Finding Comfort
by Surreal (surreal666@hotmail.com)
Rating: PG-13 for adult situations
Catagory: Langly/Byers
Disclaimer:  Still Chris Carter's, not mine
Archive:  Unusual Suspects, Basement, Ephemeral, 
Gossamer:  anywhere else just ask

Note:  This is (like everything else...) post-Requiem; 
not for any specific reason, but I just really suck at 
trying to write Mulder.  I love having an excuse not to 
have to!

Author's note:  Bien merci a Alison...a shy but extremely
talented lurker on the list.  She wrote some of the best
scenes in this beast below, and this story couldn't have
come out so well, or so quickly, without her!
Summery:  Love heals


Gunmen Headquarters
7:36pm

"Hey, Scully," Frohike greets her as he opens the door.

"Hi guys.  I was wondering if you could do something
for me," she says, waving a tan file folder.

"Anything for you, G-woman," Frohike quips.  "Whatcha
got there?"

"These are the medical records we were looking at
before, back in Skinner's office.  Could you do a search
for anyone who had that same brain anomaly;  people out-
side of Bellefleur, that I could talk to?"

Frohike takes the folder from her and heads for his
computer.  "We'll see what we can do."

She watches him begin his work, not sure what to do
now.  Normally, she would just blow out of there, and 
wait for their call later.  But now...she just didn't 
want to leave; not yet, anyway.  She found herself doing 
that more and more recently; spending more time with the 
guys instead of just tossing them a job like they were a 
pack of trained dogs and leaving.

Glancing around, she found the familiar cluttered room
almost relaxing, despite the apparent chaos.  Her eyes
fell on Langly, sitting at his laptop and typing 
furiously.  She cocks her head to one side;  he didn't 
look very happy.  He hadn't said anything since she had 
arrived, either.

Suddenly, she feels like there is something missing...

"Hey, where's Byers?" she asks, her question directed
at Langly.

He doesn't look up, but narrows his eyes at the screen.
She could barely make out his mumbled, "Who cares?"

Scully is beginning to think that maybe she should have
called first.  She gets the feeling that she's stepped 
into something ugly, and private, between the guys.  She 
draws herself away from the silently angry blonde, as if 
afraid that if she makes any sudden moves, he will 
explode.

Instead, she moves over to Frohike and leans in close
to whisper,  "Should I come back some other time?"

Frohike shakes his head slightly and gives her a tight
smile.  "It's okay;  they get like this sometimes.  They 
got into a fight, and Byers went out to walk off some 
steam. Don't worry;  they always keep it between 
themselves."

Scully just nods understanding and lets it drop.

*Briiing briiing*

"I got it," Langly says as he jumps to answer the ringing
phone.  Scully watches him for a moment then turns back 
to Frohike to inquire about his progress.  But before she 
can say anything, she is startled by the loud crack from 
behind her.  She turns to see Langly frantically hitting 
the machines attached to the phone to turn off the 
recorder.  The fear on his face tells her that this is a 
serious call.
    
"Yes, he lives here," Langly is focusing on the floor,
his face suddenly a whiter shade of pale.  "No, he's not
married...I'm his, uh, roommate."

Scully exchanges a worried look with Frohike as she
moves to stand next to Langly.  Langly doesn't look at 
her;  he brings a trembling hand to his head, absently 
running it through his hair as he listens.

"Oh, god..." he whispers, closing his eyes.  He listens
for another moment, nodding occasionally despite the
fact that the person he is talking to won't see it.  
"Okay, I'll be right there.  Thank you," he says as he 
hangs up the phone.

"Langly?  What is it?  What happened?" Frohike asks
the younger man.

Langly looks at both of them helplessly.  "It...that was
Georgetown Medical.  It's John...he was found in the
park about half an hour ago by an off-duty police 
officer.  He was unconscious and...um, beaten.  He's at 
the hospital now..." he chokes on these last words.  
"I--I gotta go over there right now..." he says, moving 
toward the door as he reaches into his pocket for his car 
keys.

Scully watches as he fumbles with the keys in his shaking
hands and drops them on the floor.  "Langly, wait," she
follows him and grabs his arm.  "Let me drive you over 
there."

"No, it's okay," he shakes away from her grip.

"Langly, please.  You're shaking; you're going to get 
into an accident if you try to drive.  Let me help," she 
says, giving him her most authoritative tone.

He looks down at her; she feels her throat tighten at the
raw emotion she sees in his eyes.  Finally he drops his 
head, closes his eyes and nods sullenly.  "Yeah, okay," 
he whispers.  "Um, hang on a sec."  He runs down the 
hall, and returns a moment later with his backpack, 
hastily stuffing some clothing into it.  "They told me to 
bring some clean clothes for him; they said we should be 
able to bring him home tonight."

