OFFICE OF THE X-FILES
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC.
JULY 18, 1994
8:30 AM

As usual, Mulder was in the office early Monday morning, ready
to tackle the demons -- make that the criminals -- that beset the
American public. He had been in the office since 7:30, actually.
It had been far too hot in his apartment to sleep, and it had
been a hot weekend. Now the basement office, while at times
smelly and dank, offered air-conditioned comfort.

 

By the time 8:30 rolled around, Mulder instictively looked
up from his desk anticipating that Scully would come in right
on time, put her briefcase on the desk, and sip her coffee.
This morning, that didn't happen. It didn't happen at 8:30,
8:45, or 9:00. Why not?

 

Half of the city seemed to be on vacation during the hot spell
that July, and half of the Hoover Building seemed to be off
work as well. When he finally reached someone upstairs who would
even remotely know where staff were, he inquired about Agent
Scully.

 

"Well, I seem to have a note here somewhere," a female voice
responded over the phone. "I can't read this stupid short-form
Gloria made up, but I think it says Agent Scully booked time
off for the week."

 

"I didn't hear her say anything about that on Friday," Mulder
stated. "Did she say where she was going?"

 

"I can't read this chicken scratch, Agent Mulder. I'm sorry,
but Gloria Smith usually takes these things down, and she's
gone for two weeks. I can ask around, but I don't think
anyone would know. Agent Scully's rather private, if you know
what I mean."

 

"Yeah, I do. She can be that way," Mulder agreed. "I guess."

He wasn't convinced his partner wouldn't tell him about taking
time off. Things were slow these days at work, and calls were
down in number, but still... "Let me know if you hear anything."

 

"Yes, Sir."

 

So many bizarre things had happened in the past year they'd
been working together. Didn't they have an understanding that
they would let each other know where they were? Well, he had
ditched her a few times. Still, wouldn't she let him know she
was going on vacation? Well, maybe not, if the time had been
offered to her at the last minute and her mind was on things
other than work. Even so, they had made a lot of headway where
certain territory was concerned regarding Mulder's informants
and there were untold risks for her now that she was his
partner...

 

Mulder called A.D. Skinner's direct line. "This is A.D. Skinner.
I'll be on vacation from Monday, July 18 until... " Well, it
looked like he wasn't going to get much information at work.

Surely Scully would tell her FBI partner if she was taking
a vacation, and where she could be reached.

 

Maybe not, since she had chewed him out last Thursday for
reading her day planner. And she had been rather stiff with
him on Friday. They had just seemed to go through the day
typing reports and answering phone calls. One abrupt "Have
a good weekend, Mulder," and she was out of the building at
quitting time.

 

By 9:15, Mulder decided he had better get some work done, and
wait for someone to call about Scully. The emails and memos
needed going over, and there was a repair requisition to fill
out. A light had burned out above the filing cabinets.

That was all done by 11:25, and where the heck was Scully?
Couldn't she at least call from sunny Kokomo or wherever the
hell she'd gone? Well, there was always her mother's place.

 

"Scully residence."

 

"Hi, Margaret. It's Fox Mulder. Um, I don't even know if I
should be calling you, but... "

 

"What's wrong? It's Dana, isn't it?" Mrs. Scully knew the
inherent dangers FBI agents encountered, and she sounded
anxious.

 

"No. I was just wondering if you'd heard from her. She seems
to have gone on vacation, and we didn't part on the best of
terms."

 

"Oh, thank God. At least she's safe. She called me yesterday
after church and seemed all right, and she did tell me
she was taking some time for herself. I'm sure she's okay."

 

"Well, maybe I'm worrying about nothing. Sorry to bother you."

 

"No problem, Fox. I'm certain she'll call at least one of us
before the week's out. Or maybe not. You know her: Very
independent."

 

"Yes. Thanks. Maybe I should just get back to work. Maybe I
need some time away from the office as well. 'Bye." Yes. Maybe
that was what he needed. Maybe he was jealous that Scully and
Skinner were taking time off and he was at work, but
workaholics are dedicated to their addiction, aren't they? And
that's when it hit him: Things were slow at the Hoover, he had
accumulated a lot of vacation time, and perhaps a break from
the office and Scully was what he needed.

