Dana's Malakim Pt 25/32
Title: Dana’s Malakim
Author: dhamphir
Fandom: X-Files
Pairing: Scully/OFC (Logan)
Rating: NC17
Summary: Scully must identify Mulder’s body after his suicide. Dying of cancer, she now faces an uncertain future, a crisis of faith... and a new partner. Little does she know the extraordinary and incredible things she’s seen while with the X-Files are nothing compared to what’s to come.
Time line/Spoilers: AU. Starts immediately after S4E23 Demons.
Disclaimer: X-Files and its characters belong to C.C. and 1013 Productions. No copyright infringement intended, no money be made.
A/N1: Some dialogue taken directly from the show. Although I do a bit of research for my stories, I’ve never been a cop, doctor, herbalist, psychologist, or theologist.
A/N2: Special thanks to sinadino for the German translations, and to xhuggles and ivy_wang for the Chinese translations.
A/N3: All mistakes are my own. Special thanks to oxfordshoes2 for the beta.
Dana’s Malakim
Part 25
Holiday Inn
Logan’s Room
Thursday, June 25th, 1998
Dana entered through the adjoining door between their rooms to find her partner looking disheveled and tired. Her eyes were dull and flat and she was dressed in sweatpants and an old t-shirt. “Nicole, what’s wrong? We have a meeting in less than an hour.” She looked at Nicole, worry evident in her eyes. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
The blonde shrugged, rolled her head around, and rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. In truth, she hadn’t slept well for the last week or so. “I couldn’t sleep. I went for a run, and then...” she sighed. “Then I tried to figure out where the next body will show up.”
“You mean you were out all night staking out trees in hope of catching the killer,” she snapped with irritation.
“I told you, I couldn’t sleep. So why not try to find something to crack the case?”
“Because you went alone! I put up with that crap with Mulder for too long; I’m not going to go through all of that with you! Just when I think you couldn’t be more different from him, you pull something just like he would do!”
The venom in the redhead’s voice set the blonde back on her heels. She wasn’t sure what was fueling her partner’s anger. Dana knew Nicole sometimes had trouble sleeping and would go for runs. Dana also knew that if the blonde had found anything Nicole would have called her.
“Dana-”
“Just take a shower and get dressed. If you hurry we can get to the meeting on time,” she again snapped, cutting Nicole off.
Frowning, the blonde simply nodded and headed into the bathroom.
Dana sat down in a chair and pinched the bridge of her nose. She felt guilty for the way she’d acted towards the blonde. It wasn’t Nicole’s fault Dana was having trouble dealing with her inappropriate feelings for her partner. She had to get control of her feelings.
Nicole came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Dana averted her eyes as the blonde dressed. The drive to the police precinct was done in an uncomfortable silence. Nicole stared out the window as her partner drove. She never stood a chance at getting any sleep the night before after having held the redhead in her arms for a little while. It was getting harder and harder to bury her feelings for her partner. And from the way Dana had abruptly pulled away from her, Nicole was worried that the redhead was beginning to pick up on those feelings.
~~~
Indianapolis Police Department
Thursday, June 25th, 1998
Nicole listened to her partner’s report about the autopsies she’d performed on the second and third victims. They were the same, except the third victim had two strips of flesh removed her chest.
“So, to sum up, we have two male victims and one female. None of the victims had anything show up in the toxicological tests. And other than the obvious trauma of the crucifixion itself, there was no other sign of trauma on the first victim, Daniel Clifford. The second victim, Alex Jensen, had a single strip of flesh, four inches by half an inch, removed from his chest while he was still alive. There were two strips of flesh of the same dimensions removed from the chest of the third victim, Jessica Moore, also taken while she was alive.”
“Do you have any insight as to who is doing this?” asked a uniformed officer.
“Statistically, serial killers are male, white, aged 20 to 35, heterosexual, and don’t stand out at work or in their community,” Dana answered.
Det. Finneran stood and took over the meeting. As many detectives and officers as they could muster were going to canvas the areas where the bodies were found. Everyone was paired up and given specific blocks to cover.
Nicole looked over her partner’s shoulder at the sheet of paper Dana was holding. “So where are we headed?”
“Not you, Nicole,” the redhead said as she turned around to face the blonde.
“What?”
“I’m going out with Det. Finneran. You are going back to the hotel and get some sleep.”
An eyebrow arched. “I beg your pardon.”
“Nicole, you didn’t sleep at all last night, and you haven’t been yourself for a few days now. I don’t want you watching my back if you’re half asleep. Go back to the hotel and get some sleep. I’ve already talked to Finneran; we’ll do the canvassing and will call you if we find anything.”
