From: "Debbie Cullen" Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 14:55:08 -0500 Subject: New Story Submissions Source: direct TITLE: Fired AUTHOR: Debbie Cullen djc45@hotmail.com RATING: CLASSIFICATION: MSR SPOILERS: Vienen (8x16) SUMMARY: What happens after Mulder leaves the X-Files basement office. FEEDBACK: Please! How else is a girl supposed to know whether or not she's doing a good job? DISCLAIMER: Anything X-Files I may have used do not belong to me. They belong to Chris Carter and 1013 Productions as well of course as David and Gillian who madeMulder and Scully who they really are. No infringement intended. NOTES: I just had to let our #1 twosome have some fun for a change. God knows it doesn't seem like CC is ever going to. FIRED Once Mulder leaves, Doggett heads to Kersh's office for their meeting. When he arrives at Kersh's office, the director has had to step out to attend to an urgent matter. He asks Scully to step outside for a minute. There's something he needs to talk to her about -- privately! She can't imagine what he needs to discuss with her, but by the look on his face she knows to go along with him. They step outside. "What's the matter, Agent Doggett?" "Have you spoken to Agent Mulder today?" "No. I tried to call him earlier, but his cell phone was turned off ... why?" "He was in our office when I got in this morning." "He was?" "I don't really know. He told me something I thought you should know though. Something I think may be the reason for Kersh's calling this meeting. I wanted to warn you." "Warn me? About what?" "Agent Mulder told me that Kersh fired him this morning." "WHAT?" "He said Kersh was thoroughly overjoyed to finally have a reason to get rid of him." Scully starts pacing back and forth. "I can't believe this! How did he seem?" "He didn't seem too bad, but I'm not sure it had really sunk in yet." "Agent Doggett, I have to go and find him." "But our meeting ... " "Right now, I could care less. He needs me. This will be the straw that broke the camel's back for him. I have to find him before he does something crazy." Scully turns to go. Doggett reaches out and grabs her arm. She turns back to look at him. "Agent Scully, if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know." "Thanks," she says as she turns and walks towards the elevator. ********** By the time Mulder gets home, he is thoroughly depressed. He walks into his apartment and throws his jacket on the couch. Then he drops down on the couch too. There is nothing left for him. The X-Files was all he had left and now they've taken that away from him too. He gets up and goes into the bathroom. He rummages around in the medicine cabinet and finally finds the bottle he was looking for right at the back. He takes the bottle out. This will do the job." Then he returns to the living room and goes over to his desk. He gets a pen and pad of paper, which he puts down on the coffee table along with the bottle of pills. He then heads out to the kitchen, returning with a glass and a bottle of bourbon. He sits on the couch, pours a drink and slugs it back. Then he pours another. At this point he picks up the pend and paper. Dear Scully, I'm sorry I can't go on any longer. I know I have let you down and I am truly sorry for that. I have lost my only hope of finding the truth I have searched for all my life. I no longer have the strength to go on. You haven't realized it yet, but you are so much better off without me. Try not to hate me and try not to grieve too long. You are beautiful, intelligent, talented and very loving. Please try and find someone who can truly love you the way you deserve to be loved. That baby is the luckiest person in the whole world -- it will be loved unconditionally by you. I am so grateful to have at least been able to do that much for you. Mulder He drops the pen and paper back onto the table. He slugs back another shot of bourbon. Then he picks up the bottle of pills and empties it into his hand. He pours another shot of bourbon, pops the pills into his mouth and slugs back the bourbon. It only takes a few minutes for him to start feeling the effects of the pills and liquor. He takes the note and reads it over and he does so he feels tears rushing to the surface. He doesn't even bother to try and stop them. By the time he finishes reading the letter, it is tear soaked and he is beginning to feel very drowsy. When he finally slumps down and falls to the floor, the note flutters to the floor.It finally comes to rest underneath the coffee table. ********** She punches the elevator button and paces back and forth until the elevator arrives. When the doors open, she steps inside and takes her cell phone out of her pocket. She punches in Mulder's number and is promptly told that the customer she is trying to reach is unavailable at the moment.She disconnects the line and dials his home number. When the machine picks up, she says, "Mulder, it's me. Please call as soon as you get this message." Then she shuts the phone offr ad puts it back in her pocket. The elevator opens at the parking garage and she all but runs to her car. She pulls the car out into traffic and heads to Alexandria -- and Mulder's apartment. When she gets up on the expressway, she takes out her cell phone and tries Mulder again. His cell phone is obviously still shut off. She hangs up and then tries his apartment number. There's still no answer, but when the machine picks up, she says, "Mulder, it's me again. Pick up if you're there. I really need to speak to you. I know what happened with Kersh. We'll figure something out." When there's still no response, she hangs up. She puts the phone down on the seat beside her just as she comes to her exit. It takes her another 15 minutes to get to Mulder's building. She quickly spots his car and assumes he must be home. Mulder never walks farther than he has to. She parks her car and hurries to his apartment. The