It Was a Dark and Stormy Night ... (1/1) Deirdre (deirdre@x-philes.com) A little scene I wrote over the past few days in an effort to drag my mind away from some other stuff I've been obsessing over ... it's slightly melodramatic. Archive: S A Rating: PG-13 (language) Summary: A chase along the ocean shore on a dark and stormy night. Some Mulderangst. ***** "Damn!" shouted Mulder, peering through the whipping rain and hoping that the blackness before him would part and allow him to see what lay ahead. But whomever was granting wishes this dark night ignored him, leaving Mulder up to his own devices. Giving his flashlight a final rough shake, he tossed the useless thing to the ground and watched it roll over the side, cursing all the batteries that died just when needed. Carefully he set off down the dock, listening to the crashing waves and howling wind that hid any other noises beneath their thunder. Tonight, all the elements seemed allied against them. A boring stakeout turned into a chase down the seashore, through this wild night, then Mulder's flashlight had suddenly failed and he tripped over that damn rope. By the time he regained his footing, Scully and the suspect had vanished into the gloom, even their echoing footsteps disguised by the pounding waves. Hurrying down the wooden dock, Mulder cautiously considered every step despite his worry, not wanting to slip into the roiling and foaming waves many feet below. His one glimpse over the side as he fell just by the edge had been enough - there was no way he wished to battle the wicked water pounding at the supports of the dock, sending shivers throughout the structure. Just the thought of them made him queasy ... and if he fell, he won't do Scully any good. Squinting into the deserted storefronts, Mulder shook his head, cursing the night. Where in hell could have they gone? Most of the buildings on this stretch of shore were tightly boarded against the coming winter storms, waiting patiently for next summer's tourists. But although his eyes were adjusting to the night's dimness, he couldn't spot either of the two on the dock ... and he shouldn't have fallen *that* far behind ... surely Scully realized that he had lost them ... The rain intensified and the howling wind screamed past his body, forcing his eyes to water and his trench coat to billow out behind him. Lightening split the sky and the thunder growled a few seconds later, signaling another approaching storm. Of all the nights ... who in heaven or hell had they pissed off to get this messed-up assignment? And where was the damn backup they'd called for, anyway? Another burst of lightening pierced the clouds, causing Mulder to cower slightly as it blinded him. But what then stopped him cold was not the insane forces of nature determined to thwart him, but what the last flicker of the white fire outlined. Two fighting forms - one petit, one much larger - battling not on the dock, but far out above the waves, at the end of one of the piers. he asked himself in shock, and ran in that general direction, after-images dancing before his eyes. He bolted onto the rickety wooden pier, dodging around the piles of rotting boxes that littered its length. As he ran, his legs banging against the abandoned junk, he tried to keep his eyes focused upon the battling figures occasionally outlined by the increasing lightening, tried to find a clear aim. But the rain-smeared blackness, intermixed with the almost intolerable lightening, confused his blurry eyes as he wove a path down the swaying pier. Desperation seized his heart and every piece of junk that blocked his path increased the anger that tensed his jaw. Dammit .. sure Scully was trained in self-defense, but under these conditions ... who could survive a fight on a rain-soaked pier against someone twice their size? How had he let her get in this situation? As he rounded the last stack of junk, a crack sounded through the rain, then a scream pierced the wind. His heart in his throat, he ran out to encounter empty deck and the darkness of the ocean fading into the distance edge of the clouds. The wind whipping his soaked hair into a frenzy, he desperately looked around the open space, searching for any place someone could hide. But saw nothing except the pole on which hung a ratty life preserver, its yellow cord coiled at the base. No Scully. Nothing. Guilt and shock froze him in place, as the rain streamed down around him. Only a faint call, almost overpowered by the noises of the night, broke his shock. " ...der ...." Dashing to the edge, he glanced over and saw, barely staying afloat on the massive waves cresting about six feet below, a streak of dark red occasionally falling beneath the water's surface as the rows of waves rolled in. It looked as though she'd managed to wrap her arms around one of the pier's supports ... Without even thinking, he grabbed for the life preserver he'd seen earlier and threw it out beyond Scully, allowing the waves to bring it to her. Hoping she would see it to grab it ... Only when he used the rope and the waves to bring it close enough to gently nudge her did she grab