From: Val0929@aol.com Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 18:40:11 EDT Subject: My Heart Will Go On File Source: direct ****************** Mulder was taken to the officer's section of E-Deck, to a room far below the top decks, in the bowels of the ship. People were milling around, confused at the tremendous collision with the iceberg. Water was beginning to come in on the bow end of the ship, forcing steerage passengers to gather their belongings and look for dry ground. They were rushing past the room where Mulder was taken. "Hands around the pipe," the Master of Arms ordered and Mulder complied. He was handcuffed. Suddenly a smaller steward came rushing into the room. "Sir, you have to get up to the 2nd class purser's office. There's a big mob up there," he said breathless. The Master of Arms sighed. The CSM stepped forward, drawing his gun. "Go ahead, I'll watch him." "Aye," The Master of Arms said reluctantly and followed the steward out of the room, leaving Mulder and the CSM alone. ****************** Scully stood in her suite, silent as a stone. One hand was on her hip and the other on the table where Mulder's drawing tools had sat just an hour previously. Spender was pacing in front of her. Diana was standing at the door to the promenade deck, arms crossed, staring angrily ahead in space. Scully stared down at the floor, feeling her heart ache within her. Spender stopped in front of her. He took a breath as if to say something, but clamped his mouth shut and instead suddenly backhanded her across the face. Scully cried out and nearly fainted, clutching the table for support with one hand while the other cradled her injured face. She had never been slapped before. Once, she vowed if a man ever slapped her she would shoot him where no man would ever want to be shot. Unfortunately she didn't have her gun with her. She looked up at him, steaming with anger and shock. Spender leaned toward her. "Oh, it's the little slut, isn't it," he growled. Diana just watched, not bothering to do anything against him. She took a long swig of the brandy in her hand and paced behind him. "You're lucky that's all you got, Dana," she said, offering no help to her. Scully was staring down at the floor, not giving him the pleasure of eye contact. He grabbed her shoulders violently, shaking her and forcing her head up. "You look at me when I'm talking to you!" At that moment there was a knock at the door and a steward came rushing in. "Mr. Spender, Miss Scully, Miss Fowly, the captain has requested that you put on your lifebelts and come up to the boat deck." Scully's head whipped to him. She had almost forgotten that the ship was sinking. Her heart leapt in her throat when she realized she didn't know where they had taken Mulder--he could be anywhere, drowning. She shook her head. He was not her Mulder. He was an illusion, a fantasy. "Please not now. We're busy!" Spender snapped, glaring at him. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you, Mr. Spender, but it's captain's orders." He disappeared into the bedroom and opened the closets, pulling out three lifebelts. Diana sighed in exasperation. "I'm not putting on one of those disgusting things!" Scully shook her head. People truly didn't change. ****************** Mulder watched the water level begin to rise outside of his window to where it was halfway up the porthole. His heart began to race. The Titanic really was sinking--and he was trapped on one of the lowest decks. The CSM was watching a bullet on a table rolling toward him due to the tilted angle the ship was taking. He looked up at Mulder. "I do believe this ship may sink, Mr. Mulder," he said in a cold matter-of-fact voice. Mulder glared at him as he got up and walked over. With a heave, the CSM punched him in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. Mulder slumped to the ground, groaning. The CSM stood above him and silently lit a cigarette. "Compliments of Mr. Jeffrey Spender," the CSM said calmly and walked out of the room, pocketing the key to the handcuffs. ****************** Scully was stumbling, disoriented because of her assault by Spender. Their entourage was coming up the B- Deck staircase and onto A-Deck Grand Staircase landing. Dozens of people milled around, laughing and completely oblivious to the fate of the ship and their loved ones. Music from the band was floating in from the First Class Lounge. She saw Molly Brown demanding what was going on and when she couldn't get an answer she walked away with her male escorts. Scully's thoughts were not on the sinking, but on Mulder. He was in every way like her Mulder of 1999. There was no way she could have ever fallen in love with him if he hadn't been. A terrifying thought struck her. If this was a dream, then she was dreaming of the people in her life--and that meant she was dreaming of Mulder. He HAD to be the real one--she had created him. And right now he was being put under arrest in the bowels of the ship--and it was rapidly flooding with water. There was no way she could escape them now. Diana was giving orders to Trudy to go back to their rooms and turn the heaters on for some tea later. Scully let out a laugh at their stupidity. They would never see their rooms again. She spotted Skinner walking around, looking around him in a state of shock. No doubt that he knew--he had informed the crew of the fate of the ship. She hurried toward him and grabbed him as he headed up the Grand Staircase. "Sir," Scully said. He stopped and looked at her, warm recognition in his eyes. Despite what had happened at lunch, he still cared for her greatly. "I saw the iceberg, and I see it in your eyes. Will the ship sink?" He looked around sadly and stepped off the stairs onto the landing. Skinner held her shoulders, keeping his voice low as to aviod a panic. "Yes, Dana. It will. In an hour of so, all this will be at the bottom of the Atlantic." He looked once again at the Grand Staircase and the magnificent glass dome. Scully's heart dropped. Nothing she had done had worked. History was going to stay the same. "You're certain?" Skinner nodded and Scully realized that Spender was standing right behind her, and that he had heard everything. "What?" he said incredulously. Skinner ignored him and kept his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Get to a boat quickly, Dana. Don't wait. You remember about the boats, don't you?" Scully nodded and kept her voice low. "Yes, I understand." Skinner looked sadly to her and continued up the stairs. She turned around and her eyes met Spender's shell-shocked ones. Her face was a glare mixed with shock. Stewards led them out to the boat deck, where seamen and officers were working frantically at the lifeboats, breaking the davits and taking the canopy covers off. Second Officer Lightoller was trying to yell above the deafening noise of steam being released from the Titanic's four funnels. Scully watched in fascination at the scene before her. She was watching history. "Ladies and gentleman, come toward me! Don't be afraid! Please step forward!" Lightoller yelled when suddenly the steam stopped and there was a silence. "Good," he smiled. "At this time I will require only women and children. Gentleman please step back and allow the ladies to get on the boats." Spender took Diana's arm and pushed her toward the boat. Scully watched the tiny boat wobble. The problem was that none of the women wanted to leave the big warm ship and get into a small, unstable little lifeboat. Spender looked behind him and saw Scully. She just stared up at him, her eyes neutral. "Come on, madam. Get into the boat," Lightoller took the arm of a 1st class lady and helped her into the boat. She protested, but her husband urged her in, saying she would see him in the morning. Scully looked sadly at the scene. "Will the lifeboats be seated according to class?" Diana asked loudly, bundled up in many fur coats and gloves. She looked back at Spender and Scully, a smile on her face. "I hope they're not too crowded. I don't want to sit next to heathens," she laughed. Spender smiled in reply, but Scully's face just twisted up in disgust. She grabbed Diana's arms and forced her to face her. "Oh, Diana, shut up! Don't you understand? The water is freezing and there aren't enough boats--not enough by half," she paused. "Half the people on this ship are going to die." "Not the better half," Spender said in a low voice. Scully's look shoots up to him, her eyes wide in horror at his comment. She realized with sickening clarity that Mulder didn't stand a chance. "You unimaginable bastard," Scully growled. Spender just looked at her, his features cold and emotionless. He let out a little smirk and handed a lifebelt to Diana, who had already climbed into the boat. Molly Brown was sitting beside her. "Come on, Dana. You're next, darling," she said, holding a hand out to her. Scully just stared at them. She couldn't believe she had even stayed with them up until now. They were evil, cold, and completely uncaring of human life. She began to back away from this world, away from its backward values. She had to get to him before the water did. She loved him. He WAS her Mulder. Not a figment of her imagination. "Dana, get into the boat!" Diana insisted, embarrassed that her sister was making a scene. Scully didn't reply. Her face was twisted in disgust. "Goodbye, Diana. I'll see you in hell," she snapped and whirled around, walking away quickly. Diana could do nothing in the small, tipsy boat. She began to yell after her sister, begging her to get on. Her cries were unheeded as Scully took off in the crowd. Spender started after her. