Movie Fic of A Different Sort
It's time for a trip back in time - this is a Fight the Future fic. :-)
Title: Somewhere Cold and Caked in Snow
Classification: VRA
Keywords: MSR, fill-in-the-blanks.
Spoilers: FTF
Rating: PG
Summary: A thought stuck her. She opened her mouth and he bent down further. “I had you big time,” she murmured, and grinned, even though her face still felt almost frozen.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, the show, or the movie.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, there are plenty of FTF fill-in-the-blank fics. I think some are quite good, but none are exactly what I wanted. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my take on it.
Also, big thanks to belsum for her edits and very helpful comments!
The first thing she noticed was cold, so intense that she was entirely numb with it. And that she was choking - there was something in her throat. There must have been something in her eyes, too, because she could barely make out anything in front of them. But finally, the painful sensation in her throat eased, and she tried desperately to breathe. Somehow it seemed like it had been a long time since she had. Her lungs weren't working. As her vision cleared, she finally coughed, still almost choking with every desperate inhalation. Mulder. She began to realize that he was standing in front of her, and now he was staring at her intensely, in near panic. He had been saying something in a tone as urgent as his look.
She stopped coughing and gasped in a breath, and the air bit into her lungs. “Cold... I'm cold,” she whispered, unable to focus on anything else.
Mulder said something reassuring about getting her out of there. Where is here? she thought dimly, and watched as if from far away as he broke the wall in front of her into shards. Her brain tried to process this, but could only get as far as screaming that she was terribly cold before she then realized he was pulling her out.
Scully tried to move, to keep herself steady as he laid her down, but she found that her body wasn't responding. She was faintly aware that his hands had been on her bare skin. That didn't make any sense. That was wrong. But now he was gently putting some clothes on her. They were far too large, but the protection they offered was heavenly.
Again, she tried to move, because she knew even in this state that Mulder shouldn't have to dress her like a doll. But she could still barely breathe, and barely keep her eyes open. She was so tired. At least now she wasn't quite so cold, although she was still numb. She thought she noticed a lot of noise and movement around her, but that didn't seem important.
Mulder was holding her in his arms now, and she was awake enough to be grateful for the warmth, and notice that she felt safe even though she could not begin to figure out what was happening. She closed her eyes, and the next time she opened them she was on the ground again. She coughed and then heard Mulder's voice, gentle but insistent. “We gotta keep moving. Come on!”
Scully noticed that her voice was very weak. “I can't. I can't.” She wondered what the fuss was. She wished he would let her rest.
“Yeah, you can,” he said, and she felt herself picked up again. This time, she was draped across his shoulders, and she stared down at the ground as they moved along. This place, whatever it was, was dark, damp, and extremely strange. Maybe it was a good idea that they were leaving.
That was her last thought before she suddenly realized that air was being forced into her lungs. She coughed again and jerked her head, trying to clear her airway. She was on the ground, and Mulder was inches from her face, staring and terrified. “Breathe in!” he was chanting.
A thought occurred to her. She opened her mouth and he bent down further. “I had you big time,” she murmured, and grinned, even though her face still felt almost frozen.
His answering smile was genuine but very short. Then she realized that the cracking sounds around them were loud and probably dangerous. Mulder pulled her upright and called, “Grab the vent. Pull!” Her hands worked, and hearing the desperation in his voice, she obeyed and started climbing.
But if there was danger, she wasn't going anywhere without him. She turned when he wasn't right behind her. “Mulder!” she cried. He told her to keep moving, though, and he was following, yelling encouragement.
Now it was adrenaline as well as the cold that was keeping her from really thinking about this, but Scully was starting to realize that this had to be the most insane situation either of them had ever been in. Finally she came to the - surface? Bewildered, she pulled herself out of the hole into the snow above. Mulder had clambered out, too, but before either of them could react any further, there was a loud and ominous rumble.
Mulder grabbed her again and slung her arm over his shoulder. Scully could almost direct her own movements now, and did her best to run with him. The ice was cracking somehow. Something was coming up from beneath them - whatever the structure they'd been in was rising upwards now, and she was afraid they weren't going to get away in time to escape from it.
They didn't. First they were falling into nothingness, and then the roof or top surface was carrying them upward at a frightening speed. Scully barely even had breath to cry out before they had slid off and pitched forward into the ice. Scully's lungs protested this additional indignity and she knew she was close to passing out again.
