From: Emma Casey Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 19:05:27 -0500 Subject: REPOST: 2000 (1/12a and b) Title~ 2000 (1/ 12a and b) Author~ Emma Casey Status~ M/A, S/A, M/S POV, MSR... just about everything but marriage and sex! Spoilers~ Anything involving Scully's cancer. Disclaimer~ No, I did *NOT* create the X-Files. My apologizes for not being brilliant. But.... if I DID own them, I wouldn't make fan-fic writers put disclaimers on their stories, cuz they're just a HUGE pain in the butt!!!!!!!! Feedback~ Please make my day! There's nothing like an inbox full of beautiful letters from people to make me happy. Author's notes~ I am DETERMINED to make this story as long as I possibly can, and I'm gonna do it to the best quality that I am capable of accomplishing. If it showed.... I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ October 18th, 1999 It was 10:35 and Dana Scully found herself on a plane. Wearily, she glanced over at her partner, who was deeply consumed in a case file. She closed her eyes and held back a sigh. What was she *doing* there?, she wondered. How was it that Fox Mulder could get her to leave her house at night, get her onto a plane and fly off to check out something out that wasn't even an official case? "Mulder?" "Mmmm...?" " Why are we here?" she asked, her head was pressed into the seat, her eyes studying his face as if it would hold a logical answer. He looked up, his brow furrowed. "We're going to Minneapolis to check out those unexplained holes in the ice," he said slowly. "Why?" "The Pioneer Press had an article on mysterious holes that appeared on a lake. Witnesses said they heard a sonic boom, followed by a crash. There are people suggesting meteors or UFO's that plummeted-" "No, why *now*?" she interrupted. Mulder considered this for a moment, then shrugged. "Better sooner than later, right?" he answered. She shook her head slightly and turned to the window, staring down at the earth below. It was mostly dark and black, but every few miles there were masses of soft, glowing orange lights. Small cities on the horizon like splotches of spilled paint. Some were larger than others, the streetlights and neighborhood blocks dotted on the ground in small grids. Scully's thumbnail found its way between her teeth. Grids. Docile and orderly. The way she wished life was supposed to be like. Scully's life, as she saw it, had turned into an oversized game of pinball. It went fast, it was chaotic, unpredictable, and overall routine at the same time. Sometimes she thought she was the player, sometimes she felt like the ball. Being bounced from place to place, assignment to assignment, tragedy to tragedy. It was too much. With as many physical and emotional beating as she had endured, she just couldn't tell anymore. Her train of thought was suddenly derailed from its tracks when a warm hand covered hers. She looked over at Mulder. "What's wrong?" he asked, his hazel eyes full of concern and curiosity. "Nothing. I'm just thinking." "And gnawing off your thumbnail? What, were the honey-roasted peanuts not filling enough? Come on, Scully. I know what that means," he said. "What's going on?" "Nothing, I swear. I was just thinking how amazing this life has been," she answered, hoping her wording hadn't been as strange as she thought it sounded. Mulder patted her hand, then moved it away to loosen his tie. "How many other lives have you experienced, Scully?" "Mulder, you know I wasn't raised to think that way." "But you still don't, after everything you've seen?" "Mmm, I can feel a familiar conversation starting again," she said, feeling slightly annoyed. God, he was a martyr. Well, she was too, in a way. But she didn't push Mulder to make him think the way she did, like he did to her. Well... that wasn't true either. Irritated, she decided to drop it and moved on to other thoughts. After a moment, she piped up again. "Mulder, if there was any one thing in the world that summarized your life, what would it be?" Mulder sighed, letting the thought sink in. "I think that I'd probably have to say a pinwheel." "A pinwheel," she repeated. She was half expecting him to say a porn tape. "Why a pinwheel?" He sighed. "Well... it has a lot of pieces to it. It has different colors, so everyone thinks that it has a lot of variety to it.... but it's really just repetition. It's always in motion, but it's always a circle. Over and over, around and around," he said thoughtfully. "I used to wish that someone would just reach out and stop it. So I could finally find what I wanted. No one could do that, though. Until you." Scully looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "I stopped the pinwheel?" "No. No, but you've slowed it down enough for me to get my head on straight," and left my eyes focus for the first time in my life," he said, a slight smile on his lips. She smiled and cocked her head to the side, unsure of what to say. "Mulder, that's...that was..." she stopped, thinking of what she could possibly say. Finally, the words came to her. "Thank you." "Thank *you*," he said, touching her arm, then looking down at his lap. For a moment she thought she detected a slight blush in his cheeks. After a short pause, "You sure you're okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Positive?" "Positive," she lied. 'Maybe I'll tell you later," she thought. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 month later Black. Darkness. Cold. Where was she? "Mulder?" she called. She turned her head, but couldn't see- she wondered for a moment if her eyes were really open. Tentatively, she brought a hand up to her face and put her finger in front of her eye, blinking. She felt the soft brush of her lashes against her flesh. Yes, her eyes were open. She sat up from the surface she was sprawled out on. "Mulder?" she called again. There was the sound of movement somewhere in the room, and suddenly the room was light. She moaned when the sudden brightness blinded her and blinked furiously, trying to push away the blindness. Her eyes focused gradually. She saw Mulder sitting next to a hospital bed, looking tired and gaunt. He was staring blankly at the occupant of the bed, his eyes dark and wounded. Scully got up and went to him, putting a hand lightly on his cheek as she sank to a squat before him. "What's wrong?" she asked softly. He didn't respond, didn't acknowledge her presence with even a blink of an eye. She watched as he continued to stare, his eyes filling with tears. He swallowed. Scully raised herself up higher and brought her free hand up, resting it on the back of his neck. "Mulder?" she whispered. He didn't respond, then stood up and brushed by Scully. Hurt that he walked away, she turned to see Mulder drop to his knees beside the bed. Then it hit her. She stood up and in horror, looked at the motionless figure in the bed. It was herself. Small, weak, hair thinner than normal, she was in that bed, eyes closed as she rested on her side. Mulder reached out and stroked her cheek, the smoothed back her hair, tears dropping from his eyes. Scully felt her throat close up as a painful rush adrenaline surged through her body. And then the horrible realization came; that the woman before her was dead. Mulder took her lifeless hand between his and placed it on his cheek, kissing her palm. He started crying harder, moving to kiss her forehead and cheeks. Scully felt herself crying, seeing Mulder in so much pain. She went behind him and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his neck. "I'm here! I'm alive!" she cried, wishing he would hear her. Mulder shifted in her embrace, reaching out to pull Scully's twin towards him, burying his face in her hair. "Mulder, I'm okay!" she said, urging him to stop mourning. She pulled away from him, standing back as he continued to cry for the body before him. Then there was slightest tickle above her lip. Then wetness. She reached up and touched just below her nose. Blood. Mulder was sobbing now, his body trembling. Scully wiped the blood away on her sleeve, then went to Mulder. "Stop it, Mulder," she said, shaking him. He didn't hear. "Don't cry, I'm still here." Again, he heard nothing. "I'm fine!" Her voice echoed loudly through her head, her ears rang. I'm fine I'm fine I'mfine I'mfineI'mfineI'mfine....... The light faded, then it all went black. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Scully jerked up in her bed with a gasp, her body trembling. She flipped on the light next to her bed and covered her face with her hands, her sigh shaking. She had to talk to Mulder. She had to ask in the morning. Her fears were growing stronger, and if she was right, she was running out of time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mulder leaned back in his chair, looking around the office in satisfaction. He was proud of the X-Files office. More than he had ever been. The moment he and Scully were re-assigned to the X-Files, he was sure that he got Scully a desk. She had been surprised and obviously quite touched when she saw it because she covered her mouth with her hand, smiling. When he had asked if she liked it, she went to him and hugged him tightly saying "Thank you so much!" That made his day in a heartbeat. It was a reward to him. He looked over at Scully, who was silent, staring at the computer, rubbing the back of her beck unconsciously. She had been acting strange all morning, but Mulder didn't want to ask her. He knew she'd tell him if something was bothering her. Well, for the most part, at least. Scully looked over at him and met his eyes. Before he could do anything, her gaze dropped to the floor. "Scully," he finally said. " Yeah, Mulder?" she said, feigning innocence. " What's going on?" he said, expecting her to immediately insist she was okay. She didn't, to his surprise. The surprise immediately evaporated and turned into alarm. "Scully?" he asked again. "Mulder, I need to ask you something," she said, standing up. "What is it?" " I, um," she hesitated as she went to his desk, tracing the corner of his desk with her nail. "Mulder, what do you think about all this year 2000 stuff we've been hearing about?" "Y2K?" he said. She nodded. "Well.... they're recommending that everybody stocks up on canned stuff in case there's a food shortage. To keep 2 week's pay with you in case the computers get messed up." "Yeah, about computers....... I'm hearing that there's no way for everyone to fix them all before 2000," she said carefully. Mulder studied her face, and bit his lip for a moment, seeing how upset Scully was. "Can't part with your Hotmail account, Scully?" She smiled weakly. "Mulder... this is supposed to affect all computers. And computer chips", she said. His heart stopped. He knew what she meant, what she was so worried about. "I'm wondering, Mulder.... will.... will this affect my chip?" He stood up slowly and went to her, standing behind her. She looked down, and started rubbing the back of her neck again. He put his hands on her shoulders, and her hand dropped to her side. The chip. That little computer chip that saved her life, that saved both their lives. "Mulder, what if the chip in my neck malfunctions and-" her voiced cracked and trailed off. He gently started rubbing her shoulders, caressing her, trying to soothe her fears. He leaned forward and kissed the scar on nape of her neck. Her head dropped to her chest and she closed her eyes, feeling both comforted and oddly turned on from his gesture. She shunned herself mentally for thinking that way, then went back to the situation she and Mulder were in right now. "I didn't think of it," he said. She nodded, opening her eyes. She felt his arms snake around her, one around her waist, the other across her shoulders, just beneath her chin. She stared endlessly into the wall, feeling Mulder's arms give their protection. "We'll find out, Scully," he said, his voice soft in her ear. "We'll find out." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title~ 2000 (2/?) Mulder drove home with his mind in a blur. Was it true? Could Scully's cancer come back? He shook his head. "Stupid," he mumbled. It *was* stupid. That Y2K could affect Scully's computer chip? It sounded ridiculous. But it was so plausible, it was frightening. Scully clearly thought it could happen, she was so traumatized by it she had broken down twice at work that day. Right before he left, Scully started to worry again and worked herself up. He had held her, telling her not to worry, but he wasn't sure. And he thought she might have felt it. She had pulled away after a moment, apologizing softly, telling him he'd better go. He wasn't sure if she was lying or not, but she was obviously uncomfortable having him hover over her like that. He carefully held her hand, telling her everything would be all right. He could only hope she was wrong. That they both were. Why? Why, if the government knew about this, wouldn't they do something to prevent their work from being destroyed? He parked his car and walked up to his apartment, his eyes on the ground. He went into his apartment, not bothering to turn on the light. After stripping off his coat, he sagged onto the couch, closing his eyes. "Shit." This wasn't true. No, he thought, it's not going to happen. No way in hell, he wouldn't let it. Things were perfect right now. They had the X-Files, they had regained their reputations, their lives. He wasn't about to have it all torn away again. Not this time. The threat of losing his partner again was overwhelming. He didn't know what he'd do. Continuing their work without her was out of the question. There were no X-Files without Scully. He had told her that before, told her that he'd never do it without her. He wanted to say he loved her, that he'd never let her go, that she was the beautiful thing that ever happened to him. He chickened out. He couldn't give up their friendship, risk their partnership just because he found her attractive. It was a gamble he wasn't willing to bet on. And now he knew that time might be growing short, with the year 2000 less than 2 months away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ She curled up on her couch, wrapping her polar fleece blanket around her. She felt guilty for telling Mulder about her suspicions. She had no way of knowing, not until it would be too late. Removing the chip to test it was out of the question; it would be damaged and more than likely, the removal would make the cancer invade her again. No sense it risking it while the chip was still functional. She pulled the blanket around her tighter, staring at the glare on her coffee table. Memories of the dream came back and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push away the image of Mulder crying beside her dead body. She knew Mulder was disturbed by the thought, she has seen the fear in his eyes immediately. And when she broke down before he left, she only watered fear more and watched the seed grow higher. It wasn't fair. She had beat her cancer, she had struggled. She and Mulder had fought for a year to get the X-Files back. She had spent months behind a desk, running background checks, hating every second of it. And in the end, it was worth it. She opened her eyes again, wishing it was all a bad dream. Why did everything happen to her? Right when things were going well? She groaned. Knock it off. It's not for sure. It might not happen. Would it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ December 25th, 1999 A few hours ago, Scully politely declined her invitation to go to dinner at her mother's. She couldn't face her now, not when she was so anxious. Her mother was extremely disappointed, but also was concerned. "Are you all right, Dana?" she had asked. "I'm fine, Mom. I'm just not feeling well." "Well.... in case you change your mind, I'll save some pie for you." "Thanks, Mom." "Your presents are waiting for you, Dana." "I'll try to drop by tomorrow." "Okay, sweetheart. Merry Christmas." "Merry Christmas." Scully stared at the small pine tree in the corner of her living room. She had done a good job decorating it. Strings of white lights were wound around it, small silver balls hung on the branches. A few presents sat on the floor around it, mostly for family. She went to her CD player and put in her Nat King Cole Christmas Album. She lit a fire and went to the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of eggnog from the carton she bought. She heard a soft knocking at the door. She went to it, smoothing out her red velvet shirt, and opened the door. Mulder stood in the hallway with four overflowing bags of presents. He grinned. "Merry Christmas, Scully." "Mulder, what are you doing here?" "Just thought I'd stop by," he said stepping past her. "With four bags of gifts?" "Uh, well. Your Mom called me about an hour ago," he said sheepishly, setting the bags on her couch. Scully closed her eyes and shut the door, shaking her head. "Oh, Mom...." she mumbled. "Anyways... she told me you weren't feeling well and asked if I'd check up on you. And if I'd drop by her house and pick up your gifts." "Oh," she said, for a lack of anything better to say. "I was just pouring me a glass of eggnog, want some?" "Sure, thank you," he said, taking off his coat. He watched Scully go to the kitchen silently. She didn't look as festive as he thought she'd be dressed. But she still looked great in her blue jeans and shirt. He looked down. Well, he didn't look like he was in the holiday spirit himself. He looked down at his gray sweater and jeans, then up again to see Scully emerge with two glasses of thick eggnog. "I don't know if you like having milk added to yours, so I didn't. I like mine thick." "Me, too. Thanks," he said, moving some bags to the coffee table so he could sit. He took the glass she extended to him and put the other bags on the table, leaving room for her to sit. She sunk to the opposite side of the couch, resting her arm on the back of the couch. Mulder sipped his eggnog and set the glass on the table. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" started and Mulder shuddered. "Ugh, this makes me think of last year." "Yeah, last Christmas was a bit disturbing." They sat in silence, remembering the previous year's stakeout of a haunted house. The ghosts that haunted it played cruel tricks on them, convincing each other that they were shot. They had crawled across the floor, bleeding, dying, fighting, until Mulder realized it was all in their heads. It was terrifying to them both, they fled from the house. Scully came to his apartment the next morning, confused, shaken. "Well.... here we are again, Mulder. Together again on Christmas." "You sound disappointed about that, Scully," he said, looking at her. She smiled. "Of course not, Mulder." "Look, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing." "I'm okay," she said, taking a sip of her eggnog. "You're sure," he said. Scully looked up at him. She didn't repeat herself. "Can we not talk about this right now? Not today." "Okay," he said, standing up. He grabbed a bag and set it on her lap. "Get started." "Mulder-" "Hey, you've got three more after that. Start opening 'em. C'mon." He smiled at her, taking his glass again. She sighed, a slight smile tugging at her lips. After an hour, everything was opened up and laid neatly on the floor. Scully stood up and went to her tree picking up a box from the floor. She went to him and set it in his lap. "Merry Christmas, Mulder." "Scully, you didn't have to." "Sure I did," she said, watching him open it. He grinned as he tore off that last piece of wrapping paper. "Men in Black," he said softly. She smiled. "You said you had never seen it when OPR accused you of making up what happened to us in Antarctica." He looked up at her, and reached in a bag, pulling out a small box. He handed it to her and she carefully lifted the lid. She smiled. Inside sat a pinwheel with a note taped to the stem. She read the note: Thank you for everything you've done, Scully. Always, Mulder She smiled and look up at him, feeling the familiar closing of her throat. She scooted closer to him. He reached out and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. She sighed against his chest. "Thank you, Scully." "You're welcome," he said, inhaling the scent of her hair. "Wanna watch my movie?" "Yeah, I wanted to see it," she said, pulling back. She unwrapped the plastic from the tape and stuck it in the VCR, flipping on the TV. Mulder stretched his legs out onto the table, Scully came and sat next to him, Mulder's arm coming around her shoulders. Right now they both forgot about the new year. Only 6 days left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (3/?) December 31st, 1999 10:30 PM The last day of the millenium was upon the world. And every person in the planet was on edge, waiting to see what would happen. All across the globe, people were wondering what was to come. Some thought it was the end of the world. Some went into the mountains for hiding. Many thought the stockmarket would crash. Some didn't care either way. There were three basic scenarios that all experts agreed on that the world might face: 1.) The Brown-Out. Equivalent to a world-wide ice storm. Power would be lost for a few days and there would be a few hassles, but after about a week, everything would be back to normal. 2.) The Black-Out. Equilavent to world-wide flood. Power would be down, many cars and electrical problems would present themselves. After 1-2 months, the majority of people would be back on their feet again. 3.) The Melt-Down. Equilavent to a world-wide earthquake. Mass destruction, food and water shortage, lots of devistation. World-wide stock market crash. Money wouldn't matter anymore, everyone was in the same situation. It wasn't until the middle of 1998 that the Y2K virus became an issue, and by that time, it was too late to make all the preparations nessessary. Some of the computer chips were deep underground, hundreds of them are in satallites. Experts started to recommend people keep 2 weeks to a month's worth of cash on hand in case the computers at the banks malfunctioned. People was supposed to save all bank statements and all paperwork regarding money. And while many people followed these suggestions to be safe, many ignored it. In Japan and the Orient, the majority of computers had crashed during the early morning hours. Power plants and basic necessities were fully functional in most areas. Many cars wouldn't start. One of the biggest concerns was power. Many civilians feared that the prisons would lose power and the criminals would get loose. Most cities made it a priority to make sure that didn't happen. With the crash of electronics on the other side of the world, the stock market was struggling and had started to plummit. But tonight in Arlington, those concerns were the last on the minds of two FBI agents. Despite the curiousity and excitement that the world was consumed in, neither of them thought once of what was ahead. They cared about one thing and one thing only. Would the chip in the neck of Dana Scully fail? Would her cancer come out of remission if it did? Mulder felt sick. He had an adrenaline rush for the last two days and he was starting to feel shaky as a result. He had kept his hopes high around Scully, he didn't want her to think he doubted the possibility that it might all blow over. Scully had calmed down quite a bit over the last 6 days. She had accepted the fact that something may or may not happen. He convinced her to come to his apartment for New Year's Eve for a small party he was having. And it *was* small. The only people there besides himself were Scully and the Lone Gunmen. Scully was quiet, but fairly optimistic. She sat at the chair at Mulder's desk, her feet pulled up beneath her. Langly and Mulder sat on either side of the coffee table playing Gin, Langly winning to a point of embarrasment. Langly's back rested against the bottom cushions of the couch, his long blond hair pulled back beneath a black baseball cap. Byers sat on the couch, looking over his fellow hacker's shoulder. Frohike sat on the end of Mulder's couch, a bottle of beer in his hand. He looked at Scully with a smirk. "You're awfully quiet tonight, Agent Scully," he said,"What's wrong, my lovely lady?" Scully rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm *nobody's* 'lovely lady', Frohike, and I'm definitely not yours." She smiled at him sweetly, but he still pouted. "So, boys," Mulder said, giving Frohike a shove for annoying Scully. "What're you gonna do without your computers? Y2K is gonna spoiler your hacking, what are you gonna do now? Start a quilting circle?" Langly grinned, pushing his thick black glassed back up onto the bridge of his nose, "You don't think we've been preparing? Mulder, I'm disappointed in you." "We've been working on it non-stop for about a year now," Byers said. "We just finished about two weeks ago." "We did a damn good job on it too, might I say," Frohike added with pride. "Sorry, Mulder. No quilting circles in the near future. But when we start one, you and Scully are welcome to join." "Gee, now I have something to look forward to,"Scully said, grinning. "Anything for you, babe," Frohike said. Scully rolled her eyes again. The slimy little toad had his eye on her from the day they met, and she still didn't get used to his comments yet. Regardless of how irritating he might have been, that crusty little fossil had earned a soft spot in her heart. She'd never tell him that, though. "Gin." Langly neatly laid out his cards, pleased with himself. "Dammit!" "Sorry, Mulder. Wanna play something easier?" "Okay. Let's play 52-Pickup." "52-Pickup? I've never played that before." Mulder grinned. Scully chuckled. "It's easy. Here, gimme the deck," he said, sweeping the cards into the pile. He got the cards in a nice stack. "You don't even need to shuffle to play this game." "What do I do?" Langly asked. "Okay, see the cards?" Mulder said. Langly nodded, pushing his glasses onto his nose again. "There are 52 of them, right?" "Uh-huh." "Very good. 52 cards," Mulder said, then threw the deck up into the air above Langly's head. "Now pick 'em up." "HEY!" Langly cried, swatting at the falling cards. The room burst into laughter. "That's how you play 52-Pickup. Isn't it great?" Mulder said, a big stupid smile on his lips. "Good one, Mulder," Frohike said. "I thought so. Hey, Scully?" Mulder said. "No, I won't play 52-Pickup or strip poker," she said immediately. "Well, okay, I wasn't going to ask that right now, but no strip-poker? Spoil sport!" " Sorry, not in the mood." "Well... fine. But could I talk to you in the kitchen?" "Yeah," she said, getting up. Mulder stood up from the floor, stretching out his legs a little then followed Scully into the kitchen. She went to the sink and leaned against the counter top, arms crossed. Mulder came over and stood in front of her. "If you don't feel comfortable with this, Scully-" "Mulder, I want to be here." " Are you sure?" "There's no place I'd rather be on New Year's Eve. Every woman wants to be with a bunch of loud people with a little rat who makes derogatory comments," she said, smiling. Mulder studied her face. "I guess I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not." "Mulder, I'm telling you the truth," she said, reaching out to touch his upper arm. "I want to be here. Even if Frohike's here." "You sure?" "Mulder, I get tired of repeating myself." "Sorry. Just making sure." "Hey, Mulder!" came Frohike's voice from the living room. "Can you bring me another beer?" "Yeah, hang on a sec," he called back. "Look, I know what you're thinking,"she said, "I'm worried about it too. But life's too short to worry about things like we are. I don't want to live my life in fear." He put his hands on her shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "You're right," he said softly. "Let's try not to think about it." She nodded and he fought off his urge to kiss her cheek. "Mulder!" Frohike called. "I'm coming! You know, you could get off your lazy butt and get it yourself." "Yeah, but you're up," came the reply from the next room. Mulder went to the fridge with a grunt and got another bottle of Miller out. Mulder went to the door, then paused for a moment to look at his partner, waiting for her to come back into the room. "Be there in a second," she said, getting a glass from the cupboard."Just getting some water." Mulder nodded and went into the room, giving Frohike his beer. "Is Scully okay?" Frohike asked. "She's all right." "What about you? You guys both seem antsy about something. Did you two do *something* together that might make you a little apprehensive?" Frohike said, his voice in a slow, suggestive tone. "What? No!" Mulder said, snatching the bottle away from Frohike. "No more alcohol for you, your thought processes are getting warped." "No fair!" "Then don't be stupid next time," Mulder said, giving it to Langly, who gladly received it. Scully emerged from the kitchen, her hands in her pockets. She went back to her chair, brushing Mulder's arm with her elbow as she went by. He turned to look at her and she smiled. She was all right for now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ December 31, 1999 11:58 PM "Two minutes!" cried Frohike. "Break out the champaign!" Mulder went to the kitchen and came back with a bottle, then passed out glasses to everyone. He carefully poured some into each glass and they flipped on the TV to the countdown. "This is the last minute of the millenium, folks, and we're just hoping we'll be able to televise after we reach the year 2000," the announcer said. "And here we go! 10... 9.... 8.... 7...-" Mulder went to Scully and took her hand gently. "- 6... 5... 4...-" He felt her squeeze his fingertips. "-3...2...1... Happy New Y-" The TV lost its reception and went static, the loud fuzzy noise loud and eery. For a moment, no one said anything. "Happy New Year!" Frohike cried, his voice slightly slurred, raising his glass. "Happy New Year!" everyone else cried at once. Mulder wondered if he was supposed to kiss his partner or not. He looked at Scully, whose eyes were shut. "Scully?" he murmured in concern. "Mmm. I'm fine. I just... I had a little prickle down my spine," she said. "I'm okay. It's probably just nerves." She squeezed his hand and released it. "Happy New Year, everyone," she announced. She clinked glasses with everyone, then turned to Mulder. "Happy New Year, Mulder," she said softly. He smiled and touched his glass to hers. "Happy New Year, Scully." He leaned to kiss her cheek. "Best of luck in the new millenium." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (4/12) January 2nd, 2000 3:37 AM Scully woke up in a coughing fit, her eyes watering. She rolled over, sniffling in the darkness, looking for the outline of her crystal night-side lamp. She reached to flip on the lamp and froze when the light came on, her skin draining of its color. Her hand and her lower arm were covered in fresh blood. "No," she breathed. She looked down at the pillow and saw the large red stain on the white pillowcase. She flew out of bed and went to the bathroom, slamming on the light switch with her fist. "Oh, GOD." The woman who looked back from the other side of the mirror was a mess. Blood was smeared from her nose, across her cheek, on her mouth, to her chin. And it wasn't stopping. She grabbed her new white washcloth and wet it with warm water, feeling the terry-cloth go from feather-light to heavy and water-filled. She carefully wiped away the blood smears, turning the cloth inside-out when it stained with pink. She looked at her reflection in satisfaction, then grew irritated when a thick trickle of blood came from her the left side of her nose. She grabbed a Kleenex and pinched her nose, tilting her head back. No reason to panic over this, she thought, It's always dry around this time of year. She bunched up the piece of Kleenex when blood began to soak through. Four pieces of later, she wasn't so sure. She wanted to call Mulder for a moment, then remembered the phone lines were down from the Y2K virus. She went to the living room and rummaged through the pocket of her trench coat, searching for her cell phone, then realized that it wouldn't work either. Frustrated, she threw it onto to couch, sneering at in annoyance. People would probably have to live like there were no technological developments in the last 70 years for awhile. The nosebleed stopped after 20 minutes and she went to her bed, looking at the brownish-red stain on the pillowcase. She scowled at it and turned the pillow face-down. Hiding it was the only way she'd forget. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ January 3rd, 2000 4:32 PM St. John's Hospital Mulder raced down the hallway of the hospital, maneuvering with quick footing around the slow visitors and workers. He ran to the desk, startling the young blonde nurse. "Excuse me?" he wheezed, looking at the woman's name tag "Beth, I'm looking for Dana Scully, I just received the call from here about 15 minutes ago. Where is she?" he said quickly, breathlessly. "What's her name?" she said, flipping through a clipboard. " Scully. Dana Scully," Mulder said, trying to calm himself. "Hmmmm..... Dana Scully......" the nurse mumbled. Mulder put his hands on his hips, fidgeting nervously. Was Scully okay? What was wrong? Beth slowly flipped through the admittance forms, carefully thumbing through, oblivious to Mulder's anxiousness. "Ah, Dana Scully," she finally announced. "Room 214." "Thank you," he quickly spat out before dashing like a madman down the hall. He nearly fell on the floor when he turned a corner, but regained his footing and slid, nearly running into a towel cart. He glanced at the room numbers as he passed, running his fingertips along the light blue-gray walls. 204...... 206...... 208....... 210...... 212..... Mulder started feeling slightly relieved when his eyes found the plastic numbers "214" plastered to the wall. He closed his eyes, swallowing, then pushed the door open. Scully looked up at him, smiling sheepishly. There was a large bandage around her head, a red stain soaking through the gauze. He went to her, taking her hand. "Scully, what happened?" "Got in a car accident," she said, touching the bandage. "A car accident?" "Yeah, a guy blew a stop sign and ran into me." "How's he doing?" " He's okay. Just feeling sorry," she said, dropping her free hand. Mulder looked at her carefully. "Nothing else?" "Nothing else," she confirmed, squeezing his hand. He released her hand and let out a long, relieved sigh, covering his face. "Jesus, Scully, you scared me to death. I was so worried." "I'm sorry," she said, touching his shoulder. " Don't worry about it," he said, then ran his fingertips along her cheek. "As long as you're alive." "I'm okay." "So, when are you going to get out of here?" "Later tonight," she said, shifting on the bed. "I'll stick around and bring you home." "You don't have to, Mulder. I could just take a cab." " Don't be silly," he said, standing up. "I'll drive you home. Look, I'm going to talk to one of your doctors, then I'm getting a Coke. Want something?" "No, I'm fine, thanks," she said, brushing some hair from her eyes. Mulder went to the door then turned to look at her. "No recurring symptoms at all? No weakness or nosebleeds?" he asked. " None," she lied. Mulder grinned, nodding, then turned and went out the door, shutting it carefully behind him. She stared at the door, overwhelming guilt overcoming her. She just lied to her partner. Told him what he wanted to hear instead of the truth. She swore at herself in anger, but knew she had good reason. Mulder was a panicky mess when he came to see her, worried it was her cancer. And then, as if a punishment from God was sent for her lie, she felt a warm trickle on her lip. "Dammit!" she cussed softly, getting up from the bed. Her knees felt wobbly beneath her and she sat back onto the bed. "Stop it!" she told herself. She was still shaky from the accident, that had to be it. The cancer wouldn't infect her body within 3 days. Would it? It was inconceivable to her. As a doctor, she still wasn't entirely sure what to expect. This was a rare form of cancer that was not brought on naturally. Who knew what it could do? No one else has survived it. She attempted to stand up and her legs still felt weak. Blood trickled down onto her lips, to her chin. She looked down and a droplet fell onto the blue gown hospital gown she was dressed in. Cursing softly, she forced herself to get up, pushing aside the light-headedness and weakness she was experiencing and made herself walk to the bathroom. She slapped the light switch on and grabbed a paper towel from it's metal dispenser from the wall. Just then the door opened to her room and Mulder came in. "Scully?" he said, looking around. He saw Scully standing in the bathroom, leaning against the sink, wiping blood away from her face. He set his Coke on a chair, and walked to the bathroom, studying Scully. She moved the blood-soaked paper towel from her face and looked up at him, a fresh stream of blood trailing from her nose immediately started. He looked at her in fear. "Just another damned nosebleed, Mulder," she said, swatting another towel from the dispenser. She put it to her nose, soaking up the blood. "What do you mean, '*another*'?" he said slowly. Her eyes met his and then averted themselves towards the mirror. "You have been having symptoms, haven't you?" he said softly, moving to her. She moved the towel away and was glad to see the flow had stopped, trying to avoid Mulder's hazel gaze. She nodded slowly, guilt-filled. "You lied to me, Scully." "I had to," she said defensively, "You were worried enough about me. I didn't want to scare you again." "Is that a bad thing? That I care?" he said, trying not to hiss at her. " I *don't* want you to hover over me. This could be nothing, Mulder. The air is dry here, that could cause a nosebleed easily." He nodded, then reached out and wipe the fresh droplet of blood from the front of her gown. He looked at her, his eyes dark, holding up his finger for her to see. "This is *not* normal, Dana Scully. I don't want you to take it lightly. Get check out, I don't care if you think it's dry air or a head cold," he said firmly. "Okay?" Scully nodded and they simply read each other's eyes for a moment. Mulder took the bloodied towel from her hand and wiped his finger off on it. Scully's eyes fixed on the blue linoleum tiles that lined the floor. She watched Mulder's feet step forward and she felt him put his arms around her gently. She sighed and leaned into him, glad he was willing to forgive. "Let's go talk to a doctor," she said, pulling back. She turned and took a robe off a hook that hung on the wall, slipping it on. He nodded, smiling softly, sliding his hand to the small of her back, guiding her gently out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (5/?) January 7th, 2000 2:56PM The nosebleeds became a daily occurrence. She would get them at the office, she'd get them at home. Mulder's eyes grew big and worry-filled every time her hand would go anywhere near the vasinity of the Kleenex box sitting on her desk. When she first talked to a physician, he didn't seem concerned. Mulder had almost believed it then. And it wasn't until 3-4 daily nosebleeds started to happen that she and Mulder got worried. She had went in two days before and was examined. After standard tests, it was decided that more tests needed to be run. The doctors ran blood tests of different kinds repeatedly, trying to come up with a diagnosis. The idea that dry winter atmosphere was ruled out immediately. The call for Mulder during the afternoon to meet Scully at the hospital. He walked calmly to the receptionist's desk and asked which room to go to. When she told him to go to the oncology level of the hospital, Mulder's heart somehow wound up in his feet. He was scared. Not just for Scully but for her family. For himself. And it wasn't only because he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her, but because Bill Scully would more than likely hunt him down and kill him. In a slow, padding shuffle, he made his way down the hall until he came to the room where Scully was seated in the corner of a room on a chair. He knocked softly and she looked up, seeing him through the window of the door. Mulder waved with a slight smile and opened the door. "Hey," he said. "Hi," she said, pushing some stray stands of her red hair. "What's up?" he said, sitting beside her. He squirmed in the chair, wishing the cushion had more give than a cement block. She looked down at her lap, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Scully?" "The doctors called me today. They said that they had news," she said. Neither of them spoke for a moment. "What kind of news?" " I don't know," she said honestly. "Could it be cancer?" he said softly. "It hasn't been ruled out." It was a neutral reply, and it was satisfactory to Mulder. Not a positive 'no' or 'yes'. The door opened and a man in a white labcoat came in. He was in his 50's, his glasses thin with gold frames. His beard was gray and white, his teeth gleamed with perfection when he offered his smile at the agents. "Hello, Dana," he said, reaching to shake her hand. "I'm Doctor Blaith." "Hi," she said, shaking his hand. Blaith looked at Mulder. "Fox Mulder," Mulder offered, extending his hand. He was given a firm handshake. "How have you been feeling, Dana?" Blaith asked, seating himself at the low-set countertop desk, swiveling his chair. "I've felt all right," came Scully's soft reply. "Good, good. Have you felt tired? Weak?" he said, scribbling something on a clipboard. Scully looked at Mulder, wishing he wasn't there right now. "I've felt a little wobbly. Not too tired," she confessed, refusing to look at Mulder. She didn't have to glance at him to know he was staring at her. She was just caught in another lie to him. "Great," Blaith said. He wrote on the clipboard again and opened up a file, studying the contents. "Dana, I'm afraid that the news I have for you isn't good." Scully felt Mulder's hand on her thigh and she closed her eyes, nodding. She covered Mulder's hand with her palm. "Dana, your cancer has come out of its remission. And... it's rapidly starting to take over again," Blaith said. "The good news, though, is that your tumor has not grown, according to your PET scan results." Mulder's thumb ran over her pants leg gently. "Are you sure?" Mulder asked. "We ran the tests numerous times." "When can she start treatment?" "See, that's just it. We don't know. So much of our equipment hasn't been functional since January first-" "You mean it's not possible?" Mulder interrupted in slow amazement. Blaith looked at Mulder with guilt in his eyes. "Many crucial tools we need are down, Mr.Mulder. They are in most facilities." "Well, how long will it take to get them going again?" "I don't know," was Dr.Blaith's reply. "It could be weeks." He fingered the papers attached to the clipboard dumbly. Mulder's eyes left the doctor and went to the nearby wall. He swallowed and turned his body to Scully's. "How long do I have?" Scully said after a moment, her voice unusually strong. Blaith's lips pressed together tightly before his reply came: "We're guessing a little over a month." "Oh, my God..." Scully said, covering her eyes with her hand. "W-wait, there must be a mistake. The cancer can't be moving that quickly," Mulder said, praying the scientists and doctors at the hospital were wrong. "She's *got* to have longer than that." "It's possible, Mr.Mulder, but highly unlikely," Blaith said, standing up. He walked to Scully and touched her shoulder. She looked up at him, her face pale. "I'm going to make a promise to you, Ms.Scully," he said, crouching before her. "You stay strong for another week or two, and I'll take it as *my* responsibility to get everything up and running as fast as we can. I'm going to help you, Dana, and you're going to get well. But you've got to promise me that you won't give up." Scully looked up at him, her teeth grinding together as she fought her tears. "I *never* give up. Not easily," she said. "And not without a fight." The doctor grinned and looked at Mulder. "She keeps her word, Doctor Blaith," Mulder said, "And I know she will on this." Blaith stood up and went to the door, turning to look at the determined, but frightened pair sitting in the corner. He silently went out the door and shut it behind him. "Scully....."Mulder started, trying to get her to look at him. "A month, Mulder," she whispered. " A little *over* a month," he corrected. "Don't lose hope, Scully. Not now. Don't live your life like you're dead for the next month, because things can turn around." " Yeah, things *can* turn around, but that doesn't mean they *will*," she said bitterly. Mulder recoiled at the coldness in her voice but he knew it was her way of defending herself. "Scully...." he said softly. "What?" she said, knowing what he was doing. He was tearing her defenses down, brick by brick. "Scully...." he whispered. Walls fell, bricks crumbled. "Mulder, don't," she whimpered. He brought his face closer to hers. "Scully." The last wall collapsed. She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes and she saw the sadness. She tried to stand up and walk away from him, but before she could get anywhere, he had grabbed her shoulders from behind. She didn't fight him. He walked around her and held her face in his hands, his face soft, eyes reassuring. "I don't wanna die," she said and that was enough to push them both over the edge. She fell into him and sunk to the floor, dragging him to the cold tiles with her. She started to cry uncontrollably and Mulder held her closer, wishing his arms were bigger. There was no way to comfort her. No way to help her now. Three years previously, Mulder could locate the Cigarette Smoking Man to try to negotiate a deal. A year ago, after he and Scully learned the identity of CSM was C.G.B Spender, he had disappeared. Who could help them now? Skinner would have no way to help, without the Cigarette Man, his most reliable source wouldn't be available to assist. At least then, there was a chance. And there was usually a hidden door somewhere in the deal that you could slip out of at the last minute, after most of the dirtywork had been completed. For the first time in his career, Fox Mulder was totally clueless as to what the next step was. He wanted to scream. He wanted to pick up his chair and heave it at something in anger. Most of all, he wanted to cry. But the tears wouldn't come to his eyes. However, he knew one thing: He wasn't about to let Scully die. Not as long as he was still there. "You're not going to die, Scully," he whispered to her, "You're not going anywhere." She was gasping for air through her hiccuping tears. "You don't know that," she said. "You don't know, either," he said. After a moment, she had settled down and was cradled in his arms. Mulder rocked her back and forth, urging her to stay determined. After a good ten minutes of crying and being held, she finally felt ready to verbally express her feelings. "I'm scared." "Me, too. But we don't have to be." 