Title: A Beginning of Faith
Author: Cmdr Jade
Rating: I dunno, PG-13 or so? For situations.
Classification: MA, SA
Spoilers: SUZ
Archive: Anywhere, just send me a little note
Summary: An older case of Mulder's has been paroled and Mulder doesn't show 
up for work the next day. 
Feedback: Please!!! Please!!! 

Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and most of the characters mentioned in this 
story belong to Chris Carter, 1013, Fox, and GA & DD. Unfortunately. 
Otherwise, I'd have my way with them... 

Author's Notes: I'm thinking of making this into a series...What do you 
think? Also, although this is not the first story I've written, it is the 
first that I've decided to post. It was written mostly during my lunch 
periods, so I may revise later on when I have time. No real time period, 
sometime during the 7th season or so. One last thing. This story has 
absolutely NO medical terms whatsoever simply because I don't know anything 
about it. At all. I'm sorry for the complete lack of accuracy, but.... 

*************
A Beginning of Faith 

Fox Mulder opened his eyes to darkness. His head was pounding, it hurt to 
breathe, and his whole body ached. As his eyes slowly adjusted, he sat up 
with great caution. He barely remembered what had happened. Someone had 
come up behind him last night. Or maybe the night before. It depended on 
how long he had been lying here. Wherever that was. The Someone had 
mentioned something about one of Mulder's old cases, something about getting 
what you give. Suddenly, Someone was kicking, punching, and finally, Mulder 
had fallen unconscious. 

He felt around the room, feeling for a way out. He dimly noticed he was 
almost totally covered in blood. And he was freezing. The damp atmosphere 
of the room didn't help. 

His eyes now fully adjusted, he glanced around the room. It was small; 
concrete blocks made up the wall. One very small window. There was no light 
coming from it, it must be night. The floor was almost totally covered in 
puddles. His blood was mixed in with it. 

No way out. Huge, very heavy door. There was no chance of escaping. The 
window wasn't even big enough for him to fit his foot through it. He sat 
back against the wall. 

'What to do,' he thought to himself. 'Get warm would be a start.' He 
squinted around for his leather jacket. He didn't really expect to see it. 
His attacker had probably taken his cell phone and everything that was in his 
pocket. 'I really liked that jacket, too,' he thought, leaning his head 
back. He closed his eyes and curled into a little ball, hoping to retain 
body warmth and get some sleep. 

**************** 

'I'm going to kick his ass,' Scully thought to herself. Not surprisingly, 
Mulder had decided to not show up on a day when they needed to get work done. 
A lot of it too. She dumped the pile of papers on his desk and picked up 
the phone. She dialed his apartment first. When there was no answer, she 
tried his cell phone. No answer still. She checked with Skinner; he had 
gotten no calls from Mulder. She racked her mind for possibilities, but none 
satisfied her. Even if he had gone off somewhere, his cell phone would be 
on. If she hadn't heard from him by one o'clock, she was going to his 
apartment. 

***
Dana Scully gave a frustrated sigh and sat back on Mulder's couch. She did 
not know where Mulder was. In desperation, she had called the Gunmen. They 
would be here any minute. She glanced over at Mulder's neglected fish. She 
didn't understand why he had them. Or why he kept buying more. She got up 
to feed them. Why even bother? They'd die anyway. 

Just then, the Gunmen walked in. After a brief greeting, they proposed a 
theory to her. 

"One of Mulder's early cases has been paroled. Everyone claimed he was 
healthy, but in our theory, we don't think he was. We believe Mulder went 
out last night but this guy was stalking him. Most likely, he had been 
tailing Mulder for over a week. Dark alleys, no people on the street, 
perfect time for revenge. Mulder was probably dumped somewhere," Byers 
finished, watching Scully for her reaction. She just looked at him. 

"Don't you think you're jumping way ahead? *Way* ahead?" she asked finally. 
"Maybe that early case being released was just a coincidence. Maybe he was 
healthy." 

"Maybe. But have you tried to reach Mulder everywhere you can think he'd go? 
We've checked recent flights, no Mulder or Mulder aliases. He has no reason 
to be anywhere," Byers answered. 

"Yeah, but," Scully started. She sighed. "I just think it's a little soon 
to assume Mulder's been kidnapped. Maybe he just didn't want to come to work 
today," she said, beginning to throw around suggestions. "Maybe he needed to 
get away for a while, think things over, y'know?" 

"We're just telling you what we came up with. If you really think it's as 
simple as you're saying it is, then why're you here? Why are you as worried 
as you are?" Langly challenged. 

