The Loop

Chapter One

One in the afternoon, seventy degrees, slightly cloudy. Dana Scully and Fox Mulder were driving down the highway, on their way to a horse racing track where a man had committed suicide earlier that morning. The suicide was thought to have been carried out due to more nefarious reasons though, and that was why they were called in. It was only a few hours drive away from where they lived anyhow.

The radio was off and all that could be heard was the role of the tires against the asphalt and the light breathing from the two people. Scully sat in the passenger seat, rereading the case file, as Mulder was driving, his focus straight ahead. They were sitting in silence as each minute past by, enjoying each others company, when Mulder moved his right hand to rest on Scullys knee. Scully didn't look up from the case file.

Scully and Mulder had been together for about three years. Everyone at the Bureau knew it, and nobody had a problem with it. To most it seemed like the two had been destined for each other, what with the way they always lightly bickered about the paranormal, yet chatted flirtatiously right after. They seemed like the perfect match.

Scully lifted her chin a bit, finishing the sentence that she had reread for the umpteenth time, and began to turn her head towards Mulder, finally dragging her eyes away from the file.

"Yes?" she asked. The sound of her voice startled her a bit, since it had been so quiet for so long, but she shook away the feeling. Mulder turned his head to quickly glance at her, flashing her a small smile, then fixed his gaze back onto the road.

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to see if your knee had changed since the last time I felt it." he replied.

"What, twenty minutes ago?" Scullys face broke out into a smile. She loved Mulders little quips. She never got tired of them.

"Yeah." Mulder answered, and it was silent again. Mulder kept his hand on Scullys knee and Scully kept her face turned towards him. She stared at his face, taking in his features, noting that his cheeks seemed a bit pink. "Are you feeling well?" she asked, curious.

"Huh?" Mulder said, turning to glance at her. "Oh - uh - yeah. I'm fine." he finished. Scully was unsure of his answer.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." he reassured, and then it was silent again, until a few seconds later when Mulder spoke back up. "Um, actually, I - uh - wanted to talk to you about something." Her interest now peaked, Scully sat forward, furrowing her eyebrows.

"About what?" she asked. Mulder looked at her, taking in her curious and slightly worried stare, and smiled.

"It's nothing bad. Well, at least I don't think it is." he assured her. Scully felt a weight lift off of her. She wouldn't admit it, but somewhere in the back of her mind she had thought that maybe, just maybe, Mulder was going to break up with her. It's good that he wasn't going to, but then what does he want to talk about?

Mulder bit his lip slightly as he stared ahead, eyes glued on the road. He had withdrawn his hand, which now joined his other in tightly gripping the steering wheel.

"Dana," he started. Scullys eyes widened a bit. Even though they were together, Scully and Mulder rarely called each other by their first names. Whatever he has to say must be serious. "I - um - I have something important to ask you." he finished. Scully was hanging on the edge of her seat. What could possibly be so important? She just had to know.

A few seconds later Mulder was still silent, and it was driving Scully mad.

"Dammit, Mulder, what do you have to ask me? I'm sitting here, drowning in anticipation, and you won't spit it out!" Mulder let out a low chuckle at her impatiences. He turned to face her, bringing his right hand back down onto her knee, and squeezed lightly as he smiled down at her. His smile caused Scully to smile as well, her cheeks flushing a bit with embarrassment when she realized how impatient she was being. The two stared intimately at each other, silently confessing their love. It was a hard gaze to break, but Scully did as she noticed something behind Mulder. Her eyes widened with fear as she began to draw back.

"Mulder!" she yelled, breaking his trance, and he turned around just in time to see what she was so frightened about. Right to the left of the car, now only a few yards away, came a large semi-truck barreling straight towards them. In the time it took Mulder to react, it was already too late. The semi crashed into the hood on the driver's side of the car, sending them into quick a spin, which eventually turned into a roll. The last thing Scully remembers seeing is Mulder being tossed around inside the car like a rag doll, just like herself, and then everything was dark.