 

After that thought passed, Mulder came to a compromise of
sorts: He needed time away from the Hoover and should find
out where Scully was. In case anything cropped up. Maybe
to apologize to her for last week's indiscretion. Any hint
as to loneliness would have been met with denial if he were
to be confronted on that matter.

 

He dialed her cell number. The party was "unavailable at this
time."

 

Next, Mulder tried Scully's home phone. "Hi, you've reached
Dana Scully. I can't come to the phone right now, but... "

 

"Scully, it's Mulder. Please give me a call. I'd like to
apologize for what I did last week. You can reach me on my
cell. Have a good time. I'm booking off for a while myself,
so... It's great to get away, isn't it?"

 

Well, how about that? It was lunch time already. Mulder
decided to book the rest of the week off for vacation time
and locked up the office.

                                  ***

PLAZA HOTEL
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
12:15 PM

Special Agent Scully had left that part of herself at home for
a while, and Dana Scully was having the time of her life. Sure,
the bus ride to The Big Apple had been boring, but the scenery
was gorgeous, and there had been no long line up at the
airport and fussing with the baggage check.

 

She walked into her hotel room with a couple of bags of new
clothing, and set them down on her bed. She had deserved to
treat herself to a shopping expedition, and decided that lunch
at a nice, air-conditoned bistro would be just the thing to
refresh her before heading back out to buy something for her
mother.

 

She remembered speaking to her mother the previous night.
"Maybe I should have told her where I was going, just in case,"
she told herself. "But then Mulder might get her to slip up
and tell him where I was going, and he'd have some weird thing
to investigate and ask my professional opinion. I'm glad I
turned off my cell phone. What the heck. I'm going to lunch,
and I can call my mother later."

 

                                ***

2360 HEGAL PLACE
ALEXANDRIA, VA.
1:31 PM

 

With a sandwich in one hand, and the phone in the other, Mulder
called the airport. "You're sure no one meeting her description
booked a flight in the past two days? Okay. Thanks Al, I owe you
one."  The train station didn't have any information about his
partner either, and as far as her superintendent was concerned,
her car was still parked in her usual spot, but she had left in
a taxi. The car rental companies had not served anyone fitting
Scully's description recently.

 

His call to the Washington bus station yielded the information
he was looking for: One Dana Scully had taken the scenic route
to New York City, or anywhere between Washington and New York
City.

                                ***

PLAZA MOTEL
NEW YORK, NY.
5:15 PM

Scully had returned from a full afternoon of sight seeing and
shopping, and kicked off her shoes. She was tired and happy.
Well, this called for dinner via room service, writing a couple
of postcards and a nice, hot bath. Should she write a postcard
to Mulder? Nah. He wouldn't expect that kind of thing anyway.

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY
BETWEEN DC. AND NY.
6:12 PM

 

Seeing America by bus: Wasn't that supposed to be beautiful
experience this time of year? The Greyhound was running at half
capacity tonight, and Mulder hadn't counted on a sudden rash of
summer thunderstorms to hit while he was on the road.

 

He didn't see farm yards and flowers. He saw thunderheads and
sheets of rain assaulting the windows, yellow and orange
lightning off in the distance, and his fellow passengers
sweating because the air-conditioning had failed. The next
stop-over would be about an hour away. He just had to pick
a seat in the middle of the bus.

 

A kid had been bus sick and had not made it to the cubicle at
the back of the bus.

 

Well, maybe Scully would be in the next big city, and he could
get off of this damn steamy cracker box.

 

In the back seat sat a scruffy man in his mid-thirties, patting
a little bundle in his backpack and holding a revolver under a
navy blue, light weight wind breaker.

 

Two rows ahead of Mulder was a very pregnant woman who was very
uncomfortable in the hot, steamy bus. She was also very far
along in labor, but said nothing. At the age of fifteen, she was
a very naive girl who thought she could deliver the baby herself
and that it wasn't such a big deal. No nagging parents, her
doctor wasn't around to nag her about adoption, and her
boy friend was now a long lost memory. Or was he? She felt
a strong contraction and clutched her abdomen, trying not
to make a sound.

 

The man with back pack and gun? He sat back watching the storm
and looking like the cat who had swallowed the canary, as he
patted that little bundle again.