closer she gets to his apartment, the more uneasy she becomes. By the time she got to his door, she was really worried. She knew what the X-Files meant to him. She really wasn't sure how this would affect him, but she was pretty sure it wouldn't be good. She gently caressed her bulging belly and prayed that the baby might make the difference. She knocks on the door. When she doesn't get a response, she calls out to him. When there was still no response, she takes out her keys and lets herself in. What she finds when she opens the door, is far more than she ever expected. ********** Mulder is unconscious on his livng room floor. Scully rushes over to him. She gets down on the floor beside him and feels for a pulse. Fortunately she finds one, but it's weak. She sees Mulder's cell phone on the table. She grabs it and calls 911. She tells them that she needs an ambulance. She sits on the floor beside him, holding his upper body in her lap. "Please don't die on me. I need you," she says emotion threatening to overwhelm her. "I know you think you have nothing to live for, but it's not true." She takes his hand and places it on her belly. "Your baby needs you too." As she sits there cradling Mulder's body in her arms, she sses a piece of paper. She reaches out and picks it up. She immediately recognizes his hand writing. She notices that the letter was written by her. She swallowed deeply and began to read. By the time she got to the end of the letter, she was crying opens and her eyes were blurred. ********** Scully was not even aware that someone had come into the room until the paramedic gently put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly, but when she sees who it is, she hugs Mulder close for a moment. Then the paramedics helped her get up. Then they picked Mulder up and put him on the stretcher. "Do you know what happened, Miss?" "No. I found him like this. His name is Fox Mulder. I'm his partner, Dana Scully," she says as she pulls her badge out of her pocket and shows it to them. "He got some bad news today, so I came over to see how he was doing." "Okay, I think we better get him to the hospital as soon as possible. "Could I go with you? I really don't think I could drive right now." "Sure," the paramedics tell her. Scully leaves the apartment last and locks the door behind them. On the way to the hospital, Scully sits in the back of the ambulance, holding Mulder's hand -- willing him to come back. Begging him not to die. ********** When they get to the emergency room, things move along pretty quickly. Scully tells the doctor in charge, a Dr. Rutherford, that she is a doctor and that she suspects that he overdosed, but she had no idea on what. She'd never known him to have anything in his home stronger than Tylenol. She did tell them about the bottle of bourbon that was on the table. Dr. Rutherford thanks her and hurries offr to try and stabilize him. Scully is left by herself to worry. She sits in the waiting room, tears rolling down her face. She keeps telling herself that he has to be okay. She isn't aware anyone has entered the room until they put their hand on her shoulder. She jumps, but is relieved when she looks up at Skinner who also had tears in his eyes. She stands, throws her arms around him and they embrace. "How did you find out?" she asks. "One of the perks of my job. Anytime an agent is brought in, I am notified. "Technically, he's not an agent anymore!" she says as she looks at him with real anger in her eyes. "You don't think I had anything to do with that, do you?" "No, not really," she admits. "They finally managed to take away the only thing he had left. They couldn't just be satisfied with taking the X-Files away from him could they? No! They had to take his badge as well! I hope Kersh is satisfied!" "Agent Scully ..." "Why are they always trying to punish him? Why do they enjoy seeing him suffer? He doesn't deserve everyone's disdain." she says forcefully. "I'm on your side, remember?" Skinner says. "I'm sorry. It just makes me so angry!" ********** Just then she spots Dr. Rutherford. She gets up and quickly goes over to him. "Is he gonna be okay?" she asks anxiously. "I think so. From the blood work, it seems he had a lot to drink and then some pretty strong sedatives." "Damn it," she says. Skinner jumps up and comes over. "What's wrong?" "When his mother died, he took the bottle of pills she used to kill herself. I'd completely forgotten about it. I never should have let him take them. He tried to kill himself the same way his mother did!" "Do you have any idea why he would do something like this?" Dr. Rutherford asks. "As a matter of fact I do. He was fired today. It was the last in a long line of bad turns. I think he believes he has nothing left to live for." Skinner can see the tears welling in her eyes. He steps over beside her and puts his arm around her. She looks up at him and says, "But he's wrong! He has me and he has this baby! I HAVE to convince him of that! I just have to!" With that she dissolves into tears against Skinner's shoulder. He looks at DR. Rutherford. "Can you see him? I think she really needs that right now." "Sure. A familiar voice might be just what he needs right now," Dr. Rutherford replies. "Thank you," she says as she looks up and brushes the tears out of her eyes with her hand. She stands there, sort of waiting. "You go ahead, Agent Scully," Skinner says. "I'll be along shortly." She shakes her head affirmatively, turns and heads towards Mulder's room. "Can I ask you a question?" Dr. Rutherford says. "And I hope you won't think I'm just being nosy." "What would you like to know?" Skinner replies. "Well ... It might just be me, but is there more going on here than simple partners?" "Believe me, Agent Mulder and Agent Scully's relationship is anything but simple. You are right though. There is a much deeper connection between those two than partnership." "I only