Title: Elsewhere (1 of 1) Author: RocketMan >lebontrager@iname.com< Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to CC, 1013, and Fox. No infringement is intended. Dedicated to XL, for a space to breathe =-=-=-= Elsewhere =-=-=-= I love the time and in between the calm inside me in the space where I can breathe I believe there is a distance I have wandered to touch upon the years of reaching out and reaching in holding out and holding in --Elsewhere, Sarah McLachlan =-=-=-= "Hey, Scully, I just need to use your computer for a moment--" Mulder pushed past her and into the motel room, oblivious to her frown of annoyance. "Oh. You using it?" he asked and turned around. She sighed and shut the door after him, then came to sit down on her bed. The garish print over the headboard rattled as the frame hit the wall and the gold shag carpet matched the curtains. "Here," she said and saved her document, then cleared the screen. Mulder smiled and settled onto the bed next to her, pulling the laptop closer to him and leaning against the wall. Scully watched him for a moment, then pushed on his arm. "Want something to drink?" He looked up at her with a question in his eyes, then shrugged. "I don't have any change." "It's okay. My turn, remember?" His eyebrow jerked as he grabbed her arm. "Don't get locked in." She chuckled and turned to get her briefcase, then rooted around in the bottom for extra change. When she looked back at him, quarters in hand, he was deep into whatever he'd found on the internet, rubbing one hand against his chin and frowning. Scully opened the door and started for the vending machines. It was dark outside, in the cold air of North Carolina with the scraggly shrubs dwarfed by a landscape of mountain ranges capped by snow. She shivered and crossed her arms against the chill, seeing her breath in the air. When the Pepsi machine came into view, she hurried over, her cheeks and ears frozen. She got a Diet Sprite and a Pepsi for Mulder, then sort of jogged back to her room, shivering with the piercing nature of the cold. She wondered if it would snow. It was warm in the room and she tossed Mulder's drink on the bed, hitting his thigh with it. He yelped and glanced up at her, receiving her shrug with a shake of his head. "Turn on the Weather Channel, Scully." She sat down on the bed next to him and thumbed on the remote. The television blinked on and she had to scan the stations until the green and blue map of the US appeared. "Look, it's supposed to sleet here." "Oh no," she said and popped the ring off her drink. Mulder grabbed it and tossed the ring towards the trash, cheering himself when it made it in. "Thanks for the Pepsi," he said, turning to her with a grin. She nodded and sipped at her Sprite, watching the TV for more information on the sleet and ice headed in their direction. Their case was just about over here, and she wanted to get back home before Charlie's birthday. Her brother was supposed to be in town for a week, celebrating with his family before he had to ship out again. "What are you doing, Mulder?" "Well, Chaney's comments bothered me. I can't seem to reconcile the profile with those last two murders." Scully frowned and peered over his arm to see the laptop. Mulder had called up the Encyclopedia program and was accessing the internet at the same time, checking the life cycles of moths. "Moths?" "Yeah. Remember the pupa we found in the last victim's hand? It just doesn't make sense." Scully remembered the autopsy of that young woman, Mary Champion, and the small pupa found in her fist. Using fingerprints found on her eyelids and Mulder's profile, they had found their Unknown Subject to be Ralph Sowell, a man who owned a plumbing company servicing all eight of his victims. "Well, Tracy Glenn had those fibers in her hair, the insulation fibers. Those matched perfectly with the new section of Sowell's building, the added-on section." "Yeah. I know. And he's the only one with keys to get in the building after hours. It just doesn't make sense, the pupa." "Well, maybe there were moths. . .it's all open in the new section, Mulder. The builders hadn't gotten the drywall up on the north side." "Which also doesn't make sense. Why would Sowell run the risk of being seen?" "It's a fairly remote area, Mulder." He shook his head and shrugged. "I just. . .it won't sit right with me." "You think he's innocent?" Mulder looked up at her and shook his head. "No. No, I think he's definitely the guy." "So stop, already, Mulder. Just let it go." She sighed when he shook his head, then scooted forward on the bed to see the television better. The mattress was lumpy and soft and it bunched in the middle so that Mulder kind of rolled in towards her and she sort of fell over on his legs. Mulder wiggled his toes into her stomach and grinned as they shifted around on the small bed. Finally, Scully's feet were resting on the pillows and his arm laid across them while his fingers stroked the back of her knee. She rested her chin on her elbow and leaned against his calves, wrinkling her nose at his socked feet. "Oh, look, Mulder. This part of North Carolina is already under a severe weather watch until three am." Mulder glanced up and nodded absently. "Uhm-hm." "And Missouri is under a foot of snow, too." "I see." She glanced back at him and frowned; he was peering intently at the laptop, scrolling through information on