Title:  Left in the Dark
Author:  barb ([email protected])
Rated: PG-13
Key Words: S, A, MSR-UST, Mulderangst, Scullyangst
Distribution: Gossamer, Xemplary, Spooky - Yes!
Others please let me know so I can visit.
Spoilers: Small Duane Barry. A small tribute to Amor Fati at 
the end.
Disclaimer:  Not mine, never were.  Sigh.  Oh well.

Summary: DARKNESS - figurative or literal - who's to say which 
is more terrifying. Mulder and Scully will experience both.

Authors Notes: At the end


Chapter 1

"Oh Mulder," Scully called out sweetly in a singsong voice, as 
she perused the map before her.

"Yes, Scully," Mulder answered blissfully, driving along the 
highway in North Dakota, enjoying the peace, the quiet, the 
dulcet tones of Dana Scully calling his name.

"Mulder, could I trouble you to answer me just one little 
thing," she continued in her silkiest voice.

(Keep talking like that Scully, and I'm pulling the car over 
right here, ) he thought, his imagination supplying him with 
an endless run of Scully-vision for his viewing pleasure.

Taking his silence as tacit permission, Scully proceeded to 
blindside him.

"Would you mind telling me where the hell are we?" she said 
sharply and loudly.

Wham!!

The door to his fantasy world slammed shut with a bang, 
dumping a quick cold shower on his head.  Taken completely by 
surprise, Mulder jumped in his seat, his hands jerked the 
wheel, making the car swerve violently.  The tires squealed 
loudly as they sought purchase.

"Shit!" Mulder cried out as he fought to regain control.  When 
they were finally going straight again, Mulder glanced over to 
see Scully regarding him coolly; not a hair out of place as 
she patiently waited to regain his full attention.

"So?"  She threw down the map in disgust.  "Where are we?"

Mulder opened his mouth, but before he could utter a single 
sound, Scully cut him off at the pass.  "If you say North 
Dakota, you can start looking for a new partner, Mister."

Mulder shut his mouth with a snap.  He definitely wasn't up to 
calling his partner's bluff.  Not here.  Not now.  He was in 
too deep to make it up to her at this point.

How could everything - absolutely everything, go so wrong on 
one case.  It was mind-boggling.  Everything - from the very 
beginning he felt like they'd been doomed.

When Skinner handed the case file down, Mulder had thought it 
sounded pretty good.  He knew that both he and Scully could 
really use something that required minimal effort, but from 
minute one, this one had been cloaked in a black fog.  A 
small town in the mid-West whose local enforcement agency 
resented outside "interference" from FBI agents and most 
especially from a woman, drained them, both physically and 
emotionally.  They worked as hard as they ever had to solve 
the case quickly and quietly, but of course when it was 
discovered that the whole thing was a college research project 
on "reported alien abductions and sightings", Mulder knew that 
they wouldn't be able to get out of there quick enough.  The 
town's mortal embarrassment was the last straw and they hit 
the open road at 10:30 at night doing 80 mph without looking 
back.

Which was how they'd ended up on this little adventure.  And 
now, he just wanted to find a town with a motel and get their 
bearings so that they could get to an airport and get back 
home.  They had taken turns driving; sixteen hours straight 
through.


Next to him, Scully dropped her head in her hands as the 
absurdity of what she'd done hit her.  "Oh beam me up, 
Scotty," she moaned painfully.

"Hey!"  Mulder protested, "No quoting William Shatner while 
I'm driving."

Scully peeked over at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.  "And 
why not, pray tell?  And before you answer that, let me remind 
you that I wasn't quoting William Shatner - that was Captain 
Kirk."

Mulder grimaced and groaned in mock distress.  "Even worse."  
He used his peripheral vision and was inordinately pleased to 
see that his partner was smiling at least.

"You haven't answered my question, Mulder.  Why this aversion 
to Captain Kirk?"  Scully asked, fighting to hide her smile 
and not quite succeeding.  She wasn't quite through being mad 
at him for dragging her out on that sorry excuse for a case.

"You can't be serious, Scully.  Everybody knows that the only 
intelligent captain of the Enterprise was Picard."  Mulder 
announced matter of factly.

Scully did a double take.  "What?"  Her brow furrowed in 
puzzlement.  "What was so special about Picard?"

(What am I saying? )  She couldn't believe that she was having 
this conversation - debating two fictional starship captains 
out in the middle of nowhere U.S.A.  (Must be more tired than 
I thought. )

"Oh, lots of things," Mulder replied lightly.  "Mostly 
Beverly Crusher."

Now Scully was really lost.  With a huff she let her head fall 
back against the headrest.  "Mulder - what are you talking 
about?  What does Beverly Crusher have to do with it?"

"Only the suave Jean-Luc Picard had exceptional taste, as 
demonstrated by his feelings for one lovely red-haired 
doctor," Mulder said mischievously, emphasizing "red-haired" 
and "doctor".


Scully bit her lip.  (Oh, Lord! ) she thought helplessly.  (I 
can't fight that.  Game - set and match - Fox Mulder. )  She 
couldn't look at him, but she had a pretty good idea that he 
knew.  Oh, yes, he knew exactly how that comment had affected 
her.

Mulder smiled smugly.  (Winner and still champion.  And out of 
the doghouse!)  The air of self-satisfaction was easily picked 
up by the perceptive woman seated to his immediate right.

"Stop grinning, Mulder."  She snapped, not forgetting for a 
minute how this conversation had started.

"I'm happy - that's all.  I can't repress it," Mulder said 
plaintively.  

"Sure you can.  I'm happy, too," she retorted.  "See how well 
I'm repressing it.  So if I can, you can."

Mulder just laughed at her and how utterly ridiculous she 
sounded.

Scully sighed and gave up.  Someday, someday she'd learn to 
quit while she was ahead.  Or if not ahead, at least treading 
water.

Mulder wisely kept quiet and reached over to turn up the 
radio.  


Chapter 2


Mulder realized at once that something was wrong with the car.  
The "check engine" light came on, a strange noise could be 
heard and was that smoke?

Without a second thought he pulled to the side of the road, 
causing Scully to instantly jerk her gaze over.

"What is it?  What's wrong?"  she asked quickly, her eyes 
wide.

Before Mulder could answer, she caught sight of smoke seeping 
out from under the hood.  She was unable to keep from groaning 
aloud as Mulder immediately turned off the engine.  Rolling 
her eyes heavenward, she shot an irritated look at her partner 
and threw open her door.  She found herself staring at a sign 
that helpfully informed her that the next town was six miles 
away.

Mulder heaved a tortured, put-upon sigh.  (Oh yeah, I was 
wondering how much worse things could get.  What else could go 
wrong, I asked myself. )  He shook his head, removing the 
daggers Scully had sent his way, thinking that he couldn't win 
for losing at this point.  He stepped out of the car and 
decided to throw himself at her mercy.

"Go ahead, Scully.  Let me have it," he said contritely, his 
head bowed.

Scully just stared at him.  As much as she would have loved to 
let loose, to lay it all on her partner, she just couldn't do 
it.  (God, look at him.  Forget the "soulful" puppy dog look; 
add "whipped" to his repertoire. )  She just couldn't hit him 
when he was that far down.  And besides - he couldn't take the 
blame for this one, although he was apparently going to try.  

Her shoulders slumped.  "Knock it off, Mulder.  I doubt very 
seriously that this is your fault."  She stared morosely at 
the road before them.  Six miles.  And sunset wasn't too far 
off.  She looked on either side of the road and saw nothing 
that she hadn't seen all day: farm land.  Fields of pumpkins, 
corn and various other products but no visible farmhouses.  

"Well, do we wait here, or grab the luggage and start 
walking?" she asked, her tone sharper than she intended.  
Mulder flinched.  "Sorry," she said softly, backing off.  
"That was uncalled for."

"It's okay."  Mulder was relieved.  At least she hadn't 
suggested that they split up, which was totally unacceptable 
in his book.  Yes, she was armed.  Yes, she was a highly 
trained FBI agent, but she was also the single most precious 
thing in his life and after nearly losing her "x" amount of 
times, he wasn't about to let her wait alone in the car in the 
middle of nowhere at night.  Could he carry their luggage six 
miles?  Probably.  Would Scully insist on carrying her own?  
Definitely.  Could -she- carry her luggage and her laptop 
computer six miles?  Unknown for sure, but he knew she'd go 
down fighting to the end trying, so that option was out as far 
as he was concerned.

He caught her shivering slightly as the wind picked up and he 
pulled his own coat tighter against the evening chill.  "Come 
on, Scully - let's wait in the car.  At least we'll be out of 
the wind," he said.

Scully silently acquiesced.  It was getting colder.  She 
turned back to the car and caught sight of something in the 
distance.  She squinted.  Something was coming down the road, 
but moving much too slowly to be a car.

Mulder noticed her puzzled expression and followed her gaze.  
After a moment, a wide grin lit up his face.  "Well, Scully - 
looks like we may be rescued."

Scully stared harder then burst out laughing.  "Oh my God!  Is 
that a horse-drawn wagon?"

It was and as it came closer, they could hear a guitar and 
singing.

"Hey, Scully.  Ever been on a hayride?" Mulder asked 
gleefully, as he opened the trunk and retrieved their 
luggage.

"About 20 years ago, but from the look of things, nothing's 
changed," Scully answered, more relieved than she'd care to 
admit.  Spend the night in the car, or walk six miles into 
town carrying luggage. Neither option held any appeal after 
driving for so long.

