, he's obviously in need of
medication. Strong medication too" Mulder stared at Scully,
she began to blur infront of him, her words floated over to him,
but he couldn't make them out. He slowly reached his hand out to
her. She ran to him and took it. "Fox honey, stay with me,
fight it, don't let it take you under, FIGHT IT FOX!" she
screamed. His head dropped forward into her and he began to
dribble again.
end of part IV
V coming asap.
comments please xfiler_uk@yahoo.com
Title: (One step at a time part V) Protected
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: Scully's fights to keep Mulder safe
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I forgot to do this in the other parts, oops. Sorry
Chris, don't sue me!! They're just on loan to me for my selfish
purposes!
Scully looked up at the doctor, tears of anger and frustration
ran down her face. Mulder lay in her arms just whimpering. The
drug had completely debilitated him and he could barely move let
alone communicate.
"That's it" she said calmly. "From now on, I am
treating him at home, I will do his assessments and I won't let
any of you near him, you got me?" she pulled out her cell
phone and punched in number 3 speedial. Walter Skinner answered
his phone.
"AD Skinner"
"It's Dana Walter" Scully said quietly, "I need
for you to come to the hospital"
"Is Fox all right?" Walter became anxious.
"Uh....not really, I'll explain when you get here, I need
your help. I'm in the rehab room, you know the one"
"Sure, be there as soon as I can" Walter put the phone
down and grabbed all he needed to take with him from the office.
Then rushing to his car he took the five minute drive to
Washington general. Fighting his way through he got to the room
where he saw Dr Rauche standing outside with his arms folded.
"That woman is insane" he said shaking his head.
"What the hell's happened here?"
"Fox had a panic session, I gave him a shot, Dana went
crazy"
"She wouldn't have done without good reason" Walter
pushed past into the room. "Dana?" he bent down by her.
"Oh God" he looked at Mulder lying in her lap, his eyes
weren't focused on anything and he was mumuring. "He's not
there is he?" Scully shook her head slowly.
"No, he was crying, he was tired that's all. This isn't
going to happen again, I'm not bringing him back here. I'll take
care of the tests and assessments. For God's sake, I should have
known he'd get upset, his Mom's only just died and he's so
fragile Walter, this is my fault" she looked at Mulder and
stroked his cheek. "You'll have to carry him Walter, I can't
lift him"
"Okay, come on Fox, up we come" Walter bent down and
lifted Mulder into his arms. He lay there limply, not able to
respond or even to hold on. "How long will this last?"
he asked Scully
"From anything like 8 hours to 24, I don't know what dosage
he had, he's pretty out of it though. Fuck!" she cursed.
"They don't care about him at all, they stuck that needle in
him to quieten him down that's all. No other reason" Scully
was furious.
They got Mulder to Walter's car and put him on the back seat, he
wasn't able to sit so Scully rolled him onto his side, she was
worried that the drug might make him vomit, and if he did then he
may choke.
"Let's get him home" she sighed as she shut the door.
"It's the funeral in two days, he's got to be lucid for
that"
Late Afternoon
Mrs Scully's house
Mulder began to come around slightly, he felt very groggy and
tired and didn't know what had happened to him. He was huddled up
to Scully whimpering.
"It's all right Fox, it's ok now honey" She whispered.
"feel....dizzy" he muttered. Scully stroked his head
gently and nodded.
"I know you do, try and go to sleep, you'll feel better when
you wake up. I promise you will" she kissed his head softly.
"Yeah" he let out a sigh and went to sleep in her arms.
"I'll keep you safe Fox, I promise you that"
The Morning of the Funeral
Mrs Scully's Residence
8:10am
Scully did up Mulder's tie for him and dusted off his suit
jacket. He looked up at her, he was still feeling a little woozy
after the drugs he had been given but he was a great deal more
lucid. "How are you feeling?" Scully asked him.
"Bit sad" he looked down. "You'll stay with me
won't you? at the church I mean?" Scully put her hands on
his shoulders.
"I'll be with you Fox, all the way" she kissed his
cheek. "come on, come and eat something"
"I'm not hungry Dana...my tummy feels like it's doing
backflips...you know like they had on tv. The..Ci..Cir..what was
it?"
"The circus" Scully smiled. Come on, just a cup of tea
then" she took his hand and led him downstairs. She knew
this was going to be hard on him, although he seemed to have
calmed down about it a little. The service was only going to be a
small one, just a few people from the bureau were coming to pay
their respects more for Mulder's sake. He wouldn't know any of
them , but it would make him feel better if there were other
people there.
"Morning Fox" Maggie kissed his cheek and put some
toast in front of him. "Eat that up now please, I know you
won't be hungry, but it'll help you I promise" she kissed
him again. Mulder smiled at her.
"I love you" he smiled.
"You too honey" Maggie smiled back "I'll go and
get the tea" she went into the kitchen, Scully followed her.
"How do you think he'll cope today Dana?"
"I don't know, he seems all right at the moment, but I think
that may be because he doesn't really realise what's happening.
I've talked to him about what's going on, but I don't know if he
understands or not"
"I guess we'll see won't we" She hugged her Mother.
"I hope he'll be all right"
St Peter's Church
11:00am
Scully held onto Mulder's hand as they walked up the aisle of
the church, they sat down at the front and sat quietly. Mulder
turned his head to look as more people filed into the church, he
tapped Scully's arm.
"Who are they?" he asked.
"Friends Fox, they're friends of ours" she smiled. She
reached up and brushed a stray bit of hair from his face.
"You be brave now" she whispered "I know this is
very sad, but I want you to be strong, can you do that for
me?"
"I can do anything for you Dana" he beamed. Scully
smiled at him and brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it.
"I love you Fox William Mulder" she stated.
"Love you too Dana...Katherine...Scully" he replied.
The service started and Scully felt Mulder's grip on her hand get
tighter. The priest started the service. Suddenly the realisation
of why they were there hit Mulder and he began to understand.
Before this he hadn't really known what he was doing there. He
knew he was going to say goodbye to his Mom, but in a funny way
he thought that meant that he'd get to see her again. He pointed
to the coffin like a child.
"Dana..." he said in a little voice.
"What is it honey?"
"I..is..Mommy there?" he asked.
"Yes sweetheart, that's right. Well her body is there, but
she's gone to heaven, that's just the shell left now. She's in
heaven with your Dad, and they're both sending lots of love down
to you"
"Is it a good...place?"
"If it wasn't good Fox, people would come back wouldn't
they?" she smiled.
"I...guess" Mulder shuffled over and huddled up to
Scully, she put her arm around him and stroked his hair as he
leant his head against her. She kissed the top of his head and
then felt him start to shake as he cried. He was exhausted by the
end of the service and fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Mrs Scully's residence
after the service
Walter Skinner carried him up to his bedroom and Scully put
him to bed. When he was settled she went downstairs and flopped
back into one of the chairs.