the screen. He probably hadn't heard a word she'd said, and she knew he would be agonizing over those small little inconsistencies in the case all night. She wanted to just get out of North Carolina, and if it was storming at the airport, they would be in trouble. Frowning, she glanced once to the television, then back at Mulder. "And. . .DC has been vaporized by aliens." "Yeah?" "And. . .Skinner called and he wants to see you." "Mmm. . ." She raised her eyebrow at that and tried to control the grin spreading across her face. She could have some fun with this. "Also, I met an alien at the vending machine. He's the one who told me to get you Pepsi." Not even a grunt of acknowledgement this time, simply his fingers clicking fast over the keyboard, his teeth chewing on his bottom lip. "Not only that, but I think it's remotely plausible someone might think you're hot." His head snapped up. She froze, not even daring to breathe. "I've always thought so, Scully. But it's good to hear." She didn't blush or back down, simply raised her eyebrow and shrugged. "I'm always listening, Scully." She turned back to the television and hid her face from him, letting the blush creep up her neck and flame in her cheeks when she was turned away. After a moment, she felt the rhythmic motions of his fingers against her leg again and the clacking of keys, and she let out a breath. Just watch the television for weather alerts, she told herself. =-=-=-= "Oh, wow. Look, Mulder." She stood at the large window, the curtains pushed aside so that the expanse of forest and mountain could be seen. Snow had already begun to fall, but it was mixed with sleet that covered the roads and their rental car like frosting on an ice cream cake. "Mulder! Come here." She turned and watched him pull his eyes from the laptop, then grumble his way over to her, shaking his head. But when he saw the snow and sleet, his mouth dropped and he pushed in beside her, jostling for a view. "It's so thick." "Yeah. It's beautiful," she whispered and traced her fingers in patterns down the glass. "It's eery." They stood in silence for a long time, Mulder's body close and hot behind her and the cold of the snow leaking in the window before her. Her hands were still against the glass and Mulder's long thigh and hips nearly touched hers. If she shifted back she would be flush against him. "We're going to be stuck here, Scully." She smiled and he could see the reflection of it in the window, like a grin of delight. "We haven't given our statements to the police, plus some of the evidence is still in my room." She turned quickly, horror written across her face. "Mulder! Why didn't you tell me that?" "I didn't think we'd get stuck!" "I've been watching the Weather Channel all night, Mulder, and telling you every ten minutes that there was a storm warning. . ." He opened his mouth to retort, then scowled and looked out at the snow helplessly. "So much for listening to everything I said," she whispered, half wanting him to hear her. "I've got those insulation fibers in my motel room. The police--" She gaped at him, recognizing the gravity of their situation only now. "Then we've got to go right now, Mulder. They'll release Sowell if there's no evidence." Mulder jumped back from the window and grabbed his keys from the bed. Scully ran for her coat and gloves, then followed Mulder out the door. "Mulder, your coat--" "I don't need it. We'll be back in no time." He ran for his motel room, looking for the evidence bags. =-=-=-= "I'm so sorry for this, Detective Pulaski." Scully handed the thick sheaf of plastic bags to the irate looking man, his red face like a balloon about to burst. Mulder was coming in the station room door with another pile of bags, all of the fibers found on the eight victims, plus the pupa that had been clenched in Mary Champion's hand. They signed the evidence back in and locked the safe, then turned back to the detective. "I was trying to get it all straight, work out some of the inconsistencies," Mulder said, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "I meant to have them back tomorrow before we left, but with the ice, I wasn't sure we could make it out." "I understand, Agent Mulder. It just gave us a good scare. Are you sure you want to drive back? It's rather icy out there." "We made it here all right." Scully frowned and glanced out to the snow flurries outside, the thick whiteness encompassing everything. If she had to picture the random desolation of chaos, then this would be what she would imagine. Thick white being swallowed absolutely by the hungry dark. "Maybe--" "Hey, come on, Scully." Mulder was already pushing out the door, ready to get out of the station and back to his thinking, to the laptop with the answers. He wanted to forget the case, but he couldn't. "Mulder, maybe we should--" She stopped as the door swung shut, then glanced back to Pulaski, shrugging. "We'll be allright," she said and followed Mulder back to their car. =-=-=-= The roads were a bit more slick than he thought, and he could feel the wheels slide occasionally, as if they had no traction. He clenched the steering wheel with tense nervousness and glanced over at Scully. "We should have stayed," she said. He grimaced. "We can make it." Scully sat tight-lipped, one hand gripping the door handle with anxious fear. She could feel the car slide at times, and the way it fished along the