Mulder was pissed, totally. He was called to a case in a town he had never heard of before, Scully wasn't able to come with him because she had to do some 'body slicing', and on top of it all the case turned out to be a hoax. When he wanted to go home, he found his car had broken down and of course there was no way to get another rental here and he wondered if the people of this tiny backwater town had ever heard of planes before, at least that’s the impression he got from their vacant looks when he asked for an airport. But there was a train station. Deep joy. So now here he was. Pissed, alone and in a musty old train with several hundred other miserable looking passengers. What a week.

Reading the file he had wasn't doing him much good this time and of course he didn’t think to bring a book along for those boring moments. He thought it might be best to call Scully to tell her he would be home at the end of the day, but actually he just missed her and wanted to hear her voice. Taking out his phone he pressed the speed dial 1.

"Scully" . He smiled, even just hearing her voice put him in a better mood. "Hi, it's me, guess where I am?"

It got quiet for a couple of seconds and Mulder thought he had lost the connection. "Scully? You still there?"

"Yeah I am, I'm listening Mulder. Sounds like you are on a train?" Mulder sighed, how is it possible he got the best FBI agent as a partner and of course best friend. "You really are good Scully, I'm proud." Scully laughed. "Don't overdo it G-man, everybody could hear the wheels going over the track." Mulder told Scully what happened and after ten minutes they ended the call. Right before Mulder broke the connection he whispered "Love ya", leaving Scully staring at her phone wondering if she'd really heard what she thought she'd heard. She walked back to the body she was working on, a vague smile on her lips.

Hours went by and Mulder decided he needed a drink. He thought he had seen a lounge car when he first got on the train and he decided to go and see if he was able to get a soda there. Stretching his legs wasn't a bad idea either.

He walked through the train, trying to find that illusive lounge car with a hopefully open buffet. He hadn't been on a train for ages and he took his time just take a look here and there, watching the ever changing countryside roll past. He saw someone returning to their seat holding a drink and asked where he got it. The man pointed in the direction Mulder was going saying; "You can't miss it". He was just crossing a car with compartments when his trained ears suddenly heard something. Quietly he took one step back, knowing the people in the compartment couldn't see him anyway and listened.

"Andy and Joe, you two go to the front of the train and keep the engine-driver under control. Be sure the train keeps going. While you two do that, the rest of us will spread throughout the train.

Mulder couldn't believe his ears. Never one to ever usually take a train, but the moment he has to, trouble starts. Maybe he should just ignore what he’d heard and walk on. He sighed. No way he could do that. Duty was too strong in him. He had to stop whatever they were planning, but how? And what exactly was going on? He decided to warn the driver first, but the moment he turned around the door flew open and he was looking at a gun being stuck under his nose.

"Stay quiet and walk in front of me back to your seat." Mulder complied with angry gruff voice, he had no choice knowing so many people were on the train. He didn't have the time to think things over. If only Scully was here, together they could do something constructive while they watched each others backs. He should try to reach her, but with these guys around it was impossible to call her. His gun was in his bag, the other around his ankle, but the risk that they just would start to shoot indiscriminately and hit an innocent bystander was too great.

When he reached his seat he sat down. First he needed to find out what their plans were before he could do anything. He sighed loudly. The man held the gun low under his jacket so other people couldn't see it and Mulder asked: "So, don’t suppose they are a shooting ‘Diagnosis Murder’ episode? What now, you're gonna rob us?" By trying for lightness he hoped to get some answers and he was a bit surprised when the man hissed; “Do I look like Dick Van Dyke? no! Shut up!" Not much information, but at least Mulder knew it wasn't a robbery.

Suddenly the man, Mulder later discovered his name was Luke, produced his gun and gestured with it clearly to the people in the train, amidst shrieks of alarm. "Okay!! Everybody stay in your seat. Nobody talks or turns around. If you do what we say, nothing will happen, no one gets hurt and this will be over before you know it!" A wave of shocked gasps went through the train, but knowing they hadn't much choice the terrified men and women complied immediately. Then the gunmen took out a picture and started looking at it, turning around scanning the people’s faces.

'I get it' Mulder thought. 'They're looking for someone'. Carefully he tried to take a look at the photo, Luke was still standing near to him. He had to ease out of his seat a little to get a better view, but suddenly Luke's hand grabbed a fistful of his hair and pushed him back. "I said STAY in your SEAT!! Next time I'm not going to be this friendly." Finally let go of Mulder's hair but not before he had enough time to take a peek. Mulder winced, cradling his his head, but he seen the picture and knew who the intended victim was that they were looking for.