Scully nods and follows him out the door, tossing a 
tight, concerned smile over her shoulder to Frohike.  The 
older man nods slightly and moves to lock the door behind 
them.

Langly is very quiet on the drive over.  With a few 
subtle glances Scully determined that there was more to 
what was happening than a simple, random attack in the 
park.

"Langly?  Did the hospital say anything else about what
happened?"

He didn't look at her, just kept his eyes focused on the 
road ahead of them.  "Um," he starts, then clears his 
throat.  "They don't know all the details yet, but they 
said...there are indications of, um, of s-sexual 
assault," he stutters, running his hand through his hair 
again.

"Oh, my god," she says softly.  She decided to drop the 
subject and wait until they get to the hospital and get 
all the answers.


Georgetown Medical
7:58pm

"Byers, John Fitzgerald Byers," Scully asks the woman 
standing at the reception desk in the emergency room.
"Are you family?" the receptionist asks politely.

"No, I'm his doctor, and he," Scully indicates Langly, 
who is glancing around nervously," is his roommate.  
We're his closest thing to family."

"All right, wait here a moment.  I'll find out who has 
his chart and let you speak to that doctor," she says as 
she turns makes her way down the hall.
    
Scully walks over to where Langly is standing and places 
her hand on his arm.  "They'll be with us in a few 
minutes." He nods and gives her a tight smile.

Ten minutes pass before a woman in a lab coat approaches 
them.  "Hello.  You two are here for Mr. Byers?"

"Yes," they answer in unison.

The doctor, whose badge reads "Emily Franklin", gives 
them a warm smile and indicates for them to follow her.  
"He's with a nurse right now, but I need to talk to you 
about what is happening."  She leads them to an empty 
exam room and motions for them to sit in the chairs.
    
"I understand that you are his doctor?" she asks Scully.

"Well, I am listed as his doctor, but I'm not a 
practicing physician.  I'm a federal agent.  But yes, I 
am in control of his medical records, as well as those of 
his roommates," she adds, placing her hand on Langly's 
shoulder.

"Okay," Dr. Franklin responds as she jots down notes on 
the chart in her hand.  "This is the situation.  Mr. 
Byers was found unconscious in the park by a police 
officer and was brought here by ambulance.  There are 
bruises and minor lacerations over most of his body.  He 
regained consciousness shortly after arriving here, and 
was able to answer questions about the assault.  However, 
the blow to the back of his head that knocked him out 
apparently did not end the attack.  Evidence shows that 
he was battered for several minutes after losing 
consciousness, as well as possibly being sexually 
assaulted.  We have done the standard tests involved in 
rape cases and we are waiting on the bloodwork to return 
from the lab."

Langly's head shot up when the doctor explained the last 
part, as if a realization had suddenly struck him.  He 
glances at Scully quickly, then back to the doctor.  "Um, 
the tests are for tracing DNA from semen, right?"

Scully and Franklin both nod.  "If he has been sexually 
assaulted, there may be traces of semen found," Franklin 
explains.  Langly began to blush, dropping his eyes to 
the floor.  "Then you should know that John and I are, 
um, together..." he says softly, his voice shaking.  "I 
mean, we..." he trails off, not knowing quite how to 
explain to the two female doctors his situation.

"Then I need to ask you a few questions, Mr. Langly.  Are 
you two sexually active?" Franklin asks gently, picking 
up the chart again.

"Yes."

"Have you engaged in anal intercouse within the past 
three days?"

"Yes," he nearly whispers, hands nervously fidgeting in 
his lap.

"All right.  This means that we will need to do a semen 
analysis for you as well, to compare to the results of 
Mr. Byers' blood tests."
    
Langly closes his eyes and nods hesitantly, 
understanding.

Scully listens to this exchange in stunned silence.  She 
had had so few glimpses into the personal lives of these 
guys that she never knew that Langly and Byers were 
together.  Now she understood why Langly had been so 
shaken by the phone call, and why Frohike had stayed 
behind, letting Langly handle this alone.

"Dr. Scully, Mr. Byers is in exam five if you'd like to 
check on him.  His physical injuries are not serious, but 
he is very shaken from the incident.  It may be good for 
him to see a familiar face."
    
Scully nods and exits the room, heading down the hall to 
find Byers.

Scully stands outside exam room five, watching as a 
female nurse applies antiseptic to the cut along Byers' 
right cheekbone. Byers is laying on his side, curled up 
nearly in a fetal position. Scully knocks on the door 
softly.  Byers jumps slightly, and the nurse gets up and 
opens the door.  "Can I help you?"

