House of Cards - Chapter 9 By Jennifer T. Brooks E-Mail: Jenntou@excite.com ************************************* Quantico, Virginia February 15, 1999 11:20 am Scully spent most of the day at Quantico consulting on a case as a forensic pathologist. She was meeting Mulder for lunch at 12:00 pm.. Although she normally enjoyed consulting on cases, she did not in this instance. Tom Colton, now working out of the Richmond Field Office was there, and it unnerved Scully. She knew that she shouldn't let Colton bother her, but she sometimes could not help it. "Dr Scully, are your findings consistent with this theory?" Special Agent in Charge Drew Fowler asked her. Drew Fowler had been with the agency for 15 years. Dana didn't know him very well and knew from his reputation as a womanizer that she didn't want to know him either. "Excuse me, would you mind repeating the question?" She said as she realized that she didn't hear what he had asked her. "Could the cause of death be consistent with poisoning?" He asked once again. "It is possible, but the amounts needed for a lethal dose would be so small that no trace evidence would remain. At this point in time I cannot think of any poison currently available that would do that. Has anyone checked with the CIA to see if the Russians are manufacturing new poisons?" She asked Tom Colton and Drew Fowler. "We have not. I'll get someone to check on that." Tom Colton replied. At noon, they decided to take a break for lunch. Dana found Mulder talking to some of his old friends from the academy that were stationed at Quantico. He saw that she was ready and they walked quietly to his car. "Don't you want to eat in the Cafeteria, Special Agent Scully," Mulder joked. "No, Special Agent Mulder, and after eating the food for several years you should be the first to not want to eat it again." "It's not that bad Scully, you just have to have an iron stomach," He said patting his stomach. "Well I for one don't have one. I want more normal food." "Normal food? Alfalfa sprouts, tofu or some other foul smelling natural food that you are into now?" "I would settle for a fruit plate, Mulder," Scully said as they reached his car. "How about we eat at Shoney's then?" "That's perfectly fine with me. I haven't been to one in over a year." "Then Shoney's it is," He said as they got into the car and he started the engine. Upon their arrival at Shoney's they were seated new the buffet bar. Dana sat quietly across from Mulder as he ate a 12-ounce steak. "You really should try a piece Scully," He said while holding out his fork with a rather large piece of steak on it. "No thank-you, Mulder." She said as she turned up her nose at the thought of eating meat. "What's wrong. Afraid of what a steak might do to you." "Don't forget Mulder, I have seen what E. Coli does." "You only live once. May as well take your chances." "I would rather not take my chances with that. I'll take them elsewhere." "When is the last time you ate meat Scully?" "A couple years ago. I did an autopsy on someone who died of trichinosis and decided that I didn't want to check out that way." "What way would you like to check out Scully?" He said as he leered at her. "I would like to die as naturally as possible. I don't want to end up on a table and having someone try to determine how I died." "I always assumed that's how I would go. I don't mind the thought of people poking around my insides, though. I just hope that whoever does the autopsy is respectful and keeps my manhood intact. I'm going to need it for my next life." Dana Scully rolled her eyes at his last remark. She knew after their encounter with Melissa Ephesian of his strong conviction of an afterlife. "Of course they would be respectful. It is part of the oath of the profession. Death isn't something to joke about. People that come across my desk rarely die from natural causes and don't ask to be there, to be studied." "Could you ever work on someone you knew?" Mulder asked. "I have, although I prefer not to. There's too much that could go wrong, too much at risk. A defense attorney could claim that I somehow botched the autopsy because I was an interested party, that I somehow manufactured the evidence that made their client guilty. I wouldn't want someone to go scott free for something like that." "How do you manage to do it?" He asked. "Do what?" Scully was confused as to where this line of questioning was leading. In the six years she had known him he had never once questioned why she was a forensic pathologist. "Cut people up for a living," Mulder replied. "Same way that you somehow manage to watch me 'cut up' several people." "It isn't the same though. I'm just watching. You are the one sticking your hands inside dead peoples gut, removing their brains." "Mulder, I hate to be one to give you an anatomy lesson, but one doesn't remove a brain through the chest cavity," Scully said as she started to laugh. "You know what I mean." "I know. It is my job. How does anyone manage to do what they do for a living? How does an accountant add number after number for years. How do plumbers stick their hands in people toilets? You just do it." "I beg to differ what you do isn't the same as fixing toilets or adding numbers. What you do on a regular basis is considered weird and creepy." "Weird and creepy?" She