TITLE: Dementia AUTHOR: Denise Morgen EMAIL: meadora@hotmail.com SPOILERS: Biogenesis FEEDBACK: The quick and easy way to have a shrine erected in your honor! RATING: PG-13 for the adult language in my summary. SUMMARY: I simply refuse to believe that Mulder is, if you'll pardon my French, that big a fucking moron as to sleep with that bitch or even welcome her happily into his bed after everything that's happened, regardless of how CC & Co made it look. So this is my version of events after Diana got off the phone with CSM at Mulder's apt. DISCLAIMER: The characters of Mulder, Scully and the wicked Bitch of the west, oops, I mean Diana Fowley are property of Fox, 1013 Productions and Chris Carter. I mean no infringement and I'm not making any money from their use. If you're going to sue me than so be it. I've come to terms with the fact that living on earth is expensive but hey, at least we get that free trip around the sun! NOTE: There is a companion piece to this story called 'Inside His Delirium' that can be found on the My Fanfiction page of my website: http://DennysX.cjb.net Dementia by Denise Morgen Diana slipped her shirt over her head as she entered Fox's bedroom. She draped her blouse over the chair by the door and began to remove her remaining clothing as she neared his bed. Moving over to his side she kneeled before him and reached forward to brush a wayward lock of hair from his closed eyes. She was surprised when he visibly flinched at her tender touch and began tossing fitfully, mumbling in his sleep. Diana chewed her bottom lip and studied him thoughtfully. He was burning up, the perspiration running down his face in little rivulets and steady streams. She had to get that information from him; THEY were expecting her to come through on this! She turned the problem over and around in her head for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion. Fox had always been a tactile man, especially when sick he felt the need to physically connect with others. Maybe if she could get close to him she could coax the data out of him through his delirium. Thus decided, she rose and moved around to the opposite side of the bed. If she'd been paying proper attention she would've noticed that Mulder's movements became markedly more vehement in the small space of time it took her to lean closer to him on the bed and bring herself to her feet, but dropped off decidedly when she move further away from him. If she'd been paying any attention at all she would've noticed this, but Diana was never much of an investigator. She lifted the blankets and slid into bed beside him. Mulder's body froze abruptly, locking into place at her sudden nearness. Foolishly, she took this as a good sign and inched her way closer to him. Mulder shuddered as she moved her hand up, intending to touch him. "Scully..." Mulder whimpered pitifully as her fingers neared his broiling flesh. Diana froze, startled by the flash of searing jealousy that zapped through her at his breathless exhilaration. So, she thought hatefully, that red-headed little bitch had been poaching on her territory, huh? We'll see about that! With a smug smile she quickly contemplated the various methods at her disposal to put Fox Mulder once again under her spell. Satisfied that she would quickly be able to turn his thoughts forever away from one Dana Katherine Scully, Diana continued her aborted forward move and wrapped her hand around his shoulder. Mulder leapt up from the bed with an incoherent roar, flinging her completely out of the bed and onto the ground with the ferocity of his movement. Diana looked up at him in shock as he pace the room like a caged tiger, practically growling in disgust as he snuck wary peaks at her from the corners of his eyes. Diana stood up slowly, minimizing her movements as much as possible. Mulder dropped into a suspicious crouch as soon as she moved. Coiled and ready to strike, he watched her inch closer to him with a feral glare. Diana approached him with her hands raised soothingly, trying desperately to make herself seem as non-threatening to him as possible. She kept her chin lowered and her eyes downcast to avoid provoking him. She managed to keep from looking for a while, but when she was an arm's length away she raised her eyes unconsciously to his and immediately wished she hadn't. Instead of the mercurial hazel she was expecting her glance met with a seething haze of rage and insanity so intense that it stained his usually expressive orbs black. Meeting the depth and degree of viciousness there she understood for the first time that her life might actually be in danger; this was not the man she was used to dealing with. She made her decision to retreat an instant too late for in the moment of her uncertain pause Mulder pounced with arms wide knocking her backwards into the wall and window sill painfully. She had time enough only to register the biting pain of the sill jammed unmercifully into her side before the crash of her head against the wall slid her down into the darkness. **** Diana crawled her way slowly back up to consciousness. The pounding in her skull was a living thing and the world around her rocked on it's axis when she attempted to open her eyes. Taking several deep, calming breaths she slowly opened her eyes again and attempted to concentrate on the world around her. Slowly the room stopped spinning and slid into focus. Taking a minute to gather her scattered thoughts, she used the window sill above her head to help wrestle herself into a standing position. Leaning back heavily against the wall, she winced at the tender pain in her head and the pulling muscles of her side. She could already feel the bruises forming and knew that by tomorrow her back would be an ugly mottled purple. Surveying the area around her, she could see Fox curled up in fetal position on his couch in the other room rocking back and forth and muttering disjointedly to himself about the voices and the darkness. Diana took a deep breath and drug herself along the wall until she reached the cell phone beside Mulder's bed. Slumping gratefully to the floor against the wall's welcome support she dialed a familiar number. The ringing of the small phone was like an axe repeatedly striking her brain, but she clung to it like a lifeline. "It's me." She said quietly into the receiver. "He's worse than we thought, I'm going to need some assistance...I understand. I'll be here." Wordlessly she terminated the call and set the cell on the ground by her side. With one more quick glance at Fox she drew her knees up to her chest. She briefly considered getting up to see if he had any aspirin, but tabled the thought of leaving the relative safety of the bedroom and risking another attack by Fox. Instead, she settled her head into her arms and concentrated on staying awake while she waited for help to come.