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Hidden Things 2 Of 2

Part 12

Eight Hours Later

"What do you mean he wasn't shot? He was covered with blood!" Skinner
exclaimed, then lowered his voice, remembering that he was in a
hospital room. He cast a guilty look at Mulder, lying quietly in the
bed, the only noise coming from all the monitors they had hooked up to
him.



"Don't worry Sir," Scully said in a small voice. "You won't wake him.
The blood we found on him was all Brown's. None of it was his. They
can't find a mark on Mulder, Sir. They've checked for head trauma, but
the x-rays and CT scans show nothing. We just don't know why he won't
wake up." Leaning forward in her chair, she reached for Mulder's hand
and held it gently.



Skinner shifted uncomfortably. "Well, Brown has been confirmed dead.
We found a cache of photographs in the house depicting what we believe
was to be his next victim. It turns out, she's the clerk at the
grocery store he's been frequenting."



Without taking her eyes from Mulder's face, Scully nodded. "That makes
sense. He tended to select convenient victims."



"You won't have any trouble with Internal Affairs. You clearly shot in
defense of Agent Mulder." Skinner eyed Mulder, then Scully anxiously.
"Are you sure there isn't something I can do to help, Agent?"

She shook her head. "I'll just stay here with Mulder for a while."



-----------



Mulder floated in the darkness. He could see and hear nothing. He
raised his hand in front of his eyes, but nothing happened. He swung
his arms around him, contacting nothing. He felt weightless, as though
he had no body. Maybe he didn't have one anymore? No, he wasn't ready
to concede that he was dead yet.



Wait, if he focused carefully, he there was a lighter patch ahead of
him. He somehow reached forward and began to move toward it. For a
miracle, he seemed to be getting closer. The light patch grew brighter
and brighter as Mulder drew near.



Finally, he came to a stop near a ball of incandescent white light.
No, it wasn't a ball at all. It looked like a tunnel. If he squinted,
he thought he could see something on the other side. It looked like
green grass, the kind that lawn fertilizer companies always promise
but never deliver. Well, there sure looked better than here. He began
to move toward the tunnel, then stopped himself. Wait a minute...
Tunnel of light? He looked around the darkness and focused on the
tunnel again. Shit. That meant he was dying, didn't it?



Scully was probably having a conniption right now. Certainly she was
trying to save him. Save him from what?



"Aren't you going to go down that tunnel, Agent Mulder?" A female form
detached itself from the darkness and floated near him. Mrs. Paddock
gave him her best benign smile and Mulder shuddered.



"You! What do you want?" he asked and tried to back a way.



"Let's say that I take an interest in your progress. I'm more involved
in your life than you know," she replied, her smile broadening. "But
it's all over for you now. You're finished; the task is completed.
It's time to rest now." She gestured toward the white light.



Mulder looked around wildly. "I'm not done. The aliens are still going
to land. I can't just leave Scully alone to face that. I have to be
there!"



Mrs. Paddock shrugged. "That's somebody else's worry, not yours."



"Wait a minute," Mulder's eyes narrowed, remembering. "I don't belong
here. Scully shot Brown. I could feel him get hit and...I felt him
die. It was him, not me. I shouldn't be dying."



"You're right, you weren't injured. Not physically, anyway," Mrs.
Paddock explained patiently. "But you were linked psychically to dear
Bob at the moment of his death. He's pulling you in." She smiled
again. "Except that Bob didn't go through the tunnel of light. No, he
went somewhere else..." She gestured to her left.



Mulder saw a formless blob of darkness, even blacker than the vacuum
surrounding him. It seemed to devour any light that approached it. It
grew larger in his view and he suddenly realized that he'd been slowly
drifting toward it during his conversation with Mrs. Paddock.



"You could have gone through the tunnel of light, you know," she said
conversationally. "You lost that chance, however, through your usual,
interminable questioning. I'm looking forward to enjoying many more
conversations with you, Fox. It isn't often we get someone of your
caliber."



Mulder tried to swim back toward the lit tunnel but felt the dark one
pulling him inexorably forward. "Where...does the black tunnel go?" he
panted as he tried to get away.



"Where do you think it goes? Where do all the murderers and rapists
go? You'll find lots of old acquaintances there; they're just dying to
see you and settle some old scores!" She snorted and drifted to a
point next to the black hole, waiting near the entrance.



"John Lee Roche wanted me to say hello." She paused, then added. "And
Eugene Tooms says he's especially looking forward to seeing you
again."



Trying frantically to stop his slide into the darkness, Mulder cried
out. "No! I don't deserve Hell! I haven't done the things they have!"




She quirked an eyebrow. "Really? What about your recent...encounter...
with Agent Scully? She can't wait to get away from you. Going to
Quantico, is she? She's the one good thing you had in your life and
you've lost her," she sneered. "And you're trying to tell me you don't
belong with the likes of Donnie Pfaster?"



Mulder paused, remembering. He'd felt like someone had punched him in
the gut when Skinner told him. And Scully...she'd never said a word
about the transfer She truly couldn't stand the sight of him.



"She only tolerated working with you at the end because you could find
Brown," Mrs. Paddock said. "She's always been professional about these
things. Look at the way she handled Luther Lee Boggs." Mrs. Paddock
smiled slightly. "And you'll be doing her a favor, ridding her of your
presence for good. She can get on with her life. Get married, maybe
even that nice Agent Pargeter. Agent Mulder, in your heart you know
where you belong."



Mulder, speechless, began to feel the darkness slowly closing in.



------------



Forty-Eight Hours Later



Skinner cautiously entered Mulder's room. Dana Scully sat where she'd
been for the past two days. She looked as though she hadn't slept. It
looked like the same suit she'd worn when they took down Brown, too.
Skinner could see some faint blood spatters on the jacket.



