TITLE: Just Strange (1 of 1)
AUTHOR: Rhetta
RATING: PG
CLASSIFICATION: Vignette
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere, just let me know.
FEEDBACK: pindaran@hotmail.com
SPOILERS: 'Redux II'
DISCLAIMER: Mulder, Scully, and The X-Files aren't mine. They
belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox. You'd think they would treat
them a little nicer. I sure would.
SUMMARY: It sounds worse each time he tells it.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written for the After The Fact 'Redux II' Episode
Challenge.

**********

"That's when it came close enough that I could see it's red eyes and
the blood that was dripping from it's teeth. And I'm pretty sure it
was the Sheriff's blood Scully. Since I hadn't heard any screaming
or sounds of a struggle I had originally thought he'd made it out
safely." Mulder slipped his shoes off and put his feet up on
Scully's hospital bed. He wasn't looking forward to telling her what
had happened next, but at least he could be comfortable while he was
doing it.

"How were you sure it was the Sheriff's blood Mulder? You said you
hadn't heard anything." Scully was sitting up with a couple of
pillows behind her and an intent expression on her face. It had been
almost a week since her remission began and she was making
remarkable progress. She had already lost that pale, haunted look
that had plagued his nightmares for more nights than he'd care to
remember.

Best of all, she'd gotten her temper back. And her tenacity. Mulder
hadn't realized how much he had missed their debates or that eyebrow
thing she did. She'd done it twice already since he'd got there.

Not that he was counting. Just an observation.

"Mulder?" Scully said with a frown and a...OK, that makes three.

"Sorry Scully. Where was I?"

"The Sheriff."

"Oh yeah." He crossed his feet and leaned back in his chair. "Before
I had a chance to think too much on what had happened to him the
creature made this low guttural noise and started advancing. By
then, of course, the gun was out of reach."

"And out of bullets."

"What?"

"The bullets. From earlier when it first attacked."

"Right, when the Sheriff first left to get help. A whole clip
wasted." He grimaced. "I can't believe I forgot that."

"It was an extreme situation Mulder. A lot of things were going on."

"I should have remembered Scully. A mistake like that can get you
killed." He rubbed his left hand and winced. The cuts were fresh
and still stung. He wasn't looking forward to explaining them
either. She hadn't been happy when she'd first seen them. It had
taken him awhile to talk her out of having it bandaged. The less
things he had to remind him of what had happened the better.

"Mulder, it's not like you could have changed anything. The whole
thing was beyond your control."

"Doesn't make me feel any better. It was a rookie mistake."

"Not only rookies make mistakes."

"I don't think I like your inference." Mulder said with a slight
grin.

"I didn't mean you Mulder." She smirked. "Necessarily anyway."

Mulder nudged her leg with his foot. "I'll get you for that when
you're better Scully."

"You've probably got a list by now."

"A long list actually. You're cranky when you're recuperating."

Scully grinned. "I'm even crankier when it's pointed out."

"Are you threatening me Agent Scully?"

"I might be. Being stuck in this hospital bed all day has given me a
definite violent streak."

"Scully, you just recently went into remission. You don't want to
push yourself. A few more days and you'll be back to your fighting
form." He leaned forward and squeezed her ankle. "Tell you what.
The very day you get out I'll pick a fight with you and let you yell
at me all you want. How's that?"

Scully nudged his foot back with her leg. "Mulder, I'm almost
positive that when I get a look at what you've done to the office
since I've been gone you won't need to 'pick' a fight with me. And
I don't yell. I offer an alternative view decisively."

"Right. That's what it's called. I can't believe I actually brought
you flowers."

"You didn't bring me flowers."

"Well, no harm done then." He fished in his pocket for a moment and
took out a handful of seeds. "I'd offer you some Scully but the
nurses here already hate me. If they caught me giving you food that
was off your diet they'd have me drawn and quartered. Judging from
the looks they give me whenever I come in they're just looking for
an excuse."

"And you always give them one."

"I hate to disappoint people." Mulder said with a broad smile.

Scully sighed. "Mulder, you keep changing the subject. Are you ever
going to tell me what happened in the warehouse? Visiting hours are
only so long."

Mulder took a seed out of his hand and cracked it. "I'm getting to
it. All those slurs you were throwing temporarily distracted me."

"Focus Mulder. You said it was an abandoned warehouse. Wasn't there
anything lying around that could have been used as a weapon?"

He grinned at her and cracked another seed. "It was a very clean
abandoned warehouse Scully. Not even any rocks or bottles lying
around."

"That's odd. You would think there would be a few things on the
ground."

"That's what I thought. Of course the creature started coming
closer right about then so I didn't really have time to dwell on
that particular mystery." He stared out the window for a moment to
gather his thoughts then looked over at her. "Scully, that thing
just stood there smiling. Like it was looking forward to what it
was going to do. And with the blood and the red eyes it wasn't a
pleasant thing to see, believe me. Then it took another step closer
and everything suddenly stopped."

"Stopped?" Scully frowned. "You mean like a time thing?"

"No, I mean like everything went black and then there was this
really loud whirring noise."

"A whirring noise?"

Mulder shrugged. "That's the only way I can describe it."

"So what did you do?"

"I did the only thing I could think of Scully. I walked up to it,
reached my hand in and yanked."

Scully pointed at the small cuts on his hand. "And that's where you
got those."

Mulder nodded. "Yeah. Looking back I guess I panicked. It was the
first thing that popped into my head and I just went with it."

"Let me see your hand Mulder. I didn't get a good look at it
earlier."

"Scully..."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "Hand Mulder."

He groaned and leaned forward in the chair. She took his
outstretched hand and stared at it with a look of concentration she
usually reserved for a really difficult autopsy.

Mulder smiled and the reality of Scully's return to health hit him
for the hundredth time that day. She wasn't going to die. She was
healthy and she wasn't going to die.

Scully looked up. "Why are you smiling?"

"I was just thinking of all the money I'll be saving in medical
bills by having you around again."

Scully tugged at his hand.

"Ow!" Mulder drew his hand back. "Jeez, Scully! Could you be a
little less gentle there?"

"Don't be such a baby Mulder." She took his hand back and gave it a
last look. "You need to put something on this when you get home, but
I think you'll live."

"So speaks the forensic pathologist."

She shook her head. "I still can't believe you just reached your
hand in Mulder. Do you know how stupid that was? You're lucky you
only got a few cuts."

He put his feet on the floor and sat up. "Scully, it was the timing
that got to me." He stared at her intently. Willing her to
understand. "It was right at the point where I would have been able
to find out the truth. About what the creature was. About the fate
of the Sheriff. About everything. Then that stupid machine just ate
the tape. And when I tried to reach in that slot thing to get it
out my hand caught on something and...Scully it's not that funny."

Scully leaned back against the pillow with a smile on her face.
"You just confessed to having a VHS-related injury and you don't
think I'd find it even a little bit amusing? Honestly Mulder, you
were attacked by your VCR. One of your prized possessions. Think
about it."

Mulder smiled in spite of himself. That was another thing he'd
missed. Scully's laughter. Even when it was at his expense he loved
hearing it. And after all they'd been through the last few weeks
they both needed it. He took another seed out of his pocket, looked
at it for a moment and then cracked it between his teeth. "Hey
Scully," he said finally, "Do you think there's a 12-step program
for VCR withdrawal?"

Scully looked at him solemnly. "You know what they say Mulder,
admitting you have a problem is the first step."