An Unchanged Soul Chapter Three Disclaimer, etc. in Headers So much for her promise, Emma thought as she flitted from one bed to another in the crowded Emergency Room. Dana and Mulder hadn't been gone for fifteen minutes when Harry burst into Sam's room, out of breath. Thank goodness he hadn't woken the sleeping man, who had calmed down enough to fall into an easy sleep. With Harry's news of an apartment fire just two blocks away, Emma knew they'd be swamped with injuries. Giving the lovely Sam a wistful last look, she pointed the lamp to the wall to mute the light and followed Harry to where Dr. Belden waited. Most of the victims now packing the ER suffered from smoke inhalation, but the frantic children and unnerved parents needed more than the hospital staff's physical care. For the next several hours she handed out juice, substituted hospital blankets for the security blankets lost in the fire, played peek-a-boo when her nursing skills weren't needed, and rubbed at her aching back. Dawn was breaking through the hospital doors when she looked up to see Mulder striding through them, a hesitant smile on his face. Suddenly, she remembered his brother, who she hadn't checked on in at least an hour. Letting the child in her arms slide down to its mother, she faced him with a regretful smile. "Mulder, I'm sorry. I haven't had time to -" He waved a dismissing hand. "I heard about the fire on the radio. No problem. He's doing okay?" She sighed inwardly with relief. Not that she expected Mulder to chastise her for relaxing her guard over Sam, but a promise was a promise. "Last time I checked, sleeping like a baby. We still need to x-ray his collarbone, you know." Mulder stripped off his gloves, stuffing them into his coat pockets. "Is it okay if we come back for that tomorrow? I mean, if he's well enough to come home with me, I'd like to get him out of here." His tone, the way he shifted his gaze around the crowded ER, spoke of his uneasiness with leaving his brother there another day. "If you'd rather wait until Monday for the x-rays, I'll be here. My shift starts at three." "That would be great. Give him a bit of breathing room over the weekend." Emma nodded. There was no reason Sam had to stay another day or come back tomorrow if it wasn't urgent; when Doctor Belden checked on him in one of the few moments of calm, he'd pronounced him fit, shaking his head at the wonder of Sam's good health. In fact, he'd already signed the discharge papers, Emma having told him Sam had family coming by to take him home. "All you have to do is get him dressed. You did bring clothes, didn't you?" He glanced around him like he expected a suitcase to materialize in his hand. "Damn. Forgot 'em in the car. They might be a bit short, but they'll do. Can you wake him up while I get his bag?" "Sure." "Are you sure he's okay to leave?" Mulder shifted from one foot to the other, looking for last-minute approval. Emma understood his hesitation; despite Sam's fitness, there was something fragile about him, as if he teetered on the edge of disappearing again. She couldn't blame Mulder for wanting to cover all the bases when it came to a treasured sibling. "I'm off today, but I can pass by your place this evening to check on him." She wasn't sure Mulder trusted anyone, but he seemed satisfied with her offer, giving her a grin. Even more disconcerting was her own motivation for the last offer she'd made; the words had come out of her before she could stop them. She hoped she didn't sound too eager. Hell, she *wasn't* eager. She was just being a conscientious caregiver, that was all. Combined with lingering guilt over not being by Sam's side all night, it was natural she'd want to do all she could for them both. Thankfully, Mulder didn't seem to notice her sudden avoidance of his eyes. "You've been here all night long - you sure you feel up to giving Sam a look-see tonight? I mean, I can get Dana to -" "Dana has no business looking after a patient," she interrupted tersely, more so to cover her own embarrassment. "I'm tired, but I'm going straight to bed when I get home." And having to put in extra time at her father's pub these days was wearing her thin. "In fact, I should have left a half hour ago. Morning shift is on already." She knew why she hadn't left; Mulder knew as well, and reached up to touch her slumping shoulder. "Thanks, Emma. Sorry for all the trouble." "Trouble?" She laughed, walking away to fetch her purse and coat. "Mulder, that was the most exciting Thanksgiving I've had in years." He walked past her, a spring in his step as he trotted toward the exit like a kid going to the candy store. "I'll see what we can do for Christmas, okay? He winked, almost beaming with happiness. "Mulder?" she called after him, shrugging into her coat. He paused, half over the threshold. "Yeah?" "All I want for Christmas is a new, healthy little cousin. That's not too much to ask, is it?" Though her request was playful, her tone also told him to tread lightly with this "brother" thing while Dana was in the final weeks of pregnancy. "Point taken, Emma," he replied, sobering a bit with a nod. "You don't have to worry about Dana. There are too many Scullys waiting for the chance to beat the crap outta me if I let her down in any way." "And I'll be first in line." She smiled, waving him away. "Don't I know it," he threw