Title:  A Cornered Fox
Author:  Vickie Moseley
Summary:  Post ep for Kitsunegari.  Mulder is 
depressed, Skinner is suspicious, Scully is worried.  
Oh, and Linda Bowman is in there, too.
Category:  UST, MT, SA
Rating:  PG
Disclaimer:  Still not infringing after 8 and a half 
years.
Author's notes:  Thanks so Deb for lightning fast 
beta!  And this is dedicated to all the folks at 
Mulder's Refuge for keeping the dream alive.
Comments:  I'd love some.  Thank you.  Send to me 
at vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com
Visit the rest of my stories at 
http://vickiemoseley.freeservers.com

A Cornered Fox
part one of two
by Vickie Moseley

Skinner could see by the slump of his shoulders that 
Mulder's concurrance with Scully's report was all on 
the surface.  If he didn't know better, Skinner would 
have said the man looked despondent.  But that 
couldn't be right.  He'd caught a killer, one who had 
slipped through the AD's own fingers.

Without much thought, Skinner called out.  
"Mulder, a moment please?"

Skinner couldn't help but notice the concern that 
flashed across Scully's face before Mulder gave her 
a slight, reassuring nod.  She left the room quietly, 
but the AD knew she would have questions the 
minute her partner returned to their shared office 
space.  He had little time to do this 'pep talk', but he 
was their superior and he was damned well not 
going to let the opportunity pass.

"I just want to say you did a good job out there," he 
said to the man attempting to stand tall before him.  
Attempting to stand firm, but the slump of the 
shoulders betrayed an inner turmoil that Skinner 
was trying to understand.

"How's that?" Mulder returned.  In other 
circumstances, the remark would be considered 
insubordinate.  His tone and the look of complete 
desperation were the only things holding his boss's 
anger in check.

"Nobody could have figured this out but you.  You 
knew it was Linda Bowman and not Modell.  You 
were way ahead of me."  Skinner would never have 
mentioned that fact to another agent under his 
command.  Well, maybe one other agent.  But with 
Mulder, he felt it needed to be said.

Mulder looked at him, his face a mask of confusion 
and pent up despair.  "I almost killed my partner."

"Mulder, despite that, you prevailed.  You won her 
game."

The agent before him looked directly into his eyes 
when he spoke.  "Then how come I feel like I lost?"  
Without allowing Skinner the opportunity to 
respond, Mulder strode from the office.  Skinner 
thought about calling down to Scully, if just to warn 
her about Mulder's frame of mind, but thought 
better of it.  If anyone would know how to get 
through to Mulder in his current funk, it would be 
his partner.  It was best to leave the job up to the 
expert, Skinner decided.

X Files office
11:30 am

Scully kept her glances quick and furtive, for fear 
she'd be found out.  Mulder had stormed into the 
office, thundercloud firmly in place above his head, 
and had not uttered two words since he'd sat down 
at his desk.  She wanted to know what Skinner had 
said to put him in such a horrible mood.  Surely 
Skinner hadn't taken him to task for his actions on 
the case.  By anyone's standards, Mulder had 
conducted himself with professionalism and 
competence.  She was certain he was still angry 
with her for doubting him, but there was no reason 
for Skinner to reprimand him.  So what had gone on 
in that office after she'd left?

He caught her off guard when he stood suddenly 
and stalked over to the door.  She was about to offer 
to take him to lunch, it was her turn, but he stopped 
her with his own words.  "I'm going home.  I'll see 
you tomorrow."  He was gone before she could 
open her mouth.

'He just needs some time,' she told herself.  After 
his run in with Modell the first time, she'd found 
him standing in the killer's hospital room, and knew 
from the nurse that he'd been there for some time.  
He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't find him in 
Linda Bowman's room at some point.  She made a 
mental note to find out what hospital she was taken 
to and ask to be alerted if he did show up.  

In the meantime, she knew she'd have to write up 
some kind of report.  She remembered clearly how 
hard it was writing up the facts surrounding the way 
Robert Patrick Modell managed to 'push' others to 
kill themselves.  She hadn't been on the receiving 
end of one of Modell's little 'pushes', but Mulder 
had, and Scully knew how severely it had affected 
him.  Physically, he'd gone into shock almost 
immediately after the assault team stormed the 
hospital room.  She'd finally gotten him home and 
settled him on his couch, but it was a couple of days 
before he really seemed to snap out of the daze he'd 
been in. 