Scully sat back down on Mulder's couch. "I don't know. So maybe I'm 
overreacting," she said. "It's just that he's been through a lot and I just 
got a bit worried. His mother died not too long ago, he cried for a while, 
then was even more...uppity than before. He's hiding it all and I just 
wanted to make sure...y'know," she trailed off. 

The Gunmen looked at each other. "Maybe you're right. But we don't want to 
totally dismiss the idea of an old case getting revenge. Just in case," 
Frohike said. Scully nodded. "You should get back to work," Byers told her. 
She shook her head. 

"I took the rest of the day off. I'm going to go home, maybe visit my mom. 
I think my brother's are coming later. Both," she smiled, walking out the 
door. 

*******************

Mulder groaned and opened his eyes. The jackhammer in his head insisted on 
continuing. He heard a knocking and slowly lifted his head. The heavy door 
cracked quickly open, then shut. A tall figure stood holding a small pot. 

"I brought some food, to keep you alive a little longer," the man said. 

"You're too kind," Mulder rasped out, taking the pot offered but not eating 
out of it. "So who are you and why'd you bring me here?" 

"Don't remember me, huh? Has it really been that long?" the man asked. 
Mulder shrugged. 

"Being repeatedly hit in the head does affect one's memory," he replied. 

"Actually, I'm not surprised. You weren't really a big part in this case." 

"How long ago?" Mulder asked. 

"Nine, ten years, maybe. You look older," he said. "More worn. What's 
happened since I saw you last?" 

"You don't want to hear about it and I don't want to talk about it. Tell me 
about the last time I saw you," Mulder said. 

"That wouldn't refresh your memory. It was only a typical case, nothing to 
make it stand out. Except people thought I was crazy. I wasn't though and 
no one believed that. Did you believe it?" he asked, stepping a little out 
of the shadows. The case began to come back to Mulder, along with some of 
the specifics. 

"No, I believed you," Mulder lied. 

"You lie. If you had believed me, I wouldn't have gone to jail. You 
wouldn't be in this position right now. You have to pay because of your 
disbelief." 

"How do I pay?" Mulder asked. "And when?" 

"With death, of course. I don't know when. That will be decided later," he 
replied turning to go. 

"Where am I?" 

"Underground. In a basement. There's a factory above, no one can hear you, 
nor will they find you." 

"How am I going to die?" 

"Don't know. Maybe beat to death. Buried alive. Something," the man said, 
leaving the room. 

Mulder sighed and looked at the pot he had been given earlier. He sighed 
again and laid down on the floor. He closed his eyes, thinking of everything 
he'd like right now. His blanket, something soft, a nice, greasy hamburger, 
extra large Pepsi, and Scully. Hell, screw the other things, he wanted 
Scully. He hoped she found him sometime.
************************ 

Scully sat at her mother's kitchen table with the cordless phone in her hand. 

"Dana? Are you going to call someone or not?" her mom asked, walking into 
the kitchen. Her two brothers followed and sat down with her. 

"No, I was just checking Mulder's place again," she said, placing the phone 
down. 

"No answer?" Maggie Scully asked. Dana shook her head. 

"Why? What's up with Mulder?" Bill Jr. asked. 

"He didn't show up for work and I can't get in touch with him," Dana 
answered. 

"Y'know, it's probably nothing. Maybe there was something he had to do last 
minute," Charlie said. 

"That's what I was thinking but I can't figure out why he'd disappear and not 
tell a soul. And leave no way to contact him," Dana replied. 

"Cell phone?" Bill suggested. 

"Already tried. Many times." 

Bill shrugged. "Well, whatever. How long has it been since no one's seen 
him?" 

"I dunno. Maybe a day or two," Dana said. 

"If you don't hear from him by tomorrow afternoon, I'd suggest you have your 
boss do something about it," Charlie said. 

"I plan on it," Dana said, getting up. "Let's watch that movie, right now, 
though." 

********* 

"Agent Scully, do you really think it's necessary to start a search?" 
Skinner asked her. She sat across from him, her hands in her lap. 

"I'm just concerned, sir. I'm just being cautious," she replied quietly. 

"I understand your concern, Agent Scully. But don't you think there are 
other possibilities? Simpler ones we may have overlooked?" 

"I hope so. I'd rather do something and have nothing be wrong, then do 
nothing and have something be wrong," she said. Skinner sighed. 

"All right, but just a small one. You head it and I'll help," Skinner 
conceded. "What leads do you have?" he asked. Scully just looked at him for 
a moment. She really didn't have anywhere to start from. Well, anything 
plausible, she thought, the Gunmen's theory coming to mind. 