"He did well today" Skinner said, "it can't have
been easy for him"
"No, I know" Scully sighed, "Walter, I was
thinking of bringing him into work tomorrow, would that be all
right? I just think if I show him the office it may help jog some
memories"
"Sure, just bring his ID with you and that should be
fine" Skinner smiled. "I hope it works"
"Yeah, he's getting so much better now, he really is"
"You know he'll never be able to come back to work
Dana" Skinner looked at her.
"I know.....but he might be able to do something. You never
know, he could reach a good fitness level"
"Maybe, but I don't know" Skinner sighed. "It's
too much of a risk for him, he's got a long way to come yet"
"I know he has. But he's accomplished so much so far"
Scully smiled. "He's so brave, he really has worked so
hard" She ran a hand through her hair. "What a day, I'm
exhausted too"
"Here we are" Maggie Scully came in with a tray of tea
and some sandwiches. "Is he asleep Dana?"
"Yeah, out like a light Mom, I was just saying to Walter
that I was going to take him into work tomorrow, just so he can
have a look around"
"Is that a good idea Dana, is he up to spending the whole
day out?"
"Mom, he'll be fine, I'll bring him home if he gets tired.
Besides I think it may help him out a little to see it, his desk
and his posters"
"Okay, if you think it'll help him Dana" Maggie smiled.
"Eat some sandwiches honey, you must be starving"
"Yes, I am Mom, thanks" she smiled at her Mother.
Mrs Scully's residence
8:00am the next day
"Fox come on honey, up you get" Scully shook him,
"you're coming with me today"
"No hospital NO" Mulder pulled himself into a ball and
started to slowly rock himself.
"No honey, not hospital, shh it's all right. Shh" She
gently rubbed his back, "Fox, remember I told you I'd take
you to see where I work, hey? you remember?"
"Mmm" he looked up at her and nodded. "That's
where we're going, it's all right, see. I'm not going to hurt
you" She whispered. "I'll never let them hurt you in
that hospital again Fox, you're not going back there" she
kissed his head. "Come on hop in the shower, and we can get
ready" she helped him sit up. "Fox, I wanted to tell
you how proud I was of you yesterday" Scully looked him in
the eye "you did so well" she gave him one of her best
smiles. "come on, you get in the shower I'll sort your
clothes out, deal?"
"Deal" Mulder got out of bed and went to the bathroom,
he kept the door unlocked just incase and got into the shower.
His head felt funny today, sort of fuzzy and he didn't understand
what was happening, he didn't much understand anything. To all
intents and purposes Mulder was like a five year old child, he
didn't know how anything worked just under a year ago and he was
learning all the time. Sometimes his attitude was of an adult,
but most of the time he had a childlike innocence about him which
was actually somewhat endearing, although quite difficult for
Scully to observe. He got out of the shower and looked at his
razor, he was going to do this one for himself he thought. So he
squeezed some foam onto his hand and went to slap it on his
cheeks as Dana had done for him every morning. But he ended up
with some in his eye, it really did sting and he shouted out in
pain. Within seconds Scully was there. She gently pushed Mulder's
head down to the tap and let the cool water rinse his eye.
"Fox, you should have called me" she said gently
"are you all right now?" she asked.
"Yeah" he held out his razor and gave it to her,
"help me please" he said.
"Sure, here we go" she gently shaved him and then
kissed his cheek. "All smooth" she noticed he looked
suddenly sad. "What is it honey?"
"Why can't...I do stuff?" he asked slowly. "I
can't..do lots of stuff" this was the first time Mulder had
asked what had happened to him, and Scully was so wrapped up in
his rehab that she never really thought to tell him much about
it.
"Oh Fox, you were very brave honey, and you got hurt. I
nearly lost you" Scully put her hand on his shoulder.
"You know you woke up in the hospital?"
"Yeah" he nodded, they made their way to his room and
Scully helped him with his shirt buttons. "Well you woke up
then after you'd been hurt. And that's why you've had to do all
this learning. Because you were hurt. But Fox, you know it
doesn't matter honey, because you weren't taken away from me. I
will always be here to help you. I still have you, and that is so
important to me" she smiled at him.
"I'm glad I have you too" he beamed back at Scully.
"So...um how old am I?"
"You're 35 honey" she did up his tie as they chatted.
"35...right" he repeated. "and....did I do the
same as you?"
"Yes, you were in the FBI like me" Scully smiled,
"and if you work hard you may be again"
"How hard?"
"Very hard, like you have been, now come on Mr, stop
chatting, get those pants on" he stood up and pulled his
pants up, he managed the zip but came unstuck at the button.
"Okay, let me help, there we are" Scully went over to a
draw and pulled out Mulder's ID wallet. "Look Fox, let me
show you something. This is yours" he opened it and stared,
then he looked at Scully and showed his ID
"I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, I'm with the Federal bureau
of investigation" the words rang in Scully's ears, looking
at him standing in his suit and brandishing his badge he looked
just like he always did. "Can I arrest you for not giving me
a morning cuddle?" he asked with a giggle. Scully came
towards him,
"No" she shook her head and held her arms out, she held
him tightly, then reached up to kiss his forehead. "Come on
sweetheart, let's go" she took his hand and they walked down
the stairs.
"Look at you all smart" Maggie Scully smiled.
"Fox, Dana, I've made you both some packed lunches to
take" she handed Scully two lunch tins. "I'll see you
both later, have a good day Fox" she kissed him. "And
you honey" she kissed her daughter.
"Bye Mom"
"Bye Mom" Mulder echoed.
FBI building
9:15am
"This is a big place" Mulder took hold of Scully's
hand nervously. They walked along the corridor, Scully pointing
out things to him as they went. Suddenly they were approached by
a friendly looking guy.
"Hey look who's back" he said holding his hand out
"how you doing Mulder?"
"Fox, this is Martin Gordon, say hi" Scully prompted
him.
"Hi" Mulder looked at his hand as Martin shook it.
"How you doing man?" Martin smiled. "Looking
good"
"Thanks....I'm okay" he smiled "I'm sorry....but
I...I've been hurt" he was embarrassed not to recognise the
man.
"I know Mulder, it's all right" he smiled as he still
shook his hand firmly.
"My name's Fox" Mulder corrected him, Scully had to
snigger slightly. "Mulder's my surname, my Dad was Mulder
too"
"Yeah....all right" Martin became a bit uncomfortable.
"I'll see you around 'Fox' buddy, good to see you back"
he walked off. Scully took his hand again.
"Come on" she smiled.