This run in with Linda Bowman had been different.  
Mulder hadn't been shocky, but he did show signs 
of depression.  The incident had been a full day ago 
and he still seemed to alternate between 'someone 
shot my dog' depression and 'the world is out to get 
me' anger.  Neither was a healthy response, but she 
was at a loss as to how to get through to him.  She 
had to give him time, and just keep her watch from 
a distance.  Eventually, he would either talk to her 
about it or snap out of it.  

She reached for her coffee cup and her sleeve 
caught and brushed over the picture of Emily she'd 
placed on her desk just a week before.  Had it really 
only been two weeks since she'd attended her 
funeral?  The pang of regret and loss was still fresh.  
It had all taken place so quickly.  In a weeks time, 
she'd found her daughter, and lost her.  Now, there 
was a hole in Scully's heart.  She wondered at odd 
moments what it would have been like.  Would she 
have been granted family leave time?  With a case 
like Modell's escape from prison, would she have 
been torn between watching her partner's back and 
caring for her daughter?  

When she'd been faced with the reality of having a 
child, all other considerations flew from her mind.  
She remembered Mulder's words to her when she 
confronted him about the theft of her ova, and his 
keeping that fact a secret.  "I thought I was 
protecting you."  His words still stung.  Protect her, 
from what?  Her despair at never becoming a 
mother?  She'd faced that fear when the doctor had 
told her she was barren.  Maybe he was protecting 
her from wondering what happened to her ova, but 
that protection had proved to be moot.

She shoved the whole idea from her mind.  She was 
still a little sensitive about his actions.  It wasn't 
completely fair, she knew that.  He'd flown out to 
San Diego at his own expense, had testified on her 
behalf before the judge, had even carried Emily to 
the hospital and stood by her to the bitter end.  She 
knew he didn't deserve how she'd pushed him away, 
but she was so lost in her own grief and anguish at 
the time.  And they'd barely gotten home to DC 
when they were involved in this case with Modell.  

She had to reach out to him.  Mulder would want to 
wallow in his own guilt and self-recrimination for a 
while, but she needed to pull him back.  They had 
work to do and they needed to do it together.  
Gathering up her coat and purse, she decided she'd 
go over to his apartment and set them both on the 
right path.

She had no sooner left the office than the phone on 
the desk started to ring.

It was the guard at the parking garage who caught 
her.  "Agent Scully, the AD has been trying to reach 
you," he said as he leaned out of the guard booth.  
Scully thanked him and pulled the car over, ready to 
head back to the office.  She'd only planned on 
going out for an hour and couldn't imagine what 
Skinner would want with her.  Before she had a 
chance to get out of the car, Skinner was coming 
out of the building toward her.

"You can drive, Scully.  We need to get over to 
Georgetown University Medical Center.  Mulder's 
been in an accident."

They were half way to the hospital, waiting at a red 
light, when Scully realized something.  "Wait a 
minute, sir.  Mulder didn't drive his car this 
morning!"

Skinner looked over at her, his face etched with 
confusion.  "The nurse at the hospital said only that 
he'd been in an accident.  I assumed it was with his 
car."

"Why didn't they call my cell phone?" Scully asked.  
"Wait, I forgot it at home this morning," she said 
with a groan.  "They must have called the office 
phone and the call rolled over to the switchboard."

"I'm sure we'll have more information when we get 
to the hospital, Scully," Skinner assured her.

Georgetown University Medical Center

Scully parked in the visitors lot near the Emergency 
Department.  She needed no directions to find her 
way to the desk, it was familiar territory.  Skinner 
followed obediently until the nurse called back to 
the examination rooms and told Scully what 
treatment room contained her partner.

"Scully, you go on ahead.  I'll wait for word out 
here," Skinner said nervously.

Scully only nodded and headed back into the 
Emergency Department to find Mulder.  Each 
patient in the ER had their own room and Mulder's 
was close to the ambulance bay doors.  Scully found 
him easily, but the sight of him was almost her 
undoing.  The entire left side of his face was 
bloodied, his left arm was splinted and his bare 
chest revealed huge bruises on the left side of his 
ribcage.

"Oh my god," she breathed out as she stepped into 
the room.  

The nurse next to his gurney looked up.  "Are you 
Dana Scully?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I'm Dana Scully."  She took a step forward 
and moved around the gurney so she stood at his 
right side.  "What's his condition?"

