TITLE:               Between Time
AUTHOR:              Deanna Dilbeck
E-MAIL ADDRESS:      dilbeck613@aol.com
DISTRIBUTION:        Anywhere except Gossamer just let me know.
SPOILERS:            FIGHT THE FUTURE
RATING:              G
CLASSIFICATION:      V,R,A
KEYWORDS:            NONE
SUMMARY:             This story fills in the gap in time from the
                     point of the alien ship leaving and Mulder and
                     Scully ending up back in Washington.
DISCLAIMERS:         Mulder, Scully, Skinner belong to Chris Carter and
                     Ten Thirteen.  I mean no infringement, just enjoying
                     the characters.


Between Time
By Deanna Dilbeck
December 28, 2000


Antarctica


Cold, so bitter it could freeze the moisture in your eyes if you
faced the wind.  It had only been, maybe five minutes, since the
alien craft had soared majestically out of sight.  Scully tried
her best to hold onto consciousness, but it was a loosing battle.
The alien virus, coupled with whatever Mulder had given her to
reverse its affects, had taken its toll on her mind and her body.

'Focus, just focus on something, anything, to stay awake!' she
berated herself.

Mulder stirred in her arms and muttered something unintelligible.
She glanced down at him once again, this time noticing the wound
just below and into his hairline.  Her heart crashed to her feet
as she realized she was seeing a gunshot wound, and a recent one.
Gently brushing his hair back with her numb fingers, she noticed
how warm his face felt to her touch.  Fever, he had a fever.  It
was hard to gage exactly how high because her hands were too cold.

"Mulder, come on, please wake up.  I can't carry you.  For that
matter I don't think I can even walk."  Gently shaking him she
tried to a get a response, but nothing.  Chills racked her
slender frame as she clutched even tighter to Mulder's body,
trying to draw warmth from him.  Laying her frozen face against
his, she bit back the tears that threaten, knowing that they would
only cause the frostbite she could feel forming on her face to be
worse.  The sky began to darken and snow began falling, slowly at
first, and then beginning to pick up speed.  Scully knew that
soon they would be buried alive if something, or someone, didn't
show up soon.  She shook Mulder once again, a feeble attempt at
best, as she was gradually loosing consciousness, despite her
best efforts at holding on.

"Please God, not now.  Not when I need to tell him.  Please...",
and darkness won the battle.



"Agent Scully.  Agent Scully, please I need to get Agent Mulder to
the chopper and out of this storm."  Turning to look over his
shoulder he called out to the team behind him.  "Get the AD over
her now, she's not understanding what I'm telling her!"

Scully could hear the voices, but she refused to believe it was
more than a dream, a hopeless figment of her imagination.  The
drugs still raging through her system weren't allowing for
coherent thoughts at all.

"Scully. Dana, it's alright, they're here to help you.  Please,
trust me."  A.D. Skinner knelt in the cold snow and taking his
gloves off he put warm hands on either side of Scully's frozen
face and turned her head toward him.  "Look at me."  She turned
disbelieving eyes toward his face.  He could see the struggle in
their cloudy blue depths to decide if he was real or not.  A
decision seemed to formulate in her mind as she slowly released
the hold she had on Mulder to the paramedics.  Sliding back into
unconsciousness as she did so.  Skinner reached over and picked
her up, like one would a small child, and straightening up used
his body as a shield to protect her from the whipping snow.
Struggling against the wind, he carried her to the chopper and
crawled in with her still in his arms.  The space in these
military choppers was not conducive to medical rescues.  They had
been lucky to even find someone willing to fly in the middle of
this snow storm.  Leaning back against the tail portion of the
chopper, Skinner cradled Scully in his lap, allowing the paramedic
they had brought along to tend to Mulder, who seemed to be the
worst of the two.  'How do these two manage to get themselves
into so much trouble', he thought to himself, 'and why to I care
so damn much anyway?'

Scully mumbled something and he leaned closer to her face to hear
what she was saying.

"Mulder..."

Of course, who else would she call for?

"He's being taken care of Scully, just hang in there we'll be
back at the base in a few minutes."

"'kay" she mumbled and turned her face into his neck struggling
to get closer to the warmth of his body.