Nicole frowned and tried to figure out what was going on. “Is this about whatever was bothering you last night?” she asked.
Dana was dismayed that the blonde had cut right to the core of the problem with such unerring accuracy. She didn’t want to sit in a car with Nicole all day with nothing to talk about but things she wasn’t ready to talk about. She needed some distance to get her emotions, her thoughts, herself back under control. She went with denial.
“No, no. Not at all. I don’t trust you to be my backup in your condition, any more than you would mine if our places were reversed.”
The blonde saw Finneran headed their way. Despite being highly suspicious of her partner’s words, she was unwilling to make a scene in front of anyone else, so she remained silent. However, her dark green eyes communicated her doubts quite clearly.
“Agent Scully, are you ready?” the detective asked.
“Yes.” Dana turned back to her partner, feeling guilty about the hurt she saw Nicole’s eyes. “We’ll call if we find anything, Nicole. Get some rest.”
~~~
Nicole arrived back at the police precinct at 3:00. She had gotten a few hours of sleep at the hotel before she was awakened by the phone. Someone had arrested a suspect and her presence was requested to help with the interview. She arrived before her partner and Det. Finneran, so she wandered around the detective’s office, looking at maps and pictures on the walls before sitting down in his chair.
“Agent Logan! You made it.” Finneran hung up jacket on a hook on the wall. “Hang on, I’ll go get the details of our suspect.”
There was something irritating about the too exuberant detective. She watched as Dana looked at the same pictures and maps she’d already examined. “So, how was your day?” she finally asked.
“Fine. We obviously didn’t find anything.”
“How did you get along with your new partner?”
The redhead chose to ignore the emotion underlying the blonde’s tone. “Fine. He’s an avid basketball fan and talks about it - a lot.” She finally turned and looked at her partner. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Five hours. That good enough for you, Dr. Scully?”
“It’s certainly better than nothing.”
Silence filled the room, both women turning inward, Dana wondering why being alone with her partner was so damned disconcerting, Nicole wondering why her partner was putting up so damn many walls. Both agents startled slightly when Finneran returned.
“Okay, ladies. The suspect is waiting for us,” he quipped too cheerily.
~~~
The blonde, leaning against the wall next to the door, silently observed while Finneran and Dana interviewed the alleged suspect. Nicole left the interrogation room after less than five minutes. She was sitting at a desk going through computer files when they exited an hour later.
“Why did you leave?” Dana asked. “We could have used your help, your insight.”
The blonde sat back, rubbing her eyes and then pinching the bridge of her nose. “It’s not him. He has nothing to do with murders.”
“How the hell can you tell that in less than five minutes and without even talking to him?” Finneran asked snappily.
The blonde stood. “Experience.” She looked at the redhead. “I’m going to get something to eat. Care to join me?”
The redhead hesitated. “N-No. Det. Finneran and I are going to follow up on some leads. I’ll meet you back at the hotel later.”
Nicole didn’t say anything; she simply gave a short nod before turning on her heel and leaving. Dana considered changing her mind and almost followed her partner, but the detective’s words aborted the impulse.
“Are you ready to go, Agent Scully?”
With a sigh she nodded.
~~~
Holiday Inn
Logan’s Room
Despite having to deal with getting her own feelings under control, Nicole was not unaware of her partner’s continued withdrawal. Perhaps Dana had the right idea. Perhaps pulling away was the answer. Maybe it was time to move on, time to get back to what she did best - hunting and killing monsters.
Instead of going to get something to eat, the blonde decided she needed a run. Back at the hotel she changed clothes. She wasn’t in the mood for any interruptions, so she purposefully left her cell phone in the room.
~~~
It was almost 10:00 when Dana got back to the hotel that night. She and Det. Finneran had spent the last few hours canvassing - with no results. Since Nicole had gone to dinner much earlier, the redhead accepted the detective’s invitation to a working dinner. She would have declined if she’d known the only reason he’d asked her out had nothing to do with the case. He’d spent the entire time coming on to her and trying to impress her - neither of which he did very well.
She was looking forward to spending some time with her partner. Even though she had arranged to spend the day apart from Nicole, Dana missed the blonde’s presence. Despite the fact she’d told her partner she didn’t trust the blonde to have her back, the truth was she did trust her partner, more than she ever trusted anyone. Nicole had never let her down.
Dana entered her hotel room and immediately stripped off her suit. She needed a hot bath, but because of the late hour settled for a hot shower. Dressed in her pajamas and towel drying her hair, she tapped on the adjoining door to the blonde’s room before opening it.
