From: "Dana Tighe" Date: Thu, 04 Mar 1999 09:22:04 PST Subject: Guardian Angel Title: Guardian Angel Author: Caitlin Rose Email: dana_lynn_tighe@hotmail.com Rated: G Cateogry: S, X-Fhile, H, M/S friendship Spoilers: none Keywords: M/S friendship Summary: Scully believes that her life has been saved by angels. Feedback: Please! Archiving: Anywhere, but tell me, please. Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and _The X-Files_ belong to Chris Carter, 10-13, and Fox. When they say, "Don't infringe on our copyright!" I respond by saying "Sure. Fine. Whatever." This story is mine, (c) July 1998. Feel free to post, but please tell me. Thanks is due to Ardra for editing/crying over my other fan fic, thus inspiring to write more, and Mike for being sweet and reading all my endless fan fic. Author's Note: The events in this story (ie. Scully believes she has been saved by angels) are entirely based on a miracle from God that a man from Africa experianced (that Ardra's dad got acquainted with). For Christy, my real life guardian angel. ---------- New York City 4:29 pm "Mulder, I can't believe you told her that you sister had been abducted." said Scully. "I was trying to help, Scully. I didn't know that Mrs. Lockhart would start screaming and yelling and running around the house!" replied Mulder. He made sure that his puppy-face was firmly in place, and then he turned to look at Scully. When she saw his puppy eyes she averted her gaze. "You've resorted to The Eyes already, Mulder? I'd have thought you would have more will power than that." That wiped the look off his face. They continued on in silence. It was too much work trying to hold a conversation above the roar of the traffic. Car horns honked, and a truck swerved to miss a stray dog that had run across the street. People hurried past the two FBI agents without a backward glance. They all had somewhere they had to be. "You hungry, Scully?" Mulder finally asked. "Kind of." she replied noncommittally. "Do you want to get something to eat? There's a mall with a pretty good food court right up here on our left." Scully nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, they were safely inside the building. The chilly air from outside that they had brought in with them was already warming. Scully spotted a salad bar. She gestured toward it, and they veered off in that direction. A woman in a tacky red business suit approached them. "Would you like to take a survey, sir?" she asked Mulder in a nasally voice. She smelled of cheap perfume, hardly up to par with Scully's enticing Orchid scented lotion, Mulder decided. Mulder glanced at Scully and she tilted her head toward the salad bar. "Okay." Mulder agreed. Scully shot him a look, and then laced her arms tightly across her chest and pursed her lips slightly. "I won't keep you and your wife long, sir." the woman said, obviously picking up on Scully' body language. Mulder grinned at Scully. Scully wasn't amused by the woman's honest mistake, but decided that if she pointed it out, it would only take longer. People had mistaken them for a married couple on more than one occasion. Scully decided that it must be the fact that they were usually bickering good-naturedly. "Where do you live?" the woman asked. "Washington D.C., but lots of people say they're convinced I come from the Bermuda Triangle." The woman gave him a strange look, but wrote it down. "I see. . .what do you do for a living?" "Chase aliens, uncover government conspiracies, and try to find my sister, who was abducted by aliens when I was 12." Mulder responded as calmly as if he were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The survey woman took a step away from him and looked at him warily. "What kind of vehicle do you own?" "A fold-up UFO that I keep in my pillow case." "Uh . . . thank you for participating in this survey." She said. She almost tripped over her own feet trying to get away from Mulder. When Mulder turned to face Scully he had a huge grin across her face. "She thought I was psychotic." "Perhaps it's not too far from the truth." said Scully, but Mulder could see a twinkle in her eye. ---------- Marriott Hotel New York City 7:56 pm "Hey, we've got decent accommodations this time." mused Mulder as he set his suitcase down on the bed. "Mhmm," replied Scully. They had adjoining rooms, and Mulder had left the door open. "I'm gonna change; mind closing the door?" "A little, but I will." Mulder said. His face was expressionless, but Scully saw the wicked twinkle in his eyes before he closed the door. She sighed and slipped her business coat off. She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off her shoes. She massaged her feet for a bit, and then pulled off her panty-hose. She wiggled her toes, fully appreciating the freedom they now had. She lay back on the bed with a sigh. They had closed the case this afternoon, and were heading back to D.C. the next day to face the endless piles of paperwork, no doubt. The