He pulled her up closer to his chest and leaned his face into hers,
the cold on her cheeks stinging his at the intensity.

"Mulder, you are one lucky ..."



He had been searching endlessly for her.  The rows of  ice entombed bodies seemed
to stretch endlessly.  So many people...  His flashlight played up as in slow motion
to land on the one face he was looking for.  Scully.  He reached out to her, as if
he could reach inside the ice and pull her out simply by the force of his will.
The ship lurched and Mulder fell backwards landing hard against the sarcophagus behind
him. He looked desperately around for the means to free her, but saw nothing.  Desperation
seeped deeper and deeper into his mind.  The ship lurched again and great releases
of steam escaped the ducts on either side of him.  Looking back up to Scully's face
he saw her looking at him.  Hope glimmered in her eyes as she stared down at him.
 Struggling to get up, his limbs seemed to be as lead weights.  He couldn't make
his legs work.  All he could do is stare at Scully helplessly.  He watched as she
looked down at her stomach and his gaze followed.  The gasp in his t!
hroat turned to a scream of horror.  There it was, the alien creature.  The one thing
he loved was being destroyed right before his eyes and he couldn't do a thing about
it.  Reaching out , he tried to touch her, to somehow get to her, but he couldn't
move from where he sat.  The ice began to run down in rivers of water and the creature
inside of Scully lurched and wiggled, trying to escape it's prison of flesh.  He
turned his eyes back up to hers and saw there, terror, pure stark terror.  Crying
out to her, he  tried once again to somehow reach her, but only fell, sobbing her
name, to the floor.  Ice began to crack open and as he watched in horror the alien
creature inside of Scully's body burst forth tearing her beautiful skin to shreds
in the process.

"No!  No, Scully!  Scully."  Sobs racked his body as he lay waiting for death to
take him as well.  He only wanted to join her there now, life held no meaning without
her.

"Scully......Scully.... "




"Agent Mulder, Agent Mulder, it's alright.  You're all right now."  A soothing voice
beckoned him out of the dream.  Gasping for air he struggled to sit up in the bed.
 He had to get up!  "Hold on there, you're not going anywhere.  Let me get Dr. Brock."
 Stepping to the doorway, but never leaving Mulder alone, she called for the doctor
and he responded immediately.

Mulder could still see her body, her eyes staring helplessly at him.  God, please
let it be a dream, please, his brain begged.  Pushing desperately against the bedrails
he struggled once again to sit up.

"Whoa there Mr. Mulder, you're in no condition to be going anywhere.  She's fine."
 At that Mulder sank back onto the pillow, his face collapsing with the relief of
those two little words.  "A.D. Skinner said that was the first thing you'd want to
know.  Guess he knows you pretty well, huh?  I'm Dr. Brock, it certainly good to
see you in the land of the living, I had my doubts there for a while."

"Where is she?"

"Down the hall two doors.  And no, you are staying right where you're at.  You're
in no condition to be going anywhere, besides she's sleeping and Mr. Skinner is sitting
with her.  He'll let you know as soon as she's awake." At Mulder's doubtful look
he grinned.  "Scout's honor."  Holding up two fingers in the infamous Scout symbol,
he got a small chuckle out of Mulder.

"The minute?"

Patting Mulder's shoulder affectionately he said, "The minute, I promise."

Mulder relaxed back into the bed and closed weary eyes.  Hopefully no more dreams,
he thought as he let sleep claim him once again.



Consciousness wasn't good.  The pain in her chest was excruciating and even that
word didn't come close to describing it.  Scully tentatively stretched her legs,
but that wasn't a good plan either.  Her second thought brought her painfully the
rest of the way to consciousness.  Mulder!  She struggled to shake the panic gripping
her mind.  Opening her eyes she noticed a figure sprawled in the corner of her room.
 Long legs stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles.  His glasses slid down
his nose, in danger of landing on the floor.  His chin rested on his chest, his eyes
closed in sleep, mouth partially open.  Scully reached for the rail to try and pull
herself up and that small noise had him instantly on his feet.

"Mulder..."

"He's fine Scully,.  Right down the hall."  Scully nodded slightly and let her body
fall back against the pillows.

