Title: Detour through the Ads

Author: Sally Bahnsen <bahnsen@alphalink.com.au
<mailto:bahnsen@alphalink.com.au>>

Date: 20 jul 99

Summary: A fill in the gaps for Detour. Told from Scully's
perspective.

Category: MT/UST

Rating: PG some bad words

Disclaimer: We all know they're yours Chris, I will just
covet, borrow, then return them mostly how I found them.
Don't sue, my kids need me.

Authors notes: This is my first and possibly only solo
effort. I want to thank Vickie Moseley for practically
doing every thing for me except taking me to the
bathroom<G>. If we didn't live on opposite sides of the
world she'd probably help me out there too. She's the best!
Thankyou to everyone who sent feedback on 'Breadcrumbs' I
found that very exciting.

Feedback: yeah okay. <bahnsen@alphalink.com.au>


Detour through the Ads

Sally Bahnsen



"Mulder?" "MULDER!"

Fear tap dances up and down my spine. Where the hell is
he? If this is Mulder playing games I'll kill him myself.
But then I hear it, a strangled cry.

"..ully!"

"Mulder!" I call his name and move to where he was last
standing. I can't tell where his fantic cry came from. I
make my way through the thick undergrowth, branches
whipping at my body. I have my gun trained out in front of
me, ready, waiting. My arms are aching, they have been
locked in this position so long. I relax my grip slightly
to keep my balance. Where -is- he ? I hear it again but
it's muffled.

"Scully!"

I whirl around, turning my head trying desperately to see
my partner.

"Scully!"

This time I see something. Trees moving, Mulder being
dragged, struggling with his predator. What the hell is
that thing? I can see an image but it's blending in with
the forest. I fire 4 more shots and hope to God I don't
hit Mulder. Must be my lucky day, the thing lets go of him
and flees into the bushes.

My arms are locked again, gun poised in front of me. What
if there's more? I spare a look for Mulder. He's lying on
his back blinking, and by some miracle he still has his
weapon. That would be right, if ever there was a time it
would be understandable for his gun to be missing, he
manages to hang on to it! He looks scared and I don't
blame him. My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it's
going to leap right through my chest. "You okay?" I ask as
I continue to sweep the area. He replies yes, but he
sounds awfully shakey. I want to tend to him but my FBI
training is fully engaged and I won't move to him until I
know it's safe.

A few more seconds and I see nothing. I lower my gun and
return it to it's holster but continue to be alert. My
hearing is tuned to anything unusual but as before the
forest is ominously silent. No sound. Just my own harsh
breathing echoing in my ears.

"Mulder!" I gasp as I kneel beside him. My God there's
blood all over him. How could he possibly be okay? His
eyes are darting between me and the thick growth
surrounding us. He makes a move to get up. "No you don't
buster, you just stay right there till I check you out."

"I'm okay Scully, "he responds hesitantly.

"You are -not- okay. You're hurt. Now let me see how
bad." I've seen enough blood in my career as a pathologist
but when it's someone you know, someone you care about it's
just not the same. It's difficult to remain detached. I've
certainly had a lot of practice doctoring Mulder but I
still can't get used to seeing him injured.

I push my personal feelings to the side and draw on my
professional training. It helps. I would really like the
opportunity to just be a friend though, to have the luxury
of just being worried instead of the responsibility of
saving him. We are friends though, there's no doubt in my
mind about that and sometimes we even relax and let the
professional barriers drop for awhile. Those times are
precious but all too few.

I am roused from my musings by a soft moan. I guess the
adrenaline rush is wearing off. I turn my attention back
to Mulder. Damn! I don't have the medical kit. Well why
would I? Michele was carrying everything we needed. Even
venturing out here with Mulder I didn't anticipate anything
like this. We were only going to be gone for a few hours
and even in the case of an emergency, Michele had food,
water and medical supplies. She was experienced and I for
one thought we had our bases covered. I could kick myself
of course. I should trust my own instincts, which tell me
medical supplies and Mulder go hand in hand.

