TITLE: Vision
AUTHOR: Ewa
E-mail:    ewa@whatewa.com
RATING:  PG 17
CATEGORY:  S 
SPOILER:  None. Season 7 after X-Cops and before 
Theef
KEYWORDS: M POV A  
THANKS To Peggy For her research, support, advice 
and beta-reading. Without her input, this would be 
mere skin and bones. 
SUMMARY: Mulder is in the dark yet sees
DISCLAIMER: Any characters you recognize belong to 
Mr. Carter & Co. Others are probably mine, who 
knows, does anyone care? I don't get paid anyway.
 
ARCHIVES: You mean, I don't have to pay? Let me 
know where it's gone please!
 
AUTHOR'S NOTES The story has been split into four 
parts for ease of reading
 
Feedback please!
ewa@whatewa.com
 
See my stories at www.whatewa.com
January 9th 2001
 


VISION

 
MULDER'S APARTMENT
6:31 AM
 
It was then that he first noticed it. The alarm was 
ringing fit to raise the dead. He'd turned over to 
turn the thing off, and had it crashing to the 
floor. The sun must have caught his eye for a split 
instant, long enough to blind him momentarily. 
 
"Damn. Like I've really got time to shop for 
another clock ."
 
 
When he picked his wrist watch up from the night 
stand it happened again. For a fraction of a second 
it felt as though he was viewing his watch in a 
illuminated shattered mirror, then everything was 
fine.
 
 
By the time he got back from his run, there was a 
message on the answering machine.
 
"C'mon, Mulder, pick up! Look, something's come up. 
Skinner is out of town, but he's loaned you..., and me 
to the VCU. They've got something that should be 
right up your street according to Skinner."  Mulder 
shuddered violently, VCU and Mulder usually meant 
trouble, for him.
 
"I'm on my way down there now, get down there as 
soon as you can. See you. Oh, by the way, Skinner 
said you're to be SAC on this one."
 
He could almost hear Scully's grin.
 
The location wasn't that far way, twenty minutes 
driving, max. He grabbed a quick shower and was 
away in just under half an hour. Scully would see 
to all the details. He had full confidence in her. 
 
As he drove he thought about how things seemed to 
be getting better between them. The only time they 
would open up a little was when driving, but all in 
all they were more at ease with each other then 
they'd been for a while. They'd even kissed last 
New Year for god sake. 
 
It made no sense why discussing anything personal 
was such a problem for them, anything to do with 
their relationship and they were both in denial 
and yet they were closer than married couples, so 
close they shared each others thoughts at times.
 
Why couldn't they ever...
 
"Jeeze! Shit!" It happened again, it looked like 
the windshield had shattered. His vision cleared 
just in time to swerve sharply to avoid the 
collision. 
 
Thank God it was a quiet back street he had been 
driving down. Luckily no one was seriously hurt. 
Mulder had somehow hit the side of his head on 
something but apart from that. Apart from that, he 
was dazed and shaken, it took several minutes to 
recover his feelings of equilibrium. 
 
It had taken all of two hours to sort the mess and 
himself out. The other guy had gone ballistic, it 
had been a job to placate him.
Mulder had parked the car. 
 
 
 
BOLTON RESIDENCE
 
Scully *will* be pleased he thought, as the cab 
he'd taken finally drew up in front of the address.
 
That she was annoyed as she filled him in on the 
details was pretty evident . This was his chance to 
shine, and he'd let her down. 
 
"Fatal assault... 19 year old male... no witnesses." 
He couldn't concentrate on what his partner was 
saying.
 
"You okay, Mulder?"
 
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I *am* sorry....I'll explain 
later."
 
He saw by her face that she didn't believe him on 
the first one, was dubious about the second and 
would wait to hear the third. 
 
"I owe you Scully."
 
"You're right Mulder, you do. Big time."
 
She noticed the discoloration by his temple, 
immediately going into Dr. mode.
 
"Mulder, what the hell happened?" As her hand went 
to the bruising, he jerked his head away from her.
 
" Please, Scully....Not here, not now. I'm okay, 
really I am. I said, I'll explain later."
 
Shit! He'd done it again. She was backing off.
 
 
In his absence Scully had covered a lot of ground, 
getting things under control. She'd got the other 
agents organized, arranged for support for the 
family and a doctor should he be required;  the 
local PD were milling around at her bidding as were 
forensics.
 
Their reputation for being a strange team must have 
preceded them and no one had questioned that Scully 
had taken the reins in her partner's absence.
 
Mulder introduced himself to the other agencies, 
and got down to work. He was not sure exactly why 
Skinner had agreed to this assignment. There was 
nothing even remotely X-file about this case even 
by Mulder's way out standards. Very vicious, 
unusual, but that was it. Maybe Skinner owed a 
favor.
 
It had been a long time since Mulder worked for 
VCU. His memories of the last occasion were not 
happy, but he remembered the drill. He took charge, 
assigning tasks to various agents. 
 
They walked over to the victim, she filled 
him in on what was known to date. He looked back at 
the house, and the sun seemed to catch one of the 
windows, making it flare for a moment. He could 
have sworn someone was climbing out, and then it 
was gone.
 
"Mulder, Mulder are you alright?" It was the sound 
of Scully's worried voice that snapped him back.
 
"Yeah, I'm listening, go on."
 
"The boy  came home from college yesterday to visit 
with his Mom, Dad and two year old sister. 
He'd stayed up with his Dad for a while, but then 
decided to call it a night. That was at about 
10:40. That was the last time he was seen alive."
 
Scully continued. "An early morning jogger almost 
fell over him in the parking lot bordering on to 
the back yard this morning."
 
They went back inside to talk to the deeply shocked  
parents. 
 
"We're going to do our best to get whoever did 
this Mrs. Bolton; as soon as you're up to it, 
we'll talk." Mulder assured the distressed mother.
 
Mulder left the family to their grief. He felt so 
inadequate at moments like this.
 
Scully went with the coroner, discussing the 
injuries the boy had sustained. She'd do the 
autopsy.
 
Meanwhile Mulder went to Joshua's room. *This* was 
the room he'd seen someone climb out of...he was 
sure of it. He shook his head to try to clear his 
thoughts.
Looking around the room he noticed how bare and 
impersonal it was. Then it happened again, he 
experienced a starburst effect as he turned towards 
the window. This time the effect lasted longer.
 
What the hell was wrong with him? It couldn't be 
the knock on the head, this had started before that 
and he'd been concussed before, it was nothing like 
this. He was really concerned.
 
There was something wrong, and it was serious, that 
much he knew. That's what frightened him He should 
share this with Scully, but for some reason he 
needed to do this alone.
 
"Okay Mulder, time for action. Scully you'd be 
proud of me." He thought aloud as he reached for his
cell phone.
 
"You mean, I can be seen in an hour, or not till 
next week?"
 
" I'll be there"
 
Scully came in as he pressed the end button.
 
"Even now my room at home has a lot of my stuff in 
it. It's almost like he ceased to exist for the 
family, look there's no posters, none of the other  
things all self respecting teenagers collect. It's 
all so clean, so clinical. It just seems so 
unusual"
She'd noticed too.
 
"There's a pile of stinky washing downstairs, my 
guess is that he came back to cadge a decent meal 
and get his washing done, what's so unusual about 
that?" 
What was wrong with this picture? The question 
wouldn't leave him.
 
"Let's cut all this emotional crap and keep to 
facts Scully. Not everyone lives like you. 
Maybe the kid was into minimalism." 
he regretted it, even as he spoke. 
 
"Is that  a typical left brain approach?" Scully 
countered, visibly shaken by his attitude
 
"No, Just trying to keep an open mind here. I've 
got things to see to. I need you to be here for me. 
Any problems, I'm on the cell phone."
 
There was a look of stunned disbelief on Scully's 
face as he left, and he knew it was there because 
of him. 
 
Why was he taking it out on her? *He* was the one 
that wanted to deal with this without her support.
 
OPHTHALMOLOGIST OFFICE
 
The tests and questioning by Dr Eko had been very 
thorough. Had he had any recent head injuries? Was 
there a family history?
The extent to which he was tested alarmed Mulder. 
His eyes had been dilated, visual fields tested, 
even a dye study done to take pictures of his 
retinas.
 
"They've even outdone you Scully"
 
"Did you say something?" the doctor had asked.
 
"Um, no... just thinking out loud."
 
He'd had another episode during the tests.
 
He was sitting in the hallway wearing darkened 
goggles, awaiting the results when Scully rang with 
an update.
 
"The initial forensic report shows that there was 
an incredible amount of violence in the attack. The 
boy's skull is fractured in three places, there are 
a number of compression bruises to the neck, 
shoulders and upper body, also his nose and teeth 
have been smashed. 
They haven't recovered the implement yet.
 
Injuries such as these would have caused death in 
anything between minutes and hours. In this case, 
I'd hazard hours. Evidence points to time of death 
at about 4:30 am, about two hours before he was 
found. Enough time for him to have crawled from his 
backyard, through a hole in the fence and onto the 
waste ground.  
Mulder... Mulder, where are you?"
 
"Keep me in the loop, Scully," he said and hit the 
end button.
 
Sitting here, alone, in enforced darkness, he was 
scared. Whatever it was that was wrong with him 
was serious, very serious. He needed time to get his 
head around it. He couldn't face her sympathy and 
caring at the moment. He had to face this alone, 
come to terms with it alone. Later...when he'd 
had a chance.... 
 
"Mr. Mulder, would you come in please. Doctor is 
ready to see you now."  Someone helped him up and 
guided him into the office.
Dr. Eko introduced a second doctor. 
 
"This is Dr. Bowen, I've asked if he'd take a look 
at the test results for a second opinion."
 
"Mr. Mulder," Dr. Bowen addressed him. "Would you 
mind if I took a look at your eyes?"
 
There had been further tests, and even with the 
second opinion the results all pointed to just one 
thing.
 
