FREE FALLING - Part 2 of ?

Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page

FREE FALLING - Part 2 of ?
Author: Rae (DANAxFOX@aol.com)
Disclaimer/Spoilers: See Part 1
Reminder: This is my first fanfic attempt, which I started
several years ago. "Scarecrows" is my first fanfic POST. I'm
adding an "SF" rating for SEMI-FLUFF. Some of these scenes
are just way too much fun and their like will never appear in
an episode! (And don't worry, you will never see that one
imagined scene in any of my stories - promise!)

The blinds were closed, and the lights were off, making the
room as dark as possible for Mulder's eye exam. His
uncovered eye remained bloodshot, but the majority of the
swelling had gone down. Previous x-rays had confirmed that
there were no skull fractures or fractures to the eye
sockets. It appeared as if most of the damage was confined
to the soft tissue surrounding the eye. A nurse carefully
unwrapped his bandaged head and began removing the sutures.
Next, she removed the layers of gauze and sterile pads
covering his left eye. The last pad stuck momentaily at the
bottm, held by dried blood. He flinched as she pulled it
free. Mulder slowly opened his left eye. He blinked hard
trying to clear his blurred vision.

Dr. Freshman leaned close and gently pressed the swollen and
bruised tissue around the sockets. Scully didn't see Mulder
flinch but she heard his breath quicken.

"Agent Mulder, I'm going to put some fluorescin drops in
your eyes to check for abrasions or ulcers."

After Dr. Freshman competed his eye exam he said, "I see no
permanent damage. Are you normally red/green color blind?"

Mulder weakly nodded yes. Beads of perspiration dotted his
forehead. He was noticeably paler.

"After some of the swelling goes down, I wold like him to
wear them. It will help prevent eyestrain and headaches. We
can do an exam later and have a pair made. If the light
continues to bother your eyes - especially the left one - be
sure to let someone know and we will rebandage it. I's not
unusual to experience excessive tearing the first day. Your
room will be kept dark for the next couple of days and then
the light gradually increased. As I said before, I see no
permanent damage."

Mulder heard the concern in her voice. He wanted to ask her
the same thing. For the last several days, Scully had been
unusually distant and sad.

Mulder sighed. The pain was relentless and there was no way
he could hide it from her, but he wanted to tell her it was
okay to leave, to go home and take care of herself.

Scully reached for the pitcher and poured Mulder a glass of
cold water. She slipped a hand under his head and helped
support it so he could drink. She put the glass down and
pushed the damp hair off his forehead, letting her cool hand
linger on his face. She could tell it felt good as he leaned
gently into it.

Scully smiled a small smile as she gently stroked his
forehead, then left to find a nurse.
_________________________________________

"Your partner tells me you're experiencing some discomfort,"
huffed the nurse as she entered the room. Neither Mulder or
Scully had seen her before, and Scully did not like her
tone.

The nurse flipped through his chart. "I'm sorry but you're
not scheduled for more pain medication for another hour."
She turned on her heels and was gone before Scully could say
a word. She started towards the door after the nurse.

Scully returned to her chair and looked at him. "Mulder, you
are such a bad liar."

Scully was suddenly uncomfortable. "Mulder...about what?"
she asked, suspicious.

"About you.....tell me everything I've always wanted to know
about Dana Katherine Scully but was afraid to ask."

Mulder looked around the room. "Sorry, no alcohol to loosen
your lips.....how about some jello.....it's all yours." He
nodded towards the untouched jello on the food tray.

"Maybe we should talk about you not eating. Do you want them
to start feeding you through a tube again?"

Mulder ignored her comment. "Scully, why is it so difficult
for you to talk to me when my eyes are open? You didn't seem
to have a problem when you thought I was
asleep...unconscious....dead," he said softly.

Scully looked at him with fear in her eyes, remembering how
close she'd been to losing him.

"Mulder, are you okay?" She looked at him hard. There was
something more he was trying to tell her. She quickly stood
up. "I'm getting someone in here."

