Title:  The Chilmark Project - Part IIId - Foxhunt   
   Authors:  Wylfcynne & Ravenwald   
      
   For Authors' notes and Disclaimers, see Part I -   
   Demonology   
      
      
      
   +++   
      
   Mulder was not sure what had changed.  He had   
   been falling.  Now, he was not.  Now he had hold of   
   Scully's hand, and she was hauling his ass out of   
   whatever it was that was trying to swallow him up.   
   (*That's my partner--always here for me...*)  The   
   nightmare was already fading, but when he thought   
   of it, he shuddered as emotion welled up.   
      
   (*It almost ate me, but she saved me...*) Scully felt   
   him move, and immediately lost all interest in what   
   Blair was saying.  "Mulder?!"   
      
   He blinked at her, tears running down his face, and   
   then curled up around her hand, crying silently.   
      
   She wrapped her free arm around his shaking   
   shoulders and hugged him.  She laid her cheek   
   against his forehead and stroked the ragged haircut   
   that had resulted from the removal of the duct tape   
   blindfold.   
      
   "It's all right, Mulder--it was just a nightmare...it   
   wasn't real..."   
      
   Blair left the room.  Neither of them noticed.   
      
   Mulder was too weak to support that much emotion   
   for long; it was only a few minutes before he went   
   limp against her hold.   
      
   "Mulder?"   
      
   "God, Scully..."   
      
   "Just relax.  Tell me how you feel."   
      
   "Exhausted."  He looked around the room a little,   
   and frowned. "Where are we?"   
      
   "Seacouver, Washington."   
      
   "How did we get here?"   
      
   "How much do you remember, Mulder?"   
      
   He moved to lay flat on his back again, but kept his   
   tight grip on her hand.  He closed his eyes for a   
   moment, then stared up at the ceiling.   
      
   "Do you remember anything about your captivity?"   
   she asked when he did not speak. He took a deep   
   breath.  "How long did they have me?"   
      
   "Just over three months."   
      
   He glanced over at her, disturbed by the echo of   
   her abduction.  "I don't remember that much."   
      
   She shrugged without letting go of his hand.   
   "Neither do I.  What do you remember?"   
      
   "Pain."   
      
   He lifted both wrists--she released his hand when   
   she realized his intent--and she gasped in horror at   
   the barely-healed burns that ringed both wrists.   
      
   "I remember being chained and shackled like a   
   violent felon... but the metal was electrified, and   
   when I tried to fight, they'd flip the switch. At first it   
   was just electric shock; if I kept on fighting, the   
   chains got hot."   
      
   "Can you sit up?  I want to examine you."   
      
   He let his hands drop against his body, then   
   reached for her hand, again.  "Not now, Scully.   
   Please."   
      
   She picked up his hand, and she could see that he   
   was exhausted.  He could hardly keep his eyes   
   open. "Want me to take out the Foley?" she asked   
   softly.   
      
   There was no answer; he was asleep.  She took a   
   deep breath and pulled the covers off him.   
      
   His body was covered with bruises, new scars, lash   
   marks and just- healed burns that marred the silken   
   beauty of his skin.  There were burn scars on his   
   thighs and around his waist that showed the shape   
   of the chains he had worn very clearly; there were   
   some smaller burns on his throat that she   
   suspected might have been caused by a cattle   
   prod. There were rings of healing burns around his   
   ankles that matched the wounds on his wrists.  Both   
   arms showed the ladder tracks of repeated needle   
   sticks.   
      
   Dr. Dolan had been careful of his dignity, and,   
   although there was a Foley catheter in place,   
   capturing urine, he was wearing a pair of soft, grey   
   flannel boxer shorts.  Gently, Scully removed the   
   catheter and set it aside.  She kicked off her shoes,   
   stripped, and pulled her pajamas out of the   
   overnighter.  She had a suitcase full of clothes in   
   the trunk of the car, but her medical pack, her   
   cosmetics, her nightwear and a change of   
   underclothes was always with her.   
      
   These were the same oversized blue silk pajamas   
   she usually wore when they were on the road   
   together. They reminded her of all the time she had   
   spent on the far side of a wall, knowing that her   
   partner was only a few steps away, but unable to   
   cross that gulf.   
      
   (*Now everything's different.*)   
      
   She slid into the bed beside him and took him into   
   her arms, snuggling close, relishing the feel of him,   
   the smell of him, the weight of his body against   
   hers.   
      
   (*Three months... now I know how you felt, Mulder,   
   when I was abducted.  God, I don't know how I   
   survived... I don't know how you did.  All I can   
   imagine is that there is some superior reason why   
   we are both still alive and together again.  Right   
   now I don't care.  I have you back, and I'm not   
   letting you go, ever again.*)   
      
   Chazz, sitting in her office watching, turned off the   
   monitor, satisfied that her patient was going to   
   recover.   
      
   Sometime in the middle of the night, Mulder stirred.   
   At first, he was just confused.  The lights were   
   dimmed, but not off, and he was sharing this   
   supremely comfortable bed with someone else.   
   Someone female, too.  Scent was his first clue.   
   His other senses kicked in quickly, and he gasped   
   in shock.  (*My God, it's Scully-!*)   
      
   This was just too confusing.  His strongest   
   memories had been of pain, fear, captivity.  Then   
   he remembered the last time he had heard her   
   voice.  (*She's a liar, a traitor... she's   
   Cancerman's...*)  He shuddered, and pushed away   
   from her.  The pain in his chest was sharp, and he   
   found himself fighting back tears.  ("Scully...")   
      
   She stirred, looked up to face him, blinked back   
   sleep to focus on him. "Mulder..." she smiled.   
      
   Her voice was a caress, and he shuddered again.   
   "Why are you here, Scully?"   
      
   "Where else would I be, Mulder?"   
      
   "You... you said you didn't want to hang around a   
   loser like me any more..."   
      
   "I never said that!"   
      
   "I heard you."   
      
   "It was a fake, Mulder.  It was a tape."  She reached   
   for him, but he flinched from her touch. She studied   
   him in the dim light, and decided that he did not   
   look right.  "Mulder.  I've felt like an amputee all the   
   time you've been missing..." Mulder felt his   
   breathing falter.  The pain in his chest was getting   
   worse.   
      
   "Mulder!  What's the matter?"  She was frightened,   
   now: he was pale and his lips were blue.   
      
   "You said-"   
      
   "I didn't say it!" she spoke softly, firmly.  "You were   
   drugged and in pain, Mulder.  It was not my voice.   
   Mulder, I have been looking for you for months, and   
   I am never ever going to leave you!"  She did not   
   wait for any response from him; she just leaned   
   forward and kissed him hard.   
      
   He did not react.   
      
   Gently, firmly, insistently, she pushed him onto his   
   back, holding the kiss, her hands stroking his hair   
   back, framing his face, her thumbs brushing gently   
   across his eyes, across his cheekbones. She   
   straddled him, and pressed herself against him.   
      
   Finally, he sobbed into the kiss, and she let him go   
   so he could breathe.  She backed away to study his   
   face, leaned her elbows on his chest, and waited   
   for him to regain his self-control.   
      
   He closed his eyes; he could not say this to her   
   face.  "I need you, Dana.  Without you, I'm blind,   
   and the darkness swallows me up..."   
      
   "Open your eyes.  Look at me."  She waited until he   
   obeyed.  "I'm here, and I'll never leave you. I love   
   you.  I will never leave you alone. I promise."   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)