RaindancersAsylum.html

Asylum

By Raindancer
raindancer88@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: The X Files and all characters of the show belong
to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox Networks. I do not
claim ownership and make no money from this little story. No
infringement intended.
RATING: R for disturbing material.
SPOILERS: Up to Field Trip. Biogenesis never happened.
SUMMARY: Mulder goes missing. Scully to the rescue. A devious
plot to keep things hidden and a few friends that march to a
different drum. Not your usual Mulder goes missing story. Note:
This story has nothing to do with Biogenesis.

THANKS: To the great and wonderful Vickie Moseley. Who has a
patience beyond the call of duty. You’re Wonderful!

FEEDBACK: Please! I don’t care if you hated it. At least let me
know it! To all who don’t write, you might not understand that
feedback is greatly needed to writers. But trust me, it is! To writers,
you understand. Come on don’t let me down! Reply to
raindancer88@hotmail.com or raine@naxs.com

Unknown Location
11:30 PM

The man lit a cigarette as he turned to face the German walking in
the door. "It's late. What's this about?"

The German scowled at the lit cigarette and sat himself at the table.
"Must you do that in here." Without waiting for an answer the man
went on in his heavily accented voice. "It seems that our Mr.
Mulder has once again made himself a problem. This needs to be
taken care of."

"I see. I'll make sure that he’ll not bother us again." He stood up
and mashed the cigarette out in the tray. The accented voice
stopped him before he could get to the door.

"We need him alive. He is still an important part of the project. You
will not harm him unnecessarily."

The man nodded and made his way through the door. He needed to
get the plan put into action. Pulling out his phone he dialed a few
quick numbers. "Do it."

Apartment 42
2360 Hegal Place
Alexandria , VA

Mulder slung the file back onto the low standing coffee table in
front of the couch. Placing his elbows on his knees he scrubbed at
his face with his hands. It was 2:00 AM and he still hadn't been able
to get a handle on this new case. It didn't make sense. The whole
thing was so incongruous. No wonder the boys in VCS couldn't
crack it. He hated these kinds of cases. He had other things on his
mind anyway. He got up and went to the fridge for a drink. He
needed to go for a run. That would clear his head.

Outside he made his way to the public park. He was concentrating
on his running and didn't notice the lurking figure at the edge of the
path concealed in the shadows of the trees ahead. "Humph." The
wind was knocked out of him as he went down with the heavy
weight on top of him. He groaned as a knee was shoved
in his back and he was picked up and hauled into the nearby waiting
car.

"Don't rough him up. We don't want any marks on him." The
Morley glowed in the dark as the man took a drag. "Settle in
Mulder we have quite a little drive ahead of us."

Mulder looked up in hatred at the sound of the man's voice. "What
do you want you black lunged son of a bitch!" He was still gasping
from having been pummeled and it came out in short pants.

"Mr. Mulder I have what I want. Sit down in the seat we wouldn't
want to have be to forceful with you."

The car sped off with Mulder in the back and no one the wiser as to
what had just happened.

Somewhere in
North Carolina

Mulder sat back and looked warily at the men surrounding him. He
had given up on getting out of the car when the burly man next to
him shoved a gun into his ribs. He was surrounded by men who
looked like they'd rather shoot him instead of look at him. The
Morely smoking bastard was in the front passenger seat of the car.
"What do you want? Where are you taking me?"

"My my, curious aren’t we Mulder. You'll see soon enough. Here’s
a good spot, pull over." He turned around cigarette burning
between his lips. "Help our guest on with his change of clothes."

The man to his left reached to the floor of the vehicle and brought
up a paper sack. He unrolled the top, reached in and handed Mulder
a yellow t shirt with some kind of caricature on the front and a pair
of flip flops.

"You have got to be kidding me! Wrestling? I never knew you had
such a kinky side." Mulder was repaid with a hard jab to the ribs.
The gun barrel driving itself into the hard bone. He winced and
doubled over clutching at his side.

"Mulder I suggest that you put those on and not argue about it. I
don't mind if you are hurt any more. It can be explained." He
paused taking a drag from his ever present cigarette.

The man on his right started pulling off Mulder's shirt, knocking
him in the chin during the process. Roughly he pulled the bright
yellow shirt over his head. The shirt was too big and hung funny on
his lanky frame. Next the large man started pulling off Mulder's
shoes.

"I'll do it myself." Mulder growled out. He might as well since it
looked like it was going to be done one way or the other. Besides
he didn't want to chance another little 'accident' to happen while the
other man did it. His ribs were still groaning in protest and his jaw
felt like it had come unhinged. He finished putting on the shoes. He
noticed that they hadn't bothered to get his right size in any of the
proffered items. Mulder tried to keep himself quiet but he couldn't
keep the biting sarcasm to himself. "What are you going to do,
embarrass me by making me go out in public like this?" He was
rewarded with another stunning blow to his ribcage.

He was still bent over clutching at his rib cage when the next item
was pulled from the bag. It was a syringe filled with a clear liquid.
Mulder started to struggle in earnest when the men grabbed him.
The man on his right held him down while the other one stuck the
needle into his hip. He could feel the slow burn of whatever had
been injected make it's way into his system.

"Enough! Let's go get this over with." He sat back in his seat and
snuffed the cigarette out in the already overflowing ashtray. They
drove on a couple of more miles slowing and turning into a gravel
drive. Mulder caught a glimpse of a sign through the front window.
In big green lettering the sign proclaimed GREENBRIAR.

The building in front of them was huge and all white. There were
bars on some of the windows and large bushes on either side of the
entryway. The cigarette smoking bastard got out of the car and
adjusted his suit. The man on the right side opened the door and
pulling Mulder roughly after him got out of the car. The other man
got out quickly behind them and they stepped up beside Mulder
grabbing his arms to support him.

Mulder could feel the tension seeping out of his muscles and a haze
come over his senses.

Once on the front porch Cancerman rang a buzzer at the side of the
door. After a few minutes the door was opened by a small wiry man
with white hair combed neatly in place. Behind him stood several
large men dressed in scrubs and a woman in white.

The older gentleman who had opened the door looked from one
man to the other standing on his porch. He turned back to the man
in the suit and offered a smile. "I see you made it. We've been
expecting you." After shaking the man's hand he turned to the
younger man in between the larger two. "You must be Billy. Please
all of you come inside."

The two men that were holding Mulder up brought him inside and
then handed him over to the two men in scrubs. Mulder was almost
a dead weight by this time and had to be supported fully by the two
men. He noticed the wiry man looking at him but couldn't summon
up the strength to talk.

"Yes. I'm afraid we had to sedate him to get him here. He doesn't
like to travel."

Mulder could hear the voice and he recognized the voice but he
couldn't make out what it was saying. He was aware that the
cigarette smoking bastard was talking about him. He was also
aware that he should be trying to get away but he couldn't make his
muscles obey.

They were walking down a well lit hallway. The floor was polished
to a sheen that the lights glared off of hurting Mulder's eyes. He
noticed there were pipes running along the ceiling. The only sound
was the slapping of shoes against the floor, other than that the place
was deathly quiet. It felt like the whole place was holding it's breath
as if waiting for something. He followed the hands guiding him as if
he had no free will. He was aware that they had stopped when he
heard the voices start up once again.

The old man turned to the two orderlies leading their charge. "Mr.
Muldovsky will be in ward C. Take him on and get him settled in.
I'll be over there as soon as I finish up the paperwork with his
father."

