Falling Snow, The Collector's Edition By Snark Completed June 5, 1999 E-MAIL: snark_911@yahoo.com CLASSIFICATION: SA (Story, Angst) plus some UST RATING: PG-13 SPOILERS: This story is set before the Two Fathers/ One Son episodes. Many, many allusions are made to previous episodes—Sleepless, Red Museum, Bad Blood, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, Detour, Alpha, Shapes and Tithonus among them. They are not truly spoilers, though, in my opinion. More like "you'll understand these one-liners more if you've seen these episodes, but you won't miss anything important or have any episodes ruined for you if you haven't." DISCLAIMER: The characters of The X-Files universe belong to Chris Carter, the FOX network and 1013 Productions. No infringement is intended and no money is being made by the existence of this story. (Unfortunately.) However, the characters of Khi Shaolin and Mobaje are my own creation. These characters are not for use by any other fanfic author without my express, written consent. FEEDBACK: Welcomed and always answered. Mail me at snark_911@yahoo.com to discuss this story. STORY HOMEPAGE: http://members.tripod.com/~koosn/falling.html SUMMARY: Mulder, Scully and a mysterious woman from Mulder's past crash in the snowy landscape of the Colorado winter. ------------ Chapter 1 ------------ The man was asleep and then he was awake. His eyes snapped open to the darkness, the rest of his body remaining still--he had learned long ago that jerking awake often had unpleasant consequences. His gun, which had been lying on the low table in front of him, was now in his hand, retrieved by an almost imperceptible shift of his right arm. The man listened to the night. What had awakened him? Living in the apartment building, he had become used to the usual sounds that filtered into his apartment from the outside world: doors closing, cars passing, babies crying, lovers quarrelling. The man's brain automatically filtered out such sounds, not bothering to alert his body of their presence. No, this had been something else, something that had danced along the edge of perception and awakened him. Something inside the apartment. Without sound, the man rolled off his couch and stood into a gunman's position, all in one fluid motion. The light from street lamps backlit his tall, shirtless frame, his wide shoulders tapering down to narrow hips. The arms and chest that held the gun so steady were lean but powerful, muscles rippling just beneath the surface. His eyes, often filled with humor but now gone cold, surveyed the room quickly. Every corner, every shadow was catalogued and dismissed. The man moved forward slowly, gliding into the other half of his quarters. He rounded the corner to his kitchen and found nothing, backtracking to check the lock on his apartment door. He looked around again, uncertain at what his eyes showed him--something had awakened him, but he couldn't find its cause. He saw nothing out of order, no item misplaced or in disarray. Well, nothing except for the perpetual stack of unwashed dishes and take-out containers on his kitchen counter. Exhaling a short chuckle, the man slid his gun into the front of his jeans and relaxed. He went to the kitchen again and opened the refrigerator, shoving aside the boxed-up remnants of last night's pizza supreme to search for that last Wicked Ale he knew was in there somewhere. Finding it hidden behind an empty juice carton, the man withdrew the bottle and smiled--no one makes ale like Pete, he thought to himself. After a short search for the bottle opener, the man resorted to the trick he learned in college, using the edge of his countertop and a quick downward swipe to pop the cap off. Noticing how beat up the counter edge looked, he realized that perhaps he had used this trick too often lately. He shrugged off the thought quickly, instead focusing on the pleasurable sensation of drinking the ale. Screw 'em, he thought--after spending his days doing lousy grunt work, he'd be damned if he wasn't going to enjoy a few cold ones at night. Polishing off half the bottle in a single draught, the man turned and headed back towards his couch. As he moved into the room, his body snapped to a halt almost before he even saw it. The bedroom door, closed tightly when he had left the room minutes earlier, was now standing open a few inches. The ale was instantly replaced by the gun as the man moved across the intervening space in just two strides. He paused the merest of seconds before kicking the door open with his left leg, quickly bringing his foot down to hold the door open in its new position before it could swing back in his face. As his gun came to bear unflinchingly on the figure sprawled across his waterbed, a voice flowed out from the darkness. A voice that he immediately recognized, but could not believe he was hearing--a voice he had thought he would never hear again. "What the hell took you so long, Zippy?" The man, who had rarely been called anything other than Mulder (at least to his face) in almost 10 years, just threw his head back and laughed. * * * * * * "No, sir. You must understand--your wife is not being investigated. She applied for a job at a federally-operated office, which requires us to do a background check to verify her identity. Sir... sir, that's not necessary... yes, I understand... sir, I realize that you are trying to help, but faxing me photos from the Kalchette family reunion is not going to help. No, it's really not necessary, sir. Really, I think I've found out everything I need, thank you for your time. Yes... no, thank you... Yes, you too, sir." The woman sighed, hanging up the phone for the... She realized that she couldn't even remember how many calls she had placed this day. They had all tumbled together and become indiscernible from each other, a mind-numbing conglomeration of the same phrases and questions she'd spoken a thousand times over. I swear to god, she said to herself, if one more person freaks out at me over a background check, I won't be responsible for the outcome. The woman reached to the small of her back and felt the weapon holstered there--she gave a slight smile as she imagined the possibilities. The smile faded quickly, though, as the woman flipped to the next data page and saw the never-ending list of names and phone numbers lying before her. Sheet after sheet, it went on, printing out her future in perfect 10-pt type, tiny black letters standing stark against the whiteness. Their effect was almost hypnotic--as she kept staring at the page, feeling her eyes begin to go out of focus, she half-expected to see the words "Next Call, Please" coalesce before her. Thinking over what she had just thought, the woman realized she must be very tired indeed. Usually exceptionally well-organized and categorized, her thoughts only wandered when the body had foregone sleep more than it should. It's a good thing I'm taking a couple of vacation days, she thought. Glancing around the bullpen, she saw that she was the only one remaining. She caught sight of the wall clock as it hung barely illuminated by the feeble light of her desk lamp--nearly midnight, she thought with a start. No wonder everyone was gone already. Grumbling "Damn time zone differences" under her breath, the woman stood and stretched, slowly but thoroughly, an almost feline quality to her movements. Each muscle groaned, each joint stiff in its response. She hadn't moved from her desk in almost 4 hours, and even then it was just a quick stop to the restroom. The woman shut her desktop down, logging out of the computer system and putting her phone on night hold. She started to file the phone list in her top drawer, but then just tossed it back down by the phone. Screw it, she thought--it's not like it won't be there Monday morning. Grabbing her coat off the back of the chair, she headed for the door, relishing the thought of just getting home to a nice, hot bath and perhaps a glass of wine. Passing her partner's desk, though, she noticed a stack of folders and printouts with a large note stuck to the top--Take Home, Do Not Forget! Stopping to look more closely, she saw that it was the presentation slides and materials that her partner was supposed to have for his trip to Colorado tomorrow. If he flew out without them, thereby negating the most important section of the senior conference, she doubted that their superiors would be very sympathetic. More than likely, they'd give him work so brainless it made background checks seem like theoretical quantum biology. Figuring it was easiest to just drop the materials off at his apartment, the woman scooped up the stack and headed out the door. The miles to her partner's residence passed by virtually unnoticed--she doubted she would have noticed had a herd of pink gazelles gone bounding across the road. Pulling into a parking spot outside the apartment building, she was glad to see her partner's window brightly lit. Good, she thought, I'll get these dropped off and be on my way home in about 60 seconds. The woman entered the building and used the elevator to reach the fourth floor. As she walked down the hall, she heard raucous laughter emanating from an apartment towards the other end. She quirked the tiniest of smiles--no wonder her partner was still awake, with all that noise going on. As she approached his apartment, though, the woman was surprised to realize that the laughter wasn't coming from a nearby apartment. It was spilling out from within his apartment, stretching out to every corner of the hallway. She could hear his baritone laugh intermixed with another voice--a voice whose low, resonating quality masked whether it was male or female. Unnoticed, her hand went to her gun, drawing it halfway out before she caught herself. C'mon, she thought, it's not like hearing your partner laugh is a sign of the apocalypse or anything. In fact, her partner laughed often, but usually in more of a soft chuckle accompanied by small, almost teasing smile. She had rarely heard the full-throated belly laughs that she was hearing now. Some part of the woman's brain acknowledged how nice that laugh actually sounded, while the majority focused on gathering herself together and knocking on the door. Reaching up, the woman knocked a few times, just to the left of the brass '42' nailed to the door. Getting no response, she pounded a bit harder, using the flat of her closed fist instead of her knuckles. She could hear the conversation inside, punctuated by laughter and loud exclamations, so she knew that there were indeed people inside. Determined to be heard this time, the woman drew back her whole arm to bang on the door. Suddenly, the door popped open in front of her, startling her so much she nearly dropped the stack of papers. She could not believe what she saw--her partner stood in the open doorway, dressed only in a pair of faded blue jeans, holding a nearly empty pitcher of some sort of slushed drink, with an Hawaiian lei around his neck and a grin from ear to ear. When he spoke, she wondered if perhaps the apocalypse had indeed begun. "Come on in and get on down, Sister D!" The woman, who had rarely been called anything other than Scully (except by her family) in her entire life, just cocked an eyebrow and stared. * * * * * * Mulder reached out and took hold of Scully's elbow, pulling her inside the apartment and shutting the door behind her. When she started to explain about the papers, he 'shushed' her and guided her into the living room. As she stepped through the doorway, Scully saw a woman sitting on the couch, dressed in jeans and a cut-off sweatshirt, also wearing a lei and obviously having a good time. The woman appeared to be swaying slightly, seemingly having trouble keeping hold of her large drink glass, even though it was nearly empty. "Dana Scully, I'd like you to meet Khi Shaolin, my roommate from college and a friend I haven't seen in... well, in more years than I care to remember," Mulder said with another laugh. "Khi, this is Dana Scully, my partner at the F...B...I." He over- enunciated the letters, ending with a dramatic flourish of his hand to indicate her. Scully watched as Khi, whom 30 seconds ago she would have sworn was too drunk to stand, set her drink down and rose off the couch smoothly, stretching out a hand and bowing very slightly from the waist. "Ms. Scully, it is a pleasure, I am sure," she said, without hint of slurring or unsteadiness. As Scully reached to shake the proffered hand, she was again surprised by the low resonance of Khi's voice--it had a musical, almost mesmerizing quality. Scully realized she had underestimated the Khi's height and weight. She was 5'11" easily, and must have gone 160 or even more. But Khi was not fat or out of shape--Scully could see a well-developed set of abdominal muscles where the sweatshirt cut off. Annoyingly well-developed, actually. The hand that enclosed Scully's was strong and firm, yet not crushing. Scully got the impression of great strength held in check. Who *is* this woman, she said to herself, and why is Mulder drinking like a fraternity pledge with her? "Yes, a pleasure," Scully said, rather coldly. Turning back to where Mulder had been, she started to explain why she was there. "You left these at the office, Mulder. I thought it would be easier to just drop them off for..." She broke off in mid-sentence, realizing Mulder was no longer standing behind her. Wondering where he had gone, she heard the whirring of a blender out in the kitchen. With a glance back at Khi, who had sat down on the couch again, Scully walked into Mulder's kitchen to find him busily mixing another pitcher of whatever it was that he and Khi were drinking. She saw at least four distinct liqueurs go into the pitcher, along with liberal quantities of ice and whipped cream. "Mulder," she tried again, "here's your presentation and slides for tomorrow's conference. I'll just set them dow-" Again, Mulder 'shushed' her, pouring the pitcher's contents into a tall glass and handing it to her. "Scully, you gots to try this," he said. "It's what Khi calls a 'Black Angel Kamikaze'--it's excellent! We used to drink them all the time, but I never learned how to make them before she..." Mulder trailed off, leaving the thought hanging unspoken. "So, you and Khi were roommates?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. She was trying to be polite, even though she knew she probably didn't want to know the details. "I thought Quantico didn't allow cross-sex roommates." "Oh, they don't," Mulder replied, turning to face her as he poured himself a drink. "Khi wasn't an 'official' roommate. Hell, she didn't even attend Quantico. We just lived together for a year when I was a senior and living off-dorm. She was completely unlike anyone I had ever met before. She still is, in fact." "I've never heard you mention her before," Scully said with just the merest hint of defiance in her tone. "Well, I haven't seen her since the day I graduated, nearly 10 years ago," Mulder explained, oblivious to Scully's annoyance. Noticing Scully's completely full drink sitting on the table, he leaned over and handed it to her with that 'Trust me' look in his eyes. "You gotta at least try it, Scully. Anyway, when I got back to the house after graduation ceremonies, I found that she'd packed up and left. No explanation, no note, no nothing." His eyes seemed to focus on something not in the room with them, remembering. "But whatever--she's back now and that's what matters. C'mon, Scully, are you gonna taste that drink or what?!" To get him off her back, and to distract herself from wondering why Khi's return would matter so much to Mulder, Scully took a little sip of the drink. Expecting something horrible, she was surprised to find that it was wonderfully delicious--iced and creamy without being overpowering. She didn't want to get trapped into staying with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Khi, however, so she merely said that it was OK and set it back down. Mulder just kind of scoffed, teasing her that she wouldn't know a good drink if it jumped out and bit her. Khi came into the kitchen at that point. Or, rather, Khi danced into the kitchen at that point. Her arms up above her head, singing "Wave your hands in the air, like you don't care. C'mon, Zippy, let's dance," she began to circle the room. And if that wasn't a shocking enough sight to Scully, she just about fell over when Mulder, apparently also known as Zippy, immediately plunked his drink down and joined in. Going over to Khi, the two of them formed the world's tiniest conga line, chanting "W... O... R... D... Up!" as they danced. Even though it was painfully clear that neither of them would probably listen to her, Scully drew a deep breath and forged ahead anyway. "Mulder, as the only person in this room who is not completely tanked, I feel the need to point out that you have a flight out to Colorado at 8:30am tomorrow--no, today," she corrected herself after a quick glance at her watch. "You are the keynote speaker at a conference whose attendees are the very same people that, if you fail to show up or are in less than peak form for it, will take you off your currently less-than-thrilling assignment and stick you in only-god-knows-where, USA, where your duties will most likely consist of color-coding office reports and pushing the lunch cart." Mulder drew himself to a stop and Scully felt a glimmer of hope that she had gotten through to him. She watched as he took a small sip from his glass, appearing to think about what she had said. That hope was shattered, though, when he snapped his fingers and said "Needs more whipped cream!" Scully shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly as she turned on her heel and walked back into the living room. She set the stack of papers on Mulder's bookcase shelf, figuring that location was at least reasonably safe from whatever lei-wearing, drink- downing, word-upping antics might take place as the night wore on. She refused to imagine what those antics might actually be. As she headed for the front door, Mulder came out of the kitchen and stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Hey Scully, thanks," he said. "Sorry about all this, I'm just happy to see Khi again. It's like she never left, we're right back in the groove. Thanks for bringing that stuff by--I would surely have forgotten it in all the excitement." Scully, somewhat amazed that he had even picked up on the reason that she stopped by, just looked at him for a second. "Sometimes, Mulder, I think you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to the rest of you," she said. Mulder gave the short, quiet chuckle she was used to hearing, mumbling "Right on, Sister D." He opened the apartment door for her and placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her through as they stepped out into the hall together. "Remember, Mulder," Scully said, turning back to look at him. "8:30am, plane to Oregon, your future at the FBI." "I'll be there, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, yes ma'am," Mulder said, affecting a sort of mock military stance and attempting to salute her. Scully was tempted to crack a small smile, but that was forgotten as Khi came gliding up behind Mulder. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pinning his arms to his sides and lifting him clear off the floor, saying "Geez, Zippy, your desk job made you slow or what?" Scully watched in amazement as Mulder did a quick twist to try and break free, but was unable to loose Khi's hold on him. As Khi hauled him backwards into the apartment, Mulder called out "Hey Scully, get the door please, will ya? I'm about to be ta-" Scully reached in and pulled the door closed just as Khi was executing a bodyslam maneuver to send Mulder sprawling onto the couch. Scully looked at the '42' for a few seconds before turning and walking away. "Your future at the FBI, Mulder," she said quietly as she walked down the hall. "I hope you're there for it." Almost to the elevator, she was suddenly overcome by a wave of intense pain. As her hands came to her head, she doubled over, her throat constricting. As she squeezed her eyes closed, she was shocked at what she saw--an image of Mulder lying on snow- covered ground, red blood seeping through the white show, she herself cradling his head in her hands. The image had the clarity of actual vision--for that briefest of seconds, she would have sworn she was in that time and that place, experiencing that sequence of events. And then it was gone. The vision, the pain, the fear--all gone between one heartbeat and the next. Scully staggered slightly as she tried to regain her composure, leaning heavily against the wall, breathing hard. She remained there for a half-minute or so, finally gathering herself together and walking on again. She threw one last glance at Mulder's apartment as she rounded the corner , wondering. * * * * * * "She *so* does not like me, Zippy, you catch that?" Khi said, nonchalantly holding Mulder down on the couch with a well- placed knee on his back and his arm twisted behind him. Mulder was struggling hard (as hard as he could in his inebriated state, anyway), yet Khi held him easily, seemingly exerting no effort at all. "Mmmph wrmm ffmpph hfmpv," Mulder said, or at least that's what it sounded like. Khi laughed and relinquished her hold. "Time was, Mulder, that you would have broken free on your own," she said teasingly, "at least for a few moments." "Yeah, whatever, shut up," Mulder said with a smile, turning over and sitting up on the couch, rubbing his shoulder a bit. "Why is it that no matter how much *you* drink, you never seem to lose your grip on things? Whatever those things may be..." he finished with a laugh, indicating his sore arm. Khi laughed for a few seconds, making an 'aw, poor baby' face at him. "Losing control is a dangerous thing, FBI Agent Mulder," Khi said. "You should realize that by now, especially in your line of work--when the body and mind are weakened, the soul is unleashed. If a person isn't careful, the soul can be lost forever." Shaking off the seriousness of her words with a short laugh, Khi stepped over to check his arm, feeling the bones and tendons that connected the arm to the shoulder. "You'll live, Zippy. Which is something I can't say for myself, if your partner ever catches me alone in a dark alley," she said, standing and making motions as if pointing a gun to her head. "As I was trying to say before, you're nuts. Scully liked you just fine, she's just kind of... well... distant when she first meets people," Mulder said, rising off the couch and stretching a bit. "You mean when she first meets people that just happen to be from *your* past," Khi said with a wink. "I know these things. And trust me, Zippy, if her eyes has been bullets, I'd be playing 'Word Up' on a harp right now." With the expression of a perfect angel, she made harp-plucking motions as she headed off for the bathroom. Mulder stepped out of the living room, heading into his bedroom to find a shirt to slip on. Since he wasn't busy dancing or mixing drinks anymore, he found he felt slightly chilled. He grabbed a black T-shirt out of a stack of identical T-shirts in his bottom drawer, pulling it down over his head to cover his bare chest. Feeling warmer immediately, he headed back out to the couch and sat down, propping his feet up on the table. Whaddya know Zippy, he said to himself, Khi Shaolin has returned with a bang. As he waited for her, he wondered where she'd been for the last 10 years, what she'd been doing that steered her to his door. He realized that he hadn't ever really known what Khi did even back at Quantico--she had just been this person in his life. A person that, at the time, he couldn't have done without. With an almost unbelievable combination of wild- eyed adventurism and utter self-control, Khi had been exactly what he needed to stay on track. More than once, she'd pulled him back from the edge of self-induced madness, using nothing but a voice filled with logic and reason. That, plus a well-executed half-nelson hold every once in a while, he laughed to himself. Mulder heard the door to the bathroom open and saw Khi head past the living room into the kitchen. After a moment, she came back, carrying a brimming pitcher. "Ack, no! No more," Mulder exclaimed, making the sign of the cross in front of him. "I can't drink another drop if I want to make that flight in the morning." "*This* is going to help you make that flight," she said, handing him the pitcher along with a fresh glass. As she sat down next to him, he saw only water in the pitcher. "Force yourself to drink all of that before you try to sleep, and you should be hang-over free when you wake up." Khi rested her head on the back of the couch, closing her eyes and becoming still. "And why is that?" Mulder asked, reaching out and pouring a glass of water. "Water serves as an equalizer for the alcohol in your bloodstream," Khi explained, not bothering to open her eyes or even turn her head. "The alcohol you consumed made your blood fall out of acidic balance. While your body would eventually return to the proper balance on its own, through metabolization and time, the water speeds the process by adding a large volume of pH-neutral liquid into your system." Hearing no response, Khi opened one eye and turned to look at Mulder--she found him staring at her, a half smile formed on his lips. "What?" she asked warily. "Nothing. You just reminded me of someone there, for a minute," he said, starting to drink the glass of water to cover the smile. "Who?" Khi asked innocently. She already knew the answer, but wanted to see if Mulder would actually tell her. He'd never been someone that confided in others easily, though there were times she'd gotten him to open up. But that had been a long time ago. "Ah, no-one you know," he said after he draining the glass. "Sure, okay," she said, waiting while he poured himself a second glass. "Would 'someone' happen to be a redhead and carry a gun?" Khi asked, relishing the look on Mulder's face--double- takes that good were few and far between. He didn't deny her statement, though. "Is she going on this trip with you tomorrow?" Khi asked. "She seemed awfully concerned that you make it there on time." "No, she's staying here," Mulder said deadpan. "Someone's gotta stay and make sure the world is safe from people who inhaled when they were 17." Khi roared at that one, laughing until she was nearly crying. "Good god, Zippy--you can still make me laugh like no one else in the world," she said when she was finally able to speak again. "I've missed it." "And I've missed you," Mulder said quietly, reaching out and taking her hand in his. She nodded in agreement and smiled, placing her other hand over his and leaning to rest her head briefly on his shoulder. "Well, before this turns into a Taster's Choice moment," Khi said, letting go of his hand and standing up, "we should probably get you to bed. Finish that water first." She headed off into the bedroom, where he could hear her rustling around in her bag. "Yes, sir!" Mulder called out. He drank down the last of the water and returned both the glass and the pitcher to the kitchen counter. After stopping at the bathroom to do his nightly routine, he padded into the bedroom and began stripping down to his boxers. Khi, already changed into a set of baggy flannel pajamas, watched approvingly. "Oooh, black silk. My, my, my..." she teased him. "You've got good taste. Or should I be saying, 'someone' has good taste?" "Keep talking like that, and you *will* end up playing that harp, Khi," Mulder said. "She'd pull your tongue right out of your head and beat you to death with it." "For some reason, I truly believe she would," Khi laughed, pulling back the covers on the waterbed and crawling in. Mulder came over to the bed and grabbed a pillow, turning to head back to the living room and the couch. "What, you don't want to sleep with me, Zippy?" Khi asked, affecting a hurt expression complete with a down-turned lower lip. She was amused by the sudden shyness apparent in Mulder's mannerisms--he was twisting the corner of the pillow with his hands as his eyes darted around at everything but her. "Well, I didn't want to assume that you... I wasn't sure that's what you did anymore, or what you wanted to do... or what you... whatever," he finished lamely. "Yeah, I still like to sleep, Mulder," she said, laughing. "I don't think they've quite figured out how to negate the need for sleep in humans yet." She turned the covers back on one side of the bed, scooting over to the other side to make room for him. He hesitated for the slightest of moments, then slid into bed next to her. As he curled up to sleep on his side, his feet just barely grazing her legs, a small smile crossed his face briefly--just like old times, he thought. As he felt himself drifting off to sleep, he said "Actually, they have figured that out, Khi--you just don't want to know what happens when they do." ------------ Chapter 2 ------------ Scully slowly became aware of a ringing noise, a sound that had burrowed its way into her head and took up residence as if it had always belonged there. Groggily, she sat up and tried to shake the sleep from her body. She wasn't entirely successful--geez, she thought, if I feel like this, Mulder must be d-... She caught herself before she could finish the thought. She had had enough visions this past night of Mulder dying, and she wasn't going to start thinking about it again. Concentrating again on the ringing noise, she at first couldn't figure out what was making it. Leaning over to her nightstand, she checked both the alarm clock and her cell phone--neither was the source of the offending noise. Finally, she remembered the new house phone she had picked up the a few days earlier. She realized she hadn't been home much since then, and had never heard it ring. Pushing back the covers, Scully got out of bed and walked over to the phone. As she picked up the handset, she noticed that she hadn't powered the answering machine back on after connecting the new phone. It's probably the police, she thought wearily, responding to a missing person's report filed by my mother. After all the events of the past few years, her mother tended to get a little freaked out if her daughter was unavailable for more than a couple days. "Scully," she said, hoping her tone would scare away any solicitors. As she glanced at the clock, she saw it was probably a little early for solicitors--the 06:57 of her stove clock shone steadily in the dim morning light. "Agent Scully, I'm sorry to bother you so early and on your vacation, besides," the person calling said, the words clipped and brisk. "Uh, no sir, that's fine, sir. What can I do for you?" she asked, unconsciously standing a little straighter and trying to smooth her hair to a more professional appearance. "We would like you to accompany Agent Mulder to Colorado for this conference, Agent Scully," AD Skinner said. "I can't give you many details, but AD Kersh thought it would be best to give Agent Mulder some... backup on this one," he finished. "You mean, keep him in line and make sure he doesn't tell the assembled agents what to go do with themselves," she said quietly, knowing full-well there was no logical reason for her to attend this conference. The pause on the other end of the line told her she was correct. "We've rescheduled both of you to a different flight, leaving at 9:25 this morning, since we couldn't get you a seat on Mulder's earlier flight," Skinner said. Yeah, right, Scully thought-- watchdogs have to be present from the start, or they don't do any good. She knew the drill. "That's fine, sir. Does Agent Mulder already know of this change?" she asked, suddenly worried at the thought of Skinner talking to a hung-over Mulder at 7:00 in the morning. "I just got off the phone with him, it's all taken care of. He seemed eager to be on his way out there, so perhaps your... backup won't be as necessary as Kersh believed," Skinner said. "I'm sure all will be fine," Scully said, not really listening anymore. Why was Mulder eager to get out of town for a few days, she wondered. Perhaps his 'reunion' with Khi did not go as well as it had seemed last night. A brief smile played on her lips at the thought. She rounded out the conversation with the usual pleasantries and hung up the phone. Taking a deep breath, she began to pack her larger bag for the trip, knowing that they would be gone at least 4 days. Mulder would be speaking tomorrow at the opening of the conference and then would be required to be present for the end session on Sunday morning. The day in between would probably just be free time for each of them, since she certainly couldn't see attending any more of the conference than was absolutely necessary. Colorado in the winter, hmmm, she thought. Other than the obvious pastime of skiing, she didn't know what else there was to do there. Looking around her bedroom, she tossed in a couple of paperbacks she'd been meaning to read. She hoped they'd find something a little more interesting than that to do, but figured it was best to be prepared. Scully rummaged through her closet to find her heavy winter jacket, not knowing how cold it may or may not be in Colorado. Scully was headed for the shower as the phone rang again. "Scully," she answered. "It's me." Mulder's voice sounded perfectly clear, no hint of grogginess. How did he manage that, she wondered. "Skinner talk to you yet?" "Yeah, he called about 10 minutes ago. I guess I won't be getting my vacation weekend after all," she said, a hint of resignation coming through in her voice. "Well, you gotta keep the FBI's most unwanted on his leash, you know," he said with short laugh. "Anyway, the flight's at 9:25, we'll be by to pick you up at 8:30." He hung up as Scully did the same. It was as she stepped into the bathroom a minute later that she realized what he had said. 'We'... "Oh god," she said to the empty air. * * * * * * "Sorry not to give you any warning, Scully," Mulder had said as he loaded her bag into the trunk, indicating Khi in the front seat. "But when we woke up this morning, Khi said she'd leave for California in a couple of days anyway, so I asked if she wanted to join us in Colorado for the interim. She said sure, so I got her a seat." Scully had taken a moment to answer, trying to wrap her brain around the concept of Mulder 'waking up' with Khi--waking up with someone meant you had to go to sleep with them, and Scully hadn't quite been able to accept that right away. Finally, as they'd stepped back around to get in the car, she felt should could answer calmly. "It's fine, Mulder, don't worry about it," she'd said. "I'm sure it will be a fine couple of days." Now, as she stood in the ticket line with them, watching them laugh and carouse with each other, she wondered if she could convincingly fake a sudden, deathly illness. Or inflict one... It was tempting, surely, but she knew she couldn't bow out of her duties on this assignment, no matter how ridiculous they might be. Perhaps she'd be lucky and find out the Colorado airport was closed due to snow or something--dream on, honey, dream on, she said to herself. They were almost to the counter when it happened again--intense pain shot through Scully's temples, a fiery stab straight into her skull. Again, the image of Mulder down in the snow flashed behind her eyelids, clear as actual sight. Gasping for air, she nearly went to her knees from the sudden disorientation. Mulder was immediately at her side, holding her upright with a strong arm about her waist as he called out for Khi to get help. But as Khi began to take off for the emergency medical station, Scully felt herself snap out of it, just as quickly as she'd succumbed to it. "No, wait, Mulder," she stammered out. "I'm fine, really." She marshaled all her strength and held herself steady, disengaging herself from Mulder's grip. He was reluctant to let go, though, keeping one arm at the ready as the other reached out to touch her shoulder lightly. Khi stepped through the small crowd of onlookers as Scully again said she was all right. Khi stepped up to Scully's side, looking her over completely as she reached out to lightly touch Scully's temple. Scully recoiled slightly at her touch--partly because she didn't like to be touched by people, but partly because of a slight sense of fear. It was as if Khi knew exactly where the pain had been centered. Her eyes seemed to look right through Scully, almost as if trying to confirm something. Khi must have seen something in her face, though, for she smiled slightly as she pulled back her hand. "Relax, Dana... Scully, I mean," she said in quick correction at a look from Mulder. "I've had medical training and I could see the veins on your temple pounding. I just meant to feel for pressure and for fever, but it seems to have subsided now. Are you feeling better?" "Yes, I think so," she lied. "It was just a moment of disorientation. Perhaps I should have grabbed more to eat this morning before leaving." She tried to speak nonchalantly, dismissing the entire situation with a brief 'whatever' wave of her hand and a slight smile. Mulder was still hovering near her, though, a concerned look on his face. She brushed past him, stepping up to the counter as the ticket agent motioned them forward. Tickets in hand, they headed for the gate to wait out the last few minutes before boarding began. Realizing Khi's seat was several rows behind theirs, Scully offered her ticket to Khi. "I see Mulder every day, why don't you take this to be able to catch up some more?" she said, trying to seem as if she were just being friendly. Mostly, she wanted to just sit quietly by herself for a few hours and try to forget the images she kept seeing--sitting right next to the man she kept envisioning dying would not help that endeavor. Plus, looking at the way Mulder appeared to jump at the idea, she figured she didn't want to spend the next several hours listening to Zippy stories from college... Khi seemed to know exactly what Scully was thinking, what her real motives were. It was an uncanny sensation, she realized-- Scully had never really felt that anyone could read her when she didn't want them to. Well, no one besides Mulder, but even he could be frightfully oblivious at times. But as she exchanged a look with Khi, she could see Khi had easily discerned that Scully didn't trust her. Strangely, though, Khi seemed to accept that information without malice, simply turning to Mulder to ask if he thought that sounded like a good idea. He, in turn, gave a "You sure?" look to Scully to confirm. When she nodded and held the ticket out to Khi again, Khi took it and gave Scully hers in return. Mulder grinned at the exchange, reaching out to clap Scully on the shoulder--"Thanks!" he exclaimed, turning to chat with Khi again. Yep, Mulder could be frightfully oblivious at times. * * * * * * The flight to Colorado Springs passed relatively uneventfully, much to the satisfaction of Scully. She had experienced no further pain or visions, and dared to believe perhaps they were gone for good. She'd been seated seven rows behind Mulder and Khi, far enough that she couldn't hear their conversation but close enough that she could hear their laughter. After twenty minutes of it, she retrieved her portable CD player. Enya served to soothe her jangled nerves and to block out everything else. Arriving in Colorado in the early evening after a connecting flight delay, Scully retrieved the rental car while Mulder and Khi got the luggage. Everything accounted for, they headed to the conference hotel on the other side of downtown, the Regal Springs Hilton. Scully and Mulder found they'd been booked rooms just down the hall from each other, while Khi was placed five floors up. Scully tried not to show how much that arrangement pleased her. She was happy to see Mulder didn't plan on continuing his college living arrangements while at a professional conference--perhaps he was taking this assignment more seriously than anyone had imagined. As she unpacked her clothing and arranged her personal effects in the bathroom, there was a knock at the door. Peering out the peephole, she saw Mulder standing there, thankfully sans-Khi. She opened the door to let him in and, as usual, he went right over to the bed and sprawled out on it as if it were his. Although she usually made some sarcastic comment to him whenever he did that, she let it ride this time--it was a return to normalcy she was glad to see. "So, Scully, what's up?" he asked as he flipped through the TV channel guide he'd already located. "Go get some dinner? Do a little shopping? Watch a movie?" he said with a teasing eyebrow wag. She graced him with the very slightest of smiles at that comment, turning back to the bathroom to finish unpacking her things. "What, you and Khi aren't off to crash a party, or hit the bars, or push each other around the halls on the luggage carts?" she