From: Humbuggie Date: 6 Apr 2003 07:28:29 -0700 Subject: xfc: No time to get there 1/1 Source: atxc No time to get there By Humbuggie 2003 Edited by Truthwebothknow1 Feedback? san@sv-tales.com www.sv-tales.com Written as a "rainy day" challenge for the VS10. The assignment: Get Mulder wet. Or something amongst those lines. J Note: Somehow, something got mixed up thanks to faulty emailaddies so I just went ahead and posted the story myself. Type: MSR, a bit of MT, a bit of Angst and a bit of humor, on top of a bit of Skinner-friendship. Story: After falling into a pond, Mulder starts feeling sicker by the minute. But if he wants Scully-comfort, he needs to get to her. The story is based on a lyric by Roxette. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? You do deserve a break Follow that road, it ain't long Just cross that silver lake Yea, pass the pond, the off-white fence When you see the mailbox to the left you've made it all right, No way to go wrong All you do is blow that horn It takes you no time to get here Just drive out of town today It takes you no time to get here and when You've arrived you might as well stay You might as well stay Why don't you leave your desk for a short while? You do deserve some time Enjoying the other side of life you forgot to memorize Stay in the sun, reach for the moon Make a little love in the afternoon You're doing all right, no way to go wrong This is the place where you belong -- Roxette Part One "Mulder!" I hear Skinner's strong voice bark my name, just before I can feel my body fall into the pond. There's nothing much I can do about it, but brace myself for the fall. And then it comes. It's not as if I'm falling only a few feet down. No, I'm slipping down a ledge, directly into the dirty water that probably also holds the body of our unfortunate victim, and the man I was chasing. I'm unable to close my mouth in time and cough as dirty water enters my mouth, throat and stomach. For a few moments I'm dazed. For a second, I don't know how to fight against the forces that pull my body into the water, but then I struggle automatically, and my mind starts to react again. I feel something nearby, grazing me, then my head is suddenly out of the water and I can breathe again. "Mulder, damn it." Skinner's near me and helps me out of the water. I can manage it by myself, even though I'm shivering. "You okay?" "Yeah. Did you get him?" Skinner somberly shakes his head. "What?" I ask, standing there like a soaking wet scarecrow. "He's dead." "What?" "Look." Skinner points at the body lying face up in the water, his eyes turned towards the heavens. It takes no expert to see he's gone. "How can that be?" "Broke his neck, I think." "You think?" "Yeah. Don't really care." Skinner suddenly grins wryly, before paying attention to me again. "You have to get out of those clothes. It's freezing out here." "Yeah." I shake my head and shove my arms around my chest, trying to stop my teeth from chattering. Skinner takes me back to the car where I sit in the warmth, after removing my overcoat and jacket. We don't have any other clothes with us, seeing as we had not exactly expected to be chasing suspects straight into ponds. And strangely enough, Skinner is not even bothered with the fact I'm spilling frog and fish pooh all over the upholstery. He'll probably send me the bill later. Skinner turns on the heating in full force, and I sit trying to get warm while he calls for backup and help. I know we can't just leave and it seems to take forever before anything else happens. The coroner comes to pick up the body. Skinner asks me if I need medical attention, and I shake my head no. I'm not hurt, just very cold. I know I'm going to pay for this. After an hour or so, when I'm almost warm again, we can finally leave. Skinner turns on the engine and glances aside. "They found Kristina too. You were right, Mulder. He did leave her where he killed her." "Told you so," I grin wearily. "Are you sure you're okay? Scully would have my hide if I let you go and you turn out to be hurt." "I'm okay. Really, honestly and totally," I sigh wearily. "Okay then." Part two Skinner drives me home a horrid two-hour drive - and suddenly, in the cold of my apartment, I feel pathetically alone and tired. I only want to grab a hot shower and crawl into bed. The aching feeling inside my throat that started as a rasp, becomes worse. I know that I must have picked up something, but I don't want to think about it. A bed sounds pretty good right now. I know Skinner's worried because I'm so quiet, but