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him. "Where are you going? What, to be with him? To be a whore to a gutter rat?" Spender cried, disgusted, tightening his firm grasp on her arm. Scully glared up at him, her face twisting into a smirk. "I'd rather be his whore than your wife." She pulled herself away, but Spender refused to let go, tugging her back with him towards the boat. He wasn't going to admit defeat that easily. Instead, Scully began to claw at him, viciously fighting back. "No! I said no!" he yelled, trying to avoid her flying hair. Scully stopped struggling and spit right in his face. Startled, he let go and she took the opportunity and darted off, hiding herself in the crowd. Spender stared after her in shock. ****************** Scully ran through the 1st class hallway, her eyes scanning every person that passed. Everyone was moving down to the boat deck, dressed in bulky clothes and wearing lifebelts. The panic level around her was beginning to rise steadily. "Mr. Andrews? Mr. Andrews?" she yelled, stopping at a cross-hall and heading down another. She finally saw him, checking rooms and telling people to put on lifebelts. "Mr. Andrews! Thank God!" Scully ran up to him. He was startled at seeing her. "Dana, what are you doing here?" he asked, frantic. "Where would the Master of Arms take someone under arrest?" Scully asked, breathless. Skinner looked at her incredulously. "What? You have to get to a boat right now, Dana-" "No!" Scully protested. "Sir, all I want is information! Despite what you say, I'm doing this with or without your help. A man's life is at stake!" Skinner sighed and placed a hand on her back. "Take the lift to the bottom deck, then turn right and left again at the stairs. You'll come to a long corridor." Scully listened carefully, her heart racing. She was going to find him not matter what. He finished explaining and Scully gave him a huge hug. To her, he was still Assistant Director Walter Skinner, who had saved them more times than she could count. "Thank you, sir. Mulder thanks you too," she gave him a quick smile and took off to save her partner. ****************** Scully pushed herself past everyone in the A-Deck foyer, shooting around the corner next to the stairs where the lifts were. People were gathered around them, trying to use them, but the operator stood in front, preventing anyone from getting through. "I'm sorry, but the lifts are not in operation at this time. Everyone, please use the stairs," a weasely looking crewman said, placing a hand on either side of him to block access. Scully raced up to him, pushing the crowd aside. He stopped her. "I'm sorry, miss, but the lifts are closed." Scully was near despair, but then her fierce FBI nature kicked in. It didn't matter if it was the devil himself trying to stop her. She was going to get to her partner. Scully grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and forced him back into the lift. "I'm through being polite! Take me down now or I swear to God I'll throw you overboard!" she yelled, slamming up against the back of the elevator. He was intimidated and didn't fight her strength. She hurridly closed the door while he grabbed the controls in fright. "E-Deck." ****************** The water was beginning to pour in through the door. Mulder was in complete panic, struggling to remove the handcuffs. He grabbed the pipe and tried to rip it out of the wall, but was unsuccessful. He pulled and twisted, but the handcuffs wouldn't budge. The key was no where in sight and the corridors around him were abandoned. The only way he could get the cuffs off was to break his wrists. There had to be another way to get help. Then he thought of Scully and his heart dropped. Why hadn't she come to help him? He knew the answer to that. She thought he was someone else. She didn't feel anything for him. She had gone with her rich fiance and sister. "Help! Can anybody hear me? Hello? Helloooo? Get me out of here!" Mulder shouted at the top of his lungs, but there was no one around to hear him. ****************** Scully held her breath as the lift descended. She began to feel cold, but she was too scared to care. Mulder could already be dead. She felt sick at the thought. The operator was in an intimidated silence. They neared the bottom deck and Scully looked down as they passed D-Deck. The floor was green--or was it? They descended fast and before they knew it water was pouring into the lift. Both she and the operator cried out as water surged through the gates around them. It was like buckets and buckets of ice being dumped onto her body. The lift was in a foot of icewater, whirling around their legs, threatening to engulf them. The operator began to yell, "I'm going back up! I'm going back up!" He grabbed the controls, but Scully threw him back against the elevator. "No! Let me out!" She clawed at the door and pushed back the gates, landing herself into a flooded foyer. The walls seemed to be glowing green as they reflected the light from the seawater. "I'm going back up! I'm going back up! You're crazy, lady!" the operator yelled as he closed the gates and the lift ascended back to A-deck. As the water poured out of the elevator like a waterfall as it went up, Scully turned back and had a moment of hesitation. Then she shook her head and hiked up her long, floor-length white skirt and long pink dress coat. She was going to get to Mulder no matter what. He meant too much to her. "Mulder? Mulder? Can you hear me?" she began to yell. Scully rounded the corner into the crew passage and then took another right down a longer corridor. Water was calf-deep and her feet were numb, but she kept going, shouting his name, praying for a response. She looked in every room she passed, trudging through the water. A chair had floated out from a steerage cabin and she shoved it aside. Then suitcases and clothes began to pile around her, almost as if they were purposely holding her back. She tossed them out of the way. Nothing was going to stop her. "Mulder?" Scully yelled again, her voice becoming hoarse. "Can you hear me, Mulder?" ****************** Mulder climbed onto the desk next to him to escape the freezing water swirling around his legs. Suddenly he heard the most wonderfully familiar voice of his life. "Mulder? Mulder? Are you there?" Scully! Mulder's heart leapt. "Scully! Scully! Here, Scully!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He banged his handcuffs against the pipe, hoping the sound would attract her. "I'm in here!" ****************** Scully whirled around at the sound of her name. "Mulder?" She began to move back toward where the water was lowest. She heard her name again. "Scully! I'm in here!" "Mulder! Mulder!" She pushed open a door and there was nothing. "Mulder?" She tried the one across the hall and saw her partner handcuffed to a steel pipe. Scully pushed the door open against the swirling water. He was smiling from ear to ear with relief. Scully trudged across the room, sloshing through the icewater to Mulder, holding her arms out. "I'm sorry, Mulder. I'm so sorry I didn't come," she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He buried his face in her damp hair, nearly crying with relief. "It's okay, Scully. It's okay. You're here," Mulder assured her. She raised her head and saw his handcuffs. "Oh, God, Mulder," she began to panic. "Scully, you have to find a spare key. Check in that cabinet!" he motioned to the large wood cabinet with dozens of little keys. Handcuff keys were always silver, but all of the keys were brass. "It's not here, Mulder," she touched each key as she scanned them. "Look in the desk. It was sitting there before he left," Mulder said, still struggling with the cuffs himself. She immediately turned to the desk and began to search the top, tearing through papers. It was a mess in the room as the water rose, setting things afloat. Scully pulled out desk drawers and ransacked them, but came up with nothing. She searched cupboards, closets, and boxes. She stopped trashing the room and caught her breath. "There's no key, Mulder," she sighed in frustration. "Dammit, and I don't have my gun with me," she instinctively searched her back where it was normally kept. "You have to go for help, Scully," Mulder stated, his voice slightly quivering with fright. He didn't want to be left alone down here. Scully nodded. She was nervous herself about leaving him, but she realized that was the only way she could get Mulder out of this. She looked up at him, her eyes determined. "Don't worry, Mulder. I'm going to get you out of here." Mulder smiled, "It'll be alright, Scully. If anyone can do it, you can." Scully looked up at him, startled. It sounded like something the Mulder in 1999 would say. She leaned in and kissed him hard. "I'll be right back," she promised. Mulder nodded in reply, trying to look brave. Scully turned around and shoved floating debris out of her way as she left the room. Mulder's heart was pounding as he saw his salvation disappear from the room. The sound of water pouring in assaulted his ears. "I'll just wait here!" ****************** Scully splashed down the hall but she looked up and saw the water deeper down at the other end. She turned and headed up some stairs, heaving herself and her wet dress and coat out of the icy water. Her long skirt was leaving a trail of water behind her. At least it would show her the way back. "Hello? Is there anyone here? Hello?" Scully meandered her way around the halls, looking for a sign of life anywhere. She stopped at a cross-hall. "Is there anyone down here?" she shouted, but her only response was silence. She was completely alone. A long groan of stressed