“Nicole?”
No one was there. She looked around for some sign, a note, from her partner. There was no note. The redhead returned to her room and picked up her cell phone, hitting the speed dial for her partner... and heard Nicole’s phone ring in the other room. She walked back into the blonde’s room and located the phone.
“Dammit. Where the hell are you, Nicole?”
~~~
Nicole was felt tired, in a good way, from her run and subsequent workout in the hotel’s fitness room. She was startled when her partner barged into her room through the adjoining door.
“Where the hell have you been?” the redhead demanded.
“I went for a run, then decided on a workout when I got back. I’ve been in the fitness room.”
Dana took a slow breath in an effort to calm herself down. “You left your phone.” She held said device out to its owner.
The blonde took the phone and shrugged. “You were with Det. Finneran.”
“What if we’d found something? I wouldn’t have been able to reach you.”
Nicole frowned. “Would you have actually called? Because you made it quite clear you didn’t trust me to have your back today. You didn’t call me when a suspect was brought in - someone else called me.”
Dana bit her tongue, cutting off her first response. She hung her head as she rubbed her temples and counted to ten. “Maybe... maybe that wasn’t best choice of words.” She looked up at her partner. “I was worried about you. You really needed to get some sleep.”
The blonde silently challenged her partner with a pointedly skeptical look. Neither woman was quite sure what to say since they both knew there was more to it.
Finally, Nicole sighed. “Whatever. I need to take a shower.” She turned and entered the bathroom.
The redhead sat down on the side of the bed. Dammit! Why is it suddenly so hard to talk to her? She’s my partner and friend. She let out a sigh. Because you’re in love with her, a belligerent voice in her head pointed out.
~~~
When Nicole came out of the bathroom she was actually a little surprised to find the redhead still in her room considering what was said and how things felt between them. She put on her pajama pants and a tank top, then sat on the bed next to Dana, who was kneading the back of her neck. The blonde reached up and moved the redhead’s hand away.
“Here, let me do that.” She began to massage her partner’s neck and shoulders.
Blue eyes closed and Dana had to suppress a moan. God, it would be so easy to just melt into her arms.
“So, did you and the good detective find anything to help solve the case?”
The redhead opened her eyes and sat up straight, pulling away just enough to make Nicole’s hands fall away. She shifted to face her partner. “Actually, no.” She sighed. “I was wondering if you had any ideas. I know you were going through files at the precinct.”
“I think we’re wasting time with blind canvassing. I also think were ignoring the obvious.”
“The crucifixions themselves,” Dana said, nodding.
“Who would likely fixate on the crucifixion?”
“Someone highly religious...”
Nicole nodded.
“But what about the removal of the strips of flesh?”
“Communion.”
Her eyes widened in realization. “‘And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me,’” she recited. “You think he’s eating the flesh?”
The blonde shrugged. “It’s a theory. We won’t know until we find him.”
“Do you have any suspects in mind?”
“Not specifically, but I would like to see a list of any clergy that have been victims of a violent crime.”
“Okay. That’s what we’ll do first thing in the morning... you and me,” she added, clarifying who she meant by ‘we.’
~~~
Riverside Park
Friday, June 26th, 1998
A 4:00 am phone call woke the agents and let them know a fourth body had been found. They were at the scene within 30 minutes. Dana took a cursory look at the body before it was taken to the morgue.
“Two strips of flesh removed again,” she observed.
“We may have a real lead this time,” Finneran said. “Someone reported seeing a large car, probably a Cadillac, possibly dark blue or black. I’ll have DMV run a printout, but it’s going to be a long list,” he finished with a sigh.
“Maybe we can pare it down. Agent Logan has a possible theory.”
“Oh? What’s her theory?” Finneran wasn’t really impressed with what he’d seen of the blonde so far, and it showed in his tone of voice.
Dana didn’t care for the man’s tone of voice and she bristled at the implied dig at her partner. “Just get the list,” she snapped and walked away.
~~~
Trinity Lutheran Church
Nicole’s theory didn’t pan out... exactly. They didn’t turn up a clergyman who had been a victim of a violent crime, but they did happen upon an unusual case that involved Reverend Hugh Sirianni. Six years previously his wife, Catherine, had presented with stigmata. Investigated by a number of clergy, her wounds were deemed self-inflicted and not of divine cause. She died in a questionable car accident days after being declared a fraud.
Rev. Sirianni didn’t hide his belief that the ‘skeptics’ and their opinion had led to his wife’s death... and he drove a dark blue, late model Cadillac.
