Dana's Malakim Pt 29/32
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 29
Home of Margaret Scully
Baltimore, MD
Saturday, July 11th, 1998
When Dana got up Saturday morning she found her mother already in the kitchen fixing some breakfast, even though it was still dark out. A small TV on the kitchen counter was turned on low, set to CNN.
“Would you like some bacon and eggs, Dana?”
“Just a couple of scrambled eggs, please.” Dana went to the refrigerator and poured herself some orange juice as her mother whipped up a couple of scrambled eggs. “You’re up awfully early this morning,” she observed.
“I woke up wide awake and decided there was no use staying in bed. Besides, this way I get to make you some breakfast. You know, I’ve enjoyed you staying here,” Maggie said as she set a plate of eggs in front of her daughter.
The redhead smiled up at her mother. “I’ve enjoyed it, too, Mom. Thank you.”
“So what do you have planned for today?”
Dana let out a soft sigh. “Hopefully finish up the case. Or at least identify a viable suspect so the locals can take over the case and run with it.”
“Nicole?”
Dana looked up from her meal at her mother’s soft remark. “What did you say, Mom?”
“That’s Nicole,” she said pointing at the small TV, then reached over and turned up the volume.
They listened as the anchor went on to narrate a video taken earlier.
“What we see here is the outside of a Washington, DC club simply called The Mission. It is said that The Mission caters to the alternate lifestyle of the domination and submission culture, complete with slaves, pets, leather, and collars.
“In the early hours of this morning, this club was the subject of a raid by local and federal authorities following a violent attack on some of its patrons. What was found, in a secret basement, was an unprecedented amount of high grade, pure cocaine - 3000 kilos. Authorities say that once the cocaine was cut and distributed on the street, it would be worth an estimated 150 million dollars. This is the largest single seizure ever by American authorities. We’ve also been told that there was a ‘significant’ amount of cash and weapons confiscated as well.
“We take you back to the scene live with Arliss Cole. Arliss?”
The scene changed to a live shot in front of the club.
“Yes, this is Arliss Cole, reporting from on the scene here in Washington, DC. As you can see across the street,” he stepped aside to allow the camera to focus on the background, “there are several local law enforcement vehicles and personnel still present. I’m told that this unprecedented seizure of drugs, money, and guns and the arrest of over two dozen people was the result of an undercover investigation by the FBI.”
“There!” Maggie’s hand shot out and she pointed to a white-blonde head in the background.
Dana looked closely. Sure enough, there was a woman in dressed all in black leather that had the same short, white-blonde hair as her partner. And she appeared to be speaking with Skinner - recognizable by his bald head. Dana had stopped listening to the reporter and continued to search the people in the background. Then she saw it - a shock of bright blue hair. Ian.
She sat back with an almost imperceptible smile on her lips. That explained it! It explained Nicole coming in late, her seeming to be tired and listless at work, the secret phone call, her distance during the last week, her sudden departure without an explanation. She remembered what Nicole had told her about being made for undercover work. With results like that, it was obviously true. She felt a little bit of pride on behalf of her partner. Well done, Nicole, well done.
“That was her, wasn’t it?”
Dana was brought out of her thoughts by her mother’s inquiry. She nodded. “Yes, it was.”
~~~
The Mission
Washington, DC
The assistant director had received a call long before his alarm would have gone off. He answered it only to hear Logan tersely tell him to get down to The Mission club ASAP. For reasons he couldn’t completely fathom, he felt compelled to obey the summons by the woman who was nominally his subordinate. He dressed and was out his door within five minutes.
To say he was surprised to pull up and see a dozen cop cars with lights flashing was an understatement. He parked and got out of the car. Before he took more than a single step towards the crowd of cops and onlookers, a hand clamped on his arm and pulled him off to the side.
“What the-”
“We need to talk before you go any further,” Logan said, cutting him off.
“What the hell is going on?”
She ran a weary hand over her face as she sighed. “I was here with a friend on a private matter. I recognized someone, a major international criminal, from a previous case. I decided to stay and see what he might be up to since there’s no way his presence here could be a good thing.”
