DAVID (2/2)
By Gerry Hill
(fox42@ix.netcom.com)
Sheriff Vernon agreed immediately with Scully that they needed
to see if
there was hard evidence to be found which would support an arrest
of Mary
Chandler in either the serial killer case or her husbands'
deaths. He still
would not believe that she had anything to do with any of it.
Mulder was
harder to convince that they must delay taking any immediate
action, but
finally agreed, provided someone would keep watch on the house to
make sure
that Mary and David didn't disappear meanwhile. He volunteered to
hang
around in his car until the Sheriff could send someone out to
take over for
him.
Scully shot Mulder a suspicious look and remained with him
while Vernon went
into the house. The Sheriff said he would only tell Mary that
they were
leaving and that they would contact her later or the next day to
fill her in
as to what was going on.
"What are you going to do after we leave, Mulder?" Scully asked.
"Sit in my car, mom," he replied sarcastically.
Her face flushed and she snapped, "Dammit. I don't
deserve this attitude
you've got toward me. If what you suspect is true, you could
endanger the
case by doing anything stupid right now."
He was thinking that Scully was right, and that he was being
an asshole, but
was not about to risk David by hanging back and letting Mary do
God knew what
to him. He had opened his mouth to break the uncomfortable
silence but saw
the Sheriff coming out of the front door.
Hastily, Mulder whispered, "The Sheriff and Mary are an
item according to
Deputy Sullivan."
Scully looked startled although she had already suspected that
the two were
closer than cop and victim, and commented thoughtfully, "It
sounds as though
an impartial party should take over this investigation, given all
the
conflicts of interest evident here."
Knowing his partner, Mulder knew she would work on doing just
that when she
got back to the Sheriff's office. Again, he knew intellectually
and
professionally that she was right, but it only made him more
anxious to
resolve his son's....God, he couldn't believe he could say those
words yet -
he mentally rolled the word "son" around in his mind
for a few seconds, then
continued the thought...resolve his son's problem before he
didn't have
access to him anymore.
No longer looking laid-back, Sheriff Vernon tersely said,
"Let's go," and led
the way to the car. Mulder waited until he and Scully had driven
off and
turned the corner at the intersection, then he strode up to the
door and
rapped on it urgently.
He heard Mary's footsteps approach the door. She hesitated for
a moment,
then the locks were opened and the door swung inward a few
inches.
"What do you want?" Her expression was guarded.
"To talk."
There was a long moment of hesitation, then she said,
"Look, I realize you'll
come in here anyway if you decide that's what you want, and
there's nothing I
could do to stop you. But I don't want David upset."
Mulder didn't say anything, simply waited patiently.
Finally she stepped back and let him past her.
"Where is he?" was the first thing he said. The
house was too silent. The
lights were on in all the downstairs rooms but there was no sign
of David.
"Playing." She shrugged.
Feeling a flutter of anxiety in his stomach he turned to her
and demanded, "I
want to see that he's all right."
With a mixture of fear and defiance, she admitted, "He isn't here."
"What?!" he said, maybe a little too loudly.
"Where could he have gone in
those ten minutes we were outside?"
She just licked her lips and backed away from him.
Raw fear for his child exploded in his mind as Mulder lost his
composure.
Throwing his forearm across her throat and grabbing her wrists in
his other
hand, he shoved her roughly against the nearby wall and pressed
his body
against hers. He knew his behavior was bordering on criminal
assault - hell,
it *was* criminal assault - but he was beyond being able to stop
it.
"I warned you what would happen if you harmed him,"
he rasped. "Now tell me,
where is he?"
She struggled but he was too close for her to maneuver, and he
simply shoved
harder against her throat. Her expression reflected her terror as
she began
to fight to breathe. When he saw that she was trying to speak, he
relaxed
his forearm to give her some air.
Wincing when she swallowed, Mary said, "Fox, I wouldn't
hurt David. I love
him more than my own life. He's only next door with Jason and his
new
puppy."
"Show me," he demanded.
"You can look out the back window and see them playing."
He kept hold of one wrist and yanked her along with him as he
strode to the
kitchen and peered out the window. David and another boy,
presumably Jason,
could be clearly seen in the well-lighted back yard next door
laughing and
playing with a small black dog. Currently the young pup was
enthusiastically
licking David's face as he lay giggling on his back in the grass.
Mulder took a deep breath in relief and turned to Mary at the
same time he
felt the sharp point of a knife press against his ribs. Fuck. He
had
underestimated her, knowing what she was capable of. Any idiot
would have
realized there would be knives lying around a kitchen. She could
just say
that Mulder had broken in and had threatened her with his gun
again, and she
had to protect herself. What was one more murder to her?
But she surprised him by backing away, putting the table
between them. The
carving knife clattered from her shaking hands to the table-top.
Her voice was strained as she asked, "Now tell me why you
seem to be sure
that I'm going to harm David?"
Certain that she was playing some kind of game with him and
impatient with
this pretense of ignorance, Mulder wearily replied, "You
hired Lobell because
you want to marry Tyler."
It took a moment for Mary to make any sense out of what Mulder
had said, then
her face grew pale. "Oh, no. My God, I wouldn't....You've
got everything
wrong." She sank into a chair at the table, looking even
paler.
At Mulder's unbelieving stare, she forcefully said, "Matt
told me that the
man who took David and murdered those other children had been
killed, and I
was surprised to find out who it was. Lobell never struck me as
anyone who
would escalate into actually killing anyone. He was a pervert who
preyed on
kids, and that's bad enough, but I wouldn't have thought he would
go to that
extreme."
What about Tyler?"
"What about him? He's been after me to marry him but I
keep telling him no.
It's Matt I love, and who would make a great father for
David."
"I'm supposed to believe this shit? How many people could
have had a
connection to Lobell and also had an interest in getting rid of
your son..."
Mulder shook his head when he realized the obvious answer. As
Sheriff, Matt
Vernon would have dealt with Lobell when he had been arrested,
charged, tried
and released. Also, Matt wanted to wed Mary Chandler, who had to
be a
millionaire many times over. But why would he want to get David
out of the
way, especially by murdering him?
"How is your money set up? Is David involved?"
"Yes, he is. I can't touch most of it because I had it
placed in a trust in
David's name."
"Does Sheriff Vernon know that?"
She nodded with a stricken look, seeing where he was going with this.
He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face trying to think
what to do. If
she had told the truth, the Sheriff may have guided the serial
killer in an
attempt to get rid of David for better access to Mary's wealth
after
marriage. That still left the string of dead husbands on Mary's
head. David
looked to be in serious danger no matter which way things
developed.
All he could see to do at the moment was to take custody of
David and protect
him until things were resolved to some degree and he was out of
danger.
"Mary, my partner and I need to keep David for a while to
make sure he's
safe. If you told me the truth, the killer may very well make
another
attempt on his life. If you were lying, you shouldn't care what
happens to
him anyway."
She sat there with a weary, vulnerable look on her face while
he felt a rush
of guilt at seeing the angry mark on her throat he had caused.
"You're not going to leave here without him, are
you?" she asked with a
defeated air. "I
remember now how you were when you were on a case; how you would
be so
single minded and ruthless once you caught the scent. No sleeping
or eating
until you brought him down." With a quirk to the corner of
her mouth, she
added, "Fucking, though, you could always fit into your
schedule, as I
recall."
Mulder blinked at the comment, but kept his expression
noncommittal.
Nonetheless, he felt a warmth infuse his face and knew he was
blushing.
"Understand one thing, Agent Mulder," she suddenly
said in a firm voice. He
noticed that she had picked up the knife and was gripping it
tightly in her
hand. "He's mine. Do you understand? He's my child and not
yours even if
you contributed to the conception. If you take him, you had
better bring him
back to me or I can make you sorry you were ever born." Her
determined gaze
held his eyes for a full minute. Mulder was shocked to realize
that the
thought of keeping David had indeed been hovering, unformed, in
the back of
his mind.