Luke walked away still searching faces, leaving terrified people behind. When he was far enough Mulder lifted his leg and checked his ankle gun. Next to him a man stared at him, huge frightened eyes following his movements. "Are you a cop?" he whispered. "Ssshhht" Mulder said "FBI" but if they know what I am they will surely kill me. "Maybe you can help me" the man whispered again "I think, no, I know they're looking for me, even though I didn't see the photo." Mulder looked up surprised. "Don't think so, I saw it, it wasn't you." He concentrated on what he was doing, ignoring the man who he thought had it totally wrong. Carefully he took out his other gun from the bag and stashed it under his jacket. Also he checked the phone in his pocket. "I have to warn Scully" Mulder muttered more to himself than his neighbor.

"Listen" the man insisted again, " I'm in protected custody. I had a facial surgery and I grew a beard, I saw them killing some big shot and now they want me out of the way. Their boss was arrested and I'm the only witness. I’m supposed to testify soon. That's why they're looking for me, but I have no idea how it's possible that they knew I would take this train. I never do usually."

"Neither do I and right now I wish I didn't" Mulder mumbled.

"I just hope they don't recognize me" the man said with a shaking voice. "Watch out, he's coming back!"

Mulder sat back in his seat again, hiding his gun under his jacket. The gunman called Luke looked pointedly at him and stopped at his side. "I don't like you, you better watch out."

Mulder shrugged. "You're not the only one buddy. "

The door to the connecting car opened and another man, obviously a henchman walked in. "Luke, it's all under control, Andy and Joe are with the engine-driver, people are snug and quiet in their seats and guarded by the others."

In his head Mulder was counting, he wasn't sure how many men were on board, but he knew three names already, then there's this guy and he talked about the "others". He guessed there were at least seven or eight men, all armed. He was seriously outnumbered. Still he had the element of surprise and he was doubly armed. Once more he wished for the reassuring presence of his partner. Without her it was like operating with a body part missing.

<If only they'd take off elsewhere for a second.> Mulder thought. He could feel his phone heavy in his pocket, his fingers itching to use it but it would be far too dangerous to call now, they surely would hear him.

He could see his neighbor getting ever more nervous, he kept fumbling in his jacket and sweat was forming on his forehead. Mulder had to do something before he gave himself away. "What's your name" he whispered.

"I...uhm... just call me Thomas", he answered.

"Thomas, just relax. It's gonna be okay." Thomas just nodded, but didn't seem to be convinced and kept fumbling.

Then suddenly Luke walked to the other side of the carriage saying to his companion "I'm going to see if everything's ok at the front, I'll be back within ten minutes, you stay here. If they move or try and tricks waste them." Luckily for Mulder the men walked away from him and he thought that it might be his only opportunity to call Scully. He slid his hand in his pocket and just on touch he pressed speed dial one. He couldn't put the phone to his ear and he had to listen very carefully to tell if Scully answered.

Very far away he could hear a voice saying "Scully". Knowing he couldn't talk to her he just pressed a few buttons, hoping Scully would understand he was in trouble. "Hello?" he heard again. Again he pressed some buttons. Then he heard "Mulder? That you?" And again he pressed them, almost like a Morse code. < Come on Scully.> he thought. "Mulder are you in trouble?" <Yesssssss> he felt a surge of relief knowing she understood. Quickly he pressed the buttons a few more times to confirm her suspicions. "I understand". And then she was gone. Mulder breathed deeply. Okay, it was a step in the right direction , but he felt sad that he couldn’t have spoken to her. But just this small voice during the unfolding crisis made her seem that much nearer and calmed him considerably. She knew the train he was on and would get help.

<Now what> Mulder thought. Eight men against one, even an armed one, wasn't really fair. And he didn't expect a lot from the other travelers on the train. Luke came back in, said something to the waiting man and walked right by to the other car. Mulder didn't know what was going on, but they obviously were still searching. As long as Thomas kept quiet and stayed low it would be alright he thought.

About an hour went by and Mulder was thinking something had to happen, his trouble spidy sense was kicking in uneasily and he realized they were getting closer to Washington DC and the men probably wanted to get off before they got there. He gazed at the outside scenery as it passed by when suddenly he saw something. On the road next to the track several cars were following the train. Matching its speed. < She did it> he thought <way to go Scully>. His inner happy dance was suddenly cut short when Luke stormed back in and and from the other side Andy and one of the men he hadn't seen before came bursting through the door. "Luke, the damn cops!!" "I saw them" he yelled in fury, "we have to hurry". "Take the photo and start searching all over again. Look all the men in the eyes and compare them with the ones on the picture, he might be in disguise. Do what you need to do to get him but make sure you do!"