Inquiries were made and a warrant obtained when it was implied by a church member that the good reverend had his 17-year-old son held hostage somewhere in the church.
Dana and Nicole led the police officers assigned to help take down the reverend to the church. After ensuring all of the exits were covered, the two agents entered through the front doors with Finneran and two uniformed officers. They searched the church finding no one. However, the door to the vestry was locked and indistinct voices could be heard within.
Nicole exchanged a look with her partner, receiving a nod in return. Dana positioned herself to the side of the door as the blonde prepared to kick the door open. With gun drawn, Nicole raised her foot and kicked with more than enough force to propel the locked door open.
Dana watched in slow-motion horror as a loud gun shot rang out and Nicole was thrown back through the air, hit with a sickening thud against the altar, and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Dana turned to the now open doorway to see Rev. Sirianni holding a .357 magnum handgun on his son, Tim.
A uniformed officer rushed over to the blonde’s fallen body and called for an ambulance.
“Put the gun down, Reverend,” Dana ordered.
“His is to be the final sacrifice!”
“No! No one else is going to die.”
The reverend’s finger started to pull the trigger. Another shot rang out, this time coming from Dana’s weapon. Rev. Sirianni fell back, a bullet hole through his heart. Det. Finneran moved in and secured the revolver that fell beside the body. He then ushered the teenager out of the church.
Dana turned back to where her partner’s body lay, paramedics already working on her. Having already removed the agent’s bulletproof vest, the first medic was performing chest compressions while the second medic prepared the defibrillator.
“Charging... charging... clear!”
Nicole’s body spasmed.
“Still V-tach. Dropping one of epi. Clear!”
Her body spasmed again.
“Still V-tach. Trying atropine... Clear!”
Once again her body spasmed.
The two medics shared a disheartening look.
“How long has she been down?” Dana asked.
“Since the shot,” someone replied.
“Let’s get her loaded,” the first medic said. They would continue CPR even though they didn’t think she was going to make it.
Dana didn’t hesitate; she got in the back of the ambulance with her partner, and assisted with the CPR, using the ambu-bag, as the paramedic continued chest compressions.
~~~
St. Vincent’s Hospital
Emergency Room
Once Nicole was rushed inside to the ER, Dana was told to wait in the waiting room. She paced, unable to sit down. She barely took notice of the arrival of Det. Finneran, not listening to him as he told her that doctors were checking out Tim Sirianni to make sure he was alright. Don’t die, Nicole, don’t die. I’m not ready to lose to you!
“Agent Scully!” Finneran said for the fourth time and grabbed her arm, halting her pacing.
She glared at him. “What? What’s so important, Detective?”
“I just want to know where you want to go for lunch.”
Dana was livid. “They’re in there fighting to save my partner’s life and you want a lunch date?!”
“I... I didn’t think you were close. I mean, you did everything you could to avoid her yesterday.”
Before she could tear him a new one, a nurse entered the waiting room. “Agent Scully? The doctor will see you now.”
“Don’t be here when I return,” she told Finneran and then turned on her heel, following the nurse back into the trauma bay.
The doctor was filling out a chart when the redhead approached with the nurse.
“This is Agent Scully, Dr. Kagawa - Agent Logan’s partner.”
The doctor looked up from her chart. “Agent Scully, I know how cops can be when it comes to their injured partners. Fortunately, you are listed as Agent Logan’s doctor, so I don’t have to worry about doctor/patient privilege.”
“How is she?”
“Stabilized, and lucky to be alive. I understand she was shot with a large caliber weapon, but was wearing a vest.”
“Yes. A .357 magnum.”
“It’s obvious from the bruising that it struck her directly over the precordium and brought on commotio cordis.”
“It stopped her heart,” Dana said, nodding in understanding. “Myocardial contusion?”
“Not severe, but I’m sending her up for an echocardiogram to be sure. We’ll also monitor her by EKG for the next 24 hours.”
Just then a couple of nurses pushed the blonde’s gurney past on the way to testing. She was still unconscious.
“You can see her once they get her settled in a room.”
“Thank you, Dr. Kagawa.”
~~~
St. Vincent’s Hospital
Logan’s Room
The blonde moaned, announcing her return to consciousness. She took only shallow breaths since it hurt to do more than that. When she opened her eyes she saw her partner’s watery eyes looking down at her.
“Hey. How do feel?” Dana asked gently.
“Like I was kicked by a mule.”
The redhead nodded. “A .357 magnum mule.”
