In the Light of the Frozen Moon (3/?) by Decoyly Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully aren't mine, they belong to CC and Co.Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended! Feedback: decoyly@gmail.com Rating: PG Classification: MSR Summary: Started out in response to DD's comment that Mulder takes off his shirt in the new movie (see part one), but has since become it's own non-movie related WIP. :D Hope you enjoy it! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder lay awake a long time after Scully had finally drifted off to sleep. He'd convinced her to sip some of the tea left at their bedside and, though she kept insisting that she was fine, he refused to leave her side. He closed his eyes and concentrated on her breathing, the beat of her heart, trying to convince himself that it was safe to go to sleep. It wasn't working. He'd come so close to losing her again, couldn't stop seeing her fall through that ice whenever he closed his eyes, and Mulder wasn't quite ready to relax and accept the fact that Scully wasn't in danger anymore. Opening his eyes, Mulder studied her face in the darkness. She looked so peaceful, vulnerable. Yet Scully trusted him enough to let him hold her, let him seek comfort in knowing she was there, that she wasn't going anywhere. That really meant a lot to him. Probably more than he'd ever admit out loud. "Go to sleep Mulder." He jumped at the sound of her voice. "I thought you were asleep." "I was," she said, smiling softly, eyes still closed. "But you felt the need to wake up to tell me to go to sleep?" he teased. "Always." He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Alright Scully I'll try. But I'm not guaranteeing anything." She opened her eyes. "Goodnight Mulder." "'Night Scully." He still didn't let her go and she didn't pull away, instead turning to let him wrap his arm around her waist. Scully smiled to herself, leaning against him, touched by his concern. She wasn't so cold anymore, but sought comfort in his embrace. Comfort that only Mulder had ever been able to give her. Scully felt Mulder relax and waited until his breathing slowed before drifting off again herself. A half an hour later, the scream woke them both up. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Mulder and Scully both shot up, wide-eyed and reaching for their weapons. "Where'd it come from?" "I don't know." They were out of bed in record time, throwing on clothes and grabbing flashlights and guns. Footsteps pounded through the hallways, mixing with confused voices. Mulder flipped the light switch, not surprised when it didn't work. "Somebody's cut the power." "Could be the storm." Neither of them believed it. Flipping on their flashlights and preparing for the worst, Mulder and Scully stepped into the hallway. Half a dozen flashlight beams shot in their direction. Mulder squinted in the sudden light, holding up a hand as he asked, "What's going on?" "I don't know, I--" "In here!" The agent's words were cut off by another round of frantic voices and what sounded like soft crying. Mulder and Scully exchanged a look. Aunt Claire. They quickly headed down the hallway, their footsteps muffled by the Oriental rug lining the dark wood floors. The only light came from the group's flashlights and outside the wind howled, sending a shiver up every spine. "What happened?" Mulder asked, first to reach the open doorway at the end of the hall. Aunt Claire looked up from where she was seated in an armchair by the bed. Mulder was struck by the tortured look on her face as she motioned towards the bed. "He was like that when I came in." All eyes turned towards the bed and Mulder heard somebody gasp next to him. "Agent Michaels..." Scully said softly, taking a step closer to Mulder. "How can you even tell?" another agent asked. It was true. From what they were seeing it was hard to tell that it was even human, let alone Agent Michaels. The poor man had certainly been attacked by something. It was almost as if his flesh had simply melted away in parts and crystallized in others. The man's face was completely gone, now just a blackened half of skull (the jaw looked to be a pile of ash) and from the misshapen form under the blankets, Mulder didn't want to know what else was missing. After the initial shock, everyone began talking at once. "What the--" "Are you sure--" "How--" Mulder ignored everyone else and turned to Scully, eyebrow raised. Her look merely answered, *I don't know.* Not yet any way. As the other agents argued, trying to comprehend what it was they were seeing and how best to proceed, Mulder and Scully walked over to Aunt Claire. She was clearly very shaken, but was holding together surprisingly well despite the shock. "Claire?" "Aunt Claire please," the elderly woman said absently, fiddling with a handkerchief, unable to take her eyes off the bed. "Aunt Claire," Mulder corrected, smiling as he knelt in front of her, blocking the horrific view behind him. He placed his hand gently over hers to still her nervous fiddling and asked, "You say he was like this when you found him?" Aunt Claire finally focused on him. "Y-yes. He buzzed for some ice and by the time I got up here..." Her eyes filled with tears as she glanced back at the bed, and Scully quickly drew her attention back. "He wanted ice?" At this late an hour? Aunt Claire looked at Scully. "Yes." She seemed to be regaining her strength and Mulder let her hand go. "Not fifteen minutes ago." Fifteen minutes? Scully glanced at Mulder. Whatever it was they were dealing with it worked fast. "Hey," somebody said suddenly, and Mulder, Scully, and Aunt Claire all turned to look. The agent stared at the body as the flashlights fell away. "This guy's glowing!" Scully turned her attention to the bed as Mulder stood up. Sure enough, what was left of Agent Michaels was indeed glowing a soft bluish-purple. Before anyone could even begin to speculate, another scream pierced