Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 16:15:41 EDT
Subject: Story 
Source: direct

TITLE: Ain't no Sunshine when she's Gone
AUTHOR: Keva E. Andersen
EMAIL ADDRESS: DrKevaScully@aol.com
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT:Sure, so long as my name and address stays attatched 
to it, please ask me first though, before archiving.  
SPOILER WARNING: none
RATING: R-language
CLASSIFICATION: Character Death
SUMMARY:  Discover what happens to Mulder after his world was shattered.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: After several false starts, I think I've finally found a way 
to make this song fit. :) 
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, not mine, not mine, not mine. Any questions?!  Also, 
the song "Ain't no Sunshine when she's gone" is property of Bill Withers  and 
Lighthouse Family, and "When you say Nothing at All" is property of Ronan 
Keting   and both are also used without permission. 

FEEDBACK GREATLY APPRECIATED AT DrKevaScully@aol.com

"Ain't no Sunshine when she's Gone"
by: Keva E. Andersen

 Emptiness. Glaringly white walls. Silence. Confinement. These things were 
all around Fox Mulder, but he was unaware of it. Chances were, he would never 
be aware of it again. A tall figure looked upon him through the room's two 
way mirror. The man only shook his head, and turned away. But Mulder remained 
oblivious, continuing to rock back and forth, forming the the few words he 
said anymore. Humming softly to himself he sang.
    "Ain't no Sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when's she away. Ain't 
no sunshine when she's gone. And she's always gone too long, anytime she goes 
away." 
   "Wonder this time where she's gone. Wonder if she's gonna stay. Ain't no 
sunshine when she's gone. This house just ain't no home, anytime she goes 
away."
    "And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know I know, I know, I 
know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I oughta leave 
the young thing alone, but there ain't no sunshine when she's gone."  
  "Oh no, oh no, Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. Only darkness everyday. 
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. This house just ain't no home. Anytime she 
goes away. Anytime she goes away. Anytime she goes away. " 
   Then, burying his head in his hands, he started to sob. 
"Nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononoo
nonononononoscullyscullyscullyscullyscullyscullyscullyscully.....noooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo......"
   The man who had been watching over him turned to the nurse who was 
monitoring Mulder through the two way mirror. The man was A.D. Skinner. "It's 
been three years, and there's still no change." he said, half to he nurse, 
half to himself. "Will they ever find a way to draw him out of himself 
again?" The nurse just shook her head.
   "I honestly don't know. I think it's really up to Fox himself. In his 
case, he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress that just led to a breakdown. My 
guess is that he simply feels safer locked inside himself. He'll only come 
out of it if he decides to face his pain.He has to find a reason to come out, 
something to survive for. However, given the time frame you mentioned, I 
really don't think the prospect is a good one." Skinner only nodded, a pained 
expression on his face.  
   "Blood, Scully's blood, on my hands, nonononononononononono, gone, blood, 
nonononono, gone, gone, oh God, noooo, Oh God, Oh GOD. 
NONONONONONONONONONONO. SCUUHHHLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY." Mulder, shaking violently in 
his room, clamped his hands over his ears and started rocking more furiously. 
He was screaming again, only this time the screams were in his head. Fox 
Mulder was the shell of his former self, changed from the brilliant and brave 
man he once was, to a cowering shattered soul, forever changed by the 
terrible events that had rocked his world over three years ago.
        
