Sarah squinted at the early morning sun as she climbed out of the car and stretched her long legs. She had driven most of the night through the storm, anxious to get home and forget about school-- if only for a few weeks. Six inches of fresh snow blanketed the quiet landscape, and hers were the first footprints to trek a path to the front porch.

‘’Dad? ’’ she called, knocking snow off her boots in the front hall. ‘’I’m home!’’ Little had changed in the three months that she’d been gone at school, Sarah noted, with more than a little relief. She’d had this odd fear that the house would look different, but nothing seemed out of place as the familiarity settled around her. Hearing noises in the kitchen, she decided to play one of her favorite games of old, and sneak up on her father. He was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper, and she pounced before he had a chance to turn around.

‘’Surprise! I’m home!’’ The words were barely out of her mouth when the smile disappeared and the joy left her face. She took an involuntary step backwards.

‘’Sweetie! I didn’t expect you back until tomorrow!’’ Another step back as he rose from the table. Concern flicked across his face and tugged at the corners of his eyes. ‘’Sarah, honey, what’s wrong?’’

‘’Nothing.’’ Her voice cracked as she continued moving backwards, out of the kitchen, towards the front door. ‘’I forgot... I can’t stay. I’ll be back...’’ Resisting the urge to run, she retrieved her knapsack from by the door and retreated into the world of white, leaving her father standing stupefied at the door.

‘’Sarah!’’ He called out to her; but made no effort to follow as her car disappeared down the small tree-lined road and he felt the small prick at the base of his neck.

* * *

‘’Ah... ah-choo!’’ Mulder rocked forward in his chair as he sneezed.

‘’Bless you. And Mulder, for the last time, you need to see a doctor!’’ Scully cast an exasperated look at her stubborn partner.

‘’Thank you for the observation, but it’s just a cold.’’ His voice was hollow and had a slight rasp to it.

‘’It’s ‘just a cold’ that’s lasted almost a week-- Mulder, you probably have the flu. You should be at home in bed. After you see a doctor.’’ He gave her a mischievous grin.

‘’You’re a doctor, if I recall correctly, Agent Scully--’’

‘’Not unless you show up in a body bag with a tag on your toe,’’ she interrupted, winning the battle, if not the war. ‘’Which isn’t really all that implausible, considering...’’ she added, under her breath.

Skinner’s secretary appeared, and Mulder ran his handkerchief discreetly under his nose before following Scully into the dark, spacious office. When the two agents were seated and the plump secretary departed, Skinner was brief and business-like. He complimented their most recent case, a bizarre series of thefts which had turned out to be drug related. He was as positive as he had ever been on their end of the year evaluation, and he dismissed them for their week of vacation with a ‘’Merry Christmas’’ and a handshake.

‘’And Mulder,’’ he added, as they were leaving. ‘’Get rid of that cold. I don’t want you infecting the entire bureau.’’

* * *

Back in their basement office, Scully packed a few files into her briefcase, and looked around, at a loss what to do next.

‘’And what will the enigmatic Dr. Scully be doing this Christmas? Homework?’’ Mulder chided as he played absently with a paper clip. She retrieved one last file, ignoring his last comment.

‘’The annual Scully family Christmas party is tomorrow night,’’ she said with a sigh, not wanting to face the demons of her past but feeling obligated to subject herself to the affair nonetheless. ‘’You’re welcome to come. My mother was actually hoping you would.’’ He contemplated cold pizza and Star Trek reruns only a moment before replying.

‘’What time should I pick you up?’’

* * *

Feeling as if the painted smile on her face was going to crack soon, Dana made her way to the sofa where Mulder sat staring into the fireplace and, tucking her right leg underneath her, settled into the corner. He made eye contact and smiled, but neither spoke for a few minutes, the sounds of the party droning softly behind them.

‘’I miss her the most this time of year,’’ he said suddenly, confiding as if he were afraid she might leave him too.

‘’I know,’’ was all she could manage in response, as her own loss crept up with its gnarled fingers and cruel accusations. But the simple words were enough, and he knew they bonded them in a way he couldn’t describe. She did know, and this somehow meant a great deal to him. Another look and smile as they let the moment pass and returned to the present.

‘’Scully, you have a piece of--’’ he leaned forward, towards her, his right hand disappearing into her copper hair. As his fingertips brushed her cheek, the sensation rushed through every nerve in her body, and she drew in an involuntary breath, dizzy. ‘’Tinsel, in your hair...’’ he said softly, extracting the thread of silver. She found herself leaning closer, as if he held her will in his hand instead of the thin strand. Her eyelids fluttered as his lips brushed hers, softer than a butterfly’s gossamer wings. She was mesmerized by the angelic beauty of his face; traced his lips with the tip of her finger, needing to feel there was substance there, so delicate was his touch. She moved from his lips to his flushed cheek and then his forehead as yesterday came flooding back to her.

‘’My God, Mulder, you’re burning up!’’ She forgot the flush in her own cheeks as she took in the weary looking visage of the person she trusted most in the world. He had no response but to stare, enchanted, into her cool, pacific eyes, his own glazed over with fever and a stronger feeling he struggled to grasp. Chiding herself for being distracted and letting herself get swept away, Dana slipped an arm under her partner’s and helped him awkwardly to his feet.

Mrs. Scully chose that moment to appear and the look of surprise on her face was a mixture of confusion and concern. ‘’Dana, what...’’ she let her question fade as she glanced from the haggard-looking Mulder to the glass of wine that had been left by the vacated sofa. Dana ignored her mother’s incredulous look and replied matter-of-factly.

‘’Mulder’s not feeling well. He’s running a bit of a fever and I want him to lie down’’

‘’Yes, of course.’’ She smiled sheepishly. ‘’Oh, Dana, there’s a phone call for you.’’ She turned her attention toward Mulder, who’d seemed to have snapped out of his trance-like state and was making a strong effort to reconstruct his controlled, impenetrable attitude. ‘’Fox, can I get you anything?’’ Dana slipped into the hall, leaving her mother to fuss over Mulder.

‘’Hello?’’

‘’Special Agent Dana Scully?’’ The voice was female and anxious.

‘’Yes, who is this?’’

‘’I’m terribly sorry to disturb you-- something has happened to my father.’’ Scully was confused, not to mention that her mind seemed dulled by what had just happened with Mulder.

‘’I’m sorry, I don’t understand why you’re contacting me.’’ There was a pause as she hesitated.

‘’My father told me that if anything were ever to happen to him, I was to immediately contact you and a Special Agent Fox Mulder. He wasn’t at home,’’ she added, as if that explained everything. Scully was intrigued and even more confused.

‘’ Did your father tell you anything else?’’

