Searching the Darkness for a Light
by Mack the Spoon

Classification: VRA
Keywords: Missing scene.
Spoilers: IWTB
Rating: PG
Summary: The very instant that was done, she was back out the door
and running to where Skinner and the paramedics were bent over
Mulder.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, the show, or the
movie.
Author's Note: Many thanks to Dasha for her beta work above and
beyond the call of duty on this one, when my stupid technical
difficulties added about thirty steps to the process. Your
comments made me think, in all the right ways, too.
Feedback: Yes, please! I'd love some! Send it to
glace_aux_fraises@hotmail.com and I'll read it with pleasure.


~~~~~~~

Though it was extremely difficult to focus on the young woman when
her mind was constantly drawn to visualizing where Mulder lay
outside on the ground, Scully had managed to stabilize her as well
as she could. She even stuck around until she could help the EMTs
get a grasp on the situation, which felt like quite the sacrifice
even though she couldn't very well have refused to do it. The very
instant that was done, however, she was back out the door and
running to where Skinner and some other paramedics were bent over
Mulder.

"Mulder?" she asked breathlessly.

"Scully..." he mumbled, his eyes flickering open to rest on her
face, before they closed again. "'M sorry, can't seem to stay
awake. They... gave me a shot of something, that drug..."

"I already told the paramedics that," Skinner said quietly to
Scully, as the stretcher that carried Mulder was loaded into the
van.

She nodded, and turned to climb in after him. Then she remembered.
"Thank you, Sir." She wanted to say something else, to try to
express just how grateful she was. But the part of her brain that
was dedicated to protecting her partner, having been almost
dormant for years now, had reawakened with such intensity that she
was having trouble concentrating on anything else.

He put a hand on her shoulder gently. "Of course, Scully. Go take
care of Mulder. I'll meet you at the hospital. The police can meet
us there to take your statement, and Mulder's."

She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak, and climbed in to
sit next to Mulder. She gripped his hand. "You still with me?" she
murmured quietly, as the van started moving. One of the paramedics
excused himself to reach in front of her, stretching another
blanket over him, and then sat back.

Mulder sighed. "Yeah." He squeezed her hand and turned to look at
her, eyelids still only barely open. "That was... a nice swing out
there, Scully." He smiled briefly.

She smiled back, thinking of lights brightening a dark field and
Mulder's arms wrapped around her, on what was still one of her
favorite birthday celebrations. And she knew the reminder had
clearly been his intention. Her smile faded, then, and she asked,
"Mulder, are you okay?"

"Hmm, I think so, Scully. My head hurts... and that tranquilizer
must be some good stuff. But I'm not cold anymore." Another grin
flashed across his face. "Not after Skinner's hug."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "His hug?" The image that came into her
head was hard to process.

"Yeah, you missed out on that," he mumbled. "Nice to know... he
still likes me."

Scully still had no idea what he was talking about, but decided to
wait until he was less groggy to ask for clarification. Somehow
she couldn't picture herself asking Skinner when they got to the
hospital. "What's his condition?" She turned to the paramedic who
had clearly been trying not to listen in during this time.

"From what I can see and what I've been told, it seems he has a
concussion and it looks like some cuts and bruises. Now that we've
got him warmed up, though, he should be fine, ma'am," the young
man said. "Once the drug is out of his system, he should be on his
feet again in no time."

Scully took that in, and for the first time thought of allowing
her panic levels to decrease. They arrived at the hospital, and
she followed his gurney into the ER, where her doctor mode took
over until Mulder was finally settled in a room. It was with an
especially unreal sense of deja vu that she finally found herself
sitting by his bedside as he slept. *Injured on a case,* she
mused. *Where he went off without backup, without telling anyone,
to save the girl.* She sighed, and stroked a lock of his hair off
his forehead.

It was truly bizarre that she found herself thinking she was too
old for this - she spent all her time in hospitals now. But it had
been years since either of them had been admitted to one. It had
been too much to hope for that the streak could continue.

Before she could get too caught up in those dark thoughts, she
heard footsteps and a quiet knock on the open door. "Scully?"

Skinner walked in as soon as she looked up. "How's he doing?"

She gestured to his chart. "Fairly well, considering that he has a
concussion, and he still has a large dose of animal tranquilizer
in his system." She absently traced a finger over the arm closest
to her. "He hasn't woken up since the ambulance, but that's to be
expected." She tried not to sound like she was convincing herself.
She knew he would be fine.

Skinner, however, took this chance to disarm her. "Scully, how are
you holding up?" He put a slight emphasis on the pronoun, and sat
down in the chair next to her.

She took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm fine, now."

Maybe she wasn't convincing either of them. "Are you sure?"

She blinked back tears that were entirely inappropriate to the
situation. For a moment, she had felt herself transported back to
a different hospital in a different life: waiting for Mulder to
wake up after all hope had been lost and Skinner had been doing
his best to keep her from coming unglued. "I'm sure, Sir. Thank
you," she said, in a near-whisper, and then cleared her throat.

