From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 26 Jul 2007 23:08:28 -0000
Subject: NEW - Buried Deep by Michelle Kiefer by michelle kiefer
Source: direct

Reply To: msk1024@yahoo.com


Title: Buried Deep
Author: msk
Email:  msk1024@yahoo.com
Rating:  R
Keyword: M/S, M/Fowley, Angst
Spoilers:  Tithonius
Notes:  This is the third in a series of
stories, following "Inextricable" and 
"Draw the Line."  Some readers may prefer 
to wait until the entire series is posted.
All thanks are due to Kel--for support,
beta and everything else.

"I mean, obviously, you have buried this so 
deeply, you can't consciously recall it."
                Melissa Scully, Blessing Way

"Say hi to the toddler for me," Mulder said as
he helped her out of the car.  

"I'll be sure to do that," she said, stifling
a groan.  

It was three weeks since Peyton Ritter's bullet 
had slammed into her abdomen.  Hauling herself 
out of a car was one of the most painful maneuvers 
in her day, along with sneezing, coughing, laughing 
and the tortures of physical therapy. 

Her therapist was so young, she'd dubbed him "the
toddler," speculating that he was no older than
twelve, thirteen at the outside.  She swore his
voice was still changing. 

"Don't let the kid push you around," Mulder said.  
His hands were on her shoulders and he smiled down
into her face.  "Tell him your partner will kick 
his ass."

"I don't know Mulder...he's pretty buff."

"I'm not worried," he said.  "Okay...maybe a 
little."  His arm around her, they walked slowly 
into the building.

She tried not to lean into his body.  She craved
his touch, maybe more than his support.  Deep down, 
she knew it would be a mistake to grow used to either.

"Be strong," he said, with one final squeeze of 
her shoulders.   "I'll be back in an hour."  

She felt a little rush of warmth flood through her
as she watched him leave.  He'd been so caring, so 
tender since she got out of the hospital.  It 
reminded her of the days before and after her 
cancer went into remission.  

After the recent distance and strain between 
them, Scully found herself wrapping this new closeness
around her like a comforting blanket.  She knew it
probably wouldn't last.  It would burn off like 
morning mist as soon as she was strong and healthy
again, just as it had after her cancer was no longer
a threat to her life.

The problems that had driven them apart hadn't 
suddenly disappeared.  Diana Fowley still hovered 
in the background, biding her time and waiting for
another opportunity to come between them.

Only weeks before the disastrous New York assignment 
with Ritter, Mulder had come by and told her of 
Fowley's offer of the X-Files if Jeffrey Spender was 
successful in his bid for a transfer.  Mulder had 
insisted that Scully had to be part of the deal if 
he was to return.  Diana had agreed, probably with
great reluctance.  

Scully could still picture the look of surprise on 
Mulder's face when she told him she wouldn't work 
with Diana.  

Her emotions had been in turmoil as she lay awake
that night.  Damn Diana.  If her intention had
been to destroy the partnership, she'd had a
win-win proposition.  Mulder either became Diana's
partner on the X-Files leaving Scully behind, or 
he gave up the chance and resented Scully for 
his sacrifice, effectively ruining whatever
was left of their relationship.

They hadn't spoken about the issue since that
night.  As time went on, his attitude seemed
to improve and while he couldn't be described
about gung ho about background checks, he worked
without complaint.

She didn't know if Mulder had declined Diana's
offer or if Spender had simply failed to get his
transfer.  Mulder hadn't said and Scully hadn't 
asked.

With a sigh, Scully crossed the lobby separating
the rehabilitation center from a busy gym.
Scully and a lot of other agents took advantage 
of the reduced government rates at the facility.  
Scully nodded as she passed an agent she 
recognized.

"Hey Dana," Kevin Biehl said as she entered
the therapy room.  "Ready to work?"

"As ready as ever," she answered.  Kevin was far
too enthusiastic to be allowed to live.  Scully
regretted the fact that she wasn't carrying her
weapon.

"All right, let's warm up on the stationary 
bike."

After ten minutes on the bike, he put her through 
a set of exercises designed to strengthen the 
abdominal muscles around the wound site.  The 
process was painful and each small movement 
difficult.  

No matter how much she hated the exercises, 
Scully had to admit that she felt stronger.  
Part of Kevin's job was to find solutions to 
her mobility problems.  His suggestions had 
made getting of bed a lot easier. 

Through all of the exercises, Kevin remained
cheerful.  Scully was red-faced and exhausted 
as she completed her last repetition.

"Good job, Dana," Kevin said.  "You'll be back
to chasing bad guys in no time."

"Let's hope they aren't running too fast," she
said, mopping the back of her neck with a towel.

"Time for some E-Stim, Dana.  Why don't you
get comfortable."

With a sigh, she stretched out on the treatment
bed and drew her t-shirt up to expose her wound
site.  Kevin pulled over the apparatus and gently
touched her stomach.

"You're always so tense for this," he said.  
"Everyone says this is their favorite part of 
therapy, because the machine does all the work."

Scully tried to calm her nerves, breathing deeply 
as Kevin attached the electrode pads to her skin.  
The electrical stimulation was designed to promote 
healing of the damaged muscle tissue.  It didn't 
hurt, but Scully found the process oddly disturbing.

She wiped her damp palms against the sides of her
yoga pants, trying in vain to relax.  Scully closed
her eyes, but only served to raise the level of 
apprehension.  Her eyes flew open, and she checked 
the clock by the door.  Only five  minutes gone, 
damn it.  

