From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 02:31:18 -0500
Subject: Left In The Woods (part one of ?) MULDERACHE/REFORMATTED by MULDERACHE

Reply To: TGW080160@AOL.COM


Title: LEFT IN THE WOODS by: Mulderache
Spoilers: Requiem Rating: pg-13 
Category: MT,Angst,X,Msr 
Summary: Mulder is found and it takes Scully a 
little while to get to his location. Mulder is 
having a hard time remembering and that could 
mean trouble for our agent  
Archive: Yes, just as long as my name is 
attached. 
Feedback:  What is feedback? Something that I 
always give the authors that put so much into 
this type of endeavor. Please respond to 
TGW080160@AOL.COM 
Author's note: This is my first attempt at 
writing and actually putting it on the net. 
Please be kind but I want honesty. I would 
appreciate your comments whether they are good or 
bad. Thanks for reading. 
Grace Baptist Church Cemetery 
Appalachian Mountains Virginia 
The young lady stood by her father's grave where 
she had buried him only a few days before in the 
old cemetery. She had laid him to rest beside her 
mother's grave. Her mom had passed away years ago 
of cancer. Her father had requested to be buried 
under the big oak tree beside his wife. Her heart 
ached for the loss of her father. His grave was 
very simple; a small wooden cross-marked his 
resting-place. Soon she would have to order a 
head stone to mark the grave but in her sorrow 
she had been unable to do that simple task. 
She bent down and placed a bouquet of wild 
flowers and then stood and said a prayer. Her 
father had not wanted a big fuss made and his 
funeral had been very simple, just herself and 
his dog Blue. Blue had been her father's best 
friend for the past four years and now the dog 
sat mostly on the front porch next to her 
father's old rocker and could only be persuaded 
to move if she was heading down the path to the 
old cemetery. Her father had known he was dying 
for a long time.  He had written her a letter 
three years ago asking her to come and care for 
him until his death. She had responded 
immediately by giving her notice at St. Mary's 
Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. When she had 
arrived three years ago she did not realize how 
much she would fall in love with the mountains. 
Many times the loneliness had gotten to her and 
many times she was tempted to go back to 
Knoxville to her job and her friends. Her 
thoughts were quickly changed with a good cry or 
a walk along the path that lead from their home 
to the cemetery. She had cared for him till his 
death with the help of the Hospice team and the 
family physician. Now she had a big decision and 
that was to stay here on the mountain or go back 
to her previous life as a trauma nurse. It would 
now be a lot lonelier and she did not if she 
could tolerate being so alone and responsible for 
a home and a farm. Soon a decision would have to 
be made. 
She was startled from her thoughts by the sound 
of a frantic barking coming from behind the 
church. Quickly she walked around the church to 
find Blue staring down the path that they had 
traveled just a while ago. "Blue, come her now!" 
she yelled to the distressed pup. The dog ignored 
the plea and continued barking.  She could tell 
the pup was agitated at something in the woods 
and her first thought was that it was some wild 
animal. Blue was a black and white Border collie 
and he was a good hunting dog and guard dog. 
"What's the matter boy?" her voice now a little 
bit louder to overcome the yelping of the dog. 
Her father had warned her about the dangers in 
the woods on many occasions and had even bought 
her a small handgun to carry with her whenever 
she went on walks. She reached into her pocket 
and felt for the hard metal and was relieved when 
she felt the cool handle slide into her grip. The 
gun stayed in her pocket.  Patience was running 
out for the now frantic animal. "Blue, come here 
now!"  Her voice carried a no nonsense tone. The 
dog turned and glanced at her briefly then took 
off into the woods. 
She hesitated briefly then followed him into the 
woods being careful not to leave the path. 
Unfortunately, she was not as fast as the dog and 
soon she was having trouble hearing his barking. 
She kept traveling towards the cabin in hopes 
that Blue would tire of the chase and start home. 
A few minutes later she could hear the frantic 
barking again. Soon she was close enough that she 
knew that she should be able to see the pup. 
"Blue, come here boy!  Blue, come here now!" she 
shouted into the thick forest. After a few 
minutes she continued walking down the path 
hoping to spot her companion. A glimpse of fur 
caught her attention and soon she saw the 
agitated animal with something cornered in the 
brush. "Blue if you have a bear cornered I swear 
you will be sleeping in the dog house literally 
the rest of the week!"  she spoke loud enough for 
the dog to hear the conviction of her words. 
She had been told several times by her father to 
never leave the path.  The words were going 
through her mind as she stepped off the dirt path 
to go to the distressed pup. She would not leave 
the path's site and she withdrew the gun in case 
she ran into a wild animal.  She approached the 
frantic pup carefully,  "Blue if this is another 
skunk and I get sprayed I will put you outside 
for the rest of the year under the dog house", 
her voice low but meaning the words she spoke. As 
she approached the dog she noted a body lying in 
the brush. It appeared to be a man but the body 
was without movement or sound. "Good boy!" she 
praised the dog and tried to get him to back away 
from the still form.  
She put the gun into her pocket and reached down 
with an ungloved hand and felt for a pulse.  His 
body was warm to touch and she felt the faint 
pulse and saw the chills that ran through the 
man's body.  She then heard the raspy sounds that 
were coming from the man's lungs. His nail beds 
had a blue tint and the color of his lips was 
close to gray.  She did not feel any fear for the 
man, evidently someone had brought the man here 
to die.  He was covered with many bruises and she 
noted what appeared to be needle marks over the 
majority of his body. His clothes were hospital 
issue but were covered by dirt and mud. She also 
noted that he had bloodstains that covered 
several spots.  She knew what she had to 
accomplish. Very quickly she shed her coat and 
draped it over the prostrate form. She then 
called for Blue to come to her "Come on boy you 
need to keep him warm." She motioned the furry 
creature under the coat that covered the man. 
Turning around she realized that she was going to 
have a hard time getting the man to the cabin. 
She started towards the path leaving the dog to 
keep the nearly frozen form warm. He had felt 
like he was running a fever. She had to think and 
think fast. His lungs sounded very congested and 
his breathing was labored. 
As she stepped up on the dirt path she quickly 
gathered some tree branches and piled them up to 
mark the spot where she had left the path.  She 
then ran back towards the cabin.  Her mind was 
racing, basically she wondered how she could get 
the very long man back to the cabin.  As she 
caught site of the wooden structure she glanced 
over to the barn in which her father had stored 
the farm equipment. Never a fan of the tractor 
she ran to the barn and threw open the door. She 
reached into her pocket and pulled out her 
father's key ring then walked around and noted 
that the hay lift was still attached to the back 
of the tractor.  Her father had taken some hay 
out to the cattle just a few days before his 
condition had taken a turn for the worse. After 
climbing aboard she started the engine and popped 
the clutch then placed it into gear and drove out 
of the barn and down towards the path. She 
stopped in front of the cabin and placed the cut 
off the machine and ran inside.  Quickly she 
gathered some blankets and grabbed a thick floor 
rug and rushed back outside.  She spread the 
heavy thick rug over the splintering metal on the 
hay lift. She then tossed the blankets on top and 
remounted the tractor. After starting the tractor 
back up she popped the clutch and started back 
down the path again as fast as the old tractor 
would travel along the dirt path. When she came 
across the piled up branches she pulled the 
tractor carefully off the path. She carefully 
maneuvered the tractor across the uneven terrain 
towards the brush.  
Soon she spotted her coat with its occupants 
underneath.  The wagging of Blue's tail caught 
her attention, he seemed to be impatiently 
awaiting her return but he had not abandoned his 
charge. The small nose came out from under the 
coat to sniff he air and make sure that she was 
there and not an intruder. "Stay Blue! "she 
commanded the pup, "Just a few more minutes. Stay 
put and keep him warm." The dog obeyed and stayed 
put keeping the man warm. Placing the tractor 
into the position to roll the man onto the lift 
was going to a little difficult but after several 
attempts she did it and then she pushed down the 
clutch and lowered the hay lift level to the 
ground and dismounted the old tractor. She 
reached down and took the coat off the pup and 
the unconscious man and placed the coat, with her 
gun in the pocket, back on herself and pulled a 
blanket from the pile and covered the man. Gently 
she turned him noting then that he had a seeping 
head wound to the back of the head. It was an old 
surgical wound and the hair had been shaven from 
the spot. Reaching up to her neck she pulled away 
her scarf and tied it gently around his head 
taking care not to cause any distress to the man. 
Gently she rolled the still form onto the hay 
lift, the rug being the only barrier between the 
cold metal and the ill man.  She pulled the 
blankets around his now shivering body. "Blue, 
come her boy. Your job isn't done yet. ", her 
voice quiet and gentle. Blue jumped up and slid 
under the blanket with the man, knowing that his 
job was to help keep the man warm. 
She remounted the tractor again, popped the 
clutch, lifted the hay lift up above the brush, 
and put the tractor into gear. Her motions came 
to an abrupt stop when she spotted the glowing 
green eyes peering at her from the brush in front 
of the tractor approximately one hundred feet 
ahead of the tractor. The ungloved hand slid into 
the pocket and pulled out the loaded weapon. The 
safety was off and she had it pointed at the 
intruder. Her father had taught her how to use a 
weapon and the most important thing to remember 
was that she could not lose her concentration or 
take her eye off her target, especially a wild 
cat. Soon the cat lost interest and turned and 
walked back into the dark forest. She proceeded 
to place the sweaty gun back into her pocket, 
after replacing the safety. Carefully and 
cautiously she pulled the tractor back onto the 
path. The terrain was uneven and several times 
she thought she might tip out her cargo but soon 
she was back on the path headed for the cabin.
She glanced over her shoulder and looked down at 
the blanket. The only movement was from the 
excited pup's tail. Actually, she thought to her, 
Blue was acting awfully possessive of the man. 
She turned her thoughts back to her goal and 
tried to think of a way to move the man into the 
cabin without causing him any harm. Before she 
knew it she was in front of the old cabin. She 
turned the tractor away from the house and backed 
up to the porch and lifted the hay lift even with 
the top step to the house. She again placed the 
clutch on the tractor, dismounted and ran to the 
back of the tractor. "Okay Blue, your job is done 
for now.  Come here boy!" she called to the dog 
that now was sticking his head out of the blanket 
and staring at her. She motioned for him to jump 
down and he obeyed and followed her back to the 
door. 
She opened the door to the cabin and looked down 
to the pup, "Blue get inside and get warm, I'll 
have him inside in a few minutes, I promise." She 
felt very proud of her pup. The pup walked in and 
sat down by the fireplace as commanded. She 
turned and walked back to the lift and grabbed 
onto the thick rug and began to pull. The man was 
lighter than she thought and she pulled him 
towards the door but found herself short of 
breath by the time she reached the entrance. She 
stopped for a few seconds then after she had 
caught her breath she pulled the wheezing man 
inside. After placing the man beside the 
fireplace that was little more than a blaze she 
reached over and pulled a couple of logs off the 
wood pile and placed them on the fire. Within a 
few seconds the fire was blazing again. 
She shut the door and returned to the man. After 
discarding her coat she reached down and pulled 
the blanket off the man. In the light of the 
cabin she quickly noticed that her patient was 
very sick. He was in desperate need of a hospital 
but she lived so far up the mountain and she did 
not have a phone. The cabin was powered by a 
generator and lacked any electrical aide. She 
would have to get him settled and go for help at 
the ranger station, which were a few miles down 
the road. 
She ran into her bedroom and grabbed her 
stethoscope and the first aide kit. When she 
returned she quickly pulled the pillows off the 
hospital bed, she had used for her father, which 
still stood in the living room. Pulling up his 
head she placed the pillows underneath and then 
she propped the swollen arms on a couple of 
pillows. Placing the bell of the stethoscope on 
his chest she could tell he had diminished breath 
sounds in his lower bases anteriorly and 
scattered rales and rhonchi throughout all his 
lung fields. Her hand brushed against something 
around his neck and she tugged it around to see 
the gold chain. She ignored it and went back to 
work. Her father had been on oxygen several times 
prior to his death to help aid his breathing. She 
stood to get the tank from beside the bed and 
placed a fresh nasal cannula on the valve and 
placed it around the stranger's face. Hopefully 
that would improve his color and help his labored 
breathing. The hospital bed would be the ideal 
place for the damaged man but she knew that she 
could not get him there by herself. 
Pulling out the thermometer she gently rolled the 
man to his side and placed the thermometer gently 
into the rectum. She noted the man had many 
bruises, especially on his hip. She had seen many 
bone marrow aspirations and the marks appeared to 
be just that but why would there be so many? The 
beeping of the thermometer interrupted her 
thoughts. The digital reading was one hundred and 
four point five. Moving quickly to the kitchen 
she pumped some water into the kettle and placed 
it on the stove to get warm but not hot. The man 
needed a tepid bath to decrease the fever. She 
returned to the man's side and noted that the 
chills had subsided. She pulled back the blanket 
then took the acetaminophen suppositories out of 
the first aide kit. She gently rubbed the man's 
shoulder and spoke softly "Hey I know that we 
have not been properly introduced but you are 
very sick and I need to give you some medicine to 
get your fever down." She then gently rolled him 
over again to his side and pushed the suppository 
into the man. He did not respond to the 
intrusion. 
His breathing had seemed to improve with the 
oxygen but he continued with the wheezing. She 
placed him back flat and proceeded to cut the 
white stained scrubs of and then she placed then 
into a plastic bag. She knew about evidence and 
evidence collecting from working in the emergency 
room. After she had removed all of the clothing 
she went back into the kitchen and filled the 
water basin with warm water and returned to her 
patient. She knelt down and picked up the cloth 
and wet it then proceeded to wipe his face with 
was thick with stubble. When she reached his neck 
her hand passed over something rough and then she 
noted the chain again. She pulled the chain 
forward and for the first time noticed a small 
gold cross.  How did I miss that? , She thought 
to herself. She did not remove the chain but left 
it, she knew that he needed all the help he could 
get and whatever this represented to him was 
important. 
She finished the tepid bath and rechecked the 
temperature, and noted the decrease, down to one 
hundred point two. Covering her charge with a 
thin sheet to prevent further chills, she then 
proceeded to the bathroom to empty the filthy 
water. She returned with a pair of scissors and a 
baggie. "I'm not a beautician but I am going to 
have to cut away some of that thick brown hair to 
get to that nasty head wound, my apologies in 
advance for the bad hair cut? I'm sure you've had 
one a day or two in your life," she teased her 
unresponsive patient. 
Cutting away the bloody hair did not take long 
and then she noted the head wound appeared to be 
a surgical wound. The edges were not rough or 
jagged. They looked as though a surgeon had made 
the wound. Her thoughts were racing as she 
bandaged the draining wound. Who would do these 
things to a man then leave him in the woods to 
die? She thought to herself.  She then cleaned 
the many scratches, red needle marks and cuts 
with soap and water and applied antibiotic cream. 
She took the hair and placed it into the baggie 
and proceeded back into the kitchen. Blue sat 
watch over the still man. 
She watched from the doorway as the dog inched 
closer to the sick man as if he longed for the 
man to speak to him. She hated to leave the sick 
man but he was definitely dehydrated and he was 
in desperate need of a chest x-ray and head CT 
scan. What he needed most were antibiotics and a 
hospital and she knew that she needed to hurry if 
the man had a chance. 
She tossed a few more logs on the fire and 
grabbed her coat. Kneeling down next to the man 
she gently caressed his face in her hands, noting 
his boyish face even though it was covered with a 
month of stubble. She then looked up and motioned 
for blue to come to her side, "okay boy I need to 
go for help. You need to take care of our 
patient." The dog listened intently to her words 
and sat down by the man with his head propped on 
the man's leg. 
She arose and started for the door, she grinned 
to herself, when had she started thinking of him 
as her patient?  She shook her head and proceeded 
out the door. Looking up at the sky she noted 
that it had started snowing. She would need to 
hurry to the ranger's station before the roads 
became treacherous.    