asked. She heard him laugh as he rolled up off her bed. He came to the bathroom doorway, leaning his tall frame against the jamb. "Nah, she wanted to visit a friend she has here in the city, so she's out for the night," Mulder said as he reached a hand out to rifle through her array of bottles and cases. Picking up a shampoo bottle, he struck a commercial pose. "Peach blossom and juju bean HerbalEssences always makes me feel like a new woman," he said brightly. Scully kept a straight face until he reached up to flip his non-existent long hair back from his shoulders. The sight was just ludicrous enough to elicit a rare, real laugh from her, and she was amazed at how it made her feel so much better. She squeezed by him and returned to the bed, closing up the bag and placing it on the low luggage rack. She turned to see him looking at her, a look he didn't break off as she glanced up at him. "What?" she asked slowly, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure your feeling OK, Scully?" he asked. Before she could claim she was fine, he quipped "Cuz you *never* laugh at my jokes." She barely, just barely, managed to keep from laughing again. Her lips made a very slight upward turn, though, and he laughed in response. "There, that's more like it," he said. "To answer your question, Mulder, I'll have to pass on any activity for this evening," Scully said. "Maybe I didn't get enough sleep this week or something, but I really am feeling kind of tired. I think I just want to order some quick room service and pretty much head to bed." "You're sure?" Mulder asked, looking a little depressed at the thought of spending the evening by himself. "We could just order in some pizza, maybe meet a nice vampire while we're at it." "No, that's OK--I think we'll meet enough bloodsuckers tomorrow at the conference," she said dryly. It was Mulder's turn to laugh at her joke, nodding his head in agreement. "Well, I'll leave you to your room service, then. G'night, Scully," he said as he headed for the door. She called out a goodnight to him, telling him to come and get her in the morning for the conference. "Will do," he said, stepping out into the hall, "Sweet dreams." She managed to keep the fear from her face until he was out of the room. * * * * * * Mulder picked her up in the morning on time, carrying his stack of materials, and they headed to the hotel's conference facility. As they walked through the main lobby, Mulder spotted Khi sitting in the cozy low-walled Regal restaurant off to one side. She waved at them with a smile, gesturing for them to swing over that way. Mulder changed his course immediately, Scully following slightly less enthusiastically. "Good morning, Zippy, Scully," Khi said. She was working her way through a sizeable breakfast--pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, hash brows, juice, coffee and milk were all present on the table in front of her. Scully, who rarely ate anything more than a croissant or a muffin for breakfast, could not imagine how Khi could eat in such a fashion and still be in such phenomenal shape. Khi must have caught the look on her face, because she gave a short laugh. "Believe me, Scully, I don't eat like this all the time. Any time I get away from my regular life for a while, I always make the best of it by eating huge," she said, indicating the rapidly-disappearing contents of her plates. "What *is* your regular life, Khi?" Mulder asked as he took a bite of a piece of toast. "I don't think, in all the time I've known you, that you have ever mentioned what you do for a living." "Well, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Khi said, not quite sarcastically. She just raised an eyebrow at him as she drank down her coffee. "C'mon, Mulder, we better get going," Scully said. "Conference starts in 30 minutes and we still have to check in and get you set up." "Hey, you want to hook up for a late supper this evening, say around 8:00?" Khi asked, indicating both of them. She explained she would be out most of the day, but would be back to the hotel around 7:00 or so. Mulder glanced at Scully, who gave a simple 'whatever' shrug of the shoulders. "Sounds good. Shall we just meet down here around 7:30, then?" Mulder asked. "Yeah, that's great. See you both then," Khi said, returning to her breakfast as Mulder and Scully headed off for the conference area. "She's planning something," Mulder said with a slight smile. "What do you mean, planning something?" Scully asked in surprise. "Something good, she'll be paying for dinner? Or something bad, we'll both be jailed by morning?" Mulder chuckled as they reached the sign-in table. Flashing their badges and signing the necessary forms, they both picked up a stack of conference materials and headed inside. "Something outrageous, most likely," Mulder said, trying to juggle the new packets of literature with the huge stack of presentation materials he was already carrying. Scully deftly lifted the literature packs out of his grip, allowing him to concentrate on not spilling his presentation. "Thanks. Anyway, what I mean is that Khi has a habit of springing a wild plan on people over dinner," Mulder said, thinking back. "I remember having dinner with her one night, then flying to Arizona the next day to whitewater raft the Colorado River, in the Grand Canyon." "Don't you have to have a guide to raft most sections of that river?" Scully asked, vaguely remembering something she read once. They entered the main room, where several people were already present. They made their way to the front stage area, continuing to talk as Mulder set up. "Yeah, you do, but Khi *is* a guide. Not that I knew that before we were renting the raft and survival gear!" he laughed. "I thought she was just going to have us take some back seat in a raft filled with several experienced people. Next thing I know, it's just the two of us careening down this river, me thinking we're going to overturn about every three seconds." "Sounds like a blast," Scully said, the doubt clearly audible in her voice. "The funny thing is, Scully, it was one of the best days of my life," Mulder said, arranging his materials. He signaled one of the conference assistants to begin passing out a set of papers to each person attending. "I was sure we'd be dead within the hour, but it was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had. That's how it is with Khi--you can never quite be sure that what's happening is quite as it seems." "That doesn't surprise me at all, Mulder," Scully said. At his questioning look, she tossed about for a description of what she meant, but finally just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what it is about her, Mulder, but I know that woman is hiding something about herself. I don't mean to insult you or your friend, but I get the distinct impression that the outward appearance of Khi Shaolin is nothing more than a well-crafted mask." "She's secretive about her past and her life, yes," Mulder said, not quite mad but a little testy. "But I doubt she's hiding some deep, dark secret." "I didn't mean to imply that she was going to murder us in our sleep or something, Mulder," Scully said. Mulder gave her a small smile in gratitude. "I just meant that, with Khi, I don't think what you see is necessarily what you get." Mulder glanced at his watch, glancing out at the nearly-full room. "Whatever she's planning, we aren't going to find out what it is until we get this conference out of the way," he said. "Hey, I forgot to tell you I got roped into attending one of the afternoon sessions today. Or perhaps, 'leashed' would be a better word. Either way, I won't be out of here until after 4:00 or later." "Actually, that's OK--I want to get a little gift shopping done while I've got some time here," Scully said. "I've got my nephew's birthday coming up soon, and other people I'm behind on. So I'll just see you in the lobby at 7:30, then, OK?" "OK. Hope I can sit up pretty enough for everyone," Mulder said, barely pantomiming his neck being jerked by an invisible leash. She just rolled her eyes at him and stepped down off the stage. She worked her way through the rows of chairs to an unoccupied seat near the back and settled in. She glanced out through the open door which led back to the main hallway and was surprised to see Khi speaking with a man dressed in what looked like a Marine captain's uniform. She watched them speak for a moment, her surprise turning quickly to shock when the Marine saluted Khi before turning to leave. Scully knew that uniformed officers never salute unless it is warranted. So why the hell was a Marine captain saluting Khi Shaolin? * * * * * * After listening to Mulder's speech, which went surprisingly well, Scully escaped from the conference and headed back to her room. After a quick change into something more casual, she grabbed her coat and headed downstairs to browse the advertising literature in the lobby. Armed with several pamphlets, Scully was soon on her way to an afternoon of shopping. She headed first to a couple of large clothing stores, finding a two sweaters and some jewelry for her mother's upcoming birthday. Looking around for something for her sister-in-law, she finally decided upon a delicate pair of diamond earrings after almost an hour of browsing. Checking her list, she saw the remainder of what she needed was pretty diverse, so she decided to just head to the South Spring Mall. Realizing she was rather hungry, she stopped for a quick bite at one of the mall food court shops. Hunger satisfied, she began to stroll through the mall at a leisurely pace, entering any shop that looked interesting, buying a few things here and there. Within a couple of hours, she had everything she needed for gifts, plus a few small items for herself, and felt thoroughly relaxed. Looking down at the armful of packages she was carrying, she made a quick stop to purchase another piece of soft- side luggage. Nothing like bringing one bag on a trip and coming home with two, she laughed to herself. As she worked her way back to the entrance, a store display window caught her eye. "Everything for the Sportsman in Your Life!" the in-store ads read as she perused the window items. She was about to move on when she spotted a mannequin wearing a sweatshirt that had an absolutely beautiful print of howling wolves on it. The quality was superb--it was as if she were looking at a photograph instead of a screen print. Thinking ahead to her brother's birthday in a couple of months, Scully decided to pick this up while she was in shopping mode. No telling when she'd get the chance for a leisurely day of shopping again. Entering the store, she browsed until finding the right display rack, flicking through the hangers until finding the correct size. She took the shirt off the rack and headed for the checkout counter at the center of the store. Scully patiently waited in the small line until it was her turn, giving a smile to the obviously- new-at-the-job male cashier as she laid the shirt on the counter. She happened to be looking down at the wolf print when the boy whisked the shirt off the counter. As her eyes focused, she saw several knives displayed within the glass case, each folded out to show the various blades or tools it contained. One towards the back caught her attention--large and black-handled with an inlay of crimson, it contained only a single blade that shone brightly even in the murky fluorescent light of the store. The pain came unbidden as before, an intense wave that flowed over and engulfed her. Unlike before, it centered in her chest, constricting her lungs to the point of uselessness. Gasping for breath, she collapsed forward onto the display counter, unable to even cry out for help. Her brain began to slow everything down-- she saw the cashier come running around the counter as if he were moving through water, his frantic cry of "Hey, lady, are you OK?" muted and distorted. She slid down the front of the counter, hands outstretched as if trying to ward off an unseen attacker. As consciousness slipped away, a new vision came--her hands covered with crimson blood, a black-handled knife lying next to Mulder's motionless form. * * * * * * "Ma'am, can you hear me? Wake up, c'mon now. Open your eyes and talk to me, honey." Scully came to with a start, jerking halfway up from what seemed to be a bed before a gentle set of hands pushed her back down. "Wh... wh..." she tried ask where she was, but her throat was too dry to speak. A woman in nurse's garb released her hold on Scully's shoulders, turning to a nearby sink and drawing a glass of water. She handed it to Scully, who drank it down in a long, continuous swallow. "Thank you. Where am I?" Scully asked, looking around the small, sparsely-furnished room. She saw a few simple medical instruments neatly organized on counter, along with a jar of tongue depressors and several gauze wrap bandages. "You're in the hospital, Ms. Scully. You collapsed at the Spring Mall about 30 minutes ago and were brought here immediately," the nurse explained. "Luckily, EMTs were already at that location on a false alarm. Do you remember what happened?" "I was buying a shirt, standing at the counter, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. It felt as if my entire throat had closed off, as if my lungs were being crushed," she said. Feeling stronger by the minute, Scully swung her legs over the side of the low bed and sat up. "Well, we've been unable to determine what the cause might have been. Actually, we found no evidence of anything wrong with you at all," the nurse said. "You merely appeared to be asleep--no trauma to the head or throat, no evidence of obstructions in the airway, not even elevated blood pressure. Do you have any medical conditions which may have caused such a collapse?" "None I'm aware of," Scully said, reluctant to mention the previous incidents since she had no way to explain those either. Remembering something, she reached for the small of her back-- "Where's my weapon?" The nurse chuckled a bit, heading over to a small closet and withdrawing Scully's coat and weapon. "Here you are. The gun gave the EMTs a bit of a fright when they found it," she laughed. "It's not something you expect to find on a normal shopper. But when they found your ID and realized who you were, they simply brought the gun in with your other personal effects." "And the bags I had with me at the sporting store, my other shopping?" Scully asked as she stood and holstered the weapon. She dreaded the thought of losing them--when will I ever find another day to go shopping, she thought, not to mention the several hundred dollars she had spent. "I would imagine they're still at the store," the nurse said. Watching as Scully moved about the room easily, sliding into her coat and adjusting her clothing and hair in the small mirror, the nurse seemed perplexed. "Are you sure you feel all right now, Ms. Scully? When the EMTs arrived, they were quite certain they'd be bringing out a body bag for you soon. You had been out for at least three minutes, convulsing and not breathing. But just as they started to work on you, you just... came out of it. You were calm and breathing easily within seconds." With a false smile and shrug of her shoulders, Scully replied "I'm not sure what to tell you. I feel fine now. If there's no reason for you to hold me here any longer, I think I'll be on my way." "Just a couple of papers for you to sign at the front desk, out the door and down the hall to your left," the nurse pointed. "You should know that we attempted to call the name listed in your ID." Scully jerked her head back, asking "Did you reach him at all?" "No, we only got an answering machine. By the time we had searched your ID for another number to call, you were beginning to wake up, so we didn't think it was necessary," the nurse explained. "All right, thank you," Scully said, turning and heading back down the hallway. Thank god, she thought with a sigh--the last thing I need is Mulder running around in AutoProtect mode for the rest of the weekend. Finding the ER admission desk, Scully signed the necessary release forms and inquired about the location of the mall in relation to the hospital. She decided to just walk back to the mall, considering it was only about a mile away. It was still daylight outside and she figured she could find her way easily enough. Stepping out into the cold, she began to walk briskly in the direction the admitting nurse had indicated. Wishing she had a hood on her coat, she settled for flipping up the large collar and trying to sink as far inside the jacket as she could. There was a light snow falling as she walked along. Within 15 minutes, Scully had arrived at the mall, pausing in the doorway to shake off the dusting of snow that had accumulated on her jacket and hair. She quickly found the sporting store and stepped inside to inquire about her packages. Luckily, the same boy was still working--he recognized her immediately, reaching underneath the counter and withdrawing her several packages. "Hello, ma'am, how're you feeling now?" he asked as she came up to the counter. "You sure freaked us out a bit there, for a moment. I just went ahead and set these under here to keep an eye on them." "I feel fine now, thanks for asking," she said, tipping a smile up at him as she dug inside her jacket for her small wallet. "But I'm quite sure I didn't pay for that yet," indicating the last package he had set on the counter, emblazoned with the brightly-colored store logo. "The manager said it was a gift for you, to help you feel better. He didn't want you to be saying that you got sick at Dave's Sporting Goods and-" he broke off suddenly, glancing around him nervously. "Whoops, I think I just said more than I was supposed to." "That's okay, I won't tell anyone," Scully laughed. "But I really do want to pay for the shirt. It certainly wasn't the store's fault about what happened, and you were so quick to help me." "Nope, I'm sorry, ma'am, but he told me to insist that you take the shirt, free of charge," the boy said firmly. Or as firmly as a 16-year old boy could be when talking to a pretty woman in her 30's who was smiling at him. "Really, take it." "Well, then, thank you, and be sure to thank your manager as well," Scully said, beginning to gather her packages. Her eyes fell again on the knife as she cleared off the counter. "Perhaps you'll let me buy something else, then," she said. * * * * * * Back at the hotel, Scully carefully arranged all the packages in an out-of-the-way corner of her room, taking a moment to attach a quick note to the pile. No need for the cleaning staff to worry about moving them each day, she thought. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she still had two hours before dinner with Mulder and Khi. She considered taking a brief nap, but quickly dismissed that idea--she was much too tense to fall asleep at this time of day. She flipped through the television channels, smiling slightly as she clicked past Channel 14. Gee, I wonder which channel Mulder pre-set on his remote, she laughed to herself. Finding nothing of interest, Scully got up and paced the room a bit. As she passed the low dresser, she saw the hotel's advertisement for its services and amenities. Seeing the entry for 'full gym, complete with a variety of the latest equipment,' she thought perhaps that was what she needed. A good, hard run on a treadmill or a Stairmaster. Her brain cautioned she should probably just take it easy, but the thought was quickly swept away by her body's need to *do* something. Scully rummaged through her bag until she found the pair of sweatpants and shirt she had brought. Grabbing them, along with a towel from the bathroom, she headed downstairs and found the gym with a little help from the concierge again. She changed in the small locker room, happy to see only a few lockers in use-- she hated fighting or waiting for gym equipment. The gym was small, but it really was well-equipped and thankfully nearly empty. After a moment's debate, she decided on a treadmill run. She did a few simple stretches, making sure she limbered up after the day's tension--no need to pull a muscle with two more days left of the trip, she thought. Scully set the machine for about 6-7 miles per hour and hopped on, quickly falling into the necessary rhythm. The hotel had placed several TV screens around the gym, giving people something to look as they exercised. She normally took her CD player with her to work out, but had forgotten it upstairs. She found herself watching an infomercial for a food-packing unit that sealed stuff using a vacuum. She laughed to herself as she watched the spokesman peddle his wares--I couldn't act that deliriously happy even if I *was* getting paid for it, she thought. The longer she jogged, the more in control she felt. The disturbing mental images, the physical tension, the general unrest she'd had for the last 24 hours slid into the past. Things to be remembered, but no longer worried about. The body took over and she was happy to let it do so. After 50 minutes, she cranked the machine up a bit more and finished with a hard 5-minute run. Only then did she power it down to a gentle walk, allowing her body to cool down slowly. She knew a majority of muscle pulls and strains occurred as a result of improperly cooled muscles, not from the actual severity of the workout itself. Noticing someone waiting for the machine, she shut it down and stepped off, finding a corner of the room to finish stretching out. Scully noticed the gym had filled up in the last hour and was glad that she had come down when she did. She felt refreshed and energetic, more so than she'd felt in weeks. Maybe coming along will have some benefits after all, she mused. She headed back to the locker room and grabbed her clothes and towel, figuring on showering when she got back to her room. Keeping in the spirit of the workout, Scully decided to take the stairs up to her room. She laughed as she set out to jog up the 12 flights--elevators were usually a necessity for her, brought on by the dress clothing she normally wore. She couldn't remember the last time she intentionally took a long jog up a flight of stairs. As she reached the 5th floor and rounded the corner to start up the next flight, she became aware of another set of footsteps coming up from below. She glanced down through the space in the staircase and saw Mulder racing up the steps. He was dressed in Spandex running pants with a light runner's jacket, a pair of gloves in his hands. She could see the bottoms of several layers of T-shirts and sweatshirts poking out from underneath the edge of the jacket. "C'mon, Scully, I'll race you to our rooms--last one there has to spring for dinner tonight!" he yelled as he turned the corner below her. "You're on, fly boy," she called out, feeling the adrenaline pour into her blood as she accelerated. They yelled back and forth at each other as they ran: "Who you calling fly boy?"--"You, Spandex man"--"Oh, so I can't wear proper running attire now?"--"It's just a little... form-fitting, don't you think?"--"You making a move on me, woman?"--"Yeah, I'm moving out ahead of you." Scully was in the lead as they reached the 12th floor entrance. She reached out and flung open the door to the hallway. She quickly realized her mistake, though, as Mulder whizzed past her and into the hallway, laughing. "Thank ye kindly, ma'am!" he called to her as he zipped by. Damn! "I had you, Mulder, and you know it!" she called out after him. "I had you!" "Most restaurants take Visa, you know!" he laughed, flashing her a big smile. He managed to duck inside his room and shut the door before she had the chance to wipe that smile right off his face. ------------ Chapter 3 ------------ Mulder had picked Scully up at her room just before 7:30. She had been glad to see he'd dressed casually as well, his black jeans topped by an intense forest green sweater that set off his eyes nicely. She'd teased him that he was supposed to bring flowers when picking up a woman for dinner. "Sorry, my lady," he had said, giving her a slight bow from the waist as he effected a 'mea culpa' motion with his hand to his chest. "My dating skills are a little rusty lately." As they had walked down the hall, Mulder had offered her his arm, as if they were dressed to the nines and attending a formal affair instead of just a casual dinner out. As Scully had threaded her hand into the crook of his arm, she'd smiled to herself. Rusty perhaps, but still alive and well. Now, as they sat relaxing at the table after dinner, Scully watched in amused silence as Mulder continued the date pretense, ordering a sort of ice cream and cherries dessert for the two of them to share. They had split a pizza between them for dinner already, so why not a dessert too, he had calmly explained. Khi had opted out of the pizza-sharing idea, going instead with a half-pound burger piled with every topping known to man, and a few that probably weren't. The restaurant was more of a bar and grill, really, but the food had been excellent and the staff both friendly and efficient. They chatted amiably throughout dinner, drifting from topic to topic like a butterfly floating on a gentle breeze. Scully feared she would be a third wheel at the college reunion, but both Mulder and Khi had nicely kept the conversation out of the 'old times' category. "To friendships. Both old and new," Khi said, raising her bottle of St. Paulie Girl into the air. Mulder and Scully followed suit, murmuring the toast as their wine glasses clinked together with the bottle. While Scully still didn't quite trust Khi, she found her to be an intelligent, even witty, dinner companion. The evening had been quite relaxing so far, a fact that came as a pleasant surprise. "So Khi, Mulder tells me that you might be... let's see, how did he put it?" Scully pretended to think for a moment, rolling her eyes up towards the overhead lights and tapping a forefinger against her lips. "Planning something, I believe was the exact phrase," she finished with an amused glance over at Mulder. "Zippy! What have you been telling this woman about me?" Khi reacted with feigned shock. "Planning something, why I never..." She ranted and raved, each phrase more indignant and outrageous than the last, until Mulder, and finally even Scully, were laughing outright. Khi eventually ran out of words to say, ending with a spluttering string of nonsense as she finally dissolved into laughter herself. As they slowly gained control of themselves again, Mulder looked around for the waiter, wanting to order another round of drinks. Showing again the efficiency of the staff, the waiter was already on his way over with another carafe of wine for Mulder and Scully and a fresh beer for Khi. "But now that you mention it..." Khi intoned with a devilish look in her eye. She slowly raised a single eyebrow as she said it, sending them all laughing again as the waiter cleared away the last of the empty dishes and glasses. "So what's it going to be this time, Khi... rafting? Bungee- jumping? Deep-sea diving?" Mulder asked, pausing to take a sip of the wine. "The Mall of America the day before Christmas?" he finished with a what-did-I-tell-you glance at Scully. She gave a slight shake of her head, beginning to smile as she reached for her glass. Khi laughed. "Now, *there's* something that would truly be life- threatening. I'd never inflict that on you, plus it's still a ways off. No, I was thinking more like... parachuting." The glass never reached Scully's lips. She set it down sharply, thankful Mulder and Khi were too involved to notice the loud clanking noise it made as it hit the table. "In the middle of the winter?! Thanks, but I'll just take the mall, thank you very much. Parachuting into the snow, Jes-" Mulder finished in a mumble, shaking his head as he laughed. Mulder didn't notice that Scully had turned as white as the snow falling outside the bar's windows. * * * * * * "Hey now, parachuting is *best* in the winter, believe me. All that nice, fluffy snow to break your fall--it's like dropping down onto a bed of feathers," Khi said, pantomiming gentle falling motions as she spoke. "I've got a friend who has a plane, we can have him fly us down tomorrow morning, do the jump and be back here in time for tea. We just need to-" Khi launched into full persuasion mode, outlining every detail in her most convincing tone. Scully heard none of it. It took all of her strength and concentration to keep her body from betraying her fear, to keep her hands and face steady as she tried to catch her breath. After a few moments, when she felt she could stand without promptly passing out, she managed a small "Excuse me, guys, restroom break," as she got up and headed away from the table. Khi and Mulder each gave a sort of half-wave of acknowledgement, each too engrossed in the conversation to really even look up as she left. If they had, they might have been concerned when she didn't head for the restroom, making her way instead towards the heavy wooden doors of the front entrance. Scully murmured a comment to the bouncer as she headed outside, showing him her establishment-ID bracelet. Noticing her paleness even in the rather dim light of the bar's interior, the bouncer asked her if she was all right as he opened the door for her. "Yes, fine, thank you," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I just need a quick breath of fresh air, that's all." Scully waved a nonchalant hand in the air as she ducked through the doorway. She immediately noticed that the temperature had risen by several degrees--it was markedly warmer than when they'd first entered, although still brisk. The snow, which had been closer to small pellets when they arrived, had switched over to large, beautiful flakes. Each made their way down out of the sky, silently covering everything in a gentle blanket of whiteness. Scully walked a short distance down the block, the night air providing the clarity she was looking for. She breathed deeply several times in succession, doing a few quick arm rotations to get her blood pumping again. Her breath hung in the air before her, slowly swirling away as the seconds passed. "What the hell is wrong with me," she mumbled to herself. "You're a doctor, a scientist, not the Stupendous Yappi." She knew there was no logical reason to be alarmed, that indeed there was little proof of clairvoyant ability. But no matter what she told herself, no matter how hard she tried to dismiss her fear, she couldn't shake the feeling she was truly perceiving the future. That events would unfold exactly as she kept envisioning. That Mulder would die in her arms, his life bleeding onto the snow beneath them. * * * * * * After a long look up at the night sky, and knowing she couldn't be gone more than five minutes without Mulder getting worried, Scully turned and headed back into the bar. The bouncer flashed her a grin and told her it looked like the walk did her some good. She gave a small smile in return as she moved past him, threading her way through the small crowd waiting to get seated. It had to be approaching 10:00pm, but the dining area was still nearly full, forcing people to wait for available tables. Mulder was just getting up from the table, laughing at something Khi had just said, when he caught sight of Scully. He stepped to her side as she came closer, reaching out to touch her shoulder very briefly. Well-schooled in Mulder101, Scully could see the look of concern veiled beneath the smile--a look quiet and hidden, but there nonetheless. Scully was always amazed at the depth of feeling Mulder could convey with a seemingly simple look or motion. "You OK, Scully? We were about to send out the reconnaissance teams for you," Mulder asked, the offhand comment masking the once-over glance he gave her, searching for some outward sign of trouble. She couldn't tell if he'd seen her come in from outside. "I'm fine, Mulder, I just stepped outside for a second," she said, feeling it was safer to bend the truth slightly than risk an outright lie. "I was feeling a little warm in here and just wanted to cool down a little bit." Playing every inch the gentleman this evening, Mulder pulled her chair out for her, graciously seating her before returning to his own chair. As she watched him settle back into his seat, she realized with something of a start that she wasn't being completely fair--Mulder was often gentlemanly, holding doors and pulling out chairs for her, guiding her through doorways with a gentle hand. It was just that those things normally happened in the course of their daily work, not during a casual evening together. Scully refused to use the word 'date,' even in the safety of her own thoughts. "Well, as crazy as it sounds, Khi's got me damn close to sold on this parachuting idea, Scully," Mulder said, pouring himself another glass of wine. He laughed as Khi did a little dance-of-joy at the table, complete with a Homer-ish 'Whoo Hoo.' "Sounds pretty painless, really, and might actually be kind of fun," he continued. Khi chimed in with the reassurance that nothing could be simpler--"A troop of girl scouts laden with boxes of Thin Mints could do this jump, it's so easy," she said, figuring that a challenge-to-the-manhood couldn't hurt her cause. Scully was not surprised to see that it worked, watching as Mulder bristled slightly even as he tried to toss it off with a "Yeah, whatever, shut up" response. "Mulder, forget for a moment that a) you've never parajumped before, b) you're here on business and c) it's the dead of winter and no more than 30 degrees outside," Scully began, smiling in spite of herself as she saw Khi and Mulder exchange a told-you- so look between them. "You're in the middle of a senior bureau conference. If you were to miss the final session on Sunday, you could seriously compromise your career at the FBI. You could be reprimanded, you could be censured, you could be fired outright..." Scully caught the gleam in Mulder's eye as he listened to her. "...you could just go ahead and book that plane for three seats," she finished with a resigned sigh. "Two for the price of one!" Khi laughed. "I didn't really think I could even convince Zippy to do it, and here I got a second FBI agent thrown in as well. My skills of persuasion must be sharper than I thought." She started outlining the where and when details of the next day's jump. Scully reached out and poured herself another wine, leaning back in her chair and thinking. Wondering who Khi Shaolin really was and if she were really just the adventurous friend she presented herself to be. Wondering if her own decision to go with them would seal Mulder's fate, condemning him to a death she had seen all too clearly. "So, does that seem reasonable to you?" Khi asked as she and Mulder turned towards Scully. Breaking out of her mental reverie, Scully took a sip of her wine before answering. The few seconds gave her time to replay their conversation in her head. Even though her attention had been completely focused on her own thoughts, some part of her mind had still tuned into their planning session and was now able to pick out the pertinent details at high speed. It was a skill she had developed over the years without even really trying--she knew it was the only thing that had gotten her through more than a few 7:00am bureau meetings. "Um, yeah, that should work all right," she said. "Hotel lobby at 9:00am, out to the airfield by 11:00, in the air and en route by noon, jump around 1:00, picked up and back here by late afternoon," she summarized quickly. Khi was impressed with Scully's succinct recitation, teasing Mulder he'd better watch out, having a partner with a memory like that. "You won't be getting away with anything, Zippy," Khi said with a chuckle. "I wouldn't even dream of trying," Mulder said, giving Scully a cryptic grin. The waiter arrived with their dessert, cutting off Scully's question before she could ask it. As the waiter began setting their dessert on the table, Scully realized why it had taken fifteen minutes to bring it out. It was, quite simply, a work of art. Perfectly sculpted mounds of pure white ice cream lined the inside of an ornate crystal goblet. Dark, sumptuous cherries ringed the upper edge of the ice cream, complementing the small tower of them that had been placed in the center. Another dish contained still more cherries, simmering and bubbling in a thickened sauce. Placing the dish near the edge of the table, the waiter took a small bottle and poured an amber liquid over the simmering mixture. And then, with a flourish worthy of the theater, the waiter set the entire dish on fire. Smiling, Scully looked across the table at Mulder, noticing the perfect reflection created by his glasses. The visual effect was stunning--it was as if he were a creation of fire himself. As if his very soul had been set ablaze and unleashed for her to see. She was mesmerized for a moment, unable to break the hypnotic effect. Finally, it was the realization she was gazing at him like a schoolgirl that gave her the strength to drop her eyes down to the table. But it had not been quick enough, she knew. She knew Mulder had experienced the same thing in those few moments. That he, too, had looked deep inside her, right to the very center of her soul, and had seen the same fire. * * * * * * The rest of the evening at the bar and grill passed quickly. Khi finally broke down as she watched Mulder and Scully enjoy their jubilee dessert, quickly ordering a large hot fudge sundae for herself. There wasn't much conversation at Table 14-A after that--just murmuring variations of "I can't believe how good this is" from all of them. Finishing off her sundae, savoring the last of the dark chocolate, Khi put her spoon down with a satisfied sigh. "You know, when you eat something like that, you can totally see how the phrase 'Chocolate is better than sex' got started," she said with a laugh, a sentiment echoed by Mulder and Scully. Seeing they were nearly finished as well, Khi excused herself, wanting to hit the restroom quick before leaving. The waiter made one last stop, asking if anyone needed anything else before he totaled their tab. Scully, laughing, told him no, they had consumed far more than they needed to already. The waiter stepped over to the bar for a moment, tapping things into the keypad at a computerized billing station. He returned a moment later with the bill, proffering it to Mulder first. Mulder just laughed. "No, I believe that should be given to the lovely redhead over there, my friend," he said, giving Scully an evil grin. The waiter laughed as well, turning and handing it to her with a flourish. Throwing a mock glare at Mulder as she put the bill down next to her, Scully took the opportunity to thank the waiter for the excellent service, wanting him to extend their gratitude to the cooking staff as well for the delicious dinner and dessert. The waiter seemed genuinely pleased at the compliment, graciously giving her a slight bow and telling them if they ever came again, to make sure they asked for Josh. Scully told him to hang on just a second, pulling her small wallet out of her jacket and extracting the desired credit card. "You take Visa, right?" Mulder asked him, tossing Scully a teasing look. He expertly dodged the cloth napkin that came sailing his way, laughing as he retrieved it from the floor and set it on the edge of the table. The waiter quickly settled the bill, giving Scully her receipt on a small tray filled with brightly wrapped mints. "Enjoy the rest of your dessert and your evening, sir, ma'am," he said as he left. Mulder tipped the crystal goblet towards him, intending to scoop up his next bite, and saw there was only a single cherry left. With the barest hint of a grin, he tipped it up onto his spoon, making sure he also got the last of the deliciously thick sauce, too. After a moment's pause, he held the spoon across the table for Scully, offering her the last taste. She reached out to take the spoon from him, but he moved it out of her grasp. When she put her hand back down, he held the spoon out again. She quirked an eyebrow at him, a look he returned with a quick flicking up and down of his own brow. Scully gave him a small eye-roll and sigh, before finally giving in and leaning forward to mouth the cherry off the spoon. She didn't quite get all of it, though--a bit of the dark sauce trickled its way down her chin. Reaching for her napkin, she quickly remembered that she'd fired it at Mulder for his earlier comment. She reached up to try and stop the flow with her hand as she stretched for another napkin from the center of the table. Before she could reach one, though, Mulder leaned over and wiped the offending sauce off with a gentle finger. He smiled slightly as he wiped his hand on his own napkin--"At least it comes off easier than the barbecue sauce did," he quipped. It took Scully a moment to reference the comment, but when she did, she gave him a quick grin in