I start my examination of Mulder's injuries. Some
superficial cuts and abrasions on his face. Not too
serious. I feel his head, looking for bumps or deeper
cuts. Anything that may indicate a head injury. I move my
finger across his eyes. Mulder knows the routine and he
tracks my finger without being asked. I smile to myself as
I regard how much medicine I actually get to practice on my
accident prone partner. "Did you lose conciousness at all
Mulder?"

"No." He doesn't elaborate and I figure he's still coming
to terms with what just happened.

I take a closer look at his upper torso. His jacket has
some blood on it but it's his t-shirt that has the worst of
it. The material is shredded and there appears to be a
deep gash across his shoulder, still oozing blood. "Mulder
I can see the obvious damage to your shoulder. Are you
experiencing pain anywhere else?" He shakes his head, no.
His eyes look slightly glazed and I wonder if he's really
with me. If he's going into shock the pain from other
injuries may not be registering. Better to err on the side
of caution so I continue to check him out myself.

I notice he is holding his left arm stiffly across his
chest. "Mulder I want to have a look at your arm and check
for breaks. I'll be gentle, but let me know if I'm hurting
you okay?"

"Scully I told you I'm fine, really."

"Just humour me Mulder, I want to make sure." He moves
his arm slowly in my direction. Well that's a good sign in
itself. I take his arm and run my own hand gently along
it's length checking for any unusual deformities or
tenderness. The arm seems fine and I move to his shoulder.
Mulder gives me his best I-told-you-so look and I match it
with one of my own as I touch his shoulder and he gasps in
pain. I feel kind of mean then and apologize for hurting
him. I can't feel anything that would indicate a
dislocation. I pick up his arm and gently rotate it at the
shoulder. He hisses this time through clenched teeth but I
still see no sign of a break, no clicking or grating of the
bones. "Mulder I don't think you've broken anything but I
would guess you've got some serious bruising. That coupled
with the gash on your shoulder is going to cause you quite
a bit of discomfort. "

"Well thank you Dr Scully but I could have told you that
myself."

I ignore his sarcasm, he tends to get that way when he's
in pain. Instead I search my pockets for something to use
to stop the bleeding. Still my lucky day. I find an old
but clean handkerchief along with a half packet of
peppermint lifesavers stuffed in there from God knows when.
I pull out the hanky and hold it up for Mulder to see. He
just looks at me wondering what the big deal is. "To stop
the blood flow from you shoulder wound Mulder." He can be
so obtuse sometimes. I lift the shredded material around
his wound and carefully place the folded hanky over the top
of the wound, applying pressure.

I see Mulder biting down on his lip to stop from crying
out and once again I find myself apologizing to him.
Fortunately there have been no major blood vessels or
arteries damaged and after a few minutes the bloodflow is
controlled. I leave the hanky there and replace the
damaged material over the top in the hope that it will help
keep it in place. I reach over then and zip up his jacket,
its going to be damn cold out here tonight. Already I can
feel the temperature dropping as the sun slips behind the
trees.

I stand up and take a good look around with a view to
spending the night out here. It's doubtful we'll be missed
for awhile and then unlikely that a search party will find
us till morning. I haven't a clue as to which way is back
and I do not intend to attempt walking out of here tonight.
Mulder makes a move to get up and this time I let him. We
need to find somewhere a little more sheltered than here
but there don't appear to be a lot of options.

I feel Mulder by my side and take a few seconds to look
him over. He seems unsteady on his feet and on closer
inspection I notice that his eyes are still glassy.
"Mulder are you okay?" I ask, my voice echoing the worry I
feel.

I reach for his arm to help steady him and he just stares
right through me, at the same time his face completely
drains of colour as his knees slowly buckle beneath him.
"Whoah." I grab him tightly around the waist and lower him
to the ground. Thats when I notice the fine sheen of
perspiration on his brow. I check his pulse, rapid and
weak. Shock. Well I was wondering about that, it did seem
too good to be true that he would be injured without his
usual dose of shock. Great! I really need to get him warm
but how the hell am I going to manage that out here.
Before he collapsed I did notice a small clearing over to
the left, and I thought I saw a log to shelter it from
behind.