Title: LEFT IN THE WOODS (PART TWO OF?)

J EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING, WASHINGTON D.C.

"Flukeman? What the hell is a flukeman?" he
asked no one in particular. He thumbed
through the file and wondered what the hell
he was doing in the xfile division. He did
not believe in little green men or vampires.
He felt more like a hindrance that a help on
most of the cases that they had worked
together on in the past five months.

He had been relegated to sitting in the
office of Agent FOX Mulder, who now had been
missing for the past five months. Presumed
dead by most, though not his partner. She
believed that that Fox Mulder was still
floating somewhere in outer space in a
spaceship, abducted by little green aliens.
Not only did she believe this ludicrous story
but the assistant director also believed.
Assistant Director Walter Skinner had filed
the missing report stating that he saw an
unidentified object hovering over the area in
which Agent Mulder had disappeared.

He knew that he had been placed here to keep
tabs on Agent Scully. He was to keep her in
line and make reports to Deputy Director
Kirsh. Somehow though he still felt that he
was being punished, but for the life of him
he could not figure out what he had done to
piss someone off so bad that he be banished
to work in the basement in the 'ghostbuster
division'.

He put his mind back on the file trying to
make sense of Fox Mulder's notes. As a form
of punishment A.D. Skinner and Agent Scully
had banned him from any more cases until he
reviewed previous cases and was able to
define the true meaning of a xfile. He was
told to review the cases and not to quit
reading until he could correctly define what
the xfile department actually dealt with as
far as cases. Evidently, the concept of a
human taking a cat form was an accepted
concept. A man transforming into a cat was a
ridiculous concept he thought and had argued
that to his partner. He was still questioning
the sanity of his partner, who insisted that
Joseph Levy, a serial killer of little old
women turned into a cat and escaped a
warehouse surrounded by federal agents.
Obviously, he was not a Fox Mulder, but he
was a profiler and he definitely profiled his
partner as a bonafide nutcase.

He attempted to put his mind back to the task
of reading about the flukeman. His thoughts
were interrupted by the slamming of a door
and the click of those familiar heels against
the concrete floor. "And 'good morning' to
you Agent Scully," His voice dripping with
sarcasm. He looked up to see her stern
expression and a file gripped in her left
hand. "What did I do this time Agent Scully ?
"he asked pushing his face back towards the
flukeman file. "It's not what you did Agent
Doggett but more what you did not do this
time." Her hands were crossed across her
chest and her stance was a definite do not
mess with me posture. She got his attention
and he looked up at her with a deer caught in
the headlights  expression. He knew exactly
what she was talking about and he knew that
there was going to be hell to pay.
 "Agent Scully I know that you're probably
mad at me but I did what was in your best
interest." He pulled back from the desk and
stood to face his five foot two, very
pregnant partner." You are in no condition
anymore to be running around the globe
searching for a ghost."

  "Agent Doggett you do not tell me what is
or is not good for me. I am a medical doctor
and I will be the judge of what is and what
is not good for me and my child." Her posture
was much more defensive, if that was possible
and the file was now beating against her
thigh. "And let's just get this straight
Agent Doggett I do not chase after a ghost.
My partner, Agent Mulder is still very much
alive and I have proof that he is still alive
and I will not give up on him!" She took the
file that she had been gripping and threw it
on the desk. When did you get this
information Agent Doggett?"

He picked up the file and glanced at its
contents. He looked at his fiery partner
;"This was a routine sighting Agent Scully
and nothing more that another report of
lights in the sky. Actually, just the same
old story just a different location. And I
thought we agreed that your three dubious
friends would follow up on these types of
reports and then report to you the validity
of the report. "He closed the report and
handed it back to her but she did not reach
for the report but instead she stood and
glared at him. He laid the report down on the
edge of the desk and sat back down pulling
the flukeman report a little closer like a
barrier between them.


"It's not the same as the other reports and
you know what I mean. This report includes a
downed aircraft. A military jet fighter that
was downed by another unknown aircraft. Does
that not sound suspicious Agent Doggett?" You
lead the initial investigation on Agent
Mulder's disappearance and this does not
sound familiar to you?" her tone of voice
almost accusing. "This report was given to
you four days ago and no follow up has been
done." She leaned down closer, her pregnant
stomach touching the edge of the desk and her
hands planted firmly on the file, her eyes
meeting his, "Why did you not tell me about
the report Agent Doggett? What is your agenda
and whom are you working for? Are you working
for that black lunged son of a bitch?" she
pushed away from the desk and stared down at
his stunned face.
 "I don't know who or what the hell you are
talking about Agent Scully. It is like I told
you, just another prank call. People's
imagination following a significant event,
it's no different that all the others. Why
can't you accept that your ex partner is dead
and get on with your life?" No sooner that
the statement had left his mouth that he
regretted his harsh words. The look on her
face was one of pure disgust with his being.

"Go to hell!" her voice full of hurt and
pain. She grabbed the file and started
towards the door. She hesitated for a second
and turned facing her new partner with unshed
tears in her eyes. "I'm taking a few days
off. I'll let Skinner know of my plans." She
reached for the door and exited without
another word. He shook his head and went back
to reading the file of the flukeman.

Several hours had passed and he stood to
stretch his legs. He was getting tired of
stories about Jersey she devils, werewolves,
and mothmen. He walked back over to the
filing cabinet and grabbed some more files
and laid them on his desk or  Mulder's desk,
whatever. She would shoot him if she heard
him say the word "my desk" in front of her,
he thought to himself. He sat back down to
read more tales from the crypt when he noted
the name Dana Catherine Scully on the file.
He opened the file and began to read.
When he had finished reading the file he sat
back in his chair and contemplated his
partner's behavior. Missing for three months
and no memory of what had occurred during the
'missing time'. He stood and paused for a
moment then reached down and picked up the
file and placed it back into the filing
cabinet. He then grabbed his coat and jacket
from the coat stand and left the office, he
knew what he had to do for his partner.

     Assistant DIRECTOR WALTER SKINNER'S
OFFICE
He entered the office and saw Kim sitting at
her desk. "Kim, is the assistant director in
his office? I need to speak to him."

"No he's not and he won't be in for the rest
of the day. The assistant and Agent Scully
have gone out of town for personal business
for a few days." she answered politely and
went back to her work.
"One more question. Do you know where they
went?" he did not want to badger but he
needed to find his partner.

"Sir, like I said it was on personal
business. They did not give their
destination. If you would like to leave a
message I will give it to him when he checks
in with me but I do not know when that will
be sir."

" Never mind I will get in touch with them
myself." His tone of voice dismissing the
secretary. He left the office and pulled out
his cell phone and proceeded to call the
airport to book a flight to Virginia.

Title: LEFT IN THE WOODS (PART THREE OF ?)

APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS MORGAN COUNTY

The road was getting slippery and the truck was sliding to the
right and then back to the left. The snow was really beginning
to pepper down and the sleet was beating off her windshield.
As bad as the road was getting she knew that she had to get
the man some help. The ranger's station was just a few miles
down the road but she felt that she had already traveled a
day. Her focus was just maintaining the vehicle on the road.
She had placed the chains on the tires just the week before
when the weather had started getting colder and the snows had
started. The weatherproofed truck just did not want to stay on
the slippery road.

After what seemed like a lifetime she arrived at her
destination but the station seemed deserted except for a light
in the main room office. She turned off the truck and opened
the door, being careful not to fall on the icy ground. She
reached the door, which was unlocked and walked into the warm
office but nobody was there. "Joe, you here?" she called
through the empty office. Joe was a friend and a great
paramedic. She picked up the phone to call for an ambulance
but the phone was dead. This was nothing new in the mountains,
phones rarely worked due to the mountains and bad weather. Joe
and the crew were probably out on a call. By the way things
looked outside they might not be back for a while.

She walked to the backroom where the emergency supplies were
kept and grabbed a box. They were use to her coming and
grabbing supplies for her father, since she was a licensed
nurse and sometimes she helped them on emergency calls to keep
her skills intact. They were well-stocked in medical supplies
due to the isolated location and they knew that she needed
medical supplies for her father. She grabbed six bags of
normal saline and twelve of the D5 1/2 normal saline. She knew
that he was definitely dehydrated and with the fever he was
definitely going to need some antibiotics. She took several
large bore needles, some smaller gauged needles for blood
collection and several small 100 cc bags of saline to mix the
drugs for intravenous infusion. Then she knew that she would
need to get some blood work so she grabbed several vials for
blood collection and some large syringes and some smaller for
mixing and giving medicine. After a few minutes she had all of
the IV supplies that she needed. Doctor Hallbaker had given
her a key to the medicine room and she pulled out her key ring
and opened the door, flipping the switch on as she entered.

She grabbed enough Rocephin and Zithromax to get him through a
week. She realized it might take that long to get an ambulance
or med flight up to the cabin if the weather continued to
worsen. She just hoped that he made it that long. She grabbed
some more medical supplies, such as several nasal cannuli,
foley catheters, sterile water, a couple of catheter kits,
several boxes of gloves and alcohol pads. She knew that she
had quite a bit of medical supplies at home but did not know
his allergies. Now this is putting the old license on the line
she thought to herself. She grabbed several vials of
intravenous Benadryl and some toradol IV for pain. She picked
up her heavy load and started for the truck. As she stepped
outside she realized that she needed to hurry or she would not
make it back up the mountain. She returned to the office and
wrote a quick note for Joe, telling him the need for medical
assistance and that she had taken the supplies. On her way out
the door she spotted two more oxygen tanks which had been
delivered for her father earlier that week. She grabbed the
tanks and placed them into the back of the truck. She got back
into the truck and started the engine, letting the cool engine
run for a few minutes before attempting the journey back up
the steep mountain.


As soon as the chained tires hit the slick road she felt some
trepidation. The tires did not want to hug the ice but instead
it wanted to slide and move precariously along the treacherous
road. The snow had started to pile up along side the road and
on the main road, the lack of any traffic was assisting the
snow to accumulate. She concentrated on the winding road,
keeping her focus on not losing control of the truck. She knew
the man's life depended upon her getting back to the cabin.
The truck inched slowly back up the mountain towards the cabin
occasionally getting close to the mountain edge.

Her windshield wipers were freezing to the window and the
truck frame was covered with ice. The man would die if she did
not make it back to him. Even Blue on a day like this would
not survive long with the freezing temperatures. The fireplace
had probably already died down to a mere flame already. It had
taken her forever to make the small track to the ranger's
station. Time was running out and the vehicle did not seem to
be able to take much more of the severe weather. After what
seemed like days she finally spotted the snow covered driveway
to the cabin and slowly maneuvered the vehicle off the road.
She parked as close to the cabin as possible. She had to pause
a moment before going back inside the cabin, her energy had
been wiped from the drive. Now she had to collect her thoughts
and go to work trying to save the man.

Pulling the boxes then the tanks from the truck she sat them
up on the porch and then cautiously climbed up the ice covered
wooden steps. Pulling the keys from her pocket she proceeded
to open the door. A dim light came from the darkened room and
the sound of ragged breaths and panting hit her auditory
senses. She quickly made her way over to the man on the floor
and saw the flushed cheeks. Though the room was cool the man
definitely was running a fever again. Blue was still lying
beside the man and watching him as he struggled with his
breaths. The fire had died down to a mere flame. She crossed
the room and knelt down beside the still form, the heat  was
radiating from his body, chills were noted and his breathing
was much more labored, but he was alive. "Good boy Blue, good
boy. "she rubbed the pup's head and hugged him to her in her
knelt down position. Quickly she stood and went back out to
recover the boxes of medical supplies and tanks. When she
walked back into the room she shed her coat. She went straight
to work. First she pulled a couple of large logs off the pile
and placed them into the fireplace and stirred the embers
bringing back the flame. The generator needed gas and she knew
she would need the light to start the IV's. She reached over
to the tank that was delivering the oxygen and raised it up to
five liters then she donned her coat again and went out the
back way. She almost slid off the back porch but gripped the
wooden rail to prevent a fall. She managed to get the gas can
that she kept near the door and filled the generator. Shaking
off the snow she reentered the house and stopped in the
kitchen to fill a pot of water to give the man another tepid
bath.


Tossing her coat off to the chair and pulling the cord to the
overhead light she shed enough light on her patient. "Blue,
come here." She motioned the pup over to the fireplace." I
need to work on him Blue. You need to sit over here near the
fireplace boy." the pup moved slowly towards the fireplace
reluctantly leaving his charge. She pulled out a notepad and
started to write down the date and time,and a record of his
treatment. She pulled out her IV paraphernalia and spiked the
bag of normal saline. Pulling the IV pump over that still sat
beside her father's hospital bed she threaded the IV tubing
into the machine and primed the tubing. The syringes for the
blood samples were placed on the table; they would need to be
refrigerated or placed on ice until they reached a medical
facility. The blood work would be important to have since she
would be giving him antibiotics that could alter the tests
that would be needed for an accurate diagnosis.
She reached over to get the thermometer and regloved. Gently
she rolled him over to his side; the heat from his skin was
worrisome. Inserting the thermometer she noted that the head
dressing was soaked with a yellowish serous drainage and would
need to be changed again. The thermometer signaled that the
temp was done and she read the numbers, one hundred five point
two. "Your temp is way too high for an adult. I need to get
your antibiotics started." she rolled him back to his back and
restacked the pillows under his head and shoulders, stood and
then hurried to the kitchen. His risk for a seizure was very
high due to the fever and he needed the tepid bath now and he
also needed an IV to rehydrate. She grabbed a couple of towels
and proceeded back to her patient. She soaked the towels in
the warm water and laid them across his chest and lower torso.
Pulling the left arm out away from his body she started to
feel for a vein to stick. He was so dehydrated that a vein was
difficult to find but after several attempts of placing the
sharp object under the skin she received a blood return. The
vials were filled and the IV normal saline was started wide
open. "Hey, sorry for the pain. I need to do a couple more
things and then I will let you rest." She pulled back the
towel and pulled out the foley catheter insertion kit and the
foley bag. Gently inserting the catheter she noted that she
did not get any urine return." Okay you need to give me some
urine but I will give you a little while." She then patted her
patient's leg. Again she pulled out the Tylenol suppositories
and rolled the man over and with gloved hands she placed it
into the man without any response from the intrusion. Again
she resoaked the towels and placed them over the man's body
and repositioned his head. Flipping the cap off the Rocephin
bottle she reconstituted the powder with sterile water and
drew the solution up into a syringe. "Okay another stick and
then I will be done, I promise." Again she rolled him over and
rubbed the hip with an alcohol pad and then pushed the needle
into his skin. After withdrawing the needle she rubbed the
area again and placed him on his side. She took the pillows
and placed them behind him and then some underneath his head
elevating it to help improve his breathing. The chest
congestion and wheezing were audible even without a
stethoscope.


