A wave
buffeted him yet again and he tightened his grip on Scully.
He felt his foot brush against something and tried to feel for it again as
the next wave crashed over him. Yes, land,
but it was still over her head. She should be
the one clinging to the life jacket, not him! If
he could see something, anything, it would help.When
had night gotten so damn dark?
The next wave
threw his knees against the bottom and he struggled back to his feet, hauling her up,
keeping her head above water. She was limp,
but he was sure she was still breathing. She
had to be.
Now the wave
tumbled him, dragging him along the bottom and freeing her from his grasp. That brought him to the surface, gasping, frantic
to locate her.
She was
there, face down, her hair floating around her. He
grabbed her up and realized he was standing as he pulled her to him. He was able to withstand the next wave and began
moving in the same direction, holding her closely to him.
Without the
water to help support her he realized he'd have to lift her rather than drag her across
the sand. His left arm hung limply at his
side, but somehow he managed to get her over his good shoulder and staggered out of the
surf. He had to get above the water line; he
had no idea when high tide was.
He struggled
the last few steps before his legs collapsed from under him and he dropped her, falling
partially atop her and giving into oblivion.
*****
She rolled
her head, were her eyes open? She could see
stars above her. Outdoors? What had ... there was something on top of her,
trapping her. What was ... Mulder? Yes, that was his warm breath on her throat. He was alive.
That being the only information that mattered, she closed her eyes and was
instantly sleep.
The stars had
disappeared with the coming of dawn when he woke. What
was he ... he was lying on Scully. Damn, he
could have suffocated her. He rolled off of
her body and cried out as his left shoulder took on his weight.
"Mulder!" Scully was awake instantly and bending over him. "What?"
"It's
okay." He muttered through clenched
teeth.
"Yeah,
it sure sounded okay." Her fingers were
gently examining him. "Your shoulder's
been dislocated, Mulder."
"Can you
fix it?" His face was drawn.
"It's
gonna hurt."
"It
already does." She looked into his eyes
then. Yeah it did and for him to admit it, it
hurt bad.
"Lie
still Mulder. I need to get on top ... “
She moved him carefully.
"I like
it when you talk dirty."
She ignored
that, placing her knee gently against his shoulder. "You
ready?" He nodded and she jerked his arm
back into place. He managed to make no sound
though he paled considerably and sweat broke out on his forehead. Almost as quickly the pain subsided and she helped
him to a seated position, again examining that area of his shoulder. "This should be bandaged, immobilized."
"We
could use your t-shirt. Wet like that it -
"
"Damn
it, Mulder! We could have died! You could have been injured much more severely. I don't need your lame - “ She stood then and
stalked away from him.
He made it to
his own feet and followed her. Her back was
to him so he touched her shoulder and turned her toward him. She was crying.
He put his good arm around her. "I'm
sorry Scully. I was just ... I'm sorry."
"Aren't
you scared? Don't you ever ... "
"Sure
I'm scared Scully. I thought you were going to drown, I still don't know what's going to
happen to us, but you're alive, we're alive." He
felt her arms move to encircle him and he dropped his chin onto her hair. "At least we're together. Now we just have to figure out where we are, and
how to get home."
"Oh, is
that all?" She chuckled through her
tears then and looked up at him. "What
did happen, I'm all fuzzy?"
"I'm a
little fuzzy myself." He moved toward
the tree line, getting her into the shade. "The
power died on the boat, I know that. The
motor stopped, the radio went out, the compass - damn the compass went crazy."
"But
that wouldn't cause an explosion."
"No. I don't know what caused that." He shook his head and looked back out to sea.
"Do you
know what happened to the others?"
He shook his
head again, "I was only looking for you. I
know at least two of them were in the water. I
don't know about the third. We've seen that
kind of power outage before."
She closed
her eyes to block the sight of him for an instant. "Aliens,
right?"
"It's
why they were bringing us here. To see the
lights that keep being seen in this area, over these islands."
"God,
Mulder. We're stuck here, we don't know if
they got a distress call off, we've got no food or water, you're injured ... "
"Yeah. It's a good thing I've got you."
She turned
away from him then. She was pissed at him,
but that didn't keep her from feeling the same way. She'd
expected to die when she hit the water, fighting to stay afloat and trying to find him. Needing to know that the explosion hadn't killed
him and knowing that if it had, there was no reason to continue fighting.