the sudden silence. Aunt Claire leapt to her feet. "Ivy!" XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "She's gone." They were all standing in Ivy's room but the young woman was nowhere to be found. Mulder swept his flashlight through the darkness, past the closed window (noticing that it was snowing again), and the rumpled bedding, to rest on the smoldering fireplace. "Ivy?" Aunt Claire called pushed her way into the room. "Where is she? Ivy!" The agent Mulder now remembered was named Stern stepped in front of her. "Ma'am--" "Don't you ma'am me young man--" Agent Stern ignored her. "Is there anywhere else your niece might be?" "Absolutely not! All the rooms are full and she would have no reason to be anywhere else at this time of night." "Could she have gone outside?" another agent asked, and Mulder was not surprised when Aunt Claire snorted in response. "In this weather? She may be only twenty years old, but she's no fool!" Mulder turned to face the group, ready to agree with Aunt Claire when he suddenly stopped short. "What's wrong?" "Where's Scully?" Aunt Claire and Agent Stern turned around as Mulder quickly scanned the group. His partner was nowhere to be found. A knot began to form in the pit of his stomach as he headed for the doorway. "I think she stayed back with the body," someone called out as he made his way through the hallway and towards the main stairs, flashlight beam bobbing through the suddenly too dark lobby. The wind rattled against the frosted windows and Mulder didn't know why, but he suddenly had the very uneasy feeling that he needed to find his partner. Now. Quickening his pace as he headed up the stairs, Mulder called out, "Scully?" Surely he was just overreacting. No doubt Scully would point it out to him too. What was he going to say when she stepped into the hallway, eyebrow lifted in question? *Ivy didn't come by here did she?* *No...* So be it, he needed to see her. When his partner didn't answer, the unease moved on to real fear. Mulder unlatched the safety on this gun as he hurried towards Agent Michael's room. The door was still open. "Scully?" "What's he doing?" By now agents were filtering into the lobby, wondering why Mulder was suddenly backtracking. Why he felt the need to talk to his partner right then and there. Still no answer from Scully. Gun trained, Mulder swept through the doorway and--"Scully!" His heart leapt and he re-holstered his weapon immediately, rushing to her side. *I knew it! I never should have left her! * "Scully? Scully can you hear me?" Mulder dropped to her side, pulling his unconscious partner into his arms and checking for a pulse. Still breathing. But what had happened? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX *Mulder?* She thought she heard him talking but he sounded so far away. She tried to ask him what was wrong, but the words wouldn't come out. Why was it so dark in here? Suddenly more voices joined her partner's, and a throbbing pain flashed across the back of her head. "Scully?" "What happened?" This time her mouth worked. She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her, concern piercing his intense gaze. "I don't know," he answered, helping her sit up. "I came back and found you on the floor." Scully frowned, rubbing her head. She didn't remember falling, and she certainly didn't remember getting attacked. She'd chosen to stay back to make sure nothing happened to Agent Michael's remains. Judging from the argument going on behind her though, she hadn't succeeded. Agent Stern paced the room angrily, all but shouting, "Well he couldn't have just got up and walked away!" "You saw the body," another agent argued. "There's no way someone's gettin' it out of here in one piece that fast without us noticing!" Their words were like jackhammers smashing against the inside of her skull and Scully closed her eyes, trying to stop the room from spinning. Through all the craziness, she focused on one voice. "Can you stand up?" Mulder asked gently, ignoring the rest of the room as he took her hand. "I think so." With Mulder's help she got to her feet, and was instantly assaulted by another wave of dizziness. *Or not.* Mulder caught her as the room spun and there was nothing she could do but hold on. He met her gaze, communicating without speech. *Scully?* *Mulder I'm--* "No you're not," he interrupted, stopping her usual 'I'm fine' speech before she could even open her mouth. Clearly she wasn't okay and he wasn't going to let her get away with it this time. "Scully, I think you should lie down." Before she even had a chance to argue, Agent Stern shoved Mulder aside, glaring at Scully. "What happened here? Where did the body go?" "I--" She started to turn towards the bed, still dizzy, but Stern growled, "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened to him!" Again, Scully tried to turn towards the bed to see for herself, but Stern grabbed her by the shoulders. "Hey back off," Mulder stepped between them, forcing Stern to let go of his partner and fighting the urge to punch the agent in the face. Stern turned his anger to Mulder. "You're little partner here--" "Was the only one smart enough to remain behind in the first place," Mulder interrupted coldly, glaring down at the shorter man. How dare Stern accuse Scully when he himself had left the room to begin with! "So I suggest you let her get her rest if you ever want to know what happened to your partner." Stern clenched his jaw and Mulder could just see all the insults swirling around in that tiny brain of his. Apparently it took too much effort for the man to choose just one, and Mulder didn't have time to wait around to hear it. "Come on," he told Scully, keeping himself between his partner and Stern as he led her out of the room, hand at the small of her back. The entire room parted to let them through. "Are you alright dear?" Aunt Claire asked, nervously tugging at her handkerchief as they stepped out of the hallway. Scully caught Mulder's eye as she answered, "I'm fine." She looked back at Aunt Claire. "Ivy?" Aunt Claire bit back tears, but answered, "I'm sure she'll be just fine..." Another female agent reassured Aunt Claire and nodded to Mulder and Scully as she coaxed the older woman back towards her own room. "What are we supposed to do while you two are off takin' a nap?" Stern called after them and Mulder stiffened. Scully caught his eye, brushing her fingers lightly over his hand. *Don't. He's not worth it.