As she watched the group get closer, she thought that riding 
in a hay-filled wagon with a bunch of teenagers and singing 
would normally sound like fun, but she knew that she was way 
too tired to enjoy it at this point.  She stood back as Mulder 
flagged down the driver, a man in his eighties, with a kind, 
weather-beaten face and an easy smile.  He introduced himself 
as Jacob Ingalls.  The lady sitting next to him was obviously 
his wife and in the twilight she reminded Scully of "Aunt Em" 
from "The Wizard of Oz."

Mulder quickly explained their predicament and everyone was 
more than willing to have the strangers join them as they went 
back into town.  One of the girls offered her dad's services 
to get the car brought into town, since he was the only 
mechanic.  Mulder extended his cell phone to her and she 
quickly called him. Mulder introduced himself and explained 
the problem and the man said he'd get his tow truck right out.

"Thank you so much, Mr. McGee.  Do you want me to wait here?"  
Mulder asked.

"Naw.  Why don't you come on into town with the kids and check 
into a motel room.  I'm at home now and I have to go to the 
shop to get the tow truck, so you folks might as well get 
comfortable and grab some dinner.  I'm sure you haven't 
eaten yet, am I right?"

"You're right, Mr. McGee.  Thanks again."  Mulder said, 
gratefully.

"No problem, Mr. Mulder and just call me Hank."  

The two men finalized their plans and Mulder loaded the 
suitcases in the front of the wagon.  Scully was offered the 
last seat next to Mrs. Ingalls, but to Mulder's delight, she 
elected to join him in the back.

She snuggled down next to Mulder and the sweet-smelling hay, 
burrowing deeper to get warm and Mulder hesitantly put his arm 
around her.  When she didn't protest, he gently pulled her 
closer and leaned back to enjoy the ride.  The teenagers, 
eight of them, started singing softly again, and Scully soon 
drifted off to sleep.


Chapter 3

It was the grumbling of her stomach that finally roused Scully 
from a deep sleep and she reluctantly pulled herself to a 
sitting position.  She regretted not having eaten dinner last 
night, but the call of the sandman had been too powerful to 
ignore by the time they'd arrived into town.  She fumbled for 
her watch on the nightstand and was pleasantly surprised to 
see that she had slept until 8:30 - quite late for her.  She 
rolled over and languidly stretched, refusing to feel guilty 
for sleeping late, although she -was- curious as to why Mulder 
hadn't called her earlier.

She was reaching for the phone when she spied an envelope that 
had been slipped under her door.  Scrambling out from beneath 
the warmth of the covers, she picked it up and read the 
enclosed note.

"Scully - the car should be ready about 11:00.  Knock when 
you're ready and we'll grab some breakfast.  Mulder"

Just reading the word breakfast set her stomach to growling 
again and Scully hurried to the bathroom, grabbing clean 
clothes on the way.

In the adjacent room, Mulder smiled when he heard the water 
running.  He had been starting to wonder if he was going to 
have to call and wake her, but was glad that she had caught up 
on her sleep some.

Forty-five minutes later, Scully was knocking and Mulder 
jumped up quickly, opening the door to see his partner 
standing before him in jeans and a lavender sweater set. 

"Just in time," he said with a grin.

"Just in time for what?"  Scully asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I was going to wake you up if you hadn't gotten here when 
you did.  And I had just decided to use something more 
creative than a phone call or a knock on your door."  Mulder 
answered mischievously.

Scully cocked an eyebrow.  "And what did you have in mind?"

"Well, I did have my ice bucket in hand," he pulled it from 
behind his back along with his lock picking tool.

"You wouldn't dare!"  Scully cried indignantly.

"Ooh Scully - you should know better than to tempt me like 
that," Mulder said wickedly.

Scully folded her arms across her chest.  "Hmph.  I can see a 
barricade in front of my door from now on."  Her stomach 
growled again.  "Are you ready to go?  'Cause I'm starving."

He resisted the urge to tease her and just smiled back. "Sure.  
Let me turn off the TV and I'm all set."  He left Scully 
standing in the doorway.

When Scully heard a woman sobbing, her curiosity drew her in.  
"Mulder - what in the world are you watching?" she asked, 
looking at the TV.  "This -definitely- doesn't look like your 
usual fare."  

"Ha ha.  Very funny."  Mulder, to his chagrin was unable to 
locate the remote control.

She stared harder at the screen, trying to figure it out when 
a familiar image of the top half of a young woman's head 
wearing a pale cap was displayed.  

She laughed aloud.  "Mulder!  Oh my God!  Is this the "Blair 
Witch Project"?"

Mulder was still frantically searching his bed sheets for the 
elusive remote control.  "Uh - it's no big deal - uh - really 
- it was the only thing on - and - uh - I'vee kind of been 
wanting to see it.  Aha!"  Successful at last, he quickly 
pushed the power button, silencing the cries.  

Scully, however, wasn't finished. "Do you need some 
Dramamine?" 

Mulder stared at her blankly.  

"Well, Holly and I were discussing this a couple of weeks ago 
and she told me that she got seasick the way the camera kept 
jumping around.  I figured if Holly was affected - you should 
be hanging over the toilet."

Mulder didn't say anything, but the look on his face said it 
all.

Scully pounced.  "You -did- get seasick!" she crowed 
gleefully.  "I knew it!"

"Well, you don't have to sound so happy about it, G-woman," he 
groused, pocketing his room key.

Scully wasn't through yet.  "Personally, I'm surprised that 
you didn't drag us up there, investigating it for yourself."

"Oh, you're just on a roll this morning aren't you," Mulder 
said as he guided her quickly to the door.  "For your 
information, the Blair Witch is fake."

"What's your point, Mulder?" Scully smirked.  "And when did 
you ever let 'it's fake' stop you?"

Mulder just rolled his eyes and shut the door firmly.  "Do you 
want to eat or debate the Blair Witch and whether or not we 
should visit Burkittsville?"

"Eat," Scully stated, grinning broadly.  "Come on, G-man.  I'm 
starved.

Once inside the caf, both Scully and Mulder pushed aside the 
menus without a glance, bringing an efficient waitress 
immediately to their table.

"Are you folks ready to order?"  she asked pleasantly, filling 
their upturned coffee cups.

"I'd like a plain bagel, toasted, with cream cheese - light if 
you've got it.  Also a glass of orange juice and a bowl of 
cottage cheese with whatever fruit is in season," Scully told 
her, reaching for her coffee.

"Large bowl of cereal - Frosted Flakes preferably, or Cheerios 
and orange juice,"  Mulder said.

The waitress nodded as she wrote down their orders then 
hurried off with a smile.  Mulder looked up to see Scully 
staring at him suspiciously.

"What?" he asked with a frown.

"All right - start talking," Scully demanded quietly, leaning 
forward across the table on her elbows.

"What?" Mulder repeated, baffled, as he scrambled to think 
what could be bothering her.

"What have you done with my partner: Fox-let-me-have-one-of-
everything-on-the-menu-Mulder?" she replied eyeing him like a 
virus under a microscope.  "Is this an X-file I should know 
about?"

Mulder laughed and leaned forward until their noses were mere 
inches apart.  "Sorry, Scully.  I'm not an alien clone.  I've 
been up for a few hours already and went and checked on the 
car.  I had a real breakfast while you were channeling 
Sleeping Beauty."  He could feel her breath warm on his cheek 
and he quickly sat back before the urge to bridge the tiny 
space between them overwhelmed him.  The waitress returned a 
few minutes later bearing a tray of food.  She skillfully 
balanced it on one hand and placed their orders down with the 
other.

"Can I get you anything else?"  she asked.

"This looks great, thanks," Mulder replied, reaching for his 
spoon.  He waited for her to step away before continuing.  
"Anyway, this is more like a mid-morning snack."

"So, what about the car?"  Scully asked, spreading a thin 
layer of cream cheese over the large bagel. She kept her eyes 
down-cast hoping Mulder didn't notice how the nearness of his 
lips to hers had affected her.

"Hank said it should be ready before 11:00," he told her in 
between bites of the sugarcoated cereal.  He explained what 
had gone wrong as well.  "Also, he gave me better directions 
to get us out of here."

"I saw that there was a shopping mart in that strip center 
across the street.  I thought that I could grab something to 
take on the road with us."  Scully said.

"Sounds good, partner.  The garage is just a block down and 
two blocks over.  I can jog over, get the car then come back 
and pick you up," Mulder said easily.

Scully nodded. "Then we can come back, check out and pick up 
our suitcases."

With their plans made, they finished breakfast in silence, 
paid the bill and stepped out, eager to get going.


Mulder did some quick stretches as he watched Scully cross the 
street.  She passed a dry-cleaners, a travel agency and a 
Pac'N'Mail center before entering the family-owned grocery 
store.  He took off at a leisurely pace, enjoying the cool 
morning temperature and the bright sunshine coming from a 
cloudless blue sky.

Farther down the road, he came to the elementary school, 
deserted on this Saturday morning.  He wasn't even aware that 
his steps had slowed as he stared at the one-story building, 
the playground, and the athletic field.  He saw himself in a 
very similar setting, so many years ago and he wondered what 
Scully had been like when she was in grade school.  He knew 
she had moved around a lot; that had to be hard on a kid.  He 
pictured her in her plaid uniform with a short pleated skirt, 
white blouse, knee-high socks and brown loafers.  He was able 
to visualize curly red hair in a long ponytail or maybe she 
wore braids with brightly colored ribbons at the ends.

Ruefully he shook himself out of his reverie - there'd be 
plenty of time for that as they drove.  He took a deep breath 
to clear the cobwebs and took off jogging again.  Any more 
dawdling and Scully would be finished long before him and 
she'd be forced to lug those groceries back to the motel.  
Legs pumping furiously, he raced past the elementary school 
with its childhood memories and ran to the car repair shop to 
retrieve their rental car.

