Panic Day by Lolabeegood E-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com Distribution: Archive freely with my name attached Rating: PG Categories: S, R Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance Spoilers: Up to and including IWTB, but this takes place before it. Summary: A day in the life of Fox Mulder while living in long-term isolation. Author's Notes: Just a little something that has been working itself out in my head and I thought I'd write out. I do not own the characters. I do not make any money from this. Enjoy! ************************************* She drove way too fast down the rural country road for it to be considered safe. Her car swayed heavily at the last corner and, if it hadn't been for her years of practice controlling a vehicle at high speeds while in the FBI, it would have gone off the road. Dana Scully's heart raced and her body sweated as she willed her car to get home faster. She had run out of the hospital so quickly she was still wearing her bloody scrubs from surgery. Her coat and purse were long abandoned in her office and her co-workers were probably wondering why she wasn't there to do rounds. Apparently the call had come into the hospital while she was in surgery. The nurse who took it had wisely not informed her of the news until the surgery was done. Dana wondered if she had been given the news while operating, would she have bolted from the surgery? There was a fire at the house. The smoke alarm system they had installed was connected to the local fire department and automatically alerted them if there was a fire. The message was simply 'Richmond County Fire and Rescue was putting out a fire at your home, please contact them immediately.' She had called from the nurse's station only to be informed that someone had been injured in the fire as well. That was when she raced from the hospital. If she had been smart, she would have called Mulder as well, or at least grabbed her cell phone, but she had thought with her heart and not her head. She pulled onto their road and immediately saw the melee of onlookers parked in various pick-up trucks outside their property. Apparently word of a fire in Richmond was enough reason to go for a drive and check it out. She slowed when she reached the people but not without cursing them to stay out of her way. Her car rounded through the open gate and she saw what the big draw was. The entire kitchen side of their house looked burnt and water-logged. Two fire trucks and one ambulance sat out front with their lights still flashing but sirens off. A bunch of fire fighters wound up hoses and put away equipment as others still worked at soaking down the area that had been on fire. Her eyes immediately darted to the ambulance and she saw the back door open and medical staff obviously treating someone. She pulled up next to the ambulance, jumped from her car, and bolted for the open door. She first saw the backs of the two medics and then she saw his bare feet hanging off the end of a gurney. They were black from smoke and dirt. "I'm Dr. Dana Scully," she croaked, not nearly as loud as she wanted to. One medic turned away from Mulder and she got a glance at his face. He was sitting up on the gurney and wearing an oxygen mask. He was covered in soot and looked completely exhausted. He lifted an arm to wave meekly at her. She smiled with relief that he seemed to be okay. "They sent a doctor?" the medic asked. "Excuse me?" Scully asked confused as she hiked a foot up to enter the cab. "He's refusing to be taken to a hospital, but we see signs of smoke inhalation and some burns on his hands and arms." The medic informed her as she entered the cab and walked directly toward Mulder. She stood above him and gently ran a hand through his hair as she placed another hand on his chest and felt his heart beat underneath it. He reached up and grasped her hand over his heart and looked up at her with scared eyes. "Doctor?" She leaned down and kissed his soot-covered hair and breathed in the smell of smoke. She allowed a lone tear to drop from her eye before wiping it away and turning to face the medic, still holding his hand. "He's my husband, and I own this house," she said with a broken voice. "He has an extreme fear of hospitals and fire, so you can see why today, is a very bad day." He weakly squeezed her hand. He wasn't supposed to be her husband. They had been living in this house for five years under the guise that he was her brother who visited on occasion, if they ever encountered anyone. "I'm sorry Dr. Scully, but Mr. Scully wouldn't give out any information," the medic apologized as he checked Mulder's oxygen level. "He's James, James Birk, not Scully," she said as she squeezed his hand back. She had used his first alias from when they were on the road. "What injuries has he sustained?" "He was trying to put out the fire with your extinguisher but it got out of control, he ran from the house just as we arrived on the scene. We wanted to take him to the local hospital for immediate treatment but he refused. We couldn't just leave him, so we stayed on the scene." "How are his vitals?" she asked as she looked into his eyes to see the pupils dilate. "His blood pressure was a little high, he's suffered from some smoke inhalation and needs O2 and you should get the burn unit to take a look at his hands and arms." She reached to gently pick up his left arm that was wrapped in gauze. She couldn't see the extent of the burns. "How bad are they?" "Superficial, mainly, but they still should be treated by the Unit," the medic said as he started to pack up his kit. "So, can we go to the hospital now? Do you want to go to...?" If they went to her hospital, she would have a lot of pull with his treatment; if they went to the other local hospital they could be more anonymous. A few people at Our Lady of Sorrows knew him as her brother, and his new status as husband would draw some attention. "Let's go to the local hospital." She said, knowing it was a compromise in his care. "Can I just...can you just wait for a minute, first?" "Sure," the medic sighed, he was growing impatient with these two. Scully gently eased Mulder's hand from her grasp and looked down thoughtfully at him. "I'll be right back," she said softly to him. She jumped from the ambulance and walked directly toward the trunk of her car where she always housed an overnight bag for stays at the hospital. "Are you the owner?" a fire fighter asked her as she popped the trunk. "I am." Scully said as she reached for her bag. "I need to go over a few details with you, before you go with your husband to the hospital," the fire fighter said kindly. "Okay," she swallowed, not wanting to make this a long conversation. "The fire started in the kitchen from what appears to be some old faulty wiring. Your husband had the coffee maker and toaster plugged into it at the time and they sparked causing the fire." "Faulty wiring?" "Ma'am we see this a lot in these old farm houses. Farmers think they have a knack for wiring and do it themselves and..." "So there's nothing we could have done." "It doesn't look like it. But you should hire a qualified electrician for the reno." She dropped her bag on the ground at her feet and waited for him to give her more information. "It seems as though your husband was in the shower at the time and that's what allowed it to get out of control. He tried to extinguish it but, with electrical fires things can get out of control pretty fast. It's good you had the alarm that patched directly to our department." "Yes," she sighed as she slammed the trunk. "The medics seem to think he'll be fine after a couple of days in the hospital," he smiled at her. "And with a wife who's a doctor, I'm sure he'll be well taken care of." She swallowed hard. Her emotions were still too raw to talk about Mulder with this stranger. "I'll file my report later today, but you should contact your insurance company as soon as possible so they can start the claim. We'll make sure we close things up before we leave." "Thank you," she nodded. "Everything will be fine, ma'am," he smiled gently at her and touched her shoulder before he walked away. She stood for a minute and took in their home. It was soggy and charred looking all at the same time. The window in the kitchen was smashed and their front door wide open. The damage would be fixed and their shabby little farm house would be no worse for the wear. She glanced toward the ambulance. Mulder was a wreck, she could tell. He had battled one of his worst fears, fire and he was still battling another fear, getting caught. She let out a contained breath, picked up her bag and walked quickly towards the ambulance. ******************************** The end