After the Darkness by Susan Email: touchstone98@tx.rr.com Classification: vignette, Skinner's POV Movie: I Want to Believe Archive: No archive without permission. Disclaimer: On paper, these characters aren't mine. In my head, they are. Summary: Skinner helps Scully bring Mulder home after he's treated for his injuries. ~~~~ After all this time, I never expected to get a call from Scully, and I certainly never expected to be bringing both her and Mulder home from the hospital. Again. And yet here I am, driving out in the middle of nowhere to the house they've apparently been living in for the past few years. "How's he doing?" I ask, glancing up at him in my rear view mirror. His eyes are open, but barely. His head resting against Scully's shoulder, she answers, "Okay, considering he's got a dozen stitches in his head." "And I've got this nice soft shoulder to lean on," he mumbles, a lopsided smile crossing his face as his arm flops over her lap and his eyes close all the way. "You're going to be turning left up here, sir," she says, letting out a tired sigh as I flip my turn signal on. It's late and it's dark and though I can see the road well enough to turn, the visibility could be better, especially since it's started to snow again. "How far down the road is it?" I ask, turning on my bright lights. "We're almost there. I'll have to get out and open up the gate for you so you can pull up to the house," she states. "Gate?" I look back at her in the mirror again just in time to see her gently lifting Mulder's arm off her lap and placing it on his leg, but quickly look away again, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. "Even though it's a pain to have to get out of the car every time we go somewhere, we always keep it closed. Here we are," she says, unbuckling her seatbelt before I even come to a stop. "Just give me a minute," she says, opening the door, then carefully sliding her body away from Mulder's. "Scully?" he murmurs, his lids heavy as his hand reaches for her. "It's okay, Mulder. I'll be right back. Skinner drove us home, and I'm just opening the gate so he can pull up to the front of the house." She squeezes his hand, then hurries over to the rusty gate and opens it, then motions for me to drive through. As I turn onto the road that leads to their house, I can hear the sound of the tightly packed snow crackling beneath my tires. Despite how dark it is, I can also see that there is one set of tire marks on the road, probably theirs. Once I pull into their makeshift driveway and park the car, I get out and am immediately struck by just how ordinary the house looks and how isolated it is from everyone else. And yet sadly, it seems that's the way it's always been, the two of them against the rest of the world. "Do you need some help getting him inside?" I ask, once I've opened her door, even though I already know what her answer will be. "No, I got it," she replies just as I suspected. "Here are the keys though if you could just get the door for me," she adds, handing them to me. "Come on, Mulder. We're home," she says, leaning in towards him and gently touching his bandaged arm. "Let's get you inside and into bed." "Now you're talkin'," he says, a dopey grin on his face as he somehow manages to scoot himself across the seat without putting any pressure on his injured arm. His comment makes her smile, and I do too, but quickly look away before she sees me. Once I've unlocked their front door, I turn on an inside light and the porch light, then go back down the steps to help her with Mulder anyway. "Skinner? What are you doing here?" he asks, just noticing me for the first time as Scully carefully holds his right arm and steers him towards the house. "Saving your ass again," I reply dryly, taking hold of his left arm and helping her guide him up the steps. "Okay," he says simply, letting us easily lead him into the house. "It's the tranquilizer. Well that, and the pain medicine the doctor gave him," Scully remarks. "He should be fine in the morning though, once he sleeps it off. Let's get him into the bedroom." I know it shouldn't, but it feels awkward knowing that they share a bedroom now and that I'm about to go in it, but I shake off the feeling and help her take off his jacket and move him in there. "Here you go, buddy. Easy now," I say, helping her lower him onto the bed, but just as I move my arm from around his back, I lose my balance and fall onto the mattress, landing on the bed right next to him. "You better not lie there," he says, slurring his words. "That's Scully's side of the bed." "Don't worry, Mulder. You're not my type," I retort, quickly raising myself up and looking over at Scully by the other side of the bed, a slight smile crossing her face. "But you are," he whispers as he reaches for Scully's arm and awkwardly pulls himself up into a sitting position, then kisses the back of her hand. "I know...and you're mine." She tenderly brushes her fingers over his stitches, then carefully lowers him back down onto the bed. Pulling off his boots, she tosses them on the floor and covers him up. "Rest now, Mulder," she says softly, bending over to kiss his forehead, then motioning for me to go back into the other room. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?" I ask, not sure if I should stay with them for a while or head back home. Scully takes off her jacket, neatly lays it over the back of the couch. "A good night's sleep is what he needs more than anything right now." She sits down then, rubs her hand back and forth over her leg and continues, "His arm will be throbbing in the morning, and the stitches on his forehead will be tender and tight, but the effects of the tranquilizer should be gone by then." She sounds like the same old Scully, precise and calm and in control, but I can tell she's still shaken by what happened, the crease in her forehead deeper than it was earlier, her right hand still nervously sliding over her thigh. "And what about you? Are *you* going to be all right?" I ask, my mind drifting back to the horrific things we saw tonight. The girl submerged in ice, her throat slit. That man's head half alive, waiting for a new body. Mulder helplessly lying on his back, about to die... She glances back at their bedroom, then looks up at me and quietly replies, "I'll be fine." Pretending I believe her, I walk over to the couch, reassuringly put my hand on her shoulder. "Okay, but if you or Mulder need anything else, you know where you can find me." She nods, stands up, and says, "Thank you, sir, for everything." Then before I have a chance to react, she surprises me with a quick hug, and adds, "I know it was a lot to ask of you after all this time, but I appreciate it, and I know Mulder will appreciate what you did too once he's feeling better." The sincerity in both her voice and her embrace tugs at my emotions, but I somehow manage to reply, "Just take care of him...and yourself." She nods at me again, but says nothing else as she leads me towards the door. Then again, she doesn't need to. And I don't need to say anything else either, having taken care of what needed to be done. Quietly closing the door behind me, I walk down the steps and take a deep breath, then head out into the cold winter night. ~end~ It felt good to write something new.:) Thanks for reading. possibilities http://possibilities.bravehost.com/ Originally posted June 2014.