"Okay, Mulder, you're gonna have to help me out here.
There is no way I can carry or even drag you that far." I
gently give him a shake not wanting to further aggravate
his injuries. "Mulder. Come on partner, time to wake up.
Mulder!" Conciousness returns and with it I gather, so
does the pain. His eyes are now squeezed tightly shut, no
longer relaxed in the land of nod. He lets out a low groan
and moves his right hand to his left arm hugging it close
to his chest, at the same time curling his body into a
fetal position. I place my hand on his forehead and brush
back his hair.

"Hey Mulder. It's me, Scully. Can you hear me? "

"Mmm." His breathing is fast and shallow and now I can
feel his body trembling, alternating between violent
shaking and a rythmic shivering. "Mulder, talk to me
partner. I know you're hurting , but I want you to try and
relax. Nice slow breaths okay? In, out, in, out. That's
it, your doing much better." His breathing slows and his
body starts to relax a bit. All but the white knuckled
grip he has on his left arm. As his breathing returns to
normal the violent shuddering also subsides. He opens his
eyes and looks up at me. His brow is still creased with
lines of pain but he does seem to be more aware.

"Scully?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Like Shit," he moans. Ah yes, my partner sure has a way
with words.

"Mulder I'm not surprised. I want you to lie back right
now. You're in shock." I tell him, my tone accusing.

There is nothing at hand to use to prop his feet up on and
the lack of resources is starting to tell on my patience.
I decide to improvise as best I can. I sit by Mulder's
feet and lift his feet onto my lap.

"Scully what are you doing?" He asks, totally confused.

"I'm raising your feet higher than your heart. You should
know that by now!" I hear myself snapping at him again so
I take a breath to calm my nerves. This time I speak
gently. "It's just for a few minutes, till your colour
improves." He seems satisfied with my explaination and
lays back in acceptance.

It's not much longer till he starts to look better. It's
getting dark and I'm eager to get moving to the clearing I
saw earlier.

"Can you try and sit up for me Mulder?" With my help he
manages to get upright but the eyes squeeze shut again and
the panting starts. "Slow, even breaths ." I remind him.

"Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna be.." the rest is lost, as are the contents of
his stomach as he shoves me to the side and proceeds to
heave all over the forest floor. I recover my balance and
crouch down next to him, one hand resting on his forehead
and the other supporting his shoulders. Eventually the
vomitting turns to dry retching and then that ceases too.
He slumps back against me and I move him away from the mess
he just made. He is resting on his side propped up on his
good elbow looking very pale and very sorry for himself.
"Mulder you don't do things by halves do you?" I ask
exasperated, but I'm really giving myself a mentle kick for
rushing him.

"I always say if you're going to do something, do it right."

He gives me a wry smile and I just shake my head wondering
how he manages to get himself into these situations. We
should be spending the night in a nice hotel in Orlando,
courtesy of the FBI, not stuck out in the middle of nowhere
freezing our butts off.

Mulder is wiping his mouth on his sleeve. We have no
water so there is nothing for him to rinse his mouth out.
I remember the half packet of peppermints in my pocket and
offer him one, its gotta be better than the taste in his
mouth right now.

"Thanks," he says as he gratefully accepts the mint.

"Mulder we need to get moving. I saw a place not far from
here that might be suitable to spend the night. "

He lifts an eye brow in a suggestive smirk. "Agent Scully
are you coming on to me?"

Yep. He's feeling better. I ignore this remark just like
I ignore all the other ones he's ever made. One day I'll
come back with something and see how he copes with that. I
stand and reach out my hand to help him up. He sighs and I
hear him mumble, "Can't blame a guy for trying."