From: "Paul and Barbara Cox" ([email protected])


Title:  Left in the Dark
Author:  barb

For disclaimer and Summary - see part 1


Chapter 4

Scully found the items she needed quickly and carried the 
basket to the checkout stand.  The clerk, Tammy, rang up her 
purchases; bottled water, sunflower seeds, fruit and grain 
bars, pretzels and a bag of M & M's that she intended to sneak 
past Mulder if at all possible.  There were times when nothing 
came between her and chocolate.

She handed Tammy her Visa card but Tammy sadly informed her 
that she could not accept credit cards.  Scully's face fell 
but Tammy directed her to the bank next to the motel.  

"They can give you a cash advance and I'll hold your things 
here until you get back."

"Thanks, Tammy," Scully said gratefully, "I'll just be a few 
minutes."

Tommy Powell pulled his brother, Dennis back behind the corner 
of the bank when he saw the petite, red-haired woman heading 
their way.  "Quiet, Dennis," he hissed, "Got one more customer 
coming."  He checked his guns again to make sure all was 
ready.  He was a tall man, six foot-two, ruggedly built, with 
sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes.  His build however 
seemed slight when standing next to his younger brother, 
Dennis.  The young man stood seven and a half feet tall and 
weighed over four hundred pounds, almost pure muscle augmented 
by the steroids Tommy had given him over the years.  

While the practice had allowed Tommy to exploit Dennis' size 
and strength on the sideshow circuit; ultimately it had 
resulted in an inoperable brain tumor, just discovered three 
weeks ago.  To Tommy's dismay, Dennis was given only six 
months to live.  Mentally, his IQ in the low sixties, he 
didn't understand brain tumor exactly, but he did understand 
the resultant headaches that left him nearly incapacitated 
when they hit.  Guilt-ridden, Tommy was determined to keep him 
as comfortable as possible in his own way.

That way was to steal money to buy the necessary drugs to 
alleviate Dennis' blinding headaches.  He got whatever he 
could on the streets, narcotics, hallucinogenics, cocaine, and 
marijuana, mixing them haphazardly until Dennis was stoned to 
the gills, but no longer in obvious pain.

Dennis looked over at Tommy to see who was coming and felt his 
mouth fall open as he fell instantly and completely in love.  
It was an emotion heretofore unknown to him and it took him 
completely by storm.  He knew he'd never be able to explain 
his feelings, but he also knew that the sight of the beautiful 
woman with shiny copper hair and brilliant blue eyes took his 
breath away completely.

Oblivious to his brother's sudden infatuation, Tommy waited 
until the woman was inside, then making sure that the coast 
was clear, nodded to Dennis and headed in.


Chapter 5

Tommy made sure Dennis was following him as he quickly rounded 
the corner and stood outside the front doors.  He put his hand 
in his backpack and carefully extricated the small homemade 
bomb.  With a final glance inside to make sure that no one was 
watching, he pulled open the door with one hand and tossed the 
bomb in with the other, quickly pulling back as he waited for 
the explosion.

Scully heard the door open and what she saw when she turned 
around struck mortal fear into her heart.  As if in slow 
motion, she watched the bomb tumble end over end, closer and 
closer.

"Bomb!" she screamed instantly, "Everybody down!"

She barely heard the shrieks and cries as she flung herself 
down, behind a desk and curled up into a tight ball.  
Desperately, she covered her face, eyes and ears as best she 
could as the room exploded in a blazing white light.

Flying glass and debris rained down on her, leaving her 
stunned and dazed, her ears ringing painfully.

When she came to, the first thing she saw was the largest man 
she'd ever seen in her life, squatting down before her, 
removing the glass and wood that covered her.  Her head 
pounding, she attempted to scramble away but a searing pain in 
her right arm stopped her immediately.

Dennis watched her.  Her fear of him hurt him.  Didn't she 
know that he couldn't hurt her?  He was helping her.  See.  
Her pain-filled cry scared him and when he saw what had caused 
it, his own fear escalated.

A wickedly sharp piece of glass had pierced her right upper 
arm, imbedding itself deeply in the skin.  Blood oozed around 
the large cut, staining the sweater and dripping onto the 
floor. Dennis wanted to help her and reached out, intending to 
remove the glass, but she again cried out and somehow managed 
to scoot away from him.

Tommy appeared at his side, brandishing his gun at Scully.  
"Shut up, little lady and don't move!"  He snarled angrily and 
looked down at Dennis.  "Quit screwing around and make sure no 
body moves."

Dennis cowered away from the gun and his brother, not wanting 
to infuriate him further and Scully simply stared.  Her 
hearing hadn't returned and while she didn't understand what 
he had said - she did understand the gun.  She watched in 
disbelief as Tommy terrorized the bank tellers, shooting one 
and tossing him outside like yesterday's trash.  The looks on 
the other victims' faces surely mirrored her own.

She glanced down at her arm - no time to remove the glass - 
she'd need a tourniquet.  And besides - the damage had been 
done: her arm was useless now, nerve or muscle damage or 
possibly both.

She wanted to get her gun, but it would be awkward with her 
left hand.  Not impossible though and she started to reach 
back.  She had her gun in her hand when a glance at the 
behemoth next to her stopped her instantly.

Dennis observed her closely and saw the pain she was in.  He 
could understand pain like that. He was sorry for her.  He 
didn't want her to be in pain.  He loved her.  And then it 
struck him.  Tommy loved him.  Tommy made the pain go away.  
Dennis could make the pretty lady's pain go away and then 
she'd know that he loved her.  He reached out to her.


Chapter 6

Mulder had been impatiently waiting for Hank to bring the car 
out when he heard the flat bang of the explosion destroy the 
peaceful quiet of the morning.

His mouth went dry as he looked over in the direction of the 
horrific sound, in the direction that he had just come from.

(nononononono)

Like a shot, he was off and running; stopping and getting the 
car never even occurred to him.  Scully - only Scully. As he 
drew closer, he saw that it wasn't the grocery store that had 
exploded, but a building on the opposite street corner.  Sheer 
relief caused him to stumble awkwardly and he frantically 
tried to regain his balance.  Gasping for breath, he staggered 
into the store and it didn't seem unusual at the time that he 
should have run into his partner by now.  Only when he saw 
that she wasn't in the store did it hit him.  Desperately he 
looked around for her bright auburn hair in the now deserted 
store.

The clerk, Tammy, who had wisely kept her post and guarded the 
cash register, stared at the stranger racing up and down the 
aisles.

"Sir!" she called out loudly, trying to get his attention.  
"Sir, can I help you?"

His hazel eyes wild, Mulder rushed over to her.  "Have you 
seen a woman with red hair, wearing blue jeans and a sweater 
in here this morning?  Actually just several minutes ago."

Tammy's heart sank.  Oh God.  No body had ever prepared her 
for something like this.  (I'm just a teenager, ) she thought, 
( I can't do this. )  The look on her face told Mulder 
everything that he needed to know and his expression matched 
Tammy's.

"She went to the bank," the devastated girl whispered.  "I 
couldn't take cash - so I - I - sent her to the bank.  And the 
bank - the bank blew - blew up!"  She put her face in her 
hands, sobbing.

Mulder was in shock.  (No - it can't be. )  He put a hand on 
the girl's shoulder but had no words of comfort he could offer 
her except to say that it wasn't her fault.

Battling the growing crowd now gathered at the front of the 
bank across the street, Mulder was finally able to get his 
first look.  He could see that the front windows and door had 
been blown out and glass littered the sidewalk and street.  
There was no visible damage to adjacent structures and Mulder 
seriously hoped that it indicated that the inside damage was 
minimal as well.  He started forward but was immediately 
stopped by one of the three deputies currently keeping 
everyone back.

"Whoa!  Hold on there, Mister.  Where do you think you're 
going?"  

"Let me go!" Mulder growled and roughly tried to shoulder past 
the young man.  "I'm FBI and my partner is in there."

"Hey - stop it!" The deputy cried out.  "Don't you understand?  
There are two men in there holding everyone hostage.  They've 
already shot one of the tellers and threw his body outside 
here."

Mulder froze.  He had thought, prayed even in his own way, 
that the explosion had just been natural gas or something 
equally non-sinister.


This was not to be the case.  Scully was in there with two 
bank robbers who had killed at least one person in cold blood.  
The deputy quickly directed him to the sheriff, who was 
setting up a command center of sorts.

Numb with horror, Mulder went to him.


Chapter 7


Sheriff Rodney Anderson, 56 years old with snow white hair and 
solemn green eyes was already shocked to find himself in the 
middle of a bank heist with the lives of hostages at stake, 
now stood before a real, live FBI agent.  He felt like he'd 
taken a tumble into another dimension.

"I don't quite what to say, Agent Mulder.  I'm terrible sorry 
to hear that your partner is in there, but I must admit that 
I'm just a small town sheriff.  We've never had anything like 
this and I've lived in this town my whole life.  I'm gonna be 
extremely grateful for a man with your experience here."

Mulder nodded morosely.  "I understand, Sheriff, but I've only 
been in a negotiation once before, really."  Visions of Duane 
Barry jumped before his eyes.

Anderson didn't miss the flicker of pain that crossed Mulder's 
face.  "Didn't go too well, huh?"

Mulder shuddered.  "Tell me what we've got."

Anderson took the hint.  "Two men were seen sneaking around 
from the back alley to the bank just before the explosion."

"Do we know anything about these two men?" Mulder questioned 
him.  "Are they locals?"

