Title: New: Daybreak II (1/3): What I Did For Love Author: sheridan@xfilesfan.com Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 22:51:20 -0600~ Daybreak II (1/3): What I Did For Love by Pigtails, sheridan@xfilesfan.com Rating: PG Classification: VA Spoilers: none Summary: It's the morning after and Scully reacts. What's Mulder going to do about it? Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine, they're Chris Carter's and Fox's. No infringement intended. Notes: Daybreak II is the sequel to a story I posted to atxc around a month ago (Daybreak, which is now archived at Gossamer Simplenet). That story was supposed to stand on its own, but some ideas began to form and I thought I'd get them written down. This was posted to the XFC first (one part at a time, with long periods in between, thanks to Real Life) so each installment has separate ratings, classification, etc. and I've decided not to change that anymore. Feedback is very, very welcome (and very much appreciated)! ********** "Hey..." Dana Scully covered her face and tried valiantly to stop crying. After the first few teardrops had escaped from her eyes she couldn't control the rest, and now she was sobbing into her wet hands, her chest heaving painfully. "Hey," Fox Mulder murmured again. He pulled her closer and wrapped her in his arms, his hands rubbing her back. She was shaking. He knew how hard she was trying to stop the tears and his heart began to ache. "Shh..." Why was she crying? His still-fuzzy brain began to clear from the fogginess of sleep. He'd just woken up; he remembered seeing her face and smiling, then she started to cry and the previous night came rushing... back... They'd slept together. Scully felt the backs of her hands pressed against his chest and she took a long, quaky breath. The tears came in torrents, unstoppable. She couldn't say a single word. Mulder closed his eyes, his arms tightening around her. His chest was getting wetter and wetter and he was starting to feel a sick sense of dread. He had no idea what was going through her head. He had no idea what was going through *his*. They'd slept with each other! What now? "It's okay, Scully." He pressed his lips close to her ear and whispered, eventhough he wasn't sure himself. "Everything's gonna be okay." <I hope.> ********** Mulder shut the door to his apartment and leaned his back against it, his left hand coming up to rub the bridge of his nose. His right hand tossed his crumpled jacket to the sofa and his keys to the coffeetable. He felt some satisfaction when he heard both hit their respective targets with practiced precision. At least *that's* still normal. He felt like everything else in his life had been turned completely upside down. When Scully's tears had subsided she got up from the bed and went to wash her face, then they'd gone to her kitchen to have coffee. And talk. Mulder felt a twinge of guilt now, remembering the tiny surge of relief he'd felt when Scully had told him that the previous night had been a "dangerous lapse in judgement." It wasn't because he wanted it to be a one night stand. That was the *last* thing he wanted Scully to be. He was just... scared. He didn't know how he would have handled it if Scully had *not* told him that the previous night was a mistake. She was his best friend. He didn't want to lose that. But he wasn't sure if he wanted their relationship to go beyond friendship, either. Scully's decision to try to go back to the way they were bought him a little time to think. Mulder fell heavily onto the couch. Along with the relief he'd felt, there was regret. And an unmistakable sadness; as if part of him had died when Scully said that the previous night was a mistake. Was that why she had cried? There was only one thing he was sure of. It was going to be hard pretending he could overlook what had happened between them. He had a feeling that Monday was going to be hell. Daybreak II (2/3): What I Did For Love by Pigtails, sheridan@xfilesfan.com Rating: PG-13 Classification: T Spoilers: Reference to "3" Keywords: M/S UST Summary: Mulder and Scully work on a case while they try to pretend that what happened between them *didn't* happen. Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine, they're Chris Carter's... although if I win the lottery sometime soon, who knows? Diane Schuyler is a product of my twisted mind. Note: For background, read Part 1 ...this one actually has an X-File in it, and this is the first time I'm writing something like that, so feedback would be very much appreciated. ********** "New case?" Mulder looked up in surprise. "How'd you guess?" he replied, smiling a little. He'd decided that it would be better for him to act as he always did this morning, but he couldn't avoid the nervousness that he suddenly felt at her arrival. Scully came up to stand at the front of his desk the way she usually did when they were discussing a case, the small smile on her lips hiding her uncertainty. She'd been thinking of what to say to him all morning. When she came in and found him so engrossed in reading a file, she'd grabbed the opportunity. She started to feel some relief after hearing his reply. They'd talked about what had happened between them and decided that they wouldn't take their