Chapter 2:
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Hal and I roared towards the hospital. I was able to watch the live feed from the other reporters who had beaten a path there first.
Mulder and Skinner were trying to push their way through, but the reporters created a curtain.
"Agent Mulder, did you intend to kill this Dole person?" One was calling to him.
He turned and stared at the rat-like face of the young man. "Actually I was trying to gut shoot him, but I'm such a bad shot I missed and hit his heart."
"Did you kill him because of what he did to the woman?" Someone in the back was yelling this question. I could hear the ligaments in Skinner's jaw creak even through the video feed. Mulder must have decided to finally keep his mouth shut and moved to the doors. Skinner swatted the press aside like flies and they made their way into the hospital.
By the time I got there, Agent Scully had been taken into surgery. That was all we were told. I made myself comfortable in a shambled room set aside for us in the basement and began working the phone. I had get my researchers started gathering some information on these two. You don't think I do all that boring grunt work myself?
Word came down that Scully was out of surgery and was going to be fine, and Mulder was spotted making his way down towards the exit. The other rats also had failed to tell me that Scully's mother was on the scene, being questioned in the doorway. I jumped up and hurried to join in.
The flickering lights of the camera crews always remind me of circling dogs caught in a car's headlights. They had someone trapped in the center of the pack.
It could be only one person. I moved in closer to see when Mulder came bursting through the doors.
Maggie Scully was being relentlessly grilled by the shrill voices of the hounds. "How long?...Do you know?...to what extent?...Agent Mulder?...any others?...your daughter?"
Mulder pushed his way in and grabbed her arm. She turned first with the look of fury that for some reason brought tears to his eyes. Then her gaze melted and those tears began falling unheeded again. This guy had to find a way to control himself.
She was obviously rattled. "Fox, what's going on? Where's Dana? How is she?"He began tugging her towards the door and babbling. "She's all right. She's going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right." He glared at the cameras and bared his teeth.
The hounds backed away from the presence of an alpha male and he was able to pull her back through the doors. Skinner slammed the doors shut behind the two of them as we all pressed against the glass, still crying out questions.
Washington DC General Hospital, 5:35 PM
We had been made to wait for three hours since the 'incident' and it had been an hour since the dramatic rescue of Mrs. Scully and departure of our hero.What was that about anyway? According to the information now flooding our phone lines every minute, dramatic hospital visits were not an uncommon occurrence for our star-crossed lovers.
What 'I' had gathered so far: FBI agents. Partners for six years.
Paired in a department that had no official designation but had many rumors surrounding it, rumors that were common in my line of journalism. Frankly I was surprised I hadn't met up with these two before. UFOs. Vampires. Ghosts. How had these two ended up the victims of a something as pedestrian as a disgruntled co-worker?I watched the replay of the events from the evening news on a small television as we waited. Over and over the small form crumbled to the ground, the gun fired into Dole but the worst part was the close-up of my sweaty green face stuttering out the details.
I snapped my head up as the door into the small room assigned to us at the hospital opened. Baldy. Great. This was going to be fun.
I nodded to Hal to start rolling and muttered to George on the cell phone to cut in with a live broadcast of the news conference.
He went to the front of the room and cleared his throat. "I'm Assistant Director Walter Skinner with the FBI. Agents Mulder, Scully and Dole all work under me. Apparently, from what we've gathered, Agent Todd Dole, while working in the same department under Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, developed an obsession with Agent Scully and reacted violently to her rejection."
This was so dry I was choking on it. I tuned him out until the questions. I starred in most of the narrative anyway.
I switched the TV to radio reception and listened the reactions of the common folk calling in to the evening commute talk shows.
<When he ripped his shirt off, I was like, oh my God, and then, he took off his tee shirt...>
<I can't believe in this day and age there are still men like this, who love their women with this kind of passion...I just started crying when I watched this...>
<When the hell are these women going to stop calling and jamming the lines with this crap? When are we going to get back to the really important issues? How was a government employee able to reach this level of security clearance with obvious mental problems? And I'm not talking about that poor Dole fellow...>
The first question cut right to the point. "Were you aware of and condoning the relationship between Agents Mulder and Scully?"
Skinner took a deep breath. "In the first place, there was nothing for me to be aware of. Agents Mulder and Scully have a very close working relationship, that's all. There was nothing for me to condone."