"What's funny"
"You never let anyone call you Fox, you always insisted on
Mulder"
"That's silly" Mulder giggled "I'm Fox"
"I know you are, come on. I'll take you to the office"
She led him down to the basement office and got out the key.
Mulder looked at the name stuck on the door, he traced it with
his finger.
"F.o.x..Mu.lder" he read slowly "that's me"
he smiled at her. "My office Dana?"
"Sure, it's our office, come on" she took him in and he
looked around wide eyed, the office was full of clutter, but
somehow it did look familiar to him. He went to his chair and sat
down. "Sam" he said as his eyes fell on a photo on his
desk, "this is me and Sam" he picked it up and showed
Scully. "Where is...Sam Dana?" he had a single tear
rolling down his face. Scully came and sat down by him.
"I don't know Fox, you have looked for her, you've searched
very hard" she reached out and touched his cheek. "Come
on honey, don't cry" she whispered. Touching Mulder had
become so natural now, and he craved it as did she. Scully made
him feel safe, it was a bond that they never had before but now
would never be broken. Scully gently stroked his cheek with her
thumb. "You all right?"
"Yeah" he sniffed and dried his eyes with the back of
his hand. He swung himself round in the chair to look at the
pinboard. Getting up he walked to his 'I want to believe' poster,
staring at it for a moment, he looked back at Scully. "What
does...it say?" he asked her. Scully walked up to him and
pointed to the words.
"I want to believe" she said, then she looked at him,
"that's always been here Fox"
"What do I want to believe?" he looked at her.
"Well, I don't know Fox, lots of things. Like one day you'll
find Sam, and you want to believe that your Mom is looking over
you. You can believe anything Fox, anything you want to"
"Can I believe in you?" he asked her.
"Well, I sure believe in you Fox" Scully smiled, she
hugged him gently.
"What are you two up to" came a voice as AD Skinner
came in.
"Hello Walter" Mulder smiled. Skinner looked at him,
stood there in his suit and tie with his ID badge clipped on him
he looked fine. Normal.
"How are you doing Fox?" Walter smiled.
"OK, Dana's showing me around" he walked over to the
filing cabinet. "What's in here?" he asked.
"Those are case files" Scully opened the draw,
"here we go, have a look if you want to" she handed him
one. He opened it up and looked at it in confusion.
"I need...you to teach me reading" he said to Scully.
"I want to read"
"Okay" Scully smiled "I can do that for you
Fox" she smiled. He was now showing some determination and
the trip to the office was having the desired effect.
"Agent Scully, can I have a word a minute?" Skinner
asked. Mulder gave a laugh.
"Agent Scully" he said, "can't you call her Dana
Walter?" he looked at him. Skinner shook his head.
"Not at work Fox, it's different from home"
"Oh...so I'm Agent Mulder" he stated proudly.
"That's right Agent Mulder" Skinner smiled. "Fox
will you be all right here for about ten minutes, I just need to
talk to Dana"
"Sure, I'll just sit quietly" Mulder sat down at his
desk again and began flicking through a baseball magasine which
was on there. He liked to look at the pictures, the text made no
sense to him at all.
The time ticked on and Mulder became restless, he decided to take
a wander along the corridors. It wasn't long before he was lost,
his concentration wasn't excellent anyway and his memory was even
worse, so as he looked around her began to panic. A man came
wandering up to him with a sneaky grin on his face.
"Hey there 'spooky" he said "so you're back?"
it was Tom Colton, Mulder's main enemy in the bureau. Of course
Mulder didn't recognise him at all. "So, I heard that you
got really shit up Spooky, that some son of a bitch blew half
your head off" he tapped Mulder's head.
"I need to f_ind Dana...can you help me?" he said to
him.
"Mulder, Mulder" Colton shook his head, "what's it
like to be a fuckin' cripple man, Jesus, I mean have you looked
in the mirror, you look like shit"
"I...I need Dana" Mulder was feeling his chest tighten,
he didn't like this man, he was saying bad things to him, and he
was upsetting him.
"You need Dana?" Colton smirked. "Let me tell you
something buddy, you ruined Dana Scully, working down in that
crappy basement with all your crazy ideas and blatent bad
planning. That's why that guy managed to blow your brains out. By
the looks of you he only left you with half of one!" he gave
a snigger. "I heard that Dana even helps you go to the
bathroom, has to hold your Dick!" he laughed out loud.
Mulder stared at him.
"St_op it" he said, his breathing was laboured.
"Stop it"
"Aw, can't you take it Mulder..."
"COLTON" came a shout, it was Scully, she marched down
the corridor towards them, closely followed by Walter Skinner
"leave him be, for Christ's sake" she put her hands on
Mulder's arms. "You okay Fox?"
"I....I don't feel good Dana" he wheezed. "I
got_lost and I c_couldn't find you" he was looking more and
more upset.
"Fox, go with Walter, he'll take you back down to the
office, I'll be there in five minutes okay?"
"Okay" Mulder nodded. He went off with Skinner.
"Jesus, that bullet fucked him up didn't it Dana?"
Colton said "he's like some spastic kid"
"Colton, shut the hell up" Scully shook her head at him
in disbelief "I can't believe I was ever friends with you.
You are such a bastard. Mulder is lucky to be alive, when he was
shot he suffered severe brain damage, the very fact he can walk
around and talk is a fucking miracle. You don't have a clue do
you? what he's been through?"
"He's a freak Dana"
"No, you're the freak Tom, I have never known anyone so void
of emotions. Get out of my way, don't you dare come near Mulder
again!" she pushed past him fighting her way back to the
basement office. "My God Fox, are you going to have to fight
so hard forever, why the hell are people so cold" she came
into the office and took Mulder into her arms. "It's all
right Fox, I'll take you home honey. We can go home" she
kissed his cheek.
end of part V
Part VI (the final part, coming soon)
mail me xfiler_uk@yahoo.com
Title: (One step at a time part VI)
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: Mulder continues to recuperate
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I forgot to do this in the other parts, oops. Sorry
Chris, don't sue me!! They're just on loan to me for my selfish
purposes!
The car drew up outside Mrs Scully's house and Scully and
Mulder got out, he was silent all the way home, just staring at
his badge in his wallet.
"Come on, lets get you inside" Scully gave him a warm
smile.
"Dana" he said, "am I a cripple?"
"No honey, no you're not" Scully took his hand firmly,
"you mustn't listen to a word that Tom Colton said to you.
You're doing so well, I promise you that" she unlocked the
front door and they went in. "Go and sit down Fox, I'll go
get you a drink" Scully went into the kitchen where her
Mother was cooking.
"Oh hello honey, how did it go" she kissed her
daughter.
