Below the Surface [CSI/The X-Files; Grissom/Catherine, Mulder/Scully]
TITLE: Below the Surface
CHAPTER 6: Rock the Boat
FANDOM(S): CSI, The X-Files
PAIRING(S): Mulder/Scully, Grissom/Catherine
SPOILERS: [CSI: Fourth season]; [X-Files: Seventh season]
RATING: R (for language, violence, etc.)
SUMMARY: "I guess four wasn't a big enough guess."
*****
"Mulder, are you sure you wanna do this?"
"Why wouldn't I be sure about this, Scully? You don't think I can handle it?"
"Well, to be quite honest... no. I don't. It's something we've been dodging since we got here. And I hope you know that once we start this... there's no turning back."
"I have no intention of turning back. I think it will be good for us to do this. Take a step forward."
Scully sighed. "Alright, I just... I know you're prone to sea-sickness," she murmured, squinting into the sunlight as she watched her partner climb up onto the boat... taking a moment to admire the view as he did so.
Mulder chuckled, extending a hand to his fiery-haired beauty to help her up. "I'll be fine, Scully. This is Lake Mead... not the Atlantic."
"Sea-sickness is not exclusive to the high seas, Mulder," she reminded him, reaching into the pocket of her fitted navy blue suit jacket... pulling out a small syringe. "So just in case, I brought this."
Mulder shook his head slowly. "Nope. No needles." A wry smirk then curled the edges of his plump lips. "If you wanna drug me and have your way with me, Scully, there are better ways of doing it."
She rolled her eyes. "This is so you don't get nauseous, Mulder," she sighed, slightly amused at the barely visible glint of panic in his eyes upon seeing the needle. She fixed him with a stare, lowering her lashes slightly. "And if I wanted to have my way with you, it would only be too easy."
At this comment, breathed in a husky, sexy timbre... he raised an eyebrow. "Really? Care to elaborate?"
She gave only a hint of a smirk. "Nope."
"Always gotta keep me guessing, don't you Scully?"
"Yes, I do. Now let's get going. You sure you'll be fine?"
He nodded. "Yes. And if I feel the urge to vomit, I'll stay downwind of you."
"That's all I ask." She reached into her pocket, unfolding a map, on which a red, ink circle had been marked. While Mulder started the engine, she smoothed out the map and studied it. "Okay. The first four bodies were found near the center, Mulder!" she called, raising her voice over the sound of the engine. "I think we should start there!"
"I think we should comb the whole lake, Scully!" he called back, steering the boat away from the dock.
"We will, eventually, but if we find another batch of bodies, we'll need to get them back to the coroner as soon as possible! We can't just pile them up below deck while we search for more!"
"What makes you so sure that we'll find more bodies?"
She sighed, sick of the ping-pong yelling match, and headed up the stairs to stand beside Mulder at the steering wheel. "Because, Mulder. Do you really think that this thing... whatever it is... would just consume the organs of four people and then stop?"
He shrugged. "Maybe."
"There's no way. I wouldn't be surprised if we found at least another four bodies down there, if not more." She jumped as her cell phone began ringing shrilly against her hip, and she reached down to flip it open, plugging one ear while bringing the phone to the other. "Scully!" she answered loudly, turning away from Mulder.
"Agent Scully, it's Catherine," came the smooth alto tone from the other end. "Where are you?"
"I'm with Agent Mulder on Lake Mead. We've decided to look for more bodies."
"Oh, okay. Grissom and I are heading back to the lab. We've questioned the victims' families, except one that still hasn't been identified."
"And?" Scully glimpsed quick at Mulder, who was continually stealing glances at her while steering the boat toward the center of the lake.
"And it's basically the same thing with all of them. The vic went snorkeling or scuba diving... never came back. What I don't understand is how none of these people thought to go in after them."
Scully shook her head slowly. "I don't know either, but if they had, we'd have a hell of a lot more bodies to fish out."
"Have you found anything yet?"
"Not yet. Agent Mulder and I are almost to the center of the lake, where you found the first four. We'll drop the nets and start from there."
"Sounds good. Doc Robbins should be back in just a few hours. The next graveyard shift will be starting soon, if you wanted to question him."
"Thanks," Scully replied, still yelling over the sound of the engine. "We'll be back to the lab shortly!"
After the two women disconnected, Scully turned back to her lanky partner... craning her neck and squinting into the setting sun as she stared up at him. "They questioned some of the families!"
"And?" He turned his eyes back to the water, slowing down as they reached the center, before cutting the engine.
"Everyone said the same thing!" she yelled as the sound of the engine disappeared. She smiled sheepishly, listening to her voice carry across the lake before lowering her tone. "The victims disappeared after scuba diving or snorkeling."
Mulder nodded. "Then let's drop the nets, and see if we can catch anything else."