Anderson shook his head.  "Several people have stepped forward 
and described one of them as being at least 7 feet tall if not 
more.  And I can tell you without a doubt that we don't have 
anyone fitting that description around here."

Mulder tried to focus on what the sheriff was saying, but his 
thoughts kept returning to Scully.  Had she survived the 
initial blast?  Had there been any more gunfire?

He asked to speak with the most reliable witness.  Anderson 
immediately sent for Kurt Jackson.

The twenty-five year old postal worker repeated his 
description of the two strangers.

Mulder asked him if he'd ever seen them around here before.

Kurt thought a moment before answering.  "Now that you mention 
it - I did.  I'm pretty sure that I passed them going into the 
state park two days ago."

"Do you remember what they were driving?"  Mulder asked 
eagerly.

Kurt closed his eyes as he tried to visualize it while Mulder 
struggled to hide his impatience.

"Ok - yeah.  It was a white van, older model, I think, but I 
couldn't tell you what make.  I also don't remember seeing any 
writing on the van - just all white."  Kurt told them.

Mulder asked Sheriff Anderson to have someone check around for 
such a van that didn't belong to anyone in town.  "If you find 
it, get someone to fingerprint it and I'll modem them out."

Mulder then got someone to call into the bank in the hopes of 
talking with the two men inside.  It had been thirty minutes 
since the explosion and no activity had been seen inside yet.

The negotiations, however, did not go well and Mulder tried 
every trick in his book.  The man on the phone simply 
identified himself as Tommy.  Tommy refused to tell them how 
badly the hostages were injured, if any more had died, or if 
anyone needed immediate medical attention.  He refused to send 
anyone out, would accept no one as a trade even though Mulder 
had tried to use the same ploy they had with Duane Barry and 
let a paramedic go in.  

Mulder's frustration grew in leaps and bounds, as did his 
despair.  He stared hypnotically at the small electric fan on 
the desk next to him, his gaze locked on the endlessly 
spinning blades.

He felt utterly lost - helpless - adrift on a sea of despair.  
(She's all right.  She has to be all right. )  He couldn't 
lose her.  He couldn't.  She and she alone, was his guiding 
light in this crazy thing called life.  She was the light of 
his life and without her, he knew he'd be left in a darkness 
so complete that nothing in this world could banish it.

It was her abduction that had taught him that incredibly 
painful lesson.  Those three hellishly long months had 
introduced him to the darkness and when she was waging that 
final battle with cancer, he had felt the darkness creeping 
silently in to consume him.  He had struggled against the 
oppressive blanket of grief that threatened to smother him and 
yet he knew that without her he would never escape.  As she 
had lain so very still and pale, his world had turned gray and 
he watched helplessly as the light of his life began to fade 
away.  


He would always remember how he had felt as he had watched the 
banishing of the blackness when he had learned of her 
remission.  Blinding white light had enveloped him and lifted 
him up to newly undiscovered heights of joy.

The light that illuminated his life grew a little brighter 
every time that she smiled at him or touched him or did any of 
the little things that showed him time and again how she felt 
about him.

And now, the darkness was knocking again on his door, 
beckoning him.  Mulder fought it.  He wouldn't lose her.  He 
wouldn't lose the light of his life and be left with the cold, 
dead darkness.


Chapter 8

Their first break came when they were able to identify the 
white van.  It came back as being stolen from Oklahoma City 
and since there were plenty of fingerprints to be found, 
Mulder sent them all. It seemed like an eternity before the 
anxious officers got the records of the two men that they were 
dealing with.

Mulder cringed as he read about the brothers, the life that 
they led, on the circus sideshow circuit and of Dennis' recent 
diagnosis.  They were suspects in too numerous to count 
robberies across three states - banks and pharmacies, mostly.  
They learned that Tommy was the leader, of Dennis' limited 
intelligence yet seemingly unlimited strength coupled with 
extraordinary height and weight and Mulder was as truly 
frightened for his partner as he'd ever been before.

Finally, after six brutally long hours, they seemed to be 
making headway.  Tommy was getting tired.  They were wearing 
him down.  The fatigue was evident in his voice now.  He was 
trapped and he knew it, but he demanded that Dennis be taken 
care of properly. Dennis was innocent and he was dying.

Anderson glanced over at Mulder, who nodded distractedly.  
(Whatever - just don't hurt anyone else.  Don't hurt Scully. )

Tommy then had one final stipulation and Mulder tensed as he 
listened in on the extension.

"I'm coming out, but I ain't comin' out alone," Tommy snarled.

"You mean Dennis?"  Sheriff Anderson asked hesitantly.

"No, I don't mean Dennis!" Tommy snapped impatiently.  "I -
told- you: Dennis is innocent."


"Okay, okay - you're right.  I'm sorry," Anderson said 
quickly, trying to placate him.  

"Yeah, well," Tommy was only slightly mollified.  "Like I was 
saying, I don't trust you not to shoot me as I walk out so I'm 
comin' out with a hostage."

Mulder groaned aloud. (Shit! )

Anderson looked over at him anxiously.  Mulder realized that 
the sheriff was waiting for him to give the go-ahead.

(Not Scully - please - don't pick Scully. )

Anderson waited patiently.  Finally Mulder relented.  He had 
no choice.  A single tired nod was all he could manage.

Anderson told Tommy to give him five minutes to get everyone 
back and let him warn the other officers of the deal that 
they'd made.

Tommy reluctantly agreed.  "Five minutes.  That's all."

Anderson hung up, watching Mulder worriedly.  "Agent Mulder?"  
The man looked completely spent, his hair standing on end 
after endless hours of running his hands anxiously across his 
face and up over his head.

Mulder doodled mindlessly on the pad lying on the desk in 
front of him.  "Something doesn't feel right," he murmured to 
no one in particular.  A faint sense of unease was working its 
way through his already frazzled nervous system.

"Tell everyone to get back.  Have your deputies stand down," 
he said abruptly.  "Have them ready to take Tommy in after and 
only after I've secured the hostage."

Anderson simply nodded.  "You got it."  He hurried out to 
brief his men.

Mulder stood for a moment, alone now in the makeshift command 
center.  It was almost over.  So why didn't he feel any 
relief?  The feeling of dread was deep in his stomach, 
expanding and sliding up into his throat and making it harder 
to breathe.

Scully.  Scully was still in there.  (That's probably it.  
She's still in there, either hurt in the initial blast, or 
about to come out as a hostage. )

Enough.  He shook his head impatiently and unholstered his 
gun, checking the clip.  Scully's all right and she was about 
to be free.  He would make sure of it.  

He stepped outside and saw that the Sheriff had gotten 
everybody off the streets and that the deputies were stationed 
away, but close enough to make sure that there was no escape 
routes for Tommy.

Mulder positioned himself front and center, but behind a 
parked car.  Anderson crouched next to him.  "No sign of him 
yet," he said in a low voice.


Mulder took the binoculars and searched carefully, but he too, 
saw no movement in the bank.  That really bad feeling was 
coming back stronger now.  He glanced at his watch.  Time's 
up.  And still no Tommy.

Without hesitation he stood up and moved around in front of 
the car.  "Tommy!  Can you hear me?  It's been five minutes.  
Come on out - we're not going to hurt you!" he called out 
loudly.  (Hang on, Scully.  Hang on. )  If only he could see 
her - see her eyes.

For a moment there was no sound and no movement.  Mulder held 
his breath.  Then - there he was.  Tommy stepped toward the 
door.

Alone.

It was at that instant that Mulder knew with a intense, mind-
smashing certainty that Tommy wasn't giving himself up.  He 
wasn't coming out.

The explosion caught everyone by complete surprise.  The blast 
sent Mulder crashing back into the parked car, shattering 
windows and raining glass down upon him.  He never felt it.  
He lost consciousness and lay in a crumpled heap on the 
street.


The first thing he became aware of was Sheriff Anderson and a 
nurse bending anxiously over him.  "Agent Mulder?" the nurse 
called softly when she saw him coming around.

Mulder blinked against the glare. "Scully - where's Scully?  
Is she okay?  Did she survive the blast?" He determinedly 
pulled himself to a sitting position, ignoring the dizziness 
and pain.  Anderson and the nurse wisely let him be as they 
exchanged glances.

Mulder didn't like what he saw.  "Come on, Anderson - out with 
it?" he spoke harshly, his fear evident.  "Where is she?"

"Agent Mulder," Anderson said, his voice thick with emotion.  
"She's gone, Agent Mulder."

"She died?"  Mulder gasped, stricken, his world crumbling, the 
light fading again.  "No - please -"

"No!" Anderson shouted to stop Mulder's train of thought.  
"She's gone," he reiterated, "and so is Dennis.  They weren't 
in the bank.  We think they've been gone since the beginning.  
One of the hostages was being taken to surgery, but she 
managed to tell us that she saw Dennis take Scully out the 
back just after the first explosion.  Probably went out around 
the back while we were setting up."

Mulder's mouth worked, but no sound came out.  Scully was 
missing?  She hadn't been in the bank at all these past hours 
that they'd been negotiating with Tommy?!  The concept nearly 
overwhelmed him.  All those hours that he should have been out 
looking for her and he didn't even know she was gone!

Sheriff Anderson hesitantly reached out and handed Mulder a 
gun.  Scully's sig.  "We found it in the bank," he said 
softly, apologetically.

Mulder stared at the gun in stunned horror.  (She's out there 
without even her gun! )  He buried his face in his hands and 
wept, as his pent-up emotions finally would be held no longer.  

Sheriff Anderson looked on helplessly.  What could he say?  
What could anyone say?