over his shoulder, letting in cold air as he hurried to his car. Coat on at last, she pulled the pins keeping her white cap in place, sighing at the removal of the prickly things. Stuffing the cap into her black purse, she asked Maria, the day shift desk supervisor, to keep an eye on it while she woke Sam. Maria took it from Emma and stuffed it under the counter, never pausing in her perusal of the morning's caseload. "You mean the cutie in 23?" she asked, her broad olive face cracking into a knowing grin as she glanced up from the clipboard. Off Emma's nod, she added, "Single?" "I think so." Dana hadn't said anything about Sam being married, or even having a girlfriend. Surely if he were attached in any way, they'd have called the woman in question. Maria tilted her head to the door. "How about the brother?" "That one I know for sure. Definitely taken." Before she could take two steps, she turned with questioning eyes, Maria's overt curiosity sinking in at last. "Besides, why do *you* want to know? Aren't you forgetting someone?" Maria lifted the pen from the clipboard with flair, returning Emma's look with the wide eyes of the deviously innocent. "I'd never look at another man besides my Johnny and you know that, Emma. I meant for *you*." She should have saved her breath the last sixty seconds; if she hadn't been so tired, she would have caught on to Maria's plan from the moment the other woman began speaking. "Don't be silly. I'm perfectly satisfied the way I am." Single. Working. Keeping her father's household in order. Lonely. "But I understand he dropped right into your lap, cara -" "He didn't *drop* into my lap, Maria. He was hit by a car in front of the hospital." "And he was naked as a jaybird, smiling up at you like you were his own personal angel of mercy." Maria's face relaxed into a knowing grin, as she crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Which I suppose you were. Can't say I figured you for an angel, Emma - too much temper in that red hair. But you never know. My mama always said angels walked among us." Harry and Jack, had to be. Those two could never keep anything to themselves. And Maria, ten times more Catholic than anyone Emma had ever known, was always ready to latch on to the spiritual. She came by it honestly, having been raised in an Italian family who swore to lineage dating back to Pietro Bernadone, the father of St. Francis of Assisi. Of course, however distant her relation to the patron saint and steadfast her attendance to morning mass, Maria had a romantic streak a mile wide. One of these days Emma fully expected Maria to claim kinship with St. Valentine; goodness knew the woman made an art of matchmaking. "Now I suppose you'll be telling me it's divine intervention I just happened to be on duty last night," Emma drawled. "The Lord works in mysterious ways." "I'm not listening." Her singsong answer had never worked before with Maria, and she doubted it would now. However, she *could* do what she'd always done - ignore it while not really ignoring it. Emma began to walk away, Maria's voice following her down the hall. "God gave that man to you, Emma. That means you can't throw him back. He's yours!" Emma sighed as she turned the corner. If only that were true. ********** Considering he'd been hit by a car the night before, he looked pretty good. Better than good, she admitted to herself, watching him pace by the window in the morning sunshine. Even clad in the flimsy cotton robe the hospital had provided, he made an impressive figure. Fox was easily in the range of six feet tall or more; compared to her stocky Irish brothers, he was a giant. Sam, on the other hand, dwarfed them all. His shoulders were broad, his hands curled into fists that could probably kill her with one blow. Long, hairy legs peeked out from beneath the robe and she felt her mouth suddenly go dry. Reminding herself she'd seen it all the night before, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Keep it professional, she told herself. Starting with a very concerned comment. Swinging the door wide, she pasted a smile on her face, eyeing his bare feet with a chiding, "You know, we do provide slippers." She felt the wind knock out of her when he turned. Last night, she'd faced an unconscious man. A handsome one, to be sure. Still, nothing could have prepared her for the jolt of seeing him smile. Of watching him walk forward on those bare feet and feeling him take her in his arms. "You're here," he whispered into her hair. Gracious. Now she *really* couldn't breathe. And it wasn't because of his hold. Loose but secure, he burrowed into her small stature in a way that made her feel like a bird held by a bear. She let herself linger a bit, her hands trapped over his heartbeat. He smelled faintly of antiseptic, but mostly he carried the warm scent of masculinity. A fluttering took up residence low in her belly and she almost purred into his breastbone; with her clunky white flats, that was the extent of her height matched against his. She'd never felt so helpless in her life. And so consumed by another person. Oh, it was heavenly. And she never wanted it to stop. But it had to; Mulder would come through the door any second. What a way to blow his confidence in her abilities as his brother's nurse! "Uh... Sam?" She pushed at his chest feebly, but he didn't