The shouts started immediately. I decided to play. "You expect us to believe that those two are not having sex." There. I cut right to the chase, no beating around the bush.
Skinner looked at me with beady triumphant eyes. "In the first place, there is no policy against relationships between agents. Second, no, they are not involved in a sexual relationship." Before any of us could contradict him, he went on. "Anticipating this line of questioning, I directly asked Agent Mulder this question. He denied it."
I kept at him. "And you believed him? I mean, perhaps he's a gentleman." I grinned at him evilly.
Skinner looked uncomfortable. "Agent Mulder knows that I will question Agent Scully as soon as possible. He would not put her in a position where it would be necessary for her to lie for him." He looked lost for a moment. "At least not over something this...trivial."
I stopped listening after that. So Mulder lies to Skinner regularly, but Scully is a little Girl Scout, but she will lie when necessary for HER MAN...but there was no way they acted that way towards each other and weren't horizontal...I was going to need back up on this.
June 3,1999 9:45 AM
That's how I ended up the next day in a cramped and hot tin box of a van down the street from the hospital. We had been listening to the scratchy snatches of phone calls on cell phone scanners for hours now and I had lost the point of the whole thing. I was sick of listening to doctors set up afternoon trysts with x-ray technicians and racquetball games.
A real pro, Neville Blatt, an experienced veteran of many 'hunting trips', had joined me on my quest. He had offered his valuable advice in exchange for shared exclusive for his English tabloids. If there was anything the English loved it was a good love story. And the ghost-hunting angle didn't hurt.
Blatt answered my whine. "Just you hold onto yer knickers, little girl, there'll be something."
We had learned through sources with greasy palms that Mulder had been denied access to the hospital and his calls were not being allowed through to Agent Scully's room.
Blatt was confident, though. "I got faith in our pretty boy, I got faith. He'll get a phone to her, mark my words."
So there we sat surrounded by equipment and soiled fast food wrappers. Not that there was anything else we could do anyway. Robertson at the Post had been able to ace me on some anonymous quotes from the hospital staff and fibbies, but of course no one would go on camera with an interview. Damn print media, weren't they supposed to be dead? If I wanted to get back on top of this story, I would have to pray that Agent Mulder would pull some sort of Romeo stunt here.
I whined again. "Shouldn't we be staking out the room too? I mean, I would think he could find a way in there."
Blatt shook his head. "I don't think he'll risk it."
Another six hours went by. Where does the time go when you're having fun? I watched TV and got some more info about our dynamic duo.
Old footage showed many crime scenes and many refusals to comment. They looked good in trench coats, but that was about all I gleaned from those reports.
All those shows I itched to be working for, the afternoon news 'magazines' had patched together pieces, made up of my footage, cha-ching, thank you very much, and boring shots of the Hoover Building, grimacing Skinner and furious Mrs. Scully.
We needed something new and fresh before we lost our edge in this race.
Suddenly, at 4 p.m., Blatt's beady little eyes lit up and he cranked the volume up on the listening equipment of one of the scanners. "There's our boy!" he chortled.
<Mulder? >
<Yah, Scully? >
She paused for a long moment and we all held our breaths in the van.
<Scully, you ok? >
<Yah...why aren't you here? > She sounded drugged and lost.
He was indignant. <Didn't your mom tell you? Skinner's banned me from having any contact with you. >
<What! No, actually, he was here the whole time she visited, which I did think was odd. But Mom got a thrill...>
Her voice lowered and Blatt cranked the volume until it hummed.
<... I had to go to the bathroom while they were here and so of course Skinner left the room and she slipped the phone under my pillow while I used the bedpan. She didn't say anything though, just gave me a wink. >
Mulder chuckled.
<But Mulder, why would he do that? >
<Uh, it's not important. The whole thing has just become a media circus and Skinner doesn't want us to be in the main ring. >
<Why? Mulder, what have you done? >
<Me, why do you always think I've done something? >
<I was scared when you weren't here when I came out of it...I was afraid something had happened after I lost consciousness...I thought you had shot him, but I couldn't remember for sure...>
<You don't remember? Well, that's good...How're yah doing? What's the damage? >
<They sutured the artery. The bullet went through clean, I would have been fine if it hadn't nicked that...I've got quite the bruise though...>
<Purple yet? >
She laughed, low and we could hear the rustle of the bedding. She must be settling down into the pillow. <Deep purple, almost black. You feel sorry for me yet? >
<I wish I could be there. Damn Skinner, I thought he was supposed to be on our side. >
<Oh, I'm sure he knows what he's doing. > She sounded doubtful, though.