"Whatever is safest for David," he murmured.
"As determined by whom?" she demanded.
He slammed his fist down onto the counter top. "I don't
know, goddammit!
However it plays out." A long look between them and she
finally slumped
back into the chair, hatred for him and the position into which
he was
forcing her clear to read on her face.
And in response, Mulder's fingers itched to slap her, even
strangle her for
what she had taken from him. He was horrified at this reaction,
this need to
respond with violence. He found himself saying, "You took
him from me. My
own child. And you acted as if I should just shrug my shoulders
and walk
away from the whole thing. Forget there's a little boy who looks
like me,
who owes half his genetic makeup to me, and who can nearly pull
my heart out
of my chest with a look. 'What he doesn't know won't hurt him'
has
apparently been your philosophy."
She had turned her head away from his agony, whether from
indifference or
from guilt, he didn't know.
He made an effort to control his emotions and at last said,
"While I phone my
partner, could you get David to come into the house? Don't go
outside,
though. He can hear you from the window."
He removed his cel phone from a coat pocket, punched buttons,
and watched
while Mary did as he asked. He heard Scully's voice from the
phone's
receiver and said, "Scully, meet me at the motel in about
half an hour and
don't tell the anyone that I called, or where you're going. It's
urgent."
There was a moment of silence, then she replied, "This had better be good."
He felt a flare of annoyance at her remark which seemed to
say, "You're just
a nut-case, Mulder, and I have to humor you since you're my
partner." He
disconnected without saying anything more, afraid he would really
screw
things up with her. And he knew he was being unreasonable since
she was just
reacting to his own brusqueness and penchant for stretching the
regulations a
little more than usual lately.
David came in through the back kitchen door and unzipped his
jacket in the
warmth of the house. He stopped dead in his tracks though, when
he saw
Mulder standing in the room. Once he recognized the agent, he
gave him a
sweet smile.
Mulder was struck by how the boy still opened himself up to
strangers even
after the frightening time spent with Lobell. There had to have
been damage
done to his young mind and soul, but he was apparently healing
and keeping
the bad parts shoved deep down. The thought occurred to him that
these were
normally signs of a basically secure and loved child, but that
would be at
odds with his theory about Mary. Maybe Scully was right about
someone else
needing to be handling this case. But David was *his* son and
Mulder had to
assure his safety.
He gave David a smile in return and waited for his mother to
explain what
would be happening. When David heard that he would need to stay
with the
federal agents for a little while, his whole body froze as though
he were
afraid to move or breathe. Reasoning with him didn't even make
him blink.
Mulder moved over next to Mary and knelt on one knee in front of David.
"David, it would only be for a little while and it's only
to keep you safe.
You know that FBI agents are the good guys, right?" Mulder
grinned at him,
hoping that the boy would never have to find out that the
statement wasn't
completely true.
A quiet voice came from the boy, saying, "Can I see your badge?"
He hadn't expected that. But he solemnly withdrew his ID from
an inside
pocket of his suit coat and handed it to the boy.
David's small hands caressed the worn leather of the folder
for a few
moments, and then there was a quiet intake of breath when he saw
the splendor
of the shield. He studied it briefly, then a forefinger
tentatively traced
the ridges of the hard metal as though he could read its
mysteries through
touch. Finally satisfied with whatever truths his explorations
gave him, he
turned his attention to the ID card below.
He looked from the photo to the solid reality of the man
before him, then
back down to the photo. David thoughtfully tapped the signature
with his
finger, ran it up the side of the card back to the badge, then
closed the ID
case. He held it out towards Mulder with a gravity that seemed to
say that
he understood the heavy responsibility this piece of paper and
metal placed
on the agent's shoulders.
David looked up at his mother and asked, "Mom, can you go
with us?" His
voice held just the slightest quaver.
Mulder caught the swift questioning glance from her and
silently shook his
head.
Huskily she answered him, "No, honey, but I'll be right
here and we'll talk
on the phone as often as you like." His arms reached for her
and she hugged
him tightly for a long few minutes.
Mulder felt like a sick sadist. It was obvious that David
loved his mother
with all his heart, with no reservations. And he was separating
them, right
after the kid had gone through hell with that murderer Lobell. He
strengthened his resolve by thinking that some of the worst
killers he had
captured had families with children who adored their parents.
Maybe love
*was* blind. But he still felt shitty about the whole thing.
He accompanied them when they went upstairs to pack the boy's
clothes. She
seemed to be cooperating, but Mulder didn't trust anyone very
far. Except
for Scully. No matter how irritated they became with each other,
the trust
was there.
His duffle bag packed, David looked around for something and
finally found
his old brown bear on the floor on the far side of his bed. When
he picked
it up and looked at Mulder through his eyelashes, obviously
unsure whether it
would label him a "baby" to bring his bear with him,
Mulder's heart melted.
Again.
"What's his name?" he asked.
>From behind the bear's head, a muffled "George" reached his ears.
Mary said, "He used to love the "Curious
George" books and when he got the
bear, he wanted it to have the same name as the monkey in the
books."
"Well, David and George, let's get going." Mulder
turned and headed out of
the room, a smile hidden from the boy. He didn't want him to
think he was
making fun of him. Hell, he had kept his own bear with him in bed
until he
was nearly eleven. Not that there's anything wrong with that, he
joked to
himself. He helped with the duffle bag when they reached the
stairs and were
soon at the front door. He noticed that the pain in his shoulder
was
returning with a vengeance.
"Bye, David," Mary said as she gave him a fierce hug
and kiss. David hugged
her back, holding on a little longer than normal. Fighting back
tears, he
followed Mulder out to the car, his head down all the way.
Fine, the agent thought. This is good practice for my
part-time job when I
retire. Yeah...I could club little white baby seals to death on
the ice.
Aloud, he said, "Can I help you with the seat belt?"
David shook his head, busy with the intricacies of the belt
while not letting
go of his death grip on George. Finally there was a metallic
click and they
were on their way.
Sheriff's office
7:50 PM
Scully looked at her watch and realized she had to leave right
away if she
didn't want to be late meeting her partner at the motel. She had
gone to the
Sheriff's office and had just finished making her statement on
the death of
Lobell to the Portland SAIC, Paul Gregory, who had come in to
personally take
over the investigation. With two agents injured and the alleged
serial
killer dead, he wanted hands-on involvement from here on out.
Scully was
glad, as it solved the conflicts of interest problems without
placing her in
the position for Mulder to accuse her of "selling him
out."
She had to tell Mulder that Gregory had flatly refused to
consider that there
was a "mastermind" involved with the serial killings
other than Lobell. What
he said boiled down to the opinion that Mulder's reputation for
"spooky"
profiles was overrated, that small children's accounts of
traumatic
experiences were often proven false, and that he felt there was
no further
threat to the child in question. Period. No further arguments.
He completely ignored her protestations and requests for
support in the
further investigation of her partner's theories.
Not bothering to argue with the man any further, she promised
that Mulder
would come by first thing in the morning to turn in his
statement. Scully
then asked one if the agents who had accompanied Gregory to
Willows if she
would drive her over to the motel since Mulder still had their
rental.
Special Agent Sarah Goldberg, a tall, willowy brunette with very
green eyes,
gladly agreed since she was off duty and was headed to the same
place. They
were soon pulling into the motel's parking lot.
Scully saw that Mulder's car was there this time and thanked
Agent Goldberg
for the lift.
"Do you think I could meet Agent Mulder? I've heard so much about him."
Oh, great, Scully thought. A Muldergroupie. She stood outside
the car with
Agent Goldberg and asked, "Which room are you staying in? We
can stop by for
a few minutes later. Right now we have some business to go over
on this
case."