Blue sat in his spot near the fireplace observing and wagging
his tail. She could tell that he wanted to get close to the
man and he wanted to badly. "Come on Blue. I know you want to
be by your new friend." The dog jumped up and walked quickly
to the man's side lying down beside the struggling form.
Reaching down she patted the pup on the head," I don't know
boy. He's pretty bad off but I have seen worse." She stood and
picked up the discarded syringes and paper and tossed them
into the trash can. She then picked up the syringes with blood
and placed the blood into the vials and labeled them with
times and dates. She took some ice out of the refrigerator and
placed it in a cup and then placed the vials into the cup. She
turned to the prostrate form and wished that she could lift
him into the soft bed. Hopefully help would arrive soon. She
replaced the almost empty bag of IV fluid with another bag of
normal saline but the foley catheter remained empty. She would
wait a little longer before she let the thought of acute renal
failure be a part of her thoughts.


After reassessing his lung sounds she felt that he probably
needed to get the second antibiotic started. Again she placed
the sterile water into the Zithromax bottle, reconstituting
the medicine and drawing it up into a syringe. This time she
placed the medicine into one of the saline bags of fluid to
let it run slowly intravenously. She spiked the small 100cc
bag letting the tube fill with the amber fluid. Taking the
alcohol swab and cleaning the IV port she inserted the needle
and turned on the antibiotic. "Please Lord, don't let him have
any allergic response." she prayed out loud. She took the old
blood pressure cuff that was in the first aide kit and checked
his pressure, one hundred over fifty, decent but low for a man
of his stature. His pulse rated was a little rapid at a
hundred twenty and his respiration rate was thirty-six a
minute. The pup watched her with an intense gaze as she
removed the gauze from his head and washed the wound again
with soap and water. Afterwards she applied the triple
antibiotic cream. After digging through the first aide kit she
found what she needed and wrapped the head with gauze and
taped it securely again. "I need to recheck your fever,
sorry." Again she rolled the still body over and placed her
gloves on her hands and reinserted the thermometer. After a
few minutes she read the temperature and it was slightly down
to one hundred three point four. She took the remainder of the
tepid water and bathed him again. She replaced the sheet over
his now cooler body and went to the kitchen to fix some soup,
"Where has this day gone to?" she asked herself out loud.

She was placing the metal kettle on the stove when she heard a
groan coming from the other room and when she turned she could
see movement from the sheet that she had laid on the man. She
hurried into the living room to see the frightened man trying
to back away from Blue. He was extremely weak and the effort
to move had exhausted him and he lay sweaty on the rug-covered
floor. "Hey it's fine. You're safe." She kept her voice low
and calm. "Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise." She knelt
down to check the tubes and IV lines to make sure that they
have not been disconnected with his frantic movements. Blue
had backed up but had not abandoned his charge. She looked up
at the IV and noted that it was dripping its last drop.
Reaching around she grabbed another bag of normal saline and
hung it up on the pump. Again she glanced down to the foley
and started to see a trickle of pink urine, 'that's a little
better', she thought to herself. She then looked at her
frightened patient and smiled a small grin, "I know this is
scary. You are very sick and unfortunately because of the
weather I can't get you to a hospital but I am a nurse. My
dog, Blue, found you in the woods. Don't be frightened. "Her
voice soft and low. She knew that he was probably confused due
to the illness and fever.
He looked at her with frightened eyes. She could tell that he
was not quite sure of her intentions. He had the sheet pulled
up to his neck and his posture was defensive. Blue looked up
at his master and moaned and then he walked over to the ill
man and lay down beside him. The man looked at the dog and lay
back down on the pillow and calmed down, "Dog.", his voice
weak and gravelly.

"Yes he is a dog but sometimes I think he is almost human."
The man nodded and closed his eyes and within minutes he was
sleeping again. She reached over and pushed away the sweaty
hair from his forehead. Again she restacked the pillow to
elevate his head and got him repositioned. "Okay blue let me
get you something to eat. You have worked hard today." The pup
did not budge but remained at the man's side. She shook her
head and smiled, "Okay I'll let you eat in here tonight but
tomorrow you eat in the kitchen." The pup wagged his tail and
settled down beside the man.

It had been several hours since the man had awakened and his
temperature had risen and she had given him another tepid bath
and Tylenol. The floor was cold despite the rug and the
fireplace and her desire to get him into the hospital bed was
getting stronger. As soon as he awakens again maybe we can get
him into the bed. Together we might be able to manage,
hopefully. He was so weak and Joe had not shown up yet with
any kind of help. She glanced out the window and saw the snow
still coming down heavily. She had tried using the portable
radio earlier but all she got was static. She settled down
beside the man and rolled her old sleeping bag out. Placing
the man on his side she rolled the thick bag underneath him
and hoped that the extra padding would help prevent chills.
Blue stood and stretched his legs and walked over to the door
and stood. " Hey blue, I'll be there in second." Knowing that
the pup had not went out all day, she quickly placed the sheet
back over her patient and stood. She pulled her coat on and
opened the door, walking out with the pup. "Hurry Blue, it's
freezing out here!" she called to the dog who was running off
to find a good tree. She pulled her hood up around her head
tight, the wind blowing hard through her coat. "Gee, it must
be at least in the teens out here." She said out loud for no
one to hear but the sound of her own voice was comforting.
Within a few minutes the dog was at her side and eagerly
waiting to enter the warm house. When she opened the door she
noted that the man's eyes were open.
"Hey, we didn't leave you." She spoke softly hoping not to
startle her fevered patient. She grabbed the towel she kept
beside the door and dried off Blue. She discarded her coat and
her shoes and approached the quiet man. Blue followed her over
and watched as she bent down and started to speak to the man.
The man pulled back frightened of the close contact. "Hey,
nobody is going to hurt you sir. I am a nurse and I promise
that no one will hurt you, okay?" For a few minutes the man
just stared at her and then he nodded, turning his stare
towards the dog. She noticed that the man might be afraid of
Blue but then realized that maybe he missed the close contact
of the animal. "Blue come her boy!" she summoned the animal to
her. "Blue, I think your friend here missed you." The pup came
over and lay down beside the man giving her plenty of room to
work. The man seemed almost relieved at the dog's presence.
"Listen, we need to get you off this cold floor. Do you think
we could manage?" She asked as she was finished taking his
blood pressure, noting the pressure and heart rate had
improved some over the last few hours. He shrugged his
shoulders; the wheezing still very audible and his breaths
were still labored. "Let's try but I do all the work." She
instructed as she pulled back the sheet, turned and pulled the
bed over as close as she could get it to his body. Reaching
under his arms she helped him struggle to a standing position
and pivoted him around to a sitting position on the bed. He
was breathing heavily and she pushed him down on the bed with
his head elevated. Yanking the covers up over his naked form
and then pulling the nasal cannuli that had slipped off his
face back into place. Checking the IV's she made sure that she
had not pulled anything loose. "You did good." She was out of
breath herself and she sat down on the chair and started
pulling medicines up into syringes. He watched carefully as
she prepared the syringes. Looking up she noticed the
frightened look had returned and she realized the reason was
the syringes, remembering the multiple needle marks. "These
are antibiotics and I promise nothing more. One will go in
your IV and the other needs to go in your hip. You are very
sick and you definitely need a hospital but I am the closest
thing you have at the present." He just continued to stare at
her and watched her every move. She pushed the needle into the
IV port and adjusted the flow of the liquid into her patient.
With some trepidation she pulled the Rocephin up into the
syringe and reached down to help the man roll over but as she
approached her hand was caught by his and he spoke in almost a
whisper, "Please don't hurt me." The statement almost brought
tears to her eyes, "I will not hurt you but I need to give
this med to help you get better, please." With tears in his
eyes he let go of her hand and tried to roll over. She
assisted him and rubbed the tense hip with an alcohol swab and
pushed the sharp object into the muscle. After she removed the
needle and swabbed the area once more she helped him turn on
his back and raised his head. His facial expression almost
broke her heart; he was like a little boy, so sad and afraid.
"Okay Blue, get up here and keep our guest company." Blue
walked over and jumped up at the foot of the bed, the same
position he had taken so many times with her father. "Alright
you two it is time to rest. Our patient will need some more
medicine for fever in a couple hours." The words had just
slipped out of her mouth when she noted that the man was
sleeping again. Not only the man but Blue was sleeping too.
She knew the man would have a hard night due to his breathing
so she picked up the scattered blankets on the floor and
pulled over a recliner and threw the sleeping bag onto the
chair. Before she sat down to take a nap herself she threw
some more logs on the fire. Securing the door and turning off
the stove she settled down for the night.
She could not have been asleep long when a pounding on the
door startled her awake. She jumped up and reached for her
father's rifle that still sat in the corner of the room. Blue
and the man had been undisturbed by the loud knock. She walked
over to the door and looked out the small hole in the door but
did not see anything or anyone. She pulled the gun up and in a
ready position.

Title: Left in the Woods (part four of?)

Morgan County
Flight to West Virginia
They had drawn straws at the airport terminal in Washington D.C.
and he had lost. Now his long legs were pushed up against the
seat and his arms were wrapped around him. He stared out the
small window. His greatest fear was letting his arm down on the
armrest. Well, actually he was more afraid of ticking off the
very pregnant FBI agent, who just also packed a very big gun.
Hormones did strange things to FBI agents that missed their
partner very much. Even Skinner had participated in the drawing
of the straws ritual. He did find it very strange that he was
always the one to draw the short straw. It had to be a
conspiracy, he thought to himself. He glanced over and saw that
she was sitting quietly in her seat with her eyes closed. He
almost felt brave enough to readjust the air vents, surely she
would not mind if he got just a little air. His arm went up to
adjust the vent and from out of nowhere her arm grabbed him.
"What are you doing Langley? He stumbled for words for a minute
then answered, "Just making sure you were comfortable, wouldn't
want the little tyke to get hot." She let go of his arm and
nodded.

Frohike turned around and gave Langley a quick glance. His friend
was definitely uncomfortable but better Langley than me, he
thought to himself. Beyers was sitting engrossed in the papers
spread out on the table and on his lap. He turned back towards
Byers and shook his head, "You know that he will get us back."
he whispered to where only Byers could hear him. Byers looked up
and smiled, "You mean that he will figure it out that you are
cheating?"
 Frohike grinned, "Well, it's not exactly cheating when you
consider the consequences." They both nodded in agreement. Byers
continued to look at the readings that appeared to be similar to
the ones they had in Oregon. The shifting in the seat behind him
startled Frohike and he glanced up in time to see Scully stand
and waddle down the isle. She turned and looked at a very
contrite Langley, "Do not touch that air vent." she warned and
then turned and went on down the isle towards the bathroom.

Langley visibly slumped in his seat as if he had been holding his
breath. He stretched out his arms and turned to see Skinner
smirking. Skinner was trying to look as if he was engrossed in
an article. Maybe he would have bought it if the magazine wasn't
'Good Housekeeping'. "Okay Walter, you can relax now, she's in
the toilet. The magazine was laid in his lap and he looked up at
the three men staring at him. " Sorry about the air Langely.
"Skinner apologized, knowing that it was not easy sitting beside
the pregnant Dana Scully. Langley shrugged," It's not too bad,
at least I get her snack. "Skinner nodded then looked up at
Byers, "Does it look promising this time?" Byers pulled out a
sheet with a lot of lines and dots and then passed it back to
Skinner." The information looks almost identical to the readings
in Oregon except they are much weaker. I don't know what that
means but if I had to make a guess I would say that this is the
most promising lead we have had in the past five months."

 Frohike, who had been quiet, looked across the seat, "You know
she shouldn't be travelling in her condition. I'm worried about
her." Skinner nodded in agreement, "Unfortunately I have no
control over her personal life. But I really don't think she
would put her baby in any jeopardy, she is a medical doctor."
Langley shook his head, "Yeah but when it comes to Mulder can
she make good judgment?" Skinner nodded in agreement, he knew
that they   had put their lives on the line many times for each
other. "That's why we are here boys. "Skinner spoke softly and
then noticed that she was coming back down the isle. The boys
quickly turned and faced forward in their seats and Langley went
back into his tucked in position.

