When Scully and her mom reached the cafeteria, they walked toward the food lines. Maggie Scully managed to convince her to buy a muffin and cup of coffee. Convincing her to sit long enough to eat was another feat only a mother could manage. "How are you doing, Dana?"
Swallowing a bite of her muffin, she looked at her mother. "What do you mean? Mulder's the one who managed to get himself beaten up."
Smiling, her mother continued. "Honey, I know the two of you. When something happens to one, the other inevitably is hurting too. I've seen the looks you were giving him, you're still concerned aren't you?"
Pushing away the uneaten portion of her muffin. "They say he should be out of the woods. But I don't know, something doesn't feel right . . . "
She was interrupted by an announcement over the PA system. "Dr. Collins to room 412 stat. Dr. Collins to room 412 stat."
Scully was on her feet and sprinting across the cafeteria before she had a chance to stop and think. All she needed to know was that her instincts had been right. Something had been wrong with Mulder. She stuck her hand in between a set of closing elevator doors, and Maggie just managed to get into the same elevator
before it closed.
"What is it, Dana?"
Shaken, Scully answered. "I don't know. But it's not good. It must be the head injury."
***
The monitor checking Mulder's inter cranial pressure had began to emit a shrill tone, which brought several of the nurses on duty running. Dr. Collins arrived only a couple of minutes later, to find a chaotic scene filling Mulder's room. Checking the measurements on the monitors, she ordered a medication regimen
different from the original pain medication.
Scully arrived a couple of minutes later, her mother close behind. She ran into the room to find Dr. Collins standing near Mulder's bed making notes on his chart.
"Dr. Collins? What happened?" The longer it had taken to reach Mulder, the more nervous Scully had became.
Looking up, Dr. Collins acknowledged Scully's question. "It was his inter cranial pressure. I was hoping he wouldn't take this turn. He had dropped into unconsciousness, and by the time I arrived he had already fallen in a coma. We've changed his medication, hoping to reduce the pressure faster. If the pressure doesn't fall on it's own, we'll be forced to operate."
Scully listened to the doctor's description of Mulder's condition, the color slowly draining from her face. It
was all she could do to keep from wanting to slap Mulder senseless for keeping it from her that he had been
in pain. What kept her calm was the knowledge that she hadn't been looking for the symptoms any more than he had been letting them show.
"Operate?" Mrs. Scully's words mirrored the thoughts in her daughter's mind.
Dr. Collins glanced over at her patient before responding. "If and when it becomes necessary, I'll call in a specialist and have him check out Agent Mulder and come and speak with you." Her statement was directed at Scully, whose gaze never left her partner. "Hopefully it won't come to that. If you'll excuse me,
there are some matters I need to attend to. I'll be back to check on Agent Mulder in a while." She then left the room, walking down the hall to the nurses desk.
Maggie recognized the look that had settled on Scully's face, she knew it all too well. "Dana, it wasn't your fault." She watched as Scully walked over and sat in the chair, and picked up Mulder's still hand to hold between her own. "Honey, this was no one's fault but whoever did this to him."
"I saw the signs Mom, I just didn't pay attention. At least not closely enough." Leaning forward, she brushed away a lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead, careful to not hit the ventilator tube that ran into his mouth. "Come on, Mulder. Fight this. You have to wake up so that you can give me your
wild theory. How was this guy supposed to help you? I won't get angry at you for not calling me, I promise."
As her mother watched, Scully continued for several minutes to plead with Mulder before the sound of the door opening startled them. Turning, they saw Skinner walking into the room. "Agent Scully. Mrs. Scully. How is Mulder?"
Scully placed Mulder's hand back down on top of the starched sheet before turning to speak with her boss. "He's fallen into a coma as a result of the head injury, Sir. How did you even know to come?"
Skinner regarded Scully carefully before answering. "One of the nurses called my office to tell me that he had taken a turn for the worse. And that you were taking it rather, shall we say, personally. Agent Scully, you know as well as I that no one is at fault here except the person that put him here, least of all you. It's not as if it's the first time Mulder has charged head long into a situation without stopping to look at all of
the facts first."
"Have you found out anything yet?" She had listened to Skinner's attempt at ending her guilt, but felt the best way to deal with his words was by moving on. They still needed to find out who caused Mulder to be lying in a coma in the first place. "Any clues at all?"
Skinner shook his head and was about to respond when a nurse walked in the room. "Excuse me, there really shouldn't be so many people in here."
"Dana, you go talk with Mr. Skinner. I'll stay with Fox." Mrs. Scully moved to sit in the chair Scully had just been sitting in when she saw the look on her face, staring at Mulder. She attempted to address her concern before she could protest. "Don't worry. I'll stay with him."
