Summary: Several events take Mulder and Scully on a trip for truth, love, forgiveness, and Samantha. A few unexpected guests become a part of history.

St. Francis Hospital

2:00 am

Nov. 17th

Scully turned the knob to Mulder’s private room. She knew what she had seen. It must have been the same for Mulder on the cold January night in the cargo house. When Linda had made him "see" Scully shoot herself. God it had been tough to shoot Linda, Her brain refused to think that it was anyone else *but* Mulder.

She walked across the room and smiled at the fact that Mulder was asleep. ‘Good’ she thought, ’now I can watch him sleep for once.’

"I’m not asleep Scully." He said softly still keeping his eyes closed. It didn’t surprise her that Mulder knew what she was thinking. Hell they had always known what the other was thinking, that’s why they made such a good pare.

"Mulder you should rest. It’s 2 am and you’ve got a nasty gun shot wound in your leg."

"What about you? You’ve got a sprained ankle Scully, you should be at home."

"And do you remember *how* I got that sprained ankle? I can’t sleep anyway."

He gave her a slightly confused look and she almost threw herself on his chest and started crying like a baby. When she had seen him after she shot Linda he looked like he had just seen the most impossible thing ever, and she had been taken back immediately back to her time on the Space craft. She didn’t deny it, she knew she had been taken by aliens, that was why she had started letting Mulder run with his theories on most of the more unexplainable cases.

"Don’t you see Mulder?" He lifted a had and reached up to caress her cheek, and he left it there when she finally looked him in the eye.

"See what?"

"That I can’t sleep without being near you. That I need you as much as I need air to live. God I can’t think of living without you. And that’s why I came back to you. I was meant to…to…to die, but they sent me back and you kept me from dying and I owe you my life and my heart."

He just laid there, processing what she had said to him. Trying to tell if she was lying or not. Slowly ever so slowly she felt the barriers fall. His eyes took on a new brilliant shade of green. She felt a shiver run through his hand and he smiled. Oh God he smiled.

It wasn’t one of his fake smiles. It held no remorse and all the promise of a young girl watching the stars. And she knew he had been saving this smile since he last had a happy moment with Samantha. And the though of Samantha filled Scully with a feeling of belonging. If they found Samantha, Scully would have a sister again. True Sam would never replace Missy and Sam would only be a sister-in-law, but that didn’t bother Scully one bit.

Somewhere in her head a little voice stared nagging at her about how Mulder’s whole life had been about Samantha and that she would always be second on his list of priorities. But Scully shook those thoughts from he head. How many times had she been more important then his quest for the truth. What about that time that he had given up Samantha for Scully on that cold bridge with that alien bounty hunter.

She leaned forward and hugged Mulder for all he was worth. An ear-splitting smile crossed his face and Scully mumbled something into his neck.

"What?"

"I love you."

"I know." He hugged her again and kissed her cheek.

"Oh Mulder, I have something to tell you." She sat back and looked at her hands.

"Scully?" He reached out to her and she crossed to the window of the tiny room. She silently thanked Skinner for requesting a private room. She heard a bunch of small sounds behind her, then felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Mulder you should stay in bed."

"Not when the love of my life is obviously trying to tell me something but scared about for I’ll react." She didn’t turn or look at him.

"Mulder. Remember when I told you that I couldn’t remember where I was for three months? Well at the time I didn’t remember it, and when I went through that regression therapy it opened a gate or something because I’ve been remembering more and more of it…and now I remember all of it."

"I’m not sure on how I got there but I was on a table and I had tubes sticking out of my arms and all sorts of shit like that. There we’re a whole bunch of men, Alex was there, The Cancerman, Your mother, and X…Your mother and X we’re arguing with the Cancerman about how they can’t let them do this to me. How it was wrong put they we’re taken away. And then some people…no some aliens started operating on me. They took out my ovaries and I screamed at them."

"Then they put some glowing green shit in my arm, and I know it is what caused my cancer. And then they put what on of the aliens said was a tracking device, in my neck, my implant’s Mulder. And then I slept, I don’t know how long I slept but when I woke I remember they had this big screen and I could do nothing but what it. And do you know what they put on?" Scully’s delicate hands balled into fists and her voice filled with venom. That special kind reserved for the serial killer that ripped apart your life by killing you child.

"They made me watch you! For three fucking months I watched you cry at night for me. I watched you hang out with the gunmen. I saw you with my mother and I saw you with that woman. I watched and when I closed my eyes I could still hear. And all those asshole’s laughed at you. They laughed at you for three fucking months. Do you know how hard it is to watch someone suffer and not be able to touch or comfort them?!?!?!"

"Yes I do. Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to take you in my arms and let you cry and comfort you but I couldn’t do it because you would blow me off? You always kept me in the cold about things that touched you. I’ve felt like I’ve known you all my life ever since you walked into my office and I’ve loved you for even longer then that. And its so hard to admit this to you because I’m so scared that your going to disappear for forever, just like Sam. And now I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter how much time I get to spend with you because it will never be enough. Do you see what I’m saying? Scully look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel the same."

She turned then. Her body moved so that her arm was right between his shoulder blades. She still had her head down and he slowly crocked a finger under her chin and lifted it to have her look him in the eye. He quieted her hands with his and she finally raised her eyes to meet his. They were filled with such love that it looked as if her soul was alight and hiding right behind her eyes were he has always been able to find it.

"Oh Scully. You mean more to me then all the chances to find Samantha, all the aliens and all the blond bimbo’s in the world. You’re perfect." He kissed her then. With the whole world watching them through the window and Mulder didn’t care if anyone saw them.

"Mulder, go to bed. I’ll spend the night and keep you company." She said leading him back to the hospital bed, and motioning to the chair where she would spend the night.

As he sat on the bed, Mulder pulled Scully on it with him and said, "Oh no. The Ice Queen will be sleeping with Mr. Spooky tonight. I mean we *are* sleeping together according to our co-workers. We might as well fulfil that rumor, right?"

Scully smiled and climbed into the small, elevated bed with him.

"If they only knew…"

End part 1