From: "Paul and Barbara Cox" ([email protected])


Title:  Left in the Dark
Author:  barb ([email protected])

For disclaimer and Summary - see part 1

Chapter 9

Scully regained consciousness abruptly and was immediately 
bombarded with sensations and memories at a rate that 
threatened to overwhelm her.  It all seemed too much to handle 
at once and she gasped aloud, her mind and body on fire.  The 
explosion - the gigantic man who came at her - her injured arm 
- lacerated - the sharp, piece of glass.  Brreathing heavily, 
she kept her eyes closed, unwilling to subject herself to any 
further sensory input until she was ready.  

She shifted painfully on the hard ground upon which she lay, 
wincing when she unsuccessfully tried to move her right arm.  
Using her left hand, she found that the glass had been removed 
and a makeshift bandage applied, but that she was still unable 
to move it.  She had to get past that for now.

Mentally, she replayed the events leading up to her 
predicament, breezing past what she already knew and 
concentrating on Dennis, that overgrown freak of nature 
towering over her that she had awakened to after the 
explosion.

She couldn't help but shudder as she remembered the truly 
intimidating size and bulk of the man.  She remembered him 
staring down at her and for a moment she felt like Fay Wray 
under the curious eye of King Kong.  At first she hadn't 
thought that he meant to hurt her, but when he had grabbed her 
injured arm with his huge paw, the pain had been too much, 
stealing her consciousness in the blink of an eye.  Even now, 
what happened next was foggy, and she had vague impressions of 
being held like a doll and being carried away.  Try as she 
might, she just couldn't remember leaving the bank, but she 
did come around when Dennis retrieved a brown bag from a 
parked van.

The throbbing in her arm kept distracting her as she struggled 
to recall what happened next.  Her eyes still closed, she 
shivered as the cold dampness of the floor seeped through her 
jeans and sweater.  Using her good hand, she touched the 
ground below her, finding it to be rock: moist, yet smooth as 
marble.  She was confused - rock?

Without warning a wave of nausea swept over her and she 
squeezed her eyes even tighter.  Weakly, she pulled herself to 
a sitting position hoping it would help, but worried by her 
weakness.  Before she could puzzle that one, she was assailed 
by another wave of nausea and dizziness.  Protecting her 
injured arm, she awkwardly leaned over, retching loudly, the 
sound reverberating and adding to her disorientation.

A cave?  Was she in a cave?  She paused to let her stomach 
settle and catch her breath. Then slowly, she opened her eyes, 
breathing quietly and shallowly, trying to keep the nausea at 
bay.

She couldn't help but cry out softly when she found herself 
confronted by darkness.  Not just any darkness.  Complete 
darkness.  Total.  There were no adjustments to be made by her 
eyes to this darkness.  This was a darkness the likes of which 
she'd never known before in her life.

It was as if she'd been buried alive and the mere thought of 
that caused icy fingers of panic to reach out for her, 
bringing with it a feeling of suffocation.  The darkness 
seemed to be a living thing, pulling at her from all sides and 
she found herself hyperventilating.  The dizziness returned 
quickly and she leaned back, unable to tell for sure if her 
eyes were open or closed.

It was several minutes more before she felt like she had 
regained control.  Finally she felt like she could function, 
but without a light source she realized that she had nowhere 
to go.  The wrong direction would take her deeper inside and 
away from any light.

She saw Dennis' face in her mind and the look of lower 
intelligence.  Surely he wouldn't have brought her too far 
inside, would he?  But which direction was out?  She sighed 
heavily, still feeling foggy, her mouth cotton-dry.  He was 
coming back - wasn't he?  Surely he hadn't brought her here 
just to leave her to die?  How long could she wait before 
having to explore the cave - blind?  Oh God - the thought of 
crawling around in total darkness completely unnerved her.

She licked her lips, trying to moisten them even the tiniest 
bit, but it was no use.  She frowned.  Something was wrong.  
She was forgetting something.  Something that happened after 
Dennis took her from the bank.

Okay, think - you woke up - he was getting something out of 
the van.  A bag - it was a brown paper bag.  Then what?  

Drugs!  

He had injected her!  He had said that he would help her pain 
and then he had stuck that needle in her leg, as she struggled 
ineffectively against him.

She moaned softly. She'd been drugged.  Well that explained a 
lot: her nausea, dizziness, dry mouth and weakness.  What had 
he injected her with?  How long had she been out?  How long 
had Dennis been gone?  And when would he be back?

Scully forced herself to stop and get a grip.  She berated 
herself harshly.  She was an FBI agent, not some helpless 
victim in a old B movie.  Mulder's face suddenly loomed in her 
mind.  She concentrated on his hazel eyes and sensual mouth, 
using the image to calm and soothe her.  He would find her.  
They always found each other, but she was determined to help 
him along.  She was not going to just sit here in the dark and 
wait.  She needed food, she needed water and she needed to get 
out of here right now.

And then she heard it. 

Someone was coming!  Scully held her breath as she tried to 
determine which direction the sound was coming from.  Less 
than a minute later, she saw the first faint light.  It was 
coming from a hole in the wall to her left and set low to the 
ground.  The light danced and wobbled as it moved slowly 
closer.  As welcome a sight as it was, Scully instinctively 
backed away, still cradling her right arm.  She blinked 
several times as the light gradually advanced and she was able 
to see that she was in a large cave.  The hole in the vertical 
wall seemed to be the opening to a tunnel and the only way 
out.  The cave grew brighter and she noted two sleeping bags 
and a stack of canned goods.  Oh God - was he living here?

She had no doubt that it was Dennis returning, but she 
couldn't tell yet if he was alone.  Her heart pounding 
painfully, she moved farther away from the opening just as 
Dennis' face appeared and he reached out to place the lantern 
as well a large, plastic bottle of water on the floor next to 
the opening.  Scully could see that it was a tight fit for him 
as he awkwardly pulled himself out of the tunnel.  Finally he 
was able to stand and she craned her neck upward, not 
surprised at all to see that his head grazed the ceiling.

Dennis looked down at her and Scully forced herself to meet 
his gaze, pushing past her fear.

"You're up," he said with a small smile, stepping forward.  "I 
brought some water."

"Thank you," Scully replied, neutrally.  "But I really must be 
going now."

Dennis' brow furrowed and he squatted down before her.  "But 
you're hurt," he said, pointing to her arm.

Scully looked down and noticed that the bandage was nearly 
soaked with blood.  "Yes, I know that I'm hurt.  That's why I 
have to go."

Dennis shook his head.  "I will take care of you."

Scully kept her voice calm with difficulty.  "You can't take 
care of me. I need a doctor."

"I'll take care of you," Dennis repeated stubbornly. "I can do 
it.  My brother takes care of me and he's not a doctor.  See?"  
He reached down behind a rock and pulled out the brown paper 
bag.

Scully's eyes widened in fear.  The drugs.  He had the drugs 
in here.

"When I hurt," Dennis went on, "Tommy takes care of me.  He 
loves me.  I will take care of you.  I love you."

Scully simply stared up at him, struck speechless in sheer 
horror.


Chapter 10

The State Park.  Mulder felt like that was where Dennis had 
taken Scully.  With his limited intelligence and resources, 
Mulder felt like he'd return to familiar territory.  "Where in 
the park?" was the $64,000 question though.  Sheriff Anderson 
had gathered all his available men, park rangers provided maps 
and extra manpower and the State Police were on the way.

Mulder spoke to the assembled officers with a calm authority 
he didn't feel.  Ignoring the lingering headache from the 
recent blast, he laid out search procedures, spoke of 
coordination and communication all the while displaying 
professional detachment.  Only Sheriff Anderson seemed to see 
through the faade.  He had only to look in Mulder's eyes.  
Hazel eyes that were frantic, haggard and distraught and 
showed quite clearly how hard it was to maintain outward calm.

"I know that you men don't normally deal with this kind of 
situation around here, but remember: if you find them - call 
me at once.  You are not to take him yourself unless it is 
clear that Agent Scully is in immediate danger. Report the 
location and make sure he stays there.  Understood?"  Mulder 
said firmly.

There were affirmative nods and murmurs all around.  There was 
no doubt in their minds that Dennis belonged to Mulder and to 
no one else.

After listening to the FBI agent, everyone filed out, eager to 
get to work.  Night was rapidly approaching but no one 
suggested waiting until morning.  Mulder had retrieved his 
large flashlight from the rental car and hurried out with the 
rest.  His shoulders sagged under the weight of the heavy 
cloak of despair and darkness that enveloped his heart and 
soul.  It was a darkness that no flashlight could ever hope to 
banish.

Mulder ignored the exhaustion, the fear and even the darkness.  
The need to find Scully - that was the only thing that he was 
aware of.  Find Scully - find the light.



Chapter 11

Scully lay huddled on the moldy sleeping bag, her thoughts 
disjointed but feeling no pain.  The lantern flickered causing 
shadows to dance upon the cave walls.  As she listened to 
Dennis sing softly to himself across from her, it was all she 
could do not to burst into tears.

"Burn baby burn - disco inferno - burn baby burn - disco 
inferno..." Over and over in the same off-key voice. Dennis 
obviously knew no other song, or even the rest of the words to 
the old seventies dance tune and the monotony played on 
Scully's already frazzled nerves.

He had injected her again.

In her already weakened state, unable to fight his massive 
strength with one arm (not that two would have been much more 
help) she had gritted her teeth against the pain as he had 
jabbed the needle firmly through her jeans, into the muscle of 
her right thigh.  Even as he had done it, he kept telling her 
in a childlike voice that he was helping her.  "I love you."

"You don't know me!" she hissed furiously, grabbing her thigh 
and struggling to crawl away from him.  She had passed out 
minutes later, Dennis' song "burn baby burn - disco inferno - 
burn baby burn..." fading to a distant buzz before 
disappearing entirely in a drug-induced fog.

