Author: Kelly
Rating: U
Disclaimer: The X Files, Mulder, Scully, Doggett, Reyes, Follmer, Skinner,etc are property of Chris Carter, 1013 productions and the latter.
keywords: Slightly Doggett/Reyes, Angst, Scully
Comments: Takes place during season nine, straight after the events of the episode "William". Scully struggles to come to terms after giving up William.
In my own opinion, we didn't get a chance to see how Scully reacted after giving William up. Okay so there was about 5 seconds in The Truth but that was cause she told Mulder what she had to do. That doesn't count!
Anyhow, enjoy! Feedback great!
Chapter One
Lisa Halliwell got out her keys and opened the door to her apartment. She was soaked through, the rain hadn't showed any sign of stopping. She threw off her coat and hung it up as she entered her apartment, she put down her briefcase and her shoes came off with great ease. She turned on the lights, then headed over to her answering machine, looking at the indicator which wasn't flashing. No new messages. Although she had a phone call to make, she picked up the phone and dialled a number. "Mom, hey it's Lisa," she said into the mouthpiece, "I'm running a bit late so I'm afraid I won't be able to pick Matthew up. Could you have him until the morning?" She listened for a few moments, "Thanks mom, see you then."
Lisa walked through the lounge to her bathroom, she bent down and struggled to find the plug, she smiled in success as she found it. She put it in the plug hole and started running the hot water tap, she left it running as she made her way to her bedroom to get changed out her clothes.
Wrapping her bathrobe round her small fragile frame, she re-entered her bathroom and reached out for the tap to stop the water, she was stopped by something and turned round, and saw a man standing in the doorway. She screamed out and fell to the floor, the only sound she could hear was the water running, she got back up and ran towards the door. Lisa looked to it in horror. "What the hell?" she muttered. She looked back to the bath which was now over-flowing, she glanced around the small room, she didn't know what she was experiencing. What was happening to her?
Bravely, she dismissed it as fatigue and approached the bath to turn the tap off, the carpet was squelching between her feet. She looked to it and shook her head slowly as she reached over to try and turn the tap, she found she couldn't move it. All of sudden she fell into the bath head first and struggled to get back out, the water splashed all about her as she squirmed and kicked. It felt to her as if someone was pushing her head underneath the water but the bathroom was completely empty.
All could be heard was the faint sounds of splashing coming to a halt as the bathroom door closed.
***
Special Agent Monica Reyes stepped into the small basement office, she glanced around for her partner, Special Agent John Doggett but couldn't see him anywhere, she stepped in and closed the door quietly behind her. She had been working down in this office officially for about seven months now and it had been the best time in her whole career.
She had joined the FBI with background in mythology and folklore and had previously investigated satanic ritual abuse in the New Orleans and New York field offices' respectfully. Reyes sat down and turned on the laptop on Doggett's desk, it was unusual for him to be late on a Tuesday morning, she shrugged and took off her jacket.
Working on The X Files had similiarities to the work she did back in New Orleans, most cases weren't backed up with any evidence of the crime. Although, she wouldn't change it for the world. Monica Reyes had always wanted an oppurtunity like this to come along and now it had literally fell into her lap.
"Good Morning, Agent Reyes."
Reyes looked up from the laptop. "Morning," she said with a small smile as John Doggett entered the office, he sat down and tossed his jacket to one side and sat down opposite her. There was an air of tension this morning, Reyes looked up to Doggett, there was something he wanted to say to her but he didn't know quite how to say it.
"Something wrong, John?"
"How's Dana?" he asked with a look of concern.
"Doing well," Reyes said narrowing her dark brown eyes, "Although, you can tell she's falling apart inside," she reached across the table and grabbed a spare disk, his hand coming in close proximity with hers. She picked up the disk and pulled her hand back, she looked down to it and remained silent. Reyes finally looked back up to him, "It's hard losing a child."
Doggett nodded slowly, he had lost his son Luke years ago now, still it effected him. "Do you think she made the right decision," he asked softly, "To give up William?"
"Yes," Reyes said with what she hoped sounded like confidence, she had to admit she felt close to the young baby, after all she had delivered him. She remembered the conversation with Scully about if William was ever to be safe, she would have to give him up. "She only wants the best for her son, even if that means she can't be part of his life." John and Monica looked at one another for a moment and allowed themselves a few minutes of silence.
"It must have been a hard decision to make," Doggett said breaking the silence and Reyes nodded slowly. Doggett took a sip of coffee from his styrofoam cup, he had to admit it tasted pretty good today. "Any new cases?"
Reyes shook her head slowly, "Nothing as of yet," she said putting on her glasses, she had been meaning to write up some reports this morning before Doggett had entered the office. "Who knows," Reyes said. "We may get lucky."
The phone rang interupting their conversation, Doggett looked at Reyes and let out a small smile, they both looked at the phone before Doggett made a move to answer it.
"John Doggett," he said into the mouth piece. He listened intently for a few seconds, "Yes sir," his eyes darted toward Reyes then he focused on the conversation, "Yes sir," he repeated, "Yes, she's with me." Reyes leaned forward and attempted to listen in on the conversation, "We'll be right up." He put the phone down and looked at her. "Follmer."
Reyes stood up and removed her jacket from the back of the chair, "What did he want?"