"I'd be happy to rip him a new one for you, when he decides to
wake up," Skinner offered, and she could hear the affection behind
his gruff voice.

She laughed, a release of tension that seemed to lighten the room.
"No, I'll definitely take care of that." She turned back to Mulder
and watched him breathe.

"I bet you will," replied Skinner, with what was as close to a
smile as she ever saw on his face. "I'm about to go get some
coffee - can I get you a cup?" He stood.

"Thank you, Sir, that sounds good," she said. It was technically
morning, after all, and she doubted she would be getting any sleep
before the day began. Skinner left, and she took Mulder's hand in
hers again. The doctor had said that if the next blood test they
ran showed that the acepromazine was being properly processed out
of his system, he could be discharged. Of course, Mulder would
still be very drowsy, but she supposed they would both prefer him
to sleep it off at home. Maybe Skinner would drive them, as this
latest adventure had cost them a car, Scully reflected.

By the time Skinner returned, Scully was forced to reconsider her
previous thoughts about sleep. She accepted the coffee, but found
herself yawning, and covered her mouth, giving her former boss an
apologetic look.

He shook his head. "I'm not even going to try to suggest taking
you home so you can get some rest, but at least don't apologize
for being tired."

She smiled a brief acceptance and sipped the coffee. It was at
least comparable to the hospital coffee she was used to, which is
to say, tolerable and caffeinated. "Can I take you up on that on
both our behalves, if Mulder is released soon?"

He nodded. "I wasn't planning on leaving until we got the next
update on his condition, anyway."

"I wouldn't want to keep you away from D.C.-" she started.

He interrupted her. "It's been a while since I had reason to run
off without letting my superiors know what was happening or how
long I would be gone, but I think they'll get over it."

Another short, wry smile, and Scully leaned slightly back in her
chair but did not let go of Mulder's hand. They exchanged a few
more phrases, Skinner informing her that little was new at the FBI
since they had last spoken. Even that meeting, when he had helped
Scully get her official start as a non-fugitive, seemed ages ago.
It was a surprise to her when some of what he described brought a
surge of wistfulness. She had thought those days firmly and
willingly in her past, but when he casually mentioned that he knew
Doggett and Reyes were still occasionally called in on bizarre
cases (though the X-Files remained closed), she found herself
smiling in nostalgia and asking for more details.

She thought Skinner seemed pleased that she was interested. He
obliged with case information, describing a trip out to
investigate an alleged levitation. "Of course, I believe they
couldn't find any proof of it."

"Of course," Scully said. Then she grinned. "But you'd have good
reason to allow that possibility, wouldn't you, Sir? Although in
your case, it was telekinesis, not levitation, exactly."

Skinner looked puzzled, and then suddenly let out a heavy breath.
"Yeah, I guess so." His voice was rueful, and she could swear he
was blushing.

Luckily for him, perhaps, he was spared having to talk about it
further when the nurse came to take a blood sample. Mulder stirred
when the needle went in but only looked at Scully for the few
seconds it took for her to reassure him of where they were, before
falling back asleep.

Dawn was starting to break by the time Scully was given the go
-ahead to take Mulder home, and between the two of them they got
Mulder out to the parking lot and into the back seat of Skinner's
car. He had refused a wheelchair, which was typical, Scully
thought. She and Skinner helped him sit down, and he buckled
himself before leaning back bonelessly and closing his eyes.
"Thanks," he muttered, without opening them. She touched his
forehead briefly but didn't reply.

Scully quietly thanked Skinner again, after they had helped Mulder
to the couch. Mulder himself was completely out of it again, and
hadn't even seemed to notice when he had been awkwardly propped
only against Skinner as Scully fumbled for her keys to let them
into the house.

Skinner nodded shortly, and told Scully to take care of herself
and Mulder. He repeated his request that she call him if she ever
needed anything, as he had back at that first meeting. Then he
left, seeming a little uncomfortable intruding on their privacy.
She wasn't sure he quite knew how to react to their shared house
and its implications, either, even as he clearly wasn't surprised
by the development.

Once he was gone, Scully was struck by the thought that she was
home for what little remained of the night, in spite of her
earlier declaration to Mulder in the locker room. This sort of
incident had been exactly what she had feared, but of course she
would not and could not abandon Mulder when he needed help. They
still needed to talk about what else this meant for them. And she
still needed to be sure of what she believed if she was going to
pursue Christian's treatments.

*But not now,* Scully thought as she pulled a blanket over Mulder
and gently shifted him over so she could lie half next to him,
half on top of him. Mulder sighed and moved so that his arm was
around her. She thought she heard him mumble her name. For now,
she was content to snuggle under the blanket, watch the sunrise
brighten the sky, and to finally relax, with him whole and warm
next to her.