Disclaimers in Part 1. Part 04 of 11. The Martin's Rutherford, NJ 1:00 p.m. THE LADY FBI AGENT CAME TODAY Joanna said. OF COURSE. I HAD TO LISTEN TO YOU MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF TALKING TO HER. On second thought, She added quickly. I DUNNO. I GUESS YOUR PARENTS CALLED HER UP AND SAID THEIR DAUGHTER WASACTING STRANGE AND SHE SHOULD COME AND INTERROGATE YOU. BUT... I THINK IT'S THE MALE AGENT, AGENT MULDER, WE SHOULD REALLY BE WORRYING ABOUT. EXACTLY. YOU DON'T THINK PEOPLE WILL SOMEHOW CONNECT YOU TO AGENT MULDER? WELL... I DO. OF COURSE. YOU WOULD BE TOO IF YOU HAD BEEN KILLED WHEN YOU WERE 12. After a minute, she said slowly I KNOW. Hospital 2:04 p.m. Mulder woke up around two. He was confused and thirsty and wanted to know where Scully was. "Hey," She squeezed his hand. "I'm right here, G-man." He blinked his eyes several times. "Scully," he said hoarsely. "Water." She found the Styrofoam cup of ice chips and held out a spoon- ful of chips and brought them up to his lips. He shook his head, wincing. "Water," he demanded, his voice gravely. "Try this first." Scully pushed the spoon into his mouth. He closed his eyes and let them melt slowly in his mouth. "Now water." Scully shook her head. "Take it slow, Mulder." She spooned him more ice chips. He leaned back, exhausted. "I feel like shit," he said slowly. "Yeah, I know." "How could you?" he said. Despite the ice chips, his throat was painfully dry again and he began to choke. "Whoah, shhh." Scully quickly gave him more ice. He closed his eyes. "Doctor Andrews is trying to get some new medicine for you. The old one wasn't any good." Mulder didn't respond but sank back down in the bed. Scully watched Mulder sink back into the pillow, his eyes at half-mast. He looked up at her, and she could see him battling to stay awake. She brushed his bangs aside. "Go to sleep, Mulder," she said gently. Mulder just nodded and closed his eyes. After making sure Mulder was asleep, Scully got up and her eyes strayed to the folders that she and Dr. Andrews had moved to the window sill. She picked them up and one fell out. It was the same paper Mulder had scribbled his notes on. Scully didn't know about the connection between Katie and Joanna, but one thing Mulder wrote did make sense. She should go find out more about Joanna's death. Glancing at Mulder one last time, she backed out of the room. She left her cell phone number at the nurses station so she could be reached and left. Police Station 3:15 p.m. "Yeah, I remember Joanna Wasserman. Here one week and already causing trouble. I caught her shoplifting at the candy store." Scully had come to the police station, hoping to find someone that would remember Joanna and her death. She hit jackpot with Detective Linda Parks, the officer in charge of that investigation. "I read about that," Scully answered. "What about the day she died?" Detective Parks nodded. "I remember that. Poor girl was just crossing the street. She got hit dead on. Driver fled the scene. Still haven't found him." She shook her head, then stopped in thought. "What?" Scully asked. "It was just a shame how her parents didn't really get too upset at the news. In fact they seemed kind of relieved. I even got a little suspicious, but turned up nothing. Joanna may have not been an angel, but still...." Scully nodded, writing things in her notebook. "Think I could talk to Joanna's parents?" Parks walked to her desk and shuffled some papers, finally producing one for Scully. "Here's their number in Texas." "Thanks." Scully put the number in her pocket and started to leave. "Agent Scully?" "Yes?" She turned around. "I thought you were investigating Sarah Martin's death. What does that have to do with Joanna?" Scully just smiled lightly. "I'm not at liberty to say." Parks nodded. Scully breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out. That detective just looked a little too much like Detective White. The car 3:35 p.m. Scully was just about to put her key into the ignition when her cell phone rang. She put the keys down and flipped it open. "Scully." "Dr. Scully?" Scully immediately recognized the voice as Dr. Andrews. She sat up straighter, worry furrowing her brow. "How is