‘’Yes, some sort of code word-- he said you’d understand-- Deep Throat.’’

* * *

‘’Deep Throat?’’ Mulder shook his head, instantly wishing he hadn’t done so. ‘’ Isn’t he supposed to be six feet under somewhere?’’ He absently rubbed at the throbbing in his temples with one hand, then caught Scully staring at him. ‘’Don’t worry, he said, with a half-hearted smile. ‘’ I’ll live.’’ She handed him the bottle of aspirin she had retrieved from the bathroom and watched as he swallowed three without water.

‘’She wants us to meet her in an hour outside the bureau. She thinks she may be in danger.’’

‘’How did she sound to you on the phone?’’ Scully ran a hand through her hair, recalling the delicate, yet intense sensations Mulder’s fingertips had evoked, then let out a sigh.

‘’Scared. I don’t think this is some plot to draw us down there-- or at least she’s not part of it. She barely believed what she was saying herself. I’m going to go,’’ she announced firmly, steeling herself for what would follow. ‘’But I think you should go home.’’

Mulder shook his head and held up a hand. ‘’I know what you’re going to say, but I’m not letting you go down there in the middle of the night all by yourself.’’ He hesitated, not wanting to dredge up more painful memories, their quota for the night having been more than filled. ‘’I’ve already almost lost you once. I couldn’t live with myself if I let something happen to you again,’’ he said softly, true friendship filling his eyes. ‘’Now c’mon, I’ll even let you drive.’’ He stood, legs slightly shaky, but eyes determined. ‘’I’m fine, Scully.’’ She still hesitated. She’d often had to make this kind of judgment call for him, but she knew that it would be impossible to change his mind tonight.

‘’All right, let’s go.’’ She trusted him with her life, but did she trust him with his own?

* * *

The interior of the car was chilly and Fox shivered as they sat in the dark, waiting. Even with his gloves on and the collar of his long coat turned up, the icy December air was penetrating to the bone. A far cry from the heat he had felt earlier. He and Scully had had physical contact before-- nothing of this sort, but why did her touch awaken every cell in his body, set every hair on end? Was it simply his fever, or had she felt it too? He coughed weakly, trying to clear his mind, and wondered aloud if they were being stood up.

‘’I can’t understand why she’d go through all that trouble to track me down at home and then not show up. Unless--’’

‘’Unless she really is in danger and whoever is after her caught up with her.’’

‘’Whoever being...?’’

‘’I don’t think I have to remind you how little I trust the people we work for, Scully,’’ he said dryly.

Scully didn’t reply as she scanned the dark silhouette of the FBI building for what seemed like the hundredth time. Only this time, something caught her attention-- a shadow that hadn’t been there before.

‘’Mulder,’’ she said quickly, slipping her weapon out of its holster and easing open the driver’s side door, ‘’there’s someone behind that tree. Stay here and cover me.’’ Saying a quick prayer that the shadow was alone, she used the cover of a low hedge to bring her alongside the tree. Peering through the bushes, she could make out the form of a young woman whose back was to her. The butt of a 9 millimeter was clearly visible beneath her thin jacket.

‘’Federal Agent, don’t move,’’ she said with practiced authority and more than a little anger, as she pushed her way through the hedge, her weapon pointed squarely at the girl, who hadn’t attempted to move.

‘’Agent Scully?’’ The voice was soft, the same from her earlier phone conversation.

‘’Yes,’’ she said curtly, removing the girl’s weapon from the waist of her jeans and frisking her for more surprises. Convinced she was clean, she removed her hand from the girl’s back and holstered her own weapon. ‘’Would you care to explain what’s going on now? My partner and I have been sitting here for the past hour and a half and --’’

The words stuck in her throat as the girl turned around and Scully got her first good look at her. Blood dripped slowly from a nasty slice that stretched from her chin to her left temple. A large bruise was forming under her right eye, and, as she turned to face Scully, one arm held painfully across her ribcage, Scully realized that she had not been hiding behind the tree but using it for support.

‘’I’m sorry to keep you waiting...’’ she managed, before collapsing.

* * *

He had seen her, he was sure of it. She was here, somewhere, and he knew he didn’t have long to find her. She would disappear again, and he would be alone. Always. Forever. He stumbled, and fell against a tree, crying out her name.

‘’Samantha!’’ And then suddenly, she was there. He was so tired, he fell to his knees, saying her name over and over.

‘’Samantha, don’t leave me again. Please.’’ He felt as lost as the time his parents had left him at the supermarket when he was five.

‘’Fox, I love you, but you are not alone.’’ He looked up at her, tears streaming down his face, and saw Scully where his sister had been moments before. But Samantha’s voice came to him once more. ‘’She needs you, Fox.’’ He looked again to his partner, but she too had vanished. He was alone, in the forest, which quickly began to fade from his vision. He blinked his eyes, tried to bring it back, and found himself staring at the wall in his apartment. It was all a dream, he realized, calming the adrenaline that had surged within him. A dream. Samantha was gone. Still gone.

He rubbed his eyes, remembering the events of last night as if they had taken place a week ago. He had fallen asleep on the couch, still dressed in the suit he had worn to the Scullys’ party. But oddly enough, he felt better than he had all week, at least physically. The virus that had been plaguing him seemed to have run its course, and he decided to dwell on that positive fact and push the dream out of his mind as he made his way to the kitchen to make some coffee.

‘’Don’t move.’’ The girl was sitting at his kitchen table pointing his gun at him, and he was so startled that he did exactly what she asked. She did not get up, but kept the gun pointed at him as she spoke.

‘’I do not want to and have no intention of hurting you, but I need your help and I need you to listen to me and believe me.’’

‘’Okay, I’m listening.’’ He licked his dry lips, thought about sitting, and decided to wait till she offered him a chair.

‘’My name is Sarah Fergeuson. I’m the one who contacted your partner last night.’’

‘’Aren’t you supposed to be in the hospital?’’ A row of stitches climbed her left cheek from chin to temple, and her right eye was bruised and painful looking. He could tell from the careful way she sat and the slow measured breathing that her ribs were cracked, or at least badly bruised, and her left arm was placed gingerly in her lap. Probably dislocated a shoulder.

‘’I was, till 5:00 this morning, when I woke up. If I had stayed there, I’d be dead by now.’’ She caught his amused look as he implied that she looked well on her way and added with an expression that vaguely resembled a smile, ‘’You should see the other guy.’’ Then, more serious, ‘’I came here because I need your help, Fox, and you need mine.’’ Fox? There was something about this girl, her spark, maybe, that made him want to trust her. But then again, she was pointing a gun at him.