The two burly men nodded and moved taking the younger, dazed
man with them. They led him into a large tiled room with faucets
dripping water noisily onto the floor. Deftly they removed the
clothes and led him to a chair placed under one of the faucets and
turned on the stream of water. Quickly they soaped him up and
hosed him down. Mulder was faintly aware of what was happening.
He just couldn't make a move to stop it. He felt weighted down and
out of sorts. It was like he was observing the action but couldn't
participate.

They toweled him down and put a pair of gray cotton pants and
shirt on him and then led him down another hall. He could hear
other sounds now. They were faint but still it was something other
than the eerie silence seeping from the blank walls.

"N..nonono." Mulder tried to protest but it came out slurred and
indistinct.

The men frowned at him. "Now what are you going on about.
Come on and be good."

One of the men pulled a ring keys off a hook at his waist. He slid
one of the keys into the slot and with a twist the door opened.
Inside the sounds were a little louder. Still muted but clearer also.
In the center sat a large station with nurses sitting behind.
They looked up as the men brought Mulder up to the desk.

"Hey Jim is this the new patient.?" The orderly nodded. "Mr.
Muldovsky isn't it? He'll be in observation room 2 for right now."

"Thanks Carol." Then turning him around they led him across from
the desk and into a small room with a bed in it. Except for that the
room was bare and devoid of any personality.

"Okay buddy here we are. Let's lie down on the bed and get
comfy."

They laid him on the bed and pulled the covers up to his chest.
Then without another glance they left the room. Mulder wanted to
get up and leave but he was so tired and the light was so bright. He
couldn't help but close his eyes and in the next instant he was
asleep.

Dr. Gribough's Office
Greenbriar Asylum

“We have everything set up I just need to get you to sign the papers
and give us some more background information. Oh yes, I also
need to get a copy of the court papers appointing you legal
guardian. By the way, I'm glad that you already had that done. A lot
of people don't understand that even though they are the parents,
once the patient reaches eighteen he has to be judged incompetent."
He droned on as he handed over the papers to Billy’s father.

"Yes well, we've been having trouble for a while and we knew that
this was in the future. It made sense to go ahead and take care of
it." He took the papers and began signing a name to the dotted
lines.

"Now you have had him seen by a doctor before is that correct?"

"Yes. He was diagnosed as being schizophrenic at the age of 22. As
I said we knew that this time was coming. I wanted to take care of
him as long as I could at home. He usually takes Chlorpromazine.
50 mg three times a day."

"I see. Can you tell me some of his symptoms. Does he show
negative or positive symptoms?"

The man in the dark suit smiled faintly and reached into his pocket
pulling out a pack of Morley cigarettes. "He believes he is an FBI
agent. He has invented a whole cast of people that he interacts
with. He also believes that he is pursued by a dark shadow
government who wishes to do him in." He smiled sadly and
continued. "He has included me in his delusions I'm afraid.
Apparently I am a key antagonist. He calls me Cancerman." He held
up his cigarette and then put it out. "He never did like the smoke."

Dr. Gribough was sympathetic. "Don't worry we'll take good care
of your son."

Mr. Muldovsky smiled. "Yes."

X Files Office
11:00 AM

Scully was worried. It wasn't like Mulder to be late. In fact most of
the time he was there way before 'working hours'. The fact that she
had called his apartment and cell phone several times irritated her
more. If he had gone off and ditched her again so God help him.
She tried to not let herself get too worried. She refused to worry
about him when he had probably just gone off again on his own. If
that's the way he wanted to treat her then she certainly wasn't going
to worry about him. She got up and paced the office again looking
at her watch. "This is getting ridiculous!" Picking up her suit jacket
she Left to check her partner's apartment.

Apartment 42
2360 Hegal Place
Alexandria, VA

After knocking and receiving no answer Dana Scully let herself into
Mulder's apartment. The place was a mess but that wasn't unusual.
It was the usual clutter, not the kind of mess that was left after
someone trashed a place. Everything seemed to be in order. His
bags were still in the closet so he hadn't packed to go anywhere.
Which meant that he must have left in a hurry. Going back into the
living room she noticed the file folder laying on the coffee table.
Next to that was his cell phone. "Dammit Mulder if you're not
going to carry it with you why have one."

She went back into the bedroom and picked up his suit pants. His
wallet was still in the pocket along with his ID. Sighing she went to
check his answering machine only to find it devoid of any messages.
Next she checked his e-mail, again with no luck.

Making her way back to her car she checked and sure enough there
was Mulder's car parked at the curb. Rubbing the back of her neck
she decided that it was time to pay a visit to Assistant Director
Skinner.

AD Skinner's Office

The secretary looked up from her desk to the petite agent coming
into the main office. She recognized agent Scully and smiled at her
kindly. "Agent Scully is the AD expecting you?"

Scully tried to smile back in kind but had the feeling that it didn't
come out exactly as she had planned. "No actually he isn't but I was
wondering if he would have a minute to discuss something with
me."

"I don't think he has anything at the minute Agent Scully if you'll
have a seat I'll tell him you're here."

Scully said her thanks and sat down in one of the chairs to await her
boss. She checked her watch again and couldn't help but feel the
worry niggling at her mind. Her Mulder radar was going off and she
didn't like it one bit. She tried not to be overbearing but at times
that man could be so frustrating. He had no sense of
self-preservation. Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening
door of the inner office.

"Agent Scully." With that Skinner turned back into his office
trusting that his agent would follow. Reaching his desk he sat down
and watched as the fiery red head made her way into the office.
Closing the door after her she came over to her customary chair
and primly sat herself . "You wished to see me."

"Yes, Sir. I was wondering if you knew of Agent Mulder's
whereabouts?" Scully asked fidgeting slightly at her bosses stare.

"You don't know?" At her raised eyebrows he went on. "Have you
checked his apartment?"

"Yes Sir. He wasn't at home. It didn't appear that anything had
happened there. Everything seemed to be in order. His bags were
still in the closet, his badge and wallet were still there along with
his
gun and his cell phone." Blushing slightly Scully continued. "There
were no messages on his machine and no e-mails that would
account for where he might be either."

Walter Skinner removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his
nose. "When was the last time you heard from him?"

"Yesterday Sir. I left the office around 6 p.m. last night. He was
still there looking over a file that someone in VCS had wanted him
to take a look at."

"What cases have you two been working on recently? Anything that
would cause trouble?"

"Lately we haven't been out in the field much Sir. The last case we
handled was an abduction case in Indiana. That was a week ago. It
was pretty cut and dry actually. Turned out that the girl's father had
been the one to take her. This case didn't seem to upset Mulder. I
don't know if he ever believed that it was UFO related."

Skinner sat back in his chair adjusting the glasses on his face and
sighed. "Usually I wouldn't be too concerned but since this is
Mulder that we're dealing with I think we should take steps to
locate him. I'll have a forensics team out to his apartment just in
case. See
if you can find out any information on where he might have gone."

Agent Scully got up to leave when her boss's voice stopped her.
"And Scully if you find anything let me know."

Scully nodded and continued out of the office. She had a few phone
calls she wanted to make. She couldn't help the growing sense of
urgency in the pit of her stomach.

The Next Day
Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2

There was a haze in his brain that no matter how he try he couldn't
shake. Not only that but he had the distinct impression that he had
been munching on cotton. Mulder brought himself to full
consciousness and tried to put some moisture back into his mouth.
He opened his eyes and then immediately shut them again as the
bright lights assaulted them. Gingerly he turned onto his side and
rubbed the sleep from his face. There was no telling what time it
was. Looking around he took in his surroundings. He couldn't
remember getting here or for that matter where here was. Slowly,
images came flooding back to him.

Cancerman.