"A small one," she answered. "But I need to check it out a little more 
before I go on it." 

Skinner nodded. "I'll notify the agent's. They'll be ready whenever you 
need them." 

Scully nodded and stood up to leave. "Thank you, sir," she said, walking 
out. 

************** 

"Ah, Agent Scully, come on in," Byers said, ushering her in the door. "What 
brings you here?" 

"I need to know more about the background of your theory. It might come in 
handy," she answered. 

"Glad you came," Langly said. "It seems the theory is turning out to be a 
little more likely." 

"The guy's name is Jack Malushi. The night before you came to us, he wasn't 
in his apartment. See, the police still track him, for a while until they're 
sure he really is all there. They figured he was just going for a drink, but 
lost him sometime around midnight. They found him wandering around some 
factory. He goes back there every so often," Frohike said. "Personally, I 
think you ought to have someone check that area out." 

Scully nodded. "Skinner gave me a small team of agents." She looked at all 
three of them. "And since I'm head of the team, I'm assigning all of you to 
it, too." The Gunmen looked at each other. Byers nodded. 

"Okay." 

*************************************

"Wake up!" A strong voice shouted while kicking his side. Mulder woke with 
a start. 

"Okay, I'm up!" he said, struggling to sit. The man didn't let up. He 
grabbed Mulder by the shoulders and pulled him to his feet. Mulder gave a 
startled yelp. "Hey, watch it!" 

"C'mon, move! I think people might suspect something. There're authorities 
checking all around this area. Move, would ya?!" 

"I don't know where I'm going!" Mulder yelled back. The man punched him 
square in the jaw. 

"Keep it down!" he hissed. He walked Mulder out of the room and down an even 
darker hallway. "You're going down there. I've decided how you're going to 
die. Alone, cold, and slowly." He shoved Mulder in an extremely small room. 
He smiled and landed another kick in Mulder's ribs. 

"Who the hell are you?" Mulder gasped, doubled over. The man turned to 
leave. 

"Jack," he said, slamming the door. Mulder collapsed. He looked up at the 
ceiling, closed his eyes, and tried to regain composure. Then he did 
something he hadn't done since he was very little. 

"Uh, God? It's me, Fox Mulder." He tried to swallow the lump that was 
forming in his throat. "Look, I know you and me haven't really been all that 
close and stuff, but I'm hope real quick." Mulder paused. "I'm not really 
sure how you work, but could you help Scully find me? I'm getting really 
cold and I'm hurting all over. But, if You're going to have it where I'm not 
found, can I have one last chance to talk to her? Spirit form or something? 
Or maybe just see her?" Mulder finished, holding tears back. The room fell 
silent and the lack of sound was deafening. Mulder's eyes drifted shut and 
he fell into a peaceful sleep. 

******************************* 

"We've got nothing here, Agent Scully," a younger agent said to her. Scully 
turned to him. 

"You've checked everywhere?" The agent nodded. "I mean everywhere, Agent 
Brown." The agent nodded again. Scully sighed. 

"Everyone else is almost finished," he said. 

"Go again. Has anyone thoroughly checked the factory yet?" Agent Brown 
shook his head. "All right, I'll do that. Tell everyone else to keep 
looking" 

The Lone Gunmen walked up behind Scully. "We want to come with you," Frohike 
said. Scully nodded and walked into the factory. It was huge and very open. 
Vast, was the word that came to Scully's mind. Only a few men walked 
around. Either homeless or waiting for their shift to start. Scully walked 
up to one of the men, flashing her badge. 

"Hi, I need to ask you a few questions. Have you seen anyone hanging around 
here lately that usually doesn't?" 

"Some new guy came about here a few days ago. Just left a little while ago," 
the man answered. 

"Do you know his name? Did he bring anyone else with him?" 

"He never talked to anyone. Don't think he ever brought anyone in here, but 
he hung out in the basement an awful lot." 

"Where's the basement," Scully asked. The man pointed to a door across the 
building. 

"Down there. It's big though, gonna take ya awhile to get all the way 
through," he said. 

Scully nodded. "Thank you, sir." She grabbed the Gunmen. "C'mon we need to 
check the basement." 

"Don't you want other agents, too?" Langly asked. Scully shook her head, 
walking towards the door. The Gunmen looked at each other. 

"C'mon guys, we gotta go fast! Byers and Frohike, go down to the left. 
Langly and me will go right." They all followed orders, running down the 
halls. 

"Do you really think he's down here?" Langly asked. 

