From Beyond (5/11) 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 5 Fighting his instinct to flinch away from the pain, he winced as her fingers mooched and prodded into the gape in his shoulder. Pushing skin and tissue, she carefully examined the flesh for more traces of the glass that he had, only minutes ago, plucked from his shoulder. He didn't look at her, keeping his eyes straight ahead, grimacing as she pulled at the skin below the wound. "Mulder, we need to go to the hospital. I wish you hadn't pulled at it the way you did, I think the bottom part of it is still in here." He said nothing. He had remained silent throughout, as shocked as she had been to find what he had done. Somewhere in his office a work of art lay on the floor surrounded by the glass that he hadn't perforated into himself. She dabbed at it one last time, relieved that the blood had clotted on its own even though she was pretty sure he had pushed the glass deeper than she could see. If he'd nicked an artery he certainly wouldn't be sitting here with her now. She taped the clean white gauze over the top, leaving him only for a minute whilst she found a loose fitting shirt to go over him. "What were you doing in there, Mulder?" He remained silent, failing to even acknowledge her. "Mulder, please talk to me. You're scaring me; I want to know what's going on in your head. I mean," she paused, careful not to provoke a reaction that might cause him to move quickly or lose his temper. She sat back, forcing him to make eye contact. "I'm afraid, Mulder. I'm afraid for you, I'm afraid of you." She looked away then, knowing those last words would come sharp to him. "I'm okay, Scully." He rubbed his face, wincing as the motion made his shoulder ache again. "Are you, Mulder? Look what you did to yourself tonight! You're hardly sleeping and when you do sleep you're hurting yourself or you're hurting me." He reached out and grabbed her hand then. "You don't know how sorry I am for what happened before." She watched him carefully, realising that he was finally beginning to process what had happened. Upstairs when he had held back from her, it hadn't been him. Not wholly anyway. He put a hand to his face and she could tell he was trying to mask the emotions running through him. She moved closer again, pulling his hand away and putting her arms around his neck, moving deeper into him. He accepted willingly, burying his face into her hair and pulling her closer with his good arm. They stayed like that for a long time, feeling comforted. She pulled away and looked at the clock, relieved that it would only be Saturday in a few hours, not a workday. She got up, taking his hand in hers and leading him towards the sofa. "What are you doing?" He asked. "You're gonna sit here and wait for me to get dressed. We're going to the ER to get this looked at properly. We're gonna come home and sleep. Then we're going to a specialist and get this sorted once and for all." -x- He watched, wide-awake now, as the busy life of the ER played out in front of him. So far they'd seen three shootings, two heart attacks and a drunk driver rush past them, all before six o'clock. He saw her yawn, and waited for the soft weight of her against his shoulder. He'd felt it at home too. Now he wanted to allow her to sleep, feeling safe that whilst he was awake he would be aware of his actions. Soon they were called over, and a female nurse greeted them in the small triage room. She took one look at it, and immediately asked what had happened. "I did it to myself." Mulder answered, not realising how absurd he sounded. She considered him for a moment, and then couldn't help herself but to glance across at Scully. "You're kidding me, right?" Mulder laughed, seeing a flash of irritation cross the nurse's face. "She's a doctor, if she were gonna hurt me she'd do a better job then this." He kept it light, not wanting to give anyone a chance to become offended. He sat still as she began to stitch the wound, not glancing up when she asked Scully to step outside to sort out an insurance form on his behalf. Scully nodded. "Just don't tell her about the time I shot you." She said, leaving Mulder with a lopsided grin on his face. She waited patiently enough at reception, understanding how annoying queue jumpers could be when trying to assess priority among the wounded. She had hated the thought of sleeping without him that night. Her stomach turned a little at the thought of tonight too. After all those years sleeping alone, one night with Mulder had transformed everything. Even though their couplings were at first as occasional as once a week, the nights they spent together made her want him there more often. Theirs was not a relationship based on clinginess and convenience, but they did need each other; desperately. That very emotion, need, had sent her fleeing from his bed the first two or three times, guarding her feelings at the expense of Mulder's. But that had always been the difference. For all the hurt that he had endured, Mulder remained a sensitive person, comfortable with the emotions that could lead to hurt all over again. He'd been free with the phrase 'I love you' near enough from the start, even though she had still stumbled over the words right up until his abduction. Now she didn't want to contemplate life without him. "Can I help you ma'am?" The receptionist's voice startled her from her thoughts. "Yeah, I need to fill in a claim form for my . . . husband." she had paused, reluctant to call Mulder her boyfriend seeing as though they were both past forty. "Oh," the woman disappeared under the desk. "Gee, that might take a minute or two, we just moved everything around yesterday. Wait there please." Great, she thought. At this rate bedtime wouldn't be a problem – they would both be spending the night here. He winced as she pulled the last stitch. She had questioned him a little, as Scully had subtly hinted she might. He couldn't blame for being dubious of his excuse, the wound had been deeper then it first appeared and she had suggested that it would have taken considerable force to deliver. Never-the-less he had successfully allayed her concerns, and promised to be more careful in the future. He got up, going in search of Scully. A strange noise hit his ears, distracting him for a moment. A voice shook him. He spun, watching as the dark shadow disappeared around the corner at the bottom of the hall. He followed without hesitation; feeling captivated by whatever was teasing him, coaxing him onward. As he turned the corner, he half dreaded that it might be there, waiting. But he saw nothing. He walked faster now, faster and faster until suddenly he was walking into it. He walked straight into the pale green curtain, pulling at it, ready; hungry to see what he might unveil. "Sir, can I help you?" A fresh-faced young man in a white coat confronted him. "Sir, you aren't supposed to be back here." Mulder simply stood and stared at what he could only guess was a student doctor. "Sir?" The young man asked again, this time with annoyance. A hand fell onto his shoulder, and he turned to see Scully's small stature standing in front of him. The light seemed to shift as he viewed her in bright colour, not the dumb grey that had overtaken him without him realising it. "Mulder, what are you doing back here?" She asked, piercing him with her eyes, holding his gaze upon hers. "I . . . I don't know . . ." "Come on," she moved her hand from his shoulder to his elbow, "let's go home." Continued in Chapter 6