"Look, If you've any idea.... I need to know...." 
Mulder couldn't stand the suspense.
 
"All the results point to a rare viral condition , 
commonly known as AZOOR, it's characterized by the 
acute loss of outer retinal function, this causes 
the starburst effect you are experiencing. It's a 
virus that lies dormant in the immune system until 
it's triggered by something, trauma, illness, 
stress. At this point in time not enough is known. 
It kills cells in the retina."
 
"So you think I've got this Az...."
 
"AZOOR, yes, the results of the tests are 
consistent with the diagnosis."
 
"So how do we cure it." Mulder interrupted
 
"As yet there is no cure, we can use anti-virals, 
cortisone to slow the progress, but..."
 
"You mean, hopefully, it just gets better on it's 
own?"
 
"There have been cases Mr. Mulder, where the 
patient has made a complete recovery, and often 
there is some residual vision retained. We'll need 
to do further tests."
 
The truth was slowly dawning on him 'some residual 
vision retained'. Did that mean he could be blind, 
with just residual vision left? He could not, would 
not accept that. 
 
God this can't be happening to me, why me? He shook 
with the shock. He felt himself grow very hot and 
then suddenly cold and sweaty, the sounds around 
him distorted and lights flashed. He couldn't 
breathe in properly. Breathe slowly...in...out he 
remembered Scully telling him, over and over again.
 
Dr. Bowen was saying something about further tests, 
appointments at eye hospital....
 
Mulder latched on to that. "Further test, means 
that there's room for doubt? Right?"
 
"At this point Mr. Mulder it might be prudent to 
talk about support agencies, rehabilitation...."
 
Mulder couldn't listen to this, knocking his chair 
over in his haste, he ran out of the office.
 
 
FLYNN'S BAR
 
He couldn't face Scully. Instead of going back to 
the briefing room he told the cab driver to take 
him to the nearest bar and was on his second drink 
when the next episode occurred. Staggering to the 
men's room,  he stumbled into a woman on his way 
past the bar. He made his way down a long hall to 
the men's room.
 
Once in the cubicle he totally lost it, smashing up 
the fixtures. He ripped off the seat and smashed it 
against the walls and door until the pain in his 
hands brought him to his senses. Sinking down on 
the toilet, his head in his hands, and wept.
 
His cell phone disturbed his grief. 
His partner had an update, he wasn't paying much 
attention until she stopped mid-sentence.
 
"Mulder...are you there? Is everything alright?"
 
"Yes, I'm here."
 
"You sure, you're okay, you don't sound too good."
 
"Quit fussing Scully! I told you, everything's just 
fine."
 
"I'll finish up here and head back. See you in the 
briefing room." She sounded hurt, then the phone 
went dead.
 
He'd have to do something about the damage he'd 
caused, but not at the moment. 
He slipped out the fire exit at the end of the hall.
 
 
FBI BUILDING
 
Back at the Bureau he walked along, dragging his 
finger unobtrusively along the wall, counting and 
trying to memorize the number of doors and 
turnings. Building up a mental picture for the day 
he'd have to rely on it solely.
May as well start now; always the Indian Scout, 
ready for anything that's me, he thought with wry 
humor.
 
The meeting with the other agents was going well 
until it happened again and he felt himself lose 
focus. But Scully was there for him, picking up 
where he stopped, seaming it so well that only 
Skinner, had he been there may have noticed 
anything was amiss. When it had passed a moment 
later and he could see again, he saw her 
apprehension. 
 
That evening, Mulder was standing outside, staring 
into the night sky, when she came out. 
 
"I used to know the names of all of them, Ahab 
taught me when I was small."  Scully confided.
He was waiting for her to say something, to demand 
an explanation . He could feel how apprehensive she 
was, but she didn't say a word.
 
Not to give her a chance to ask, he told her how, 
when he was a boy, he'd had a telescope. 
 
" The first thing I ever saw with it was a shooting 
star, never did see one again."
 
"You never see the things you're looking for. By 
the way, Skinner called in this afternoon while you 
were out. He wanted to know how the case was going. 
He wants to talk to us."
 
"When?"
 
"Bright and early tomorrow morning. See you in the 
morning ," she said as she started towards the car 
park.
 
"Scully..." he called after her. "You did good work 
today."
 
"Thank you Mulder, goodnight."
 
 
In the cab on his way home he wondered how she 
managed to do it. She instinctively knew something 
was up. It bothered him that she hadn't asked him 
about it. Usually she was like a terrier if she 
even suspected there was something troubling him, 
yet today.... Granted. his behaviour towards her had 
been abysmal. 
 
He'd hurt her and he *was* sorry. It was just....He 
couldn't cope with the sympathy, with being treated 
as a...blind man? 
 
A shudder shook him and he felt a sudden need to 
throw up. He controlled the urge as sweat broke 
out on his forehead.
 
"Hey, you okay back there?" The cab driver's voice 
broke through his thoughts.
 
Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he reassured the man.
 
He just didn't know how to deal with that. He'd 
hurt her and she was confused as to why. Hell *he* 
was confused!
 
She hadn't insisted he explained his lateness, his 
lack of transport, the missing hours. She didn't 
even offer to drive him home. 
 
He missed her by his side. He missed the aura of 
safety she exuded. Why was he turning away to one 
person he needed the most?
 
What is it about me that makes me do that?
Scully and cancer! She'd been secretive about that 
too. Was it an instinctive thing, self 
preservation? Denial? If the other didn't know then 
the condition didn't exist? 
 
 
He still couldn't sleep at 3. AM. What possessed 
him to pick up the phone? All he got was her voice 
mail. 
 
He didn't bother leaving a message. 
 
What could he say "Sorry, I'm an asshole"? Could he 
tell her how much he needed her here now, her 
nonjudgmental, all accepting little self, who would 
hold him tightly to her tiny frame and promise him 
everything was gonna be fine? 
 
Well, this time it wasn't going to be and he 
couldn't allow himself the luxury of such thoughts.
 
 
Thankfully he wasn't late next morning. Scully was 
by the elevator to tell him about the change of 
plan.
 
"Thought I'd save you a journey," she told him. 
 
He was thankful for that, although he'd not had 
another episode since last night, but he still 
didn't fancy falling on his ass in front of her.
 
"Turns out Mr. Bolton is really Joshua's step dad. 
He's first on our list for interviewing this 
morning, seeing he's the last person to have seen 
Joshua alive. C'mon we'll take my car. I can't 
face your driving this time of the morning." 
Her attempt at humor fell flat.
 
 
Mulder couldn't get the tapes in the machine to 
record the interview, and it took him a bit of 
fumbling before he finally succeeded.
 
"I'll do that," his partner volunteered quietly.
 
"It's okay, I've got it Scully, quit fussing." He 
didn't look at her, didn't need to.
 
The interview with Joshua's stepfather went well, 
there were no real surprises He'd admitted that it 
hadn't been easy at times, bring up a stepchild. 
 
"He was nearly five when I came on to the scene. 
We've always been close, but I can't deny we've 
had our ups and downs, I mean teenagers, 
they're not the easiest of species to relate to. 
When Maria was born we persuaded him to leave home 
when he went to college, you know…kids of that age…
they need their independence."
 
 
 
As he looked at Phil Bolter, the man's face 
acquired the starburst effect, more than that, 
behind the man Mulder could see another, a man in a 
blood soaked t-shirt, whose face had been caved in. 
As Mulder dropped his head onto his hand,  he felt 
the brief touch of Scully's hand on his knee under 
the table and heard her take over the questioning. 
The episode hadn't lasted long, but had left him 
shaken. This was the first time he'd 'seen' 
things...then he remembered the window and the first 
morning of the case.
 
 
She drove them back to see Skinner in silence. 
There wasn't even the usual banal banter about her 
needing the practice. The silence was broken when 
she said quietly "Dad used to say, if something 
really bad happens, the trick is to use it  make it 
work for you." He pretended he didn't know what she 
meant.
 
The meeting with their superior consisted mainly of 
updating the man. Mulder was still no wiser as to 
why they'd been assigned to the case. Skinner 
noticed his lack of participation.
 
"Got anything to add to Agent Scully's report, any 
theories?"
 
"Um, no not at present, I think Scully's pretty 
much covered it all."
 
"Well, I must say, this is probably a first."
 
"Sir?"
 
Just as Mulder thought the interview was over 
Skinner struck. "Is this a fashion statement Agent 
Mulder, or have you decided to rewrite the Bureau 
dress code."
 
Mulder saw Skinner looking pointedly at his feet. 
To his chagrin, Mulder saw a black sock and a gray 
one. 
"Umm...power cut this morning...," he mumbled as he 
hurried out of the door.
 
Skinner hadn't seemed amused.
Mulder walked towards the elevator, keeping close 
to the wall, trailing his left fingers along the 
wall as he went. For the most part he could see 
okay, but the episodes when they came lasted 
longer, long enough for disorientation to occur.
 
As they neared the elevator one of the agents on 
the case caught up with them.
 
"Sir. There's been a break through, we have a lead 
on the prowler." The agent excitedly thrust the 
file at Mulder. 
 
"It's not the paper work I'm interested in. Get out 
there and look for him or do I have to go and do 
that as well?" Mulder said sarcastically.
 
"Sir?" 
Scully took the file from the bewildered 
agent and shot Mulder a look of pure venom.
 
He cut short anything she might have said.
 
"I've got some calls to make." 
 
Turning, he left her. He felt her eyes boring into 
him all the way down the hall.

DR. EKO'S OFFICE
 
The news wasn't good. The doctor was sure that his 
initial diagnosis was correct.
Mulder wasn't having it. He insisted that over the 
past few days the episodes hadn't increased. There 
had been a slight change in character to some of 
them, but that was all.
 
"...Start seeing things, delusions are common as 
sight diminishes...cause is not known. Another 
phenomenon is completion, where your brain lets you 
'see' something simply because you expect to see it 
there....degree of residual sight...degree of 
damage...can't be more specific at this time." 
 
