Title: Nova

Author: Angel

Feedback: Please!

Archive: Please!

Classification: MSR, Colonization fic.

Rating: NC-17 (for some parts-very mild but to be safe!) Others are probably PG-13 or so.

Summery: The inevitable happens. Mulder has planned ahead and now does everything in his power to keep Scully safe. You MUST read all parts to understand! Available at Ephemeral and my home page.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Characters are property of Fox, 1013, ect. No money is being made. No infringement is intended. Some poems are used without permission, names of authors are given. Prayers which I did not write, and I don’t know who wrote are included in some areas.

Homepage: (to find missing parts and sooner or later the completed version, also posted at Ephemeral)

A HUGE thanks to Evie my beta reader! Nova would never be doing this well, or going as fast, without her help! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!

Note: Want Nova updates in the mail? Just let me know!

"Baby don’t look up, the sky is falling." Tori Amos

(14/?)

Day 84

Scully squinted as she stepped out into the sun. The brightness didn’t help the sick feeling she was fighting since morning. With a deep breath of the fresh air Scully walked a few feet in to the shade of the trees. Leaning back against a tree she let the wave of nausea pass.

Finally feeling like herself, Scully looked up into the trees around her. "Hello?" She said softly to a young woman sitting a short distance away. Surprised she hadn’t seen her when she first walked out she slowly made her way over.

The woman looked up and smiled weakly. "Hi."

Scully took in the sight. She had been crying; her bright blue eyes were still red rimmed and damp. Her long brown hair was pulled loosely back, she was trim and tall. Scully thought she was beautiful with a sprinkling of light freckles over her nose and basically an innocent expression. "I’m Dana Scully." She said sitting down in the dirt near her.

The woman nodded, uninterested. "Yeah, you’re the doctor. My father has been talking about you."

"Your father?"

"Benjamin. I’m Amanda Walters."

Scully starred at her slightly for a moment. Benjamin must have had her when he was young, she had to be in her early thirties and he was fifty. "I didn’t know Benjamin had a daughter."

Amanda let out a humorless snort. "He doesn’t talk about me much."

Scully didn’t need to think back to her psych rotation in medical school to know she was depressed and ended to talk to someone. "Why’s that?"

Amanda looked her up and down for a moment. "My father is in love with you." She said nastily, dropping that particular bombshell to throw Scully. Since she had come to Nova, Dana Scully was all her father talked of, when they actually spoke to one another. Frankly she was just plain sick of hearing it.

Slack jawed, Scully only starred at Amanda for a few heartbeats. "Excuse me?"

Amanda barely held back a smirk. "He talks about you all the time, Dana. I’ve seen it before. You are an attractive, younger, powerful and smart woman. That’s what he wants." She couldn’t keep the smirk away any longer. "And my father always gets what he wants."

Scully felt a heavy knot in her stomach, different from the one she’d just gotten over. This one was bred from seven years of being abducted, kidnapped, attacked, and being around psychotic monsters in the form of men and women. "I… I don’t believe that, Amanda."

She shrugged and looked away.

Scully stood shakily, her thoughts an unorganized jumble. "Well, Amanda, I need to get back to the Medical Room. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you."

Amanda shielded her eyes from the sun and nodded. "Bye, Dana." She called in a slightly ashamed tone as Scully walked away looking confused but even more then that, frightened.

Leg bouncing impatiently, arms crossed and a grim expression on her face, Scully waited for Mulder. He wasn’t late in the least, Scully was just anxious.

The door open a half hour later, Scully still in the same position as before, and a hot sweaty Mulder walked in. "Hey." He said not wasting anytime in pulling off his dirty clothes.

"I have to talk to you." Scully said jumping up from her chair.

"Talk away." He said as he heated water to wash with.

"Mulder this is serious."

He turned to her, regarding her calmly, which he learned was always the best way to handle a nervous Scully. "I’m listening, go ahead."

Scully paced back and forth. "I met Benjamin’s daughter today-"

"I didn’t know he had a daughter."