Slowly he got to his feet holding onto the bed to keep his balance.
After the room finished tilting crazily Mulder gingerly made his way
over to the door. The door was locked and all he could see out of
the tiny window was the wall on the other side of the hall. He
turned and leaned heavily on the door. The walls were a putrid
green that did nothing to settle his stomach. He needed to find out
exactly where he was and what was happening. But first, he needed
to rid himself of the contents in his stomach.

Apartment 42
2360 Hegal Place
Alexandria, VA

Scully was sitting on Mulder's couch. The forensics team hadn't
turned up a damn thing the day before. She had spoken with the
boys and they hadn’t heard from Mulder in a week. “Think Dana.”
The only thing’s missing from his apartment was his much beloved
tennis shoes. “Okay, so he went running. At least it’s a place to
start.” After updating Skinner on the situation she grabbed her coat
and headed out to check the local parks.

Unknown Location

“Has the problem been resolved?”

“Yes. There won’t be any problems.” He took a drag on the
cigarette.

“Suppose they find him?”

“When that happens it’ll be too late. The situation will be resolved.”

“It had better be. For your own sake.”

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2

Mulder was sitting on the bed. He had just gotten over the sick
spell that had overtaken him a few moments before. There was the
rattling of keys at the door before the door swung inward. Mulder
jumped up off the bed putting his back to the wall.

“Well Mr. Muldovsky you had a good nights rest. I’m Dr.
Gribough. Why don’t you sit down and have a talk with me.”

“I don’t know what you’ve been told but my name’s Mulder.”

“Right. Mulder okay. Well Mr. Mulder why don’t you come have a
seat so I can talk to you.”

Mulder looked over at the bed and took a seat a good way away
from the doctor. “Dr. Gribough, listen to me. My name is Fox
Mulder. I work for the FBI in Washington D.C. It’s important that
you let me leave.”

“Mr. Muldovsky, your father had informed me of your delusions.
It’s important that we try and face reality okay. Let’s see, I want to
get some blood levels on you so we can adjust your medication.”

“I’m not on medication and my father is dead!”

“I see. Okay why don’t I come by and talk to you a little later. I’ll
send someone in to take some blood and we’ll get you started on
something that should make you feel better soon.” He got up to
leave.

“Call my partner, Scully, Dana Scully! She’ll straighten this out. My
blood levels won’t check out. I’m not on any medication!” The
door closed in his face before he could continue.

Exasperated Mulder plopped back down on the bed. “Hurry Scully.
Get my ass out of this.”

X-Files Office

She was tired. The words from the reports were starting to blur
together. No one had seen anything. It was like he had disappeared
without a trace. Every time she came up with something it turned
out to be a dead end. Since the death of X there was no one she
knew to contact. Not that he was very forth coming with her
anyway. “Where are you Mulder?”

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2

Mulder had managed to calm down enough to lay back on the
uncomfortable bed. Sighing he looked back up at the window set in
the wall. It had metal grate on it that covered the glass. He
wouldn’t be able to get out that way. He knew Cancerman was
behind this. He just couldn’t figure out what he hoped to
accomplish by this.

There were keys rattling in the door again. Mulder sat up on the
bed and did his best to look calm. It wouldn’t do him any good to
give the staff here any proof that he might be unstable.

“Mr. Muldovsky it’s time for your medicine.” The nurse came in
carrying a small cup and a larger cup of water.

Mulder looked at the pills and handed the small cup back to the
burly nurse standing over him. “I don’t want any medicine.”

“Mr. Muldovsky you have to take this or we’ll be forced to give it
to you by injection. Now open up and take the medicine. It’ll make
you feel better.”

Mulder sighed and took the cup. He threw his head back, emptying
the contents into his mouth and under his tongue. He took the cup
of water and swallowed greedily.

“Good boy. Now let me see in your mouth.”

Mulder obliged and opened his mouth for the nurse to look into.

“Okay, lift your tongue up.”

Mulder tried to quickly switch the pills into the side of his cheek but
there was one too many and it popped out of his mouth and onto
his lap.

She glared down at him and snatched the pill out of his lap. “All
right Mr. Muldovsky spit it out.” She grabbed his face in her hand
and squeezed his cheeks until he had to spit the pills out. “If that’s
the way you want to do it we can surely oblige you.” She snatched
up the pills and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Mulder looked around for a place to hide or something to defend
himself with. He couldn’t afford to have his brain turned to mush by
their drugs.

Just then the nurse returned with two orderlies who promptly came
towards Mulder. “Listen, guys, this isn’t really necessary okay.”

The two orderlies paid him no heed and grabbing his shoulders and
legs deftly flipped him over onto his stomach. The nurse promptly
produced a syringe yanking at the top of his sweat pants injected
the medicine into his hip.

“There you go. See all that fuss over nothing. I’ll be back to check
on you shortly. You just rest for a little while.”

Mulder tried to answer her but couldn’t get his brain to work over
the haze that was descending. Giving up he let his head flop back
down to the pillow.

1419 Georgetown
Apt. 35.

Dana Scully sat on her couch drinking a cup of coffee. Trying to
sleep was futile. She knew that Mulder was out there and that he
was in trouble. Call it women’s intuition or Mulder radar it didn’t
matter. The fact was he was still missing.

The phone rang and Scully jumped at the handset. “Mulder?”

“Agent Scully” The AD’s voice was apologetic. “we may have a
witness as to what happened to Mulder. Meet us at the Annapolis
PD. They’ll hold him there for you to question.”

“Thank you sir. I’ll get over there right away.” Scully hung up and
ran into her bedroom to change out of her sweats.

Annapolis Police
Department

An officer met Scully outside of the interrogation room. The
Assistant Director of the FBI had called and requested that she get
first go at the witness and to make sure that she have anything she
needed. Officer Gent, being the youngest on the force, had gotten
the duty of making sure she was taken care of.

“Agent Scully, I’m Officer Gent. The witness is a homeless male,
68 years of age. Says his name Alfred. He was apparently on a
bench in a park not far from your partner’s apartment on the night
he disappeared. He says he saw something so we thought we
should bring him in for questioning.”

“Thank you officer.” Scully walked into the room and took a seat
across from the old man.

“Hello Alfred, I’m Agent Scully. I need to know what you saw last
night.”

“I was just sittin’ there aint bothered nobody. I notice there’s this
man. I seen ‘im afore. He was runnin’ always runnin’. Anywho,
here he come an this ghost it jus’ jump out an grab ahol’ of ‘im. He
wrestlet that youngin to the groun’. Then this black carriage drove
up. An that ole’ ghost he up an threw ‘im in. ‘At there carriage
took off. I don’ reckon we’ll e’er see that youngin again. They took
my wife ‘at way. Ne’er did see ‘er again neither.”

Scully frowned down at her notepad. “Alfred, could you describe
this young man to me.”

“Well now it was dark. But, he was a tall un. Had ‘imself a head full
a dark hair. ‘At’s abou’ it.” The old man took a swig of the coffee
before him.

Scully rubbed at her brow. “What about this ghost. Can you
describe it?”

“It was a dark ghost. One a the bad un’s it was.”

Scully sighed. “Thank you for your help Alfred. If you remember
anything else about this don’t hesitate to come back down to the
station okay.”

The old man nodded and shuffled out of the room and down the
hall. She trailed after him slowly. She closed the door to the
interrogation room dejectedly.

Gent had been waiting for her to emerge. “Did you find out
anything useful?”

Scully shook her head. She had hoped they finally had something.
“He’s obviously confused. There is a chance that it was Mulder he
saw. If it was then we know he was taken from the park while he
was running. It sounds like something that would happen to him.”