asked while arching her eyebrow. "Yeah," Mulder said while shaking his arms and shoulders to show her that he thought it was freaky. "And you consider what you do a perfectly normal occupation?" "No. But I'm not cutting dead people open." "I consider getting into the minds of psychopaths, understanding them and what they do, far worse. If you question anyone's occupational choice it should be your own." "Touche'' Dr. Scully, point well taken. So do you want a bite or not?" "I'll pass." They finished the rest of lunch in silence. Mulder paid for both of their meal and drove her back to Quantico for her meeting. **************************************** Apartment of Dana Scully Georgetown March 7, 1999 8:30 p.m. January and February passed quickly for Dana Scully as she settled into her new job with VCS. She found that she was a natural in the new position and was quickly receiving recognition from the FBI administration for her skills. She did a lot of consulting with other state and local agencies and spent most of her time away on business. She saw Natasha and Mulder regularly as they met with her to go over their wedding plans. She was getting used to the idea of Mulder marrying Natasha which was easy because of Natasha's very likeable demeanor. She spent most of her free time with Blake and occasionally Claire. Blake had agreed to procure the bridesmaid's dresses for Dana, Diana and Natasha's best friend Wendy. Dana spent many hours trying on dresses for Blake. He was determined that she was going to be a vision in light blue, the color that Natasha had selected. Dana was certain that if Blake were not in her life she would have slowly gone mad. Tonight Natasha, Diana and Wendy were at Dana's apartment for the unveiling of the bridesmaid dress. Blake was there to conduct the fittings and make sure that everyone would look lovely. "This ladies is the dress that I have selected," He said as he pulled out a beautiful light blue gown that was tea length. The dress had spaghetti straps and a dipped back. It was the kind of dress that one could wear several times again to the opera or other formal occasion. "Where did you find this dress Blake?" Natasha asked him, "I have been looking through books at bridesmaid dresses for months and have never seen anything close to this. This is absolutely perfect." She got up off the couch and hugged him. "Well it helps when I own a clothing store and know what to look for." He told them not wanting then to know that what he really had done was send a picture of the wedding gown and a picture of Dana to his friend Calvin Klein to design a gown. The three other gowns that Calvin Klein had designed with Dana in mind as a gift to Blake were hanging in her closet. Blake didn't think that the group needed to know where the dress came from. Dana, Diana and Wendy each tried on their dresses while Blake decided on what alterations were needed. The dress was flattering on all the woman and they loved the feel of the fabric. Diana and Blake seemed to hit it off. Dana didn't think that Diana knew that Blake was gay and wondered if she should tell her. Blake took her aside. "Dana, I didn't know your former boss was a lesbian." "A what?" "She likes women." "She doesn't. I would know." "Yeah, like you knew about me." "How can you tell? Did she tell you?" "Oh course not. I can tell these things. Besides with the amount of attention she was paying to your breasts while I was doing your fitting, there was no question in my mind," Blake whispered. "She wasn't. You lie," Dana said blushing. "Dana. She was checking you out." "Are you sure? I thought that she and Mulder were involved." "Well she could be bi-sexual then. Didn't you once tell me that Mulder told you that he had a friend that was gay? Maybe she was the one that he was talking about." "But she has quite reputation for getting around with men, not women, in the bureau." "Hello Dana, she could be bi-sexual like I said. You two would make a cute couple." "You don't want me to hurt you do you? Besides you know that I like men. Not women." "You'll never know until you try Dana," Blake Maxwell said as he walked back to the group leaving Dana alone with her thoughts. Scully thought. ******************************************* Apartment of Dana Scully Georgetown March 8, 1999 1:30 am Diana Fowley walked slowly across Dana's bedroom, her wine glass in hand. "Dana, I have wanted you for so long. It has been hard for me to work so close to you for all these months and not be able to touch you or tell you what I feel," Diana said as she took her hand. "Diana, I only realized recently how much I care for you, how attracted that I'm to you," Dana said while reaching up to stroke her cheek. Diana moaned at her touch. "Oh Dana, I never thought that you would feel the same way about me. Do you know what you do to me?" She asked. "Diana stop talking," Dana said as she reached up, grabbed Diana head and lowered it to her own. She roughly kissed Diana on the lips and was surprised when Diana started responding my gently running her hands up to Dana's breasts and kneading them through her shirt. "Oh God, Diana," Dana said as she continued to savage her mouth with kisses. She worked up the nerve to slowly insert her tongue. The two tongues dueled for possession of each other's