There was a thunderous rushing noise above them. She tried to dredge up the energy to look, especially when Mulder's voice was so full of awe as he told her that she had to see it. Her eyes weren't focusing, but there was something, something unbelievably huge and round and flying through the air. She muttered, “I see it,” and carefully didn't think about what that could mean, what it must mean.
But before she closed her eyes again, she saw Mulder's head fall to the snow, his own eyes shutting. She had no idea what all he must have done to get to... this place, but he was clearly completely exhausted. Knowing him, he had probably been pushing himself on next to no sleep, for however long it had taken to get here. And now they would both freeze to death if one of them didn't do something about it.
She forced herself to ignore her own tiredness and sat up, crawled over a few paces, and pulled Mulder into her lap. They had to conserve body heat (for one thing). She kissed the top of his head, where his damp hair was already starting to freeze, held him tightly, and tried to think of what else she could do. It would be so easy to fall asleep, too, but she knew that meant certain death for both of them.
“Mulder,” she said. Sleep was just too dangerous right now. “Mulder, you've got to wake up.” She shifted around slightly so that she could see his face. “Mulder, please! We have to keep moving.”
Finally his eyes flickered open. “Scully?” The first expression to cross his face was a relieved smile. Then he sighed. “I guess we gotta get out of here.”
She nodded, and they both struggled to their feet. Scully wanted to be able to walk on her own, knowing that Mulder could hardly be in better shape than her, but she found herself leaning on him even before they started. He put her arm over his shoulder again without complaint, and said, “I think the Sno-Cat's that way.”
She wanted to ask him what the hell was going on, or at least where they were, but she found she had to concentrate too hard on not collapsing. She almost did several times, despite her best efforts, but Mulder caught her each time and offered words of encouragement, telling her that they were almost there.
By the time they actually stopped, Scully was not really conscious. She was only half aware that Mulder was all but dragging her into the opening of the vehicle. A second later, she jerked out of her somnolence when the door slammed shut, and she looked blearily around. “Where are we?” she finally managed.
Mulder let out a huge sigh and leaned back against the driver's seat. “We're in Antarctica.”
Scully thought she should be shocked, but she was too tired. So she just nodded. “Planning on getting us out of here?” she asked wryly, after a pause in which Mulder had just looked at her.
“Mmm, if I'm right that there's another can of gas,” he replied. “That just... means I have to go back out there, though.”
Scully realized he was shivering. “Mulder, you can't do anything until you've put on some more layers. You're going to freeze.”
He nodded, and turned around to dig through the back of the truck. “Aha! There is a gas can.” More rummaging. “And some blankets -” he tossed two over his shoulder into the seat, “- and some more clothes.” He turned around and took off the vest he was wearing in order to pull a sweatshirt over his head, and then replaced the vest and put on another coat over top.
Scully, meanwhile, had managed to find enough energy to wrap one of the blankets around herself. She was almost warm, could feel her fingers thawing painfully, but knew that this wouldn't be enough for long.
Mulder pushed some of her hair behind an ear and pulled her blanket up closer to her face. It made Scully think of being tucked into bed like a child, but she couldn't mind. “I'll just fill up the tank and be right back, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said. He opened the door, shut it, and vanished out of Scully's line of sight. Despite her confusion and worry, she didn't notice anything else until a gust of frigid air hit her face.
Mulder climbed back in and closed the door, then rubbed his hands together and blew on them. “All right, let's get some heat, first of all,” he said, and turned the ignition. Scully almost moaned in pleasure and relief when the vents started pumping heated air on them, and she saw Mulder lean his head back and shut his eyes, too.
After a minute, she nudged him. “Mulder, we still need to get out of here. Don't go to sleep on me.”
He sat up and pulled the other blanket around his shoulders. “I know, Scully,” he said. “I just don't know how easy it will be to drive when I'm this tired.” He gave a rueful half smile. “At least there's not much to crash into, if I did fall asleep at the wheel.”
A thought occurred to Scully. “Is there anything to eat in here? That might help keep us awake for a little longer.”
They ate a few unexciting power bar-type rations, and drank a few mouthfuls of water thawed on the heater. Then Mulder put the vehicle in gear and started driving, not wanting to risk emptying the tank again. Scully thought it would be best to stay awake and talk to him so they would both be alert.
She wondered if she could bring up the last thing she remembered talking to him about - but then saw the angry wound on the left side of his head. “Mulder, what happened?” She spoke sharper than she had meant to, out of worry.
“What, Scully?” he asked, glancing at her.