Scully shot a threatening look at him for interrupting. "I didn’t either. Her name is Amanda, she says he doesn’t talk about her much. I didn’t get a chance to get into it at all. She said something… I… I don’t know what to think about it." Scully stared at the floor in thought. She still didn’t know if she wanted to believe Amanda or not. It made sense, the way he followed her around, spoke softly, almost intimately. But he seemed so honest to her. He knew how she felt about Mulder.

Mulder stepped in front up her, taking her upper arms in his hands so that she looked up at him. "Was it about Benjamin’s feeling for you?"

She looked up at him in shock. "How did you know?" Her voice a strained whisper.

With a sigh he sat down on the bed. "He’s… He hasn’t been hiding it from me. It’s obvious he doesn’t think I am good enough for you." Mulder shut is eyes, the way he used to when picturing the profile of a murder in his head. "He sees you are the only woman suitable for him. He’s God here. It’s his place, no one questions him. You are the only other person that people won’t question. As the only doctor here no one has the knowledge to question what you do or say. It’s… logical in its own way."

Scully wrapped her arms around her waist protectively. Suddenly feeling vulnerable and used. "So what should I do now?"

Mulder sucked in a breath. "Well… don’t encourage him-"

"I wasn’t leading him on!" She interrupted defensively.

Mulder held up a hand in a gentle manner. "I’m not saying that, not at all. I know you weren’t. I guess… just be careful. Try not to be alone with him or talk to long. Ok?"

Nodding Scully leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You ok?" He asked softly.

Scully wanted to say she was fine, but she promised she would tell him anything that was wrong. Not that she could hide much even if she wanted to. They were in close quarters. Amazingly enough, to Scully, she didn’t feel smothered. She felt loved. "I’m ok. Just really tired today."

He kissed her forehead softly. "Well, Dr. Mulder has a cure of that."

Scully tried to hold back her smile, it didn’t work. "Yeah?"

"Mmm hmm." He said moving away from her. "Sleep." He laid her down gently and pulled a blanket over her body. "Good night." He kissed her softly as she closed her eyes with a lazy, sleepy and happy smile.

Scully shivered. She was cold. And alone. No… she wasn’t alone. But Mulder wasn’t with her, half of her was missing. She needed that half. Something was wrong, she could tell.

She opened her eyes, forcing them to stay up. It was dark. The only light from the fire in the corner of the room. It’s faint red glow cast more shadows then what seemed normal. Turning the room in a bubble of darkness, furniture not visible, the walls claustrophobically close.

"Mulder?"

Scully’s voice echoed against the stone wall. Her breathing was forced and thick. A lump filled her throat. Tears welled in her eyes.

She was panicking and she knew it.

She just knew she needed to find Mulder.

Scully tried to slip off the bed. But she couldn’t. A heavy weight settled over her midsection. Scully struggled against what seemed her own body. Once too breathless to continue she laid still and called for Mulder. Over and over. But no answer came.

Suddenly she stopped her yelling, her crying, almost stopped breathing and listened. She wasn’t alone. But who ever it was wasn’t Mulder.

She jumped as the bed dipped with the weight. She froze. Waiting. Waiting for anything to happen. Something did.

A hand, a human hand, reached out and touched her cheek.

And Scully screamed. Loud and long. For Mulder, for anyone.

Her screaming continued as the hand slid down her body. Over her neck, cupping her breast, and settling on the weight holding her body down. The whole time she fought back, flailing her arms, kicking her legs.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of fighting, she hit the mysterious person.

"Scully!! Wake up!" Mulder yelled as he had to back away to avoid her blows. He had been calling her softly for ten minutes, avoiding touching her for free it would only make her dream worse, but he couldn’t wake her easily.

Her eyes flew open with a gasp as she was able to sit up. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the glow from the fire, her breathing frantic, sweat dripped from her brow and ran down her spine.

Mulder reached out and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. He murmured soft wordless words and stroked her hair back until she calmed slightly. "It’s all right." He said into her ear. "It was just a dream, sweetheart."

Scully shook her head against his chest. "No. It wasn’t a dream." She whispered. It was real. It seemed so real.

Note: I’m on a posting role! Sorry this isn’t too long, but you know how I like to end parts in this way =). Let me know what you thought!