From Beyond (1/11)
by Bonkersfm

EMAIL: bonkersfm@yahoo.com
CATEGORY:MSR CASEFILE
SPOILERS: Starts after IWTB
RATING: NC17 sex and violence
SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully's relationship is put under strain when a 
casefile leads to some bizarre behaviour on Mulders part
DISCLAIMER: mine? If only!



CHAPTER ONE
(Day one)

"Just sit back and relax. Close your eyes and 
concentrate on your breathing. In . . Out . . 
.In . . .Out . . . In . . ."

"You sit alone in a dark room. Toward the 
front of the room there is a screen. As you 
look closely, words begin to appear on the 
screen. You focus on the words now, nothing 
else matters. The words are blurry but as you 
drift towards them, they begin to clear."
            
"Mulder?" A soft voice accompanied a gentle 
touch to his hand. "Mulder, can you hear me?"
He opened his eyes, taking in the sight of 
the brunette hovering in front of him.

"Do you think it will work?" The other female 
asked, holding a familiar hand against his 
soaked brow.

"Of course it won't work. It's just a bunch 
of mumbo jumbo crap. Monica, what he needs is 
a good dose of scotch before bed and a 
vacation." A male voice with a tinge of 
unintentional hostility could be heard 
retreating into the background.

"Shush. He's coming round now. Mulder, can 
you hear me? Mulder, you need to wake up."  
The brunette's voice seemed commanding, 
without being stern. He did as she asked.
   
          **************************

Mulder leaned against the sink, his breaths 
coming in short, sharp bursts. Next to him, 
the gentle touch of Dana Scully made him 
shiver all over again. "I guess Monica's 
pretty good then huh?" She talked over the 
noise of the gushing water as he filled the 
glass with the clear liquid, his hand still 
shaking violently.

"What makes you say that?" He snapped at her, 
his breathing becoming a little more regular 
after the first few sips of water. He knew 
Monica had dabbled in hypnotherapy in the 
past and now he had come to her asking for a 
cure for his sleepless nights. He'd not slept 
in five days, a side effect of which seemed 
to be the exasperated feeling that had caused 
him to snap at those closest to him 
frequently over the last week. It had been 
her idea to approach Monica for help, 
although he was sure that she'd try anything 
to bring him back to his former self. He 
didn't blame her.

"Mulder, are you okay?" She followed him as 
he walked back toward the living room, where 
John watched the television. He sat himself 
down, graciously taking the small glass of 
strong smelling liquid from the other man.

"I'm fine, I just. . . I just need to sit 
down." He put a hand to his head. He knew how 
obtuse he sounded, but the truth was he 
couldn't figure out how he felt himself, let 
alone convey his feelings to the others.

"Don't get me wrong," John leaned over to 
him, "I can't imagine how this will work, but 
I don't think you should be feeling like 
this. Man, you look like hell."

"Ha." Mulder sighed, the friendliness 
creeping back into his manner.  The truth was 
he had no recollection of what had happened 
over the last few minutes, save for feeling 
totally exhausted and confused. "I'll be 
okay. We should probably get going." He 
pushed himself onto unsteady feet in search 
of his woman.

********************************

Monica kept an eye out for Mulder through the 
slight opening in the doorway. "So what's 
been going on?" She asked. She hadn't much 
chance to speak with Scully about the minor 
details, but the atmosphere between the 
couple tonight had been far from easy. 

"I wish I could tell you. For the last week 
he hasn't slept. When he does fall asleep 
it's only for an hour or two and when he 
wakes it sounds like someone's being 
murdered. He's irritable all of the time, 
especially with me. I know that it's a side 
effect from the sleep deprivation but it's 
getting worse. Before this I could count on 
one hand the times he's shouted at me. Now we 
must be well into double figures."

"You don't know what triggered it? The sleep 
deprivation, I mean."

"No. Everything's been fine. Better than 
fine. He's not even profiling at the moment, 
so it can't be the stress of any case that's 
causing this. He's had pills and they don't 
work, they just make him feel more tired 
without being able to sleep. I guess I 
thought this would work. I hoped it would."

"It still might," replied Monica, quietening 
her voice as she watched Mulder approach 
them.


Continued in Chapter 2