acknowledgement. Scully settled back in her chair, relishing the wonderful flavor as she licked the last little bit of the sauce off her fingers. It was amazing, she thought, that a bar and grill in the middle of Colorado would serve the best dessert she'd ever tasted. "Perhaps Khi was right with the chocolate comment," she said. "Yeah, except we're not eating chocolate, are we," he said with an unbelievably sly look and grin. As her eyes widened at his flirtatiousness, he stood and headed off towards the restroom himself, giving Khi a quick wave as he met her on her way back to the table. As Scully watched him move away, she was glad Mulder had left the table immediately, not giving her the chance to say her usual sarcastic reply. Because this time, she didn't want to say it. * * * * * * They caught another cab back to the hotel, Khi splitting off from Mulder and Scully as they entered the lobby. Khi said she was normally one to go for midnight runs, but would settle for a light workout in the hotel gym this night. "Wouldn't want to twist my ankle in the snow and not be able to throw you guys out of a plane tomo-" Khi broke off, backtracking slightly and masking her face into a look of pure innocence. "I mean, not be able to guide you expertly to safety on your first parajumping experience," she finished sweetly. "Yeah, whatever, shut up," Mulder said, laughing as he heard Scully's voice saying the same words. Grins were exchanged as Mulder and Scully headed for the elevators, Khi starting down the hallway to the gym. "What, you don't want to take the stairs this time, Scully?" Mulder asked as he held the elevator doors for her. "Don't even start with me, Mulder. I *so* had you beat--you should've been paying for dinner," Scully said as she pressed the button for the 12th floor. She couldn't resist smiling a little, though, when Mulder heaved an exaggerated sigh, murmuring "Mmm, mmm, good" as he bent down to re-tie a boot lace. Scully folded her arms and leaned against the wall of the elevator as it began its slow climb. Whether from the wine or the pleasant evening, she was feeling very relaxed, almost detached from herself. She watched as the first floor lazily drifted down beneath her--the Regal's main elevator was glass-walled, allowing its passengers to look out over the lobby and recreation area as they ascended. "So why are you coming on this jump, Scully?" Mulder asked. "I mean, I know you don't really like Khi all that much, and you don't exactly seem the type to have always harbored a secret passion for extreme sports." "Actually, Mulder, I've always thought that parachuting might be rather interesting," Scully explained, keeping her voice light and conversational. "Free-falling to earth, the air rushing past you, your body able to twist and turn without restriction... Should be an interesting experience." She sure as hell knew she wasn't going to tell him the real reason. "Well, the only thing I know for certain about doing anything with Khi--it is *always* interesting," Mulder laughed, moving over to stand near Scully and look out over the lobby with her. He was so close to her, she could have sworn that she felt the heat radiating from him. The elevator slowed as they reached the 9th floor, the bell chiming out the stop signal. As the doors opened, an elderly couple began to step inside. As they saw Mulder and Scully, though, they paused. "We're headed down to the lobby--is this going up or down?" the woman asked politely. "We couldn't tell from the indicators out here." "Up, ma'am, to the 12th floor," Mulder replied. "We'll be there in a second, then you can head back down to the lobby from there." He stepped forward and held out a hand, offering her some assistance should she need it. "No, no, that's all right, son," the man chimed in with a smile. "We'll let you two finish your ride up. Just push the 9th floor button when you get out to send it right back to us." "Are you sure? It's no trouble at all," Scully said, motioning for Mulder to hold the doors open. "You two go on, now," the man said, waving for them to be on their way. "Just send it back down for us." Mulder smiled at the couple, stepping back inside and releasing the doors. As they were nearly closed, the woman caught Scully's eye, giving her a smile and sly wink. "Have fun," the woman called as the doors squeezed shut. As Scully caught Mulder's eye as she turned away from the doors, she asked "Now, what do you suppose she meant by that?" "I have absolutely no idea," Mulder replied, his tone innocent. The wink he gave her was decidedly *not* innocent. Scully turned to face the glass again before she was tempted to return the wink. When the doors opened on the 12th floor, Mulder held out an elbow for her, just as he had when they originally left for the evening. Scully placed her hand on his arm, reaching back at the last second to hit the button for the 9th floor. As they walked along in comfortable silence, Scully tried to remember an evening when she'd had so much fun, when she'd felt so completely relaxed and at ease. Considering she couldn't think of anything, she concluded it had been a very long time. "Here you are, my lady," Mulder said, stopping in front of her door. He'd been covering her hand with his own--with a gentle squeeze, he took his hand away and stepped back slightly as she unhooked her arm from his. Scully pulled out her entry keycard, working the door lock with the studied ease of someone who checks into more hotels in a year than most people do in a lifetime. Mulder started down the hall towards his own room, but turned back almost immediately as Scully called out his name. "Mulder?" she said, stepping towards him even as he turned to face her. She had originally reached up a hand to touch his shoulder as he walked away, but he had turned too suddenly--the hand now rested squarely against his chest instead. They were mere inches away from each other, Scully looking up at Mulder as he tipped his head to look down at her. She was shocked at the depths of those hazel eyes, feeling as if she were looking over the edge of a bottomless abyss. She wondered how she had never seen it before. Or perhaps more accurately, why she'd never allowed herself to see it before. She teetered on the edge of that abyss for a few long seconds, feeling as though she were being drawn forward by some unseen hand. Mulder finally broke the moment, reaching out to brush her cheek with back of his fingers. Light and gentle, surely, but she was rocked by the nearly electric charge it sent through her. "I had a great time, too, Scully," he said quietly. Taking her hand off his chest, he pressed a gentle kiss into her palm as he turned away again. Scully shook herself slightly, her mind trying to comprehend what had just happened, why she had done and said the things she had. It must be the wine, she thought firmly to herself. Had to be the wine. As she stepped inside her door, she heard Mulder call out a "Good night, Scully" as he opened his own door. She poked her head back around the doorframe, laughing as she saw that he was doing the same thing a few doors down. "G'night, Mulder," she said. He grinned back at her, finally moving inside his room and shutting the door behind him. Scully did the same, leaning against the door as she closed her eyes for a minute. Girl, she said to herself, you need a hot bath and a good night's sleep. She didn't see them at first, turning immediately from the room door to enter the bathroom. She began drawing a bath, glad that she'd remembered to pack a couple of scented bath oils. She paused for a few moments to make sure the water temperature was going to stay constant, then went out into the main room. This time, she saw them immediately. A dozen long-stemmed roses were lying on her bed, a flowering vine intricately woven around and through the stems. The delicate purplish-white petals of the vine's flower provided a stark contrast to the dark, rich red of the roses. The arrangement was exquisitely beautiful. As she picked them up, she noticed a small piece of paper tucked inside the vine. She withdrew it carefully, unfolding it to reveal the strong, bold strokes of a hand-written note. "I know I should have had these for you earlier, but I thought-- better late than never. --Fly Boy" How does he *do* that, she wondered--she hadn't been away from Mulder for more than five minutes all night. Scully shook her head in silence, a grin slowly spreading across her face as she fingered the petals of the roses. As she placed the arrangement on the nightstand, making sure not to crush any of the flowers, a thought sprang unbidden into her mind. One that, even a few short months ago, she would have pushed aside without a second's thought. But not tonight. Tonight, she knew that one day, she would look into Mulder's eyes and jump willingly over the edge of the abyss. ------------ Chapter 4 ------------ "Yes, I'm here, what?" Scully mumbled into the phone as she hung over the side of the bed. It had taken her a couple of seconds to extricate herself from the sheets and blankets on her bed, her arm knocking the phone from the nightstand in the process. "This is Amy calling from the front desk. This is your 7:00 wakeup call, Ms. Scully," the voice said brightly. "Um, yes, thank you," Scully answered, thinking it should be criminally illegal for the girl to be so chipper at 7:00 in the morning. "You're welcome, Miss Scully, and have a great day!" Amy replied, ending the call before Scully could use the 'yeah, whatever, shut up' line on Ms. Perky. Probably for the best, she thought. Scully crawled back onto the bed, drawing the covers up over her head to shut out the light streaming in through the rather thin curtains. She knew she was risking falling asleep again, but she wasn't quite ready to just leap out of bed yet. She'd been sleeping on her stomach, she realized, something she hadn't done since she was a little kid. Did the prospect of facing this day scare her so much that she had reverted to child-like patterns in her sleep? Would she be checking under the bed for the boogie man next? Get ahold of yourself, Dana, she thought. You're going to get up, you're going to do this jump, and you will see that there was absolutely nothing to be concerned about. You'll be back here having dinner with Mulder this evening, complaining about having to go to the final session of the conference tomorrow, and all will be right with the world. With a sigh, Scully slid out of bed, pulling the covers back up as she stood. She did a few quick stretches, bending to touch the floor a couple of times, leaning side to side to work out the kinks in her back. She had intended to go down to the gym for a quick morning run, but decided against it. Scully instead took a long, hot shower, relieved that the water seemed to rinse away the last of the morning's grogginess as it coursed across her body. Stepping out of the shower, she dried off quickly and slipped into the thick folds of the hotel robe hanging on the back of the door. She pulled her hair dryer out of her bag, deciding to just do a quick dry and simply pull the hair back into a ponytail for the day--plunging to the earth from several thousand feet up wasn't exactly an activity that demanded stylishness, she laughed to herself. Her morning routine complete, Scully picked up the phone to order some breakfast from room service. Normally, she would have just gone down to the lobby restaurant, but she didn't want to have to dress twice--once, lightly, to head downstairs and then again, more heavily, to prepare for the day. She glanced over the room service menu. Mostly light fare for breakfast, but that was all right with her--she was still half full from the previous evening's dinner. Scully picked up the phone and dialed the number, ordering a bagel with cream cheese, a dish of fruit and some juice. "And, would it be possible to have a local paper brought up as well?" she asked the woman. Scully enjoyed reading the local news when out on assignment. It reminded her that in some parts of the world, the local school carnival or the winners of the snowman-building contest were still considered front-page news. "Sure, ma'am, that's no problem. Would you like anything else?" the woman asked. She was polite, but thankfully not as annoyingly animated as Ms. Perky had been earlier. With a glance back at the nightstand, Scully thought for a moment. Finally, she said "Yeah, and I know this will sound rather strange, but I need a large vase for some flowers that were delivered to me yesterday. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just something tall to hold some water." "I'll see what we can come up with, ma'am. The maid service might be better able to help you out, though--if our guy doesn't arrive with something for you, just leave a note to the cleaning staff," the woman said, letting Scully know that her food would arrive in about 30 minutes as she hung up. Scully walked over to where the flowers were sitting, leaning over to inspect the petals more closely. Remarkably, both the roses and the vine flowers were as vibrant as the night before-- they had barely wilted at all. A little water would liven them right up again. Or maybe I could just get Ms. Perky to come up and talk to them for a bit, she thought with a laugh. To pass the time until breakfast arrived, Scully went through her bags to lay out the clothing for the day. Khi had recommended layering both pants and shirts, and to wear boots with a couple layers of socks. She had said her friend would have jump coveralls and gloves for them, along with light helmets and face shields to protect from the cold. Scully had no trouble finding shirts to wear, drawing out a couple of mock turtlenecks to layer underneath a heavy fleece pullover. But she realized she only had a pair of jeans as casual legwear-- she had sent her sweatpants and some other clothing down to be laundered and hadn't brought anything else that would work. She picked up the phone and dialed Mulder's room. It didn't even occur to her that some might have thought it strange for her to think of borrowing clothes from her male partner--they'd been together for more stakeouts and field assignments than she could remember, and had long since become comfortable sharing supplies as needed. After a few rings, she glanced over at the clock. It read 8:03. Surely, he must be up by now, she thought. She was about to hang up and head down the hall when Mulder picked up. "Mulder," he said. Scully was glad to hear he sounded completely awake--she didn't think Khi would ever let them forget it if they were late. "It's me," she said. "I'm trying to get clothes ready for today, but don't have anything other than a pair of jeans. Do you have an extra pair of sweatpants or something I could borrow?" "Yeah, I was just doing the same thing," he replied. She could hear him rummaging around in his suitcase as he talked. "Ummm... let's see... sweatpants, no. But I do have an extra pair of Spandex running pants, flygirl," he finished with a laugh. "That'll do, I guess," she said, hoping the smile on her face didn't come through in her voice as much as it threatened to. "OK, I'll drop them off on my way down to the lobby in a few minutes," he said. "I'm about to head down to grab some breakfast, did you want to come along?" "No, I ordered room service--didn't want to have to come back up to the room to change," Scully replied. "All right. I'll be down to your room in five," he said as he hung up the phone. The need to end every conversation with a 'goodbye' was also something that had dropped away years ago. A few minutes later, a knock at the door heralded Mulder's arrival. Scully drew back the chain lock and opened the door. He held out the aforementioned pair of Spandex running pants. She noticed, though, that he had neglected to mention that they were wildly colored, black base streaked with neon orange and green. "Ooo, pretty stylin' there, Mulder," she teased him. "These look like they should be hanging on the back of a slow-moving vehicle." "Actually, you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find Spandex attire that *isn't* wild," he said, laughing a bit. "Oh, and I'm sure you searched high and low for plain ones, too," Scully said. "I know how... sedate your tastes are." Mulder didn't bother defending himself, knowing that there really wasn't any defense to make, instead turning to head down the hall. "I'll see you downstairs in a bit, then," he said over his shoulder. She let him walk for a good 20 or 30 feet before calling out to him. "Hey, Mulder?" she said. "Yeah?" he asked as he paused. "Thanks for the flowers, they're beautiful," she said simply. She didn't trust herself to say anything more. "Only the best for you, my lady," he said, affecting the half-bow he'd used the night before. With a grin, he turned and headed on down the hall. Scully went back in her room, and it was only a few minutes until the room service arrived. The man had everything she'd ordered: the breakfast, the paper, and even the vase. She tipped him more than she normally would have, thanking him and the staff for being so accommodating. After arranging the flowers in the vase, making sure it was filled with water, Scully settled in at the small table. She made short work of the bagel and fruit, then lazily sipped at the juice as she browsed through the paper. She made a mental note of an ice- sculpture contest taking place today, thinking the results might be worth checking out this evening when they got back. Realizing it was getting close to 9:00, Scully refolded the newspaper and began getting dressed for the day. She slipped on a light t-shirt, followed by the mock turtlenecks and finally the heavy pullover. After pulling on three pairs of socks, she reached for the Spandex pants. Laughing as she stretched them on, she was actually surprised at how comfortable they were. They clung to her legs like a second skin, matching her movements without feeling bulky or binding. She started to pull her jeans on, but stopped. Scully sat still on the edge of the bed for a few moments, the jeans forgotten. She soon dropped them to the floor as she went over to the mound of packages in the corner. Rummaging through them, she finally withdrew and opened a long, thin box. Placing her right foot on the edge of the bed, Scully strapped the black-handled knife over the neon Spandex, securing it firmly to her lower leg. * * * * * * Mulder and Khi were waiting for her as she crossed the hotel lobby towards the front door. She was carrying her heavy parka, knowing she'd want it for the trip and the first part of the plane ride. She noticed that both of them were similarly equipped, Khi also carrying a backpack. "OK, then, are we all set?" Khi asked after quickly making sure Mulder and Scully had followed her apparel instructions. "Let's do it," Mulder said, clasping his hands together and grinning. Khi and Scully just laughed at his eager-beaver antics. They headed outside to the Regal's parking ramp, Scully slipping into her parka as they walked. It was still snowing lightly, but no more than a couple of inches had accumulated. The sun was trying to peek through the clouds, but clouds were overtaking it quickly. It would most likely be completely overcast within the hour. Khi lead the way over to a sport utility vehicle parked nearby. As they approached, a man stepped out of the driver's seat. Or rather, an unbelievably huge man unfolded himself from the front seat and stood, towering over the top of the vehicle as if it were a Tonka toy. He had to be at least seven feet tall, Scully realized as she drew near. "This is Mobaje," Khi introduced the man. "He'll take us up to the flight line and pick us up at the drop site as well. Mobaje, this is Fox Mulder and Dana Scully." Mo-ba'-zhay, Scully repeated to herself, wanting to make sure she remembered the pronunciation. "Nice to meet you, Mobaje," she said, reaching out to shake his hand as he turned to her. His hand completely enclosed hers, but was gentle as he shook hands. "So you are the two whom Khi has convinced to join with her on a fall from the sky, yes?" Mobaje asked. His speech pattern was unusual, his words a strange mix of formality and imagery. His voice flowed as smooth as silk, the tonal quality low and lustrous. Scully was beginning to think exceptional voice timbre was a prerequisite for Khi's friends. "Yes, that would be us," Mulder replied, holding a hand out to assist Scully as she climbed into the backseat. "I'm not sure how she did it, but here we are." "Khi has convinced Mobaje of many things as well, zhajeen. Her tongue, not her sword, is her greatest weapon," Mobaje said as he took Khi's pack and put in the back storage area of the vehicle. Khi, who had already lifted herself into the passenger seat, let them know 'zhajeen' was a term similar to 'sir' or 'ma'am', but used neutrally. Scully was tempted to ask about the sword reference, but decided against it. Mobaje refolded himself into the driver's seat, looking to Khi for confirmation that everyone was ready to go. "Everyone set?" she asked, glancing at Mulder and Scully with a smile. "Nobody has to go to the bathroom?" "Are we there yet?" Mulder whined, falling into the game easily. "Scully's on my side! I'm bored! She's looking at me weird!" They would have needed a photo-finish replay to determine who reached out to slap Mulder in the head first. Since they each went for opposite sides of his skull, Khi and Scully were content to declare it a tie. Mulder just laughed, causing Scully to roll her eyes heavenward, a slight smile on her lips as well. "Take us out, Mobaje," Khi said. "Before I have to crawl into the backseat and split these two up." "Not even you could do that, zhajeen," Mobaje replied, guiding them out of the parking lot and into the city streets. Scully wondered what he meant, but didn't get the chance to ask as Mobaje and Khi started chatting. She didn't dare look over at Mulder, either. Of course, she didn't need to--her mind could see both the grin and the look, clear as crystal. They left Colorado Springs and at first headed almost directly west, straight towards the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. They turned to head south after a while, weaving their way right along the edge of the mountain range. Khi explained that their pilot would take them on a quick sight-seeing jaunt back up towards Pike's Peak, then take them south again to a more open location for the actual jump. "No need to waste a ride in the Rockies," Khi said. "From the window of a plane is really the only way to appreciate their magnificence." Not knowing what to expect from a car ride with Khi, Scully was happily surprised to find the trip quite intriguing, actually. Khi and Mobaje spent the first 20 minutes or so chatting about the jump retrieval and related items, as Mulder and Scully took turns pointing out various portions of the stunning landscape to each other. Scully listened in as Mobaje talked, finding herself fascinated by his words. Imagery was present in almost every sentence he uttered--her mind was filled with pictures created not only out of the words themselves, but from the tonal inflections of his voice. His ancestry was another source of interest for her. She wouldn't even hazard a guess as to what ethnic class might give rise to his seven-foot frame. He was darker-skinned, but not black, the coloring suggesting he was of Latin or Asian descent. His hair, as long and straight as a Native American's, was a shimmering silver, sweeping down his shoulders like a river of mercury. When Mobaje and Khi seemed to wind up their conversation, Scully took the opportunity to ask him where he was from. "I am from the earth, zhajeen," Mobaje replied simply. "Mobaje's people believe they are each a direct descendent of the earth itself," Khi translated, seeing Scully's look of confusion at Mobaje's apparently flippant remark. "Sorta gives the phrase 'Mother Earth' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?" Mulder quipped--he had to duck to avoid another double slap for his undeniably flippant remark. "We are all children of the earth Kanji and of the sky M'alvahe," Mobaje intoned. "They birth us, feed us, protect us for the whole of our lives. When the line between life and death is crossed, Kanji and M'alvahe swallow us undivided and return us to the earth." "Undivided?" Scully asked, entranced. Even Mulder appeared to be paying attention, head tipped, his hair falling over his eyes as he listened. "The soul and the body kept together, to live again within Kanji," Mobaje said. "They reside as one until such time as M'alvahe opens his arms for the soul to be born again. On that day, the body is finally returned to the dust." For the next hour, Mobaje played the role of teacher, telling story after story about his culture and his people. Scully couldn't remember the last time she'd been so thoroughly interested in listening to someone talk about themselves. Glancing over at Mulder occasionally, she saw he was as engrossed as she was-- they were like a couple of 6-year olds at storytime. Maybe I should ask for a carton of milk and a cookie, she laughed to herself. "So, ok, what's the difference between a... um... a rhaven and an ut'aari?" Mulder asked, trying to get his mouth around the unfamiliar words correctly. "A rhaven transforms without thought, without will, into a single animal identity as M'alvahe directs. The man does not choose his time and he cannot change the animal he becomes," Mobaje explained as he finally turned off the main road onto what appeared to be a driveway. We must be almost there, Scully thought. As Mobaje continued, she began to pick out buildings in the distance and finally what could only be the flight line--a strip of land about a third mile long, blown free of the falling snow. "An ut'aari can control his shape, mold it as his heart desires," Mobaje said as he brought the vehicle to a stop next to an open hangar. "He can become the elk, the wolf, or the hawk as he chooses. Not even M'alvahe can control an ut'aari. They are the righteous among men, the embodiment of Kanji herself." Trust Mulder to find the X-File in a discussion of culture, Scully thought, turning her head to hide her smile. The smile was soon forgotten, though, as she caught sight of the plane inside the hangar. Oh dear god... For one thing, it was the smallest plane she had ever seen-- Cracker Jack toys were more solidly built. It looked as thought a strong wind would tip it right over. But it was the paint job that took her breath away. She felt Mulder lean over next to her to look out the window, a huge laugh emanating from him as he collapsed against her in the backseat. The plane, the object to which they would soon be entrusting their safety and their very lives--the plane looked just like the Spandex pants she was wearing. * * * * * * "C'mon in, c'mon in," a voice called out as they approached the open hangar bay. At first, there didn't seem to be a body attached to the voice--it seemed to come from nowhere. As they slipped inside the hangar door, though, Scully saw a pair of legs standing on the other side of the plane, legs which soon carried their owner around to meet them. "Zippy, Scully, this is Vincent Alger, our pilot for today," Khi said, slapping the man on the shoulder. "Vince, these are Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully." Khi moved off to a set of storage lockers nearby as Vince stepped over to talk to Mulder and Scully. "Ain't never flown the FBI before. Ought to be fun," Vince said with a smile, quickly holding up his grease-covered hand as they each reached out to greet him. "We can just skip past the handshake, I guess, unless y'all want some of this on ye." Vince spoke with a decidedly heavy drawl, the words lazily flowing from one to the next. As he moved back towards the plane, Scully noticed that he walked with a slight limp, his left leg dragging slightly. Vince must have noticed her watching him. "Yup, I got me a little left-foot drag," he said, grinning at her. "Don't worry, though, it don't affect my flying none. 'Course, I wouldn't have a left-foot anything if it weren't for the co-... for Khi, there," he finished suddenly, obviously editing his words. Scully wondered what his original statement would have been. Before she could ask, though, Khi gave a whistle and waved them over. Mulder leaned in close to her ear as they headed over to the lockers. "I done bet the plane's name is Ol' Spandy," Mulder whispered quietly, teasingly. Slap... They reached the lockers just as Mobaje was handing Khi her pack. She checked its contents, nodding her head as she glanced through it. "Check the altitude conditions for us, Mobaje--the clouds are throwing me a little, here," Khi said to him. Mobaje nodded to her as he turned to head through the open doors. Scully assumed he was heading for the small building about 100 yards away. "All right, we have to get you guys suited up and versed in everything here, before Vince'll take us up," Khi said as Mobaje left. She looked around for a moment, searching for something. "Ah, there they are," she said as she stepped around Scully's side to pick up a stack of material. As Khi moved around her, Scully turned to watch her, then continued the motion to look out the open doors after Mobaje. Except that Mobaje was nowhere to be seen. Startled, Scully glanced quickly around the interior of the hangar, thinking maybe he stepped back inside. She saw no one. There was no way he had covered the distance to the other building in the ten seconds that had passed. She was about to cross over to the open door and look outside, but Khi began handing out items, describing them as she went along. With one last glance out the door, Scully tuned in to Khi's explanations. "This is your jump coverall. It is similar to a regular coverall suit, with two notable exceptions," Khi explained. "One, it has built-in carabiners to attach right to your parachute harness. And two, a small homing device is stitched into the lining of the collar." "Built-in search and rescue?" Mulder said with a laugh as he stripped off his heavy jacket. He stepped into the coverall, pulling it up over his clothes and zipping it to mid-chest level. Scully did the same, stacking her jacket on his before pulling on the coverall. "Why is this a less-than-comforting idea?" Mulder asked, tossing a wry glance over at Scully. "It's not a full-blown radar detection system, that's for sure," Khi said, grinning at him. "But as long as we land within a couple of miles of each other, it will allow me to track each of you very quickly." Next, she handed out a set of what looked like miniature tie- down straps. She showed how to thread them through the bottom loops of the suit legs, wrapping around the ankle and then criss- crossing them under the soles of their boots. "Just makes the ride down a little warmer, if you don't have the wind whistling up your shorts," she laughed. Handing them each a parachute, Khi showed them how to step into the harness correctly, attaching the various slip-links to the carabiner hooks on their jump suits. The chute packs were sleek and almost completely black--only the bright cord handles stood out. "This, the red, is your main chute cord. When your feet leave the plane, count to five and then pull this straight down, hard," she said, simulating a swift jerk towards the ground. "If you don't immediately feel the chute open, this is your reserve, the yellow cord. Again, yank it straight down." Feeling his pack for the location of each cord, Mulder grinned as he asked "And if that one doesn't open?" "Then you'll be really glad that we're jumping in the winter--the snow would provide something of a break for your fall. Not the same as a nice, cushy safety net, but better than slamming into the bare ground," Khi said. "But don't worry, I've only seen two instances where the main chute didn't open, and in both cases, the reserve worked fine." Khi stepped over to each of them, checking the strap fittings and carabiner latches individually. She had Mulder unfasten part of his harness, untwisting the straps so they laid flat against him and readjusting the strap length. Satisfied at last, she next handed out the helmets, complete with face guards. They resembled a full-face motorcycle racing helmet, V-shaped at the chin area, but were much lighter and more compact. The shield was integrated as part of the helmet itself, not a piece that the occupant could flip up or down as needed. "These provide you with protection from both the cold and any objects you might hit when you land. Like, you know, the ground," Khi laughed. "Someone with experience can land without leaving his feet, but I don't expect that for either of you." "Hey now, I'm experienced, what are you-... oh, you mean experienced as a *parachuter*, gotcha," Mulder quipped, shooting a wink over to Scully. Khi just groaned at the remark as Scully rolled her eyes. Khi spent ten minutes showing them proper landing techniques, telling them to disregard the chute itself on landing. "You're going to get wrapped up in it a bit, there's no way for you to avoid that. So don't concentrate on it," she instructed. "Reach for the ground with your feet as you approach, but keep the knees bent. Roll to whichever shoulder you consider your strongest, and keep your legs and arms tucked close to the body." Looking around her, Khi told them that was really it for now. "Here's the gloves, but don't bother putting them on yet--just stick 'em inside your helmets for now so they don't get left behind," she said, gathering up her own chute, helmet, gloves and pack. Khi excused herself to go speak to Vincent, stashing her gear in the passenger compartment as she walked by. Starting to feel a little warm, Scully walked over the open hangar door and stepped outside. Looking around the area, she was amazed at the beauty of the location. The relatively open ground of the flight line swept up to the edge of the evergreen forest, slowly melting away into the snow mountain landscape. You see the beauty of nature in pictures all the time, she thought, but you never quite appreciate it. The fresh air, the rich colors, the sensation of peace--all were things to be admired in person. The snow fell silently, cloaking the world in a mantle of whiteness. "Still think this is a good idea, Scully?" Mulder's muffled voice asked from behind her. She turned to look at him, seeing that he had slipped on his helmet and was talking through it. She just shook her head at him as he took the helmet off, sending his hair spiking out in all directions. "You're assuming I ever thought it *was* a good idea, Mulder," she said pointedly. She watched as he tried to straighten his hair out, but he had already put the gloves on. He could do little more than try to flatten his hair against his skull. With a sighed "I can't take you anywhere," Scully reached out and combed her fingers through his hair. Mulder closed his eyes as she ran her hands across his head, over and over. She told him to lean closer to her, so that she could reach the back more easily. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured, a smile playing across his face as he tipped his head forward. His dark hair flowing over her fingers like silk, his forehead just barely grazing her own, Scully couldn't help but smile a little herself. * * * * * * Khi soon motioned them both over to the plane, calling out that they were about ready to get going. As they moved back inside the hangar, Scully gave one last appreciative glance around. Looking up to see a hawk circling lazily against the backdrop of the mountainside, she could hardly imagine a more beautiful location to live. As Mulder and Scully drew near, they noticed Vince had washed up and changed clothes, his mechanic's suit replaced by a leather flight jacket and the standard mirrored sunglasses. He climbed into the pilot's seat, telling them to follow him out to the flight line on foot. A few seconds later, the engine roared to life. The plane slowly made its way out of the hanger and onto the cement strip that connected the building to the runway. "Why didn't he just load us up now?" Scully wondered aloud, following Khi over to the open doors. When she saw that Khi was going to roll the doors shut, Scully stepped to the exterior side and began to push the right one closed. "Pilots get freaky about startup routines and such," Khi explained. "Vince usually flies alone, so he doesn't want to do anything different until he's lined up and ready to throttle it into the air." She called out to Mulder to get a move on and join them before the doors closed. "M'alvahe is restless this day, zhajeen." Scully jumped as Mobaje's voice rang out from right behind her. He nodded to her as he stepped forward to talk to Khi. Where in the hell did he come from, Scully wondered. She had seen no one when she stepped through the doors, and Mobaje wasn't exactly someone that was easily overlooked. It was almost as if he'd fallen out of the sky. "What do you mean?" Mulder asked as he came near. He stepped through the doors just as Scully rolled the door closed behind him. "The air is tense, the clouds unsure of their course," Mobaje explained. "M'alvahe beckons for Kanji to join with him in the day's game, but she refuses." "Is it unsafe today, Mobaje?" Khi asked, listening to his words carefully. Scully figured they must have known each other long enough for Khi to translate Mobaje's imagery into useful information. "I cannot say, zhajeen. M'alvahe remains uncertain--he has not yet chosen his path," he said, gesturing an arm up towards the sky. Khi stepped away from them a bit, taking a long look up into the sky as she slowly turned a full circle. Scully looked up as well, but could see nothing except the unbroken expanse of cloud cover, as far as her eyes could see. "I say we do it," Khi said suddenly. "We're talking about being back on the ground within an hour and a half, and I don't see any signs of storms or anything. What do you guys think?" "Well, we're all suited up and ready to go, why waste the opportunity?" Mulder said. "I'm still up for it. You, Scully?" Scully just nodded her head, knowing if Mulder was still going, she was still going. "OK, then," Khi said, clasping her hands together. "Let's get out there and boarded up before Vince takes off without us." She stepped over to Mobaje, turning to face him as she touched her fingertips to her temple, rolling her hand out to face him open-palmed. "K'as taani mu lanos, my friend," she said. "May M'alvahe guide your paths and guard your souls," Mobaje said, encompassing them all with his eyes as he bowed slightly. Mulder and Scully nodded to him as they fell into step behind Khi. "Keep an eye out for us, Mobaje," Khi called back to him. Mobaje tipped his head towards her, raising his hand in the same salute she had used earlier. "As always, zhajeen," he said. Vince popped the side door for them as they approached the plane. As Mulder helped her into the compartment, Scully saw the interior of the plane was surprisingly roomy. There were six passenger seats, two facing backwards and four facing forwards, plus the pilot and copilot seats. Khi climbed into the compartment behind them, slamming the door shut and latching the bolts. She slipped on a headset and told Vince they were all set--Vince was separated from the passenger compartment by a clear wall. A small access door could be used to move between the compartments if necessary, but Khi said they would leave it closed for this trip. The plane increased speed, Vince lifting them off the runway at the last possible second. As he banked and headed north, Scully was amazed at how swiftly they lifted above the earth. Looking back, she saw that Mobaje was already a small pinpoint of darkness next to the quickly receding hangar. It must have been a trick of the light that made it seem as though Mobaje himself took to the air as the hangar dropped out of sight. * * * * * * Twenty minutes after take-off, they were lazily circling Pike's Peak. Vince took them around it a couple of times in both directions, making sure everyone got ample time to see it clearly through their own window. Even though low-hanging clouds shrouded the summit, it was still a magnificent sight. The indicator light next to the headset flicked on. Khi slipped them on and listened for a moment. "Yeah, that's good. Reverse and move out," she said. Hanging the set back on the small hook, she told them Vince wanted to get headed towards the jump site. "He's getting some strange readings out ahead of us and doesn't want to get caught in something," she explained to them. "Strange, how?" Mulder asked. "Strange, there's some storm activity brewing or strange, there's a 100-foot flying pickle on an intercept course?" "Closer to the former, Zippy," Khi laughed. "Although with you in the plane, I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually ran into the latter." "Well, it would have to be a pickle with either a past-life syndrome or the ability to communicate telepathically, really," Scully said. "Otherwise, it would just be another run-of-the-mill pickle encounter." "Ah, you guys are just so funny," Mulder sighed. He brought his hands to his chest, somehow managing to get that I'm-too-happy- for-words look in his eyes, tears brimming. "You love me, you *really* love me!" he cried out, sending them both laughing. They chatted back and forth for the next forty minutes or so as the plane headed south along the mountain range. Keeping one eye trained out the window, Scully noticed the clouds, which had drifted above them when they left, were now beginning to surround the plane itself. They seemed darker and more forbidding, almost as if a thunderstorm were building. There also seemed to be an increasing amount of turbulence-- nothing horrendous, but the plane was definitely being buffeted around more heavily as they continued. Just as she was about to ask Khi if she still thought it was safe, Scully saw the headset light flick on again. As Khi spoke quickly to Vince, Scully became aware of something that had been nagging at her. When speaking casually, Khi spoke very animatedly, using gestures and a good deal of slang as she spoke. But when speaking 'business,' such as she was doing with Vince now or with Mobaje earlier, she used very short, clipped sentences, her words containing no extraneous words or thoughts. As she continued to listen, Scully finally realized what it reminded her of. Khi spoke as Ahab often had, as Scully had heard many of her father's fellow officers speak. It was the style of someone accustomed to being in command, to giving orders to the people around them. Was Khi a member of the military, Scully wondered, remembering the Marine captain back at the hotel. Is that why she seemed so calm all the time, so in control of every thought and action? Her thoughts were interrupted by Khi as she took off the headset. As she replaced them on the wall, Scully felt the plane begin to bank again, turning a wide arc as it headed back to the north. "Vince is calling it a day. We're only 20 minutes from the jump site, but he's getting spooked about the cloud cover and radar readings," Khi explained, motioning out the window. "I told him we didn't want to chance anything, so we're heading back for the hangar." "Well, at least I can take this chute off, then," Mulder said, starting to unbuckle the carabiners from his suit. "It hasn't exactly been comfortable sitting in these seats with this strapped to my back." "Yeah, I can feel my spine kinking up as I speak," Scully agreed. She, too, slipped the carabiners from their suit hooks, sliding the harness down her legs until she could move out of it completely. Mulder, more constricted for space because of his height, was having trouble getting the harness completely unbuckled. He had somehow managed to get one arm free, but the other was trapped in the shoulder strap--each time he tried to thread his hand through to get free, he only succeeded in wrapping himself up more tightly. Laughing, Scully reached a hand over to help him out, repeating the 'I can't take you anywhere' line to him softly. Her hand never reached him. Without warning, the plane lurched sharply to the right, slamming them up against the side of the plane. The aircraft shook violently, tossing its occupants from side to side like a bizarre amusement park ride. A rapid pinging sound swept over the plane, growing louder each second. Scully smashed into Mulder's side as they tumbled, a groan of pain escaping his lips as her head connected solidly with his ribs. As they fell, Mulder's head snapped against the metal with a sickening thud. Somehow, Khi managed to right herself almost immediately, her arms and legs spread to brace herself in the center of compartment. She immediately dipped her head to look out the windows. Scully followed her gaze, feeling the blood drain from her face at what she saw. She would not have been comforted to know that Khi's did the same. Hail was crashing against the plane, huge chunks of ice pounding out their fury. As Scully tried to find something to push against to get off Mulder, a huge booming noise resounded in her ears. It was nearly deafening. She slapped her hands up to her ears before she was even aware of what she was doing, collapsing against Mulder again. An image of herself as a child flashed through her mind--curled up in the corner of her closet, her hands to her ears, silently screaming as she tried to shut out the sounds of the summer thunderstorms. No, it couldn't be, Scully thought as her throat tightened with a genuine sense of fear. It's the middle of winter, it's been snowing for days, it couldn't possibly have been... "Lightning just hit us," Khi screamed, struggling to be heard above the roaring hail. * * * * * * "Put your chute on. Check Mulder and fix his harness. Get helmets on," Khi commanded, barking out the directions as she moved toward the door in the clear wall. Scully finally got herself lifted off of Mulder, rolling away from him to hang onto one of the seats. She stretched out to check Mulder's pulse and feel his head for injury. She was relieved when she heard him moan slightly and try to move a little bit-- most likely, he was just dazed from the collision. She wasted no time trying to straighten out the tangled mess of the other shoulder, instead just shoving his free arm back through the harness and cinching it tight against his chest. One by one, she hooked the carabiners to whatever slip-link was closest, moving Mulder from side to side as she worked her way around his harness. Her motions seemed to rouse him, and by the time she clicked the last carabiner into place, he was fully awake. "What the hell happened?!" he shouted, trying to get his bearings in the darkened compartment. "We flew into a hail storm. Lightning struck the plane," she yelled back, trying to locate Mulder's helmet. "Khi's checking on Vince." Mulder rolled up into a kneeling position, wincing as he contracted his stomach muscles. Bruised or broken ribs, Scully though at first. But Mulder realized he'd been lying on something, and with a shocked expression of realization, he pulled Scully's chute out from underneath him. "You gotta get your chute on, Scully. Hurry!" Mulder said, fear squeezing his voice into the upper register. "Go! Find the helmets, go, go, go!" Scully yelled as she grabbed the chute and harness from his hands. He still hesitated, wanting to make sure she got hooked up OK. "The chute's not going give me much protection for slamming my head into the ground, Mulder. GO!" As she started straightening out the straps of the harness, Mulder scrambled around the compartment, searching. He finally found all three helmets, rolled up against the back of the plane. Mulder scooped them all up, twisting the chin straps across his hands to hold them all as he fought his way to the front again. Lying on the floor, Scully rolled onto her upper back, much as she would when trying to squeeze into a pair of tight jeans. When she had the harness pulled firmly against her lower body, she rolled forward into a kneeling position, trying to get her arms stuck through the shoulder straps. The wild motion of the plane made it difficult, though, as she kept getting tossed about. "Scully!" The word snapped through the plane like a whip. Scully turned to see Khi motioning to her from the cockpit. As she crawled forwards, she saw that Khi was trying to keep hold of the flight controls as she pulled Vince's unmoving form from his seat. Reaching the doorway, Scully grabbed Vince under the armpits and pulled him partway through the door, giving Khi the room she needed to sit at the controls. "He must have been in contact with something conductive when the lightning struck us," Khi yelled back to her. "His body was still conductive when I broke through up here, gave my hand one hell of a shock. He's dead, or damn close to it." Scully felt Vince's neck for a pulse, but found nothing. His eyes stared ahead, wide and lifeless. "What are we going to do?" she shouted. "Can you fly this plane?" "Normally, I'd say yeah, but not now," Khi said, frantically flipping switches and controls. "The entire circuitry has been fried. None of the gages work, I can't tell where we are, and we're dumping fuel." She paused for a moment, eyes closing briefly. "We're going to jump." Son of a bitch, Scully thought. Son of a god-damned bitch. Glancing back at Mulder, she knew that he'd heard Khi's statement as well. He reached for her hand, holding it tightly for just a moment. "Hand me a tie-strap out of my pack," Khi yelled. Mulder dug through the packing, finally finding a single strap at the very bottom. Khi lashed the throttle stick of the plane in place, working off the theory that if they hadn't crashed into anything yet, they must be flying fairly level. But she had no idea how long it might hold or what their true direction was. Khi crawled over Vince's body back into the passenger compartment. Seeing Scully still struggling with her chute, Khi yelled at her to sit still--with the ease of long practice, she unhooked and rethreaded the straps around Scully's shoulders. "It's not perfect, but it will have to do," she yelled as she snapped the carabiners in place. "Is she safe? Is it good enough to hold her?" Mulder yelled, his own pain forgotten in his concern for Scully. "It's as good as we're going to get it, Mulder," Khi said. Some part of Scully's brain noticed that the nickname 'Zippy' dropped away as well when the situation was serious. She and Mulder slipped their helmets on, trying to hold themselves steady against the thrashing of the plane. Khi retrieved her own chute from the wall peg where it had been hanging, cinching herself into it as she yelled to them. "Here's what's going to happen. I pop that door, Scully goes through. Give her ten seconds, Mulder goes next. Deploy your chutes immediately," she yelled, again simulating the downward jerk of the handle. "You won't see the ground until you hit, so keep your legs bent. Once you're down, get out of the chute harness and find whatever shelter you can. Keep your helmets on and try to keep moving, even if it's just pumping your arms and legs--I don't know how long it will take me to track you, and you need to stay warm." By the time she finished talking, she was into her chute harness and had grabbed up her pack from Mulder. She undid one of the carabiners, threading the strap from the pack to the inside. When the carabiner snapped back into place, the pack was attached safely to her waist. "Any questions?" she yelled, looking each of them in the eye. When they said nothing, she held her hands out, motioning for each of them to touch hands with her. "You're strong, you can do this," she said simply. "Yeah, whatever, shut up," Mulder bellowed, getting the barest of laughs from both Scully and Khi. Trust Mulder to make a joke on the eve of our deaths, Scully thought. Khi stepped over to the door, grabbing the release handle and standing back inside the frame of the plane. She motioned for both of them to take positions on the other side, Scully closest to the door. As he took his place behind her, Mulder suddenly wrapped his arms around Scully and held her close. She lifted her hands up to hold onto his arms as though they were a lifeline. No words were needed--they both knew what this moment was. "Set?" Khi yelled as she glanced over at them. Scully reached up and found the handle of the main chute cord, nodding to Khi to go ahead. With a swift jerk downwards and a twist to the right, Khi popped the door handle. The door flew open against the exterior of the plane as hail pounded in through the doorway. Unwinding from Mulder's embrace, Scully stepped forward and leapt into the fury of the storm. ------------ Chapter 5 ------------ Scully thought she'd experienced pain before, but nothing had ever felt quite like this. The hail slammed into her body like sledge hammers, each one more painful than the last. As she felt the plane's floor fall away from her feet, she counted to five and pulled the chute cord. A few seconds later, she was jerked upwards as the chute opened and slowed her descent. Thank God it opened, she thought--she hadn't held onto the reserve cord on the way out, and did not want to think of having to find it in the midst of the storm. Remembering Khi's instructions, Scully bent her knees, tucking her arms up in a fighter's pose. The wait was living agony--she had no way to tell where she was above the earth, no way to prepare for the shock of landing. That shock came much sooner than she had anticipated. Had she been able to focus, she would have sworn her knees touched the back of her throat as her legs tried to absorb the impact. Before she could even register the pain, though, she found herself rolling to the left, but not under her own power. Caught on a steep hillside, she tumbled over and over, able to do little to stop the motion. Scully finally came to a rest face down in a deep drift, half buried in the snow. She carefully but quickly tested each limb, not wanting to aggravate a dislocated or broken bone by thrashing around wildly. She was grateful when she was able to move everything with a minimal amount of pain. Slowly, she clawed her way out of the drift, fighting through not only the snow but the tangled web of the chute itself. As she emerged from the snow, though, she realized it had actually been providing her a small protection from the hail. With fingers numb beyond the ability to feel, she ripped at her harness, tearing at the carabiners one after the other. She was finally able to slither out of the harness, turning over to start digging into the drift as quickly as she could. She was glad for the helmet--a person would have been rendered unconscious in seconds without its protective guard. Keeping one strap of the harness wrapped around her hand, she managed to burrow her way far enough into the snow bank that she escaped the worst of the hail. She laid on her back, her body tucked up in a tight ball to protect against the chunks that did reach her. She curved her arms around her head, creating a pocket of air in which to breathe. Scully wasn't sure how long she remained like that. It felt like an eternity, but the rational part of her brain knew it had been no more than 20 minutes. Hunkered in as she was, every muscle flexed against the pain, it had taken her a few seconds to realize that she was no longer being pummeled by the hail. She dug her way to the surface again, finally clearing the snow away from her face shield enough to look around her. She could not believe what she saw. It was snowing heavily, the wind swirling and twisting the flakes into a thousand tiny whirlwinds. Evergreen trees towered above and all around her, restricting her field of vision to perhaps a hundred yards in any direction. She had somehow landed in a thin strip of clear land, tumbling between the huge trunks on either side. Had she landed 10 yards to either the left or the right... Scully shuddered as she saw how narrowly she had escaped serious injury, or even death. Mulder... Gingerly testing each muscle and bone as she rose, she climbed to her feet. She made her way over to a tree, leaning against it as she fumbled to get her helmet off. Without the continuous pounding of the hail, she figured she needed to use her ears more than she needed to protect her skull. "Mulder!" she yelled. Her voice was absorbed almost immediately by the surrounding snow and trees--sound would not travel very far in the dense forest, she realized grimly. Find shelter and stay put. Khi's instructions were ringing in her ears as she surveyed the forest encircling her. Dark and forbidding, it seemed to be alive, watching her with sinister intent. At the moment, though, she wasn't concerned about her ears. She wanted to get rid of the pain in her heart--the fear of losing Mulder was knifing through her chest with enough force to take her breath away. It didn't take her long to make up her mind what to do. Wrapping her parachute into a ball and tucking it under her arm, Scully set off into the forest, calling out the name of the only man she'd ever trusted. * * * * * * It didn't take Scully very long to realize why Khi had told them to stay put wherever they landed--making headway against the sometimes 2- or 3-foot drifts was laborious, exhausting work. After only half an hour, Scully could feel her body rebelling against moving another inch. From her experience as a doctor, she knew exhaustion was usually one of the biggest factors leading to hypothermia. So considering she'd only made a few hundred yards' progress, she decided to follow the advice she probably should have followed from the start. Finding a spot relatively free of snow beneath a broad-branched white pine, Scully spread the nylon chute out a bit and sat down to wait. And wait... And wait... And wait... It was excruciating for her, alternately sitting and walking around, trying to keep as warm as possible. She had nothing to do but fill her mind with every horrible scenario imaginable. Mulder, down in the snow... Mulder, unconscious and bleeding... Mulder, dying... Stop it, Dana, she lectured herself firmly. Your fear of what might be happening will prevent you from seeing what *is* happening. Right now, you don't have enough information to form any opinions. You're a scientist--act like one. Find the facts and then act on those facts. Her speech didn't really make her feel any better, but it did serve to strengthen her resolve to stay focused. Scully began to formulate a strategy for both saving her strength and searching for Mulder. She knew she'd have to balance movement with rest periods, using the activity to stay warm without exhausting her body past its limits. Keep moving for 15 minutes, rest for 10, eat snow to keep herself hydrated--she knew it wasn't the best plan in the world, but she was consumed with the need to *do* something. She had just rolled her parachute and emerged from underneath the tree when she heard something. She held herself perfectly still, straining to listen to the surrounding forest. "Scul-eeee!" The voice was faint, but it was definitely there. Filling her lungs to the limits of their capacity, Scully bellowed an "Over here!" so loud that her throat hurt. "Stay put!" the call came, the voice clear enough this time to answer her question of who had found her. It wasn't the answer she wanted, but at least it proved someone besides herself had survived the crash. After a few minutes, she could make out movement up on the hillside. Khi was descending from slightly higher than Scully's position, using the hill itself to speed her descent. She would slide on her back as much as possible, not even trying to actually walk through the snow unless absolutely necessary. Within five minutes, Khi was at Scully's side, breathing heavily from her exertions. She was bleeding from a cut on her forehead, but she waved off Scully's attempted inspection of her. "It's nothing, and we don't have the time to spare," she said, glancing around her as she spoke. "We gotta find Mulder and we gotta find him right now." "Why?" Scully asked. It wasn't that she didn't want to find Mulder as quickly as Khi did, but it looked to her as though the worst of the weather was over. "Because this is just the calm before the storm, the eye of the hurricane," Khi said grimly. "Those clouds, low and black like that? They tell me that they're just beginning to dole out trouble. This snow is already falling much more heavily than it was 15 minutes ago." She gestured up at the little bit of sky that showed through the treetops, the sky getting darker by the minute. "We've got a full-strength Colorado storm descending on us, Scully," she said, looking Scully straight in the eyes as her hand dropped back to her side. She paused for a minute, taking a deep breath before continuing--it was as if she needed to gather strength to even say her next words. "And if we don't find Mulder now, they'll be digging his body out come springtime." During the time Scully had been around Khi in the last few days, even during the frantic situation aboard the plane, Khi had always remained calm and sure. Her voice had always been steady and unwavering, a fixed point in the surrounding chaos. But not this time. This time, her voice shook slightly, a noticeable break in the timbre as she spoke those words. Words that chilled Scully's heart like death itself. * * * * * * Scully clamped down on the terror rising inside her with iron control. Shoving all of her fear into a tiny chamber within herself, she bolted the door tightly shut. Mulder needed her strong and alert, now more than he ever had--she couldn't afford to give in to the pain threatening to overwhelm her. "All right. What do we do?" she asked, cracking her shoulder blades a couple of times and taking several deep breaths. "Can you track him? How do we find him?" Khi held up the small scanning device, gripping it in her right hand as she slowly turned around. "This tracks the beacon in your jump suits," Khi explained, working a couple of controls on the device with her left hand as she pivoted. "Unfortunately, it's range is severely limited--I found your location more by good fortune than by use of this equipment." "So how do we find Mulder?" Scully said. "Is he showing up at all on that thing?" When Khi met her eyes as she returned to her starting position, Scully knew she didn't want to hear the answer. "No," Khi said simply. Scully closed her eyes briefly, allowing herself just a moment of sheer panic before forcing control again. When she reopened them, she saw Khi searching the surrounding forest with meticulous care. Each section of the landscape was explored, each detail found and catalogued. To Scully, the forest looked equally bleak in every direction--she could only hope that Khi was seeing something more. "I'm going to make the assumption that Mulder is ahead of us," Khi said finally, motioning in the general direction Scully had been moving. "I covered perhaps a mile and a half of terrain coming from the other way, and never picked up a signal for him. So time spent backtracking would be wasted--we need to maximize our search area, which means going northeast." Khi took a minute to asses Scully's condition, wanting to know of any broken or bruised bones or strained muscles. Scully explained that she had actually missed the trees when she landed, avoiding any serious harm. She could breathe easily and had no symptoms of concussion. Returning the question, Scully learned that Khi slammed into a tree trunk right after landing, dislocating her shoulder upon impact. But she had already reset the joint, a fact that surprised Scully slightly. Having a dislocated shoulder reset was a lesson in extreme pain--performing that reset without painkillers, by yourself, in the middle of a snowstorm... Despite herself, Scully felt her respect for Khi bump up a notch. With the exception of the gash on her forehead, she had sustained no other injuries. Reaching out to take Scully's chute, Khi unrolled it onto the snow, folding it into a large square perhaps eight feet by eight feet. She took both helmets and placed them towards one edge of the square. Then, performing a series of quick twists and folds, she fashioned a 'pack' out of the material, securing the helmets within the folds of material. Scully was then able to step back into the harness and fasten it and the pack to her suit. The pack rested on her shoulders and left both arms with a free range of motion. Though not heavy, the pack was somewhat bulky--it took her a few minutes to find the right balance point for her movements. Khi spoke as Scully tested the weight of the pack. "I'll lead. Follow at a distance of about 10 yards. Do *not* lose visual contact with me. If at any point you find yourself dropping back, or if you need to rest, yell out," Khi stressed. "My attention will be focused on the readout screen. If you were to fall behind, it might be several minutes before I would even notice." "Understood," Scully said. "I packed the helmets for the same reason you probably took yours off to start with--we need to listen for Mulder much more than we need to keep our heads warm," Khi said. "However, it does leave us unprotected in the event of more hail. So be ready to either dive for shelter or to have me rip open that pack should we need them." Scully nodded in silent agreement as Khi turned to lead off through the snow. Scully tried to watch and mirror Khi's movements, since she seemed to have a much easier time moving through the drifts. After only a few strides, though, Khi paused. Turning, she looked at Scully with a gaze so intense she felt as though she would go up in flames. Khi looked right past all of Scully's defenses, past the bolted-shut door in her soul, and somehow saw all the fear and pain she was harboring deep inside. "We'll find him, Scully," Khi said simply. "We will." This time, her voice shook not with fear, but with the strength. * * * * * * Making headway was grueling work. The snow was neither light enough for them to pass through easily nor heavy enough for them to walk on top. It also hid the underbrush, making it hard find a clear path to move forward in many places. The wind, though somewhat lessened by the dense forest, still whipped with enough force to sting their faces and swirl their breath away. But it was the utter silence that unnerved Scully the most. A storm was raging around her, but it made barely a sound--a muzzle had been dropped into place over the forest, cinched tight by a blanket of snow. On and on they pushed, Scully listening for any possible sign of Mulder as Khi kept watch over the scanner's readout. As they walked, Scully was amazed at Khi's physical prowess--she had not slowed one bit since setting out over an hour ago. Scully was still moving fairly well too, but she knew it was only because Khi was out there in front, blazing the trail in which Scully followed. I should be used to it by now, she thought. How many times has it been Mulder out there in front, leading me down a dizzying path in pursuit of a goal I could only hope to understand? A goal that molds him, defines him, consumes him? One to which he's prepared to sacrifice his very life? A sacrifice she hoped hadn't already taken place. Khi drew to a stop up ahead, allowing Scully to catch up to her. Scully saw the cut on Khi's forehead had stopped bleeding, having left a trail of red down the side of her face. "We have to make a decision," Khi said. "We've got perhaps 20 minutes of good daylight left. After that, it won't be long until it is completely dark. Forty-five minutes, tops." Khi paused, sweeping an arm up towards the sky as she continued. "The temperature is dropping rapidly and the wind is picking up. An increasing wind at the end of the day is a bad sign," she said quietly. "We've got to get a shelter built before it's too dark to see what we're doing. Trapped in the open, we probably won't survive the night." "Which means... Mulder won't survive the night if we don't find him," Scully said, struggling to get the words out of her throat. Khi just nodded in agreement. Through a small shrug of her good shoulder, she indicated it was Scully's decision now. Scully looked around her, searching the forest for the solution, for the answer. But the dark evergreens gave no response, provided no guidance. They simply watched her. Waiting. Waiting for her to make the decision of who would live and who would die this night. Closing her eyes, Scully saw Mulder in her mind. A thousand different settings, a thousand different outcomes. Reaching up to shake her hand that first day... Pouring his heart out by her bedside as she lay dying... Pointing a gun at her in a bright hospital room... Coming back from the dead to hug her in a crowded courtroom... Standing amidst the blackened ruins of his life... Telling her he loved her... Scully realized there was no decision to make. "If we've got 20 minutes of daylight, we search 20 more minutes," Scully said simply. Khi said nothing, giving only a swift nod before turning and leading the way again. Shrouded beneath the falling snow, the forest watched them, a silent witness to their journey towards what they both knew would be their own deaths. At precisely 19 minutes after they resumed searching, Khi stopped suddenly. Scully, wrapped up in her own thoughts, didn't notice until she nearly knocked Khi down. She asked what was wrong, but got no response. Scully stepped around Khi's right side, following her gaze down towards her hands. There, at the very edge of the readout screen, a small green light was blinking. * * * * * * Within 25 minutes, Scully and Khi were closing in on the beacon's location. The hope of finding Mulder alive, however slim that hope might be, had revitalized them. When she had first looked at the readout screen, Scully had physically felt the rush of adrenaline enter her bloodstream--she could still feel it pumping through her as they drew closer. Time was their enemy, though. Darkness was falling as heavily as the snow now, continually reducing their field of vision. Although she didn't mention it to Scully, Khi knew that in this light they could pass within 70 feet of Mulder and not see him. They had begun to take turns yelling out for Mulder, hoping he would be able to hear them and indicate his position. Khi finally drew to a stop. As Scully approached her, she held up the scanner to Scully could see the readout screen. The blinking light was squarely in the center of the display's gridlines. "According to this, we should be standing right on top of him," she said, beginning to look around for any sign of Mulder. Khi thought for a moment, options and strategies turning in her mind. "Let's do a 1/2, 3/4 circle search for him." At Scully's blank stare, Khi began drawing a picture in the snow as she talked. "Think of it as using circles to search a square grid. We start 15 yards from each other. You do a half-circle around my stationary position, so that you end up on the other side of me. I then do a 3/4-circle around you, so that I end up 'north' of you, again at 15 yards. You do another half-circle, I again wrap around you in a 3/4-circle. After three iterations, we 'skip out' a step, widening the grid like a spiral each time." Scully saw the efficiency of the search pattern immediately--each person would never be more than 15 yards from the other, yet they would cover a large amount of ground quickly. She nodded her understanding to Khi. "OK, then, let's start. Remember, you aren't just looking for a human form--the chute itself will be the biggest locator," Khi stressed. "You are looking for *anything* that is anomalous or out of place. Feel with your feet as well. Your feet might catch a buried chute or..." The word 'body' hung in the air unspoken. They began the search pattern, looping around each other over and over as they continued to yell out. Khi was still using the scanner, knowing its limited capabilities may have gotten confused by the storm--she had no way of verifying if it was even showing the correct location. But the scanner kept displaying the beacon in the same spot, the location from which they had originally started. As they finished the fourth complete spiral, Khi motioned for Scully to join her. "The beacon remains steady where we first started, but we saw nothing there," she explained, her voice tight. "We have to consider the possibility that Mulder is buried beneath the snow entirely, especially if... if his chute didn't open." "No, he's here, he's alive" Scully said, somehow managing to sound rational. "I know he's here, we just have to find him." "Scully, we're at near total darkness. I can barely see you and you're standing right next to me," Khi said. "We need to take shelter or we're going to die out here." "No, I won't leave him, Khi" Scully said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can't." She turned and headed back to their original location, not even bothering to see if Khi was following her. As she reached the starting point, Scully knew that the already slim chance of finding Mulder had been reduced to nothingness. She knew that she should follow Khi's advice and ensure her own survival--Mulder had most likely met his death and would not benefit from her actions. But she also knew she would never forgive herself if she quit. Her own death would start at the moment she gave up, as part of her very soul fell away. Scully closed her eyes, tipping her face up towards the sky in silent prayer. She remembered Mobaje's words earlier, that the sky and the earth together were the givers of life and the keepers of death. Though she had been raised on traditional Christian beliefs, she had felt a strong attraction to the worldview that Mobaje had described, finding both peaceful and full of power. Show me the way M'alvahe, she prayed. Guide my path and give me the strength to follow you on the course you have chosen for Mulder. Whatever Scully had been seeking, whatever ray of light or hope she had hoped to find, remained hidden from her. She felt nothing but an ever-increasing sense of dread and fear as it settled around her heart. She opened her eyes, barely registering the snow that swept against them. "Khi!" The word tore from Scully's throat like a living thing, escaping with force enough to cause physical pain. Khi was at her side within seconds, following her gaze upwards. Forty feet above them, barely visible against the sky's blackness, Mulder's unmoving form was hanging from his chute harness. * * * * * * Khi was at Mulder's side in less than fifteen seconds. Hand over hand, feet searching for traction on the snow-covered branches, she scaled the tree as easily as a primate. She reached the branch even with Mulder's position, easing herself towards him. She pulled a glove off and felt for a pulse at the side of his neck. "He's alive!" Khi yelled, hoping Scully could hear her above the wind. The wordless cry of joy that reached her ears seconds later told her the message had been received. Khi began unbuckling the carabiners and untwisting the harness, trying to free Mulder enough so that she could ease him out. But the awkward angle at which he was hanging made it difficult-- she couldn't keep hold of him and reach everything simultaneously. She reversed direction and descended from the tree, jumping the last 10 feet to land next to Scully. "Where is he?!" Scully yelled above the wind. "I can't get him free," Khi yelled back. "I can't hold him safely while unhooking everything. I need to find something to cut him out of there." Khi delved into the pack that still hung at her waist, searching for anything that might work to sever the harness straps. "Wai-wai-wai-wai-wait," Scully mumbled rapid-fire, slapping a hand down onto her lower leg. She immediately began stripping down, paying no attention to the cold or the snow. Or to Khi , who was staring at her as though Scully had gone mad. As she peeled her right jean leg down, she unstrapped the knife from her leg and held it out to Khi. "Here, use this," she said as she handed it over. Khi unsheathed the blade, the knife heavy in her hands. "You can have a spot in my lifeboat anytime, Scully," Khi said, tossing her a look of respect. "Go get Mulder," Scully said, acknowledging Khi's comment with a brief nod. "I'm going to try to cut him free and get him across my shoulders in a fireman's carry," Khi explained. "I can make a controlled descent that way. But it might be difficult, considering the angle he's at up there. Worst case scenario, I slash his harness and he comes out of the tree freefall. Be ready." Scully nodded, watching as Khi scrambled up the tree again and was soon lost to the blackness. The seconds passed slowly, each more agonizing than the last. She was completely cut off from them, unable to see or hear anything. "C'mon, c'mon," she whispered aloud. "Where the hell are you?" Finally, she could discern movement above her. At first, it appeared as if Mulder were floating downwards, feet first, of his own accord. But Scully soon saw that Khi was holding him by the remains of his harness at the back of his neck. Somehow, she was controlling her descent with her right arm while taking Mulder's full weight on the left. A left arm that had been dislocated, Scully remembered. She could not even imagine the extreme pain Khi must have been experiencing. Slowly, branch by branch, they made the descent. As Khi put her weight on the next branch, though, she felt it start to give way from the main trunk. Strong enough to have held just her previously, the weight of her and Mulder together was too much for it. The branch fell away from beneath Khi's feet even as she tried desperately to maintain her hold on the branch above her. Scully hoped, for one brief second, that Khi would be able to hang on, to somehow hold them both and get down safely. But the hope was short-lived. Watching in horror from below, Scully saw Khi and Mulder plummet from the tree. Mulder hit the ground first, Khi dropping directly on top of him-- she had been straight above him during the descent, and simply did not have enough time to try to change her position. She rolled off immediately, lifting her body up and falling away to the side. Scully was at Mulder's side instantly, checking his pulse again and beginning to do a quick check for injury. As Khi stood, trying to catch her breath, she saw Scully jerk her hand back as she ran a hand down his right leg. The twisted, splintered end of the broken branch had been driven clear through Mulder's upper thigh. * * * * * * Scully was not a squeamish woman. She had seen death in all its forms, had seen more genetic abnormalities and human mutants in five years than most people would in five lifetimes. She prided herself on her ability to look at her work clinically, to distance herself from the horrors she saw. But not this time. As she looked down at Mulder's leg, she felt his pain course through her as if it were her very own. A dizzying wave of agony washed up over her, enveloping her, drowning her. She had to fight with every ounce of her strength to keep control, to resist being overcome. Concentrate, Dana, she said to herself. You didn't come all this way to pass out now. Mulder needs you, he needs both your strength and your help to get through this. Concentrate. Scully knew she had to get the branch out of Mulder's leg immediately--God only knew how much damage had been caused as the splintered wood tore through his musculature. She reached out to feel around the wound, to try and asses how to best remove the branch. But Khi's hand stopped her. "Shelter first, Scully," Khi yelled, her hand encircling Scully's forearm and holding it away from Mulder's body. "But he needs medical attention *now*," Scully insisted, trying to break free of Khi's grasp. She was annoyed when she realized she couldn't--Khi held her as easily as if she had been a child. "No, he needs to get out of this wind and he needs heat. And we're only going to give him that if we find shelter and build a fire," Khi yelled. Scully still struggled, not listening as Khi tried to calm her down. She wanted only to reach Mulder, to help him, to save him. "Scully!" The word rocked Scully like a physical blow. She felt the force of it cut through her as if Khi had struck her across the face. Her struggling ceased as Khi hauled her to her feet. "Listen to me, Scully. Out there, in that world, in *your* world, you don't have to listen to me," Khi yelled. "You don't have to like me, you don't have to trust me, you don't have to do a damn thing I say. But here... in *this* world..." Khi paused, releasing Scully's left arm to gesture around them at the forest, the wind, the snow. "This is *my* world. Our course so far has been determined by you only because I wanted to find Mulder as much as you. But now we hold his life in our hands," she said. "And if you want to save that life, you are going to have to listen to me... you are going to have to trust me." Scully could make no response. She simply shook her head as she kept her eyes on Mulder. When it came to trust, there was only one person she would ever say those words to. "I know you trust only him," Khi said more gently, even though she was still yelling to be heard. More seriously than she would have ever admitted, Scully wondered if Khi were partially telepathic. "I know that. And I know that now, he trusts only you. But when we knew each other, Mulder trusted only me. What he and I used to be are what the two of you have now become. That's going to have to be enough, Scully. You're going to have to trust me through him." Still holding Scully's arms, Khi waited. Despair, agony, distrust-- all were clearly visible on Scully's face. Khi could only hope that she would see what was right in front of her. That only Khi could see them through this now. All of