For the next several minutes, the pair drove slowly around the center of the lake, taking their time. Upon finding nothing more near the center, they branched out, moving east... dragging the nets along the bottom. Suddenly, the boat gave a jerk... sending Scully, who'd been leaning slightly over the rail... back onto her bottom, hitting the deck hard. "Mulder, stop!" she yelled up to her partner, who was still in command of the steering wheel.
He did so and dropped the anchor before rushing to her side... flying down the stairs before kneeling next to her, reaching his arms around her to help her up. He grunted slightly as he pulled her up, with one arm wound tight around her waist while his free hand grasped just above her elbow. "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly.
"Yeah," she muttered with a frown, rubbing the sore spot.
He grinned cheekily. "Want some help with that?" When she shot him a glare, he relented. "Alright, alright... just thought I'd at least offer."
"Did you feel that, Mulder?"
He nodded. "We might've hit something." He grabbed tighter to his partner as the boat pitched and rocked again, sending them toppling sideways onto the deck. Mulder winced as pain shot through his pelvic bone, and glanced to Scully, who laid only a foot away, their hands still clasped tightly together, as if still bracing themselves.
"There it was again," Scully murmured, voice strained with the pain her body was feeling in that moment. With a brief flick of her head, she shook her tousled hair out of her face and glanced toward the side rail of the boat. "Mulder, what the hell could we be hitting? It feels like we're hitting it with the boat, not the nets."
He shook his head, wrapping an arm around Scully's waist and gathering her close before helping her back up. "I have no idea. But let's pull the nets up just in case."
As the nets were raised, Mulder and Scully clutched the side rail for support... Mulder's arms on each side of Scully's body protectively, hands on the rail. The boat seemed to groan, tilting sideways with the weight of whatever they were pulling up with them... and as the nets came into view, both agents' eyes widened at the sight before them.
"I guess four wasn't a big enough guess," Scully breathed, and Mulder nodded his agreement before they reached out to pull the nets onto the deck.
While Scully leaned over the nets to untangle their catch, Mulder glanced over the side rail, crying out as another thump sounded from the bottom of the boat... sending them rocking. He gripped Scully's waist tightly to help them both keep their balance, glancing over his shoulder with wide eyes. "Let's get outta here," he murmured, and upon receiving an emphatic nod from his partner, he ran to the top deck, raising the anchor and bringing the engines to life once again before speeding for the shore.
Scully pulled out her cell phone and frantically punched in a number, keeping her eyes on the nets as she pulled the phone to her ear. "It's Scully!" she yelled after the phone had picked up. "We've got seven more bodies."
TBC
CHAPTER 6: Rock the Boat
FANDOM(S): CSI, The X-Files
PAIRING(S): Mulder/Scully, Grissom/Catherine
SPOILERS: [CSI: Fourth season]; [X-Files: Seventh season]
RATING: R (for language, violence, etc.)
SUMMARY: "I guess four wasn't a big enough guess."
*****
"Mulder, are you sure you wanna do this?"
"Why wouldn't I be sure about this, Scully? You don't think I can handle it?"
"Well, to be quite honest... no. I don't. It's something we've been dodging since we got here. And I hope you know that once we start this... there's no turning back."
"I have no intention of turning back. I think it will be good for us to do this. Take a step forward."
Scully sighed. "Alright, I just... I know you're prone to sea-sickness," she murmured, squinting into the sunlight as she watched her partner climb up onto the boat... taking a moment to admire the view as he did so.
Mulder chuckled, extending a hand to his fiery-haired beauty to help her up. "I'll be fine, Scully. This is Lake Mead... not the Atlantic."
"Sea-sickness is not exclusive to the high seas, Mulder," she reminded him, reaching into the pocket of her fitted navy blue suit jacket... pulling out a small syringe. "So just in case, I brought this."
Mulder shook his head slowly. "Nope. No needles." A wry smirk then curled the edges of his plump lips. "If you wanna drug me and have your way with me, Scully, there are better ways of doing it."
She rolled her eyes. "This is so you don't get nauseous, Mulder," she sighed, slightly amused at the barely visible glint of panic in his eyes upon seeing the needle. She fixed him with a stare, lowering her lashes slightly. "And if I wanted to have my way with you, it would only be too easy."
At this comment, breathed in a husky, sexy timbre... he raised an eyebrow. "Really? Care to elaborate?"
She gave only a hint of a smirk. "Nope."
"Always gotta keep me guessing, don't you Scully?"
"Yes, I do. Now let's get going. You sure you'll be fine?"
He nodded. "Yes. And if I feel the urge to vomit, I'll stay downwind of you."
"That's all I ask." She reached into her pocket, unfolding a map, on which a red, ink circle had been marked. While Mulder started the engine, she smoothed out the map and studied it. "Okay. The first four bodies were found near the center, Mulder!" she called, raising her voice over the sound of the engine. "I think we should start there!"
"I think we should comb the whole lake, Scully!" he called back, steering the boat away from the dock.