With one last look at Mulder, Scully followed Skinner out of the room and down the hallway to a waiting area. Crossing her arms in front of her, she waited on Skinner to continue. "You were saying?"
Skinner gestured toward two of the oversized chairs along the far wall before replying. "I sent a team over to Agent Mulder's apartment. No sign of anything there, but I didn't really expect as much. A check of his car, still in the lot by your apartment, revealed blood and dirt samples. However, the blood was all
Mulder's."
"Did you check the record of incoming calls into his apartment? He said someone called him, and that was why he went out."
"I've got someone on it. The last time I checked, they still didn't have anything. Agent Pendrell was checking the samples from the car, but I doubt they will reveal anything helpful. How much was Mulder able to tell you?"
Scully closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to remember the conversation she and Mulder had shared such a short time before. "Only what he knew, which wasn't very much. A phone call woke him up about midnight. A man asked to meet him, something about his work. Mulder being Mulder, he couldn't resist checking into it." She smiled at the description of her partner. "They met at a park near where I live, but not long after arriving something scared the guy and he jumped him." Her face darkened as she recalled the rest of what happened. "He managed to catch Mulder off guard, and knock the wind out of him. After kicking him in the ribs, he placed two blows to the side of his head. The second caused him to lose consciousness."
"And when he woke up, he managed to drive to your place," Skinner finished for her. "I still don't understand how he was able to drive. You go back to Mulder's room, I'm going to find a phone and call the office and see if anything else has turned up. I'll let you know what I find out."
Both agents stood and began to walk out of the sitting area. "Yes, Sir. And Sir?" Skinner turned to face Scully, a silent acknowledgment of her question. "Thank you." He nodded his head, and walked toward the nurses station while Scully went back to Mulder's room.
Two hours later, Dr. Collins returned to check on Mulder. She found Scully again sitting beside Mulder's bed, but Mrs. Scully wasn't there. "Agent Scully?"
Scully turned at hearing her name, and saw that the doctor had walked in without her knowing. "Dr. Collins. I've been watching the monitors, the pressure in his brain seems to be dropping."
The doctor moved to check the monitor, and nodded her head in agreement with Scully's assessment. "He's not out of the woods yet, but I would say it's too soon to jump the gun and operate. If the pressure continues to fall, we won't have to operate and he should regain consciousness."
"But how long?" Scully's question was directed as much to herself as to the doctor standing nearby. Her gaze never lifting from Mulder's still form as she said it.
Dr. Collins quickly checked the stitches from where she had operated on Mulder early that morning to ensure they were healing well. "I'll come back by in a little while, and I will be alerted if anything changes suddenly." Scully nodded her head, and glanced over her shoulder at her quick retreat from the room. It wasn't long before Maggie returned to check on both of them.
"Here, Dana. Drink this." She offered Scully a cup of tea, hoping to try and help calm her nerves. She knew no matter how hard Scully tried to hide it, what the waiting was doing to her. "Go on." Scully took the steaming cup from her mother and sipped at it's contents, the honey lemon flavoring exploding on her tastebuds.
As the hours continued to pass, both Scully and her mother watched as the reading on the inter cranial pressure monitor continued to slowly fall. The closer it came to a normal level, the more anxious Scullyvbecame for Mulder to wake up. Dr. Collins had been in to check on him several times, and was encouraged by the improvements in the monitors readings.
***
Skinner returned to the hospital that evening. And entered Mulder's room to find Scully curled up in the chair next to Mulder's bed. Maggie smiled to see the older agent look at Scully with a look of wonder at how she managed to fall asleep in the small chair. Waving her hand, she led the senior agent out of the room and down the hall toward the sitting room.
"How is he?" Skinner knew that Mrs. Scully would be able to answer his questions as well as any of the nursing staff.
Sitting near the window, she motioned for him to do the same. "The pressure in his brain that caused the coma has fallen. That's the good news."
Confused, Skinner asked, "Good news? That would mean there was bad news." He waited for her to finish the statement she had began before he had interrupted.
"Bad news being that he hasn't woken up. The doctors told us that the first forty-eight hours were the most vital. After that..." She paused, looking out the window. "After that it's anyone's guess when he will wake up."
Shifting in his chair, Skinner weighed the information he had just received. "How's Scully, Dana, doing?" Maggie found herself touched by his obvious concern for the well fare of those under his command. "She's stubborn, like always. Refuses to leave Fox's side." Smiling she added, "Like always. I know you're looking into what happened to Fox, do you mind me asking if you've found anything?"