“What happened?”
She closed her eyes, seeing the violent confrontation in her mind’s eye, and let out another sigh. “He made me before I could get close enough to...” She stopped and shook her head. “A confrontation became violent and some people were hurt. He got away, but my friend and I found a secret basement.” She met his eyes and held them. “There’s got to be 3000 kilos of pure, uncut cocaine down there, and a bunch of cash and guns.”
Skinner’s eyes widened. Holy shit. “That’s worth 100-150 million dollars on the street.”
The blonde nodded. “I think we stumbled on a new primary distribution hub for one of the Columbian cartels. Probably one to replace the hub taken out in Newark several months ago. If the DEA had an investigation going...” She shrugged her shoulders.
“Then there’s going to be some hell to pay for stepping on their toes,” he said, completing her thought.
“It wasn’t intentional, believe me.” I was after a far greater evil.
“Alright. I’ll handle coordinating with the locals and any other agencies that may have a vested interest.” He looked her in the eyes. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“There’s a dead body, a woman... I did everything I could. The killer is the bastard that got away.”
“I see. Anything else?”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “But it’s probably best if ‘I wasn’t here.’”
He nodded in understanding. “Got it - this was the result of an undercover investigation by the FBI.”
“Yeah.” With that she turned and walked away.
~~~
En Route to Logan’s House
Ian inconspicuously fell in step with Nicole and walked with her to the car. Once they were in the car he looked over at her before starting it up and heading out. “I’m really sorry, Nicole.”
She sighed. “It wasn’t your fault. He hasn’t been around for 1200 years and not developed an acute sense of his surroundings.”
He knew she didn’t blame him, but he still felt bad about Fritz getting away. They had been so close. They did managed to dust four other vampires that had been with Fritz, but the bastard had slipped way as he and Nicole fought with the others - and he did it behind the shield of an innocent bystander, who he then killed.
And that was precisely what was bothering the blonde the most. She’d had to choose between trying to save the woman’s life or getting Fritz. One could argue that going after Fritz at that point would prevent the greater evil, but there was no way Nicole could turn away from the woman bleeding to death in her arms. Fritz wouldn’t be seen in DC again since he always had a preplanned exit strategy, but she would cross paths with him again, even if it meant she had to travel around the world to do so. She would kill Fritz.
Ian parked in front of his friend’s house. “Do you want me to stay?”
She took a slow breath. “No. I’ll be okay. Thanks for your help, Ian.”
“Anytime - you know that.” He watched with concern as she got out of the car, walked up to her front door, and went inside.
~~~
Logan’s House
Nicole was furious. Not only had Fritz slipped out of her grasp, but she’d also lost an innocent in the process. She wanted to hit something - someone. It was still a couple of hours until sunrise, but she wasn’t tired. She was too keyed up to even think about getting some sleep.
She went into her bedroom and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Taking her leathers into the bathroom, she carefully and methodically washed off the blood that the dark color mostly concealed. She hung up the cleaned leathers to let them to dry. She then went down to the basement and into the workout room. She slipped on some gloves and started beating the bag hanging from the ceiling. With every punch that she threw she pictured beating Fritz’s smug face.
She’d had him! He’d been right there.
“AHHHHRGGGHHH!” she screamed as she pummeled the bag and then nailed it with a hard, sharp kick that split the canvas, spilling sand onto the floor.
She stood there staring at the sand spilling from the bag as she panted, sweat dripping off of her brow. Letting out a huff of irritation she turned and went back upstairs. She’d needed to go for a run.
~~~
That morning, at the hospital, Dana had been surprised when a janitor came forward and admitted to committing the killings. She and the local police had had no idea who their suspect was; they’d cleared everyone they thought had access to the patients. The police doubted the confession initially, but the man’s specific knowledge of the method used convinced Dana he was indeed the perpetrator. She turned the case over to the locals and headed for her mother’s where she picked up her things and said goodbye to her mother.