It frightened Mulder to realize that some of this 
was already happening to him.
Most of what the doctor said simply went over his 
head. He was too upset to assimilate all the 
information that swamped him. 
 
He couldn't deal with all the facts, and more 
importantly the repercussions that they would 
invariably have. Nevertheless he took the tapes and 
other information the doctor offered him.
 
In the cab on his way home, he phoned Scully, he 
needed the comfort of her voice.  Just hearing her 
pre-recorded message calmed him. 
 
MULDER'S APARTMENT 
Later
 
He lay on his couch in the dim light emitted from 
his fish tank, the only sound, the reassuring gurgle 
of it's pump. He got up and put on one of the tapes 
the doctor had given him. It was a very patronizing, 
he couldn't bear the smug voice telling him about 
sight loss. In a flash of frustration and anger he 
whipped it out of the player and smashed it against 
the wall and sank to the floor, covering his face 
with his hands.
 
He'd recently discovered the terrace on the roof of 
his building. There wasn't much up there only  a 
skylight and some chimneys, but the view, especially 
at night, was worth the two flights of stairs. 
 
There was a narrow parapet around the roof on which 
he now sat, legs swinging over the edge, a half 
empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. He stood 
up on the ledge and started walking along it's 
narrow shelf, swaying and wobbling as he went. 
 
So, he could fall, there was plenty, far worse,
could happen to him, he thought. At least falling 
would be quick. Knowing his luck, he'd shatter his 
spine and end his days a paraplegic as well as 
blind. 
 
Yes, he was feeling sorry for himself, but in a 
macabre sort of way he was actually enjoying it. He 
walked to the end of the parapet and back again. 
 
"What of Scully?" whispered the tiny voice in his 
head
 
"She's better off without me, look at the work she's 
doing now! Shit! I'm supposed to be the agent in 
charge, focused, leading the way and she's having to 
fill in for me as usual."
 
He looked up sky wards self-pitying moisture 
stinging his eyes, blurring his vision for a moment. 
Wave after wave of black despair swirled around him; 
hopelessness and fear dragged him to the edge of the 
ledge, taunting him, daring him to step forward. So 
easy, so quick.... As the mist cleared from his mind 
and eyes he saw the shooting star, on it's journey 
across the firmament. 
 
He corked the Jack Daniels, and climbing off the 
parapet, decided to fight back.
 
He opened the door to his apartment to the last ring 
of his cell phone and then the phone on his desk 
rang once, before the answering machine kicked in.
 
"Mulder if you're there, pick up....Something's 
turned up." Annoyance in her voice turned to 
anger. 
"Where are you Mulder? What the hell are you 
playing at?" 
 
What the hell *was* he playing at?
 
 
The cab journey back to the Bureau building didn't 
take long at this time of night. He hoped the place 
would be deserted. He needed it to be so to carry 
out his plan.
 
He knew his way around their basement office 
blindfold, and he could probably get away with it in 
Skinner's, providing the man didn't decide to shift 
his furniture but AD was too set in his ways to do 
that.  
 
No, it was the briefing room that would cause him 
the most trouble. Well, he was about to set that 
right. 
Why was it so important? It was only going to delay 
the inevitable.
 
You're sounding like a loser, Mulder, you need 
Scully to kick some butt here. He smiled at the 
thought, the first time since the diagnosis.
 
Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he paced the room 
counting, getting the place mapped out in his head. 
Soon he could walk into the room, toss his trench 
coat nonchalantly onto the hanger and maneuver his 
way all around the room without stumbling or 
tripping. 
 
If he kept his hands just so..., he'd be 
able to feel a chair back before he blundered into 
it.
 
The biggest problems were his fellow agents and 
judging distance. That's why he'd lost it when 
Becket had come to him with that file, he'd not 
been able to work out where to put his hand. 
 
How much was Scully aware of? She'd saved his ass on 
a number of occasions recently, almost instinctively 
she seemed to know what was needed. 
 
she'd not demanded explanations, that in itself 
was odd, but he was grateful. 
 
 
Mulder went to get a drink of water from the water 
dispenser, his frustration got the better of him as 
he missed the cup and spilled liquid over the floor. 
He swore violently, kicking out at the machine.
 
He tried again, this time inserting his fingers into 
the cup so that he felt both the spout and the level 
of the water. He did it. He attempted it again, 
listening to the gurgles, counting so he could gauge 
the duration. He finally sat on the desk where he'd 
sat on previous occasions, feeling rather pleased 
with his achievements. 
 
There was faint waft of a scent that reminded his so 
much of his partner. He recognized he was getting 
jumpy in the silent building.
 
"Hello! Hello?" He called out, more to reassure 
himself.
 
But there was only silence. 
 
Finally, in the early hours he got to bed, exhausted, 
and slept soundly for the first time since this 
started.
 
FBI BUILDING
8:00 AM
 
The hours of practice last night paid off. He 
could recognize most of the agents by voice and 
because of where he sat if they needed to hand him
anything, they were the ones who had to complete 
the contact. He even managed the drink of water trick. 
 
The latest twist to the case was that Phil Bolton 
had an identical twin, Pierre Morel. The brothers 
had been separated at birth and had been adopted by 
very different families. They had only found each 
other some four and a half years previously. 
 
Although very alike physically, the circumstances of 
their upbringing had made their personalities very 
different. Pierre had lived with the family for 
nearly two years, and had got on very well with 
Stephanie, Phil's wife. 
 
In that time he had developed a special relationship 
with his step-nephew, Joshua who was almost fifteen 
then. 
 
Pierre had decided that he didn't fit in this 
style of life and had gone back to Quebec. He'd been 
out of the picture since then, until he showed up 
after hearing of his Joshua's demise. 
 
The statements made by Joshua's flat mates made Mulder 
think that Joshua was not as happy as his parents thought. 
 
He'd told his friends he didn't want to go back to visit,
yet something kept drawing him back there. Something that 
he was very anxious about.
 
 
Mulder  had another press conference scheduled and 
there were things  he needed Scully to do while he 
'fronted' the interview.
 
 
"Be your eyes, you mean?"
 
Her remark shook him to the core. How...? 
He caught her scent, she *had* been here last night.
 
The conference had been okay, he'd kept control of 
the situation and hadn't let events overwhelm him, 
even though his sight had failed him twice He'd dealt 
with it by keeping focused on whoever was speaking. 
There was so much you could work out from that.
 
 
MULDER'S APARTMENT
 
That evening he sat at the desk in the brightest 
light possible, trying to decipher some of the 
reports with the aid of a high-power magnifying 
glass. He'd already learnt that plugging a dozen 
lamps into three extension leads was not a good 
idea. The first time he'd done this the improvement 
to his sight was noticeable but the whole building 
had been plunged into darkness as the overload blew 
all the fuses. Tonight the work was heavy going, 
and he had a headache.
 
There was a knock on the door he recognized  as 
Scully's.
 
Hurriedly he shoved the magnifying glass and the 
support tapes into the draw, before calling out, 
"Come in, it's open!"
 
"Have I caught you at a bad time?" Scully asked 
anxiously as she came in through the door.
 
"I was expecting the takeout delivery."
 
"I've brought the kid's video diaries over.  His 
flat mates brought them in, I thought we could go 
through them tonight."
 
"Um...this really isn't a good time for me. I might 
need to go out."
 
He was saved from further explanation by the arrival 
of the take out delivery boy at the door.  It took 
Mulder some time to sort it all out. 
 
"You want to eat? There's enough" He called to her, 
his appetite was fast deserting him.
 
"No thanks, but I could really use a drink of 
water."
 
He went into the kitchen to fetch it for her 
concentrating on not spilling, not fumbling, and 
then he understood.
 
"So it *was* you last night. Why didn't you say 
anything? He said to her.
 
"I thought that was your call."
 
"Uh, I'm just getting used to some new contact 
lenses, it's no big deal."
 
"Do I give the impression of having an IQ in single 
figures?"
The silence that followed was deafening. He was 
going to have to bluff it out.
 
"I have a problem with my eyes. I'm dealing with 
it."
 
"How bad a problem?"
 
"Look I'm dealing with it, and if *you* can't...you 
can always put in for a transfer. They've been 
trying to split us up for long enough." 
 
He expected a slap, he expected tears, he expected 
her to storm out, he *wanted* her to storm out, it 
would make him feel better about the way he'd been 
treating her.
 
The icy voice said. "If I know an agent is seriously 
impaired, enough to endanger himself and his 
partner, I'm obliged to report it; in triplicate if 
necessary."
 
What Scully said knocked the fight out of him. He 
needed to tell her and he owed her the truth.
 
"It's called AZOOR, some sort of viral illness."
 
"What's the treatment?"
 
"There isn't."
 
"You're going blind."
 
"I don't know. I don't know how bad it's going to 
get or how soon, they couldn't tell me that. I can 
see you at the moment, most of the time I see quite 
clearly." Mulder tried to explain.
 
"Close vision is hard, but with a magnifying glass 
and very bright light I can get by. When this thing 
happens, things blur and everything seems very 
bright, a sort of starburst effect. The best way I 
can describe it is that it's like looking into an 
illuminated shattered mirror, all the cracks and 
breaks radiating out from a central point, 
everything is distorted. 
Other times it's like someone's thrown a stone 
through the windshield, that kind of effect.."
 
"And there's no doubt about the diagnosis? AZOOR? 
I've heard of it, it's rare. But why? Why you?"
 
She stopped for a moment. "Mulder, I knew you were 
having problems with your eyes but... I'm so sorry."
 
His anger and frustration got the better of him. He 
grabbed the glass off the table and threw it against 
the wall. The sound of the glass breaking was quite 
satisfying.
 
His voice shook with anger and fear.
 
"Why the hell do you think I didn't tell you? Why? 
Jeeze! That's another thing I'll have to get used 
to, tea and bloody sympathy! I'm telling you Scully, 
I can't take that, especially not from you!"
 
