|
|
|
|
Authors
Notes: I didn't have a beta when I wrote this (hell I didn't
even know what it was!) But I left it as is because it was the
second fic I ever wrote and I like the innocence in it, before my
writing got tainted my the MR crew and their evil injury inducing
influence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The gunshots rang
throughout the building pulling his focus off Padgett. Without a
second thought he ran up the stairs to the lift and when the
doors didn't reply immediately to his bashing the button he
charged for the stairway. He took the steps in twos and threes,
bounding onto the fourth floor, running for his own apartment.
The silence behind it scared him more than if there had been
screaming. With a well-placed kick he broke in through the door
and stood shocked at what met him.
She lay motionless on his floor by his low coffee table. Her gun
was in her hand still held tightly. His shock dissolved into fear
as he approached her and knelt by her side. There was blood on
her blouse and trailing down to her neck, pooling slightly
beneath her head. Afraid to touch her but needing to he slowly
reached out to her, unsure of where to start.
With a jump she yanked up her arms, defensively across herself,
before she saw who it was. Half sitting up she grabbed him and
pulled him close. He held her tightly as she clawed at his back
as if she needed to feel him closer than it would be possible to
get. Deep sobs wracked her chest as she cried openly and freely
into his chest.
Barely able to stop himself from matching her sobs he held her
tight against him, burying his face into her hair, he whispered
softly to her until her sobs quietened. He shifted his weight and
sat fully onto the floor, pulling her onto his lap he rocked her
gently and stroked her hair.
***
Eventually her crying stopped. She remained against his chest for
a while longer, basking in his warmth and revelling in his gentle
touch. She pulled herself away from him and he loath to release
her. She wiped her face with her hands and held back her fallen
hair. Without a word she stood shakily. Mulder jumped up with
her, his hand resting on the small of her back.
She glanced at him, a faint blush blending into her deathly pale
complexion. She walked towards the bathroom as Mulder reached for
the phone. "Skinner, it's Mulder, I have a situation
here."
Mulder explained what had happened and tried to tell him what he
found. Skinner arranged for the search team to meet at Padgett's
apartment and told Mulder he'd send an ambulance around to check
out Scully.
As Mulder replaced the phone she stepped from the bathroom, her
face was redder now from what he imagined was a vigorous
scrubbing, as she tried to erase any traces of her traitorous
tears. He watched her as she sat heavily into the couch, a sigh
escaping as her hands covered her face.
"What happened?" he asked, oblivious to the blood that
stained his own t-shirt.
"I...I'm not sure," she barely whispered.
"Did you...eh...check...your..." he stammered pointing
with small movements of his head towards her chest.
"Yes, I did. No wounds," she sighed, letting a hand
rest on her chest. "But this is my blood, it doesn't make
sense Mulder, I felt it, my heart..." Another sob settled in
her chest and he went to her. Pushing the equipment away he sat
on the table in front of her.
"It's okay, you're okay," he told her, taking both of
her hands in his own.
"I want to go home," she muttered, her head hung low.
"I want to take you, but I have to meet the search team and
start them off, explain what happened. There should be an
ambulance here any minute to take a look at you, then we can
go."
"I'm fine Mulder, I don't need an ambulance, I need to go
home."
"No, I want to take you. You don't need to talk to the
ambulance but please wait for me to take you." He squeezed
her hands causing her to look up, "Please let me take
you?" She gave him a small smile and rested back into the
couch.
Mulder spoke quickly with the search team about where Padgett
might have gone, but as he stepped into the basement explaining
what had happened, he saw him.
"I guess we found him," he said, as he knelt over the
body, careful not to stand on any of the blood that pooled on the
floor.
"I'll sort out the coroner, you can take her home."
Mulder looked up to see Skinner walking into the basement. He
stood and met him at the bottom of the stairs.
"Did you speak to her?"
"No, I think I'll wait till she's ready to give me her
report. How is she doing?"
"Not too bad, if it was me, I'd be cracking up."
"She's a strong woman."
Skinner stood away from the stairs and walked over to where the
body lay. Mulder watched as he took control, ordering the team
ready for the forensics then he raced up stairs to where he found
Scully waiting on the couch. Her head was turned to the window
and he stood and stared at her for a moment.
"You ready?" he said softly, as he slipped into his
jacket.
Turning slowly to face him he saw the tell tale line of fallen
tears, but he said nothing. "Yeah."
The drive was short and she sat and stared silently out the
window. Her blouse and jacket were held closed tight; her arms
were folded around her chest. He noticed that she was shivering
as they pulled up outside her apartment. He rushed around to her
side of the car and held her against him as they went in.
"I'm okay Mulder," she protested mildly.
"Scully, you're in shock," he said as he led her into
her bedroom and sat her onto the bed. He pulled the blanket up
around her shoulders. "I'll run a bath for you. Stay
warm," he threw over his shoulder as he left the room.