"Wants to see us in his office on the double," Doggett answered picking his own jacket up and putting it on, he headed over to the door, opening it and moving out the way to let Reyes through. "What does he want to see us for now?" Reyes asked with a serious tone as she passed him. "Stealing paperclips?"
***
Dana Scully stood in her apartment, she looked around the lounge once and shook her head slowly. It had been three days since she had given William up for adoption, he was adjusting to a new life now, a safer life where he wouldn't be danger for the rest of his life. Just as her son was adjusting to a new life, his mother had to do the same. Scully sat down on the sofa slowly, a habit she was used to as she normally had William in her arms, she cursed herself softly, she didn't have to do that anymore. Didn't have to worry about getting home in time to relieve her mother or sister-in-law who had looked after him for 6 months, she looked around the lounge one more time, something was definately missing, it seemed empty somehow.
Scully stood up and walked into the hall, from there you could see the bedrooms, her own and William's nursery. The door was still shut from Saturday afternoon when the woman from the adoption agency had picked him up, Scully couldn't bring herself to go into the nursery. For some reason, she didn't have the willpower, she walked over to the door to her bedroom and turned back to the nursery door. She stared at it for a few moments, tears fighting their way into her bright blue eyes, she looked away and opened the door to her bedroom.
Chapter Two
Doggett and Reyes entered Assistant Director Brad Follmer's office. Sure enough, he was sitting at his desk writing memo's. Sometimes Doggett wondered if this man ever slept, he pushed the thoughts away as he closed the door behind him. Follmer looked up, "Agents."
Reyes led and sat down first, Doggett joined her and looked to Follmer to show that they were ready for what he had to say. He decided to get straight to business, he reached over his desk and picked up two manilla files, he passed them both to Reyes. She took them off him and passed one to Doggett, she opened the one she kept. A picture of a young woman looked back up to her, short cropped brown hair and green eyes, very pretty. She carried on reading, her eyes widened slightly in alarm and she exchanged a glance with her partner. Doggett's expression mirrored her own, they both looked to Follmer.
"Just what I expected," he said gruffly. Follmer sat back and looked at the two agents, the looks on their faces. "Assistant Director Skinner told me that this would be right up your alley."
Reyes glanced back to Doggett, the way he was looking at Follmer, she knew that they didn't think highly of one another, especially given the current circumstances. She gripped the arms of her seat slightly, Doggett had that look in his eye, she turned back to face Follmer and waited. "What makes you think that, Assistant Director."
Follmer looked at Doggett as he directed the question, Reyes was sure that Follmer had picked up on the condescending tone in his voice as he spoke to him. She watched him closely as he answered the question, he sat forward and rested his hands on the desk. "Well, it's an obvious X File, Mr Doggett."
Here we go with the Mr's Reyes thought.
"Yes, it does seem that way to me." Doggett replied calmly then added, "Mr Follmer." He hated how Follmer had to act so smug about this whole situation. When Doggett and Scully worked on the X Files, Kersh ran the show and that he could handle. He glanced back to Reyes, he knew what she was thinking, he looked back to Follmer. Him running it, he couldn't handle but luckily he kept his cool.
Reyes cut the silence, "Can you give us any details about this case?"
Follmer looked to her and smiled, she was obviously becoming uncomfortable about this. "Sure, Lisa Halliwell, 26 years old, single mother, teaches biology at the local school." He said as he passed them the photos fresh from the crime scene, "Her mother, Rita called the local law enforcement early this morning," Follmer said back slightly. "She called round her daughter's apartment to find her lying dead in her bath."
"Have they any idea who did," Doggett asked seriously.
"No, and as you can see by the report's, no evidence of forced entry, no fingerprints," Follmer said. He looked at the photos as they were handed back to him. "This they can handle, what they can't handle is the fact the mud that was found in the bottom of her bath... that's when the case was handed over to us."
"Has an autopsy been performed?" Reyes spoke up.
"No," Follmer answered, "I asked them to wait, incase you guys wanted to ask a certain agent to help you out," he winked slightly. He knew that agent Scully had helped them out in certain cases. Doggett took it into consideration, he felt better having someone they knew performing it. Well, there was no further questions to ask now they had all the details.
---
Reyes closed the door behind her as they left the office, still reading through the reports. She looked to the picture of Lisa Halliwell then to the ones taken at her apartment this morning, she couldn't believe it. Who would do something like this? Or what?
"Monica."
Reyes glanced to Doggett, "Yes."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, John." She replied quickly, "Just concentrating..." she looked to the picture for a moment, "Perhaps we should go to her apartment first."
"Yeah, seems like the best place to start looking for evidence."
"I meant Dana," Reyes said stepping into the elevator, "Brad said that we might want her on this case," okay so he hadn't said her name specifically but they all knew who he was talking about. "She's still upset about William, we need to ease her into it."
Doggett nodded absently, he knew that it had hit Scully hard. Mulder had disapeared without a trace and she had just given up her son, the child she had waited so long for. He didn't really want to go calling on but they had no choice, they needed someone who knew what they were doing. They needed someone they could trust. They needed an expert on this. They needed Scully. The elevator stopped, "Okay but I'm driving," Doggett said.