Skinner watched Scully in silence for a bit, then said hesitantly,
"Agent Scully? How is he? Any word?"



She stood up, shaky with exhaustion. Carefully supporting herself with
the back of the chair. "He's slipping away. If his breathing gets any
worse, they plan to put him on a ventilator."



Skinner looked helplessly at Mulder, then back again at Scully. "Then
you still have no idea why he seems to be in a coma?"



She shrugged. "Scientifically, no. But...I do have a theory, although
I can't prove it. Mulder was experiencing Brown's thoughts and even
said that he felt connected to Brown somehow. When Brown died, I think
that Mulder's soul, for lack of a better word, was so entangled with
Brown's that Mulder was forced down too...into that cold, dark
place..." She bit her lip and turned her face away from Skinner.



Uncomfortably, Skinner cleared his throat. "Well, I'll be at the
office if you need me, Agent. You'll let me know if...anything...happe
ns?"



She nodded sadly, "I know. I'll call you, Sir, if I need anything."



Skinner nodded back, grimly, and left the room. Scully sighed and took
her seat again, closing her eyes in prayer.



She replayed her last conversation with Mulder endlessly in her mind.
Why, oh why hadn't she told him that she'd rescinded her transfer
request? She forgave him. She loved him and only now was realizing
just how much. Was any of this caused by Mulder just giving up?



There was a soft tap on the door and Pargeter slipped into the room.
To Scully it seemed that Pargeter exuded health and vitality in
comparison to the dying Mulder. Pargeter's face was tanned and
handsome, every hair on his head neatly groomed. For an instant she
hated him, then sighed and turned back to Mulder.



"How's he doing?" Pargeter asked.



"Not well. We still don't know what's causing this, but he's fading.
Unless we can come up with a solution..."



"He's dying," Pargeter said baldly and with...was that satisfaction in
his voice? Surely not.



"He's not going to die, not if I can prevent it," she said stolidly,
clinging to Mulder's hand.



"Dana, you need to face facts," said Pargeter softly. "Mulder was a
good agent and a brave man, but he may not make it."



He pulled a chair next to hers and sat down. "Dana,Mulder will be gone
soon and the X files needs two agents covering them. I hope you don't
still plan to return to Quantico." He paused, then went on earnestly,"
I want you to know Dana, that you're the reason I requested transfer
to the X files. I have some strong personal feelings for you..."



"Mulder isn't going to die!" she snapped. "There's no opening in the X
files, since I'll be staying." She reined in her anger and went on
more calmly. "I am honored and flattered that you have feelings for
me, Tom, but I already have a relationship. With Mulder. I don't think
I'll ever want anybody else."



"So if he survives, you're going to keep dragging yourself down with
this...this failure? He believes little green men, for God's sake! I'd
thought you had more sense, Dana. He'll be lucky if he lasts another
two years in the Bureau and doesn't take you down with him!"



"If that's you're real opinion, then you don't belong in the X files!"
she said frostily. "You might as well go, Tom. I'm not the woman for
you and I don't see myself ever being!"



"I'm sorry you feel that way, Dana. We could have been good together.
Still could. Think about it." Pargeter silently got up to leave. He
pulled open the door and gave Scully a last look. She was completely
focused on Mulder again, he noted. He frowned at him, then at her, and
began to plan.



She was relieved to hear the door shut behind Pargeter. She could feel
herself still quivering with rage. He'd been trying to make a play for
her ever since they'd joined the Brown case. Pargeter would be just as
glad if Mulder died and left the field free for him. She pursed her
lips. Well, it wouldn't be free because Mulder wasn't going to die.



She stood up and removed, first her shoes and then her jacket. Moving
carefully to avoid dislodging the monitors, she climbed into bed next
to Mulder. Wrapping her arms around him, she lay with her head on the
pillow next to his ear and began to talk.



"Mulder, I know that you can hear me wherever you are. Missy would say
that your soul hears me even if you don't and I have to believe that
or I'll lose all hope. Mulder, I didn't get to talk to you. I didn't
have a chance to tell you that I'm not going to Quantico. I'm staying
here, with you on the X files. I don't want you to think that I'll
ever leave you." Her voice trembling, she paused to calm herself.



"Mulder...I'm sorry I was avoiding you. I had to come to terms with
what happened between us. Now, seeing you in this bed, I understand.
You were so closely entwined with Brown that you took on part of his
soul. That's what's got you into this bed right now. But Mulder, you
aren't Brown and I know that. You're Mulder and I love you. I want to
spend the rest of my life with you..."



Was it her imagination or had his heart-rate changed? She listened,
but heard nothing different, so she went on. "I forgive you for your
carelessness, Mulder. That's what lovers do, they forgive each other.
Can you forgive me for the pain I've caused you? I hope so. Please
come back to me, Mulder. You don't belong in the darkness with Brown.
You should be here, in the light, with me."



She heard it, his breathing was changing. He was listening. With
renewed hope, she continued. "Mulder, you can't die. It isn't your
time. You can detach from Brown; leave him behind and come back. I
forgive you for any hurt you caused me just...please...come back to
me." She could hear her voice trembling but no longer cared. "Mulder,
I don't want to live without you."



She felt his chest move under her hand as he took a deep breath and
let it out in a sigh. The sound of the heart monitor sped up.
"Mulder?" she whispered.



His eyes slowly opened a crack, then a tired smile crossed his face.
"Hey, Sunshine," he said. "Miss me?"



No longer trying to fight back the tears, Scully just nodded. She
snuggled in closer and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I missed
you," she said into his chest.



"I was in a very dark place, Scully and I couldn't find my way. Then I
heard your voice," Mulder said solemnly. "When I was lost, you showed
me the way home."

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