Title: Promise
Author: Waddles52
Summary: What happened after the rescue and Mulder's
declaration of love
Spoilers: Triangle
Rating: PG
Category: MSR, MT
Disclaimer: Just for fun. Not for profit.
Archives: After_the_Fact. Others please ask.
Feedback: Why not? DASWaddles52@aol.com or
Waddles52@wmconnect.com
Mulder had slept almost the entire time since he'd
been rescued. He had been awake long enough to
ramble on about Scully saving the world and to
profess his love for her, then he slept again.
Scully was once again at his side. Skinner and the
Lone Gunmen had already headed back to D.C. and she
had requested some personal time to stay with a sick
friend. Mulder was on vacation so Kersh was glad he
wouldn't have to bother with either of them for a
while.
Mulder moaned softly as he attempted to turn over.
The soft moan turned into a loud groan as he opened
his eyes. The pain in his chest was beginning to be
quite bothersome.
"Mulder, are you okay?" Scully questioned.
"I guess all of those drugs you thought they'd given
me have worn off," he answered sarcastically.
"Mulder, I read your chart. You had enough drugs in
you to stock a small drugstore. That's why you've
been having such crazy dreams."
"Dreams?" he asked, a confused look on his face.
"Yes, dreams," Scully replied. "About Nazis and
scientists. Remember?"
"Of course I remember. I was there. It wasn't a
dream. I really did travel back in time, Scully.
You were there too."
"Mulder, you weren't breathing when we found you.
Your brain probably created those images as a result
of oxygen deprivation and the drugs just intensified
them."
"No, Scully," he insisted. "I was not dreaming. How
do you explain this bruise on my face? You hit me."
"Mulder, you're covered with bruises. Even your
bruises have bruises. It's just one of many."
"You really packed a wallop."
"Your boat looked like little pieces of kindling when
we found you. The explosion caused your bruises, not
me. By the way, in your dream," Scully emphasized,
"Why did I hit you?"
"I sort of kissed you without your permission."
"That must have been some kiss."
"Only the best kiss I've ever had," Mulder smiled
broadly. "Ow!"
"Mulder, what is it?" Scully asked, concern evident
in her voice.
"The place you hit me is really sore."
Scully sighed loudly.
Mulder attempted to change his position again with
the same painful results as before.
Scully pushed the call button and asked the nurse to
bring something for pain.
"Scully, I want to tell you something before they
shoot me full of drugs. When I was awake before, I
told you I loved you. Although it's not exactly the
way I wanted to tell you, I meant it. I'm not high
on drugs now, or deprived of oxygen. I hope you'll
believe me. I. Love. You."
"Mulder, I don't know what to say."
"How about 'I love you too'?" he answered hopefully.
The nurse chose that time to bring Mulder's pain
medication. Scully gave a quiet sigh of relief.
Truth was, she didn't know how to answer him. Did he
really mean it? He still wasn't making a lot of
sense and she didn't want to encourage him if it was
the medication talking. On the other hand, she
didn't want to hurt his feelings by making light of
what he said, as she had earlier.
The nurse injected the medication and disposed of the
syringes. "Let me know if you need anything else,"
she said, then left the room.
"Scully, we need to talk," Mulder told her.
"Yes, we do, but not now. Rest, and when you're
feeling better we'll talk about everything."
"Promise?"
"I promise." Scully adjusted the covers and
straightened out the IV tubing. When she looked back
at Mulder he was sleeping.
Mulder woke with excruciating chest pain and
shortness of breath. More blood tests and x-rays
were performed and by the time the results were known
Mulder was intubated and in the ICU, heavily sedated.
As happens with many near drownings, he had developed
a nasty case of pneumonia. The only thing to do was
to support his breathing and bombard his system with
heavy-duty antibiotics and other drugs.
Scully sighed as she sat by his bed. Their talk had
been postponed, temporarily, she prayed. If he would
get well she was willing to face her fears and
profess her love for him. She had finally decided
that Mulder needed to know of her feelings for him
too. He had to come out of this. Too much had been
left unsaid on her part.
Yes, she loved him more than life itself. Had loved
him for years she admitted to herself as the
ventilator helped him take another breath. Why
hadn't she been able to tell him? One after another
excuses began to form.
