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TITLE:  TWO MINUTES

DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE AND NEVER WILL BE AS LONG AS I LIVE. THEY
BELONG TO CHRIS CARTER AND 1013 PRODUCTIONS.
ARCHIVE: ANYWHERE.JUST KEEP NAME ATTACHED.

AIR FLIGHT 1013 TO FLORIDA

"Mulder, did you see the documentary last night on PBS. The title
was 'How to survive a plane crash'." Scully asked as she fastened
her seat belt.


Mulder looked up from the file in his lap and nodded. "Last night
was a rerun Scully. I've seen it before." He turned his attention
back to the information concerning a reported sighting of a ghost
at Huntington's Dock, a local tavern in Daytona.

"Mulder I didn't know that if a plane crashes that you only have
two minutes before a fire can engulf the cabin of the plane." Her
face and voice were serious. Her hands were now clutching the
armrests as the plane started taxiing down the runway.


Mulder glanced over and saw the white of her knuckles. He closed
the file and placed in the pocket in front of his seat. He then
reached over and took her right hand and gave it a little
squeeze. " The program also reiterated that flying is the safest
mode of transportation too Scully." He paused a few seconds and
turned and bent down close to her ear, " Quit worrying so much.
How about those Mets?"

She smiled up at him and then she closed her eyes and held onto
his hand. She felt safe with Mulder; she was worrying too much.
Maybe she should have watched the presidential debate instead,
naaaah that would have been even scarier.


They arrived at Daytona's airport a little after twelve noon and
walked down to the carousel to retrieve their luggage. They then
proceeded to find the tavern.


24 hours later
AIR FLIGHT TO WASHINGTON

Mulder and Scully entered the plane and started down the isle to
find their seat. Scully mentally counted the seats from the exit
to their seat. The program had instructed people to know the
distance to the exit and which side of the plane it was located.
She took the window seat in the back of the plane. She mentally
remembered the people's faces that sat down in their seats near
hers and Mulder's seat. Mulder was preoccupied with the report
that he was typing up on his computer when the flight attendant
walked down the isle and started giving instructions on the use
of the life jacket, exits and ditching procedure. When the flight
attendant had finished Scully looked down and secured her belt
and held on to the armrests again. Mulder shut down the computer
and placed it in the overhead. He sat down and fastened his belt.
He then closed his eyes. She knew that he was tired, the case had
turned out to be a hoax. He had been very disappointed at not
finding a ghost. She watched as the lights lit up to fasten
seatbelts. The flight attendant made a last trip down the isle
and then the plane was moving towards the runway.

The lift off was uneventful and as soon as the plane had leveled
out and the lights to fasten your seatbelt had gone out Mulder
was up and headed to the back of the plane. She felt that he did
not feel well, probably something he ate at the tavern. When he
returned he looked over at her and smiled.

" Are you okay Mulder?" she asked as she placed her hand on his
very warm hand.

 He nodded and smiled," I think they poisoned me Scully. My
stomach is in knots." he answered with a raspy voice caused from
his retching in the bathroom.
She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a prescription
bottle. " Here Mulder, take one of these." Her handed stretched
out with a small yellow pill.

He gratefully took the pill and motioned for the flight
attendant. "Could I get some water?" she nodded and within a few
minutes she handed him a bottle of water. He took it and with
sips he swallowed the pill. He then laid his head against the
rest and closed his eyes. "Thanks Scully." His voice was low and
sleepy.


"You're welcome Mulder. Try to go to sleep." She reached over and
placed her hand on his arm and squeezed slightly.

He nodded. Within minutes he was asleep. His breathing was even
and quiet.

The flight was quiet and the flight attendant made her way down
the isle handing out snacks and drinks. Scully waved off the
drink and snack. Mulder was getting a little restless in the seat
and she felt that he would need to wake up and vomit again. As if
on cue he awakened and stood immediately, almost running into the
cart and ran to the bathroom in the back of the plane. Scully
stood and followed. When he emerged from the tiny room his face
was sweaty and he was unsteady on his feet.

"Can you make it back to your seat Mulder? Her hand was
supporting his tall lanky frame. He looked over to her and shook
his head.


" My legs are too weak Scully." His voice was almost a murmur. He
was leaning heavily on the wall of the plane.

She motioned to the flight attendant who responded quickly and
helped her get him back to the seat. The passengers were staring
at them and whispering. The flight attendant leaned down to
Scully, " Should I tell the pilot to land?"

Scully shook her head," Since we're almost back to Washington I
believe he will be fine. I would like an ambulance awaiting at
the airport if possible." She was busy getting Mulder
comfortable.

The lady nodded and pulled down a blanket and pillow. " If he
needs anything else just give me a buzz." Scully nodded and
covered Mulder's legs and chest with the blanket and placed the
pillow in the corner of the seat.

Mulder opened his eyes and found Scully's concerned expression."
Mulder does you stomach hurt?" she was placing her hand over his
abdomen and pressing gently.

"No." he paused a second then answered again, "Some, in my upper
abdomen. I'm cold." She nodded and waved for the flight
attendant.

Scully had placed a couple of blankets on Mulder and given him
another Compazine. He was sleeping restlessly in the seat. Beads
of sweat rolled off his brow. He probably has a fever considering
the chills and the warmth of his skin. She fastened his seat belt
and then she fastened her own belt. The show said to keep the
seatbelt fastened at all times. She pulled out her the file and
started browsing over the details. What a waste of time and to
beat it all they had probably given Mulder something to make him
ill. If she could get proof she would have them prosecuted for
harming a FBI agent. "Weasels." She spoke out loud to no one in
particular.

