Author's Notes: I am not a relationshipper, preferring to stay with the more carteresque (pre season six *ugh*) friendship/soulmate idea of the M/S dynamic, however a friend asked me to write a MSR piece and this was the result. So don't flame me, okay? Please?

Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are property of FOX Television, 1013 Productions and Chris Carter, etc. In other words, don't sue me. Any other characters not otherwise associated are mine.

The edge of the sky was just beginning to glow pink with the impending sunrise when the night was pierced by the wail of an ambulance. Inside, Special Agent Fox Mulder was at the center of a flurry of activity. To his left sat the disheveled figure of his partner, Dana Scully. Unshed tears filled her eyes as she held his hand. She gave orders to those working in the ambulance, needing to stay in the form of calm Dr. Scully. When they arrived at the hospital, he was taken to surgery and Scully had nothing to do but wait.

At first she paced, and eventually she sat down recalling the events of the past week. They had been investigating a series of disappearances where the victims were ten people with no connection and no similarity other than the fact they went missing for four days.

Mulder and Scully had been in the small town of Millers Grove for six days, in which time one girl had been returned and a middle-aged man had gone missing. It was when Paul Reid, the last victim, had been returned that the agents had been able to track the kidnapper. Mulder had selected the file because of the chance it might be an x-file, however Scully had been concerned when the next-to-last victim was a nine-year-old girl.

She had been awoken by a muffled scream late Tuesday night. Startled into action, she threw on a robe over her pajamas and ran into Mulder's room. Moonlight filtered through the slightly askew blinds to illuminate the thrashing form of her partner. As she reached his side, he was fighting against the blanket and sheet. She placed her hand on his shoulder to wake him up and froze when she heard him calling out for Samantha.

Quickly she climbed into the bed with Mulder, trying to still him by pulling him into her arms. "Mulder," she soothed running her hand through his hair, "it's okay." Slowly his eyes opened, and he turned an unfocused gaze onto the sight of his ever-reserved partner holding him up against herself.

"Scully?" He asked, confused. His mind registered what must have happened, and he immediately felt terrible for dragging her out of bed because of his nightmares once again. Dropping his eyes from her gaze he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Mulder, we need to talk about this." She hadn't moved from her original place on his bed, using her hand she forced Mulder to look her in the eye. "We need to reconsider staying on this case."

He interrupted her by saying "why, Scully? I think we'll be able to get this guy this time. If we don't find him before he returns Reid we'll get him when he does." He was rambling and trying in vain to look anywhere but at Scully, he didn't want her to know how shaken he really was.

"No, Mulder. You're not going to distract me like that. I've been watching how you're reacting to this case. You hardly eat, you never truly sleep. Mulder you're wasting away in front of my eyes, damn it." Her blue eyes were glowing, seemingly daring him to object.

Of course, objecting was the first thing Mulder did. "No, Scully. I want to stay on this case, I have to or else . . ."

She knew the guilt he would see fit to inflict on himself if they weren't able to catch the very human abductor before another was taken, or if the present victim died. They had been searching nearly around the clock for three days, and in that time she had observed Mulder steadily withdrawing inside himself unaware of anything save the case.

She lower her eyes, shaking her head slightly. "Mulder, I refuse to let you allow this case to kill you, or worse."

His voice was nearly a whine when he interjected a muttered, "Scull-lly."

With no warning she jumped up from where she had been sitting and began to pace the room. For fifteen minutes she slung obscenities that would have made her father's Navy buddies blush. Tired, she collapsed into a hard-backed chair. Looking up at the open-mouthed man sitting frozen on the bed she whispered, "I don't want to watch you destroy yourself for nothing."

After a few seconds Scully stood and walked back into her room. She didn't look back at Mulder, who had yet to move from where he sat. In fact, it was several minutes before he remembered to blink. Eventually he turned and stared at the closed door through which Scully had just left, but made no move to follow her.

For two days the agents pursued leads that went nowhere and Mulder continued to work on his profile of the abductor. The more time it took to find Paul Reid, the less Mulder ate and the more he suffered from nightmares. Each night, Scully forced herself not to run to his aid. No matter how much she cared for him, she was determined to prove her point. She prided herself on being stubborn, but to a fault her mind added.

Since their argument Tuesday night, Scully had been in extreme professional mode. She rarely spoke to Mulder unless it was deemed necessary, and she was earning her "Ice Queen" nickname among the local law enforcement. Whenever he tried to approach her about the disagreement, which was only once, she disregarded his comments insisting they focus on the case.

His gaunt appearance was beginning to worry her, however, by that Thursday afternoon. They were planning to attempt to apprehend the suspect that night. Worried by how his lack of food might affect his ability, she convinced him to join her for lunch. The strain was shining in his eyes she noticed as she sat across from him at the diner table. Silently she wondered how she had missed the shadows that were filling the hazel orbs. The look of loss within the depths worried her more than she'd care to admit.

"Mulder, talk to me." She knew that the last time she had tried to really talk to him, it had ended in disaster. However, she needed to know that he might be all right heading into the possibly long night ahead of them.

Heavy eyes rose to meet her gaze across the table. "I'm fine, Scully." He smiled faintly for a moment, but it didn't reach his eyes. Then he remarked, "funny, that's usually your line." He stood to leave, having hardly touched the home cooked food in front of him.

She reached out grabbing a hold of his sleeve as he passed. "Mulder, I'm sorry about the other night." Concern filled her eyes as she realized the depths to which this case was affecting her him. "I shouldn't have pulled away from you the way I did." I didn't want to get hurt, her mind added silently.