budge. "I can't believe it," he murmured, his hands running over her back as if to memorize her form. "It's you. I thought I'd made you up last night." "You weren't dreaming," she replied, finally getting him to move back enough so she could look into his face. "That's a side effect of the sedatives. I was here last night. I'm still here. But your -" He interrupted her before she could tell him of Mulder's arrival. "Your name." His eyes, though hazel like his brother's, pierced her with a vivid array of darker hues, sweeping over her face with an intensity that was nearly frightening. "What?" She gulped, unable to look away from his scrutiny. "Tell me your name. I can't keep calling you Red, now can I?" Once again, his brilliant smile burst forth, rivaling the rays of sunlight haloing his head. You can call me anything you want, her mind swooned, her betraying body clutching at his. Good Lord, this had to stop and quickly! "Mr. Mulder, I think -" "Sam. Samuel Mulder. Surely Fox told you my name?" "He did." Forcing herself to move, she released his arms and took a step back, feeling him reluctantly let her go. There. That was better. "I'm here to make sure you signed your release papers. Maria should have brought them to you early this morning." "Tall Italian girl with the big -" "That's her." Emma cut him off, grabbing the hands that presented themselves before his chest in a demonstration of Maria's most prominent assets. In a flash, he turned the tables, enclosing her hands in his with a grin. "Sorry. Sometimes I forget I'm not in a locker room or a barracks." Squeezing them with purpose, he attacked once more, pulling her closer. "You never did tell me your name." "Emma." The voice, so like his brother's, penetrated the fog in Emma's brain. Trying her best to keep from blushing, she pulled away from Sam's grip and stuffed her hands in her pockets, facing the door. And a very amused Mulder. "Good. You're back. Guess I can be off now." "Damn it, wait!" Frustration edging his voice, she heard Sam follow. Just as she sidestepped Mulder, who obviously thought the whole scene fascinating, she was brought up short by a firm hand. "Even though he's woefully underdressed for the occasion, I think introductions are in order." Mulder gently turned her around to face a relieved Sam. "Emma, this is my brother Sam, who's apparently forgotten his good manners. Sam, Emma Scully. She's the one who found you last night." "Emma." *Again* with the smile. If she made it out of the hospital without melting at his feet in an absurd rush of girlish adoration, she'd be lucky. An abundance of Scully nerve forced up her chin. "Nice to meet you." "Likewise." Those warm, dark eyes swept her from head to toe and back. Damn if he hadn't looked at her like *she* was the one in a flimsy gown! Indignant heat finally brought her tamped-down blush to bear, as well as the curl to her tongue learned from her parents over the years in their house. "Tis a shameful man you are, Samuel Mulder! Would ya mind puttin' those eyes back where they belong?" "Now you've done it," muttered Mulder, who'd lost his smirk at her risen Irish. "C'mon, doll... I didn't mean any -" "*Doll*? I'm no *doll*, ya mule-headed -" "Sam, Emma's the nurse who was on duty last night," Mulder broke in. "As well as... a part of the family," he finished lamely, giving Emma a pleading look. Her fury died a quick death. Mulder only wanted to get Sam home, she knew. He had so much to tell him, if indications proved accurate and his brother had indeed been missing for years. The news would be a mix of good and bad, definitely not something they should discuss in a barren hospital room. It was time to make her exit and leave the two of them to their family business. She nodded at Mulder, defiantly avoiding Sam's attempts at catching her eye. "Dad's waiting for me, I'm sure. I'll see you later," she directed at Mulder. But Sam wasn't so easily put off. "A part of the family?" Quickly, he searched out her left hand, which she stubbornly refused to remove from her pocket. Bad news to come his way or not, she wasn't giving him such instant satisfaction. "Don't tell me you got married, Fox." In answer, Mulder shoved the bag at Sam's chest, who looked like he just had a punch to the gut. "Emma isn't my wife, you big dope. Now get dressed so we can go home." The man had lost his paleness in a heartbeat, giving Emma another dazzling grin. "That's the best news I've heard all day." His look said he wasn't speaking of the trip home. Giving Emma a gentle shove to the door, Mulder murmured, "The day is young." As he escorted Emma from the room he said in a louder voice, "Get dressed, Sam. I'll be waiting out in the hall." "See ya later, doll," Sam called out around the closing door. She closed her eyes and counted three before facing a sheepish Mulder. "Sorry about that, Emma," he said softly. "Sam's always been a charmer with the ladies." Remembering the enveloping hold he'd had on her moments before, she replied with a roll of her eyes, "A charmer? More like the snake." At that, Mulder laughed. "If I promise he won't 'rub chests' with you again, will you still come check on him this afternoon?" She'd thought she couldn't get any redder. Obviously, she was wrong. "You saw that?" she whispered, imagining she was now just one step above a barroom hussy in Mulder's