metal echoed off the walls, sounding like a beast opening its jaws. It gave her the incentive to keep going. Bags and luggage lay littered around her. Suddenly as she rounded a corner, she tripped over a large trunk that had been abandoned in the evacuation of the steerage section. Scully went sprawling forward with a cry that mixed with the creaks and groans of the ship. She landed hard on the floor, banging her head against the steel floor. The world was in a haze as Scully lay flat on her stomach, completely disoriented. Everything began to spin and darkness creeped in front of her eyes, threatening to send her into unconsciousness. She moaned in pain. Her head began to pound as her cheek rested against the hard, cold floor. If she passed out now there would be no one to help Mulder. He was her partner and no matter what she was going to rescue him. With a cry of determination, Scully picked herself up off the floor. She gently touched her forehead and came away with blood. Despite the merciless pounding in her head, she got to her knees, using the wall to lift herself off the floor. She stumbled forward and turned a corner, faced with another long hallway. She stopped to catch her breath, devastated at the lack of assistance. "Hello?" she called but, complete despair evident in her voice. Her only answer was a shallow stream of water, which was creeping its way toward her from the far end of the hall. Scully gasped and turned back the way she came. And then the lights went out. Scully backed herself against the wall, her heart racing and ready to leap out of her chest. This was like a bad dream. Scully squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe it was. Suddenly the lights flickered and came back on, amid creaks and groans from the ship. She realized she was hyperventilating. That was the most terrifying moment of her life. She struggled to catch her breath. She was completely, utterly alone. And if she didn't move fast enough, Mulder would drown. Scully closed her eyes and said an "Our Father." Then when she opened her eyes, they settled on a glass case across the hall. A fire-ax Scully gasped in relief and grabbed a suitcase from off the floor. She threw it at the glass and it shattered all over the ground. Seizing the ax like a lifeline, she sprinted back the way she came. She reached the E-Deck stairway quickly and took a sharp breath. The water had flooded the bottom five stairs, bringing the water up far past her waist. Scully slowly started down them, murmuring, "Oh, my God." Putting her feet in the water, she had to crouch down to see the down the hallway in which Mulder was trapped. She put her hands on the frame and leaned her head inward. Water rushed toward her, filling up any empty space it could. A bright light lit up the hallway as an emergency light shorted out. The sickening popping sound caused Scully to snap her head around to look at it. Her heart pounded as she stepped back and shrugged out of the pink embroidered topcoat she had been wearing for warmth. Now all she was dressed in was a long white slip dress that was soaked to the bone. She grabbed the ax and, using the doorframe as leverage, let herself glide into the freezing water. Scully cried out at the pain, but forged ahead, holding onto piping above her as she slowly shimmied her way to the room Mulder was being held in. The ax was in her other hand. Every pull through the twenty-eight degree water tore through her body and every breath constricted her lungs. Water rushed behind her, pushing her forward and threatening to make her lost her balance. But she eventually made it to ground where she could touch without holding onto the pipe. She held the ax above her head with both hands and slowly the water receded to waist deep. She pushed herself through and swung at the door with the blunt side of the ax, knocking it open. Mulder was kneeling on the desk she had ransacked moments earlier. He nearly collapsed in relief when he saw her. "Thank God, Scully! Hurry!" "Will this work?" Scully held up her weapon. Mulder nodded. "I guess we'll find out. Come on!" he spread his hands out so that the handcuffs' chain was taut. Scully raised the ax and was prepared to swing, but Mulder stopped her. "Wha-Wha-Wait! Open your hands more, Scully." Scully spread them as she was told. She was nervous. Her lips were blue and her teeth chattering in the sub-zero water. As a doctor she realized that extreme temperatures made muscle coordination sluggish. That was the last thing she needed to know right now. "Just hit it really hard and really fast," he stopped and looked at her, his look alone filling her with strength. "You can do it, Scully. I know you can." Scully had never thrown an ax before and Mulder's life was depending on her doing it. But he was looking at her with encouragement. "I trust you, Scully." Scully took a deep breath and brought the ax down hard. At the last second she shut her eyes. When she heard a CLANG, she opened her eyes, expecting to see Mulder's wrist lying in the water. Instead, Mulder's handcuffs were split apart. He cried out with joy as Scully nearly collapsed, not believing what she had done. Mulder grabbed her head and kissed her hard on the lips as she dropped the ax into the water. Scully began to laugh insanely with disbelief. "We've got to get out of here," he said as Scully helped him down into the water. He gasped in pain. "Oh, shit! This is cold! Dammitt!" He swore as they waded through the waist deep seawater. They got to the door and saw water rushing in at the stairs--the only way out. "What now?" Scully asked, panic rising in her throat. Mulder grabbed her hand and began to pull her with him. "We find another way. Let's go." ****************** The boats were leaving steadily, but only half full. The passengers had finally figured out that something was horribly wrong and all they wanted to do was get off the ship. The senior officers working the lifeboats had to resort to firing blanks in the air to keep people from swarming the tiny boats. The once bright letters of the name TITANIC on the forward hull were now disappearing under the water, tinted green as they sank deeper. Distress rockets were being fired regularly, but there was no one around for ten miles. No one close was responding to their hails. Titanic was utterly alone. ****************** Mulder began to pound on a locked wooden door. It was a dead end and water was rushing at them. Scully pushed with him, feeling it splinter under their weight. "Push harder, Scully!" he yelled. With a cry from both of them, it gave, and they went tumbling headfirst into Scotland Road, a long and wide passage that was the most frequently used on the ship. Several groups of steerage families gasped as they saw the soaking wet twosome, one of whom was a young woman in a wet white dress that showed more than a lady would want. A steward began to chase after them as they hurried down the long hall, hand-in-hand. "Wait! Where are you going? You have to pay for that White Star Line property you destroyed there!" Mulder and Scully whirled around. "SHUT UP!" The steward backed off, dumfounded. Mulder and Scully continued to hurry down the passage, looking for a way up to the boat deck--to the lifeboats. They reached a large E- Deck stairway completely overtaken by steerage passengers. They were waiting for the gates to open, but the steward behind them wouldn't open them. "It's not time to go up to the boats yet! Please stay calm!" he insisted in a high-pitched weasely voice. Mulder growled in frustration and slammed his fist against the wall. No one would let them up until the first and second class passengers were loaded, but both Mulder and Scully knew there weren't enough boats for them. They had to get up there on their own. "Mulder!" a few male voices yelled. Mulder and Scully whirled around and Scully was almost amused to see the Lone Gunmen coming toward her. They had been playing the Irish instruments the night before in the third class general room. "Guys!" Mulder exclaimed with happiness and gave them all a quick joyful hug. "Mulder, all the boats are going!" Byers said. "If we don't get out of here we'll be eating seaweed for breakfast," Frohike looked around him. "This whole place is flooding. We don't have much time left," Mulder said, his hand still gripping Scully's tightly. "There are more gates back that way. Maybe we can get out through one of them," Byers suggested. Mulder nodded, "Okay, let's go." They group took off down Scotland Road, Mulder holding Scully's hand and the Lone Gunmen trailing behind them. They turned off the passage and into a smaller labyrinth of steerage quarters. Pushing past catatonic immigrants and foreign families, they came to a smaller set of stairs. Some people were standing there yelling at the steward, but all he did was order them to go back to the main E-Deck stairwell. Mulder stepped forward, letting go of Scully's hand and pointing a threatening finger at the small steward. "Open the gate." The steward shook his head and repeated, "Go back to the main stairwell." "Open the gate right now!" Mulder was nearly shouting. The steward repeated it more forcefully. "Go back down the main stairwell like I told you!" Scully groaned in frustration and Mulder was boiling with rage. He grabbed the gate with both of his large hands and began to shake it furiously. "Goddammit! Son-of-a- bitch!" he roared, completely losing it. Mulder whirled around quickly, looking for anything to use. He spotted a large wooden bench against the wall about five feet from the gate. "Frohike, Byers, Langly, give me a hand!" He shouted as he grabbed one