relationship any further than friendship, but Mulder's reaction had been so unreadable that she still wasn't sure about what he thought. Talking about work seemed to be the safest way to go. Mulder cleared his throat and straightened in his seat, forcing his brain to take over. "Five murders over the last couple of months. The victims have no visible connection to each other, and all were killed in five different ways." Scully's eyebrows raised. "The witnesses that were interviewed all said the same thing: They saw some kind of figure that was black all over." "You mean the suspect *wore* black all over." Scully clarified. He looked at her. "No, they said they saw something that was *all black*. Couldn't even give any other description." "What are you thinking, Mulder?" "The other day a woman surrendered to the police. She says she knows who the killer is, and that she *saw* all five murders." "Who did she say it was?" "Her shadow." ********** UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 206 3:57 P.M. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We'll be landing in a few minutes so I'll take this opportunity to thank you for flying with us, and we hope that we'll see you all again. Welcome to Los Angeles." Mulder glanced at his partner. Scully had fallen asleep next to him and seemed oblivious to the world around her. He raised his eyes heavenward and blew out his breath. L.A. He hadn't been here since that vampire case, when Scully was missing. This city did *not* hold very good memories for him. And now things between him and Scully were... not normal. He looked at her again. "Scully," he said softly. The plane had landed, but his partner continued to sleep. "Scully, I think you drooled on me." Her eyes opened slowly and then blinked, focusing on his face. He was only inches away. She straightened and looked out the window. A "ding" sounded and the lighted sign telling passengers to fasten their seatbelts went off, indicating that they could begin disembarking. "Let's go." ********** "So, you want to start with the sightseeing, or should we go do some work first?" Mulder looked at her from the driver's seat of their rented Taurus. Scully turned to her partner. "Are you thinking Disneyland, Mulder?" He grinned. "No, I was thinking we could go on one of those Hollywood tours to see where the stars live. Y'know, maybe check out Eric Estrada's place." She shook her head and said nothing, choosing to reach for the case file that she had in her briefcase instead. "Have you been here before, Mulder?" She asked him the question out of the blue and looked at him, the folder open in her hands. She'd noticed the ease with which he was driving on the freeway and it had made her wonder. Mulder kept his eyes on the road. "Yes, I have." Scully nodded after a few minutes and went back to the file in front of her, knowing that Mulder wouldn't be forced into divulging any more details. He glanced at her. Her head was bent down over the file, her forehead wrinkled a little from concentrating. A leaden weight lodged itself in the pit of his stomach. He was starting to feel a little sick at the farce that he was putting up. It was *damn* hard for him to pretend that they were just partners and that nothing had happened, but at the same time he didn't want to shake things up -- make things worse than they already were. He sighed and squinted out the car's windshield. The police station was coming up. "We're here," he said, searching for a parking space. ********** She looked up at them from the crouched position she held in her filthy cell, her curiosity piqued. She'd heard their voices before they came into view, a man and a woman's, and she'd listened with interest to their hushed discussion eventhough she couldn't hear what they were saying enough to understand. Now that she was looking at them she couldn't help the tiny little twinge of envy she'd felt the moment she raised her head. They were an attractive pair -- not the kind that would call too much attention, but attractive. He was tall and lanky, with dark hair and compassionate eyes. She was several inches shorter, but didn't look any less capable. Bright copper hair and no-nonsense eyes. They looked to her like they were friends, and they looked very close, so she wondered if their relationship was more than platonic. "Diane Schuyler?" The woman began. "I'm Special Agent Dana Scully, this is Agent Mulder. We're with the FBI; may we ask you a few questions?" She flashed her badge. Diane nodded, standing up to sit on the cot. A police officer let the two agents in. "They told us that you've refused to talk to anyone since yesterday--" "None of them believes what I say," Diane said, cutting her off. "They just think I'm some kind of nut; that I'm the one who did it." Scully looked at her silently. Diane Schuyler was a plain looking woman with dark hair and a thin, almost bony frame. Her eyes had dark smudges under them, and her arms had red marks all over. "Who did it, Diane? Who killed those five people?" "I see it when I sleep," she began, her eyes staring straight ahead. "That's why I don't sleep anymore -- I have to keep slapping and pinching my arms whenever I start to doze off -- but I remember how it killed those