Officer Gent looked at her with sympathy. “Is there anything else
you need tonight?”

“I don’t think so. We’ll keep looking for anyone that might have
seen something.”

“Well, good night then Agent Scully.” He watched her walk off
down the hall. She was pretty but he had the feeling he wouldn’t
have a chance.

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

The medicinal haze still hovered over Fox Mulder’s brain. He
couldn’t see straight and now his hearing was messed up as well.
He kept thinking he heard someone singing but he couldn’t see
anyone in the room with him.

He was looking where he thought the voice was coming from. The
wall? No. Walls couldn’t talk. He kept looking at the wall. He
noticed the grate come off the air duct and a long arm reach out
and grab the wall.

“Nooooo, no.” Mulder tried to get up off the bed. “Your dead. I
killed you. You’re dead!”

The doctor came rushing into the room with a nurse and the two
orderlies. “ Mr. Muldovsky what’s going on.”

Mulder’s head snapped around at the sound of the doctor’s voice.
“What’d you do! I killed him, he’s dead! He’s dead!”

The orderlies grabbed a hold of Mulder and held him down.

“Nurse, go grab the restraints. He’s going to hurt himself!” The
doctor walked over and laid a hand on Mulder’s forehead. “ Calm
down son. No one’s going to hurt you.”

The nurse came back in and the orderlies put the restraints on
Mulder.

“Grab the Lorazepam, 4 mg IM.”

The world started to recede and against his better instincts Mulder
started to slide into oblivion.

“Doctor, can you understand what he’s mumbling? It sort of sounds
like tombs?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just more of his psychotic ramblings. He
won’t be up to eating dinner tonight. Let’s watch this one closely.”
Doctor Gribough turned and left with Mr. Muldovsky’s chart.

The 3rd Day
Office of Walter S. Skinner
FBI, Washington D.C.

Walter could smell him before he actually saw him. The man
smelled like an ashtray. The smell was enough to make you sick and
the sight wasn’t that much better.

“You wished to see me Mr. Skinner.” The man took a drag on his
cigarette.

Walter scowled at him. “There’s no smoking in my office.”

“Of course. How inconsiderate of me.” He dropped the cigarette on
to the carpet and crushed it with his heel. “My time is precious Mr.
Skinner, what is this about?”

Walter leaned forward placing his elbows on the desk. “I know you
had something to do with Agent Mulder’s disappearance. I want to
know what you’ve done with him.”

“What makes you think I know anything of Agent Mulder’s
whereabouts?” He seated himself carefully in a chair across from
the A.D.’s desk.

“Let’s just say that this thing reeks of something you and your
group would do. I am deadly serious about this. I want to know
where he is now.”

“I assure you Mr. Skinner, I know nothing.” With that he got up to
leave.

Walter settled back into his chair. “Am I going to have to call
Albert Hosteen?”

The cigarette smoking man whirled back to face Skinner. “You pick
up that phone Mr. Skinner and you’ll be dead before you can finish
dialing. Don’t forget, I hold your life in the palm of my hand.” he
gave a slight chuckle. “Isn’t nano technology wonderful.” Then he
was out of the door.

“God Dammit!” It had been worth the try. But as it were they had
his balls in a vice grip.

X-Files Office

She had just gotten off the phone with the Annapolis police
department. Nothing else had been turned up at the park. Scully sat
back and steepled her hands under her chin, a habit she had picked
up from Mulder. She hadn’t slept well at all the night before. She
kept having dreams of Mulder calling out to her for help. She could
see him and hear him but she couldn’t reach him.

They had been in an old room. The sound had echoed off the walls.
It was so damn frustrating! He was right there on the other side of
the room. The only problem was that there was a lake of blood
separating them. Every time she tried to cross it sucked her down.
She awoke right before it had completely covered her head. “I’m
trying Mulder. Please hang on.”

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

His head hurt. He opened his eyes and immediately snapped them
shut at the rays of sun coming in the windows. He moaned and
turned on his side. When he opened his eyes again a cup was
suspended in his face.

“I thought you might be thirsty. That stuff they gave you tends to
leave you with cotton mouth.”

Mulder looked over at the young girl kneeling next to his bed. He
took the cup and drank as he studied her. She was probably fifteen
or sixteen. She was very thin with hair to her waist. It was a dark
color and set off the brown in her eyes.

“Do I know you?” He handed the cup back to her.

“Nope. My name’s Lisbeth. Sorry I scared you yesterday. It wasn’t
my intention.”

“You?” He eyed her over. She was skinny but she was tall. “How
can you fit through there?”

She shrugged and sat on the floor against the wall. “It’s an odd air
duct system. I think they must be a little bigger than the usual. I
haven’t gotten too big to go through yet.”

Mulder raised his head and looked at her incredulous. “What are
you doing crawling around in there anyway?”

She pulled her knees up to her chest and locked her arms around
her knees. “ It’s the only way I can get around. Locked doors are
such a nuisance and every door here is locked. I heard your name is
Billy. What ya doin in here Billy?”

“My name’s not Billy.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”

“Mulder, my name’s Mulder. Look can you get these things off of
me?” He gestured to the restraints.

“Nope. What kind of name’s Mulder?”

He stared at her. “It’s my last name. Come on help a guy out here
okay.” He jerked at the restraints.

“I can’t. So what’s your first name if it’s not Billy?”

He sighed. This was getting him nowhere. “My first name’s not
important. What do you do go around to people’s rooms and bug
them all day?”

“That’s not nice. I have to agree though, Billy doesn’t really suit
you.” She cocked her head and studied him a minute. “Maybe
you’re a Greg or a Michael. Yeah you sorta look like a Michael.”

“I am not a Michael! Why won’t you undo these things for me?”

“Cause then they’ll know someone was in here. Well it’s almost
time for morning rounds, I gotta get back. Don’t say anything
about me being here. They’ll just think you’re hallucinating again.”
She jumped up and pulled herself into the vent opening. Pushing the
grate out she caught it and hoisted it into place. “Good-bye
Michael.”

“My name’s not Michael!”

Office of AD Skinner
FBI Washington D.C.

Scully sat calmly on the sofa outside of the AD’s inner office. She
had been notified that Skinner wanted to meet with her earlier that
morning. It was now going on two in the afternoon. She shifted
again and recrossed her ankles.

“Agent Scully, the AD is ready to see you.”

She nodded her thanks and stood up straightening her suit. Scully
stopped just inside the doors. The smell of smoke was faint but it
was there. She noticed a burn in the carpet behind the chair that she
usually sat in. “You wished to see me sir?”

“Yes Agent Scully, please have a seat. Have you turned up any
more leads on Mulder’s disappearance?”

“No sir. All we have at this point is that he was taken from the park
near his house.”

Skinner shifted in his seat. “Are we even sure that it was him that
the witness saw that night?”

“The evidence would seem to suggest that sir. There is no reason to
believe that it wasn’t. If you don’t mind me asking sir, exactly what
are you getting at?”

He sighed and sat up straighter picking up a memo on his desk.
“Agent Scully, you’re temporarily being reassigned to the
pathology department at Quantico.” He swore he saw fire flash in
her eyes.

“You can’t do that! It’s only been a couple days since Mulder
disappeared! He’s behind this isn’t he? Cancerman! I won’t give up
looking for him.” Scully unclenched her hands from the file she was
holding.

“My hands are tied on this Agent Scully. The orders came from the
Director’s office. I will keep working on this. I don’t expect you to
quit looking into this but it’s going to have to be done on your own
time.”

