Weak in the Knees; chapter thirty-seven
Title: Weak in the Knees
Author: Dhamphir
Fandom: X-Files
Pairing: Scully/OFC
Rating: NC-17
Please see previous posts for disclaimer/summary/notes. As always, thanks to celievamp for the beta!
Chapter 37
“Agent Scully?”
Scully was sipping bitter vending machine coffee while pacing, and startled slightly when she heard her name. She turned and looked into the worried face of the Director.
“Sir.”
“How’s Jessica?”
“I don’t know, sir. She was wearing a vest, but a bullet caught her in the side, missing the Kevlar. She lost a lot of blood, but seemed to have a good pulse.”
The Director took out his handkerchief. He reached out and dabbed it against the side of Scully’s neck at her collar. “You’re bleeding.”
Scully immediately brought her hand up, holding the handkerchief in place as the Director withdrew his hand.
“You should have that looked at.”
Thinking quickly, she said, “I’m fine, sir. It’s just a nick from debris - probably a chip of cement.” She pulled the handkerchief away and looked at it. “See? Just a couple of drops.” She held it out for the Director take back, but he waved her off.
“Keep it.”
She buttoned another button on her shirt, closing the collar up a little more.
They waited a few more minutes before Dr. Thomas came out to speak with them.
“Agent Morgan is being prepped for surgery to remove a bullet. It appears to have entered her side, injuring her lung and damaging her liver. The liver was the source of most of her blood loss. Somehow, the bleeding seems to have lessened on its own, so while it’s a concern, it’s not our greatest concern.”
“What is?” Scully asked.
“The location of the bullet; it’s lodged against her spine.”
Scully’s heart dropped. “Cord damage?”
“We don’t know yet - won’t know until afterwards.”
“I want your best surgeon working on her,” the Director declared.
“You have her. Dr. Kerry Kelvin is the best on the coast.”
“Good.” He paused for a beat. “What about the gunman?”
“He’s on his way to surgery as well, but I wasn’t on the team that worked on him. I’ll have Dr. Mendez come and talk to you about him.”
“Thank you.”
The doctor left.
It was only a minute or so before Dr. Mendez came out to talk to the Director. “How can I help you?”
“Tell me about the shooter.”
“He sustained three gunshot wounds - one in his left shoulder and one in his arm. The third bullet hit his head in a grazing strike, creating a gouge about two inches long above his left ear, but not entering the skull. He’s been taken up to surgery.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He was unconscious when brought in, but he did come to. However, he was combative and uncooperative, so we were forced to sedate him.”
“What did he say? Did he tell you his name?”
“No. All he did was rant about some woman in very profane terms. Unless there are some unexpected complications, he should be fine.”
***
After talking with the doctors, Scully and the Director went up to the surgical waiting room. After a while, Casper joined them. He’d been seen in the ER and had his left arm bandaged and in a sling.
“Any news on Jessica?” he asked.
Scully shook her head.
He sat next to her and put his right hand over one of hers, giving it a squeeze. “She’s been through much worse and come out okay. She’ll be alright.”
Scully wanted to believe that, but she wouldn’t until she saw it for herself. She suspected that Jess hadn’t taken nearly as much blood as she really needed to heal. She stood and walked to the windows. She looked out but didn’t really see anything. She closed her eyes and recalled what she felt when Jess bit her. It wasn’t like anything she had expected. The pain had lasted only a moment, barely a fraction of a second. Then she felt... well, she began to understand how some people got addicted to it. Even now, just thinking about it, she was feeling the peacefulness... and the arousal that had filled her during those... moments? seconds? minutes?
Scully opened her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. She finally knew what she wanted... what she needed. She needed Jess in her life and in her arms. She was in love with Jess. And if Jess occasionally needed blood she would willingly supply it.
Scully suddenly gasped as a feeling of... of... There was no word that described what she felt, but she knew something was wrong... with Jess. She knew it with unquestionable certainty. She turned and marched through the doors that led to the surgical floor. With the air of authority and determination that surrounded her no one questioned her presence as she marched to her destination.
Scully opened the door to the observation room above an operating room. It was the right one because she could see Jess on the table below. The doctors and nurses were working on her, trying to get her heartbeat back. Finally they got it back. She watched until that indescribable feeling she had was gone... until she knew Jess was stable. Only then did she leave the observation room.
***
Casper was sitting quietly with his head back against the wall and his eyes halfway closed. The painkillers he’d been given had really kicked in.
AD Taylor arrived and approached the Director. He had some bad news for him.
“WHAT?! Are you sure?”
“There’s no doubt; it’s him, sir. We have the disposable phone he used, the gun he used and his wallet. I don’t have ballistics yet, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t match what we took out of the wall at the safe house.”