asked because for a man to try and kill himself, he has to be in pretty bad shape. All of these aspects of his life could have a profound affect on his recovery" Thank you for your concern," Skinner says. "If anyone can pull him out of this it's definitely Agent Scully." Meanwhile, in Mulder's room, Scully is sitting beside the bed. Her eyes are full of tears and she is fighting to keep them in. She reaches out and takes his hand in hers and gently strokes the back it. "I know you think there's nothing left you. You're wrong! Maybe you wouldn't be here if I had told you this before ... if I hadn't been so afraid ... Mulder, I love you. Sometimes it feels like I always have. I swear it's the truth! I wouldn't tell you something like that unless I really meant it." She sat there like that for several hours, holding his hand. Sometimes she talked to him and sometimes she just cried. When she was finally so exhausted she could do nothing esle, she put her head down on the side of his bed and drifted off to sleep. A while later, Mulder awakens to the sound of soft cries close by. When he looked, he saw Scully. She was asleep, but she was also crying. He put his hand to her cheek and wiped away the tears. When he looked around he realized he was in a hospital. How did he get here and why was he here? The last thing he remembered, he ws in his apartment. When he looked down at Scully and saw that she was sleeping peacefully now, he couldn't bring himself to disturb her. His mind began to wonder. He remembered Kersh firing him. He'll never forget the satisfied look on his face as he destroyed another man's life. After he talked to Agent Doggett, he'd headed home. He felt completely lost, the main drive of his life was now gone. He'd parked his car at his building, but before going up to his apartment he decided to go for a drink. As he thought about it, he remembered it had turnedout to be several drinks. When he started not feeling well, he left and went home. By the time he got home, he was unbearably tired. He remembered thinking he should go and lie down. Everything after that was completely blank -- until he woke up here. He leaned over and gently kissed Scully on the top of her head. With that she began to stir. As soon as she realized his hand was on her cheek, she looked up at him expectantly. He was looking back at her with a wide grin on his face. "So how are you doing sleepy head?" She's so happy to hear him talking to her that she jumps up and throws her arms around him. "Gee Scully, you've never reacted to my being in the hospital like this before ... I think I like it!" "Well, Mulder, you've never tried to kill yourself before either." He looks at her with a strange look on his face. "What are you talking about?" "I know you were drinking and you took some of the pills your Mother used to kill herself," starting to tire of his denials. "Scully I don't have any idea where you got that idea from. I will admit that I was depressed. I went down to the bar on the corner for a couple of drinks, but I swear I never took any pills." "Mulder, just admit it. It's okay. We'll work it out." "I'm not going to admit to something I didn't do." "Well, how did the sedatives show up in your blood work ... very high doses as a matter of fact." "I honestly didn't take them, Scully, I swear." "It doesn't even matter. You're here and you're oaky. How do you feel?" "Not too bad. My throat's sore as hell." "That's probably from them pumping your stomach. It'll be okay in a couple of days." "How did I get here?" "Doggett told me about Kersh firing you. I went over to see how you were. I found you unconscious on the floor. I called an ambulance and here you are." "I guess I should thank you then." All the while they have been holding hands, unwilling to break the connection. "Mulder, you really scared me. When I walked into you apartment and found you unconscious, I was terrified that I was too late! I promised God that if he sent you back to me, I wouldn't waste any more time." He looks at her questioningly. "I should have told you this long ago, but I never had the courage to go through with it. When I thought I was too late, all I had were regrets." "Well, what is it?" he asks. "I love you. Sometimes I feel like I always have." He doesn't reply. When she looks up at him, a very despondent, gloomy look comes across his face. It frightens her! "Mulder ... talk to me ... please!" After a long pause, he says, "The timing couldn't be worse. I have nothing to offer you now," he says sadly. ] "That's not true! You're still the same man you've always been. I fell in love with you ... not your job ... not what you could give me. All I want is YOU!" "Scully, I think ... " "No ... I don't want to hear what you think ... I want to know what you feel! You don't have to be afraid, Mulder!" After another long pause and without looking her in the eyes, he says, "I love you too, Scully! More than you'll ever know!" Then he quickly drops his eyes to the floor. Scully cups his face in her tiny hands and makes him look at her. She sees everything she needs to see. There are big tears in his eyes that are about to fall, but behind the tears there is a look of such great love! She leans in and kisses him. He throws his arms around her and pulls her to him. They just hold each other for several minutes. Without even breaking away, Scully looks up at him and says, "Mulder, I know you have issues you need to work through, but you know how much I love you -- how much we both love you! Whatever you have to work through, you don't have to do it alone. We'll always be here for you! I know hard losing the X-Files is for you. It's been your whole life for a long time, but maybe it's a sign ... a sign that it's time for us to make a brand new start -- just the three of us!" she says smiling. Her hand goes around the back of his neck and she pulls him to her for a searing kiss. THE END