Scully glared coldly at the man in front of her. “Is that all sir?”

“Yes Agent. Report to Quantico tomorrow morning. Scully, be
careful. Don’t step on too many toes on this.”

She never stopped. Closing the door behind her she strode out into
the hallway. “Asshole.”

Office of The
Lone Gunmen

“He took you off the case?” Byers was sitting across from Scully.
She had come in looking rather haggard. They had immediately sat
her down and Byers had fixed her a warm cup of tea.

Langly came out of the kitchen carrying a stack of papers. “That’s
bureaucracy for you. They’ll screw you over any way they can.”

Scully shook her head. “I don’t suppose you guys have come up
with any thing useful.”

Frohike came over carrying one of his new toys. “We believe this
Alfed that you talked to is one Alfred Franklin. He was a stock
broker until his break down about nine years back. His wife left
him. No kids. I’m afraid that’s all we’ve been able to dig up.”

Scully stood up and gathered her jacket and purse. “Thanks guys. If
you hear anything new give me a call.” She strode to her car and
locking herself in, let the tears fall.”

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

The doctor was sitting across from Mulder on a stool that he
brought in with him. “Can you at least take these things off of me
now?’

“That depends Billy, can you be calm?”

Mulder gritted his teeth but decided to let the name thing pass.
Arguing wasn’t doing him any good. “Yes, I’m calm. Please just
unfasten these things.”

Dr. Gribough unfastened the restraints and sat back in his chair.
“I’m sorry that I missed you this morning on my rounds but an
emergency came up with one of the other patients. I’d like to talk
to you about your eating habits, or rather your lack of. The nurses
tell me you don’t eat.”

“How can I eat when I’m too doped up to hold a utensil?” Mulder
sat up and tried to stretch the kinks out of his back.

“I’d hardly say your medicated that much. In fact your blood levels
were way too low. No wonder your father couldn’t manage you.
You’ve been hiding your medicine instead of taking it.”

Mulder sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I told you I’m not
on any medication.”

“Come now Mr. Muldovsky. After that stunt you pulled with nurse
Thatcher you expect me to believe that?” Dr. Gribough opened the
chart on his lap. “I’m afraid we’re not seeing significant enough
improvement. You’re not eating and from the looks of the bruises
on your ribs and chin I’d have to say you’ve been hurting yourself.”

Mulder glared at him. “What ever you’ve got in that chart is false. I
am not delusional and that bastard you keep calling my father gave
me these bruises.”

The doctor shook his head. “Billy, you shouldn’t say such things
about your father. He obviously loves you very much. I’m afraid,
Billy, that we’re going to have to take steps to alleviate your
symptoms. I’m recommending ECT. They’ll be in to get you later
on this evening. I’ll talk to you some more tomorrow, after you
recover.” He closed the door and walked to the nurses station to
write out the order.

Mulder was left sitting on the bed. What had just happened. At
exactly which point had he lost control of the conversation. He had
to get out of here. He couldn’t, wouldn’t let them fry his brain. “Oh
God Scully, where are you?”

1419 Georgetown
Apt. 35

She had been poring over every little piece of information they had.
It didn’t take long. There had been no new developments and
Scully was getting discouraged. She was expected at Quantico early
in the morning but sleep was not forthcoming. The phone ringing
jarred her out of her thoughts.

“Scully.”

“Hey sweetie, I thought you might still be up. Has there been any
word on Fox?”

Scully smiled at her mother’s use of her partner’s first name. “No
mom. I can’t find anything. I’m so afraid I won’t find him this time.
What am I going to do?” Hearing her mother’s voice was just to
much. She let down her walls.

“Oh baby, It’s okay. You’ll find him. I know you will. Just keep
trying. How about I light a candle tonight at church for him?”

“Thanks mom. I’ll take any help I can get.”

“Dana, Why don’t you come to church with me. I’m sure it’d make
you feel better.”

She chewed on her lip. “Maybe I will. Let me pull on some clothes
and I’ll be over to pick you up.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting for you.” Maggie Scully hung up the phone.
She was glad that Dana had come back to the church. It had been a
source of worry for too long. She just hoped that they would avoid
a tragedy this time out as well.

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2

Mulder was ready. If anyone were to look in the little window set in
the door they’d see him calmly sitting in the bed. In reality, he had
his muscles tensed waiting to jump as soon as the door opened. He
was trained to fight if he had too.

The keys jangling alerted Mulder to the opening of the door. He
waited until the door was open enough and the person to have one
foot across the threshold then he pounced. Unfortunately the
orderly was trained to subdue. Mulder was taken down in short
order.

“Now Mr. Muldovsky none of that.”

“Let me go!” Mulder increased his struggles when he saw the
hypodermic needle that the nurse brought into his line of sight.

“I can’t do that. You might hurt me or yourself. Just relax now,
there’s no use fighting the drug..” The orderly turned to the nurse.
“Why don’t you go ahead and bring the gurney in. He’s not going
any where.”

Mulder could feel the straps across his body. He was aware that he
was moving and he could hear the voices around him. He felt
groggy but nowhere near going under. His mind was still working.

He reasoned that what they had given him must have been the
muscle relaxant. That would explain his paralysis. They must’ve not
given him the anesthesia yet.

Treatment Room

He must have zoned out for a moment. He still couldn’t move.
There were still people talking around him. He was aware of the
stick of a needle in his wrist.

“Have all the drugs been administered?”

“Yes doctor. I just started the saline solution. Would you like me to
start the EKG?”

“No. Help me with the ventilator first.”

Mulder felt the tube being eased down his throat. ‘God. Why
couldn’t they put me under first.’ He felt a cool substance being
spread on his temples.

“Everything’s ready doctor.”

“Okay. Everyone stand clear.”

Mulder tried to move. ‘Oh God no! They weren’t going to put him
under!’ He felt a brief searing pain run through his head then
everything went black.

The Next Morning
1419 Georgetown
Apt. 35

“Mulder!” Scully sat straight up in bed. It took a few minutes for
her to realize where she was at. These nightmares were going to kill
her. She looked at her clock. “Five am. Shit.” She wouldn’t get
anymore sleep tonight. She got up to go into the bathroom. She
needed to wash off the sweat and the hot water would help her to
clear her mind.

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

“Geez, look at you.” Lisbeth sat down on the floor next to
Michael’s bed. Taking the cuff of her sleeve she wiped the sweat
off of his forehead and the drool off his chin. Gently she moved his
head and noted the slightly red areas on his temples. “They must’ve
fried you good huh?” Lisbeth jumped when he started mumbling.

“Scully?”

“Shh, it’s okay.” Gently she ran her hand through his hair. “Be
quiet or they’ll come in here and catch me. Please Michael be
quiet.”

“Who’s Michael?”

His speech was slurred and Lisbeth had to concentrate to
understand what he was saying. “You’re Michael.”

“No. Not Michael... Fox.”

“Fox. Man that’s even weirder than Mulder.” Just then she heard
voices in the hallway. “Shit.” She jumped up into the air shaft and
was gone.

The door opened and a dark face peered in. “Nah man, he’s still
out. Let the poor bastard sleep it off a little more.” The door closed
back and Mulder was left alone.

Bay 4
Pathology Department
Quantico

“Victim was burned. Residue on the skin would suggest it was
possibly a flame thrower.” Her stomach was rumbling. She’d done
three autopsies already and was scheduled to fill in and teach a class
for someone who had gotten sick. She finished wrapping her latest
specimen and moved to the sink area to wash up.