“Son of a bitch! I want that bastard’s ass. Make sure there are guards on him 24/7. As soon as the doctors say it’s safe to move him, I want him locked up. I want you to interrogate him personally. No one else gets near him.”
“Yes, sir.” Taylor paused. “Any word on Morgan?”
“Not yet. They said the bullet is lodged against her spine.”
“Damn.”
“Taylor, no mistakes on this. He tried to kill a couple of my agents and he’s screwed with this investigation. I want him put away and no chance he’ll get off.”
With a nod, Taylor left.
***
Scully came back to the waiting room and sat down next to Casper.
“Any news about Jessica?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Anything going on here?”
“Taylor came and spoke to the Director. I didn’t hear their conversation, but the Director was really pissed.”
It was a long two and half hours later when Morgan’s surgeon came out. “Who’s here for Jessica Morgan?” she asked.
All three people in the waiting room stood up, although Casper was a little slower than the others.
“We are,” said the Director. He made the introductions.
“Does Agent Morgan have any family present?”
“She doesn’t have any family. How is she?”
“Lucky to be alive. The bullet entered her side, injuring both her liver and her lung. It then lodged in an intervertebral disc.” She shook her head. “The amount of bleeding was remarkably little considering the damage path.”
“But you got the bullet out, right?”
“Yes.” She handed a small plastic container to him with the retrieved slug in it. “I’m sure you want this.”
“Thank you.”
Scully couldn’t take it anymore. “What about her spine? Was there any cord damage? And loss of function?” she asked.
“Due to the trauma there’s some swelling in the area. We’ve got her on a steroidal anti-inflammatory to treat it. We won’t know for sure if there will be any loss of function until the inflammation goes down.”
“Can we see her?”
“She’s in recovery right now. Once they move her to the ICU you can visit her - one at a time. I’ll have someone let you know when you can see her.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” said the Director.
Dr. Kelvin left the waiting room.
The Director looked at Casper. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay; just a little tired.”
“After we see Jessica I want you to go get some sleep.” His tone made it clear it was an order.
Casper nodded. The truth was he desperately needed some sleep. It was almost 5:00 in the morning and the medication was making it difficult to stay awake.
“What about the suspect? When he comes to we need to interview him,” Scully pointed out.
“He will be interrogated, but I’m afraid you can’t be a part of it, Agent Scully.”
“Why not? I’ve been working this case with Jess for over a month.”
“Because the shooter is Agent Fox Mulder. You’re not to go near him or talk to him, Agent Scully.”
“What?!” Scully was shocked. “He can’t be the Reaper.”
“He’s not, but he is the shooter.”
Casper nodded. “Mulder has hated Jessica for years; ever since we were all in the VCU together.”
“I knew he had a problem with Jess, but I never imagined he’d try to kill her,” said Scully.
“He’s messed with this investigation as well. He’s had you concentrating on identifying him rather than the real Reaper. Who knows how many of the deaths could have been prevented if he hadn’t had you following false leads,” the Director growled angrily. “He’ll be lucky if I don’t find a way to charge him with at least of couple of the murders as a result.”
“Excuse me.”
They turned toward the nurse who had entered. She let them know they could see Jessica.
The Director went in first. Then Casper.
Scully looked at the Director before going in to see Jess. “I’m going to stay with Jess, so she won’t be alone when she wakes up.”
He nodded. “Very well.” He gave her his private number. “Call me to let me know how she’s doing.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Jess looked so pale, and was still as death. The only movement was the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She didn’t look like she should. She didn’t have the air of determination and drive that usually clung to her. Also missing were the worry lines that subtly wizened her face. She looked so young and innocent.
Dana looked at the readouts on the monitors. Her heart rate and blood pressure should be higher. She moved to the side of Jess’s bed and took her hand into one of her own. She reached up and tenderly brushed some hair from her forehead. “Jess...” A lump in her throat made it hard to speak. She swallowed and tried again. “Jess... I need you to be alright.” A couple of tears spilled and ran down her cheeks. “Come back to me, Jess... I love you.”
Dana pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down. She sat down and held onto Jess’s hand, not able to let go of that lifeline.
She woke up a couple of hours later as a nurse was checking Jess’s vitals.
The nurse smiled at her. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
“I’m Ruth.”
“Agent Scully - Dana.” She looked at Jess’s face.
“She’s hasn’t woken up yet, but all of her vitals have been stable,” Ruth said, trying to reassure Scully.
Chapter 38...
prologue| ch 1| ch 2| ch 3| ch 4| ch 5| ch 6| ch 7| ch 8| ch 9| ch 10|
ch 11| ch 12| ch 13| ch 14| ch 15| ch 16| ch 17| ch 18| ch 19| ch 20|
ch 21| ch 22| ch 23| ch 24| ch 25| ch 26| ch 27| ch 28| ch 29| ch 30|
ch 31| ch 32| ch 33| ch 34| ch 35| ch 36|