Chapter Three
Scully turned over on to her side and pulled the pillow closer to her. She lay on her bed and listened for a few seconds, she sat up when she discovered that she couldn't hear anything. She scolded herself silently and lay back down, it would take time to adjust she had told herself. For the past few months she had to listen out for William crying. She had to remind herself that she no longer had to do that now. Scully turned her head to the right to look at the clock situated on the nightstand, it had just turned 11am. She was about to turn back when something caught her attention, something next to it, William's pacifier.
Scully reached over to retrieve the object off the nightstand and hesitated. She didn't want to cry, however her feelings were overwhelming her. She pulled her hand back and simply stared at the small object. Something so small, something she had taken for granted everytime she had given it her son to satsify him yet now it brought up mixed feelings. She closed her eyes and the feeling passed, no more tears for the timebeing.
The car pulled up outside Scully's apartment, Doggett killed the engine and looked back to Reyes, "Ready?"
"Give me a moment," she said looking through the windscreen up to the apartment block. This wasn't going to be an easy thing to do, to speak to Scully as they would normally. Reyes looked to her partner, "Are you sure we're really gonna be doing the right thing?"
Doggett nodded slowly, he glanced down to Reyes' lap, her hand were shaking. Ever so slightly, but still shaking. He reached out and put his hand over hers to steady it, "She's strong-willed, Monica. All she wants is to get back to work," Doggett looked away for a moment, then looked back to her. "Believe me I know what she's going through," he shook his head. Reyes looked at him somewhat unconvinced. "I know you care for her, Monica. We all do."
"I just don't want to go upsetting her," Reyes answered bravely. "I had a similiar conversation with Skinner last night, he went round her apartment to see if she wanted any company," she avoided his eyes for a moment and looked down to her hands, Doggett's hand on top of hers. Doggett reached over and tilted her chin up, "Hey... it's going to be fine."
Reyes smiled to him, it was only a small smile but a smile at that. Doggett always knew what to say, how to help the situation. She removed one of her hands from underneath his and placed it on top. "Thanks."
Scully remained staring at the ceiling, she couldn't even bare to look to the clock anymore. She sat up and swivelled her body round to get off the bed, she smoothed her hair back down. Now that it had grown longer, she found that it stuck up more easily. She shook her head slightly and stood up, stretching as she did so. Scully glanced back to the pacifier, then determined, she walked over to her dressing table, she sat down and looked in the mirror.
She stared at herself, and she didn't reconise the reflection looking back at her. Three days ago, she was bright eyed, perfectly groomed and perfectly radiant. The picture of happiness and nothing could wipe the permantly imbedded grin off her face, but now. She looked closely and shook her head slightly as if in disgust. The person looking back at her looked tired, pale. Her hair was tied back loosely and strands of light auburn hair felt about her face, this person was starting to look older than her years. Scully turned away from the mirror as if ashamed by what she saw in it and her eyes wandered back over to the pacifier occupying the nightstand.
Mustering up all the courage she still had, she stepped cautiously over to the table, until she was only inches away from it. Still her gaze remained on the pacifier, in her mind she was trying to rationalise with herself, how this wouldn't help her through. Yet, Dana needed to do this this. Needed to see something of William's, needed to touch it. To feel the now severed connection with her son. Scully remembered when William was kidnapped not long ago, she had gone through Hell then but this. This was too much to take in, too much to handle and she wasn't sure if she was strong enough.
She bit her lower lip and reached out for the object, slowly as if going too fast would make it disapear and fade from exsistance, she jumped as she heard the soft thud of the door.
She looked down to the pacifier and pulled her hand back. She tooked a strand of hair behind her ear and walked out her bedroom to answer the door, she stood on her tiptoes as she struggled to see who it was, Scully moved back onto the heels of her feet and took a deep breath. Then she opened the door, "John, Monica...come in."
Reyes had a hard time keeping the blank expression on her face. It was all she could do to hide the shock that was registering throughout her body. Scully didn't look too good, her face was pale and her features were worn. Also, she looked like she hadn't eaten anything for a while. She looked back to Doggett, if he was surprised at the sight of Scully. He weren't showing it. "Thanks," Reyes said as they stepped in.
"How are you, Dana?"
Scully looked up to Doggett and nodded slowly, "Getting there," she said softly, her voice weak. "I'm guessing this isn't a social visit." Doggett nodded slowly and looked to Reyes and nodded, Scully shut the door too quietly and cursed herself again. She turned back round to her collegues, her friends. Reyes handed her a manilla folder, Scully took it in her hands and opened it carefully, quickly she began reading. Her eyes widened slightly at the mention of the mud in the bathtube, this was certainly something that was beginning to sound like an X File. Something Fox Mulder would've taken great joy in investigating. She stopped reading for a moment and looked up to Doggett and Reyes, both were keeping a watchful eye on her.
That was something else she hadn't took into consideration. When she finally got back in contact with Mulder, how would she tell him. How could she tell him what she had to do, her reasons? Would he be angry, disapointed? She closed the file and gave it back to Reyes, "What do you need me to do?"
"We could use some help on this case," Doggett said without hesitation. "We're heading down to the crime scene after we leave here." He glanced to Reyes then back to Scully, "Lisa Halliwell's body is currently at the local morgue awaiting an autopsy and we thought," he paused and watched her, "we thought."
"You need someone who can do it." Scully said it bluntly.
"We need someone we can trust on this matter, Dana." Reyes chimed in, "Someone who will do the job properly. We'll understand if..."
"I'll do it," Scully said calmly. Anything to take her mind off recent events. "When's the best time?"