them. "Yes." A single word, spoken a thousand times by people every day. But Khi knew how hard it had been for Scully to say it. Khi released Scully, swiftly nodding her head to acknowledge the effort and to assure her that she meant no harm. Khi wasted no further time. "We passed a suitable place about ten minutes back," she yelled, indicating the way they had come. As Scully turned to look, she was shocked to see that their path had already been almost completely filled with blowing snow. "Get out of your harness, unroll the chute and remove the helmets," Khi fell into command mode quickly. "Put one on, put the other on Mulder. Refold the chute to a 12 by 3 rectangle. Find at least three tie straps in here." She unclipped the pack at her waist and handed it to Scully. Moving to Mulder's side, Khi assessed both the broken branch and the injury to his leg. She offered up silent thanks when she saw that the branch was only a little over an inch in diameter. The wood had torn completely through the flesh on his inner thigh, entering from the back side and protruding above the skin a couple of inches. Rolling Mulder onto his side, she gripped the branch with both hands, as close against the back of Mulder's leg as she could. Khi began to apply pressure, wanting to break the branch off within a couple inches of the thigh. Expecting more resistance, she was thrown slightly off balance when the wood snapped quite easily. Khi felt the weight of the broken branch, realizing the wood was dry and brittle. It was no wonder it had cracked beneath their weight. Khi was busy breaking the remainder of the branch into foot-long pieces when Scully finished folding the chute. "What now?" Scully asked, easing a helmet onto Mulder after checking for obvious neck injury. "The wood in Mulder's leg is acting as a plug against bleeding, and we're going to leave it that way until we can remove it safely," Khi said, directing Scully to drag the chute over to Mulder's side. "The chute will serve as a travois--we put Mulder on it, strap him in and drag him over the snow." Khi did what she was explaining, rolling Mulder up onto his side and motioning for Scully to position the chute next to him. When it was in place, the extra length all to one end, Khi gently slid Mulder onto it and let him roll onto his back. Knowing they would need the dry wood soon, she also packed the short pieces of the branch around his sides. They then slid the tie-straps underneath him and cinched him in tightly, making sure his arms were crossed over his chest. Khi stood up, tying the ends of the chute together and slipping the resulting loop over her head. She threaded her arms through the loop as well, positioning the fabric as high on her upper chest as possible. She would be able to drag Mulder straight behind her with minimal effort, her hands and arms left free for balance. "I'll take the lead, you follow as closely as possible behind Mulder," Khi yelled. "Do *not* get distracted. In this darkness, it would take only a couple of seconds to lose sight of the chute and get separated. Got it?" "Got it," Scully yelled back, grabbing up Khi's pack and zipping it shut. As Khi stepped forward to lead off, Scully saw that the travois was pulled along like a child's toboggan, sliding easily across the snow. As Scully fell into position behind Mulder, she followed Khi's instructions. She focused on the red and white stripes of the chute, training her body on keeping pace. To keep her mind clear, she fell into a simple mental cadence as she moved, repeating the same phrase over and over, a mantra against the storm. M'alvahe find us, M'alvahe find us, M'alvahe find us... She would have been surprised to know someone else was already trying to do just that. * * * * * * When Khi drew to a stop some fifteen minutes later, Scully had to catch herself before walking right up Mulder's body. Having concentrated solely on the chute as it slid along in front of her, Scully found it something of a shock when the travois suddenly halted. By the time Scully had moved past Mulder, Khi was already out of the travois. She untied the loop and tucked the extra length over Mulder, shielding him slightly from the snow and wind. Standing, she took the pack from Scully and removed the scanning device, slipping it inside her suit. She then took the knife out, zipping the pack as she handed it back to Scully. "Stay with him. Do not move from this spot," Khi stressed. She then turned and headed off to their right, disappearing quickly in the swirling snow. It did not occur to Scully to ask what she was doing or where she was going--when Scully had decided to trust Khi, she had done so as wholeheartedly as she did everything else in her life. Scully took a couple of minutes to carve out a deep depression in the pathway, scooping the snow behind her and off to the side. Sitting down inside the hole and leaning forward, she hooked her hands under Mulder's shoulders and pulled him as far onto her lap as she could. She folded the chute around him again, knowing that both the chute and the 'walls' of the pathway were providing at least some protection from the wind. She crooked her arms around Mulder's body and held him close, telling herself it was to try and help him conserve body heat. How did I get here, she wondered as she waited for Khi to return. Yesterday at this time, I was having a nice, relaxing evening. Now I'm huddled in the snow, holding my near-dead partner in my arms and doubting if we'll ever get out of this. What the hell happened? Scully had never been one to wonder about the 'why' of the world. As a doctor, she had always looked at life through the lens of science. She had rested firm in the belief that events happened for quantifiable reasons, even if the human mind could not yet comprehend those reasons. Things simply were they way they were, she had always thought. But what if I've been wrong, she asked herself. What if each decision, each action, each thought changes the outcome of the future? She knew of infinite-universe theories which stated that a universe existed for each possible outcome of every decision made. That, in this universe, when she decided to turn left at some intersection, another universe popped into existence in which she had decided to turn right. If I hadn't decided to come on this trip, she wondered, would Mulder be in his hotel room safe and sound right now? Would he be flipping through the channels and eating the remains of a delivered pizza, just like always? Did my decision to try to *protect* him from harm become the very action that *caused* him harm? She decided she didn't want to know the answer. * * * * * * Even though she was keeping a close eye out for Khi's return, Scully was still a bit startled when Khi reappeared just in front of her. The driving snow had provided a cloak of whiteness over Scully's vision, causing Khi to seemingly coalesce out of nothingness. "Get up and follow me," Khi yelled, wasting no time on pleasantries. She handed Scully the knife and the scanner, indicating to return both to the pack. As Scully did so, Khi recreated the travois loop and stepped into it. Checking to make sure Mulder was still securely tied in place, Khi turned and began retracing her path. Scully simply carried the pack this time as she fell into the rear position. After just a couple of minutes, Khi made a sharp turn to her left. Scully soon realized they were heading into thick undergrowth, young trees crowded together closely under the limbs of the older forest. Making progress became increasingly difficult as the brush became thicker, the snow deeper. Scully found that she was having to pay attention not only to the travois, but to branches snapping around her as Khi passed through. Scully took a small token of pleasure in the fact that even Khi was being slowed this time--Scully was not falling behind, even though she knew they were going more slowly than before. Suddenly, the travois paused ahead of Scully. She couldn't really see Khi ahead of her, but the slight shaking of the travois told Scully that she was still there. After a few moments, the travois moved forward again, more slowly this time. Moving up alongside Mulder, Scully soon saw that Khi had turned backwards and dropped to the ground, pulling Mulder behind her as she scooted backwards. She was pulling Mulder through the opening of a small hut-like shelter, formed right out of the young trees themselves. Scully wasted no time on sight- seeing, though, crawling in right behind them as soon as she could. Once inside, a strange sensation fell over her, one that she couldn't place right away. She finally realized she was no longer being buffeted by the wind. After being out in the howling storm for so long, the interior of the shelter seemed eerily still. Glancing around, Scully could see that Khi had created the hut out of the living forest itself. After clearing the 10x10 area of any brush and saplings, Khi had then bowed the young trees along the edges, tying them overhead to form the ribs of a dome. Pine boughs were woven amongst the small trunks to form the curving walls of the shelter. "Don't get comfortable," Khi warned, struggling a bit to get out of the travois in the short confines of the shelter. Although wide across its base, the shelter was no more than five feet high at its center. "I wanted to get Mulder out of the wind as soon as possible. But we now need to pack the exterior, cut more pine boughs for insulation beneath us, and try to find firewood." Scully noticed they were able to converse in something less than a full yell inside the shelter, a welcome change from fighting the howling wind outside. Every time she had opened her mouth outside to speak, she had had the uncanny feeling that an icy arm of the storm itself was reaching down her throat to take steal her breath. "Let me check him first," Scully said, though her words weren't really a request for permission. Pulling off a glove, she eased her fingers up underneath the helmet to feel for a pulse. As cold as she knew her hands were, she was frightened to realize that Mulder was even colder. The seconds ticked by as she frantically pressed his throat, as she searched for the beating of his heart. As her own heart stood still. Finally, she found it. Weak and thready, barely whispering against her fingertips, but there. She closed her eyes briefly, taking a couple deep breaths to calm her shaking body. Moving down his body, she quickly inspected the leg wound, relieved to find no signs of additional bleeding. A feel of his ribcage turned up no immediate signs of broken bones, but she could not be sure. She'd have to perform a more thorough examination as soon as possible to be certain of his condition. "Leave him, Scully," Khi called out, somehow managing to soften the utter command in her voice with a layer of gentleness. "We've got work to do. Bring the knife and follow me." After receiving an acknowledging word from Scully, Khi dropped to her knees and crawled outside. Scully draped the chute over Mulder again, taking care not to jostle him. Without conscious thought, her hand lingered on his chest for just a moment, caressing him gently even though he could not feel it. "You'll be OK, Mulder, you just have to hang on for a little while longer," she whispered as she stood. "You have to hang on." You just have to. * * * * * * Crawling outside, Scully was met by the blast of the raging storm. After the relative calm of the shelter's interior, Scully was slightly disoriented. She stood slowly, trying to get her bearings in the surrounding darkness. "Give me the knife, I'll go cut boughs," Khi yelled, leaning in close to Scully. Her voice and light touch to Scully's arm was a welcomed point of reference. "Pack snow on every exterior surface of the shelter, as thickly as you can. Throw it up top, let it fall down the sides. You're done when there's no more green, got it?" "Understood," Scully yelled, passing the knife to Khi as she headed into the blackness of the forest. Scully turned to the shelter and started pushing snow against the sides as quickly as she could. It was too cold for the snow to really pack, she knew, but she found she could work the snow in amongst the branches. Then, with repeated shoveling motions, she could cover the boughs completely. She moved around the shelter clockwise, working from the ground up as she looped around the shelter. Each successive ring of snow rested on the level beneath it. She was about halfway up the shelter when Khi returned the first time, unloading a pile of broad pine boughs next to the entryway before disappearing again. Scully had no idea how Khi was able to keep her bearings, but did not want to question the advantage it provided. Scully knew that left to her own sense of direction, she would have been lost within seconds. The activity warmed her slightly--she could feel a tiny measure of heat working its way through her body. She was careful not to over-exert herself though, working at a slow enough pace that she could still breathe comfortably through her nose. Khi returned the second time just as Scully was beginning to scoop and throw snow onto the top of the shelter. Khi dropped the boughs next to the first pile, then stepped around the shelter to find Scully. "I'm going for firewood now," she yelled. "If you get done before I get back, start bringing the boughs inside. Line the floor, leaving a bare area in the middle." Khi headed back into the night again as Scully continued throwing snow onto the shelter. It was rough going, in a way, since she had no bucket or shovel to assist her. The storm swirled away a large portion of her efforts before they ever reached the roof of the shelter. She kept at it, though, knowing the snow would provide the insulation they needed to survive. Eventually, Scully had covered all but the very center of the roof--she couldn't find a way to get the snow up that far before it blew away. Assuming Khi would be able to solve that problem, Scully turned her attention to bringing the pine boughs inside. Khi had originally positioned Mulder in the center of the shelter, so Scully was able to line the floor without moving him. Khi had cut enough for nearly three full layers of boughs around the interior. As she began overlapping them on the second layer, Scully was surprised to realize how soft the boughs were beneath her. She would not have imagined that pine needles could be anything other than prickly, but these were very long and very soft, almost plush. Scully had just begun the third layer when Khi returned. She had cut another bough to use as a sled, and Scully was heartened to see a sizeable stack of dead twigs and branches piled on it. Khi pulled the whole stack right inside the shelter, unloading it swiftly and restacking the wood along the wall. She then used the sled bough itself to seal up the small entrance to the shelter, weaving it into the edges of the doorway. She wastes nothing, Scully realized as she watched Khi work. Words, motion, materials--all were used precisely and without excess, achieving their goal efficiently. Again, Scully was reminded of a military bearing, the attitude that if you didn't need it, you left it behind. "There, that's that," Khi said as she turned from the wall. At least, that's what Scully assumed she had done. Whatever meager light had been provided through the doorway was now gone--sealing it had plunged the interior of the shelter into a black hole. "Now what?" Scully asked. "Where's the pack?" Khi asked in reply. "It's right... I think it's... uh...," Scully mumbled as she groped behind her in the darkness. She knew that she had set the pack along the wall, but was having trouble finding it. "Ah, here you go." She held the pack out towards Khi's general direction and felt it lifted from her hand as she heard Khi move forward. She heard first the zipper, then the sounds of Khi rustling through the contents of the pack. "So how are you going to start a fi-" The telltale sound of a striking match cut off Scully's words. She just stared at the tiny flame for a moment, watching as it flickered slightly. "Khi, you can have a spot in my lifeboat anytime," Scully said slowly, tossing Khi's previous comment back at her. The howling of the storm proved no match for the relieved laughter that erupted from inside the tiny snow-covered hut. ------------ Chapter 6 ------------ As the tiny match burned out, Khi assured Scully she had an entire box. "But we need to move Mulder first, so I can build the fire near the center," she explained. Scully could hear her movements as Khi put the pack down and tried to stand up. "I couldn't get snow on the very top of the shelter, does that matter?" Scully asked. "Actually, no, that's fine," Khi replied. "The smoke will need to escape out the top anyway. Move to Mulder's feet, we're going to lift him up onto the boughs where you are now." Scully felt her way across the floor, swearing at herself under her breath as she accidentally bumped Mulder's injured leg. She half- stood over him, reaching down to wrap her hands under his ankles. "Set?" Khi asked. "On three. One... two... three." They lifted together, picking Mulder up just enough to move him across and up onto the bed of boughs. Setting his shoulders down gently, Khi moved across to the dead wood she had brought inside. Scully heard the snapping as Khi broke the larger branches into kindling sticks. "Damn," Khi muttered, pausing for a moment. "I need to go back outside for a minute, before I start the fire." "Why? What do you need?" Scully asked, trying to imagine what Khi was after. "Bark." With that, Khi quickly removed the pine bough door and went through it. Once outside, Scully heard her prop the bough back up against the doorway, and then Khi was gone. What the hell, Scully wondered. Bark? What did they possibly need bark for, with the twigs and branches Khi had already gathered? Assuming there was little sense in trying to figure it out, Scully resigned herself to waiting for Khi's return. She checked Mulder again, a quick rush of joy coursing through her as she felt his pulse beneath her fingers. "We'll get you warm in no time, Mulder," she whispered, running her hand lightly down his body. She spoke to him simply, as she would to reassure a child--she didn't allow herself to acknowledge she was trying to reassure herself. "Khi's got matches, we've got some wood for the fire and this nice little shelter, soon it'll be toasty and warm." She was still murmuring quietly, gently stroking his arms and chest, when she heard Khi return. Even if she'd been deaf, the quick swirl of wind that swept through the shelter as the doorway opened would have announced Khi's return just as conclusively. "OK, we're set now," Khi said as she brushed herself off slightly. Scully listened as Khi first dug out a depression in snow, then piled a small amount of twigs at the bottom. A pause of a few moments, then the rasp of a match against the box. The tiny flame was born again out of nothingness. Khi slowly coaxed the fire to life, slowly adding branches only after the previous ones had completely caught. It seemed like an eternity, but in actuality, it was only a few minutes before a small fire was burning nicely. The flames danced brightly, throwing shadows onto the walls. Scully could see that Khi was now working with one of the birch bark strips she had harvested outside. "What-... what are you doing?" Scully asked, unable to decipher Khi's motions. "Making a bowl to heat snow in," Khi said, following her comment with a short laugh as she caught sight of Scully's expression. "No, I'm not crazy. The bark won't burn, because the heat is transferred to the snow and water inside. It's a trick Mobaje taught me a long time ago." Sure enough, Khi was soon melting snow in the large bowl, setting it right on top of the small fire. The flames lapped up around the edges of the bowl, but the bark did not burn. Khi kept adding snow as it melted, stopping only when the water threatened to spill over the sides. "OK, that's going to take about five minutes or so to get heated to a good temperature," Khi said, adding a couple more small sticks to the fire. She stood as best she could, working her fingers through the roof and opening up a smoke hole between the boughs. "Strip Mulder down as needed, check him for wounds and get that branch out of his leg. We'll use the water to bathe the wound." "We're going to need bandages for him--that wound will most likely bleed heavily when the branch is removed," Scully said as she knelt down beside Mulder, easing his head out of the helmet. She gently brushed a lock of hair off his forehead, smiling slightly as it immediately fell back to its original location. Starting with his head, Scully slowly and methodically felt her way over every inch of Mulder's body. She was thankful his helmet had stayed on--without it, she had no doubt that his skull would have been cracked open from the pounding hail. His arms and chest were beginning to bruise, as she knew her own were, but the joints moved freely with no signs of broken bones. The ribcage seemed strong, without evidence of cracked ribs or internal bleeding. Scully paused for a moment as she reached Mulder's lower body. Until now, she had been able to feel his ribcage and chest by reaching through the zip-front of the suit and working her hands up underneath his sweaters. But that wouldn't work for the lower part of him--the suit fit too tightly across the waist. She also knew the right legs of Mulder's suit and jeans would have to be cut away at least partially anyway to allow access to the wound. She didn't want to slice away any more than was necessary, however--he would need as much insulation from the cold as possible, even with the fire. Scully acquired the knife from Khi, receiving a cautionary word that the blade was extremely sharp. Lifting the suit fabric up from Mulder's body, she sliced it from his left hip across to just past the wound, peeling it to the sides to expose the clothing underneath. Her face went ashen at what she saw, at what she felt as she ran her hands across him. Mulder's right leg was drenched in blood, the fabric clinging to his body. Scully saw the jump suit was lined with a very thin plastic layer--it had prevented the blood from soaking through the fabric. Prevented her from learning just how heavily he had initially bled. She set the knife down next to Mulder as she gathered her thoughts a bit, glancing down as she did so. Glancing at her hands soaked in crimson blood. At a black- handled knife lying next to her. At Mulder's motionless form, his blood finally escaping the torn suit to seep into the snow beneath him. She gasped in realization... Her vision had come true. * * * * * * At the sharp intake of air, Khi was at Scully's side immediately. "What is it?" Khi asked, reaching out to place a steadying hand on Scully's shoulder. "It can't be, it was just a dream, it was just a dream," Scully whispered. "What was just a dream," Khi said. "What did you see?" "This. I saw this," Scully motioned at Mulder, at the knife, at her hands. "The same sequence, over and over. Every night for three nights, and several times during the day, I've seen exactly this-- each time the same." "But never past this?" Khi's tone was intense, searching, but far from disbelieving. "You never saw anything beyond this point?" "No, I either woke up or passed out from the pain each time," Scully said--Khi saw the remembrance of that pain was nearly as agonizing as the pain itself must have been. "But it was just a dream. It doesn't mean anything." "But it does," Khi said, pulling Scully around so that they faced each other. "Visions are real, Scully. I believe they exist and I believe you had one. You gained knowledge of the future, you accessed this moment as reality. But that you never saw past it, that you didn't see the outcome of this moment... That means we can still form the future for ourselves." Whether or not Khi's words convinced Scully to believe in visions, the resolve behind them served to lessen her rising panic. She focused on Khi's strength, finding that it provided a path to her own. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes as she searched for herself amidst the chaos within. Finally, Scully was able to stop her body from shaking. She opened her eyes and nodded to Khi that she was all right. Turning back to Mulder, she inspected the wound more closely, her clinical skills surfacing above everything else. "OK, all right. If he bled that heavily when the branch went in, we can only assume he's going to bleed heavily again when it comes out," Scully said. "It must have hit the major femoral artery, or at least nicked it. Just bandaging him isn't going to be enough--he'll just bleed himself to death." "So we either need to find something to sew him up with or we'll need to cauterize the would closed," Khi finished the thought. Scully remembered that Khi had mentioned medical training during the incident at the airport. "Burning it would be tougher, considering the size of the entry and exit wounds." "Agreed. And it would leave one hell of a nasty set of scars," Scully pointed out. "But unless you've got a sewing kit in that pack of yours, it may be our only choice." "Let me see what we've got," Khi said as she crawled back over to the other side. "Cut away his jeans and use some water to wash away some of that blood." Scully split the jump suit further towards Mulder's knee, cutting it so it fell flat against the snow. As carefully as she could, she slipped the edge of the knife under his jeans at the branch exit point. Turning the blade outwards, she executed a quick 'letter opener' maneuver to slit the denim all the way to his hip. She then repeated the motion in the other direction. She was able to tear the Spandex running pants underneath with just her hands--it tore away cleanly, finally leaving Mulder's leg bare. Leaning over to look more closely, Scully was thankful to see a minimal amount of shredding around the branch. It had broken off the tree at a relatively straight angle, allowing the branch to push right through the tissue somewhat cleanly. She lifted his thigh up a bit, gently feeling the underside. "I'm going to have to pull this from the other side," Scully said as Khi came back across the shelter. "The branch is thicker at the back, since it splintered at the tree. If I pull it through from the front, it'll do even more damage." Scully saw that Khi had stripped off one of her thick shirts and was ripping it to form long bandages. Scully took one and folded it a few times. She then soaked it into the bark bowl on the fire, which was just beginning to steam. As Khi turned to add more snow to the bowl, Scully used the cloth to wash away most of the blood on Mulder's leg. "I couldn't find anything even remotely similar to a needle, Scully," Khi said as she tore the remaining portion of the shirt in two. "Not even close. You'll have to burn him." "Damn," Scully breathed. She'd been hoping that Khi would find something, anything, that would work as a suturing implement-- cauterizing such a large set of wounds would be difficult work, with no guarantee of success. "All right, here's what we do," Scully said, thinking through the steps as she spoke. "We roll him up on his left side so you can hold him. That'll give me access to both sides of his leg simultaneously. I pull the branch through, wash the wounds, inspect for embedded wood in the tissue, you then clamp pressure. Hard. We heat the knife blade and cauterize the tissue, then bandage him." Khi nodded her understanding at each step. "Go ahead and cut his jeans away completely around that part of his leg now--you won't want to bandage over any existing material," she said as Scully paused. Scully quickly sliced through the small piece of remaining material around Mulder's leg, easing it out from underneath him. "The whole process is going to have to be as quick as possible," Scully warned. "But I can't heat the blade until I know I won't need it to remove any broken wood in his musculature. So you're going to holding his leg for at least a couple minutes." "Understood," Khi said. They spent the next few moments preparing what they needed-- Khi used a few pieces of wood to create a platform on which to heat the knife while Scully folded the various 'pad' bandages which would be bound against the wounds. She had Khi move the bowl of water so that it rested near Mulder, placing an entire bandage strip in it to soak completely in the steaming liquid. Finally, supplies readied and waiting, they looked across Mulder at each other. "Let's do it," Scully said. "Come around here to his left side, I'll go over to the right. We'll roll him towards you. You're going to need to hold him on his side while keeping yourself away from his legs. When I tell you to clamp down, you need to apply steady and strong pressure over each wound, as tightly as possible." Khi nodded her readiness as she took position next to Mulder. She sat with her back to him, so that his body would lean against her and be prevented from rolling over completely--she demonstrated to Scully she would be able to twist and apply pressure easily when directed. Scully went to the other side and, together, they leveraged Mulder up onto his left side. Scully carefully lifted the right leg as they rolled him, making sure it was supported entirely by the left. "Set?" she asked, knowing once they started, there would be no stopping. "Go," Khi said simply. Grasping the back end of the branch with her right hand, steadying herself against Khi with her left, Scully pulled the branch from Mulder's leg in one swift motion. Blood began to flow, but not nearly as heavily as she had feared. Tossing the branch aside, she retrieved the soaked bandage from the bowl. She held it above the thigh as she twisted slightly, letting the water drain onto his leg. She folded it a few times and brushed it over the wounds. Finally cleared of blood and dirt, she felt the wounds for evidence of wood still embedded, but found nothing. If there was anything still in there, it was too small to worry about now. "Clamp him," Scully said. Khi twisted at the waist, placing one hand over each wound and then pressing them towards the other. Scully immediately grabbed up the knife and swiped a bandage across the blade, clearing it of any dirt. She then set the handle across the small platform, the blade inserted directly into the fire itself. As the minutes crawled by, Scully tried desperately to think of another solution. She had cauterized wounds before, but only with a laser--never with a heated piece of steel. She knew the possibility for infection would be much greater, and that the scarring would be horrible. At least he's unconscious for it, she told herself. He won't feel the pain until it's already over. At five minutes, Khi told her that the blade was probably as hot as it was going to get, cautioning Scully to wrap her hand in a bandage before picking up the knife. "The heat will have transferred throughout the handle as well by now, though not to the same level," Khi said. "But you're not going to be able to hold with a bare hand." Scully took the longest strip of bandage available, wrapping her hand and then her fingers individually. She wanted to have the fullest range of mobility possible, so simply wrapping her fingers to each other would impede her motion. "All right, we'll do the entry wound first, since it's bigger and most likely to bleed," Scully said. At an acknowledging nod from Khi, Scully picked up the knife. She could feel the heat working its way through the bandage, but it didn't become overwhelming. "Release him," Scully directed. As Khi pulled her hand away from the back of Mulder's thigh, Scully immediately pressed the widest part of the blade against the wound. The skin sizzled, the smell of burning hair and flesh filling the air. Slightly nauseated, Scully rocked the blade slightly, making sure the entire surface area of the wound received the burning effects of the blade. After perhaps 15 seconds, she pulled the knife away, shifting to return it to the fire to reheat. She bent close to the wound, trying to see the effects of the cauterization in the flickering light of the fire. The skin was burned and blistered where the knife had pressed, but she was thrilled to see that the bleeding had been virtually stopped--the small amount seeping from the upper part of the wound would be stopped easily by a tight bandage. Giving Khi a quick 'looks good' nod, Scully turned back to the fire and picked up the knife again. She came around to the other side of Mulder this time, not wanting to be leaning over him. Khi shifted slightly, still maintaining pressure on the exit wound as she moved. Scully positioned herself as needed, kneeling close to Mulder's legs. As before, she told Khi to release her hold and immediately pressed the blade against the wound. But this time, another sound soon overpowered the sickening sizzle of flesh against the blade. A wordless scream tore through the night, threatening to fracture the walls of the shelter in its sheer agony. Mulder had woken up. * * * * * * "Shit!" Khi and Scully would not have been able to tell who said the word first, and neither of them cared. As Mulder bucked his body against the pain, he came smashing forward into Khi. Because of his position against her, his efforts to reach his leg succeeded only in wrapping himself around Khi's body. As his knees drew up in an instinctive attempt to reach the source of his pain, Scully lost her grip on the knife. As it slapped up against her chest, it was pure reflex to reach out with her other hand and knock it away from her body. She immediately realized her mistake, though, as the unprotected flesh came in contact with the heated blade. But she did succeed in pushing the knife off her body, where it tumbled harmlessly into the snow beneath her. She immediately focused on her patient. "Mulder! Mulder! Calm down, hey! Calm down," Scully yelled as she wrapped her arms around his legs to restrain them. Even though she was fairly certain he had no broken bones in his lower body, she didn't want him contracting his abdominal muscles to try and bring his legs up. She knew his convulsions would seriously aggravate any cracked or bruised ribs--she had felt no obvious broken rib bones, but she was not so naďve as to assume that meant no hairline fractures. Scully had forgotten just how strong Mulder could be. Weak from blood loss, in severe pain from his injuries, probably near delirium from the cold--none of these made a single bit of difference to Mulder as he screamed and writhed. Khi turned towards Mulder's torso, threading her left arm through his right and then applying pressure against his chest and neck with her forearm. The action virtually immobilized Mulder's upper body, since his left arm was trapped beneath him. Khi could still feel his hips bucking against her back, though, and knew the choke hold wasn't going to be enough. Scully felt Mulder's knee smash against her as she tried to loop her arms around his thighs. She hooked her leg up over his, positioning herself right on top of his calves--she hoped her weight would be enough to hold him still. But just as she tightened her knees against him, she saw Khi raise her right hand slightly and bring in down at Mulder's jaw in a sharp blow. Scully felt Mulder go slack beneath her as quickly as if someone had thrown a switch. "What... what the hell... did you do to him?" Scully asked, slightly breathless. "He's still alive, Scully, don't worry," Khi said as she unhooked her other arm from Mulder's. "I just knocked him unconscious, figuring he was going to risk seriously hurting himself before we could get him calm any other way." Once Scully moved off of Mulder's legs, she could not resist the need to move up and feel his throat. Stronger than before, but still weaker than it should be, his pulse beat beneath her fingers. But he was still exceptionally cold. She knew his core temperature would have dropped by at least a couple of degrees by now, and they needed to get him warmed up before it dropped any further. "OK, heat's next," Khi said, her words echoing Scully's thoughts. "Check the second wound, make sure you got it burned enough before he woke up. If it's sufficient, bandage him." As Khi turned to attend to the fire, Scully inspected Mulder's leg. Had the exit would been as large as the entry, the few seconds of burn time would not have completely cauterized the tissue. As it was, she saw that the bleeding had been stopped, the flesh blistered and raw but successfully sealed. She immediately began bandaging the wounds. She placed two thick pad bandages against the burned skin, binding them tightly with several long strips of material. She was careful to use only enough to accomplish the task--no one knew how many times they would need to change the bandages before they were found. If they were found... * * * * * * Scully stopped the train of thought before it even got started. She practically felt the barricade drop into place across her mind as she continued bandaging Mulder's leg. Focus on him, right here and right now, she told herself. Anything else is just a waste. Finishing the wound bandages, Scully wondered what to do about covering Mulder's exposed leg. Earlier, she had sliced completely through the layers of fabric surrounding the wound-- now she had to figure out how to bind them closed again to protect his skin from the cold. Well, if Khi can give up a shirt, so can I, she thought. Standing, she peeled down her jumpsuit, slipping her arms out of its sleeves. Looking down to jog her memory as to what she was wearing, she sighed when she realized the best one to give up was also the first one she'd slipped on over her T-shirt. Son of a bitch... As quickly as she could, Scully stripped off the heavy fleece pullover and the first of the turtlenecks as one unit. She then pulled off the second, much longer turtleneck, leaving only the T-shirt still on her upper body. Seeing its new prey, the cold air pounced on her immediately--the fire had not been in existence long enough to really heat the interior of the shelter. She felt her skin crawl with goosebumps as she began to shiver. Scully tossed the turtleneck onto Mulder's body, threading her arms back through the pullover and yanking it down over her head in one swift motion. She knew it was mostly an illusion, but the extra weight of the clothing made her feel warmer immediately. Zipping up the jump suit again, she quickly pulled the edges of Mulder's severed clothing together and wrapped his leg with the stripped-off turtleneck. "Get over here by the fire, Scully, and get warm," Khi said. Scully turned to see that the fire was considerably larger than it had been before, though still small enough to be contained safely within the shelter. "We have to get Mulder warm first," Scully objected. Her own comfort could wait--Mulder was dangerously close to hypothermia, if he hadn't in fact suffered a bit of it already. "That's what we're doing. You need to get warm to keep him warm," Khi said as she stood up and headed over towards Mulder. "What?" Scully asked, confused. "What does my being warm have to do with heating Mulder?" "One of the best ways to heat a human body is to wrap it up with something that's already warm, in this case another body," Khi said, beginning to spread the chute out to a much larger surface area. "You're going to get warm, we're going to strip both of you to the waist, and then I'll wrap you together in the chute." "Wait, wait, wait," Scully said, holding out a hand as if directing traffic. "Wouldn't it quicker to just bring him close to the fire, heat him that way?" "Transferring heat by air is not as effective, especially for someone who is unconscious," Khi said. "He or she cannot regulate their own 'closeness' to the heat source. Direct source contact, the transfer of heat by actual physical interaction, is far superior. Your body will provide the heat Mulder needs to get his core temperature back up." "But how can-" Scully started to say. "No, Scully. No objections, just do it. Trust that I know what I'm talking about, OK?" Khi cut her off, straightening to look Scully straight on. Khi gestured slightly at the fire and the shelter itself as she spoke. Scully glanced around, realizing that she would have been long dead by now had it not been for Khi. She simply nodded as she moved over next to the fire, standing as close as she could and holding her hands out over the flames. "In the pack, there's a small metal cylinder," Khi said after a minute. "Find it and use it to drink some of the heated water. It'll help keep you warm from the inside as well." Rummaging through the pack, Scully found the cylinder. It contained a variety of wire strips. She dumped them out into a side pocket of the pack, then used a bit of the water to wash out the interior of the cylinder. Finally, she began dipping it into the bowl