By AngieB
ajb2528@yahoo.com
 

Rating: G
Category: M/S, Angst
Spoilers:  None
Author's Notes:  Although there are no spoilers for
any of the episodes, I sort of envision this during
the 5th season.
Archive:  Ephemeral, Gossamer, anywhere, just let me
know.
Disclaimer:  I don't own Mulder, Scully, Skinner, or
Mrs. Scully.  They are the property of Chris Carter,
1013 Productions and FOX.

Summary:  Does Mulder realize what's most important
in his life?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Time, Lunch is on Me
by AngieB

X-Files Office
9:30 a.m.

"Alright Scully, but if I have to meet with Skinner
alone, then you have to buy my lunch at that new
burger place down the street.  Double cheeseburger
with all the trimmings, large fries and a strawberry
milkshake."

"Mulder, I'd like for you to make it to forty.  How
about instead of that, I'll bring you back a chicken
salad sandwich and fruit salad from the deli on the
corner."

"Come on Scully, this meeting's worth a few thousand
calories, at least."

"Why don't we eat healthy today, just for a change."
We, meaning me, he thought.  She continued, "believe
me, you'll thank me later."

"I doubt it.  Why can't I have what I want for lunch,
Scully?" he whined into the phone.

"Well...because I'm buying?" she answered.

"Okay...fine.  I guess I can choke down a flaky
croissant this time, but next time..."

"We'll see.  Listen, I've gotta go.  I should be
there by eleven.  Have fun in the meeting without
me," she replied a little too brightly.  "I'll be
thinking about you, Mulder."

"Promise?  And will I be naked while you're thinkin'
about me?" he asked seductively.

"Only if Skinner can be naked, too," she chuckled.

Mulder scrunched up his face in disgust at the visual
he was getting and quickly changed the subject.
"Just hurry.  The day's progressively going from bad
to worse, and I really want you here to share it with
me."

"Poor Mulder," Scully said, with a sympathetic lilt
to her voice.  "Can't make it three hours without
me."

"That's right, Scully...get you're butt over here."

"I'll see you in a little while," and with that she
disconnected the call.

Mulder sighed.  He wished that Scully hadn't gotten
held up.  She was always so much better at explaining
to Skinner why their dry cleaning bills were always
so astronomical and why he continued to lose his cell
phone in the most unusual places.  Guess I can do it
once on my own, he thought.  When did he start
relying on Scully to clean up all of his messes for
him?

xxxx

Mulder was fiddling with his hands <Here's the
church, here's the steeple, open the door...> as the
phone on Skinner's desk rang, interrupting his
thoughts and the AD's perusal of their latest expense
report.  Mulder glanced up.  The look on his boss'
face caused a lump to form in his throat.

"Yes, thank you," Skinner said as he gently replaced
the receiver.

"Sir...is anything the matter?" Mulder asked when the
AD hadn't begun speaking once the call had ended.

"Agent Mulder," Skinner hesitated a moment before
continuing.  "That was a woman named Lucy, she works
at the deli down the street..." he let the sentence
trail off while gathering his thoughts together.

Mulder's breathing became quick and shallow and he
swallowed, "Scully was stopping by there on her
way..." he began, but Skinner cut him off.

"There's been an accident..."

When Mulder just stared, Skinner continued.  "She's
still at the scene...trapped in her car," this last
part spoken very quietly, as he was still trying to
absorb the news himself.  Skinner continued speaking.
"She was sitting at the light, in the turn lane, when
a dump truck hit the median...everyone in the
restaurant went outside to see what had happened and
this waitress recognized Scully's car.  I don't know
anymore than that."

Mulder was up and out the door before Skinner had a
chance to finish his last sentence.

xxxx

After emerging from the FBI parking garage, Mulder
approached the intersection at a dead run.  He could
see that traffic was stopped in all four directions.
There were several police cruisers, an ambulance, and
a rescue truck parked in the street or on the
sidewalk.  He headed toward the nearest man in blue.

He hadn't known what to expect, but as he drew closer
to the wreck, he realized that he hadn't expected
this.

The massive truck was overturned, laying partly on
the back of Scully's car, which had indeed been
sitting in the turn lane, no more than a block away
from the Hoover building.  He froze in horror as he
took in the rest of the scene.  Scully's car...from
this angle, the front looked to be completely filled
with dirt.  His legs seemed to be frozen in place,
and he thought that his heart had actually stopped
beating for a few seconds.

"Sir, you're going to have to move back over there,"
a young policeman grabbed him by the arm and started
to haul him backwards.

Panting slightly he said, "That's my partner's
car...I'm...we're with the FBI.  I have to see her.
I have to get over there."

The officer regarded him sadly, "She's still in the
car and they're doing everything that they can to get
her out as quickly as they can.  It will go much
faster if everyone stays back and out of their way."
He said this a calmly as he could and hoped that this
man would understand that everyone had his partner's
best interests in mind.  They would do everything
they could to save her life.