"The doctor wanted to know when you arrived.  
He'll be in shortly and can bring you up to speed.  In 
the meantime, we need your signature for 
treatment."  The nurse handed over a clipboard with 
several sheets of paper.

"These are surgical forms," Scully said, as she read 
through them.

"Yes," said a young man as he entered the room.  
"Sorry for the rush.  I'm Dan Groat, I'm the surgical 
resident on shift today.  Your husband sustained 
quite a bit of bruising, as you can probably see."

"Um, he's not my husband.  I'm Dana Scully.  We're 
partners, agents at the FBI.  I'm a medical doctor, a 
pathologist.  Agent Mulder has given me his 
medical power of attorney and asked me to act as 
his next of kin."

"Wow, free medical advice!  I'd sure take advantage 
of that," Groat said with a smile.  "Most of the 
problems are orthopedic in nature, as you can 
probably see.  He had some distension in his 
abdomen, so we're conducting some tests.  If they 
come out the way I think they will, he'll need 
surgery to repair his left kidney.  But then again, 
maybe we'll luck out and avoid that."

"How did this happen?" Scully asked as she 
scribbled her name several times on the appropriate 
lines and handed the clipboard back to the nurse.

"The officer who escorted the ambulance said it was 
a hit and run.  Your partner was stepping off the 
curb across the street from the metro station and this 
car just clipped him.  I doubt he saw the guy 
coming.  A witness got a rather sketchy description 
of the car, late model sedan, silver, but 
unfortunately they didn't get a look at the plate 
number.  It might be a while before Mr. Mulder 
wakes up and we can see if he has a better 
description."

"He has a concussion," Scully said, turning her 
attention to her partner.

"Yes, moderate.  He's been unconscious since the 
accident.  We're watching his pressure closely but 
so far, no sign of a bleed.  That's the good news.  A 
compound fracture of the radius and a fracture of 
the ulna and a two broken ribs, one of which is 
displaced but fortunately did not puncture the lung, 
it's just pressing on it.  He'll be in surgery for a 
while, I would say."

Scully swallowed hard.  "Yes, I understand."

"Well, if you've signed the consent form, we'll be 
moving him soon.  The surgical waiting room -- "

"I know the way," Scully said, biting hard on the 
inside of her cheek to keep from screaming.  "Can I 
. . . can I have a minute with him first, please?"

The doctor looked over at his patient and then back 
to Scully.  "Sure.  I have to round up the nurse to 
get this show on the road.  But we really need to 
move him soon."

"I understand," Scully said and plastered on a brave 
smile.  "I'll just be a minute."

When Dr. Groat left, Scully touched Mulder's 
forehead and ran her hand down until her palm 
cupped his cheek.  "Mulder, so much has happened 
and we haven't talked about any of it.  I just want 
you to know, I still believe in you.  I never stopped 
believing in you.  I'll be waiting for you when you 
decide to wake up."

She ran a finger across his lips and then hurriedly 
wiped the tear from her cheek.  When she looked 
up, Groat was back with a nurse, two orderlies and a 
very pretty Asian doctor.

"Agent Scully, this is Trisha Hu, the best orthopedic 
surgeon in the DC area," Groat said affably.  Dr. Hu 
shot him a side ways glare, but turned a smile on 
Scully.

"I understand he's a federal agent.  He's right 
handed?" Dr. Hu asked.

"Yes, he is.  The arm has me concerned," Scully 
admitted.  "Field status requirements are pretty 
stringent."

"I did my residency at Bethesda Naval, I think the 
military has much the same requirements," Hu said 
with a knowing nod of her head.  "Beyond the 
obvious open fracture, I see no nerve damage that 
could result in problems later.  I think he got off 
lucky, especially since his arm and chest took the 
brunt of the impact.  Hiss hip and knee were 
twisted, but not enough to result in damage.  Still, 
he's going to be looking at some physical therapy 
with that arm."

"He's usually pretty good about that.  He swims, 
runs, plays basketball.  He'll need that arm for his 
three pointers," Scully said with a cheerfulness she 
really didn't feel.  It was starting to hurt her face, 
holding it so stiffly to keep up a strong front.

At a nod from Groat, the nurse started unhooking 
the monitors as the orderlies moved equipment out 
of the way.

"We'll take good care of him," Groat told Scully.  
"If you haven't had lunch, you might grab a bite to 
eat.  As I said before, this might take a while.  
Trisha and I will be out to talk to you after surgery."

