TITLE:Accountability
by Pam Gamble
eksphyl@yahoo.com
SUMMARY:Mulder and Scully are assigned to a kidnapping case.
TIME FRAME:End of the 5th season
ARCHIVE:Fine, just let me know.
CATEGORY: MSR, XA
DISCLAIMER:Not mine, never were.

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"For our work to be conclusive, we must proceed according to
schedule." The voice emanated from the dark corners of the smoky room.

One man stared out the window, his back to the others. "It's too
early," he intoned.

"No," said another voice. "We must move now. The timing is crucial."

"Very well," said the man, pivoting, stubbing out his cigarette. "Take
her."
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Hoover Building
8:47 a.m.

"Hello, stranger. Long time no see," Scully smiled as she quietly shut
the office door.

Mulder glanced up from the file he'd been reading. "Two hours and
twenty-one minutes," he stated, his eyes glinting happily from behind
his reading glasses.

Scully sat down across the desk from him, leaning back to rest her
arms in her lap. "New case?"

He nodded. "It was on my desk when I came in. Missing Persons is
officially assigned to this, I don't know why we..."

"Missing Persons?" She reached for the manila folder and flipped it
open. Mulder stood and shrugged his coat on over his shoulders.
"7-year-old girl taken from her home in Cumberland, Maryland." 

He stood before her, running a finger over the crinkle in her
forehead, silently asking her what was wrong.

Scully tilted her face up to his. "Why us?" He reached for her hand
and she followed his up, standing at his side. "Let's find out."
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Mulder's arm snaked across the armrest to grasp Scully's hand. It may
not have been very professional, but these days they took what they
could get.

He squeezed her hand, tacitly asking again what was bothering her
about this case already. She'd been fine the night before. A tiny
smile crept across his face as he remembered just *how*
fine.

Scully sighed, gently rubbing her fingers along the inside of his
palm. Her other hand fingered the tab on the folder. The little girl's
class picture slid out, and Scully traced the proud smile, the
beautiful green eyes. She slid it back inside, smoothing her thumb
over Mulder's handwritten label. "Harrison, Lauren J," she said aloud,
and shrugged. She tightened her hand around his, reassurring him.
Momentarily pacified, he concentrated on the road before him.

The truth was that she did have a sense of foreboding about this case.
She stared out the window at the bare trees and dormant fields that
dominated the landscape here, outside the reach of suburban sprawl.
She suppressed a shiver, and closed her eyes, trying to imagine what
it must be like to lose a child. Of course, she knew. But she had only
known Emily for a few days. She knew the connection and the pain and
the grief she'd felt at her death was nothing compared to what Amanda
Harrison was suffering. All the memories, the loss of a small hand in
yours, the empty bedroom...

Emotion flowed over Scully, catching her off guard. She'd never had
the chance to know her own child. To buy her clothes or find out what
foods she hated, to brush her hair. That opportunity had been taken
from her, just as Emily had been. And she vowed to do everything in
her power to see that this woman didn't go through any more pain.

"A child needs her mother," Scully said quietly, unable to stop a tear
from running down her cheek. She wiped it away before turning to look
at Mulder, who pretended not to notice.

He nodded. He didn't have to ask if she was thinking about Emily. He'd
been reluctant to even take this case. But since they'd never been
officially assigned, he couldn't exactly turn it down.

Mulder couldn't begin to imagine the feelings she associated with that
little girl. But he had seen Emily, and he had loved her, too. Because
she was a part of Scully. And he'd fought for her, even if in the end
it wasn't enough...

"We did everything we could," he said aloud, surprising even himself.

Scully nodded.

"Are you going to be okay with this? I can do it alone..."

She shook her head. "No, Mulder." She cleared her throat. "I'm
fine."She pulled his hand to her mouth and rested her lips on the back
of his hand. "But thank you for asking."

She let their hands fall to the seat again, twining her fingers with
his. Silently, Mulder celebrated having done something right.

As they neared the house, Scully transformed herself into professional
mode. Pushing aside all emotion, she ran down the facts one more time
for the both of them.

"Lauren Harrison, age 7. Last seen Sunday afternoon on the sidewalk in
front of her parents home wearing a blue corduroy jumper and white
turtleneck, white tennis shoes. Height 31 inches, weight 42 pounds,
brown hair, green eyes. No suspicious activity reported in the
neighborhood recently."

Mulder nodded, turning onto Blair Street. Several police cars and two
unmarked cars already filled the driveway. A TV newscrew sat at the
curb, engrossed in a game of poker. Their heads swung around in unison
as the sedan doors slammed shut, then turned back to their game. "We
must not look newsworthy," Mulder rumbled into Scully's ear.