Mulder reached out for her and managed a weak laugh. "All I
want to do is talk and you think I need medical attention.
Pretty sad comment on our rela...partnership. Please,
Scully."

Scully sat down slowly. Mulder waited until she was settled
in her seat before he started talking. He spoke slowly,
carefully selecting his words.

"After your cancer...don't you feel more urgency in your
life? I almost lost you, Scully. It was a rude reminder of
what I have and don't have. How much I take for
granted....how little I know of you." He smiled. "Just think
of all your relatives out there who are missing the
opportunity to know me and hate me."

She looked down at her hands. "...compared to what I've seen
with you......," then she looked at him with a faint smile.
"....or fought not to see."

"Then I'll pick a subject....your father. Tell me about the
man that helped create such a..."

Mulder paused, then said softly, "Scully, I don't believe
that and neither do you. His only disappointment would have
been in your choice of partners." He smiled at her. "What
would he have thought of me?"

"Well...," she started again. "Mulder, you have to
understand a father's love for his daughter. No one is
good..."

She stopped mid-sentence. Why was she answering as if they
were a couple? She had to admit, she had never had a
relationship as intimate and intense as the one she had with
Mulder.

He watched her face, as she mentally worked through a number
of questions. Scully looked at him with a puzzled look on
her face, then she finally said, "Ah, let's just say I would
have had some explaining to do."

"Scully, are the words Ôloaded weapon' anywhere in that
explanation? Or the warm, fuzzy feelling Bill, Jr. feels for
me....? The truth, Scully, I can handle it."

"My father was not happy when I decided to join the FBI, but
you're right, I know he would be proud of me today." She had
to turn away as her eyes misted.

She was sure of it. Had he lived, how could her father not
have see her commitment and dedication to her job? She knew
her father trusted her and, with time, he would have
accepted her decision. And Mulder. Her mother loved Mulder
and would have been a powerful ally. With the strength and
persuasiveness of both mother and daughter.....well, poor
Ahab wouldn't have had a chance.

"Bill's a good person, Mulder. I hope someday he shows that
side of himself to you. Since Dad and Missy died, he's
become somewhat overprotective and he's directed his anger
at you. It's hurtful for me and for Mom, too. He's always
been short-tempered and a bit on the controlling side. He
likes to give orders and he likes people to obey - he and
the military go well together. Growing up, Missy and I drove
him crazy, we were both so strong-willed. But my father was
sensible - he would look at both sides. He could
apologize....Bill can't. Maybe it will come with age."

The hour went by quickly. When another nurse returned with
Mulder's medication, Scully refused to let him take it
later.

Once the medication had taken effect, Scully quickly stepped
out of the room. Her eyes searched the hallway until she
located the nurse that refused to give Mulder his medication
earlier. Scully crossed quickly to her, startling the nurse.

"He has been through enough and I'll be *damned* if you
won't make every effort to make him as comfortable as
possible."

Scully cut her off. "As a medical doctor, I know giving him
his pain medication early would not have endangered him. If
you needed to get approval from a doctor, you should have
made the attempt."

"If you have a complaint, take it up with Dr. Moore," the
nurse said. She returned to arranging her medicine cart.

She turned and was halfway down the hall when she heard the
nurse call her a Ôbitch'. Scully stopped and slowly stalked
back to the nurse, who had put the cart between herself and
Scully.

She leaned across the cart and in a low, dangerous voice,
uttered, "Don't you *ever* underestimate my concern for my
partner and what I will do to make sure he is properly cared
for!" She turned and headed back to Mulder's room, the sound
of her heels vibrating off the walls like shots.

It was a morning ritual for Scully. She would wake at
precisely 5:13 am. Quietly, she would slip into her clothes,
check on a sleeping Mulder, then grab a blanket and go to
her favorite bench in one of the small flower gardens
surrounding the hospital. There she would watch the sun rise
and feel refreshed, cleansed of the hospital smells that
seemed to seep into every pore of her body.