"Room 108," she smilingly answered. "See you later, then."
Scully walked to Mulder's door, realizing that Sarah
Goldberg's room was
immediately to the left of Mulder's, and hers was on the right. A
Federal
Agent sandwich, with Mulder as the tasty filling. God, I must be
tired; my
thinking has gone into "stupid" mode.
She rapped her knuckles on the door to Room 110 and called
out, "Mulder, it's
me." It took a little longer for him to answer the door than
usual and she
was about to knock again when the door was suddenly pulled open.
She saw
that Mulder's tie was loosened, his coat was off and his shirt
sleeves were
rolled up. Although he looked tired, he had a sparkle about his
eyes that
hadn't been there earlier.
"Scully! I'm glad you're here." He moved back into
the room and revealed
David sitting on one of the beds holding a large stuffed bear and
sipping a
Coke.
"Hi," the child calmly said. But she could tell he
was a little nervous as
he put
his drink down on the bedside table and clutched the bear closer
to his
chest.
She responded with a "hi" of her own, threw in a big
smile, and then turned
to Mulder, her eyes asking him what the hell was going on here?
Mulder, to his credit, didn't try to weasel his way around the
issue or make
excuses for what he had done. He simply left her holding the bag.
"Scully, could you keep an eye on him for awhile? I have
to run out a
minute," he said as he shrugged into his coat. He winced
with the pain in
his shoulder, which didn't get past his partner.
She did something out of character, then. Scully moved to the
door and stood
in front of it, looking determined.
"Mulder, stop. Tell me what's going on first, and then
I've got some new
developments to tell you about. And why haven't you been taking
the pain
pills?"
"Shit, I keep forgetting the damn pills." He
rummaged around in his pocket
and came up with a couple of plastic pill bottles. He shook a
capsule from
each and looked around for a glass. A tug on his sleeve and he
looked down
to see David, offering his partially-consumed Coke for him to
drink with the
pills.
"Thanks," Mulder said, accepting the can.
David nodded and returned to the bed, eyes alertly watching
the two agents as
he kept a stranglehold on George.
Mulder took the capsules and told David they would be right
outside the door
for a minute to talk. He motioned for her to open the door and
they stepped
just beyond the threshold before he turned to her and said,
"I've found out
that Mary is expecting Sheriff Vernon to ask her to marry him any
day. She
said that her money is mostly in David's name through a trust she
set up, so
neither she nor Vernon could touch it...unless David were to
die."
After digesting this, Scully said, "So the Sheriff could
be the one who
guided Lobell to David so he could get rid of him, clearing the
way to Mary's
money?"
"Exactly. But I still think that Mary is the guilty party
and is using the
Sheriff for covering her tracks. The story about the trust may
not even be
true. Anyway, I talked her into letting me take David into
protective
custody temporarily."
"What about the husbands you say she has murdered? Could
we have two killers
here?"
He was about to reply when they heard, "Why, you must be
the famous Fox
Mulder! I'm Agent Sarah Goldberg, from the Bureau's Portland
Office."
Goldberg stood expectantly next to Mulder, holding an empty
ice bucket. She
had changed to a tee shirt with no bra and black tights, Scully
noticed. The
figure she displayed even made Scully's jaw drop, and she was
afraid to think
what it was doing to her partner.
It took him all of two seconds to figure out that this woman
was gorgeous and
probably not averse to getting to know him a lot better. Make
that a *whole*
lot better. He heard Scully clear her throat and say, with an odd
tone in
her voice, "Agent Goldberg gave me a lift from the Sheriff's
office. She
told me that she wanted to...meet you."
Mulder wisely said, "Ahhh, I was just about to go out.
Maybe we could see
you in the morning? Agent Chan is supposed to come by at 8:00 and
we're
going to breakfast."
"Sure. It's a date," she said, and sauntered past
them on her way to the ice
machine.
Mulder pursed his lips and watched her retreating figure
thoughtfully.
Scully's voice broke his reverie, however.
"Where were you going, Mulder?"
"Hmm? Oh, to see the Sheriff."
"You're not going to confront him tonight about all this,
are you?" she asked
in concern.
(Continued in Part 6)
DAVID (6/7)
by Gerry Hill
(GHill52695@aol.com)
Turning his full attention back to Scully, he said,
"Well, yes, I thought
that we needed to see what he has to say for himself."
"Mulder, the SAIC has taken over the Sheriff's office and
our case. He wants
you to give him your statement first thing in the morning. He
will
absolutely not entertain the notion that there is another person
involved
with Lobell in the killings. I have the feeling that he's out to
pin you to
the wall, and you should probably stay away from that office
until you have
no choice but to report to him." Since she usually let him
fend for himself
when it came to dealing with local Bureau heads, he was inclined
to take this
rarely offered advice.
He sighed and followed her back into the room. David had
turned on the
television and was watching something like a cheetah ripping
another animal
to shreds. Ah, the glories of the Discovery Channel. Mulder
positioned his
body between the tv and the boy, saying, "It's getting late.
What time do
you normally go to bed?"
Innocently looking up at the tall man, David said, "Mom
lets me stay up as
long as I want."
Grinning, the agent said, "Good. You can watch some great
old movies with
me. They're on all night."
David's eyes grew big with the thought of actually staying up all night long.
Scully had heard enough.
"Bath time!" Ignoring the moans, she went into
Mulder's bathroom and turned
on the faucet to fill the tub. When she returned, Scully
announced, "Mulder,
I'll leave the bathing duties to you. Then he needs to go to
bed...to
SLEEP," she added. "I'm going to my room and take my
own bath."
Scully heard some muttering as she walked through the
adjoining doors, but
ignored whatever Mulder was complaining about. She heard snatches
of "never
draws *my* bath" and smiled at the familiar complaint.
If she could have tapped into Mulder's mind just then she
would have found
him thinking of what a good mother Scully could have been and
feeling sad
that she would probably never have that kind of life. Not as long
as she
associated with him and the X Files.
When she had finished her bath and was ready for bed an hour
later, the
silence radiating from their room got her attention. Not even the
blare of
the television could be heard. And Mulder *always* had it running
late into
the night.
Carefully opening the door, she peeked into the room and
couldn't believe
what she saw.
Stretched out on a bed was her partner wearing his old ratty
sweats, sound
asleep. Curled up against his chest was little David, also sound
asleep,
with a thumb in his mouth, still hanging on to his bear. He was
wearing
"Star Wars" pajamas and his hair was slightly damp from
the bath. Scully
remembered that her camera was in her luggage, quickly retrieved
it, and got
the picture. They didn't move a muscle when the flash went off.
She smiled,
replaced the camera in her luggage, and went to bed.
1:45am
The sound of her cel phone ringing gradually pulled Scully up
from a deep
slumber. She groggily patted the surface of the bedside table
until her hand
came in contact with it. Her "Hello?" was the best she
could do until the
fog lifted from her brain.
"Agent Scully. I'm sorry to have awakened you, but I've
come across
something that tells me who Lobell's mysterious partner may have
been. Could
you and Agent Mulder come over to my office right away?"
Sheriff Vernon's
voice was strained and he didn't sound happy.
"Um, I need to get dressed." Scully said, as she
swung her legs over the side
of the bed.
"Sorry about this, but I really didn't think it should be
left until morning
."
"Have you shared this information with Paul Gregory or his staff?"
"No."
"OK. Be there in twenty minutes or so."
Scully thought for a moment, wary of this whole scenario. It
could be a trap
if her suspicions about the Sheriff were correct.
She checked to see if the phone had awakened Mulder or David.
By the light
from her lamp shining through the connecting door and by the
light of the
full moon she could clearly see the two slumbering people. Mulder
was curled
on his side around David, who was curled around George. This must
have been
the most sleep her partner had gotten in quite awhile.
