TITLE: Base
AUTHOR: Sarah Stella
DISTRIBUTION: Most anywhere is fine! Gossamer, Ephemeral, etc. of course. 
Anywhere else drop me a line, I don't bite.
CLASSIFICATION: S, UST/MSR-ish
RATING: PG? (I'm bad with these things, a little violence)
SPOILERS: Not really, 7th season time frame though.
SUMMARY: "Everything was base to her. Everywhere she looked. That was her 
main problem with tag." --Fox Mulder on Samantha
DISCLAIMER: hahahahahahahahahaha. Ahem. Um, they aren't mine and if you 
don't know that by now that's your own issue.
FEEDBACK: Lovingly embraced! at [email protected] or come visit my 
brand, spankin' new website (shameless plug) at: 
www.chickpages.com/fanland/wendydarling1
********

Base

I remember neighborhood games of tag on the Vineyard. Sam and I always 
managed to squeeze them into our pickup baseball game playing, baloney 
sandwich eating, firefly catching, creek walking, stone skipping schedule. 
After so much time it's hard to remember childhood as anything but idyllic. 
Of course it wasn't, some of it was terrible and that's the best part of 
memory that it can eventually erase most of the bad patches. Like it was 
some sort of picky gourmet; only the choicest morsels remain.

As with most everything that happened in those salt-scented summers, the tag 
was impromptu. Something about being around the ocean made it impossible to 
plan things in any sort of structured way. We'd wake up in the morning, Sam 
and I, when the sun had risen high enough to crash against our window and 
slink in through the shade. Our days started sweaty in the concentrated 
glare of sunlight that seemed pale and cool even at the height of August.

We hurried into our suits and I had the advantage. Sam's bathing suit was a 
bright arrangement of pink and yellow stripes with a line of three yellow 
bows down the back. In her haste to beat me outdoors those bows were always 
getting twisted.

Sometimes I tried to help her. "Here," I'd say, "let me straighten your 
suit."

Then she'd smack my hand away, her nose scrunching. "I can do it myself, 
Fox! I'm not a baby."

On days when I was too tired to tease her I'd leave it at that, but more 
often than not I'd reply, "Oh yeah?" and casually pick up one of her bright 
orange water wings and wave it under her nose. "Then what're these doing 
here?"

"You know mom makes me wear them!"

"Uh huh." I'd nod in insincere sympathy.

"I hate you!" she'd scream, shoving her small feet into her flip flops. 
Then she'd grab her bag of beach stuff (thoughtfully packed by mom the night 
before) and race out of the house in the direction of the shore.

"Fox, watch your sister!" mom would caution as the small brunette hurricane 
breezed past her.

"I know mo-om," I'd reply, the beginnings of teenage unrest already 
grumbling. If I ran after that, I could usually make it to the beach about 
the same time she did. One of the things that bothered Sam the most was the 
fact of her *smallness*. She was short for her age and she'd always be 
shorter than me so she wanted badly to be bigger in other ways. I didn't 
really understand that at the time, but I do now. When I knew my sister I 
hardly understood her and now, years later, unraveling those small mysteries 
that she kept inside is as natural as breathing.

Depending on what time it was when we finally made it to the beach we'd 
sometimes take a quick swim before the other kids got there. When we were 
all there the games would start. Freeze tag, T.V. tag, blob tag, shadow tag 
or quite often just plain ol' regular tag.

There were just about fifteen of us. More or less depending on who'd been 
grounded that day, who was off with their parents on another part of the 
Vineyard or who had just decided not to come. Sam and I were always there. 
Mom was a soft touch really, we never got grounded even though I'm pretty 
sure we deserved it at least four or five times a summer.

I've forgotten names, they were friends forged in the heat of a pale summer. 
 Faces are easier: curly haired redheaded boy with a glint in his eyes that 
was strangely hard for his age, wispy girl with wispier blonde hair and a 
liberal sprinkling of freckles, she was so thin I thought she might drift 
away like milkweed, loud and fiercely funny dark-haired boy, beautiful girl 
the color of milk chocolate candy bars who I was almost in love with I 
think. The rest were less distinctive. Kids I knew once.