.......Mulder always pretended to be sleeping, giving her
time to be alone. It was the least he could do for her.

Three weeks had passed since Mulder was admitted to the
hospital. She had just sat down and was adjusting the
blanket around her when she saw the manila envelope laying
on the opposite side of her bench. Printed in large, neat
letters was DANA SCULLY. Quickly she looked around before
picking it up.

Inside were pictures - pictures that Mulder had taken of her
in their office before she had left on vacation. There were
night shots of Washington DC - the moon big and bright over
the Washington Monument. Then.....a man's back in the
foreground, Mulder being pressed to his knees in the
background....a hand holding him down with a gun pressed to
the back of his head. He looked badly beaten, his shoulders
pulled back as if he was tied. Another picture showed Mulder
turning his head to the right. Looking closer, she thought
she could make out a second figure.....and then, a shot
showing Mulder struggling towards that figure. There was a
bright flash to the right of Mulder. The figure appeared to
be falling. The next picture showed everyone looking at the
ground, horror etched on their faces.

The camera angle changed and there were open sky shots. And
finally a bright white picture. Scully quicky flipped
through all the pictures and they came to life like a mini-
movie. She slid them back into the envelope, gathered up her
blanket and hurried back into the hospital.

Mulder was surprised to see her back so early. She looked
confused, frightened. In one hand she clutched a manila
envelope.He struggled to sit up.

She looked at him a long moment before she spoke. There was
no way of getting out of it.

She hesitated. He was still too sick. She wanted Mulder
focusing on getting well.

She sat on the edge of his bed and looked at him. "Mulder, I
don't think you're ready..."

But she knew there was no winning. She pulled the pictures
out of the envelope and held them up one by one for him to
see. She carefully watched his reaction to each one. Mulder
closed his eyes after the last picture. She leaned close to
him, her hand touching his arm.

"Scully, I don't remember. I just......don't.....remember.
Where did you get these?"

Scully pulled out the photo of Aaron Mr. Dyer had given her.
She held it up for Mulder. He looked at the picture and then
quickly at Scully.

There was pain in his eyes and he shook his head. "No.
Nothing. This is the other person in the pictures?" He
paused as Scully looked at him sorrowfully.

She kept her voice calm and soothing. "Mulder, let's start
with what you do remember."

"You know what I remember. I went to an early dinner on
Sunday night with the boys. Frohike had a French dip, Langly
fajitas, Byers a club and I had ribs. The bill was $56.78.
The Knicks/Bulls game was on. Knicks were up by two with 4.5
seconds left on the clock. The Bulls took the ball out under
their own basket. The pass went to Pippen who was double-
teamed. Pippen found an open Kerr who hit the three at the
buzzer. Bulls win by one. Jordan finished with 44 points, 5
blocks and 4 steals. His usual sensational performance at
the Garden. *That's what I remember.*" Then softly he added,
"But I can't remember a boy murdered right beside me." He
sank deeper into his bed and closed his eyes.

"The security cameras caught you coming in at 7:13 am
Monday. I checked the phone records. A call came in from New
Mexico on Monday morning at 8:03 and lasted 29 minutes. No
other calls. You made your call to me from your cell phone
on Tuesday - judging from the time I can only assume it was
as you were driving to Dulles to catch your flight."

Mulder had a fleeting mental image of his hand on the
doorknob....the phone ringing...

His eyes came back to her. "I thought it was you.....the
phone was ringing just as I was leaving.....I stopped to
pick it up because I thought it was you. I walked over
to.....that's it - I have no recollection of answering it."

Mulder suddenly looked exhausted. Scully started to gather
up the photos. "Mulder you need your rest."

She placed them into the envelope and put it on the table
beside his bed. "Promise me you'll try to rest."

