"DEMON'S DON'T DIE" 
by Shell Brown, tombrown@tiac.net,
Copyright 1997
SPOILERS:  Demons,
CLASSIFICATION:  T,A
RATING:  PG-13 for language.
KEYWORDS:  Mulderangst,
SUMMARY:  A follow up to "Demons."  Mulder
is kidnapped by Cancerman after exhibiting some very 
unusual behavior.  Mulder thinks he is four years old!  
Mostly Mulderangst and Muldertorture.
DISCLAIMER: The X-Files and Characters of Mulder, 
Scully, Cancerman, and Skinner, belong to Chris Carter, 
Ten-Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting. No 
copyright infringement intended.
ARCHIVIST:  Please archive and please feel free to post.  
Keep my name with the piece, if you please.
FEEDBACK:  I would appreciate your feedback, especially 
anything constructive.  I promise to respond to you.  Flames 
shall be ignored.  Send feedback to me at 
tombrown@tiac.net
THANK YOU:  Many thanks to my Copy Editor, Debbie 
Goldstein.  You took me to task and challenged me to 
become a better writer.  For this I thank you profoundly.

Part 13

April 21
George Washington University Hospital
3:00 PM

Scully found Mulder asleep in his room with the TV set on 
the Cartoon network. If she didn't know Mulder so well, 
she might have worried he had regressed.  But she did 
know him and this was quintessential Mulder.

He was still hooked up to the EEG and ECG. Considering 
what he had been through, this was the wisest course of 
action.  He needed to be monitored carefully before he 
would be released from the hospital this time.  She would 
insist on it.

She opened the chart she had picked up from the nurses 
station.  Mulder was on his last IV of D5W and 
Flumazemil.  He had been off seizure meds for 48 hours 
and there was no indication of a seizure in the last 30 
hours.  He had eaten most of his breakfast.  Good, he was 
getting his appetite back.  No notations regarding 
hallucinations or Mulder waking up thinking he was a 
different age.  That's encouraging, she thought.

He hadn't really talked about what happened to him yet and 
she knew better than to force him.  When he was ready, he 
would tell her what had happened. 

She found the remote and turned off the TV.

Mulder stirred.  "Hey, I was watching that."

"Mulder, are you awake?" she asked.

"Oh, Scully.  Hi.  Yeah, I'm awake," he said, blinking.

She smiled.  "Hi, yourself."

He turned to face her.  "I was dreaming. It was the day of 
my high school graduation.  Thank God disco is dead," he 
joked.

Still smiling, she said, "I can't argue with you there.  How 
are you feeling Mulder?"

He shrugged. "More myself, I guess." 

"Good, I guess," she teased.

She handed him a bottle of orange juice. "Sorry, no iced tea 
in the vending machine."

A moment passed and she noticed that he was staring at the 
bottle. 

"What is it?" she asked. 

"They, umm . . . " he licked his lips, and closed his eyes in 
concentration.  "I think I had this in the limo."  He opened 
his eyes. "I . . . I can't remember," he muttered, shaking his 
head.

"It's okay, the memory will come when you're ready," she 
said softly.

He grinned.  "When did you have time to get a psychology 
degree, Scully?  Hey, maybe Skinner will let me see you 
instead of one of the Bureau shrinks."

"Ha-ha, Mulder."  She pulled a chair closer to the bed and 
sat down.  "This time you will do whatever you are told. 
Understood, mister?"

He raised a hand to his head and gave her a weak salute. 
"Aye-Aye sir."

She smiled at the Naval inference.  "I brought you 
something."

"Oh?"  He sat up a little straighter.

She got up from the chair and brought out a wrapped 
rectangular box that was sitting at the bottom of his 
hospital bed.  She handed him the box, and stood next to 
him as he opened it. 

He gave her a wry look as the gift was revealed.  "Scully, 
you shouldn't have," he said, pulling out a Paddington Bear. 
He was wearing his raincoat, boots, rain hat and he even 
had the tag saying "Take Care of this Bear."

"It was no problem, Mulder," Scully said. 

He leaned toward her and said, "I mean no, you *shouldn't* 
have.  Jeez, don't let anyone see this or they'll really think 
I'm *nuts*."  He shook his head.  "I can imagine the latest 
'Spooky' story going around the office."

Scully laughed.  "Mulder, stop being so sensitive."

He held the bear in his hands.  "You know, the one I had as 
a kid seemed so big.  I used to sit and read to him for 
hours." 

Scully liked the sweet image that formed in her mind:  her 
partner reading to his teddy bear. 

"Thanks, Scully," he said softly.  "This brings back some 
good memories."

Smiling, she patted his shoulder gently. "You're welcome, 
Fox."

Upon hearing his proper name; he looked up at her and 
couldn't help but smile as well.

The End