He wanted the world to hurt as much as he was 
hurting at the moment. From the look of devastation 
on her pale, shocked face, he'd just about achieved 
his purpose.
The silence between them grew.
 
"I'd settle for something a lot stronger just now 
Mulder." 
 
She didn't go to help him as he got the rest of the 
Jack Daniels out and found a couple of glasses. She 
didn't offer to pour. 
 
neither of them spoke as she cleared away the broken 
glass. 
 
 
They sat on the couch with their drinks, a place they'd 
shared so many good and bad times. This must be the 
worst, he thought.
 
"Are you in pain?" Her question surprised him.
 
"Only in bright light, and ironically, that's when I 
see best."
 
She sighed.
 
 
"Look Mulder, I need to see your doctor, will you at 
least let me do that, Who is he? What hospital...?
 
And then her Irish heritage got the better of her. 
 
"How dare you Mulder? What the hell were you 
thinking off...After all we've been through, how 
dare you ditch me again and try do this on your own? 
You have some God given right to put yourself and 
those around you in jeopardy...? 
At least you had the sense to stop driving..." 
She paused to catch her breath.
 
"There's no way on planet earth that you're going to 
be able to sit on this Mulder."
 
"I didn't go through normal channels."
 
"But they *will* find out. You know the rules."
 
"As from today Scully, there are no rules. I'll do 
it a day at a time."
 
"How will you read reports, interview suspects?"
 
"And what do *you* suggest I do Scully, sit in the 
dark until I can no longer tell the difference between 
day or night. I could always put my gun to my 
head...."
 
Both of them were breathing hard by now. Mulder 
didn't want her to touch him and she gave him the 
space he so badly needed.
 
"I need more time." He swallowed hard. "I 
need....There was a blind man near us when I was a 
kid.... I can't be like him..."
 
He felt a tear trickle down his cheek. He turned 
away from Scully and stood up.
 
"Never seeing daylight, the trees in the fall. Never 
seeing the face of the woman you make love to...."
 
She walked to stand in front of him. 
 
"You can touch, feel..."
 
He wouldn't answer, just shook his head. 
 
"Like this..." she touched her fingers to his cheek, 
drew them along his jaw and then traced his lips 
with her thumb. He pulled away from her.
 
 
"Go home Scully! Go home and write your report, do 
whatever you have to."
 
"You asked me today to be you eyes...."
 
"Your words!...If they find out they'll blow you 
out too!" 
 
She seemed so calm, so in control now. "Sleep on it 
Mulder, we'll talk about it in the morning. Anytime 
I think we're jeopardizing the case, we'll call it 
off."
 
She walked the door. "I'll pick you up at 7:30. Be 
sure you're ready." Softly she closed it behind her and
he sank back onto his couch, the tears falling 
freely now that there were no witnesses, somewhere 
deep inside him the pain and anger lessened.
 
 
 
Next morning as he dressed, he discovered Scully had 
been matching ties with shirts and putting paired 
sox into his pocket of his dress pants  while he'd 
been dealing with the take-out delivery boy 
 
True to her word she was at the door punctually. 
Coming in, she looked him over and immediately took a 
tissue out to wipe the shaving foam he'd missed near 
his ear, then straightened his collar. 
He turned to object.
 
"You want to check my nails as well mommy?"
 
"Listen Mulder, either we do this properly or not at 
all."
 
 
The atmosphere between them as she drove was more 
relaxed than it had been for a while.
He opened up enough to explain what had 
happened the last time he'd driven.
 
"You couldn't drive my car back to my apartment, 
could you ?" He asked sheepishly.
 
"Don't worry, I'll sort it out." 
 
They drove in silence for a minute or two. 
 
"Skinner isn't stupid, Mulder, he knows something 
is up, he's concerned. But the moment he knows 
officially then he's duty bound to act on it."
 
"Then we'll just have to make sure he doesn't know."
 
She was nearing the FBI Building when he said. 
"After his assault, why would Joshua crawl to an 
empty parking lot? It would have made more sense to 
have tried to escape towards the safety of home."
 
"Maybe he was disorientated, confused. He was 
suffering horrific injuries..."
 
"But to get to the parking lot he had to crawl 
through that broken chain link fence, that took some 
doing in the condition the kid was in. What if he 
knew the attacker...What if he were trying to get 
away...What if it were home that posed the 
danger..."
 
"Mulder, what you're saying..."
 
"I can't make it out, it's almost as though I know, 
as though I've seen... I just can't put my finger on 
it Scully. It's there, just out of reach...."
 
In the next hour or so, Mulder had plenty of opportunity 
to see just how resourceful his partner could be when 
she set her mind to it.
 
On the way to the briefing room she walked in front 
of him, so that he had to hold the back of her elbow 
as they walked down the centre of the hall, discussing 
the case as they went. He couldn't help tightening his 
grip as another episode struck.
 
"Those video diaries, do you want me to, -steps up 
Mulder-, to look them over with you?"
 
"No, I can do that. Thanks Scully." They'd 
managed the staircase without trouble.
 
"That's what I'm here for," she answered in a low 
voice.
 
By the end of the morning, they'd got it down to fine 
art. Sometimes he would walk along with his hand on 
the small of her back, sometimes holding her elbow, 
to all intents and purposes leading her, rather than 
the other way round. They worked together well as a 
team, but then, that was hardly surprising. 
 
In the briefing room, she stood next to him as he 
sat perched on the edge of the table, so it was most 
natural for her to collect any documents and then 
hand them carefully to him. He had to report to the 
other agents that he hadn't got far with the 
profile. There was no motive. 
 
The other agents reported their progress or lack of 
it but Mulder lost concentration, he was aware that 
Scully had taken the lead, questioning various 
members of the team on their results. Through it all 
he was aware of the her next to him. It was as 
reassuring as what was happening to him was 
frightening. 
 
Apart from the usual phenomena, he was seeing things, 
Like someone that looked like one of the twins but
wasn't. The man's face was caved in, the image 
zoomed in and out of focus, and there were sounds, 
distorted, unrecognizable and yet familiar. 
 
His hands clenched tightly on the table edge to stop 
himself from falling. For a moment it felt as though 
he was whirled around in a centrifuge, and the it 
all stopped.
 
Nobody seemed to notice anything.
 
"Sir," one of them addressed him, "Where do you 
think we should be going with this?"
 
"There's something vital we're missing, it's staring 
us in the face" 
 
He dismissed the agents to their assignments and when 
They'd gone,Scully put her hand on his arm. 
 
"I fine now Scully, how long was I out of it for?" 
 
"About a minute, you sure you're alright Mulder? 
You look like..." 
 
"Yes, I know, shit." He finished the sentence for 
her.
 
"Actually I was going to put it a little more 
delicately." 
 
"You and I Scully, are going to interview the twin 
brother, Pierre."
 
 
They were near their parked car when a group of 
agents came by; he worked out why Scully had 
insisted he have the car keys that morning. 
 
"Must be your turn to drive Scully," he said holding 
the keys out to her. She grinned.
 
They spent a grueling afternoon interviewing the 
step father's twin. Pierre, although identical in 
every respect to Phil, spoke with an accent, having 
lived in Quebec all his life. 
 
There was nothing unusual about him, he worked hard 
on the land he had there. He'd never be as rich as 
his twin but hey, there was more to life than money. 
 
Asked why he'd  lost contact with his newly 
discovered twin, his reason seemed plausible. 
Stephanie, his twin's wife had discovered she was 
pregnant again, after all that time. 
 
Pierre just felt in the way with the newly expanding 
family. He told the agent's he'd always had a very 
good relationship with his nephew. Joshua had 
actually come to stay with him in Quebec for a few 
weeks after he'd moved back there. 
 
Mulder must have stopped for a moment; he 
simultaneously felt Scully touch his knee and heard 
her asking the next question. Looking up at Pierre, 
Mulder distinctly saw the little girl, the baby of 
the family fading in and out. The images of her and 
her uncle mingling and swirling. He wiped a hand 
across his face as he tried to collect his wits.
 
 
"Mulder, you're pushing yourself too hard. Call it a 
day."  She told him as she retrieved the tape from 
the machine after the interview. 
 
"I can't, you know I can't Scully. Something's not 
right ...there's something...There's something I 
should see, something so obvious. I need to speak to 
Stephanie Bolton." 
 
And so the afternoon continued. Joshua's friends had 
said how he didn't want to go home, yet something 
kept making him return, it was almost an obsession. 
There was something here. Mulder had to dig deeper. 
Mulder had this in mind when they met with Mrs. 
Bolton.
 
Stephanie told the agents how the marriage had not 
been easy, her husband hadn't always been faithful 
and was often away on extended trips. But in the 
last three years things had improved, he had 
changed, they were making things work, they had the 
baby. 
All she wanted now was to bury her son. To have 
closure. 
Mulder sympathized with that, hadn't he been down a 
similar path not so long ago?
 
Scully had reports to look at, results from the 
autopsy, and forensic had come up with something new 
so Mulder took the cab home, he still had the video 
diaries to go through.
 
She phoned him later that evening, while he was 
working on the videos. 
"I could stop by if you want, I'm all but done 
here." 
 
"No Scully, go on home, it's been a long day and 
I've nearly finished here."
 
"Um, Mulder, I've  got something to tell you. I met 
with your doctors today, after you went home, I feel 
they've been accurate in their diagnosis I trust 
them, they're good, but they agreed with me that you 
should see someone else. Washington National Eye 
center would be a good place to get another 
opinion.... Mulder I made an appointment for us to 
see the senior specialist there in the morning."
 
"Scully...."
 
"Please Mulder, please do this for me. I'll pick you 
up, Okay?" 
 
It was out of his hands now, and it would be good to 
have her with him."
 
"Okay, fine." He replaced the receiver back on it's 
cradle and was shaken by the intensity of the next 
attack. 
 