As he gets to his feet I drape his right arm over my
shoulder and guide him to the clearing I'd spotted earlier.
We make it without further incident. By now it is quite
dark and the stars are just starting to sprinkle the sky.
I ease Mulder down next to the log, he leans his head back
and closes his eyes. The walk has obviously taken its toll
on him and I notice he is once again hugging that left arm
close to his body. It's going to be a long night for him
without any pain killers.

While Mulder is resting I gather some dry leaves and twigs
and build a fire. Only problem is, no matches. So I start
hitting these two rocks together hoping to get a spark and
ignite the leaves. I hear stirring behind me, the banging
must've woken Mulder. "You were an Indian guide, help me
out here," I ask hopefully.

"Indian guide says maybe you should run to the store and
get some matches."

"I would but I left my wallet in the car." I realize that
this rock hitting exercise isn't achieving any thing so I
move back next to Mulder and start working on plan B. I
saw this guy on TV use the powder from a bullet to start a
fire. So I figure how hard can it be?

Mulder asks me what I'm doing and I tell him. He seems
very negative and I tell him his body is still in shock and
he needs to keep warm.

"I was told once that the best way to regenerate body heat
was to crawl naked into a sleeping bag with someone else
who is already naked." he recites as he snuggles closer to
me.

Oh this is too good an opportunity to let go, here's my
chance. "Well if it starts raining sleeping bags maybe
you'll get lucky." I remark casually. The look on his face
is priceless, why is it that you never have a camera when
you need one. I bite back a smile and get on with my task.

While I'm fiddling around with the casing on my bullet I
start to think about the events we have just been through
with my cancer. I ask Mulder if he's ever thought seriously
about dying. He replies once when he was at the ice
capades. I don't know why I thought I would get a serious
answer from him. I know the subject of death is still a
little raw with him, so close to my remission. I've learn't
he masks his pain with humour. I decide to push on anyway
and explain how I felt when I was close to dying. As I
start speaking I realize that I'm still spooked by it
myself and I get a little nervous opening up to Mulder like
this. It's breaking our unwritten law of not revealing too
much of ourselves. But Mulder, true to form lightens the
situation with humour again. This time I let a chuckle
escape my lips.

Finally the casing comes apart and I move to the "fire"
and put plan B into action. Unfortunately it didn't quite
happen like I saw on TV, in fact it didn't happen at all.
So we are still fireless. I was kinda hoping to use the
fire as a deterrent to the thing that grabbed Mulder. That
thought reminds me of what he referred to them as earlier
and I turn to him and ask, "Mothmen? Really?"

"Yeah. But there seemed to be only two of them."

Okay, so he's still sticking to that theory. Right now I
don't feel like debating with him so I return to the log
and decide I am personally going to have to keep him warm.
I gather him in my arms and attempt to pull him onto my
lap. I can still feel him shivering but he resists me and
tells me he doesn't want to wrestle.

"Get over here I'm gonna try and keep you warm." The
movement causes him to wince as his shoulder is jostled.
He settles on my lap and I give his arm a gentle rub, not
realizing that even this light contact is hurting him until
he grunts with pain. "Sorry."

He tells me one of us needs to stay awake, but its not
necessary. There is no way I will be falling asleep tonight.

"Why don't you sing something?"

WHAT?! "No, Mulder."

"If you sing something then I'll know you're awake."

"Mulder you don't want me to sing, I can't carry a tune."

"Doesn't matter, just sing anything."

The fact that I am now even considering this proves how
comfortable we are with one another. I DEFINATELY would
not sing in front of anyone else. Funny how Mulder can get
me to do things that I would consider out of character for
me. Well, if nothing else maybe it will keep those things
(I can't quite bring myself to call them mothmen) away. So
I break into my own rendition of 'Joy to the World.' I
really liked that song when I was a kid. I can't help
feeling somewhat foolish but I stick with it anyway.

Eventually Mulder falls asleep and I stop my 'singing'.
The silence of the night is almost tangible after the noise
of my voice. Once again there is no sound, no night
creatures scuffling, no crickets chirping, nothing.