he?" she asked immediately, her voice trembling a little as she spoke. "His fever spiked up to 104. And his breathing is a bit labored. I'm afraid that the infection may have spread to his lungs. We were able to get his temperature down half a degree, but now he's awake and won't let us touch him anymore until you get here." Scully sighed. "I'll be there right away." She hung up and placed her cell phone on the seat beside her. Then she put the key into the ignition and sped off. Hospital 3:55 p.m. "Where's Scully?" It was the hundredth time Mulder had asked that question and he still wasn't getting a straight answer. The nurse who was poised to draw some blood just shrugged. "She's on the way, Agent Mulder." Mulder looked up and saw Dr. Andrews walk in. "How about letting us draw some blood then?" Mulder just shook his head. He knew they had already poked and prodded him while he was asleep. And he wasn't happy to wake up and find, in addition to the IV, he also had an oxygen tube under his nose. He felt like shit and wanted everyone to leave him alone. But most of all he wanted Scully. "Mulder, stop being a pain in the ass and let them draw blood." Mulder smiled. He'd know that voice anywhere. He looked toward the door and saw her standing there, not looking very happy. Mulder reluctantly let the nurse take his arm. Dr. Andrews wrote some more on Mulder's chart and left. Five minutes later, the nurse left as well. "You're not happy till you have pissed off every hospital in the country, are you?" Scully sighed and sat on the bed. "Where did you go?" Scully sighed again. She wouldn't tell him about Katie, but she could tell him that she went to the police station. "I went to the police station. Talked to a detective who investigated her death." Scully also failed to mention the likeness she had to Detective White. Mulder laid back on the pillows and looked at her. "Guess you read my notes." "The ones that were legible, yes." Scully smiled. "I found nothing out of the ordinary. She was hit while crossing the street. Though her parents did not seem to saddened by her death. Because of that they were investigated. Came out clean." Scully conveniently left out the fact she had the Wassermans' phone number. Tell that to Mulder and he would be on the phone in a moment. And all she wanted him to do was rest. "I'm surprised to see you fighting back," Scully admitted. "Doctor Andrews says your fever went up a degree." Mulder grimaced at that. Obviously he had been told that. Scully noted the oxygen cannula under his nose. She knew Mulder hated those. She could also hear him breathing a little heavier after each time he spoke. He didn't need a long discussion now. She walked over to him, sitting next to him on what was coming to be known as "her spot" and tucked the blankets around him closer. "Listen. This is tiring you out. Fighting the doctor is tiring you out. We can talk later." Mulder looked up at her. For a minute he didn't speak. Then he nodded. "But one more thing," he said, then pausing to take a breath. "What?" Scully asked, hoping it wasn't about Katie. No such luck. "Did you talk to the Martins' since I've been here? To Katie?" "No," she lied. "Go back to sleep." She watched Mulder's eyes slip closed. She felt bad about lying to him, but she had to. She just had to. Hospital Rutherford, NJ 4:17 p.m. Scully sat by Mulder's side for a while, to make sure he wouldn't wake up again, then went downstairs in search of a decent cup of coffee and a pay phone. She found the coffee-- well, it was ALMOST recognizable as coffee-- without much trouble in the cafeteria, and though it wasn't exactly eligible to be called "coffee" she drank it all and felt a little better. Pulling a chair up to the phone booth, she sat down and, pulling out the slip of paper with the Wasserman's number, dialed in the numbers and charged it to the Bureau. Well, Mrs. Wasserman was not the happiest thing running around on two legs. "What do you want?" she greeted Scully cordially. "Ah, yes. I'm Agent Scully with the FBI--" She was cut off. "We already answered all the questions that needed to be answered for the Rutherford Police. No, we had no part in the death of our daughter and yes, we are