"Tomorrow," Doggett said. "Gives us time to get evidence and facts together." Scully nodded slowly to them and opened the door. "See you tomorrow then." Doggett smiled to her and walked out the door, Reyes hesitated for a moment and nodded to Doggett, "You go ahead." He did. She paid her attention back to Scully.
"Something wrong, Agent Reyes?"
"We're worried about you, Dana. Me, John, Skinner..." she narrowed her eyes and looked down to the floor, then slowly looked back up to the redhead, "Are you sure you're okay."
Then Scully muttered the immortal words. "I'm fine," she saw the skeptical look she got off Reyes. A look that she hardly ever got off the open-minded woman. "Honestly." It didn't convince Reyes but she turned to leave nonetheless, she turned back to her. "Dana, if you need to talk. You know where I am." Reyes followed it with a smile and left.
Scully shut the door, loudly this time. She turned back to the longue, it felt so empty to her now as she sat down on the sofa. The phone started ringing, the soft noise echoing throughout. She sat back and looked at it, the answering machine picking it up, "This is Dana Scully, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible," it was followed by a loud beep.
"Dana, it's your mother." Margaret Scully's voice rang out, "We're a little worried about you here and why haven't you returned your calls..." it drowned out as Scully got back to her feet and headed into the kitchen.
Chapter Four
Doggett started up the engine and pulled away from the curb, he glanced to Reyes a couple of times. "Something wrong, Monica?" She shook her head slowly and looked out the passenger's window, the file open on her lap. She watched the endless houses go past then looked back down to the file, something about this case was puzzling her, like she had seen something like it before. Reyes looked to the photos taken at the crime scene, and made a mental note to check it out when she got home tonight.
"Monica," Doggett said.
"Yes," she asked taking her gaze off the pictures.
"Are you sure nothing's up?" Doggett asked with obvious concern, he put both hands on the wheel as he turned left at the junction, he glanced back to her. "You've been quiet since we left Dana's."
Reyes looked back out the passenger's window and let out a small sigh, he wouldn't let it be until she revealed what was wrong, "I'm worried about Dana. She looked terrible, John," Reyes shook her head slightly then turned back to him. She reconised the look, "I know that it's going to take time but she's going through this alone and she shouldn't have to."
Doggett took his eyes off the road for a second, then looked back to it. "Perhaps she prefers it that way."
"And what if she's too proud to ask for help?" Reyes said raising her voice slightly, that it alarmed him. Doggett remained silent, he too was concerned but he didn't know how to voice his opinion on the matter and here Monica Reyes was, he smiled slightly to her. "Like I said," he said softly, "If she wanted our help, she would have asked." He narrowed his eyes slightly and concentrated on driving, "All she needs is time to come to terms."
Reyes watched him as his voice softened, she guessed he was thinking about his own son. She didn't want to press the matter any further so turned back to the window and watched the various buildings go past.
"Here we are," Doggett said as they pulled outside Lisa Halliwell's apartment. Two police cars were parked outside, indicating that the local law enforcement were still here. Reyes opened her door, got out and looked up at the block. Usual style for this area although only 4 storeys tall, she glanced back to Doggett who slowly got out the car and locked it back up. Together, they headed toward the entrance to the building.
Quickly, they scaled the stairs to the third floor apartment. As they arrived at Lisa Halliwell's apartment, the familiar blue and white tape was draped around the door. Both Doggett and Reyes reached into their pockets for their ID as a police officer walked towards them. He was about to question their presence when Doggett spoke up, "I'm Agent Doggett, this is Agent Reyes. We're with the FBI."
"Deputy Teller," he said nodding. "You guys work fast." Both of them remained silent, "So..." he said lifting the tape up for them to gain access, "I trust you've been briefed on it."
"Yes," Reyes said ducking under the tape and giving him an smile of appreciation. "We got the pictures and reports," she looked back to Doggett as he stood back up. He took some time to look around the apartment, it was nicely decorated, nicely furnished and looked like it had been lived in. He looked to Teller, "So you guys still have no evidence of who did it?"
"None," he said, "If you look at that door, no evidence of breaking and entering," he looked round the lounge, "Nothing's been disturbed, all windows were closed. No motive, nothing stolen..." Teller had a serious look in his eyes as he looked back up to the two FBI agents.
"May we see the bathroom," Reyes asked.
"Sure."
The bathroom was the smallest room in the apartment, light blues and soft warm colours. A nice little room if it wasn't for the bizarre sight awaiting in the bathtube. Doggett knew that the body had been taken to the morgue but still, the sight of the tub alone shocked him. He looked back over his shoulder to Reyes, he guessed she was thinking along the same lines.
He leant over closer and examined the water closely, at the bottom was at least 6 centimetres of thick mud, although it was hard to tell the difference between that and the murky water. Reyes looked over his shoulder and shook her head, "I see it but I don't believe it."
"Tell me exactly how this woman gets a whole lotta mud in her bathtube," he said in a hushed tone. Reyes stood back, "She doesn't." Doggett looked to his partner, he sensed she knew something more. "You know something I don't?"
"I may," Reyes admitted glancing to the bathtube, she looked up to him. "I have to sort something out, perhaps you can ask Dana to help you interview Mrs Halliwell."
"Where you going?"
"I reconise the nature of this case," Reyes said, "The MO fits it exactly, people dying in this way or similiar, no positive evidence to indicate fowl play."