Scully sat down quietly. Her hand automatically reached up and
touched her pregnant stomach. Langley watched as Scully's hand
moved, the child within her moving about excitedly. Hopefully
this was a sign of something good. He hesitated for a few
minutes and then asked, " Agent Scully, you okay? " She turned
towards her friend, the evidence of tears still on her face,
then nodded, "Yes, we're both fine," her voice low and raspy.
She then closed her eyes and laid her head against the headrest.
  Morgan County
  Airport Terminal

The boys had stashed their luggage in the overhead; they did not
trust the airlines. Byers had stated something about a federal
conspiracy and Langley had mentioned something about the
government placing monitoring devices in the luggage. Skinner
just shook his head and retrieved his and Scully's luggage. She
had also packed an extra suitcase for Mulder. The last time they
had seen the alien bounty hunter he had shot several holes into
Mulder's clothing, right before he was exposed to the
retrovirus. If it hadn't been for Scully he would have died, he
owed her his life. He turned to walk back where he had left her,
the newspaper shop when he saw her standing reading an article
outside of the store. He approached her with both arms and hands
full. She glanced up to see him standing next to her." Anything
interesting?" he asked as he sat the heavy luggage down. Scully
shook her head and continued to look at the paper. "Where are
the boys?"  She asked as she flipped the newspaper over. Skinner
looked towards the rental area and pointed, "I put them in
charge of renting a van and a car. I figured that we could split
up and check out the hospital and if possible go to the downed
aircraft sight." Scully nodded, "Have you contacted any of the
local offices yet?" He shook his head," Not yet but I will as
soon as we get a motel room and some sleep. It's two o'clock in
the morning and you need to sleep. The boys and I can get some
things started tonight." She looked up at him ready to disagree
but then decided that she was really tired and that she would
need all the strength she could get for tomorrow. She could not
explain it but the closeness she had felt in the desert was
there again and she would not lose him this time.  The boys
returned with the keys and gave the car keys to Skinner and they
took the van. The airport clerk pointed out that the bad weather
was making travel difficult and that a close motel would be
wise. They decided on the hotel across from the airport due to
the bad roads and icy weather. They checked into their rooms and
unpacked, they could be here a day or a week.
Qqqqqqqqq1wwwwwwwww2eeeeeeeee3rrrrrrrrr4ttttttttt5yyyyyyyyy6uuuuua
Agent Doggett stood in the airport terminal. He had sat in the
back of the plane and watched the interaction of his partner and
her three friends and A. D. Skinner. They had not seen him and
he had not approached them but instead he opted to wait until
the morning. He wanted to help with the search for her partner.
He didn't believe in little green aliens but he felt that Agent
Mulder had been taken against his will. Possibly the
disappearance of Agent Scully and the disappearance of Agent
Mulder were somehow connected. He picked up his luggage and
started towards the car rental area. He had already called a
friend that had given him some inside information on the downed
military craft. The craft was a mig jet fighter that had not
reported any difficulties. The last communication that was made
with the fighter craft was a request for help. The craft had
been hit by an unidentified aircraft and had gone down in a
mountainous area approximately fifty miles from the airport.
Unfortunately the weather was creating problems with search and
rescue efforts. Though after four days they had given up on
finding anyone alive. He signed the rental agreement and
proceeded out into the snowy, icy weather. He decided that he
would stay at a nearby hotel and start again fresh in the
morning. He found the rental car and left for the hotel across
the street.

TITLE: LEFT IN THE WOODS (PART FIVE/?)BY MULDERACHE

MORGAN COUNTY
APPALACHIAN Mountains

She was poised by the door with the rifle but now there was only
silence. Maybe she had dreamed the noise or even imagined the
noise. She was tired. Caring for the man was not only making her
tired but also edgy. She feared that the man's captors would come
back looking for him, especially if he had escaped from them.
 She glanced over to her patient and saw that he was now
conscious and staring at her and the gun. "Hey, thought I heard
something. It was probably just a wild animal, nothing new around
here to see a bobcat or wild boar looking for food. They are
notorious for rummaging around at night." She laid the rifle down
on the table and walked over to her very scared patient. He
stared up at her with glassy, fevered eyes. His breathing was
labored and he seemed to almost be hyperventilating. "Don't ..let
..them take..me back." His voice was weak and raspy.

She sat down beside her distraught patient and stroked his arm."
You are safe. I promise." Her voice was low and calm.  She knew
that she had to calm him down or he would start having
bronchospasms. She placed her hand on his forehead and felt the
heat radiating off his skin." I need to take your temp,
unfortunately I need to take it rectally." The man looked up at
the woman with a surprised look on his face. She stood and walked
around the bed and started to gather her supplies. Blue took that
moment to awaken and jump down off the bed. He stretched and
yawned letting out a small noise. He slowly left the man's side
and walked over to the fireplace and lay down. He placed his head
down on his front paws and stared at the man in the bed.


He watched her with his eyes at half-mast. He felt the woman was
sincere and he felt that he needed to warn her of the possibility
of danger. "They're here. They're looking for me. He wheezed. He
tried to push up on the bed but was met with a hand on his chest,
"Lie down. You are too weak to go anywhere. You are very sick."
Her voice was low and gentle. He was too weak to fight and her
hand gently pushed him back down on the bed. He took a deep
breath and stared at his caretaker. She smiled at him and started
preparing the IV antibiotic. He continued to watch and
concentrate on just getting air into his lungs, they felt full
and heavy. She hung the antibiotic and adjusted the drip. After
donning gloves she picked up a thermometer and placed some gel on
the end. "Okay I need to roll you over and take your temp. "She
gently rolled him over and placed the thermometer into the man.
"I could hold  it in my mouth." He let out a series of coughs. He
felt much more short of breath on his side and he had to try to
concentrate more on breathing. "No sir. You are too short of
breath and besides I don't think you would want this thermometer
in your mouth considering where it has been." He nodded, too
short of breath to talk in his position. The beeper sounded and
startled the man. "Hey it's fine, your temperature is back up to
one hundred and four. I'm going to give you a Tylenol suppository
and then give you a tepid bath." She noticed his quiet demeanor,
"Are you okay?" she asked as she inserted the medicine into the
man. He nodded but did not speak. She helped him reposition
himself on his back noting that his labored breathing improved
somewhat when lying down with his head elevated. She went to put
water on the stove and then returned noting that he was resting
quietly and his breathing was less labored. Quietly she moved
around taking extra care not to make any noise. She went through
her father's medicines and found a vial of Ativan and a vial of
Valium, she had used both when he had had seizures due to
metastasis of his cancer. She drew up five milligrams of the
Valium and laid it on the table, she would give it to him so that
he could rest better. She was use to giving her patients medicine
to calm them when they struggled with their breathing. Always
careful not to give them too much to suppress their respirations.
She went back to the kitchen and fixed the bath water and
returned to her patient. His eyes were still closed and his
breathing was labored but not as much as it was a few minutes
before. She started with gentle strokes of the washcloth against
his fevered body. She was reminded of her clinical experience in
nursing school. She missed the one to one patient care that she
could give on the floors, getting to know the patient had been
very rewarding. The emergency room was more treat and street. His
eyes fluttered open and she smiled down at him. He returned the
smile and watched her as she helped take the fever away. "Hey,
you doing okay? she asked the quiet form. Again he nodded and
looked over to see if Blue was still in his place at the hearth.
She reached up and touched his bearded face and asked quietly,"
You want to loose the facial hair?" his hand reached up to feel
the thick stubble, "Yeah.Please." he wheezed out. After she
finished the tepid bath she warmed up a washcloth and placed it
over the beard. She went to the bathroom and retrieved her
father's razor and shaving cup. After emptying the now cool water
she placed some warm water into the basin and walked over to his
bed. She removed the washcloth and placed the razor on his cheek
and pulled downward with the grain of the beard. He closed his
eyes and allowed the contact, almost enjoying the feeling of
human touch. "Are you doing okay?" she asked as she turned and
rinsed the razor out. His only response was,"hmmm."

Her gentle touches felt so familiar but yet he could not put a
name to the thought. He could see some images but there were no
names to connect with the faces. They had taken his memories or
maybe he was suffering from traumatic shock. He had vivid images
of the tests. They had invaded every orifice of his body. They
had taken blood, urine and whatever they wanted, which was
everything, including his human dignity. They had made him stay
awake as they probed into his brain. They had not let him eat but
instead had ran tubes into his stomach and fed him through the
tubes. The clinicians would come in everyday and bathe him then
play mind games afterwards. He could hear them but they never
moved their mouths. He was their toy, their play thing. His
captors were close, he could hear them, 'Maybe I am going crazy.'
He thought to himself. Insanity would be a vacation from where he
had been. How long had he been with his captors, days, weeks or
months, maybe even years? He would not let them take him back, he
would die first. He had escaped before they set up their cloaking
device and had crawled through the woods, too weak to walk. When
he had become too weak to crawl he had hid into the bushes. He
had heard a dog bark it had been Blue. Blue had found him and
probably saved his life. They were coming to get him and this
time nothing or no one could save him. His body began to shake
and his breathing worsened.

She looked down and saw that he was hyperventilating. His color
was going cyanotic. "Hey, calm down." Her voice was soft and her
hands were trying to soothe her now distraught patient. She
toweled off his face and reached for the Valium. Placing the
needle into the lower port she slowly pushed in the medicine.
"Calm down. You will be fine, I promise. shhh." She finished
pushing in the medicine and when she had finished she disposed of
the needle. She reached down and took his face into her hands and
spoke gently but firmly," Stop it. You are making your breathing
worse. Calm down. You are fine. "His eyes opened and he looked at
his caregiver with tear filled eyes. His face was sweaty and his
respirations were rapid and labored. She continued to stroke his
face and whisper calming words and when the medicine hit he
became sleepy. His breathing became less labored. Taking the
washcloth she cleaned his face and wiped the sweat from his body.
"Feeling better?" She asked as she pulled the sheet around his
naked form. "You're safe, I promise." She whispered close to his
ear. He yawned sleepily and snuggled down into his pillow. He
opened his eyes and looked into a set of pale blue eyes, "Never
safe." His voice was now raspy from the medication. She shook her
head; "Listen, Blue and I are a tough pair. We may not look like
much but we are a good team. Don't worry I carry a big gun." He
smiled and closed his eyes but now that his breathing didn't feel
as labored he wanted to talk for a few minutes. " Name. Do you
have a name?" he opened his eyes to half-mast, looking up at his
caregiver. She smiled and stood and walked over to her chair and
retrieved her blanket, "Yeah I do. IT'S Abbey, short for
Abigail.", She settled down in the chair beside his bed and held
his hand." How about you? Do you have a name?", he squeezed his
eyes tight and then let out a puff of air, "Can't remember." He
was quiet for a few seconds and added, "They took it away from
me. I don't remember." She patted his hand, "It's okay, it's
normal to experience memory loss after a traumatic event. I'm
assuming what happened to you was very traumatic. Usually it
comes back, sometimes slowly and sometimes all at once." He let
out a big yawn and looked up at her, " What if it don't come
back?" his face child like and begging for some kind of hope. She
smiled down at him as she pulled up her own blanket, "Don't worry
it will, it will just take time. Now let that medicine work for
you and sleep." He nodded and then he turned his head to look for
Blue, "What are you waiting for an invitation?" the dog stood and
walked over and jumped up on the bed and lay down at the man's
feet. Abbey reached down and ran her hand through the pup's hair.
The pup closed his eyes as did the man and they fell back to
sleep. She pulled the gun closer to her and laid her head on his
bed. She glanced once more at his IV's and then closed her eyes.
The sounds of the man's breathing and the popping of the wood in
the fireplace filled the cabin.(to be continued in part six)

Title: Left in The Woods (part seven of ?)

MORGAN COUNTY
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS

She had been awakened by his coughs that were bringing up
copious amounts of green thick sputum. She was afraid that
he would loose his airway. He had been coughing for the past
few hours with naps in between. This time was the worse and
she had to crawl into the bed with one arm wrapped around
his chest and the other holding his forehead as he brought
up the thick mucus." Hey, will you be alright if I go and
get your medicine?" he nodded and laid his head on the
pillow as she crawled down off the bed. She went to the
bathroom and washed her hands then returned to his bed. She
drew up the Rocephin in the syringe and then she drew up two
milligrams of Ativan. She gloved and pulled out the
thermometer and pushed back the sheet and helped him roll
over." I'm going to take your temperature, okay?" again he
nodded and she proceeded. It beeped a few minutes later with
a reading of one hundred four point eight. " You're climbing
again." She picked up the suppository pack and inserted one
and a half into the man. She then rubbed his hip with the
alcohol pad; "You're going to feel a little stick." He again
just nodded and she proceeded with the injection noting that
he jerked with the insertion of the needle into the muscle.
She knew that he must have been getting tired of being
stuck. She inserted the Ativan into the IV port and injected
the med, hoping that he would relax enough to get some rest.




"Tepid bath time again?" He asked as he rolled back onto his
back. His face was flushed with the fever and he was still
shivering. She shook her head," I need to wait for the
shivers to stop. When the body is shivering then the fever
is still rising and that can be made worse with the bath."
He looked around for Blue, who had vacated his post on the
last round of retching coughs. " Where is Blue?" he wheezed
out. She pointed towards the kitchen, "He is eating right
now but I bet you anything that he will be back as soon as
he is finished." The words had not left her mouth when Blue
walked into the room. He walked over to the man's bed and
jumped up at the foot and lay his head on the man's leg.
"How do you feel?" she asked as she prepared the IV
antibiotic. When no answer came she glanced over and saw
that he was asleep. She finished her task and hung the
antibiotic. The Ativan had kicked in quickly, probably
because he was exhausted from the coughing episodes.


He had slept through the tepid bath and through another
round of antibiotics. When he awakened it was with another
bout of coughing and again she crawled up into the bed and
held him. She held the pan underneath his mouth until his
body went motionless. "It hurts." He moaned. His body was
sweaty and his voice was raspy from the torture that had
been inflicted upon it from the coughing episode. She gently
lay his head down on the pillow and crawled again off the
bed. "Where does it hurt?" she asked as she picked up the
stethoscope and started to listen to his chest. "My chest
really is hurting." He wheezed. She continued to listen to
his chest and when she had finished she looked at him with
sad eyes." I believe you have developed pleurisy, an
inflammation of the lining of the lungs. It can occur when
you have a severe respiratory infection or a lot of
coughing. I'm going to give you a shot of Toradol, an anti-
inflammatory. It should help." She laid down her stethoscope
and pulled up the pain med and brought to the other side of
the bed. She helped him roll over again and rubbed the boney
hip with the alcohol pad. When the needle hit the muscle he
let out a cry. "Hey sorry." He shrugged and rolled back over
when she had finished. "Don't let them take me. I will not
go back again." He wheezed out and then started coughing
again pulling up more thick green mucus. "Shhh. Nobody is
taking you anywhere but a hospital. Help should be here
soon. The storm has let up and if Joe saw my message they
should get a med flight in here soon." She pushed away the
sweaty hair from his face and picked up the washcloth and
washed his face gently, the stubble had grown back since she
shaved him the night before. He looked up at his caretaker
and shook his head; " I hear them. They are close." He
rasped, his voice now no more than a whisper. She shook her
head and spoke softly, "Your fever is making you have some
auditory hallucinations. You are fine. Just try to sleep."
He shook his head; "I hear them. They are coming
back,please." He pushed up off the bed and sat there with
eyes closed, his body visibly shaking from his efforts. She
shook her head and reached over and pushed him back down and
pulled the sheet over his exhausted body. "Listen, the
weather is too bad even for the worst of people to get out.
Just lie still and take it easy." His agitation was
beginning to worry her. His fever was still elevated and she
was beginning to worry that he might start to convulse due
to his increased fevers.
Her nerves were frayed from the constant crying out of the
man. He had begun to cry out for someone to help him and
that someone was hurting him and he could not get away. She
pulled up another dose of the Valium and pushed it into the
IV port and watched as his body relaxed. Again she checked
his fever and it was still elevated at one hundred point
eight. " Blue, what am I going to do, he is getting worse
and I have done all that I possibly can do for him. I don't
want to overdose him on Tylenol but I haven't got any more
ideas at this point." She pulled out the suppositories and
placed another one inside of the man. "Okay fellow it is
time for the big guns." She put on her coat and picked up
the wash basin and went outside. She gathered ice and snow
into the basin as she steadied herself on the frozen wooden
porch. She would need to eat something soon, she thought to
herself. As she stood to go back into the cabin she thought
she saw a figure in the woods, along the same path that she
had found the man. She shook the thought and went back into
the cabin. "Blue, how is he doing?" she asked as she took
off her coat and moved across the room. The pup turned and
looked at Abbey then turned back and looked at the man. "
Evidently not very good." She took the basin and added some
water and started placing the cool cloths under the man's
arms and on the groin area. She then started bathing the man
in the cold water in hopes that she could get his fever
down. It was an extreme measure but it had to be done. She
then placed some of the ice into baggies and laid them on
his groin bilaterally and underneath his armpits. She then
placed one at his sacral area. The catheter was still
showing low amounts of urine output, probably due to the
high fevers. She glanced down at her watch and sighed," Blue
we need help. Where is Joe?"