Skinner regarded the woman sitting before him, and was able to see where Scully got her strength and compassion. "We were able to trace the phone call that lured Mulder out of his apartment. As for who made the call, we're looking into it." She nodded her head, listening to the assistant directors explanation of
the newest events. "I'm curious, Mrs. Scully. How is it you are able to call Mulder Fox?"
Maggie laughed. "I'm not sure, Mr. Skinner. For some reason, he just never corrected me. Dana has, time and again, but Fox never seemed to mind."
Skinner looked at his watch, startled to find that it was already after six in the evening. "Mrs. Scully, are you going to be going home this evening? I need to go back to the office, and I could escort you to your car if you would like."
"No, thank you, Mr. Skinner." Standing, she again smiled at Skinner. "I appreciate the offer, but I need to stay with Dana for now. I don't want to leave her alone right now. Especially since we still don't know how long it might be until he wakes up."
***
After she returned to the quiet hospital room, Mrs. Scully watched as Scully finally began to stir. The night passed uneventfully, and the next morning, Scully found herself watching the clock as it passed the twenty-four hour mark. It wasn't much later that Skinner entered the room.
"Agent Scully, any change?" She looked up and shook her head silently, and found herself again looking at the clock. Twenty five hours. "We have a suspect in custody." At this news, Scully jumped up out of her chair, and walked over to face Skinner directly. "As I told your mother last night, we were able to trace the call made to Mulder's apartment just before midnight."
"Who was it?" She was all business now, Skinner noted.
"No one that we can link to any of your outstanding cases. We can't figure out how he became interested in Agent Mulder. However, we found soil samples in his shoes that match the samples taken from inside Mulder's car." He paused before continuing. "And there were traces of blood as well. Agent Pendrell was able to match them to Mulder's blood."
Scully turned to look back at where Mulder lay. "Then all that's left is for Mulder to wake up and identify him."
Skinner stayed in the room with Scully while her mother went downstairs to get some breakfast for both of them. There was little conversation between the two. The only words were those that Scully spoke to Mulder. Although she didn't remember anything from the outside world while she had been in a coma, it
didn't stop her from making an effort. If he could hear, she wanted to make sure there was something to hear other than beeping monitors and the hiss of the ventilator.
At some point, Skinner left to go back to the office. Scully noted him leaving and her mother walking back into the room, but her attention was focused on Mulder. Talking to Mulder kept her from looking at the clock, and remembering that time was ticking away and there was nothing she could do to make him wake
up and get better.
Thirty-six hours came and went, but Scully merely glanced at the clock. Mrs. Scully went to Scully's apartment to find her some clothes and pack her a bag. When she arrived back at the hospital, Mulder's condition hadn't changed. She noticed that Scully had fallen back asleep in the plastic chair. Maggie knew
it worried Scully that the reason for Fox's coma had passed, but he had yet to wake up.
When Skinner arrived the next morning, it was just after the clock hit the forty-eight hour mark. He noticed that Maggie Scully was not there. "Agent Scully. I wanted to tell you that our suspect confessed."
She looked up at his announcement, startled. "Sir? He confessed?"
"Yes, although he has yet to say why he contacted Mulder. Only that he did. Any change with Agent Mulder?" His gaze fell on the still agent, and he almost winced at the sight of the bruises on his face that were beginning to change color. Gone was the livid purple, but it was being replaced by a sickly
yellow-green which made him appear even worse.
Scully stood, stretching her tired muscles. "No, Sir."
"That is something we need to discuss." Dr. Collins' voice came from the doorway. "We need to talk about our options as time progresses."
Scully looked at the doctor, stubborn refusal blazing in her eyes. "What you are implying doctor is not an option. My partner will wake up, and he will be fine." In an instant, both Skinner and the doctor had no question that if strength of will could heal someone, Mulder would have little choice but to do what Scully had said.
"Okay, Agent Scully," Dr. Collins said. "For now we wait and see." That said, she checked the readings on the several monitors and made a few notes in Mulder's chart.
The doctor having left, Skinner watched as Scully walked around the room. He recognized the signs of restless energy, and having been sitting for too long. "Did your mother finally go home, Agent Scully?"
Nodding, she responded. "Yes, late last night. I finally convinced her to go and get some sleep. She should be back any time now, actually."
"That's good. I need to get back to the office, I'm spending more time on the road between here and there than in either place. Keep me apprized of any changes, Agent Scully."
"Yes, Sir." She watched him leave and sat back down beside Mulder. She was tired of there being nothing she could do. So she began speaking to him again. "Hey, partner. If you stay asleep your going to keep missing all the attention you're getting. Skinner just left, he's been here quite a bit actually. I think you and all of you're annoying stunts are starting to win him over. You might even get on his good side one of these
days."