She hated this. It was an exercise. There was no challenge in it and
it was not getting her any closer to finding Mulder. Her mind was
not on her job. Twice she had dropped the scalpel into the last dead
man she had been dissecting. She wasn’t squeamish but it wasn’t
pleasant trying dig around and grab the slippery metal. Not only
that but once she had looked up at the face and it had been
Mulder’s. That was when she had lost her breakfast.

“Agent Scully?”

She jumped at the intrusion into her thoughts. “Yes.”

“This just arrived for you.” He handed her the envelope and left the
room. The smell of burnt flesh was making him sick.

Scully frowned down at the envelope. It was from Skinner. Holding
her breath she tore open the envelope.

Agent Scully,
This is to inform you that your request for vacation time had
been processed and approved. Please return to the office here at the
J. Edgar Hoover building and pick up your belongings today. You
have one week.

Signed,
Walter S. Skinner
Assistant Director
of the FBI.

Scully smiled. Skinner was obviously giving her time to search for
Mulder on her own. He was also giving her the chance to go to the
X-Files office and retrieve anything she might need. Scully went
into the locker room to change and get her belongings.

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

“How are we feeling today Mr. Muldovsky?” The doctor came in
rolling his little stool. “Are we feeling a little better?”

Mulder scooted himself up against the headboard and clutched the
pillow to his chest while drawing his knees up.

“Aren’t you going to speak to me today?” He studied Billy’s face.
“Do you know where you are?”

Mulder shook his head. “Where’s Scully?”

“Who’s Scully?”

“My partner. Please call Scully.”

“Billy, a little amnesia is normal after a treatment. Don’t be
frightened. Why don’t you tell me a little more about this Scully. Is
he a good partner?”

“She’s my life. Where am I at? Does she know I’m here?”

“I don’t know Billy. Have you told her you’re here?” Dr. Gribough
took out Billy’s chart and started to make notes.

“I don’t know. Has she been here to see me?” Mulder sniffled a
little and rubbed his cheek against the pillow.

“I don’t think so. Why don’t you lay down and rest for a little
while.” The doctor got up to leave.

“My head hurts.”

“Why don’t you go to sleep and maybe your headache will be better
when you wake up.” Dr. Gribough locked the door behind him and
sat down at the nurses station to make a few notes.

“How’s he feeling today doctor?”

“Well nurse Thatcher, he’s a lot more complacent today. I’m going
to go ahead and schedule another session for tomorrow.”

Lisbeth had been listening from the air duct above. She moved in
and lifted the grate off of the vent. Slowly so as not to scare him
again she lowered herself into the room. “Sly, you awake?”

Mulder lifted his head from the bed. “Who’re you?”

Lisbeth sighed. “We’ve been through this before. Lisbeth,
remember?”

“Lisbeth? Why’d you call me sly?”

“You said you were a fox. Foxes are sly.” She shrugged her
shoulders and sat down next to the wall.

Mulder tried sitting up on the bed but the room started to spin.
“Have you seen Scully?”

She reached up and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “I
don’t think so. What’s she look like?”

“She has red hair, pretty.”

“Nope. Ya know I’ve been thinking about getting out of here. I am
so bored.”

Mulder squinted at the young girl in front of him. “You can get out
of here?”

“Of course. Well I gotta get going.”

Mulder reached out to her. “Wait. Can you do something for me?
Please? Can you tell. . . find Scully and tell her I’m here. I don’t
think she knows. It’s important. Dana Scully can you remember
that? She works for the FBI in Washington D.C.”

“How am I going to get to Washington?”

“Please, you have to. Can you remember that?”

“Sure. I’ll do my best. And Sly, this better not be a wild goose
chase.” With that she hoisted herself up and was gone.

Mulder curled up on his side. “Please hurry.”

Greenbriar Asylum
Rooftop

Lisbeth laid down on her back and reaching over the edge of the
porch roof she grabbed hold of the column. Raising up on the balls
of her feet she flipped herself over. Holding on to the column she
slid down to the porch and jumped off into the yard.

She took a minute to wriggle her toes in the grass. It seemed like
forever since she had walked in the grass barefoot. Getting up and
keeping low so that no one would see her she took off across the
yard to find a pay phone.

Unknown Location

“The situation with the murders, have they been dealt with?”

He took a pull off the cigarette before answering. “Yes. The rogue
was caught earlier this morning. The Bounty Hunter took care of
the rest.”

“What about the decoy? Are you sure that he’ll remember nothing
except the memories we’ve implanted?”

“I’m sure. He’s already confessed. He’s being held in county lock
up. Even if he does start to remember, it’ll be discounted for the
ramblings of a mad man.”

The German scowled down at his hands. “What do you plan on
doing with Mulder?”

He snubbed the cigarette out in the ash tray and regarded the dying
embers. “Leave him be. Sooner or later they’ll find him. Until then
we won’t have to worry about him.”

The Next Day
Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

The orderly wheeled Mulder back from the treatment room. “Okay
buddy, here we are. Back to your own room.” He rolled him off
the gurney and onto his bed. He looked down at his hand.
“Dammit. Fucking shock patients.” Wiping the piss off his hand
onto the blanket he left with the gurney.

Gas & Go
North Carolina

It had taken Lisbeth all night to reach a phone and now these
people were giving her the run around. She had forgotten how
secluded that place was. She had enjoyed the walk. The air smelled
different out here. There were so many different things to see.

“No I don’t have a number she can reach me at.” The phone cut her
off. Well it looked like this Scully person was for real. “Shit, that
was my last quarter.” She had taken the money from a man coming
out of the store. She didn’t like to be a pick pocket but she had only
taken some change.

She dialed information. “I’d like to make a collect phone call.
Washington D.C. area. Dana Scully.” She had expected the number
to be unlisted so she was surprised when she was asked for her
name.

“Mulder.”

1419 Georgetown

Scully had lain her head on the table and fallen asleep. The ringing
of the phone woke her up and she reached over to grab the handset.
“Scully.”

“Miss Scully will you accept a collect call from Mulder?”

“Oh God yes, Mulder where are you?”

“He’s not here but I know where you can find him.”

“Who is this? What have you done with Mulder? If you’ve hurt him
I swear to God I’ll kill you!”

Lisbeth brought the phone away from her ear and looked at it.
“Calm down lady. I’m trying to help you here. Mulder sent me.”

“Is he alright? Where are you, what’s your name?”

Lisbeth sighed. “Anybody ever tell you, you ask a lot of questions?
Look, come to North Carolina. Highway 17 outside of Aycock
Crossing. There’s a gas station um.. a gas and go. It’s on the left
you can’t miss it. I’ll meet you here.” She hung up the phone before
this Scully person could answer her. “Geez, what a hysterical
female.” She went around to the side of the building where she’d
have some shelter. Now all she had to do was wait.

Highway 17
North Carolina

Dana Scully pulled into the gas station and killed the engine. She
had been on the first flight out of Washington to North Carolina.
After scaring the kid at the car rental booth she had headed directly
to the Gas & Go.

She scanned the parking lot for any dark sedans that might be
lurking by and not finding any she closed the car door and started
inside the convenience store.

Lisbeth had watched the car turn into the lot. The woman drove
like a maniac. At first she didn’t think that this was the Scully
person she was waiting for. But then she saw the way the woman
purposefully strode toward the entrance of the store.

She stepped out from the side of the store. “Scully!”

Scully spun around and stopped. She had expected to find... she
wasn’t sure what she expected to find but it wasn’t this. Before her
stood a young girl. Her hair was tangled and she had a smudge of
dirt on her left cheek. She was too thin and had no shoes on her
feet. “Are you the one that called me?”

