Samantha's ICU Room - 9:05 a.m.
Mulder was stirred awake by a petite hand petting his head. He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at his mother. "Hi, Mom."
"Your dad told me what happened. How do you feel?"
"I'm okay. Really." He stood up slowly from the chair he had fallen asleep in barely an hour ago, and stretched the tightened muscles which had grown sorer than before. "Just a little achy," he told her once he noticed her dubious expression. He was relieved when she turned her attention to his sister.
"Has she waken at all?" she asked, patting her daughter's hair just as she had her son's.
"No. Nothing's changed. The doctor's suppose to stop by soon."
"I remember the last time that animal put her in the hospital. I thought I was going to lose my baby, but she fought back, didn't she?"
Mulder rested an arm about his mother's shoulders as he stood beside her. "Yeah, she fought back beautifully. And she'll do it again. But you know how much Sam likes her sleep."
He was pleased to see his mother smile, knowing how true that statement was. He remained by her side until the doctor arrived. Following a quick examination and a review of her charts, the man had nothing new to offer the family members in the way of hope. It was still a wait and see proposition. Mulder was willing to stay the rest of the day. He had already called Libby early that morning and apprised her of the situation. He knew he would be taking at least a couple of days off, so he had her to either reschedule his appointments or contact the colleagues he normally subbed with and have them take over for him.
His mother, however, acting very much like a mother insisted he go home and get some rest. She wasn't pleased with the way he looked and she was very tempted to find a hospital bed to plant him in. With that threat as a motivator, he kissed his sister's forehead and his mother's cheek, vowing to return later in the evening.
Mulder was still a bit cautious when he arrived home. The memories of what had happened to him previously were still fresh in his mind. He found everything just as he had left it, or rather the way his visitors had left it. He was tempted to straighten the place up, but realized just how tired he was. The cleaning people would be by tomorrow. He figured he'd let them earn their pay. He poured himself a glass of orange juice, filled a bowl with milk and cereal, then sat down at the breakfast nook to eat. Just as he was about to consume the first spoonful of Captain Crunch, the chiming of the doorbell startled him so badly he dropped the spoon to the floor. The bad guys probably would have just broken in, not bothering with the civilities of ringing a doorbell. Mulder calmed himself with a couple of deep breaths, then went into the living room and peered through the peephole. He unlocked the door and quickly ushered his guest inside.
"Frohike? What are you doing here? I don't think it's safe for you to be here."
"I'm not Frohike," the person with Frohike's face replied. "I'm the other one. Remember, your guardian angel? The one who brought you here?"
At first the little man's words made no sense, then all at once, a new set of memories flooded Mulder's brain. The memories of a whole other life crammed themselves in right next to his present life.
"Yeah... I remember you now. But you could get in trouble looking like that now."
"Oh, well I can change my appearance to look like anyone you want me to. How about this?" Frohike's image changed from a stout, little pug-faced man in a rumbled suit, to a very buxom blonde in a bright orange bathing suit, who bore a remarkable resemblance to a certain Baywatch babe.
Mulder gasped at the voluptuous sight. "Whoa! Why didn't you do that earlier?"
"I didn't want your attention to stray."
Mulder stared unabashed at the huge swell of breasts that were barely being contained by the bathing suit. "Well, those are a bit distracting."
"That's what I thought." Frohike's image returned to its original form. "This look will do just fine. I won't be here long. I have something important to tell you, but I think you'd better sit down first." Frohike pointed towards the couch and Mulder led the way.
"The last time you told me I'd better sit down, I ended up with a whole new life." He looked at the little man and saw an uneasy expression on his face. Mulder suddenly felt queasy. He sat down and prepared himself for some unpleasant news. "What is it?"
"Well, you see, it's like this.... Have you ever seen the movie, 'Here Comes Mr. Jordan?' or the remake, 'Heaven Can Wait?' It starred Warren Beatty."
"Oh yeah. I saw the one with Warren Beatty."
"Do you remember the story?"
"Yeah. Warren Beatty's character had died, but he was returned to earth and was given a new body to use because his old one had already been destroyed by the time the angels found out that they had made a mistake in taking him in the first place."
"Yes, and the mistake that had been made was that someone assumed that he was going to die because of the circumstances he was facing at the time, when in fact, he would have survived all along. However, his soul was plucked from his body before he was completely dead and things just got a bit out of hand from there."
Mulder spent a moment taking that all in. "So are you saying that... that when I was laying out there in the snow and ice dying... that I really was going to live?"
Frohike nodded. "Well, you have to admit, things weren't exactly in your favor. You were roughed up by an alien, exposed to his blood which is a deadly toxin, the temperature is forty below and you're miles away from help. So naturally I thought... you know, I'd save you a few minutes of unnecessary suffering."
"And then later you found out that--"
"I acted in haste. It appears that the cold weather was actually a plus and not a minus that should have been calculated into your final outcome."
"So bringing me here, creating this new life for me was also a mistake?"
"It was more like a boo-boo."
"A boo-boo?"
"Apparently, your previous life wasn't really over. So, the dying wish that you made is, for all purposes, null and void."
"Null and void?" Mulder yelled, getting to his feet and standing menacingly over Frohike. "Just like that? I've got my sister back! I have fond childhood memories of us growing up together. I've got parents who never divorced, a mother who doesn't have to take anti-depressants and a father who gives me a pat on the back once in a while. Dammit, I have a real family here!"
"Fox... about your family... this family...." Frohike was reluctant to continue. By the tone of his voice Mulder could tell that he was hoarding bad news.
"What about my family?"