‘’Okay, Sarah. I’ll listen to your story, but I’d like you to give me back my gun, and I’d like to sit down and have a cup of coffee. We have a deal?’’ She handed him the gun without a moment’s hesitation.

‘’Have a seat. I already made coffee.’’

* * *

They had only been talking for five minutes when the phone rang. She seemed startled by the noise, and Mulder noticed her nervousness. He looked to her as if to ask permission to answer it, despite the fact that she no longer had his gun, and she nodded towards the phone.

‘’Go ahead, answer it.’’

‘’Mulder? It’s me,’’ Scully sounded perturbed to say the least. ‘’I’m at the hospital, but our patient is not.’’

‘’That doesn’t surprise me,’’ he interrupted, casting a glance back at the girl, Sarah, who hadn’t moved. She appeared to trust him. ‘’She’s here.’’

‘’At your apartment? How did she get there?’’

‘’Well, she was just in the process of explaining that. I think you should come over,’’ he added, again looking at Sarah to gauge her reaction. If she had any problem with Scully being there, she didn’t show any sign of it.

‘I’m on my way.’’ With a click, she was gone. The image of Scully from his dream flashed into his mind, and he let it linger there a moment as he replaced the receiver, trying to recall the words his sister had spoken before the scene had vanished.

‘’Dana Scully?’’ Sarah’s voice broke into his thoughts and chased the dream away once more. ‘’Your partner?’’

‘’Yeah, she’s on her way over. She was looking for you at the hospital.’’ Sarah shook her head as if they had made a fatal error.

‘’As soon as I woke up and realized where I was, I had to get out of there. I’m surprised they didn’t get to me before I left.’’ Mulder was curious about who ‘they’ were, as she really hadn’t told him much of anything yet, but he decided to wait for Scully’s arrival to avoid having to rehash details. But something she had said earlier had stuck in his mind, and he was too curious not to bring it up.

‘’You said you woke up at 5:00 this morning. But it’s--’’ he threw a quick glance at his watch, ‘’almost 8:30 now.’’ What did you do before you came here?’’

‘’Well, it took me about a half an hour to jog here from the hospital--’’

‘’You jogged here?’’ He was impressed.

‘’I couldn’t very well take a bus-- I told you, there are people trying to kill me, and they’ll be after you and Agent Scully soon enough.’’ She looked pensive and almost sad for a moment before continuing. ‘’Your door was unlocked, and you were sleeping like a log, so I decided not to wake you. You looked like you needed it.’’ Mulder tried to remember locking his door last night, but realized he must have forgotten to after Scully had dropped him off.

So she had sat here while he was dreaming of his sister. He wondered if he had spoken anything aloud, if he should ask her. He didn’t know why the thought even entered his mind-- he didn’t bring up his sister’s abduction with complete strangers on a regular basis. He studied her face, searched her eyes for the betrayal of any information, but she wasn’t giving anything away. It was odd, she didn’t look like the tough, strong type-- her face looked soft and delicate, contrasting sharply with the stitches and the black eye she was currently sporting. The set of her jaw and the inaccessibility of her eyes however told him that appearances could be deceiving, and he thought of his partner, who had taught him that lesson. He had more than once been amazed by and depended on her strength and determination. As if he had summoned her, there was a sharp knock at the door.

‘’Make sure it’s her before you let her in,’’ Sarah instructed, as he rose to open the door. It was she who had locked it after sneaking into his apartment earlier that morning, a thought which didn’t disturb him as much as it should have.

‘’Who is it?’’ he asked, unable to disguise the humor in his voice. There was a slight pause, and he could just imagine Scully rolling her eyes.

‘’It’s me, Mulder.’’ She wore a wry smile and her favorite ‘on vacation’ jeans. ‘’Are you expecting a pizza?’’

They entered the apartment to find Sarah standing, as if out of respect for the two agents, framed in the doorway to the kitchen. She looked almost relieved, and Mulder noticed that the hard stony expression she had been trying to hold had softened a great deal. She felt safe. She wasn’t, but she at least felt it. For now anyway. She stepped forward, favoring her right ankle slightly, Mulder noticed, and introduced herself to Scully.

‘’I’m Sarah Fergeuson,’’ she said, extending her right hand. ‘’I’m sorry about last night. I thought I had taken all the necessary precautions, but they caught up with me anyway.’’

‘’Agent Dana Scully.’’ She couldn’t help thinking that she sounded almost as paranoid as Mulder. But then, it appeared she had reason to... ‘’You left the hospital without being released.’’ It was not a question.

‘’Yes, I climbed out the window.’’

‘’From the second story? With your injuries?’’ Scully shot an incredulous look at her partner, who was even more impressed than before.

‘’Yes, as I was trying to explain to,’’ she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, ‘’..Agent Mulder, my life is in danger. And now that I’m here talking to you, yours are too.’’ There was something about the calm, assured manner with which she spoke that sent a chill down Scully’s spine. She had no reason to believe this girl who showed up out of nowhere and climbed out of hospital windows in the middle of the night. Where was her rationality, the part of her that kept Mulder’s feet on the ground? Something stronger made her want to trust this girl, and believe her, not even knowing what she would say. She could see it in his eyes, too, like that silly poster that hung above his desk. I want to believe.

‘’I came directly here,’’ she continued, unprompted. ‘’The door was unlocked, and I came in and waited until Agent Mulder woke up.’’ Scully shot her partner another glance, and he could see a seed of guilt in her eyes for not escorting him to his door, considering the state he had been in.

‘‘Glad to see you made it inside all right,’’ she said wryly as she took in his rumpled suit and unshaven face. Suddenly aware of his less than fresh appearance, Mulder excused himself to ‘freshen up’, and came back ten minutes later, showered and shaven to find Scully applying a fresh bandage to Sarah’s cheek, masking the Frankenstein-like stitches that decorated her face.

‘’I thought you only took care of dead people,’’ he said to her, instantly sorry when he saw Sarah’s reaction to his careless remark. Scully chose not to respond, and sent Mulder back to the bathroom for painkillers. After refusing the Tylenol with codeine that Mulder had leftover from God only knew what mishap, and taking three Advil instead, she stood and announced with determination that it was time to go.

Mulder, who was becoming somewhat accustomed to her unpredictable behavior, asked only where they were going.

‘’Vermont. My house.’’ She bit her lower lip, searched for the strength that she needed to keep going. ‘’My father is dead. We can’t stay here-- I’ll explain on the way."

* * *

They had been on the road for two hours before she started talking. She had insisted on renting a car, offering and producing the cash to pay for it, but Mulder paid with his credit card, figuring he could get reimbursed, and once more impressed and a little unnerved by the precautions she was taking. He knew she would start talking when she was ready, and neither he nor Scully had pressed her for any information. Scully was wondering if she had watched her father die when she began to speak.