"More than likely," Scully answered, stopping at every door. She pounded on 
them, but they were too heavy for her to open. "Try to open this, Langly." 
Langly shoved and pulled but none of the doors budged. Soon, they ran into a 
dead end. Scully started running back down the hall. She met a breathless 
Byers on the way. 

"At the end of the hall, there's a door, it's way too dark to see 
*anything*," Byers said. "We got agents working to get it open." As he 
finished, they came upon Scully's team, trying to pry the door open. Frohike 
and Skinner held flashlights. Scully pushed her way to the front and the 
agents working on the door stood up. 

"We're trying to pry it open. Help us pull," he said. Scully nodded. The 
agents pulled on the door with all their strength. A few minutes later, the 
door flew open with a loud screech. A few of the agents fell backwards, but 
Scully kept her balance and ran into the room. There was broken glass 
everywhere. Scully sliced her hand looking through multiple trash piles. 
The other agents started searching, too, but it was Scully who found Mulder 
lying in a mix of blood and water. 

"Someone get the EMT, now!" she said, kneeling down. She checked him for a 
pulse and found a weak one. She skimmed his body, not wanting to touch him. 
He was covered in blood and she could clearly see a head wound. The 
paramedics arrived and started shouting orders. They gently pushed her to 
the side. Scully didn't say anything, she just numbly watched. Soon they 
had him on a stretcher and were preparing to take him to the nearest 
hospital. Upon hearing this, Scully hurried to Mulder's side. 

"I want to ride with him," she said. The paramedic glanced at her, but 
didn't protest. They carried him to the ambulance and Scully climbed in the 
back. 

Skinner turned to the Lone Gunmen. "C'mon, we'll go in my car."

********************************

"There were bruises all over his chest. Probably more than one broken rib," 
Scully said. Her audience sat beside her in the hospital's waiting room. 
Skinner stood up. 

"Good work, Agent Scully. And also to you," he said, nodding in the Gunmen's 
direction. "I've got some more to do, but I'll be back as soon as I can be 
here. You're free to take off as much time as you need." 

Scully nodded. "Thank you, sir," she said. She stood up and began pacing. 
After several minutes, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "Hey, 
Mom, it's me," she said into it. "We found Mulder. Would you mind coming 
down here? The closer hospital, across from the restaurant. No, tell Bill 
he should stay with his family. No, Charlie can stay too. No, Mom, tell 
them..." Scully sighed and hung up the phone. Byers raised his eyebrows in a 
silent question. 

"Looks like you guys are going to meet my stubborn pain in the ass brother." 

*************** 

'Now this is kinda weird,' Mulder thought. 'The last thing I remember is a 
could, small cell. This looks kinda like a field or something...' 

Mulder glanced around him. He was in a field with no hills and no end as far 
as the eye could see. And he was totally along. 

"Hello?" he called out. The only answer was his echo. "Okay, if I've made 
it to Hell, then why am I not burning with others?" Silence again answered 
him. He walked across the field, but saw no change in scenery. 

"If I'm meant to die, then why can't I just die? Why do I have to wander 
around a field?" he asked angrily. No answer. 'Not like I expected one 
anyway,' Mulder thought. Suddenly, the field changed and he was standing in 
the X-Files office. Only he was viewing himself. Not surprisingly, Skinner 
was yelling at him. 

"Look, Agent Mulder, you can't make every person who walks through that door 
feel like a piece of shit. You need to put forth an effort to get along with 
other people. You can't go through two partners a day," Skinner was saying. 

"I work alone," the Image-Mulder replied. The real Mulder just stood there, 
watching. 'I remember this part. This is where he tells me about Scully.' 

"Yeah, well, that's what's been decided. From now on, you work alone. 
Always. For as long as you can take it." Skinner stormed out of the office, 
leaving at very stunned Image-Mulder and Real-Mulder behind. 

Suddenly, Mulder was back in the field. Little images flew by him. Himself 
working on the X-Files, getting injured in the line of duty, his mother 
dying, and finally the image of his suicide. Scully was nowhere to be found 
in the images. His life without her had just flashed by. His loneliness. 
Mulder felt lonely now. He wanted to go see Scully. He wanted hear her 
again. 'Maybe this is Hell,' he thought as more images passed by. Scully 
was in these, but they were times of her pain, her suffering, and 
opportunities missed. 'Maybe I sit here for eternity and watch all the 
regrets over and over. Maybe I sit here and watch pain over and over.' 
Mulder sat down in the field and cried. 

**************** 

Dana Scully had been here before. Sitting by Mulder's side, watching him. 
He had come out of everything pretty okay, all things considered. She hated 
seeing him attached to all these machines, though. She had never seen him so 
pale and lifeless. She slipped her hand through his, willing him to wake up. 