        The Metro-Washington D.C.
        November 21, 2000
  
     They'd been there for hours. Over 50 Special Agents and D.C. cops 
crouched in random places around the Metro platform at Federal Triangle. What 
had started as a holdup at the ticket booth had quickly escalated into 
something much more horrifying. Daniel Backhaus was at the end of his rope. 
After failing to get the money he wanted from the ticket clerk, he reached 
across the counter and dragged the girl with him as his hostage. Now he was 
backed over to the very edge of the track, his 45 pressed to her temple. 
  "DON'T ANYBODY MOVE! OR SHE GETS IT, I SWEAR TO GOD. DON'T YOU FUCKIN TOY 
WITH ME!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.A bystander ducked below a 
cement column where he couldn't be seen, and called the local cops on his 
cell phone. Backhaus continued to shout at ear-shattering levels, while the 
police and FBI agents slowly arrived and took up tactical positions around 
the station. 
   "I'm so fucking sick of this. All my life, all my FUCKING life they always 
told me I could never do anything right. I can't even get the God damn holdup 
to go right. Well nobody's screwing with Daniel Backhaus ANY MORE. All you 
FBI bastards, I KNOW YOU'RE HERE.  I tell you what, you shitheads are going 
to do something for me for once. You guys are going to do something for me. 
That's right. Who's the moderator here, I know how these things work. I want 
to talk to somebody, NOW!"  Fox Mulder stepped from the shadows.
   "Daniel, my name is Fox Mulder. I'm with the FBI. How can we help you 
resolve this?" Mulder said to him. Scully watched incredulously as her 
partner walked over to talk to the man. She shuddered as she took the scene 
in. Too often, these things ended in a way no one could predict. And much to 
her horror, Scully  knew that Mulder wasn't wearing the Kevlar.
    "Don't you talk to me like I'm freakin three years old. Now are you going 
to listen to me, asshole, or do I have to start shooting people??" Backhaus 
spat viciously.
   "Tell me what you want Daniel. We'll try and get it for you. Just let the 
girl go." Mulder replied calmly.
  "No way. No way. NOT til I get what I want. I let her go, you guys haul me 
in, I DON'T THINK SO. She's not going anywhere til I get what I want." 
Backhaus tightened his grip around the girl's throat. Waving the gun around 
in the air, he yelled again.  "Fine. You want to know what I want? I'll tell 
you what I want. You're going to let me get the fuck out of here. That's 
right. Dan Backhaus is walkin out of here a free man. You're going to tell 
them to send a train through here. And it better be fast. No one else is 
gonna be on that train, and it's going to take me away from here. Far far 
away from here. You do that, and she goes free. But if screw with me, so help 
me God, she gets it. And so does everyone else in here. You hear me?! YOU 
HEAR ME???!!"
    "Ok. Ok. I'll see what I can do. I'm reaching for my cell phone now so I 
can call and make this happen. Ok?" Mulder asked. Backhaus just nodded. 
Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He hit a few 
buttons, and on the other side of the platform, the vibrating ringer went off 
on S.A.C. John Russell's phone. 
   "We're working on it Mulder, we're working on it." Russell told him. 
"According to the Metro service, the next train through here will be in about 
20 minutes. It's too far away to get it any sooner. We've got a guarantee 
that it will be empty when it gets here. But we're going to try and do a 
tactical assault from behind and get this taken care of. We're planning on 
going in from the tracks, get some agents  down there where he can't see 
them. Strategically, those tracks are our only shot. We'll keep you posted. 
Just try and keep him talking." And with that, he severed the connection. 
Mulder shut off his phone and nodded, hoping Russell could see him from where 
he was at. 
   "All right Daniel, you got your train. It's too far away right now to get 
it here any quicker than twenty minutes. But you have my guarantee that it 
will be empty when it gets here. So, will you let the girl go now?" 
 Backhaus only sneered. "You have got to be  kidding me. She's not going 
anywhere til that train gets here. I know you morons better than that. You 
think I'm going to give in that easily??! Huh??! You must be even dumber than 
I am. Yeah, I'm gonna let her go all right, and then walk right into your 
handcuffs. You punks must not think I'm serious. Well if I'm not serious, 
would I do this?" He tightened his hold on the girl, but aimed the gun away. 
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! He fired once, twice, three times into the crowd. Mulder 
wasn't near enough to be hit, but he knew from the screams that people behind 
him had been injured. He could only pray that the tactical team would act 
quickly, and end this, before any more were hurt. 
  Meanwhile, S.A.C. Russell sprang into action. He grabbed the five agents 
nearest him and began to outline his plan. One of these agents was Dana 
Scully.
 "Ok Agents. This is enough. We have to get this S.O.B. taken down and we 
have to do it now. We can't use sharpshooters, because the risk of hitting 
the girl is too great. So here's the plan. I want you 5 to go back up to 
street level. Down about 2 blocks, there's a manhole cover that leads back 
down to the Metro Tracks. A Metro Employee is on standby down there right 
now. She'll lead you into the system. From there, I need you to get back down 
here via the tracks as quickly as possible. You will wait on the tracks for 
my signal, and then the five of you will close in on Backhaus and take him 
out. If you feel like you can't capture him from behind, then shoot him if 
you must. You have complete authorization to solve the situation in anyway 
you see fit. Also, I'll send 4 of the D.C. Cops with you, for the man power. 
Have I made myself perfectly clear?"
 "Yes sir." Scully set her jaw in determination as the other agents answered 
their superior. She new she had to do this. She had to do it to get Mulder 
out of a dangerous situation. So why all of a sudden did she feel this 
terrible sense of foreboding? Scully shook it off though, and tuned in to 
Russell as he finished up his comments.
 "Also,  Agent Kreitlow will meet you before you go down,  he's got kevlar 
vests for all of you, if you don't already have them on. Go now. Godspeed to 
you all."  