Sam always got into trouble when the game started. At once there'd be a 
dozen screaming children churning at the sand with their feet, dashing, 
falling occasionally, twisting and jumping and writhing in ways that would 
have made a contortionist squirm. In the middle of it all was Sam. She was 
one of the smallest and in a typically Darwinistic move, the kid who was 
'it' would zero in on her. My trained ear could pick up her squeals over 
the shrieks of the others. She'd tear away from her pursuers, dervishes of 
sand flying from under her feet. Eventually she'd slow her run, taking 
choppy little steps and finally stop in front of a convenient rock or piece 
of driftwood.

"Base! Base! Base!" she'd scream to whomever was chasing her at the 
moment.

Of course it wasn't base.

"Is not!" the other kid would yell.

"Is too!"

"That's base." A pointing finger. The pursuer would turn to us for 
verification and we'd nod and Sam would be out.

Everything was base to her. Everywhere she looked. That was her main 
problem with tag.

This is a powerful memory, one I thought I'd forgotten, triggered by 
something I can't identify--a fleeting scent or a snatch of vision. I can 
almost smell the water and the sunscreen, almost taste the faintly gritty 
film that always coated my mouth after a morning of tag on the beach. 
Gingerly I prod at my ribs, just to make sure they're still attached I 
guess. I can feel the stiff tape under my cotton dress shirt.

Lucky, I was lucky this time. Pushed down a long flight of stairs by a 
suspect who managed to take me by surprise. I got off with a few bruised 
ribs.

"You're lucky you didn't break your neck," Scully reminds me from the 
passenger seat. It's the first time either one of us has spoken but she has 
seen me worrying the bandages and can't seem to pass up the opportunity to 
gloat a little. She's right of course but I'm not giving her the 
satisfaction. "Seriously, Mulder, what were you thinking? Pursuing a 
suspect into a condemned building, *at night*, no backup..."

"I don't know. I thought I could catch him, I guess." I examine the backs 
of my hands carefully. The knuckles are a little scraped from my trip down 
the stairs but otherwise everything seems normal.

She sighs, not a martyred sigh or an exasperated one--after so many years 
together I've become adept at reading Scully's sighs--there is both 
resignation and acceptance in it. Probably as close to an apology for her 
previous waspishness as I'm going to get. More than I deserve. Scully's as 
soft a touch as my mom was.

We are silent for a while longer, both watching the dark building in front 
of us. "We're lucky they came back," she finally says.

"They've got to get their equipment," I return with a downward twist of my 
lips. The couple we are currently hunting apparently has designs of joining 
the ranks of Fred and Rosemary West. They'd set up a little chamber of 
horrors in this condemned house. Taking turns luring people there under 
pretense of employment. Getting their sexual jollies out of death and 
dismemberment. Nothing supernatural. This is our good deed for the VCS.

"We should check in with the other agents," Scully says, half out loud. She 
shakes the hair away from her ear and raises the walkie talkie near her 
mouth. "This is position three checking in. Nothing yet guys, sorry." A 
bit of hair falls across her ear as she waits for acknowledgment from the 
other positions. Unthinkingly I brush it away, tucking it back behind her 
ear. She gives me a startled look, her eyes large and questioning, a single 
furrow appears between her eyebrows.

"Wouldn't want you to look unprofessional, Scully," I say lightly, 
reinforcing my words with a grin.

The walkie talkie crackles. Positions one, two and four copy in quick 
succession. Nothing going on on their ends either. Another fabulously 
boring stakeout. Then again, I stretch and wince slightly, maybe I'm not 
quite ready for any more action. I yawn and run both hands through my hair 
before returning them to the steering wheel.

It's a few moments before I feel Scully's deft fingers on my scalp. Now 
it's my turn to question.

"Wouldn't want you to look unprofessional, Mulder," she explains with 
perfect seriousness. We look at each other for a long time, each wondering 
who'll crack first.

In our own way we're as perverse as the couple who occupy the dark building 
in front of us. We get our sexual jollies out of pulling the tension 
tighter, tighter, tighter just to see how far we can go before it snaps and 
completely destroys everything.

Scully's tongue flicks over her lips for the briefest of instants. My hands 
are a little less steady than they should be. If I had any sense at all I'd 
pull her across the seat right now and end our misery by kissing her.

"Scully...I..." My mouth works up and down but nothing comes out. The air 
is pretty delicious though. Her uneasiness tastes like licorice.

"Mulder." That's it. My name is a complete thought for her. I can't 
decide whether she's asking a question or answering one. Her lips curl up 
and she raises both eyebrows in the briefest of facial shrugs.

The sudden rude squawking of the walkie talkie startles both of us. 
"They're moving."