I can't help it. I take a long, hot shower and try to rinse that horrible taste out of my mouth. I brush my teeth about five times and take two chewing gums at the same time. It just doesn't help. Finally, I crawl onto the couch, pull a blanket over me and grit my teeth. It seems the only thing that helps to stop the trembling. After a while, while watching reruns of 3rd rock from the Sun, I fall asleep. In the evening; the phone rings and startles me. I wake up feeling slightly better, yet in other ways as lousy as before. A pain lances through my chest as I cough badly. I feel bad. I want Scully-comfort; her arms wrapped around me with my face resting against her chest, and her soft voice telling me I'll be okay, and her footsteps in my kitchen as she prepares milk, toast and honey. I want to be with her, but she's in Rhode Island, and I'm right here. So when the phone rings, I hope it's her. I want to talk to her. "Mulder, what happened?" she asks as soon as she hears my voice. "Nothing much," I mutter. "I fell into a pool." "Are you okay?" "Yeah." "Sure?" "Yeah, I think so." "You sound like crap." "Thanks." "Are feeling cold and experiencing shivers?" "Yeah." "How long did it take for you to get into other clothes?" "About an hour." "In this weather? Are you crazy?" "It couldn't be helped, Scully. We had to stay put." "I don't care. You should have found someone to help you." "Skinner was there." "I'll deal with him later. Now, have you got any medication there?" "Not particularly." "Do you still have Tylenol in the house?" "I guess so." "Well, take some and crawl into bed. I'll be home in a few days. Or do you want me to come back now?" "No," I say, instantly regretting that. I do want her here. I want to be with her, and would love her to drop everything on the spot, but I know I can't do that to her. It's her holiday, with her family. I don't want her to come back. I deliberately stayed behind, dealing with Skinner as an unexpected temporary partner when our case came to a sudden end. A hesitant silence on the other side, and then she comes back to me. "Mulder, do me a favor and pack some clothes." "What?" "Pack some things, get in your car and drive to the airport. Get on the first flight out here. I'll pick you up at the airport." "No," I say. "I don't want to do that, Scully." "Please, Mulder. You sound as if you need to be with me." I so want to kiss that woman right now. How can she hear from the tone of my voice what I need? "Really?" I mutter quietly. "You can come over, or I'll come back. It's up to you. It takes you only an hour to get here, but I have this feeling you need some time off, away from your desk. You deserve a break, Mulder. You need it. Please?" I sigh deeply and give in. "Okay." "Good. I'll call the airport and arrange a ticket for you. I'll call Skinner too." I feel strangely comforted by Scully's determined actions. "Packing right now," I say heartily, coughing and wheezing so hard that Scully's eardrums nearly burst. She laughs as I hang up the phone. I pack a small bag with two pairs of jeans, a few T-shirts and sweaters, and loads of Tylenol stuffed beneath my shaving gear. Part three I get dressed into the warmest jeans I have, and put on two sweaters. I know I'm running a fever because I feel extremely hot, but I don't care. In a few hours I will have Scully to comfort me. She'll take care of me. It's just a short drive and flight away. I lock up the apartment and walk outside, breathing in the fresh air that makes me feel better, it also makes me cough. I burst into a coughing fit and bend over. Oh man, this is bad. Really bad. I just want to drop on the spot right there and die. Nothing much happens though. I only cough my lungs out and wait for the fit to stop. I feel even worse than before, but Scully's waiting for me. It's only a drive away. "It takes you no time to get here," Scully had said. I'll keep that in mind while I'm suffering. I unlock the car door and get inside, grasping the steering wheel hard. It's just a short drive, I promise myself. You can do it; but the sensation that burns from within me becomes worse. Scully would kill me if she knew how lousy I truly feel. I start the car and drive slowly off the reserved parking lot. Automatically I head towards the airport. I've done this trip so many times before without giving it a second thought. I'm fairly certain my mind will automatically steer me into the right direction. So I drive until I suddenly end up at the airport. I walk inside and collect my ticket to Providence, Rhode Island