She turned around to find him already asleep.
___________________________________

That afternoon, Scully received a UPS delivery of four large
boxes, addressed to her in care of the hospital. They were
from the Dyers and contained years of correspondence from
Hershel to Aaron, dating from when Aaron turned ten until
Hershel's death. In one of the boxes was a smaller box,
still sealed. The postmark indicated that it had been sent
to Aaron the day before Hershel died, but had been lost in
the mail for over a month. Aaron was already dead when the
package arrived at the Dyers' home in Colorado. Taped to one
of the large boxes was a note from Daniel - the sad words of
a man who had lost his family...his wife seemed to be
getting worse...their ranch was for sale and they were
making plans to move to Florida...too many memories to stay.
Daniel promised he would keep in touch with Scully and make
sure she had a way of reaching him - when they caught his
son's killer. ___________________________________

The next morning, Scully was sitting on the bench in the
garden. Would there be any further clues from whoever left
the pictures? Preparing to return to Mulder's room, she left
a message written on a manila envelope. It simply said -
THANK YOU.

Suddenly a nurse hurried up to her. "Your partner is
insisting you're in some kind of danger!" They hurried back
to his room.

Four nurses had him pinned on the bed. When he heard her
voice he stopped struggling against the nurses, but not
against the sedative which they had just given him.

"I'm okay," he quickly told the nurses. "I'll be a good boy,
just leave." He fought to keep his eyes open. He wanted to
talk to Scully before he was out cold.

The nurses looked to Scully for direction. She nodded and
they filed past her out the door.

He cut her off. "Scully what the hell were you thinking?"
His words were starting to slur, but the sedative could not
mask his anger. "They....they could
have...have...killed...you...."

Mulder's eyes closed, but he forced them open. He was having
a difficult time seeing her.

"No, Mulder...think about it. The pictures helped us. We had
nothing until we got them. It's important to this person
that we find the truth."

<The *truth* - according to and manipulated by whom?> And
then he passed out...
_________________________________________

Scully kept up her morning routine, but there was no further
correspondence. She carefully watched everyone who entered
and exited the hospital. Nothing seemed out of place. She
became resigned to the fact that the pictures were all the
help she was going to get from the unknown source.

The day before, she had seen Mulder going through the
pictures. He would stare at each one for a long time, and
she could tell from his expression that nothing was coming
back. Impatiently, he would throw them on the bed. After
several minutes, he would pick them up and carefully set
them on the night stand.
________________________________________

Scully opened the bag and pulled out new clothes and shoes
and placed them on the bed beside him.

She smiled a small smile. Actually she was. He was so thin,
but Dr. Moore had decided he was well enough to take a real
shower. They had pulled out the IVs late last night, leaving
long fresh bruises on his arms which he constantly rubbed,
trying to relieve the pain.

A nurse came in carrying a plastic shower chair and a stack
of fresh towels to the bathroom. She reappeared at the door.

He nodded - he was looking forward to the luxury of a real
shower. The nurse crossed the room to his bed and removed
the few remaining bandages. She wadded them up and threw
them away. Scully moved towards the bed.

"Okay, if you need anything, just ring. Everything should be
in there. I'll be back in when you're done to re-wrap your
ribs."

Scully helped Mulder to his feet. He was shaky and it took a
minute for him to get his balance.

He squeezed her hand then placed his arm around her
shoulders. She slid her arm around his waist and they slowly
proceeded into the bathroom.

She untied his gown and helped him into the chair.She took
two of the extra towels and handed one to him so he could
cover himself and laid the other one over the back of the
chair. She slowly turned the shower on, fearful the pressure
would hurt the bruised and tender skin.

She placed her hand on the back of his head and helped him
lower it. She held the detachable shower head in her right
hand and with her left pushed the water back away from his
face, slowly stroking his hair. It was long except for that
around his left temple where it had been shaved for surgery.
Wet, she could have pulled it into a pony tail. She turned
the water off and quickly shampooed, then rinsed before he
became chilled. Reattaching the shower head, she left a
steady warm spray running over his body. She soaped up a
wash cloth and did his back, feet and legs and handed the
cloth to him to finish.