"When?" Doggett asked.
"At the New York office, I heard of some pretty bizarre cases, I'm surprised Mulder and Scully didn't get wind of them," Reyes made her way back into the lounge, "If I can get a hold of the records..."
"Then we may have more to go," Doggett said with a small smile. Reyes' eyes lit up slightly and nodded. "It may take a while though."
"I can handle things," Doggett said, "Contact me as soon as you know anything," he said as she turned to leave. He watched her for a moment and shook his head slightly, the woman was smarter than she let on. He walked back over to the coffee table in the middle of the room, the contents of Lisa Halliwell's briefcase were scattered on the table. He sat down and picked up a folder.
It contained a purple Biology text book, hand written notes with times and dates on. And a stack of papers, he read a couple of lines before he reconised them as school reports and work. This Lisa Halliwell had a lot of nice things to say about her students, he wandered if they had felt the same. And perhaps how they had took it but he pushed this to the back of his mind. He put the folder down and looked at other items. A small cellphone, he picked it up and looked at it closely, it had been fingerprinted with two sets on it, one he presumed was Lisa Halliwell's, he looked over to Teller. "Excuse me."
"Yes," he asked walking over to Doggett, he looked to the phone.
"Any idea whose these second prints are?" Doggett asked holding up the phone for emphasis. Teller looked at it and nodded. "Yeah, Daniel Rider, he's a kid at the school where Lisa taught."
Doggett looked back to the phone for a second, what would a student of Lisa's be doing with her cellphone, he made a mental note to visit this Daniel Rider right after he saw her mother. He scanned the other objects on the table, keys, pens, markers, paperclips, make-up and chewing gum. Nothing more of interest, he stood up. "Thanks," he said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," he answered.
"Can I have any information on Daniel Rider that you have?" Doggett saw the confused look on the young man's face, he imagined questions were going through his mind. "I don't see what you'd need with him, he's just a kid."
"He may have been the last person to see Lisa Halliwell alive," Doggett explained, surely he knew that you question all possible witnesses. Teller nodded, "Well, when you put it like that, Agent Doggett. Be right back." Doggett was left alone again.
Chapter Five
Reyes sat in her apartment working at the laptop and after 20 minutes of searching, still could not find anything. The glow of the screen was beginning to hurt her eyes, she tapped a few more buttons and another set of reports came up. It was hopeless, she looked back to her right, at the current case.
Reyes flipped it open and started reading: Lisa Marie Halliwell, 26 years of age, single never married, currently teaching biology at a local high school. She read on.
Nothing that could account for the obvious murder of this young woman. Reyes looked back to the picture for a moment and shook her head slowly, then back to the police reports, the pictures at the scene of her death. "What happened?" she whispered as if the reports and pictures would tell her, a rumble of thunder caught her attention. Reyes stood up and looked outside her window, as the rain started to pour, she watched as the lighting lit up the dull sky. That was it, she sprant back over to her laptop and brought up weather forcasts for the previous day, her eyes moved rapidly as she read. "Expecting late showers and a possible storm front moving in later on in the night," she muttered, then looked back to the police reports, there had been a storm on the night that Lisa Halliwell had died. She put her head in her hands.
She had seen something like this before, she was sure of it. If only she could remember. Reyes remembered that weather was involved, but that was about it. She lifted her head back up and rubbed her eyes, what she needed was someone she knew from New York. Then it hit her, "Brad," she muttered.
~~~
Reyes pulled up in the FBI parking garage of the Washington D.C headquarters, it was at times like this that she were glad that they had a basement car park. She had just driven 20 minutes through rain and gale force winds, "It's really coming down out there and if you're planning on going somewhere, don't be in such a rush...there are tail backs on..." she turned the radio off. Took her keys out the ignition and got out the car. She heard a noise behind her, she put a hand on her holster and felt for her gun, "Hello..."
Cautiously, she looked around the whole of the garage. Crouching low, she looked beneath cars, and shook her head slowly. Must be the wind she thought as she walked over to the elevators.
The ride to her desired floor had been pleasant and quiet, normally Reyes would be forced into the back while fellow agents piled in. Not to mention being given funny looks, and people whispering things to one another. They knew she was on The X Files and she knew the things they said. Mulder had gone through it, Scully had gone through and Doggett had gone through it. Now it was her turn. The doors opened, she stepped out. Although, it didn't concern her one bit. This was a brilliant opportunity for Reyes, and something she had always wanted to do. She turned left into Brad Follmer's office, his secretary was out so she decided to go right ahead and knock on the door. Reyes waited for a response.
"Come in."
Reyes opened the door, walked through and closed it straight behind her. Follmer looked up from whatever he was reading, "Monica," he said in a surprised tone. He stood up as she approached his desk, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I need your help on something, Brad."
This wasn't looking good, he was sick and tired of putting his ass on the line for this woman. He looked at her for a few moments, he wanted to tell her no, that she should pursue whatever she wanted on her own. Then rational thought went out the window, the only reason Follmer ever helped her was because deep down inside, he still had feelings for her. "What do you need," he asked breaking his intense stare by sitting back down.
"A couple of cases were handed over to Agent Taylor and his department by the NYPD." She let out a small sigh, "It was the same as this case... I think there was a group of people who it was pinned on."