She paused, gathering her thoughts. "Come on, Mulder. You can't give up. We won't give up." She stopped speaking, and laid her head down on her arms on the edge of Mulder's bed. It was when she thought she felt a movement that her head shot up and she looked up at Mulder's face.
His eyes were open just a bit, and she could see his mouth struggling against the ventilator tube. Smiling, she pressed the nurse call button and instructed for Dr. Collins to be alerted. Within minutes she was rushing into the room, and soon after that the ventilator tube was removed. Scully had to fight laughing
when Mulder finally spoke. "Catheter. Out." His words were a struggled hoarse whispered version of his true voice, but no one cared.
Scully followed the doctor out into the hallway when she was finished seeing to Mulder. "I would have to say, Agent Scully, that your partner is one lucky man. For now, I want to keep him under observation to make sure we don't have another relapse. If he's stable for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours or so,
I'll sign off on his going home. Provided he will be looked after."
"Of course," Scully agreed. "Believe me, you don't want to be around him when he starts to feel better. He's a royal pain in the ass when he's stuck in the hospital." To Scully it felt good to laugh, and have less worry plaguing her heart. After Dr. Collins left, she walked back into Mulder's room.
"How do you feel? Seems like I recall asking that once before quite recently."
Mulder smiled, and a little more of the tension that had built up in Scully relaxed. "Tired. How long?"
She sat down in the very familiar chair beside him before answering. "Almost fifty hours. You had us worried, partner." She ran a hand through her hair, remembering how long it had been since she had been woken up in the middle of the night just over two days ago. "I'm glad you decided to join us again. Want
some water?"
He nodded his head, and carefully held the glass she handed him. He proceeded to drink the water as quickly as he dared. "I couldn't let you down." She tilted her head to the side just slightly, and at her confused look he explained. "You said we wouldn't give up."
Scully sat up a bit straighter in her chair. "You heard me?" Her voice sounded small, betraying her surprise.
"Of course I heard you. Everything was dark, and there wasn't any sound. Then I heard you. It was really distant at first, and it grew more and more distinct. I knew it was you. I followed your voice like a tether back."
"I'm glad you're back, Mulder." She smiled and blinked away the offending moisture that threatened to fill her eyes.
"Fox! You're awake." Maggie's surprised, but obviously happy voice came from the doorway where she had paused at seeing him conscious.
"Hey, Mrs. Scully. Come on in."
***
"Mulder would you please sit still?" He had only been awake for a day and a half and Scully's patience was already wearing thin. She knew if she looked back at all the other times she'd stayed with Mulder in the hospital, he was usually driving her crazy after so long. "Dr. Collins should be here at any minute and
she said she would probably let you go home today."
"Scully, I just want my clothes. Is that too much to ask?"
She laughed. "Until you're cleared to leave you're not getting your clothes. It's my back up assurance you won't make a run for it. Seeing as how you would expose yourself to half of the nursing staff before you managed to get off the floor." Seeing his patented puppy dog look, she laughed even harder. "I've got
protection from those eyes, Agent Mulder. You won't get very far."
"We'll see." There was a veiled threat in his voice that reminded her of some of their most interesting discussions over the past few years.
By the time Dr. Collins arrived, Scully had managed to control her laughter. Mulder, however, still was working on looking dejected. "Well, Mr. Mulder. I think it's almost time for you to leave our fine establishment. However, there are conditions."
Somehow, Mulder managed to look even more anxious. "Conditions? No one mentioned any conditions to me."
"Well, first and foremost you're on desk duty until you're cleared. Between the internal injuries in your chest and the head injury the length of time will depend on how well you behave. No strenuous activities, or anything that might stretch or tear the stitches in your chest. The ribs will be sore for a while, so this shouldn't be the hardest part. Be careful to not jar your head. As I understand it, you're going to be staying
with Agent Scully's mother for the next few days. After this amount of time, it should be safe for you to return to your own apartment."
Scully laughed. "I don't know, you haven't seen his apartment." Mulder cut her an evil look at the verbal jab, but backed down when she continued. "No arguments, Mulder. It's come to Mom's or don't leave the hospital." She watched as he slouched even further into the bed, pouting at being out-flanked.
"Okay, Scully."
"Well, I'll leave you two. Good bye Agent Mulder." He nodded to the doctor as she walked out of the room.
Handing Mulder his clothes, Scully also walked toward the door. "Get dressed, Mulder. It's time to finally get out of this place." Just before reaching the door, she paused. "Besides, you have to get better and come back to the office. There are some expense reports with your name on them."
Walking out into the hall she heard him whine. "Scully . . . Not the expense reports, I've been in a coma. Those damn things will send me into another one . . . "
fin