Awake now, she glanced down at her watch, dismayed to find 
that the crystal was smashed.  (Mulder - ) she thought, (help 
me.  Please, I need you. I'm - I'm afraid. )  Tears filled her 
eyes at her mental admission - one that was so impossibly hard 
to make face to face - and she was unable to stop them. 
Quickly she brushed the hot tears away, praying that Dennis 
hadn't seen them and think that she needed to be "helped" by 
him and his drugs again.


Chapter 12

Scully blinked sleepily, realizing that she had drifted back 
to sleep.  She felt fuzzy and disoriented, not knowing what 
time it was and still under the influence of the drugs Dennis 
had injected into her.  Without moving her head, she was able 
to glance over at her captor. 

She was stunned to realize that he was fast asleep.  
Adrenaline surged through her veins as she dragged herself to 
a sitting position, biting back the moan that threatened to 
escape her lips as she jostled her injured arm.  An anxious 
glance down at the new bandage Dennis had tied while she was 
unconscious told her that the blood was old and there was no 
sign of active bleeding.

She looked around for something to use as a sling and finally 
settled on awkwardly tearing off a sleeve from her sweater 
then tying and looping it around her neck.  She paused to 
catch her breath, trying to get a handle on the shooting pains 
travelling up and down her arm into her neck and shoulder.  

She was frustrated by her inability to use the arm and deep 
down, that inability scared her.  She couldn't fight Dennis; 
she knew that.  It was painfully obvious.  She couldn't reason 
with him either; she was learning that, too.  She had to get 
away from him.  Through the tunnel.  She looked around for the 
tunnel entrance.  Where was it?  Why couldn't she see it?

Oh God.

Dennis' massive bulk was planted directly in front of the 
tunnel, blocking it almost completely.

Scully's heart sank.  Oh God - now what?  There was no way 
that she could physically move even an arm without waking him 
up.  She stared at the sleeping giant before her, almost 
willing him to change position - roll over - anything to allow 
her to slip through the opening.

She sat poised like a coiled spring, ready to jump at the 
first opportunity, her heart beating loudly in her ears.  
After ten minutes of fruitless waiting, she sank back; her 
body deflating like a balloon and the tension gave way as she 
fell against the rocky wall.

She wanted to scream, to cry out in frustration, to pound her 
fists against the wall or Dennis.  But a sudden sound from her 
captor stopped her cold.  Wide-eyed, she stared at Dennis as 
he shifted position, moving slightly away from the opening.  
Scully held her breath, mentally urging him to budge just a 
little bit more.  There was a possibility that she could get 
past him if he would just move a few inches farther.

Creeping slowly, with the stealth of a cat, she inched 
forward. Dennis moaned softly in his sleep and rolled over 
onto his back.  Scully crouched before him, frozen; waiting 
for him to awaken, her breath coming in short harsh gasps.

Dennis continued to sleep.

Forcing herself to keep calm, Scully reassessed the situation.  
Dennis lay stretched out before the tunnel entrance, but if 
she stepped over his legs, there was just enough room for her 
to place a foot down then slip into the hole.  It would work 
unless Dennis woke up.

Scully shook her head.  (Don't go there. Just get out of here 
- now. )

She grabbed the lantern and ever so carefully placed one foot 
on the ground between the wall and Dennis.  

She checked his face.  Nothing.

She struggled to keep her balance and stay quiet as she backed 
into the hole then placed the lantern behind her, into the 
tunnel.  

Again she looked at Dennis.  Still no movement.

So far, so good.  She shifted around to face away from the 
cave.  Now - how to get through the tunnel with one arm in a 
sling and carry the lantern and move quietly.  As roomy as the 
space was, it wasn't enough to allow her to stand.

She picked up the lantern and leaning forward, placed it ahead 
of her as far as she could.  Then carefully and noiselessly 
crawled, bearing her weight on her knees and uninjured arm.  
When she reached the light, she repeated the process.

Gravel rattled in the cave behind her.

The sweet taste of horror filled her mouth and she jerked her 
head around, already knowing what she'd see.

Dennis stared at her, his face seeming to fill the tunnel 
entrance; his eyes were fixed on Scully's, glassy and huge.

Scully screamed.  But the cry never crossed her lips as her 
breath stopped in her throat.  She scrambled backward, 
ignoring her arm, which was suddenly on fire.  Blood began to 
trickle down her forearm.  She saw Dennis shift and all at 
once his hand was reaching toward her.  She sucked in a quick 
harsh hiss of air. (Oh God! )

Panic spurred her on and she pushed herself backward, scooting 
on her backside and using her stronger leg muscles.  She 
managed to miss the lantern and now it was between her and 
Dennis.  And still he reached out to her - silently.

Then, without warning, Dennis' face contorted into a mask of 
sheer agony. He pulled his arm back and Scully watched in 
shock as he gripped his head with both hands and then 
shrieked.

Scully knew that she had never heard such an awful cry in her 
life.  The sound reverberated loudly in the cave, echoing back 
and forth, going on and on as he bent double.  Scully tried 
unsuccessfully to cover her ears and block out the unearthly 
screams.

Finally she broke out of her trance when Dennis stopped long 
enough to take another breath then yell again.  She had no 
idea what was wrong but she certainly had no intention of 
sticking around long enough to find out.

No longer worried about stealth, she grabbed the lantern and 
made her way ahead of the cries.  Sweat trickled down her 
forehead to sting her eyes.  Impatiently she swiped her sleeve 
across her face and kept moving.  She was panting heavily, the 
sound lost in Dennis' continued cries and she couldn't tell if 
he was coming after her or not.

At last, she paused to catch her breath and try to control her 
agonized gasps as her injured arm throbbed unmercilessly.  She 
forced herself to listen closely.  Yes - she had done it.  
Dennis was not following her.  His voice was getting hoarse 
and distant.  She glanced down at the lantern that had 
valiantly battled the darkness and she wondered briefly how 
much longer it would last.

Recovering her second wind, she again crawled forward, 
desperate to get out of this tunnel.  The thought of freedom 
allowing her to ignore her arm as she pictured Mulder waiting 
for her, calling out to her.  She thought she could even see 
him at the end, waiting to take her in his arms.

And then the light went out, plunging her back into the 
terrifying pitch blackness.


Chapter 13

When the light went out - Scully whimpered softly, her body 
frozen.  She knew that she had to go on - to escape the 
darkness and find the light.  But the darkness was so strong.  
In the absence of all light, its power was enormous.  Its need 
for more power drew it to her like a living thing, sapping her 
own depleted reserves, her strength, and her courage.  She 
felt helpless in this blackness as though she was encased in a 
forcefield of some kind.

She felt as though the tunnel was closing in on her, 
threatening and evil.  Terror was let in by the oppressive 
blackness and it took hold of her in its icy grip.  
Claustrophobia came next and Scully wept helplessly.  
Uncontrollable tremors wracked her body and she shivered and 
sobbed.

How much time passed, she could not say, but at last she felt 
like she had regained some modicum of control.  The feeling of 
being buried alive was still there, but the need to move, to 
get out and find the light was stronger now.

The first move was the hardest; thinking something was going 
to reach out and grab her from the darkness was very real.  
However once she got started, it became a little easier.  
Shortly, she could feel the tunnel widen and she was able to 
crouch tentatively, placing one foot down, securing her 
position, then creeping forward - "duck-like".

Her left hand felt bruised and raw as it scraped along, 
feeling her way and her leg muscles protested loudly at the 
unfamiliar movement.  Scully ignored the discomfort.  She had 
more important things to concentrate on.

The end of the tunnel came unexpectedly and Scully tumbled out 
with a cry that sounded rough and hoarse.  She fell just a 
couple of feet, landing on her left side to protect her right 
arm.  She moaned softly but was relieved that she wasn't hurt 
worse than a few more bruises.

She lay on her back, trying to gather her strength when 
something caught her eye.  With a surge of hope, she pulled 
herself up and stared hard.  Light.  Oh my God.  Just the 
tiniest pinprick of light, but to her desperately searching 
eyes, it was a beacon as bright as day.

Staggering to her feet, she took one joyous step when she 
thought that she heard a distant sound and paused, listening 
carefully.  The sound died and she took another step.

There it was again.  Definitely closer and louder.  She froze 
- her skin chilly and damp.

The sound began to have substance and when the cold, clammy 
skin brushed her face and mouth she instinctively threw 
herself to the ground.

It was the sharp claws tangling themselves in her hair that 
told her exactly what had made the sound and with a strangled 
cry of horror, she curled into a ball, trying to protect 
herself from the onslaught.  They were all over her, swarming 
over her with their furry bodies and beating at her with their 
clammy wings.  

Without a sound, she fainted.

When she awoke, she was filled with terror until she realized 
that the bats had gone.  For now.  She could still feel the 
nasty slime coating her face and body and the stench clogged 
her nostrils.  The thought of them returning made her wonder 
if she could keep her sanity and she trembled anew.

Once again, she understood that her only hope of survival was 
the tiny light up ahead.  Mulder would be in that light.  
Weakly, she pulled herself to a standing position and slowly 
but surely moved towards the light.  Stumbling and falling on 
the uneven floor of the cave, she never took her eyes off the 
light.  As she got closer, she could see that it was 
moonlight, washing the cave in a cool blue/gray.  

And then she heard it again.  Listening to the distant humming 
move closer, she knew that she could not take it another time.  
With an anguished scream, she threw herself towards the light, 
running with a strength she didn't know she possessed she ran, 
overwhelmed by a mindless panic.