Sitting at his desk, Kevin jotted notes onto charts.
A hip hop song she wasn't familiar with played on 
the radio.  Kevin sang along, his voice off key.
Scully tried to focus on him, on the song, but the
ragged beat of the music only served to further jar 
her nerves. She clenched and unclenched her fists.

Her gaze drifted back to the clock and she watched
the second hand trudge around its face.  A flash
of movement caught her eye--a face at the small window 
in the door.  A jolt ran through her that had nothing 
to do with the E-Stim machine.  

Diana Fowley looked through the window, wearing an
expression that might have been sympathy if Scully
could believe her capable of that emotion.  

Scully gasped as the scene before her changed and
she was no longer in the therapy room but in a long 
and narrow white room.  She looked down at her body,
now covered in surgical drapes.  Masked doctors 
surrounded her, their cold eyes greedy to plumb the 
secrets of her body.  

Everything was familiar to her, a nightmare she'd 
dreamed night after night, but this time there was 
something different.  A new face looked on from 
behind the doctors.  Diana Fowley's eyes bore into 
her from above the surgical mask that obscured the 
rest of her face.   

Scully jerked bolt upright, a groan escaping her lips 
at the sudden movement.  Her hands scrabbled at the 
electrodes as she fought to free herself.

"Dana!" Kevin cried out as he ran to her side.  
"What's wrong?  Are you hurt?"

"It's okay," she said as Kevin pushed her shaking hands 
away from the adhesive tabs and removing them himself.

"Are you sure?  Was the voltage too high?"

"No, nothing like that," she assured him, her voice 
shaking.  "Really, I'm okay...just a little post stress 
freak out." 

"That was some freak out," he said.  "Do you know what
triggered it?"

"I was startled," she said.  "Someone was at the 
window."

Kevin frowned as he rubbed her back.  He tugged her 
shirt down around her middle before walking to the door 
and peering out.

"It was probably just Agent Fowley," he said.  "She's
talking to the receptionist.  She was one of my patients
last year.  Do you know her?"

"I've seen her around the bureau," Scully said, covering
her face with her hands.  "I'll be okay.  Just let me 
catch my breath."

"Dana, have you talked to anyone about this?"

"Of course," she said.  "Standard protocol after getting 
shot.  Honestly, Kevin, don't worry about me."  It
was only a partial lie.  Yes, she'd had mandatory 
counseling, but she hadn't discussed her nightmares 
with anyone.  Not in years.

Mulder would love this.  He wrest the whole
thing from her, tease the strands of the flashback 
apart, and analyze each image to pronounce its true
meaning.  

She absolutely could not tell Mulder.  At least not 
until she had figured out whether it was real or not.

She missed her sister desperately at times like
this.  Melissa would have helped her get to the
heart of matter.  

"Is there anyone I can call for you?" Kevin asked,
bringing her a paper cup of water.  The water felt
cool as she drank it down.

"No," she said, handing him the empty cup.  "My 
partner is picking me up soon."

She lay back on the table, drawing her knees up and
covering her face with her hands.  If only her heart
would stop thundering in her chest.

Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of her
flashback.  Was it a true memory or a figment of
her imagination?  And why now?  Was it as simple
as needing the right trigger to unlock the truth?

Since the day that Diana Fowley had come on the
scene, Scully had felt a sense of repulsion.  No
matter what Mulder thought, it wasn't simple
jealousy.  

Could Diana have been present during her abduction?
Was that the reason behind the instant dislike?
Scully could imagine Diana laughing with the smoking
man.  She could picture her conspiring with Krycek
to deliver Scully and the other women to the hands 
of their torturers.  What she couldn't fathom was
what prompted Diana's expression of pity.  

Finally, the shaking stopped, and her heartbeat 
no longer felt like gunfire.  Pushing herself 
into a sitting position, Scully hopped off the 
treatment table.   

"Dana, you still look as pale as a ghost," Kevin
protested. 

"Please don't worry about me," she said.  "My
partner should be here by now."

Scully pulled the door open and escaped from the
treatment room.  She scanned the lobby, relief
flooding over her as she spotted Mulder lounging
by the front door.

He smiled at the sight of her, striding across
the lobby.  "So, did you kick butt and take names?"

"The only butt that got kicked was mine," she
said.  

"Looks like it was a rough workout."  His arm
snaked around her shoulders.  She felt ridiculously
comforted by the closeness.

"Fox!" 

Scully stiffened at the sound of the voice ringing 
through the lobby.  Clenching her teeth, she forced
herself to stand firm and not run out of the building.

Mulder turned, his arm still around Scully.  Diana 
Fowley approached, breasts bobbing, barely contained 
in their sports bra.  

"Hello, Diana," Mulder said.  

"So glad I ran into you, Fox," she said.  "And Agent 
Scully, of course."

"Of course," Scully repeated.  Mulder's gaze 
flicked down at her.  

"I was going to call you.  I've come across something 
I think you might find interesting."

Scully felt Mulder's body tense next to her.  Diana
had stepped closer to Mulder, her smile confident as
she put a hand on his arm.  

Scully fought to keep her face expressionless, though
her skin crawled at the proximity to Diana.  

"Maybe another time," Mulder said.  "I should get
Scully home."

"Call me," Diana said.  Mulder's grip on Scully's 
shoulders seemed to intensify as he pulled her 
toward the door.

"You okay, Scully?" Mulder asked as they stepped 
into the bright sunlight.

"I'm just tired," she replied.  "Let's go
home."

Continued in One Choice.