Just then, Maggie Scully walked through the door. "How's he doing?" she 
asked, coming to her daughter's side. Scully tried to smile reassuringly. 

"He's okay. Kind of," she answered. "He's in a coma." Maggie put her hand 
on Dana's shoulder. 

"How are you holding up?" she asked. 

"I'm fine," Dana answered. "He's got a few broken ribs. Broken arm, broken 
ankle. His whole body is badly bruised. Gashes all over the place." 

"Do they know who did it?" 

Dana nodded. "Picked him up not too long ago. He'll be in jail for the rest 
of his life," she said, never taking her eyes off Mulder as she spoke. 

"Billy brought you some food from home. Why don't you go out and have 
something to eat," Maggie suggested. Dana hesitated. "I'll watch him while 
you're gone." She nodded and let go of his hand. She walked back to the 
waiting room and found Skinner was back and filling Bill and Charlie in on 
the events. The Gunmen sat on chairs, jumping in when necessary. Dana took 
a deep breath, and put on her emotional mask. 

"Hey, guys," she said, giving her brothers a small smile. Everyone turned to 
her. 

"Hey, Dana, I brought a little something from home," Bill said, handing her a 
paper sack. "Maybe we could to that restaurant across the street later." 

Dana shrugged and took the paper bag. Charlie smiled at her, hoping to cheer 
her up. It was the little brother's job after all. 

"So, I'm really looking forward to meeting Mulder. Maybe I can convince him 
to play some basketball with me," he said cheerfully. Dana smiled at him, 
silently thanking him for his effort. She sat down, hurriedly eating the 
things Bill had packed. 

"He's a Knicks fan," she said. Charlie sat down beside her and shrugged. 

"We can still be friends." 

****************** 

Maggie took her daughter's place at Fox Mulder's side, slipping her hand 
through his. 

"Hey, Fox," she said, then paused. She really wasn't quite sure what to say 
to him. "I know your body is in a lot of pain right now. Your soul, too. 
But it hurts us, too, Fox. Dana especially. And Bill doesn't like it when 
she's hurting, so for your sake, you might want to wake up," Maggie said. 
She watched him for a few minutes then sighed. 

"I know it hurt to lose your mother, Fox. Your sister, too. But I hope you 
haven't lost your will to live. You've still got us, Fox, and I consider you 
as one of my own. There are still people who care about you. You can't 
leave now. You're not meant to," Maggie finished. She sat down in the chair 
beside his bed and stayed with him. 

**************** 

When he was finished crying, Mulder laid down in the field. He thought of 
Scully and how much he missed her. How much he wanted to talk to her. He 
had so much to tell her, so many things to say. He didn't like being here, 
wherever that was. He had a feeling he was either dead, or pretty close to 
it. All the opportunities missed. All the things he never got to say. 

He lifted his head, thinking he had heard a noise. A figure moved towards 
him and Mulder had to shake his head to clear it. The figure came closer and 
Mulder found himself looking at Scully. He stood up to face her. She took 
his hand and began leading him across the field. She stopped when they 
reached a dirt road. 

"Now you have to make a decision, Mulder," she said. He found himself elated 
at the sound of her voice. "To come back with us or move on. With Samantha 
and your family." She dropped his hand. Mulder stood there, searching her 
face. 

"I'm so tired, Scully," he said. "Tired of searching. I just wanna rest." 
Scully didn't answer. She turned around and started walking back, suddenly 
disappearing. 

Mulder stood, confused. His soul was tired and he wanted to be with his 
family. Maybe things would be different, now that Sam was back. And that 
path just felt so peaceful. Although Mulder had never really believed in God 
for most of his life, he found himself believing God was here, with him. 
Waiting for him to make a decision. Only Mulder wasn't ready for this yet. 
He didn't know what to do, where to go, what path to follow. So he sat. Sat 
on the dirt road and began thinking, weighing his possibilities. Scully or 
his family. Loneliness on Earth or his family. Mulder sighed. 'I guess 
I'll just sit here then,' he thought. 'Until something happens.' 

**************************

Dana walked back into Mulder's room with an army behind her. Or so it felt. 

Everyone had followed her in, although the Gunmen and Skinner just checked on 
Mulder, then left. Charlie closed the door after them. Maggie looked up and 
smiled at her children. 

"Same as before," she said to Dana. She just nodded. Maggie shifted to give 
her daughter room and Dana took Mulder's hand. 

"Y'know, he can probably hear you if you talk to him," Bill said, trying to 
be helpful. Dana didn't look at him, just nodded in response. 