at American Airlines, fairly certain Scully has reserved it there. She has. "Have a nice flight, sir," the female desk clerk says and points me towards the gates. It's busy as ever at the airport, and I feel strangely comforted by the fact I'm not alone. I walk slowly towards the restrooms and throw icy cold water in my face, trying to get the flushed feeling out of it. It's difficult. I know I'm not exactly doing fine, but Scully's waiting for me, and she's only an hour away. It should work out. I sit in my seat before the final boarding call, waiting patiently while an elderly woman next to me tells me her life story. I listen to her droning voice and nod now and then to make her feel happy. By the time the plane takes off, I'm under, I'm way, way under. Part four "Sir? Sir!?" I look up confused and find a flight attendant staring at me worriedly. She's not alone. There are people standing behind her, and a man has his fingers on my throat. What the hell? "He's awake," the man says. "Yeah," I groan. "What's going on?" "We couldn't wake you," the attendant says. "Are you feeling alright?" "No," I say honestly, "I feel like crap." "No wonder. You're running a very high fever." The man is speaking again. He's probably a doctor. I try to push him away and move up, but I'm just exhausted, and when I cough it feels as if I'm about to die. "I'm an FBI-agent," I rasp as I notice that we are standing still, probably at Providence. "My partner is waiting for me. She's a doctor too. Just let me get to her." I move up finally, only to feel exhausted. The man helps me up. I see more people. Hell, there are paramedics here. What in god's name happened? And then I see Scully. She pushes her way through the aisle and comes towards me. No one can stop her. That's how I know her. "God, Mulder," she says, and she takes over the caretaker's role. "What happened?" I smile and look at her as my legs have difficulty holding me up and about. "I'm okay," I groan. "Yeah, right. Can someone help him, please?" She takes over instantly, determined to get me checked out. But I don't want to. I want to go home with her. "I was fine, Scully. Just asleep." She gives me that 'yeah right'-glare again and before I know it, two paramedics are pushing me on the seat again and checking me out. Their hands feel cold on my throat, neck and face. I am so exhausted. "We'd better get him to hospital," the first man says to Scully. "Is that alright with you?" "Yeah, you'd better." "He was unconscious for at least five minutes," the female attendant says. "But it could have been longer." "I was sleeping," I say weakly, knowing they won't listen to me anyhow. "Can he walk?" "Yeah, I can walk," I mutter. "Let's get him on the gurney." "Hey, I can walk," I just, said. I prove that by slithering over the aisle towards the exit, where the gurney is waiting. I could easily walk further, you know. I'm okay. Just a cough now and then. A sneeze here and there, but no, they don't listen, do they? I'm lifted onto a gurney and then the second man hovers over me. You know, I'm actually glad they wouldn't listen to me. Before the gurney even passes through the exit doors, where dozens of people would be staring at me and wondering what happened, I'm out of there like a light. One moment I am talking; the second I am in hospital and oxygen is helping me to breathe. An IV pushes strong antibiotics into my system. Epilogue So what happened out there? It seems that the fall into the murky water, on top of the cold I was already supporting, kind of ruined my health. Not mention the fact the water was very much polluted with waste being flushed into it now, and then by local plants. The water had been very dark and dirty, and I did feel something go terribly wrong when I swallowed it. You might say that I'm lucky, but I was much luckier when Scully picked me up from the hospital and took me to the house her family had rented for a long weekend. They were gone now, but she wasn't. She rented it for another few days. It was a beautiful house with a white-picket fence. It breathed normal life and atmosphere. I felt good here. At peace. Scully threw her arms around me, hugged me and smiled at my enthusiasm. "I told you to get away from behind your desk," she said. "And wasn't I absolutely right?" "Yeah, you were." I embraced her. "This reminds me of a song," I murmur, with her face resting against my chest. "Stay in the sun, reach for the moon, make a little love in the afternoon ..." She purred as she threw her arms around me. "I can live with that." End