Date sent: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 18:40:34 -0500 From: andritz Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Fox and 1013 Productions, and are the sole creation of Chris Carter, excluding Tess Adams. She's my own angel. Oh, and Clarence belongs to whoever wrote, "Merry Christmas, George Bailey". Spoilers: Some. I wrote this after I saw a preview for "Schizogeny" which airs the 11th of January. Rating: PG or PG-13 (u-pick) Summary: Mulder and Scully are tested in their faith, not only for what they trying to accomplish with the X-files, but also in themselves. A guardian angel may just give them the strength they need to go on... This one is a romance. Sorry, but I couldn't resist. :) ANGEL by Meghan Hunt Prologue: For Dana Scully, there wasn't a seed of hope planted in her faith. Nothing had managed to lift her spirits since the crash. Not Mulder's visits during the day and night, not her mother's reassuring presence every so often. Nothing. She was beginning to wish that she had never gone with Mulder to Tennessee or wherever the hell he had dragged her. No, not dragged. She'd been willing, not wanting him to go alone and risk doing something he'd regret. But she hadn't planned on this. Right now, all she could have wished for was a guardian angel. Washington, DC It had been a long time since a woman had caught Fox Mulder's attention and turned his head. Not since six years ago had he even been tempted to do any girl watching. Why watch for someone that you've already got? But this, this was different. It wasn't as though she'd caught his eye in any other way than the fact that her face was gorgeous. Instead, her actual presence was what made his head turn. She was tall, her figure slim, which made the long, summery dress she wore even more beautiful. It reminded him of the clothes he'd once seen an angel wearing in one of his books, with the whole lower portion of it billowing around her. With the rainbow of the fountain arching behind her, she appeared to have a halo all around her. She had bright red hair that hung in curls to just below her hips. She'd twisted the sides back and clipped them in place with a silver barrette. She didn't look like she belonged there. Not only in DC, but anywhere on the ethereal plane. That's when it happened. The klutz in him kicked in and he tripped over his own two feet, lurching forward, suddenly, and falling onto the brick cobblestones of the park walkway. He was stunned for a second, unsure of everything that had happened before, but once he was sure that he was fine, he began to get up, straightening himself to his knees, then stopping as his head began to ache and his vision swam. That's when he noticed the hand. It was delicate and gentle, seeming to him that it had been carved out of porcelain. On each finger was a different ring. The one that caught his attention in particular was a curl of silver that ran the whole length of the middle finger, stopping at the base of it in a swirl pattern. He reached out and took it, surprised at the strength in it and the arm that was attached as it pulled him to his feet and allowed him to meet its owner. It was the woman from the fountain. She was smiling, beaming like he'd never seen a woman beam before. His heart shuddered at the beauty in that smile and the rememberance that it gave him of Dana Scully. Then he remembered what he had been walking through the park for. Scully was in the hospital in bad condition. She'd been in a car crash. He nodded his thanks to her and began to walk away. It was her voice behind him that stopped his retreat. "I've come to help." It was like a melody. He turned around. She was still standing where he'd left her. "Pardon?" She took two steps toward him, seeming to him that she was floating on air. "I said that I've come to help, Fox." He cringed as he heard his given name. It was an involuntary reflex. He'd only ever let three people call him Fox. One was in the hospital, one was gone far, far away, and the other was the mother of the one in the hospital. "How do you know my name?" She shrugged slightly, the silky material of her dress shifting and changing color as the light hit it just right. A smile began to creep its way into her green eyes. "Does it matter?" He stared at her, dumbfounded. "Well, no, I suppose not, but-" She stopped him with another smile. "Fine. Let's go to the hospital." Once again, he was struck stupid. "How did you-" "We're wasting time," she said and began to walk the path that he was taking. When he didn't follow her, she looked back at him with an impatient gaze. "Fox, I'm not asking you to believe in me, but the longer you take to think it over, the less time Dana has." "Who are you?" She hailed for a taxi and almost immediately had three to choose from. Mulder couldn't help it, he grinned. "I'm your guardian angel." The ICU ward was extremely quiet for the middle of the day, but it didn't make Mulder stop and think. The only thing that mattered to him was getting to where Scully was. As he walked slowly down the hall, the woman looked at him and smiled. "I still don't know