From: shawntaw@hotmail.com Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 05:43:02 -0000 Subject: xfc: Safe Harbor VI by shawntaw Source: xfc Title: Safe Harbor VI Author: shawntaw Category: MSR, Mulder/Scully/Skinner friendship, X-file Rating: PG Disclaimer: They ain't mine (cha cha cha) I wish they were (cha cha cha) I got no money (cha cha cha) Please don't sue (cha cha cha) Summary: Can Skinner and Scully piece together the clues that will lead them to Mulder? **************************************************** The police had long cleared out. The room was deserted. Scully sat in Mulder's chair, staring at his notes. Skinner sat on Mulder's bed, watching Scully. "Maybe if I can recreate what he was trying to put together.." she trailed off, in thought. Skinner sighed and rubbed a hand over his head. He was trying not to picture what was probably happening to Mulder right now. He knew Scully desperately wanted to make that 'leap.' That 'electric connection' that Mulder always seemed to be able to make, given enough time. *The only problem with Mulder is when he profiles, it is a rush to the finish. There's always the questions: What will happen first? Will he make that intuitive leap or will he go crazy?* So far, he'd always won the race. He caught the bad guys. Skinner almost feared the possibility that Mulder had finally lost it and wandered off as much as he feared the killer. He said none of this to Scully as he watched her try to BE Mulder. She looked at his notes. She hesitated for a moment and closed her eyes. "He paced for several minutes," she began to pace. Minutes passed. Scully mumbled to herself about Mulder's state of mind, about the facts he kept mentioning, about the facts she had written in her notebook. She stopped in front of Skinner where he sat, legs splayed and hands folded between them. Scully looked mortified. "I forgot you were here, sir. This must seem pretty far-fetched-" He shook his head. "Continue, Agent Scully. Who says Mulder is the only one who can do this?" She nodded and continued pacing the path Mulder had taken when she had last spoken to him. "Then he sat-" she sat in his chair. "We had an argument. I said it was getting to him. He went on and on about motive and told me to leave him alone for awhile. He resented me coming back in here to check on him before I went to bed for the night." She picked up the burger, almost in a trance, eyes shut. "He took a bite of his burger-" she took a bite, "- and said, 'See, I'm even eating, so you can cut out the Mother Hen routine.'" She picked up his tea glass, the tea now lukewarm and watery with long-melted ice. "He took a sip of his tea, then chug-a-lugged it, coughed when it went down the wrong way and that's when I told him I was going to get Skinner," Scully referred to Skinner as though he were not in the room. She took a huge swig from the tea glass, gasped and took a deep, sucking breath. "It's not just tea!" she gasped. Skinner was already at her side and swiping the glass from her hand. "Damn! Poisoned? Should I call 9-1-1?" Scully was shaking her head adamantly, trying to catch her breath. "He was drinking. Mulder was drinking. He almost NEVER drinks, sir. It's mostly whiskey." She finally cleared her throat and wiped the tearing from her eyes. "He wanted me to leave because he didn't want me to know he was drinking." Her eyes became unfocused. "Like his father," she whispered to herself, suddenly understanding why Mulder demanded she leave him alone. Shame. Guilt. "He was trying to treat the nightmares with alcohol. He's never done that before," she paused, "That I know of, that is." She finished solemnly. A minute or so of silence passed as the two contemplated the implications. Had Mulder simply stormed off in some sort of drunken state? Scully felt her head spin. *Stress is getting to me* Skinner set down the glass and took Scully by the arm. "Scully, there is nothing more we can do tonight. Its late and we're both tired. I want you to go back to your room and try to get some sleep." To his surprise, instead of protesting, she obediently headed for the connecting door. He followed her, suspicious. ******************************************************* He noticed she swayed on her feet and Skinner led her by the elbow to her bed. "Sit, Scully," he said as he bent down to remove her shoes. Remembering Mulder performing this exact favor for Scully and the look of adoration that had been on his face made Skinner feel slightly adulterous. He bit down on the inappropriate emotion and removed her shoes. He then pulled on her hands to get her to stand. She couldn't seem to keep her balance. Skinner kept one hand on her as he pulled down the covers on her bed. "Get in, Scully. I think everything that has happened tonight is maybe overwhelming you a little." He expected venom and denial. He expected protests and Scully's patented intellectual insults. He did not expect the weak moan as she crawled into bed and pulled the covers to her chin. Skinner started as he noticed her eyes were confused and blank. And dilated. "There WAS something in the food or the tea!" He realized. He cursed, loudly. "Get up, Scully. We've got to get you to a hospital." She tried to get out of the bed, but fell in a heap beside it. Skinner swept her up into his arms and dashed into Mulder's room. Depositing her on Mulder's bed, he took the small plastic liner from the garbage can beside the nightstand and used it to collect the burger and fries. He could find nothing in which to secure the tea, so he decided to simply carry the glass. Skinner tied the bag around his belt, picked up Scully in his arms and carefully picked up the tea. "Ok," he said soothingly to a too-cooperative and mute Scully, "here we go." ****************************************************** Scully woke to the sound of soft beeps and Skinner's uncharacteristically tender voice. "Scully? You awake? I see your eyes moving under there. Come on, open up.." he continued to mutter reassurances as she tried to speak. "Whaaaa," she coughed, "Muh-" Scully couldn't seem to form coherent words. She opened her eyes with extreme effort. Skinner leaned over her, his glasses glinting in the faint light. To her shock, he smiled. *Oh no, must be bad* "Don't try to speak, Scully. Can you hear me o.k.?" She nodded slowly, swallowing the sudden nausea the movement caused. "Good. Just listen. They found Rohypnol in Mulder's tea and whiskey concoction. Are you familiar with the effects of Rohypnol?" Scully spoke then, albeit roughly. "Date rape drug. Makes victims easy to manipulate. Induces amnesia." "Basically," Skinner nodded. Her eyes shut. "Mulder.." she said as though in pain. Skinner's expression turned serious. "Its how the killer is abducting his victims. I think we can be pretty certain that there is no accomplice." He patted Scully's hand, "Its still the middle of the night; you haven't been out of it long. They're keeping you for observation until morning. We can't do anything until then anyway, Scully, so try to get some rest." She nodded, eyes still shut. Scully heard Skinner leave the room, the door shutting softly. Visions of Mulder being tortured and calling out her name filled her head as she drifted into an exhausted, fitful sleep. ***************************************************** Special Disclaimer: I'm not an expert on the drug Rohypnol. I know, from the media and from a relative in law enforcement, that it is a drug used with alcohol to make the victim malleable. It also induces amnesia. Most victims of it do not remember, except maybe through flashbacks later, what has transpired. This drug is used quite a bit for "date rape." Here it is used on Mulder and the other men to make them easy to handle. Also, I don't know that it would affect Scully in such a small dose and so quickly, but I am taking a little literary license here for that part. I do not feel it harms the story. I hope you agree. Next time: Mulder's POV......