Mulder could feel Thomas getting nervous and when Luke got closer Thomas suddenly got up and tried to get away. He jumped over Mulder's legs and started running. "There he goes!! Get him, get him!!" Mulder groaned. He had a bad feeling about this.

Luke and the others started to run after Thomas and Mulder had no other choice than to grab his gun and follow them. They didn't even notice him. Mulder got his phone and called Scully. "Mulder that you?"

"Scully where are you?"

"I'm in one of the cars alongside the train, keeping up with you partner, Skinner is also with me. Which car are you in?"

"I'm in the third, heading for the fourth. They want to kill some guy who is supposed to testify in a high profile trail next week. Looks like they mean to make sure he doesn't keep that date , I have to try and save him Scully" Mulder shouted in the phone.

"Don't do crazy things Mulder, we're trying to stop the train! Do you hear me? Don't do any unnecessary heroics. You’ve only been back from sick leave 3 weeks. Wait for us, You hear me?"

"That's an order, Agent Mulder." He heard Skinner bark in the background.

Right at that moment Mulder heard shots and people shouting and screaming filled the confines of the corridor.

"OH NO!! THOMAS!!" Mulder yelled. "THOMAS!!"

"MULDER....... MULDER.....!."

"I think they shot him Scully. I have to........"

Mulder pelted through the train to where he heard the shots. Blind with fury, phone in one hand with Scully shouting and the gun in the other he ran toward the murderers. "You BASTARDS" he shouted. But then Luke turned around and in one movement he lifted the gun and fired.

It was like a film in slow motion. Mulder saw the hand with the gun, the flash of discharge but before he could react it went off and he felt the deep burning pain eating up through his right shoulder. Surprised, he froze like a statue, momentary robbed of breath, dropped his gun first and then the phone, falling to his knees.

"Uuuhhhh....."

No scream, no shout, just a soft moan and he couldn't do a thing anymore. Slowly he sank further to the floor and lay still panting through excruciating pain, thinking how pissed Scully was going to be. Shot... again. In almost the same area as last time. Could he never catch a break?

Luke saw the phone and grabbed it from the floor.

"MULDER....MULDER... YOU THERE? MULDER!!"

"I'm sorry to inform you that..."- Luke pulled Mulder's ID out of the writhing man’s pocket and looked at it- "....Agent Mulder is not able to get on the phone right now. The hotshot fed, just ate a bullet."

"What did you do to him, is he okay? Let me talk to him!!"

"Like I said, he's not able to get on the phone, but if you wanna have him? I can do a mail drop. No problem." Then he threw the phone on the ground and crushed it with his boot.

"They want him, they can have him."

Luke gave a sign and two of the men roughly grabbed Mulder under his arms. Then they dragged him to the exit and yanked open the door. A rush of cold air from the train’s velocity buffeted the injured agent, causing his to gasp at the fresh pain. He had been hurled out of a few places in his time but never from a train going over 200 kph. This was going to hurt.

Scully saw the door of the train open and she couldn't believe what happened next. She saw two men holding a very bloody Mulder between them and pushing him to the edge.

"Oh no, they're gonna throw him out. Oh no..... NOOOOOOOO!"

"Jesus". Skinner gasped. Mulder was too close to the two men for him to get a clean shot without hitting Mulder.

And then, seized breathless with cold agony that they couldn’t do anything to stop them, Scully cried out as she watched them letting him go. He fell. Bouncing hideously like a basketball down the track and after agonizing minutes of watch him roll and keep up with him, he lay still.

Skinner steered the car to the spot Mulder was lying in a seeming lifeless heap. His limbs at horribly unnatural angles under him. Scully was out of the car before it had stopped and racing over to her partner.

"We need an ambulance, no a life flight helicopter. Oh my god, I can't believe they did that."

Skinner kept quiet for a couple of seconds, wondering if they only needed a hearse, while Scully took her phone and called for an ambulance. " We have an Agent Down. No I don't know how he is, he’s been thrown out of a train, he will have impact trauma and he was shot before that. So send the helicopter too. Stat."

The train rattled on, followed by several police cars with sirens blazing, while Scully and Skinner tended to Mulder, checking him over. Skinner took off his coat and placed it over the fallen man for warmth while Scully went into doctor mode.

Mulder's broken body wasn't moving.

"Not dead, you're not dead, you said you loved me, you're not dead."

Carefully she tried to feel for a pulse and was surprised and shocked to find one. "He's alive! Hold on Mulder, help is coming, hold on for me. Please."

Skinner couldn't believe Mulder survived this latest calamity. His stomach almost turned seeing the poor man’s bleeding and twisted body on the ground. It was very clear that at least one leg was broken in several places, but after a fall like that there must be more internal damage going on and there was of course that shot gun wound which appeared to have made one hell of a mess of his shoulder. And he was already weakened from his last convalescence from his last brush with death 6 weeks before. Without any doubt Mulder's life was in danger and Skinner started to listen if he could hear the ambulance or the helicopter approaching.