Suddenly I feel very alone. The cool night air surrounds
me and I shiver involuntary. I hug Mulder closer, seeking
the comfort and warmth of his body.

It feels good to hold him, to take care of him. In the
last year I've had to depend on so many people as I battled
my cancer. It owned me. In so many ways I lost control of
my life, my independence. Everyone telling me what to do.
The doctors, in charge of my treatment, my brother Bill,
telling me how I should live the rest of my life, and even
my mom, wanting me to return to the church.

Although Mulder very rarely mentioned my illness, I could
feel him hovering, trying to protect me. And so many times
I had to leave him on his own, with no back up, while I had
treatment. I just wanted to keep working and pretend it
wasn't there. It seemed I was not in control of my own
destiny.

But here I am. Still on the X Files. Still with Mulder.
It feels wonderful to be functioning again in my full
capacity. No longer vunerable to the disease my partner
helped me fight.

Mulder stirs in my arms and I calm him down, shooshing him
and rubbing his back in gentle circles. He settles and
drifts back to sleep.

It's my turn to protect him now, I won't allow myself to
fall asleep and put him in danger. So I remain alert to
our environment and alert to Mulders needs.

This is how we stay until morning peeks its head above the
horizon.

5.00 AM

My legs are cramped and my backside is numb. It's been a
long slow night as nights tend to be when you are
uncomfortable. Mulder is sleeping peacefully now, having
reached that pre dawn deep slumber. The one you get just
before the alarm goes off. I sit here awhile and watch the
even rise and fall of his chest. He looks so peaceful when
he sleeps, not a care in the world. But the call of nature
is louder than Mulder's gentle snoring and must be obeyed.
I slide myself from under him and there is not even a
twitch. Put the man in a bed and he's awake all night, but
here, in the cold, injured and now lying on the hard ground
he sleeps like a baby.

The first rays of the dawn sun are streaking the sky
lighting the forest in a warm golden glow. As I return to
Mulder I notice some wild berries growing on a bush. The
sight of them reminds me how hungry I am and my stomach
growls in agreement.

I am just gathering a bunch for Mulder when I hear his
worried call. "I"m over here." I shout back unconcerned.
He asks me what I'm doing and I tell him I'm looking for
food.

"I wouldn't go far." he warns.

"Mulder you never left my sight." What a panic merchant!
WHUMP! The next thing I know I'm flat on my stomach
spitting out dirt. Now what?

As I carefully rise to my feet I hear Mulder calling me
again. "I'm down here. I fell in a hole." I reply as I
dust myself off.

"Are you okay?" He asks a little unsure.

"Yeah. I landed on soft dirt. Kind of."

Mulder asks what's down there. I start to tell him when I
run right smack bang into Michele. "Jeezus." I gasp, but
quickly recover and reach for her pulse. Mulder asks if
she's alive and I tell him not for much longer if we don't
get her some help. Mulder is still speaking to me from
above the hole which I now see is more like an underground
cave with passages branching off in all directions.

Wait a second. I see something glowing. Oh God, they
look like eyes. "Mulder I'm not alone." I call up to him
trying to keep the rising panic out of my voice. I
instinctively reach for for my gun. It's not there. "I
don't have my weapon!"

This time I -know- there is fear in my voice. Mulder
tells me he will drop his weapon down to me. I hear it
clunk and reach down to pick it up. As I turn back towards
the eyes I hear something thud on the ground behind me.
It's Mulder. He's landed awkwardly. I see out of the
corner of my eye that he is clutching his arm again and
groaning. I try to see if he's okay and help him up when
he yells my name. I turn quickly firing off a couple of
rounds at the approaching mothman. It drops to theground
and I let out a long sigh of relief.

We move to get a closer look at it and I can't believe
what I'm seeing. "There has to be a scientific
explaination for this," I say, the words out before I
realize I've spoken them. Mulder just stares at it, not
saying a word.