‘’I guess you’d both probably like to know what’s going on now,’’ she said, waiting for a reaction.

‘’It might help us understand exactly what we’re doing,’’ Mulder said carefully. She started slowly, as if she were choosing her words carefully.

‘’Have you ever read Stephen King’s ’The Stand’? Neither of them had. ‘’It’s basically about the end of the world as we know it. A highly contagious and deadly strain of the flu is released in to the public, and 99 percent of the world’s population is wiped out within a matter of days.’’ Mulder had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what she had to tell them. ‘’The Stand is purely fiction, but unfortunately, the truth is a lot worse. In the early sixties, the government developed a biological weapon which is in essence nothing more than a highly virulent strain of influenza. It is designed to kill within 24 hours to several days, depending on the dosage. My father was one of the scientists assigned to the project, who were all told that their research was being used to develop a weapon to be used in war.’’ She paused, tried to sort out in her mind exactly what she needed to tell them.

‘’The project was eventually discontinued and my father was reassigned to another department. Four years ago a man came to my father and identified himself simply as Deep Throat. He knew about the virus my father had helped create, but claimed that it was being used to kill innocent citizens, people the government needed to get rid of. My father didn’t believe him at first, but he was able to produce evidence that was undeniable. He warned my father that his life would be in danger and mine as well, if anyone ever found out what he knew. He also gave my father your names, and said that we should contact you if anything were ever to... happen.’’ It had happened all right, and her life, or what was left of it, anyway, would never be the same. ‘’My father spent the last four years trying to develop an antidote to the virus, knowing that if they tried to kill him, they’d most likely use the virus he created. As I said, it is nothing more than a highly developed, resistant strain of the flu, which is fatal within days. Once a person is dead, there is nothing to indicate that they didn’t simply die a natural death. My father was never able to test his vaccine, but he believed he was able to create a serum that will counteract the effects of the virus, if administered soon enough.’’ She stopped there, not allowing herself the possibility that he had been able to take the antidote in time. They were too smart for that. He had to be dead.

Mulder thoughts focused on her mention of ‘The Stand’. ‘’Is this virus contagious?’’ he asked.

‘’Yes and no. My father seemed to believe that they developed two strains of the virus-- one highly contagious, the other non-communicable. Most likely, they used the non-contagious one to kill him, and are planning to use the same one to dispose of me. I’m surprised they didn’t just kill me last night, but one of them claimed it was just a warning, right before I shot him in the knee. I guess they didn’t know that I had already contacted you.’’ She trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

‘’Why are you so sure that your father is dead? If he had an antidote--’’ Scully didn’t want to give her a false sense of hope, but wasn’t it a possibility?

‘’No.’’ The strength of her conviction surprised even her. ‘’I’m sure.’’ It had been only 48 hours since she had arrived home from school, jumped on the first bus down to Washington, tangled with two government thugs who had underestimated her tenacity and fortitude, and was now on her way back to the state she had called home for the past fifteen years, and yet it seemed that years had passed since she had fled from her house. She was sure she would return to find her father’s small laboratory demolished, all traces of his work and the antidote destroyed. She had left her father there to die alone, to face the tall dark man whose image she had seen reflected in the glass of the oven, standing in the shadows of the basement door. She had seen the small gun he held in his hands, containing no doubt only one dosage of the virus, which was the only reason she was still alive. She would never be able to forget the pain and confusion in her father’s eyes as she had pushed him away, fled for her life. She hadn’t even been able to tell him she loved him. He was the only family she had ever known, and she found it ironically bittersweet that his death had led her here.

‘’Vermont is the last place they’ll look for me, which will buy us some time, but not much,’’ she said, her voice devoid of the grief that was devouring her heart. She knew she needed to go home, but that was where her plan ended, and she prayed they wouldn’t ask her any more questions right now. But silence reigned in the car, and she acquiesced to the sensation that was tugging at the edges of her consciousness, a temporary sense of comfort and safety lulling her into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

She slept for eight solid hours without waking. One of them always stayed close to the car the few times they stopped, for coffee or a quick break from the tedious driving, watching her sleep, thankfully oblivious to the problems that had overwhelmed her life in two short days. Mulder felt especially protective of her, her spunk reminding her of his sister, Samantha. He told himself that was all it was, the memory of his past that drew him to her, but as he watched her sleep, stretched out on the backseat that was two small for her long legs, he was touched by her innocence, and a sense of injustice that such horrible events should touch the life of so sweet and young an individual. The little he knew about her should have been enough to convince him otherwise, but he still couldn’t get rid of the feeling that underneath the tough facade, she was vulnerable and innocent and needed to be protected. Waiting for Scully to return with their coffee, he opened the trunk and found what he had hoped would be there-- a blanket. Carefully opening the back door, he placed it over Sarah’s sleeping form and smiled as her right hand clutched the blanket in her sleep and pulled it to her chin.

She slept through their quiet conversations, through Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and finally, as if sensing their need for more directions, awoke in Massachusetts with the news that two hours would put them at her house. After dictating detailed directions to Scully, she slipped once more into the blissful oblivion that allowed her to forget. She forgot the events of the past two days as her mind slipped back to the summer of her eighth year. She had been sitting on the porch swing, kicking her feet, head leaned back looking up at the stars that appeared and disappeared behind the porch roof. Her father had come out to join her, and they sat and swung together for a while before either one spoke.

‘’Do stars ever die?’’ she had asked finally.

‘’Not in the same way that people do,’’ he said, after a moment. ‘’Eventually their light starts to get dimmer, and we can’t see them any more. But they are always there, even when we can’t see them.’’ That was when she had crawled into his lap, big, silent tears rolling down her cheeks for her classmate who had been killed in a car accident that month. He had held her, let her cry, unable to explain how someone she had known and played with twice a week after school could have suddenly ceased to exist.

‘’Even though you can’t see Alex anymore doesn’t mean he isn’t with you,’’ he said, when she had finished crying. He’s watching you from heaven, and his memory will always be with you. And so will I,’’ he added, hugging her tight. ‘’I’ll never leave you, Sarah, and I’ll always watch over you.’’ In her memory, his loving embrace suddenly grew tighter, and she was struggling to free herself. She twisted around and saw the tall lanky man who had been in her kitchen two days earlier. He squeezed her tighter and tighter, until she could feel the flow of oxygen in her blood slowing.

‘’No!’’ She tried to scream, but it was barely a whisper. Her father’s words came back to her, and she gathered all the strength she could. ‘’NO!’’ Arms flailing wildly, she broke free from the crushing hold, the man who had killed her father. But it was Agent Scully who was trying to pin her arms, she was back in the car, Mulder beside her gently trying to calm her.