"Hey, Mulder," Charlie said, raising his eyebrows at Bill in encouragement. 
They needed to do this for Dana. "I'm Charlie, Dana's kid brother. It's 
cool to finally meet you, even if it's under such unfortunate circumstances. 
Dana tells me you like the Knicks. I like basketball, too, but I don't 
really follow the Knicks." Charlie trailed off. Bill cleared his throat 
uncomfortably. 

"Uh, hi, Mulder. You're, uh, probably not to thrilled to be hearing my voice 
right now. But, believe it or not, I do hope you get better soon. It's 
kinda scary seeing you hooked up to all theses things," he finished, shifting 
from foot to foot. Charlie nudged Dana. 

"I think he needs to hear from you now," he suggested gently. The room was 
silent for a few moments. Dana just stared at Mulder's face, her face still 
unreadable. Maggie saw her mask was beginning to crack, though. She let go 
of his hand. 

"Excuse me," she whispered, pushing her way out of the room. 

The three left in the room looked at each other. Bill shifted again. 

"I was nice to him, wasn't I? I didn't say anything stupid, right?" he said. 
Charlie shook his head. 

"Should someone go after her?" he asked. Maggie shook her head at him. 

"Let her be. She needs the time alone. She's been keeping it all inside for 
a long while now." 

**************** 

Scully ran into the bathroom and checked to make sure no one else was there. 
All the held in feelings and all her composure fell as soon as she was 
certain she was alone. She began to cry as all her thoughts came to the 
front of her brain. She tried to curse herself. They've been through things 
before, thinking one had lost the other. It had never affected her like this. 

But then again, they had never been this close. And there were things Scully 
knew now, things she had planned on telling him. But it always ended up 
getting put off. I'll tell him tomorrow, was always her excuse. I'll tell 
him when the time is appropriate. 

'Well, if he dies, you'll never get to, will you, Dana? Live all your life 
with these thoughts haunting you,' she thought. 'With so few happy 
memories.' Those memories flashed in her mind. The thought of never again 
speaking to Mulder made her cry harder. Sobs soon racked her entire body and 
she was crying so hard she had to run to a stall. She threw up what little 
she had in her stomach. She heard the door open and quickly shut the stall 
door. 

"Dana? Are you okay?" she heard her mom ask. Dana closed her eyes and slid 
down the wall. Her mom opened the stall and kneeled down beside her 
daughter. "Dana, honey, talk to me." Scully just crawled into her mother's 
arms and cried on her shoulder. 

"Oh, Mom," she whispered. "Do you know what people at work think?" Maggie 
shook her head as Dana pulled away. "They think Mulder depends on me. They 
think I just stay along for the entertainment in the X-Files." She stopped 
and took a breath. "No one thinks that I need him. They think I'm always 
the strong one. But I depend on him as much as he depends on me." She 
stopped again and began to cry. "I can't live without him, Mom. He calls me 
at two in the morning and he drags me all over the world, but I can't deal 
without it. As much as he irritates me, that's just him. And he's in a deep 
coma, Mom. I overhear the doctors and they're not very optimistic," she 
finished, crying harder. Maggie stood up, bringing Dana with her. 

"Dana, you can't give up hope. Every time you think science is going to 
prove you right or help you both out, how many times has it? And how many 
times has Fox pulled through? You just have to keep faith. Talk to him. He 
can hear you and right now I think he *needs* to hear you," Maggie said, 
walking Dana out of the bathroom. "And as much as Bill doesn't like Fox, 
he's doing the best he can." 

Dana nodded and tried to wipe her eyes as best she could. Her mother went to 
the waiting room and she walked into Mulder's room. Bill and Charlie were 
still there. They left as Scully took her usual position at Mulder's side. 
She smoothed his choppy hair and sighed. 

"Mulder, it's me," she started, then stopped. She sighed again as she began 
to cry lightly. "Please hang on. Don't go, Mulder, please. You can't leave 
me here, all alone. Don't do that to me." She sat down in the chair. "I 
won't leave you, Mulder, but you can't leave me." She closed her eyes and 
within five minutes she was asleep. 

******************** 

The three Scully's, Skinner, and the Gunmen sat in the waiting room together, 
discussing what to do next. 

"She needs to eat," Bill said. "There's a restaurant right across the 
street." 

"She's asleep," Charlie said. "I just checked a few minutes ago. She fell 
asleep in that chair." Bill sighed. 

"Why's she doing this to herself? If it were my wife that was in there, 
she'd be trying like hell to get me to go home, take care of myself," Bill 
said. No one said anything. 