"What
have you got on you?"
"What do
you mean?" She looked up at him, more
than willing to think about something else.
"In your
pockets, anything we can use? I still have my
gun, but I don't know what shape it's in. And
these Lifesavers." He held out the small
package of candy.
"So you
weren't just glad to see me?"
That caught
him off guard. She didn't usually join him in
that kind of innuendo. "Scully, are you
coming on to me?"
She turned
from him then. "The candy will be
useful, but we've got to find some fresh water and soon."
"I
wouldn't mind a good steak."
"Yeah,
well that may have to wait, but water can't."
He nodded and
after looking in both directions, started to move east, parallel to the water. She turned in the other direction. "Scully, wait.
Maybe we should stay together."
"We can
cover ground more quickly if we split up."
"True,
but we don't know what's here and you don't have your gun.
I'm not sure mine will fire, but I don't exactly have any way to clean
it." After a moment she nodded and fell
in beside him.
By mutual
consent they moved deeper into the trees that bordered the edge of the beach, both to stay
out of the sun and to look for water. If they
could locate a stream they'd be in a much better position.
*****
Her gaze
moved out toward the sea and she stared, trying not to think, not to panic. They'd found some fruit and sipped water from some
foliage. Mulder had dug up some clams and
they'd eaten them raw. They were far from
full, but they weren't in imminent danger of starvation.
Something
caught her eye and she squinted. “Mulder,
what is that?” She pointed out to sea.
His eyes
followed at her direction. “I think ...
I think it's a body, Scully.” He
looked back at her, “One of the guys from the boat.”
She seemed to
deflate a little at that, as though a little more hope had leaked away.
"I'm
going to bring him in." She rose with
him. “Scully, I can - “
“With
that arm you're going to need help.” She
sounded all business as he looked down at her; which meant she was truly frightened. The problem was, he didn't have a way to make
this any better.
They got the
body to the beach without too much trouble. They
could have waited, he was dead, but ... Scully
dragged him on up past the water line. "It's
Santos' kid. I didn't hear him say a word on
the boat."
"I don't
think he did. He was scared though, he didn't
want to be out here." Mulder knelt down
beside him and began going through his pockets.
"Mulder,
what are you doing?"
"Seeing
what he has that we can use. We're not
exactly equipped for a camping trip here." At
her nod he continued. "Ah ha, a
knife." He checked the other pocket and
pulled out a ruined cigarette pack, then a small bundle.
"Even better, Scully. Waterproof
matches. I sure didn't want to rub sticks
together all day." He handed her both
the knife and the matches, then began undressing the corpse.
"Mulder,
what are you doing now?"
"Taking
his clothes. I'm sorry, but we need them more
than he does right now. You need to get out
of the sun, Scully. I can do this."
"We can
do it faster together. Come on." They stripped the young man down to his underwear
and Mulder pulled him farther back on the beach and covered him with sand until a better
burial could be arranged. "Mulder, how
the hell are we going to contact someone?"
*****
She was
seated slightly apart from him and he saw her rub her arms to stimulate circulation. "You cold Scully?"
"I'm
fine Mulder." She stopped her movements.
"You're
not fine, you're cold."
"It's a
little chilly now." She grudgingly
admitted. The fire just wasn't cutting
it.
"Well,
why waste all this nice warm body heat? Come
on, Scully."
"I'm
okay Mulder." She wouldn't look up at
him.
"Scully? You don't ... You're not ... Scully, you don't
think I would force myself on you?" He
tried to get her to look up. "Scully?"
"No, I
don't - "
Even in the
dim light he could see the flush of her face. "You
do. You think I would - "
"No! I don't. Mulder
... "
"Then
let me keep you warm. I don't want you
getting sick." She sighed and moved over
to sit next to him. "No, here." He pulled her over to sit in the V of his legs, so
that he could put his good arm around her. He
couldn't see her face but was relieved when she finally relaxed back against him.
After a
moment she spoke softly, "Thanks."
"Thank
you. You've fulfilled one of my
fantasies." She stiffened but didn't
pull away. "Haven't you ever played that
game? The one where you decide who you want
to be with you on a deserted island? Well, I
chose you."
"Mulder." Her tone was wary.
"Well,
think about it Scully. I know you can handle
yourself in all kinds of situations, you're a doctor, and then there's the body."