‘’Sarah, Sarah, it’s okay,’’ he spoke softly, trying to soothe the fear the had held her captive. ‘’You’re okay, it was just a dream. You’re okay, Sarah. Shh, everything is okay.’’ But she was not okay, and this time she could not hold back the tears, for her father, for the life that had been taken away from her. She collapsed against him, and he held her as she cried. ‘’Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay, Sarah.’’ He spoke the words over and over, as she cried in his arms, as moonlight spilled over the fresh white snow illuminating the house where her father had died.

* * *

The front door was not locked. Mulder entered first, followed by Sarah, then Scully. Sarah’s eyes were still red from crying, but she was the one who had finally given the order to go inside. She felt almost empty, and she knew that she was ready to face whatever was waiting for her inside. She had no more tears, at least for the moment. The house was dark, silent, and Sarah led them silently through the front hall to the kitchen, where she explained without emotion how she had come into the kitchen to greet her father and seen the man’s reflection in the glass of the oven. Scully was intrigued by her description of the man.

‘’How old would you say he was?’’ Sarah thought carefully.

‘’Not young. Maybe mid-sixties. He was pretty thin, and he was wearing a dark suit.’’ Scully had the thought at the same time as Mulder, and a shared glance told them what the other was thinking. Cancerman. Why was he always behind the most hideous plots Mulder had ever come across? Mulder wanted the chance to put a bullet in the man’s head again. This time he wouldn’t hesitate. Sarah couldn’t notice anything out of ordinary in the kitchen, and she led them back through the front hall to the staircase.

‘’What’s this?’’ Scully knelt and, pulling on a latex glove, carefully picked up a small dart that had been discarded by the front door. It was a small but fairly effective device that appeared to have contained a small amount of liquid that could be injected from a distance.

‘’The virus,’’ Sarah said softly. She turned, and without a word, started up the stairs. The two agents followed behind, and when she stopped in front of a closed door, they did not follow. She opened the door to her father’s bedroom and steeled herself for the sight she knew awaited her. He was stretched out on the bed, wearing his favorite sweater and the leather slippers she had bought him last Christmas. He could have been sleeping, she thought as she knelt by the bedside. He looked so peaceful; she hoped with all her heart that he hadn’t suffered too much as he knew that death was approaching. A lump formed in her throat when she noticed the envelope on the night table. His bold handwriting blurred before her eyes but she brushed the tears away and read his farewell. She sat silently beside the bed, not wanting to let go, until she felt a presence in the room. After making the sign of the cross on her father’s forehead, she stood and faced the two agents, who would now need more explanation to understand the twisted and unbelievable events which were her past.

‘’I was adopted,’’ she began simply.

* * *

The black car was parked a quarter of a mile down the road. The two men had walked, without a word, to the driveway of the house, where the taller of the two motioned for his companion to stop. The shorter, but well-built man had been surprised at the other’s insistence on accompanying him to the sight of the job, but after last night’s incident, he figured it was just as well.

The older man’s cigarette glowed red against the dark backdrop of night, and he puffed silently for a minute before speaking. ‘’Just the girl,’’ he said, his voice surprisingly soft for one who smoked so much. ‘’Don’t touch the two agents-- they are not expendable.’’ He returned to watching the shadows illuminated in the second-floor window, and, not receiving any further instructions, the other man walked towards the house, his footsteps crunching softly on the hard snow.

* * *

Scully pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat, unable to hide her surprise that the man lying dead upstairs was not Sarah’s real father. Physically, the truth was obvious-- he had to be nearly seventy years old, and Sarah was no more than nineteen. And yet the love and heartbreak present in her voice when she spoke made it obvious that she had loved her adopted father a great deal. Scully thought of Emily, the daughter she had known for such a short time, and how empty her death had left her. The love she felt for her daughter was not made less because she had not born her or raised her, or even known of her existence until shortly before she had passed away-- if anything, it was made stronger. She expected the bond that had developed between Sarah and her ‘father’ was equally as strong, if not more so.

Sarah sat also, still debating how much of her story she should tell them. She still didn’t know what to do; maybe if she told them everything... She sighed, and continued her story. ‘’I was adopted in 1983, when I was three years old. Daniel is the only family I have ever known, and he worked so hard to give me a wonderful life...’’ She paused to wipe the fresh tears from her eyes and continued. ‘’As soon as I was old enough to understand, he began telling me about his past, and mine. He always wanted me to know the truth.’’

‘’What is the truth, Sarah?’’ Mulder asked, feeling as if he already knew the answer.

‘’I was never born,’’ she said, almost hoping they wouldn’t believe her. ‘’I was created in 1960, using advanced DNA technology which the government is still denying it possesses. I was basically the human equivalent of a lab rat, and in 1963, when the project was deemed too inhuman even for our government, I was put into a cryogenic sleep. I know it doesn’t sound possible, but the technology exists, it has for a long time.’’ She paused, but wouldn’t meet their silent gazes, staring at the flowery pattern of the tablecloth. ‘’Daniel thought the practice of performing experiments on children was despicable, and refused to have anything to do with it. He tried to find a way to rescue me, but I had no family, no past, and as far as the rest of the world was concerned, I didn’t exist. He could do nothing to stop them, and when I was put to sleep in 1963, he figured I was at least better off than as a ginuea pig for government experiments. But he never forgot about me, and twenty years later when Deep Throat arranged for me to be ‘released’ he found and adopted me. I never blamed him for what they did to me,’’ she said strongly, wishing she could tell him that once more. ‘’He gave me a real life, he gave me all I have and all I could ever need.’’

Mulder was moved by her story. As implausible as it sounded, he believed her, and the rage he felt towards the men responsible was so overwhelming that he couldn’t speak. He watched her continue to stare at the flowers on the tablecloth, and saw a fresh tear fall and soak into the fabric.

‘’There’s more,’’ she said, her voice barely a whisper, still not raising her head. As she was she was about to speak again, something caught Dana’s attention and pulled her from her reverie. Like Mulder, she too believed Sarah-- after discovering she had a daughter, there was almost nothing she couldn’t imagine the government capable of. Her attention was drawn to the slightly open window directly behind Sarah which she was sure hadn’t been open before.

‘’Did someone open the window?’’ she asked, suddenly knowing that the small detail was somehow important. The question had barely left her lips when Sarah cried out in pain, a hand flying to the base of her neck. But it was too late. The small vial was empty, it fell to the floor, the contents--the virus having been injected into her bloodstream. She would die. It was only a matter of time, she told herself calmly, as Mulder ran from the house, gun drawn, Scully screaming after him to be careful. Dana left her too, after assuring that she was, for the moment, all right. She never moved from the table, slowly turning the thought over and over in her mind. She would die. Of this she was sure. She would be with her father. But she had to play the rest of this game out. She had to tell them the truth. She closed her eyes.