In one fluid motion we exit the car and head across the street, the kevlar 
both proclaiming our employer and erasing our identities. Just another 
coupla fibbies.

It goes off perfectly. Like clockwork I guess. We're the second pair of 
agents in the front door and there they are. Unarmed, their arms laden with 
objects I don't like to think about, stained with fluids I hate to see. 
Humans are so delicate.

The first pair of agents cover the woman. Relieving her of her gruesome 
load. She is on the floor being read her Miranda rights almost before I can 
register what's happening. Scully has approached the man, her gun trained 
unwaveringly. He drops his load without warning and she jumps to his right 
to avoid it.

"Get the cuffs, Mulder," she suggests. "He's not going anywhere."

Then there's something in his hand, cold in the dim light. He grabs Scully 
lightly, almost as if he were some acquaintance at a cocktail party who 
wanted her attention. And the cold thing disappears for a minute. Her eyes 
widen in shock, her hands fly up and her gun goes off, the bullet nestling 
into the ceiling.

Finally, finally my stupid, sluggish mind seems to process what has just 
happened and my own gun goes off, the bullet catching the guy in the 
shoulder. He's down and so is Scully. I practically fall at her side as 
one of the agents cuffs the man.

"What was that?" I ask, one hand against her face. The other agent wraps 
his hand in an evidence bag and holds up a wicked stiletto. So much the 
better for getting around the kevlar. I look down at Scully, almost afraid 
to. She is drawn.

Three marks. Such tiny holes. Not much blood. I am strangely relieved 
though I know I shouldn't be. "How do you feel?" I ask her, my voice rough.

She can't answer. Her eyes close.

"Don't do this, Scully. Scully?" I shake her chin a little and her eyes 
reopen, unfocused and glassy. I look at the other agents. "Did one of you 
call 911?"

They nod grimly. I no longer trust my voice. I can't do anything but cup 
the side of her soft face in my hand, absently rubbing my thumb along her 
upper lip.

Oh no. Nonononononono.

Her skin is warm. God, so warm. Don't let her die, please God. 
Pleasepleasepleaseplease. I can't feel anything but her skin. Warm and 
smooth like still water. There're so many things I never did.

I must look pretty bad. "Paramedics're on their way, Agent Mulder," one of 
the other agents murmurs reassuringly.

I never walked in on her "accidentally" while she was taking a bath. Never 
got to see her breasts under a blanket layer of bubbles with her knees and 
calves and feet rising out of the water like strange islands, her (painted?) 
toes curled over the edge of the tub. How would she react? I can hear her 
outraged exclamation, mixed with interest.

Her eyelids flutter, eyelashes brushing against my fingers. "Stay awake, 
Scully. The ambulance is coming." My voice is shaky.

I never had the nerve to come into any of the millions of hotel rooms late 
at night when I heard her masking sniffles through the thin walls. I never 
asked her why she was crying. Maybe I didn't care enough why she was.

"Mulder." She sounds pained.

"What?"

Never got to kiss her--really kiss her.

Her hand finds mine. I wonder what she's thinking about. In the distance, 
a siren screams closer. Closer. Closer. Closer.

I will them to drive faster. Don't they know she's hurt?

"What?" I repeat, trying to keep her talking. "What, Scully?"

Her mouth opens, her lips are dry. "You need...slow the bleeding...'m 
bleeding too fast."

That small effort has exhausted her and I feel like a colossal ass. One of 
the other agents hands me a clean handkerchief and I gingerly apply it to 
Scully's side, wincing as she does. Then her other hand covers mine, urging 
me to increase the pressure.

The paramedics pull up outside. Then she's on the gurney and into the 
ambulence and yeah I can ride along just as long as I stay out of the way.

I try not to think but the ride takes so long: please don't die. please 
don't die. please don't die.

Never eaten a baloney sandwich with Scully. Not that I think she'd eat 
baloney at all. But the look on her face would be worth the offering.

She watches me through the whole ride while they're working on her. Her 
eyes are slitted like a cat's and like a cat, nothing escapes her.

Oh God and then I see the hospital up ahead. "We're almost there, Scully."

She smiles weakly, streetlights flash against her pale, pale skin.

We're there. Oh move faster, can't you see she's hurt? The emergancy room 
is like dozens of others I've seen: less white than the rest of the 
hospital. We're there.

Base! Base! Base!

THE END