The announcement came over the intercom to get ready for landing.
Scully put away her reading material and pushed her seat forward.
The flight attendant had already fixed Mulder's seat for landing
and had assured her that an ambulance would be at the gate
landing.

The next announcement was that they were having some difficulty
with the landing gear. Her knuckles were holding a death grip on
the seat and the other passengers were whispering between
themselves. The couple behind them had a small toddler who was
fast asleep and the older couple beside of them was celebrating
their fiftieth anniversary. The woman and man who sat directly in
front of them were traveling home to visit a sick relative. The
plane began to toss to one side and then the other. She thought
was might be the problem then it dawned on her, they were running
out of fuel.


 The next announcement was for the passengers to position
themselves for a rough landing. The flight attendants were
quickly up and teaching the position for them to get into. It was
sort of a tuck position. The attendant helped to push Mulder
forward into position, he was well under the influence of the
Compazine and did not awaken. She reached over to Mulder and held
his arm tight. He lifted his eyes a tiny bit but there was not
recognition and soon they were closed again. The plane started to
make a decent to the runway and then the tearing and grinding of
metal were all that could be heard.


She opened her eyes when the noise had stopped and realized
quickly that the cabin was filling up with smoke. She started
counting mentally, she only had two minutes. One one-thousand,
two one-thousand, three one-thousand, she reached over and felt
for a pulse on, Mulder's neck and it was present but a little
weak. She pushed him back gently in the seat and unfastened her
seat belt.


Nineteen one thousand, twenty one-thousand. She reached for the
top of the seat and pulled herself into the isle she could feel
luggage underneath her feet and she had to step over it blindly.
She knew that she was twenty seats back from the exit on the
left. She then proceeded forward, the silence was deafening.

Thirty five one-thousand, thirty six one thousand, thirty seven
one-thousand. She counted to twenty seats and reached over to the
left and felt the bar on the door. She then did as she had been
directed by the flight attendant, she flipped the latch and
pushed open the door. The light burst into the darkness of the
plane and she turned to see that not everyone had faired as well.

Fifty four one-thousand. She turned and announced, "If you are
able to walk please exit the door. If the passenger next to you
is unable to get up please assist. We must leave the plane. One
minute. The smoke in the back of the plane was getting thicker.
She turned and started towards the pilots quarters and entered,
no one was conscious. She quickly went back out into the cabin of
the plane and saw that people were quickly exiting down the
rubber mat. She knew that she would need help with her partner.



The sirens were blasting and the firemen had started to board the
plane assisting those who could not assist themselves. " The
pilots are unconscious!" she shouted to a fireman that had just
boarded. He quickly moved past her and went to their assist.
Thirty two one-thousand. She moved back down the isle towards her
partner, who still was not moving. She turned to motion for a
fireman to assist but they were busy trying to put out the fire
in the back of the plane. Forty two one-thousand. She reached
down to Mulder's ear and spoke loudly, "Mulder, please. I need
you." His eyes opened and he tried to stand but was met with her
hand to her chest. They both were starting to cough due to the
fumes. "We need to leave Mulder, the plane is on fire. Can you
make it?" he thought for a second then nodded. Fifty four one-
thousand. He stood on shaky legs but managed to get up and walk
down the isle. The smoke was almost too thick to breathe. As she
pushed her partner to safety down the ramp she turned and the
plane was engulfed with smoke and fire. The passengers were all
out and the firemen were headed towards the door to exit also.
She jumped. Two minutes.

Georgetown Memorial Hospital
He felt nauseated and jittery and the bells and tones of the
monitors were ringing in his ears. He would try to open his eyes
but he thought he might vomit. He moved his hand slightly and
felt a familiar pressure attached. " Mulder. Hey wake up
partner!" the voice was soft and sweet. He would try to answer
but his throat was sore and it felt swollen. Surely he had not
been intubated. He slowly lifted his eyelids and saw the
brilliant smile of his partner.

" Hey. How do you feel?" she asked as she squeezed his hand
gently. Her face looked tired and she still had the same clothes
on she had been wearing on the plane.

 He thought for a minute. How had he gotten off the plane.
"How?" his voice was raspy and weak. He turned and looked around
and took in the familiarity of the room, the IV in his arm, the
catheter that was snaked up into his bladder, the oxygen tube in
his nose and a nasogastric tube in his right nostril.


The locals in Daytona were not very nice. The owners of the bar
poisoned you Mulder. They did it for a joke but you have been
very ill for the past twenty- four hours.
He nodded and closed his eyes. " I need to try not to piss off
people." He managed a small grin.


She smiled and nodded. She thought for a moment," Mulder, do you
remember the airplane crash?" Her voice was nervous as she
mentioned the tragedy.


He looked stunned and confused. "What plane crash?" he asked
anxiously as he turned towards his partner. How had he missed
something so significant?


" It's fine Mulder. There were no fatalities. There was a failure
of the landing gear and the plane ran out of fuel. Mulder I
remembered the two- minute rule." She paused for a second then
resumed speaking," The program saved our lives Mulder. I never
considered that a simple television show could impact my life so
much."

He nodded and rolled back over. He knew it had to an ordeal for
his partner who was terrified of flying. He smiled and glanced
back over to Scully, " That is what I've been telling you about
the Jerry Springer show for years Scully."

She smiled and looked over to her partner," I really think you
need an enema Mulder." His eyes widened in terror.