end of the bench. The Lone Gunman quickly joined him and with their combined strength they ripped it from the wall. Scully figured out what they were doing and began to push people to either side. "Move aside! Quickly, move aside!" she shouted, pushing herself against the wall as well. A second later the men came rushing at the gate and rammed it, knocking it partly out of its track. "Again!" Mulder shouted and the men rammed it again. It fell completely down, landing only inches from the still-protesting steward. Mulder stepped over it and grabbed Scully's hand, the Lone Gunmen following close behind. The rest of the crowd surged through. "You can't go up there! You can't go-" Frohike decked him, knocking him flat on the ground. ****************** Mulder and Scully burst onto the boat deck, immediately assailed by the chilly North Atlantic air. She had grabbed a blanket from a steward and had wrapped it around herself, but it wasn't helping. Scully looked forward and saw that the bow was completely underwater. A wave of sadness passed over her at remembering that that was where she and Mulder had shared their first kiss. Suddenly, gunshots startled them and caused them to whirl around. They saw Officer Lowe in a lifeboat, overcrowded to say the least, which was being lowered. People from the decks below were trying to get in and Lowe had no choice but to fire his weapon to drive them back. "Stay back! Stay back!" Lowe shouted, trying to get order. The boat landed safely in the water and began to row away from the chaos. Scully looked around and saw no other boats near them, only empty davits. "We're too late! The boats are gone!" she exclaimed. Byers pushed them forward, closer aft. "There are more all the way forward. Let's go." They all took off, Mulder gripping Scully's hand to make sure they didn't get separated in the crowd. As they raced through the crowd, they passed the band, which amazingly was still playing. They were plucking out "Orpheus" on their instruments. "Music to drown by--now I know I'm in first class!" Langly exclaimed as they ran through the crowd. Scully heard a tremendous WHOOSH and realized that water had spilled onto the B-Deck already and was quickly heading overtaking the deck. Titanic was sinking fast-- faster than she had ever realized. The boats now were so crowded there was no way she and Mulder would ever get in one together. They stopped at Boat 2, where Lightoller was loading women and children. His pistol was visible at his side as a warning to any man who might overrun his boat. Mulder wrapped his arms around Scully, pushing her forward in the crowd so she could have a shot at the boat. It was chaos. They were being shoved from all sides. Women were crying and children were wailing to be with their fathers. Scully looked over and saw a middle-class gentleman who was getting his family into the boat. He assured his wife and daughters that they would see him again soon, that he would get on another boat. It was a lie--he knew it and so did Scully. She turned to Mulder, his face inches from hers. "I'm not going without you," she stated firmly. Mulder's eyes widened. "You have to go, Scully. You're going to make it out of here." Scully shook her head, her eyes narrowed with disbelief. "No, Mulder! I can't believe you're even suggesting this!" "Scully, you're the only one of us who can get in that boat!" Frohike insisted. Scully looked to him, startled. He had called her by her last name--as if he knew her. "Get in the boat, Scully," Mulder insisted, his voice lower. "Yes, get in the boat, Dana." Scully and Mulder looked up in shock to see Spender standing there with the CSM right behind him. She instinctively stepped back towards Mulder. Spender stared at her and realized that she was wearing a see-through dress that was soaked and torn. In 1912, it was a shocking display. "My God, look at you. You look a fright! Here, put this on," Spender removed his long black overcoat and placed it on her shoulders. Scully shrugged herself away from him, but put her arms through the coat. Mulder stepped in front of him, blocking him from her vision. "You go, Scully. I'll get the next boat," Mulder promised, pushing her toward Lightoller. "I'm not getting into that boat!" "I'll be fine, Scully! You know me. I can survive anything. Now just get on!" Mulder was begging her to go. He wanted her to live more than anything. "Mulder, you're crazy if you think I'm leaving this ship without you!" Scully continued to protest. Spender watched this emotion with a clenched jaw. He leaned in to Scully. "I have an arrangement with an officer on the other side of the ship. Mulder and I can get off safely," he looked to Mulder, his eyes neutral. "Both of us." Scully looked to Mulder. He looked at Spender and then back at Scully. "See I told you, Scully. I'm going to be fine. Just take this boat and I'll meet you on the rescue ship." She didn't believe Mulder's false optimism for a second. She had seen too much handiwork of Jeffrey Spender to doubt that anything he said was the truth. But Mulder was so insistent. She remembered their conversation in the car and thought how ironic it was. Mulder had insisted that he would force her to get on a boat and Scully had shot back with how does he know he would even be there anyway. Now she was faced with a choice that was tearing her heart in two. She loved Mulder with every essence of her being, but if she didn't get on the boat now she would never have a chance to live--or to get back to her time. "Hurry," Spender managed an encouraging smile, "they're almost full." "Step aboard, miss!" an officer grabbed her from the crowd and Scully only put up a half-hearted fight as she was dragged to the lifeboat. Mulder grabbed her arm and attempted to help her onto the tipsy little boat. She grabbed the hands of an officer to steady herself. As soon as she was in the boat, she whirled around and grabbed Mulder's hand. She wasn't going to say goodbye that quickly. Her fingers brushed his for a moment before Lightoller pushed him away. Scully let out a small gasp of protest as she was forced to sit in the little boat. Mulder stood at the railing, looking down into the boat. Scully stared up at him, her eyes wide with sorrow. Their eyes met and never left each other. Spender stood beside him, watching her, but with a cold stare on his face. Scully realized she must look like a mess, with her hair wet and stringy and her clothes soaked. "Lower away!" Everything was a blur as the boat jerked and everyone cried out. It slowly began to descend, taking Scully farther away from Mulder. Tears formed as she realized this was probably the last time she would ever see him. "You're a good liar," Spender said in a low voice, keeping his eyes on Scully. "Not as good as you," Mulder shot back in the same neutral tone. He looked up at Spender. "There's, uh, there's no arrangement, is there?" Spender nodded, "Oh, there is--not that you'll benefit much from it." He met Mulder's eyes and gave him a smirk. "I always win, Mulder. One way or another." Mulder's heart fell as he realized he was screwed. There was no hope of survival for a third class male. He looked back down at Scully, not wanting to waste a second of his last view of her. She looked up at him and it all became slow motion for her. She focused on Mulder and the whole rest of the world was blocked out. Her heart was pounding in terror, thundering in her ears. This was not happening. A rocket burst above the boat, outlining Mulder's face in a halo of light as he gradually began to disappear. Tears were forming at the corner of his eyes and his hands were trembling as they rested on the rail. Tears were flowing down Scully's cheeks, her whole body overcome with unbearable pain. She wasn't going to leave him--not like this, not after six years together. They had never abandoned each other. This night would be no exception. Suddenly, Scully was on her feet, lunging across the other passengers, pushing them aside. Mulder realized what she was doing and began to yell. "Scully, don't!" Scully hurled herself out of the boat and landed at the rail of the A-Deck promenade, clinging to the side. Two men grabbed her arms and hauled her over the rail back onto the Titanic. Mulder was yelling at her, his heart-wrenching cries far louder than Spender's were. "Scully! What are you doing? Scully! No!" He tore himself away from the rail and sprinted along the boat deck, calling out her name. Scully ran down the A-Deck promenade, pushing passengers out of her way as she frantically searched for her partner. She turned into the foyer of the Grand Staircase just as Mulder came in off the boat deck, crashing through the glass doors. He sprinted down the stairs and Scully came running toward him, the tail of Spender's long black coat flying behind her. They collided in an embrace at the bottom of the stairs. "Scully!" he grabbed his head and kissed her hard, near tears. "You're so stupid, Scully!" Scully kissed him, holding him as tightly as she could, just thankful to be back with him. She just shook her head as Mulder continued to demand, "Why did you do that? Why, Scully?" Scully stopped and placed both her hands on his cheeks, holding his face. "You jump, I jump, right?" Mulder managed a breathy, defeated laugh. "Right." He pulled her to him once again and kissed her. Scully buried her face in his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to forget the insufferable pain she had just experienced. "I couldn't go, I just couldn't go, Mulder. Not with everything we've been through together." "It's alright, Scully. We'll think of something." Spender watched from