"Mulder." She did jerk away then, but his arm tightened, not
releasing her. "Let me go."
"No. I won't hurt you Scully. I would never hurt you and I'm not coming on to
you, well not really. I know how you feel
about that. I'm just making conversation and
you're still cold."
She
grudgingly relaxed back against him. She was cold. What
did he mean by how she felt about that? She decided against asking, he'd probably
tell her.
"Haven't
you ever played that game Scully? Who would
you want to be with here?"
"Mulder,
it's a stupid game."
"You got
something else to do? Come on, who would you
pick, Brad Pitt? Walter Skinner? Maybe Frohike?"
"Skinner?" She sounded a little incredulous at that one.
"Well,
that's a relief. Some women find bald men a
real turn on."
"Mulder,
this is pointless. I have never thought of
Skinner that way. Even when I kissed him it
wasn't - “
“You
kissed Skinner?” His arm had tightened
involuntarily and she squirmed to loosen the grip.
She knew
immediately she should have kept her mouth shut. She
must be a lot more tired than she realized. “It
was nothing, just a little thank you.”
“A thank
you? What did he do for you?”
“Nothing. Mulder, I'm exhausted and I'm extremely
tired of this conversation. Go to sleep, let
me sleep, whatever.”
He allowed
her to get comfortable up against him and shortly drift off. Not him, sleep was the last thing on his mind now. When the hell had she kissed Walter Skinner? A thank you?
He'd never gotten a thank you kiss.
Hell, in seven years he'd gotten one Happy New Year's kiss and it
had taken him practically the whole seven years to screw up the courage to try that. Now to find out that she kissed Skinner, he
felt like ... hell, he didn't know what he felt like, but it was damned
uncomfortable.
He couldn't
say he'd really relaxed, but she was obviously comfortable in his arms - when she was
asleep anyway, so eventually he carefully reclined, keeping her close and finally gave in
to sleep.
*****
He didn't
recognize the apartment. He had never been
here before, he was sure of that. What was he
doing here now? He heard the door open behind him and saw Scully enter without knocking. This definitely wasn't her place, what the
... Skinner came into the room wearing only a towel.
“What
took you so long?” He had his hands on
her, kissing her eyes and her lips, moving down to her throat.
“He had
a theory he wanted to expound upon. At least
he didn't pull out the slides. I hurried
as much as I could.”
Her jacket
was now resting across the back of a chair and his hands were unbuttoning her blouse. Did they not see him standing here? Skinner had the blouse open now and she let
it fall from her shoulders and lay in a pool of silk on the floor.
Skinner's
hands went to the front clasp of her bra and released it, allowing her full breasts to
escape into his cupped hands. Mulder couldn't
swallow, he couldn't make a sound.
Now she was
pressed against him as his lips explored her throat and his hands released the button and
zipper on her skirt, which joined her blouse. She
wore no stockings; only tiny white silk panties covered her body.
They moved
toward his bedroom now and Mulder followed, although he would have said he couldn't
move. Once there Skinner knelt in front of
her and began kissing and licking his way down toward those panties; finally taking hold
and lowering them to the floor. He nuzzled
her curls and Mulder saw his tongue flick out. She
threw her head back and her nails sank into his shoulders.
Mulder
wondered why he was still alive. He couldn't
draw a breath. He'd give anything to be
back in the sewer with Flukeman.
"Damn
are you ready Dana." Skinner muttered
between licks and bites.
"It's
been forever." She moaned.
"Since
this afternoon in my office?" He teased.
"That
was hours ago." She was pulling him up towards her and then
pushing him toward the bed. She yanked the
towel from around his waist and Mulder tried desperately to close his eyes, wondering what
was keeping him on his feet.
He would kill
Skinner; kill him with his bare hands. He
wanted to throttle her as well, except that ... Scully, how could you?
He watched as
she straddled the man and Skinner's hands came up to her waist to guide her. She rose and impaled herself, crying out at the
sensations coursing through her.
That broke
through his paralysis. "NO!"
*****
"Mulder! Mulder, wake up.
It's just a dream, you're oka - " His hands gripped her
shoulders and she realized he had worked himself loose from the makeshift bandage holding
his arm immobile.
He wasn't
speaking, staring at her horrified, and breathing as though he'd been running for
miles. "Mulder, can you hear me?" What kind of nightmare was this?