Mulder couldn't think, he felt faint, and suddenly
his knees began to buckle.  Luckily someone caught
him from behind before he could hit the ground.

"Mulder, here, sit down."  Skinner's calm voice
barely registered with Mulder as the older man eased
his agent down onto a bench.  "Just take deep
breaths, Mulder."  He eyed Mulder nervously, worried
that he would actually pass out.

"Scully's..." Mulder began, his voice shaking and
barely audible.

"Just sit here, don't move.  I'll see what's going
on."

Mulder nodded as Skinner walked back toward the
flashing lights.

xxxx

Time seemed to stop for Mulder as he continued to
sit, the bench beneath him growing harder by the
minute.  It had been nearly 45 minutes and Scully had
yet to be pulled from the car.  They weren't moving
fast enough, and he didn't know if his partner could
breathe or if she was even still alive.

"She's got a pulse!"  He heard someone shout all of a
sudden, as if the man had sensed Mulder's last
thought.

His head whipped around, and he shot up off the seat,
pushing his way through the crowd of onlookers in
front of him.  He was within ten feet of the car now,
just to the left of the front passenger side door
when the fireman began to back out of the car.  Did
he have Scully?  Mulder was so afraid of what he
would see once she finally emerged from what was left
of her vehicle.

He stared, his mouth opening and closing without a
sound as a shock of filthy red hair entered his line
of vision.  Slowly his partner emerged, unfortunately
not on her own, but with the aid of two men covered
in dirt from head to toe.  She was immediately placed
on a stretcher and lifted into the waiting ambulance.

Mulder rushed to her side, or as close as he could
get, as the EMT put a mask over her nose and mouth.
"I'm her partner...can I ride with her?"  He needed
to touch her to reassure himself that she was
actually breathing.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you can't."

Skinner was by his side again and rested his hand on
Mulder's arm.  "I'll give you a ride to the hospital,
Mulder.  Come on, let them take care of her now."

Reluctantly, with his eyes on Scully until they shut
the ambulance doors, he agreed.

"Thanks," Mulder whispered.  "She's gonna be
alright...right?

The blast from the siren drowned out Skinner's reply.

xxxx

Skinner had talked with the nurses and Mulder was
allowed back in the emergency room with Scully, but
only briefly.  Right now, he would take anything he
could get.  She was conscious, although Mulder wished
that she weren't.  He could tell she was in pain, but
she managed to give him a tiny smile when he walked
in the room.  The doctor had told him that her left
shoulder, wrist, and three fingers on that hand had
all been broken, and that two of her ribs had been
cracked.  Luckily the dirt in the car had not
entirely covered her head, allowing her to breathe,
although quite shallowly, until she had been rescued.
She was also sporting a rather large purple bruise on
her forehead.  And, Mulder thought, she was in
desperate need of a bath.  But she was still the most
beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Mulder had a hard time returning Scully's smile as
hers had immediately turned into a grimace as her
injuries came back into the forefront of her mind.
The nurse had just given her an injection and the
painkillers would be kicking in soon, he hoped.

He leaned down close and whispered in her ear,
"Scully, you're going to be just fine, you hear me?
Your doctor is going to fix you up...good as new."
His voice was cracking terribly.  Just reassure her,
he thought, wishing that someone would reassure him.

"Okay, we're moving her up to surgery now.  You can
wait out in the waiting room and one of the nurses
will inform you when she's moved to recovery, Sir,"
said the nurse closest to his side.

He moved back against the wall as they began to wheel
her out of the room.  He could only watch after her
as she disappeared from his sight.  He didn't have
any other words of comfort to offer her, and he just
hoped that she wouldn't hold that against him when
she saw him again.

xxxx

Bright lights.  They seemed overly bright to her in
this big, white room.  As she began opening her eyes,
she vaguely recognized her surroundings.  Hospital.
Unfortunately, I've been in a few rooms just like
this before, she thought.  She tried turning her head
to take in a bit more of the room but immediately
regretted that move.  Every part of her hurt.  A
slight moan could be heard coming from her throat.

"Dana?  It's Mom, can you hear me?"  A soft voice
came from her right.

"Ye..." she began, but stopped.  It hurt to talk,
too, and she felt slightly nauseous.

"I'm going to get the nurse and tell her you're
awake."

Once the nurse had come and had finished checking her
vitals and seeing to any needs she had, Mrs. Scully
and her daughter were left alone once again.

Maggie looked back at her daughter.  Dana's brow was
furrowed.  "What it is Dana...are you in pain?" she
asked concerned.

"Mul..." Scully tried to form the word, his name the
foremost thought in her mind.  Her mother understood
and answered.

"Dana, he's not here right now, but you just rest and
don't worry about anything except getting better,
alright?"