Soon she heard the sound of the running water. Smiling slightly
she took off her boots. With the blanket still wrapped around her
shoulders she walked over to the wardrobe and pulled out her
dressing gown. She tossed it onto the bed with the blanket and
slipped off her jacket. Dropping it onto the floor she opened her
blouse and let it fall to her feet. Her blood was still partially
on her skin, tracing faint red lines up her chest and on her
neck. She gently rubbed her chest where the five finger sized
bruises were already starting to emerge, and she felt a small
twinge of pain as she pressed them.
"Hey Scully...strawberry or Jasmine bath gel?" Mulder
asked as he walked into the room holding up both bottles.
"Oh...sorry,"
She didn't turn when he entered but he could see the marks on her
chest in her reflection on the mirror in front of her. Before she
could accuse him of staring he looked away and left the room.
Scully removed the rest of her clothes and slipped into her robe.
She closed it tightly around her chest as she went into the
bathroom. Mulder was perched on the edge of the bath; his
shirtsleeves pulled up to his elbows as he idly stirred the
bubbles into the water.
"Bubbles?" she said with a surprised smile.
He jumped at the sound of her voice and noticed her soft, sad
smile. "Yeah. Bubbles." He stood and dried his hands on
the wash towel. "Can I get you anything? Coffee?"
"I'd really like a beer"
"One beer coming up." He charged in to the kitchen and
rummaged in the fridge before pulling out one of the bottles from
the six-pack. "Import? Oh Scully!"
He knocked slightly on the door and entered when she called him.
He handed her the opened bottle, his eyes dancing at the sight of
her sunken into the water. The urge to strip and join her was all
but overwhelming.
"I'll be out here," he blurted out and left, closing
the door softly behind him.
He sat in front f the TV switching it aimlessly as he waited.
Finally settling on a baseball game he sat back and sipped his
beer. He tried not to think of her in the next room washing the
dried blood from her body. Surprised at the level of anger he
felt when he remembered the bruises that lined her chest. A
painful reminder of an already painful event. He pushed the
picture from his mind, knowing that he could never forget it, but
hoping that she would.
It wasn't long before he heard the bath draining. She emerged
surrounded by billows of steam. With a small smile at him she
retreated to her room. He could hear her shuffling around as she
dressed and he mused at the comfort he felt in it.
"Would you like something to eat?" she said suddenly
standing by him, still rubbing her hair with a towel. She was
wearing her soft cotton red and black check pyjama bottoms and a
plain black tee shirt. He thought she looked beautiful and at
last a little bit more relaxed.
"Sure..." he mumbled but neither of them moved.
She sat by him on the couch and after a minute of watching the
game in silence he turned to her. "Do you want to tell me
about what happened?" he said softly. She didn't reply and
for a minute Mulder thought he upset her.
"I was about to run after you but I had to put my shoes
on," she began, her eyes looking down to her fidgeting
hands. "When I got up and opened the door there was a man
standing there." She could feel Mulder's eyes on her but
refused to look at him, to show him the tears that she wouldn't
let fall. "He barged in and tackled me to the floor and sat
on top of me...he...he pushed his hand into my blouse and
then...into...into my chest."
Mulder sat unmoving as she spoke - his fists clenching at his
anger that blew beneath the surface. "I could feel him
Mulder," she glanced at him, and was surprised by the
concern that lay openly on his face. "I could feel his hand
closing around my heart, I could feel my heart beating against
his palm."
She looked away as he reached out to touch her. He placed an arm
around her back and pulled her against his chest, into his
embrace.
"I pulled out my gun," she continued, "and I shot
him, point blank into his chest...I emptied the chamber, but it
had no effect...nothing..." She pushed away from him and sat
on the edge of the couch. Suddenly she fell forward onto her
knees her hands clutching her chest. "Oh my god," she
cried, "my heart...he took my heart."
"Scully...Scully," Mulder knelt beside her, "Stop,
it's okay" he tried to push her back onto the couch. She
reached her hands around his neck and he held her again. This
time her sobs were silent but a soft trembling shook her body.
As the trembling subsided he lifted her into her bedroom, pulling
the blankets back he gently placed her into the bed. He pulled
the covers up around her and tucked her in tightly. Picking up
the bloody clothes he put them into her laundry basket and went
into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. He placed it on her
bedside table and took a moment to watch her resting. He went to
leave but she called out his name.
"Yeah?" he bent over by the bed and looked into her
eyes.
"Don't go, I'm so scared of being alone..." He nodded
and she pushed up to make room for him. He sat on the bed and
slipped off his shoes. Sitting back against the headrest he
smiled as she turned into his body and rested against him. He
reached an arm down the length of her body and watched her. She
dozed fitfully and with every jump she made he held her closer,
tighter, a waft of jasmine filling his senses as he did so.