road, slick and slippery. The snow was thick along the landscape, making the whole world look fluffy and surreal. It was almost as if the horizon was a light shining in froth and churn of a frenzied ocean of snow. It scared her. His driving scared her as well. She felt the tires slide and glanced through the front windshield, her heart catching in her throat. After a moment of panic, Mulder had the car under control again and the wheels back on the road, veering straight again. "Mulder, we should just stop somewhere." "No, we're nearly there, Scully. If we stop, we'll surely be stuck." She bit her lip and nodded, then wondered if she could close her eyes--or should she keep them open just in case? "Mulder." "Scully. Stop." She shut up, choosing to keep her eyes open but her hands in tight, clenched fists as the car slipped along the ice. Mulder was driving at about twenty miles an hour, and the snowflakes were kamikazing into the windshield. She chewed on her bottom lip and tensed with every slide of the car, praying under her breath. Soon the ice was sleeting quick and fast and hard against the car and the windshield wipers couldn't keep it off. The ice froze to the glass and Mulder had to squint to see out. "Mulder," she said softly. "We should stop." He let out a frustrated growl and gestured to the barren rocky land. The mountains rose around them like castle turrets and the snow topped the rocks like gabled roofs. "There's no place to stop, Scully." As soon as he said it, the snow receeded into the glare of headlights and an oncoming tractor trailer. It was sliding across the road, slow motion and spotlighted in the whirling snow. "Mulder!" she gasped and clutched the sides of the seat. Even as the truck sped slow-motion towards them, the car was sliding sliding sliding away from the road, then diving into a ditch like a child into a lake in the still dead heat of summer. The ground rushed to meet them and Scully imagined the cool lake water engulfing them all. =-=-=-= "Scully?" Mulder wrestled out of his seatbelt and pushed the airbag from his face, panic sliding inside him just as their car had across the road moments before. "Scully?" He touched the side of her face with two fingers, searching with his touch for her pulse. Blood trickled from her lip and from a gash on her forehead, but neither looked very serious. "Scully?" She moaned and her eyes flickered, then her head rolled towards him with a wince of pain. "What happened?" "The truck. . .we're in a ditch. The car died." "Is the truck driver all right?" "He gained control and kept on going. I don't think he even saw us." "Are you okay, Mulder?" she said and reached out to trace the trail of blood on his neck. He winced and nodded. "The seatbelt burned me." She was fumbling at the safety belt still catching her, then suddenly she pushed out the passenger side door. Mulder took her lead and scrambled out with a muffled groan. When they were clear of the car, he glanced around, looking for any signs of life. The snow was still falling, silently drifting from the sky to the ground in waves of white. He was already cold and his fingers were fast turning numb. "Mulder, you don't have your coat." He nodded and shivered, then began walking up the road, trying to remember what was around this curve and past the cliff-like rocks. "Hey, Scully. There's a church over here. They should let us in, right?" She slowly shuffled through the snow, her arms spread to keep her balance, but the drifts were high. Mulder turned back and saw her struggling, so he slipped back down the road, being careful of the patches of ice. "Here," he murmured, grabbing her by the waist and swinging her up and around, planting her firmly on the road again. She teetered for a moment, then regained her balance, giving him an unhappy look. "Mulder, take my gloves. You're going to freeze." "There's a church right there. I'll be fine." She sighed and followed him up the road, trudging through the thick snow and the blinding ice that seemed to drive into her cheeks and numb her skin. The odd lumps of white here and there from snowplows having buried rocks or trees stumbled up from the haze of sleet, and she was falling behind as she picked her way through the icy places. Mulder stopped and waited for her to catch up, grabbing her arm to steady her, then started forward again, pointing through the blur of trees. "See, Scully? A Lutheran church, right there." She nodded and hooked her finger through his belt loop, trying to keep close to him. She could feel the chill of his hands through her coat and his words were just a bit clipped from the numbness of his lips. They walked through the line of solitary evergreen trees, their branches burdened with white rain and an icy coating, cracking as the wind played through the boughs. Snow occasionally fell to the ground as a gust blew it clear of the previously burdened limb, but they managed to avoid the clumps as they came down. The church's parking lot was small and sleeted with ice and snow, but the building looked warm and welcoming. Scully stepped forward eagerly, pulling Mulder behind her and worrying about his coatless body. She rapped loudly on the church doors, waiting for someone to open them for her. The wood portal was hard and thick beneath her gloved hand, but her fingers were too numb to feel the shock of it. Mulder was huddled into her, keeping the wind