the top of the stairs, looking over the rail at the two partners, watching them embrace. That she was willing to die for gutter scum like Fox Mulder filled him with murderous rage. Spender was shaking, gripping the rail so tightly that his knuckles were white. The CSM grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back with him away from the sight. But Spender snapped. He spun around and grabbed the CSM's gun from his waistband, dashing down the stairs to the landing on one cobra-fast move. As he raised the gun, Mulder looked up and cried out. The gun fired, and Mulder pulled Scully down with him. The bullet hit the cherub at the base of the stairs, exploding it all over the floor. "Come on, Scully! Move!" Mulder yelled and pushed Scully back toward the stairs to B-Deck as she tried to figure out what had happened. He grabbed her hand and the chase began. Spender ran down the Grand Staircase and tripped on the broken cherub, sliding hard to the floor. He picked himself up quickly and chased off after them. Scully and Mulder darted down one flight of stairs after another, desperately trying not to slip on the slick ceramic floor. Mulder urged her on, "Move, Scully!" They were going down the stairs two at a time as Spender fired behind them, hitting the water, the posts, the stairs--anything but Scully and Mulder. He was not a good shot. Scully cried out as a shot hit close beside her. Mulder pulled her closer to him, out of the way. They came down the D-Deck stairs and landed into straight into the water. It was several feet deep and Mulder pulled Scully with him against the current. "Come on, Scully! Go!" Spender arrived at the D-Deck landing, still firing. Sprays of water from Spender's bullets came up around them as they continued to splash their way through the flooded reception area. Scully screamed and ducked. They ran into the dining room, glass now shielding them. Spender fired with another murderous yell and hit the glass, barely missing Mulder's head. They were out of sight now. Spender pulled at the trigger, but all he got was a loud clicking. He was out of ammo. With a cry of rage, he threw the gun into the water. The wood was creaking and groaning around him, threatening to come down on his head. Water rushed in behind him, ascending every second. Spender looked around him and then back at the two retreating forms running through the 1st class dining room, seething. "I hope you enjoy your time together!" ****************** Scully and Mulder continued to run, out of breath and freezing. They were on dry ground now due to the tilt of the ship. Mulder looked behind them and realized there were no more shots. They turned into the kitchen and stopped, catching their breaths and watching to see if there was anyone still chasing after them. Then suddenly a small but terrified voice startled them. Mulder continued down the stairs with Scully in tow. They landed in a third class hallway that was quickly flooding. A little boy stood at the end, crying and pointing to the water. The double doors next to him were the only things preventing the whole hall from being flooded completely and if they broke they would all drowned. Water was falling from the ceiling, spilling out of the walls. Mulder turned to Scully. Her FBI training kicked in. "We can't leave him, Mulder." Mulder nodded and ran towards the boy, Scully running close behind him. He picked him up and started to run with him back to the stairs they came from. They stopped. A huge current of water was running down them. The dining room was completely flooded. There was no way out that way. Suddenly a man shouting in Italian ran out of one of the rooms. He grabbed the boy and pushed Mulder away, thinking he was kidnapping his son. The man ran to the other end of the hall, where he retrieved a suitcase. The double doors at that end were splinter and groaning from the tremendous pressure. Scully and Mulder ran after him, trying to stop him. "Stop! That's the wrong way! Come back!" Then suddenly the doors broke and a huge torrent of water came rushing at them. The father and child disappeared instantly while Mulder and Scully screamed and darted down a hallway, the water mercilessly at their feet, gaining on them like a speeding locomotive. "Run!" Mulder yelled as they ran. They desperately raced to outrun a huge wave coming around the corner. But it overtook them and they went gliding along with the water, tossing and turning in the tremendous current. "Scully!" Mulder shouted, his mouth filling with water when he tried to call for her. The water carried them wherever it wished, dragging objects with it, slamming them mercilessly up against walls "Mulder!" Scully yelled back, her arms flailing in the torrent of water. The current smashed them against a 3rd class gate. It cut Scully's forehead again, but she ignored it as she reached out to find Mulder. He was thrown up against he gate beside her and he only managed to grab her hand. The icewater swirled around them, engulfing them and threatening to bury them alive. "Scully, come on!" Mulder pulled her with him as they fought the current, inching their way against the wall. He dragged her behind him, and they finally reached the stairs. Mulder pulled Scully in front of him, grabbing the stairway rail. With a heave, he hoisted her up onto the stairs out of the water. He followed behind her. Scully reached the top of the stairs and cried out. An iron gate blocked their way to the boat deck. She grabbed it and began to shake it furiously, but it didn't budge. "Oh, God, no!" she screamed. Mulder threw his weight against it but didn't succeed in getting it off the track. "Help!" Scully screamed, shaking the gate. "Is anyone there?" Suddenly a steward appeared and ran past them, either not noticing them or not caring. He started up the stairs in front of them. "Sir! Sir, open the gate, please!" Mulder shouted. The steward stopped and whirled around. He saw the two partners standing behind the gate, trapped. The water was up to their ankles within seconds. He hesitated. "Help us, please!" Scully begged. The steward cursed silently at himself. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed and turned to the gate, fishing though a huge ring of keys. "Hurry!" Scully cried. The water was now up their knees. It was rushing so fast they had trouble staying on their feet. He tried several keys and they didn't work. In his nervousness, the keys slipped from his hand and landed on the floor--in several feet of icewater. He looked up at them, genuinely distraught. "I'm sorry, I lost the keys!" He whirled around and ran up the stairs. Scully continued to yell after him but Mulder took a deep breath and plunged under. He slipped his hand through the gate and fished around. Underwater, he heard Scully screaming for him to hurry. Suddenly his hand touched the chain and he pulled it through the gate towards him frantically. He shot to the surface, where the water was now up to their chests. They only had a few minutes of air left. "Which one, Scully?" he fingered hurriedly through the dozens of keys. Scully paused, desperately trying to think. "The sharp one! Try the sharp one!" Mulder plunged his hand underwater and had to search by feel for the lock. The lights were shorting out in the freezing water and the blinking made her dizzy. "Hurry, Mulder!" The water was up to their chins, pushing their heads toward the ceiling. Then suddenly the gate opened and Mulder and Scully went rushing with the water up the stairs. Scully pushed herself under some piping and emerged, taking a deep breath. She looked behind her for Mulder. He wasn't behind her. "Mulder!" Scully yelled, her heart in her throat. Mulder emerged, choking and heaving, behind the piping. He went under it and swam next to Scully. She grabbed his hand, pulling him with her to the stairs of the next deck. "Hurry, Mulder!" They seemed to go up endless stairs, outrunning the water. All around them the ship was groaning and cracking under the tremendous strain of the water. Scully realized they didn't have much time before the ship broke in half. The steel could only take so much before it cracked under the force. They threw open an ornate wooden door and landed in the first class smoking lounge. It was surprisingly silent except for the distant cries and screams from the boat deck. Few people were there. Some gentlemen were sitting and drinking brandy, dressed in lifebelts, accepting of their fate. Other women were being helped by their husbands. The partners rushed past them toward the revolving door that led to the Grand Staircase. As Scully and Mulder ran uphill around the poker tables, she cried out. "Wait, wait, wait!" she pulled Mulder to a stop. Scully tried to catch her breath as she looked at Skinner. He was catatonic in front of the fireplace, staring into a clock. A lifebelt was beside him, unused. He had given up trying to help anyone a long while ago. Nothing he could have done would have helped anyway. "Sir!" Scully cried. Skinner turned and saw her. A single tear ran down his cheek as his heart appeared to fall, a numb recognition evident in his eyes. "Oh, Dana," he replied so softly Scully could barely hear him Scully took a step forward. "Aren't you even going to make a try for it? Please, sir..." Skinner shook his head and picked up his lifebelt, holding it out to her. Affection and sorrow were evident in his eyes. "May the angels be on your shoulders tonight, Dana. I hope I see you again someday--in a better place than this." Scully felt tears pool in her eyes as she stared at her boss. He was going to die, but he was a truly brave soul and would be remembered. If