                                ***

NEW YORK, NY.
7:15 PM

All the comforts of home, and all the entertainment one could
possibly want in one city. Here was Scully sitting in the tub
covered in clouds of bubbles. She was going out to dinner
at eight, maybe a play, and then there was that postcard
she wanted to send her mother.

 

She looked at her watch, which was just on a stool beside the
tub, and decided it was time to dress. She felt almost guilty,
maybe almost naughty, about being on vacation and pampering
herself so much. But then, she had been working hard, it was
summer, and it was healthy to get away from it all sometime.

Then she remembered Mulder.

 

"Leave him alone," she told herself. "He's a big boy up to his
ears in what he likes best -- X-Files." She smiled. Then she
thought that was something to feel guilty about. She could have
at least forgiven him before she left!

 

She dialed his home first. "Fox Mulder. Leave a message."

 

Not
home. Then, she tried the office. No reply. Well, she decided
he was probably out with 'the boys' or running, so she dressed
for dinner and left the hotel. She thought if anything
important regarding work did come up, her cell phone was on,
but so was her evening.

                                 ***

INTERSTATE HIGHWAY
OUTSIDE OF PENNSYLVANIA
7:35 PM

The bus had broken down just nine minutes outside of Philladel-
phia, and everyone was miserable, hot and tired. They were out
almost in the middle of nowhere, but the driver managed to radio
for a bus to pick up the passengers.

 

As for the pregnant young lady, she was now fully in labor and
let out a cry. The man at the back of the bus eyed her carefully,
and Mulder walked up to her side. "Is anything wrong, Miss... ?"

 

"I'm having a baby, my name is Abbie, and it's coming!" she
cried.

 

Mulder shouted," Is there a doctor or a nurse on this bus?"

 

One woman came forward from three rows back. "I'm a nurse. I
know my employers won't think this my place, but I can help.
Let's get this seat tilted back a bit. How far along are you,
Abbie?"

 

"Past due, and it hurts... AHHHH!"

 

"Okay. Let's just get you more comfortable. Take a deep, deep
breath and let it out slowly, and I'll find out how far
you have to go. Sir, can you help by timing her, please?"

 

"Yeah. Sure." What else did Mulder have to do? The bus driver
heard the commotion and radioed for an ambulance, but there were
delays as the thunderstorms had caused numerous accidents in
the area.

 

The young woman had another strong contraction. "UHHHHHH! OH
NO!" She was in tears and frightened.

 

"Two minutes," Mulder reported. "I'm Fox Mulder. You're... "

"Lois Frawley. We have a head about to crown. I'll need
something to wrap the baby in."

 

A young woman gave her a baby blanket. "My son's asleep, and
it's way too hot for him to have this. He hasn't even worn it
today."

 

"Thank you," said Lois. "Breathe. We're not quite ready yet."

 

As the young girl breathed and listened to the nurse, the man
at the back of the bus moved forward and drew his gun.

 

"She's
havin' my baby! Get outta the way, Mister!"

 

Mulder looked at him in disbelief. "She looks young enough to
BE your kid!

 

Abbie screamed in fury and pain. "Get the hell OUTTA HERE, Drew!"

 

"I ain't goin' nowhere, Abbie. You an' me an' the baby got money
now, and we're gonna find ourselves a nice place to live after
this is all over."

 

"NO!!!" Abbie shouted. Her pains were becoming more painful and
more frequent.

 

Mulder held up his hands, stood, and said, "Fine. Just put the
gun down so that's not the first thing the baby sees."

 

"I ain't puttin' down the gun. You are sittin' back down, and
the rest of ya stay outta this."

 

The driver was being called by dispatch.

 

"Answer that! But don't say anythin' I'll haveta shoot ya for!"

 

The driver did as he was told, then made the announcement that
the bus sent to relieve them had been in an accident, so they
would have to wait for the ambulance. There was no telling
when it would arrive.

 

With the heat, humidity, rain, thunder, lightning, woman in
labor, not to mention the vomitus still near the washroom,
people were starting to panic.

 

"Listen up!" Drew shouted. "Y'all shut up and stay where you
are!"

 

"The baby's crowning," the nurse announced. "Now, breathe and
PUSH!  That's it... push... push... Okay. Relax. We're almost
there." Lois reached for a first aid kit in her bag, and
opened it. She found Drew staring at her threateningly.

 

"You do
want a safe delivery for your baby, am I right?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Then let me do my job, and yes, it does require scissors."