“You're hurt.” She extricated an arm from the blanket, scooted closer, and reached around to gently touch it.
He winced. “Ow!” He brushed her hand away. “I got shot. It just grazed me, but it knocked me out long enough for... for them to take you away.”
Scully frowned. “Who?”
“The paramedics. They weren't real, they must have been tapping my phone, and when I tried to follow...” He grimaced and shrugged, uncomfortable and perhaps guilty.
“How did you get here, Mulder?” she asked, after a pause. The guilt was something they would probably have to talk about, but the thought of trying to do that now exhausted her, so she let it pass for the moment.
“That's a really long story,” he replied, but, seeing her simply raise an eyebrow, he added, “Let's just say it involved several plane trips, one boat trip I'd prefer not to think about, and then some haggling and threatening to borrow this thing from a research station. That's where we're going now.”
Scully realized suddenly that she was cold again, despite the blankets and the heater. “Mulder...” she said, and her voice was weak once more, “how far is it? I think I'm going into shock.”
Mulder swore and looked at her, face full of worry. “Uh... I don't remember exactly, but it's going to be a while.” He swallowed, then abruptly braked and shifted into park. “C'mere.” He pulled her closer to him, until she was partly in his lap, and wrapped his blanket around them both.
Scully was now tucked under his right arm, her head against his chest, and she did feel warmer already. “Mulder, are you still going to be able to drive?”
“I'll figure it out,” he said, squeezing her shoulder before carefully putting his arm back on the steering wheel. “I promise I'll try not to elbow you.”
“Thanks,” she replied, feeling her shudders start to subside. “That's better, thank you, Mulder.”
“You're welcome, Scully,” he said, in a low voice full of tenderness that surprised her and threatened to bring tears to her eyes.
She blinked rapidly, and suddenly flashed to standing in Mulder's hallway and what he had said about how much he needed her. Though she was beginning to feel sleepy again, she spoke. “Mulder?”
“Yeah, Scully?” He glanced down at her.
“I... I wanted to tell you that you make me a whole person, too,” she said, and was rewarded with a smile that started out almost incredulous and then blossomed with amazement, affection, and ineffable joy. She smiled in return, and her eyes closed. She didn't see the quick, careful swipe of his hand over his own eyes that followed.
~~~~~~~
Title: Somewhere Cold and Caked in Snow
Classification: VRA
Keywords: MSR, fill-in-the-blanks.
Spoilers: FTF
Rating: PG
Summary: A thought stuck her. She opened her mouth and he bent down further. “I had you big time,” she murmured, and grinned, even though her face still felt almost frozen.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, the show, or the movie.
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, there are plenty of FTF fill-in-the-blank fics. I think some are quite good, but none are exactly what I wanted. Anyway, I hope you enjoy my take on it.
Also, big thanks to belsum for her edits and very helpful comments!
The first thing she noticed was cold, so intense that she was entirely numb with it. And that she was choking - there was something in her throat. There must have been something in her eyes, too, because she could barely make out anything in front of them. But finally, the painful sensation in her throat eased, and she tried desperately to breathe. Somehow it seemed like it had been a long time since she had. Her lungs weren't working. As her vision cleared, she finally coughed, still almost choking with every desperate inhalation. Mulder. She began to realize that he was standing in front of her, and now he was staring at her intensely, in near panic. He had been saying something in a tone as urgent as his look.
She stopped coughing and gasped in a breath, and the air bit into her lungs. “Cold... I'm cold,” she whispered, unable to focus on anything else.
Mulder said something reassuring about getting her out of there. Where is here? she thought dimly, and watched as if from far away as he broke the wall in front of her into shards. Her brain tried to process this, but could only get as far as screaming that she was terribly cold before she then realized he was pulling her out.
Scully tried to move, to keep herself steady as he laid her down, but she found that her body wasn't responding. She was faintly aware that his hands had been on her bare skin. That didn't make any sense. That was wrong. But now he was gently putting some clothes on her. They were far too large, but the protection they offered was heavenly.
Again, she tried to move, because she knew even in this state that Mulder shouldn't have to dress her like a doll. But she could still barely breathe, and barely keep her eyes open. She was so tired. At least now she wasn't quite so cold, although she was still numb. She thought she noticed a lot of noise and movement around her, but that didn't seem important.
Mulder was holding her in his arms now, and she was awake enough to be grateful for the warmth, and notice that she felt safe even though she could not begin to figure out what was happening. She closed her eyes, and the next time she opened them she was on the ground again. She coughed and then heard Mulder's voice, gentle but insistent. “We gotta keep moving. Come on!”