Making a decision, she gently closed the door and quickly
pulled on her
jeans, sweatshirt, socks and tennis shoes. Before slipping into
her jacket
she fastened the FBI-issue holster to its usual spot at her waist
and felt
the comforting heaviness of her gun as it settled into its
leather cradle.
Scully quietly stepped out of the warm room into the cold night
air, walked
down to Agent Goldberg's room and tapped on the door.
It took a minute, but the tousled and sexy agent, gun held at
her side,
peered sleepily through a one-inch crack before opening the door
fully. She
was just wearing an oversized tee shirt. She rubbed her eyes with
a free
hand and asked, "What's going on?"
"Agent Mulder's...occupied, and I need a backup. I can explain on the way."
Mulder halfway awoke when he heard several doors close nearby,
then woke up
even more when he heard voices outside near his door. One of them
sounded
like Scully. He looked at the glowing digital numbers on the
clock by the
bed and saw that it was around 2:00 am, which was a weird time
for her to be
up and about.
Then he nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized there
was something in
the bed with him. Two seconds later he calmed down when he saw it
was his
son. His heart clenched with the emotion that swept over him at
the sight of
the sleeping boy. He was intensely aware of the warmth of the
small body
next to his and he gently kissed the top of his head. The silky
soft hair
was clean and smelled of soap.
Reluctantly, he backed carefully out of bed, hissing at the
sudden pain in
his shoulder the movement caused, and went to the window to see
what Scully
was up to. He saw her getting into a car with someone who looked
like Agent
Goldberg.
"What the hell?" he muttered, as he stepped out onto
the freezing cold
concrete walkway. They were already driving off, and he couldn't
very well
go running barefoot through the cold night after them, leaving
David all
alone.
"Dammit!" He went back inside and called the motel
office, asking them to
ring Agent Chan's room number. Mulder had to identify himself and
argue for
a minute or two, but finally could hear the phone ringing.
"Yeah?" a very sleep-befuddled voice said.
"Agent Chan. This is Fox Mulder. Could you come over to
my room? It's 110.
I have kind of an emergency."
Sounding alert now, Agent Chan replied, "Of course. I'll
be there in a few
minutes."
Mulder hung up and searched for his cel phone, finally finding
it next to the
remote control for the television. He hit Scully's number and
crossed his
fingers that she had it turned on.
"Scully."
"Scully, what the hell is going on? Where are you going?"
"I'm sorry, Mulder. Did I wake you? Sheriff Vernon called
me. He says that
he has proof on who is behind the serial child murders. Agent
Goldberg and I
are meeting him at his office. I knew you couldn't leave David,
and thought
you were sleeping."
He was struggling to put his socks and shoes on his feet and
tie the laces as
he spoke with her. His shoulder was killing him every time he
moved his arms
which made dressing very difficult. Damn, he thought. Those pills
I took
aren't doing a hell of a lot of good this time. With his suit
pants on and
his unbuttoned shirt hanging open on his chest he said, "I'm
on my way.
Agent Chan is going to look after David." He hoped.
There was a tap on the door. "Be there in a few
minutes," he said into the
phone, and abruptly disconnected. He couldn't take the chance
that Scully
wasn't walking into a trap and he had to get to her and provide
backup. If
necessary, he'd bribe Agent Chan to watch David.
As it turned out, that wasn't necessary. Agent Chan loved kids
and had three
of his own. Although initially surprised by the unusual request,
he happily
settled in to guard the "witness." The only thing he
asked was for Agent
Mulder to fill him in a little more thoroughly when he got the
time as to
what was going on.
Mulder was in the car and racing out of the parking lot before
the
babysitting agent had finished securing the locks on the door.
Sheriff's Office
There was a fine drizzle falling by the time Agent Goldberg
parked about a
block away from the office. Both agents held their weapons at the
ready, not
knowing what to expect. Scully had filled Goldberg in about
Mulder's
theories and it didn't hurt to proceed with caution.
"Shit," Goldberg said in a low voice as they walked
toward the office. "This
stuff is changing to sleet. Watch your step."
Scully's eyes swept across the area ahead of them and in the
glow of
streetlights could see that everything was taking on a glossy
sheen.
They managed to reach the building which housed the Sheriff's
office without
falling, although their feet slipped several times on the
treacherous
footing.
Scully indicated with her hand that she would enter low with
her weapon out,
and Agent Goldberg should follow her, giving her cover. Nothing
in her
manner gave away the fact that she had a bad feeling about the
whole
situation. Goldberg nodded and moved in behind Scully.
The entry area by the front counter appeared to be deserted in
the dim
lighting. The two agents could see a glow coming from the
interior of the
building, however, and quickly moved through the door behind the
counter.
Scully turned left toward the brightness of the Sheriff's office,
but the
attack came from the darkness behind them, where the federal
"command center"
had been established.
A high-powered rifle round slammed through Agent Goldberg's
torso and clipped
Agent Scully's head on its way to a final location in the far
wall. A
significant amount of blood began to pool on the floor where the
two women
lay. Footsteps cautiously approached and stopped next to
Goldberg, who was
still alive and whose vision was filled with the sight of a khaki
pant leg.
The image began to blur as her heart slowed and her breathing
stopped, and
finally she was swallowed up in silent blackness.
Fox Mulder was having a hell of a time on the slippery
roadway. He nearly
took out several parked cars downtown as he realized just how
slick the
surface had gotten in a matter of minutes. He finally stopped
fighting the
vehicle and let it slide lopsidedly across two parking spots near
the
Sheriff's office. He tried to keep from landing on his rump when
he exited
the car by holding desperately onto the door. His shoes wanted to
head two
different directions at once, it seemed.
Then his head jerked as he heard the unmistakable report of a
rifle shot.
He grabbed his cel phone with one hand while hanging onto the car
with the
other and called 911, then dropped the phone, yanked his gun free
of its
holster and pushed off toward the front door.
Finding that he could make the slick surfaces work to his
advantage, Mulder
pushed himself off from a light pole and slid a good distance
before having
to carefully shuffle the rest of the way. He made it to the door
and held
his gun ready as he entered the now-silent office.
"Scully!" he called out, sick with worry over the
remembered sound of the
rifle shot. At hearing no response, he threw himself into the
hallway beyond
the entry area, nearly tripping over something. He saw two bodies
sprawled
on the vinyl-covered floor, recognizing Agent Goldberg as the
nearest one.
He realized that he was standing in her blood, but ignored that
fact. He
was intent on the second body, knowing it had to be Scully. He
stifled the
urge to gag at the coppery smell of the blood in the hall, then
squatted and
felt for a pulse in Goldberg's neck. Nothing.
He quickly stepped over the dead agent's body and knelt by his
partner's
side, aghast at all the blood around her head. When a faint pulse
in her
neck throbbed against his hand, a breath he had unconsciously
been holding
was freed from his lungs in a rush. Feeling around for the wound,
he found a
nasty furrow in her scalp just above the temple area, but it
didn't look
fatal. Mulder bowed his head and blinked back tears of relief.
The wailing sound of an ambulance could be heard in the
distance, and he sent
them mental messages to hurry up. Considering the icy conditions,
he figured
they were doing pretty well, actually. He miraculously found a
clean
handkerchief in his pocket and pressed it to Scully's still-
bleeding wound.
With his other hand he absently stroked her hair, trying to give
comfort
where he could.
The EMTs finally arrived, along with the local police and a
sheriff's deputy
named Blaine. Mulder had to go through time-consuming
explanations while
anxiously keeping an eye on his partner. Since the Sheriff was
not in the
office and couldn't be reached by radio or phone, he assumed that
Vernon was
probably involved in all this, but kept his opinions to himself
for the time
being.