"Terrible, he was fine Mom, he was doing really well. Then
Tom Colton had to ruin it all. He called him a cripple Mom, told
him that he was a useless cripple"
"Oh my Goodness, poor Fox, how is he?"
"He's upset, I don't blame him. God Mom, how could anyone be
so cruel" she flicked the kettle on and put some cocoa in a
cup. "I mean, can't people understand how hard this is, he's
had to relearn everything, and I think he's doing it so
well" tears were threatening to fall as Scully talked.
"Dana, he knows he's doing well. We tell him enough, I think
he'll rise above this honey, he will" she hugged her
daughter. "Go on out to him, I'll bring the cocoa out"
"Thanks Mom" Scully smiled, she wandered back into the
front room. Mulder looked up at her with sad eyes. "Hey
there" she sat down by him. "Come here honey" she
wrapped her arms around him and held him for a while. Kissing his
head she said "I love you so much. Don't you ever forget
that Fox, ever"
"I feel sad Dana" Mulder shifted so that he lay down
with his head on her lap. "I really do" he started to
cry softly. Scully pulled him into her and rubbed his back
tenderly as he cried.
"It's all right Fox, have a cry that's all right to have a
little cry" she looked at her Mother as she came in. Maggie
bent down by him and gently stroked his neck.
"Fox honey" she whispered. He turned his head to look
at her, his eyes were red and puffy and his nose was running. He
looked like a lost little boy. "Oh Sweetheart" she put
her hand gently on his cheek, "it's okay" she smiled
softly. He sat up and flung his arms around Maggie, burying his
head in the crook of her neck. Maggie looked at Scully as she
held him. "I think we should put him to bed Dana, he's
tired"
"Yeah, I guess so" Scully rubbed her eyes. "Come
on Fox" she stood up and held out her hand, he let go of
Maggie and looked back up at Scully.
"I'm....sorry" he sniffed.
"What for? Fox, you have nothing at all to be sorry about.
Come on, come upstairs" he took her hand and followed her up
the stairs to his room. He sat down on the bed and tried to take
off his tie, he fumbled awkwardly with the knot and let out an
anguished shout when he couldn't get it undone.
"I can't do anything" he sobbed. Scully gently helped
him with it, "I am a cripple"
"Fox, stop it" she said, "stop it now, you're not
a cripple, for goodness sake, stop this. You're getting into a
right state" she pulled his shirt off him and laid him down
on the bed, quickly she got his pants off him. He was still in
tears. His breathing had become ragged with each sob and his face
was blotchy and tear stained. Scully sat down on the bed by him.
"Fox" she said.
"What?" he sniffed, he wiped his nose with the back of
his hand.
"Oh, honey, don't do that" Scully got a tissue and
wiped off his hand and then his nose. "Listen to me Fox, you
are a very brave guy, you have done very well to come as far as
you have, and Tom Colton did not know what he was talking about
when he said those things to you. I want you to know that"
she pulled a clean t shirt out and put it over Mulder's head.
"Arms please" she stated, he helpfully put his arms
through and looked at Scully through his teary eyes. "Fox,
please" Scully reached out and stroked his cheek.
"Don't beat yourself up over this, you know I love you don't
you?"
"Yeah" he nodded.
"And Mom loves you, lots and lots too. Hell, even Walter
Skinner loves you" she smiled. "So what some dumbass
like Colton says to you doesn't matter does it?"
"I guess not" Mulder hiccupped slightly with his tears.
"See, there we are" she moved closer to him and gently
smoothed his hair. "Come here" she whispered. He leant
forward so that she could hold him. "Fox, we are going to
get through this. Actually we are getting through this. You're
doing good honey. Real good" she kissed his head.
"Don't get discouraged because of other people Fox, you have
to get better for yourself, it's nothing to do with anyone else.
It's to do with you sweetheart" she pressed her lips against
his forehead. "Now you get some sleep, you'll feel better
after you've had a rest" she tucked him into bed and stroked
his cheek gently. "No more tears now baby" she smiled
softly at him. "No more tears Dana" he said as his eyes
fluttered shut. Scully sat there until she heard his breathing
become contented and then crept out, leaving the door slightly
ajar"
December 24th Three weeks later
Mrs Scully's residence.
12:45pm
Mulder came wandering into the front room he looked at the
christmas tree with all the gifts underneath it. He crept a
little closer until he saw a box labelled Fox, he put his hand on
the tag.
"Hey" came a voice, "you leave those alone"
Scully laughed.
"Just looking" he smiled at her. "I've got you a
nice present" he smiled. "Your Mom helped me pick
it"
"I know honey, we have to wait till tomorrow though, then we
all open them together" Scully sat down on the couch.
"Fox come here a second" she patted the seat next to
her. He came and sat with her. "How about we have another go
at some reading, you said a few weeks ago you wanted to relearn
it"
"Okay" he smiled. "Easy stuff though yeah?"
"Sure thing" Scully pulled out a couple of kids books.
Mulder looked at them then at her.
"I am 35" he said with a smile.
"I know, but these are good books to learn by" Scully
gently shifted in the seat and Mulder pulled his legs up onto the
couch, he lay back in her arms and she rested the book on his
chest.
After a while she noticed that Mulder had gone quiet, his
breathing became contented and soon there was even signs of
snoring. She smiled to herself, as he slept there in her arms.
She moved around to get more comfortable and Mulder shifted in
his sleep to accommodate her. He wrapped his arms around her and
snuggled right up. Gently she played with a lock of his hair,
stroking it gently. Her Mother came into the room and gave a soft
smile.
"He looks dead to the world" she whispered.
"Yeah, we've been doing a little reading, he's getting on
really well, I think bits of his photographic memory must still
be here, which is excellent. He's excited about tomorrow, I
caught him sneaking around the presents like a little kid"
Scully giggled.
"Oh, well I guess he is just like a little boy really isn't
he?" Maggie gently stroked his cheek with the back of her
hand, "this is really like his first Christmas, has he been
getting any more memories back?"
"No, not that I know of, he's just going on Mom, day by day.
He was happy at the office Mom till Colton ruined everything. I
mean that was three weeks ago but he's still upset about the fact
he called him a cripple Mom"
"I know honey, but he's doing all right, he's getting so
much better. He did up all his shirt buttons today"
"I know, that was pretty good" Scully smiled.
"It's not fair Mom, what that man did to him. He was so
strong before, he had a good career, and now I'm sitting here
with 'I can read' books teaching him things he's known how to do
since he was five"
"I know it's not fair Dana, but he's coming through it, it's
been less than a year since the shooting, and we didn't lose him,
that's what counts, he's still here. I know you love him very
much Dana don't you?"