Scully noticed that her voice was very weak. “I can't. I can't.” She wondered what the fuss was. She wished he would let her rest.
“Yeah, you can,” he said, and she felt herself picked up again. This time, she was draped across his shoulders, and she stared down at the ground as they moved along. This place, whatever it was, was dark, damp, and extremely strange. Maybe it was a good idea that they were leaving.
That was her last thought before she suddenly realized that air was being forced into her lungs. She coughed again and jerked her head, trying to clear her airway. She was on the ground, and Mulder was inches from her face, staring and terrified. “Breathe in!” he was chanting.
A thought occurred to her. She opened her mouth and he bent down further. “I had you big time,” she murmured, and grinned, even though her face still felt almost frozen.
His answering smile was genuine but very short. Then she realized that the cracking sounds around them were loud and probably dangerous. Mulder pulled her upright and called, “Grab the vent. Pull!” Her hands worked, and hearing the desperation in his voice, she obeyed and started climbing.
But if there was danger, she wasn't going anywhere without him. She turned when he wasn't right behind her. “Mulder!” she cried. He told her to keep moving, though, and he was following, yelling encouragement.
Now it was adrenaline as well as the cold that was keeping her from really thinking about this, but Scully was starting to realize that this had to be the most insane situation either of them had ever been in. Finally she came to the - surface? Bewildered, she pulled herself out of the hole into the snow above. Mulder had clambered out, too, but before either of them could react any further, there was a loud and ominous rumble.
Mulder grabbed her again and slung her arm over his shoulder. Scully could almost direct her own movements now, and did her best to run with him. The ice was cracking somehow. Something was coming up from beneath them - whatever the structure they'd been in was rising upwards now, and she was afraid they weren't going to get away in time to escape from it.
They didn't. First they were falling into nothingness, and then the roof or top surface was carrying them upward at a frightening speed. Scully barely even had breath to cry out before they had slid off and pitched forward into the ice. Scully's lungs protested this additional indignity and she knew she was close to passing out again.
There was a thunderous rushing noise above them. She tried to dredge up the energy to look, especially when Mulder's voice was so full of awe as he told her that she had to see it. Her eyes weren't focusing, but there was something, something unbelievably huge and round and flying through the air. She muttered, “I see it,” and carefully didn't think about what that could mean, what it must mean.
But before she closed her eyes again, she saw Mulder's head fall to the snow, his own eyes shutting. She had no idea what all he must have done to get to... this place, but he was clearly completely exhausted. Knowing him, he had probably been pushing himself on next to no sleep, for however long it had taken to get here. And now they would both freeze to death if one of them didn't do something about it.
She forced herself to ignore her own tiredness and sat up, crawled over a few paces, and pulled Mulder into her lap. They had to conserve body heat (for one thing). She kissed the top of his head, where his damp hair was already starting to freeze, held him tightly, and tried to think of what else she could do. It would be so easy to fall asleep, too, but she knew that meant certain death for both of them.
“Mulder,” she said. Sleep was just too dangerous right now. “Mulder, you've got to wake up.” She shifted around slightly so that she could see his face. “Mulder, please! We have to keep moving.”
Finally his eyes flickered open. “Scully?” The first expression to cross his face was a relieved smile. Then he sighed. “I guess we gotta get out of here.”
She nodded, and they both struggled to their feet. Scully wanted to be able to walk on her own, knowing that Mulder could hardly be in better shape than her, but she found herself leaning on him even before they started. He put her arm over his shoulder again without complaint, and said, “I think the Sno-Cat's that way.”
She wanted to ask him what the hell was going on, or at least where they were, but she found she had to concentrate too hard on not collapsing. She almost did several times, despite her best efforts, but Mulder caught her each time and offered words of encouragement, telling her that they were almost there.
By the time they actually stopped, Scully was not really conscious. She was only half aware that Mulder was all but dragging her into the opening of the vehicle. A second later, she jerked out of her somnolence when the door slammed shut, and she looked blearily around. “Where are we?” she finally managed.
Mulder let out a huge sigh and leaned back against the driver's seat. “We're in Antarctica.”
Scully thought she should be shocked, but she was too tired. So she just nodded. “Planning on getting us out of here?” she asked wryly, after a pause in which Mulder had just looked at her.
“Mmm, if I'm right that there's another can of gas,” he replied. “That just... means I have to go back out there, though.”