While they were loading Scully's gurney into the ambulance,
Mulder recovered
his cel phone from where he had dropped it by the car and called
Paul
Gregory. The SAIC was not happy to be awakened at 3:00 in the
morning, and
then to find out one of his agents was dead and another agent
seriously
wounded...Gregory demanded that Mulder brief him the minute he
arrived at the
Sheriff's office, and for Mulder to get Agent Chan to come to the
office as
well. Mulder simply disconnected without replying, his eyes wide
with the
growing certainty that the killer was probably going after David
next. After
all, the reasons for getting rid of him still existed. But if the
Sheriff
were the killer, why would he call two FBI agents to their
deaths? To get
rid of the ones who were beginning to figure out what was going
on? Maybe
Mary told Vernon what we suspected. She loved him, after all.
His agonized look at the departing ambulance spoke volumes. He
wanted to go
with his partner, to make sure she was all right, and to reassure
her of his
support. But David, his son, could be in immediate danger...And
Scully would
never forgive him if he went with her and something happened to
the child.
His decision made, Mulder threw himself into the driver's
seat, turned on the
ignition and drove like a madman back to the motel. Luckily the
sleet had
stopped falling and the temperature had increased enough so that
most of the
ice was gone or he would have never made it. With all he had seen
in his
career, it was way too easy to image the horror of a broken
little body from
which the life had fled. With this mental image, Mulder's
knuckles were
white on the steering wheel. If either Scully or David were to
die, Mulder
knew he wouldn't be able to deal with it.
During the drive he somehow managed to ring Agent Chan,
telling him not to
answer the phone or door until his arrival, and to keep his
weapon ready.
After driving for what seemed to be a week but only lasted
five minutes,
Mulder saw the turn for the motel. Wincing at the protesting pain
in his
shoulder, he yanked the steering wheel into a turn and slammed to
a stop near
his room.
He knew that Gregory had to be brought into this at some
point. Mulder
needed help. He would start with Chan and then figure it out as
he went
along, hoping not to screw it all up and get everyone killed in
the process.
The door to his room opened before he reached it and Agent
Chan stepped out,
holding his finger up to his lips.
"He's asleep and I thought we could talk out here."
Mulder, not prone to trusting anyone, pushed past Chan and
peered into the
dimly lit room. David's small form was on the nearest bed and his
face was
turned toward the door. The child seemed to be sleeping soundly.
His bear
had fallen to the floor and he took a moment to return it to
David's side.
Mulder turned, looked his thanks at the agent and motioned
toward the car.
They sat down in the front seats which faced the only entry to
the room
where David lay sleeping. Agent Chan then got the full story from
Mulder,
except for the part where David was his son.
"We need to move the boy to a safer place than this
motel," Agent Chan
observed.
Surprised that the agent accepted his story so readily, Mulder
replied, "I
agree, but where?"
"I could take him down to Portland while you protect your
partner. He may
try again if he finds out that she's still alive."
Feeling the wave of indecision again, Mulder really didn't
know whether to go
to Scully and leave David to Agent Chan, an unknown factor, or
stay with
David and have the agent cover Scully's back, but again, he was
an unknown
factor and may or may not be reliable.
Then it all became academic as a sheriff's car pulled into the
empty parking
space on their right. It was too dark to see who was in the
vehicle.
Oh, God, if it's the Sheriff... Mulder's thoughts were chaotic
as he tried to
think what to do to keep him from David. He was suddenly aware of
the cold,
heavy feel of his weapon in his hand and didn't even remember
drawing it out
of the holster. Carefully exiting the car, he told Chan to keep
down and
follow his lead. Whatever the hell *that* might be.
But it wasn't Sheriff Vernon who got out of the official car
and walked over
to the agents: It was Deputy Sullivan. Mulder re-holstered his
gun and
walked around the car to meet him, feeling relieved that he
wouldn't be
confronting the Sheriff just yet. He wanted to work from a safer
and
stronger base than this exposed motel.
"Agents Mulder and Chan. I was looking for you at the
office. Well, for
that matter, so was everyone else." He raised an eyebrow in
silent question.
Ignoring the latter part of his comment, Mulder asked, "What's up?"
Then the world crashed in around him as the deputy shoved a
gun into his ribs
and said, "Your hands." As he removed Mulder's weapon
he called to Chan to
throw his gun on the ground and to unlock the motel room.
Both agents stood unmoving, not wanting to bring this danger
to the sleeping
boy inside.
Angry, Sullivan said, "I would have no compunction
whatever in killing you
both and then the child, so do what I say."
Chan carefully took the motel key out of his pocket and turned
toward the
door, and Mulder whispered, "No." The agent hesitated,
uncertain, but
Sullivan jabbed the barrel of his weapon hard into Mulder's side
and said,
"Do it or I pull this trigger."
"He'll kill us anyway; don't help him kill David,
too." Mulder's distress
was clear even in the dimly-lit night and Chan took a long moment
before
making his choice.
The door lock gave easily and the three big men were soon
crowding the small
motel room, looking down at the still-sleeping child. David's
dark lashes
lay on his smooth cheeks and his breathing quietly rushed through
parted
lips. His innocence practically glowed in the dim room.
"There's the little bastard," Sullivan breathed,
looking satisfied. He
glanced up at the two agents and smiled.
Mulder, sick with fear for David, asked, "Why? You can't
escape, so why?"
He was desperately trying to think of a way to divert the man
from hurting
or taking his son.
"Oh, I'll escape all right. You see, everyone will think
that the Sheriff is
the one behind all this, partly thanks to your theories, and
mostly thanks to
all the 'evidence' I'm creating."
Mulder just stared at Sullivan, no expression on his face.
Scully would have
seen from his dilated eyes and tense muscles that he was
emotionally strung
tight and close to physically expressing his rage, but he
miraculously
continued to hold himself in check.
"I used Vernon's rifle on Agents Goldberg and Scully, and
this .38 is his,
too. But I'll use my own gun when I shoot Vernon in
'self-defense' later."
His tone grew lower as he confided, "I got rid of Mary's
lawyer husband, you
know. So I could have her for myself. But then Matt came into the
picture,
and she went crazy over him."
His expression grew angrier. He gestured with his gun as he
said, "It was
easy to set up David's abduction with Lobell - he had been
killing kids for
awhile when I caught on to him. Anyway, once David was gone and I
blamed it
on Vernon, the coast would have been clear with Mary. But David
escaped, and
then *you* had to screw things up even more." He glared at
Mulder and raised
the gun in his hands, aiming it at the agent's head.
Mulder was about to make a last, desperate move by grabbing
for the gun when
several things happened at once. The door suddenly burst open,
Agent Chan
kicked a chair into Sullivan's legs, and then the shooting
started. Mulder
threw himself without hesitation onto the bed, covering David,
keeping him
shielded with his body as he pulled the boy to the floor. Then he
tried to
reach his ankle weapon while remaining a shield to the child.
It was obvious that David was frightened to death. Mulder
could hear faint
bird-like sounds from beneath his body and the pressure of small
hands
pushing at his chest. Christ, the poor kid was going to be in
therapy for
the next forty years at this rate.
The shattering sound of the shots in the enclosed room had
left their ears
ringing. Mulder, ankle gun finally in hand, looked back over his
shoulder to
see what had happened.
Sheriff Vernon stood near the door with several
law-enforcement men at his
side, all holding weapons. Mulder noticed that there was blood on
the side
of the Sheriff's throat. Nearer to Mulder, Sullivan lay very
dead, flat on
his back, body torn with numerous bullet wounds. As for Chan, he
was leaning
against the wall to his left, holding a hand to one bloody
shoulder, damaged
by a bullet he had caught before getting out of the line of fire.
His face
was pale and he was obviously in pain, but Chan astonished Mulder
by winking
at him and giving him a smile. Then he slid to the floor and
closed his
eyes, waiting for medical attention.
