Fugues of the Mind part 3/4: Cadenza by Max

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Subject: Fugues of the Mind part 3/4: Cadenza by Max
Date: Saturday, June 12, 1999

After Dana left me sitting alone at the formica table in the cafeteria, I had
an epiphany of sorts. That woman was not the Dana Scully I had dated when I
was a kid. Back then she was independent...completely solid and incapable of
being broken...never one to let a man slow her down.

It's funny how people can change each other. She certainly changed me when I
knew her. She taught me how not to date someone. Thanks.

I slowly made my way back to his room and as I stopped outside the door, I
saw her there. She was breaking down and this was not good.

"Dana," I said slowly, "I've called his mother. She's unable to fly out, but
she sends her condolences." She nodded slowly, just to show she acknowledged
me, and then she resumed her careful vigil. I walked on, past all the ICU
rooms, and sat down in one of the faux leather couches in the waiting room. I
was ready to snag some zzzz's.

The intense pressure that came with being so close to this case was beginning
to come to a head, and it hit me full force. I knew as well as Dana did that
eventually the call would be made to take him off life support. I hadn't had
a chance to personally review his living will, but Dana was the executor and
I'm sure she knew we were edging nearer the criteria with every passing hour.

It was still quite a shock to see Dana so different from the person she had
been when I knew her. Did they dumb you down at the Academy, Agent Scully?
Hell, even I was acting out of character. And I didn't even know the injured
guy that well. His influence, though, seemed to have the ability to mold
everyone around him into unfamiliar strangers.

I had heard of his reputation through the unstoppable mouths of a number of
the trauma nurses. How he believed in everything except God, how he lived
only to sample porn videos and find his missing sister, and his unspeakable
predilection for getting himself hurt. While I flipped through his file, I
suddenly realized what Dana was talking about.

The comforting presence of sleep hovered only a few feet away, and I finally
gave in to temptation and let it take me down. And I dreamed. About her, but
also about him.

I had only been out for about a half an hour when I felt someone tugging at
my shirt. I looked up and saw Jack Conroy standing over me.

I leapt up from the chair and followed him at a fast clip, screeching to a
stop outside his room. Jack went on in; I stood in the doorway and watched
like an expectant father as the thoroughly confused man in the bed took in
his surroundings. When he saw his partner, all the color rushed back into his
face and he smiled.

"Hey Scully," he rasped. "How's that new job coming?" Tears came to her eyes
and she smiled at him.

"I'm not even sure if I have an old job." She stopped, inhaled deeply, then
gripped his hand firmly.

"Mulder, I want you to know that I love you and I'm not going to leave. I've
got work to do. We have work to do."

"I want to thank you for being there for Dana. God knows she needed someone
during all of that." I would have cried if I wasn't a cynical bastard.

"Well...I think she would have been okay on her own. She's stronger than she
thinks she is." I nodded, and she placed a hand on my arm and smiled. I
watched her enter his room, and the energy was so overwhelming it almost
knocked me down.

He was back, and though his body looked like ground hamburger, he'd pull
through.