end of Part 1
   

Ain't no Sunshine when She's Gone
by Keva E. Andersen
Part 2/2

    As Scully and her fellow agents made their way from the subway station, 
Backhaus started screaming again. "WHERE IS THAT DAMN TRAIN????!! I WANT IT 
HERE, AND I WANT IT NOW!!" 
  "I don't know Daniel, I don't know." Mulder replied calmly.
 "Don't give me that. You guys are holding out on me. Well, I don't want to 
hurt anymore than I have to, so you bastards get five minutes. FIVE MINUTES! 
Do you hear me?? If that train's not here in five minutes, EVERYBODY DIES." 
    Mulder nodded. "You don't want to do that Daniel, and you know it. Just 
be patient. I haven't heard anything more either. Your train will get here, 
and you'll get what you want. Just be patient."  Backhaus only sneered harder 
and continued to wave his gun around shouting obscenities.
     Meanwhile, Scully, along with Agents Krist, Rox, Wolfe, Spaeth, and 
Volta met up with Agent Kreitlow and Metro Employee Kate Richard, who's day 
had just got a little more interesting than usual. After confirming the 
details, the Agents climbed down the ladder, back into the underground maze 
of the Metro.
   "All right Agents, this is what we have to do." Kreitlow barked. I want 
Scully, Rox and Krist to get as close to Backhaus as you possibly can. 
According to Richard the track dips down a little at all the platforms, so 
there should be enough room for you all to be behind him without him 
noticing. Wolfe, Spaeth, Volta and I will be just opposite you, and on my 
count, Wolfe and I will go over the wall to detain him. We need you Agents 
there to help restrain him, and to shoot if need be.If the situation doesn't 
permit that we take him forcefully, the order is shoot to kill. We should be 
able to get a clean shot to the back of his head if need be. But that is the 
absolute last alternative. Lets do it Agents." Scully reached over and 
squeezed Rox's hand and nodded. 
  "We can do this" she whispered, a slight smile on her face. Rox nodded in 
agreement. The teams split up and crept down the tracks towards the maniacal 
screams of Backhaus.
   Mulder's phone rang. As he answered it, Backhaus paused in his ranting 
long enough to decipher what was going on.
  "Mulder" Fox answered. It was S.A.C. Russell. "Just so you know Mulder, 
Scully's on the tactical team. They're taking up their positions as we speak. 
This will all be over in about 3 minutes." Mulder paled slightly as he 
thought about it. He didn't want Scully down there. He didn't want her to be 
any part of this.  The very thought of her being injured because of this 
bastard made him sick to his stomach and furious beyond words, at the same 
time.
 "And the train?" Mulder choked out 
    "We told them to delay it. It's stopped about two miles away. We decided 
to try and take him out now, because we don't want to run the risk of him 
getting away, or God forbid killing more people in the process. Just don't 
tell him that."
  "Duh" Mulder thought to himself. " All right Sir. Thank you" he replied, 
and hung up the phone. "Ok Daniel. This is what's going on. Your train is 
about three minutes away. This will all be over soon." Mulder only prayed 
that no one else would be hurt. Especially Scully. He couldn't lose her now.
   It was all so well thought out. The teams had been set. Kreitlow and Wolfe 
had sprung to action quickly and efficiently. They leaped up behind Backhaus 
and grabbed him, just as they'd planned. The shock had forced him to release 
the girl. But not his gun. As Agent Wolfe tried to restrain him, Backhaus 
fired his gun again and again, down into the shadows where the other agents 
of the assault team were hiding. Mulder lunged forward, tackling Backhaus as 
he leapt, knocking the gun out of his hands. He held him down with all his 
force as Agent Kreitlow slapped the cuff on him. He helped the other agents 
drag the madman to his feet, but froze as a scream ripped through the air.
 "AGENT MULDER! WE NEED YOU DOWN HERE NOW!" It was Agent Krist. Mulder's 
blood turned to ice as he remembered Scully had been with those crouched in 
wait where Backhaus had turned his gunfire.  He raced to the edge of the 
platform and looked over the edge. His face reading an expression of pure 
horror and terror, he jumped over the edge to where Agent Krist was holding 
Scully's head on her lap. There was blood everywhere.
 "Oh Scully. No. No. You're going to be ok...I'm here Scully, I'm here. Tell 
me where you hurt, oh God we've got to get you out of here." Mulder wailed as 
he pushed Agent Krist aside, pulling Scully into his lap. She had been hit 
twice, both in the back, and one of the bullets had ripped it's way through 
her front as well. 
 "Somebody call an Ambulance NOW!" He screamed. "WE HAVE TO GET HER OUT OF 
HERE!!!"  His attention turned again though, as Scully started to writhe in 
his lap. Her breathing was shallow and jerky, her pulse thready. Mulder knew 
she was hurt critically, but he didn't want to acknowledge the feeling that 
was haunting him....
   "Mulder" she moaned "Is that you?"
 "Of course it is Scully. I'm here..I'm here."  He smoother her hair softly 
with one hand while pressing his other hand over the gaping wound in her 
chest. 
 "Make it stop." she whispered, as her eyes slid shut again, her face twisted 
in a painful grimace.  
   "I'm trying love, I'm trying." Mulder whispered back, as he bent over to 
kiss her forehead. "They're on their way, I promise. We're going to get you 
out of here."
  "Mulder?" Scully asked again. "Will you....sing to me?" 
 Mulder smiled slightly. "Still going to hold me to the promise I made after 
you sang 'Joy to the World' while we were in the forest eh?" Scully's face 
turned up a hint of a smile. "Sure love...anything. Let me see.
 ' It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart. Without saying a word, 
you can light up the dark. Try as I may, I can never explain what I hear when 
you don't say a thing.The smile on your face lets me know that you need me. 
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me. The touch of your 
hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall. You say it best, when you say 
nothing at all." Tears started to fall down Scully's face, washing away some 
of the blood that was there. Her lips turned upward in a faint smile that 
Mulder knew was only for him. Rivers of tears stained his face as well, and 
he sobbed as he continued to sing to his dying partner. Her spirit was waning 
and he could feel it. 
  " All day long I can hear people talking out loud. But when you hold me 
near, you drown out the crowd.Try as they may, they can never define what's 
been said between your heart and mine. The smile on your face lets me know 
that you need me. There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me. 
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall. You say it 
best....when you say nothing at all.
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me. There's a Truth in your 
eyes saying you'll never leave me. The touch of your hand says you'll catch 
me wherever I fall. You say it best.....when you say nothing at all."  He 
whispered the last words of the song, and tightened his hold around her, with 
both arms. "Don't leave me Scully...please...don't leave me. I love you 
Scully...I love you." Mulder's lips struggled to form the words as he tried 
to tell her all that his heart was screaming. Her breathing slowed more as he 
rocked her in his arms trying to will the fight back into her. Scully's eyes 
fluttered open for the final time. Her clear blue eyes met Mulder's hazel 
ones in an adoring gaze. "I love you too Mulder....I'll see you soon."  And 
as they fluttered shut again, Mulder felt the fire that was Scully slowly 
fade. Her spirit was leaving. He could feel it. "No oh God, Scully NO. NO. 
Don't....." he whispered again, as his forehead fell to rest against hers.