David abruptly broke free of Mulder's protection and raced
directly toward
the Sheriff across the bed He frantically was calling,
"Sheriff Matt!
Sheriff Matt" as he clumsily ran over the soft, bouncy
surface. He threw
himself into the big man's arms without hesitation, hungry for
safety and
comfort. And Mulder's heart broke.
It hit him then with the force of a baseball bat slamming into
his midsection
that David wasn't really his and that he would never know the
kind of
relationship with him that Matt Vernon and Mary had.
(Concluded in Part 7)
"DAVID" (7/7)
by Gerry Hill
(GHill52695@aol.com)
Mulder got to his feet and sat heavily on the bed, letting the
activity flow
around him for a time. He was aware that David had been sent back
to Mary
with one of the officers, that photographs had been taken of the
crime scene,
that Agent Chan had been whisked off to the hospital in the
ambulance, and
that now the SAIC was sitting on the other bed, knee to knee with
him.
Paul Gregory was not a happy man. The case had been solved but
not in a way
the bureau liked to see. The methods had been sloppy, with a loss
of life
that was regrettable, and he felt that the man sitting across
from him was
largely responsible for this.
"Let me get this straight; you pegged the mother for
being behind the
killings, but you say that your partner was more suspicious of
Sheriff
Vernon. You were both wrong and Agent Goldberg was killed, Agents
Chan and
Scully wounded, and Sullivan nearly murdered the little boy who
had been a
previous victim and who was in your unauthorized custody. Oh, and
lest we
forget, the Sheriff, some of his men, and you yourself nearly
died at the
hands of his deputy when Sullivan went on this killing spree
because he felt
you were interfering."
Mulder refused to fight back and continued looking at his
hands, which lay in
his lap. His lack of response was beginning to wear on the SAIC.
"I've left a message with your supervisor, AD Walter
Skinner. I'm
recommending that you be suspended without pay indefinitely for
insubordination, conduct unbecoming an agent of the FBI, and
possible
criminal charges. An investigation will be conducted."
That finally got his attention. He looked up at Gregory with a
peculiar
expression, saying, "An investigation?" He was thinking
that a close
scrutiny would probably turn up David's parentage.
"Sir," he earnestly continued, "I took the
child into protective custody with
his mother's
permission. Events support my fears that the killer would go
after him
again. Granted, my partner and I hadn't yet figured out that
Deputy Sullivan
was behind all this, but we were getting closer through the
investigative
process, just as in any case. If you're still upset that we
didn't report
every detail to you as we went along, well...that isn't the way
we work. If
we did that, none of our cases would ever get solved. And our
solve rate is
the best at the Bureau."
Gregory wanted to break this maverick agent and show him how
he should be
conducting himself as a special agent, but only said, "I
won't get into an
argument with you, Agent Mulder. I'll be talking with AD Skinner
shortly and
we'll see. Give me a full report ASAP if you want that considered
in our
decision."
Mulder nodded and Gregory went outside to talk with the forensics people.
Sighing, Mulder followed him outside to talk with Sheriff
Vernon. He learned
that Vernon had discovered records of Deputy Sullivan's frequent
phone calls
to Lobell, and had tried to confront him about it while waiting
for the
agents to show up at his office. That led to the Deputy bolting
and Vernon
trying to locate him. It had dawned on the Sheriff that the
Deputy would
probably go after David, and that's how he showed up in the nick
of time.
Mulder wearily told the Sheriff he would stop by in the
morning before
leaving for Portland, then drove over to the hospital to see
Scully and check
on Agent Chan's condition. His shoulder was a constant throbbing
ache, now.
He told himself that he really should take the time to get some
pills down
before much longer. A search through his pockets turned up
nothing, however.
It was dawn, and it was going to be a beautiful day from the
looks of the
cloudless sky. He parked in the nearly empty lot and walked
through the
sliding glass doors to the reception desk. He bumped his shoulder
against a
hurrying orderly on the way and had to stop and recover before
moving on.
The flare of pain was intense for just that moment, then it
faded.
But the alert Doctor Daisy had noticed. She had been making
her rounds and
caught Mulder's reaction to the collision.
"Agent Mulder! You aren't taking the pain pills, are
you?" Her scolding
tone held a note of concern.
Mulder looked down to his side and had to smile at the serious
expression on
that lovely face framed by those blond curls.
"I'm fine," he answered, realizing his ironic use of
Scully's words as they
fell from his mouth.
"Obviously you are not fine," she sternly replied. "Come with me."
"I need to see my partner," Mulder protested.
"She was wounded earlier. Do
you know where I can find Agent Scully? And Agent Chan?"
Doctor Daisy, seeing that he was determined, said, "I'll
take you to see them
myself if you'll just let me give you something to deaden the
pain in that
shoulder first. And I want to take a peek at the bandage."
He gave in, although still anxious to find Scully.
Before he knew it, Doctor Daisy had him undressed from the
waist up and was
removing the somewhat bedraggled bandage. Her stern look when she
had the
wounds uncovered prompted him to ask, "What!?"
defensively.
"Somehow you've managed to get this infected, even with
the antibiotics you
were given. I need to apply more medicine to the wounds and
inject you with
a stronger dose."
He groaned. To hurry the process along, he impatiently said,
"Ok, Ok, just
give it to me now."
He looked up at this point to see Scully standing in the
doorway, eyebrows in
the stratosphere, watching the nubile Doctor Daisy helping him
pull his pants
down.
He noticed that his partner wore a jaunty bandage on the upper
side of her
head, probably over a shaved patch of scalp. The bruise from
Lobell's boot
was still prominent on her jaw, giving her an abused appearance.
Her eyes
were slightly dilated, but whether that was from her wound, the
drugs, or
Mulder being undressed by this young lady, he didn't care to
speculate.
"Hi, I was on my way to see you," he informed his
partner, while Doctor Daisy
didn't even blink, but kept pursuing her goal.
Scully nodded and dryly commented, "I see."
Having relieved him of his trousers, the doctor put an arm
around his waist
and turned him toward the examining table. "Bend over and
pull your boxers
down a bit."
She took a very large hypodermic from the nearby tray, stuck
the needle into
a bottle of yellow liquid, sucked it up into the syringe, and
announced
cheerfully, "Are you ready?"
At the sight of the needle, Mulder's stomach knotted up, but
he bravely
turned, bared some prime real estate, and closed his eyes. He
supposed that
Scully was getting an eyeful and...ouch! Damn, that hurt.
Scully had, indeed, been getting an eyeful and fought to keep
her expression
forbidding. Poor Mulder hated hospitals and needles, but most of
the time he
brought it on himself. And it wasn't sympathy for him she felt as
she
watched his nearly naked body bent over the table. She mentally
slapped
herself and reminded her wayward hormones that he was off-limits.
It was
only recently that she had noticed this tendency of hers to be
very aware of
her partner in the physical sense. Besides, he was so immersed in
this
latest emotionally draining case that any personal feelings on
either of
their parts were unthinkable.
And she wasn't about to tell him that Doctor Daisy hadn't
needed to inject
him in the butt at all. By the time Mulder turned, boxers hiked
back up, she
had smothered the smile and again looked composed.
The doctor turned to Scully and said, "I need to clean
the wounds and
re-dress them. I'll be just a few more minutes and then he's all
yours."
There was a wry humor in her expression that clearly said 'I know
he belongs
to you, but I want to enjoy him a little longer.' Scully knew she
was
probably thinking no such thing, but that's what it looked like.
So she
smiled at the doctor and quietly closed the door on them.
When Mulder burst out of the room about ten minutes later, she
could see that
he was looking for her with a desperate air. A relieved grin
graced his face
when he spotted her sitting on a chair near the far wall. His
walk was a
little stiff-looking, she noticed, and when he sat down in the
chair next to
her, it was done very gingerly.