mouths while Dana and Diana started roughly undressing each other. Once nude Diana led Dana over to her bed and lay on top of her. "Oh my God," Dana said as she sat up in bed looking suddenly, looking around the room. "It was just a dream. It was just a dream," She muttered to herself as she grabbed her phone and dialed Blake's number. "This had better be good Dana," Blake said as he answered his phone, seeing her number on his called ID. "Blake, you took that course in dream analysis. I need you to tell me what my dream meant." "That was like 10 years ago and could this wait until tomorrow morning?" He asked. "No. It has really freaked me out." "This isn't that reoccurring nightmare where that liver man cannibalized you, is it." "No, this is much worse and embarrassing." "Okay, it must involve sex. At least the dream will be entertaining for me to hear. If I'm going to be woken up in the middle of the night I would rather it involve torrid tales of sex." "Blake, I dreamt that Diana and I were about to have sex." "You're kidding," Blake Maxwell said before he started laughing. "No, I wish I was. What does it mean?" "Probably nothing more than the power of suggestion. I just told you that she was interested in you. It is only natural for you subconscious to play the what if game in your dreams." "Okay. I was worried that I was turning into a lesbian." "Dana, you aren't turning into a lesbian, you just had a weird dream. Besides, there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian. I can think of a lot of worse things that you could become. Go back to sleep dear," He said. They talked for several more minutes before they hung up the phone. Dana tried to go back to sleep but ended up staring at the clock for the next several hours. She finally gave up and got ready for work early. ******************************************* Georgetown University Hospital Intensive Care Unit April 15, 1999 12 am "Maggie," Walter yelled out to her as he saw her in the lobby. "How is Dana?" He asked with concern in his eyes. "She's very weak. The doctor said she lost a lot of blood and they aren't sure if she's going to make it. I have tried to find Fox, but I don't know where he is," Maggie told him wondering why he was here. Dana had never told her mother about the problems that she and Fox Mulder had gone through the past year. She wasn't aware that Mulder was engaged to be married in 2 months to Natasha. She assumed that Mulder and Scully were still best friends who shared everything. "I'll call an agent to go and look for him Maggie. What the hell happened?" "What have you been told? How did you know what happened?" "They haven't told me anything. Since Dana had her badge with her when she was brought in and her medical records are on file the hospital staff called the bureau to report it. Since I'm her Assistant director I was routed the call. I got here as soon as I could. How is she?" "I don't know what happened Walter. I was watching Unsolved Mysteries on TV when I got the call that Dana had been brought in with a life threatening injury. They haven't let me see her and they won't tell me what is wrong." At that moment the a doctor approached Maggie Scully and identified himself as Dr. Nimj. "Mrs. Scully, we have Dana stabilized at the moment. She's in critical but stable condition." "What happened doctor?" Maggie interrupted. "Dana was shot while on what we're assuming was an afternoon jog. The police said that Dana was apparently jogging by herself when she was robbed at gun-point. We don't know if she tried to fight her attackers, but that's what eyewitnesses are saying happened. Anyway, the bullet pierced her lung and lodged in her spine. She's in surgery right now to remove the bullet." "Her spine? That doesn't sound good Dr. Nimj. Is she going to be able to walk?" Maggie cried out. Walter took her hand to try to comfort her. "We don't know at this time. There's a lot of swelling and the paralysis may only be temporary. Time will only tell." "When can we see her?" Walter asked the doctor as Maggie cried into a tissue. "She'll be in surgery for a couple of hours. I suggest that you two get something to eat, call family members and rest. It is going to be a long night." Maggie and Walter watched as Dr. Nimbi went back into the ICU and left them to face the agony of waiting to find out if Dana was okay. "Walter, please find Fox. Dana needs him here," Maggie pleaded. "Let me see what I can do." He used his cell phone to call Mulder's office, home and cell phones. No answer on each account. He decided to call Diana Fowley. "Hello," Diana Fowley answered while yawning. "Agent Fowley, this is AD Skinner. Do you know the whereabouts of Agent Mulder?" "Why? Is he in some type of trouble?" She asked while looking at him sleeping across the room. "No, he isn't in trouble this time. However, it is imperative that I get a hold of him as soon as possible. Agent Scully is in the emergency room at Georgetown University Hospital. She's in critical condition." "Oh my god AD Skinner, what happened," Mulder heard the urgency in her voice and sat up in bed. "What has happened?" He asked Diana, not aware that Skinner also heard him. "It appears that Agent Scully was out jogging and was robbed. The robber shot her and now she's critical," Walter Skinner explained