Scully didn't have time to think about her partner's
absence for much longer.  She was so sleepy and
decided to let sleep pull her under once again and
give her a respite from the pain.

xxxx

Her daughter was sleeping peacefully, and Maggie was
breathing easier now that Dana had finally awakened
and talked, or tried to talk to her.  As she rounded
the nurse's station, she looked over into the waiting
room and saw the man that she had sent home not two
hours ago.  She sighed.

He looked terrible.  She knew he hadn't gotten more
than a couple hours sleep at a time on that very
uncomfortable waiting room couch, since Dana had been
admitted three days ago.  Maggie had encouraged him
to go home, but each time he had politely refused,
until her most recent urging this afternoon.  She
thought that he had finally listened to her, but
apparently he hadn't.  She wasn't all that surprised
she supposed.

He was slumped in a chair, and he either had his eyes
closed or was staring at the carpet when she quietly
opened the door.  She approached him and gently laid
her hand on his head, ruffling his hair slightly.  He
sighed and slowly looked up at her, his eyes red
rimmed and bloodshot.

"She woke up, Fox."

His eyes seemed to light up at her words.  He started
to rise, but she gently pushed him back down on to
the seat.  "But she's asleep again.  She was only
lucid for a couple minutes."

He simply nodded at her, staring down at the floor
once more.

"She wanted to see you, Fox."

"Mrs. Scully..." his voice trailed off.  He wasn't
sure what he had been about to say.  He just couldn't
think, and he didn't feel anything but cold and numb.
It had been a long few days.  He wanted to go home
but not without Scully, and he knew that wouldn't be
for a while.

Maggie sat down beside him, put her arm around his
shoulder and pulled him against her, hugging him to
her as she would one of her own boys.  The tension
seemed to leave him, and he slumped against her,
finally losing the strength to hold his tears in.  He
began to cry, and Maggie held him tighter, knowing
that he had needed this release three days ago, glad
that he was finally giving into it.  She knew that
now they would all be okay.

xxxx

The next time Scully opened her eyes, the sight that
greeted her was that of a very handsome yet weary
looking man sleeping in the chair next to her bed,
his upper arm resting next to hers on the blanket.
Her face and eyes lit up as he stirred, sensing her
eyes on him.

"Hey," he whispered, bringing his arm off the bed.
He raised his other hand, caressing her cheek and
running it through the hair at her temple before
taking her soft hand in his.

"How are you feeling?  Do you need anything?  What
can I do for you?"  Each phrase was said in that same
quiet voice, as if he was afraid to alert anyone that
she was awake and have their time together
interrupted.

She tried once again to form words, and it seemed
that she might just make it this time.  "I'm okay."
Her voice was hoarse, but Mulder couldn't have been
happier to hear her finally speak to him.  He had
missed that beautiful sound, having run their last
phone conversation over and over in his mind over the
last several days, praying they would share many more
like it in the future.

"You had us so worried, Scully.  Don't ever do
anything like that again, alright?  My heart can't
take it," he joked, but his expression was deadly
serious.

"I won't," she said, and Mulder could see a faint
grin on her face.  He was so glad to have her back.

A smile brightened his own features, his eyes
traveling across her face, and he gave the hand he
was holding a slight squeeze.  "There's so much I
have to say to you, Scully, once you're feeling
better.  I've had a lot of time to think these last
few days and..."

He was interrupted as the door behind him opened and
Scully's doctor entered the room.

"I see my favorite patient is awake.  Dana, I'm Dr.
Lucas.  How are you feeling?" the doctor queried.

"Tired," she trailed off, and Mulder noticed that she
looked like she would fall back to sleep any minute.
She also looked like she might be needing another
dose of the good stuff.

He leaned over and gave her a light kiss just below
her hairline.  "I'll be back a little later," he
promised her as he stood up to leave.

She looked up at him and held onto his hand for a
moment longer.  Her grip was weak, but it held him in
place.  He turned his gaze to her once again, and
leaned down to better hear what she had to say.

She spoke faintly but clearly.  "I owe you..." He
began to shake his head.  He hadn't been the one to
save her this time.

"...a cheeseburger," she finished in what he thought
could be a teasing voice.  Her lips turned up
slightly at the corners, and he met her smile with
one of his own.

He brushed his lips across her knuckles and laid her
hand gently at her side.  As he closed the door
behind him, he realized that suddenly he was
starving.  He'd been surviving on hot coffee and
Cheez-Its from the vending machine for the better
part of a week.  He thought he might just have to
treat himself to one of those thick, juicy burgers.
Nah, he thought after a moment, I'd better wait for
Scully.  And next time, lunch is on me.

The End
 
 

Thanks so much for reading.  Positive Feedback or
constructive criticism always accepted.  If you just
plain hated it, I'd rather not know.