and drinking the hot water, surprised at how good it felt going down. Even if it tastes like I'm licking a flagpole, she thought, a slight smile appearing briefly. Her brothers had caught her just once on that particular winter dare, but she had always remembered that metallic, almost salty flavor. Following Khi's earlier example, Scully kept feeding the bowl with fresh snow as she dipped out water. They would need to keep it full at all times, since they would each benefit from drinking the heated liquid as the night wore on. If Mulder didn't reawaken within an hour, she would try to drip some down his throat as well to try and rehydrate him. After perhaps ten minutes, Scully was actually beginning to feel warm--feeling had returned almost completely to her hands and feet and she was no longer shivering. She could really feel the slight burn on her hand where she had knocked aside the heated blade. A red line tracked its way across her palm, extremely painful to the touch now, but not a serious burn. She could still grip things as necessary, still use the hand as needed. "How are you feeling? Warm now?" Khi asked. She had been working over the chute for a while, but now stood to add some small pieces of wood to the fire. "Well, not fully heated, but acceptably warm, I guess," Scully said. "I can feel my feet for the first time in hours." "All right, then. Let's get you wrapped in with Mulder. First, we need to lift him and get him onto the chute," Khi directed, indicating that Scully should take his legs. Khi explained that she wanted to put Mulder just off of center on the chute. As she lifted and moved with Khi, Scully noticed that Khi had torn several long strips off one edge of the chute. She had placed several of them underneath the chute, stretched to their full length. Several more were lying on top of the chute, somewhat shorter. "To do this right, we have to do it in stages," Khi explained. "First, I will strap you and Mulder directly together. Then, I'll wrap the chute around you both and strap that around you again. You're not claustrophobic, are you?" "Not that I've ever been aware of," Scully answered. Any past panic or fear she had ever felt was always caused by the situation itself, not by the physical closeness of the surroundings. "Good, because you're going to feel like a sardine in there. Once you're wrapped, I'll nudge you guys as close to the fire as possible, Mulder towards the flames," Khi said. "How long will we need to stay like that?" Scully asked. She didn't allow herself to distinguish whether she wanted the answer to be a short or a long period of time. "With any luck, about an hour," Khi answered. "I'm hoping Mulder will wake up in that timeframe--once he's conscious, things will go much easier. But even if he doesn't, an hour should be long enough to pull him back up to an acceptable range." Khi took a moment to check what Mulder was wearing on his upper body, then stood and checked Scully's attire as well. "We need to get you chest to chest, bare skin, but we also need to make sure that your body heat is not lost to any location except Mulder," Khi explained. "His top-layer sweater is huge, so we're going to slip it over both of you, once you've stripped. I'll cut the neckline a bit so that you both fit through it. I'll then wrap all the other clothing pieces around all sides, drawing the suits up against your backs, cinching the whole set tight against you. With the chute wrapped over everything as a whole, it should be sufficient." Khi turned, looking for the knife. "It should be sleeping bags," Scully murmured, thinking back to a much warmer Florida night. A night that seemed light years away now. "What was that?" Khi asked, putting a hand to her ear. "Nothing... nothing," Scully said, shaking her head slightly. Khi seemed to understand completely, though, the barest of smiles on her face as she turned to go get the knife. Scully looked down at Mulder, smiling a bit herself as she remembered all the times each of them had used a variation of the sleeping bag comment in the past months. A jab here, a tease there, they had tossed it back and forth between them as a father plays a game of catch with his sons. As the fire crackled behind her, the flames moving across Mulder's face in a thousand flickering shadows, Scully cast a plea up to the heavens. Please let us continue the game... * * * * * * Khi crouched next to Mulder. "Do you have reason to believe Mulder has broken ribs, or any other upper torso injury?" she asked as she motioned for Scully to join her. "No, I think he's sound through the chest and cage. Why?" Scully asked. "We're going to prop him up into a sitting position, then, rather than trying to do this while he's lying down," Khi answered, performing the deed as she spoke it. She quickly had Mulder propped in front of her, his back to her chest as she knelt behind him. "When I say go, I'll strip Mulder, you strip yourself. Everything off, including the bra. Lay each piece flat against the chute near me. Sit in between Mulder's legs, twisted so that your legs hang over his injured thigh. Be careful not to bump him too much, though," Khi said as she pantomimed each step. "Be as close to him as you possibly can, chest to chest, arms up. I'll slip the sweater onto both of you, with your arms through the sleeves. As soon as it's on, wrap your left arm around him tight, leave your other arm somewhat free--you're going to want to use your right arm as the pillow. I'll wrap everything around you, cinch it, lay you both down and strap the chute around you." "Understood," Scully nodded, visualizing each instruction as Khi spoke. "It has to be quick, start to finish, or you're going to just freeze yourself up again, OK?" Khi said. "Minute and a half, max." "Got it, let's do it," Scully said. She knelt in front of Mulder, watching Khi set the knife down and get prepared. As they made eye contact, each nodded in silent agreement they were ready. "Go." Scully peeled down the jump suit, leaving it gathered around her waist. Pullover, turtleneck, T-shirt, bra--each was stripped off as Scully quickly fell into a mumbling cadence of 'son of a bitch' as the cold closed in around her. Khi stripped Mulder just as quickly, finally grabbing up the knife and slitting the neck of the sweater slightly. At 15 seconds, Scully was seated between Mulder's legs, raising her arms towards the roof. As Khi pushed Mulder forward, Scully felt their skin come together. She had to fight the instinctive reaction to jerk backwards--his cold skin was like an electrical shock straight to her heart. A chill swept through her body instantly and she began to shiver. It was only a second, though, before Khi flashed the sweater down over her arms. Another couple of seconds passed as Khi threaded the sweater over both their heads and down to their waists. Scully quickly grabbed Mulder around the back and held him close, freeing Khi to begin wrapping the stripped off clothing around them. Scully could not have explained how Khi managed it, but within another 30 seconds, she was completely enveloped by the clothing. Khi had tucked sleeves here and edges over there, tied the opposing sleeves of the jumpsuit together around them, and somehow managed to cinch everything tight without the whole set slipping down to the ground. "All right, I'm lifting you up and over Mulder's uninjured leg as I tip you guys down," Khi said. Scully felt herself lifted off the ground, then felt Mulder's leg being pushed underneath her. They tipped to her right, slowly, as Khi repositioned Mulder's injured leg as needed on top of his left. Scully straightened her own legs out as needed, moving as close to Mulder's body as she could. "Get your arm out, hooked underneath your head and his," Khi cautioned as they neared the prone position. "You don't need to add a neck injury to everything else." Scully used her free arm to position Mulder against her more comfortably—she turned him so his cheek rested against her collarbone as her chin moved across the top of his head. As they reached the ground, she crooked her upper bicep under her own head and cradled Mulder's head in her elbow, wrapping her hand around to grasp his other shoulder. She felt the chute being wrapped up and around them, left side first, followed by the right. Each 'flap' was tucked underneath them, Khi rolling them slightly to the other side to shove the chute underneath them before rolling them back. At each movement, Khi pushed them against each other as closely as possible--their bodies were in continuous contact from Scully's feet to the top of Mulder's head. Sardines indeed, she thought as Khi tied them together, strap after strap. The chute material hung over their heads by at least a foot. Only a meager amount of firelight managed to seep through the nylon fabric. Scully experienced a brief flash of memory, seeing herself as a child trying 'hide' from her brothers as she pulled the covers of her bed over her--she had figured if she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her. The theory hadn't worked, of course, as they would quickly find her and snap the covers back, tickling her until they were all laughing uncontrollably. She could only wish that they would come find her and come to her rescue now... "All right, you're set," Khi broke into her memory, her voice slightly muffled from the nylon. Scully felt herself being moved towards the fire, Khi dragging the pine boughs themselves rather then trying to scoot Mulder and her across them. "I let the chute overhang your heads to trap just that much more heat inside with you. I'm going to prop on edge of the fabric on a stick to let air move freely. But if you feel claustrophobic at any time, or think you aren't getting enough air, just yell out and I'll peel the chute back for you." "Got it," Scully said, surprised at how loud her voice now sounded to her own ears. She felt the chute lift slightly from her head as Khi positioned a stick under the excess material. The interior became slightly brighter, although there wasn't much for Scully to see except the other side of the chute. For some reason, though, it made her feel a little better. Seconds passed, Scully becoming aware of a muffled noise coming from above her. She realized it was the sound of stifled chuckling. "Whaaat?" she asked, drawling out the word. She knew Khi had something to say and figured she might as well hear it now. "Well, considering you *are* both officers of the law, it just kind of dawned on me how appropriate the phrase 'pigs in a blanket' is in this case," Khi said, her end words trailing away as she began laughing outright. At that comment, Scully realized that it had been too long, that there was only one response possible. "Yeah, whatever, shut up." Scully's own laughter soon joined Khi's, spiraling out into the night as one. ------------ Chapter 7 ------------ For the first 15 minutes or so, Scully couldn't stop shivering. Mulder was unbelievably cold--she felt as though she were holding an enormous ice cube against her body. The only signs of life, of warmth, were the whisper of his exhaled breath across her breast and the quiet beating of his heart against her own. But as the minutes wore on, she could feel the warmth returning to his body. Her body heat, combined with the heat from the fire, were slowly having the desired effect. He was still cold against her, but she slowly stopped shaking--she had no doubt that he would soon be warmed to normal temperature. "How you doing in there, Scully?" Khi asked after a while. Scully had heard her rummaging about the shelter, though she had been unable to determine what she was doing. "All right, I think. He seems to be warming up slightly," she answered. "Do you feel comfortable being here by yourself, if I leave?" Khi said. "Why, what are you doing?" Scully said, feeling a little panic rise in her throat at the thought of being left immobilized. "We're going to need more wood before it's daylight--what's here won't last more than another hour or so," Khi responded. "It might be easiest to just do it now, before Mulder wakes up." "How long will you be gone? And what happens if you get lost?" Scully knew she could never get out of the chute wrap without assistance. "Trust me, I won't get lost," Khi said with a cryptic chuckle. "I'd be gone maybe a half hour, probably less. I won't go if you don't want me to. We can just wait until you're unwrapped and free." Scully thought about it for a bit, gave herself time to analyze the situation rather than just react out of her fear. If Khi said they needed wood, then they needed it--she could assume that without a doubt. But if Khi got lost or killed, Scully would never get out of the chute alone. Of course, without Khi, I'll have little chance of survival whether I'm wrapped with Mulder or dancing the hornpipe, she thought pragmatically. "Yeah, go ahead. I guess I'd rather try to make sure you're here when Mulder wakes up, just in case he goes into a frenzy again," Scully said. "OK. I'm taking the knife with me, not that you'll be in a position to miss it anyway. I'll probably do as I did before--stack wood outside in repeated trips, then bring it all in at once. So don't get panicky if you hear anything outside," Khi warned. "Got it," Scully said. She felt a brush of very cold air gust through the chute opening and knew that Khi had removed the door of the shelter. "Be careful, don't get killed or something--if I'm going to die, I don't want it to be while I'm wrapped up like a sardine with Mulder." "No, I'm sure you don't," Khi said softly as she went through the door, quickly sealing it up behind her. Now what the hell did that mean, Scully thought, anger rising quickly in her mind. Does she think I *want* to die out here in the middle of a storm? That I want my last breath to be filled with smoke and the smell of nylon? My final sight to be that of a red and white parachute? But just as she prepared to launch into a mental rant and rave session, Scully realized what Khi had meant. She realized that Khi had already perceived what Scully was just beginning to accept. That if Scully were going to die, she *did* want it to be with Mulder. If her eyes were going to close for the last time, she wanted her last vision to be of him. As the feeling left her hands, her arms, her body, she wanted to know that he would be there next to her. Her anger slowly wound down as she concentrated on Mulder's breathing, on his heartbeat, on the feel of his head resting on her arm. With the deliberateness of an experiment, she stopped thinking and started feeling. She felt how his breath danced across her skin, light as a spring rain. How his hair tickled against her collarbone, feathery and soft. How it felt good to be so close to him, to touch him, to hold him. But even as the physical sensations themselves were enjoyable, she knew it was more than that. She knew that this physical closeness they shared now was simply a reflection of the union that already existed between them. That their souls were already entwined together as one. They shared a bond stronger than any she'd ever known--a bond cast in steel, forged with pain, tempered by faith. A bond she knew had already survived her own death. The memory of her abduction, of the tests, of the hospital swept through her as a wave crashes against the cliffs. Each one roared inside her mind, presenting itself as strongly as the actual event it represented--her body reacted as though it were under attack, her breath coming in gasps, her muscles locking into spasms. Several moments passed before she felt better, before her body began to return to normal. Mulder, even in unconsciousness, provided the anchor she needed to gain control. She had never told anyone, not her mother, not her doctors, not even Mulder. She had not wanted to upset them, especially when she herself had not yet believed what she had experienced. They had all been so happy to see her alive and well, she couldn't tell them the truth. She couldn't tell them she had died in that Georgetown hospital bed. Not 'nearly,' not 'almost'--she had died. Utterly and completely, she had left her body behind and began the journey to what lay beyond. Although she had not believed it at first, her latest encounter with her own mortality had proved it to her. As she had felt Death come for her again, in a room filled with cameras and film, she had known for certain it had happened before. This most recent time, Death had been turned away before reaching her, before closing his hand around her to lead her away. Someone had stepped between them, offering himself to Death with an eagerness usually reserved for Life. She had watched as he had stepped through the gateway, his face bearing the most beatific smile she had ever seen. She had thanked him as he disappeared--for intervening, for dying in her place, for giving her back the life she was not ready to lose. But the first time had been different. As Death had touched her, as his cloak had fallen around her as they began to walk, she had somehow known there would be no intervention. She had known she should be afraid, but she hadn't been. Perhaps it had been her natural curiosity for the unknown, perhaps it had been a desire to escape the pain and torture of the last months, but she had not been afraid. Calm and peaceful, she had followed Death like a dutiful daughter. As she had prepared to step across the threshold, though, she had hesitated. For the first time since Death had appeared to her, she had paused to look back. A flame had burned behind her, steady and strong against the darkness. She had been very far from it, but she felt its heat and was drawn to it. Mesmerized as it danced before her, she had felt its passion, its desire, its willingness to guide her path. As she had reached out to it, she had seen it reaching for her as well. They had touched, the flame encircling her hand as a glove. Instead of the searing sensation of being burned, she had felt only a comforting warmth, a sense of coming home. But Death had not given up so easily. He, too, had reached for her, the icy cold of his hand a shock against the heat of the flame. Death had pulled her towards the gateway even as the flame had pulled her back the way she had come. A struggle had ensued, a battle of wills unlike any other she had ever witnessed. She had found herself paralyzed by the strength of the opponents as they fought. In the war between the Light and the Dark, in the war for her very soul, she had been but a spectator. * * * * * * On and on, the battle had raged around her, over her, through her. She had found herself being pulled towards the gateway by Death, only to be brought back by the flame. The gentle warmth and light of the flame had warded off the shocking cold of Death's cloak over and over, until she could no longer keep track of the times. She hadn't known how long the rivals had fought. Perhaps it had been a few seconds, a few minutes, a mere day. Or perhaps the earth had lived out its existence, plunged into the burning sun and been reborn anew. She simply had not known. She only knew she had slowly become aware of a silence. A hushed void had surrounded her senses where the wrath of the battle had been before. She had looked around her, slowly, silently. The flame was beside her, flickering weakly in the darkness as though nearly spent. Death had remained at her other side, his head dipped towards the floor as he pulled his cloak more tightly around his body. He had been shivering slightly. "You must choose." Two voices speaking as one, giving life to the single thought that flowed between them. She had heard the weariness in both the booming voice of Death and the resonating murmur of the flame. They had fought with every ounce of their strength, testing themselves to the extreme in the battle. But it had been an exercise in futility--neither had possessed the strength to defeat the other completely. So the choice had become hers. She would control her future at this moment as few ever had. The weight of the choice had lain heavy on her shoulders--she hadn't known what to do, hadn't known how to decide. She had implored the combatants to help her. Acquiescing with a sweep of his arm, Death had shown her what lay beyond. Like leaves before a gentle wind, images of health and happiness had swirled around her. She had seen her father and smiled--she knew he would be waiting for her with open arms. Death had showed her that she had nothing to fear on the other side. It had not occurred to her to distrust Death, to question the truth of what he presented. She had realized earlier he was only the emissary, a guide between the worlds of the living and the destinations of the dead. He served neither God nor the Devil--he simply existed, in this time and in this place, without motive or desire. She had found herself tempted by the image Death presented, tempted to step through the gateway into the arms of her father. His passing had torn out a part of her heart, leaving behind a feeling of emptiness she could not have fathomed possible. It was a place that was empty still, and even though he had told her it was not yet time, she longed to be with him again. Before she could step towards gateway, though, the flame had begun to grow beside her, slowly at first but then ever quickening. It had moved up her arm, flowing across her chest and around her body as a second skin, its touch gentle and calming. It had offered no clear picture of the future, no images of what lay ahead for her should she return with it--beyond the light of the flame, she had seen nothing. But she had felt everything. Love, hope, strength--they had flown through her like a river, washing away the doubt and indecision. Where confusion had reigned earlier, she felt only peace. She had known the flame was offering itself to her completely, promising her a way home, a way back to life. Promising her they would be together as one until such day as Death took them both. "I choose Life." She had not remembered actually speaking the words, but they had resonated around her as though she had screamed them. The flame unwrapped itself from her, freeing her body and clearing her vision without completely letting go of her. Though she had no recollection of movement, she had found herself following the flame back the way she had come. "So it shall be this time," Death had said, accepting her choice without malice, his voice resounding across the ever-increasing gap between them. "You shall be returned to Life as few ever have." As he had spoken, she had felt herself flow back into her body as though she were being poured--she had become aware of the blood coursing through her veins, racing through her heart, tingling in her fingertips. She had felt the stiff hospital bed beneath her, the large pillow cradling her neck, the cool air tickling her bare feet. And she had felt Mulder's head as it lay across her abdomen, holding her hand in his as he sobbed. She had turned at the last second, casting one last look over the threshold. She had seen Death as if from far below, a small speck against the blackness above her as she looked through the void. "You live again. But do not yet become fearless, my child," Death had warned, his voice reaching across the emptiness. He had stretched a hand towards her as the darkness consumed him completely. "For I shall ever be waiting." * * * * * * Scully shivered, knowing it had nothing to do with holding Mulder's freezing body against her own. Death's words echoed in her head, his image imprinted before her as she held her eyes tightly shut. For years, that image had come to her every night in dreams--she would awaken each morning whispering his words on her lips. The dreams had come less frequently in the last several months, though, and Scully had begun to hope they would disappear altogether. Her latest brush with death, though, had brought them screaming back to her. But they had changed somehow, become something more than what they were. Instead of seeing and feeling what had happened four years ago, she was now aware of a closeness in the present--she could actually feel Death himself at times now. She could feel the weight of his stare as she went about her life. She could feel him right now, hovering at the edge of reality. Waiting for her time to come. Well, that time isn't now, she thought firmly. Not for me, and not for Mulder. You hear me? You'll just have to wait a bit longer. Scully opened her eyes, forced herself to look around as much as she could, listening to the night. The red and white stripes of the chute, the soft crackling of the fire, the smell of woodsmoke surrounding her--all served to bring her back to the present, to ground her in reality once again. She pulled her arm back slightly, feeling up underneath Mulder's chin for his pulse. She found it more quickly this time, noticing it was much stronger than it had been earlier. His breathing had become more regular as well, his chest rising and falling softly against her own. And he was not quite so deathly cold anymore, she smiled to herself. Still chilled, yes, but no longer icy. She knew that he was above the danger point now, knew that he was safe again--that knowledge warmed her more than any fire ever could. Scully attempted to shift her weight a bit, trying to flex the muscles of her legs and arms without disturbing Mulder too much. Her limbs were falling asleep from the sustained pressure and lack of motion. Even her tiny movements were bringing alive the pins-and-needles sensation she hated so much. She knew that it would only get worse, though, if she didn't work through it now. The tightly-wrapped chute restricted all but the barest of movement--but after several minutes of tensing and flexing her major muscle groups, she was able to restore normal feeling. As Mulder continued to warm up, Scully felt herself getting more and more tired as the minutes wore on. Without Khi to talk to, and without the freedom to get up and move around, the temptation to simply fall asleep was becoming unbearable. But she didn't want to doze off until Khi returned--some survivalist node of her brain reminded her that someone should always be awake and on guard. She tried a few mental puzzles, a few brain teasers that she could work through in her mind. She tried to remember some poetry and verse she had once known by heart. But thinking wasn't enough--she needed to *do* something to stay awake. The words "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" came screaming through her head so quickly she was surprised she hadn't felt a breeze. She knew she could simply talk to Mulder until Khi returned, that she didn't need to subject him (not to mention herself) to her rather dubious singing abilities. But Scully knew if she started talking, she'd never stop--she'd pour out every ounce of her feelings, leaving nothing to the imagination. She realized that when she said those things to Mulder, she wanted to say them when he was wide awake, not lying in a pain-filled haze of confusion--she knew she wanted those hazel eyes looking right at her. "Well, Mulder, you had me do this once before, so here we go again," she murmured, dipping her head down to press a quick kiss to his head. "You survived it before, so I hope you can stand it again." Slowly, Scully hummed the tune a little before beginning to sing outright. She smiled a bit as she sang the first verse a few times. She couldn't stop picturing a tiny lineup of woodland creatures outside the door, pressing their little ears against the shelter as the wondered what in the world was going on. She knew that every creature within 10 miles had burrowed itself to safety, but she couldn't shake the image. "Hey, Scully." The words were soft, feathery, barely audible even within the confines of the chute. But she heard them as if they had been spoken over a loudspeaker in a thundering auditorium--they were the sweetest words she'd ever heard. Her breath caught in her throat as she closed her eyes. "Yeah, Mulder?" she asked. Simple words, but she knew that Mulder heard the emotion behind them loud and clear. A tear rolled down her cheek as she tightened her arms around him--she didn't care whether she was being transparent or not. She only cared that he had returned to her. "Sing the second verse this time," he whispered. The second verse? Scully had to think about it for a few moments--what the hell is the second verse to that song, she wondered? All she could think of was the first line, over and over. Jeremiah was a bullfrog... She hummed the tune again, hoping it would prompt her memory. It came to her suddenly, the words forming in her mind as she ran through the first verse. A real, full-throated laugh came rolling up from within her, spilling out across the shelter as she squeezed him close. Composing herself a bit, she just nodded her head, cleared her throat, and then launched into the second verse. "If I were king of the world... tell you what I'd do... I'd throw away the cars and the bars..." The third time through the song, Mulder said the words along with her, a smile quirking his face against her chest--a smile she knew was echoed on her own face. Raspy and weak, his voice was reduced to a halting whisper, a far cry from the usual sardonic inflection she was used to. But it didn't matter--to her, it was the voice of an angel. * * * * * * Ten minutes later, Scully heard the doorway being opened, a cold shot of air whistling through the shelter's interior. She heard sounds of dragging, punctuated by the occasional sotto voce curse, and knew Khi had returned. Scully felt another pine bough slide past her, and she hoped it was as piled with wood as the first one had been. "You all right in there, Scully?" Khi asked as she wove the doorway shut again, knowing they needed to retain the fire's heat as much as possible. "Actually, yes," Scully answered, wondering if Khi could hear the smile planted firmly on her face. "Mulder's awake." "Whoo hoo! That's fabulous," Khi yelled. "That true, Zippy? You alive in there?" "Yeah, I'm alive," Mulder said, his voice rising a little to be heard. "No thanks to you, though. 'Let's go parachuting... It'll be fun... Girl Scouts could do it!'" Scully and Khi both laughed-- even with his weakened voice, his impersonation of her 'recruiting' speech was perfect. "Yeah, whatever, shut up," Khi said, eliciting a muffled laugh from Mulder this time. "Is it my fault that we got hit by a hailstorm in the middle of the winter?" "Yes!" Mulder and Scully chorused together, sending all three chuckling again. "Whine, whine, whine..." Khi mumbled as she stepped over to kneel down next to them. "Seriously, now. How are you feeling, Mulder? Warm, cold, dizzy, light-headed, nauseous, rib pain, trouble breathing, any and all of the above?" "Weak, mostly," Mulder said. Scully could feel him trying to shift his weight a little bit, realizing he must be even more cramped than she was. "And thirsty." "You feeling warm enough to get out of there? I mean, I know it must be uncomfortable for you to be wrapped up with Scully like that," Khi said, not quite hiding the humor from her voice. "Oh yeah, utter hell," Mulder said in perfect seriousness, exasperated sighs and all. "I mean, I'm all smashed in here with her, she's got her arms wrapped around me, she's breathing all over me... I just may have to sue you for extreme abuse, Khi." Scully felt his hand move against her, the gentle play of his fingers against her hip offsetting the mock harshness of his words. She smiled as she quickly ran her hand through his hair. "Let's hope you get the chance, my friend," Khi said after a short chuckle, bringing her hand down to rest briefly on Mulder's back. They were all quiet for a moment, a prayer formed between them, unspoken but audible nonetheless. "OK, enough of that crap, let's get you guys out of there." The process was easier said than done this time around. Mulder being conscious added a new twist to everything--each movement, no matter how slight, sent sharp pain shooting through him. After just a few moments, Mulder told Khi to just do it. "Rip the bandage off in one swipe," he said, breathless from the pain he'd endured so far. "At worst, I'll just pass out again." "OK, then," Khi said. "Scully, we're going to do this exactly in reverse, then. You remember the sequence?" Khi had succeeded so far only in untying the straps and beginning to unwrap the chute from around their bodies--she couldn't yet see Scully or Mulder themselves yet. "Chute off, tip up, clothes and suits unwrapped, sweater off, separate off of Mulder, clothes back on," Scully recited succinctly. "You got it. Now let me get you guys situated a little better, since we're paused anyway," Khi said. Scully felt the chute being dragged away from the fire a little bit more, allowing Khi better access to them and more room in which to work. "Set?" she asked, tapping Scully's shoulder. Scully queried Mulder if he was ready, his reply a simple nodding of his head. She actually felt his jaw tense as he clenched his teeth against the coming pain. "We're set," Scully replied, giving Mulder a quick squeeze in support. "Do it." To his credit, Mulder screamed outright only once during the next sixty seconds, right after the chute fell away from them--as Khi tipped them up from the ground, Scully's foot smacked into his injured leg as she tried to resume the sitting position in which they had started. Scully cursed herself for being so clumsy, resolving to concentrate even harder as Khi continued to work. She felt the remainder of the tie straps fall away, watching as Khi quickly separated out Scully's clothing from Mulder's as she unwrapped each layer. "Arms up now, Scully," Khi said. "I'm bracing Mulder from the other side here." As she reached her arms towards the roof, Scully felt the green sweater being lifted from her body. She felt the goosebumps crawl over her again as her skin was exposed, but it was nowhere near the shock it had been the first time--the fire had been burning long enough to actually heat the interior somewhat. Her arms finally free of the sweater, Scully wasted no time pushing back from Mulder and scooting free of him. She didn't want to risk jostling him as she dressed herself. A quick glance confirmed the pain he must have been feeling--his eyes were pressed shut as his breath came in gasps, his fists clenched as Khi threaded his arms back through his clothing and suit. "Done," Khi announced a few moments later, zipping the front of Mulder's suit as best she could. The lower portion of the suit torso had been mostly sliced away earlier, but she was able to rehook the zipper somehow and zip it up. "Well, that sucked," Mulder moaned after a few seconds, eyes still shut. Khi helped him lie back down, rolling an edge of the chute under his head as a mock pillow. She handed him his gloves, knowing he would need every source of warmth possible. "Scully, we'll need to do the same trick for him that we used for you," Khi said, motioning her over as she saw Scully zipping her own jump suit. "Find that cylinder and help Mulder drink some of the heated water. Even conscious, he's not going to be able to move as much as you or me, so he's going to need to generate heat from other sources." Finally finding the cylinder against the far wall, Scully dipped it into the bowl, rinsing it out a bit before scooping up a full complement of water. She paused to add more snow to the bowl, wanting to keep a steady source of hot water available at all times. She knew they would have to change Mulder's bandages every few hours, needing to cleanse the wound each time. Wanting to reach the bowl without getting up, Scully repositioned the chute a bit, dragging Mulder a few feet further 'down' the shelter as gently as she could. She then prompted him to sit up a bit, slipping her leg underneath his shoulders and pulling him up onto her lap slightly. He reached for the cylinder, but she gently pushed his hands away, murmuring for him to just lie still. She brought the cylinder to his lips, slowly tipping it up as he drank, making sure she wasn't rushing him too much. Mulder indicated he wanted more, so she stretched to refill the cylinder again. This time, she somehow spilled a little of the water as she brought it up, trickling the water down his chin. She wiped it away with a gentle finger--if she stroked his face a few more times than was necessary, he didn't seem to mind. After the third refill, Mulder motioned that he was through for now. Scully set the cylinder down by the fire, not wanting to lose track of it this time. After a few minutes, she could tell he was getting sleepy, his breathing slowing and his bodying becoming still. She started to slip out from underneath him, figuring it was an uncomfortable position for him. "Stay." Mulder crossed his hand over his body and laid it on hers. His eyes opened for the first time since they'd gotten out of the chute. "Stay with me for a little bit, Scully," he whispered, looking up at her. "Only for a little while?" she teased him, shifting her body just a little to reposition him more comfortably. "For as long as you like, my lady," Mulder said quietly, his eyes fluttering closed as a small smile crossed his face. He was soon fast asleep, his hand still covering hers. Scully watched him sleep for a long time. She brushed his hair off his forehead, smiling each time as it fell right back across his eyes. Leaning over him, she laid a gentle kiss on his forehead. I hope you meant that, Mulder, she said to herself. Because I'm going to stay forever. * * * * * * As the night wore on and became day, Scully and Khi took turns remaining awake, each catching an hour or so of sleep while the other tended the fire and kept watch. Khi cautioned Scully to make sure Mulder was awakened at least once every hour or so. "He's still weak and dehydrated," Khi explained. "He needs that water not only to help stay warm but to get his system back in balance. Plus, I want to make sure that he *can* be woken up every few hours, that he doesn't fall into a coma or hypothermic trance state." Scully checked his bandages several times, doing a complete change in the wee hours of the morning. The lack of really good light made a detailed inspection impossible, but she couldn't see any signs of infection--whatever initial bleeding there may have been had stopped. She had Khi make another birch bowl, using it to heat more water and wash out the bandages as best she could. She kept the other bowl for drinking purposes only, not wanting to risk any contamination. When dawn arrived, Khi ventured outside again to search for more wood--their supply had dwindled to just a few branches. When she returned, Scully was somewhat nervous to see a much smaller pile of wood on her sled bough than previous trips. "It's getting harder to find wood," Khi said simply. "It's still snowing heavily out there, although the wind has died down considerably. That's a good sign, if nothing else--the worst of the actual storm is most likely over." "But the wood... what do we do about that?" Scully asked, trying to keep the anxiousness from showing in her voice. Khi didn't answer for a minute, poking the fire up a bit, adding a few more pieces to it. "There's not much we can do. The snow is blanketing new inches every hour, covering up absolutely everything. We can either find the wood or we can't. If we can, we'll be fine for quite a while. If we can't..." she trailed off. She knew there was no need to state the obvious. "What about food, is there any possibility of finding anything to eat?" Scully asked. She looked over at Mulder, who still appeared to be sleeping peacefully. "More than either of us, he should really have something to eat soon. His blood needs energy to combat the volume loss." "He's not going to get any food for a while," Khi said. She's nothing if not direct, Scully thought with a sigh. "I can make snare traps, but they're not going to do any good--forest creatures aren't going to stir until the snow stops. There's no streams nearby to fish in and my pack doesn't have any food supplies in it, only survival equipment." "So what do we do?" Scully asked after a moment. "We survive," Khi said simply. Glancing at Scully's side, she motioned for Scully to toss her the knife. "We can survive as long as we have heat. Water alone will sustain us for at least a week, probably two, and someone would find us by then." Khi began cutting a few strips from the edge of the chute. She made sure to leave enough for Mulder to use as a blanket, but soon had a sizable pile of thick strips of the red and white material by her side. "The problem will be if the fire dies. Without the heat, we'll survive for a few hours, a half-day at most," Khi said, gathering together the strips and putting them in the pack. "There's a clearing not too far from here. I'm going to weave these into a couple branches and post them in that clearing--when the snow quits, it will provide a visual signal to anyone searching by air." Khi caught sight of Scully's rather dubious expression, giving a short, mirthless laugh as she zipped up the pack. "I know it's not a great solution, but we don't have many options. The snow's too deep for even a healthy person to try to track through, much less someone with an injury. The travois wouldn't work nearly as well now either--the angle would be wrong because of the extra snow." "Plus, we don't have any idea which way to go," Mulder said quietly. Scully and Khi both turned to look at him, surprised to find him awake. He waved off their attempts to help him sit up, propping himself up under his own power while mumbling something about not being a child. He did have to ask for the cylinder of water though, since he was unable to reach the fire himself. Khi, seeing that Scully was taking care of Mulder's request, headed for the doorway, strapping the pack to her back. She unsealed the pine bough to open up the exit and leaned down to begin crawling through the opening. "Where's that... um, what was the word?" Mulder said to Scully as Khi worked her way outside. He had to pause for a second, replaying their conversation with Mobaje... had it only been yesterday? So much had happened since then, it seemed like years had passed. "Where's an ut'aari when you need one? We could use a hawk about now." Khi closed up the entryway again, making sure the edges were woven securely into the shelter. She paused to look up at the sky, searching. "He's coming," she said, closing her eyes against the falling snow. After a moment, she turned and headed for the clearing. ------------ Chapter 8 ------------ The hours blended together, mindlessly, endlessly, each melding with the next to form a perpetual state of monotony. The second day become the second night became the third day until Scully no longer bothered to keep track. They had tried to keep a conversation going when more than one person was awake, but that had stopped somewhere during the second night. There just wasn't anything to say. Conversation become limited, brief status-report statements clipped short by the weariness that pervaded the shelter. Khi foraged for wood every few hours, managing to find a few branches every time, thereby keeping a lid on her companions' rising fears that she would return empty handed. But she couldn't keep a lid on her own--she knew, all too well, that each time she went out that door, it was one trip closer to that inevitable outcome. The snow continued to fall, making each successive trip harder to cover even the same distance, not to mention needing to get further out to find new sources of wood. She was pushing herself to the limit of her reserves of strength and endurance, forging ahead on sheer determination. That alone, though, wouldn't be enough--determination would not create a flame to keep them alive, no matter how hard she might try. As she wrestled a dead birch branch out of a drift, she reminded herself to deal with what *was,* not what *could be.