Title: Patchwork- Part 3/3
Spoilers: Early season 6, after Triangle but before How The Ghosts
Stole Christmas.
Classification: XA
Summary: Mulder goes off on a trip to investigate a so-called
patchwork creature reported to have been seen in Cheyenne, Wyoming,
but ends up getting involved in more than he bargained for.
Rating: PG-13, for disturbing imagery and events.
Keywords:
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, except the OCs.
Feedback: Would be marvelous! Reach me at pomme_noire@hotmail.com
Archive: Just contact me beforehand.
Author's Note: I apologize for any geographical or other
inaccuracies regarding the town of Cheyenne. I have never been to
Wyoming personally, so all of my information comes via Wikipedia.

~~~~~~~~~
Part 3

Though she wanted to go to him immediately, Scully made herself
continue to try to help Amber as much as possible-- easing the lead
out of her arm, and looking around for any supplies to help with
the fever. "I'm here, Mulder," she called, keeping her voice
steady. "I'll be right there."

Mulder didn't answer. Scully set to work, searching the supply
cabinets for anything that could be useful, and telling the sheriff
to call an ambulance or a Medevac chopper after she had done what
she could for Amber. The poor woman at least looked less terrified,
now. Then she pulled aside the curtain around Mulder's bed, and was
glad that her experience with Amber had prepared her for what she
saw now.

Mulder, too, was obviously feverish. His eyes were glassy, and he
was shivering constantly. Scully saw with pain that there were
bruises on his wrists from where he had struggled against the
straps holding him down. When he looked up at her, Scully thought
he seemed both surprised and somewhat afraid.

"Scully?" he said again, his voice raw. "Is it-- are you...
actually here this time?"

Scully took his hand, stricken by the thought that he must have
seen her in his delirium and been disappointed when she
disappeared. "Yes, it's me, Mulder," she said reassuringly. "I'm
going to get you out of here." She started to let go of his hand,
so that she could undo the restraints, but he tightened his grip.

"You're not going to disappear this time?" His expression was such
a mixture of hope and fear that Scully almost found it hard to
speak.

"No, I'm not," she answered, reaching out her other hand to caress
his forehead. "I promise."

He smiled. "Good." He relaxed his grip on her hand, and Scully
quickly and carefully removed the IV lead, unstrapped his arms and
legs, and wrapped the thin blanket closer around him to try to ease
his chills. When she jostled him a bit by accident, he winced, and
Scully saw the bandage on the back of his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mulder," she said ruefully. "I didn't see the
bandage until just now."

He smiled again. "'Sokay. I've got a hard head. I'll recover."

Scully smiled in spite of herself. She was pleased that he was
lucid enough to be cracking jokes, but her anxiety about his
overall condition had still not abated much. At least he had not
been undergoing the experiments for as long as Amber... or any of
the others.

Feeling a surge of guilt, Scully started to move toward the other
three victims that she hadn't yet done anything for. Mulder's
relative calm vanished, and he seized her arm almost painfully.
"Scully! You said... you wouldn't leave!"

"I'm not leaving," she told him. "I have to go help the others, but
I'll still be close."

He didn't let go, and Scully wasn't sure how she could convince him
to do so when he was in this state. Then she felt a hand on her
shoulder, and turn in surprise to see Rachel looking at her with
compassion.

"You stay with him, Agent Scully," she said. "Tell me what to do,
and I'll see to the others until the EMTs get here."

Scully had almost forgotten that the sheriff and her officers were
still there. She looked around, and saw to her relief that Taylor
and his crew had been taken out of the room, and that the police
were gathering up any files and supplies that weren't necessary for
the time being, as evidence. Giving Rachel a grateful nod, Scully
told her in detail what could be done for the other victims, and
the woman went to it at once.

Meanwhile, Mulder seemed to have realized that she wasn't going
anywhere. He released her arm, stared at her face for a while, as
if to reassure himself that it was still her, and finally closed
his eyes. The sleep into which he drifted was clearly not all that
peaceful, but Scully knew his body needed it. She took the time to
look over the machines and charts in more detail. She wanted the
regimen of tests to be familiar to her, so she could tell the EMTs
exactly what needed to be done for Mulder and for the others.

~~~~~~~~
Mulder only vaguely remembered the helicopter trip to the hospital.
He recalled being lifted onto a stretcher, and knew that Scully
rode with him. He remembered a cool cloth on his forehead, and
Scully's murmured encouragement. Then there was nothing but
confused impressions of movement, and pain when he was jolted
against the stretcher... but Scully was still there, so he allowed
himself to go back to sleep. Maybe things would be less confusing
when he woke up.

This time, Mulder was sure it was a hospital when he opened his
eyes. The sights and the smells were right... and Scully was
sitting in the chair next to his bed, her attention fixed on the
chart she was reading. She wasn't wearing a surgical mask, as he
dimly recalled that she had been the last time he'd seen her.

He cleared his throat, and she looked up immediately. "You're
awake!"

He nodded, and was pleased to find that the gesture did not hurt.
He didn't feel cold or hot anymore, either. "I feel better-- a lot
better."

Scully smiled, put down the chart, and scooted her chair closer to
him. "Good."