Scully realized he was shivering. “Mulder, you can't do anything until you've put on some more layers. You're going to freeze.”
He nodded, and turned around to dig through the back of the truck. “Aha! There is a gas can.” More rummaging. “And some blankets -” he tossed two over his shoulder into the seat, “- and some more clothes.” He turned around and took off the vest he was wearing in order to pull a sweatshirt over his head, and then replaced the vest and put on another coat over top.
Scully, meanwhile, had managed to find enough energy to wrap one of the blankets around herself. She was almost warm, could feel her fingers thawing painfully, but knew that this wouldn't be enough for long.
Mulder pushed some of her hair behind an ear and pulled her blanket up closer to her face. It made Scully think of being tucked into bed like a child, but she couldn't mind. “I'll just fill up the tank and be right back, okay?”
“Yeah,” she said. He opened the door, shut it, and vanished out of Scully's line of sight. Despite her confusion and worry, she didn't notice anything else until a gust of frigid air hit her face.
Mulder climbed back in and closed the door, then rubbed his hands together and blew on them. “All right, let's get some heat, first of all,” he said, and turned the ignition. Scully almost moaned in pleasure and relief when the vents started pumping heated air on them, and she saw Mulder lean his head back and shut his eyes, too.
After a minute, she nudged him. “Mulder, we still need to get out of here. Don't go to sleep on me.”
He sat up and pulled the other blanket around his shoulders. “I know, Scully,” he said. “I just don't know how easy it will be to drive when I'm this tired.” He gave a rueful half smile. “At least there's not much to crash into, if I did fall asleep at the wheel.”
A thought occurred to Scully. “Is there anything to eat in here? That might help keep us awake for a little longer.”
They ate a few unexciting power bar-type rations, and drank a few mouthfuls of water thawed on the heater. Then Mulder put the vehicle in gear and started driving, not wanting to risk emptying the tank again. Scully thought it would be best to stay awake and talk to him so they would both be alert.
She wondered if she could bring up the last thing she remembered talking to him about - but then saw the angry wound on the left side of his head. “Mulder, what happened?” She spoke sharper than she had meant to, out of worry.
“What, Scully?” he asked, glancing at her.
“You're hurt.” She extricated an arm from the blanket, scooted closer, and reached around to gently touch it.
He winced. “Ow!” He brushed her hand away. “I got shot. It just grazed me, but it knocked me out long enough for... for them to take you away.”
Scully frowned. “Who?”
“The paramedics. They weren't real, they must have been tapping my phone, and when I tried to follow...” He grimaced and shrugged, uncomfortable and perhaps guilty.
“How did you get here, Mulder?” she asked, after a pause. The guilt was something they would probably have to talk about, but the thought of trying to do that now exhausted her, so she let it pass for the moment.
“That's a really long story,” he replied, but, seeing her simply raise an eyebrow, he added, “Let's just say it involved several plane trips, one boat trip I'd prefer not to think about, and then some haggling and threatening to borrow this thing from a research station. That's where we're going now.”
Scully realized suddenly that she was cold again, despite the blankets and the heater. “Mulder...” she said, and her voice was weak once more, “how far is it? I think I'm going into shock.”
Mulder swore and looked at her, face full of worry. “Uh... I don't remember exactly, but it's going to be a while.” He swallowed, then abruptly braked and shifted into park. “C'mere.” He pulled her closer to him, until she was partly in his lap, and wrapped his blanket around them both.
Scully was now tucked under his right arm, her head against his chest, and she did feel warmer already. “Mulder, are you still going to be able to drive?”
“I'll figure it out,” he said, squeezing her shoulder before carefully putting his arm back on the steering wheel. “I promise I'll try not to elbow you.”
“Thanks,” she replied, feeling her shudders start to subside. “That's better, thank you, Mulder.”
“You're welcome, Scully,” he said, in a low voice full of tenderness that surprised her and threatened to bring tears to her eyes.
She blinked rapidly, and suddenly flashed to standing in Mulder's hallway and what he had said about how much he needed her. Though she was beginning to feel sleepy again, she spoke. “Mulder?”
“Yeah, Scully?” He glanced down at her.
“I... I wanted to tell you that you make me a whole person, too,” she said, and was rewarded with a smile that started out almost incredulous and then blossomed with amazement, affection, and ineffable joy. She smiled in return, and her eyes closed. She didn't see the quick, careful swipe of his hand over his own eyes that followed.
~~~~~~~