"I need to see him."  Her voice was so weak, the tubes down her throat had rubbed
her throat raw.  Skinner had to lean in close to her what she was saying.  Rubbing
a hand over his head he grimaced slightly, knowing she wouldn't rest until she saw
for herself that he really was alright.

"I'll see what I can do, just hold on."  He awkwardly patted her arm and moved to
pull away.  A surprisingly strong, but small, hand snagged his as he went to pull
away.

"Thank you, sir, we would have died if you hadn't come."

"No thanks are necessary, I was only doing what I'm supposed to do.  Track down my
two most wayward agents."

Scully smiled slightly.

"You do seem to bail us out of a ...."  A coughing spasm caught her off guard and
cut her off in mid sentence.

"Here drink this."  Skinner gently lifted her up and held a glass of water to her
lips.  Sipping slowly the coughing spill subsided.  "I'll go get Mulder."


"Mulder, Mulder you think you can wake up long enough to see a certain red-head who
refuses to believe that any doctor, besides her, can take of you properly?"  Skinner
gently shook Mulder's arm.

Coming out of his dream, this time one he would have just as soon stayed in, he blinked
away the haze of the medicine that they had given him to help him sleep and smiled
groggily.

"I've been ready for a long time now."  Skinner actually chuckled under his breath
at the double meaning he read into Mulder's answer.

"I'll bet you have."

Sitting up slowly Mulder eased himself into the wheelchair that Skinner insisted
he use and tried not to let his impatience show through at having to move so slowly.
 Skinner wheeled him two doors down, just like Dr. Brock had promised, and pushed
open the door to a room identical to the one Mulder had been in, only with one small
difference.  Laying in this bed was the only thing in this world that could ease
the ache in Mulder's soul.  His partner, his best friend, and someone he hoped would
one day be so much more than that.

"I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes, but only a few.  You both need your
rest."  Skinner wheeled Mulder to the side of Scully's bed and locked the brake on
the wheelchair, before quietly leaving the room.  Although neither person seemed
to notice.  They had eyes only for one another.

"I thought I had lost you."

"Mulder, I never doubted you would find me, never."

"How are you feeling?"

"Like someone hit me in the chest with a sledgehammer."

"Sorry about that.  It was either CPR of let you..."  Mulder's voice trailed off,
he couldn't put voice to it.  It would make it to close to real.

"It's alright, I'd done the same thing."  Scully reached out her hand and tugged
gently but firmly on Mulder's.  "It wouldn't hurt as much if you were right here."
She patted the area above her heart with her free hand.

Mulder slowly eased up out of the wheelchair and slid into the small bed beside her.
 She lifted the covers for him to climb under and pulled him gently down to her shoulder.
 Mulder let out a deep sigh and wrapped his arms ever so gently around her, cocooning
her with his own body.

Scully's hands reached up to brush his hair off his forehead.  Pressing her lips
to his brow she let the tears she had held back ever since he had found her, fall
unheeded down her cheeks.  A sob that caught in her chest caused Mulder to left his
head and look at her.  The sight of her crying brought an ache to his heart like
none he had felt before.  Shifting her slight body around until she rested laying
half on top of him, with her tiny fists tightly clutching to the hospital gown he
was wearing, he cradled her gently in his arms.

"It's alright Scully.  It's all over.  Dana, I promise you I'll never let them hurt
you again.  I promise."  His voice broke as he to allowed the tears to stream down
his face and land on Scully's head.  Both held each other tightly until sleep claimed
them.

That's how Skinner found them twenty minutes later when he returned  to take Mulder
back to his room.  Sighing he resigned himself to the fact that his two best agents
(although he would never admit that to them) were exactly where they belonged, in
each others arms.  It seemed the only place either would feel safe, so he left well
enough alone and went down to Mulder's old room and laid down in his bed to catch
a few hours of sleep.  They should be well enough to travel in a couple of days.
 Then they all faced the wonderful task of explaining how and why they came to be
where they were, and exactly what had been accomplished by being there in the first
place.   Skinner had only followed Mulder's trail and a good thing he had!   Should
make for an interesting OPR meeting was the last thought Walter Skinner had before
drifting off to sleep.
The end