case they had been working on had been a dead-end, boring, in-and-our case. A woman had claimed that she was hearing the voice of her dead husband, and that he had been visiting her. What they ^hadn't^ found out until they had met her was that she was old, mentally unstable, and greatly missing her husband. Scully had gotten pretty ticked at Mulder for dragging them all the way to NYC for this case, but at least it had given them a chance to get away from headquarters and have some time to explore some museums. She half wondered if that was why Mulder had taken this case in the first place. Scully could hear the shower start up on the opposite side of the wall. She pulled herself into a sitting position. She unbuckled her pants and pulled her shirt over her head. She put on a comfy pair of sweats that she didn't usually wear, and a tee-shirt from LA that a friend had brought back for her when she was still in Med school. She threw the discarded clothing on an empty chair and flipped the TV on. They were rerunning The Terminator . . . again. Country Music Station, .the News, a sitcom with a man in woman's clothing. She didn't ^want^ to know. She finally settled for the classic _Gone With The Wind_. It was a chick flick and she knew it, but she had a soft spot for chick flicks. She heard a soft knock on the door. "Come in." she called out. Mulder walked in, still toweling his wet hair. "Ahhh . . . a chick flick," was all he said. "How did I know you were going to say that." He tossed the towel on a chair and sat next to her on the bed. After watching it for fifteen minutes, Mulder disappeared back into his room. When he emerged victorious a few moments later, he had a huge bag of sunflower seeds clasped in one hand. "I will never discredit bulk food again." he said as he took a handful out and tossed them in his mouth. Scully rolled her eyes and turned back to the movie. Three sodas, a bowl of popcorn, and one hundred thirty five sunflower seeds later, they were still watching the movie. "And here's the best line in the whole movie," said Mulder, his mouth half full of popcorn. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give-" Suddenly, a figure dressed in black came hurtling through the window. Glass flew everywhere. Mulder threw himself on top of Scully to shield her. The man pushed a gun to Mulder's the back of Mulder's head before he could draw his gun. "Be quiet." the man hissed. Four more men leapt through the window. The first man jerked Mulder off the bed. _Gone With the Wind_ was still blaring in the background. Two more got to Scully before she could react. They pulled the two agents down the fire escape and into a back alley. Another man, also clad in black, stepped out of the shadows. He nodded at the men and they released Scully, but tied Mulder's hands and legs, and kept a gun pointed at his head. "Ahhh, Agent Dana Scully." the man, who was obviously the leader, said. Even before he pulled the black hood off, Mulder knew exactly who it was. "Krycek!" he spit out. The venom in his voice was apparent. "Mulder, we meet again." agreed Krycek, walking over to Mulder. "After tonight, I'm sure you'll hate me even more than you do now." "What do you want with us, Krycek?" asked Scully. Her voice was crisp and betrayed none of the apprehension she felt. "I don't want anything with Mulder, Agent Scully. Tonight is ^your^ night. He's just here to watch the display so that he can fully appreciate it." He turned to his troops. "Do it." Three of them held Mulder securely between them. Another pushed a gun into Scully's scalp, causing her head to tingle with pain. She could feel the blood from the cut on her head starting to trickle down the side of her face. It rolled off her cheek and splashed onto the pavment. The man walked her further down the alley and then halted her, turning her to face Krycek, who hadn't moved. A fifth man retrieved his gun. Then the reality of what they were going to do hit Mulder. "No! Why are you doing this?" "Agent Scully is in the way." replied Krycek coldly. "You won't get away with this, Krycek!" cried Mulder. Krycek laughed. His laugh contained no humor, it was a hollow laugh that said 'I'm in control.' "I already am, Mulder." He nodded to the man with the gun, and he raised the gun, aiming at Scully. Mulder started to yell and struggle, but the men stuffed a bandana in his mouth. Mulder watched in horror as the man aimed the gun at Scully and tightened his finger on the trigger. Mulder sent up a desperate prayer to anyone who was listening. *Please, please, don't let him kill Scully. She can't die! Please, Scully can't die! I need her too much!* A ways down the alley, Scully scrunched her eyes shut and prayed with all her might. *I know I'm not very good about religion, but please, don't let me die! I don't want to die now! There's too much I need to do! If I die, what will Mulder do? Please, please, please!