She laughed. "Mulder, I don't remember *that* being a part
of my job description as a partner!"
_____________________________________

Scully knew Mulder was feeling better. He was complaining
more, which was a good sign. He hated staying in bed.
Earlier in the week she had caught him walking slowly down
the hall, one hand on the wall for support. She quietly
moved to him and took his arm.

She smiled, "A person needs to pick and choose his battles."
_____________________________________

Scully was surprised to see Mulder dressed and sitting on
the edge of his bed when she stepped out of the bathroom

"Mulder I've seen how you sleep - a king-sized bed can't
hold you."
______________________________________

Scully could hear him swearing loudly from the bathroom. The
door was open, an invitation - Scully thought - to enter. He
was trying to shave with his left hand, and it was awkward
for him.

On the surface of the water floated hair and globs of
shaving creme, some dotted pink from his blood. His head was
lowered as he tried to locate the razor. As he straightened,
he caught her reflection in the mirror. There was no
embarrassment in his eyes, only a simmering rage. Everything
was a struggle and he was tired of it. He wanted his life
and privacy back.

He hated for her to see him like this. He turned the faucet
on and rinsed the razor off. When he looked back into the
mirror, she had not moved.

"Mulder, you once told me I was the only person you
trusted." She held her hand out for the razor. "Prove it."

Her head was slightly cocked. A playful smile touched her
lips. He paused and looked from the wet razor to her hand.
She could feel his mood lighten.

He laid the razor on her palm and leaned forward to whisper
in her ear, "Only if I can do your legs."

Without hesitation she answered, "Deal," and with her free
hand pushed him back to the toilet.

She let the water out of the sink and ran fresh, warm water.
Taking an extra towel off the rack, she draped it over his
shoulders, clasping the ends together with a hair clip she
located in her purse. Dipping a washcloth in the water she
squeezed out the excess and wet his face, maintaining eye
contact with him. She squirted a handful of shaving cream in
her left hand, and with her right began to apply it to his
face, like a painter with a palette. Her strokes were smooth
and gentle. Mulder hoped the groan that escaped his lips
wasn't audible. If it was, Scully never acknowledged it.
When his face was covered with foam, she took the razor and
waved it slowly in front of his eyes.

<Ahhh, Scully the Temptress...> She always seemed to find a
way to surprise him. Mulder liked this naughty, teasing side
of her....

"Scully," he mumbled through the shaving creme. "Have you
done this before?" Half of him hoped the answer would be
*no*, but the half that valued his safey and face hoped her
response would be *yes*.

"My motto as a government employee is *don't ask, don't
tell*. But since you asked..." she paused, "Nope." She
smiled. He closed his eyes.

His face was an obstacle course of abrasions and bumps, but
when she was done, she had surprised even herself.

She wrung out the washcloth and wiped the excess shaving
cream off his face, then with a clean towel, dried it off.
His eyes were still closed. She took his arm and pulled him
up and over to the mirror.

He tilted his head from side to side, wiping a hand across
his face. "Not bad Scully. In fact, I'm impressed....could I
talk you into coming over every morning? Better yet, I have
a bedroom that hasn't been used in over five years..."

She had to get out of there - the air in the bathroom had
suddenly become thick and heavy, making it difficult for
her to breathe. She needed to get away from Mulder so she
could think clearly. Scully liked control - not chaos and
confusion. Mulder - Mr. Chaos and Confusion himself.

She straight-armed the hospital exterior doors so quickly
the automatic opener did not have time to work. The cool
morning air hit her squarely in the face and her head
started to clear.

She had started the game and wasn't sure how she wanted it
to end. And that made it dangerous. She had pushed them to
the brink - it was dark and she couldn't see. Should she
jump? Or hang on for dear life?