people." "What else do you remember?" Mulder asked. "I felt like it was me -- it was like *I* was the one doing those horrible things, but I know I wasn't because I felt weightless, like I was just... there to watch. Everything else was fuzzy. I can't remember the places, but..." she turned to look into his eyes. "I saw the faces of those people as they died." ********** "I think it's catatonic schizophrenia, Mulder, and I think that as long as she's in police custody, there won't be any more killings." Scully closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. Her head was starting to ache. They were sitting on the worn carpet on the floor of Mulder's motel room, papers, folders, and the remains of Chinese take-out strewn all over the coffee table in front of them. "Why'd she turn herself in?" Mulder leaned back on his arms and looked at his partner. "Maybe she started to feel guilty." She looked back at him straight in the eye. "But why is she insisting that it wasn't her? Why not just admit it?" Scully sighed loudly. "Okay, maybe she really *does* believe it wasn't her. I don't know. All I *do* know is that it's late and we're both tired, and all this can wait until morning." She unfolded her legs and stood up, dusting off her slacks. She raised her head once she was done and paused when her eyes met his. Walking to the door, she cleared her throat awkwardly and spoke. "Good night, Mulder. See you in the morning." "Good night." Mulder followed her to the door and closed it behind her. A million different thoughts went through Scully's mind as she got ready for bed. They were running around in her brain so fast that she had to take a deep breath and tell herself to calm down as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Faint sounds of movement in the next room drifted through the thin motel wall, and she fell asleep to the sound of water running in her partner's bathroom. Daybreak II (3/3): What I Did For Love by Pigtails, sheridan@xfilesfan.com Rating: PG Classification: TA Keywords: M/S UST Summary: (see part 2) Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine. They're being borrowed from Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox. No infringement is intended. Diane Schuyler and Alan Mayer are purely fictitious characters borne out of my purely twisted mind. ********** Mulder splashed water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. The glaring flourescent light of the motel bathroom made him look older than he was. <Hell, I *feel* a damn lot older.> Things were starting to take their toll on him. He walked around with a tiny sense of guilt constantly nagging at him, and getting himself to sleep was becoming harder than ever. He didn't even know what the *hell* the guilt was about -- he hadn't done anything wrong. <You slept with your partner, you idiot. Your best friend.> Mulder frowned at his reflection. Okay, that was probably a stupid move. But the two of them had talked about it, and Scully had been the one to decide that they should consider it a mistake and forget it had ever happened. He shook his head and exited the bathroom, switching the offending lights off as he went. He walked barefoot in the motel room and turned the TV on before settling on the bed, one arm folded at the back of his head. Mulder turned the volume low and watched with disinterest. He looked toward the wall that separated his room from his partner's, wondering if she was already asleep. ********** "You okay?" Scully had paused in the middle of raising her coffee cup to her lips to ask the question, a concerned expression on her face. Mulder nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled, sitting down across her. "I ordered coffee," Scully said as she pushed a steaming mug closer to him. "Thanks." He took a sip, black, and grimaced slightly. Then he reached for the sugar and cream and added some to his drink while he scanned through the menu. Scully watched him with a sympathetic smile. "Mulder, are you sure you're okay?" He looked at her. "Yeah," he said again. "Just had some trouble sleeping." The waitress chose that particular moment to appear beside their table. "Ready to order?" She asked them with a perky smile. ********** 112 W. EVERETT ST. GLENDALE, CA APT 2C The landlord let them into Diane Schuyler's apartment. It was neat and clean, almost obsessively so -- not one thing seemed out of place. The apartment was small, with one bedroom, a small kitchen, and a living room. And a number of books. Shelves lined many of the apartment's walls, giving the place a slightly musty smell. Diane Schuyler was a philosophy professor at one of the city's universities. They began to look around trying to find clues that might tell them more about the woman who lived there. Mulder approached one of the shelves and scanned the books, running a gloved finger over each one he passed. "Scully, do you know what specific kind of philosophy Diane Schuyler teaches?" He asked thoughtfully as he pulled one book out and leafed through it. "General, I think." Scully answered from the bedroom. "She has a lot of books on Carl Jung." "Carl Jung?" Scully repeated, walking to where Mulder stood. "'It is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow side to