"Is Tara coming?" Charlie asked after a while. Bill nodded. 

"Should be here any second with Matt," he replied. Just as the words left 
his mouth, Tara walked in with their son on her shoulder. 

"Hi there, how's everyone doing?" Tara asked, putting Matt down. 

"Not so great. Dana needs to eat, but she's asleep in a chair in Mulder's 
room," Charlie said. "She needs to go home." 

"Maybe you should try and convince her to go home. It's worth a shot," 
Maggie suggested. Tara shrugged and began walking towards the room. 

"Okay..." she said. She opened the door and the sight she saw scared her. 
Dana's partner was hooked to what seemed like millions of machines. He lay 
unmoving, save for the rise and fall of his chest. He was extremely pale. 
Dana was lightly sleeping in a plastic chair, her hand intertwined with her 
partner's. Tara shook her shoulder gently. Dana's eyes immediately flew open. 

"Hey, Dana, it's me. Sorry to wake you," Tara said. "We were all thinking 
about going out to eat and we didn't want to leave you behind. 

Dana didn't answer at first. "I can't leave," she said, after a few moments. 

"Dana, no offense, but you look awful. I'm sure leaving for just a few hours 
won't hurt. He'd want you to go," Tara said, nodding at Mulder. 

Dana stood up. "Okay, fine, but I'm coming right back here." 

*******************************

Mulder was starting to wonder how long he had been pacing this dirt road. 
The road between life and death. 'Kind cool,' Mulder thought to himself. 
Scully had come to him again. This Scully had been crying. She hadn't spoke 
and kept a good distance away from him. This whole bit was starting to scare 
Mulder. More than once, he could have sworn he had seen the devil come and 
go, watching him. And his faith in God seemed to be growing. Or starting. 
Sometimes he found himself talking out loud to Him. It felt good, though. 
Peaceful. 

"God, I've made my decision now," Mulder announced, stopping his pacing. "I 
wanna go back. I wanna be with Scully," he said. He smiled to himself. 
"Maybe I'll even start going to church." He took a breath and started 
walking down the path back to his life on Earth. A peacefulness washed over 
him as everything suddenly turned black. 

*******TWO DAYS LATER*********** 

"Agent Scully!" A deep voice shook Scully out of her sleep on the waiting 
room chairs. She groggily opened her eyes. All the people who had supported 
her over the last however many days were standing over her. At least, that's 
how it felt to her. 

"Mulder woke up five minutes ago," Charlie announced to her, bursting with 
the news. She bolted out of the chair. Maggie stopped her with her hand. 

"We didn't tell you right away because we wanted to wait until all the 
doctors were out of there," Maggie answered Dana's unasked question. "He 
can't talk, but we knew he was asking for you." 

Dana hurriedly made her way to Mulder's room. His head was turned toward the 
door and their eyes immediately met. She smile at him and he lightly 
squeezed her hand. 

Just then, a doctor walked in. She smiled at Scully. "Just a few more days 
and he'll have a regular room." Scully smiled back and took the familiar 
chair beside Mulder just as her mother and the Gunmen walked in the room. 

************************* 

Mulder sat in his hospital bed, counting the specks on the ceiling. His door 
opened and almost leapt with relief at a new form of entertainment. 

"Hey, Scully," he grinned at her. "Get some good food?" She just smiled 
back at him. He looked up at the ceiling again. "I've reached a new low in 
boredom," he told her. She looked up. 

"How many?" she asked. 

"Five hundred and sixty-one, so far. Just in that one block," he replied. 
She smiled and sat in a chair, one with a cushion. He looked back at her. 

"Scully?" he asked quietly. She glanced up at him. He had the tone of 
voice. The one that meant he had something serious to say. 

"Yes?" He looked back at the ceiling. 

"I believe in God," he almost whispered. Scully didn't say anything. "He 
was there, Scully. I felt Him. I think He heard me, too. Gave me this 
chance." Mulder paused. "I guess a chance to make up for everything." He 
looked over at her. Her face was unreadable. "I want to make up for 
everything." Scully put her hand over his briefly and stood up. 

"God has a purpose for everything He does," she said, then left. Mulder 
stared after her, wondering why she had gone. The door opened again and this 
time Maggie Scully walked through. She gave him a gentle smile. 

"Hi, Fox, how're you feeling?" she asked, taking a seat beside him. He 
smiled back. 

"I'm fine, Mrs. Scully," he answered. 