to Diana Fowley. "Sir, I'll find Mulder and we'll be at the hospital as soon as possible." "Thank you, Agent Fowley." Walter Skinner hung up the phone and headed back to the waiting room. "Maggie, Diana Fowley is going to find him and bring him here as soon as possible. While we're waiting is there anything I can get for you?" "No Walter, I'm fine. I can't believe that this is happening. I keep hoping that this all is a bad dream and I'm going to wake up and everything will be all right again," Maggie said while sitting down in her chair. "Did you get a hold of your children and let them know what is happening with Dana." "Yes, Bill said that he would be out on the first plane. He's still very protective of her. I wasn't able to reach Charlie directly because he's out to sea. He won't be allowed to come back and see her but hopefully they will allow him to call her once she's out of danger." "What about your other child?" Skinner asked. Maggie looked at him perplexed, "I only have three children Walter, since Melissa died." "What happened to Mary?" He asked, not knowing a polite way to ask such a sensitive question. "Mary?" Maggie replied not sure of who he was talking about. "I don't have a child named Mary." "Maggie, I could have sworn that you had a baby girl that you named Mary. She must have been born a year or two after Melissa." "Oh, you mean Dana?" "It couldn't have been Dana or I would have remembered the name when I first met her. When I visited you in the hospital after you gave birth you told me that you named the child Mary. Don't you remember?" "No, and this isn't something I want to talk about right now." Maggie suddenly got up from her chair and left the room. Walter Skinner was puzzled as to what he had said to upset her. He wondered if Mary had died as an infant. Twenty minutes later Fox Mulder came running into the ICU with Diana Fowley close behind demanding that he be allowed to see Dana Scully. Walter Skinner heard the commotion and went out to investigate. Maggie still had not returned to the lounge. "Fox, please calm down. The are still trying to stabilize her. No one has been allowed to see her yet," Walter Skinner said. "What are her injuries?" He asked. "I was told that she was shot. The bullet pierced her lung and lodged in her spine. Right now they don't know of there will be permanent paralysis. I don't know anything more than that." "Oh my God, she can't walk. This will kill her. I need to see her. I need to see her. I NEED TO SEE HER NOW," He yelled. He felt guilty over their rift. She was going to die and she would never know that he still cared deeply for her. He acted is if he didn't but he was only trying to protect himself so that she would never be able to break his heart again. If she lived and was paralyzed it would be even worse. "Calm down Agent Mulder. May I remind you that this is a public hospital," Walter Skinner told Mulder. Diana sat quietly in a chair observing the conversation. She saw an attractive middle aged woman enter the room and assumed that she was Maggie Scully. Mulder noticed Maggie enter the room and walked over an embraced her. "Mrs. Scully, I'm so sorry that this has happened. Have you seen Dana yet?" "No Fox, they won't let me." "Let me go and see what I can find out. I promise to be on my best behavior." Fox Mulder walked out of the room in search of a nurse who he could ask questions. He found one at the nurses station. "Excuse me Miss, but could you tell me what is going on with Dana Scully and when we will be allowed to see her?" "Are you a relative?" "You could say that," He replied. "She's out of surgery and in recovery. The bleeding appears to be under control but she has lost so much blood already and we are having trouble keeping a steady pressure. The doctor wanted to put her on a respirator but was unable to due to the stipulation in her living will. All we can do now is wait for her body to heal itself." "Thanks. I'll tell the rest of the family," Fox Mulder walked the hallway back to the waiting room dragging his feet. He could not believe that Dana was in such bad shape and there was nothing he could do about it. "Fox, what is it?" Maggie asked as soon as he entered the room. "They say that there isn't much they can do at this point due to her living will. They will let us know when we can see her," He collapsed in the chair and buried his head in his hands. Diana went over to comfort him. "I cannot lose another child," Maggie cried out, "This cannot be happening. First Melissa and now Dana. I have buried one daughter and cannot go through this again. Oh God." Maggie Scully collapsed on the floor sobbing. Fox saw her and got down on the floor besides her and cradled her in his arms. Diana and Walter looked at each other not sure of what they should do. At that moment the nurse came in and said that Dana was stable enough for them to see her, but that the visit had to be short. Maggie Scully walked into the room first and was shocked at the sight of Dana. She had not seen her daughter in nearly six months and had not realized how bad she had gotten. Dana was lying on the bed with only a sheet covering her. Tubes were going in and out of her arms and a heart monitor kept track of every beat her heart made. She didn't look good. Maggie slowly approached her