"Yes I do Mom. It's changed though from how I used to love
him. I think because he's been so dependant on me, there's like
an almost Motherly bond...but not really. I don't know, I know
what I mean"
"I understand honey, he's a special young man. I love him
like he was my son. Infact I wanted to ask you if you
minded"
"Minded what?"
"I was going to ask Fox to call me Mom, do you think he
would?"
"Yes, I do Mom" Scully smiled. "That's so nice of
you"
"Well, I don't feel right having him call me Mrs Scully or
Maggie, I think Mom would be better" Maggie smiled.
"I'll talk to him about it later on"
"Okay" Scully smiled. "Mom, how do you think him
and Bill will be with each other later on"
"I don't know Dana, Fox won't remember Bill. But Bill
remembers Fox, but he should go easy on him shouldn't he"
"Well, I'll have a word with him Dana, I'm sure things will
be fine. Maybe Tara will help keep the peace" she smiled.
"Talking of Bill I'd better get going on dinner, he'll be
here soon"
"I'll help you Mom, just give me a second" Scully got
up and gently settled Mulder, he barely stirred. "He must be
really sleepy" Scully thought to herself.
5:00pm
"Hello there little sister" Bill came in and hugged
Scully, "how are you doing?"
"I'm fine Bill"
"How's Mulder?"
"He's um...he's doing okay" Scully smiled, "come
say hi, but Bill, he won't remember you"
"Okay, that I can deal with" Bill followed his sister
into the front room. Mulder looked up at him. "Hi
there" Bill smiled. Mulder stared at him.
"Fox, this is my brother Bill" Scully smiled.
"Hi" Mulder eyed him up and down "it wasn't my
fault" he said looking down at the ground nervously.
"I...I tried to help Dana get better"
"Fox" Scully put her arm around him. "Bill's only
come to say hi, it's okay, he's not saying anything is your
fault"
"One..sorry...sonofabitch" Mulder looked up
"that's what you think of me" he swiped tears away with
his hand. Bill shifted uncomfortably.
"Mulder...that was a long time ago. I was upset, you were
upset. Let's forget it Mulder"
"Bill he likes to be called Fox now" Scully rubbed
Mulder's back. "Come upstairs with me Fox, come on" she
got up and went to Mulder's room with him. "Fox, listen to
me a minute. Bill said some pretty bad things to you once, and I
know that you can remember them, can't you?" Mulder nodded
slowly.
"But...he's apologised and he's willing to make an effort.
That is a pretty big thing for Bill you know Fox? he's a stubborn
man, and I know he was in the wrong when he said those things to
you, he wasn't right to say them, but let him be nice to you
okay" she stroked his cheek. "I know that all this is
confusing to you, you keep getting scary memory flashes and it's
all strange, but it's going to be okay, you know that don't
you?"
"I guess" Mulder gave a cough. "Can I sleep for a
bit" he lay down on the bed. "I'm really tired"
"Okay, are you feeling all right Fox?" Scully felt his
forehead.
"Yeah, just sleepy" he shut his eyes.
"Well, I'm downstairs if you need me. Sleep well honey"
she kissed his forehead. Scully closed the bedroom door and went
downstairs to her family. She looked at Bill. "I can't
believe you ever called him that Bill" she shook her head.
"Dana I..."
"Save it Bill, I don't want to know" Scully set about
talking to her sister in law Tara and cooing over her little
nephew Matthew. Maggie came up to her daughter and placed a hand
on her shoulder. "Hi Mom" she smiled.
"Dana, is Fox okay?"
"He's sleeping, he's very tired, I think he's all
right"
"I'll go check on him in a while" Maggie smiled.
"I can have that chat with him if he's awake"
"Sure Mom" Scully smiled. "Want a hand chopping
those vegetables?"
"Yes thanks honey" Maggie smiled. Scully took the knife
and began chopping some carrots.
Once everyone was settled and the dinner was cooking, Maggie
slipped upstairs to Mulder's room, she crept in so as not to wake
him up if he were sleeping. She gently pulled the comforter over
him, he stirred slightly.
"Shh Fox, it's only me sweetheart" Maggie whispered.
His eyes flickered open and he gave a slight smile. "How are
you feeling honey?" she asked. "Dinner will be ready
soon"
"Okay" he sat up, "I'm really tired Maggie"
he rubbed his eyes. He leant in and rested his head on her
shoulder.
"Fox, I want you to call me Mom honey" Maggie stroked
his back "if you want to that is?"
"Can I?" he said into her neck.
"Yes, you can Fox, I think of you as being my boy anyway, I
want you to call me Mom"
"Okay Mom...I love you" Mulder coughed.
"You too honey. Fox, are you all right. You don't sound so
good"
"I don't know...I feel a bit funny"
"How do you mean funny sweetheart?"
"My chest feels kind of....tight" Mulder sat up.
"I'm okay" he smiled. "I'll wash up for
dinner"
"You need any help?"
"Maybe with my buttons" he said.
"Okay, come on" Maggie helped him up and assisted him
in getting ready for dinner.
11:25pm
Mrs Scully's residence
"That was lovely Mom, thanks for dinner" Bill said
with a smile. "I think we'll turn in now, We'll see you in
the morning" he kissed his Mother. "Night Dana" he
kissed his sister. Mulder was asleep in Scully's arms.
"Yeah, I'm off to bed too" Scully smiled. "Fox,
come on bedtime" she nudged him. Mulder opened his eyes and
groggily looked up at her.
"Dana" he whispered.
"Yes Fox?"
"I..I...not well" he let out an almighty wheeze.
"I...can't breathe" he winced.
"Fox sit up" she sat him up and made him put his head
between his knees, she rubbed his back. "Take some breaths
in honey"
"Can't.....do....it" he cried out, he fell into her
arms, the world seemed to go into slow motion. He heard Scully
shout for someone to call 911, but their voices sounded distant.
He slowly held out his hand and looked at Maggie, his face
turning an alarming shade of blue.
"Mom..my" he wheezed before his eyes flickered shut.
End of Part VI
I know I said this was the last part but there will be a VII
xfiler_uk@yahoo.com
Title: (One step at a time part VII) Merry Christmas Mulder
Author: Josie Marchant
Summary: The family deal with Mulder's latest relapse.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I forgot to do this in the other parts, oops. Sorry
Chris, don't sue me!! They're just on loan to me for my selfish
purposes!
Washington General
25th December 12:30am
"Mom I don't understand what caused it" Scully had
tears streaming down his face, "did he seem sick to
you?"
"He said his chest was a little tight earlier Dana, but he
said he was just a bit tired" Maggie held onto her daughter.
"Here's the doctor now, how is he?" Maggie stood up.
"Well" Dr Rauche folded his arms. "He's been very
lucky, he entered acute respiritory distress, God knows what
could have happened" he was sharp in his tone.