"Maggie, dear, I won't answer to anything else," she said. Mulder smiled and 
nodded. "Ok, here's the deal," she said, taking a breath. "You can go home 
in just a few days, *but* the catch is you can't live alone for a few weeks. 
Not until everything that has been broken heals. We've all been debating who 
gets you, but I won," Maggie said, smiling. "You've got to live with me for 
a while." 

Mulder grinned back at her. "I can deal with that. I just hope you can deal 
with me. I'm not exactly the neatest person in the world." 

She shrugged. "Dana will probably be over to visit ten times a day. After 
work, all day on the weekends. Just call me if she hovers too much." Mulder 
smiled. 

"When do I go back to work?" he asked. 

"In a little while. AD Skinner says after you get off your crutches. But 
you won't be able to work in the field for a while," Maggie replied. 

"How long will Bill and Charlie be in town?" he asked. Maggie smiled. 

"Not too long. Actually, both are moving closer to town for visiting 
reasons. Charlie also got transferred again," she answered. "Now you get 
some rest. You need it." 

Mulder nodded obediently and shut his eyes as Maggie walked out the door. He 
slipped quickly into sleep. 

*******************

EPILOGUE 

Mulder hopped down the stairs of Maggie Scully's house, finally reaching his 
crutches at the bottom. It had almost been a week since Mulder's release 
from the hospital. Scully had been here every free moment of her day and had 
just about drove him nuts with her constant hovering. Today was Saturday and 
she had spent the night in the room next to him. Today was also the day 
Charlie was leaving, so the downstairs was a racket. Bill's child was crying 
and holding onto Charlie as if for dear life. Upon seeing Mulder, he ran to 
him and attached himself. 

"Uncle Fox," he said, raising his arms. Mulder hobbled to the couch and 
allowed Matt to crawl in his lap. Charlie smiled in thanks. 

"Matt, I don't mind the Fox bit, but I'm not your uncle. I don't think your 
dad likes the idea of being related to me," he said. "If you like seeing me 
around, just call me Fox." He smiled at him. Matt grinned back. 

"Kay." 

Mulder got up and hobbled into the kitchen. That ended up being a bad idea. 
Maggie and Scully were in there and they immediately rushed him to a chair. 

"Here, Fox, here's some pancakes. Do you want more? I'll make more," Maggie 
said. 

"No, no, I'm fine, Mrs--Maggie," he corrected. Scully sat down across from 
him and smiled. 

"Do you think you're up for walking farther today?" she asked. Mulder 
nodded, hungrily eating his pancakes. He started to get up for some milk, 
but both Scully's pounced on him. 

"I got it," Dana said. She handed it to him and he reached out with his left 
hand. She pulled it away. "Uh-uh. You got to start using the other hand." 
Mulder sighed and held out his right hand. It trembled slightly at the 
weight of the glass but he held it up. Scully smiled at him. "Not that 
hard, huh?" He smiled at her. Charlie came in the kitchen and grabbed one 
of Mulder's pancakes. He grinned at him. 

"Well, I'm off, but I'm moving pretty soon," he said, giving his mother a 
hug. Dana stood up and gave her brother a tight hug. Mulder stood, barely 
putting any weight on his broken ankle. He clasped hands with Charlie and he 
gave him a brief embrace. "Good to meet ya, Mulder. Pretty soon I'll be 
back and we can play some basketball." Mulder smiled at him. 

"You bet. Call me when you get in town," he said. Charlie nodded and walked 
towards the door. Bill, Tara, and Matt were there and everyone waved him 
off. Mulder stood on one crutch and hobbled back to the kitchen. Scully 
followed and helped him clean up his breakfast. She smiled and grabbed his 
other crutch. 

"Crutches on the way back. You have to limp around the block," she said. 
Mulder groaned and gave up the other crutch. He limped heavily to the door 
and leaned most of his weight on Scully. They walked together until they 
were out of the driveway. 

"C'mon, partner. We'll do this together," Scully said. Mulder limped down 
the sidewalk, watching kids across the street play basketball. He remembered 
his promise to Charlie. Charlie would be moving pretty soon and Mulder 
really like him. He took some weight off of Scully and tried to limp less 
noticeably. In two days, he told himself. In two days, I'll walk on my own. 
In two days, I'll go back to my desk. And in three days, I'll shoot some 
hoops. He smiled. Not an unlikely goal. He was going to reach it. 

**************************
END 

Thanks so much for reading this far!! 

"You've got to dance like nobody's watching and love like it's never going to 
hurt."
"It's a drum corps field. We just let the football players use it in the 
offseason."
"The man who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the woman who is 
doing it."
"Music can bring about a change from mere existence to life."
"A musician cannot move others unless he himself is first moved."
"People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy."
Jade