He took her hand in his and leaned over the gap between
chairs. His eyes
searched hers as he asked, "How are you doing, Scully?"
His concern was
coming off him in waves. Although Scully was used to the routine
violation
of her personal space by her partner, she was a little taken
aback by the
concern radiating from him now. And she suspected that a lot of
his concern
originated from his guilt in not being there for her until now.
"I'm OK; all patched up. But where were you,
Mulder?" She couldn't keep all
the hurt from her voice, although she tried.
Still holding her hand, he said, "Ah, just the usual,
Scully. Getting shot
at, catching the bad guy..."
At her questioning look, he told her the whole story, noting
her astonishment
when he got to Sullivan's part in the unfolding tale.
"So we were both wrong on who was behind the serial
murders!" She was
astonished by his revelation, not having given the deputy a
thought in
relation to the case. And for Mulder to miss the mark so widely
was
unthinkable.
Mulder hung his head. "You were right, though, Scully,
about my wanting to
blame Mary, to punish her for what she did to me. That attitude
blinded me
to any other possibilities. Now that it's over, I can stand back
and see
what an ass I was, accusing her of every crime possible." He
looked back up
into Scully's eyes and added, "Sullivan said he killed Tony
Parker, her
husband here in Willows."
She saw instantly what that might mean to Mulder. If Mary
hadn't killed her
third husband, the previous two deaths may have been accidents.
Scully knew
that he didn't want to believe that Mary could have murdered
anyone,
especially if David had to remain in her care.
"Gregory is suspending me and initiating an investigation
into my conduct on
this case," he abruptly said in a dead voice. "He's
pissed off at me for not
working closer and coordinating with him. I need to get a report
prepared so
he can use it when he talks with Skinner." He stared deeply
into her eyes
and added, "But I can't let him discover my connection to
David."
She wondered suddenly, with all the things that kept happening
in his life,
how he managed to stay relatively sane. She knew he wasn't nearly
as worried
about the threatened suspension and investigation as much as
having to
ultimately leave David, his son, when he returned to his
so-called normal
existence.
"OK, then let's go get it done. We'll talk with Skinner
ourselves, too,
before turning it over to Gregory. It'll be all right,
Mulder." She stood
up and pulled on his wrist until he reluctantly got to his feet
as well.
As they started for the exit door, Mulder suddenly stopped in
his tracks and
Scully ran into him with an "ooof!"
"Sorry. I forgot to go see Agent Chan and find out how
he's coming along.
He was shot during the melee at the motel."
At the front admissions counter, however, they discovered that
Chan had just
gone into surgery for the removal of the bullet that was lodged
in his upper
chest. Scully managed to find a doctor who knew about the case
and they were
relieved to be told that everything was expected to go OK for the
wounded
agent, since the bullet hadn't hit anything vital. They decided
to try and
check on Chan in the morning before returning to Washington, D.C.
Scully drove them back to the motel in silence and found that
crime scene
tape was still in place at Mulder's room. After what had
happened, they both
expected that the Willows Court management would kick them out;
however, they
were pleasantly surprised to find a polite office staff who
expressed concern
over the agents' well-being and presented Mulder with a key to a
replacement
room on the far side of Scully's.
As Mulder fumbled with the key, trying to open the door to his
new residence,
it dawned on her that he was probably still in a kind of shock
from recent
events. His normally graceful movements were slow and clumsy and
he seemed
lost in thought even when she spoke to him. So Scully followed
him into the
room and told him to get started on a hot bath, keeping his
bandaged shoulder
dry, and she would retrieve some of his clothes from the old
room, crime
scene or not.
She knew he was out of it when he didn't make any comment on
her proposal to
break a law and obediently began undressing. Seeing him begin to
take his
clothes off as though he were alone in the room, she hastily
departed; it was
unnerving when he did that. It apparently had never occurred to
him to be
embarrassed when changing clothes or undressing in front of her.
She found
that offensive because it meant that he didn't think of her as a
sexual being
and, therefore, it was just like undressing in front of another
guy to him.
Maybe I should change my name to 'Dan' she was grumbling to
herself while
rummaging in his suitcase. Finally she gave up on selecting
something and
decided to take the whole thing. She put everything back as
neatly as
possible, zipped the bag shut, and staggered out the door with
it. She set
it down for a moment, returned to grab Mulder's prescription
bottles from the
table, and then replaced the crime tape as best as she could.
Wrestling the
large case down the walk and into Mulder's new room managed to
add one more
bruise to her leg, so she was cursing under her breath when she
finally
dropped the bag with a thud to the standard motel-brown carpet.
He wandered out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist,
just in time
to see her kick the side of his luggage. With an injured
expression for this
mistreatment of his luggage, he easily tossed the bag up onto one
of the beds
out of reach of her fury.
She guiltily told him, "I'm going to take a shower and
change while you get
dressed. When I come back with the laptop and case files, we can
work on
putting the report together." She beat a hasty retreat as
she saw him reach
for the corner of the towel and therefore missed seeing the smirk
on his face
in her rush to leave. He loved to tease her, but most of the time
she didn't
even realize he was deliberately doing it.
Three hours later
The detailed report had been faxed to Skinner. It made no
mention of
Mulder's connection with David. Scully reached Skinner by phone
about twenty
minutes after he received the fax and answered all his questions.
After
hanging up, they both breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that
their boss
would put the SAIC in his place when he called. Of course Skinner
had taken
several strips out of his two agents' hides first, for not trying
to work
with the man. He told them that the worst they would probably see
would be a
letter from Gregory that would go into their files.
Scully had neatly put the laptop, files and paperwork away,
then turned
toward the beds. Her partner had stretched out full length on the
farthest
one from the door, his arms crossed over his face. Either the
beds were
short or he was too tall, because his feet came close to hanging
off the end.
She smiled.
"Come on, Mulder. Let's get some lunch."
His muffled and unenthusiastic, "I'm not hungry; you go
ahead," had been
expected, but Scully wouldn't take that for a final answer.
"You have to eat something. Come on; I have to get some
film developed,
too."
She retrieved his prescription containers from the top of the
television and
threw them into a purse with her pills so they could both take
them with
their food.
Grumbling good-naturedly, Mulder let her drive. First she left
her film at a
one-hour place for development . "The role of film must
almost a year's
worth of pictures on it. I never find the time to either take
pictures or to
get them developed," she told an amused Mulder.
"So after all this time, you require one-hour service?
You're suddenly in
such a big hurry?"
She just gave him an enigmatic smile and drove to the other
side of town to a
restaurant that Matt had recommended. They had a delicious lunch
of broiled
salmon with dill sauce, some locally-grown squash, and small red
potatoes.
Mulder surprised himself by eating everything and then wistfully
eyed
Scully's remaining portion. But her killer look stopped him in
his tracks
before his hand could even twitch.
He was glad that Scully seemed to have forgiven him to some
degree, even if
he didn't deserve it. Times like this when they could sit and
relax together
were so infrequent these days.
"When is our flight, Scully?"
"Not until tomorrow morning at 11:30."
"Now, why can't we get that kind of extra time in a place
like New Orleans or
San Francisco?" he whined.
"What?! Willows isn't exciting enough for you, Mulder?"
He gave an exaggerated sigh and started fidgeting.
Scully knew the signs, and figured what would be coming next.
She called for
the check and they emerged into the late afternoon sun and brisk
air. The
pictures were ready, surprisingly, but Scully absolutely refused
to let
Mulder see them.
"I don't even know what's on them myself, and it might be
embarrassing," she
protested as she tucked them into the jacket pocket on the
opposite side from
where he was sitting in the car.
Here it comes, she thought, when they returned to the room.
Without looking at her, he softly said, "I need to go see David."
Expecting to have heard this sooner, she wasn't surprised.