Nosy neighbors appeared occasionally at the windows of the small, neat
homes up and down the quiet street.

Mulder rang the bell, and they flashed their badges at the distraught
man who answered the door.

"I'm Agent Mulder, this is Agent Scully. We're with the FBI. Could we
come in?"

The man nodded as he opened the door. "I thought you guys were already
here. Did you find her?"

Scully cringed at the desperate edge of hope in his voice.

"No, sir, I'm sorry. You're Mr. Harrison?"

The man nodded, struggling to hold onto his composure. "David Harrison."

Scully shook his hand. "I know this is hard for you." She looked
around to see Mulder conferring with the two Bureau agents already
present. "I promise you we're doing everything we can to find Lauren."

Voices rose from the dining room table, which had been set up as a
temporary command post. She didn't even have to turn around to know it
was Mulder arguing over who had jurisdiction. Officially, they didn't
have a leg to stand on--this wasn't an X-File--but she knew he could
talk a good game. She looked up at Mr. Harrison.

"Were you home when Lauren disappeared?" He shook his head. "No, I was
at my son's ballgame. My wife was here, but the police have already
talked to her. She didn't see anything."

"Would it be alright if I spoke with her?" Scully thought one of them
should be doing something productive, since Mulder was still involved
in a pissing contest with the agents from Missing Persons.

"I guess it's okay for a few minutes. She's refused tranquilizers from
our doctor, but they told us if she gets hysterical again we should
sedate her." He led Scully down the hallway and into the kitchen. The
woman's back was to the door, and she didn't turn, even at her
husband's voice. Scully could sense her hopelessness before a word was
spoken.

"Amanda, honey? This lady is from the FBI. She wants to help us, can
you talk to her for a few minutes?"

Long brown curls danced up and down on her shoulders as she nodded.

Scully circled the table to face Amanda Harrison. She looked as though
she would shatter with a touch. Her eyes, infinitely sad, were red and
swollen. She looked straight through Scully, her hands clenched around
a white ceramic coffee mug.

Scully felt an odd twinge of recognition, as though she'd seen this
woman before, but rationalized that Amanda resembled the photograph of
her daughter.

Scully took the chair across from her, facing the door. She sat down
softly, afraid to cause yet another ripple in the atmosphere
surrounding this fragile woman. 

"Mrs. Harrison, my name is Dana Scully. I'd like to help you find your
daughter. Can you tell me what happened?"

The woman looked up as though waking from a dream. "She's gone.
Someone took her away."

Scully's heart twisted. There was nothing worse than seeing a strong
person rendered powerless. "And we're going to find her," she placed a
hand on Amanda's arm.

Tears began to fall, following a well-worn path, as she spoke in a
trembling voice. "She wanted to walk to her friend's house, they're
just 3 houses down. She wanted to be grown-up, and go by herself, so I
said it was okay," she sniffed. I watched until she was at the
sidewalk, and waved to her. Then I came back inside to make lunch."
She hiccupped, her breath coming now in short gulps. "And the
neighbors called half-an-hour later to ask where she was, and I didn't
know...I didn't know." Amanda lay her head down on the table. "I want
my baby back," she begged in a muffled sob.

Scully tightened her grip on the woman's arm as the kitchen door
opened. Once again, Amanda didn't even turn to see who it was. Mulder
silently asked for Scully's permission, then walked around the table
to stand beside her. Scully gently squeezed her arm, and Amanda raised
her head.

"Mrs. Harrison, this is my partner..."

The look on the woman's face stopped Scully cold. Her eyes had widened
in what seemed to be...fear? She began to shake again. "What are you
doing here?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

Scully looked up at the mask of hurt and confusion that had settled on
her partner's face. His mouth fell open as words forced their way out.
"I, I didn't know...I didn't know it was you..."

"Fox, I told you I needed time. Please, don't do this to me now."
Amanda stood and ran out of the room, her sobs trailing after her.

Scully shot Mulder a questioning look, but he stood motionless in the
center of the room. 

Mr. Harrison entered the door his wife had just passed through. He
quickly descended on Scully. "What did you say to her?"

Scully looked to Mulder for support, but he seemed frozen. "I'm sorry,
we didn't mean to cause your family any more trouble. We'll be going."
She propelled Mulder by the arm, and he managed to make it out the
door on auto-pilot.

She waited until they were at their car, before turning to him. "What
the hell was that all about?" she snapped.

Her partner was gasping for air, staring back at the house in
wide-eyed disbelief. "I didn't, didn't know," he stammered.Finally, he
blinked hard, focused on Scully. 

She was waiting impatiently, cocking an eyebrow.

"Scully," he told her with a look of infinite sadness, a look she
recognized the instant before he said the words.

"That's my sister."

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