It was as if he were being sucked through a great 
hole and instead of the usual pattern radiating out 
he saw what looked like great shards of glass 
rushing towards him. Falling, everything was 
falling. His knees buckled and he huddled in a ball 
until it had passed.
 
 
 
"Did you have a bad night Mulder?" He wasn't 
surprised at the question, he'd seen how pale he 
looked in the mirror. 
 
It *had* been bad. The episode last night had 
upset him more than he'd  admit. Through the 
night he'd had nightmares, things he'd seen during 
his episodes ran through his head churning and 
mixing, calling to him. He had woken up in the early 
hours covered in sweat, too scared to go back to 
sleep.
 
Scully called in to say they were going to be 
out of town conducting further interviews. With that 
done, they got in the car for the drive to the 
hospital.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL EYE CENTRE
11:51 AM
 
"Hello, Mr. Mulder, I'm Dr. Kirsch, I specialize in 
Retina and Vitreous diseases. Hello Dr Scully, 
we've met before I believe." 
Mulder couldn't quite see the doctor, but she had a 
pleasant sympathetic voice.
 
They'd been there for hours, the doctors carrying 
out battery after battery of tests. When the 
ophthalmologist viewed his retinas, shining the 
narrow beam of light into his eyes. 
 
"There is evidence of inflammation, although the retina 
appeared quite normal There are other tests we need 
to do to prove the extent of dysfunction of the retina."
 
Mulder was feeling very tired by now and scared, 
and had a splitting headache as a result of the 
investigations. The worst was to come; the 
electroretinogram. This involved recording the 
electrical response of thee retina to light.
 
Dr Kirsch, told Mulder that this test confirmed 
that the visual loss he was experiencing, was due 
to retinal disease rather than problems elsewhere.  
The results seemed conclusive she told him, yet 
although it did look like AZOOR, there were other 
things that didn't fit in.
 
"You mean like me seeing weird, crazy things?"
 
"No Mr. Mulder, that is quite normal. Some of the 
results don't add up. I'd like to leave it for a 
day or two to give your eyes time to settle and see 
you again at the beginning of next week to try and 
gauge what changes have occurred. If that's okay 
with you."
 
"Just get me out of here Scully," he'd all but 
begged her when the doctor had finally finished 
with him.
 
He knew she saw the fear that he tried so hard to 
hide, and he understood  that he didn't need to 
hide it from her.
 
On the drive back Scully asked. "What sort of 
things do you see Mulder?" 
 
"A man, t-shirt covered in blood with his face 
caved in. People climbing out of windows, showers 
of glass coming towards me, just the ordinary run 
of the mill stuff."
 
"No, Mulder. That isn't run of the mill. The 
optical effects yes, but not this." 
 
"I don't want to talk about it."
 
He sat quietly for a while. "Would you do something 
for me and not ask any questions Scully?"
 
"What do you mean?"
 
"No questions. Drive me to that disused airbase 
on the edge of town."
 
She looked at him and for a moment he thought she'd 
make an issue out of it.
 
"Okay"
 
Once they got there he told her to get out of the 
car. 
 
"I need the keys!" He saw a whole gamut of 
emotions cross her face. She was biting down hard 
on her lip but she did as he'd asked.
 
As he moved over into the drivers seat she caught 
his arm. 
 
"Mulder?" 
 
"Trust me Scully, I need to do this." There was 
moisture in her eyes and a frightened look on her 
face, but she let him go without another word.
 
He took off like a bat out of hell, putting his foot 
down on the gas as far as it would go. The feel of 
the speed was exhilarating, he pulled up sharply 
only to change direction and do it again. 
 
Again and again until the fight left him and he 
slowed to a stop and turned the engine off. He got 
out of the car and leant against it trembling. 
 
A while later he felt her hands on his shoulders 
give a gentle squeeze before she helped him into 
the passenger seat and drove them back to his 
apartment. She didn't say a word, but as he glanced 
over at her he saw how pale she was.
 
He felt drained that evening, but calmer and more 
focused. 
 
He shouldn't have frightened her like that he 
thought, as he began to go thought the interview 
tapes again. Scully had color coded them, which 
made things a lot easier for him. He played them 
aware that something was staring him in the face, 
it was that apparent yet he couldn't see it.
 
He'd gone through them and started on the boy's 
videos when she knocked on the door.
She came in without saying a word and took her coat 
off. 
 
She'd been home and changed, he liked the button 
through sweater she was wearing, it matched her 
eyes. 
 
"What's up Scully?" she was very nervous he could 
tell just by looking at her. "Scully?" 
 
Without answering she went around the room turning 
all the available lights on, muttering about 
probably regretting this. She walked into the 
brightest area and turned to face him.
  
"It's all been about seeing things, doing things in 
case...."
 
Scully undid the tiny buttons on her top and 
shrugged out of it. She stood before him, exposing 
not only her body to him, but herself. He felt the 
breath whoosh out of him.
 
This was all moving way too fast. 
 
She saw the shock, his hesitation, and read it as 
rejection.
Turning away from him bravado evaporated, leaving 
shame and embarrassment in its wake. She fumbled to 
find her top, head downcast and biting on her lower 
lip so hard Mulder thought it would bleed.
 
"Scully?...Scully, c'mere." She stopped moving away 
and slowly turned her head towards him, eyes 
gradually lifting but unable to make eye contact. 
 
He dragged off his Knicks t-shirt. As he stepped 
towards her, there was confusion on her face; such 
an expressive face, Mulder thought.
 
He put his hands on her shoulders and drew her to 
him, close but not touching. He slipped his still 
warm T-shirt over her head and dressed her in it as 
if she were a child, before turning her to face 
him and encircling her with his arms. 
She rested her head against his chest and he felt 
the wetness of her tears on his skin.
 
"I know what all this is about Scully...but I don't 
want it, not like this, not as a sacrifice. When 
the time comes...when we're both ready...now is not 
that time." Her arms slipped around his waist and 
she clung on.
 
Cupping her chin in his fingers he drew her face up 
so she had to look at him.
 
"Scully I don't need pictures... I don't need this. 
If I were to go blind this moment I would always 
remember the way you look, the way you are... I carry 
you with me always here, and here." He pointed to 
his head and heart.
 
"Stay with me tonight Scully, please, I just need to 
hold you." 
 
She nodded her head. Still with his arm around her, 
they put the lights off and he led her to the 
bedroom. He pulled her up until she lay across his 
chest before drawing the comforter up over them.
 
She settled down against him as he stroked her hair 
and thought how close you had to come to losing 
something before you comprehended how precious it 
was to you. 
 
Holding her as she slept was healing him. He'd 
dreaded her rejection now that he was visually 
challenged, but she, she was there fore him, ready 
to help him overcome the challenges, ready to 
sacrifice.... He hugged her closer to his heart and 
she murmured something he couldn't catch.
 
 
He saw here asleep on the pillow beside him as he 
woke up next morning. He reached out to touch her, 
only to encounter an empty space. 
How ironic, he thought, this is what the doctors 
had called 'completion'. Seeing things where your 
brain thought they should be,
 
She wasn't far away.  
The video player was running and Scully was going 
through the diary entries. 
 
"Look," she said to him as he joined he on the 
couch. "Look at the change in him Mulder."
 
She put on one of the early tapes were Joshua 
appeared the normal, carefree teenager. 
 
"Now, this is one of the last entries. Look at him, 
the difference in his attitude, especially when he 
talks of his family. He has to go back, he's 
worried about the shit hitting the fan."
 
Mulder didn't appear to be paying attention.
  
"It's all about touching and feeling....Why didn't I 
think of that before?  Scully I'm going down to 
speak to Phil and Pierre, together if possible.
 
Can you arrange to speak with Mrs. Bolton, I need 
to know more about Pierre's relationship with the 
family and why Joshua changed so much."
 
He hadn't been able to meet them together, but it 
didn't matter. One thing about his condition it had 
heightened his other senses. They were identical 
twins. Although they sounded different they had the 
same smell about them, their hands had felt the 
same as he'd shaken them at the end of each 
meeting....One of them worked on the land, the other 
was a pen-pusher.
 
He scheduled a meeting with available agents and 
Phoned Scully, telling her to meet him in the 
briefing room.
When Mulder ordered surveillance on the brothers, 
he couldn't explain his hunch. There was an atmosphere 
of dissent amongst the agents, no one seemed eager to 
move. 
 
"What part of now don't you understand!" finally 
had the effect of getting them moving. 
 
He heard the muttered comments about Spooky and 
psychic abilities. Scully had been there with him 
and looked if not confused then disbelieving. He 
countered anything she might have to say.
 
"Scully, if I'm wrong I'll apologize."
 
"I doubt it, that takes practice."
 
He arranged for the brothers and himself to meet. 
All three of them would meet at the Bolton 
residence. He already knew what would happen, only 
one of them would show, the other would phone in to 
say he couldn't make it. 
Scully would have his hide for ditching her.
 
Well, he'd been right. Pierre was at the house to 
greet him, they sat and waited. Ten minutes passed 
then there was a call to the house. Phil was very 
sorry, he wouldn't be able to make it. He was stuck 
in traffic. What a surprise.
 
He didn't share his suspicions with Scully. Well, 
it wasn't even a theory as such he tried  to 
justify, more a gut feeling he was *this* close to 
a break through. It was almost on the tip of his 
tongue...
 
That evening, he needed some fresh air. The roof 
would be a good place to sit and think a while.
It was relatively quiet up there. He sat on the 
parapet, remembering the desperation in him the 
last time he sat there. 
 
Scully might not heal his eyes, but she'd managed 
to heal him within. Her acceptance of his condition 
meant everything. Putting himself in her position 
he knew how difficult it was for her to allow him 
the independence she did.
 
He shivered and pulled his leather jacket closer 
around himself. 
 
It wasn't cold...danger! He could sense it all around 
him. Phil was behind him to the left; the other, 
Pierre, to his right, the voices changed position 
mixed became one only to separate out again. 
Carefully he swung round and climbed off his 
precarious perch. Some instinct made him move to 
the right, as at that moment  he felt the body 
hurtling past him, followed by a grunt. 
 