"Cold. Please, Abbey help me!" he cried out. They're here.
Abbey, please help me, please. "He cried out with his raspy
voice. He was delirious from the fevers. Blue sat up and
stared out the window as if he knew the man was telling the
truth. Abbey took a moment to take a look out the window.
The storm had stopped and the sun had started to peak
through the clouds. She walked over the bed just as the man
started coughing again and this time what he was bringing up
was tinged with blood. She climbed back up on the bed and
helped him through the worse of the coughing spell. Blue
took that moment to vacate his spot on the bed and go to his
place by the hearth but this time he did not stare at the
man but watched the door instead. After a while he quieted
in her arms and lay there with his eyes staring up at her. "
Abbey you must leave and take Blue with you. They are close
and they will come for me. I am their pet project." His
voice low and hoarse from the coughing spells. She shook her
head and rocked him gently." Listen, I will stay with you
until help gets here. You are too sick to understand that
you are safe right now. The fevers are giving you auditory
and visual hallucinations, and that is all. You need to
sleep. I will watch over you and so will Blue. Rest, just
try to sleep." He shook his head and closed his eyes in
frustration. "You don't understand Abbey, they will not let
you or Blue get in their way even if it means killing you
both. Please listen." His body growing tired from the
argument and the coughing spells, "Please run and hide." A
few seconds later she felt his body go limp and his labored
breathing steadied, exhaustion had taken over.



She climbed back down off the bed and motioned the pup over
to the bed. "Listen, he has me pretty spooked now maybe he
knows something we don't know." She picked up the rifle and
checked the bullets and then she pulled the small handgun
out of the coat pocket and checked the bullets and then
replaced it into the pocket of her coat with a box of extra
rounds. "Just in case." She spoke out loud to the pup. Blue
walked over to the door and sat down as if to guard them
from whatever might lurk on the other side. Where is help,
where is Joe? She thought to herself as she readied another
round of IV antibiotics. The man's paranoia was rubbing off
onto her and she was becoming insecure in the thought that
they were all alone. Had she actually seen someone earlier
in the morning when she was gathering ice? She knew that she
had to fill the generator soon or they would be without
light so she pulled on her coat and walked to the front door
of the cabin and secured it with the dead bolt.' Blue get up
on the bed and stay till I get back." The pup obeyed but did
not take his eyes off he door. She placed her hand down into
her pocket and felt for the gun and then proceeded out the
back door. The noon sky was still very cloudy and the air
was biting at her nose and ears as she walked out onto the
back porch. She quickly picked up the gas can and started to
fill the generator, she was almost finished when she heard
the frantic barking of the pup. She placed the can down and
pulled out the gun. She cautiously entered the kitchen area
with the gun extended in front of her and her finger on the
trigger. She had never officially used a gun and she knew
that her aim would be precarious at best but maybe she could
intimidate them, maybe. She entered the living room area but
all that she saw was the empty bed and the door standing
open. Blue and the man were nowhere to be seen.(continued in
part eight)


TITLE: LEFT IN THE WOODS (8/10)

MORGAN COUNTY


Dammit! She screamed to the empty room. She rushed across
the room and saw the IV was dripping on the floor and that
the foley catheter was lying on the bed. Whoever had removed
the man was definitely not thinking of the man's well being.
She then moved over to the door that she had bolted just
minutes before and there was not sign of damage to either
the lock or the door. She shook her head in frustration and
walked out the door still being cautious due to not knowing
the whereabouts of the intruder. There was no sign of the
man or Blue except for the footprints in the snow leading
towards the path. She knew what she had to do and she went
back inside and pulled on her snow boots and grabbed the
rifle and filled her pockets with ammo. Quickly she ran out
of the house not bothering to shut the door and decided she
would try the tractor. It was still where she had parked it
the day she had found the man. She mounted the tractor and
placed the rifle on the side bar. She then pushed the heavy
snow off the seat with her gloved hands and reached into her
pocket and pulled out the keys. She placed the keys into the
ignition and the engine would not make a sound, she turned
it again and still no response." Okay you have a half a tank
of fuel. You really don't have a good reason not to start."
She yelled at the tractor. "Start dang it!" She screamed at
the old piece of farm machinery. She turned the key again
and the engine turned. She put the tractor in gear and it
slowly moved forward the ice and snow crunching as the tires
broke free of there frozen prison. She eased the tractor
towards the path and followed the footprints in the snow.

"Okay Blue give me something to go on, just bark or
something. "She spoke out loud. The only sounds that she
heard were the sounds of the forest, the ice breaking the
limbs of the trees and the sound of birds chirping in the
trees. "Come on Blue, you love to bark, give me a clue." She
begged nervously, reaching over and touching the rifle. Her
concentration on the footprints was broken by the sound of a
copter passing by overhead. " THANK GOD Joe, finally! She
glanced up through the trees and saw the medflight emblem on
the side of the circling copter. She knew that she had to
get Joe's attention, surely the unit had picked him up to
get directions to the cabin. It was against policy to land
anywhere but the ranger station. She raised the rifle and
fired off a shot. Surely that would get their attention, she
thought to herself.

MORGAN COUNTY MEDFLIGHT UNIT

They were looking for a clear area to land. Yes it was
against procedure and yes it would probably not go with his
administrator but he had orders and now he was following the
assistant director's to land the bird as soon as possible as
close as possible without endangering lives. The silence was
broken by the sound of a gun shooting off. He probably would
have thought it was hunters but for some reason he did not
remember anyone applying for a hunting license in this area
of the woods. Nobody would be out in this type of bad
weather. Mike, the pilot of the bird turned and looked at
his passengers, "Looks like we might have a problem."
Skinner pulled his weapon and Byers pulled out his
binoculars and started searching the ground. "I see a
tractor moving down below. It appears to be a woman but I
can't be for sure. He placed the binoculars down on the seat
and looked towards Joe, who was placing a call in for
backup. He was waiting for a response when a voice came over
the intercom. " This is Lt. Colonel Mason. We are within
three minutes of your location. Please abort medical call
and clear the area. We will follow up." Skinner shook his
head, "Tell Mason you have federal agents on board and we
will proceed with caution and that we will appreciate back
up." Joe nodded and proceeded to tell the Lt. Colonel
Skinner's message. The response was a full-fledged' get the
hell out of our way and let us proceed with our plan.'
Skinner clicked off the radio. "Let's land this bird." Mike
nodded and started looking for a nearby clearing. Joe
started putting the medical equipment together for a fast
response.


Abbey took the rifle and placed it back down by her side and
continued on down the path. Finally she heard the sound of
continuous barking coming form the clearing ahead. She hit
the pedal and the tractor kicked in to it's fastest pace.
She finally saw the intruder and Blue had a hold of his pant
leg. The man's body was lying on the ground with the sheet
wrapped around him, the only barrier to the cold frozen
ground. She got as close as she dared on the tractor. She
placed it in gear and dismounted, leaving its engine
running. She proceeded to grab the rifle and replace the
cartridges and was set to fire the weapon. She pushed
through the frozen, snow covered ground towards the
clearing. She could see the church and the cemetery. She
should wait for backup but she did not the condition of the
man so she slipped down along the tree line watching the pup
get the best of the tall muscular man. When she had reached
the other side of the church she brought the gun up to bare
on the man," Blue come!" She yelled to the tiring pup. The
pup hesitated but obeyed the command and ran to Abbey. When
the pup reached her safely she screamed to the man who had
fallen to the ground within feet of the ill man," Get away
from him or I will shoot. I will shoot to kill." That had
sounded convincing but if had seen her shaking hands then he
would fear nothing. The man stood and looked as the woman
carrying the rifle." I do not come here to harm you. The man
needs to come with me and I will not allow your
interference." He started walking over to the man when he
heard the sound of the gun firing. He fell to the ground and
turned around to face the woman again. "Do you want to die?"
He asked casually, like this was a common place occurrence.
"No but evidently you do and I will oblige." She held up the
rifle again and aimed it towards the man's head. " I will
blow your head off if you move again." She shouted to the
strange man who did not even have a coat on but instead had
a suit on in the dead of winter. I'm not only dealing with a
killer but an idiot too, she thought to herself. She pulled
the gun up and aligned his head in the site and yelled,
"Move it now or loose it!" Abbey stared at the noncompliant
man. The man stood and started towards her but she took that
moment to fire and his head was hit but instead of blood she
saw green oozing from his skull and he continued walking
towards her with a look of disdain for interfering. u


He was getting close when she let out another shot and this
time the man dropped to the ground. His body was still and
she proceeded towards the ill man lying still in the snow.
Blue followed her over and watched as she checked for a
pulse. His skin tone was blue and so were his lips. He must
have gone into respiratory arrest due to the trauma of the
cold air to his lungs. She reached down and checked, no
pulse. Then she pressed her head down to his chest and saw
that he was not breathing. "Help!" she yelled into the cold
air. She bent down over the man and pinched his nose and
blew twice into his mouth and then she moved over to his
unmoving chest and located the sternal notch. She measured
two finger widths and started CPR, as she pushed down on his
chest with arms straight, one hand over the other and elbows
not bending she counted, one and two and three and four and
five and six and seven and eight and nine and ten and eleven
and twelve and thirteen and fourteen and fifteen she stopped
and bent down again and pinched his nose closed and gave the
man two breaths. Again she repeated the compressions, one
and two and three and four and five and six and seven and
eight and nine and ten and eleven and twelve and thirteen
and fourteen and fifteen and again she reached down and
pinched his nose and placed her mouth over his and gave two
quick breaths. She checked for a pulse and felt none. His
body remained still and seemed to be getting colder as the
CPR continued. She knew help was on the way and she would
continue to try to help the man. She glanced quickly behind
her and noted the huge man was still on the ground and Blue
was watching him for her as she worked on his friend. And
seven and eight and nine and ten and eleven and twelve and
thirteen and fourteen and fifteen and again she pinched his
nose and gave the man tow quick breaths. Blue started
barking again but this time in the direction of the path.
She glanced up to see two unfamiliar men running towards her
but she was too busy to get her gun. The tall balding guy
pulled out a badge and was yelling something but her full
concentration was on the man she was trying to bring back to
life. He had his gun pulled and aimed at the intruder but
she was concentrating too fully on bringing the man back to
life. She then started counting the compressions again and
when she had reached fifteen she reached down and gave
another breath. A hand was pulling her away and she glanced
up to see Joe. The two men were yelling at them to get the
ill man out of here and they seemed overjoyed to see the
man.  We can't move him until we get him intubated, Joe give
me a number eight ET tube and a laryngoscope, he turned and
opened the medic box and pulled out the desired items and
handed them to his partner. Abbey went knelt down beside his
head and tilted his head back on the snow covered ground and
inserted the scope and when she had visual of the vocal
cords she slipped the tube down and pulled out the inner
cannula. She taped down the tube and attached the ambu bag
that Joe handed her she began to squeeze the bag and Joe
started two man CPR. Skinner kept his eyes on the alien
bounty hunter and saw that the man was far enough away to
not cause any problems with the green stuff that oozed from
his head. He still had a feeling of panic as he yelled,"
Let's get him loaded, now!" Joe and Byers lifted the man
onto the basket gurney as Abbey continued to give him
breaths. " Blue come here boy, come on now." The pup seemed
very involved in watching the intruders body, which had
started to twitch or spasm. Joe, Abbey, and Byers lifted the
man towards the helicopter with Skinner following behind
them but Blue stood watch over them. It was if he wanted to
make sure the man was safely away from the intruder. They
loaded Mulder's body onto the copter. Joe and Abbey started
to
place cardiac leads on the man's chest and Mike started two
IV lines and started warm fluids wide open. Abbey noted a
bradycardic, irregular rhythm in the monitor but the man
still had not started to take any breaths on his own. Mike
took his seat and placed a radio call to the hospital that
their ETA was twenty minutes and that they were bringing in
a code blue. He then prepared for take off.



Skinner, who had been watching the alien bounty hunter while
they boarded Mulder was almost to the copter when he felt a
hand on his shoulder and turned around to see the
shapeshifter. He was pushed down by the force of the man and
was stunned by a blow to the face. Blue ran towards the
confrontation and was picked up by the muscular man and
thrown. Abbey witnessed the attack on Blue as the copter
started its engine. She could not leave the man but she knew
that they would both be dead if it weren't for the pup. She
handed the ambu bag to Joe and jumped off the copter. How
had this man sustained a blow to the head with a rifle shot
and still be able to function in such a capacity she thought
to herself. She pulled the handgun out of her pocket, her
rifle still lying on the ground where she had found the man.
Skinner got up quickly and moved again towards Abbey. "
Blue, you okay boy?" she called to the pup as she neared his
still body.  She fell down to her knees to check for a pulse
and found none. She stood and turned and pointed the handgun
towards the large man," You killed him you sorry piece of
crap. You killed him." Her full attention focused on the
towering figure. She was so focused that she did not hear
the second copter land behind her and an army of men,
including Agent Doggett jumped out and surrounded the man.
Skinner looked at Doggett with a surprised expression.
Skinner knew that they all were in danger, having
experienced the retrovirus just months before when he was
exposed to the green blood of the shapeshifter. " Doggett
get away. He is very dangerous, we have Mulder." Skinner
yelled from his position a few feet away. Abbey still stood
with her gun pointed at the man and as he moved towards her
she pulled the trigger and the green ooze again flowed from
the man's shoulder. Skinner grabbed Abbey and pushed her
down to the ground covering her eyes but Doggett was not so
lucky and he was down on his knees rubbing at his eyes. The
shapeshifter was heading towards the medflight helicopter
when a barrage of fire started around them but the man was
too far away for the green ooze to effect them. Skinner
moved over to Doggett and pushed the snow around him,
knowing that he needed to lower the man's body temperature
quickly. Abbey did not question the man but instead helped
the agent with the ice and snow. He waved the medflight
copter to take off without them. Instead they would use the
military aircraft to transport Agent Doggett to the
hospital.