"We will, eventually, but if we find another batch of bodies, we'll need to get them back to the coroner as soon as possible! We can't just pile them up below deck while we search for more!"
"What makes you so sure that we'll find more bodies?"
She sighed, sick of the ping-pong yelling match, and headed up the stairs to stand beside Mulder at the steering wheel. "Because, Mulder. Do you really think that this thing... whatever it is... would just consume the organs of four people and then stop?"
He shrugged. "Maybe."
"There's no way. I wouldn't be surprised if we found at least another four bodies down there, if not more." She jumped as her cell phone began ringing shrilly against her hip, and she reached down to flip it open, plugging one ear while bringing the phone to the other. "Scully!" she answered loudly, turning away from Mulder.
"Agent Scully, it's Catherine," came the smooth alto tone from the other end. "Where are you?"
"I'm with Agent Mulder on Lake Mead. We've decided to look for more bodies."
"Oh, okay. Grissom and I are heading back to the lab. We've questioned the victims' families, except one that still hasn't been identified."
"And?" Scully glimpsed quick at Mulder, who was continually stealing glances at her while steering the boat toward the center of the lake.
"And it's basically the same thing with all of them. The vic went snorkeling or scuba diving... never came back. What I don't understand is how none of these people thought to go in after them."
Scully shook her head slowly. "I don't know either, but if they had, we'd have a hell of a lot more bodies to fish out."
"Have you found anything yet?"
"Not yet. Agent Mulder and I are almost to the center of the lake, where you found the first four. We'll drop the nets and start from there."
"Sounds good. Doc Robbins should be back in just a few hours. The next graveyard shift will be starting soon, if you wanted to question him."
"Thanks," Scully replied, still yelling over the sound of the engine. "We'll be back to the lab shortly!"
After the two women disconnected, Scully turned back to her lanky partner... craning her neck and squinting into the setting sun as she stared up at him. "They questioned some of the families!"
"And?" He turned his eyes back to the water, slowing down as they reached the center, before cutting the engine.
"Everyone said the same thing!" she yelled as the sound of the engine disappeared. She smiled sheepishly, listening to her voice carry across the lake before lowering her tone. "The victims disappeared after scuba diving or snorkeling."
Mulder nodded. "Then let's drop the nets, and see if we can catch anything else."
For the next several minutes, the pair drove slowly around the center of the lake, taking their time. Upon finding nothing more near the center, they branched out, moving east... dragging the nets along the bottom. Suddenly, the boat gave a jerk... sending Scully, who'd been leaning slightly over the rail... back onto her bottom, hitting the deck hard. "Mulder, stop!" she yelled up to her partner, who was still in command of the steering wheel.
He did so and dropped the anchor before rushing to her side... flying down the stairs before kneeling next to her, reaching his arms around her to help her up. He grunted slightly as he pulled her up, with one arm wound tight around her waist while his free hand grasped just above her elbow. "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly.
"Yeah," she muttered with a frown, rubbing the sore spot.
He grinned cheekily. "Want some help with that?" When she shot him a glare, he relented. "Alright, alright... just thought I'd at least offer."
"Did you feel that, Mulder?"
He nodded. "We might've hit something." He grabbed tighter to his partner as the boat pitched and rocked again, sending them toppling sideways onto the deck. Mulder winced as pain shot through his pelvic bone, and glanced to Scully, who laid only a foot away, their hands still clasped tightly together, as if still bracing themselves.
"There it was again," Scully murmured, voice strained with the pain her body was feeling in that moment. With a brief flick of her head, she shook her tousled hair out of her face and glanced toward the side rail of the boat. "Mulder, what the hell could we be hitting? It feels like we're hitting it with the boat, not the nets."
He shook his head, wrapping an arm around Scully's waist and gathering her close before helping her back up. "I have no idea. But let's pull the nets up just in case."
As the nets were raised, Mulder and Scully clutched the side rail for support... Mulder's arms on each side of Scully's body protectively, hands on the rail. The boat seemed to groan, tilting sideways with the weight of whatever they were pulling up with them... and as the nets came into view, both agents' eyes widened at the sight before them.
"I guess four wasn't a big enough guess," Scully breathed, and Mulder nodded his agreement before they reached out to pull the nets onto the deck.
While Scully leaned over the nets to untangle their catch, Mulder glanced over the side rail, crying out as another thump sounded from the bottom of the boat... sending them rocking. He gripped Scully's waist tightly to help them both keep their balance, glancing over his shoulder with wide eyes. "Let's get outta here," he murmured, and upon receiving an emphatic nod from his partner, he ran to the top deck, raising the anchor and bringing the engines to life once again before speeding for the shore.
Scully pulled out her cell phone and frantically punched in a number, keeping her eyes on the nets as she pulled the phone to her ear. "It's Scully!" she yelled after the phone had picked up. "We've got seven more bodies."
TBC