* It was then that she realized that she was still alive. She cautiously opened one eye and then the other, and saw the man staring at his gun. He pulled the trigger again, and it wouldn't go off. One of the other men handed him their gun. *This is it. . . .* Scully thought. But again, the gun wouldn't work. In anger, the man pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. It fired. The sound of the bullet whipping through the air reached Scully's ears. The man grinned a sick grin at Scully and brought the gun back down. It wouldn't fire. By now, Krycek was agitated. The man got closer to Scully and tried again, got another gun, everything, but nothing would work. The gun would work fine, except for when it was pointed at Scully. The man's eyes grew huge and he dropped the gun. It clattered to the ground. "There's spirits protecting her!" he murmured. Krycek sneered and yelled at the man to step back and let another man try, but Krycek's face looked white. Another man tried, and got the same results. Suddenly. police sirens could be heard heading their direction. The men working for Krycek scattered off, disappearing into the shadows. Krycek paused by Mulder. "This is not the end." he hissed. Within moments, all traces of Krycek and his men were gone. The ambulance arrived seconds later to escort Mulder and Scully to the hospital. ---------- Assistant Director's Office Washington D.C. Two days later 11:46 "Agent Mulder, thank you for joining us." Assistant Director Skinner's voice had a patronizing edge to it. Mulder slipped into the seat beside Scully. "Sorry I'm late, Sir." he said. "All right, I want to know ^exactly^ what happened." Skinner said sternly. Mulder looked at Scully, and she took that as her cue to do the honors. "Agent Mulder and I had closed the case on Mrs. Lockhart. After walking around New York City for the rest of the afternoon, we went back to the hotel. We were watching a movie on TV in my room, when a man burst through the window." Scully still bore a cut across her forhead from the glass. "Four more men followed him in and held us at gun point. They took us down the fire escape. In the alley, Krycek confronted us. He was going to have one of his men kill me." "Was ^going^ to have them kill you? Why didn't he?" asked Skinner. Scully took a deep breath. "The gun wouldn't work on me. When he pointed it at me, it wouldn't fire, but when he pointed it elsewhere, it worked perfectly. He even tried other guns and other men, but it didn't work. Then the ambulance came, and they scattered." Skinner leaned forward and folded his hands on the desk, a perplexed expression on his face. "What is your conclusion as to why the gun didn't work?" Scully chewed on her lip for a moment. She only did that when she was very nervous or unsure of herself, which wasn't too often. She hadn't done it in ages. She thought that she had gotten rid of the bad habit. Back to square one. Mulder wondered how she could stand to so that to herself. *Doesn't it hurt? Someday she's going to draw blood.* Then he steered his thoughts back towards the case. He was waiting for Scully to launch into a scientific explanation for the amazing thing that had happened. Even amazing wasn't a good enough word - miracle was more like it. He wasn't one to believe in miracles, but it couldn't be classified as much else. Scully gripped the arm rests of the chair. "I believe that I was saved by angels, sir." Mulder was sure he heard the click of his jaw as it hit the floor. Angels?! Scully ^had^ to be kidding! Skinner cleared his thought. "Angels, Agent Scully?!" "Yes, sir." she confirmed. She didn't raise her eyes to meet his. "I have given this matter a great deal of thought, and I believe that that is the only plausible explanation I can come up with." She paused for a moment. "May I be dismissed?" Skinner nodded absentmindedly. She almost vaulted out of her chair. Mulder couldn't find the strength to get out of his chair for a moment, but then he went hurtling after Scully. ---------- FBI Basement Office Washington D.C. 12:02 pm Mulder finally caught up with Scully down in their office. He stood in the door breathing heavily for a moment. "You really believe that?" She turned to face him, a weary expression on your face. "As I told Assistant Director Skinner, that is the only plausible explanation that I can come up with, Mulder." She busied herself with a stack of manila folders. "You didn't answer my question, Scully, do you believe it?" he asked again, taking three steps towards her. When she turned to face him, he saw inner turmoil in her eyes. "I don't know, Mulder! When I was a child, I was told that angels existed, but being the ever skeptical Dana Scully, I never believed it. But now, I'm starting to wonder. When the man raised the gun on me, I just started praying. Who know, maybe my prayers were answered." Scully picked up her brief case. "I'm going home early. I. . .need some time to think." she admitted. Mulder nodded. He waited until the door closed