* * *

‘’Mulder!’’ The front door banged shut behind her as Scully ran out to the front porch. Gun drawn, she scanned the driveway for any sign of her partner, but the sharp glare of moonlight on frozen snow illuminated only the car they had come in before fading into the darkness of the woods. Hearing a noise from around the corner, she eased off the porch, and crept silently to the corner, gun raised and ready.

‘’Freeze!’’ she yelled, catching Mulder in her sights, before sighing with relief.

‘’They’re gone,’’ he said, holstering his own weapon, out of breath from his quick sprint. ‘’Whoever it was disappeared into the woods.’’ He didn’t add that he’d opted to give up the search for the moment out of concern for Sarah, but he didn’t have to. They didn’t speak as they returned to the kitchen to find Sarah with her head down on the kitchen table. Scully was afraid the injection had left her unconscious, but she raised her head to meet their gaze when they entered the room.

‘’There might be some of the antidote left,’’ she said realizing that neither of them knew what to say. ‘’But we have to go now, and fast. We don’t have much time.’’

* * *

After verifying that the contents of her father’s small laboratory had indeed been destroyed beyond recognition, Sarah had put on her father’s down coat and rounded up hats and mittens for herself and the two agents. She didn’t know how long she’d have, how long it would take for the virus to begin shutting down her body, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long. She didn’t know if they would even be able to make the five mile hike to the cabin in the mountains where she’d hidden a vial of the antidote months earlier, but they could try.

Scully had insisted that Sarah stay seated at the table while she filled a thermos with hot coffee and quickly gathered some essentials for their trek through the snow-covered mountains of Vermont. Mulder was pulling on a pair of wool socks in the chair next to her, and he reached for the boot he had accidentally pushed under the table in the process.

‘’Ouch!’’ His sharp cry alerted the attention of Sarah and his partner, who had her back to them as she was filling the backpack on the counter.

‘’What is it?’’ she asked, turning. The small vial that had only thirty minutes before contained a deadly virus was now stuck in Mulder’s hand, embedded deeply between the thumb and forefinger. He pulled it out, wincing, and stared at the needle that had pierced his hand. Staring at the smear of blood on the tip, the three of them knew that there was a good chance he had just exposed himself to the virus.

‘’Well,’’ he said after a moment. ‘’What are we waiting for? We’ve got an antidote to find.’’

* * *

They walked for an hour before taking their first break. It had been almost two hours since Sarah had been infected, and it was hard for her to tell if she was beginning to feel the effects of the virus, or simply the fatigue from their trek. Mulder, who was exposed a little more than a half an hour after Sarah, if he had indeed been exposed, felt fine, if a little tired. They all needed the short break. They had covered approximately a mile in the past hour, and the slope was starting to get steeper, adding to the difficulty of walking in a foot and a half of heavy snow. They would not be able to keep up the same pace as they got further onto the mountain, Scully commented aloud. ‘’And as the virus starts to take effect,’’ she thought to herself.

‘’We only have twelve hours,’’ Sarah said, zipping her jacket up to the chin and tugging her hat further down over her ears. ‘’Or ten, now. After the first twelve hours, the virus will be too strong and the antidote won’t work.’’ She prayed silently that the thugs who had trashed her father’s laboratory didn’t know about the small cabin her father owned in the woods, or the vial of the antidote she had hidden there. Not even her father had known about its location. He had given it to her with the instructions to hide it and not tell him where it was, in the event that something like this should happen. She wondered if he had thought of that vial while he was dying, and wondered why she hadn’t come back, at least called to tell him where it was. She pushed the guilty thought out of her mind, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to get to it in time, and concentrated on getting them to the cabin. Each took a quick swig of coffee before setting out again.

Sarah noticed the change immediately. She felt sluggish, tired, even though she’d slept most of the day, and her injuries from the previous night felt more exaggerated than they had earlier. She didn’t say anything, knowing they had to continue on and cover as much ground as quickly as possible, but within a half an hour, she knew she was beginning to get sick. It was Mulder who noticed the gradual slowing of her pace. ‘’Are you all right?’’ he asked, falling in step beside her. She nodded silently, and kept walking. She knew it was stupid not to tell them, but she hoped that not dwelling on it would slow the progress of the virus and allow her to maintain an illusion of normalcy a little longer.

Mulder was not pleased to find himself shivering as they walked along in silence. He had been cold since they left the house, despite the extra clothing Sarah had found him, but he knew this was different. He could feel the onset of the symptoms Sarah had described to them, and it was pointless to continue hoping that he hadn’t exposed himself. He could only hope they would reach the cabin in time, and that Sarah’s speculations about the antidote were correct. Oddly, he wasn’t all that worried about his own fate. He worried for Sarah, now leading their small expedition through the snow flurry which had started again. He worried for Scully, how she was holding up through all they had been through in the past twenty-four hours. Was it only last night that he had stared into her eyes and felt the heat of her lips against his? Her beauty had mesmerized him; he had felt drawn back in time, as if he were seeing her for the first time. He already appreciated her as a partner and a colleague and even a friend, but last night she had seemed so much more to him, and he wanted the chance to tell her that when all of this was over. For now, he settled for dropping back a pace to walk along side her, his gloved hand catching hers. She looked over at him when he squeezed her hand, and the apologetic look on his face was all she needed to know that he was indeed afflicted with the virus. She squeezed back and looked away, so he could not read the pain in her eyes.

* * *

They hit the half-way point after about three hours of walking. It was the dead of night, and all were tired nearly to the point of exhaustion. Scully called for a half hour break, insisting that the shivering Sarah and Mulder sit on a mostly dry log that she tried to clean off. By Sarah’s estimation, they still had eight hours to cover the remaining two and half miles, and even with their deteriorating health, Scully figured they should be able to make the rest of the journey. Even if she had to leave them and retrieve the antidote from the cabin herself, she should have enough time to administer it. Or at least she hoped so.

Mulder caught Scully looking at him and tried in vain to appear less miserable than he really was. His teeth were actually chattering, so much so that he had given up trying to start conversation and making quips about the weather. He was starting to realize he’d have to conserve the strength he had, and when Scully handed him some Tylenol with the almost empty thermos of coffee, he didn’t protest but swallowed them and handed the rest of the coffee off to Sarah, who appeared just as cold as he was. He watched her consume the last drops of the now cold liquid, and for some reason was reminded of Samantha. He couldn’t figure out why, maybe he was hallucinating. He could actually feel the virus taking over his body, invading more cells with each passing minute. He tried not to cough, knowing the cold air would seize his lungs like ice and breathing would just be more difficult. Suddenly overcome by the need to sneeze, he raised a gloved hand to his mouth, and sneezed twice, loud, forceful sneezes that sounded painful to Scully. She needed only to glance at him to take in the suffering he was going through. Sarah seemed to be slightly better off, though she had been very quiet and had said almost nothing since they had left the house. Glancing at her watch, Scully said a silent prayer and waited for the half hour to be up.