devastated by her departure." She spat out the last word. "Mrs. Wasserman, I understand that and believe me you have my condolences on the death of--" "Oh, get on with it." Scully cut to the chase. "Recently, we found a piece of evidence in the study of a murder case, the murder of a Sarah Martin, a bracelet, and we found Joanna's fingerprints on it. Now--" "Oh right, so now you think she's ALIVE. Am I responsible for that, too?" Scully cleared her throat, trying to keep her cool. "Ah, no, Mrs. Wasserman. I was just wondering if you know if your daughter ever met or had a relationship with a girl named Katie Martin." "Are you now suggesting my daughter was a homosexual?" Scully ground her teeth. "Not that kind of relationship." "Is your husband home?" she said. "Don't bring my husband into this. You know what? I don't have to talk to you. I have to go. I'm going now, goodbye." she said brusquely. "GOOD-bye to you too," Scully said. When Scully entered the room, a crowd had gathered around Mulder. "What the...?" Scully pushed through and saw Mulder thrashing around on the bed. "Clear out, people. Give the man some air." Doctor Andrews looked like he was either directing traffic or herding cattle. He looked up pleadingly when Scully came into view. "I don't know what to do with him; he's pushing away everyone. He's gonna hurt someone." "He's sleeping, damnit," Scully said between clenched teeth. She pushed past Doctor Andrews and the few remaining nurses and doctors and sat on the edge of Mulder's bed. Gently grabbing his wrists, she held them together, noticing he had dislodged the IV. "Mulder," she said. "It's just a dream. It's okay, shhhh." He had started to whimper and still wasn't responding to her. His legs began trembling, then his whole body, until she could barely keep her hold on his wrists. "Mulder, Mulder. Shhhh, it's okay. C'mon Mulder, wake up now. It's Scully, I'm here." As soon as she said her name his eyes shot open. "Scully." His voice sounded awful, rusty and sore. "You're here Scully. You left." "I know, shhhh." He was still shaking uncontrollably. "Relax, it's okay. It was just a dream. It was--" "Joanna," Mulder said. "She's it." "What?" "Joanna," he said again, then gasped for breath. "Okay. Relax, I'm going to get the doctor." Scully watched him warily as she walked out of the door. Doctor Andrews was standing right outside of it. "His breathing is getting worse. He needs to calm down," Scully said quietly to the doctor. Andrews simply nodded and walked toward the nurses station. Scully walked back into the room. Mulder was still breathing hard and gasping. Scully went back to her place on the bed. "Shhhh, Mulder. Relax. The doctor is going to give you something to help," she whispered gently. "No more," he rasped, and paused to take a breath, "sedatives." Scully just looked at him and stroked his face gently. The action was simple, but it made Mulder feel a hundred times better. His breathing relaxed a little and he found himself just staring into Scully's blue eyes. He lost himself in those eyes. Scully just whispered "it's okay" over and over. She walked Mulder calm a bit and saw Dr. Andrews walk in behind her, a needle in his hand. Mulder didn't seem to notice, he just stared at Scully, as if she was the only thing there. Scully motioned with the back of her hand for Andrews to give her the needle. Scully keep her eyes on Mulder and whispered, "it's okay" as she reattached Mulder's IV and injected the contents of the syringe into the line. "Joanna," he whispered, as he closed his eyes. Scully just pushed some hair out of his face and nodded. Martin Household 7:15 p.m. Scully had waited by Mulder's bedside for awhile, just watching him sleep. Mulder still tossed and turned, even in a drugged sleep. Scully didn't want to leave him, but Doctor Andrews insisted she should get something to eat and that he would be fine for a couple of hours. Scully had reluctantly left Mulder's side and grabbed a bite to eat at the McDonald's she and Mulder had dined in their first night, then had headed to the Martins'. Why she headed there, she didn't know. But when Mulder had said "Joanna" she had to admit, she got chills. So she was going to prove to