from her but also soaking in her warmth. No one came to let them in, and she realized that there were no lights on inside. She tried the door and found it remarkable unlocked. "It's open," she said, and glanced back at Mulder in surprise. Her partner shrugged and pushed her on into the small vestibule. A small box was bolted into the wall with the word 'Offerings' burned into the wooden face. Scully pulled a dollar from her pocket and slid it through the wide slot, ignoring Mulder's apparent fascination with her act. "Hey," he said softly, "blankets." She glanced to where Mulder had discovered a corner labeled 'Blanket Give-Away' and in the midst of his long limbered form were about a hundred folded blankets. Pink seemed to be the dominant color and she had a feeling the pink ones had been on sale. "They won't mind," he added, and grabbed two from a pile nearly to his waist. Mulder came up to her and pulled the pink charity blanket around her shoulders, snuggly. "Thanks," she said, even though she felt slightly guilty for using it. Mulder wrapped a pale green blanket around his shoulders and clutched the ends with one hand, reaching out with the other to stroke her arm gently. He seemed to be in a fond, forgiving mood. She knew he probably felt guilty about their wreck, and for not stopping sooner. Scully pulled away from him and walked through a set of ornate wooden doors and into the sanctuary. She settled into a pew with the bright pink blanket, staring out at the snow flickering past the window. Through the stained glass, it seemed a rainbow had exploded upon the cold world and lashed the landscape with bright colors of ice, deadly but soft. When she came back to herself Mulder was striding back into the large auditorium, his hands stuffed in his pockets to warm his chilled fingers. He had used his cell phone to call a wrecker; this kind of thing happened so often she had merely assumed he would call. She wondered if she took him for granted at times. "The tow service said if it's not an emergency then they can't come get us. Too much ice on the roads and the weather station says more to come." "Did you call Skinner to let him know?" "Yeah. He said to keep warm. And out of trouble." She nodded and moved her feet so he could sit beside her, blocking her view of the snow out the stained glass windows. He rubbed her toes under the blanket and leaned back against the pew, sighing loudly. "At least we'll be relatively safe here. A church would be my choice of shelter in a snowstorm like this." "You think a church has some magical shield to keep us safe?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well. . .in Dark Ages, the church was a place of refuge, where anyone would be accepted and safe from their hunters. Whether those hunters were spiritual or otherworldly." She smiled and shook her head. "The building itself isn't. . .holy, Mulder. It's not God's dwelling any longer." "But. . .this is a church. Where else would God go?" he said, vaguely remembering his Jewish history about the ark of the covenant and the Holy of Holies. He had a kind of impression of religion that was really not supported by any one doctrine but by an assortment of beliefs. "God goes with his people. He's not in the bricks or the stones, but in the souls and hearts of people who believe in him." Mulder smiled faintly and seemed to be indulging in her soft explanation. "But this is where his people meet, right?" "Oh, it is, but it's only a building. Buildings are subject to nature, to Satan, to God. We're not protected just because the church happens to meet here." "That's comforting," Mulder said, glancing out the window once more. "I guess not," Scully said softly and Mulder turned to look at her. She was curled in on herself, her chin resting on her knees and her hands fiddling with the edge of the blanket. She looked small and childlike-- he wanted to protect her. "How can you ever be safe, if not in a church?" Mulder asked, feeling somehow cheated of some great power. She looked up at him, and he noticed that she was very still and very thoughtful, far beyond his own rather amused interest in their conversation. "I don't know that you can ever be completely safe, not really and truly. But I think there are moments when we believe we're safe. And perhaps that's enough." Mulder reached out in the half darkness of the sanctuary, his arm painted in silvers of snow and night lights. He touched her shoulder briefly, then slowly brushed his fingers along her cheek, as if he were pained at the sight. "I think we're safe," he said softly, wishing desperately for that to be true. She nodded. "It could easily turn dangerous, though." He glanced away, dropped his hand. Dangerous-- "But I couldn't stand for it to be boring," she added. He grinned at her and grabbed her hand. "You come here." She smiled and scooted in next to him, right into his warmth, soaking it up like a plant that's been waterless a long time. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forhead briefly, trying not to touch the wound. She was still a bit too warm, feverish almost, but he let it go. "Thanks, Mulder." "No problem," he replied and pulled the pink blanket tight around her. She sighed softly and dropped her head into him, content to find this breath, this space, a place where things were not hers and she was not forced to be a part of anything. =-=-=-= end adios RM