He seemed to
be calming down, he glanced around as though to see where he was and she felt his grip
loosen slightly. "Mulder, it's me,
Scully. Are you okay?"
"Why did
you kiss Skinner?" His voice was harsh,
rough sounding.
Why had she
...? What the hell had he been dreaming? She reached up to touch his face, was he ill? He pulled back from her hand. He'd never done that before.
"Tell me
why."
"I told
you, it was just a thank you. He'd done
me a very important favor." It wasn't
enough. He really wanted to know. She looked away, then back into his eyes. "He'd gotten me the coordinates of your
last known location in the Bermuda Triangle. The
information was only available from a classified military database. I couldn't get it and I was frantic. I knew Kersh would let you drown if he could. I had to have the information and Skinner was able
to get it. I was so grateful I forgot myself
and kissed him, in the elevator. His
reaction, if you want to know, was one of fright. I
remember him struggling to get away from me." She
tried to smile at him then. "I thought I'd
really lost you."
A thousand
emotions played across his face then and after a moment he lowered his eyes. He spotted his hands still gripping her and
released her, moving away.
"Mulder,
are you all right?" He nodded, but
wouldn't face her.
"You
were just thanking him."
"That
right." Suddenly she stilled,
"Mulder, I have no romantic interest in Walter Skinner. You know
that. He's our boss."
"He's a
good catch Scully. I'm sure he could be
considered attractive to women, he's successful. His
career path has been upward, unlike some people you've wasted your time with at the
Bureau."
"Wasted
... Mulder, what did you dream?" He
shook his head. "I was in it." It wasn't a question so he didn't respond. She was getting cold without his body wrapped
around her, but that wasn't the only reason she was shaking now.
After a long
uncomfortable moment, she spoke again. "You're
angry with me. Mulder, what did I do that was
so terrible?"
"You
didn't do anything Scully." He sounded deathly tired and more distant that she ever
remembered hearing. Her fear increased and he
finally noticed her tremors. "Come
here." He tried to pull her against him
again.
"No." She moved farther away.
"Scully,
don't be silly. It's cold."
"Silly? Me? You're
furious with me over a damn dream and I'm being silly!" He flinched at that.
"You're
right, Scully. You're right. I'm a fool, okay?
And yes I went crazy over ... knowing you kissed Skinner threw me. I admit it! Happy? I get the eyebrow for every comment I make, but -
"
"Comments? That's what I'm supposed to put up with, juvenile
comments? Have you ever once tried -"
she stood then and walked away from him, her arms wrapped around herself.
He was
immobile for a couple of heartbeats. Then he
scrambled to his feet and was beside her in seconds.
"What would happen if I did ... if I let you know how I feel?"
"How you
... how you feel?"
"Yeah,
if I quit kidding around and ... and - " He took her face in his hands and lowered
his lips to hers. She stiffened at first, but
he didn't back down, increasing the pressure and allowing his hands to move down. He felt her relax against him, enjoying the kiss,
hell, actively participating in it.
They broke
apart and stared at each other, breathing heavily. "Scully,
am I ... Are you gonna hurt me now?"
"You
mean a right cross?"
"No, I
mean a 'let's just be friends' or 'we're better partners', something that painful."
She realized
he was holding his breath. "I wasn't
going to say either of those things. I was
thinking more along the lines of 'what the hell took you so long'." His eyes widened.
"Now are you going to tell me what you dreamed?" She watched the blush take over his face. Mulder blushing?
"It ...
it's not, it's not important Scully. Come on
back, I need to warm you up." That
caused a blush to appear on her face, which he appreciated immensely.
"This is
insane Mulder. What are we doing here?"
"Are you
backing away? Are you sorry?"
"No. But I don't want to get carried away just because
- "
"Because
what?"
"What
was your dream?"
He closed his
eyes. When he felt her hand against his face
he took a deep breath. "Come on back. At least we'll be out of the wind." She allowed him to lead her back to the nest they
had made and let him pull her into the warmth of his arms.
"You're
going to hurt yourself." She touched his
shoulder.
"I'm
okay. Getting warmed up?"
She nodded.
"You're stalling."
"Yeah, I
guess I am. You were in it, and Skinner. You were ...” he looked away.
"With
Skinner? Because I told you I'd given him a
thank you kiss? Mulder, I don't know what to
say."
"You
looked like you were enjoying yourself."