 * * * * 
The paramedics had tried all they could. But they knew there wasn't anything 
they could do to save Dana Scully. Her spirit had moved on before they even 
reached her. They had to practically use a crowbar to pry Mulder from her 
body. Skinner had met him at the hospital, and was there with him when the 
E.R. Doctor broke the news. Mulder hadn't said a word the entire time. But as 
he stood to go, his legs simply gave out. Skinner caught him  and held him up 
in a fatherly embrace. "It's ok Mulder....It's ok. We all loved her...it's 
ok." Mulder looked him in the eye and said in the voice of a broken soul. 
"There is no sunshine when she's gone."  He turned slowly away from Skinner 
and walked out the door. Those were the last coherent words Special Agent Fox 
William Mulder ever said. They found him days later, on the front steps of 
Scully's apartment, curled in a ball. He was still wearing the same clothing 
he had worn when he had held Scully for the last time. When they tried to 
speak to him, all he would say was "Ain't no sunshine when she's 
gone.....it's not warm when she's away....."
* * * * *
Skinner left Mulder's room and slowly left the hospital. He stopped off on 
his way home, as he always did, at a small cemetery. He left a single white 
rose on a grave and said softly. "I'm sorry Dana. It's been three years. But 
I'll keep trying. We'll find a way to bring him back. Or to send him home to 
you." He turned and walked away, back towards the J.Edgar Hoover building, 
his heavy thoughts his only company.

     
FINIS


Author's Notes: This baby is a product of me sitting on this for over 2 
months, trying to figure out how to make it work. This is dedicated to my 
friend Nicki for her wonderful editing, and always to my Phile Phrends who 
introduced me to Moose and Squirrel :) Oddly enough, this was finished on 
10-13-99. :)  Anybody for a sequel?