herself--as well as Mulder that there was nothing going on with Katie. Christina Martin welcomed her in warmly, asking her to sit down. Buster sat down on the chair across from her. He had a serious expression on his face. "Agent Scully," he began, "We're glad you came. Katie's been acting strange." "My poor girl's talking to walls and taking geometry now," Christina muttered. "I see," Scully said, choosing her words carefully. "Can I talk to Katie?" "Of course." Buster walked to the stairs. "KATIE!" Katie heard her father call her from her bedroom. YES, BUT DON’T WORRY. DON’T WORRY I’LL TELL YOU WHAT TO SAY. "Coming Dad!" Scully heard the "coming dad!" and then Katie bounded down the stairs, landing on the last one quite loudly. Katie stopped it front of Scully and smiled. "Yes?" she said innocently. "Agent Scully wants to talk to you, Katie," her father said. Katie nodded. "Shoot." Katie directed at the walls. YEP, it echoed back. Scully launched into the easy questions, like "What happened when Sarah died?", and "Where were you?" and questions like that. Katie relaxed until Scully asked her last question. "Katie, have you ever heard of a Joanna Wasserman?" Katie paused and looked at the walls. SAY YOU HEARD OF ME FROM THE NEIGHBORS. JUST TALK. "I heard of her. From the neighbors. Just talk though," Katie said smoothly, crossing her fingers behind her back. Scully noted that Katie had her hand behind her back. "Just talk?" Scully repeated. "Just talk." Katie looked toward the walls. IT WILL. Scully opened her mouth to ask about it further, when she was interrupted by her cell phone. "Excuse me," she said as she got it out. "Scully." "Doctor Scully, I think you ought to get down here." Scully sighed. "What happened?" Scully heard Dr. Andrews sigh as well. "Agent Mulder is awake and well, let's just say, my nursing staff is threatening to quit on me." Scully again, louder. "Okay, I will there soon. How is his health faring?" "Not well. Fever's down to 102, but his breathing seems to be getting worse. His lack of cooperation is not helping." "I'll be there in ten minutes." Scully disconnected the line. As soon as she did she could swear she heard something say "I told you so." Hospital 7:50 p.m. As soon as she walked out of the elevator, Scully knew Mulder was being a pest. "No! Leave me alone!" she heard from the direction she knew Mulder's room was in. It didn't take brainpower for her to know it _was_ Mulder. She entered the room and found Mulder thrashing about on the bed. He looked terrible. His face was sheet white, with the exception of the red patches that resided on his cheeks. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. He had managed to dislodge his IV again and she saw Dr. Andrews trying to reattach it. Scully would never forget the look of relief that Andrews gave her when she reached Mulder's bedside. Scully just smiled in return. Mulder's face light up when he saw her at his bedside. Scully took the IV equipment from Andrews hand and said "Allow me." Andrews shot her another grateful look and left her and Mulder alone. "I thought he'd," Mulder wheezed, "never leave." "I'm sure he wanted to Mulder. You're not actually the world's greatest patient." She heard him gasping and noticed he had removed the oxygen cannula and it was sitting in his lap. "Mulder, you shouldn't take this off," she scolded as she picked it up. "Scully, I hate those things," he protested. Scully just raised her eyebrows in the look she had perfected long ago. She repositioned the oxygen cannula under his nose and pulled out the IV on his hand. "Yeah, Scully, now you're thinking," Mulder said grinning. She looked up at him. "You wish. You pulled on it too much. I'll have to start a new one." Mulder grimaced as she slid the new needle in. Scully attached the IV and then looked at him seriously. "I don't know if I can ever leave you alone again," she said. Mulder suddenly found a part of the wall very interesting. A few minutes of silence passed between them. Finally Mulder mumbled something Scully couldn't make out. "What did you say?" she asked innocently. He turned to her. "I said, I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass. Really." "Does that mean