bed. Walter Skinner, Fox and Diana stood in the doorway watching the scene. "Dana, honey, it's mom. I'm here for you. Can you hear me?" Maggie Scully gently picked up Dana's frail hand. It looked so tiny compared to hers. "Dana, I love you. You are going to get better," Maggie pleaded with her daughter. At that moment an alarm on the heart monitor went off. The nurse in the room shouted into the phone "code blue" . Teams of doctors came running into the room. Maggie stood silently by, tears streaming down her face as she watched the doctors trying to revive her daughter. Dana was dying in front of her own eyes and she couldn't do a thing about it. "Mrs. Scully, you'll have to leave while we work on her. Once she's stable we will let you know." "Please don't let her die. She's the only daughter I have left," Maggie pleaded. Walter, Diana and Fox were standing in the hallway waiting for her. When Dana started to crash they all quickly left the room. "How is she? "Fox Mulder asked. "Not good, oh god she looks terrible. I need to be alone for a little while. Fox would you mind staying here in case they stabilize her quickly. I don't want her to be alone." "Sure, no problem, Mrs. Scully." "Walter, would you mind coming with me there's something I need to talk to you about." Diana and Fox looked at each other questioningly. "Do you mind if we go down to the chapel to talk?" Maggie asked Walter, not looking at him. "Sure, anywhere you want is fine." ******************************************* Georgetown University Hospital Hospital Chapel April 15, 1999 6:30 am Once inside the tiny chapel at the Georgetown University Hospital, Maggie lit a candle and knelt at the altar to say a short prayer for Dana. Walter Skinner wasn't a religious man so her stood quietly by and listened to what Maggie was saying. He could hear much of it only the names Dana and Bill. Once finished with her prayer, Maggie joined Walter in the last row of pews. "What did you want to talk to me about Maggie?" Walter asked confused as to why he was here. He thought that everything that he ever had with Maggie was in the past and wouldn't be brought up again. "I need to talk to you about something I should have done a lot sooner. God, this is hard. I don't know where to start. God, please give me the strength to go through with this." Walter Skinner was starting to get concerned, but didn't say anything. He felt that his silence would make it easier for her to tell him what he had to say. "Walter, remember when you asked me about Mary earlier?" He nodded. "Well I didn't want to talk about Mary and I think you know why?" "I have no idea what you are talking about Maggie. I only brought up Mary because that was the last time I saw you until we met in the grocery store years ago." "Walter, I didn't want to talk about Mary because Mary was your daughter, not Bill's." "My daughter. Oh my god. I had a daughter and you never told me. I had always wondered but I thought that you of all people would have the decency to tell me. How the hell could you not have told me about her. I had a right to know. Why didn't you tell me Maggie. I loved you. I would have helped raise her. You knew how much I wanted a child." Walter Skinner was clearly irate but at the same time sympathetic to the woman he once loved. Maggie was openly crying. "I'm sorry Walter. There's no way I can explain what I did. At the time I did what any respectable married woman my age did. I kept the pregnancy a secret. Bill found out of course and when the doctor told us the due date he knew that he couldn't be the father. I loved him, Bill and Melissa and wasn't willing to risk my marriage. My upbringing forbade me the option of having an abortion. I confessed what I had done to Bill and Father McAllen. We went to marital counseling for a year. Bill managed to forgive me and we decided to raise the child as if she were his. He was a wonderful father to her Walter." "Maggie, I had a right to know. You know how much I want a wanted a child, how hard Sharon and I tried to conceive. I wouldn't have taken Mary away from you. I would just have liked to be a part of her life." "At the time I did what I thought was best for her and my family. What I did with you was incredibly selfish of me and never should have happened." "I don't regret what happened for a minute Maggie. I was in a loveless marriage and my brief time with you I knew that I was loved. I will always cherish the memories of the short time we had together." Walter took her hand. "Maggie what happened to Mary? Did she die?" "Oh no, Walter she's very much alive." "I would like to meet her. I want to be a part of her life. She doesn't have to know that I'm her father." "Oh Walter, you already are part of her life." "I don't understand Maggie, I have never met a Mary Scully." "Walter, we changed Mary's name to Dana." Walter stood up abruptly "Dana Scully, FBI agent Dana Scully is my daughter?" "Yes." "Oh my God." Walter said as she got up and ran out of the chapel. He barely made it to the men's room before he threw up all over the floor. He started shaking and sweating. He thought he might be in shock. The same Dana Scully that he occupied his bed and his heart was his daughter. He had slept with his daughter. He collapsed on the bathroom floor sobbing. End of Chapter 9