she ever got out of this and back to her time, he would be one of the first people she saw. "I know you will, sir." She hugged him, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Skinner smiled back. Mulder gently took her hand. He respected her attachment to him, but they had to find a way to get off the ship quickly. "It's going fast. We have to move, Scully." With one last sad look, Scully allowed Mulder to lead her through to the door and out to the Grand Staircase. She quickly glanced behind her and saw Skinner staring after them, his heart falling. They broke through a door and landed at the boat deck. It was overrun by passengers running away from the water, up towards the dry stern. Scully looked around and saw only empty davits. It really was too late this time. There were no more boats--only the four collapsibles up toward the forward section. Both realized there was not hope in getting in them. Officers were brandishing guns to keeps the men away. Crowds and crowds of men from all classes threatened to swamp it. She briefly saw the Lone Gunmen trying to get on, fighting with the officer in charge. Water was swirling up the deck, inching closer and closer every second. What caused her heart to hurt was the band. The four men continued to play, except their music had changed from cheerful ragtime to "Nearer my God to Thee." The haunting strains made her stop and briefly reflect on what she was experiencing. Mulder pulled them to the rail and they both looked out for some escape route. All they saw were people jumping into the freezing ocean, desperately swimming to a lifeboat. The bridge was completely underwater and the tilt of the ship was worsening with every second. Dozens of passengers were streaming around them, fighting to get to higher ground. From every side they were being pushed and shoved. He turned her to face him. "We have to stay on the ship as long as possible, Scully!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her aft up the slanting deck with him, struggling because of the angle of the ship. Scully had put on the bulky white lifebelt over her soaking dress and coat. Mulder had her hand tightly in his as they fought through the incredible crowds. The lights of Titanic went out, eliciting a scream of terror from the passengers still trapped on the rapidly sinking ship. Then, as suddenly as they went out, they came back on. Scully's heart leapt. She hated the darkness, but she also realized that soon the lights would go out for good. Then there would be nothing under them. Mulder and Scully reached an A-Deck rail. Mulder clambered over it and landed on a large steel casing. He reached up and grabbed Scully's hands, helping her climb down next to him. Scully slipped when she was shoved from behind and she and Mulder landed with a THUD on the deck. Immediately they were assailed by a stampede. Scully cried out and reached for Mulder in the crowd. A hand reached out and grabbed her arm, hoisting her up on her feet. It was the baker, holding a whiskey flask in the other hand. "I've got you, miss!" he said. Mulder appeared behind her and they were pushed into a rush of panicking passengers trying to get down the stairs to the well-deck, which was the only was aft. People jumped off the ship right near them, screaming as they hit the freezing water. Scully just wanted to close her eyes and get away from this nightmare. Never in her life had she felt this much fear--but Mulder was by her side. The ship groaned and shuddered as the lights went out again and came back on, like a beast was under the ship ready to swallow all of them when Titanic finally went completely underwater. Mulder pushed through ahead of him, and the crowd gradually thinned out. Suddenly they heard a tremendous crash and they looked behind them. The forward funnel, the dummy funnel, had ripped from its base and was now toppling down into the water. Scully gasped as it crashed into the water with a tremendous splash. The tiny black figures that were swimming under it disappeared instantly. The huge waves that resulted tossed Collapsible A farther out. Water poured into the huge, gaping hole that was left in the funnel's wake. Swimmers were mercilessly sucked in like spiders down a drain as seawater whirlpooled into the belly of the ship. Another tremendous crash was heard, this time like breaking glass. The dome of the Grand Staircase had given away, sending hundreds of tons of water thundering through the first class areas like a waterfall. It was truly the Armageddon of elegance. Screams and wails of tremendous pain assailed Scully's ears, but she could do nothing. The roar of the doomed passengers was like a winning kick at the SuperBowl. Cracks and sickening splinters were heard as Titanic was ripped apart from the inside out. The awful groans sounded like the ship itself was wailing in pain as it was completely destroyed. People were jumping from the ship, some dying at the tremendous impact with the water, others passing out because of the freezing cold. Mulder continued to tug Scully behind him to the stern railing but the continuous tilting of the ship was making it challenging. They were clinging together as best they could as they grabbed an empty space at the stern railing, right next to the flagpole. Mulder gripped the rail with one arm and with the other kept a tight arm around Scully. She wrapped her arms around him, holding on for dear life. She clung closer to him as the lights blinked again and threatened to go out. As people on all sides jammed them in, Scully stared at the faces of the doomed around her. They were rich, poor, priests, women, children, lovers holding onto each other for the last time. Scully felt tears come to her eyes and her heart filled with infinite sadness. She turned to Mulder, tears streaming down her face. "Mulder," she said. He looked down at her, his eyes just as distraught. "This is where we first met!" Scully managed a breathy laugh. In fact, they had met six years ago, but in 1912 the meeting at the flagpole had changed both of their lives. Mulder looked at her with intense love in his eyes. Quickly he pulled her to him and kissed it fiercely, clutching her tightly against him. Scully tightened her arms around his waist and buried her head closer to his chest. This was where she truly felt safe. Then the lights went out completely. Titanic had become a black silhouette against the bright stars. Scully fought a scream in the intense darkness. Then she heard the most sickening crack in her whole life. The deck split, ripping open as if a tremendous claw had torn its way through the ship. A yawning chasm opened up, splitting the ship to the keel. The passengers clinging to the stern screamed as they plummeted down to the ocean, as if they were on a roller coaster ride from hell. Cables from the funnels ripped, sending the two forward funnels nose-diving into the water. All Scully could hear was explosions and breaking glass and splintering wood. Mulder pressed Scully tightly against the rail, holding the rail around her and keeping an arm wrapped around her waist. They were being pulled back by the gravity and if they let of they would go tumbling back down the deck. The ocean pouring into the gigantic hole sounded like Niagara Falls except accentuated by hundred and hundreds of terrified screams. The stern section fell back towards the water while the bow almost completely disappeared underneath the swirling black leviathan of the ocean. Dozens of people were sucked in, slamming against machinery and other huge furniture. The stern section paused as the people who had been swimming under it in the water were now gone. The mighty wave resulting from its plunge sent the few remaining collapsibles bobbing away from the ship. The awesome weight of the water flooding the bowels of the ship began to tug the stern section down. But instead of sinking, it was still attached by the keel to the forward section. The descent of the bow drug the stern section with it, pulling it up faster and faster. The stern lifted higher and higher out of water and helpless passengers began to slide down the decks, hitting benches, railings, ventilators, and other people. Mulder sprung into action and climbed over the stern rail, using the flagpole as leverage. He reached to Scully, who was clinging to the rail, in danger of slipping. She immediately grabbed his hand, holding onto it with all of her strength. "Come on, Scully!" Mulder pulled her by the hand as Scully grabbed the rail with the other and hoisted herself over. "I've got you, Scully! I won't let go!" As soon as she got over, the stern went completely vertical, sending people plummeting ten stories into the water. Then it stopped. The stern was straight up in the air, standing hundreds of feet up. It hung there silently, stable. For nearly two agonizing minutes, Scully lay on the railing, looking through the bars at the boiling sea below just waiting to swallow them up. Just below her feet were the gold letters TITANIC emblazoned on the stern. People beside her who didn't climb over hung from the railing. Some fell, others swung. Passengers below them fell as well, some hitting ventilators and benches, taking other people with them in the freezing water. Scully was holding her breath. Mulder placed himself on top of her, pressing her against the railing to keep her from falling. In normal circumstances she would have protested such an act. She didn't like to be protected, but she was too frightened to complain. In fact, it just showed her how much Mulder cared and how far he was willing to go for her life. Then suddenly the relentless final