'God, bless this man,' she thought. 'He's a saint.' She nuzzled into his chest and the tears started again. He held her patiently and let the shock sink in. Finally, he was able to bring himself to tears, too. Then Scully took her turn as the supporter. The one who gave consoling. They both needed it. And she wasn't ready to go, just yet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (6/?) January 7th, 2000 2:56PM The nosebleeds became a daily occurrence. She would get them at the office, she'd get them at home. Mulder's eyes grew big and worry-filled every time her hand would go anywhere near the vasinity of the Kleenex box sitting on her desk. When she first talked to a physician, he didn't seem concerned. Mulder had almost believed it then. And it wasn't until 3-4 daily nosebleeds started to happen that she and Mulder got worried. She had went in two days before and was examined. After standard tests, it was decided that more tests needed to be run. The doctors ran blood tests of different kinds repeatedly, trying to come up with a diagnosis. The idea that dry winter atmosphere was ruled out immediately. The call for Mulder during the afternoon to meet Scully at the hospital. He walked calmly to the receptionist's desk and asked which room to go to. When she told him to go to the oncology level of the hospital, Mulder's heart somehow wound up in his feet. He was scared. Not just for Scully but for her family. For himself. And it wasn't only because he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her, but because Bill Scully would more than likely hunt him down and kill him. In a slow, padding shuffle, he made his way down the hall until he came to the room where Scully was seated in the corner of a room on a chair. He knocked softly and she looked up, seeing him through the window of the door. Mulder waved with a slight smile and opened the door. "Hey," he said. "Hi," she said, pushing some stray stands of her red hair. "What's up?" he said, sitting beside her. He squirmed in the chair, wishing the cushion had more give than a cement block. She looked down at her lap, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Scully?" "The doctors called me today. They said that they had news," she said. Neither of them spoke for a moment. "What kind of news?" " I don't know," she said honestly. "Could it be cancer?" he said softly. "It hasn't been ruled out." It was a neutral reply, and it was satisfactory to Mulder. Not a positive 'no' or 'yes'. The door opened and a man in a white labcoat came in. He was in his 50's, his glasses thin with gold frames. His beard was gray and white, his teeth gleamed with perfection when he offered his smile at the agents. "Hello, Dana," he said, reaching to shake her hand. "I'm Doctor Blaith." "Hi," she said, shaking his hand. Blaith looked at Mulder. "Fox Mulder," Mulder offered, extending his hand. He was given a firm handshake. "How have you been feeling, Dana?" Blaith asked, seating himself at the low-set countertop desk, swiveling his chair. "I've felt all right," came Scully's soft reply. "Good, good. Have you felt tired? Weak?" he said, scribbling something on a clipboard. Scully looked at Mulder, wishing he wasn't there right now. "I've felt a little wobbly. Not too tired," she confessed, refusing to look at Mulder. She didn't have to glance at him to know he was staring at her. She was just caught in another lie to him. "Great," Blaith said. He wrote on the clipboard again and opened up a file, studying the contents. "Dana, I'm afraid that the news I have for you isn't good." Scully felt Mulder's hand on her thigh and she closed her eyes, nodding. She covered Mulder's hand with her palm. "Dana, your cancer has come out of its remission. And... it's rapidly starting to take over again," Blaith said. "The good news, though, is that your tumor has not grown, according to your PET scan results." Mulder's thumb ran over her pants leg gently. "Are you sure?" Mulder asked. "We ran the tests numerous times." "When can she start treatment?" "See, that's just it. We don't know. So much of our equipment hasn't been functional since January first-" "You mean it's not possible?" Mulder interrupted in slow amazement. Blaith looked at Mulder with guilt in his eyes. "Many crucial tools we need are down, Mr.Mulder. They are in most facilities." "Well, how long will it take to get them going again?" "I don't know," was Dr.Blaith's reply. "It could be weeks." He fingered the papers attached to the clipboard dumbly. Mulder's eyes left the doctor and went to the nearby wall. He swallowed and turned his body to Scully's. "How long do I have?" Scully said after a moment, her voice unusually strong. Blaith's lips pressed together tightly before his reply came: "We're guessing a little over a month." "Oh, my God..." Scully said, covering her eyes with her hand. "W-wait, there must be a mistake. The cancer can't be moving that quickly," Mulder said, praying the scientists and doctors at the hospital were wrong. "She's *got* to have longer than that." "It's possible, Mr.Mulder, but highly unlikely," Blaith said, standing up. He walked to Scully and touched her shoulder. She looked up at him, her face pale. "I'm going to make a promise to you, Ms.Scully," he said, crouching before her. "You stay strong for another week or two, and I'll take it as *my* responsibility to get everything up and running as fast as we can. I'm going to help you, Dana, and you're going to get well. But you've got to promise me that you won't give up." Scully looked up at him, her teeth grinding together as she fought her tears. "I *never* give up. Not easily," she said. "And not without a fight." The doctor grinned and looked at Mulder. "She keeps her word, Doctor Blaith," Mulder said, "And I know she will on this." Blaith stood up and went to the door, turning to look at the determined, but frightened pair sitting in the corner. He silently went out the door and shut it behind him. "Scully....."Mulder started, trying to get her to look at him. "A month, Mulder," she whispered. " A little *over* a month," he corrected. "Don't lose hope, Scully. Not now. Don't live your life like you're dead for the next month, because things can turn around." " Yeah, things *can* turn around, but that doesn't mean they *will*," she said bitterly. Mulder recoiled at the coldness in her voice but he knew it was her way of defending herself. "Scully...." he said softly. "What?" she said, knowing what he was doing. He was tearing her defenses down, brick by brick. "Scully...." he whispered. Walls fell, bricks crumbled. "Mulder, don't," she whimpered. He brought his face closer to hers. "Scully." The last wall collapsed. She looked up at him through tear-filled eyes and she saw the sadness. She tried to stand up and walk away from him, but before she could get anywhere, he had grabbed her shoulders from behind. She didn't fight him. He walked around her and held her face in his hands, his face soft, eyes reassuring. "I don't wanna die," she said and that was enough to push them both over the edge. She fell into him and sunk to the floor, dragging him to the cold tiles with her. She started to cry uncontrollably and Mulder held her closer, wishing his arms were bigger. There was no way to comfort her. No way to help her now. Three years previously, Mulder could locate the Cigarette Smoking Man to try to negotiate a deal. A year ago, after he and Scully learned the identity of CSM was C.G.B Spender, he had disappeared. Who could help them now? Skinner would have no way to help, without the Cigarette Man, his most reliable source wouldn't be available to assist. At least then, there was a chance. And there was usually a hidden door somewhere in the deal that you could slip out of at the last minute, after most of the dirtywork had been completed. For the first time in his career, Fox Mulder was totally clueless as to what the next step was. He wanted to scream. He wanted to pick up his chair and heave it at something in anger. Most of all, he wanted to cry. But the tears wouldn't come to his eyes. However, he knew one thing: He wasn't about to let Scully die. Not as long as he was still there. "You're not going to die, Scully," he whispered to her, "You're not going anywhere." She was gasping for air through her hiccuping tears. "You don't know that," she said. "You don't know, either," he said. After a moment, she had settled down and was cradled in his arms. Mulder rocked her back and forth, urging her to stay determined. After a good ten minutes of crying and being held, she finally felt ready to verbally express her feelings. "I'm scared." "Me, too. But we don't have to be." 'God, bless this man,' she thought. 'He's a saint.' She nuzzled into his chest and the tears started again. He held her patiently and let the shock sink in. Finally, he was able to bring himself to tears, too. Then Scully took her turn as the supporter. The one who gave consoling. They both needed it. And she wasn't ready to go, just yet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (7/12) He left her apartment with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He glanced back up at the face of the building to her window and trotted down the steps, puffy clouds of his breath following him. He was confused and worried. He couldn't help but feel slightly hurt by her words. She didn't want to offend him, he knew that. But the way she pushed him away had stung him. He had never once thought that she might not want people around her at this time. If anything, he thought she'd want someone with her constantly. But it wasn't the first time he had been wrong about things like that. He wanted to send as much time with her as he could. Every second counted now, if she couldn't be treated. He wanted to be by her side just to enjoy the simple things about her. The way she chewed on her lower lip when she was thinking, the constant tapping of her nails on the desk. Little things about her that made her Scully. But she needed her space. Needed time to sort things out, spend time with herself. He knew she was going to be spending a lot oftime with the Bible, with her family. Doing things she hadn't had time to do or never got a chance to do because of her job, because of him. He was just disappointed that she didn't seem to have left enough time for him. It left like she was going to be so busy, she'd leave him out and forget about him. Even if he'd never forget her. He couldn't. It was impossible. She knew he loved her, though the words had never actually been spoken. It was just a feeling between them that was felt in lots of different ways. When they read each other's eyes, expressions, and knew exactly what they were saying. He had once said "I love you" and meant it, but was doped up on painkillers and other drugs. She thought it was drug-induced, which it was, but the feelings weren't. She just stared at him in disbelief, then shook her head mumbling "Oh, brother..." Maybe next time he said it, she'd know the truth. He wasn't sure what the next step was. Scully wanted him to go away, she needed time to think. To accept her fate. Something that Mulder wasn't ready to do. Accepting the arrival of Scully's death was too painful, too appalling. Too lonely. Half of his life would be gone. More than half his life. And now, after 7 years of knowing and befriending this woman, he was to just be able to let go? He couldn't let go of her 5 years ago, he certainly couldn't now. Not after she had saved him so many times. From others and himself. He drove home with his mind in a storm of thoughts and emotions. He had to help her. He'd do anything. He had already went halfway across Antarctica and carried her back, anything else seemed trite now. He would lie; he would kill. As long as her life would be spared.That chip. That damned chip. If only he could get it working again. Then the light bulb flashed in his mind. He smiled. Maybe there was a chance after all. * * * FBI Headquarters January 9th, 2000 12:35 PM "You've GOT to me kidding me." She was staring at her partner in hesitancy. "I'm serious, Scully. I think they might be able to help you." "The Lone Gunmen, Mulder? You honestly think that those three can help me?" she said, raising a narrow eyebrow. "If they extract the chip from your neck and can get it working again, I know they will," he said. "How?" "They already agreed to it," he replied, his eyes full of seriousness. He expected to see her happy or excited. Anything but what happened next. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched a little. "You told them?" she said. Her anger wasn't hidden from her tone of voice. She was staring at him, her liquid blue eyes turning to sheer ice. Mulder shrunk back in his chair slightly, feeling the room suddenly get cold. "Well...yeah, I had-" "Mulder, I'm going to say this and I'm only going to say it once. This is MY business. Not yours, not anybody else's. And it's MY decision as to who I want to know about what's happened to me," she said bitterly. Mulder suddenly felt like he was the size of an ant. "But Scully, I was only-" "Meddling in my private affairs. Exactly. Spreading news of what happened to me like it was a high school rumor." "You were going to have to tell them eventually, weren't you?" he said, trying to be helpful and defend himself at the same time. She glared at him. Oh, if looks could kill.... "You...had...no...RIGHT!" she said harshly, emphasizing each word in a sharp hiss. Mulder's temper skyrocketed and he found himself on his feet, yelling at her. "Now, wait a minute! That's not fair, I'm trying to HELP you and you're pushing me away! Do you really think that the Lone Gunmen are online right now, telling everyone that you're sick? Do you think I was intentionally trying to piss you off? Gee, how'd you guess, Scully, that I love being hated by you?!" he hollered, throwing his arms in the air. "You think I like that? You're WRONG! I'm NOT trying to meddle into your life, I'm just trying to be a PART your life! I want to help you, and even if you don't want me to, I'm going to!" He watched his partner's face soften a little, but he was on a roll. His emotions were full-blast and there was no stopping him. He looked down at the plastic pen-filled container on his desk and hit it hard, sending it flying across the office. "Don't think that I like this, Scully, because I don't! I'm scared to DEATH of losing you, because I'm going to lose myself. And if I don't do everything I can, Scully, I will *NEVER* forgive myself!" He stood there, panting, a lump growing in his throat. Scully's face was blank, completely in shock at his fiery outburst. He turned away, ashamed for losing control of his feelings, and went to his desk, huffing down in his chair. He swiveled it around so his back was to her and put an elbow on the armrest, covering his face. He tried to swallow the knot in his throat. "God, I'm stupid," he thought. "So, so stupid. Why do I even talk? It should be part of the United States Constitution: 'Special Agent Fox William Mulder of the FBI is not permitted to speak....'" He heard her get up. Heard every step she took towards him and felt her beside him. She turned the chair towards her. "Mulder-" "Don't. It was my fault, I never should have said anything," he said, getting up and brushing by her. "It wasn't your fault." "Yes it was. I got mad because you called me on bad judgment and I tried to defend myself," he said, going to the door. "I was stupid, negligent, and rude," he continued in his slow monotone, shrugging on his coat. " I never should have gotten into this. I apologize for my behavior, and if you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my way. Save us both the annoyance and embarrassment." "Mulder!" she said, raising her voice to try to startle him. But he was already out the door. She hurried after him down the cool basement hallway and caught him at the elevator. "Mulder." He didn't turn to look at her, he was too mad. He gritted his teeth and punched the "UP" button a few more time. "Mulder, look at me." He didn't, just kept his back to her. "Please." The simple plea caught him off guard. He slowly turned to look at her. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she said, taking a step closer. "I didn't mean to push you away." "You had every right," he said, turning to hit the button again. "No, I didn't. Not to make you feel bad. No one has that right." "YOU did." "You were only trying to help me," she said. He looked at her and almost nodded. She damned him for having those wounded puppy eyes, they were tearing her heart out. She was upset with herself now, for yelling at him. She had forgotten his sensitivity, how easily he would blame himself for things that went wrong. A result of his father's treatment towards him as a child. How he had blamed Mulder for his sister's disappearance. His father had imprinted the message anything. "I never meant to hurt you, Mulder," she repeated. " I know that you're scared. So am I. And I know that you didn't mean anything by telling the guys, and you're right. I was going to have to tell them anyways." Mulder looked at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. "I don't want to push you away," she said, taking another cautious step forward. The bell dinged and the elevator doors slid open. Mulder looked inside the car then to Scully. His eyes looked less wounded and he smiled slightly. "I'm a pain in the ass, Scully. I wasn't thinking. I never..." He trailed off, putting his hands into his pockets. "I never thought you would want to be by yourself." "I just need *some* time to myself, Mulder. I'm not going to suddenly change into a hermit and wander around from now on. I just need some breathing time." Mulder paused and stepped away from the elevator, towards her. He smoothed back her hair, she reached up and touched his cheek, stroking his skin delicately with her fingertips. And just as she found the courage to say what she had been meaning to say for all those years, he moved past her and started back to the office. It was enough of an apology for both of them.She stood there, unmoving, as the elevator's doors closed again. She wished she would have told him in time. ********************************************************************* 2000 (8/12a and b) Scully was upset with herself. And with Mulder. Damn him. Damn his and his sensitivity, his outburst. "I'm not trying to meddle into your life, I'm trying to be a PART of your life!" he had yelled. That stung.He *was* a part of her life, possibly the biggest part of it. It was between him and their work. She had been telling the truth when she said she didn't mean to push him away. She had her reasons for needing space. Personal healing was something she was trying to concentrate on. She was studying meditation, trying to strengthen her mind. Since she had taken it up, the meditation had seemed to clear her mind, she could concentrate on herself, on her needs. The results of which made one of her needs more and more evident. That need was her partner. She knew what she needed and what she wanted.She had to tell Mulder her feelings for him. No more secrets, no more repressing. Life was too short to live on "what ifs." She knew he loved her. She just didn't know how. Friendship love? Family love? More than that? Since their encounter in the hallway almost two years ago, she was unsure of their relationship. They had almost kissed. She had come to say she was leaving and Mulder was heartbroken. She still remembered every second of their conversation. "You kept me honest," he had said. "You made me a whole person. I owe you everything. Scully, you owe me nothing." She could only stand there and stare. After a moment, she had held him, kissed his forehead. They had pulled back, and there was a new light in his eyes. And she found herself being drawn to him. Their faces got so close, his breath was on her lips. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned to her, pulling her body closer to his. She had hesitated then. She never should have. Because before she could experience her first kiss with her partner, that bee stung her, and things got fuzzy after that. A half a second sooner and their lips would have at least touched. They hadn't even grazed. She wanted that sometimes, wanted to take their relationship to the next level. But not if it meant giving up what they had. And she wasn't sure if Mulder even felt that way about her. They never talked about what happened in the hallway, never spoke of the reasons behind what happened between them. Was it curiosity? Guilt? Did Mulder start to initiate it because he wanted her to stay? They were never quite the same afterwards. Mulder was unusually affectionate when they first got back to the states. After that, it dissipated, and tension hung heavy in the air. It was always a constant reminder that hung in the back of her mind. After she and Mulder tied up the loose ends caused by the fight, they didn't say much. They worked for the next four hours in near silence. At 4:30, she left the office, glad the day was over. She andMulder said simple "good nights" and she went home. At seven o'clock, Scully was nearly going out of her mind. Mulder was quiet, too quiet, all day. He said he was fine, a common thing they both said when they were hurt or angry. She had to talk to him, she had to let him know. At seven-thirty, she made up her mind. It was now or never. * * * Apartment of Fox Mulder 8:01 PM Mulder dribbled his basketball lazily on his hardwood floor. He wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing, just listened to the hypnotic *thump, thump, thump* as the ball bounced off the floor.Scully was mad at him. She said she wasn't but he knew better. He shouldn't have blown up, but accusations made him mad. It wasn't fair for Scully to scream at him when he was trying to do something for her. For both of them. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, his tie hung loosely around his neck. His TV was screwed up, he was bored to death. His neighbors would start complaining about his source of amusement pretty soon. He almost wished he had background checks to run or something equally as boring. At least it was something to do. The door opened and Scully walked into the room, her arms crossed. "Hi," she said, watching him dribble his basketball. "Hey," he said, grabbing the ball in mid-bounce. He chest-passed it to her, and she flinched, but caught it. "Here to play one-on-one?" She smiled and tossed the ball back to him. "Sorry, Mulder. I wore my highheels, it's hard to play in them." "Too bad. I've never got to see you play," he said. "Maybe next time." She moved and sat next to him. "What's up?" he said, unsure of what else he could ask. She sighed. "Mulder, what happened today?" "I don't know," he said, looking down. "I think our emotions are so wired right now that we just exploded. And it was stupid of me to do anyways." "No it wasn't. Mulder, I'm not angry at you anymore. I'm not even sure what I was angry about before." "Yeah, well, I can't come up with an explanation for my behavior, either. Not a good one, at least." She looked at him, wringing her hands together a little. "I think it's like you said. We're both wired. And scared." He nodded and passed the basketball from hand to hand, then rolled it across the floor. "We need to talk, Scully." "I know." "What do you want to do?" he asked, his hazel eyes dark. She sighed. "I don't know. I just want to do things I never got a chance to do before," she said. He grinned. "Hey, I still say you play basketball with me." She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?" "Maybe." She eyed him for a moment. "You're on." * * * The gym was empty, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise. It was never really packed except for on weekends.Scully had taken off her pantyhose and heels. Her bare feet had more grip than her shoes and made maneuvering a lot easier. There were, of course, rules that Scully applied. Mulder had to be in bare feet, too, and he had to stay in his work clothes. Otherwise he had other advantages to the game, combined with the extra foot of height he had over her. Scully hadn't touched a basketball in 25 years, and was never very good at it. In high school, floor hockey was her sport. It was more aggressive and she always loved to play. "This is perfect timing, Scully," Mulder said, "We don't even have to worry about J-O-B." "At least no jag-off shoe-shine tips," she added. She was surprised that she was able to remember the ebonics from last year's conversation in that very gym. It was the same dialect that he had used to describe their work. It was their "J-O-B" and he hated working on "jag-off shoe-shine tips." "No *background checking*, jag-off, shoe-shine tip," Mulder corrected, grinning. He dribbled the ball a few times and spun it on his finger. "Ready to go, G-Woman?" "Give it to me," she said, standing in front of him. He raised an eyebrow, and the match began. Scully was a lot better than Mulder expected. They both had their advantages to their height. Mulder may have been taller, but Scully's vertical impairment helped her get the ball from his easier. As he watched as she stole the ball from his and made a basket off the backboard. She turned and grinned at him, wiping the sweat from her brow. Strands of hair stuck to her face. Her eyes shined with pride as she tossed the ball back to him. God, she was beautiful. "Lucky shot," he said. "No. Bad defense," she said. "Lucky offense." "Sure, fine, whatever. Let's play," she said, brushing her hair back. Mulder went back to the center line and watched her get in her defensive position. Tonight was turning out to be better than he could even imagine. Scully watched Mulder rocket past her and shoot. The ball bounced off the rim and went into the sidelines. He ran after the ball and grabbed it, bouncing it again. She admired him for a moment, his white shirt clinging to his torso, his face glossy with sweat. She felt like the bomb went off inside her, for the first time in 7 years. Mulder came over with the ball and reached out to hand it to her. She looked at the ball, then up to him. She reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. He looked at her questioningly, and just about died when he saw the look in her eyes. She kept one hand on his shoulder, the other slipped up to the back of his head, his skin was sweaty beneath her fingers. She raised herself on tiptoe, the basketball between them pressing into her stomach, and heard his breath hitch. "Scully, what are you doing?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Doing something else that I've never done before." Before he could say anything else, her lips were against his. He froze for a moment, unsure of how to react. It was a surprise to him, he never expected this, not for a moment. The ball dropped from his hands and bounced away. He moved to wrap his arms around her and started kissing her back. Oh, it was heaven. Mulder's eyes were shut tightly as he pulled her firmly against him. She was warm and sticky with perspiration, and it only made him want her more. The hand that sat on his shoulder slid down his chest and gently pushed him away. The kiss broke and they stood there silently. "Scully..." "I know." He gulped and shifted his weight to one leg. "Why now?" "To quote you, 'Better soon than later, right?'" she said. He grinned sheepishly. "Now what?" She went over and picked up the ball and threw it to him. "Let's play ball." ******************************************************************** 2000 (9/12a and b) January 9th, 2000 10:35PM The score was 4 to 2. Most importantly, it was in Scully's favor. She never expected to be winning, but she found herself enjoying it immensely. Creaming her partner at his favorite sport was more that pleasurable. Neither of them were paying much attention to the time. And neither of them seemed to pay attention to the fact that they had kissed for the first time less than an hour ago. The only thing that mattered was the game and that they were enjoying themselves. Which was what they were doing, 100%. Scully scored again, this time from the center line, before her partner could do anything about it. She laughed when he sat down on the floor, arms crossed, pouting. "C'mon, Mulder," she said, "I'll let you win." "That's not necessary, Scully. I've been letting *you* win the whole time." "Yeah, right. Nice try, Mulder." Damn. She knew he was lying. He stood up with a sigh and closed his eyes, flapping the front of his shirt to cool himself. He heard her drop the ball to the floor and listened to its solid thunking on the ground. Mulder was waiting for her to say something else. He looked towards his partner, about to defend himself before she could mock him again, only to freeze in his tracks. Blood covered her upper lip and chin. "Scully....God..." He rushed to assist her, but she backed away. "It's okay," she said, "I-I'm fine, just a little... a little... light-headed..."she trailed off, her knees started wobbling. He leaped out and caught her before she fell to the floor. "Scully?" he said in a whisper, fearing taking over his body. She groaned, closing her eyes. "Scully, can you hear me?" "Mulder," she breathed, "I-I think........I think you better.... take me to a hospital." He swore under his breath, his heart beating so wildly he could feel his pulse pounding inside his wrist. He nodded, swallowing down the knot stretching his throat. "Hang on," he said, picking her up carefully in his arms. Her head lolled for a brief second before swinging towards him. The blood on her face smeared on his shirt, staining the white fabric with a blinding red. He walked quickly to the bench on the far side of the gym, careful not to bounce his partner too much with each step. He helped her sit down on the bench and she slumped against the wall. With frantic hands, he searched the pockets of his trench coat for his keys. His hand quickly snatched them from their safe-keeping and draped their coats over his shoulder. He lifted Scully up into his arms as though she was made of gold leaf, her body small and fragile. "Scully?" he asked, shaking her a little. "You still with me?" "Uuhhhhhh....." A groaning sound was the only reply she could make. "Good. Good, Scully, don't try to talk. Just stay with me, all right?" His voice sounded panicky, a tone he hated to hear coming from himself. He rushed to the car, praying that someone greater than him would hear his pleas to save this woman's life. He set his partner down cautiously in the passenger seat and slammed the door, racing around the front of the car to the driver's side. He got in and sped to the hospital. He had always thought every second counted. It meant more now than it ever did. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The cancer is out of control," Blaith said. "It has total control over her body." Mulder stared at the doctor. "And there's *nothing* you can do?" "Not till we finish the repairments on the equipment, no." "How long till that's finished with?" Mulder asked, hoping for a better answer than the one he just received. "About five more days." "Five more days?!" Mulder said, his eyes full of ire. "Can we even wait that long?!" "I think that she's strong enough," Blaith said. "Mentally and physically. But you've got to encourage her, you have to convince her that she can endure this. We don't even need a weak, Agent Mulder. You have to try." "It's not me who has to try, it's her," Mulder said. "I'm not entirely sure that she'd going to be able to-" "Then you have to tell her she can," Blaith interrupted. "Five days are all I need." Mulder nodded, letting a shaky sigh leave him. "Please. Doctor Blaith, I'll keep up my end of the bargain, but only if you promise to keep up your. Five days is a long time in her condition. And I'm not going to lose her. Not now." "I swear to you that I'm doing everything that I can." "Can I see her?" Blaith looked at the man before him with soft eyes. "Of course." He stood up from the gray plastic chair he was seated in and went to the door, holding it open for Mulder. Mulder wasn't sure what to expect. He was so afraid his partner would slip away during the drive to the hospital, he was nearly in tears. He'd never forgive himself. Somehow, he was responsible for everything that happened to her. He knew it, there must have been a way. She should have told her to leave the X-Files a year ago. Or at least to find a new partner. He couldn't watch the suffering anymore. And now, her she was again. Cramped up in a hospital room on a cold, dark night. Maybe it was the basketball. Maybe she worked herself too hard and that someone made the cancer spread faster. That must have been it, he told himself. You stupid bastard. He found himself before a plain light-blue door, staring through its window. He swallowed hard as he gaped at the sight before him. He partner was lying on her back in a blue nightgown, her eyes closed. An oxygen tube was placed below her nose and she was breathing slow and shallow, "Is she okay?" Mulder asked the doctor. "For right now, yes. She's fine. She's very weak though. Don't talk to her too long, she needs her sleep." "H-has someone contacted her mother?" "I don't know." Blaith said, his hands slipping the pockets of his slacks. "Please check. And if no one has, please do it. And tell Mrs.Scully that I'm here with her daughter." "Okay," Blaith said quietly. "Just be sure not to linger in there too long, okay?" "Scout's honor," Mulder replied, doing a mock salute. Blaith chuckled at went down the hall. Mulder swallowed hard again and opened the door. The moment the doorknob clicked, Scully's eyes opened slowly and she turned her head to see him. He smiled and went to her bed, taking her hand. "Hey," he said. "That's no way to end a basketball game." "Sorry," she whispered, stifling a soft laugh. Her blue eyes looked tired and hazy as they examined his face. "We'll have a re-match once I get out of here." He gave her a feeble smile. "Good. I'll work on my shot till then. Then we'll see who's the REAL winner." "I'll still kick your butt," she said, squeezing his hand weakly. "I know you will." He sat on the mattress beside her. "Has someone called my Mom?" she asked, her tongue feeling thick and lazy. "I just told Dr. Blaith to check." "Thank you," she whisper, her lids feeling heavy. "Mmm. She's gonna be freaking out." "Like I was?" "You weren't freaking out too bad, actually." "Ha. Right. I made the Panic Face, Scully." "*The* Panic Face?" she asked, an eyebrow raising. "What, you didn't see it?" he said, lacing his finger through hers. "No, I didn't see much of anything." His chin dropped to his chest. The tension in the room was unbearable. "Scully, you're going to have to wait five days before you can start treatment." Her eyes got narrower. "Five days?" she repeated. He nodded, feeling sick. "Oh..." she mumbled, smiling. "What?" "I thought it was going to be a lot longer than that," she said, "Five days is nothing." "That's it," he whispered, "That's the attitude you need." "I have attitude. Lots of it," she murmured, her eyes closing. "I....I'm tired, Mulder. I'm going to sleep." "Good, good. Rest, Scully," he said, releasing her hand. "I'll see you in the morning." "G'night," she mumbled. He reached out and brushed the hair from her forehead, then leaned down to kiss the newly revealed skin. He stood up and went out the door, shutting it silently behind him. Mrs.Scully arrived a half an hour later. She was in a frenzy, worried sick. Mulder heard her voice down the hall and ran down to catch her. "Mrs.Scully!" he called, slowing his pace down as he approached. She turned and saw him. "Fox! Fox, where's Dana? Is she okay? Where is she?" she said, rattling off questioned one by one. "She's fine, Mrs.Scully. Settle down," he answered reassuringly. He put a hand on her shoulder, "She's okay." She searched his face frantically for any traces of doubt. She found none. "Where is she?" she asked, relief sweeping over her. His hand slid gently from her shoulder to the small of her back, slowly leading her to Scully's room. "She's here. She's asleep," he said, guiding her to the door of the hospital room. Mrs.Scully sighed softly, covering her mouth with her hand. "What happened to her?" "They don't know. Somehow the cancer.... just spread. It's completely uncontrollable." "Can't they treat her?" "Not until they fix some of the things they need in order to give it," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "How long will THAT take?" "Five days." "Can Dana wait that long?" "That's what I wanted to know too. She says she can. And I believe her," he said, peering through the window to peek at the sleeping red-head. She looked worn up and small. "How long did it happen, Fox?" Mrs.Scully asked. He looked at his watch. 11:50. "A little over an hour ago." 'Was it really only THAT?' he wondered, 'It felt like a week.' She gazed back into the room and quietly opened the door. He stayed outside and watched her close it behind her, then slowly pull up a chair next to her daughter's bed. She sat there and watched her sleep like he had done so many times in the past. When she was first diagnosed with cancer, and she was still investigating cases with him, he had snuck into her hotel room sometimes just to make sure she was still alive and breathing, When she was dying from it two years before, he had came in one night and knelt beside her bed, crying. Sobbing, actually, was a better word for it. The guilt was too much then. There was so much he thought he could have prevented, so much pain could have been avoided if he just would have known then.... Known what he knew now. Things that he would have to live with and remember. And a result would always be self-blame. Mrs.Scully managed to curl up in a the small plastic chair, still watching. He wondered what she would do when Dana woke up. He wondered for a moment what he'd do, too. Then the thought crossed his mind of what he'd do if she didn't wake up. Sickness washed over him, and her erased the thought away. He didn't need that now. Neither did Scully. He crossed his arms and shivered, looking down the hall. Sudden tiredness washed over him and he yawned. He needed to sleep too. After all, Scully would be waiting for him in the morning. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (10/?) Five days later 12:34 PM Doctor Blaith announced that everything was up and running smoothly. He was proud, his pride shining though him as he told Mulder the news. It couldn't have some at a better time. Scully has remained strong for the first three days, but when the fourth came around she was considerably weaker. She had dropped a little weight and her eyes looked like they were more sunk into her face. As soon as Mulder received the news with Mrs. Scully, he went to Scully's side to talk to her. "We have to get that chip out of your neck," he said. "Why?" she asked, "It's not hurting anything." "You're right, it's not. But it's not helping you either," he replied. "I want the Gunmen to get a hold of it." "Mulder, they're not professional-" "They *could* be professionals, but they decided to become conspiracy theorists and hackers instead. Look, Scully, I want them to help you. I know they can." She looked at him and sighed, too tired to argue. "Okay." "Great," he said, standing up. "I'll go find Blaith. Then he can perform a local and get it out of there." She sighed and nodded her head, closing her eyes. She listened as he walked to the door and shut it silently behind him, leaving her to dread the next 20 minutes. She hated locals. Loathed them. They were messy and they hurt. The idea of someone walking up to her, cutting her open, and extracting something was almost too much. It gave her the creeps. Regardless of the fact that she was a doctor and had performed thousands of incisions, it still made her uncomfortable. A doctor doesn't like getting cut any more than a sniper likes getting shot. There was a soft knock on the door, and Scully's eyes opened again. Doctor Blaith's kind face poked in the room. "Dana?" She motioned for him to come in. "Hi, Doctor." "Are you starting treatment today?" he asked, standing off to the side of her bed. "Uh.... I don't know, I didn't think about it," she said. "Yeah. Yeah, I want to." "But first you need to get something out of her," came Mulder's voice from the doorway. He stepped inside and leaned against the wall, his hands in the pockets of his gray slacks. "Get something out? What?" Blaith said, pushing his glasses further up onto his nose. "An implant." Mulder looked at him in complete seriousness. Blaith blinked at him. "A what?" he said slowly. "Doctor Blaith," Scully started, her fingers fiddling with the sheet that lay over , "I disappeared a number of years ago, for about a month. I don't remember where I was taken or what was done to me. But I soon discovered that I had been experimented on, me and hundreds of other women. Tests that I would never wish on another human being. I can't have children. I given this disease. Three years ago, I went through a metal detector and discovered that a small metal implant was put in the base of my neck." She paused, her fingers tracing the wrinkles in the light blue sheets. "I had the chip removed. And a year after its extraction, I developed brain cancer. Something I was told would happen to me, but never believed. Two years ago, my cancer got worse. Just like it is now. And Agent Mulder realized that it was the removal of the chip that caused my sickness. Once it was put back in, my cancer went into remission. For two years, I have been cancer-free. Until now. The chip seems to have been malfunctioning since the first of the year, at least we THINK it is. We suspect that somehow Y2K is affecting it." Mulder pushed himself off the wall and went to her bedside, sitting beside her. "What we're asking, Doctor, is that you take the chip out again. I know some people who might be able to get it up and running again." Blaith moved across the room and sunk slowly into a chair. His eyes switched from Scully to Mulder, back to Scully. Her clasped his hands in front of him. "So.... you're not going to continue treatment? You don't think that it'll help you?" "Of course I'll be treated," she said, "It'll only help me." Blaith nodded slowly. "Well... that's a tall tale. And one that I'd have a hard time believing if it didn't match up so well with your medical records," he said, gazing at the pair of agents before him. He paused for a second. "Let's get that chip out." Mulder smiled and put his hand on Scully's knee. "Thank you," he said. "You're very welcome," Blaith replied. "Let's get started." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The procedure went fast and was done in her room while she sat on the end of her mattress. The injection she was given numbed out her skin for the most part, but after a few layers of skin had been cut through, it was quite painful. Scully played with her cross necklace that sat in her hands, trying to let it distract herself. It was all finished with within a few minutes though. Blaith gently pulled the implant from her neck with a pair of tweezers, and set it on the metal medical tray beside her. "I'm going to go clean this up, I'll be right back. Hold this on there," he told Scully, placing a piece of gauze on her neck. She nodded, flinching slightly as she touched the gauze harder to her skin. Blaith left the room, staring in amazement at the metal chip between the tongs of the tweezers. Mulder came over to her and tried remove her hand from the wound. "Mulder." It was a single word, but he knew its meaning. She didn't want him to hover. He ignored her warning and swatted her hand away gently. She reluctantly dropped her hand to her lap, feeling him delicately tug the gauze from her flesh. She flinched again, and Mulder froze. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He looked down at the cut on her neck, fresh blood trickling down the base of her pale skin. "Does it hurt a lot?" "No," she said, shaking her head. "It's mostly numb, but it still stings." "I don't want to hurt you," he said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If I do, I'm sorry." He tenderly dabbed the blood away with the gauze, then reached over to the tray and grabbed a fresh piece. He set it on top of the wound and placed palm on it, his fingertips gently trailing along her skin. He watched her shoulder rise and fall as she sighed. "You're going to get better, Scully," he said, "You know that." "I don't know that," she said. "But I'm certainly going to hope." "They're going to get this working again. I know that they can." "We'll see," she said, toying with her necklace again. "This scar is just getting opened and re-opened." "'Scars fade like flowers'," Mulder said, rubbing her shoulder with his free hand. "Where's that quote from?" she said. " Um.... the end of that book by Stephen Crane, right?" "The Red Badge of Courage," he said, smiling. "I'm surprised you recognize it." "I read it in high school and college," she said. "It always stuck out in my mind." "Me, too." Blaith came back in, putting holding up a small glass vial. "This is it, huh?" he said, peering at it through his thin glasses. "Well, I must say, I've never removed anything like this." He looked over at the agents, touched by the intimacy between the two of them. Mulder was rubbing his partner's back with a soft hand. "Why don't I get that patched up for you, hmm, Dana?" Blaith asked, going to the tray. He tore some medical tape off the roll. Mulder carefully took off the blood-stained bandage and replaced it with a fresh one. Blaith carefully taped it to her skin. "That should do it," Blaith announced. "Your mother should be here any minute. She said she'd be here before you started your chemotherapy." "That's great," Scully said. "Thank you." Blaith smiled and reached out to take Scully hand. He turned it upward and placed the glass vial in her hand. "Good luck." She smiled at him softly. "Thanks." Blaith left the room after flashing Mulder another perfect smile. Scully looked down at her cross necklace. She couldn't put it on until her wound healed. Her skin was too sensitive. She set it on the medical tray and sighed. Mulder crouched before her, his hands on her knees. "I'm going to wait at the door for your mother," he said. "Is that okay?" "Okay," she said. Their eyes were honest as they looked at each other. Scully reached out and put a hand on the back of his neck. He leaned into her and closed his eyes as she placed a delicate kiss on his forehead. He swallowed slightly. "I'll be back in a few minutes." "All right." He smoothed her hair back as he passed her and went to the door, looking back briefly before leaving. He silently went out the door. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mrs. Scully was full of energy when Mulder greeted her at the door. "They can treat her, Fox," she said excitedly, "They can finally help my baby girl." "They'll do their best, Mrs. Scully," he said. He was under the impression that she believed Dana would be cured within one session of chemotherapy or radiation. "That's all they can promise." She walked quickly up to her daughter's room, far ahead of Mulder, and went in, her energy sending waves of love radiating through the room. "Hi, Mom," Scully said, smiling at the eagerness she saw. Mulder came in as he watched the women hug. "Oh, honey," Mrs. Scully sighed. "You're going to be okay, I just know it." "Mom, don't get too excited," Scully said, pulling back. "Just because they're treating me, doesn't mean that it'll go into remission." "We'll see," she said. "I'm a mom, I have to think positive. It's in the rules." Mulder smiled when his partner chuckled. "You've got too many rules," she said. Mulder went over to the bed quietly and stood there, unsure of what to do. Mrs. Scully looked up at him. "Oh, Fox," she said, standing up. "I'm sorry, I was so flustered I didn't even say hello to you." She moved to him and hugged him warmly. Mulder smiled and hugged her back, looking over at his partner. "That's okay, Mrs. Scully," he replied, "You have every right to be excited." Scully smiled at him just as her mother pulled back. Doctor Blaith opened the door, wheeling a wheelchair into the room. "Okay, Dana," he said. "Let's get started." Scully nodded and got up from the bed. She hugged her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Mulder came to her and they held each other gently. He took her hand and kissed her temple, "Good luck. I'm going to give the chip to the guys and then I'll come back. I'll be waiting for you." She squeezed his hand and sat down in the wheelchair, releasing his fingers. Blaith smiled at Dana's mother and partner. "She's tough. Don't worry about her." "That's right," Scully said. "Let's get rolling." Blaith grinned again and wheeled Scully out of the room. The fight was on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 (alternate ending) The next day, noon Warm sunlight heating Mulder's back woke him up. He opened his eyes slowly, barely aware of his surroundings. The light burned his sleepy eyes, he grunted and dropped his head down to the soft skin that was his pillow. He stayed motionless for a minute or so, feeling the gentle rise and fall of Scully's breathing against his cheek. He raised his head and looked down at pale flesh, noticing small freckles that he couldn't see in last night's moonlight. He ran his fingers down her back slowly. "Good morning, Fox." Mulder looked up groggily to see Maggie Scully sitting quietly across the room in a chair. His stomach flip-flopped in embarrassment and he felt his cheeks flush. "Hi, Mrs.Scully," he whispered. He pushed himself carefully off Scully and pulled the blankets up around her. Her walked to his partner's mother, running a nervous hand through his dark hair. "Um... I guess I fell asleep," he said sheepishly. Maggie nodded, grinning at his flaming cheeks. "Fox?" "Yeah?" "Relax." "I'm sorry, it's just.... That wasn't what it looked like. I was rubbing her back because she felt sick and I wanted to help, so....I......" he trailed off. He could tell he didn't have to explain, she didn't care. Mrs.Scully touched Mulder's arm and brushed past him, going to Dana's bed. "Dana?" she murmured, brushing some stubborn strands of red from her face. "Dana, honey, wake up." "Mmmmm....." Scully mumbled, turning her head into her mother's touch. "Mulder?" "No, sweetheart, it's Mom." Scully's eyes opened slowly. "Mom.....?" "Hi. How do you feel?" "Awful," Scully whispered. "You'll feel better, Dana. Just give it time," Maggie whispered, rubbing Scully's forearm. "Did you sleep well?" "Yeah..." she replied, shifting under the sheets, thinking of last night's comforts. "Where's Mulder?" "I'm right here, Scully," he said coming to the bed. Scully's eyes narrowed when she looked at him, taking in his disheveled appearance. "What happened to you?" "Fell asleep last night." Scully's mouth opened and she took a hesitant breath before asking, "Here?" Mulder nodded, his eyes dropped to the tiles. "Oh, Fox, stop blushing," Maggie said. "He's embarrassed because I came in and found you two asleep." Scully's own cheeks burned. The circumstances under which they fell asleep in here less than normal. There was a painfully awkward silence. "Look, Scully, I'm going to go see the guys. See how everything's coming along," he said, taking her hand. "I'll be back later." He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips, lingering there a few seconds longer than he probably should have. When he pulled back, her eyes were closed, a small smile on her lips. She opened her eyes and pulled her hand from his, then ruffled his hair affectionately. "Fix your hair, Mulder," she said with a slight cough. "You look like a troll." "Hey, I've only been up a few minutes, gimme a break," Mulder said. "Go back to bed soon, okay?" Dana looked to her mother. "Not right now." "Don't stay up if you're tired, Dana. I'm gonna stay right here, you certainly don't have to entertain me," Maggie said. Mulder smiled brushed his partner's hair away from her pasty skin. "I'll be back." He looked at Mrs. Scully. "Bye, Mrs. Scully." "Good-bye, Fox." He went to the coat rack in the corner on the room and shrugged on his jacket. A slight wave of his hand, and he was out the door. Maggie sighed and looked at her daughter. "Dana." The tone in her voice almost bruised Scully's ears. It was serious, almost too serious. Though Scully felt like dying and refused to show it, her attention was completely and instantly zeroed in on her mother's voice. It was the same sound she got as a child when she had did something wrong or stupid. "What?" "Are you blind because of this disease?" Scully coughed and narrowed her eyes at the question. "What are you talking about? I can see." "No, you can't, Dana. You're as blind as a person in a blindfold in a dark room, looking for a black cat." "Mom?" She was surprised by the sudden change in mood in the room. "Can't you see, Dana? He loves you." "Who?" Scully feigned confusion. "You know who I'm talking about, Dana, and you know it." Scully closed her eyes, and sunk back into her pillow more. "I don't want to talk about it, Mom." "Why not? It's obvious to everyone who has seen you two together. In fact, Dana, you seem to be the only one who doesn't get it." Scully's eyes opened, her defenses rising. "That's not true. I know how he feels. And he knows how I feel, too." "But you've never told him." Scully sighed and shook her head, a tickle rising in her throat. She coughed forcefully, hoping that it would make it go away. She was amazed, however, when she felt like her lungs and head were going to explode. She moaned in pain, bringing a hand up to her face. "Dana?" "Mom... I think that you better go find a doctor..." Maggie's eyes lit up with fright and she bolted out of the room, instantly frantic. She heard her mother's footsteps in the hallway. And then she felt herself slip into a deep sleep again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Home of the Lone Gunmen He had been watching the three perform test after test for at least three hours. It was a slow process, but at least it was moving along. "So, what've you got?" Mulder asked, leaning against the table. "So far, not much," Byers said. "We've examined the chip a number of times with our best scanning equipment. We've ran an electrical current through it, and we think we MIGHT have located the problem." "Wait, don't give me a huge explanation with technological mumbo-jumbo. Tell me in a way that a three-year-old could understand." "Mr.Chippy's got a boo-boo," Frohike said, flipping through some print-outs from the computer. "Doctor Frohike says he can fix it by late tonight or early tomorrow." Mulder stared at him. "You're kidding!" Frohike looked up at him and shook his head. Mulder looked at Byers and Langly. "Mulder, we can get it working again, but there IS a risk." "What risk is that?" "We had to disassemble the components, find the one that's not working replace the part, and put it back together again." "Wait a minute," Mulder said, putting up a hand. "You can't do that. You might effectively destroy it in the process." "It's the only way," Langly said. "We have to take it apart." Mulder pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, then rubbed his eyes. "You're sure that there's no other way to do it?" Byers nodded his head. "You've got to trust us, Mulder. We don't want to see Scully die, either." "Especially me," Frohike added. Mulder was about to comment on Frohike's statement when his cell phone rang. He reached in his pocket and pulled it out, punching the "ANS" button. "Mulder." The Gunmen watched as Mulder's face drained of all its color. "I'm on my way," he said and clicked off his phone. "What is it?" Byers asked. "She's taken a down-turn," Mulder said. "It doesn't sound good." "Do you want one of us to come with you?" "No. You guys gotta work double-time. Do what you have to do, just get it done as soon as possible." "We're on it," Langly said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mulder burst through the hospital entrance, his heart pounding. //No, no, no..... Don't be dead, don't be dead// He careened around the corner and grabbed a young nurse by the arm. She whirled around, startled. "I'm sorry, where's Doctor Blaith?" His words tumbled from his lips. "I-I don't know, sir." "Please, help me find him. I need to speak with him," Mulder said, the panic in his voice growing with each word. The nurse looked at him, still alarmed. "Sir, I-" "Agent Mulder!" Blaith called from down the hall. Mulder looked over and saw Blaith, releasing the nurse's arm. He ran down the hall, his body trembling with adrenaline. "Where is she?" "Intensive care." "Is she okay?" "For the time being, yes," Blaith said. "I'm not going to lie to you, Agent Mulder. It doesn't look good right now. Her condition underwent a downward spiral since last night." "The cancer?" "It spread," Blaith said. "It's everywhere. And at this point, treatment won't do anything. There's not enough time." Mulder gaped at him. "There's nothing we can do to slow it?" Blaith pressed his thin lips together tightly. "I'm afraid not." Mulder gulped, forcing the next question out of his mouth, his mind and heart screaming in protest. "Is she going to make it?" Blaith's eyes dropped to the ground. "I'd be surprised if she makes it to tomorrow afternoon," he said, looking up sadly at Mulder. "I'm sorry." Mulder's jaw dropped, his heart pounded painfully in his chest. "No. You're wrong, she's going to be okay. She's.... she's...... That's too fast! It couldn't hurt her that quickly!" "I'm sorry, Agent Mulder. It seems hard to believe, but we ran 6 separate blood tests. And all the results showed that the cancer is full-force and aggressive," Blaith said, putting a hand on Mulder's shoulder. Mulder squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears. "Where is she?" he whispered. Blaith squeezed his shoulder. "I'll take you to her." They started down the hall, Blaith's hand went to Mulder's forearm as he led him through the hospital. His mind was in a steel trap. His thoughts were rapid, chaotic. This wasn't happening. No, this was a bad dream. Scully had more than a day to live. This was most definitely a nightmare. Maybe it was just his imagination, but as they progressed further into the building, as they neared the intensive care unit, the lights seemed to fade. The fluorescents that lined the ceiling lost their intense and sickening brightness. They buzzed and hummed in a chorus of electricity that echoed in the hall. One light ahead flickered, giving the shadows a strobe-light affect. Blaith stopped and opened a door that was off to the left. Mulder looked up at Blaith and saw the sadness in the blue-gray eyes. Blaith patted Mulder's shoulder, then turned and went down the hall. Mulder took a deep breath, and with a trembling hand, turned the cold metal handle on the door. He peered with caution into the room. The lights were low, only the lamp above the bed was on. Mrs. Scully turned to look at him from a chair. "Fox." She stood up as he came in and closed the door. His eyes fell upon his partner and he felt sick. There were dark circles around her closed eyes. There wasn't a hint of color to her pale skin, the light above his partner defined her cheekbones so much that it looked like she had no flesh, only a skull. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat and approached Maggie Scully slowly. She had tear stains on her cheeks, her mascara accented lines around her eyes. Mulder looked at his partner's mother sadly. She bit her lip and took a step closer to him, drawing his tall form into her arms. His own arms came around her and he hugged her, his knees trembling beneath him. Mrs. Scully sobbed against his chest, clinging to him like a child. Mulder wouldn't let himself cry, wouldn't let the tears actually fall. Mulder pulled away from Scully's mother, looking down at her. "Doctor Blaith told you?" she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Mulder nodded numbly. He took her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back and he dropped her hand from his, then went to Scully's bedside, sitting down bedside her. He took her hand between both his own, rubbing the back of it gently. "Scully?" he murmured, squeezing her fingers, then brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.. Her eyes moved beneath her lids, and they slowly fluttered open. He smiled at her and leaned over, putting one hand next to her neck, his elbow resting on her shoulder. He smoothed her hair back and kissed her forehead. "Mulder?" Her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear it. "Hey," he said, still smiling. His throat was constricted with tears. She let out a slow breath and brought up a hand to his cheek, tracing the shadow of his dark stubble with her fingertips. "Mulder...." "It's okay, Scully. I'm right here," he said, his eyes filling with tears. She saw the wetness and slipped her hand up to the back of his neck. "Don't.... don't cry," she murmured, her tongue feeling thick. "I'm not crying... My, uh, my contacts are drying out," he said. A weak smile crossed her lips. "You don't wear contacts." He smiled, blinking his tears back. "How do you know?" "I know more than you think. I know something else, too." "What's that?" "You need a bath," she whispered, her fingers trailing back down to his cheek. Her eyes started to flutter. He watch silently, then leaned down and kissed her, covering her lips with his. She responded only with the slightest movement of her mouth. He pulled back, feeling their lips peel away from each other. He looked down at her, at the slightly up-turned corners of her mouth. "Thank you," she said. "I need to sleep. I'll be okay. I promise." He ran his fingers through her strands of red and kissed her cheek, her chin, her throat. He stood up slowly, watching her sleep again. Her hand tightened around his before he let go. He squeezed his eyes together and turned to Dana's mother. She came to him and touched his arm. "She's been in and out," she said. She looked at him up and down. "Why don't you go home? Get cleaned up, then come back." Her nose crinkled. "You need a shower, Fox." Mulder sighed, nodding his head in defeat. "If she wakes up, tell her I'll be back as soon as possible." "I will." "Thanks." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The moment Mulder got out of the shower and had toweled off, he called the Gunmen. "How's it going?" Mulder said. "Good. We're working fast, Mulder," Byers said. A brief pause passed. "How's Scully?" "She's......... she's not expected to make it. Not past tomorrow afternoon." There was a hitch of breath on the other line. "Are you okay?" Byers finally asked. "I will be, if you can get that chip to me by tomorrow morning." "We'll try." "Please, Byers......... please get it to me. I can't...." his voice cracked. "I promise, Mulder, we're doing everything in our power." "Thank you." "I'll call you when we're through." "All right." *click* The dial tone rang in his ear. Now it all depended on those three turbo-nerds. Everything that mattered were on their shoulders, his life, his work. All because of a little chip. It wasn't fair. The fact that this was happening this way, ending this way. To have Scully beat her cancer, only to be cursed with it again. It was straight out of an afternoon TV movie. With a grunt, he started getting dressed. He wished he was more technologically wise. If he could fix Scully's chip and not have to rely on anybody else, he'd feel like he was the one who saved her life. But all that mattered to him was that she lived now. He ran out the door and out to the street quickly, fumbling with his car keys. The key went in the lock after two or three anxious misses, and he climbed into his Taurus, slamming the door. The car started, and he sped from his parking spot, down the street. Back to the hospital. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12:37 AM Mulder tip-toed into Scully's room and was surprised to see the lamp on above her bed. She was on her side, her back to him, writing something on a sheet of stationary. "Scully?" She jumped and dropped the pen to the floor, then slowly rolled onto her back to see him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, going to the side of the bed. He stooped to pick up the pen. "It's okay," she said softly, stuffing the stationary into the Bible she was using as a table. She slid the black book under her pillow as he sunk next to her on the mattress. She looked at him, her eyes sleepy. The blue in them had faded to a sickly gray. "How are you?" he asked, smoothing her hair back. "I think you know," she answered, putting her hand on his knee. He pressed his lips together tightly, the hand in her hair trailed down to her shoulder. She brought her hand up and rested on top of his, squeezing weakly. "Scully, the chip is going to be ready within a few hours," he whispered. "You have to hang on." "I'm trying, I'm trying," she whispered. "I just feel....." "Like shit." She chuckled softly. "Yeah." An awkward pause followed. Mulder looked around the room. "Where's your mom?" "I told her to go home. Her back was getting sore from sleeping in the chairs." He grinned. "Bet that took some arm-twisting." "You have no idea." Mulder's eyes grew woeful again. She saw sadness swirling in her partner's tired hazel gaze and sighed. With heavy arms, she reached up and pulled him down beside her, nuzzling his nose with hers. His cheek brushed hers and she sucked in a breath. "Ouch." Mulder pulled back a little, enough to look at her face. "I'm sorry, what'd I hurt?" "Nothing, you just need to shave." He touched his cheek. He had completely forgotten shave during his quick touch-up. "I'm sorry, I-" "Don't worry about it," she said. "Looks great on you." A small smile formed on his lips. "Agent Scully, are you coming on to me?" "No," she said, tugging at his shoulder, "I just want you close." He sighed and touched his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. Neither said anything for a few minutes. And then Mulder's cell phone interrupted the peaceful affair. He grumbled and sat up, pulling his phone from his pocket, looking apologetically at Scully. "Mulder." "Mulder, it's Langly." "What's up?" "We're done." Mulder smiled, taking Scully's hand. "You're serious?" "I brought in a few of my tech-head friends that I play Dungeons and Dragons with. It sped up the process." Mulder looked at his watch. "You're forty-five minutes early!" "I know." "Th-that's great! I'm on my way," he said. "See ya then." Mulder clicked off his phone. "It's done, Scully!" She blinked at him. "You're kidding, right?" "Oh, God, Scully... I would never kid about this," he said, sticking his phone back in his pocket. He put his hands on her shoulders. "I gotta go pick it up. But you have to stay strong, okay?" "I'll do my best." He smiled when she saw the glimmer of hope in her eyes. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back in twenty minutes." Scully watched, her heart fluttering, as her partner ran excitedly down the hall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 20 minutes later Mulder burst into Scully's room and startled Scully again. She looked at him through sleepy eyes, reaching a hand out to him. He pressed the glass vial into her palm. "It's here, it's here," he said, grinning, panting. Scully took the vial from him and fingered it carefully. "I'm finding Blaith," he said, "I'll be back." Scully nodded and smiled when Mulder flew the door open so fast that he nearly hit himself with it. He was out of the room for a few minutes, then she heard fast footsteps in the hall, followed by Blaith's voice. "Agent Mulder, slow down! I know this is important, but I'm an old man!" The door opened and Mulder came in, dragging Blaith by the arm behind him. Mulder went to Scully and took the vial from her, handing it triumphantly to Blaith. "Do you feel like you're up to this, Dana?" Blaith asked. Scully nodded weakly. "Absolutely." "You realize that this might not work, correct?" "I'm aware of that." Blaith shrugged. "That's all I need to know, then. Mr. Mulder, grab those latex gloves for me, will you?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2 hours later Blaith had his doubts when he put the chip back into Scully's neck. But the energy and honesty that the agents gave off was too overwhelming to be wishful thinking. Neither of them had doubts. He gave Dana an injection to speed up her bloodstream, so that if the chip did indeed affect her blood, that it would reach more of her faster. Scully fell asleep, feeling exhausted. But Blaith came in and checked on her every 20 minutes, and couldn't help but notice that some color had came back into her cheeks. Agent Mulder had stayed by Scully's bedside, simply watching her. He held her hand and observed her breathing, monitored everything about her to see if there was any change. Blaith came in for the sixth time that night, and Mulder looked up at him. Blaith smiled. He was envious of the devotion that he saw in Mulder. "How is she?" Blaith asked. "Okay, from what I can tell," Mulder replied, looking at his partner carefully. "It might just be me, but she seems to be getting stronger." Blaith shrugged. "We could just be seeing what we want to be seeing. The only way we'll know for sure is if I take a blood sample." "Go ahead," Scully mumbled, blinking sleepily at Blaith. "Take my blood." Blaith nodded and went to get a syringe from the other side of the room. Within a few minutes, a fresh sample of blood was in his hand. "I'll send this to the lab, but it'll take an hour or two before we get the results." "That's fine," Scully said softly. "That's okay. I don't care. I just need to know." The doctor nodded once more and smiled his perfect smile. "We'll find out in a while." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5:19 AM Maggie Scully went into her daughter's room, her heart racing. Fox had called a half an hour ago and told her to come to the hospital as soon as possible. She pushed open the door and saw Dana sitting up in her bed, her partner was seated next to her. "Dana, Fox, what's going on?" "We're getting the results back on my blood test," Scully said, smiling. "We put the chip back in a few hours ago." "It's working again?" Maggie asked. Mulder nodded. Before Maggie could question her daughter as to why she wasn't informed of this, the door swung open again. "Mrs. Scully," Doctor Blaith said, a neon clipboard in hand, "Good morning." "Morning, Doctor," Maggie said. "What's going on?" Blaith sighed. "Why don't you sit down?" Maggie looked at him carefully and sat down slowly in the familiar chair that she had spent so many hours in. Blaith pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose and crossed his arms. "Well, I got the results back," Blaith said slowly. "And......?" Mulder asked. "It appears that the cancer's force is dissipating." Maggie's jaw dropped slightly. "You mean...." "Remission, yes," Blaith said, a smile spreading across his lips. Scully felt tears in her eyes and she smiled. "Say that again?" she whispered. "You're cancer is going into remission, Ms. Scully," the doctor repeated. "Congratulations." Mulder pulled Scully roughly into his arms, crushing her against him. "Scully........ you're going to be okay!" She laughed into his shoulder, then pulled back and kissed him, joy flooding her heart. Mulder released her and reluctantly broke the kiss. Scully looked to her mother, who was waiting patiently at her side, tears in her eyes. Scully reached for Maggie, and Mrs. Scully held her daughter tightly. "Oh, Dana! I'm so happy....... I just can't believe it!" Mulder stood up and went to Blaith, offering him his hand. Blaith smiled and took it, shaking it firmly. //Oh, what the hell...// Mulder thought, and reached with his free arm to give the doctor a firm, but brief hug. "Thanks, man," Mulder said. "You've done so much." Blaith patted his back. "It's my job, Mr. Mulder," he replied. "I'm glad I could help." Mulder released the old man and smiled, watching him turn to leave the room. He faced his partner and her mother again, thankful for this miracle. They had beaten Y2K. 2000 was no longer a threat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 days later Scully was relieved to be back in her apartment. The hospital was a dark and ominous place to be in for so long. She sighed and touched the table behind her couch. The dust was two inches thick. The dustbunnies were the only threatening things that she would have to deal with for a long time. Mulder came in behind her, carrying her suitcase containing personal items and looked around. "Yuck, this place looks dirtier than mine." "Yeah, well, I'll attack this tonight." "You have fun." "Yeah, right," she said, opening up the suitcase. Mulder stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm afraid to ask if I can use your bathroom," he said, "Who knows what's been growing in its depths since the last time you cleaned it....." "Mulder." Her warning tone broke his sarcasm. "I'm just kidding," he said defensively. He went down the hall. Scully sighed and pulled out her Bible. The note she had started a few nights ago was still stuck inside of it. She carefully unfolded it and read the few paragraphs she had started: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mulder, If you're reading this, I must have gone on. And I'm sorry. I want you to know that I tried to hang on. I wanted to see you one last time before I went, and I hope I did. Please don't cry, I'm in a better place. A place where I don't have to worry about being shot or kidnapped. I'm with my father, I'm with my sister. And Emily. I'm free. Mulder, when I joined you on your quest all those years ago, I had no idea what you would mean to me. I never thought that we'd grow as close as we have. And I don't regret a minute of it, Mulder. Nothing. Not Duane Barry, not Donny Phaster. And I know that you blame yourself for many things that happened to me, but I want you to know I have NEVER thought it was because of you. Never. Mulder, I'm trying to find a way to tell you how much you mean to me, but the words just don't come. I need you. I appreciate everything that you've done for me. Whether it be comforting me or questioning me, doubting me or fighting with me. You've stayed by my side through thick and thin. I know I never got to tell you, Mulder. I love you. I've always been afraid to say that, but I have nothing to fear anymore. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It ended there. She never got a chance to finish it and she was glad. She used to be afraid to tell Mulder that she loved him. She blinked back tears and crumpled the note up in a ball, tossing it into the fireplace. "Not anymore," she mumbled. "What, Scully?" She turned to see Mulder coming back into the room. "It's nothing." She smiled at him as he came to her and recognized the concern in his eyes when he saw her tears. "What's the matter?" "Nothing. Everything's perfect," she said, hugging him tightly. He held her, swaying a little, then pulled back to kiss her forehead. "I think I'll go," he said, releasing her from his arms. She nodded, crossing her arms. He ran a hand down her arm. "See you later?" "Yeah." "Okay." He went to the door and opened it. Just before he stepped outside, "Mulder?" "Yeah?" She looked at him, her mouth slightly open. She paused. "I love you." He smiled. "I know. Good night, Scully." "Good night." And then he was out the door. Scully hugged herself, and went to the door, locking it. She turned to look around her messy apartment. Cleaning could wait. She had a few thank you notes she needed to write. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~