* * *

Four hours left, one mile to go. They seemed to be going at a snail’s pace now, and Scully could remember nothing else but this eternal night. It was as if all she had ever done was plod slowly through the snow, holding Sarah’s hand when she was unsure of the path, and Mulder’s when he fell too far behind. Each step she took seemed to pull her father away from reality. It seemed they had walked forever, and still Sarah said farther. Dana was walking behind Mulder, willing herself to continue, when he staggered and dropped to one knee in the snow.

‘’Why is he sicker than me?’’ Sarah half-yelled, half-cried. ‘’I should be sicker than he is, I was infected first! It’s killing him!’’ What was the point of going through all this if he wasn’t going to make it? The thought terrified her.

Mulder brushed snow from his pants as Scully helped him to his feet. The fever-glazed look in his eyes and Sarah’s outburst snapped reality back into her. ‘’Of course, he was already sick,’’ she murmured to herself. It was so simple, she didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her earlier. Mulder was obviously sicker than Sarah. He was burning up, his frequent coughing and sneezing was the only sound that accompanied their night journey. ‘’You already had the flu,’’ she said, tenderly brushing his cheek with her bare hand, trying to gauge his temperature. ‘’Your immune system was weakened to begin with... we’ve got to get you inside.’’ He looked as if he was trying to respond, trying to form the words into sentences in his mind, but she didn’t want him to waste even that effort. She touched her lips to his forehead, not knowing what else she could do for him.

The words and images flew through his head, so fast that he couldn’t grab onto a single one. Samantha; Sarah; Scully; ‘’She needs you, Fox,’’; ‘’I need your help, Fox, and you need mine,’’; Fox..., Fox..., Samantha..., Sarah...

‘’It’s you!’’ The words finally came and their meaning hit him with the force of a freight train. She must have heard something in his voice, the recognition, for she stopped and turned to face him. ‘’Sam?’’ His voice was full of the pain of all the stolen years, full of hope that broke her heart. ‘’Is it really you?’’

She didn’t want to hurt him, couldn’t bear to bring more anguish into his life, but didn’t he have a right to know the truth?

Sam... Sam... They weren’t exactly the right words, he knew, but they were close. She wasn’t Sam, he knew that. She was Sarah. But the names were too close. He knew she understood.

She finally finished saying what she had been about to reveal earlier, just before the dart had pierced her neck and started killing her slowly. They would know the whole truth. ‘’I’m your sister, Fox.’’

* * *

‘’How?’’ He believed her, he knew she was right. He had suspected it all along without even knowing, and either her revelation or the Tylenol had cleared his mind somewhat, and he tried to focus on what she would tell him.

‘’Your father worked for the government. I was created from his DNA.’’ So simple, as if it happened every day. She turned to Scully. ‘’They created your daughter Emily; they created me.’’ She anticipated his next question. ‘’He never knew. Even when I found out who I really was, I never tried to contact him, or you.’’ She took his hand into her own and held it a moment before speaking again, her voice soft and gentle. He finally had the impression that he was hearing her sincerely, without the barriers or obstacles of life to distort her personality. ‘’I was so happy to find out I had a brother.’’ She smiled. ‘’A younger brother.’’

He could do nothing but look at her. All his life he had been searching for what had been taken away from him; he never expected to find it in anyone but Sam. Yet here she was. And she was dying, just like him. Almost without knowing what he was doing, he felt his arms slide around her and he held her in a tender embrace. He closed his eyes as she slipped into his arms, her head on his shoulder. He promised himself he’d never let go.

* * *

‘’Mulder! Mulder, listen to me!’’ He was lost, spinning hopelessly in a starless night, her voice bounced off the air around him and shone red. ‘’Mulder, it’s me, Scully.’’ He knew that name, he’d heard it before. She jumped out at him from the red and he recognized her at last.

‘’Where are your shoes, Scully?’’ She sighed heavily, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to rip the last of her sanity to shreds. He was delirious with fever, Sarah was not much better off-- it was up to her to finish this. They couldn’t be far now, she told herself over and over, as she dragged Mulder to his feet. She would not give up, even as she supported half his weight on her light but determined frame. One hour, she chanted over and over, as she stuffed snow down his shirt to keep him conscious and cool the intense heat that emanated from his body. Sarah, though getting worse, did her best to help. She was scared, that was obvious, but it seemed to be Mulder she was scared for. Her own fever was secondary to his, and even with the injuries she had suffered before becoming ill she dragged herself on with an intensity that Scully admired. It wasn’t until the cabin was in sight that she dropped to her knees in the snow, humbled and drained by the knowledge that the final chapter was about to begin.

‘’Him first,’’ she managed, handing Scully the key that she wore around her neck. She said a short prayer for them all, there in the snow, her position not one of humble repentance, but more because she lacked the strength to stand. She knew at least she’d be seeing her father soon, and the thought of him somehow summoned the last of her strength and she dragged herself, half upright to the front porch.

Mulder slid from Scully’s arms into a wet heap on the floor, and she left him there, almost crying with relief as she saw the fireplace and two small cots that occupied the main room of the hunting lodge. A kitchen area stood to one side and a crude wooden staircase led to an open loft above. Not wasting any time, she dragged the two thin foam mattresses from the beds and laid them in front of the fireplace, where she tried to start a fire as best as she could. The wood was dry, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn’t light a match. She nearly screamed in frustration, on the brink of hysteria, before closing her eyes and forcing a deep breath. She thought of her partner, a crumpled heap by the door, and the way he had sat by her bedside night after night when death was just an arm’s length away from her. Melissa had told her later, just days before she died, how Fox had so diligently and helplessly sat by her hospital bed, waiting for her to return to him. Dana dreamt about it often, that grey place she had visited, and she wasn’t sure how much was dreamt, and how much was filtered reality, slipping through her subconscious. Calmer now, she struck the match and started the fire. Now it was her turn.

She heard a noise of wind as the door opened and turned to see Sarah drop next to her knees next to Mulder. The fire lit, Dana went to help them both. She managed to get Mulder onto one of the mattresses, removing his jacket, soaked through with snow before piling blankets on top of him. Sarah fought to stay conscious as Scully helped her to the other mattress by the fire.

‘’Did we make it?’’ Something in her voice told Scully this night was not over yet.