* The future wasn't written until it became the past, and she was going to make sure there continued to *be* a future--for her, for Mulder, for Scully. The intensity of her resolve helped to keep her warm while she was away from the fire. Somewhere near the end of the third day, Mulder began sleeping more deeply, becoming harder and harder to rouse--Scully knew he was weakening from lack of food and the extreme blood loss he'd suffered. When conscious, he tried to reassure her he was fine, but she could tell that even he knew the true state of his condition. It wouldn't be long until he would slip into a coma- like state, with death most likely following closely behind. His injured body simply could not recuperate under the extreme conditions. "I'll be fine, Scully, I'll be fine," Mulder whispered to her late that night, his hands wrapped around hers as he lay in her lap. She had rarely left his side for the last day or so, holding him close and gently massaging his arms and chest to keep the blood flowing. "I know, Mulder," Scully said, smiling down at him as his eyes opened briefly. "They'll find us any time now. They'll find us and get us to a hospital, you'll recover splendidly, and we'll be back filing background checks and giving speeches before you know it." "Oh, joy," Mulder said, rolling his eyes. "On second thought..." "What, you mean you don't relish the thought of investigating the private, darkened life of Mr. Heinrich Q. Podenyacker, city clerk for the past 27 years for the fine town of Ironhead, South Dakota, population a staggering 312, who now wants to be employed as a federal officer?" Scully laughed. "Not so much," Mulder replied softly, a short laugh escaping him as she reeled off the all-too-real depiction of their days now. "Where's your sense of adventure?" she asked, reaching out to ruffle his hair as she teased him. "I think it got hung up in that tree back there," he said, a smile making fun of the seriousness of his situation. "We'll have to go back and find it at some point." "We'll just buy you a new one, Mulder," Scully said as though they were talking about a pair of jeans. "One that specifically states 'No Parachuting' in the usage instructions." "You're on, flygirl," he whispered, his eyes slowly closing. She noticed that the vision was taking shape again, the two of them together in the snow as Mulder lay motionless. Some far corner of her brain noted there was no blood soaking the white snow this time. As she watched his breathing slow, as she watched his movements become less and less, Scully knew this might be the last time that Mulder was awake. That she might never have the chance to tell him everything she wanted to say. She willed her mouth to open, her throat to form the words she so desperately wanted, needed to say. But here, on the edge of forever, she found herself completely lost. She tried to speak, but her body would not cooperate. She could do nothing but stare down at him, at his face, his body, his hands wrapped around hers. "Hey, Scully," he whispered, struggling to stay awake for a few more seconds. "Yeah, Mulder," she said, struggling to fight off the wave of fear overtaking her. "I know." This time, the snow became soaked with tears. * * * * * * The wood ran out shortly before dawn on the fourth day. Not that there was any sort of dawn they could see. The storm was still howling outside, the snow filling the air completely--they had marked time only through Khi's watch. Khi had made an extended search the last trip out, pushing herself beyond exhaustion, beyond fear. But she had found nothing. So now Scully and Khi both watched as the last scrap burned down, the flames growing smaller and smaller as the seconds passed. With a silent whisper, the last flame flickered into nothingness. Complete darkness fell inside the shelter for the first time in days. Scully had gotten used to the flickering firelight, finding herself somewhat disoriented by the total blackness that surrounded her now. She wasn't normally claustrophobic, but the darkness felt alive somehow, silently closing around her with an ever-tightening pressure. She closed her eyes, then quickly re- opened them when she realized that closing them only increased the sensation. She shifted nervously, breathing deeply as she tried to think rationally. "You all right over there?" Hearing Khi's voice was a shock, startling Scully so much she actually felt her heart jump. But she immediately felt a flush of relief as well, Khi's words providing a solid anchor against the crushing weight of the darkness. "Um, yeah, pretty much," Scully managed to say, her voice choking a bit as she spoke. She coughed to clear her throat, one hand pounding lightly on her chest. "Don't let it get to you," Khi said. "Instead of concentrating on your lack of sight, concentrate on building your other senses. Listen to the darkness, don't just watch it." Scully followed the advice, trying to focus on what she could hear instead of what she couldn't see. As the minutes passed, she slowly became aware that the darkness was anything but silent-- she could hear both Khi and Mulder breathing, she could hear the wind, she could hear the shelter rustling. "Thanks, that's helping a bit," Scully said, giving herself a small shake to restore her control. "No problem. The darkness can be a weird thing, sending the mind down paths you couldn't imagine while in the light," Khi said. "Just didn't want to see you go freaking out on me, not that you would ever do such a thing." "No, of course not, never," Scully said, smiling slightly. While she hadn't been too close to losing control, she knew it hadn't been as far off as she'd like to think. "Anyway, the temperature is already dropping in here. We need to do what we can to retain as much heat as possible," Khi said. "Do you already have the chute wrapped around Mulder?" "Yeah, I covered him quite a while ago, when you started using the wood more sparingly," Scully replied. Even as she spoke, she tucked the chute in around Mulder just a bit tighter, a bit closer. "Good. Take pine boughs from the edges and cover him with those as well," Khi instructed. "They'll trap at least a little heat. Do the same for yourself--you'll want to cover yourself as best you can as well." The next several minutes were spent gathering and arranging the boughs, their efforts hampered by the dark. They each had to move a bit slower, feeling around them as they moved to avoid cracking into the shelter walls or each other. Scully found that she was more efficient with her eyes closed, picturing the interior of the shelter in her mind, keeping track of Mulder, Khi and the center fire pit mentally. Finally, Scully scooted down next to Mulder, curling up against his side and pulling the remaining boughs over herself. The needles draped down across her like a blanket--while she wasn't assured yet of their heat retention properties, they did make her feel a little more secure. The temperature dropped as the minutes wore on, becoming hours. As time wore on, Scully could feel her body shutting down, a little bit at a time. She managed to keep one hand warm by holding it inside her suit against her chest--she wanted to be able to feel for Mulder's pulse every so often. But the rest of her was slowly slipping away into oblivion. She fought it at first, trying to keep her limbs moving, her muscles flexing, her mind active. Soon, though, it became too difficult, too hard to remain focused. She knew she should stay awake, but the cold was becoming increasingly hard to dismiss-- she found herself drifting towards sleep, the mind wanting to follow the body. "Hey, Scully, you still with me over there?" Khi asked, breaking into Scully's thoughts and waking her up a bit. "Yeah, still here," Scully said, her throat a little hoarse from the cold. As she tried to turn her mind away from the thoughts of slumber invading it, she realized Khi had done it again--she had somehow known exactly what was going on, taking the action necessary to fix the problem. Scully decided to figure out something once and for all. "Khi, considering the situation we're in and the extreme possibility we're ever going to get out of it, can I ask you something you might normally take offense to?" Scully asked. Khi laughed a bit, as if relieved to hear Scully revived enough to be forming complex sentences. "Sure, you can ask," she said. "I make no promises as to the possibility of an answer, but you can ask anything you want." Scully paused for a second, trying to think of the best way to ask her question, finally opting for the completely simple and straightforward approach. "Khi Shaolin, who the hell *are* you?" * * * * * * For the first time in days, the shelter shook with the sound of raucous laughter. Although she couldn't see her, Scully knew that Khi was rolling from side to side as she howled--Scully could hear the boughs rustling as Khi moved. At first, Scully tried to resist, but was soon laughing just as hard. "C'mon, Scully... don't be... shy or anything," Khi managed to choke out between laughs. "Ask me... what's really... on your mind." They both continued to laugh for a while, finally gaining control only after several failed efforts. "Well, I mean it," Scully said as they calmed down. "Who in the hell are you? Let's me count this off... you show up out of nowhere, you get Mulder drunk on Kamikazes but not hungover, you convince him to go parachuting, you build a shelter out of nothing, you show medical training, you're stronger than most men, I'd swear you're telepathic... I mean, hell! You build a wood bowl that doesn't burn!" They laughed a bit more at that one, Khi tossing off a comment about parting the waters if necessary. "Seriously," Scully said after gaining control again. "I'm genuinely curious. Tell me only what you want, if necessary, but knowing *anything* about you would be more than I know now." Even though Khi made no sound, Scully could picture her turning over the various options in her mind, deciding what to tell and what to leave hidden. Scully didn't think for a moment that Khi would outright lie to her, but she had no doubt there were certain facts about Khi Shaolin the world would never know. "Do you remember that day in the hotel, when you and Mulder stopped at my table while I was eating breakfast?" Khi asked at last. "Do you remember what he asked me and what I told him?" "Um, he asked you what your regular life was," Scully said slowly, playing the conversation through her mind. "You told him that you could tell him, but then you'd have to kill him." "Well, that comment was pretty much true," Khi said. Scully started to laugh, assuming Khi was joking again, but she realized that Khi was perfectly serious. "If I tell you, or anyone, about myself or my life, I risk serious consequences, including death. The knowledge of who I am puts the recipient at risk too. It's a risk I don't take. Ever." "Who am I going to tell?" Scully asked, gesturing around her even though she knew Khi couldn't see her. "As much as I am avoiding thinking about it, this is probably going to be my last day upon this earth--whatever you tell me isn't going anywhere." "Yeah, I suppose you're right, in an extremely morbid and depressing way," Khi said. She remained quiet for a bit longer-- Scully became even more curious as the seconds passed. "You asked me who the hell I was, right?" she said finally. "Well, there's really only one true answer to that question--I'm nobody." "What do you mean, you're nobody? You're sitting right in front of me. Well, at least, I think you are," Scully amended, glancing around the darkness. "I'm alive, yes. I'm real, people can see and hear me, they can shake my hand. But as far as the world can prove, Khi Shaolin does not exist," Khi said. "I don't understand," Scully admitted. "Are you on the run, are you eluding the law somehow?" "No, actually. I enforce the law in a lot of ways. The laws of survival guide me and shape both my path and those that follow me," Khi said. "Which means... what, exactly?" Scully asked, still not understanding. "I exist in no recorded fashion and am beyond rank in the US Marine Corps," she said, pausing to take a breath. "And I am the survivalist trainer for an elite ground-strike force called the Black Angels." * * * * * * Whatever Scully was expecting, it wasn't that. Not even close. She had suspected a connection to the military, but would not have guessed in a million years that Khi was beyond rank. Scully knew that an extremely limited number of individuals, probably no more than 5 at any given time, existed at that level of rank. They were, in essence, accountable to no one. "OK... you're going to have to tell me more than that," Scully said. "What, you mean that's not enough to satisfy you? Pushy, pushy, pushy..." Khi said, the smile perfectly audible. "Nearly all of what I could tell you is highly classified. I'll give you the rather shortened version, but I still need your assurance that what you're about hear goes no further than your ears, assuming we were to get out of this. Tell no one, Scully--not even Mulder." "Start at the beginning," Scully said, knowing Khi would take her words as the affirmation they were. "Go." Khi took a moment to gather her thoughts, deciding where to start and how much to say. Soon, she launched into her story with gusto, Scully listening as closely to her as she had to Mobaje previously. Khi's story was fascinating, and Scully didn't want to miss any of it. "Well, to start at the beginning, I grew up as a normal kid, 4 brothers, no sisters. We lived on a 15,000-acre cattle ranch in Wyoming, so there was always work to be done outdoors. I suppose that's where I first got hooked on nature, so to speak. I was always riding the land, driving stock out of the highlands and so on. Lots of stuff could happen to a person out there--your horse could take a fall or throw you if it got spooked, you could get caught in storms, you could get gored by an angry steer. "So I learned to take care of myself and survive, no matter what happened. When I decided to leave the ranch to join the Marine Corps, that knowledge served me very, very well. At the end of my first year, I was recruited to join the Black Angels. I was the youngest person to ever be accepted, and believe me, I took a lot of crap for it. Not a day went by when someone didn't test me, challenge me, try to beat me down. But I thrived on it--it served only to make me stronger, smarter, faster than everyone else. "The training program for the Angels is beyond intense. For a solid year, you do nothing but survive in every extreme condition known to mankind. No contact with family or friends, sometimes not even other Angels. The jungle, the desert, the arctic, the mountains, the swamps--I can survive in them all, be it with every supply possible or nothing at all, not even clothing. Not everyone fares so well. The voluntary fall-out rate is something above 80%, with a death rate so large only a handful of people even know it. "After the year of physical training, there was a year of intense mental conditioning and knowledge acquisition. This was the year that I hooked up with Mulder--the Angels used the Quantico facility, though no one knew their true purpose. We blended with the rest of the students at the facility, but maintained our own course and training regimen. Since I had already proved to be the most valuable Angel they'd seen in years, I was given more leeway in my personal life. I had slightly more free time and I was allowed to live where I wanted. "I met Mulder late one night, on an outdoor basketball court. We were each just shooting hoops, running a few light layups and so on, mostly just wasting time. After sticking to our own ends of the court for a half-hour or so, Mulder challenged me to a game of one-on-one." Scully chuckled at that thought, picturing Mulder sidling up to his new 'friend' and casually offering to play a game. She knew Mulder prided himself on his basketball abilities, a ball never far from his hands whether he was at home or at the office. "So what happened? Who won?" Scully asked. "I whipped his ass, 21 to 4, in less than ten minutes," Khi said, breaking out into laughter as she remembered. "You should have seen his expression after the first three minutes--he had absolutely no idea what was happening to him. When I sunk that last shot, he just turned to me and said, 'I know I only just met you, and that I really know nothing about you, but I feel I must say two things to you--one, I hate you. And two, could you teach me how to do that?' "I knew right then I'd found a new friend--anyone that could be so straightforward was all right by me. We spent the next three hours on that court, leaving only when a thunderstorm drove us out. We went for breakfast at some sleazy 24-hour diner a couple miles away, and by the end of the meal, Mulder was inviting me to move in with him. "We did everything together for that next year, separated only by the demands of classes and studies. Mulder had absolutely no idea who I was, what I was becoming--he soon gave up asking me what I did at the base, since I never told him anything." Scully broke in, wanting to know exactly what that was. "What *were* you becoming? What do the Black Angels actually do?" she asked, trying to picture what would exist at that level of secrecy. "Official description would be something like 'Elite first-wave ground strike unit, specially trained to survive under extreme conditions to assist the completion of their objectives,'" Khi said. "A true definition would be 'Specially-trained soldiers who do whatever they're told, wherever they're told to do it, when no one else is capable of doing it.' "No two missions are exactly the same. One might be a rescue operation, the next an assassination, the next a kidnapping. The objective, the terrain and the conditions change each time, but one thing does remain constant--we succeed. In the ten years I've been associated with the Black Angels, they have had a failure rate of less than one percent." Scully was impressed. She and Mulder had a resolution rate of nearly 80% on the X-Files, but that was considered extraordinary. She couldn't imagine tacking on another 20% to that figure, plus doing it under the extreme conditions Khi was describing. "Anyway, whatever. I tagged up with Mulder for that year and I'll never forget it. I'm not a person that usually warms up to people very quickly, but within a month, we were well beyond friendship. I'm not sure what it was, but there was a connection between us that I've never felt before or since with anyone else. "And when the time came for me to ship out for operations, I didn't know what to do. I knew that Mulder deserved a good-bye, that he deserved to at least know I was leaving, but I couldn't do it. I've faced death a thousand times--insane killers threatening to tear my heart from my chest with their teeth... bombs, gunfire and chemical warfare... I've faced them all. "But I couldn't face that look I knew Mulder would give me when I told him I was leaving. I didn't want to see that jaw clench, those eyes close--I didn't want to see him flex every muscle he had to restrain himself from throwing a fist through a wall." Scully nodded in silent agreement, though she knew Khi couldn't see it. She had seen that happen once before as well, and knew she never wanted to see it again. Without thought, she wrapped her arm around Mulder a bit tighter. "So... I just left," Khi continued with a sigh. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I packed up my bags and I left. I soon had little time to feel regret, but it did manage to creep in every now and again. "I spent nearly all of the next five years as commander for the Angels while still climbing the chain of command in the Corps, leading every mission we undertook with a 100% success rate. But as those years passed, I came to realize that I could better serve my country not as an active Angel, but as the survivalist trainer. Throughout my active career, I had often taught the commanders or trainers tricks or techniques that they hadn't known--so why not *be* the trainer? "One thing led to another, and over the years I was promoted to the status of beyond rank and erased from the public record. As the world political situation has evolved over the past 5 years, so has the training necessary to contain that situation. I needed to have complete and utter control over everyone and everything in my command--I couldn't afford, and thereby the country couldn't afford, to have my actions restricted by a hierarchy of command." "But, there must be someone or some entity that has control over you, even if it's never exercised," Scully said. "They wouldn't just let you run rampant if you turned psychotic or something... would they?" "That's why I told you that I risk serious consequences by telling you any of this. While limitless by most people's standards, there are boundaries to my status," Khi explained. "If I ever willfully and maliciously endangered my command, if I ever get out of control, I could face outright execution. "Everything has its price... and that's the one I pay." * * * * * * "So that's it. That's everything. That's my life story condensed into a single 30-minute monologue," Khi said, laughing a bit. "Was it everything you'd dreamt of?" "I'm not sure *anyone* could have dreamt that one, not even Mulder," Scully said, chuckling a bit. "Don't tell me you find it unusual that the government could harbor a secret special forces unit for decades without letting the public know about it," Khi chided jokingly. "Oh, never," Scully said. "They'd never do something like that. They're completely honest and forthright in every regard." Khi just snorted, sending them both laughing again. They both settled into their own thoughts then, a silence descending across the shelter. "So I know you want to ask me, so why don't you just get it over with?" Khi said after a while. "What do you mean?" Scully said, trying to coax her voice into its best innocent tones. "You know what I mean, Scully. You've been dying to find out since you first saw me sitting on Mulder's couch that night," Khi answered. Scully didn't need any light to see the quirked eyebrow and teasing smile she knew was present on Khi's face. "So...?" Scully finally said. "Oh, you're not even going to ask it, you're just going to leave it up to me to answer it?" Khi said, chuckling. "Wimp. Fine, I'll just tell you. "No, Mulder and I were never romantically involved. We slept together every night, but that was the literal truth--we *slept* together, like bear cubs in a den. Our relationship never was, is not, and never will be physical," Khi said succinctly. "But you said that you were 'beyond friendship' with him nearly right away, that you shared a bond unlike any other," Scully said. "Isn't that what you have with him, right here, right now?" Khi said quietly. "Aren't you bonded to him in ways you don't even comprehend, feeling a connection to him no matter how far apart you might be?" Scully didn't respond, but she didn't have to--Khi had seen the two of them together and knew the truth. "I love Mulder with all my heart, Scully. I would give my life for him without hesitation. I felt that way 10 years ago and I still feel that way today. And I know that Mulder used to feel the same way about me. "But a person only has room in their heart for one person like that. Someone to whom they are devoted as family, someone for whom they would sacrifice themselves without regret. For Mulder, that person used to be me, but not anymore. His soul is bound with yours now, entwined so completely that the two have become indistinguishable from each other. "You are one." Lying next to Mulder in the shelter, no longer able to feel anything but the gentle pressure of Mulder's chest rising and falling against her cheek, Scully closed her eyes. Over the course of the last several days, she had finally understood how much she loved Mulder, how much he was a part of her life, a part of her. But the realization had come slowly, building gradually, piece by piece over the years. But hearing the same the same words, the same thoughts from someone who had only known her for a few days--it shook her a bit. If it was that obvious to Khi, whom she'd never met until a week ago, Scully wondered how she had missed it all these years. Why did I never let myself see it, she asked herself. Why did I wait until we were about to die to tell him I love him? As she questioned why she'd never told him how she felt, she opened her eyes to stare out into the darkness... ...and realized she could see the shelter wall across from her. * * * * * * With a start, Scully jerked her head up from Mulder's chest. She propped herself up on one elbow, rubbing her eyes with her other hand to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. Just as she started to call out to Khi, she heard Khi calling out to her. "Hey, Scully, am I seeing what I'm thinking I'm seeing?" Khi asked. She scrambled out from beneath her boughs, standing to stare across the fire pit at Scully doing the same. "It doesn't even matter what you think you're seeing, as long as you're seeing something," Scully said, the jubilation clear in her voice. "What's happening, what's going on?" "It's just after dawn, and if we can see it, then the storm must be over. The clouds are breaking and letting the sun through," Khi said as she scrambled to her knees and began opening the doorway. "Now I should tell you not to get too excited. This doesn't necessarily mean we're any better off than we were 10 minutes ago." "Yes, I know... but it sure feels better, doesn't it?" Scully asked with a laugh. Khi paused for a second, appearing to think about the question for a bit. "Damn straight, sister," she called out as she removed the door completely and crawled outside. Scully dropped down and followed her into the open air for the first time in half a day. The open sky greeted her as she stood up outside the shelter, stepping out of the way so Khi could prop the door back in place. A light breeze was blowing, a welcome change from the gale forces that had swept over the mountain for the last five days. The snow had stopped completely, replaced by a spectacular vista of colors as the sun crept into the sky--the tops of the trees were silhouetted against vivid oranges, yellows and reds. Scully had never seen a more beautiful sight in her entire life. "I'm going to track over to the clearing, to check the signal strips and make sure they are still clear," Khi said, waving an arm towards the rising sun. "With the clear conditions now, they might actually be a realistic avenue of rescue. Wood is still our biggest concern--even though it is slightly warmer now, we won't survive for very long without a fire." Khi ducked back inside the shelter to retrieve the knife, tucking it into a suit pocket as she came back out. "You should try to keep moving now, take this opportunity to use your adrenaline to restore some body heat." "Should I try to search for wood?" Scully asked, glancing around at the nearby woods. It's funny, she thought--the trees don't look nearly as forbidding as they did before. "As long as you stay within sight of the shelter, you should be OK. Don't over-exert yourself, though, no matter how excited you feel right now," Khi warned as she set off. "We are both extremely fatigued, and there's little to be gained by driving ourselves to unconsciousness. I'll be back within the hour." Scully watched her go, tracking her progress through the tree trunks until she finally disappeared into the forest. Glancing around her, Scully deciding to go out to the furthest point where she could still easily see the shelter, then start a slow circle around it. Her progress was extremely slow, considering that several of the drifts were nearly as tall as she was. Even though she wasn't finding any dead wood, it felt good to be moving again, to be doing something. As she circled around to the back of the shelter, perhaps 75 yards from it, she came upon the edge of a drop-off. The hillside fell away from her, sloping down to another level perhaps a hundred feet below her, a small clearing surrounded by the thick forest. Just as she was about to turn away to continue her circle, something caught her attention. A fresh set of tracks wound across the clearing beneath her. * * * * * * * * She knew she should wait for Khi's return and investigate the tracks together, but Scully just couldn't restrain herself--she had to know what had made those tracks. Half sliding, half rolling, she made her way down the hillside and then crossed over to where the tracks were. Drawing close, she saw the tracks had been made by an animal, something the size of a wolf or a cougar, not a human. Despite knowing that there was virtually no chance that a person had made it this far into the mountains on foot, she felt disappointed anyway. Turning, she surveyed the hill she'd have to scale up to get back to her starting position--she swore the hill hadn't seemed that large five minutes ago as she had looked down. Now, though, as she looked up, it was its own tiny mountain. Son of a bitch... She looked around her, searching for another way up the hillside. Glancing to her right and peering through the tree trunks, she saw that it did look like the slope was a little gentler a bit further down. Figuring a longer distance in exchange for a lesser slope was a good trade, Scully started walking, noticing that the tracks went the same way. After ten minutes or so, she reached another, slightly larger clearing. At the edge, the hill began sloping upwards at a decidedly more leisurely angle--she would be able to ascend back to the shelter far more easily. She didn't notice it until she was already past it and nearly to the hill's beginning. Something 'clicked' in her brain, though, and made her turn back. Her eyes roved across the small clearing, searching. She finally saw it, a small exhale of surprise escaping her. The tracks ended in the center of the clearing. They didn't fade out of sight, they weren't covered by snow--they simply ended, as if whatever creature made them had blinked out of existence between one step and the next. What the hell, Scully thought as she retraced her path and veered towards the end of the tracks. Leaning over to inspect them more closely, she confirmed that they simply stopped. There were no trees close enough for a cougar to have leapt to, if the tracks had even been made by a cougar. Whatever it was, the animal was much too large for an eagle to have carried off and there was no sign of it having buried itself into the snow. So where in the world did it go, she wondered as she glanced around the clearing. Whatever answers the forest might have held, they didn't reveal themselves. Scully knew she should get back to the shelter, both to check Mulder and to make sure she was there when Khi returned. She turned and headed back for the hillside, slowly making her way back up to the top. Once there, she wasn't surprised to see that she could no longer make out the location of the shelter. But she knew she would eventually intercept her original tracks if she simply headed in that general direction, so she once again set off through the snow. When she finally did reach her original path, she acknowledged she was nearing exhaustion--the detour to inspect the tracks had taken its toll. She decided to simply cut straight to the shelter, which could see through the tree trunks now, and leave the wood gathering to Khi. She reached the shelter just as her strength was giving out--she wasn't sure she could have made it even another 20 yards. She rested for a minute, leaning up against a tree to take a breather. The sun was now fully in the sky, streaming through the branches and turning the snow into a sparkling wonder. A hawk's cry split through the air, startling Scully with its intensity. She had always found the sound haunting, in a way, and the closeness of this one made it seem even more so. Glancing up at the sky, she thought she caught a brief glimpse of it as it arced over her, and then it was gone. She watched the forest a while longer, enjoying the brightness of the morning after so many days inside the shelter--the hawk, and the tracks, had been the first signs of life since the storm began, and she hoped to see a few others. Nothing showed itself, though, and she soon turned to go back inside the shelter. Crossing over the fire pit, Scully knelt down beside Mulder to check on him. Having worked up a considerable amount of body heat while struggling through the snow, the icy cold of Mulder's face came as a shock against her fingertips. Her breath caught in her throat for an instant as she felt for a pulse, but she soon found it, extremely weak but there. Knowing Khi wouldn't mind, she gathered up the boughs Khi had been using and brought them to Mulder's side to insulate another layer over him. As Scully rearranged the boughs over Mulder, she slowly became aware of a growing sound outside the shelter. She wasn't able to place it at first, but as it drew nearer, she recognized it as Khi's voice. She couldn't make out the words, but she realized Khi was yelling at the top of her lungs. Scully raced outside the shelter, turning in a circle as she searched for Khi. She finally saw her approaching, a small figure coming in from the north--Khi must have started a search for wood after leaving the signal clearing, then decided to cut to the shelter. Although her words strung together almost as a single phrase, Scully was finally able to make out what Khi was saying. "We're saved he found us we're going to be all right Scully did you hear me whoo hoo we're going to be OK we're saved..." While Scully didn't understand specifically what Khi meant by 'he found us,' she had no trouble whatsoever understanding the rest of it. Scully closed her eyes, tears of relief beginning to track their way across her face as she realized Mulder would be all right now. She soon added her own cries to Khi's, their voices tumbling together into a single stream of jubilation. ------------ Chapter 9 ------------ Within an hour, a chopper was hovering above them as an orange-suited figure was lowered to the ground. As soon as she had heard the blade chop, Khi had dived inside the shelter and pulled Mulder to the entryway. Now, she watched the man hit the snow, unclipping from the line to run over to the shelter. "Another larger chopper's right behind us. We can take one of you right now, but the other two will have to wait," the man said quickly. Scully wasted no time directing him to Mulder's side. "Take him first, he needs immediate attention. He has a puncture wound through the upper right thigh leading to massive blood loss. No other known injuries. Core temperature falling for several hours. No food in almost five days, unconscious for last 12 hours," she summarized quickly. The man nodded, activating his suit communication unit and yelling for a rescue sled--a second man was soon descending from the helicopter, a cradle- like sled dangling beneath him. The first man pulled a thermal blanket from his backpack, the distinctively metallic fabric glistening in the sun. Deftly, he had Mulder wrapped within it just as the second man came running with the sled. Together, they loaded Mulder into the sled and moved him beneath the chopper. The second man clipped himself to the cable and was drawn skywards. A few moments later, the cable descended again. The first man hooked the sled corners to the cable and gave the signal for it to be lifted. Scully and Khi both watched anxiously as Mulder was hauled up to the chopper. The rescue guy pulled the sled inside the passenger compartment of the chopper. Seconds later, the craft banked and sped off. Before the sound of the chopper blades had even died, Scully heard another set approaching. As it came into view, Scully could see this craft was much larger, more similar to a personnel carrier than the other. When the rescue guy on the ground signaled that the remaining two individuals were mobile and unhurt, two standard harnesses were lowered from the chopper. Stepping into the harness, Scully was soon clipped to the line and ascending to the chopper. Strong hands pulled her into the passenger area, moving her to the center of the floor. She was unclipped from the cable line, then clipped to a short piece of cable mounted into the ceiling--she saw that the three rescue personnel were similarly attached. She realized it was a precaution against tumbling through the open cargo doors as the rescue was in progress. One of the rescue personnel began talking to her, asking her how she was doing as he wrapped a thermal blanket around her. Scully told him she was fine, sitting still as he checked her hands and then her feet for signs of frostbite. He ran her through a standard battery of coordination and recognition test, checking for signs of head concussion. Satisfied she was relatively uninjured, he at last allowed her to move forward to a bench seat at the front of the compartment. She barely glanced at the back of the pilot as she turned to sit down. Khi was soon hauled inside the chopper as well. Obviously familiar with the drill, she unclipped herself from the main line and tossed it back outside, where it was quickly on its way down to the remaining rescue guy on the ground. She clipped herself to another cable, getting out of the way as the others began hauling up their partner. He was on board within another minute or so, the others quickly shutting the door and giving the pilot the go- ahead to leave. Khi took a seat next to Scully, leaning backwards to rest her head on the low wall that separated the main compartment from the pilot. She closed her eyes for a bit, catching her breath and relaxing a bit. "It's about damn time, my friend. It's about damn time," she suddenly called out, rapping her knuckles on the wall behind her. Looking at the rescue personnel, who were suddenly