“Yup. Mind if we talk in your car. My feet are starting to get a little
numb.”

“No... fine. Get in.” Scully closed the door and turned on the
heater. “You said you knew where Agent Mulder is. I need to find
him.”

“Get back on this road. Keep going till I tell you slow down.”
Lisbeth settled herself back into the seat. “This is a nice car.
Doesn’t really fit you though.”

“It’s a rental. Where are we going?”

“To get the fox. You said you wanted to find him, I’m taking you
to him.” She started fiddling with the knobs on the radio.

“The fox?” Scully sighed. “What’s your name?”

“Lisbeth. Not Lizzy or Beth just Lisbeth.”

“Okay Lisbeth, how do you know where my partner is?”

“He was brought into the hospital where I was at. They were
calling him Billy but he said that he was a fox. Although, I still think

Michael fits him better.”

Scully was still trying to process the first bit of information that had

been thrown in her lap. “How bad is he hurt, Lisbeth?”

“Well he wasn’t hurt when he came in but the doctor fried him
pretty good. He was kind of confused after that.”

Scully almost ran out of the road. “Wait a minute one thing at a
time. Fried him? What kind of hospital is this?”

“The asylum. You know they shocked him.” Lisbeth shrugged and
turned back to the window.

“Oh my God! They gave him ECT?” Scully’s stomach dropped, her
guts turning to ice. She pressed down hard on the gas.

Greenbriar Asylum
Ward C. Room 2.

Mulder was aware of being rolled around. His head hurt and he was
aware that he didn’t smell too good. He wanted Scully. Where was
Scully? “Scully?”

“Shh now Billy. Were just cleaning you up a bit and changing your
sheets. You go back to sleep. The doctor will be in to see you
later.” Nurse Thatcher rolled him back into the middle of his bed
and locked the door behind her.

“Scully?”

Greenbriar Asylum
Front Drive

Scully stopped the car and looked over at her passenger. “Lisbeth,
do you know where he’s being held?”

“Of course, but they won’t let you in.”

“We’ll see. Stay behind me.” Scully ran up the steps leading to the
porch and banged on the door. “FBI open up!”

The man who opened the door stared at the badge being flashed in
his face. “Can I help you?”

Scully shoved past the tiny man and continued on down the hall.
Lisbeth was trailing behind her.

“Lisbeth, There you are! Don’t you know we’ve been worried sick
about you? Thank you so much for bringing her back.” Dr.
Gribough moved to take a hold on her.

Scully stepped in front of her and stopped the doctor’s advances. “I
have reason to believe that you are holding an FBI agent here
against his will.”

Dr. Gribough just stared at her. “I assure you whatever Lisbeth has
told you is false. Now if you’ll please hand her over we can get this
straightened out.”

Scully tightened her hold on the young girl. “I don’t think so. I
want to see the patient Lisbeth’s talking about.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t allow you back into the wards. This is a
private hospital and that would compromise my patients’
confidentiality.”

Scully stared at the doctor. “I don’t care. Come on Lisbeth, show
me where they’re keeping Agent Mulder.”

Lisbeth started leading Scully down the hallway to the first set of
double doors.

“Stop or I’ll call on security!”

Scully pulled out her gun and faced the doctor. “I don’t know what
kind of quack operation you’re running here but I intend to put a
stop to it! Come, unlock these doors. As soon as I find Agent
Mulder you can call security.”

The doctor held his hands up and slowly walked in front of the
woman invading his hospital. “You are making a serious mistake
here young lady.”

“Open the doors. Do It!”

Lisbeth continued to lead Scully to the fox’s room. “Here. He’s in
here.”

Scully looked in the tiny window. Mulder was curled up in the fetal
position. “Open the door. Now!”

As soon as the door was opened she rushed to his side. “Mulder,
can you hear me?”

“Scully?”

“I’m here Mulder. It’s going to be okay.” Scully pulled out her cell
phone and dialed 911. “I need an ambulance at the Greenbriar
Asylum. Agent down. Also send the police.”

Scully turned back to the doctor. “How many times did you
perform ECT on him?”

“I can’t give out that information. I suggest you talk to his father.
He’s the one who brought him in.”

Scully glared at the doctor. “His father’s dead.”

Two days Later
Asheville Medical Center
Room 452

The soft bleeps continued to bring him to consciousness. Shifting
slightly he groaned at the pain in his head. He became aware of
someone in the room with him. That someone took hold of his hand
an began to rub his palm with their thumb.

“Mulder, are you awake?” Scully took her other hand and brushed
the hair off his forehead.

“Scully?” Mulder opened his eyes a little and stared at the woman
beside him. “What happened?”

She took a deep breath. “What’s the last thing you remember
Mulder?”

“I...” Mulder tried to think. It was hard. “I... you were shot!”
Mulder tried to sit up.

Scully pushed him back down gently. “It’s okay Mulder. I’m fine.
You need to calm down or your blood pressure’s going to go up
again.”

Mulder sat back and looked at her like he didn’t believe her. He
reached his hand out to her stomach.

Scully gently took a hold of his hand and guided it to her abdomen.
“See, it’s alright. No bullet holes.”

Mulder probed at her stomach. It felt whole and firm. “I don’t
understand. You were in the hospital. Agent Ritter screwed up and
shot you.”

“Mulder, I need you to listen to me closely. That was about six
months ago.” At the scared look in Mulder’s eye Scully quickly
continued. “You haven’t been out that long Mulder. You’ve just
forgotten.”

Mulder looked at her like she had grown two heads. “How could I
forget six whole months? That doesn’t make sense Scully.”

“Mulder, you’ve had some thalamic hemorrhaging due to some
shocks that you sustained.” Scully thought it better to not tell him
the rest until they saw if he’d remember on his own. Plus he was so
weak right now. “Why don’t you rest for a little while. I’ll be right
here if you need me.”

Mulder simply nodded and closed his eyes. He felt safe. Somehow
he didn’t think he’d felt that way in a long time.

Scully had fallen asleep in the chair by her partners bed. She was
exhausted and didn’t hear the person walking up behind her. A
gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back. She startled a little
until she realized where she was and that Mulder was safe.

Lisbeth looked at her curiously. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to
scare you. How’s the fox.”

Scully smiled at the slight girl in front of her. “He’s doing much
better Lisbeth. He woke up today and was able to talk to me.” She
smiled and patted the chair beside her. “Where did you get too? I
turned around and you were gone. You do quite a disappearing
act.”

Lisbeth smiled. “You had things under control. You didn’t need me
around. When are you going back to Washington?”

“It’ll be a little while until Mulder will feel up to traveling. He was
dehydrated and his brain is still a little scrambled. I never did get
the
chance to thank you. He would have died if you hadn’t helped him.
That stupid quack of a doctor.”

Lisbeth just smiled at her companion. “I’d better be going. I’ll come
back again before you leave.” She started to get out of her chair.

“Wait.” Scully took a good look at Lisbeth for the first time since
she had come into the room. She was still wearing the institutions
clothing. “Lisbeth where are you staying?”

“Anywhere I please.” Lisbeth looked down at the red head and
narrowed her eyes. “I refuse to go back to that place.”

Scully shook her head. “You couldn’t go back there even if I
wanted you to. It’s been closed down. Dr. Gribough has lost his
license and there may be a criminal hearing.” She paused for a
minute and looked over at Mulder. “Why don’t you come back to
my hotel room with me? You can take a shower and I might have
something that you could wear without being swallowed whole.”

Lisbeth thought about it for a minute. “Look I aint into women
okay.”

Scully laughed a little. “Trust me, neither am I. I just want to thank
you for all that you’ve done.”