 

Mulder sat down in his seat and closed his eyes, taking a deep
breath himself. The cell phone. He hadn't thought of it until
now, but just maybe Scully had hers back on. It was a chance
he had to take. "Uh, Drew? I hate to interrupt, but I need to
use the... "

 

"Go ahead. But no tricks!"

 

"Of course not." Mulder shut the door to the washroom and pressed
speed dial for Scully.

 

Scully was at a revival of Peter Pan. "Scully."

 

"Scully, where are you?" he whispered.

 

"Mulder, I'm on vacation in New York. What's happening?"

 

"I'm on a bus outside of Philly, there's a man with a gun, a
baby on the way, and I can't say I'm not happy to hear your
voice. Gotta go. Call the Philly Bureau for me." He shut off
his phone so it wouldn't ring in this Drew character's presence.

 

Scully left the theatre immediately and made a call to the
Field Office in Philadelphia.

 

Drew, meanwhile, banged on the washroom door. "What are you
doin' in there?"

 

"Whaddaya think?" Mulder pulled the door open abruptly and
pulled his gun. "Federal Agent! Freeze!" Before he could get
a bead on the man, Drew hit him over the head with his gun.

 

"PUSH!" Nurse Lois cut the baby's umbilical cord and wrapped
the newborn in the blanket. "Abbie, you have a daughter."

 

Abbie took the baby in her arms, smiling. "She's so beautiful.
Thank you for helping me."

 

"Well, now we have to deliver the placenta, so give me a couple
of pushes, then you can rest." Lois gave the baby to the woman
who had supplied the blanket.

 

Drew still had his gun, and approached Abbie. "We're gettin'
outta here, and it's just you, me and the baby."

 

The nurse shook her head.

 

"Don't shake yer head at me!"

 

"She can't travel. She needs stitches, and I don't have the
materials. Now, if you want to let her bleed to... "

 

By that time, several police cars and a couple of FBI agents
arrived at the scene, guns drawn.

 

"Throw your gun out here and come out with your hands up!" a
policeman shouted.

 

Drew knew he was at the end of the road.

 

"I ain't goin' nowhere on the run with you," Abbie said weakly.
"If you really love me and the baby, give yourself up. Get out
of this alive. And I know about your armed robbery. Give it up.
I'm tired of running and hiding."

 

Mulder regained consciousness just as Drew threw his gun out
the front door of the bus and surrendered.

                                ***

JULY 20, 1994
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
11:17 AM

Scully sat beside Mulder's bed as the doctor examined him.
"Looks like you can be discharged today. You had a concussion,
but I think with a few days off and some rest, you'll be just
fine. I'm ordering another CAT scan just to make sure, and then
we'll see about sending you home."

 

"Great. Now I can take that vacation I was supposed to take,"
Mulder groaned.

 

"So much for New York, but I did all I wanted to do and saw
all I wanted to see."

 

"In one day? I'm sorry about that, Scully... I meant to tell
you I shouldn't have read that day planner."

 

"I did all I wanted to in one day. I was going to write a
postcard to my mother and head home, maybe paint the walls.
And maybe I would have called you when I got back home, just
to see if you were climbing the walls in the office. Why?"

 

"I thought something had happened to you. Okay, I know I told
you in the ER I was taking a bus trip, but I was worried
something had happened to you."

 

Scully laughed. "Well, at least you were instrumental in having
Drew Chambers arrested. Armed robbery, sex with a minor,
taking a bus full of passengers hostage. I'd say we both solved
that case, if only indirectly. Look on the bright side, Mulder:
You have another arrest under your belt."

 

"Well, not the way I'd usually solve a case. You deserve some
credit, too, Scully."

 

"Who? Me? I was on vacation."

 

"You took my call. I want to thank you for that."

 

"Of course I took your call. I might even forgive you for
reading my day planner." She smiled and left him with a
quizzical look on his face.

 

"Might?"

 

As Scully left his room to consult with the nurses, Mulder
realized he should have remembered his partner was fully capable
of taking care of herself. She had a safe vacation, and would
likely spend the rest of the week happily enjoying her time off.

 

He, on the other hand, wouldn't be running, playing basketball
or going out with the boys. It would be just him, his fish and
his TV. That was about all the excitement he wanted at the time.

                                END