“No wonder my chest hurts.” She closed her eyes against the pain for a few moments and felt Dana squeeze her hand.
“Your vest stopped the bullet, but the impact actually stopped your heart. They had to do CPR on you all the way here until they got your heart started in the ER.”
“I’m tired.”
“I’ll let you get some sleep then. I’ll go to the precinct and finish up the paperwork. In the meantime I’ll have the nurse give you something for the pain.”
“Good.”
Dana gave her partner’s hand another squeeze before letting go. “I’ll be back later to check on you.”
~~~
Indianapolis Police Department
Dana returned to the police precinct and handled the paperwork. While they would never know definitively why Rev. Sirianni crucified four people, he had never been same since his wife’s death. A search of the rectory turned up a slice of the missing flesh taken from one of the victims. It was stored in the refrigerator.
The son, Tim, said he knew nothing about his father’s actions or the reasons behind them. He would be placed in a foster home until his 18th birthday - only four months away.
Dana then headed to the morgue to perform the autopsy on Rev. Sirianni. Obviously, the cause of death was known, but there were other answers that could be found within the body.
With a sigh, Dana closed the file folder and handed it to the orderly who’d been assisting her. “Please file that, and make sure the copies I’ve made get sent to the notated parties.”
“No problem. Is there anything else I can do for you, Dr. Scully?”
“No, thank you.”
She went into the locker room and took a shower before dressing. She then drove to the hospital to check on her partner.
~~~
St. Vincent’s Hospital
Logan’s Room
She felt the touch of a familiar hand checking her pulse. The corners of Nicole’s mouth curled in a small smile and she opened her eyes. “Hey.”
Dana smiled down at the blonde. “How do you feel?”
“Sore... and sleepy.”
“You’re going to be sore for some time, Nicole; your body’s been through a significant trauma. The sleepiness is from the medication.”
The blonde forced her eyes open again since they had drifted shut. “So, anything new with the case?”
The redhead sighed. “I did the autopsy on Rev. Sirianni. I found evidence of ingested human flesh in his stomach contents.”
“I was hoping I was wrong about that.”
“I also found something else. He had a meningioma of the right lateral ventricle with extension into the corpus callosum and periventricular white matter.”
“In English?”
“He had a tumor in one of the structures containing cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. It had invaded the longitudinal fissure that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres which facilitates communication between the two halves of the brain, as well as a composite structure of the hypothalamus. In short, the tumor brought on his psychosis.”
Nicole yawned.
Dana gave her partner’s hand a squeeze. “Get some sleep. I’ll be right here.”
“No reason for you to stay and be uncomfortable. Go on back to the hotel.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. I’ll be back in the morning.”
The blonde was asleep as soon as her eyes closed.
~~~
Saturday, June 27th, 1998
It was 2:30 in the morning when a figure wearing a dark hoody entered Agent Logan’s room. He’d waited until after the nurses had made their rounds. He looked down at the blonde who should have been dead. She was sleeping, but he wanted to make sure she didn’t wake up. He poured ether into a handkerchief and held it over her mouth and nose. Sure that she wouldn’t wake up, he turned off the machine she was hooked up to and removed the leads and IV line. Picking her up, he hefted her over his shoulder and snuck out of the room.
~~~
Trinity Lutheran Church
Rectory Basement
Nicole came to only to find herself unable to move... and nude. Her torso, arms, and legs were tied down tightly to a rough-hewn wooden slab. With the drugs in her system she could barely manage to move her head to look around; she didn’t have a chance of breaking free of her bindings.
“I’m not ready for you yet.”
The voice came from the opposite side she was looking and was followed by an ether-soaked handkerchief being held over her mouth and nose. Darkness claimed her.
~~~
Holiday Inn
Scully’s Room
A hand reached out from under the covers to snag the offending noise maker - her phone. “Scully.”
“Agent Scully?”
“Yes.”
“This is Dr. Penworth at St. Vincent’s. I’m calling about Agent Logan.”
Dana sat up abruptly, fully awake. “What wrong? Is she okay?”
“I’m afraid she’s missing.”
“What the hell do you mean she’s missing?”
“Sometime in between 2:00 and 3:00 she disappeared from her room and we haven’t been able to find her anywhere in the hospital.”
The redhead looked at the clock on the nightstand - 3:45 am. She was dressed and on her way within five minutes.
~~~
part 26
part 1| part 2| part 3| part 4| part 5| part 6| part 7| part 8| part 9| part 10|
part 11| part 12| part 13| part 14| part 15| part 16| part 17| part 18| part 19| part 20|
part 21| part 22| part 23| part 24|