"Is he okay?" Scully asked him. "Is Fox
okay?"
"He'll be fine, I'd like to keep him in for a few days, he's
still very weak and tired, it seems the attack was brought on by
an infection. I'm surprised 'DR' Scully that you didn't notice
it. With respect you did say when you took him from the hospital
that you were going to take care of him yourself, less than a
month goes by and he's back in here. I think you need to take a
look at your priorities"
"I don't think you should blame Dana" Maggie said
"She has been doing everything she can for Fox, I think this
was just unfortunate. Now if you'd kindly let us see him"
"Yes, certainly. I've got him on an oxygen cannula for the
moment, he was struggling a little with breathing, but I saw no
need to put him on a ventilator" Dr Rauche sighed.
"He's in room H19, go on in" he gestured and then made
his exit.
"What a friendly man" Maggie shook her head.
"He thinks I was wrong to take Fox home Mom, but I wasn't. I
was right to have him with me"
"Yes honey, you were, come on let's see him" they
walked into the brightly lit hospital room. Mulder lay in the
bed, his eyes closed, and oxygen tube was inserted into his nose,
but apart from that he looked perfect.
"Fox" Scully came up to his side, "Fox, can you
hear me?" she gently placed her hand on his cheek. He opened
his eyes slightly.
"Hu.rts" he whispered hoarsely.
"Yeah I know honey, I know" she sat down on the chair
by the bed and held his hand tightly in hers. "You gave us
quite a scare there Fox"
"Scared me too" he whispered. "Dana...why am... I
sick again?"
"You've got an infection, in your chest. It's going to clear
up. The doctor says you can come home tomorrow"
"I don't..want...to stay here on my own" tears were
welling in his eyes.
"I'll stay the night with you Fox" Maggie said quietly.
"You won't be on your own"
"I'm scared" he blinked tears away from his eyes.
Scully gently stroked his face.
"You're going to be fine honey" she whispered.
"You'll be just fine" she looked at her Mother. "I
can stay the night if you want Mom, you look tired"
"Honey, it's okay, I'll stay with Fox," Maggie smiled.
"We'll be okay won't we Fox"
"Yeah...I'm sleepy" Mulder shut his eyes.
"Yes, that's the painkillers" Scully whispered.
"Go to sleep Fox, shh" she stroked his hair back from
his forehead. "I'll be in tomorrow to see you okay?"
" 'k...love you" he murmured.
"You too honey, you too" Scully kissed his cheek
gently. "Be good for Mom won't you?"
"Yeah...I'll be good" he trailed off as he fell back to
sleep.
"You sure you'll be okay Mom?" Scully hugged her
Mother.
"Dana, go and get some sleep, I'll be fine. You look
exhausted" she smiled. "He'll sleep for a while
yet"
"Yeah. Thanks Mom, I'll see you later" Scully left the
room. Maggie sat down by the bed. She looked at Fox lying there.
He had come a long way since the shooting. It had been a hard
journey, but he had overcome all the odds to get better, he had
really become like another child to Maggie, she certainly felt a
strong bond with him. Gently she reached out and stroked his
hair, he had been through so much, and Elizabeth's death had been
very hard for him to deal with. Her heart had felt like it had
been ripped from her as she saw him reach out to her, gasping for
breath, and when he uttered that 'Mommy' she had nearly cried.
"Oh Fox, I hope you know how much we love you" she
whispered. "because we really do" her hand gently
stroked his cheek, down his jawline. "You're a fine looking
boy" she smiled. "And your Mom would be so proud if she
could see how far you've come" she sighed, Mulder murmured
in his sleep and reached his hand to Maggies, she took it in hers
and stroked the back of it. "You know Fox, we're so proud of
you honey, so very proud" she smiled. Mulder murmured and
relaxed into his pillow. "Sleep tight sweetheart"
Maggie whispered.
December 31st
Washington General
Mulder was allowed to come home, he hadn't been pleased about
being in hospital over Christmas but he was happy that he could
come out for new years. He was still weak and had again lost a
lot of weight in the last few days, but he felt like he wanted to
come home, and Scully and her Mother were not about to deny him
that pleasure. He still had a bit of a chest infection, but that
would clear up with antibiotics.
"You ready then?" Scully asked him.
"Yeah" he got off his bed and took hold of Scully's
hand. "You won't make me go to bed early tonight will you
Dana"
"No, not tonight honey" she smiled. "It's new
years eve" she smiled. "You can stay up" she
laughed. She really did feel like his Mother sometimes.
"Come on, Mom's in the car waiting for us" She and
Mulder made their way down to the car park and she put his bag in
the trunk of the car. Mulder got into the front seat and smiled
at Maggie.
"Hello there" she smiled "you're looking
better"
"Hi Mom" he kissed her cheek. "I am better, Dana
said as it's new years I can stay up"
"Yeah, I think we can allow that honey" she smiled.
"You're a big guy now" she laughed.
"Yeah, I know, but I don't feel it" he rubbed his eyes.
"Hospitals make me sleepy" he sighed.
"Well, you have to rest for a while Fox" Scully said,
"I mean you've been pretty sick"
"I know...but I get bored Dana. I want to do something when
we get home" he turned to look at her. "Can we do some
baseball"
"Honey, you are not well enough to play baseball"
Scully sighed. "You've just come out of hospital"
"Dana...I'm tired of sitting around" he whined.
"Fox, honey, you have to take it easy" Maggie said to
him. "You have been very ill, you stopped breathing, do you
know how serious that is?"
"Yeah..." Mulder looked down. "I'm okay now
though" he pouted.
"Fox, you are okay now yes, but that's because you've been
in hospital where people have taken care of you. Anyway it's too
cold out to play baseball, you'll catch your death out in this
weather" Scully sighed.
"Dana" he whined.
"I'm sorry Fox, the answer is no" Scully shook her head
in disbelief. Here was the old Mulder coming back to her, he was
started to infuriate her. He rested his head against the window
and sulked, all the way back to Maggie's house.
They arrived and he got out of the car on his own accord and
trudged up to the door, he shuffled his feet as he waited for
Maggie to unlock it. He slowly walked in and went to the couch,
it had been made up with bedding. He sighed as Scully came and
pushed him down on it, tucking the comforter over him. He didn't
say anything, just let her tuck him in. When she was walking away
he muttered.
"I'm not a baby" it wasn't quiet enough as Scully
turned to face him.
"Fox, I know that, but it's just not a good idea for you to
go out and hit a ball about, you're sick"
"I'm always sick" he muttered again. "I'm sick of
being sick"
"I know baby, I know" she bent down by him. "Fox,
I know this is hard for you, but I'm only trying to take care of
you, not to be nasty, but because I love you" she stroked
his cheek.