She shot out of the cave, into the night and saw someone up 
ahead.  A thick curtain of fog hung in the air and autumn 
leaves of every color covered the mossy ground causing her to 
slip and slide, unable to gain her footing.  She wanted to 
tell them to look out for the bats but she couldn't stop 
screaming.

From: "Paul and Barbara Cox" ([email protected])


Title:  Left in the Dark
Author:  barb ([email protected])

For disclaimer and Summary - see part 1

Chapter 14

Sheriff Rodney Anderson stared in dumbfounded shock at the 
spectacle before him.  Thirty yards ahead of he and Ranger 
Pete Carson, a woman was stumbling from the side of the 
mountain and coming up behind her out of the fog, was a black 
cloud, pouring out into the night and taking off into the 
woods in a loud roar.  

The woman's screams put their feet in motion and they ran 
towards her, not knowing if it was Agent Scully or not, but 
knowing that whoever it was, needed help - now.

By the time they reached her, she was no longer screaming, but 
staring blankly up into the sky.  When she heard their 
arrival, she skittered back, obviously terrified and in shock.  
Anderson motioned Pete to stay put.  He took a cautious step 
towards the woman and stopped, shining his flashlight on her 
body, careful to avoid her face directly.  He winced as he 
took in the bloody, bandaged right arm hanging limply at her 
side, the torn tattered clothing and the scrapes and bruises 
covering her face, neck and hands.  Seeing that he wasn't 
moving closer to her, the woman turned her gaze back up to the 
sky.

Anderson realized that it was indeed Agent Scully.  "Pete," he 
hissed over his shoulder.  "Get Agent Mulder and the others 
here on the double and keep a sharp look out for Dennis."

Pete nodded.  He understood that the FBI agent had been 
through a horrendous ordeal and desperately needed someone 
familiar to help her now.

Anderson followed Scully's gaze and saw that she was focused 
on the nearly full moon, hanging above the lake.

"Agent Scully," he called softly.  "My name is Rodney. Rodney 
Anderson."

Scully ignored him.  (The light.  The beautiful light. )  She 
faced the light above her and stepped in that direction.  (The
light.  Get to the light. )  Mulder was waiting for her in the 
light.  Nothing else mattered.

Anderson tried again.  "Agent Scully.  It's all right now.  
You're safe."  Agent Scully's blank stare was beginning to 
scare him.  (Where the hell is Mulder? )  "Can you hear me 
Agent Scully?"

He was concerned, too, that she was walking towards the lake 
and he tried again to get her attention.  "Agent Scully - hey 
- stop.  It's okay now.  I'm not going to huurt you."  He 
matched her steps but didn't move closer, afraid that he'd 
spook her again.  (Jesus, Mulder, get over here, would you. )
"Agent Scully, let me help you, please."

Scully stopped dead in her tracks, as did Anderson.  Help her?  
(Oh, I don't think so. )  She bolted. 

Caught completely off guard, Anderson fell quickly behind.  
(What did I say? )  He saw that she was at the water's edge 
and he yelled frantically. 


Chapter 15

When Mulder got Pete Carson's call, he nearly jumped for joy, 
his heart overwhelmed with relief.  His search partner, Ranger 
James Packer, knew the area Pete described and promised to 
have Mulder there in minutes.

They were just about there when Pete reported that Agent 
Scully had taken off towards the lake.

"Stop her!" Mulder yelled uselessly at the radio.

"Anderson's gone after her, but she won't listen.  She's 
really out of it," Pete responded, continuing to look around 
for Dennis.

James didn't say a word as he pushed the Explorer at a 
breakneck speed to the lake.

When they arrived at the lakefront, Mulder leapt from the 
vehicle and searched desperately for his partner.  He spotted 
Anderson first, hearing his shouts and raced towards him, 
finally catching sight of Scully.  "Scully," he tried to 
scream, when he saw her in the lake, but his throat had closed 
and no sound passed in his panicky state.

She was in the water, ankle deep now and moving deeper. Her 
teeth began to chatter from the cold and she started to 
shiver.  She felt something lap at her feet and she looked 
down to see the foamy water.  But that was all right, because 
she was getting closer to the light and the light was good.  
Mulder would be there - waiting for her.  

A wave caught her at the knees and took her feet out from 
under her.

Disembodied hands reached for her and pulled her up before she 
could take a breath.  She started to struggle and then 
realized that it was Mulder.  Mulder was holding her tightly.  

She shook her head.  "Mulder?"

He simply stared at her, panting, his lungs burning, clutching 
her like a lifeline.  Anderson led them to shore.

"Mulder?"  Her voice was small.

"It's okay, Scully," he finally managed to get out.  "It's 
okay."

She nodded and closed her eyes.  Everything was all right now.

Mulder felt her body go limp as they got to the shore and he 
sank to his knees, checking for and finding a pulse.  (Thank 
you - thank you - thank you. )

He gripped her body close to his and waited for the ambulance 
as Anderson and Packer bundled them in their jackets.


Chapter 16

Ranger Carson gathered all search parties to concentrate their 
efforts and locate Dennis.  Anderson stayed with Mulder and 
Scully, awaiting the ambulance and watching them literally 
tore his heart apart.  

Mulder cradled his partner's body in his arms, brushing her 
hair back; horrified by the condition she was in.  "Scully," 
he whispered brokenly, "come on, Scully.  Wake up."

Anderson knelt down beside them.  "She's been through a lot," 
he said gently.

"When I get my hands on that son of a bitch - " Mulder 
muttered angrily.

"It wasn't all Dennis," the sheriff said reluctantly.

Mulder jerked his head up.  "What are you talking about?"

"When Carson and I arrived, she was running away from the 
mountain over there and behind her was a swarm of bats," he 
admitted, shuddering at the memory and still able to hear 
Scully's shrill screams ringing loudly in the night.

Mulder was aghast.  "Bats!"  He looked down at Scully, taking 
in the scratches on her face, neck and hands.  The water had 
managed to wash away the slime the creatures had left on her.

Anderson continued.  "One of the guys radioed in that they 
found a cave.  They think that's where she ran from.  They're 
sending teams in to search but no sign of Dennis yet.

Mulder couldn't even begin to imagine the horror of it all.  
The thought of those furry rodents swarming her defenseless 
body made him physically ill.  He pulled her closer, mindful 
of her injured arm.  (Please Scully.  Please.  You're going to 
be okay.  It's all over now. )

Anderson looked up to see the ambulance arriving and breathed 
a sigh of relief as he directed the vehicle over.  Mulder 
reluctantly allowed the sheriff to pull him back while the 
paramedics worked on his partner.  Quickly and efficiently 
they splinted her right arm, started an IV and placed her on 
their monitors.  Minutes later they were loaded in the 
ambulance and racing to the hospital.  Mulder remained at 
Scully's side, holding her hand as much to comfort her as him.  
He hoped that some part of her was aware that she was safe now 
and that he was there with her.  He tried to infuse some 
warmth into her chilled body and tucked the blankets firmly 
around her.

He had watched Anderson step away from the ambulance and head 
off to join the search parties.  As much as he wanted to go 
after Dennis, he couldn't.  He couldn't leave Scully now.  Now 
when she'd need him most.  And he needed her.  The dark cloud 
he'd been living under had let a single ray of light through 
but it wasn't enough.  He didn't feel safe yet.

He braced himself for the usual ER visit.  Bitterly he 
reviewed their usual routine.  They'd receive the patient, 
throw him out to register and cool his jets in the waiting 
room, waiting forever for anyone to let him know what the hell 
was going on.  He ground his teeth.  Times like this that he 
wished that he had a medical degree instead of a badge so that 
he could be there at her side. The way he knew Scully had been 
at his.  He glanced down at her.  She hadn't moved a muscle 
since collapsing in his arms earlier.  Her breathing seemed 
regular if a bit fast and he slipped a finger over the pulse 
point at her wrist.  It was hard to detect because of the 
shock and hypothermia, but the paramedic didn't seem overly 
concerned.

When they arrived at the hospital, Scully was taken 
immediately to a trauma room and to Mulder's utter shock, he 
was brought in with her. The doctor on duty, Jason Murray, 
shook his hand.  

"Agent Mulder, I'm Dr. Murray.  Is there anything that I need 
to know about Agent Scully's medical history?"

Mulder gaped at him a moment before he could get his mouth to 
work.  "Uh - yeah."  (Wow - this was a switch. )  He glanced 
over Dr. Murray's shoulder to see two nurses getting Scully 
set up, putting her on their monitors, drawing blood, and 
calling for x-rays.  Mulder quickly gave a brief synopsis of 
the information that Scully had told him to give if she was 
ever unable to supply it herself, including blood type, 
allergies, surgeries and of course, the cancer.

"Very good, Agent Mulder.  Sheriff Anderson called in and gave 
us a heads up on the situation.  Now I want you to give Rachel 
at the front desk some quick registration information and then 
she's going to take you to the doctor's lounge to shower and 
get out of those wet clothes."

"No - I'm fine," Mulder protested.

"I insist," Dr. Murray said kindly, but firmly.  "As soon as 
you're done, she'll get you back in here and I should have 
some results for you.  Now get going and let me get to work."  
He patted Mulder's shoulder then turned to his patient, 
calling for preliminary results and examining the injuries.

Mulder heaved a tortured sigh and with one final glance back 
at his unconscious partner, stepped out to find Rachel.  

Later, pulling on the scrubs that Rachel had left for him, he 
had to admit that he felt a little better after the hot shower 
and clean dry clothes.  Rachel met him at the desk and 
supervised as he choked down a sandwich and coffee she had 
brought for him.  "You're not going to do yourself any favors 
if you're dead on your feet," she admonished in a motherly 
tone of voice.