Pierre or was it Phil dangling over the parapet, 
the steep drop to the sidewalk beneath him. 
Cautiously Mulder grabbed at his arm to try to 
Hold on to him. The man was taller than Mulder and 
outweighed him by some fifty pounds. Mulder felt 
his grasp slipping. 
 
The impetus of their separation knocked Mulder 
backwards. Backwards towards the skylight. 
 
There was no way he could stop himself. He heard 
the splintering crash and felt himself falling into 
nothingness, hurtling downwards through emptiness 
and as he fell he saw again the long shards of 
glass falling with him, towards him with him and 
then he knew the truth. 
 
 
ALEXANDRIA HOSPITAL
 
He had got away very lightly. A few bruised ribs, 
grazes, cuts, nothing that a few well placed sutures 
hadn't fixed. 
 
He couldn't believe how lightly he'd got off which 
was more than could be said for his  leather jacket 
which was a write off. It had taken the brunt if 
the glass showering down on him.
 
He waited for Scully to come back and take him 
home. 
 
The case was solved. Talking to Mrs. Bolton would 
just confirm things, but that could be left till 
tomorrow. There was no rush now. The double 
murderer had himself perished in the fall.
 
Just them his fiery partner walked in. "Have *you* 
got some explaining to do G-man. It had better be 
good." 
 
He smiled innocently at her, Scully's 
behavior was more due to concern then anger, he 
knew it and she knew that he knew. It didn't 
prevent the dance that always took place at this 
point.
 
"C'mon Mulder, I'm taking you to my place. At least 
I can keep you out of mischief there."
 
SCULLY'S APARTMENT.
2:37 AM
 
She'd  picked up a bag for him as they took him to 
hospital. It lay on her bed now as he stood still 
damp from the shower. It felt so good to have 
washed all the blood, grime and glass splinters 
off. He was supposed to keep the sutures dry, but 
he'd had to clean up as well. Lesser of evils he 
thought.
 
He dressed in his comfortable sweats. Scully came 
in and insisted he lay down and once he was 
comfortable she sat on the bed next to him Indian 
style. 
 
"Right Mulder, I know it's late and I know about 
what happened tonight, but the case...a double 
murderer? What do you mean?"
 
"Phil and Pierre, they were one and the same, at 
least they have been for the last three years or 
so. Pierre had an affair with Mrs. Bolton, I'm 
pretty sure the baby is his. Phil must have found 
out. It was okay him playing around but....
She said their marriage had always been difficult 
and suddenly three years ago everything changes 
around. They are reconciled, she has the baby and 
suddenly everything is just great.
 
You remember all those trips Phil took on business. 
Pierre had apparently lost contact with the family 
by then. I believe Pierre was still very much in 
the picture. 
 
He killed Phil very soon after Stephanie 
found out she was pregnant in much the same way as he 
killed Joshua, and it wasn't hard for him to assume 
his murdered brother's identity."
 
"But how... There's no proof, no body."
 
"I think they'll find Phil in Quebec. I saw the 
body, not once but twice. Just as I saw the baby 
linked to Pierre, just as I foresaw what would 
happen to me. 
 
Pierre has been living a lie for the past three 
years. I don't know whether Mrs. Bolton knew, I 
suspect she didn't question the subtle changes, 
that she was just glad that things had got better 
between them. But somehow Joshua found out. 
 
He was trying to keep an eye on his family, I 
suspect that last night it came to confrontation. 
Pierre had too much to lose." 
 
Mulder was quiet for a moment.
 
"That's it! I couldn't fit in the very first vision 
I had, someone climbing out of Joshua's window. It 
was Joshua, he must have known he was in danger, 
must have been trying to get away. 
 
Pierre jumped him in the garden, and laid into him 
with the garden shovel. He must have thought the 
kid was dead. That's what you wondered about 
Scully. Remember? He *was* escaping to  safety...away 
from the house. He was trying to get away."
 
"What about the prowler?"
 
"There never was one, it was all to put us off. 
It's easy to start a rumor like that in a 
neighborhood, and then everybody is seeing things."
 
Scully as puzzled. "How did you work out the 
connection  between Pierre and Phil?"
 
"It was something you said Scully, remember? About 
touching and feeling?"
 
He saw the blush feathering across her cheeks as 
she suddenly found the pattern on the comforter the 
most interesting thing in the world. He took her 
hand in his. 
 
"I suddenly remembered that although they sounded 
different, their hands felt the same and one of them 
was supposed to be laboring on the land, and they 
smelt the same. I didn't appreciate how everyone 
has their own intrinsic scent until that night when 
you found me out."
 
Scully turned over and put the bedside light out.
 
"Get some rest Mulder, we have a lot to do 
tomorrow, and you're not in very good shape to 
start off with."
 
The following Monday morning saw them of their VCU 
assignment, and back to X-file duties, in theory 
anyway. 
Mulder had been given sick leave for ten 
days, with desk duties to follow. Somehow Skinner 
had swung it that Scully could spend a great deal 
of that time with her partner.
 
 "We owe him, you know that Mulder," she told him 
on the way to his appointment at  WNEC.
 
 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL EYE CENTRE
Eye specialist office.
 
"Mr. Mulder come in, you might be pretty 
uncomfortable with your eyes dilated, we'll keep 
the lights down until the doctor comes in."
 
"Scully...?"
 
"'Kay Mulder, I'm right here with you." He felt her 
hand on his elbow as she guided him in.
 
 This was going to be the last of another battery 
of tests. His head already ached and his eyes felt 
so sore, especially with that stuff they'd put in 
to dilate them. 
 
Dr. Kirsch greeted him. "Hello, Mr. Mulder, it's 
nice to see you again, how have you been?" 
The interview began, questions that he'd been asked 
a dozen times today. 
 
"Have you had any recent injuries to your face, 
head or eyes?"
 
Mulder could feel her looking at the bruises and 
sutures on his head, "Hmmm....That was a bit of  
stupid question." He could hear the smile in her 
voice.
 
She gave him a small card. "Look at the parallel 
lines and tell me what you see."
 
He squinted to see anything at all, and then the 
lines seemed skewed.
Next, the doctor and the student spent along time 
shining very bright lights into the backs of his 
eyes; they asked him to look in various directions 
so that they could better study his retina.
 
It was getting rather painful and pretty annoying. 
He breathed in and out slowly in a bid to contain 
his feelings. At last they were finished. 
 
He could hear them conferring to the side of him. 
Scully who'd been standing behind him all this time 
slipped a reassuring arm around his shoulder. 
 
"You're doing real good Mulder," she whispered to 
him.
 
Dr Kirsch was back to talk to the patient. "Mr. 
Mulder, we are recommending fluorescein  
angiography, a dye study. It will enable us to have 
a good look at the blood vessels in your retinas, 
to see how well they're working."
 
He was taken to a small room in the Diagnostic 
Photography Unit, and sat on an uncomfortable 
rolling stool, Scully came in with him and was 
somewhere behind him in the darkness. 
 
The technician explained. "Mr. Mulder, we will 
start an IV in your hand so that we can inject the 
dye, once we're finished taking the pictures we can 
take the needle out. Are you okay with that?"
What could he say? He hated needles but there were 
no options.
 
"The dye we use is vegetable based and has very 
little risk of allergic reactions. Do you have any 
allergies to food or drugs that you know about?"
 
"No, none that I'm aware of." He was sure that 
Scully would put them right if she thought he did.
 
"You might feel a sensation of warmth as the dye is 
injected, you might also feel a little nausea, let 
us know if you do. About twelve seconds after the 
injection the dye will appear in the arteries of 
your eyes. Over the next two to five second period, 
the dye will travel through the capillaries and 
fill the veins. 
 
After about ten minutes the dye has left the eye, 
having stained the optic nerve head. It's any 
interruptions in the flow that will show us what 
the problem is. 
 
You ready Mr. Mulder?  Here goes the medication, 
now please keep your eyes open and stare at the red 
light."
 
He could hear the clicking of the camera as it took 
a quick series of photos of his retinas. He tried 
taking deep breaths, as he began breaking out in a 
cold sweat, he tried to hold on. 
 
Before he could alert any one, his breakfast was in 
his throat. The technician acted fast holding up a 
receptacle, as he, and the bagels and coffee Scully 
had persuaded him to have, parted company. 
 
Scully was with him in an instant, giving her 
orders and gently easing him down to the safety of 
the floor. As they helped him out into the outer 
room where he'd be more comfortable, Scully asked if 
they had managed to complete the test. 
 
"Yes, Dr. Scully. Thankfully he managed to hold on 
just long enough."
 
Scully knelt before him cleaning him up with a damp 
cloth, while he cradled a bowl, retching all the 
while.
 
"I just wanna go home Scully," he said weakly
 
Once his partner and protector-in-chief got moving 
there was no stopping her.
She had a word with Dr. Kirsch, who confirmed that 
the tests did all indicate AZOOR, 
she'd organizes another appointment for Wednesday  
and had him brought out the car in a wheelchair. 
Mulder was in no fit state to argue. 
 
The journey home was far from pleasant, the 
retching continued wave after wave. Once home, she 
helped him into his bed and let him sleep.
It seemed only a moment later that she was shaking 
his shoulder and telling him to wake up. groggily 
he opened his eyes and had a tumbler of water 
thrust at him.
 
 "C'mon Mulder, drink this down, you need to clear 
that dye out of your system as soon as possible."
"But it'll start me off again."
 
"C'mon, you don't want to end up in hospital on an 
IV?"
 
God, but that woman sure had a way with words. 
Between being woken to drink and waking up for 
trips to the toilet, he managed to get through to 
evening. His best medicine was sitting there beside 
him holding his hand or stroking his hair.
 
 
WASHINGTON NATIONAL EYE CENTRE
Eye specialist office.
One week later.
 
"Mr. Mulder how are you feeling, how are the eyes?"
 