There was a brief pause, and then Mulder asked, "What happened?
What were they doing to me?"

Her face darkened. "That man, Robert Taylor, was trying to
genetically engineer humans... and not just to make them physically
stronger and more disease-resistant, but even taking traits from
other animals and splicing them into human DNA." She took a deep
breath. "I don't know what he had you destined for in particular,
but when he was interrogated, Taylor said he was going to splice in
DNA from a wide variety of animals, including birds of prey."

"What-- literal eagle eyes?" Mulder interrupted.

Scully smiled a little bit, but still looked disturbed. Then she
continued, "Somewhat ironically, though, in order to stop your
body's natural immune response to the viral vector they were going
to use for altering your DNA, they had to suppress your immune
system. The immunosuppressant they used almost always causes an
acute reaction: fever, rigor, and even anaphylaxis in some cases.
And Taylor and his lackeys were trying to speed up the period of
immunosuppression, which just made the reaction even worse."

Mulder wished fleetingly that he had been there when Scully
interrogated Taylor-- he had a strong feeling it would have been a
sight to see, based on the anger that was still visible on her
face. "But you found me in time," he said, reaching out to take her
hand.

She squeezed his hand. "I did. But you were pretty out of it there
for a while."

He remembered back to his confused, terrified thoughts during his
delirium, and shuddered slightly. Scully must have noticed, because
she put her other hand on his arm, comforting him silently.

After another pause, Mulder had a thought. "So if Taylor was using
animal DNA in his experiments, he must have been the creator of the
patchwork creature, too." Before Scully could reply, he continued,
"I saw it, you know-- I followed it out into the forest right
before I got knocked out."

Scully nodded. "I believe you." Ignoring his raised eyebrows and
fake astonishment, she explained, "When we were searching the
facility where you were taken, I found... remnants of the
experiments that must have resulted in the creation of the
patchwork animal." From the way she paused before saying
"remnants," Mulder guessed that it had been as unpleasant as he had
imagined when he had thought about what such a creature would
entail. Then her expression turned severe. "Can I hope that you've
learned your lesson about running off into the woods in the middle
of nowhere, without backup?"

Mulder looked appropriately chastened, but he couldn't help but
add, "I *was* planning to turn around and go back to the motel
after I lost sight of the creature, you know, but it-- it didn't
exactly turn out how I'd planned."

Scully nodded. "I know," she said quietly.

Suddenly, Mulder thought he remembered something else from his
period of captivity. "Scully, how many other people did Taylor have
at his facility?"

"Four," Scully answered, "including one woman who had just been
reported missing from Cheyenne a few days ago, and one man who had
been missing from his hometown for over a week. He... he's not
doing as well as you. But the doctors think he'll be fine,
eventually."

He nodded, accepting the information. Then another thought struck
him. "How long have I been in the hospital?"

"You were brought in on Sunday, and it's Tuesday afternoon right
now," Scully replied. Seeing the anxiety this revelation produced,
she hastened to reassure him. "Don't worry, I smoothed things over
with Kersh as much as possible: told him you'd come out here on
vacation, gotten kidnapped, and as a result were very ill, and as
your doctor, I felt I needed to be here." She smiled wryly. "I
don't think he'll quite believe that you just *happened* to get
mixed up in all this once the police reports reach him, but by then
we'll be back at work."

"And background-checking so industriously that he won't be able to
complain," Mulder finished, grinning and relaxing back onto the
bed. "So, did we get all the bad guys?"

"Dr. Taylor and his specialists are all locked up," Scully replied
with satisfaction. "Taylor has no remorse whatsoever and isn't all
that willing to share the details of his 'scientific breakthrough'
that we so rudely interrupted, but those who were working for him
are very nervous about the criminal charges they'll be facing, and
willing to help in any way possible."

Mulder frowned thoughtfully. "Do you think he really could have
done what he was trying to do, Scully?" Catching her expression of
shock, he added hastily, "Not that I would have wanted him to,
especially with me as his guinea pig, but I wonder how close we are
to that kind of genetic engineering."

Scully shook her head. "If there's one thing I've learned from the
X-Files, Mulder, it's that I definitely can't say something like
that is impossible. Taylor's actions do seem to show that we're not
ready for it, for what it could mean for us, though." She stood up
slowly. "Well, I'm going to go grab something to eat."

At the mention of food, Mulder's stomach growled, and Scully
smiled. "I'll send the nurse in with some lunch for you, too, on my
way back."

Mulder grimaced. "Hospital food," he muttered. "Although I am
hungry enough that I could probably choke it down."

"Yeah, you need to get your strength back up for the flight back
home," Scully said, then grinned wickedly. "You need to be at your
best when Kersh reams you out."

"Oh, well,"said Mulder, sitting up, "with that as my motivation,
how could I not clean my plate like a good boy?"

They shared another smile, and Mulder watched as she left the room.
He reflected once again how lucky he was to have her as his
partner-- how many times she had saved him from death,
discouragement, and his own stupidity in the last year alone. He
couldn't help but wonder sometimes why she bothered to stick
around. Then he dismissed that thought. They were an odd, seemingly
mismatched pair, but put together, they somehow made it work.


End