She awoke much later. A soft glow from the clock told her it was
1.30am. Mulder's arm felt heavy against her body, but it was warm
and comforting. She shifted her body and could see that he had
fallen asleep; his breathing was slow and steady a soft snore
escaping every now and then.
Just then he awoke and she watched as his brain tried to process
where he was. Smiling she waited for him to look down at her.
"Hey..." he said sleepily as their eyes met.
"Hey." Slowly she sat up.
"You slept, eventually."
"Yeah, you too."
"No, I was awake, just thinking..."
"Sure..."
"How are you feeling?"
"Better," she said plainly, "Thanks."
"Anytime." He replied softly, reaching out and
squeezing her hand. "Now...I'm starving...time for
food."
"It's half one..."
"I know I'm starving."
Within the hour he had ordered and collected the food and she
followed him as he carried the bags into the kitchen table.
"Think you got enough?" she joked as she saw the amount
of food he pulled from the bags. They ate in companionable
silence and she was surprised at how much they got through.
"I guess I was hungrier than I thought."
They cleaned up quickly and Scully took the bottle of wine into
the front room.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her as he watched her,
her eyes distant, her thoughts evasive.
"I'm...I'm scared."
"Scared of what?"
She swirled the wine around in her glass and watched the patterns
it made. "I spent so long...building walls, hiding my self
away, not getting involved and working hard to move up in the
FBI..." she let out a short laugh, "But now...it's all
gone."
"Gone? What do you mean?"
She watched him for a moment before tearing her eyes away.
"I had to work really hard for everything. I don't mean
struggling with my studies but for the respect, the same respect
you simply command by donning a suit and carrying an FBI
Badge."
"I dunno if it's respect I command, or ridicule," he
said lightly.
"It wasn't easy for me. Qualifying for the FBI field, but
still wanting to be a woman." Annoyed now she stood and
began pacing. "Not just a woman...a beautiful woman."
"But you are," he whispered incredulously, watching her
pace.
"I lay on that floor and the walls that I built
deliberately, to keep my own emotions in as much as anyone else's
out, were smashed...by...by some monster." Her voice
continued to rise and she ended up shouting.
Mulder stood and stepped into her pace line. He took her wine
glass away from her and put it elsewhere.
"Scully...Dana..." She sneered and looked away but with
one hand resting on her shoulder he turned her face with the
other one, holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
"You are very beautiful. You are the strongest, most
confident and independent woman I know...and all of these
attributes are part of an amazing picture. Along with your soft
red hair," he lifted up a hand and touched it, tucking a
stray lock behind her ear, "your delicious smell,"
leaning closer to her he took in a deep breath and exhaled
slowly, immersing himself fully into her essence, "And your
fantastic smile," he smiled warmly at her hoping she'd
return the gesture.
Scully blushed and blinked away the tears that fought their way
out.
"Anyway," he said, "you can't say you've not let
anybody get close to you...what about me?"
"It's different Mulder...you're...you!"
"I dunno how to take that."
Playfully she slapped his arm and smiled shyly at him. "I've
been working with you for years, you probably know me better than
anyone else."
"And you me."
"But that's not what I meant."
"Explain to me...tell me what you meant."
"Ever since I was in high school I knew that my looks, the
fact that I was female, would dictate how people would treat me.
And I made a decision to work hard and get what I wanted out of
life before I stopped...to smell the roses as it were."
"And then you got dumped on the X-Files and everything went
to shit?" he muttered.
"I have to admit that the X-Files were not part of my plan,
but now..."
"Now? Now what?"
"Now they are a huge part of my life and without them I
would have to re-assess...well...everything."
She looked up at him as she finished her sentence and caught the
look of surprise that raced across his face.
"Everything..." he repeated after her.
He pulled her into a soft embrace and swayed with her gently as
they stood in her living room. Moving his head and rested it on
her shoulder. He was surprised at the feel of her lips against
his neck and the spot that they touched flamed hot when she
pulled away. Turning his head slightly he saw her mouth was
inches away from his own and without a second thought he closed
the distance.
The kiss was soft and light but surpassed any friendly kiss they
had shared before. Lasting long enough to make her wonder, but
ending before it turned into something else.
He stepped away from her and held her head in his hands, his
thumbs rubbing her temples softly. "You know that guy could
never have taken your heart," he said quietly.
"Why?" she whispered, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Because I have it. I always will. I won't let anyone hurt
you...ever." He kissed her forehead and held her close,
kissing the top of her head as her arms snaked around his body
pulling him ever closer.
She smiled and let him sway her gently loving the way the taste
and sensation of his lips lingered on her own. This time the
walls might stay down, she thought, this time she'd try living
without them.
Disclaimer:
Not mine, no profit, no harm.
bravenet.com