Suddenly Mulder's lips parted but all he could do was moan; "Oooohhhhhhh......."

"It's ok Mulder, it will be okay, just lie very still, don't move. Just concentrate on breathing. Paramedics will be here really soon. They're on their way to help you and make you all better, it will be okay, I promise. They'll fix you up and give you a nice soft bed and those great hallucinogenic drugs you really like." But he then was out again. Maybe for the best, Scully thought, the pain must be terrible. She sniffed back her tears and looked at her boss’s shocked features before turning her attention back to her fallen partner. How she wished she could take the pain for him. In her nightmares forevermore she would relive that terrifying moment when he was thrown from the train. How could she ever sleep again ? Each time she closed her eyes....

Then, after the longest ten minutes of her life, she finally heard the helicopter. While it was landing they could see the flashlights and the whining sounds of the ambulance coming towards them.

After being assessed and stabilized enough they lifted the badly injured Mulder into the helicopter. Scully tried to get in, but there just wasn't enough room. She felt like crying. He was in critical condition and they needed to get him there like yesterday.

"But..." Scully began. Skinner grabbed her arm. "Come on Scully, I'll drive you to the hospital, you know they’ll do their best." Turning to one of the medics he asked; "Where are you gonna take him, Georgetown Memorial?" The man nodded his head and ducked into the helicopter that took off immediately. The ambulance left too and within minutes it was quiet again.

"Come on Agent Scully, we should go too." Skinner took her by the arm and helped her into the car. All the energy left her body and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Without words they got back on the road and sped all the way to the hospital they knew too well.

----------------------

Hours and hours went by. One time a nurse came by to tell them Mulder would be much longer in surgery than they first thought. It had already been so many dread-filled hours, but it drove Scully nuts. Skinner left an hour before because he wanted to find out what happened with the train and apprehending the men on it. Also whether everyone of its passengers had been liberated safely. He’d have much rather stayed to keep Scully company and offer support but his job called duty.

The moment Scully felt she could scream her boss returned, looking furious. "They lost them Scully."

"What? They are gone? How?"

"They somehow managed to stop the train and keep the the police at a distance by threatening to blow up the train. When nothing happened they closed in slowly to find all the travelers lying on the floor and the men gone. Nobody saw a thing. The body of the man Mulder called 'Thomas' was gone too. Forensics are crawling all over the place trying to collect all the evidence they can find, but up until now it isn't much. Thomas doesn't exist on paper or in the system and until now they can't find one match on the fingerprints. They must have had a lot of help."

"To be honest, sir, I couldn't care shit." Scully said. Then she got up and walked away, trying to hide her tears from her boss.

"Agent Scully......" Skinner started after her, but then a door opened and a nurse walked up to them.

"He's going to be okay", she said with a smile. " he’s got some internal bleeding, ruptured spleen and a lot of broken bones. The surgeon was able to fix it all. It will take a long time before he’s back up to par and he’ll be in a lot of pain the first few days, but we have some nice drugs for that. And of course he needs people who love him around, that always works. In time he will make a full recovery. "

"That will be my job", Scully whispered, giddy with relief. "When can I see him?"

"I will call you when he is settled in ICU. He will be very closely monitored for a while. He lost a lot of blood and his body has been quite traumatized. When he’s ready I will take you up." the nurse said and went back to do her job.

A couple of hours later Scully sat at Mulder's bed holding his hand, looking at all the many bruises and bandages covering his body. Both his legs encased in plaster. His poor body will have be the colors of the rainbow within a couple of days. She even had to smile about that, thinking he probably couldn't see it himself, being colorblind.

<You're a 'lucky' man, agent Mulder> she thought. <I intend to let you know just how much.>

She talked to him softly, stroking his fingers that peeked limply from the bandaging just to keep herself busy. Maybe he won't even be able to remember what happened before he was thrown out of that train. Scully knew he must have felt terror struck as he was thrown from the train. She felt it too. She’d never be able to forget but she hoped he could. Hope that his head injury would mask that awful few moments. They will find out later who those guys were and who Thomas really was, she was convinced about that, but right now getting better was all he had on his agenda.

She looked at the man in the bed. How could they be so stupid they never really told each other how they truly felt. Only that last phone call, when he said..........

She wiped his face as a tear slid down hers. "Will you remember that Mulder? What you said? I wonder if I heard it right when you said 'love ya'." She sighed and then from the bed a soft voice came saying: "Yeah........"

The End