194: theatrical_muse 289
Cheer someone up.
Stark couldn't say that she wasn't happy to see Novi, Virginia in her rear view mirror. But before she could get home, she and her partner had to find the third member of their team, and they knew exactly where to find her. Monica Reyes was hovering outside Detective Van Allen's room in the local ICU, still mulling over the fact that the man was also a known serial killer. She didn't even turn when the two of them approached.
Stark and John exchanged a look, knowing that Monica had her own personal connection to the case, one she had tried and somewhat failed to explain to them. They'd had their own discussion in their hotel room before coming to find her. A discussion about Marissa Haber, and how that case had haunted Stark. And now it seemed Van Allen would haunt Monica in much the same way. It was Stark's turn now to try and comfort a colleague where her old partner Victor had done the same for her twelve years earlier.
It was John who finally spoke first. "Doc says it's going to be touch-and-go tonight...that we should go home," he advised Reyes, trying to be sympathetic but finding it just slightly beyond his reach. "Go on, Monica. Go on home. There's nothing you're going to learn here now."
She turned her head and looked at him. "You still won't believe it, will you? My connection to this man."
Wisely, he didn't answer her question. He couldn't. All he could do was remind her that she was a friend. "However you did it...however you knew what you know...what matters here is you saved a woman's life," he said instead, putting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before he turned to leave.
Reyes looked past him at Stark. "You believe me, don't you?" she asked. Stark saw the same look in Monica's eyes she'd had once. The one needing to know she wasn't crazy, that someone else could see and feel what she felt. And while in this case Stark didn't understand the specifics, she did understand the other woman's point of view.
"I don't know what I believe, Monica," she admitted, putting her hands in her pockets. "I do know that while I don't exactly understand the paranormal? I understand human nature pretty well. And I know what it's like to feel something so strongly that you'll do whatever you have to, in order to get the answers you need. And I know...how much it hurts when you don't." She swallowed. "I don't know if I believe but I do know what you're going through. For whatever that's worth."
The other woman gave her a faint smile. "It's worth something, Stark. Thank you."
"Don't mention it," she replied. "Just let me sleep in tomorrow." And with a small smile of her own, Stark turned and walked away, moving to catch up with her partner.
Muse: Stark Patrick
Fandom: The X-Files (OC)
Words: 492
Contains dialogue from Season 9's "Hellbound."
Stark couldn't say that she wasn't happy to see Novi, Virginia in her rear view mirror. But before she could get home, she and her partner had to find the third member of their team, and they knew exactly where to find her. Monica Reyes was hovering outside Detective Van Allen's room in the local ICU, still mulling over the fact that the man was also a known serial killer. She didn't even turn when the two of them approached.
Stark and John exchanged a look, knowing that Monica had her own personal connection to the case, one she had tried and somewhat failed to explain to them. They'd had their own discussion in their hotel room before coming to find her. A discussion about Marissa Haber, and how that case had haunted Stark. And now it seemed Van Allen would haunt Monica in much the same way. It was Stark's turn now to try and comfort a colleague where her old partner Victor had done the same for her twelve years earlier.
It was John who finally spoke first. "Doc says it's going to be touch-and-go tonight...that we should go home," he advised Reyes, trying to be sympathetic but finding it just slightly beyond his reach. "Go on, Monica. Go on home. There's nothing you're going to learn here now."
She turned her head and looked at him. "You still won't believe it, will you? My connection to this man."
Wisely, he didn't answer her question. He couldn't. All he could do was remind her that she was a friend. "However you did it...however you knew what you know...what matters here is you saved a woman's life," he said instead, putting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before he turned to leave.
Reyes looked past him at Stark. "You believe me, don't you?" she asked. Stark saw the same look in Monica's eyes she'd had once. The one needing to know she wasn't crazy, that someone else could see and feel what she felt. And while in this case Stark didn't understand the specifics, she did understand the other woman's point of view.
"I don't know what I believe, Monica," she admitted, putting her hands in her pockets. "I do know that while I don't exactly understand the paranormal? I understand human nature pretty well. And I know what it's like to feel something so strongly that you'll do whatever you have to, in order to get the answers you need. And I know...how much it hurts when you don't." She swallowed. "I don't know if I believe but I do know what you're going through. For whatever that's worth."
The other woman gave her a faint smile. "It's worth something, Stark. Thank you."
"Don't mention it," she replied. "Just let me sleep in tomorrow." And with a small smile of her own, Stark turned and walked away, moving to catch up with her partner.
Muse: Stark Patrick
Fandom: The X-Files (OC)
Words: 492
Contains dialogue from Season 9's "Hellbound."