"Are you on about those Elementalist guys?" Follmer watched her for a moment, "That was years ago now."
"That's it, those guys," Reyes said in success, "What exactly did they do?"
"It sounds stupid," Follmer said with a small laugh as he handed her a disk.
"Go on."
"They believed that they had the power to control the elements. Earth, Fire, Water, Air..." he watched her intently, he didn't see any change except for her eyes, "You don't think they have something to do with this do you?" Reyes just shrugged, "Thanks Brad." She stood back up and smiled to him, then quickly made her exit. He looked at the door, "You're welcome," he said to himself.
This new information was invaluable. People who believed they could control the elements, it made a strange kind of sense to Reyes. It would explain how Lisa Halliwell drowned and how mud was found in her bathtube.
Reyes looked round the office and setup her laptop. All the information came up from the disk in an instant. She got out her cellphone and dialled, "John Doggett."
Reyes held the phone with her shoulder as she carry on reading on,"I've got some information," she began.
"About this case?"
Reyes nodded, "Yes," she replied, "I found what I was looking for. I managed to get hold of the records from the New York field office, photos,
reports, the works." She closed the laptop and picked it up, intending to take it home to read more on the case.
Doggett smiled thankful for something, "What was the outcome?"
Reyes locked the door and headed for the elevator. "The case was closed, Matthew Vicar, the man in question disapeared without a trace and without any further information, they couldn't continue..." Reyes had to come to the point, she opened the car door and got in, "He was part of a group called the Elementalists."
"Elementalists?" Doggett repeated. He had never heard of them before.
"To cut a long story short, people who believe they control the elements." Reyes said. Doggett couldn't believe it, he would have to see if for himself. She got the keys out for her car and waited for him to respond.
"Are you at the office?"
"Yes. Want me to hang on?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll meet you there." He hung up his phone and carried on driving.
Reyes got back out her car and tucked the laptop under her arm as she locked it up. She paused after hearing a sound, "What the..."
A strong gust of wind toppled her over and sent her flying across the
ground, crashing into a car, she held onto the laptop tightly and
reached for her gun. Getting up to a crouch, she checked her surroundings, squinting her eyes she drew her weapon. "Stop right there," Reyes shouted to a dark figure, although she couldn't reconise him. They didn't stop, she remained low, "I'm a federal agent," she said. Another strong gust of wind threatened to push her back, determined she kept crawling forward as best she could. The figure got closer, Reyes could tell it was man. She pointed the weapon at him, only for it to be knocked out of her hand by some invisable force, she turned round in time to see it bury itself in her car window. Reyes turned back to the man.
He had gone, she stood up straight. She did a 360 turn but still nothing. She gasped slightly as she was lifted off the floor slowly, more wind she thought and looked around as best she could.
Matthew Vicar stepped forward and knelt down, retrieving the disk from the descimated piece of equipment, he looked up to the agent caught up in the wind. Her hair was whipping her face, making it hard for her to see, she thought she saw the man again but Reyes didn't know what to think. She didn't get time as the wind threw her againest the nearest wall and over to her car, immediately knocking her out in the process.
Reyes slowly slumped off the bonnet and onto the cold, concrete floor. Her laptop lying inches away from her.
Chapter Six
Doggett pulled into the FBI parking garage, he had a good feeling about this new information. At least they had something to investigate, to relate the case to. He parked his car and got out, then headed over to the nearest elevator.
Doggett exited the elevator in the basement and headed for the office he shared with Reyes. When he came up to the door it was locked. He looked at it with a puzzled look, didn't she say she was gonna hang on for him to get there. Perhaps she had decided to go home if not, Reyes would probably still be sitting in the office typing on her laptop as he was used to seeing her when he entered.
He dug into his pocket for the key, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Before he turned on the light he noticed a faint trace of Monica's purfume
still in the air that hadn't disipated yet. She must have left not long ago. He walked over to her desk and checked to see if there was anything new or important. Maybe she left him a message, he looked, no message. The desk chair was still a little warm. Maybe she was still in the building after all. Relocking the door, he left the office for the elevator again.
Ahead he saw the janitor and slowed. "Clyde! Have you seen Agent Reyes recently?" The middle aged man looked up from his mop and bucket. "Oh hi Agent Doggett. Yeah, she passed by here about five or ten minutes ago." Doggett started jogging. When he reached the heavy door to the parking garage he pushed through it hard enough that it slammed back against the concrete wall.
"Monica?" He called, hoping she was still in here. He dashed down between the aisles of parked cars, looking for her car.
He found her laptop first. It was lying on the concrete open with one of the fold-down screen hinges broken and twisted. This wasn'tright. "Monica?" He called again, anxious to find her now. He picked up the damaged computer and moved forward.
When he found her car, he found his partner. Doggett was not expecting to see her crumpled on the concrete by her car, the hood dented and a hole in the window.
"Monica!" He yelled in surprise and ran to her,skinning his knee as he swooped down to her side. He probed to find her pulse and was relieved, but her breathing was ragged. He wiped tendrils of long brown hair from her face. "Monica, talk to me!" He stood up and glanced about to see if anyone else was around. Spotting an figure walking calmly in the distance he yelled out. "Hey! Help me, I have an agent down!"
The figure Doggett had called after responded immediately, vaulting
over a car hood effortlessly and croutched next to Reyes. "What happened!?" He asked. Doggett looked up and reconised him as Assistant Director Walter Skinner.