"I'm Dana Scully, John Byers' doctor.  I was told I could 
see him." The nurse smiles warmly and motions for her to 
come in.

Scully approaches Byers, who smiles at her weakly.  "Hey, 
Scully," he says.
    
"Hi, John," she replies, taking the seat vacated by the 
nurse, who had exited shortly after Scully came in.  "How 
are you feeling?"
    
He sighs and pulls the sheet tighter around him.  "I 
don't really know.  They gave me painkillers so I guess 
I'm better than I could be."
    
Scully nods, understanding.  Seeing him like this, 
vulnerable, scared...she had to fight the urge to reach 
out and comfort him.  She wasn't sure if that kind of 
contact would hurt him more.  "Langly's here with me," 
she tells him.
    
Byers sniffs quietly and nods against the pillow.  "Is 
he...um, is he okay?  Can I see him?"
   
"Yeah, he's okay.  He's getting some tests done," she 
explains.

"Oh," he responds.  "So...they, you, know about him and 
me," he says quietly.

"Yes, he told us after the doctor explained what was 
happening.  Why didn't you guys tell me before?"

Byers looks at her pointedly.  "Why didn't you tell 
anyone about you and Mulder?"

Scully is surprised by the question.  "Well, because 
there are, uh, rules that discourage FBI partners from 
having sexual relations," she explains, hoping that the 
by-the-book excuse will be good enough for Byers.
    
It isn't.  "We both know there are other reasons.  If 
They found out that you two were something more than just 
partners and friends, you would both be in even more 
danger.  They would use your intimate relationship 
against you, to force you into silence."

Scully listens, realizing that Byers had already 
considered conclusions that she herself did not want to 
face.  "And since you guys are visible to Them as well, 
you didn't want word getting out about how close you and 
Langly had become.  That if the Consortium found out, 
they would use your relationship to shut your newsletter 
down, to keep you quiet," she concludes.
    
"You got it," he mutters.

Langly enters the room cautiously a few moments later.  
He gives a worried look to Byers, and the older man 
smiles at him fondly.  Scully moves to stand near the 
door while Langly approaches his friend.

"Hey, John," he says softly, his arms crossed over his 
chest shyly. Byers extends his right hand to the younger 
man.  Langly relaxes visibly and laces his fingers with 
Byers', moving closer.  He lays his right arm along the 
railing to lean close to his lover.
    
Scully watches as Byers lets go of Langly's hand and 
reaches up to gently stroke the younger man's cheek.  The 
gesture is so poignant, moving Langly to return the favor 
hesitantly.  He lets his left hand gently brush the 
little fringe of hair away from Byers' forehead.  
Watching these two from the shadows near the door, Scully 
can't help but think of how many times she and Mulder had 
done the same thing.
    
She stands by silently, watching.  Byers rests his right 
hand on the arm Langly has leaning on the rail, stroking 
the pale wrist with his thumb gently.  He closes his eyes 
as Langly continues to stroke his hair, gently comforting 
him and talking to him softly, soothingly.
    
"I'm so sorry, John," Langly whispers.  "I never should 
have made you run out like that..."

"Ringo, don't.  I--this isn't your fault.  I should have 
been more careful..."
    
She watches as Byers struggles for control, unable to 
keep a few tears from escaping, a few muffled sobs as he 
finally gives in to the reality of his situation.  
Watches as Langly leans in close, kissing him softly on 
the forehead.  "Shh...it's okay, you're okay now.  I'm 
gonna take care of you..."

She catches Langly's eye and tilts her head towards the 
door, mouthing "I'll be outside . ."  He nods - he'd 
already forgotten she was there.

Walking outside into the street for some fresh air, she 
is surprised as always when visiting the hospital, to 
find the noisy bustle of everyday life going on outside, 
uncaring.  A walk clears her head and it's an hour later 
when she returns to the quiet room.
    
Langly is sitting on the bed, his back propped against 
the head-board with his arms tight around Byers, who has 
his head resting on Langly's shoulder.  Both have their 
eyes closed, but Langly looks up as she enters.

"No news on the tests yet?"

Langly shakes his head.  Byers looks up sleepily and 
smiles at her.  "Scully, you don't have to wait.  You've 
done so much for us already."

She shakes her head fiercely.  "No, I'm not leaving."  In 
her mind is the time of her own stay in hospital, what 
they did for her then and the risks they took for her, 
Byers in particular,and she feels a stinging behind her 
eyes.  "I'm staying as long as it takes."

And it's only a few minutes later that the doctor returns 
with the test results . . .