On the way back to DC the redhead had debated with herself about calling her partner. That debate didn’t end until she pulled up and parked in front of her partner’s house. She was feeling apprehensive and hesitant. Seeing Nicole on the news had thrown her a little bit, but as her mother had pointed out it did explain the blonde’s actions and lack of communication during the week. But was it the reason for Nicole’s distance?
She had spent so much time over the last few days asking herself over and over if sleeping with her partner had been mistake. Had she messed up the best partnership, the best friendship, she’d ever had or could hope for? By Friday night, she had almost convinced herself that if she needed to she could go back to just being friends and partners with the blonde. She’d rather have Nicole as her partner and friend than lose her completely because they’d crossed a line they shouldn’t have. Not for the first time she rehearsed her ‘partners and professionalism, friends instead of lovers’ speech.
And then she saw her partner come running around the corner. Dana watched as the blonde paced back and forth in front of her house, breathing deeply as she tried to cool down. Her face, arms, and legs glistened from a sheen of perspiration. When Nicole bent over, touching nose to knees, stretching out, Dana’s mouth watered at the sight of the blonde’s lean muscles flexing beneath smooth skin. And when the blonde moved onto the porch where she placed a foot up on the railing and again stretched, Dana felt a familiar tightness in her belly.
Oh yeah, it would be so easy to go back to just being friends, she taunted herself. The redhead closed her eyes. She was already in too deep; if things didn’t work out with Nicole Dana’s heart was going to be left in a thousand pieces. Her heart ached with her fears. When she opened her eyes again there was no sign of her partner. The blonde must have gone inside.
~~~
Nicole stripped off her sweaty clothes and stepped into the scalding shower. In an effort to tire herself out so she could try to sleep she had gone on a long run; she had run until her lungs burned and her legs were rubbery, but her mind had never settled. Failure never sat well with her. She could live with losing Fritz - she knew there would be an opportunity to go after him again, and even if there wasn’t, she certainly wasn’t the only Malakim that wanted him dead. Someone, someday, would eventually take him out. What was eating her up inside was the unnecessary loss of an innocent’s life.
She dissected the night’s events over and over and over again, looking for the one thing she could have done differently that would have saved that woman’s life. She questioned every action she’d taken, every thought she’d had, every decision she’d made. She questioned her ability to do what she’d been bred to do. She questioned her worthiness of all the gifts she’d been given.
Nicole opened her eyes and turned off the shower. She stepped out, dried off, and slipped on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Towel drying her hair, she went into the kitchen where she poured herself a glass of juice. She heard a knock on her front door as she put the dirty glass in the sink.
The blonde felt something indescribable grab her heart when she looked out the peephole and saw Dana. She opened the door.
“Dana.”
The redhead was taken aback by the depth of the emotion in that simple, one-word greeting. She saw something she couldn’t name pass behind those dark green eyes. It compelled her to move forward and wrap her arms around her partner. “I’m here,” she said softly.
Nicole felt something inside give way. Her whole body began to tremble as she clung to the woman that held her heart. Before she realized it, the front door had been closed and they had moved to the couch.
Dana held Nicole, trying to provide the comfort her partner was apparently so in need of. She didn’t know what was bothering Nicole, but Dana knew she’d do whatever she could to help the blonde. She dropped a kiss on the top of Nicole’s head, then rested her cheek against it. “Whatever it is, I’m here, Nicole. I love you.”
After a couple of long minutes, the blonde finally seemed to calm down. She took a deep breath as she eased her tight grip on the redhead. She hadn’t actually been crying, but her eyes were red and swollen as if she had been. “Sorry,” she whispered softly.
“There’s nothing to apologize for.” Dana kissed the blonde’s forehead. “What to talk about it?”
Nicole took another deep breath as she sat upright. “I’ve been... working on something this week...”
“I know.” She saw the surprise in the blonde’s eyes. “I saw you on the TV this morning - outside The Mission. The news said there had been in undercover investigation by the FBI. That was you, wasn’t it?”
She hesitated in answering. She didn’t want to lie to Dana. Yes, she had been investigating, but not for the FBI. What she and Ian had been doing there was personal... sort of. She hadn’t officially been assigned to go after Fritz Klingemann; however, as a Malakim it was completely within her purview to go after the likes of him. Any Malakim would gladly take out a master vampire.