False bravado filled his features as he commented, "don't worry about me, Scully. I'm a big boy. Having said that, I'm going to the sheriff's office to help get ready for tonight." She continued to watch his retreating back until he could no longer be seen, then stubbornly finished her meal.

Rain was pouring from the gray sky late that night when the team was assembled about a block away from the building where Mulder believed the kidnapper would return his latest victim. The team of local law enforcement was headed by the two agents and the local sheriff. The group was huddled under umbrellas and inside cars to avoid the downpour until it was time to enter the building.

When the team approached the building and slowly entered, searching from room to room, Mulder was silently hoping that he had made the right call. There had been little evidence to support his theory, it was an example of "Spooky" Mulder making connections where none were visible. They still lacked a real motive for the abductions in the first place. He began to breathe easier when he heard his partner yell out that Paul Reid had been recovered.

After alerting the other team members to her discovery, Scully leaned over the unconscious form of Paul Reid and quickly found a strong pulse. She pulled out her cell phone and informed the ambulance crew waiting outside of her location so they could pick up the man after the building had been secured.

She heard a voice yell out for someone to freeze, the silence that followed was broken by sound of gunfire echoing through the large building. Leaving the still man in front of her in the care of another officer, she raced toward the commotion that followed the gun shots.

Entering a large room, she was met with the sight of the suspect lying on the floor, dead by a shot to the head. Turning her gaze to scan the room she gasped when she saw another body being tended to by an officer. Mulder. Her brain registered little more as she rushed to his side attempting to push the man out of the way.

"What happened?" She demanded as she pulled back his shirt to reveal a gaping wound on his left side where his vest had offered no protection. "How did he get shot here?" She questioned the others while she placed pressure on the area to keep him from losing any more blood.

A single man stepped forward to answer her question. He was young and his voice was shaking when he replied, "he was shot saving me." Scully turned to glare at the man, but softened her gaze when she saw how distraught the man was. He continued, "the guy aimed to shot at me and I froze," he hung his head down. "Agent Mulder pushed me out of the way."

Most of the men left with the intent of bringing the ambulance crew to where Scully waited with Mulder. She continued to work with him, doing what little she could to help him. She began to talk to him, she needed him to know that he had to live. He had to live so that she could tell him how much he meant to her.

"Mulder, listen to me. You're going to make it, all right?" She angrily brushed away an errant tear that managed to streak down her cheek. "You are not going to die on me. Not until I tell you . . ." she paused knowing he couldn't hear her. "Not until I tell you that I love you," she finished, her words nothing but a whisper upon the wind.

She was startled when she heard a choked "love you . . . too" come from Mulder. She hadn't seen his eyes flicker open just barely a moment before.

However almost as soon as his hazel eyes had opened, they closed again. "Mulder! Fox! Stay with me, I can hear the medical crew now." She was almost screaming, but she didn't care. She was in shock at what she had revealed, and at his response. Another tear fell down her cheek as she whispered, "he loves me," so softly that the advancing paramedics didn't hear her comment.

The wail of a siren woke Dana Scully. She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but not long after she stood up to stretch a doctor still wearing scrubs approached her.

"Dana Scully?"

She all but ran to meet the woman walking toward her. "Yes, how is he? When can I see him? Will he recover?"

"Slow down, Agent Scully. The bullet caused a great deal of blood loss and we had to repair some muscle damage. The bullet entered at an odd angle and lodged in a rib so none of his organs were directly damaged." She paused to let Scully absorb what she had said and then continued. "However, the force of the impact caused pieces of bone to puncture his lung. We corrected the damage as best we could and have him on a respirator for the time being."

Ashen but determined, Scully questioned, "but he's going to make it?"

The doctor shook her head affirmatively. As she observed the petite red head before her, she was amazed by her control. Her concern was obvious, but she managed it without losing control of her emotions. "I don't know why he wouldn't," the doctor finished.

When Mulder was released from recovery to a room in ICU Scully was finally allowed to see him. She entered the room, and moved to sit by his side. Taking his hand in hers, she spoke in hushed tones to let him know she was there and would not leave him.

Around mid-afternoon her vigil was rewarded as Mulder ever so slowly opened his eyes. "Hey there," she said with a smile bright enough to light up the room. "How are you feeling?" An hour earlier they had removed the respirator, but when he tried to speak he could only manage a hoarse gasp.

She helped him take a drink of water. "Like I want the name of the guy driving the truck that hit me." He smiled weakly at his own lame joke.

"Do you remember anything after you were shot?" She couldn't decide if she wanted him to remember her declaration or not.

He blinked slowly, "no, I don't think . . . Wait, I do remember," he paused and looked up into her blue eyes. "You said that you loved me."

For a reason she could not explain, she was forced to stifle a giggle. Her eyes were bright with tears when she responded, "yeah, I did. Do remember what you said to me?"

"Love you, too. I meant it Scully."

Looking down at where their hands were interlocked, she asked "why did it take this to get us to admit how we felt, Mulder?"

"Some of us who are more hardheaded than others just need a little persuasion I suppose." He placed his palm on her cheek. "You're so strong, Scully. I think that's one of the things I love most about you. You saved me, in so many more ways than just last night."

"No, Mulder, you saved me, too." She leaned forward and brought her lips down to meet his, both feeling that as long as they faced the future together they would be all right.

fin

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