We keep ourselves busy attending to the injured. We found
the boy's father alive as well. Unfortunately some were
not so lucky and we stack their bodies near the opening of
the hole. Just as we carry the last one over we hear
someone calling. "We're down here," we both respond, glad
that the rescue party has finally arrived. It's agent
Kinsley. He wants to know what we're doing down here.
Mulder and I just look at each other, momentarily lost for
words. He has got to be kidding. We tell him we have
injured people and need a ladder. He moves off, hopefully
to get help.

I decide to go check on Michele again when I notice Mulder
leaning against the cave wall. He is hunched over hugging
that arm. God, in all the excitement I forgot about his
injury. I haven't checked on him since he fell and joined
me in the hole. "Mulder?" I ask hesitantly. "Hey, you
okay?" He nods but I notice his eyes are closed and he's
got his lip clenched firmly in his teeth.

"Mulder, come sit down I want to check your wound and make
sure its not bleeding again." I take his right arm and
show him to a rock, gently pushing him down to sit.

I pull back his coat and t-shirt. The previously white
handkerchief I'd used for padding was now soaked a deep
crimson. I pull it back and Mulder gasps as some of the
dried blood has glued it to his skin. The wound is oozing
blood again and has the beginnings of infection around the
edge. I put my hand to his forehead and he leans into my
touch, he's a little warm but not too bad. Our rescue has
come just in time. Much longer out here and Mulder would
be caught in the grip of very nasty infection.

"Hang in there Mulder, they'll have us out of here soon
and we'll get the good stuff into you." I smile at him
encouragingly.

"I'm okay Scully, it hurts a bit thats's all," he
reassures me.

I turn at the sound of voices again. A ladder is placed
down the hole and people are descending. I'm starting to
feel a little shakey myself now that the ordeal is over and
there are other people to take charge. I show them where
Michele and Mr Asekoff are. They are the first ones to be
taken out, followed by Mulder and myself. I go with Mulder
to the waiting Paramedics and give them a quick run down on
his condition. They assure me they will take good care of
him so I head off to find that coffee I can smell. That's
what I like about country towns, in an emergency everyone
pitches in. Not only do I find coffee but sandwiches too.

After eating I decide to go back to the motel and pack up
our things. One of the rangers is heading that way so I
catch a ride with him.

I finish in my room fairly quickly and move to Mulder's.
It is surprisingly tidy and doesn't take long to organize.
As I reach for his shaving bag I notice the discarded tray
of wine and cheese from the night before. I wonder what I
was thinking bringing that to his room. The relief of
being healthy and back at work was making me a little
giddy, and well, we were supposed to be relaxing at a wine
and cheese tasting at the team building seminar. I know
Mulder hates those things, I'm not too excited by them
myself, but hey, we were going to get a little Florida
sunshine, who am I to complain? I should have known better
though. Mulder take up the chance to be social? It's not
in his genes. He doesn't even notice how evey female head
turns in his direction when he walks in a room. And the
fact he's unaware only makes him all the more attractive.
I can't help smiling to myself when I see those adoring
looks from the opposithe sex and all Mulder can do is spout
off some new and out landish theory. But that's Mulder and
I couldn't even get mad at him when he left me to go chase
a lead. That smile of his will do it every time. It's a
killer and turns my legs to jello.

I am jarred awake from my ponderings when I hear a
desperate pounding on my door. Confused I poke my head
out and see Mulder. He looks relieved to see me and I'm
wondering what his problem is. He just asks me if I'm ready
and suggests we leave. I say okay, still confused at his
urgency.

Mulder is favouring his arm but looks decidedly better.
Amazing what painkillers and a cup of coffee can acheive.
As I throw our bags in the back I notice Agent Kinsley's
jacket on the seat. After 2 seconds thought I decide to
hand it over at the airport. The thought of another car
trip with those two is enough to send me back to the cave.
I glance at Mulder, silently asking if he's ready, he nods
and I hit the road.


The end.

Feedback: bahnsen@alphalink.com.au