Dr. Franklin enters the room quietly, her stiff 
expression telling them what they don't want to hear.  As 
she approaches, Byers struggles to sit up straight, with 
Langly's help.  He winces painfully as he braces himself 
for the news;  Langly never lets go of his hand.
    
"The test results show traces of DNA not belonging to 
either of you," she explains softly.  "However, there is 
no evidence of sexually transmitted diseases."

Byers nods slightly, already emotionally drained.  Langly 
lowers his gaze to the floor, swallowing hard.  Scully 
leaves the room then, unable to watch her friends in such 
a fragile state.  She busies herself with filling out 
Byers' release forms at the nurses' station. 

In the exam room, Dr. Franklin finishes by explaining 
that Byers will need to come back for a checkup in two 
days, then writes a prescription for pain medication.

"You can take him home whenever you are ready," she tells 
them. "However, he does have a concussion so you'll need 
to keep an eye on him throughout the night."

Langly nods and gives the doctor a grateful smile.  He 
turns back to Byers, squeezing his hand.  "Ready to go?" 
 Byers nods and smiles back at him, a tired but 
affectionate little smile.
    
Franklin leaves the room while Langly helps Byers get 
dressed; the younger man had wisely chosen to bring 
sweatpants and a t-shirt for Byers, as well as a fleece 
jacket.  
  
Scully peers cautiously into the room through the 
half-closed blinds on the window.  She feels her throat 
tighten at what she sees. As Langly finishes tightening 
the jacket protectively around Byers,  the older man 
suddenly reaches out, wrapping his arms tightly around 
his lover and burying his face in the other man's chest. 
 Langly closes his eyes, putting his arms around Byers 
and pulling him closer still. He reaches up, closing one 
hand around the head of ruffled red hair, tucking his 
chin close and brushing his lips lightly across the soft 
hair.

Langly gives the older man as much time as he needs, 
displaying a patience and compassion that Scully never 
knew the young man possessed.  Byers finally raises his 
head, pressing his forehead to Langly's and steadying his 
breathing.  After a moment he kisses Langly gently on the 
lips, then motions for them to leave.
    
The agent follows silently as Langly leads Byers out of 
the hospital, his arm wrapped not-too-tightly around the 
older man's shoulders. Byers leans on him heavily, the 
effects of the painkillers making him weak and drowsy.

The drive back is also silent.  Scully glances back to 
see Byers curled up on his side, head and shoulders 
cradled in Langly's lap.  The younger man absently 
strokes his lover's hair, occasionally catching Scully's 
 eye in the rearview mirror and exchanging an 
affectionate, sad little smile.

By the time they arrive back at the Lone Gunmen HQ Byers 
is asleep, and Langly has to gently coax him awake enough 
to stumble to the front door while Scully knocks to 
summon Frohike. He appears quickly, concerned but deeply 
relieved.   With a quick plea to Scully to 'wait a few 
minutes', he and Langly between them, one each side, help 
Byers down the corridor to the bedroom.
    
A few minutes later Frohike reappears, obviously moved, 
with a grateful smile for her.  "Langly's just getting 
him settled . . . he  asked if you'd wait until he could 
say thanks.  You must be hungry, can I get you 
something?"
    
Until then Scully hasn't realised how hungry she is, and 
she accepts gratefully.  It's pleasant to relax on the 
comfortable couch for a while, while  Frohike fusses 
round her, getting her coffee and a sandwich while they 
bring each other up to date. He nods, and goes on to 
explain, when she refers to the boys' relationship.  She 
learns that it's a comparatively recent development.  
Somewhat ironically, after being best friends for so many 
years, they have recently embarked on a passionate 
physical and emotional relationship.
    
"I was surprised too at first . . . but when you see them 
together, you realise how right they are for each other. 
 I'm just glad that they make each other so happy."
    
Langly reappears then, looking tired but relieved.  "He's 
asleep . . . I'm going to stay with him.  I just want to 
say thanks, Scully.  I would have gone crazy without you 
there."
    
He comes over to her, taking both her hands in his big 
gentle ones, and bends to kiss her cheek.  She squeezes 
back and smiles up at him. I'll drop in to see him 
tomorrow.  It's not going to be easy for him - or you - 
but at least he's got you to look after him."
    
He nods and escorts her to the door, waiting to see her 
safely into her car.  She smiles inwardly.  He's really 
just as much a gentleman as Byers in his own way.  And 
they are lucky, she reflects as she drives away,  to have 
each other.  She knows that Byers' ordeal is far from 
over, but she can take comfort from the knowledge that he 
will be  cared for by the people who love him, on this 
night when he needs that more than anything else.


END