The timing wasn't right. She wasn't sure he really
felt the same way. She wasn't worthy of his love. A
romantic relationship could ruin their work
relationship. They would never get the X-Files back
if they were romantically involved. The list seemed
endless.
On the other hand, they both deserved some happiness.
They'd both been through hell during the course of
their partnership, emotionally and physically.
Mulder blamed himself for most of her hurt, but it
wasn't his fault. She could have walked away from
him and the danger he seemed to attract, but she
realized she wanted to be a part of his work.
Another argument for staying with him.
"Come on, Mulder. Fight this. We have some
unfinished business," she pleaded.
The only response was the sound of the ventilator and
monitors.
Slow but steady progress was made over the next three
days. The antibiotics were doing their job and the
respiratory therapists on his case thought it was
time to come off the ventilator.
Scully was there when they pulled the tube. Mulder
was still attached to what seemed like one hundred
other tubes and wires, but the sound of his
unassisted breathing was music to her ears. The
sedation had been stopped and it was only a matter of
time until he woke up.
She waited several hours and observed Mulder as he
began to awaken. There were small movements at
first. Then he began to move his limbs. At last she
heard a soft moan, then a gasp as he suddenly opened
his eyes.
"Hey," he said weakly, trying to clear his throat to
get rid of the hoarseness. "Ow."
"Take it easy. You've been intubated for the past
few days," Scully informed him.
He cleared his throat again. "Thought I recognized
that wonderful, plastic taste. Water?" Mulder asked,
making a face.
"Just a bit," she warned as she brought the straw to
his lips.
Mulder took a couple of sips before she withdrew the
straw. "Better?"
"Yes." He coughed and held his ribs. "Sore."
"Pneumonia will do that to you."
"Aw, shit. Respiratory therapy?" he groaned. He'd
been down that road before.
"For the next few days at least," she answered.
"Torture."
"But it will help you get out of here faster," Scully
reminded him.
Mulder rolled his eyes.
"Mulder, you need to rest. You've been quite ill."
"Figured that. ICU, right?"
"This is your fourth day. They'll probably transfer
you pretty quickly," Scully smiled. "You're much
better."
"Our talk?"
"Mulder . . ."
"You promised." He coughed again and Scully gave him
a few more sips of water.
"You're right. Why don't you listen while I talk?"
Mulder suddenly realized he wasn't at all sure he was
ready to hear what Scully had to say, but he nodded
his head in agreement anyway.
Before Scully could start talking a doctor and two
nurses came in for rounds. That led to a rather
thorough examination. A transfer to a room on the
med/surg floor was ordered along with frequent visits
from respiratory therapy.
By the time Mulder was settled in his new room he was
fighting sleep. "We were going to talk," he reminded
Scully, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Yes, Mulder. I have some things to say, but you
need to sleep first."
"Talk now," he yawned.
"After you wake up."
"Promise?"
"Promise," Scully vowed.
Respiratory therapy woke him fifteen minutes later.
After his treatment he again sleepily asked for
Scully to talk to him. Once again she promised him a
nice, long talk after he napped.
Mulder drifted off to sleep quickly only to be
awakened in half an hour for blood work, then forty-
five minutes later for a vitals check and bath.
Scully was glad for the added time. She was still
unsure of exactly how she wanted to phrase her
statement and was using the time to prepare her
speech.
Mulder drifted off again, dreaming of Nazis with huge
needles and other medical devices of torture. Scully
was wearing a ball gown and fighting them off with
her wrist corsage. As he struggled to help her he
became short of breath. He awoke with a gasp and
wheezed as he tried to catch his breath.
"Mulder? Are you all right?"
"Dreaming," he answered. "Nazis had needles. You
were fighting them with your corsage."
Scully noticed that he was still short of breath.
She pulled the oxygen mask down from its place on the
wall. "Try to take some deep breaths."
Mulder complied. "Ready to talk?" he asked, then
proceeded to cough for several minutes.
"Maybe after respiratory therapy comes back. You're
not in any shape for conversation right now."
"You promised," Mulder wheezed then began to cough
again.
"You need to cough up some of that gunk so you can
breath more easily," she explained as she pushed the
call button for assistance.