Scully's feet were dragging as she made her way 
back to the ER waiting room.  Skinner had been 
skimming a magazine, but stood and dropped it 
when she entered the room.  "How is he?" he 
blurted out before she had a chance to open her 
mouth.

"He's pretty banged up.  Concussion, broken left 
arm, some broken ribs.  Some internal injuries 
they're watching closely.  They have to set the 
bones surgically, that's where they're taking him 
now.  I'm going up to the surgical lounge to wait for 
him.  You don't have to stay, sir.  I can take it from 
here."

Skinner frowned and looked away, then jerked his 
head back toward her.  "No, if it's all the same to 
you, I'd rather stay."  He glanced at the clock on the 
wall.  "It's past noon.  We might as well get 
something to eat before we head up to the waiting 
room."

"Mulder's doctor advised we do that," Scully 
admitted.  "I'm not really that hungry."

Skinner frowned again and took her elbow.  "You 
aren't that long off medical leave yourself, Agent.  
You need to force down a few bites of something 
healthy."

She looked dubious, but allowed him to lead her to 
the cafeteria.  After some stern looks from the AD, 
Scully settled on a small salad and a cup of yogurt.  
He tossed an apple on her tray and she rolled her 
eyes but didn't comment.  She even let him pay for 
her meal.

They were soon seated and eating in silence.  Scully 
hoped it would stay that way.  Her mind was 
running a hundred miles a minute, going over 
everything that had happened in the last couple of 
weeks.  Mulder had been walking and was hit by a 
car.  He was usually observant, unless lost in 
thought.  Could he have stepped out in front of the 
car, not seeing it coming at him?  Or had the whole 
'accident' been a set up, a way to finish him off 
because he 'refused' the deal he'd been offered in 
exchange for her cure?  So many conspiracies and 
so little time to figure them out.

"Scully, did Mulder seem particularly . . . oh, 
despondent this morning?" Skinner asked abruptly, 
shaking her out of her thoughts.

She jerked her head up to meet his gaze.  "Sir?  I'm 
not sure I follow."

Skinner took a moment to wipe his mouth on his 
napkin, an action to give him time to collect his 
thoughts.  "When I spoke with Agent Mulder after 
our meeting, he seemed, well, to be perfectly 
honest, he seemed depressed.  I know this incident 
with Linda Bowman brought up some very sensitive 
areas for you both, and I wonder if maybe . . . this 
accident . . ."

"Sir, are you asking if I think Mulder might have 
deliberately stepped into the path of an oncoming 
car?" Scully asked, her voice colored with disbelief.

"Scully, look at the facts.  Mulder hasn't been 
himself over the past couple of days," Skinner 
pointed out.

"But he was right, sir!  He was the only one who 
knew what was actually going on," she stressed, 
dismissing his words, but her mind was dwelling on 
the ideas he'd just put in her head.

"I know he was right, Scully.  But he would also be 
the first one to tell you that Linda Bowman affected 
him, 'pushed' him.  Maybe that kind of thing doesn't 
just go away."

"Are you suggesting that this accident was the result 
of Bowman's attack?" she asked slowly.  It hadn't 
even crossed her mind until just then.  If Modell 
could 'push' someone to commit suicide, could his 
twin possibly plant a subconscious suggestion that 
would be triggered at a later time?  If the one was 
not outside the realm of extreme possibility, was the 
other?

"You hadn't thought of that, had you?" Skinner 
asked, even though he could see the answer in her 
eyes.  "Should we tell his doctors?"

Scully frowned and shook her head.  "Sir, even if 
Mulder might have been 'pushed' to step in front of 
that car, it should have no affect on him after that 
initial action.  I don't see how it could affect his 
recovery.  Bones knit, bruises heal.  I'm not sure I 
even completely buy the idea that Mulder could be 
given a post-hypnotic suggestion that strong.  In the 
case of Modell - "

"In the case of Modell, Mulder put a loaded gun to 
his head and pulled the trigger without a second 
thought, and that is by your own report, Scully," 
Skinner interjected.  "If that's not suicidal, please 
tell me what is?"

"But that is exactly my point, sir.  Modell had to 
have voice contact with his victims.  In Mulder's 
case, it was not only his voice, but he had direct eye 
contact.  I could see the effort it took Mulder not to 
pull that trigger."