behind her to sink into his chair. His thoughts were a whirl. Did he believe in angels? Did he believe that Scully had been saved by angels? Had Scully been saved by angels? Could Scully possibly have a guardian angel? He didn't know what to think. He hadn't been raised in a home where religion was prominent; his family hadn't even had a religion. Usually he was the one with the far-out explanations, but this time it looked like the tables had turned. He couldn't quite believe that angels existed. . .it was much easier for him to think that there were aliens or vampires. Mulder was more accepting of extraterrestrial happenings than of the supernatural. Yet he couldn't deny the conviction that he had seen in Scully's eyes, or the feeling that he had gotten when he had pleaded with some unseen being for Scully's life. Maybe it was possible. . . . Scully certainly appeared to believed this, even though she seemed confused and unnerved by it. It was gone almost as soon as it came, but for a split second, a feeling of pure jealousy washed over him. Scully had a God that she could go to, but when he was in a rough spot, he had no one. He was alone, utterly alone. ---------- ---------- You think you're alone there in your silent storms But I've seen the tears you've cried Falling down and trying to drown the flame of hope inside Let me tell you now, tell you now When you're walking in the dead of night And your soul is churning When your hope seems out of sight Keep the candle burning All it takes is one steady heart In a world that's turning Shine a light and pierce the dark Keep the candle burning, keep the candle burning (Keep the Candle Burning, Point of Grace) ----------- ---------- Washington D.C. The next morning 3:07 am Mulder wandered the streets. No one was out; everyone in their right minds had been asleep for hours. A dog barked somewhere and he watched a mouse scurry across the pavement in front of him, a piece of someone's discarded sandwich clasped tightly in its mouth, The street lamps cast eerie shadows on the walls. Mulder had felt restless and as if he were missing something. He thrust his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat as he trudged on. He passed building after building, but abruptly, he stopped. A faint light was shining out from under the doors of. . .a church. Mulder felt drawn to the small building scrunched between a music store and a dentist's office. His gloved hands gripped the nob on the heavy door. He slowly pulled it open. He stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him. His eyes searched the sanctuary of the church, penetrating each pew, looking for another person. There was no one. Yet Mulder felt as if he were not alone in the room. A small nativity was displayed in front of the alter. Mulder slowly made his way up the aisle. As he did so, he peeled off his gloves and stuck them in his coat pocket. He didn't really know why he was here. He had just felt. . .drawn. Now that he was here, he didn't really know what he was supposd to do. He halted in front of the nativity. He looked down at it, and wondered again if this was what had saved Scully's life. He scrunched his hands into fists and stuffed them into his coat pockets. He turned around and surveyed the church, making sure he was alone. Then he started to speak. "Uh . . . I'm not really sure how to do this. I've never really prayed before. I don't even know if you're real, but in case you are, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for sparing Scully's life. For snatching her from the brink of death and giving her back to me." Mulder was so busy praying aloud, that he didn't hear the doors behind him open. He didn't notice a small figure slip through them and stand in the back of the church, listening quietly. "And most of all, I want to thank you for Scully." As Mulder spoke, he felt a peace the passed all understanding descend upon him. "For giving her to me in the first place - if it was you who did that, that is. I don't know where I would be without her." Mulder paused, trying to gather his thoughts, when he heard a voice coming up the aisle behind him. "And I without him. Thank you." Before Mulder could turn to see who it was, he felt a small hand slip into his. He looked down into Scully crystal blue eyes which were shimmering in the light. "How did you know where I was?" he asked quietly. "I don't know." she responded truthfully. Her red hair, glowing in the light, formed a halo around her face. In that moment, he felt as if he were enclosed in a bubble of protection. The glow of the lights, the faint scent of flowers, the peace and presence he felt, and Dana Scully standing by his side all combined to create a dizzying sensation. He knew they were not alone, and from the look on Scully's face, she sensed it, too. They would never be alone. Never. Mulder suddenly realized that he already had a guardian angel. She was standing next to him, holding his hand. ----------