‘’We still have two hours,’’ she said, running a cool hand across Sarah’s blazing cheek. ‘’We made it.’’

‘’Trap door,’’ she said quietly, trying not to cry. ‘’Under the cabinet.’’ A large, heavy looking free-standing cabinet stood next to the wood stove on the other side of the room. Oak, and handmade, from the looks of it. Scully managed to move it far enough to one side to get at the small, well-hidden trap door in the floor. There was no handle, no hinges, and she grabbed a spatula from the wall to pry the loose piece of board out. She gently removed the small black bag and brought it over to Sarah. Sarah held it to her chest, eyes closed, not speaking for so long that Scully thought she had fallen asleep. Then, handing the bag back to Scully, she instructed her to open it.

Just then Mulder began to wake up and Scully had to restrain him until she was able to convince him that Sarah was right beside him, she hadn’t left him. Returning to the black bag, Scully withdrew a small vial of liquid and one syringe. Looking up, she caught Sarah’s gaze and the question didn’t have time to leave her lips.

‘’There’s only one dose,’’ she said clearly and calmly. ‘’I want you to give it to Fox.’’

* * *

Mulder couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt so sick. He’d spent a week in the hospital with pneumonia when he was seven, and had his appendix out at thirteen, but nothing compared with what he was going through right now. He longed for the blissful black periods of unconsciousness that would overtake him and shut down his mind. He could support only the simplest of thoughts and reason and logic were long twisted paths that he couldn’t seem to find. But he was looking right at Sarah when she spoke, and the meaning of her words got through to him clearly.

‘’No!’’ he pleaded, tears filling his eyes. ‘’I don’t want it. I don’t want to live without you. I... I can’t. Please.’’ The yearning in his voice cut through to her heart as he stretched a hand out to her, begging. She held onto his hand and turned her head to try to see him better. She looked silently to Scully for help, who helped her to a sitting position next to Mulder. Cradling his hand in both of hers, she spoke softly.

‘’I love you, Fox. I love you more than I can tell you.’’

‘’Then don’t leave me,’’ he interrupted. ‘’Don’t leave me alone. Scully can make more--’’

‘’No. ’’ She shook her head, knowing there was not enough time for anything to be done. ‘’There’s only enough for one person. If you don’t take all of it, you’ll die.’’ She crushed his last hope and brushed the hair from his burning forehead while she spoke again. ‘’I’m doing this because I love you, Fox. I have nothing left here. My father is dead, and without you, I’d have no reason to be here.’’ Small tears began rolling down her pale cheeks, but her voice remained calm with the assurance of faith. ‘’Ever since I found out that I had a brother, I’ve been watching you. I’ve followed your career, your life, your search for the truth. I’m so proud of all that you’ve done. But more than all of that, I was so happy to know that you were not alone.’’ He broke her gaze a moment to see his partner, blurry through the tears that filled his eyes. ‘’You have to stay. She needs you, Fox, and you need her.’’ There was silence for a moment, before Sarah leaned over to brush his forehead with her lips. ‘’You belong together.’’

He didn’t feel the tiny prick as Scully injected the antidote into his arm, nor protest as she held a cup of hot liquid to his lips and helped him drink. He wanted only to look at her, his sister, and lock these moments away in his memory, where they would never be forgotten. His right hand found her face, his thumb tracing over her features, and he finally spoke as he felt the antidote tugging him toward sleep. Eyelids heavy, speech slow, he gave her all the strength he had left.

‘’I love you, Sarah,’’ he said, squeezing her hand. ‘’And I’ll never forget you.’’

* * *

Mulder was mercifully asleep when Sarah breathed her last and left this world behind. Scully sat by her side, holding her hand and comforting her through the last hours. She did everything she could, but knew that her efforts to save her would be futile. She tried forcing liquids against dehydration, but she was unable to hold anything down. Her fever rose steadily, even as Scully used snow to cool her, and once it passed 105 degrees, she knew that permanent brain damage would occur, even if she were miraculously spared. The last thing she managed to say, before delusions took over her mind and she slipped into a coma was, ‘’Take care of him.’’

The sun now rising, the horror of the night ending with the coming of the light, Scully fell asleep.

* * *

The hospital was quiet. Long calm corridors dimly lit, softening the sterile atmosphere. The fresh smell from the bouquet of flowers, just purchased, contrasted with the medicinal smell that filled the whole building. Room 327. The door was slightly ajar, the room silent. The beeping and hissing of machines had been left thankfully in the ICU. A light tap on the door.

‘’Hey, how you feeling?’’ Mulder leaned over his partner and planted a kiss on her cheek before handing her the flowers.

‘’I’ve been better.’’ She smiled, glad to see him for the first time in a week. ‘’When did they release you?’’

‘’Yesterday. You were still in ICU, I couldn’t get in to see you.’’ He sat by her bed and took her hand. Two weeks had passed since their ordeal in the mountains of Vermont. After spending over a week in ICU himself, as the antidote slowly did its work, he was finally moved into a regular room only to discover Scully had somehow managed to contract the virus and was in ICU herself. He was just glad to see her in one piece. ‘’You had me scared, Scully.’’

‘’You had me scared for a while there yourself. What do you remember?’’

‘’Not much. After Sarah...’’ He paused, remembering, then shrugged. ‘’I woke up here.’’ Scully thought back to the helicopter that had airlifted both of them to Datmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in nearby New Hampshire. The hours it took them to get there, not knowing if he would make it, sitting by his bed in the ICU, pulling all her privileges as a doctor, crying tears of relief when his fever broke at 105.1, and after almost a week in the hospital, finally getting herself a hotel room nearby. Luckily she had been at the hospital when the virus caught up with her. Mulder’s doctor had been conveying the good news that he would be moved out of ICU the next day, and she simply fainted into his arms; so concerned was she with his welfare that she hadn’t noticed she was sick, running a fever, and belonged in the hospital herself.

‘’But one thing I don’t understand,’’ Mulder broke into her thoughts. ‘’How did you get sick if the virus wasn’t contagious?’’ And how did they cure you, he thought, finally allowing himself to ponder the question that he had simply refused to ask when told of his partner’s illness. A smile played across her lips.

‘’I didn’t have the virus that you and Sarah had. That wasn’t contagious. You gave me the flu, Mulder. The flu you had before we even went to Vermont.’’ She flashed a smug, I-told-you-so smile.

He remembered that night, seemingly so long ago, when he had sat on her couch, and the kiss that had started this all. He thought of Sarah ’s last words to him, and Sam’s words from his dream. She needs you. You are not alone. Leaning over the bed rail, his face inclined to hers, he brushed a wisp of hair from her forehead, never more sure of anything in his life.