* She knew it was killing him to hold his tongue, but Mulder merely nodded slightly and answered, "How about your jobs?" Before Agent Stern could answer (or worse, lunge at Mulder), Scully turned to face him. "You'll want to get to that bed, but if I were you Agent Stern I'd start with shower." Stern opened his mouth to argue, but stopped, dumfounded. "A shower?" another agent asked, frowning. "Unless you want to end up like Agent Michaels," Scully said. "Then yes, I'd take a shower. A cold one." With that she turned and headed down the hallway, Mulder right behind her. She could feel his questioning gaze but knew he'd wait until they were behind closed doors for his own explanation. After all, both of them were thoroughly enjoying Agent Stern's confused paranoia. "A shower?" they heard him scoff. "Why would I want to do that?" In a few hours she was pretty sure he'd find out. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Mulder waited until the door was shut before asking, "A shower?" "While you went to look for Ivy I did a cursory examine of Agent Michaels." Scully turned to face him, her seriousness highlighted by the light of their flashlights. "I don't know what killed him Mulder, but whatever it was, it did it in the time it took Aunt Claire to get the ice and get upstairs. One second he was complaining about the heat, the next half his soft tissue was gone." "Heat," Mulder said, brow furrowing. "You think the temperature triggered it?" "He was asking for ice." "Is this like we've seen before?" Mulder asked, remembering more than a few times in his life he'd like to forget. "I don't think so." "Phew!" he said only half kidding when he added, "I was afraid you were going to say the words "alien virus" and I'd have to start pulling out the arctic gear again." Scully gave him a rueful look, nodding towards the window. "I don't know about alien viruses, but the arctic gear might not be a bad idea." As if in response, the wind sent a gust against the glass, blowing snow swirls around the frame. Scully shivered and Mulder instinctively took a step forward. She stepped back. "I was serious about the shower, Mulder." When he raised an eyebrow in question she explained, "I think Agent Michaels was exposed to whatever killed him when he fell through the ice." Mulder frowned, thinking it over. "The light?" "I don't know, but if it's true, then we were both exposed." Scully caught his eye and he finally understood. "Scully you were underwater longer than Michaels." Mulder fought back a sickening feeling in his stomach as he tried his best not to overreact. He hoped he wasn't giving her The Panic Face. "I know," Scully said, remaining perfectly calm. "But unlike Agent Michaels I was unconscious and my body temperature remained low for a longer amount of time." *Until I warmed you up*, Mulder thought, swallowing against the lump in his throat. "In any case," Scully said, recognizing that look on his face and quickly working against it. "I don't think it was just the temperature that triggered it. It has to be something else, otherwise you and I and Agent Stern wouldn't be walking around like nothing had happened." "Scully you're not walking around like nothing happened," Mulder was unable to hide his concern. "You need to be in a hospital. If you've been exposed to--" "Mulder I'm going to be fine." He frowned at her and Scully could practically read his thoughts, *How many times have I heard that before?* Before he could argue, she quickly added, "But just to be on the safe side, I think we all need to wash off any excess contaminants we might have been exposed to in that lake." "I was hardly in the water at all," Mulder said, frowning at her as if he expected her to start glowing any second. "Even so, you could have been exposed when you were warming me up." "But--" Scully gave him the 'stop being so stubborn Mulder' look, and he sighed, and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" "To make sure Agent Stern listens to you. I don't like the guy, but he doesn't deserve to die either." "Mulder--" "Don't worry," he interrupted, already heading out the door. "I promise to take my own shower when I get back. The door closed behind him and Scully smiled despite herself. He may be stubborn, but he wasn't stupid. And thankfully Mulder was the one person who respected her enough to take her advice whether he liked it or not. Turning her flashlight towards the bathroom, Scully began tugging off clothes, dreading the shock of more cold water. Why was it they always ended up in the snow? She'd had enough of ice and the cold to last her a lifetime. Oh well, a little more couldn't hurt. Scully glanced at the electric fireplace on her way, wishing the power would come back on. If nothing else, maybe she could bribe Mulder to share some more of that body heat of his. Closing the bathroom door behind her and turning on the shower, Scully mourned for yet another set of clothes she'd have to burn. Probably those sheets too. She turned the facets until the water was cool. It would have to do. She couldn't take ice cold right now, and figured if she wasn't glowing yet she was safe. Holding her breath, Scully stepped under the stream of water and let out a forlorn sigh as her flashlight blinked out. Great. Just perfect. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Again, thanks for reading! And feedback always helps...nice to know I have a reason to continue. :D