"I really shouldn't be telling you this--"
"But you will," said Mulder, making it a demand more than a suggestion.
"Fox, your sister... I'm afraid she's not going to recover. Her condition is permanent. The decision of whether or not to allow her to die is going to tear your whole family apart."
"You... you can do something about it, can't you? You said you're a guardian angel."
"I'm your guardian angel. I watch out for you, not those around you."
"Well, where the hell's Samantha's guardian angel? Has he been sleeping on the job or something?"
"It's complicated, Fox--"
"Don't call me that!" Mulder shouted. "Why would you give this to me? Give me what I've wanted ever since I was twelve and then just snatch it right back?"
"I'm sorry. Each life has its own destiny. If your sister had never been abducted when she was a child, this would have been her destiny. And by the same token, if you never became an FBI agent, trying to find her, you would never have become Dana Scully's partner. You two make a pretty good team. Not like her and Krychek."
An uneasy feeling crept into his gut at the thought of Scully having a partner she could not depend on or trust. "What happens to Scully?" he asked, already fearing the reply.
"Dana is going to continue her investigation into what happened to her sister and your missing patients."
"Missing patients? What missing patients?"
"Your Close Encounters group. Within the next week, they will each disappear without a trace. Agent Scully will go against orders and investigate. Her search is going to lead her into a direction that she shouldn't travel alone. Since she doesn't have a partner like you, one who would risk his own life to protect her...." Frohike sighed hopelessly before going on. "It will be made to look like a suicide."
Mulder shook his head pathetically and dropped down onto the couch, closing his eyes in despair. "You guys don't play fair," he spoke, nearly in tears.
"I know it sucks. It's like that saying, 'The grass is always greener on the other side,' until you get on the other side and see that it's mostly just weeds." Frohike sat beside him and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Fox. I screwed up big time. And now I'm here to try to put things right. You'll have your old life back. But if it helps any, you will find your sister someday. I can't tell you how or when, but she is alive and well and will be for a very long time. Also, your partner, although she will experience some trying times, she will also see many years yet to come, but only if you're there for her. She will need you desperately."
The words had calmed him. Knowing that his search would pay off someday, and knowing that Scully needed him was enough to lure him quietly back into his previous existence. Mulder looked at Frohike with a meek smile.
"Will I be seeing you again?"
"Not anytime soon."
"Will I remember like I remember now?"
"You'll remember only what you need to. Are you ready?"
Mulder took a moment to glance around at his home, already sensing an unfamiliarity at the surroundings. No, he wouldn't miss it. He looked to Frohike again and nodded. "I'm ready. Hey, wait! You're not going to stick me back out in the snow, are you?"
"No. You'll be in a military hospital. It will be a week later than when this all began."
"Oh. Okay."
"Lie down now and close your eyes."
Mulder did as he was told, then instantly felt a chill race through his body. He felt suddenly exhausted and weak with a dull aching in his bones. Then he felt one other thing, a gently squeezing warmth on his left arm. Small hands grasped him delicately and he knew instinctively who they belonged to. As he opened his eyes and focused on a window to his right, the memories of the trek in the snow and the alien aboard the submarine out in the middle of nowhere, assaulted his brain. He knew that somehow, Scully had managed to find him. Somehow she had saved his life.
"I'm alive," he tried to say, but his throat was dry and his mouth seemed to be milling its own cotton. What actually came out was nothing more than a grunt, but it was enough to draw attention to the fact that he was now awake.
Sitting patiently at his bedside with her head down, Scully perked up instantly at the sound she had heard. It was the first sign of consciousness her partner had made all week. She smiled when she saw that his eyes were open and his mouth trying to work. "Hey! How ya feeling?"
Her voice was overly cheerful, Mulder thought. But it was a beautiful sound nonetheless. He had expected her to be angry at him. She had every right to be angry. But when he turned his head to face her, he met with a huge grin that stretched for miles. Her eyes were large balls of sunshine beaming at him and she looked as though she wanted to scoop him up in her arms and hug him and pet him and squeeze him.
Mulder's voice was raspy from none use and whatever tubes had been previously stuck down his throat. He could only manage a whisper when answering her question. "Like I got a ba-a-ad case of freezer burn.... How did I get here?"
"A Naval reconnaissance squad found you and choppered you to Eisenhower Field.... Thanks for ditching me."
Ouch. He knew that was coming. "I'm sorry," he apologized softly. "I couldn't let you risk your life on this."
Idiot, she thought to herself. Big, sweet, stupid idiot. "Did you find what you were looking for?" she asked.
His eyes closed as the memory of the alien on the submarine looming over him returned. "She's alive," it told him, speaking of his sister. "Can you die now?"
"No," Mulder said, opening his eyes again and focusing on Scully. "No, but I--I found something I thought I'd lost..."
"You will find your sister someday," an unfamiliar but very friendly voice echoed believably in his mind. Listening to the voice, he'd nearly forgotten that Scully was sitting beside him, practically on the edge of her seat waiting for him to continue. He came out of himself long enough to complete his statement.
"...faith to keep looking."
That was all he could manage for now. Sleep was calling to him and he was finding it impossible to ignore. As he drifted off, he felt a warmness stroke his temple and his lips curled into a smile. Soon, he found himself relaxing in the hot, bubbling waters of an outdoor Jacuzzi. A red-headed Baywatch babe that looked remarkably like his partner, cuddled up to him, rubbing her hand across his bare chest.
"Is this heaven?" he asked her.
"You tell me," she replied, licking her tongue along the side of his face.
Mulder moaned and sighed. "Well, maybe a little slice anyway."
The End
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