Chapter Text
\Zach pointed the gun at Scully, “Don’t even get close to the elevator, or your redhead’s gonna look like a slice of swiss cheese.”
Mulder slowly raised his hands, palms turned sweaty when faced with the cold metallic weapon pointed at the red mess of hair covering Scully’s face against the hardwood floors. He dragged his eyes from the sight, pleading with Zach to calm down. His mind raced, he begged himself not to picture Scully dead, begged his own logic to return.
“Get a grip,” he yelled inside his head, time seeming to move slower, “You’re an FBI agent, for god’s sake!”
He dragged his eyes back up to meet Zach’s, “This isn’t the solution, Zach.”
Zach’s grip on the gun firmed, “You’re trying to destroy my machine.”
“Of all people, I don’t want to ruin your machine,” Mulder sighed, “There’s people stuck in there.”
“If it’s them or me, I’m choosing me.”
“It’s not them or you, Zach,” Mulder stated calmly, “If they escape, you still live.”
“I don't want to live here,” Zach cried out, eyes darting around suspiciously, “If I let you destroy my machine, I’m giving up my life before the time machine.”
Mulder studied his stance, it was getting stronger and angrier, “That’s my life. It’s me or them. It’s my life or theirs.”
Mulder furrowed his brows, what was the answer? How could he save these people? How could he save Scully? He momentarily considered making a deal to leave the elevator in return for Scully’s safety. She still hadn’t woken up, she should have by now.
He couldn’t, this was his job. More importantly, this was Scully’s job, if she ever found out he traded her momentary safety for two victims, she would never forgive herself, nor him. He looked back at the redheaded clump on the floor, everything suddenly clicking.
”The elevator won’t give you your life back,” He yelled.
“Yeah, I get it,” Zach scoffed, “You don’t believe in time travel, you’re some bigshot skeptic who thinks he’s so much smarter than me.”
Mulder grinned, “You have no idea how wrong you are.”
Zach stood his ground, “If it took me here, it can take me back. Once I figure out how to rewind time, I can get my life back. Don’t you see that, man?”
“They have to leave for you to get in, either way.”
“Not through breaking it, no way!”
Mulder looked at Scully one more time before continuing, “The elevator is creating a space of extreme gravity, which slows down time incredibly for the people inside of it.”
Zach stared at him with wide eyes, waiting for him to continue. Mulder obliged, “Because you were in charge of opening the elevator yourself, within this slowed time, you ended up much later in the timeline,” Mulder searched his eyes for signs of calming, “We’re on the outside, which means we can stop what happened to you from happening to them”
Zach lowered his brows in a skeptical manner, but his eyes were wide with belief. No, not belief yet , perhaps just a want to. He straightened his gun protectively, “You said the machine wouldn’t save me. All you explained is that you can save them, smart guy. What about me?”
“Because it works by slowing time due to the creation of extreme gravity within the elevator, there’s no way to go back. You’d need a completely different miracle involving wormholes, which this elevator can’t make.”
Zach eyed him suspiciously, but Mulder saw his hands shake. He was softening, he was nervous, he was questioning his stance. This was the time for Mulder to risk it all, but there was one thing stopping him. His chest pounded as he looked at her, and to his surprise, she looked back.
He almost spoke, but stopped himself when she glared at him. She eyed the elevator and then him, back and forth. The elevator was shaking, unstable. He knew what Scully was proposing.
Mulder took a slow step backwards, hands still in the air. Zach subconsciously walked forwards to match him. Mulder continued, and Zach stomped forwards in response, “You’re not gonna get out of this by walking deeper in.”
Zach took a final step, and that’s when Scully pounced up. She slammed herself against the weaker part of the elevator, throwing the whole machine off kilter. Mulder ran out of the way, leaving the prop elevator to fall on top of Zach.
He grunted as the gun slid out of his hands, Mulder pouncing to get it. Scully grabbed one end of the metal box, and Mulder grabbed the other. They lifted it over Zach, who had been knocked unconscious, and back to its feet. The doors had cracked open, and they could hear faint groans coming from the inside.
Scully rushed over to Zach, providing him with medical help, while Mulder rushed to pull the two actors from the elevator. Carolina was pulled out first, whining as her hips scratched against the jagged doors. Next was Kurt, who was too confused to complain.
Mulder led them outside, trying his best to professionally answer their mumbles of “What happened?” and “We couldn’t have been missing for so long, we were in there for less than a second.”
Scully handcuffed Zach as he stumbled back into consciousness, leading him right behind Mulder and the actors, his limp becoming evident. The hospital would have to deal with that. They fit the three into the backseats of Mulder’s car, and rode off to the nearest station, the local police already waiting for them.
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Scully stroked his head as he lay in her motel bed, shirtless.
He winced as she finished off his arm bandage, “That should hold up for now.”
He beamed at her with a dazed expression, “Scully?”
“Yes, Mulder?”
“You know, I already knew about the time travel gravity thing, I just-”
“Wanted me to admit it?”
He grinned, “Something like that.”
She looked away, shaking her head with a smirk, “I know.”
Mulder’s smile dropped, “What?”
Hers got bigger, “I never told you about the wormholes.”
They stayed in silence for the next couple moments, Mulder's eyes tracing the outline of Scully’s ruffled hair.
He sighed, “Scully?”
She chuckled lightly, “Yes, Mulder?”
“I know you didn’t really want to talk about it, but I am really sorry about the stage kiss.”
Her heart sank, he was sorry. It was just a stage kiss to him. She mustered up a smile and turned to him, but couldn’t meet his eyes, “Why are you sorry?”
“You can’t even look me in the eyes, and I can tell when your smile is fake, Scully.”
Her face reddened, feeling caught. He continued, “I must have gone too far, I’m really sorry.”
“Mulder,” she laughed, “you don’t have to do this.”
She answered his confused look, “If this is your way of making me feel better about moaning in your mouth during our fake kiss, it’s okay, you don’t have to.”
Mulder smiled slightly as he studied her crimson face, which refused to face him, “Who said fake?”
Her eyes snapped to meet his, unable to voice anything. Mulder’s throat dried up as she raised her eyebrow. Did he make the wrong move, had he misread the situation?
He zoned out in a nervous spiral of self hate, “She’s your coworker, and you just hit on her again, and she didn’t like it, you dumb fu-”
His thoughts were interrupted by Scully’s warm lips on his, shy and chaste. He raised his arm to stroke her smooth face, wincing as he remembered that these bandages weren’t fake.
She pulled away to check on him, “Your arm,” she breathed.
He smiled, his only response being a kiss on her jaw. He traced his way up to her ear, peppering kisses along her neck. She almost moaned, but held back, still embarrassed by the kiss before.
He smirked as he returned to her mouth. Scully arched her back into him, and lightly bit his lower lip, immediately eliciting a moan from Mulder.
She paused for a moment, Mulder had just moaned against her mouth.
Scully burst out laughing. It wasn’t the soft chuckle he was used to, or even the giggle she tended to give him when they had been drinking. This laugh was lively and spirited, a laugh that made Mulder start laughing in response. God, he adored her.
He laughed with Scully, her laugh filling the room. He couldn’t believe this amazing, incredible woman was in front of him, let alone had just kissed him. Mulder watched her face get redder and redder as she continued to laugh, throwing her head back. He had truly never seen her laugh this hard, and he realized he was willing to do absolutely anything to make her laugh like this as many times as he could.
Her laughter died out, but a huge grin wouldn’t go away. She looked into his hazel eyes, “Mulder?”
He smirked, “Yes, Scully?”
“Stay?”
He smiled and kissed her again, his answer clear as day.