Blue lay on the ground, his body motionless. Doggett was
boarded and ready for transport. Abbey knelt down beside her
pup and spoke softly as she stroked his soft fur, " You know
that the man will miss you don't you? You weren't suppose to
die too pup." Her eyes were filled with tears and she found
herself being lifted up with a strong pair of hands. They
will take care of him miss, let's go." His voice was kind
and gentle. She turned to the agent and spoke with a raspy
voice," Tell them to bury him beside my father, Daniel
Owens, his grave is under the big oak tree." Skinner nodded
and helped her aboard the copter and walked over to the Lt.
Colonel Mason and gave him the instructions. Quickly he
boarded to take the agent to Morgan COUNTY Hospital. Abbey
glanced out of the copter once more and spoke quietly, "Good
bye Blue, I will miss you pup." Within seconds the craft was
airborne, the message to the hospital was to have Agent
Scully prepare for two victims.(continued in part nine)


TITLE: LEFT IN THE WOODS (9/10)

Scully was standing at the trauma door awaiting the arrival of
the first copter. They had checked her credentials and verified
that she was a medical doctor. She had spoken with Skinner on the
radio and found out that it was definitely Mulder but that he was
in full arrest. Abbey had also communicated to Scully the care he
had been given in the day and a half that he was at her cabin.
She also informed her that Mulder was unable to recall his name
or anything about himself but he had been very ill. So now she
stood awaiting the father of her baby and her best friend. Would
he recognize her or would she just be a stranger. The boys were
finding a way to get to the cabin, because according to Abbey she
had collected blood, the gown he was wearing when she found him
and other valuable information. Time was of the essence due to
the way things tended to disappear when it involved the military.
Hopefully they would not bother to go to Abbey's home but they
never left a stone unturned.

She focused her attention back to the matter at hand. The
intercom announced that medflight had landed and the first victim
was on the way into the trauma area. Scully stood at trauma room
one, a code blue was announced and the xray technician and lab
personnel were standing awaiting their orders. The Chief of
Emergency Services, Dr Allen Sandler would be running the code
and Scully would be assisting but her services would be more
focused on agent John Doggett's medical condition since no one
had ever heard of a retrovirus. She saw the gurney coming down
the hallway with nurses and a respiratory therapist by his side.
The EMT was also giving report and she overheard bits and pieces
as they approached hurriedly. When she saw the gray color to his
skin she knew that he was having a difficult time. They were
bagging him and performing compressions. "He had a bradycardic
rhythm but we lost it approximately one minute prior to landing.
We gave him one milligram of epinephrine and we cardioverted
twice with two hundred joules but no response. His breath sounds
are very diminished on his left side and we suctioned up a large
amount of green thick sputum. Blood pressure is forty palpable.
His last oxygen sat was eighty two on full oxygen." Joe rattled
off as he helped set up the patient in the room, monitors
attached and lines started. The Chief of Emergency took his
stethoscope and placed it on Mulder's chest. I need a stat chest
xray. Wanda, set of for a thoracentesis and chest tube placement.
" The doctor ordered as she walked outside of the room and
awaited the technician to get the film. Scully looked at the man
in the green scrubs and then back at her friend," He is basically
drowning in his own fluid?" The man nodded and walked back
hurriedly into the room. They had set him up on a ventilator when
she peered back into the room. "Sandy get me a set up for a
central line and tell pharmacy he will need routine
hyperalimentation. Let's get some Vancomycin and Erythromycin
ordered. He had gloved and gowned and he had them turn Mulder
over to his side and he pushed the thick needle into the left
lung. The vacutainer was attached and the yellow serous fluid
flowed out into the jar. " Let's push another milligram of
epinephrine and let's do four hundred joules. The team stepped
back and he hit the chest and yelled "Clear!" the patient's body
lifted off the table and the monitor changed to a tachycardic
rhythm. The fluid continued to flow from the lung. "Get me
another xray. We still don't have any spontaneous respirations
but his sats are up which means the lung has some room to
oxygenate. "He spoke to the code team. The xray team appeared
again and the room cleared again.
Scully stood transfixed to the window, fighting the urge to go to
his side. He had the best care and she knew that she was too
emotional to be any help to him at the time. The best thing she
could do was to let the medical doctor do his job. She watched
them as they reentered the room and the therapist suctioned more
green thick mucus from the endotrachial tube. Then she saw the
briefest of response, he tried to push the tech's arm away and
get to the tube that snaked down his throat. Almost immediately
she caught the hand and had them both restrained in a matter of
seconds. He was awake and fighting with the staff. He was
exerting his dislike for the tube. She watched as they turned him
on his side and prepped his left side for the chest tube. She
hoped that they would numb it well but she still knew that   it
was going to hurt him. His body was bucking the doctor as he
attempted the tube placement. " Let's get him on a Valium drip
and give him something for pain, Morphine should do the trick. He
turned towards Dr. Scully to verify allergies when she felt
compelled to enter the small cubicle and let them know
immediately that Mulder reacted to Morphine. The emergency room
doctor looked up and saw the very pregnant woman enter the room.
He knew immediately that this man was the father of her baby. She
looked down on his troubled and pain filled features and took her
hand and gently cupped his face. " Hey. You may not remember me
but I promise that you are safe. The doctor wants to place a tube
into your side. It will help your lung to expand and help you
breathe better." Mulder appeared very scared. She looked up to
his attending doctor," He is allergic to Morphine but does well
with both Valium and Demerol. He nodded and proceeded to order
the Demerol and started to place the tube into the chest. Scully
heard the announcement that the second copter had arrived and
that was her cue to go and help Doggett. Before she left she
looked down on a now very drowsy patient and spoke very softly,
"Go to sleep Mulder. I will be back in just a little while." He
looked up at her with sleepy eyes but no recognition was there
and he seemed nervous at her presence. As she exited the room she
could not help but to think, "What did they do to you Mulder?"
she proceeded to trauma room two. Within a few minutes Doggett
arrived and they placed him on the gurney and she started giving
orders. Skinner and Abbey were directed towards the waiting area.

Abbey was taking turns with Skinner pacing the floor. "What is
taking so long?" she asked no one in particular. Skinner stood
and reached over to the young lady and gently led her to a seat."
Scully will be out as soon as she can give us some information on
both agents." His voice was calm and gentle. Abbey turned and
looked at the tall, balding man with sad eyes, "He was so sick. I
should have listened to him when he told me that someone was
coming back to get him but I thought it was just the fever." Her
voice cracking with emotion and tears were running down her
cheek. Skinner shook his head and spoke softly, "He does have a
knack of getting into some pretty bad situations. I guarantee you
Miss that you could not have stopped any of this, the man would
have killed you or anyone else that tried to interfere." He
reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief an handed
it to the distressed young lady." Mulder will be fine, thanks to
your care. He has been through worse and survived." She nodded
then looked towards the waiting room door and saw a very petite
red headed, pregnant woman. The man jumped up and walked over to
her," How is Mulder?" he asked anxiously. "They are moving up to
the CCU now. Walter, he is so weak and his breathing is still
labored even with the tube. Dr Sandler feels that the next twenty-
four hours will be critical. They are going to do a CT of the
head and also a body scan as soon as he is stable." Her voice was
raspy, evidence of her fatigue. Abbey stood and walked over, "My
name is Abbey. I found your friend in the woods. He has been very
ill." Scully recognized the voice and reached out her hand to
shake the young lady's." Thank you for taking such excellent care
of Mulder. It will probably be the most beneficial factor in his
recovery." Abbey stared at the door and then back at Scully," Can
I see him before they take him upstairs?" Scully nodded and led
the woman and Skinner to Mulder's cubicle. Abbey walked over to
the man's side and picked up his restrained hand, it was warmer
and his color was pinker. "Hey, can you hear me?" she whispered
quietly as to not startle the man. He was hooked up to almost
every machine imaginable. He slowly and sleepily opened his eyes
and looked at the one person he could recognize but he could not
say her name due to the tube down his throat. His eyes looked
around, like he did when he was looking for Blue. "You're in the
hospital and they are treating your lung infection. You are
fine." She sat down on the stool by his bed and watched as he
took in his surroundings with eyes half-mast. He looked at her
with questioning eyes but she could not tell what he was trying
to ask. " Listen these people are your friends and they are
really trying to get you better." He shook his head and he
pointed to the end of the bed. She knew that the man was asking
for Blue, she did not feel he could handle the death of his
friend at this time. "You know that animals are not allowed in
the hospital. They have very strict rules." He shook his head
weakly and he pointed at the end of the bed again. She felt that
he might be confused to his location, he probably thought he was
still at her cabin. "Hey the doctor wants you to sleep. They have
probably pumped you full of drugs to make sure you rest and that
is what you are going to do is rest." She stood and broke the
physical contact with her patient. She smiled and reached down
once again and stroked his stubbled chin. He looked over to the
door and stared at the familiar woman and man. The images, he
still had in his dreams, looked like them but he could not
remember their names. He knew he should remember them but he
could remember Abbey and Blue. He wanted Blue. Blue was good pup
and Abbey was a good person, she was his friend. He closed his
eyes and surrendered to the drug's effects. Abbey stood by his
bedside for a few more minutes noticing the thick bandage on his
head and the multiple tubes connected to the man. She turned and
walked back towards the door," Do you think he is safe here in
the hospital?" she asked quietly so that the man could not hear
her voice. Skinner looked at the young lady and shook his head,"
I don't think he will ever be safe." Scully nodded and answered
in a shaky voice," I don't think any of us will ever be safe."
She then walked back over to Mulder's side and took his hand
gently but he did not respond he just slept quietly with the tube
assisting his breathing. A team of nurses and techs walked into
the cubicle to transfer him up to CCU. Dr. Sandler walked in a
few seconds later and announced that Doggett was in the ICU bed
four and they would be placing Mulder in the Coronary Intensive
Care due to his tachycardia and his cardiac and respiratory
arrest. They all followed him up to wait in the waiting lounge.

TWENTY FOUR HOURS LATER
CORONARY INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

They had gotten Scully a room with a bed. She had been exhausted
and went to sleep immediately after she lay down. Skinner and
Abbey were asleep in the lounge. Her head lay against his
shoulder and their feet were propped up on the hard chair. The
nurses were constantly suctioning Mulder and giving him
antibiotics. During the suctioning he had started to arouse and
try to fight them which had been a sign of improvement. The boys
had returned without the evidence Abbey had gathered, it was
gone. They had secured her cabin and came back to the hospital
and given Skinner and Scully the news. Now they were asleep
across the lounge from Abbey and Skinner. The CCU nurse put her
head in the door and looked around for Dr. Scully. A soft tap on
her shoulder awakened Abbey. "Is Mr. Mulder okay?" she asked
groggily, straightening herself up in the chair. The nodded and
waved her across the room," Dr. Sandler wants to extubate him.
His oxygen levels are up .Do you know where Dr. Scully is right
now." Abbey pulled out a sheet of paper with a room number
printed on it and handed it to the nurse. "It is alright if I go
in for a minute and see him. I promise I will not disturb him."
The nurse again nodded and led Abbey to Mulder's bedside. He was
sleeping. He did have a better color to his face but the white
bandage around his head made him appear pale. The nurse went to
get Scully. Abbey sat down on the stool beside his bed and
stroked his hand. His eyes fluttered open and he tried to talk
but the tube prevented him from making any sounds. His fevers had
come down to low grade and his eyes seemed less glassy but still
he was having difficulty with focusing due to the heavy drugs.
She glanced up to see the Haldol and Demerol drips, which helped
to manage his pain and also to help with sedation due to the
endotracheal tube. He just stared up at her and with a weak grip
he held her hand. The pregnant Agent Scully was definitely more
than a friend to the man and she would need to help him remember.
She was fairly sure that it was the trauma of being abducted that
had traumatized him enough that he had forgotten. She reached
over and found the necklace still around his neck. Was it a
symbol of faith, love or both? " The doctor is going to take the
tube out and see how you can manage. It will be hard work and it
may feel a little funny at first but you can manage it, I'm
sure." He looked frightened and he shook his head. "Yes you can,
you are getting stronger. The doctor would not take it out if he
thought you could not handle breathing on your own." Her voice
was low and comforting. He squeezed her hand but she could tell
that he had pronounced weakness. Dr Sandler and Dr. Scully
entered the cubicle and Abbey turned to get up to leave but he
tugged at her blouse and he shook his head weakly. "Hey I'm right
here, not going anywhere." He reluctantly let go of her hand. He
then looked at the red haired lady again and closed his eyes
tiredly. He thought he could remember her but he could not reach
the name and he was getting tired. Where was Abbey? He could not
see Abbey. Where was Blue? He was so confused. He wanted to go
back to sleep and let the drugs help keep away the bad dreams of
ht tests. They wanted to do more tests and he was tied down. He
felt the panic and then he heard comforting noises but he could
not listen to them. Where was Abbey and Blue?  The man would come
back for him and he needed Blue. They were close again and this
time he would not let then take him no matter what, he would not
be their lab rat. He would not go back to let them cut him open
and drill his teeth or his head. He began to pull and tug at the
restraints. The comforting voices could not penetrate the panic
he had just created and then he felt the soothing feeling of
numbness and the room went dark.

CORONARY INTENSIVE CARE WAITING ROOM
FIVE HOURS LATER

Skinner walked back into the waiting area with cups of coffee and
a juice for Scully. " Thank you." Scully took the juice and took
a sip. Abbey took a cup of coffee and a cream. "  He had the
panic attacks up at the cabin. I thought it was the fevers. I
should have known it was from the trauma of his abductors. I knew
that they had abused him because of the marks on his body."
Scully stood and slowly walked across the waiting room to the
distraught girl and sat down, "Listen you are the only person
that he recognizes and he trusts you Abbey." She nodded and
looked at Scully, " I had a feeling in the room that he
recognized you but still is unable to place a name to your face.
He told me he saw images but he could not remember the names."
Abbey spoke softly. Scully nodded in understanding, she felt that
he might have panicked due to his eidetic memory trying to
recollect her face.