for it. Apparently the only position in which she'd been safe from the strong undertow had been to completely wrap her body around the wooden support, burying her face against the wet wood. Releasing the support, she wrapped her arms around the white circle, and allowed Mulder to draw her towards the decrepit ladder, his strength battling the water that wanted to pull her underneath. For an instant, she didn't reach for the ladder, and Mulder wondered if her exhaustion wouldn't allow her to climb. But as the next wave approached, she let it carry her up to its crest and then seized the ladder, leaving herself with only about six feet to climb. She dragged herself and the life preserver up, and Mulder reached down to support her the last few rungs Collapsing to the deck as she gasped for breath, she tried to brush Mulder away, but he could feel the trembling that shook her entire body and the iciness of the ocean water that soaked her clothing. Ignoring her protests, he picked her up and began winding their way back to the dock. "Mulder," she choked out, "I can walk." "I doubt it." With the strength of her trembling, he actually doubted she could stand without her leg muscles collapsing under her. "Mulder!" and she started struggling, trying to wiggle out of his arms. He increased the pressure of his arms, trapping her against his chest. "You almost just drowned, Scully." "Navy brats don't drown." He looked down at her face, at her wet hair plastered across her cheekbones and her angry eyes, not believing that she'd just said that. "They do if they don't have anyone to help them. You know the sea, you know that." When she offered no response, he continued "What the hell happened?" "I accidently followed him out onto the pier before I realized I'd lost you in the dark. When I tried to back off, to retreat because I'd lost him in the piles of junk, he suddenly sprang out and used a block of wood to knock my gun out of my hand." She stopped for an instant and coughed, then continued "It's at the bottom of the Atlantic right now. Skinner's gonna be upset." "He tried to throw you in?" "Yeah. I finally managed to push him into that last pile of junk, almost knocking him out. But as he tumbled off, he managed to grab my ankle. I kicked free on the way down." "He's ..." Mulder nodded his head in the general direction of the ocean. "I didn't see him come back up." She fell into another coughing fit and her shivers intensified. Mulder tried to calculate how far away their car was ... and didn't like the answer his mind produced. He needed to get her out of the rain and cold ... where was the damn backup? It had to have been twenty minutes already ... As Mulder left the dock and headed up the path towards the distant scattering of cottages they'd chased the suspect down from earlier, Scully stopped her half-hearted struggles and wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head against his shoulder. That worried him even more ... Struggling against the wind with every step, he topped the path and headed towards the small residential area. Through the darkness he could see the rhythmically flashing red and blue ... the local police ... their backup. How long had they been sitting there? Didn't anyone think to search the waterfront? He got his answer a few minutes later, as a group of searchers, their blinding flashlights cutting the gloom, approached on the path. "Stop where you are!" one commanded through a megaphone. Raising his voice to speak over the wind, "Agents Mulder and Scully. Scully needs medical attention ... she took a ducking in the ocean." Someone cursed, and another officer came forward to try and relieve him of Scully. She clutched him tighter, and glared at the other man. Obviously, if she was going to admit she couldn't do it herself, she was going to stick with Mulder. "Goodrich?" "He didn't come back up." Someone in the group chuckled rather dryly, and voices began to organize a shore search. "Just in case, of course." one commented. They then hurried Mulder and Scully back toward the police cars, anxious to get them out of the rain. A boxy white and red ambulance sat nearby, paramedics trying to keep the back doors open against the strength of the wind. Mulder hurried in its direction, ignoring the scrambling officers that screamed orders over the wind. "Mulder, thank you." The whisper came from Scully, muffled by his trench coat. "I got you into this, Scully ... I should have been at your side every step of the way." "Stop it!" she coughed out, and dug her nails into the back of his neck. When he looked down at her in shock, she raised her head and looked him directly in the eye. "You also saved me. And I got myself into a stupid situation. Call it even, okay?" The glare she turned on him silenced any objections, despite the guilt running its course through his heart. And when he lay her down in the ambulance, soaking the interior with their wet forms, he gently pushed a wet strand of curling hair behind her ear, and answered "You're welcome." The wry smile she gave him, complete with lifted eyebrows and suppressed humour, was worth it. End.