What *did*
surprise her was that he would bother to tell her first and not
just
disappear as usual, with no explanation.
"OK."
Still not looking at her, Mulder held his hand out for the
keys to the car.
She gave them to him but let her hand linger in his for a moment.
He looked
up at her suddenly and Scully felt a stab in her heart at his
expression. So
much pain to be clearly read there. And then he was gone.
Mulder hadn't called Mary first to see if they were at home,
the hospital, or
still with the local authorities. He figured that if they weren't
home, he
would wait until they showed up. The need to see David again was
a tangible
craving seeming to originate somewhere in the vicinity of his
heart. He knew
he would have to let go of his son, but that was equivalent to
anticipating
death. He knew it was inevitable, but felt a deep dread of what
came after.
When he reached their house he sat in the car for a few
minutes with his mind
on hold. He supposed he was building up the courage to go in.
What he would
really need, however, would be the courage to leave.
He finally walked up to the door and rang the bell, but
noticed that his hand
trembled when he pushed the button. Taking a deep breath, he
tried to calm
down before making a fool of himself.
The door swung open and Mary stood there, an unreadable
expression on her
face. She looked like a school girl with her plaid skirt and
heather-colored
sweater. David was nowhere to be seen.
After a slight hesitation that didn't get past Mulder, she
moved aside to let
him enter.
The first words he said as he turned to her were, "I'm so
sorry, Mary. I
accused you of some pretty awful things, not to mention
physically hurting
you as well. Can you ever forgive me?"
Her gaze lifted to his eyes and he saw that she was
frightened. Oh, God,
she's afraid of me, he thought.
"You aren't going to tell him...?"
Mulder immediately grasped her concern and quickly shook his
head to reassure
her. "No. I thought about it, but no."
She could see that it had not been an easy decision for him to make.
They heard the back door slam and David came running in, his
face flushed,
eyes sparkling, throwing off his coat and gloves as he went.
Seeing Mulder
caused him to brake suddenly and apprehension showed on his face.
The tall agent was quick to reassure him, saying, "I just
came to say goodby,
David. I'm sorry we didn't have time to get better
acquainted."
The child's posture relaxed when he saw that no one had guns
or seemed to be
about to throw him on the floor again. He didn't hesitate to
shake the large
hand offered by the FBI man. Even though his latest experiences
with Agent
Mulder were a little traumatic, he instinctively felt that the
man meant him
no harm.
He was curious, though, why Agent Mulder had tears in his
eyes. It was
always sad to say goodby, but the man was a grown-up.
"David, do you think I could get a hug?" The tall
man had squatted down on
his heels and still looked as though he would cry. David's basic
loving
nature drew him to offer comfort, hoping that Agent Mulder would
feel better
if he did as he asked.
Mary was amazed when David unhesitatingly moved into Mulder's
arms, and
hugged as hard as he could.
Mulder buried his face in David's shoulder, unable to keep a
sob from
escaping. It was clear that he could hold the small body in an
embrace
forever, but loosened his hold when he felt David pull back
slightly.
The boy looked into the sad, tear-filled eyes of the agent and
said, "Don't
cry. We'll see you again." Then he turned and continued on
his way to
retrieve a toy from his room.
Seeing that Mulder couldn't speak at the moment, Mary told
him, "I don't
think you should see him anymore, but I promise to tell you if we
move and
about the big events in his life - his graduation, marriage... I
owe you
that much."
He nodded, gave her a light kiss on the cheek, and quickly
left the house.
He knew that a large part of his heart was left behind, as well.
By the time he reached the motel again, his emotions were
somewhat in
control. He unlocked the door and entered, unsure whether he
wanted to find
Scully still in his room or not.
Apparently because it had been getting darker outside, she had
turned on the
lamps and closed the curtains. The connecting doors to their
rooms were
standing open and he could hear what sounded like humming. She
passed the
doorway, saw him, and detoured into his room.
"Thought I would get comfortable," she commented
when she saw him staring at
the too-big sweat shirt and pants. To Mulder, she looked so
delicate in that
seemingly frozen few seconds that he wondered if he had imagined
all the
strength that lay beneath the surface.
That strength suddenly became a magnet to him. As fragile as
he was feeling,
he shouldn't have been surprised when his emotions overwhelmed
him and he
burst into tears, hugging Scully to him as if she were a life
preserver. She
represented normalcy and reason, things he needed desperately at
the moment.
Scully, as ever, understood, and moved with him to the bed.
Sitting down,
she continued to cradle his head to her shoulder, feeling his
body shake with
his grief. It took awhile, but he finally grew exhausted from the
emotional
storm that had ravaged his body. She let him gently slide down to
lie on top
of the quilt, helped him lift his legs up onto the bed, and
removed his
shoes.
"Get some sleep. I'll be right here, Mulder."
Scully thought at first that he might refuse to sleep, aware
that he had a
masochistic streak and would normally hug his pain close, jealous
of sharing
it with anyone. That was why she hadn't expected the tears. Maybe
he was
opening up a little bit more to her each time he hit a brick wall
like this.
He was finally realizing that she wasn't going to fail him or
make fun of
him or throw his own failures back in his face. The trust was
deeper, she
realized, as he drifted off to sleep in about a minute.
When he awoke several hours later, he could see Scully in the
dim light
sitting at the table, watching him with a thoughtful expression
on her face.
"Hey," he said.
She hiccuped and hid a giggle behind the palm of one hand.
Intrigued, he sat up and said accusingly, "Are you drunk, Scully?"
"I think...I think I took the wrong pain medication. I
grabbed yours from my
purse by accident when I remembered that we hadn't taken our
pills at lunch."
Her eyes weren't too focused, he noticed, and her words were
slurred.
Slightly alarmed, he asked, "Do you need an ambulance? Was it an overdose?"
She shook her head no, got unsteadily to her feet, and made
her way over to
him.
He saw her toes catch in a raised section of the carpet, and
then Scully was
suddenly in his lap. Mulder felt her warm breath on his throat
and her arms
slowly wrapped around his neck. She began to nuzzle behind his
ear and an
electric stab of desire shot through him instantly, to
concentrate in his
groin. Oh, God, this wasn't right. The drugs were messing with
her mind and
she couldn't realize what she was doing.
When he tried to tell her they had to stop, he found his mouth
covered by
hers in a forceful kiss. He nearly lost it then, wanting
desperately to bury
himself in the sweet oblivion she offered, but found the strength
to push her
away. He would never forget the hurt, devastated look on her face
when she
half fell, half climbed off his lap. Mulder knew that she hadn't
started out
to shatter the invisible barriers they had mutually built up over
the years,
but when presented with the opportunity, she had had the courage
to leap into
the fire.
"Not like this, Scully," he whispered. "Don't
you see that it would just be
a way to escape reality for a short time?"
"So what's wrong with that?" Her soft, still
unfocused eyes bore deeply into
his, openly showing him without words that she would gladly,
willingly
relieve him of his anguish and sorrow, if only for a little
while.
"Other than it would probably ruin our friendship and
career, nothing," he
replied.
He could see some clarity returning to Scully's eyes and she
nodded. "Will
you be OK?" she asked, with some embarrassment.
"Aren't I always?"
And she knew it was true. His wonderful heart took a lot of
damage but
seemed to emerge as strong as ever once it had a chance to heal.
Her
fogged-up brain could grasp that much.
As she turned to leave he called, "Scully? Thank you."
Nodding, she said, "Tap on the connecting door if you
need
me...anything...during the night."
"Only if you'll do the same." He was still concerned
about the excess drugs
in her system.
When he got ready for bed, he found the picture on the table
that Scully had
meant to give him. It showed David in his arms, both of them
asleep. He
held the picture in a hand that shook, and he wondered whether
feeling such
intense joy and intense sorrow at the same time would kill him.
THE END