"They seem a lot better, I still get the flashing 
lights and starburst effect, but nowhere near as 
much or as often. It's strange, but since my 
argument with that skylight, it all started 
getting better."
 
"Do you mind if I look?"
 
While she was busy testing, Mulder was reminded 
that his landlord was still hounding him for the 
cost of the repair to the skylight. He had already 
upset the man when he'd fused the entire building.
Mulder wasn't supposed to be up on the roof in the 
first place Mr. Grimmer maintained, and VCU didn't 
want to know. 
For sure, that's next month's paycheck gone, he 
thought morosely.
 
Dr. Kirsch had just finished her examination of 
him. 
"Well Mr. Mulder I don't know what to say."
 
"What is it? What's the matter?" Scully was
alarmed.
 
"Dr. Scully, it's not so much a case of what's 
wrong as of what isn't wrong."
 
"I ran some of the tests twice to make sure that I 
hadn't misread the results. I'm really surprised at 
how much improvement there has been in the last few 
days. The inflammation in the backs of Mr. Mulder's 
eyes are quite dramatically reduced. 
 
In all my years as an ophthalmologist I have never 
seen anything like this.  I'd have expected this 
sort of an improvement in say,... a year to eighteen 
months; most definitely not in a matter of days."
 
Mulder could feel the goofy grim spreading across 
his face. He looked up at his partner who stood 
next to his chair and saw the joy in her face. 
Scully slipped her arm around his shoulders.
 
Dr Kirsch went on." It's really most unusual, I'm 
almost tempted to say that you were originally 
misdiagnosed. But we have the proof of the tests is 
here." She paused for a moment, "They do say there 
are stranger things...."


Epilogue

Scully was driving them back to his apartment when 
Mulder voiced the concern she'd had this past week. 
 
"Why ten days Scully? Three I could understand, 
four, if we'd caught him on a particularly good 
day, but ten?"
 
Mulder shook his head as he pondered. "Do you think 
Skinner suspects?"
 
"There's no way of knowing. Anyway, it'll all be 
hitting the fan by Monday. There is no way that 
you'll be able to pass the medical for field duties 
Mulder. If you go before that board, we won't be 
able to cover this up, and we both know the 
implications of that."
 
 
MULDER'S APARTMENT
That evening
 
They were in Mulder's kitchen and Scully was 
preparing a pizza with everything on it but the 
kitchen sink.
 
"You finished peeling those onions yet Mulder? Come 
on, I need them now."
 
"Mulder?...Earth to Mulder."
 
"Wha...did you say?"
"Onions, I need the onions."
 
"Oh yeah, I nearly done."
 
"Mulder, what's the matter, you're miles away."
 
"I was just thinking.... About what Dr. Kirsch said, 
about Monday, about where I go from here."
 
"What do you mean? Where you go from here?"
 
"This isn't going to work Scully. I can't pass the 
fitness for duty test, and even if by some miracle 
I did, what good would I be to you, in the field? 
How could I watch out for you? I'd be putting both 
of us in danger."
 
"If you don't pass that test, then we're as good as done 
with the X-files, and probably the FBI."
 
"Not us Scully, *me*. You've been through enough, 
sacrificed enough as it is. I can't. I won't 
jeopardize your safety and your career."
 
There was a moments silence while the impact of his 
words sank in and then Scully all but erupted.
 
"What is it with you men? Tell me? Aren't I old 
enough or mature enough to decide, on my own, about 
my future and career prospects? First Dad, then 
Bill and now it's you Mulder. I expected more from 
you!"
 
"But...."
 
"Don't you but me! Yes, I know, you were just 
thinking of me. That's the crux of the problem. 
It's not *me*, it's *us*. I've invested too much of 
my life into being your partner and saving your 
ass over the last seven years, to quit now. I *refuse* 
to watch it all go down the pan. Whatever happens 
Mulder, happens to *us*. Am I making myself clear?"
 
He silently nodded his head, too choked with 
emotion to speak.
 
They were done with the discussion for now.
 
 
Later, as they sat on the couch after they'd eaten 
Scully asked. 
"Exactly how much can you see Mulder? I understand 
about the blind spots, be I just can't imagine what 
it's like for you."
 
Mulder sat quietly for a moment without answering, 
then he got up and went to his desk. Scully 
didn't understand what he was doing as he took a 
sheet of paper, folded it in half and proceeded to 
randomly stick the sharp tip of the pencil through 
it time and time again. 
 
"Mulder, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
 
"You haven't. Wait a minute and you'll see. This," 
he said, indicating the almost shredded piece of 
paper, "will show you better than I can explain."
 
"Now, take the paper and cover you face with it."
 
Scully was mystified, but did as he'd told her.
 
"It's crude, but that's probably the nearest to the 
way I see things at the moment."
 
Silently holding the paper to her face, she looked 
around the room. It was a strange experience. She 
could see, but unless she managed to look directly 
at an object she couldn't see it. 
 
She'd lost all peripheral vision and the 'all-
around' view that she'd taken for granted. It was 
almost like looking through a lot of keyholes all 
at the same time. She could understand why judging 
distance was so difficult for him. 
 
Instead of just glancing in a given direction to 
see, she now had to move her whole head. She took 
a step forward, nearly falling over the coffee table 
that was out of her range of vision.
 
"Jeeze Mulder, I had no idea...as a doctor, I studied 
all these things, but...to see like this... I never 
imagined....They could use something like this in 
medical school."
 
She sat down and picked up a newspaper. Trying to 
read through the sheet of paper was very difficult 
and a great strain, although it was a little easier 
in the brighter light.
 
"I never realized Mulder, I wish I'd known 
sooner...."
 
"What difference would it have made?"
 
"The difference is that I understand better what 
sort of help you'll need."
 
She took his hand in hers and absently played with 
his fingers. "We'll get through this somehow 
Mulder, something will turn up."
 
"Scully, the eternal optimist. I'll be out of a job 
by Monday evening. Then what?"
 
"*We'll* be out of a job. We'll find something else 
Mulder, something we can do together."
 
"But, Scully, the FBI is your life, you've given up 
so much for it."
 
"You still don't get it Mulder, do you? The X-
files, the FBI have been challenging, I've loved 
doing it, but it's *you* I need to work with. I 
don't care if we have to empty trash cans together. 
If that's what it takes, that's what I'll do."
 
She still had her finger's laced through his. She 
reached up and pulled his head towards, her lips 
brushing his cheek.
 
"We've a lot of work in front of us; we'll get by. 
Get to sleep Mulder. You need to rest. I'll be back 
tomorrow and we can try to work out where we go 
from here."
 
Giving him a quick hug, she let herself out.
 
 
 
 
 
Their 'day of reckoning' arrived on Mulder's 
doorstep the following evening, in the form of AD 
Walter Skinner.
It was Saturday evening, and they'd decided to have 
delivered. 
Mulder had one of his favorite videos playing. 
It was too tiring to watch, but he was enjoying 
the soundtrack ,when there was a knock on the door.
 
"I'll get that," said Scully, who was getting the 
plates ready in the kitchen.
 
Mulder turned towards the door when he heard her 
gasp.
 
"Sir?"
 
He heard Skinner saying. "This meeting never 
happened!"
 
An angry Skinner marched into the room, followed by 
an agitated Scully.
 
"I need to know exactly how bad things are Mulder!"
 
"Sir...?"
 
"Don't insult my intelligence any further. I've 
*given* you time. Unless you want it all to go to 
hell in a bucket, I suggest that you tell me 
exactly what is going on. I need answers, I need to 
know the truth. Now! It's my butt that's on the 
line here, I've got a lot riding on this."
 
They both realized that this was it, the moment 
they'd both been dreading had arrived.
 
"If I'm going to be of any use here, I need to be 
in the picture." Skinner's voice was calmer, now 
that he could see they would cooperate. 
 
Scully told him all they knew. She showed him the 
paper mask Mulder had made for her the previous 
day. Skinner tried looking through it.
 
"My God Mulder! Is this really how you see things?"
 
"More or less Sir."
 
"If you kept to your office, to desk duty, how well 
do you think you could function?"
 
Both Mulder and Scully were surprised by this 
question.
 
"You mean...."
 
"Of course you'd have Scully to help you, I think 
you've already managed to overcome a lot of 
obstacles. The word amongst the other agents you 
worked with was that you were 'strange', but the 
was no mention of them noticing anything else."
 
"What about the medical Sir?" asked Scully, hope 
gleaming in her eyes.
 
"Agent Mulder would not be returning to active 
field duty, I don't see any reason to have him be 
examined for that, do you Agent Scully?"
 
No Sir," she agreed.
 
"We don't want to be accused of spending tax dollars 
unnecessarily, do we?"
 
 
 
"Why, Sir? Why are you doing this...? I mean the 
rules clearly state...." Said Mulder, who was finding 
it difficult to believe what he was hearing.
 
"I don't want to lose two good agents, it's taken 
me a long time to knock you into shape; besides I 
believe in giving everyone a fair chance. And rules 
Agent Mulder, as you've pointed out to me on 
previous occasions, are just that."
 
 
 
Two weeks later it looked as though they might 
indeed get away with the subterfuge. Things were 
not easy but they were coping, covering for each 
other. 
 
One afternoon, Mulder, on his way from Skinner's 
office, a journey he was confident enough to do on 
his own now, tripped up on a box of copy paper that 
had been left out in the hallway outside the AD's 
office. 
 
Skinner heard the commotion, and was there 
immediately helping his agent. Luckily, there had 
been no damage done,
 
Scully and Mulder were surprised the following 
morning, by the impromptu Health and Safety 
Inspection of the whole section of the building. 
One of the recommendations had been that all 
hallways must be kept free from clutter. Worn 
carpets and a loose handrail on some stairs had 
also come to light. Scully strongly suspected that 
the inspection had been Skinner's idea.
 