"I know...but you have to understand for me...it's hard
Dana" he sniffed. "I feel like a baby" he sighed.
"And I'm not...a baby"
"Fox, I know that, and I'm sorry if you think I treat you
like it" she gently ran her hand through his hair. "I
don't think you're a baby honey" she kissed his lips. She
was rather surprised at what happened next as Mulder's tongue
found its way into her mouth. She responded by doing the same
thing, and then pulled away. "Fox...I..."
"Dana...I'm sorry" he looked down. "I didn't
mean.."
"Shh Fox, it's okay, I'm not cross...I just...I" she
was lost for words.
"You kids want a drink?" Maggie came in. "Iced
tea?"
"No thanks Mom" both Mulder and Scully stated. She
looked at him and smiled.
"Fox....I love you honey, but I don't know....we can't do
this" she took his hand. "We just can't"
"Okay...I know" he lay back down. "But why
not?"
"It would just be a bit funny...just...Fox we'll talk about
this later. For now get some sleep" she kissed him and got
up.Making her way into the kitchen she leant against the
cupboard. "Mom" she said, "Fox just kissed
me"
"Well he's an affectionate man"
"No...I mean really kissed me" Scully looked at her.
"Did you kiss him back?"
"Well yes, for a second..Mom I don't know what I feel about
this" Scully sighed. "It seems kind of sick in a
way....like he's my kid or something"
"Dana, he's not though. He's a grown man, a man who I know
you loved before he was hurt, there's no reason why you shouldn't
love him just as much now, if not more" Maggie smiled.
"There's nothing wrong in admitting how you feel Dana, just
be sure it's what you both want" she smiled. "Make sure
that what you feel is right, and then if you're sure of that,
there is no reason at all why you and Fox shouldn't make a loving
couple"
"I guess so" Scully sighed. "I'm tired Mom, would
you mind if I went and had a lie down"
"No Dana, of course not" Maggie smiled. "Is Fox
asleep?"
"Yeah, he's tired, maybe that's why he kissed me"
"Dana, he kissed you because he loves you honey" Maggie
smiled. "Look, sleep on it and I'm sure it'll be okay"
"Yeah, I guess" Scully went on upstairs, she couldn't
get Mulder out of her head at all.
Three days Later
"Come on then Fox, if you want to go to the park?"
Scully called up the stairs.
"Yeah..coming" he came down the stairs in his sweat
pants and sweater. He still looked way too thin for Scully's
liking. He grinned at her as he came up to her. "You got the
baseball bat?"
"Yes, I have, I still don't think you're well enough to play
Fox" she stroked his cheek. "I just don't want you to
get sick"
"Dana" Mulder sighed, "I'm not a baby, so don't
treat me like one. You can't protect me all the time" he
picked up the bat.
"Fox, damn it, do you know how close you came to dying? do
you?" she shouted. "I nearly lost you. You had half
your head blown off infront of me. I had to see you wake up in
that hospital not knowing who I was, what we'd been
through....you couldn't talk, you couldn't sit without
dribbling...you..you don't get it do you?"
"Wh..at?" Mulder looked at her, tears threatening to
fall.
"No Fox, don't start crying...you need to hear this"
she was firm. "You have been so ill, I've nearly lost you so
many times and I am not about to stand there and watch you put
yourself in more danger, just because you think that you're
ready. For fuck's sake Fox, you still need help with buttons. You
are not well enough to play baseball, you're not well enough to
do normal things! How can you even begin to think that you
are?"
"Okay..." Mulder turned and went upstairs, he took of
his yankees hat and dropped it on the stairs. He trudged up to
his room and shut the door.
"Oh shit" Scully sat down on the stairs and put her
head in her hands. "Shit, shit, shit...I can't believe I
just did that to him"
Mulder lay on his bed, his arms wrapped protectively around
himself as he sobbed. He felt so useless. He thought he was
really trying, and he thought he was better.
"Mom thinks I'm better" he thought to himself.
"Dana hates me"
His thoughts were cut short by a knock on his door. "Go
away" he cried.
"Fox...honey let me in" Scully opened the door and came
into the room. "Sweetheart...I'm sorry" she sat down on
the bed. "I'm really sorry"
"Dana....I want to be okay again" he sobbed. He threw
himself into her arms.
"Baby, you are okay" she hugged him tight. "Oh God
I shouldn't have said that to you. I'm so sorry" she rocked
him in her arms. He looked up at her, his tear stained face was
pale. She gently wiped the tears from his cheeks. He looked at
her and put his hand on her cheek.
"Dana" he said. "I..."
"Shh Fox, shh" Scully leant in and they kissed. The
kiss grew deeper and they lay back on the bed. Mulder was so
gentle in his touch, almost as if he was scared of hurting her.
Scully's tongue entered his mouth and he responded. The kiss was
deep and passionate. Mulder looked up at her and smiled. She
gently reached for his t shirt and lifted it off him. He looked
at her buttons awkwardly, he fumbled with them. "It's okay
honey. I'll help" Scully slipped out of her blouse. He
traced his fingers along her collarbone and stroked her soft
skin.
"Feels nice" he smiled, she ran a hand through his hair
and nodded.
"Yes, it does Fox" she reached up and kissed him again,
"come on sweetheart" she smiled as she pulled the
comforter over the both of them.
Later that afternoon:
Mulder lay fast asleep in Scully's arms, she gently stroked
his chest. He shifted slightly and nuzzled his head into her
breast.
"I love you so much" she whispered to him. Scully did
however feel a little strange about what they had just done. She
had wanted it, and clearly so had he, but it still felt a little
odd. But as she looked down at him lying in her arms and it
suddenly felt right.
"Dana..Fox, I'm home" Maggie Scully called up the
stairs.
"Shit" Scully suddenly felt like a naughty teenager,
she got out of the bed and pulled on her bathrobe. Mulder opened
his eyes and looked at her.
"Wha's'up?" he asked sleepily.
"Mom's back. I just don't want her to know about this
honey" she kissed him and went out of the room.
"Hi sweetheart" Maggie smiled "I've got chicken
for dinner, were you about to take a bath?"
"Yes. Yes I was Mom. That's why I'm in my robe" she
smiled.
"Okay" Maggie nodded. "I'll make a start on
dinner, you get into the tub" she smiled.
"Yes, I will thanks" Scully went up the stairs and back
into Mulder's room. He smiled at her.
"Hi" he said,
"Hi" she sat down on the bed and leant in to kiss him
again. "What do you think about telling Mom about
this?"
"I don't know" he looked down "are you ashamed of
me?"
"No, don't be so silly" she stroked his cheek.