estimation. "The door was wide open," he admitted, lowering his voice to match hers as he leaned in. "Don't worry. I won't tell a soul." Emma buttoned up her coat, angry at herself for what she'd let Sam do. "Just Dana, right? God save me, she's worse than Maria!" Turning, she stalked down the hall, leaving Mulder laughing behind her. Just last night she lamented her loneliness. So what did God do? Drop a man right into her hospital ward, according to St. Maria of the Emergency Room. One who was her cousin's brother-in-law. One who couldn't remember anything after being shot over two years ago. One who would most likely have a hard time getting a job and would no doubt mooch off his brother. One who was too damn good-looking for his own good. And one who intrigued her to no end. ********** It felt good to put on clothes. Being found naked on a cold street wasn't exactly something you could hold your head up about, and the hospital gown was barely a step up from that embarrassing state. He'd always rolled with the punches, but this one was a doozy, knocking him flat on his back. Why the hell was he in Annapolis? Last thing he remembered was landing in Los Banos. Then nothing. And to wake up with the same beautiful face before him, albeit in a hospital halfway around the world... very confusing. From the bits and pieces he was able to put together - and from the looks of his much older brother - he'd been missing a long time. Years, perhaps. The thought staggered him and he clutched at the bed rail for support. He wasn't used to being so... helpless. He was a man, damn it. Men weren't supposed to lose control of their lives that way. "You aren't a man." Sam whipped around at the whispering voice, searching the room for the intruder. All he saw were dust motes shimmering in the sunshine. After a few seconds, he shrugged off the eerie feeling, discounting the experience as leftovers of a bad night. Hell, a bad year or two, if indications were correct. He had a right to feel as if the unknown hovered over his shoulders. "Sam?" Blinking, he swallowed and faced the new voice. This one thankfully belonged to a familiar face. "Smokey!" As if they already hadn't had an emotional reunion last night and a brief hello just minutes ago, Sam grabbed Fox in a hug. The chills associated with the few moments before Fox's return to his room quickly evaporated. "Slammin'Sammy!" Fox laughed, returning the hug. The use of their childhood nicknames made Sam's chest tighten uncomfortably, and he pulled away to slip on his jacket. Fox had always been better able to deal with adversity of any kind and this was no exception. Sam felt disjointed, one moment beaming with happiness and the next, feeling as if his world was falling apart. He hated it. Keeping his head down, he tried to avoid Fox's keen eye. "What - no tie? You want me to face Mom without a tie?" "Sam, I know you're having trouble remembering and it's okay -" It wasn't okay, but Fox couldn't see that. He wasn't the one with Swiss cheese for a brain. "What the hell day is it, anyway?" "The day after Thanksgiving. November 28." "Shit," Sam breathed, feeling another anvil of bad news whistle down from above. They'd taken Los Banos in February, near as he could remember. "I've been gone *nine* months?" Fox hesitated. Sam had grown up watching his brother handle the parents; the way he bit his lip as if about to confess to the frog in the lemonade didn't bode well for what was to come. "1947, Sam. It's November 28, 1947." Sam's legs wilted and he sat on the bed, avoiding Fox's helping hand and soft, "You okay?" "I'm okay." It was a ghost of a reply, but he thought he handled it well. He dug his shoes and socks from the bag in a jerky effort to cover up his astonishment. He hadn't been home in over five years. Hadn't seen his family since his last leave in Christmas of '43... couldn't recall anything past February of '45. Jesus. No wonder Fox looked so old. He wondered if he himself looked every bit of his now thirty-two years. He was afraid to look in the bathroom mirror, dreading what he'd find. "Look, Sam, let's just get you out of here. We can talk on the way home." With stiff fingers, Sam finished tying his shoe. He couldn't argue with that. The white walls of the hospital were closing in fast. "Just where is home, by the way?" "Outskirts of Annapolis - I commute to DC for work. Nice place, lots of room." "Why can't I go to Mom and Dad's in Georgetown? Where are they, anyway?" Fox picked up the empty bag with a sigh. "C'mon Sam. We gotta go." Everything had changed. From the look on his brother's face, Sam could tell the news about his parents wasn't good. Fox had aged considerably in the time he'd been gone, as if he had lived two lifetimes. The city beyond Sam's hospital window looked normal, but the cars and bustling crowds were different somehow. Faster, louder, more pressing. Even the clothes he wore didn't fit, inches too short in the sleeves and trouser legs. Seemed the only thing unchanged was he himself. And then, only physically. He had no idea when his mind would suddenly jump up and bite him on the ass. He'd lost years. Time and friends and family... he pushed down the sudden onslaught of tears and faced his future. "Show me the way," he told Fox, walking behind his brother. To the future of a man without a past. End Chapter Three