"In your dream, Mulder, not mine." He pulled her closer to him, pressing his lips to
her hair.
Her hand
trailed down his chest and rested on his belt buckle.
"Don't
tempt me Scully, not here."
"Why not
here?" She was honestly curious about
that.
"I have
no protection for you for one thing."
"Protection? Mulder, I can't get pregnant."
"Maybe
not, but - "
"And you're
healthy."
"How
would you know? I've never had an AIDS
screening or - "
"Of
course you ha - " She clamped her mouth shut. What
was she thinking?
"Agent
Scully, have you been hedging your bets?” He
was looking at her with something like incredulity on his face.
"If the
opportunity ever presented itself, I wasn't going to let something like that stand in
the way." She was facing him again now,
eyes snapping.
He stared at
her for a long moment. "The thoughts of
an intimate relationship with me wouldn't cause you to run into the sea?"
"Mulder." She sounded disgusted with him. "I'm human. You're far from repulsive to look at."
"Thanks." He interrupted.
"And I
know you care about me, in one way or another."
She continued, ignoring him.
"And
another and another. Do you have erotic
dreams about me Scully?"
"That's none of your business."
"You do!" He sounded utterly delighted.
"Well
you just had one about me."
His face fell
at that. "It wasn't me you were
with."
"It was
only a dream." She reminded him gently.
"But it
was a damn intimate dream, with another man."
"Mulder,
do you think sex could make us more intimate?"
The question rendered him speechless. After a long moment he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I don't know, Scully." She watched him purse his lips to try to control the grin that was growing.
She laughed
out loud then and he was mesmerized at the sight. He
didn't try to stop himself, sealing her lips with his own. All mirth was gone as they explored, tasted and
delighted each other with tongues and lips.
She finally
broke away, her hands on his chest. She was
breathing heavily. "Are we ... are we
ready to do this?"
"Seven
years, Scully. How ready do we have to be?"
"Time
isn't the issue, Mulder."
"The
depth of my commitment Scully? There is no
one else; there's never been anyone else in my life like you. You created a ... a place in me that I didn't
know could exist. Now I know I can't go
on without you in that place."
They were
both surprised at the tears that formed in her eyes.
"Scully?"
She shook her
head, "No one's ever said anything like that to me."
"No one's
ever loved you the way I love you." He
saw the tear escape then. He leaned in and
kissed it away. "No one's ever scared me
the way you do either."
She drew back
at that to look at him. "What?"
"When
that bomb went off, when I didn't know what had happened to you ... God, Scully. I was frantic.
I was disoriented myself; I knew I had no time. Then I spotted you and realized you were alive. I had to live then, I had to."
She nodded,
remembering her own panic. "Kiss
me."
*****
They stepped
back to escape the sand being blown up by the helicopter blades. Immediately upon touch down, they saw Skinner jump
down and head toward them.
No coat and
tie today. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans
and had the haggard look of someone who's been without sleep for a couple of days.
"I don't
know, he looks pretty good in the casual clothes, huh?"
She shoved
her elbow into his ribs and he grunted from the impact.
Then Skinner was with them, his hands on Scully's arms. "Are you two okay?" He glanced over at Mulder after giving Scully a
thorough going over with his eyes.
"Yes,
sir. And very glad to see you." She responded.
Mulder had stiffened at the way Skinner had taken hold of her, but managed
to keep his face impassive, at least to most people.
"Is
anyone else here?"
"No. There is a body that needs transport." She pointed down the beach. "Do you have any body bags on board?"
"Yes. We didn't know ... it's good to see you
both." He was struggling with
professionalism now and released her arms.
"How did
you find us?" That question came from
Mulder. He almost sounded annoyed that they
had.
"Oh, the
uh, the captain's wife. When you didn't
return she contacted the Coast Guard and during their investigation they discovered that
he'd had passengers." There was
something odd about Mulder, the way he was standing in front of him, a difference. It was making Skinner slightly uncomfortable but
he couldn't place his finger on why. Maybe it
was just what they had endured over the past couple of days. "Let's get you back to civilization,
okay?"
Skinner took
Scully's arm to assist her to the helicopter, but something made him turn. He released her arm without thought, moving back
to allow Mulder to assist her. Not a word had
been spoken, but Skinner knew he wasn't to touch this woman. Not even casually.
He understood the difference now.
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