(Whatever, ) Mulder thought, resigned to his fate and chewing 
quickly.  He just wanted to get back to Scully.

Dr. Murray met him outside the exam room.  "Agent Mulder, I've 
got some news for you."

Mulder stood stock still, steeling himself for the worst.

"The right arm is not broken, but the tendons and muscle were 
lacerated severely and I've called in our best surgeon to fix 
her up.  When I described our findings, he was confident he 
could repair the damage and that she'd be as good as new.  
There were no signs of any bites from the bats, I'm happy to 
say but there were two injection marks on her thighs.  The 
drug screen shows a variety of narcotics as well as LSD."

Mulder was livid.  "He injected her!"  (I'll kill him!  So 
help me I'm going to kill him! ) he thought, his hands 
clenched in pure rage, his eyes blazing with fire.

"Agent Mulder, please.  She's going to be all right," Dr. 
Murray hastened to reassure him.  "The drugs will be 
metabolized and there won't be any long term affects from the 
amount she received.  We should be most thankful that with her 
small size that she wasn't overdosed.  Now, why don't you come 
see her while they're prepping for surgery.  Doc Gibson should 
be here in ten minutes or so."  He guided Mulder in.

Feeling totally helpless, Mulder stood at Scully's side.  He 
took a deep breath, trying to release the rage that threatened 
to consume him and banish the visions of the seven and a half-
foot monster terrorizing his petite partner.  

A hand touched his arm.  "Agent Mulder?"

Mulder tore his eyes away from Scully's face to see a nurse at 
his side.

"Agent Mulder, it's time for us to go to the operating room 
now."

Mulder just stared at her.  (You can't take her away - I just 
got her back. )

The nurse smiled understandingly and stepped back, pulling 
Mulder with her as two techs wheeled Scully out of the room.  
Mulder stared after her.  (She's going to be okay. Right? 
She's going to be okay? )


Chapter 17

Sheriff Rodney Anderson found Mulder sound asleep, sitting 
next to Scully's bed, his head propped on it, holding her left 
hand.  The room was dark, so he left the door open, using the 
light from the hall to see.  He stepped closer, noting that 
Agent Scully's right arm was heavily bandaged and that the 
other cuts and scratches had been cleaned and dressed with 
gauze.  He said a quick prayer of thanks, then reluctantly 
woke Mulder.

The agent had been sleeping lightly and awoke instantly at the 
touch on his shoulder, tense and wide-eyed.  He relaxed 
visibly when he saw who it was and cast a quick glance at 
Scully to see if he'd woke her up.  He hadn't and he looked 
inquiringly over at Anderson.  The sheriff stepped to the door 
and silently indicated that Mulder should follow.  

Mulder nodded and rose, stretching to relieve the kinks in his 
stiff, sore muscles before joining Anderson in the hall.

"They found Dennis," Anderson said in a low voice, after 
closing the door to Scully's room. "He's dead."

"How?" Mulder asked in surprise.

"He was dead when we found him." Anderson replied.  "There 
wasn't a mark on him.  The doc thinks that based on Dennis' 
medical history that it was probably the brain cancer.  
Especially considering the lack of medical treatment that he'd 
received.  That six-month estimate was probably factoring in 
chemo or something.

Mulder nodded, taking it all in.

"Anyway, they're having a hell of a time getting him out of 
that cave he kept Agent Scully in, which is at the end of a 
twenty-yard tunnel.  I just thought that you should know."  

Mulder closed his eyes.  (Oh God, Scully. )

Anderson shuffled his feet nervously.  "So, uh- how is she?"

Mulder looked gratefully at the man who had done so much to 
find Scully.  "She's going to be all right.  She's still 
sleeping.  She just got out of recovery," he glanced down at 
his watch, "an hour ago."

Anderson bobbed his head.  "Glad to hear it.  I can't begin to 
tell you how sorry I am that you two got mixed up in all 
this."

Mulder waved him off, but Anderson would have none of it. "No.  
I mean it.  No one should have to go through what you did.  
There's no way any of us could make that up to you, but for 
what its worth - I want to thank you for helping me with that 
hostage situation.  And don't tell me it was just because your 
partner was in there.  I don't know you very well, but I'd 
like to think that I know you better than that."

Mulder smiled weakly.  "Thank you, Sheriff."

"Yeah, well, you just take care of your partner.  I've got one 
of my deputies bringing your things in and I'll be turning in 
your rental car.  Dave King, retired Navy Pilot and farmer 
now, has his own Cessna and will fly you both to Minneapolis 
as soon as you're ready."  Anderson said.

"You really didn't have to go to all this trouble, Sheriff, 
but thank you again."  Mulder said in awe.

Anderson looked him square in the eye.  "It was no trouble. 
Got it?"

Mulder got the message and grinned. "Got it."

With a final shake of hands, Anderson headed out and Mulder 
took up his familiar place at Scully's side.  He soon drifted 
back to sleep.


Chapter 18

"Mulder!"

Mulder jerked violently in his chair at Scully's cry of alarm, 
lifting his head up to find that she had somehow pulled 
herself to a sitting position.  In the dim light he could see 
that her eyes were wide and her breathing sounded harsh and 
loud in the otherwise quiet room.  Her left hand reached out 
to him and he immediately took it and sat down next to her on 
the bed.

"I'm here, Scully, it's all right."  Mindful of her IV and 
monitoring cables, he carefully wrapped his arms around her 
and pulled her close.  Silently, she snuggled into the 
embrace, trembling slightly and Mulder stroked her back, 
reassuring her in a low voice as he felt her heart beat 
rapidly against his chest and his own racing heart.

"It's dark," she said, not quite whimpering.

Without releasing his hold, Mulder reached for the call button 
and pushed the button to switch on the television, turning the 
volume all the way down.

After several minutes, he felt her relax and gently eased her 
back down, smoothing her damp hair away from her face.  
"Better?" he asked softly, as the glow from the silent TV lit 
up the room.

Scully nodded once, unable to meet his eyes.  Mulder cupped 
her cheek, stroking it tenderly with his thumb.  (No tears, ) 
he realized, wondering if that was a good thing or not at this 
point.

"It's over," he whispered, "You're safe now."

Scully nodded again.  "I know."  Her eyes remained downcast.

"He's dead, Scully," Mulder told her, "Dennis is dead.  He 
can't hurt you."  (Unless you count the nightmares and 
memories, ) he thought in despair.

Scully gasped at the news, looking at him at last, searching 
his face, verifying that what he told her was true. 

"Did you - ?" 

"I didn't touch him, Scully," Mulder said with a ghost of an 
icy cold smile.  "Of course, that's not to say I didn't want 
to after what he did to you."

A single tear slipped down her cheek and Mulder caught it and 
brushed it away.  "Don't say that, Mulder," Scully said 
tremulously, "Don't."

"Scully, he could have killed you," Mulder stated, the thought 
making his heart clench painfully in his chest.

"He didn't though.  And he didn't want to.  He didn't know any 
better.  He - he said he wanted - wanted to help me.  That he 
- he l-l-loved me," she stumbled over the woords and the 
feelings of terror they brought.  Her voice dissolved as the 
tears filled her eyes and spilled over.

"Oh, Scully," Mulder enveloped her in his arms again, crying 
his own silent tears as his partner sobbed helplessly, her 
good arm clutching him like a lifeline, releasing the fear and 
terror.  She was thankful beyond belief that he was here, 
holding her in his arms.

At last, the storm passed and a small sigh escaped her lips.  
Mulder helped her lay back, searching her face carefully; 
pale, exhausted but calmer now.  Drained, she closed her eyes, 
trying to gather her thoughts.

Mulder waited patiently as she found her inner core of 
strength, not realizing how he fueled much of that core.  
"Would you like some water?"

"That would be wonderful," she murmured gratefully.

He hurried out to the nurses' station and returned to find her 
staring blankly at the television.

"Have you ever been to Disney World?"  She asked quietly.

"What?"  Mulder looked up to see a commercial for the 
amusement park, a small child wearing Mickey Mouse ears, 
holding his parents hands.  "Oh, uh - no.  We never made it 
down there."

Scully nodded absently.  "Me either."

Mulder wondered if this was heading somewhere as he assisted 
her to a position to drink the water he had brought.

"Thanks," she said after draining the glass dry.

He sat down and waited patiently for her to take the lead.  
She watched the television for several more minutes, not 
really seeing what was on, before speaking again.

"I never used to be afraid of the dark, you know." Scully 
admitted painfully, unable to look at him, surprising herself 
by telling him.

Mulder winced. "I know what you mean," he admitted ruefully.

Scully looked at him in surprise.  "Do you?"

"Yeah, I do."  He thought of the darkness that threatened to 
overwhelm him when she was gone and shuddered.

Scully studied his face and reached out her hand.  He took it 
in both of his, reveling in the feel of her soft skin.  He 
realized that she knew exactly what he was thinking.  As 
usual.

"I love you," she said softly.

Mulder stared at her.  "I love you too, Scully," he finally 
managed to get out.  "You're the light of my life."

Scully's smile lit up the room.  "And you are mine."


Author's Notes:  This was called a solo elemental, put 
together using elements supplied by the Haven Writing Group.  
Each author had to use the same elements, but the story could 
be whatever style the author wanted.

Required elements: William Shatner, Blair Witch Project, a man 
in his eighties, Frosted Flakes, elementary school, Disney 
World, farm - pumpkin patch, song - "Disco Inferno", an 
electric fan, Holly (character in Pusher)

I tried to make them a part of the story w/o "standing out".