Mulder was exhausted after his treatment and went
straight to sleep as soon as the therapists left the
room.
Mulder woke sometime later feeling a little better.
He looked for Scully and found her sitting beside his
bed, sleeping soundly. He noticed how tired she
looked and didn't disturb her. As much as he wanted
to hear what she had to say, her rest was more
important. He felt like he could sleep a little more
himself, so he closed his eyes and did just that.
When Scully woke, Mulder was sleeping peacefully.
She breathed a sigh of relief. His color was much
better and his breathing less labored.
Mulder sensed that she was awake, looking at him. He
opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Better." He stretched and took a deep breath. When
he didn't cough he decided to go for broke. "Scully,
can we have that conversation now?"
"Yes. I think it's time."
They hesitated for a moment then Mulder took the iniative.
"Scully, I've already told you how I feel. Now I need to
know what you think, how you feel."
Scully paused to gather her thoughts, then sighed.
"Mulder, I don't want to tell you what I think. That's
the biggest problem I've had. I've been thinking too
much.
"Then tell me what you feel."
"I feel like the luckiest woman in the world because I'm
in love with a wonderful man, and I've just recently found
out that he loves me too."
Mulder held out his arms to her and she sat beside him on
the bed, encircled in his arms. He moved over a bit and
soon she was lying beside him.
"I feel like the luckiest man in the world because I'm
in love with a wonderful woman and I just found out she
loves me too." Mulder kissed her softly.
Scully smiled. "So, now what?"
"So, now we love each other and face what comes together.
I'd like to get on the hospital PA system and announce
to the world the Fox William Mulder and Dana Katherine
Scully are in love and ready to take on the world but
realistically . . ."
"What is our reality, Mulder? Do we go back to the way
we were?"
"No, Scully," he stopped her. "We don't go back. Ever."
"Then what? Our chances of getting the X-Files back are
slim at best. If it's known we have a relationship outside
of work our chances are non-existant."
"Then we'll be discreet. I want to spend every minute with
you, Scully, but if we have to play their game for a while
then so be it. We will be together as often as possible."
"That brings up another question, Mulder. What do you mean
by together? Do you want us to live together? Do we meet
at an out-of-the-way motel for a few hours? What do you
have in mind?"
"Scully, I want it all. I would like for us to get married,
grow old together, the whole nine yards, but for right now
we need to take it slow. I'd like to live with you but I
don't think that's practical right now. I just want you to
know that I want more than a physical relationship."
"I think I know that, Mulder, but a physical relationship
is important too. Once we become lovers . . ."
"Soon, Scully," Mulder whispered. He stroked her jaw and
placed a kiss behind her left ear.
Scully cleared her throat. "Once we become lovers will we
be able to keep apart at work?"
"It will be difficult but I think we can manage it. We'll
just have to spend every non-working moment together. I
can't wait to make love to you, Scully. If you only knew
the dreams, the fantasies I've had about you."
"I've had a few myself, Mulder," Scully blushed. "Some of
them dealing with the basement office."
"The desk," Mulder joined in. "I know what you mean."
"We can't let that get in the way of our work," Scully said
firmly.
"Then we'll just have to be sure we're satisfied at home."
"I'm looking forward to that," Scully smiled then kissed him,
lightly at first then deeper and harder.
Mulder joined in heartily until he needed to get a breath.
"Damn, do you know what you do to me?" he asked as he began
to cough.
"I think I have an idea. We'll have to explore that when
your lungs are more cooperative." She raised up to pour
him some water. "Here, drink this."
Mulder took a few sips and settled back into the pillows.
"Thank you. Thank you for loving me."
"Same here, Mulder." She put the cup back on the bedside
table. "You're getting tired. Why don't you rest for a
while?"
"Scullee," Mulder whined.
"I know. We have a lot more to talk about, but you need to
get well so we can put our plans into action. Rest now.
I'll be right here beside you."
"Forever, Scully?"
"Yes, Mulder. I'll be at your side always and forever."
Mulder dozed off with a huge smile on his face. Scully
loved him too! They both wanted to get the X-Files back
so they couldn't take a chance on declaring their love
publicly just yet. They still had a lot of things to work
out, but he was happy to have a future with Scully, a
future filled with love and promise.
The End