"Fox, I'd never be ashamed of you honey. Don't ever think
that" she kissed him again, "I just think we shouldn't
tell Mom just yet"
"Okay..." he gave a cough.
"You okay honey?"
"Mmmm....chest is still sore" he winced.
"Yeah, I know" Scully gently rubbed his back. "You
get some more rest, I'm going to take a bath"
"Can I come?" he grinned.
"Fox, you are getting better aren't you" she laughed.
She smiled at him with her most beautiful smile. "See you
soon" she whispered.
Three Months Later
J Edgar Hoover Building
Washington
Mulder put his feet up on the desk as he waited for Scully to
come back from her meeting, he looked around the office as he
waited. His concentration was broken by Scully as she came back
in looking happy with herself.
"Why are you smiling?" he asked.
"I've had a pay rise" she beamed. "You ready to go
and get some lunch honey?" she kissed him. Everyone now knew
about their relationship and her Mother was very happy about it.
She was waiting to be given the go ahead to organise a wedding.
"Yeah, Dana" he looked at her.
"Yeah?" she leant against the desk.
"I've got a real bad headache" he winced.
"Have you, where?"
"In my head" Mulder looked confused.
"No, baby I know" she smiled "where in your head?
front, back. Behind your eyes?"
"All over" he rubbed his eyes. "I'll be okay,
let's go and get some lunch" he smiled. He stood up and
Scully took his hand, they headed out of the office to the car
park.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know, you pick" Mulder screwed his eyes
tightly shut.
"Fox, take one of these honey" Scully rummaged in her
bag and pulled out an Advil, he took it from her and swallowed it
down. "That should clear it up sweetheart" she looked
at him with concerned eyes. "You sure you don't want to go
home?" she reached out and stroked the back of his neck.
"Maybe...it ...it's a good idea" he rested his head
against the window. "It hurts so much"
"Okay, come on" Scully pulled out of the carpark and
they made their way back to the house. Once they arrived Mulder
went straight to the bedroom, which had now become theirs. He lay
on the bed and waited for Scully to come up. She came in and sat
down on the bed, gently she laid a warm wash cloth on his
forehead. "That better?"
"Yeah...thanks" he shut his eyes. "Stay with
me...please" he took hold of her hand.
"It...hurts"
"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart. I promise" Scully
lay down beside him and wrapped her arms around him. "It's
okay honey, try and sleep" she kissed his neck.
"Okay...I will" Mulder shut his eyes, he felt the whole
room move and his stomach lurched inside of him.
"Dana.." he sat up. "Feel...sick" he put his
hand over his mouth.
"Okay honey, come on, bathroom now" Scully rushed him
to the bathroom where he fell to his knees by the toilet basin.
He threw up the entire contents of his stomach. "Ooh Jesus,
what did you eat Fox?"
"Don't know....oh Dana...my head" he cried. "It
hurts...so much" he lay down with his head in his hands.
"oh....oh....ow...Mom" he felt himself gag. Scully got
him sitting up just quickly enough.
"Okay baby, it's okay shh" she rubbed his back.
"It's okay"
"Where's Mom....want to see Mom...." he heaved.
"She's downstairs honey, I'd get her but I don't want to
leave you on your own"
"Plea..se get her" he sobbed.
"Okay" Scully rushed to the stop of the stairs and
shouted. "Mom, Fox is sick, please come quickly" she
called. "She's coming honey, she's coming" she wiped
his face with a wash cloth. "It's okay honey" she
kissed his head. "It's okay"
Maggie Scully came into the bathroom and crouched by her daughter
and 'son' he looked up at her with tears streaming.
"Honey, let's get you in bed" Maggie felt his head.
"He is burning up Dana, my God" Scully felt his cheek,
the heat radiating off him was alarming. "Come on, up we
come Fox" she led him to the bedroom and got him on the bed.
"My...head" he whined again.
"Mom. I think he should go to hospital" Scully said.
"He's really not well, I'm worried about pressure in his
brain"
"Dana...no" he took her hand. "No...stay here with
me"
"Fox?" she looked at his eyes, they appeared to glass
over. "Fox honey, talk to me" she put her hand on his
cheek. "Baby, talk to me"
"I'll be..with Momma.." he shut his eyes.
"Momm..y...take..care..love Dana..an'...Mom" his grip
in her hand loosened.
"Fox..." Scully shook him. "Fox, honey...Fox"
a little harder. "Fox...wake up honey...Fox"
"Dana..." Maggie put her hand on her daughter's
shoulder. "He's gone Dana"
"No" Scully shook her head. "No, he's okay...he's
....okay" she pulled him into her arms. "Momma he's
sleeping that's all...he's sleeping" she kissed his head, he
was still warm. "He's still warm Mom...he's still warm"
"Dana, he's gone baby" Maggie felt the tears running
down her face.
"Bu...but how...wh..at?" tears were choking her now.
"He was better...he was okay..Mommy...he was okay" she
sobbed.
"Dana, I'll make some calls honey" Maggie got up and
left the room. Scully held him in her arms and sobbed and sobbed.
"Please Fox, wake up honey, wake up. I love you, I need
you" she stroked his cheek. "My brave
boy...please" she cried. "Please...baby please"
Some hours later
"It was a heamorrage...in his brain" Scully tried to
compose herself. "It...caused an inter..intercranial bleed
and...and" she couldn't do it, she broke down in the
hospital corridor. Her Mother gathered her into her arms and
sobbed with her child. "He was so brave Mom.. all that
work...and he was getting better...so much better..and I..I loved
him so..so much"
"I know Dana, I know, I did too" Maggie closed her
eyes. Maybe this was a horrible dream, and that when she opened
her eyes her darling Dana and Fox would be there in each others
arms. "Dana he was my baby too"
"Mom...I want to go home" Scully clung to her Mother.
"Okay, it's okay honey" she led her out of the
hospital. "It's okay"
Three weeks after the funeral
"Well, um...I just thought I'd come and say hi"
Scully laid the baseball by the headstone. "I love you so
much Fox, and I miss you so much" tears streaming down her
cheeks. "I slept in your nicks t shirt last night, you know
the one that Mom bought you? it still smells of you, I'm never
going to forget you Fox, you know that don't you......you have to
kn.." she cut off as she broke down.
"Come on, let's get you home" strong hands were placed
on her shoulders. She looked up at Walter Skinner.
"He...he was so brave"
"Yes, he was" Walter smiled. "And he loved you
more than life itself Dana, remember that"
"I'll never forget that.....I felt the same way about him
Walter...and..and.."
"Come on, let's go" Walter led her from the graveside,
as she walked she heard a childlike voice of innocence say to
her.
"No more tears Dana"
FIN
As ever comments appreciated
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