"I don't know. I just came in and went looking for her. It looks like she was attacked. Have you seen anyone or anything strange?" Then he shook his head and decided to leave the reasons secondary to her current condition. "We need to call an ambulance!"
Skinner nodded slowly and got his cell phone out, "This is Walter Skinner with the FBI, I have an emergency." He drifted off as he moved out of earing distance.
"Ambulance is on the way," he said after hanging up the phone. Doggett nodded approval and continued trying to arouse Reyes.
"Monica! Can you hear me, give me some response if you can!" She might have had a concussion or some internal bleeding or swelling, he couldn't tell. Maybe she was in shock. Gently he lifted her feet and placed them on his legs. If she was in shock, the elevation would help. But he was cautious to not move her any more than that if her neck was injured at all. Doggett looked back to her, concern written all over his face.
Chapter Seven
Doggett could hear the sirens now. Reyes' eyes opened slowly and she
whispered something. "Monica? Come on, talk to me!" Doggett encouraged.
She whispered again faintly. "Wind."
Doggett frowned. "The wind knocked out of you?" She looked up to him and nodded as best she could, "Wind. John?" He smiled in something close to relief. "Yes, I'm here. The ambulance is here too. Everything will be okay. I found your laptop, it looks okay but it might not close anymore."
"The disc," she said softly.
"There was no disc in it, Monica." Doggett said a little worried, was there a disc? Had whoever attacked her got it? "What was on it?"
"The information I recieved," she said drifting in and out.
The ambulance pulled up next to Reyes' car and the paramedics led by
Skinner came up to them. Doggett stood and backed up to give them
space to work. One prepped her for transport by sweeping back her hair and attaching a neck brace. The other shined a light in her eyes and spoke reassuringly. Doggett felt helpless, something he didn't like. As the
professionals cared for his partner, he scooped Reyes' laptop into
one arm.
Reyes looked up at the paramedics as they went about their
business, they had got her on the stretcher and were now strapping
her down. Reyes felt very uncomfortable about this, she was only
worried about one thing now, why was she so concerned about the wind?
What the hell had happened, she couldn't make sense of it.
The ambulance doors slammed and locked, stealing Monica away from Doggett's protective gaze. The sirens wailed and the lights strobed to life as the vehicle sped away. Doggett watched after the ambulance, he had wanted to go with her but he knew he had to be here. To find the bastard who had done this to her. He looked to Skinner, "Can I borrow your cellphone?" He reached into his pocket and gave it to him.
"Hello?" Scully asked picking up the phone.
"Dana, it's John. Am I disturbing you," he frowned, "Did I wake up?"
Scully sat up on the sofa, her back aching from falling asleep in an uncomfortable position, "No," she said, "What can I do for you?"
"I could use some help on this case," he said softly, "Monica's in hospital."
"Oh my God, what happened?" Scully asked, her tone filled with concern for the wellbeing of the dark-haired agent.
"She was attacked, she's been pretty badly beaten," he said in the same tone. "Looks like someone didn't want us to see the information she had recieved."
Scully stood up and walked into her bedroom, opening the wardrobe and finding a sutible suit, "Where did it happen?"
"Right here at the headquarters," he said in a slightly fustrated tone.
"I'm coming down to help you out with the case," Scully said in a tone that indicated that she didn't want to argue, then she hug up the phone.
Doggett looked at the phone as the line went dead, he looked back over to Reyes' car. It was completed trashed, his eyes trailed the line of the hood, he couldn't understand how it had gotten there then he remembered how he had found Reyes. Someone had thrown her onto it, but to make any damage like that she would have to have been. No it didn't make sense, there's no way anyone could have vertically dropped her onto it. Doggett then paid his attention to the window. At the hole.
He peered in, Reyes gun lying in the front seat directly opposite it. From the looks of it it had gone through the window but again, no sense. The force alone had to be very strong. He took a step back and looked at the hood, then the window then back to the hood. Shaking his head slowly, he turned back to Skinner. "Never seen anything like it," Skinner said. "What the hell were they after?"