Dr Sandler entered the waiting room and sat down beside of
Scully, "He has slept since you left him but he is starting to
arouse again. I would like to get the tube out send him down to
get a head CT. The drainage from his wound is still present and I
would like to get an idea of what I am dealing with. I would like
to rule out meningitis or infection due to his fevers." He spoke
low not to disturb the others sleeping in the lounge.  "Maybe we
should send in Abbey. He recognizes her and he won't be as scared
with her presence." Scully whispered. Dr Sandler nodded and
reached over and got Abbey's attention, she stood and followed
the doctor into the CCU cubicle. He was awake and tugging against
the restraints. She had assumed that his captors had tied him
down during his captivity. She walked over to his bed and he quit
tugging. His eyes stared up at Abbey and his hand was reaching
and grabbing at the air. "Hey, how is my favorite patient."
Mulder shook his head and looked down at the restraints. Dr
Sandler is going to take the tube out of your throat but he needs
you to calm down." Mulder nodded and attempted to calm down but
the effects of the Aminophylline made him jittery and he
extremities still shook. The nurses were at his side as was Abbey
and Dr Sandler. "Okay Mr. Mulder I want you to blow out as hard
as you can and I will pull out the tube, it will feel
uncomfortable and you might feel the urge to gag." Mulder
prepared for the doctor to take out the tube but it seemed
familiar, he had done this before. The doctor pulled out the tube
and Mulder began choking and coughing. He started to take a good
breath after a few seconds and he felt the pain in his throat and
started retching. They turned him quickly and the green thick
mucus rolled up and out of his nose and mouth. Abbey stroked his
head and found herself doing what she had done at the cabin, she
crawled up on the bed and took him into her arms and soon he
relaxed and drifted asleep in her lap. The nurse wiped his sweaty
brow with a washcloth and then followed Dr. Sandler out the door.
Dr Sandler walked out of the cubicle to write orders. Abbey held
the man in her arms preparing herself to tell the man of the
pup's last heroic act. She knew he would be sad but she knew that
she had to honest. Soon he opened his eyes and looked up at Abbey
and then down to the end of the bed. "bew?" His voice was
scratchy and low, almost a whisper. She shook her head and spoke
low, "Listen, I need to tell you something." He looked up at his
friend and shook his head, "Where is blue?" Tears were now
spilling down her cheek and she looked down and their eyes met,
"Blue is dead. The man who tried to take you away killed him. He
protected us both until the end." The tears were now falling from
both of them and the man became really quiet. "Hey, are you
okay." She asked, getting concerned about his quiet demeanor. He
nodded unable to give her an answer but he held the hand that she
had wrapped around his torso. "Sorry." His voice was quiet and
raspy from his crying bout and the removal of the tube. "No,
don't be sorry. That pup would not have had it any other way. He
wanted to protect you and me from the man. He did his job well."
Again Mulder nodded and closed his tired eyes. " Go to sleep and
I will wake you when they want to get some tests done." She
gently rocked him and soon he was asleep. Dr Sandler entered the
cubicle again with the respiratory therapist who drew some blood
from the arterial line and then placed him on oxygen by nasal
cannula. Abbey quietly crawled down from the bed and stood at the
doorway as the doctor made more assessments and awaited the
results of the blood gases. Soon the orderly showed up to get the
patient for the CAT scan. The nurses and techs gently lifted and
repositioned him on the gurney. Then they were on their way to
the radiology. Abbey wanted to follow but she felt that the Dr
Scully should be with him afterwards. Hopefully he would be able
to remember her soon, she would bet her life on the father of
that baby, she thought to herself then she turned to get the
woman.


As Abbey was walking back to the lounge she got an odd feeling.
The kind that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up
and the kind that makes one have that strange deja vu feeling.
She turned and walked back towards the cubicle. Something was
wrong and she felt compelled to go and check on the man. She
walked up to the nurse's desk and asked, "Where is xray?" the
nurse instructed her that it was down the hallway to the left.
She started to proceed forward but turned and asked the nurse to
get Mr Skinner and Dr. Scully and ask them to meet her in the
radiology department. The nurse promptly stood to go and retrieve
the two friends of the very sick patient. Abbey rounded the
corner to see the orderly and nurse lying on the floor.
Automatically she reached into her pocket but she had given her
gun to Mr. Skinner. Cautiously she walked down the hallway. She
had rounded the corner and saw the tall bulky man pushing the
gurney down the hallway hurriedly. She would have to stall him
until help arrived. She quickly looked around but did not find a
weapon. She would have to find a different way. A few seconds
later she noticed that the man was trying to get up off the
gurney and the large man pushed him back down easily. She turned
and quickly found the object of her desire, the fire alarm.
Quickly she pulled the alarm and the hallway sounded and the
large man stooped and looked around, almost as if he was
confused. The place was quickly abuzz with people carrying fire
extinguishers and in the confusion Abbey grabbed the gurney and
started back towards the CCU. The man turned and saw the object
of hunt disappearing before his eyes and started to run after the
woman. Skinner appeared in front of the gurney with his gun drawn
and Sully was following with her gun also drawn. Abbey saw the
fight begin and knew that her responsibility would be to get the
man to a safe place. She ran down the hallway with the gurney.
When she got to the lounge the three friends were there. Mulder
was missing his IV's and oxygen and he was having a difficult
time breathing. The clamped chest tube and foley catheter were
still intact. He looked up at the three men and wheezed,"
Scarecrow, Tinman, Toto." He smiled at the three men who were
peering at him." Where is Scully. I've got to get Scully. The
three men and Abbey looked at Mulder like he had grown a third
eye. Abbey looked back and shook her head," He is coming after
Mulder. We need to hide him now! She yelled at the three men. A
voice came from the hallway "Abbey! Abbey!" the voice was that of
Dr. Scully's." We're in here!" yelled Frohike. She entered the
waiting lounge and looked at the gurney with Mulder, she quickly
ran over and started assessing the chest tube, placing her gun on
the lounge chair. "Skinner will need some help. We won't be able
to stop him." Scully stated sadly as she proceeded to check on
the man on the gurney. Byers and Frohike ran out the door. Abbey
reached down and took the gun into her grip and then ran out the
door. Scully turned and yelled "Abbey!" but she was gone. Langley
looked up at Scully and spoke quietly," He recognized us and he
was calling for you Scully." She looked down on his face and
smiled. He was looking at her with sad eyes. "Mulder?" He was
quiet for a few seconds then he turned his head away and
whispered softly, "You're swollen. I'm sorry Scully, so sorry."
She knew immediately what he was thinking, cancer. She reached
over and turned his head towards her and shook her head, "It's
not what you think Mulder. I will tell you everything when I know
that you are safe, I promise." Dr. Sandler rushed into the room
with the CCU nurse. "What the hell happened to his lines and his
oxygen?" The doctor asked angrily, while staring at Dr. Scully.
But just at that time they heard a gun shot and they were moving
Mulder again.

Abbey had fired off a round towards the man who now was down
trying to choke the life out of Skinner. She yelled to the man
but he was not listening to anyone. She then approached the man
and started beating him on the back but Byers ran over and
knocked her to the ground. " Abbey, he is crazy and he will kill
you. You don't understand, he is not human." She shook her head
and started to get up," Well we just can't just let him kill
him."  Byers got up with Abbey and pushed her into a vacant room.
"He is alien and the only way to kill him is a bullet or a sharp
object to the back of his neck." Abbey looked around the acute
care unit and found a scalpel. " Well this is for Blue." She
rushed past Byers back out into the hallway and found Frohike
trying to get the bounty hunter's attention. Byers was unable to
stop her as she ran towards the man who had focused all his
attention now on Skinner and she plunged the scalpel into the
man's neck. The green ooze started to roll down his neck and he
pushed her back up against the wall. Her eyes were burning and
she was having trouble breathing. The Alien Bounty Hunter picked
up the woman and ran down the hallway and was soon out of
everyone's site. Skinner stood and leaned heavily against the
wall," We have to get her. Where did they go?" he started falling
back to the floor and Frohike and Byers ran to catch him.
(Continued in chapter ten)

Title: LEFT IN THE WOODS (PART TEN OF TEN)

MORGAN COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER

They had placed him in a room in the pediatric ICU. They had
gotten him a private duty nurse and passwords were used by all,
including Scully. Dr Sandler had to reintubate Mulder due to the
low sats and the stress his patient had endured at the hands of
the abductor. Scully sat by his bed and watched the monitors as
they showed his vital signs showing signs of alertness. His hands
had to be restrained due to the agitation from the heavy doses of
the bronchodialators. His hands shook, even in his sleep. He was
oblivious to the past forty eight hours. She would update him
when he was alert enough to understand. Mostly he had just opened
his eyes briefly and then he would go back to sleep. Dr. Sandler
had finally gotten the cat scan of Mulder finished and they found
at least twenty tracking devices. The gunmen had concluded that
the implants were different than hers due to his blood work not
showing any branched DNA. They were more like Duane Barry's. They
would be removed and destroyed soon. Mulder was too weak from the
infected incisions on his head and the lung infection for
surgery; it would be a few more days. She held his hand and could
not help but wonder how he would react to the news that the Alien
Bounty Hunter had taken Abbey.

He could hear the low tones of the monitors and he could feel the
tube down his throat and the one in his chest. He knew that the
drugs were working because he did not have the urge to fight the
tube in his throat. He felt relaxed and pain free. He slowly
opened his eyes to see Scully sitting beside him, her head
resting on her hand in the chair. He tried to lift his restrained
hand but he couldn't get it to move. He felt himself starting to
get agitated. The monitors started beeping and humming. The tones
awakened Scully and she quickly stood to calm him down. He was
feeling very shaky all of a sudden. The nurse came through the
door and hit the alarm to halt the bells and tones. "Mulder, calm
down. You are fine and very safe." Scully assured him. He shook
his head and pointed to the door. He looked over to the nurse and
she was drawing up something in a syringe but he did not want to
go back to sleep. He tried to still the effects of the drugs but
he felt himself getting more agitated and then he felt himself
being rolled over and soothing voices and then the sharp needle
penetrating his already sore skin. The tears rolled down his
eyes. Dr Sandler quickly walked into the room mumbling something
about having to prove to the guard that he was really who he was
and that had ticked him off. The effects of the drugs soon
quieted Mulder and his eyes were getting very heavy. He looked up
at the smile that only could come from his partner. " Shhh. Go
back to sleep." She cooed. The doctor was listening to his chest
and making the sounds only doctor's make. He refused to let the
drugs pull him under. He had questions and he wanted them
answered and if he had to fight the effects of the drugs then he
would fight them. The doctor looked down at his patient and
quickly realized that he wasn't going to sleep. " Mr. Mulder I
would like for you to rest. Your body is tired and is trying to
fight off several infections." Mulder's eyes looked to his side
trying to search for Scully but she was not there anymore, only
his nurse and his physician. Dr Sandler looked over to Wanda and
she left and went out the door. Dr Sandler sat down on the stool
beside the bed. "Hey I know that you are going to fight me but I
need to get you better and that requires sleep. I'm going to have
Wanda change your medicine to Valium and give you an extra dose
now and then we will let you sleep a little while." Mulder tugged
on the restraints and shook his head. He wanted his questions
answered and he wanted them answered now. What was wrong with
Scully and where was Abbey and why was he back on the ventilator.
Within a few seconds the nurse returned and changed out the
medicines and they rolled him over again and injected a large
amount of the medicine into his hip. He fought to stay awake but
the medicine and the amount given was too much to fight and he
closed his eyes and slept.


Scully walked over to the intensive care unit to see how Agent
Doggett and Skinner were doing. Skinner had been reexposed to the
retrovirus during the altercation with the Alien Bounty Hunter.
He was doing better but they still had both men in a drug induced
coma due to their symptoms. They were both getting transfusions.
She had left Langley with Mulder. She knew that soon she would
have to tell Mulder about Abbey but not until he was off the
ventilator. Dr Sandler agreed that it would not do Mulder any
good to get such bad news while he was trying to fight off the
infections. He would keep him sedated a few more days and then
let him awaken. They would still continue mild sedation after
they extubated. It would help him cope with everything that had
happened to him in the past few days and months. She walked
through the ICU doors to see her patients.

FORTY EIGHT HOURS LATER

He awakened this time with the slow hum of the monitors but the
tube was no longer down his throat but the restraints were still
intact. The tubes were still in his chest and the Foley catheter
was still snaked up into his bladder. Something new was causing
extreme pressure in his rectum. There was so much pressure that
he was nauseated. He also noted a tube coming out of stomach and
a fluid running into the tube from a new pump beside of his bed.
He looked around and saw that he was alone. He reached for the
call bell someone had placed underneath his hand and pushed. The
nurse entered and was surprised that her patient was awake. "Hey
you should be sleeping with all the drugs we have pumping into
your bloodstream." She was already checking the monitors and
drainage bags. "Where is Scully?" his voice low and very raspy.
The nurse turned and readjusted his blanket," She is down the
hallway sleeping in the guest room." He nodded in understanding.
"How are you feeling?" her eyes were watching his grimaces. "
Truthfully Mr. Mulder." He looked up and saw those eyes looking
down upon him and he knew that lying would get him in more
trouble. " My bottom hurts. Pressure, it is bad." She walked
around and pulled back the covers and readjusted something but
the pressure increased and the vomiting started and he thought he
was going to rip his sore throat apart. Quickly the nurse was
calling for assistance and holding a pan underneath her patient's
chin as he vomited up the tube feeding. Dr. Sandler entered the
room with other nursing personnel and reached over and cut off
the feeding. Someone was calling out orders and then Dr Sandler
appeared with a large tube and was placing gel on the end. He
knew that it was going down his nose and that was not going to
happening as long as he had strength to fight. But the restraints
stopped the fight and the doctor and nurses pushed the tube down
his nose and past his raw throat and he tried to scream but the
vomit just rolled out and gagged him instead. When they placed
the tube on suction the vomiting stopped and they went to work
assessing his belly but he was still awake and miserable. "
Scully! Abbey! Somebody please help me and get this tube out,
please." He cried out in his low raspy, pained voice. The nurse
was drawing up more medicine into the syringe and he knew that
sleep would be coming soon. They pushed him over and the needle
hit the tight muscle and the burning liquid entered painfully. He
tried not to cry but all of his defenses were shot and the tears
flowed and soon he felt numb and blackness was welcomed.


FOUR HOURS LATER

Scully sat beside of Mulder's bed and held his hand. They were
holding the tube feedings and keeping him quiet due to the
paralytic ileus that he had developed. Dr Sandler thought it
might have occurred due to the decreased activity during his
captivity and that he probably was not allowed to eat. Basically
his stomach was a mess. The doctor had consulted a
gastroenterologist. They would leave the nasogastric tube down
and treat with meds. When he was awake the pain was too intense
and he had to be medicated heavily. Now he slept peacefully and
the meds kept his pain away. Scully had heard from the gunmen who
had made it up to the cabin, no sign of Abbey. They all felt that
they had let her down. Telling Mulder was going to be very
difficult.

INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Skinner looked up at Scully and smiled, "Again?" She nodded and
reached down and squeezed his hand. "You really are becoming a
lot like Mulder." She tried to hide her smile. He nodded,"guilty
as charged. How is Mulder?" Her mood changed and went serious."
He is still very sick but he is off the ventilator. Dr.Sandler is
keeping him sedated. His stomach is swollen and painful." She
hesitated a few minutes to get her composure. "They did not feed
him during his captivity. He has developed a paralytic ileus."
Skinner looked up from his bed," English Scully."  She smiled and
nodded," It is like a bowel obstruction. Usually there is stomach
distention and it is very painful. Dr.Sandler feels that Mulder's
is due to decreased physical activity and that the tests are
showing that he may have had nothing to eat in the five months of
his abduction. They probably fed him through the veins. His
stomach is basically a mess. That is in addition to his weight
loss, the lung infection and the wound infection." Skinner shook
his head. "Sounds like he may not be able to travel for a while."
Scully nodded," Neither will you sir or Agent Doggett. I still
can't figure out why Byers and Frohike didn't get exposed. They
carried you to the ICU afterwards and paged overhead." Skinner's
face saddened," Abbey?" Scully shook her head," The Alien Bounty
Hunter took her and no one has seen her since. The boys went to
the cabin but it was as they left it a few nights ago." She
paused." It's as if she had disappeared without a trace. She is
just gone." Skinner nodded. He knew that she was probably
abducted and now her residence was aboard an alien spacecraft.

Pediatric Intensive Care

Mulder was awakened by the tightness in his gut. He reached over
with his restrained hand and touched his stomach and grimaced.
Nothing could hurt this bad, well yes something could hurt worse
like having someone drill a hole in one's head. He tried to roll
over to a more comfortable position but the tube pulled in his
nose and he gasped in pain. The nurse must not of heard him
because no magic syringes appeared. He attempted the move again
and he managed to shift from his hip. That felt better but he
still was hurting. He looked around the room for Scully or Abbey,
visiting hours must be later. The pressure in his rectum started
again and he tried to shift back to his original position but the
pain in his gut flared and he let out a loud groan. The nurse
entered the room quickly and stared down at her now awake
patient." Are you okay Mr. Mulder?" he shook his head and tried
to catch his breath. " What is that pressure in my behind?" The
nurse turned him over and checked the rectal tube that had been
placed due to the watery diarrhea he had been having while on the
tube feeding. "You should not be having this much discomfort."
She took a syringe and decreased the bulb and the pressure went
away. " Better?" he nodded. " Can I loose these?" he tugged at
the restraints. The nurse shook her head and covered her patient
with the blanket. She went about checking the IV lines and
monitors. " Dr. Sandler will be coming in a few minutes to check
on you, how is your pain." Mulder thought for a second and
decided he want to stay awake a while and talk to Scully. He had
not been able to talk to her and he needed to talk badly. "I'm
fine." He whispered, his voice still raw from the endotrachial
tube. She checked his medicine pump and adjusted the setting but
he could not tell if she was increasing or decreasing the flow of
the medicine. " I'm right outside of your cubicle so if you need
me just push this button." She placed the call light under his
hand. He nodded and closed his eyes hoping that the pain in his
gut would at least improve to a tolerable level.


Morgan County Hospital

Scully walked down the hallway accompanied by a tall husky agent,
her bodyguard. She wanted to see Mulder but her doctor had
ordered to take frequent rest periods and she was going to check
in on Mulder and then go to sleep. She passed the guards and gave
the password for the day and entered the cubicle. Mulder's nurse
was at his bedside along with Dr. Sandler. They were assessing
his stomach and Mulder was moaning loudly in pain. She hurried
over and grabbed his hand and he gripped it tightly. " Mulder it
will be okay." She tried to ease his pain but he was now in
excruciating pain and it would not let up even with the pain
medication. Dr Sandler looked over to Scully; " I'm calling in a
surgeon. His stomach is hard and he does not have any bowel
sounds present. I want an abdominal film and chest xray." The
nurse went to page the surgeon and the lab was called to get a
CBC with diff and chem 7. He pushed the IV pump again, hoping to
get relief for the writhing man in the bed. Scully reached down
and kissed his forehead and held his hand tight. He looked up at
her with concern," What is wrong." He asked and bit his lip to
keep from screaming. Scully looked over at the doctor and leaned
as close as her pregnant stomach would allow, "Mulder, your
stomach is really distended and Dr.Sandler wants a surgeon to
take a look." Mulder shook his head and looked at her beautiful
blue eyes, boy he had missed her so much. " Not me. You. " Her
heart was set on fire for this man, she wanted to cry and grab
him and hold him tight." Listen, I am perfect in every way.
Actually I couldn't be healthier or happier. I found you Mulder
and that is the best thing that has happened in a long time. He
looked up with a look of complete confusion and pointed at her
protruding stomach, "You're more swollen than I am Scully." His
voice almost a whisper. She smiled and laid her hand on his
forehead and caressed his bandage that was wrapped around his
head. "Listen Mulder, I am going to let the surgeon take a look
at you and let the staff do their jobs by getting out of the way.
I will be back as soon as they are done with your assessment. He
shook his head and grabbed for her shirt and held on tight. His
face showed the severe pain that he was feeling in his gut but he
held on tight. "Where is Abbey and what is wrong with your
stomach?" his voice louder that he thought he could manage. She
shook her head and gently removed his hand, "Mulder, I want you
to let the surgeon take a look at you then we will talk, I
promise." The surgeon, Dr. Adam Carpenter, entered the already
crowded room just as Scully had finished her sentence. She kissed
his bandaged forehead and she exited the room with Mulder calling
out her name. Dr. Carpenter picked up the chart and walked over
to the distraught patient noting the amount of Valium that was
infusing into the man. " Mr. Mulder please calm down. I need to
assess your stomach and then your company can come back to visit.
He calmed down and looked up at the surgeon and nodded. The drugs
were still making him feel on edge and he wanted to know what
they were not telling him. The surgeon began to press on the
abdomen and Mulder screamed out in pain. Soon the xrays were
brought into the room and Dr. Carpenter decided to take Mulder
for an exploratory surgery. They were prepping him when Scully
reentered the cubicle, "Hey, how are you feeling?" he looked over
to his partner and best friend," Like nobody is telling me
anything." He turned his head with tears welling up in eyes.
"Where is Abbey and what the hell is wrong with you Scully?" He
felt like the world had decided that he really didn't exist and
that all anybody enjoyed doing to him was drugging him into a
catatonic state. She picked up his restrained hand and kissed it
lightly, " Mulder." She whispered but her voice was strong, she
knew that she had to be strong for him right now," Abbey is gone.
The bounty hunter took her with him. She was also exposed to the
retrovirus; she didn't have a chance. He refused to believe that
she was dead, "No, I don't believe that Scully. We need to find
her before they cause her harm." His hands were still restrained
and he tried to move forward but the pain in his gut stopped him
before he had moved too far. " Mulder lie down now." Scully
scolded when the nurse decided to intervene with her patient and
get him prepped for surgery. " Dr Scully I need to get him ready
for surgery." Scully nodded and stood. Mulder watched her swollen
abdomen as she reached down to kiss his lips gently. Then it
dawned on him, "Scully are you pregnant?" his voice low and
obviously in pain. She looked down and nodded. " How?" was the
only word that would come out of his dry mouth as his nurse
started pushing meds to help him calm before they took him to
surgery. " Mulder I can not explain how it happened but that it
did and we are going to have a baby." As the drugs started taking
effect he tried to comprehend the word 'we' and then he fell to
sleep. Scully watched as the orderly and nurse rolled Mulder out
of the room towards surgery.


The gunmen and Scully were waiting for the surgeon to come out
and talk with Scully. Mulder had been in surgery for the past
four hours and the nurse had come out twenty minutes earlier and
told them that Dr carpenter would be out shortly to talk to her.
Scully was getting tired of no news. She was about to rush
through the doors to the operating room when Dr. Carpenter came
out with a worn appearance. He walked over to Scully and motioned
her to sit. " How is he?" she asked worriedly. Dr Carpenter
looked over at the very tired woman and shook his head; " He is
going to recovery soon. What did they do to him Dr Scully?" She
was shocked by the question and did not have a ready answer,"
What's wrong with Mulder. I need to see him now." She stood and
started to proceed forward but the surgeon stopped her movements
with a gentle hand. " Wait a few minutes Dr Scully, I need to
talk to you for a few minutes. Mr. Mulder had a difficult time in
surgery. We found several unknown devices in his intestinal wall,
which we removed. He also had a lot of scar tissue so we are
going to allow the bowel to rest and I made him a temporary
iliostomy, he'll need the bowel reattached in a few months."
Scully sat back down in her chair and buried her face into her
hands. The physician patted her on the back. For a few minutes
the room was quiet. Then the surgeon reached into his lab coat
and pulled out a plastic bowl and opened it up," We took the
films on hand and found the other devices as well, a total of
thirty-two. We figured that we would save him another surgery. Dr
Sandler was very informative regarding his past medical history
and his propensity towards the unknown." He looked down to study
the contents of the bowl and looked over to Scully, who was now
very attentive to the devices. She took them from his hand and
stared down at them without saying anything for several minutes,
she just stared at the devices similar to the one that she had
run over the scanner at the grocery store years ago. She looked
up at the bewildered doctor and spoke softly," When can I see
him?"  The surgeon stood and motioned her in through the double
doors leaving the three men in the waiting room. As they
approached they noticed movement from the gurney Mulder was
positioned, she walked up to the gurney and picked up his still
restrained hand and spoke in a whisper," Shh, it's going to just
fine Mulder."  She placed the bowl into her pocket and took her
free now free hand and began to stroke his face and soon he
settled into the gurney and was quiet. He opened his eyes and
looked up at his best friend," Hey. We are going to have to stop
meeting like this Scully." His voice was more hoarse than before
surgery. She smiled at him with tears in her eyes. He had
bandages over several areas including his arms, legs, groin area
and chest cavity. His mouth was oozing dark old blood and she
noted that he was having difficulty talking. The physician had
gone through the roof of his mouth to remove one in the sinus
cavity. She had seen the CT scan and the xrays but there must
have been some shadowing due to the fact that she had only
counted twenty devices. She was worried that they had done so
much in one surgical period. He was not strong enough for so much
to be removed but she felt that they had concern that these
foreign objects would cause infection. He noticed the silence
even in his drugged haze and smiled at her," We are going to have
a baby" Really?" She nodded and reached down and placed a gentle
kiss on his very sore mouth but he did not grimace but instead he
smiled and closed his eyes, " A baby. Scully is having a baby."
The drugs pulled him back under and the nurses proceeded to give
him care and tend to his meds and IV's while Scully looked down
at the man she loved more than life.

TWO DAYS LATER

Skinner had convinced Scully that he could stay in a room on the
regular floor and Agent Doggett could be his roommate. They had
discussed how Doggett had gotten involved in the search that lead
to finding Agent Mulder but Skinner was still suspect of the man.
Scully entered the room carrying two charts. " Good morning."
Both Skinner and Doggett straightened up in the bed when she
entered. "Good morning Agent Scully." Skinner returned and
Doggett mumbled," What's so good about it, when do I get to leave
this place." She smiled and wrote a quick note on his chart.
Doggett noticed and spoke up quickly," If that is for another
enema then you can think again." He pulled he covers up around
his neck quickly. Skinner laughed," Seriously, how is Mulder?"
Scully smiled a bigger smile," He is doing better but he has a
long road to travel. He has a lot of healing to do both mentally
and physically. He still blames himself for Abbey and Blue. Dr
Sandler is starting him on some antidepressants for his
depression and sedatives for his anxiety attacks. He feels that
Mulder should see a psychiatrist and talk about his abduction. He
is very quiet about what they did to him during his captivity."
Doggett sat up and took notice of his partner and her devotion to
this man, whom he had never met. "Not to change the subject but
when will we get to go home?" She smiled and took a look at his
chart and answered," In a few days, I want both of your labs to
look a little bit better." She turned to leave and before she got
out the door she turned again and smiled," Leave the nurses alone
boys or I will order a rectal exam." She then turned and left
leaving the men staring at each other wondering if she was
serious.


Scully walked slowly down the hallway to the pediatric unit when
she noticed that someone familiar was standing outside the
pediatric unit. She had declined the bodyguard after the Mulder's
surgery. She quickly drew her gun from her jacket and aimed it at
his head, " Turn around with your hands up in the air." She
screamed, alerting the medical staff to the intruder. He slowly
turned and looked at the very pregnant Scully, " How is he?" Her
face was flushed with anger and she held the gun a little bit
tighter in her hands. " You don't give a damn about him you sorry
piece of crap. How much did you sell him out for Krycek, thirty
pieces of silver?" her voice was shakey and so was the finger on
the trigger and Krycek knew that he was in a lot of trouble." You
over estimate my position in the Alien race struggle. I am but a
player just as you, Mulder and your unborn child. They control
all of us but most people are unaware of their presence." She
raised the gun to point between his eyes, "You sold him out and
he has had to spend the last five months of his life in hell. I
should send you on now." Her voice cracking with emotion. He
walked away from the door and stood within a few feet of Scully.
" They want him back and are willing to die to accomplish that
goal. They were not finished with his tests." She felt the
trigger move under her finger and her aim moved a little bit
closer," Go to hell. You will not touch one hair on his head and
if you do I will personally find you and kill you, now leave." He
walked away and stopped without turning," You can't go to hell
and back without getting closer to God Agent Scully. Mulder
should feel very close to Him. He will need all the help he can
get." He then walked away down the hall and disappeared. She
finally was able to bring down the gun and put it away. After she
calmed her nerves she walked to Mulder's cubicle and noticed that
the guard was gone. Mulder was sleeping the drug induced sleep
with drool running down his cheek. She pulled out a tissue and
gently wiped off the spit and threw it into the trash and sat
down. She knew that they were close and her partner would never
find true rest in this world. Her hand rubbed over the quiet baby
inside of her belly, " I love you Mulder and I promise they will
never take you again. Never."

UNKNOWN LOCATION

She sat in the white room, her knees drawn up to her chest. She
could barely remember her name. They had done terrible tests on
hr and now she sat alone, unable to move due to fear. Her
clothing was nothing but a thin white gown. She felt scared and
alone. Her face was stained with tears and her fingernails were
no longer able to tolerate her abuse. They had informed her that
she was pregnant just hours ago. This should be the happiest day
of her life but she only felt horror. They informed her that she
would be carrying the child to term here in this place. She felt
like dying, only days ago she was caring for the man who had
almost died at her tormentors hands. Now here she was and her
fate was unsure. She placed her hands on her stomach and cried
harder than she ever knew was possible. She just wanted to go
home.

The end (maybe a sequel? You tell me, thanks for reading!