you will behave?" Mulder's fever-bright eyes twinkled. "I'll try." "Yeah, well, try hard." She got up and walked toward the window and looked out at the sky. She didn't see any stars. Not even a tiny little sparkle. she thought ruefully. "How's the case?" Mulder voice brought Scully out of her own thoughts. She turned to him. "I don't know if I should talk about it," Scully said matter-of-factly. "I'll be good," Mulder promised. A few couched escaped him then. Scully looked on concerned. Mulder laid back down on the pillow. "I'm ok," he reassured her. "How about the case?" "Mulder, the case is doing just about as well as you are." More silence passed between them. "Well, I do have theories. But since the nurses seem to be coming with needles a lot, I haven't really been able to think long enough. At least with a clear head." Then he reached the hand without the IV up to his head gingerly. "That isn't pounding." "That's okay Mulder. I don't know if want to hear your 'theories' anyway," she teased. Then her face turned serious. She had to tell him something so that he would relax a little. "I talked to Katie today," she said quietly. Mulder picked his head up. "And?" he asked and winced when a pain ran through him, forcing him to put his head down. "And, she was acting a bit.....strange," Scully admitted, hoping this won't affect his health. "How so?" He asked, shutting his eyes against another pain. "Before I go on, I'm going to remind you that you are off active duty. By order of the AD." "I know, Scully." "Just keep it in mind. She was answering quickly. When I asked her about if she had heard of Joanna, she glanced at the walls, put her hand behind her back, and said she had heard about through neighbors. 'Just talk' were her words." "I was right-" Mulder started, when he suddenly gasped. He looked at Scully. "Scu.." He couldn't even get her name out; he didn't have enough air. Scully bolted out of the room calling for the doctor. The Martin's Rutherford, NJ 7:55 p.m. "What do you mean you're just gonna deprive him of air for a couple minutes???" MIND SPEAK!!! Joanna reminded her. YOUR PARENTS THINK YOU'RE CRAZY ENOUGH AS IT IS. Her voice calmed, WELL, JUST TO STOP THAT PARTNER OF HIS. SHE KNOWS TOO MUCH AND SHE'S ABOUT TO TELL IT. RELAX, I WON'T KILL 'IM I WON'T. HERE, YOU WANT HIM TO BREATHE? YOU GOT IT Hospital 7:56 p.m. Doctor Andrews was running around flustered when Mulder started coughing. Scully had remained at Mulder's side the whole time, trying to convince him that breathing couldn't be THAT hard. The doctor had checked and there was nothing blocking his passage and nothing he had choked on, but he wasn't able to take a breath for some reason. Almost like his throat was squeezed to a point where no air could get through. So when he started hacking and gasping for air and his face lost the sickening blue tinge, it was a relief for Scully. "Deep breaths," she cooed, rubbing his back to try to cease the ceaseless coughing. The Martin's Rutherford, NJ 7:59 p.m. THERE. DONE WELL, NOT FULLY HEALED. HE'LL PROBABLY PASS OUT IN ABOUT A MINUTE FROM THE LACK OF OXYGEN FOR SO LONG YEAH, BUT MY HANDYWORK ALWAYS HAS SOME.... UH, AFTERMATH Katie leaned back against the wall. NO, NO, NO. I'D NEVER DO ANYTHING PERMANENT. WELL, NOT UNLESS YOU ASK ME TO. JUST ENOUGH TO STOP THE TRUTH FROM GETTING TO HIM "The truth..." Katie said aloud, quietly. Hospital 8:04 p.m. After several terrible moments of hacking and gasping to get his air back, on the verge of hyperventilation, Mulder passed out. It was probably for the best. Doctor Andrews and Scully fell back, exhausted, in the visitor's chairs. "Doctor Scully, I don't know what to do," Andrews admitted. "I've never seen anything like it. I think..." He took a deep breath then puffed it out in slow intervals. "I think we're just going to have to tough it out, wait for it to pass. It doesn't seem to.... well, yes, it IS getting worse, but any medication I try just makes his fever spike. I just don't think--" Scully put a hand over his. "It's okay. I have a feeling this virus is a bit... out of the ordinary." She leaned back in her chair, squinting intently at the wall, and appeared to be in deep thought. End Part 04 of 11.