Dana misinterpreted her partner’s hesitation. “I understand if you can’t discuss the investigation, Nicole.” She reached out and the blonde’s hand in her own, giving it a squeeze. “But something has clearly upset you. What is it?”
Nicole closed her eyes and took a slow breath. “An in-” Tears welled in her eyes and a painful stricture closed her throat. “The person we were after, our main target got away... and an innocent woman was killed.” The tears spilled and ran down her cheeks.
“Oh, Nicole, I’m so sorry.” She pulled the blonde into her arms again.
Emotional turmoil, exhaustion, and the comfort of Dana’s embrace combined to overpower the blonde and pull her down into Morpheus’ realm. The redhead didn’t want to disturb the woman in her arms, so she managed to shift a bit and lean back into the corner of the couch, allowing Nicole to sleep, the blonde’s head pillowed on her chest. Dana closed her eyes, a lack of adequate sleep the past few nights catching up with her, and also dozed off.
~~~
Hearing Dana’s heart beneath her ear when she woke up, Nicole’s lips curled into a small smile. She loved the way the redhead’s body felt against her own. Everything about Dana felt good - her body, her heart, her soul. The blonde took a slow breath. She couldn’t help the reaction her body had to Dana’s scent - not just the subtle vanilla perfume she wore, but her own natural scent.
Nicole had a number of good friends, but she’d never missed anyone as much as she’d missed Dana the past few days. Yes, it was her own doing - she’d had to protect Dana - but when she saw the redhead standing at her door she realized just how much of her own wellbeing was dependant on the presence of Dana in her life. Her heart felt like it was on verge of bursting, overflowing with love and need and belonging.
Dana woke up to soft, warm lips pressing lingering kisses to the column of her throat. She let out a contented sigh and wrapped her arms around the body pressing her down into the couch cushions. Her breath quickened as deft fingers slowly unbuttoned her blouse; warm breath and soft kisses caressed the tops of her breasts. She sank her fingers into corn silk hair as the front hook of her bra was undone, sucking in a hiss and arching her back when the moist warmth of Nicole’s mouth enclosed around her hardening nipple and suckled.
The blonde thrilled at the way her lover’s body responded to her touch, arching up into her own, the way fingers tightened in her hair, the way her name sounded when uttered as a low moan. She continued to suckle as her right hand reached down and slipped under the hem of Dana’s skirt, sliding her hand along a firm thigh, feeling the muscles twitch and flex beneath silky skin.
The warmth of Nicole’s soft hand sent chills along Dana’s spine, filling her with molten heat and making her glad the sticky humidity of mid-July heat made her forego hose. She was already wet and getting wetter. She felt bereft when Nicole pulled away, but then the blonde lowered her body onto hers and claimed her lips in a deep kiss. She slid her tongue along the one exploring her mouth and moaned at the thought of its slippery velvet on other parts of her body. And then the blonde was once again gone, leaving Dana to draw ragged breaths into her oxygen-starved lungs.
Nicole shifted to kneel on the floor, gently holding Dana’s ankle with one hand and removing her shoe with the other, then repeating with the other foot. She slid her hands up sculpted calves, under the redhead’s business suit skirt to caress the tops of shapely thighs. Her hands moved to the outside of Dana’s hips, caught the waistband of silky panties, and tugged as the redhead lifted her hips. Her mouth watered as the sight of auburn curls and glistening flesh. Dropping her lover’s panties aside she pushed Dana’s skirt up as she trailed her lips and tongue along the inside of a thigh.
Dana’s thighs spread further apart and trembled at the sensation of her lover’s mouth slowly working up her sensitive inner thigh. She let out an erotic moan and her hips jerked when the blonde ran the flat of her tongue along the length of her center. Nicole’s tongue dipped into her entrance and then slid up to circle her clit, lightly teasing, hinting at more. She felt more than heard the blonde’s hum as lips closed around her clit and softly sucked. She was writhing on the couch, pressing herself into her lover’s mouth, loudly moaning. Her back bowed and she fisted both of her hands in corn silk, pulling Nicole tighter to her just before her orgasm hit, her thighs clamping around the head between her legs and crying out her lover’s name.