Chapter 8 Scully buttoned up the last one on her white shirt and looked in the bathroom mirror. A more reconisable face looked back at her this time, it wasn't the woman from half an hour ago. It was the enthusiastic and less skeptical woman she had become over the last nine years. Slowly, she picked up the thick black brush and began running it through her shoulder length, auburn hair. Scully knew she was prepared for whatever lay ahead of her. Maybe it appeared like she wasn't ready to go back to work, but in her own mind she knew she was. Scully had to get used to her old routine, minus William. Either way, it was her own suggestion. Doggett had no one to help him out while Reyes was in hospital. She wasn't even sure on the details of her injuries, she decided that she and Doggett were gonna visit her before they did anything else. Slipping on her right shoe, she made her way into the living room and picked up her car keys, she paused a moment as a photo caught her attention, one of William. Scully put it facedown on the table and opened the door. ~~~ It took longer than expected, Scully pulled into the basement garage. A 30 minute journey had turned into a 45 minute one, it was perfectly understandable though. The weather was getting worse outside, a stormfront by the looks of it she thought as she put the car in park. Scully looked through her window, she could see Doggett standing around with a number of agents, including Skinner. "Agent Doggett?" Doggett looked round and was relieved to see Scully, she looked a hell of a lot better than she had that afternoon. "Thanks for coming down, Agent Scully." She managed a small smile and looked at the car, it looked bad. "Monica?" "Haven't heard any news from the hospital yet," Doggett said a little concerned, "Something knocked her about," Doggett began, his jaw setting and a fire in his eyes. "I found her slumped next to her car, looks like she slid off the bonnet." Scully put on a latex glove and ran her hand along the dented metal, "From the looks of this, she would have had to be dropped at, at least a 95 degree angle," something close to amazement shone in her eyes. "Is it related to the case you're working on?" "I think it's a possibility," Doggett finally answered, "Monica called me up and told me she had found some information, invaluable it sounded like," he glanced to Skinnner, to the car, then back to Scully. "I think whatever she found was important to someone." "Someone trying to cover their tracks," Skinner said, in a tone than indicated he weren't asking. Doggett could only respond with a small nod, he looked back to Scully. "Any idea what the information was," Scully asked. Doggett shook his head, "Not really. Something about Elementalists." "Elementalists?" Skinner repeated. Scully exchanged a confused look with the assistant director then looked back to Doggett, "Never heard of them." "That makes two of us, Agent Scully." Doggett said. "If Reyes was in the building maybe she spoke to someone about it," Skinner said getting his thinking cap on, "It wouldn't hurt to ask, we've got nothing else to go on at the moment." Scully's gaze went back to the car, then back to Doggett. "I've got a pretty good idea who she could have gone to," she muttered quietly. Doggett and Skinner looked to her and knew what she was thinking. "Time to pay Mr Follmer a visit," Doggett said heading for the elevators. Chapter 9 Monica Reyes sat up in her hospital bed and looked round. She couldn't believe what had happened, couldn't get her head around the whole thing. Using every muscle she had, she attempted to move off the bed, the loose white gown allowing her to manouvere more easily. Her movements were awkard though, as she crossed over to the small bathroom in her room. She looked into the mirror, she shook her head slowly as she reached to touch the bandage on her head, wincing slightly. Reyes studied herself in the mirror, staring at the reflection. Attempting to get her head around the whole situation, one minute she was going out the her car and the next she was hovering above it. And it weren't something controling it, it was someone. The figure, the person she saw faintly. She had to get back to work, she walked over to the end of the bed where her clothes were stacked neatly in a pile, she set to work at getting changed. The nurse walked in, "Ms Reyes," she said. Reyes felt guilty, as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. The look she got was one that her mother always used to give her when she was caught doing something she shouldn't. "You have to rest," she took the clothes off her. "You don't understand, I have to see John." Reyes tried to argue. "Your husband phoned up to see how you were." "His not my husband, I work with him." Reyes said in response, "I have to tell him something, it's important." She tried to take back the clothes. "You can't go anywhere in your condition," she stepped back with the clothes, "You'll never make it to the door, you have a servere concussion among your other injuries," Reyes sat back down on the bed. Fustrated. She was never one to let anything stop her. But as she looked at the nurse in front of her, instinctively, she knew she was right. "Can I at least call him," Reyes said. "Pay phone is just outside." "Thank you." Chapter 10 Brad Follmer was talking on the phone, "I understand that," he said to the person on the other end. He tapped his pen on the pad in front of him, he hated making long distance calls. "No ma'am, it's just that...hello." He looked up to his secretary, "Can you believe it, she cut me off." "Package companies aren't really known for their patience." There was a knock at the door. "Come in." He looked up to it as Scully and Doggett entered, he saw the looks on their faces then looked to his secretary. "Alana can you fax these for me please," he said handing her a file. She nodded then walked past the two agents and shut the door. "Agent Scully, Agent Doggett, can I help you?" Scully glanced to Doggett, who in return nodded his head slowly. "Assistant Director, have you spoken to Agent Reyes within the last hour?" Follmer actually took the liberty to look up to them, "As a matter of fact I have, something wrong?" "She's in hospital." "Omg," he said standing up quickly. "Is Monica alright? What happened?" It was Doggett's turn to speak, "She got attacked by an unknown assliant, someone very strong who managed to knock her about like a rag doll." He was starting to get very angry, "What did she see you about?" "Is she alright?" Follmer asked very concerned about her. "You answer the question." "Agent Doggett, it's no use getting angry," Scully said rationally. Doggett looked at her, was reassured by the look he got in return then turned back to Follmer and spoke calmly. "Whoever attacked her, did it to get information that she had. If you know anything, I'd be grateful." Follmer nodded, "She came to see me about the case you're working on, the Halliwell case. She wanted information on the Elementalists." "There's that name again," Scully said. "Who are they?" "In short agent Scully," Follmer said putting on his jacket, "A group of people who believe they have the power to control the elements." He saw something close to interest flash briefly in her eyes, "I gave Monica a disk with the information on." He lowered his gaze to the floor, "Someone injured her to get it." "Or to cover it up." Doggett muttered. "That's all I have to help you with," Follmer said then walked over to the door, opening it and moving out the way to allow Scully and Doggett to exit. "Thank you," Scully said and looked to Doggett. "Thanks," he said quite reluctantly. --- "Come on, John." Reyes held the reciever in her hand tightly. All she was getting was a ringing on the other end, perhaps it was in his car or something. She hung up and let out a sigh. Then wandered back into her room, sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. Chapter Eleven Coming Soon!