<He said you would 'understand'...something about our best interests...>
She sounded drowsy and sexy. <And what are our best interests? >
<Me, gone. >
<Oh, Mulder...not that again...>
<Ok, I don't want to upset you. >
<How did you know? > She was beginning to sound foggy.
He indulged her. <Know what? >
<My underwear. >
<Oh, that...uh, my memory for detail, remember last week I looked in your suitcase for your extra battery for my cell? I didn't see the stockings though, when did you start wearing those? >
She stuttered, <Uh, it's a girl thing, involving the humid weather...>
That shut him up for a minute. She was quiet, her breathing deep.
<You should go to sleep, > he murmured.
<Sing something for me. >
His voice was low and amused. <What? >
<I sang for you in your time of need. I need you to sing me a lullaby. >
<I don't know any lullabies. >
<I figured that...but you gotta know some song, anything. >
<I don't know all the words to any song. I just know like those first few lines and then I get lost...>
<Oh come on, you have to know the words to something. You're just chicken. I wasn't chicken, I told you I couldn't sing and did anyway, just because you asked. > Her voice had become petulant. Boy, she was good.
<Ok, Ok, but I only know the words to one song, I'm warning you. > I was on the edge of my seat. The pause however, was long. He would take a breath to begin and then, nothing. She would chuckle and break his concentration. That low, rich chuckle was getting to me in the close, hot van.
He began humming a familiar lick. No, it couldn't be. It was.
His voice was hesitant and husky. <Dig if you will the picture...of you and I engaged in a kiss...the sweat of the body covers me...can you my darling, can you picture this? >
She somehow managed to stifle a laugh but Blatt let loose with a braying donkey roar, shaking the van.
<Dream if you can, a courtyard...and oceans of violets in bloom...animals strike curious poses...they feel the heat, the heat between me and you. >She sighed as though she was falling asleep, but I knew she wasn't.
<How could you just leave me standing, alone in a world that's so cold? >
She broke in. <Never, I'd never leave you alone. > Had she really said that? It sounded like a whisper and Mulder continued as though she hadn't said anything.
<Maybe I'm just too demanding, maybe I'm just like my father, too bold. Maybe you're just like my mother, she's never satisfied. >
She spoke louder this time. <I'd never be like your mother...> It was a refrain as though she was singing with him.
<...This is what it sounds like when the doves cry. > He did not attempt the little gasps and squeals of Prince. I thought it was a good choice. Besides, he had some better lines to get to.
<Touch if you will my stomach, feel how it trembles inside, you've got the butterflies all tied up, don't make me chase you, even doves that cry. >
I could see her tying butterflies up with those tiny white hands, her face as serious as it was when she had that gun to her head.
They went back and forth. <I'd never leave you...I didn't leave you...I'm not like your mother...you're not like your father...>
I was sweating. Jeez buddy, someone oughta tell you this is no way to get a chick. Pick 'Soft and Wet', hell, 'Little Red Corvette' would be perfect, this song is too much of a downer.
He petered out and there was nothing but their breathing for a moment. She broke the tension. I get the feeling she does that a lot.
<You've got a better voice that me. >
Only then did he give a Prince squeal. She giggled. It sounded rusty.
<You're supposed to be going to sleep. >
<I wanna talk about what happened. > She sounded like a child trying to avoid bedtime.
<No. Later. I don't want you to have nightmares. >
<Mulder...don't baby me. >
<Me? Baby...you? No. Never. Keep the phone hidden; I'll call again tomorrow. >
<Ok, fine, whatever...> she sounded peeved but sleepy. <You'll call?>
<Of course, now turn the phone off so the battery doesn't go dead...> the 'CLICK' cut him off. <Sleep well...baby, > he murmured before cutting off the line.
I rubbed my hands together with glee. "Perfect just perfect. I can get this on the air tomorrow morning..."
Blatt cut me off. "Nah, we wait."
I exploded. "Wait! What the hell are you talking about?"
He explained carefully. "So you put it on the air now, and Skinner takes the phone away and we don't get anymore calls. We want more calls, don't we?"
I had to agree, grudgingly. He went on. "Ok, good boy. See if you can get some more info, we need more before this story dies on us."
End (02/07) send feedback to bugsfic@yahoo.com