Date sent: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 12:18:03 -0800 (PST) From: April Amadon Title: Time of Death Author: Aprilynn E-mail address: Aprilynn@yahoo.com Rating: PG Category: T, A Spoilers: none Keywords: Mulder/Scully UST, character dies Summary: "To seek revenge may lead to Hell..." Disclaimer: Don't own them, they belong to CC and 10-13, etc. You get the drift... Notes: This is my first posting, go easy on me! ;) -------------------------------------------------- "Time of Death" by Aprilynn It was late when Mulder finally reached his apartment. Just like it had been the night before, and the night before that...he didn't give it much of a thought as he turned off his car's ignition. Scully was on his mind. Again. He shook his head vigorously, knowing he was just tired. These kind of thoughts never really came unless he was tired. Unless he had been working too hard. On his trip towards his building's front door, he had to shake the thoughts out of his head once again. Mulder, you son of a bitch, he told himself, leave her alone. If she knew what you thought...if she only knew... Her car was there. He stopped in his tracks and stared at it. He narrowed his eyes and read the license plate again, just to make sure. Yeah, it was her, but what was she doing here? He looked up at his building, shrugged, and continued inside and up the stairs. His exhaustion somehow propelled him into his hallway and over to his own door, which was open. "Scully?" he called, looking inside. "You here? I saw your car outside and I-" "She's not here." The male voice startled Mulder, and his hand instinctively reached for his gun. His eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet, and he couldn't fully see the person before him. It's okay, he told himself, just figure out what's going on and maybe everything will be all right. "Who are you?" "She isn't here, Mr., Mulder. She's dead." Don't listen, his mind told him, and he spoke before thinking about it. "Who are you?" he repeated, his tone demanding an answer. "I killed her." "Just tell me who you are," Mulder insisted, pointing his gun into the darkness. The figure was tall and built, but other than that there was nothing he could make out. "Listen to me. I killed her, she's dead. Are you getting this?" Mulder didn't move. The man spoke again before he could. "You don't believe me, do you." "Of course I don't, now answer me. Who are you." The figure moved a little, shifted in the dark. "I came here to find you. She came up, found me, and tried to kill me. I had do it, Mulder, it was for my own good. She's dead." Mulder let out a long breath. This is a dream, he thought. I'm asleep at the wheel on the way home, better wake myself up... "Mulder?" "All right, if she's dead, where's the body?" He was starting to believe the man, and it scared him. If this guy is lying, where is she? Why is her car in the parking lot? "I put it in the dumpster." The man, whoever he was, sighed. "You don't believe me." "Why should I?" "Look, I didn't mean to actually KILL her, it just happened." There was a long pause, then the figure moved. "I'll show you. I'll show you her body." Mulder jumped forward, pinning the man to the wall behind him. He pressed the gun into the man's neck and stared into his eyes. "You killed her?" he asked, his teeth clenched. When the man nodded, he continued, anger building. "What was she wearing, then?" "What?" "You killed her. Prove it. What was she wearing today? Do you even remember or did you just shoot her without looking first?" "Um...a red...something. A red jacket. And pants. Matching pants. With a white shirt underneath..." Mulder let the man go, backing away. He struggled to remember what she had been wearing at the office that day...was that right? Yes, he told himself. Remember? She told you the outfit was new, in passing conversation...when she asked you if you liked it, you shrugged, told her you guessed so... When he looked up the man was gone. His thoughts melted together and he looked around wildly. He could hear frantic footsteps in the hall and followed them just as frantically. "Hey!" he called. He followed a shadow down the stairs, and out a back door. He looked around. There was no one else in the alley, and he turned around to look the other way. He saw the dumpster, and froze. It was open slightly, and he thought he could make out a human hand under the cover... No, it can't be. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, then started to walk towards it. "Scully?" he called into the darkness. He climbed up on the side so he could look inside, took a deep breath, and opened the lid. And there she was. Red jacket, white shirt, red pants, red blood. Her eyes were closed, and she was crumpled into an odd position amongst the dirt and garbage. He jumped back, the image burned into his eyes. He landed on his feet on the pavement. He was breathing hard, and his eyes didn't seem to want to blink. "Scully?" he asked. He began to climb back up. "Scully." She was limp to his touch. She's not dead, he told himself, but he was having a hard time believing that. She was so pale. so...cold. "Scully? Scully..." A moment passed, and his head filled with fluid rage. He jumped up and out of the dumpster. "Where are you?" he shouted, his anguished voice echoing off the buildings around him. "Come out here!" He spun around, both inside and out. He kept shouting, not knowing what he was saying, holding his gun up high above his head. He heard a noise behind him. "Freeze!" He shouted, and turned, firing his gun. The figure behind him crumpled to the ground, and he closed his eyes. A moan pervaded the darkness, followed by a slight whisper. "Mulder..." Her voice. He opened his eyes, and they adjusted to the situation to see Scully lying on the ground, blood gushing from her hip. She looked up at him, confused. "Mulder?" she said, her voice still half a whisper. "Are you okay?" He stared at her, and realized what had just happened. "Oh, god..." "Mulder, I'm fine." she said, a little louder. "I just need...I need..." "You were dead!" He said, kneeling down next to her. "What happened, he said-" "I got knocked out." she propped herself up on her elbows, but was too weak and fell back into his arms instead. "I woke up...you were screaming...you shot me, Mulder." He nodded, and looked around for any sign of help. "Scully, I have to get you inside." "You shot me..." her voice trailed off, and he looked down at her. Her eyes had closed. "Scully?" his thoughts were a blur, all mixed together. He picked her up and looked around wildly. "Scully? I'm sorry, come on, wake up..." He went inside the building to get help. ----------------------------------------------- "Forget it." the doctor said, turning to his nurse. "Record, time of death, 11:21." She wrote it down on the chart. "Cause?" "Gunshot wound to the left hip, blood loss, just write that." He ripped off his gloves and tossed them in the wastebasket. "Oh, and you can write something about the head wound, although I doubt that had anything to do with her death." He sighed. "Any family?" "A friend, the guy who brought her in." The doctor nodded, and turned off the machines. "I'll go talk to him. Record the name..." he checked the personal effects for a wallet, and looked inside. "...Dana Scully." THE END Comments, flames, anything! Aprilynn@yahoo.com