your name," he said. She sighed and wondered if she told him if he'd believe her. She saw that they were almost to Dana's room, so knowing that he wouldn't be able to ask her any more questions once they got there, she answered him. "Tess Adams." They stopped then, in front of a door and Mulder peered in, his face twisting in personal agony. Looking through that window and into the room where his partner lay, asleep and hooked up to machines, gave him a terrible sense of deja vue. He'd been in the same hospital only a few months ago, watching her through a much bigger window, and wondering if he was going to have to make his journey alone. But she'd pulled through and that fight was a much bigger one than the one she was going through right then. Tess looked through the window as well, and, upon seeing the pale woman with red hair in the hospital bed, her lips curled into the tiniest of smiles. This wasn't going to be as hard as she had thought. Perhaps even easier than He had told her. "She'll be fine," she whispered into Mulder's ear. He looked at her. "There's been damage to her eyes, Tess. She won't tell me the truth, but I already know. I've got this sick feeling down deep in the pit of my stomach that something is wrong, but she won't tell me. It's almost like she doesn't want to confirm my darkest fears." Tess reached for the door handle and squeezed his hand, which already lay on it. "She'll be fine, Fox." Then they opened the door. Immediately, Scully was awake and smiling. "Hey Mulder. How's it going?" He crossed the room and took her hand, kissing her forehead. "It's a great day, Scully, with lots of sunshine." "I know. I can see it through the window." Tess noticed that as she spoke to him, she kept her eyes closed. "Scully, I've brought someone to see you." Tess went over to the side of the bed and looked down at the pale person in it. Whatever else had happened to her in the crash seemed to have healed. She showed no discomfort except for the fact that she still kept her eyes closed. "Dana, my name is Tess Adams. I believe you asked to see me." Mulder looked up at her. "What?" he mouthed. She just frowned and shrugged to the door. He got her hint and stood, taking Dana's hand with him. "I'm going to go and get some coffee. Do you want anything?" She shook her head and he left. "Tess?" Tess took her other hand. "I don't remember asking to see you." "Not me specifically, but you wished for a guardian angel." She smiled even though she knew Dana couldn't see her. "Well, here I am." Scully smiled. "You certainly aren't any Clarence." "You're blind, aren't you?" she asked. Dana nodded. "You can open your eyes now, he's gone." And so she did and Tess saw that the normally azure-colored irises were now a milky grey color. "What do the doctors say?" "That only a miracle could bring me back my sight." She smiled again. "Boy, won't they be surprised." "Mulder knows," Tess said and the smile turned to a frown. "He's known since the first night you were here. He says that you won't tell him the truth, that you're afraid that by telling him, some of his darkest fears might come true." The hand in Tess's grasp tightened. "I've always been the one to watch out for him. Without eyes, how am I supposed to do that now?" "Stop being negative. You have to tell him." "I can't, Tess. He already blames himself for the crash. If I tell him I'm blind, it'll kill him." Tess rested her other hand on Dana's forehead. "You're not the only one who survived your cancer, Dana." Scully fell silent then, and Tess began the task that she had been sent there to do. Slowly, she gave the extra sight she had to her, and watched as the milky grey irises soon became their normal azure color. It was only after Tess removed her hand from Dana's forehead that the red-head fell asleep. And so, Tess left the same way she had come. Quietly. When Mulder came back to Scully's room, he saw that she was asleep and that Tess was gone. There was one thing, however, that had been left for him to find. It was a letter, placed at one end of the hospital bed. On the back, his and Dana's names had been scrawled in gold ink. He opened it. Fox and Dana, you have been given the chance to love and I caution you with this: use it wisely for it only comes around once. Fox, you have searched for the truth your whole life because you believe that it can heal you. Well, your heart has been healed, and not by any truth you may have discovered. The woman who's life meant more to you than your own is the one person who has saved you. He looked down at Dana Scully's pale skin and red hair and slowly began to cry as he realized what had happened. She'd healed the crack that had been in his heart for so many years. Slowly, he sat down on the bed and kissed her cheek. Then he took her hand and waited for her to wake up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XXXXXX~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, what did you think? E-mail me with any comments that you may (or may not) have at: hunt_meg@northumberland.k12.nh.us I'll be glad to hear from anyone. Please!!!! I can't get enough e-mail.