Mulder was getting increasingly frustrated by his 
forced reliance on his partner. True, he could type 
up reports, but checking them was very difficult, 
and reading documents on the computer was almost 
impossible. Navigating using the keyboard had it 
difficulties too, and using the mouse was almost 
hopeless. 
 
All this changed almost overnight, after a chance 
conversation with Mrs. Scully. Her mom had phoned 
Scully and they were talking about a teaching aid 
little Matthew had got recently. It was a computer 
program that spoke what Mathew had typed. The child 
was overjoyed with it. Scully suddenly had a 
brainwave. Could it be possible...?
 
The Lone Gunmen had come up with a solution within 
forty-eight hours of Scully's call to them. She'd 
had to explain exactly what she needed and why. 
 
Once Frohike had got over his initial shock at the 
news, he promised to get onto it and see what else 
they could come up with.
 
Muller needed to be able to get out on his own. 
This was a possibility as he'd managed to use cabs 
Before, and in daylight, taking his time he could 
probably find his way to where he needed to be.
 
"You can't be with me 24/7 Scully, it isn't fair on 
you, and besides, sometimes I need to be on my 
own." 
 
Scully was frightened of him going out and getting 
disorientated, or knowing Mulder's penchant for bad 
luck, getting into trouble somewhere.
 
The Gunmen came up with a solution to both 
problems. They had customized a program for 
Mulder's computers that would read aloud all 
document including the emails and any work he 
typed. It needn't disturb anyone if he had head 
phones on. 
They would have to tackle the problems with 
using the mouse, but the were sure they could 
overcome that in time.
 
They had another surprise for Mulder, a tiny 
tracker device that went into his cell phone, which 
he could activate by speed dialing 9. 
 
If he needed help, the Gunmen could pinpoint his 
location in minutes on the equipment they had at the 
fortress.
 
"That's going to be great, providing you don't lose 
the damn cell phone." chuckled Scully. "Mind you, 
your track record has really improved recently."
 
Mulder was very excited about the amount of 
independence it would give him.
Scully had been looking through  over various 
catalogs for aids for the sight impaired. One of 
her biggest worries was hot liquids. 
 
"You can't use your 'water' trick for making 
coffee, Mulder, and I worry about you getting 
hurt."
 
Scully was very proud of how independent Mulder had 
become. She knew it amused Skinner to see them 
still walking together so very closely, knowing 
that with Mulder's improved confidence and knowledge of 
the building, it was rarely warranted. It was a habit 
that she was glad Mulder didn't seem to want to 
break.
 
 
Skinner had been invited to come with them to 
Mulder's visits to Dr Kirsch,  was impressed by 
Mulder's continuing progress. There were 
improvements at every visit, but she couldn't say 
if there would ever be a chance of a complete 
recovery.
 
"Mr. Mulder, I'm astounded at the progress you've 
already made. It's more than I had a right to 
expect. 
 
You've gone further in weeks than most 
patients do in years. As to the prognosis, one can 
be hopeful, but it's all in the lap of the gods. 
I'm sorry that I can't be more specific, but at 
this stage I just don't know."
 
Yes, he was better, yes he was coping very well, 
but she could see the longing in his eyes to do 
field work, to run, to drive, to take off on his 
own. 
 
They had been forced to keep a very low 
profile. There was no question of any fields work 
being assigned to them, that would immediately bring 
in it's wake the fitness tests.
 
Skinner occasionally gave them a bit of leeway, 
letting them fly somewhere to complete 
investigations, but Mulder missed the thrill of 
solving a really intriguing case. 
 
He had coped and even flourished as he learned to 
investigate, analyze and profile with his impaired 
vision. He'd even told Scully that his lack of sight 
had improved his profiling skills.
 
It had also improved his sense of hearing and smell. 
He enjoyed the diversion of spooking Skinner. Mulder 
always knew that the AD was near their basement office.
Mulder's "Don't knock Sir, the doors open" would
always throw Skinner. 
 
They had certainly managed to conceal his impairment 
from the other agents, but that certain spark about 
him was missing.
She wanted so much to return that to him.
 
Scully knew that he was improving, but she'd do 
anything to make him better. That was what had 
temped her. That was what had made her ditch her 
partner and Skinner and go missing for four days.
 
Mulder had received an anonymous email about a case 
involving spontaneous remission. 
 
Later, Scully was approached by CSM who claimed 
that because he had a special regard for the agents 
he wanted to give her the cure, it was he who'd sent 
the email to her partner.
 
She didn't go in blindly, she checked things 
out and it all appeared genuine. CSM confessed that 
he was dying, but he wanted to make retribution, he 
needed Scully to help him clear the slate.
 
Scully agreed to go with him, but she was very 
worried about her partner. She couldn't tell him 
the truth, he would have stopped her. 
 
She phoned Mulder, leaving a voicemail for him, 
she'd be out of town for a few day, there was a family 
emergency, but he wasn't to worry.
 
He returned her call just as she was about to 
leave.
 
"Scully, pick up if you're there...I got you're 
message, hope everything's okay. See you soon." 
 
She hadn't picked up, CSM was waiting for her. 
 
 
 
Mulder was very uneasy and made the journey to 
her apartment on the pretext of watering her plants. 
 
What the landlord told him almost froze his blood. 
From the description, Scully had gone off in a car 
with CSM and when he phoned Scully's mom, Mulder found 
that there was no family emergency.
 
By the time Mulder managed to navigate back to 
Skinner's office he was very agitated. Skinner was 
also concerned about Scully.
 
 
"It's just not like her to lie to me Sir." He confided 
to his boss; as he spoke Skinner's private line rang.
 
Skinner answered. Scully was on the line, bit she 
didn't want to speak directly to her partner.
 
"She said to tell you she's fine Mulder, but she 
doesn't want to speak to you." said the AD as he 
replaced the receiver. "I know you're worried Mulder, 
but she hasn't run out on you, she's tried to allay 
your fears."
 
Mulder was worried enough by her uncharacteristic 
behaviour to involve the Gunmen. He felt she was 
in grave danger and he was so powerless to help 
her.
 
"She knows I'll find her, no matter what," he told 
Frohike. "If we don't get to CSM, it may be the 
last time we see Scully alive."
 
The Gunmen found that Scully's computer had been 
hacked into, and a number of files and emails has 
been 'siphoned off'.
 
"Jeeze, Scully can't know what she's involved in 
here." Commented Byers
 
 
Scully turned up within days, with a disc she claimed 
held the cure for all diseases. 
 
Mulder wouldn't even look at her when he first saw her. 
She'd scared the shit out of him and he felt guilty 
that he hadn't been able to go after her. On top of 
that he'd  been hurt by her apparent lack of confidence 
in him and in the risks she'd taken. 
 
"Why Scully, why with him?" 
 
"Because of this Mulder," she said showing him the 
disc. "I did it to get this."
 
She tried to explain, without getting his hopes up.
When the Gunmen analyzed it the disc was blank. It 
had all been a cruel hoax.
 
Scully's eyes filled with tears, she couldn't believe 
it, she was totally devastated. 
 
"But it can't be...I saw it...." 
 
What could she tell him? I went off for a few days 
with our arch-enemy because I thought I could cure 
your eyes. I had the cure in my hands, but somehow 
it isn't here now?
 
 
 
It was later in Mulder's apartment when they had 
both calmed down, that they were able to rationally 
talk about it.
 
"I'm sorry Mulder, I let you down, I'd hoped...."
 
She couldn't say any more, her voice trembled with 
unshed tears. Mulder understood now why she'd done 
it, his beautiful, loyal, caring, pigheaded partner.
 
"C'mere Scully."  He pulled her gently into his 
arms and rocked her. It was so comforting to hold her 
close in his arms, to feel her head resting over his
heart. 
 
He ran his fingers through that beautiful, silken 
hair of hers, reveling in the feel of it. He rested 
his cheek on top of her head and breathed in the warm, 
reassuring scent of her.
 
"I don't care about the X-Files, I've found my 
sister, she was what drove me. I need you. With you, 
I'll still get bad days, but together we can get 
through it. We'll be okay. If my sight never gets better 
then it is now, we'll still manage. I promise you Scully
...Shh, it's okay.... 
Please Scully...please don't cry G-woman."
 
 
 
 
It was some three months later, that Dr. Kirsch 
contacted them. 
 
Mulder's sight had been improving progressively,
so that the news she had for them came as a complete 
shock.
 
"There's a brand new procedure developed by the 
Russians which may be of help to you Mr. Mulder. I 
must stress that it's still in the experimental 
stages, but the results so far have proved 
astonishing...."
 
 
 
Three weeks later, just before Mulder went in to 
surgery for the procedure, Scully had again asked 
him, "Do you really want to risk it all Mulder?"
 
"I think so, I've got to give it a try, you do 
understand that, don't you."
 
She kissed him gently "I'll wait for you...."
 
It was a very delicate operation involving 
Micro-laser surgery. Scully paced the floor 
nervously the entire three hours  he was in surgery.
 
 
 
When they'd removed the bandages a week later he 
was still suffering from the headaches, his eyes 
were puffy, swollen and very sore. With the technicolor 
bruising around then, it was just as well Mulder 
hadn't looked into a mirror.
 
 
"It's very early days yet Mr. Mulder, it will be a 
while yet before we can tell if it's been a 
success, in the meantime, no bending, no strain. 
You have a lot of delicate sutures. You need to 
have complete rest to give your eyes the best 
chance of recovery."  
 
The waiting was driving everyone mad, not least 
because Mulder was going stir-crazy. It was almost 
impossible to keep Mulder immobile. But the 
waiting had been well worth it. 
 
The improvement had been phenomenal, he'd been
cautioned about stress, lifting and straining.
 
Mulder was like a kid with a new toy. It didn’t 
cease to amaze his partner how much joy he got 
out of everyday things like watching a sunset 
or even watching a new film.
 
He would have to wait a little longer for the 
special contact lenses. Mulder had waited all this 
time what was a few more weeks here or there....
 
 
END
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