grinning as they worked, Scully wondered what was going on. "You fall from the sky, I find you--we have often challenged the gods in this game, zhajeen," another voice said, a voice low and lustrous, yet easily heard over the noise of the blades. "M'alvahe simply played harder this time." Scully glanced back, staring in wonder at the person sitting in the pilot's seat as the chopper banked and headed down the mountainside. She wondered how she had possibly missed it before--the massive body was somewhat hidden by the low wall, and the flowing silver locks were neatly pulled back by a thin strip of leather now, but it could only be Mobaje sitting there. She turned back to stare at Khi, a slow smile spreading across her face as Khi opened her eyes to look at her. "Told you he'd find us," Khi said with a grin of her own. * * * * * * The helicopter landed at a downtown Denver hospital a short while later. Following proper hospital procedure, Khi and Scully were both loaded onto stretchers and taken from the rooftop landing site down to the emergency room. As soon they were inside, Scully began asking where Mulder had been taken, questioning every nurse and doctor in sight. None seemed to have the answer, instead telling her she needed to remain calm so they could do their job. "Look, until I found out where my partner is, I'm going to be everything but calm. So if you want me to be calm anytime soon, you damn well better tell me where he is!" she said, her voice rising steadily throughout until she was nearly shouting at the end. They wheeled her into an emergency area, physically restraining her from jumping up and taking off on her own search. "Dr. Newinski, Dr. Newinski," a nurse called breathlessly, running up to the doctor beside Scully's stretcher. "Are these the other two rescued from the mountain?" "Yes, why?" the doctor said, relieved to see that the distraction had taken Scully's attention for a moment. He lifted his hands from her shoulders to face the nurse. "Which of you is Dana Scully?" the woman asked, looking across to both Scully and Khi. "I'm Dana Scully, where's my partner?" Scully asked, immediately seizing the opportunity to find out where Mulder was. "He's in the OR right now, but he's doing pretty well, don't worry," she said, hearing the underlying question underneath Scully's query. "When we stripped him for surgery, we found his ID and realized who he was. Considering his unconscious state, I was sent to find you." "Why, what's going on? How did you know to look for me?" Scully asked, confused. "All area hospitals have been alerted to watch for the two of you. Apparently, when you went missing five days ago, your superior began an immediate search for you," the woman explained, holding up an FBI fax sheet. "But, finding nothing and fearing the worst because of the weather, he began alerting all hospitals and police stations to keep an eye out for you." "Kersh?" Scully wondered aloud, incredulous. She couldn't imaging Kersh lifting a finger to do anything but tighten their leashes--the thought of him conducting a massive search for them didn't make any sense. "No, that wasn't the name, I don't think," the woman said, rifling through to the last page of the fax. "Walter Skinner's his name, Assistant Director for the FBI." Now *that* made sense. * * * * * * Scully watched as Khi was taken to surgery herself--apparently, her shoulder was a mass of torn muscles and ligaments from the dislocation. As the doctors walked past her, discussing it amongst themselves, Scully heard the phrases "How can she even *move*?" and "Never seen anything like it!" tossed back and forth. Scully just smiled. Ten minutes later, Scully was released from the emergency room. Cornering a nervous-looking intern at the desk, she was soon armed with directions to the OR in which Mulder was being worked on. No one impeded her progress through the hospital-- whether it was her ID or the look of determination on her face, she didn't know. Soon, she was outside the door to the surgical bay, standing by the large glass panels as she looked in. Normally, she would have swept into the room and demanded an update, but she could that the surgical team was working easily, calmly. They were not rushing about in a fervor, as they would be in a crisis situation, so she contented herself with remaining outside. All the monitor screens she could see showed normal readings, including the one she was most interested in--body temperature, currently 96.7 and rising. Remembering the fax she had folded into her pocket, Scully stepped over to the nurses' station across the hall. She flashed her ID again, commandeering the phone and asking to be connected to an outside line. Soon, the phone was ringing on the other end. "Skinner," a voice answered. "Sir..." Scully started to say, but got no further. "Scully! My god, where the hell are you? Are you all right?" Skinner asked in a rush, the concern clearly evident across the phone line. "Yes, sir, I'm fine. We're in Denver, at..." Scully realized she didn't even know where they were. She glanced at some charts lying on the counter top. "At Regions Memorial Hospital. Agent Mulder is seriously injured, but is in surgery and doing well." "What the hell happened to him, to the two of you? You just disappeared off the face of the earth--no one had any idea what had happened to you," Skinner said. "We... well, we..." Scully realized she didn't even know where to begin. What am I going to say, she asked herself with a mental laugh. We jumped out a plane on a dare, basically, and almost died? While essentially accurate, she knew that Skinner wouldn't appreciate that explanation. "Suffice it to say, sir, that we afforded ourselves of some local adventure on our off day and ended up needing to be rescued from the mountains. I'll file a complete report when I've had time to assure myself of Agent Mulder's condition." There was a brief moment of silence on the other end--Scully knew Skinner was trying to decide whether to accept her offer or insist on a complete report, right here, right now. She was relieved when he decided on the former. "You do that, Agent. I will expect that report to be on my desk by noon tomorrow. Overnight it, fax it, send it by carrier pigeon, I don't care. You just make sure it's here," he said, his original demeanor of concern taking its place behind the demands of being an Assistant Director. "Should I contact AD Kersh as well, sir?" Scully asked, dreading the thought of *that* conversation. Kersh already despised the both of them--she didn't want to imagine what had happened when he had heard they'd gone missing. "No, Agent, I'll contact him myself," Skinner said. "You just get me that report." "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Scully said, her sigh of relief clearly audible to Skinner. "Go check on Mulder, Scully," Skinner said, his concern making a final curtain call. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." The dial tone returned as she heard Skinner hang up. Scully replaced the handset and returned the phone to its original position on the desk. "Where will that man be taken when his surgery is complete?" she asked, motioning across to Mulder's bay. The woman rifled through several charts, finally finding the correct one. "He'll be taken to the critical care ward, wing B, room 1205. You can always ask at the ward station for final room placement," the woman said. "Thank you," Scully said, committing the information to memory as she started back across the hall to the bay. She paused, though, laughing quietly as she turned back to the nurse. Gesturing down at her torn clothing and general state of disrepair, Scully asked for the one thing she'd been dreaming of for days. "Is there somewhere where I might be able to take a shower?" * * * * * * Clean and refreshed at last, dressed in a set of nondescript jogging sweats she'd managed to finagle from the OR nurse, Scully finally began to feel relaxed. Making her way to the critical care ward, she found Mulder exactly where the woman had said she would. She quickly checked his condition, insisting this time on seeing him personally. Finally allowed access, she checked his chart and monitors, feeling his pulse and lack of fever for herself. His skin was warm against her fingers, its pinkish hue a welcome change from the icy whiteness of the last day. Scully stepped outside the room to talk to the ward nurse. "I'll need a chair in there right away, plus a small meal for myself," she said. "Ma'am, you can't stay in a critical care room overnight, it's against hosp-" the woman started to say. Scully cut her off with a flash of her ID. "That man is a federal agent. I have orders to keep him under strict guard--I'm not going anywhere until he is walking out of that room right beside me," Scully said, figuring the small lie probably wasn't far from the truth. Kersh would want her to make sure Mulder made it back to D.C. safe and sound so he could kill him personally. "Yes, ma'am. Right away," the nurse said. She signaled for a nearby orderly, who soon scurried away down the hall. A few minutes later, Scully was equipped with a small tray of hospital food and a comfortably plush chair. She positioned the chair next to Mulder's bed where she could easily see both him and the monitors. Glancing down at her meal tray, she realized that the ward nurse must have recognized Scully as part of the group rescued off the mountain. Knowing Scully hadn't had food for five days, the nurse had made sure the meal was very small and very bland. A small bowl of simple broth, a helping of plain white rice and a tiny dish of the ever-present hospital Jell-O adorned her plate along with a glass of water. As she relished every single bite, Scully was convinced she had never tasted anything so good. Finishing off the last bite, Scully set the tray on the small counter at the far edge of the room. She washed her hands in the small bathroom and then settled back into her chair to wait. How many times have I sat like this, she wondered, reaching out to take Mulder's hand. Different chairs, different beds, different rooms, but still the same somehow. The same nervousness, the same anticipation, the same prayers. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound of someone entering the room. Scully turned to see Khi behind her, watching Mulder with a small smile. Khi's arm was in a sling and there was a bandage on her forehead, but she otherwise looked well. Scully started to speak, but then broke off into a chuckle. "I was going to say I was surprised to see you up and about, but I realized it's not really true," Scully said, laughing a bit as Khi looked at her quizzically. "Knowing you, I'd be surprised if they *did* manage to keep you lying down in a hospital bed." Khi laughed, lifting her slinged arm a bit as she spoke. "Well, they did want to keep me overnight since I had some surgery on the arm here, but I told them I didn't need it. Plus, I don't ever stay in public hospitals, for reasons you don't know," she said, putting enough emphasis on 'don't to make Scully laugh. "I don't know anything, anything at all," she said. "So, what are you doing now, are you leaving?" Mulder had originally said something about Khi leaving for California anyway, which was why she had agreed to come to Colorado with them. "Actually, no. My engagement there was rescheduled due to my absence, so I'm actually free for the next week," Khi said, walking around to the other side of Mulder's bed. "I thought I'd hang around for a while, make sure Mulder heals up OK." Khi stared down at Mulder, gently placing her hand on his chest--it seemed as though she wanted to feel his heart beating just to reassure herself he was alive. She stood there for several minutes, finally leaning down to give him a quick kiss before stepping back around the bed. "Well, Mobaje and a couple of my... friends," she said with a wink, "are taking me out for some food, wanting to hear the whole tale, of course. I'm sure I'll be taking crap for this one for a long, long time. Oh hey, I almost forgot to tell you, I booked us rooms at the Westin here in Denver--when Mulder gets released, you'll have a place to stay for the rest of the week." "Well, thanks, but we'll have to fly back to D.C. as soon as possible," Scully said with a sigh. "No, you won't," Khi said with an air of conspiracy. "As of an hour ago, you're both on medical leave for an undetermined amount of time." Scully just stared, unable to believe what Khi was saying. "H-... how... how did you manage that?" she asked, realizing she really didn't care so long as it was true. "Let's just say the absence of rank has its privileges," Khi laughed. Scully joined in, basking in the relief that she wouldn't have to deal with anything or anyone from the FBI except Mulder for the near future. As Khi passed her to leave the room, Scully reached out and stopped her. "Khi, something's been on my mind since we got here to the hospital," she said quietly. "When you first returned to the shelter up there, yelling that we'd been rescued, you were saying that 'he found us.' Who did you mean?" "Mobaje, of course. He flew over me in that clearing, signaling that he'd seen me," Khi answered. "But I never heard any helicopter before the rescue craft arrived-- how could he have flown over and seen us without being heard?" Scully asked. "He wasn't flying the helicopter when he first found," Khi explained, smiling slightly at Scully's look of confusion. "He'd been searching on foot, or perhaps 'feet' would be a better term, but then switched when the forest thinned a bit." "Switched? Switched how, what? What are you saying?" Scully asked. She felt that the answer was right there in front of her, but it somehow kept eluding her. "You haven't figured it out yet, have you? You've got all the pieces of the puzzle right there before you, you're a trained FBI agent but you can't see it--my regard for the investigative skills of our nation's top crime segment is rapidly deteriorating, I must say," Khi said teasingly, shaking her head as she headed for the door. "You won't find the answer in your head, you'll only find it in your heart. You have to take a leap of faith, Scully. You have to believe." As Khi reached the doorway, she turned back to the room. She watched Scully for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to reveal the secret. "Mobaje is an ut'aari," Khi finally said, grinning as she saw Scully's expression change from outright disbelief to dawning realization to awed wonder as the seconds passed. Khi pushed the door open then, spinning on her heel as she turned towards it. "One leap, taken and accounted for," Khi said with an air of satisfaction, stepping through the doorway as the door swung shut behind her. Hours passed as Scully sat beside Mulder, reflecting on her newly acquired knowledge. The scientist part of her brain reared its head several times, cautioning her that such a thing could not possibly exist, that a man could not transform himself into another creature by merely willing it. This time, though, Scully refused to listen. This time, she took the leap she had avoided for so many years. In one strong, sure motion, she stepped across the chasm that lay between science and faith, discovering at last what lay on the other side. Peace. * * * * * * Sleep finally claimed Scully in the late afternoon. She had scrunched down in the chair a little, sliding her feet out in front of her so she could rest her head on the back of the chair. Her hand remained by Mulder's side, her fingers covering his gently. Even in sleep, though, Scully remained aware of the comings and goings in the room. She knew that the nurses continued to check Mulder every so often, knew that one of them had eased a pillow underneath her head somewhere along the way. Had she sensed anything out of the ordinary, she would have woken up immediately--but everything remained under control, so she simply continued to sleep. Only after several hours did something tickle at her unconscious mind. Slowly, as a diver resurfacing, she worked her way back to consciousness, trying to find what was invading her dreams. Opening her eyes, she glanced around the room. The monitors all showed normal readings, Mulder appeared to be resting peacefully and she couldn't see that anyone had entered the room. Not until she went to stand up did she realize what it was. Her hand, originally covering Mulder's on the bedside, was now covered by his. Slowly, she twisted her hand beneath his, turning it upwards so that she could grasp his hand. As she took hold of his hand, she felt a slight movement--his fingers just barely stroked her palm. Glancing up at his face, she saw him slowly open his eyes, focusing right on hers immediately. She saw that his eyes were clouded and weary, the hazel muted to a nearly monochrome gray as we watched her. But it didn't matter. As they looked at each other for the first time in over a day, Scully felt a tear slide down her face even as she smiled. She didn't say anything, reaching up to lay her other hand on his chest as she watched him. Mulder glanced around the room a bit, as if wondering how the pine bough shelter had transformed itself into a clean hospital room. After a few moments, he motioned to his throat and Scully realized he must be extremely thirsty. She got up and drew a small glass of water from the bathroom, sitting down next to his head as she helped him take a few swallows. "Surprised to find yourself here in the hospital?" she asked quietly. "Did you expect to wake up at the pearl-covered gates to the great beyond?" "More like the great beneath--hot, fiery locations are more my style, I'm thinking," he whispered. He took a few more sips at the water, slowly working his way through the entire glass. Scully asked if wanted more, but he just shook his head. They sat for several minutes, the silence between them comfortable and relaxed. "Didn't really matter where I thought I'd wake up, though, I suppose," Mulder said after a while. "Oh, why not?" Scully asked, wondering what he meant. "Because I knew you'd be there, wherever it was," he said quietly. "How did you know that?" she said. It was true, of course--she had never once let Mulder wake up in a hospital by himself. But she had a feeling he meant something different this time. "You told me you'd stay forever, so I knew wherever I was headed, you'd be there when I woke up," he said. She smiled down at him, squeezing his hand gently as she brushed a lock of hair from his eyes. It only dawned on her a bit later. "Wait a minute. I never told you that, I never actually said it," she said, quirking an eyebrow at him as she spoke. He smiled as he tucked his head up against her leg, eyes closing as he gave in to sleep once again. "Just because you didn't say it doesn't mean I didn't hear it." ------------- Chapter 10 ------------- Two days later, Mulder was released from the hospital. His leg wounds were healing nicely, with no signs of infection from either the original wound or the burning Scully had performed. The surgery earlier had cleaned out the few small fragments of wood that remained and his blood loss had been restored. Since he showed no other signs of injury, they saw no reason to keep him in the hospital. The doctors warned him against trying to do too much too soon, though. They knew he had been walking here and there around his room and such, and they cautioned him against overstressing the leg. As Scully signed the final release paperwork and such, she watched the doctors hand him a pair of crutches and advise that he use them for a week. Scully hid her smile as she heard Mulder politely thank them as he took the crutches--those crutches would soon be taking up permanent residence in the trunk of the car, if she knew Mulder. Arriving at the Westin Hotel, Scully pulled into the valet parking drive. Mulder was already clambering out of the passenger side before she could get around to assist him. He waved her off, saying that his leg actually felt better when he was using it. She knew it was a lie, that he just wanted to do it by himself, but she let it slide with a small smile. While Mulder took a seat in the comfortable hotel lobby, Scully went to check in at the front desk. Finding nothing registered under either Scully or Mulder, she had the woman check under Shaolin. "Yes, here we have it. Your names are listed under the single booking, since the suites have already been paid for," the woman said as she indicated the places Scully should sign the registration card. "Suites?" she asked. "Yes, you've both been booked into our penthouse suites, floor 42. Master bedroom, sitting room, living room, balcony hot tub, private bar, master bath with Jacuzzi, unlimited room service..." the woman reeled off the amenities one by one, finally catching the surprised look in Scully's eye. "Is that not acceptable, ma'am?" "Um, ah... no, that sounds fine. Perfect, in fact," she finally stammered out. Geez, when Khi books a room, Scully thought, she really books a *room.* "Here are your keycards, then. Suites 4202 and 4203, with the party registrar being in Suite 4201. Between the three of you, you have the entire floor to yourselves. Enjoy your stay at the Westin, ma'am," the woman said, handing Scully the keycards with a smile. "Thanks," Scully said, returning the smile as she turned away from the desk. Signaling to Mulder to join her, she pressed the call button for the elevator, pleasantly surprised when one arrived almost immediately--slow hotel elevators were one her pet peeves. As they ascended, Scully mentioned that they'd have to do a little shopping later. When Mulder asked why, she said she had called the Regal Springs Hotel back in Colorado Springs. "I had hoped to be able to get our luggage brought over here, or at least go get it ourselves, but they already boxed everything up and shipped it to our homes," she explained. "So as of this moment, our possessions include the clothes on our backs, our IDs and the complimentary soap bars in the bathrooms." Mulder laughed then, the sound echoing through the elevator car and washing over Scully. It was the first real laugh since she'd heard since Mulder had woken up in the hospital, and she was very, very glad to hear it. "Well, at least we'll be clean," he quipped, holding the elevator doors for her as they arrived at their destination. As they stepped out of the elevator, Scully was impressed—the *hallway* here is nicer than most of the *rooms* I've had, she thought with a laugh. "Let's see now, you're in 4203, Mulder," Scully said, flipping to the correct keycard. "Let's get you in and settled first." "Okay, mom," Mulder said, heaving an exaggerated sigh. He laughed again as he saw her restrain herself from slapping him upside the head. "Ah, the joys of being an injured man." Scully swung open the suite door and they stepped inside. Whatever sarcastic reply had been forming on her lips was soon forgotten as they drew to a stop after a couple steps. Magnificent, floor-to-ceiling windows covered the entire far wall of the suite, giving an unrestricted view across the city and to the mountains beyond. A sunken hot tub could be seen out on the large balcony--an image of a luxurious midnight soak sprang into Scully's mind. Wandering slowly through the suite, they saw that the rooms were luxurious, yet not overdone--it appeared that comfort, not merely stylishness, had been the deciding design factor. Scully was glancing through the private bar when Mulder called to her from the bedroom. "Scully, c'mere! You won't believe this," he said, breaking into a laugh as she stepped through the doorway and stood next to him. I *don't* believe it, she thought... The closet doors were open, revealing hanger upon hanger of clothes. From blue jeans to a charcoal suit, from cotton T-shirts to silk dress shirts, Mulder's closet had been filled with everything he could have possibly needed. The dresser drawers were opened slightly, socks and other personal belongs peeking their way out as Scully and Mulder stared around the room. But it was the item hanging by the bedroom entrance to the balcony that was most amazing. An absolutely stunning black tuxedo, complete with tails, hung by the window. Drawing closer, Scully could see that the cummerbund and tie were a sparkling, deep green. White gloves sat beside a cane on the small table, a small card propped up against them. While she fingered the shimmering, silken shirt, Mulder picked up and read the card... "My friends, Dine with us tonight at Les deux Ames, 8:00 tonight. A limo will pick you up downstairs at 7:30. I promise, no parachuting..." Scully smiled as Mulder read the note, prompting him to ask her what she was smiling at. "Oh nothing. The name reminded me of something Khi was saying," Scully said. "Why, what does it mean?" Mulder asked. He looked back down at the note, but he could only decipher the 'deux' part of it. "You'll find out later," she said. "Meanwhile, I have to check out my room and see what she left for me. At least, I assume she didn't get you that tux and intend to leave me in these sweats." "OK. I plan on partaking of that bar and perhaps going for a dip in the Jacuzzi--I think my leg will thank me," Mulder said, heading out of the room and zeroing in on the bar. Crossing through the main room, Scully opened the door and turned back to look at Mulder. "Swing over and get me just before 7:30, then," she said, glancing at him for confirmation. "I'll do that," he said with a wink. For the first time in all the years they'd worked together, Scully winked back. She laughed as she exited the suite, the sound of a wine glass falling to the floor clearly audible behind her. Entering her own room, just down the hallway from Mulder's, Scully found she had the same breathtaking view from her main room as well. While the orientation of her suite was 'opposite' that of Mulder's, the rooms had the same floor-to-ceiling windows spanning the same wall. After taking a moment to enjoy the scenery once again, she turned and headed into the bedroom. The same scene, tailored for Scully's needs, presented itself as she walked in. The closets and drawers were filled with clothing, several personal effects lined up on the counter in the master bath. Of course this time, instead of a tuxedo, a formal evening gown hung by the window. Scully had never seen such a dress in all her life--its lines were exquisite even as it hung on the simple hanger. The dress fell away from the right shoulder, flowing across the body as it dipped low in the back. The hemline would fall just below the knees, except where it was slit up the side several inches. But it was the material itself that was the most striking. Decidedly metallic, but not sparkly or snakeskin-like, it shimmered in the late afternoon sun with a life all its own. And she knew without question the color was an exact match for the green of Mulder's tuxedo. A wrap of the same material was draped across the nightstand, again with a small card next to it. "Hey Scully, Take another leap tonight. He'll be waiting on the other side..." Scully smiled as she put the card back on the table. Of all the things she knew in her life, that was the only one of which she was absolutely certain. Mulder would be there for her, no matter where they ended up. * * * * * * After a couple hours of relaxing, lounging around the suite watching an old movie on the large screen TV, Scully figured she'd better start getting ready for the evening. A long, luxurious shower was first on the list. She found that Khi had supplied her with a seemingly endless array of bath oils and scented soaps--by now, Scully didn't even bat an eye at Khi knowing exactly what she was thinking. After wavering between a shower and a bath, Scully finally decided on a shower, deciding to try the soap labeled "Moonlight Orchid." The shower was wonderful, the hot water coursing over her body and melting away the last of the tension from the previous days. Even at the hospital, the quick shower she'd taken had been filled with anxiety, as she had wanted to get back out into the hospital and check on Mulder. Now, though, she was free to just stand and let the water do its work. After stepping out of the shower, she dried off and wrapped herself in one of the soft hotel robes. As she started to sort through the hair care products on the counter, she realized she hadn't decided how to do her hair yet. She took another long look at the dress, taking it down from the window to view it equally from all sides. She decided on a simple upswept French braid, knowing it would set off the lines of the dress more so than a 'down' style. Taking her time over the next hour, Scully slowly got herself ready for the evening. Hair, makeup, nails--nothing was left undone. She became more and more amazed as the minutes passed. Khi had literally thought of everything. By 7:00, there was just the gown itself left to be put on. Scully took a deep breath as she slid the fabric up her body, cringing against the very thought that it wouldn't fit. It'll be perfect, she told herself firmly--after all this, there's no way it can't be perfect. As she slid her arm through the one loop of fabric and settled the dress across her body, she realized there was another problem to be solved first. There was no one to zip the dress for her. Even though the back was cut quite low, she had never been an expert at zipping herself into a gown--she had always been afraid of tearing the material as she twisted. While Mulder was the obvious, quickest solution to the problem, Scully didn't want him to see her in anything less than her final form. She wanted to open that door, watching him in that tux as he watched her in this dress--she didn't want to say "Oh, here, zip me up quick, then come back and get me later." She tapped her foot lightly as she ran through the options. Glancing around the room, she realized the answer was staring her right in the face. You're in a penthouse suite, my darling, she said to herself--what's a concierge for except to help with situations like this? Laughing as she glanced through the leather- bound hotel services directory, Scully quickly dialed the number for the hotel concierge. "Yes, Ms. Scully, how may I help you?" a deep, cultured voice said. Wow, Scully thought, they must have their phone line tied directly in the registry. At least for those of us in the penthouses... "Yes, I have something of a dilemma and I'm hoping you can find a way to assist me," she said. "I'm dressing for a formal evening tonight, and have just now realized there are certain drawbacks to having a room to myself." She hoped the man would understand her request without her actually having to say "Zip me up, buttercup." "Yes, of course, Ms. Scully. I understand completely, it is a rather common request. I will send..." he paused for a second, obviously searching through something. "I will send Kathryn up to assist you right away." "Thank you so much," Scully said with a sigh of relief. "My pleasure, Ms. Scully. Have a pleasant evening," the man said as he hung up the phone. Three minutes later, there was a gentle knock at her door. Checking quickly to ensure that it wasn't Mulder arriving early, Scully opened the door to allow the woman into the room. Girl, really, she corrected herself--Kathryn couldn't have been more than twenty years old, if even that. "How may I assist you, Ms. Scully?" the girl asked politely, even though it was obvious what the problem was. "Yes, could you zip me up, please? I can never seem to do it by myself," Scully said, turning so that Kathryn could help her. "Of course, of course," Kathryn said, quickly finding the hidden zipper and closing up the dress easily. With a studied ease, she performed a few quick pulls on the fabric, smoothing it here and shifting it there. Coming around to the front, she straightened the shoulder where it had gotten twisted. Finally, she stepped away, directing Scully's attention across to the full-length mirror near the door. Any doubts Scully had about the dress not fitting were forgotten. It was, quite simply, the most beautiful creation Scully had ever had the pleasure of wearing. The gown conformed to her body as if it had been fitted specifically to her. There wasn't a wrinkle or gap to be found, not a single place where the gown didn't flow smoothly across her skin. "Is there a wrap with this gown?" Kathryn asked, glancing around the room. "Yes, it's in the bedroom, how did you know?" Scully replied as Kathryn went to get it. "My father is a clothing designer--this type of dress *always* has a wrap or a shawl," Kathryn called out from the bedroom. She soon returned to the main room, the wrap laid across one arm. A delicate matching purse and a tiny box were in her hand. "These were concealed beneath the wrap, Ms. Scully," she said, handing the box to Scully as she began to smooth out the wrap. Scully's breath caught in her throat as she opened it. A diamond pendant on a platinum chain rested inside the box, a set of matched earrings completing the set. Even in the relatively dim lighting of the room, they sparkled as if being displayed in the sun. Scully slipped the earrings in quickly, asking Kathryn to fasten the chain about her neck. Smoothing the chain against her neck, Scully couldn't help but smile at the reflection looking back at her. She stepped into the shoes Khi had provided, the heels the perfect length for both comfort and style. Kathryn draped the wrap around Scully's back and arms, showing her exactly where and how to hold the material in combination with the purse. Scully was glad for her help, since she had rarely worn a gown which included a wrap. Kathryn stepped back, inspecting the dress from a few feet away before finally smiling in approval. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Scully whispered, unable to take her eyes off the reflection. She could hardly believe she was seeing herself standing there. "It is perfect, Ms. Scully. Truly, you look like a queen," Kathryn said. "If you need nothing else, I will leave you to your evening." "You've been a great help, thank you," Scully said, starting to cross to the stand where she had laid her supply of cash. "No, please, it was my pleasure," Kathryn said, opening the door to exit into the hallway. "Enjoy your evening, Ms. Scully." Coming back to take a final look at herself, Scully smiled once more. Yes, I believe I will... * * * * * * At five minutes to 7:30, there was a knock at her door. As Scully crossed in from the other room to answer it, she realized she hadn't been this excited since... well, she couldn't remember a time when she'd been this excited. Even her high school prom, while exciting, had really been just a fancy night out with a guy she'd already been dating for a while. But this... this had the heady feeling of something new, something wonderful. Scully drank it in like wine, savoring every giddy sensation, every skip her heart took as she approached the door. Pausing for just a second as her hand rested on the latch, she took a deep breath. Finally, she opened the door. Mulder had been turned slightly, looking off through the hallway window as he waited for her to answer the door. As he heard the door swing open, he turned back, his mouth dropping open slightly as he caught sight of her. Which was fine by her, since she was doing the same thing as she looked at him. She had always been aware that Mulder was a good-looking man. It was hard to work side-by-side with someone for years and not become familiar with every detail of their physical appearance. But as he stood before her now, she was quite certain she must have been blind before this night. The jacket hung straight across his shoulders, tapering perfectly to his narrow waist as the tails continued down the length of his legs. The pants were the slightly wider, 'mobster' style, the pleats falling straight and crisp. The gloves and the cane, accessories she usually didn't go for, simply accentuated the flawless look. But it was the green of the cummerbund and tie that clinched it. Swirling and shimmering, they were the perfect match for his eyes--it was as though someone had specifically created the color directly from his irises. "Scully, you look..." "Mulder, wow, you..." They broke into laughter then, each a little nervous as they stood on their respective sides of the doorway. They simply looked at each other a bit longer. Finally, Mulder tipped his cane up to his right arm, stepping to face the door squarely as he held his left hand out to her. "My lady," he said simply, bowing slightly from the waist as she stepped forward to take his hand. He reached behind her to draw the door shut, then took her hand and threaded it to his forearm, his hand gently covering hers as they began to walk to the elevator. They rode in silence, each stealing glances at the other as they descended. The doors opened on the first floor and they made their way out into the lobby. As they worked their way across to the main entrance, people smiled and nodded to them, one woman even calling out "You two look beautiful!" as she saw them. Mulder and Scully could do little but smile themselves, embarrassed but enjoying it fully. Reaching the main entrance, Mulder inquired at the valet desk as to whether Khi's limo had arrived yet or not. The attendant told him the limo had just called in, the driver reporting that an accident had blocked traffic for a few minutes but he expected to be arriving within five minutes. "I apologize for the inconvenience," the attendant said sincerely, as if it were he himself who had caused the delay. "You may have a complimentary drink in the lounge while you wait, if you like, sir, ma'am." Mulder glanced at Scully, checking to see what she wanted to do. She glanced at the lounge, but realized she didn't want to bother threading her way to a table only to leave a few minutes later. "We'll just wait, but thank you," she said to the man. He again apologized, but she told him not to worry about it. As they stood waiting for the limo, Scully began to feel a little warm. Whether it was from the excitement of the evening or just the slightly too-warm interior of the hotel, she wasn't sure. But she was definitely feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Mulder, let's step outside and wait, at least for a minute. I'm getting a little warm in here," she said, stepping towards the door a bit as she spoke. "Are you all right?" he asked, instantly concerned. "You're not feeling sick or anything, are you?" "No, no, nothing like that. Just a little overheated," she answered. "Well, you are with me, you know. I have that effect on women all the time," he teased as he followed her through the revolving door into the outside air. Compared to the near-zero temperatures they'd endured for days, the balmy 31 degrees which blinked on the sign across the street felt practically tropical. "Yeah, whatever, shut up, Mulder," she said, laughing as she breathed deeply. Yes, this was definitely much better, she thought. Her eyes roamed across the city, enjoying the play of the lights against the buildings. "Hey, Scully," Mulder said after a minute. "Hmm?" she said, turning to glance up at him. He just looked at her for a while, his eyes playing across every inch of her face as she watched him. "You're beautiful, you know that?" he said, his voice a bit husky as he spoke. As he looked at her, his eyes seemed to reach out and touch her soul. They sparkled with a light all their own, a light she knew was mirrored in her own. She realized she was right where she'd been before, wavering on the brink of a bottomless abyss, looking down a path only the gods knew the end of. She threw herself over the edge with all her heart, and smiled as she saw Mulder falling right beside her. His hand reached up, a single finger tracing its way across her jaw and under her chin. He tipped her face up, bending his own down to meet her lips with his. A quick kiss, lasting barely a second, but Scully felt it rock through her body like a lightning strike. As he broke away from her, she saw it had affected him the same way. They both shivered, for reasons that had nothing to do with the brisk night air. Mulder reached out and folded his arms around her, drawing her close to his chest as he rested his chin on her head. "I'll be here forever, too," he said, closing his eyes as he spoke, a single tear escaping from his eye. Scully tightened her arms around him as she smiled, knowing she hadn't made the leap alone. This time, they had taken the leap together, meeting in the middle as one. She watched as a light snow began falling, sparkling in the city lights as it swirled around them. *** 30 ********* Story End *********** 30 *** *** 30 ********* Story End *********** 30 *** Comments? Feedback? Questions? Please contact me at snark_911@yahoo.com to discuss this story. Thanks for reading! ~Snark Complete story can always be found: http://members.tripod.com/~koosn/falling.html