"When the gun was pointed at you," Skinner 
corrected.  "Not when the gun was pointed to his 
own head."

Scully chewed on her lip.  She could feel the 
conversation spiral down to chasing its own tail.  
"Sir, I don't know what to tell you.  I really don't 
think Mulder was psychically pushed into stepping 
in front of that car.  I'm more concerned that the car 
was waiting for him to step off the curb."

"You think this wasn't an accident, that it was a 
premeditated attempt on Mulder's life," Skinner said 
evenly.

"It would make sense, given the events of the last 
several months.  When Mulder confronted Dr. 
Calderon in San Diego, I suspect he was anything 
but subtle.  The very fact that he discovered the lab, 
knew what they were doing to those . . ."  Her voice 
failed her and she dropped her eyes to study the 
meager remains of her lunch to avoid Skinner 
seeing the pain the memories caused her. 

"So they waited until he came back to DC and hung 
around hoping that he might take the metro home at 
lunch?"

Scully's eyes rose to meet Skinner's.  "I have no 
doubt that we are under surveillance at all times, sir.  
In the Hoover Building, in our own apartments.  If 
their actions of last fall are any indication - "

"Scully, that was Scott Blevins and his actions," 
Skinner noted.

"Sir, do you honestly believe Section Chief Blevins 
acted alone?  Do you really buy the theory that he 
walked into this office after Mulder outed him to 
the OPR and, in a fit of grief and fear of disclosure, 
shot himself in the chest?"

Skinner winced but took his time answering.  "No, I 
don't believe that," he said quietly.

"Then I think it's very possible that someone has 
been watching Mulder for some time and felt that 
this was the perfect opportunity to get him out of 
the picture."

"Then you believe he's still in danger, even here in 
this hospital?"

Until she heard the words, she hadn't realized how 
much she believed them to be true.  "Yes, sir.  I do 
think he's in danger.  And I don't intend to leave 
here until I feel Agent Mulder is safe."

"Well, that is something I can assist on, Agent," 
Skinner said bluntly.  Reaching for his cell phone, 
he called the office and requested guards to be 
posted at the hospital for Mulder's protection.

6:45 pm

Scully had spent the afternoon in the surgical floor 
lounge.  After the guard showed up, she'd 
convinced Skinner that it was all right for him to 
return to the office.  She promised to call him with 
word when Mulder was out of surgery.  About a 
quarter to six Groat and Hu had emerged with 
smiling faces.  The displacement was reduced and 
they had been successful in avoiding surgical 
intervention on the kidney, although a few minor 
arteries had needed repair to stop some bleeding.  
Groat explained that Mulder would be kept in the 
hospital for a few days to keep tabs on the healing 
kidney, but that he would be 'good as new' in a few 
months.  

While Mulder was in recovery, Scully ran back 
down to the cafeteria for a quick sandwich and then 
went back up to the surgical ward to wait for 
Mulder in his room.  The nurse at the desk showed 
her which room was to be his and she headed down 
the hall.  A name on one of the other doors caught 
her eye.  'L. Bowman.'

Scully stopped and looked at the closed door to the 
room.  She was just about to reach for the knob 
when the nurse came by with a tray of medications.  
"Oh, I'm sorry.  This patient is restricted.  No 
visitors."

"My name is Agent Dana Scully, I'm with the FBI.  
I'm looking for a patient who might have been 
brought in with a gunshot wound.  Her name is 
Linda Bowman."

The nurse looked skeptical until Scully produced 
her badge and identification.  "This patient's name is 
Linda Bowman.  I can't tell you much about her 
condition except that she's in a coma and restricted 
from all visitors.  There was an officer here earlier, 
but in her condition, I really don't think a guard is 
necessary."

Scully sighed.  When would these people learn?  
"Look, do you have the name of the officer who 
was here.  Perhaps he left a card or something?  I 
would like very much to speak with him."

"Oh, it was a woman.  I think she left her card at the 
desk, in case there was any change in Ms. 
Bowman's condition.  I'll see if I can locate it for 
you, Agent Scully."

"Thank you.  I'll be in room 632, just down the hall.  
Fox Mulder's room."

If the nurse thought that odd, she made no 
comment.  "I'll see if I can find that card," she 
repeated.  Scully stood by as the other woman 
produced a key and unlocked the door to Bowman's 
room.  With a worried expression, Scully turned to 
continue down the hall to Mulder's room.

continued in part two