TITLE: Falling Snow, Chapter 9/10 AUTHOR: Snark E-MAIL: snark_911@yahoo.com CLASSIFICATION: SA (Story, Angst) plus some UST KEYWORDS: NONE RATING: PG-13 SPOILERS: This story is set before the Two Fathers/ One Son episodes. While there are no true pre-requisites for this story, allusions are made to at least the following episodes: Sleepless, Red Museum, Detour, Triangle, Shapes, Alpha, Bad Blood, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, and Tithonus. DISTRIBUTION: OK to forward to ATXC newsgroup and to Gossamer. Please ask permission before archiving anywhere else, please. Or at least let me know that you have archived it, so that I can keep track of where it's listed. 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: Mail comments to snark_911@yahoo.com. AUTHOR HOMEPAGE: http://www.smartania.com/snark/index.html SUMMARY: Mulder, Scully and a mysterious woman from Mulder's past crash in the snowy landscape of the Colorado winter. ------------ 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." *** 30 ********* Section End *********** 30 *** Continued in Section Ten, Chapter 10/10... http://members.tripod.com/~koosn/falling_snow-10.txt