“I guess that’ll be alright.”

Scully smiled. “Good. Let me get my shoes on and we’ll go get you
cleaned up.”

Scully had learned a lot about Lisbeth that night. She had been in
the asylum because her father had been the director there. She
hadn’t been a patient. Just a . . a visitor of sorts. Her father had
died when she was seven and her mother had left when she was just
a baby. They had let her remain at the asylum. She had become a
ghost of sorts. Making her way about the building unseen.

Now that the hospital was being closed down she had nowhere to
go. She had already started a search for any remaining relatives.
Until some were found she was letting the girl stay with her. If it
hadn’t been for her she might not have ever found him.

She had gotten Lisbeth settled down into the bed back at the hotel
and now she was back sitting with Mulder. She had spoken with his
doctor again tonight. Things looked good. There didn’t seem to be
any permanent physical damage. However, it would take time to
see if the holes in his memory would remain. She was also worried
about what emotional scars this experience had left.

As if he didn’t already have enough demons of his own those
assholes had to go and add more. She knew that Cancerman had
him admitted. The description that the flustered quack had given
her was dead on. Trouble was he was untouchable. The powers that
be were not forthcoming.

She could see Skinner’s face in her mind when she told him how
she had found Mulder. The only thing he’d been able to say was
“Good God!”

Scully chuckled a little. It wasn’t often that Skinner was speechless.
She believed this was a first. Of course she had to chuckle. If she
didn’t she would cry. She couldn’t cry, Mulder needed her to be
strong. So she would be. No matter how much it hurt.

Every time she looked over at him lying prone and deathly pale on
the bed she saw the contact points where the electricity had been
shot through his brain. And every time she felt anger overwhelm
her. Anger and fear. He was such a brilliant man, eccentric yes, but
definitely brilliant and while there didn’t seem to be any brain
damage it still made her fearful.

She shook her head trying to shake lose the morbid thoughts that
had taken residence in her mind. She had him back. Whatever it
took she would help him. She would make sure he recovered.

Sleep Tight Motel

They were staying in North Carolina until the business with the trial
and closing of the asylum were over. Scully wanted to make sure
that the good doctor got prosecuted to the fullest extent.

Mulder was napping on the bed. He did that a lot but he needed the
time to heal. His nightmares too often interrupted and she was glad
when he was able to sleep for any amount of time uninterrupted.
The nightmares were awful. He often woke up somewhere between
reality and psychosis. It took him the better of five to ten minutes to
get lucid sometimes. Scully had found that it helped if Lisbeth
wasn’t in sight when she was trying to calm him down.

She was afraid that might have hurt the girls feelings but Lisbeth
had understood. She really was a great help. When Mulder was
awake they got along great. She actually helped him deal with what
he’d been through. They were a pair when they got together. The
good news was that she had found some of Lisbeth’s relatives that
were willing to take her in. A cousin lived in Virginia so they were
going to drop her off on their way home.

“Mulder, what are you doing?” He had come into the next room
holding onto the wall along the way. He had vertigo due to the
trauma he had received. It was getting better but he still had spells
where he had to hold onto something.

“I need some Tylenol.”

She cocked her head and studied him. “Your head?”

He just nodded and clutched at the wall.

It must have been pretty bad for him to ask. Usually he just sat and
grimaced, trying to fight his way through them. The headaches
were another after affect of the shocks. “Sure Mulder, but sit down
before you fall down.”

He made his way to the little table she had been sitting at. “Where’s
Lisbeth?”

Scully came back in with the two little white pills in one hand and a
glass of water in the other. “She said something about going out
and smelling the trees.”

Mulder chuckled but looked sad. “It does smell different outside
after you’ve been in there.”

She placed her hands on his shoulders and started to knead gently.

He looked up at her. His eyes dark. “Better be careful, you might
spoil me.”

Scully’s guts clenched a little at the lost look he gave her. “Maybe I
want to spoil you?”

He gave her a half hearted leer. “Only you Scully would want to
spoil a nutcase.”

Her hands froze on his shoulders. “What do you mean by that
Mulder?”

He shrugged, looking down in his glass, refusing to look at her.
“They wouldn’t believe me Scully. I tried so hard to get them to
believe me. They just smiled and patted my head. No one would
listen to anything I had to say.”

She bent to her knee and lifted his head to look him in the eye.
“That wouldn’t have happened if ole’ Smokey hadn’t been behind
it. You know that Mulder. The doctor should have checked things
out more thoroughly. He was a quack Mulder. He wouldn’t know a
crazy person if one came up and slapped him in the face!”

Mulder looked at her giving her a crooked smile. “I tried.”

She bent down and gave him a kiss on the top of his head. “I know
you did Mulder, I know you did.”

“Hey, look what I found!” Lisbeth came bounding into the room. In
her hands something hissed and wrapped itself around her wrist.

Scully gasped a little as Lisbeth shoved it in her face.

“Isn’t he cool! I found him outside in a tree sunning himself.”

Scully backed away while Mulder watched in amusement. “It’s
okay Scully. It’s just a little garden snake.” Mulder reached out to
let Lisbeth put it on his arm.”

Scully crossed her arms and shook her head. I don’t care, I don’t
like snakes. They’re disgusting.”

“Come on Scully. They’re less slimy than the things you autopsy.
Surely you can stand a snake.”

“Yeah but the things I autopsy are usually dead.” She turned to
Lisbeth. “You better put him back outside. He’s a wild animal and
if you kept him he might die.”

Lisbeth just looked at Scully like she was dense. “I am. I don’t
think he’d like it in here anyway. Nope, not at all. Well come along
little fellow. Did you like my friends?” She closed the door behind
her leaving Mulder and Scully chuckling.

“That cousin of hers is going to have her hands full.”

Scully nodded. “Yeah but she’s a sweet kid.”

Journal of Dana Scully.

Home finally. Things are finally starting to get back to normal.
Today was Mulder’s first day back at work. It’d been like watching
a little boy with a new toy.

There are still problems. It no longer satisfies Mulder to just to call
me after a dream. He comes over looking contrite and embarrassed
but I just smile and let him in.

The headaches are almost completely gone now. But sometimes he
has little flashbacks. Well, maybe flashbacks are too strong a word.
But memories hit him at unexpected times and you can tell that it
costs him a great deal to hide the terror it causes.

Skinner unthinkingly suggested that maybe he see one of the FBI’s
head shrinkers to help him deal with his trauma. Mulder nearly
bolted out the door. Needless to say Skinner was extremely
apologetic. Mulder had hated shrinks to begin with. Now he’s
downright phobic.

Lisbeth writes every once in a while bringing us both up to date.
She likes living with her family, they treat her well. I’m sure they
adore having her as well.

We’re still hunting them down. Those who defy what our country
was based upon. Whether we ever catch them will be anybody’s
guess.

Dr. Gribough has had his license revoked. He’ll never practice
medicine of any sort again.

I am still being strong for Mulder. He needs me and more and
more, I need him. I use to think that what made us such a good
team was our trust. Now I know better. It’s also our love.

*The End*TITLE: Asylum
AUTHOR: Raindancer
DISCLAIMER: The X Files and all characters of the show belong
to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox Networks. I do not
claim ownership and make no money from this little story. No
infringement intended.
RATING: R for disturbing material.
SPOILERS: Up to Field Trip. Biogenesis never happened.
SUMMARY: Mulder goes missing. Scully to the rescue. A devious
plot to keep things hidden and a few friends that march to a
different drum. Not your usual Mulder goes missing story. Note:
This story has nothing to do with Biogenesis.