plunge began as the stern section flooded. The ship slowly started down like a nightmarish elevator ride. Mulder got off of her and lay right beside her. The 100 feet between them and the boiling black water became 75...than 60...than 50...than 25. Explosions were heard as the water blew the air out of the ship with immense force. Mulder grabbed her hand tightly in him. "This ship is going to suck us down!" Mulder was yelling and talking fast, but Scully heard every word. "Take a deep breath when I say! Keep for the surface and keep kicking! DO NOT let go of my hand!" Scully nodded as the swirling black water quickly approached them. "We're gonna make it, Scully! Trust me!" Mulder squeezed her hand and met her frightened eyes. "I trust you!" Scully yelled. She looked to Mulder and shouted, "I love you!" but at that moment he yelled. "NOW!" He hadn't heard her. They took deep breaths and Titanic disappeared under the boiling ocean. There was nothing now on the surface. ****************** Bodies were whirled and spun below the surface, as limp as rag dolls. Others were struggling against the tremendous suction. The ship disappeared beneath them with an incredible groan. Mulder and Scully held on to each other as they were swirled around in the icy water. Mulder kicked hard toward her and grabbed her lifebelt, attempting to pull them up to the surface. Scully grabbed his arms and pulled him with her. Her lifebelt was boosting her up while he had nothing. Then suddenly a blast of air ripped him away from her. Their hands broke and Mulder went spinning back into the black void below them. Scully tried to scream his name, but couldn't without air. She threw her hand out, but was met with only water. She broke the surface and immediately began to yell her partner's name at the top of her lungs. "MULDER! MULDER!" But her one voice melted into the hundreds of screaming people around her. The icewater was like a thousand knives in her body, but she ignored it. Others were screaming in terrific pain, grabbing anything insanely to get them out of the water. The cold was so intense it felt as if her body was on fire. Scully was clawed at as she swam a few feet, her bulky lifebelt hindering her from moving too fast. "MULDER!" Then she thought she heard her name faintly over the din. "Scully!" Scully stopped and spun around as best she could in the dense crowd. "Mulder!" Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her. She screamed and splashed around to face the person. Mulder was there, treading water. Scully cried out for joy and dived at him, locking her arms around his neck. "We need to keep moving, Scully! Swim!" He tried to get her attention, but her mind was slowly going numb because of the intense cold. Mulder grabbed her by her lifebelt and pulled her with him. She splashed behind him like a limp seal as he encouraged her on. "Almost there, Scully! Keep swimming! Don't stop now!" He was desperately looking for anything that was floating to get her out of the freezing water. "Keep swimming!" "I can't..." Scully rasped, her arms becoming limp. She was becoming sluggish in the 28-degree water. For the rest of her life she would never forget this feeling--if she even saw the rest of her life. "Yeah, you can!" Mulder insisted, heaving her heavy body along with him to keep her conscious. Her whole body was becoming numb and useless. "It's so cold!" she exclaimed, fighting to keep her eyes open. All around them there was a deafening chorus of wails, moans, and shrieks. The water was causing pain beyond belief. But there was no help. There were no boats. Beyond the huge field of screaming victims there was nothing--except black water stretching to the horizon. There was nothing but isolation and helplessness. "Look for anything floating, Scully. Anything!" Mulder said, swimming with strong strokes to keep him from freezing. Scully was nearly unable to breathe. Her lung were frozen and constricted. Her throat was sore beyond comprehension. Chills racked her body and her face was covered in frostbite, but she couldn't feel it--her face was numb. Then her ears... She squeezed her eyes shut trying to keep out the horrifying screams and wails around her. Suddenly a large board loomed in front of them. Mulder grabbed the side of the huge chunk of floating wood, pulling her up beside him. It was clearly only big enough to support her. "Can you get on?" he asked, coughing up seawater. Scully gripped the side. "What if you can't get on?" she shivered. Mulder was wearing a thin white shirt and trousers while she was wearing a coat and a lifebelt. He couldn't survive long in the freezing water. "I don't give a damn, Scully! Get on!" Mulder boosted her up onto the raft. She slithered on, belly first. Scully collapsed on the wooden board, half-dead from her exertion alone. She was too weak to argue anyway, but her heart was aching. She refused to watch him die like this. Tears came to her eyes, warming her face as they spilled down her bruised cheeks. As she lay on the board out of the water, she struggled to catch her breath through her wheezing lungs. Her teeth chattered like a motor. Mulder swam to the head of the board and grabbed her hand. He pulled himself slightly out of the water, shuddering intensely. "We'll be alright now, Scully. We'll be alright now," he tried to assure her, but he didn't sound so sure himself. He took deep breaths, trying to open up his lungs against the wheezing. Their hair was caked with ice and their faces were sheet white in the cold night air. Mulder was becoming disoriented as he held onto Scully's hand. She dropped her head so that she was touching Mulder's forehead. Their breath floated around them like a cloud as they panted from exhaustion. A whistle was piercing the night beside them. They looked over to see an officer blowing his whistle, knowing the sound would carry for miles over the water. "Return the boats!" he yelled. But Scully knew the boats would not be returning, but Mulder tried to encourage her. "The boats'll be coming back for us, Scully. It'll take a few minutes, but now they'll come and get us out of here." He squeezed her hand and met her eyes. "We're going to make it, Scully." Scully nodded, but her spirits were dying. Victims around them screamed for help, begging for the boats to come. One-by-one, the sounds disappeared around them as someone else passed out and died. They remained silent, mournful of the victims and of their own fate. They continued to shake and shiver uncontrollably. Even though Scully was out of the water, she was still numb and deathly cold. As the time passed and the boats still didn't come, Mulder realized that they were in deep trouble. Every minute was torture. The horrifying cries were subsiding. Gradually, the sounds died to a few mournful cries and some gentle splashing. Mulder and Scully were still holding on together, silent, but comforted by each other's presence. They were drifting under the blazing stars in glassy water, like a millpond. The bright stars were reflected on the surface. Mulder rubbed her arms, but he was slowly becoming completely uncoordinated in the water. Their faces were chalk white--like death was coming for both of them. "It's getting quiet," Scully said, her voice sad and near tears. Her head was lying on Mulder's arm, which was lying on the raft. His hand was tight in hers, comforting. Mulder shuddered. "It'll take a couple minutes for the boats to get here." Then they were silent again for a few more minutes. Just talking took an incredible amount of energy. Scully found his eyes in the dim moonlight. "I love you, Mulder." Mulder looked to her. "Don't do that, Scully. This isn't goodbye. We're going to make it. Do you understand? You're stronger than this." "Cold..." was all she managed. "I'm so cold..." Mulder brought his face closer to hers, shivering so hard it was causing the raft to move. "Don't give up on me now, Scully. We've come this far. This is not the end." "I can't feel my body, Mulder." Mulder was desperate for her to listen. "This isn't the end for you, Scully. You have so much ahead of you--a family, a career. You don't belong here. You don't deserve to die here, Scully--not like this. Don't give up on me. Please..." Tears were running down her face. She knew this was a goodbye. Mulder wasn't going to survive much longer--and neither was she. It didn't matter if she was out of the water or not. "For years I loved you, Mulder," her words came out a broken sob. "You've given me so much. I can't imagine going on without you..." Mulder was shivering so hard that he could barely speak. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Scully. Now you've got to promise me something. Promise me that you'll survive. That-That you won't give up tonight. That you'll try no matter how much it takes. Promise me, Scully. And never let go of this promise." Mulder tightened his grip on her hand, bringing clasped it in front of them like she was taking a vow. Scully was crying silently now. The blow her heart was taking was unbearable. She was watching her partner die in front of her. "I promise, Mulder. I'll never let go." Mulder smiled and kissed their clasped hands. Their foreheads dropped against one another's, savoring their last moments together. It was quiet all around them now except for the gentle lapping of the water. ****************** Scully and Mulder drifted silently in the still, glassy sea. It was moved by only the lightest undulating current, ice and water creating barely audible tinkling. The stars were shining brilliantly in the sky, reflected perfectly all around them, giving the impression they were floating in interstellar space. A void seemed to enclose around her, sending her into a semi-hallucinatory state. She knew she was dying. Her mind was numb and her body paralyzed with cold. Scully's eyes were barely open as she lay on her back, staring blankly above her in a catatonic state. Her face was like the face of the dead around her-- pale, white, and lifeless. Warmth seeped into her body as peaceful sleep began to descend upon Scully. She knew the end was near. The only way someone could tell Scully was even alive was the slow and broken movement of her lips to a song. "Joy to the world...to all the boys and girls...Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea...Joy to you and me..." Mulder's hand was still frozen to hers, but he had been silent and still for a long while. Her mind began to drift to the last six years of their life together. <<>> Scully was dying. Every memory, every thought, and every feeling left her body slowly. She seemed to feel her soul detaching, drifting with her mind into a beautiful oblivion. This is how it was going to end for them, out in the North Atlantic ocean, dying peacefully on a piece of driftwood. Her heart beat slowed, the blood pounding in her ears. This was it. She could almost see her father and sister standing in the sky above, reaching down their hands to her. The movement of her lips slowed and stopped. Her whole spirit left her as she let go of the one thing that was keeping her alive--Mulder. She could feel the life leave his body. He was dead. <<>> A light suddenly hit her from the side. Scully's head slowly turned toward it, her frozen hair ripping from the raft she was lying on. The images and sounds were distorted as the light brightened around her. Her mind was not functioning. Nothing seemed to come together. The light on her right slowly grew brighter and brighter until it engulfed her completely. Scully closed her eyes, finally giving in to the welcoming blackness of unconsciousness. ****************** Scully felt intense warmth when she opened her eyes. The soft and inviting feel of blankets around her elicited a moan from her throat. She paused and stared up, trying to understand where she was. The ceiling was white and tiled and she heard the distinct beep of a heart monitor. This was definitely not 1912. A warm hand was tightly holding hers. Scully slowly moved her head and saw a dark, disheveled head of hair lying next their entwined hands on the bed. The steady breathing told her that he was sleeping. Mulder. He was alive. Scully realized she was in a hospital, but the equipment around her told her that it was 1999, certainly not 1912. She was not floating on a raft in the North Atlantic Ocean. This was much more safe and warm. Except her chest was on fire. She felt pain race through her body and suddenly remembered everything--she had been shot. She stared up at the ceiling again. So it had all been a dream. Feeling Mulder's hand in hers, she smiled wide. At least he had never let go. Her heart fell when she thought of Skinner. She wanted desperately to see him, to know that he was alive. Tears came to her eyes and she winced as she remembered the horrific sinking. Why she had been sent back she didn't know, but it was an experience she would carry with her for the rest of her life. Mulder stirred beside her, letting out a slight groan. Scully gently squeezed their hands and Mulder sat up quickly, startled by the movement. His eyes were wide with joy and a giant smile spread across his unshaved face. "Nice to see you again, sleepyhead!" Scully smiled and leaned back on the pillow. "Good to be back." Her voice was raspy. Mulder leaned forward, not letting go of their hands. "You gave us quite a scare there, Scully. You were in surgery for almost six hours for that bullet wound. For a while no one thought you would make it." He gently brushed a small strand of hair out of her eyes. Scully's mind was whirling. "How long was I unconscious?" "Three days." Scully's eyes went wide. It had seemed like a lifetime on that ship. Suddenly her eyes caught sight of something behind Mulder and her jaw dropped. Titanic was playing on the TV. It was the scene when Leonardo DiCaprio was drawing Kate Winslet naked. It was the same in every way. The same intense look, the same pose she had taken... He turned and saw what she was looking at and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I got stuck watching it," he said sheepishly. "I admit it, but what got me was the love story. I think I fell asleep when he was teaching her to fly." Scully felt like bursting out into laughter, but restrained. Their eyes met and something passed between them, unspoken. Scully remembered their time together on the Titanic. She had vowed to tell him how she felt when she got back. But Mulder broke the spell and startled her out of her reverie. "Well, I should let you rest. You need sleep," he kissed her hand quickly and pulled it from hers. He started out of the room when Scully's frantic cry stopped him. "Don't let go, Mulder!" Mulder whirled around in the doorway, confused. Scully stopped herself when she realized what she had said. "I mean, uh, don't go. I'd like to talk to you for a little while." Mulder smiled and sighed. He trotted back over to the bed and sat in his chair. Scully stared at him, her eyes becoming serious. "Mulder, I had a very strange experience. Something happened while I was unconscious." Mulder's face broke into a smile. "Has the skeptic finally given in?" Scully chuckled. "Maybe, Mulder. Maybe." Mulder set his elbow on the bed, leaning his cheek into his palm. "Do I get to hear it? It must be pretty fantastic to make Dana Scully a believer." Scully paused. She closed her eyes as in the back of her mind she heard echoes of his voice from the dream. **"Don't think, Scully! Just go with it!"** She took his hand and met his eyes. "Mulder, I have to tell you something...It's going to change everything, but I have to say it." "Yes?" A silence took over the room for several seconds before Scully said, "I love you." Mulder rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother." He got up and left the room. Scully stared in shocked silence after him, but realized that that's exactly how she would have acted in his position. The tables have turned. She sighed and leaned her head back down on the pillow, but a sharp pain caused her to raise her head back up quickly. She brought a tender hand to her forehead and found a huge, fresh lump. Her heart racing, she remembered when she had taken a tumble in that steerage hallway. A smile crept onto her face. Scully easily fell back to sleep, contented and peaceful. She would tell Mulder in the morning when he was sure she was lucid. It was inevitable now. Everything she had gone through had only proved that they were meant to be together. She knew he felt the same about her--he had told her that he loved her when he woke up in the Bermuda Triangle. Scully had blown him off then, unsure of her feelings and unwilling to take the next step. Now she was sure. All the tension would end--tomorrow. She woke up a few hours later, still in the warm comfortable hospital bed. Her gaze went to the television and she saw Kate Winslet standing on the deck of the Carpathia, looking up at the Statue of Liberty. An officer came up to her and asked for her name. She replied, "Dawson. Rose Dawson." A smile broke out on Scully's face and she closed her eyes again, sinking into a peaceful dream. <<<>>> Scully drifted through a black abyss, almost as if she was flying. The Titanic appeared ahead of her, rusted and wrecked at the bottom of the abysmal ocean, resting peacefully, as Scully would be. As if she were gliding, the A-deck promenade rose to meet her. As she floated along the deck, the rust disappeared, and the ship became white and glorious as it was the day she and Mulder fell in love. Light radiated from every window and door, illuminating the ship in all its majesty. Scully turned and headed into a doorway. A doorman smiled and opened the glass doors, revealing the opulence of the Grand Staircase. All the people from her life were waiting there to meet her. Everyone she had loved and lost. This is what heaven would be for her. Her mother and father, smiling and holding hands--her sister, Melissa, as beautiful as the last time Scully had seen her--her brothers, Charlie and Bill, still handsome and grinning men--her nieces and nephews--Emily holding Melissa's hand--the Lone Gunmen, still in the same clothes they had always worn, smiling and welcoming her--Pendrell in a labcoat--Jack Willis--Father McCue at the base of the stairs--Deep Throat--Samantha, William and Teena Mulder, holding each other. At the cherub at the bottom of the Grand Staircase stood Skinner, beaming with happiness. All these people were waiting to greet her. At the top of the stairs stood a man, dressed in a black leather jacket, jeans, and a gray shirt, facing away from her and looking at the grand clock. He turned as she ascended the staircase. It was Mulder, still the ruggedly handsome man she had fallen in love with. A wide, ecstatic smile lit his face when he saw her and he reached out his hand. She took it and as she came to the top, she became 30-year old Dana Scully, whose body was unmarred by death or tragedy, with shining red hair and fire in her eyes. She smiled as her face came to Mulder's level. They looked deeply at one another for a moment, their eyes ablaze with love. Then they leaned in to each other and kissed, passionately and happily amid the joyful clapping of her loved ones, as they shared the first embrace that would be the beginning of eternity.