Once released from Dana’s thighs, Nicole couldn’t keep from smiling at the sight and state of her lover. Dana’s business suit was rumpled and in disarray, her jacket open, her shirt un-tucked and open, her bra unhooked and pushed out of the way, her skirt bunched and pushed up over her hips. So much for the professional federal agent. She moved up and nuzzled below the redhead’s ear.
“Let’s continue this in the bedroom,” she murmured before kissing her lover.
The redhead tasted herself on Nicole’s lips and tongue and smiled into their kiss. The blonde stood and held out a hand to Dana, pulling her up from the couch. In the bedroom, Dana shed her clothes, uncharacteristically letting them lay where they dropped onto the floor, and crawled onto the bed.
“Sorry about your suit,” Nicole said as she removed her shorts and t-shirt.
“No you’re not,” Dana said with a smile, “and neither am I.” She wrapped her arms around Nicole as her lover joined her, kissing her deeply as she rolled the blonde onto her back. “I missed you this week.”
“I missed you, too,” Nicole replied, swallowing around the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. Her eyes closed and her back arched as her lover trailed steamy kisses down her throat.
“Does your chest hurt?” Dana asked her kisses neared the bandage above the blonde’s right breast.
“No-o.” Her voice hitched as the redhead began to lick and suck on her achingly hard nipple.
The redhead was torn. The thought of going down on the blonde was mouthwatering, but Dana wanted to watch her lover’s face as she came. She moved back up and claimed Nicole’s lips in a deep kiss, thoroughly exploring her mouth. She trailed the fingers of her left hand through downy curls and moaned as they slid over swollen and slick flesh. She pulled back and gazed down her lover.
“Look at me,” she quietly urged. She stilled her fingers when the blonde didn’t comply. “Open your eyes and look at me, Nicole.” She smiled when dark green opened and gazed up at her. “I love you,” she said as she pushed her fingers inside her lover.
Nicole tried to keep her eyes open but what the redhead was doing to her made it impossible. She felt Dana’s thumb rub her clit in time with the thrusting of her fingers. “Ahhh... Dana...”
She sucked the blonde’s earlobe into her mouth and gently nipped it. “Come for me,” she breathed.
A few more strokes and she felt Nicole’s muscles clamp down hard on her fingers and the blonde’s entire body shuddered. Once she was able to remove her fingers, Dana moved to lie more directly on top of Nicole, straddling a firm thigh and pressing her own against the blonde’s center. After a couple of minutes of kissing, they began to gently rock against each other. Before long their gentle rocking turned to purposeful thrusting until they both climaxed again.
Rolling onto their sides, Dana and Nicole held each other as they drifted to sleep.
~~~
Both women were awakened by the ringing of the house phone. Dana started to move, but Nicole held onto her, keeping her in place.
“The answering machine will get it,” the blonde murmured. The ringing stopped... only to be replaced by the sound of her cell phone ringing. “Voice mail,” she said.
“What if it’s work?” Dana asked without trying to move.
“If it is they’ll try your cell.”
They both smiled when the redhead’s phone remained silent. However, Nicole’s stomach started to gripe. She hadn’t eaten anything all day.
“I’m starved. I know it’s early, but do you want to go out for dinner?”
Dana snuggled into the blonde. “No. I want to stay here.”
Nicole smiled. “I don’t feel like cooking, so what would you like to have? Chinese? Pizza? Italian?”
“Italian?”
“Yeah. There’s a small Italian restaurant not far from here. It’s 4:30 so they’re open. I can call in an order and quickly go pick it up.”
“Mm, that sounds good.”
Nicole kissed the redhead’s forehead and then rolled towards the side of the bed, grabbing her cell phone from the nightstand. She called Frederico’s and placed an early dinner order.
~~~
part 30
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| part 25| part 26| part 27| part 28|