him,'" Mulder started reading aloud, "'consisting not just of little weaknesses and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism. The individual seldom knows anything of this; to him, as an individual, it is incredible that he should ever in any circumstances go beyond himself. But let these harmless creatures form a mass, and there emerges a raging monster; and each individual is only one tiny cell in the monster's body, so that for better or worse he must accompany it on its bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost.'" He finished reading and looked at her, a questioning expression on his face. Scully looked back at him with raised eyebrows and then dubiously scanned the books that lined the shelf beside them. Dozens of books, all on or by Carl Jung. "I don't think he meant that literally, Mulder." She said finally, turning to look back at him. "Just think about it for a while, Scully. Diane Schuyler had an incredible interest in Jung's ideas. Maybe she believed them enough to, I don't know, be able to do it somehow." "Are you telling me that you think she used her shadow to kill those people?" "It would've been a hell of a lot more convenient than having to do the dirty work herself, wouldn't it?" ********** Scully took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose, her eyes closing. "I still don't understand, Mulder." Her hands went into her hair to cradle her head. "One of these victims doesn't seem to have any link at all to Diane Schuyler. Why would she want to kill her?" Mulder leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, getting the kinks out of his neck. They had spent all day going around the city interviewing people who knew the victims, and now they were back at the police station, reviewing background checks to find out why they were killed. He scanned the open files that lay on the table in front of them along with used coffee cups and crumpled pieces of paper. Only one of the victims had been male. Three of the females, they'd found out, had been Diane Schuyler's former neighbor, professional rival, and former landlady. The only man in the group had been her ex-boyfriend. "Maybe she was a witness?" Mulder said, looking at his partner. Scully shook her head. "No, she was the first one killed." Suddenly Scully's laptop, which had been sitting on the table with flying toasters on its screen, gave out a couple of soft beeps. Scully sat up and reached to pull the computer closer. "New e-mail. Must be that background check that we asked for." The police had given them a copy of a background file on Diane Schuyler that they'd composed, but Scully had thought of asking for another one from the Bureau, since they had access to more information. The screen saver turned off as Scully moved the mouse to her e-mail icon and clicked. Mulder sat back and waited as she read what the FBI Database had sent back. The room was silent. Mulder looked around and was just beginning to let his mind wander when Scully stopped reading. "Mulder," she said, worry in her voice. "That first victim -- she worked at an orphanage until several years ago, didn't she?" "Yes, at the Guardian Angel Center in Burbank." He answered as he turned back to her. She looked at him. "Diane Schuyler was adopted from the Guardian Angel Center in 1978, and she had a twin brother who was also adopted later that year." Just then a police officer opened the door. "There's been another death." ********** "It's got to be her brother." Scully regarded her partner silently over her cup. This was the nth serving of coffee she'd had. "What possible reason could he have for killing those people, Mulder?" They'd gone to the crime scene with the police, and now they were back at the precinct waiting for background information on the latest victim to come in. "Wait, just hear me out." He ran a hand through his hair and sat down in front of her, leaning his elbows on his knees and staring at her in his intense way. "Diane said that she sees the murders as they happen. Maybe she and her twin brother have some sort of a -- a mental link between them. Siblings sometimes have some kind of psychic link. Maybe her brother is killing *for* her." "Does this mean you're abandoning your shadow theory, Mulder?" She raised her brows and smiled slightly, then turned serious. "Having a feeling when your brother or sister is in trouble is different from actually seeing what they do, Mulder. Diane Schuyler doesn't know her brother. They were adopted separately. She probably doesn't even know she *has* a twin brother!" Both of them were silent for the next few minutes, their stares never breaking. Finally Scully looked away and relented, "Alright. I think we should question Diane again." Mulder tipped his head in agreement and they both stood up to go to Diane Schuyler's cell. She was crouched on the floor again, her head cradled in her folded arms. The marks on her arms had gotten redder; rawer. "Diane?" Mulder called softly as they stood at the other side of the cold steel bars. She jerked her head up as if she'd been shouted at and looked at them. "I was just about to doze off... good thing you came when you did." "Diane, there's been another death." Scully interjected. Her eyes widened in alarm. "What?? That's -- that's impossible. I haven't slept. I haven't seen anything!" "Another person has died." Scully spoke firmly. "We need to know the name of your accomplice." "Dammit, I don't *have* an accomplice!! Don't you understand??" "Who else could have had any reason to kill all those people?" Diane deflated. "I don't know," she mumbled. ********** 154 HARVARD BLVD. "You still think she's in on it, Scully?" Scully glanced at him as they climbed the stairs to the apartment building's second floor. "I'm not sure... I think I'll reserve judgement until we see her brother." Mulder nodded. After their interview with Diane Schuyler they had found out the name and current address of her twin brother. Somehow, Mulder hadn't been too surprised to learn that he lived in Los Angeles, and they had decided to pay him a visit. He looked around them. The stairway was cramped and dimly lit, much like the rest of the building. They reached the second level, proceeded down the hall, and stopped outside one of the apartment doors. Mulder knocked and glanced at Scully as he reached into his coat for his badge. A short, bespectacled man opened the door and stared at them suspiciously. "Yes?" "Mr. Alan Mayer?" Mulder began. "I'm Special Agent Mulder," he continued when the man nodded. "This is Agent Scully. We're with the FBI; may we ask you a few questions?" He stood there silently with a passive expression on his face. Suddenly he turned and ran into the apartment, turning furniture over as he went. Mulder grabbed his gun. "Go back out front!" He instructed his partner as he went in pursuit. Mayer had run to a fire escape outside one of the windows in his apartment. Mulder ran after him, dodging upended chairs and tables. Scully also drew her gun and flew down the stairs. She heard Mayer's footsteps on the metal fire escape and ran to the back of the apartment building in time to see him jump off the last few metal steps and land on the pavement. "FREEZE!" She shouted as she gripped her weapon with both hands, adrenalin pumping through her system. Mayer ignored her and continued to run. She locked her eyes on Mayer's fleeing figure and raced after him. Mulder overtook her and lunged. He tackled Mayer and pressed him face-down against the ground, grabbing one of his arms and twisting it behind him. Scully caught up as Mulder was reaching for a pair of handcuffs and kept her gun aimed at Mayer. She took out her cellular phone and called the police just as he became hysterical and started babbling and crying at the same time, but didn't struggle as Mulder snapped handcuffs on him. "I h-h-*had* to do it..." he mumbled to them as if he were dazed. "T-they were so *bad* to her and I saw it in my head and I had to do it because sh-she was my sister!" Mayer went on as Mulder pulled him up to stand on his feet. "She was my sister and I loved her..." he whispered into the air. "She was my sister and they took her away from me." ********** Scully stared out of the car window into the darkness, her heart a little heavy. They had gotten a full confession out of Alan Mayer; Diane Schuyler was released, and she and Mulder had taken an early evening flight back to Washington D.C. They had arrived close to midnight. For some reason, she felt more exhausted tonight than she usually did when they came back home after a case. <Must be the time difference,> she rationalized. Then again, maybe it was the added tension she'd felt while working on the case -- the added tension that came from trying her damnedest to keep things "normal" between her and Mulder. <Normal?> She had to suppress a humorless laugh. What *was* normal in their line of work? Still, except for certain times when she wasn't in her right mind, she didn't regret telling Mulder that they should forget what had happened between them. Having a relationship would make things too complicated -- neither one of them needed that right now. Scully glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She knew she was right. ********** "Scully?" Mulder said softly, looking at his partner. Her face was turned away from him, so he wasn't sure if she was awake. He had stopped the car in front of the entrance to her apartment building. She turned to him and smiled a little. "Guess I got carried away." He hesitated. "Wanna talk about it?" He strove to make the question sound light. Scully shook her head, reaching into the backseat to get her overnight bag and briefcase. "Nothing important. Besides, it's late." Mulder kept his eyes on her. "Need help with your bags?" It was his usual line when he was the one dropping her off after an out-of-town case. He always offered, and she always refused, but he continued the habit anyway. Maybe it was all those years of his mother drumming some manners into him. Tonight he couldn't ignore the tiny feeling inside him hoping that she would say yes, and he fought to squelch it. She shook her head, looking at him as she placed the strap of her bag over her shoulder and opened her door. "I'm fine. Thanks." She got out and shut the door. "Goodnight, Mulder." She peered into the window before starting to step away and head inside. "Goodnight, Scully." He called out. He stayed there with his hands on the steering wheel, the engine idling, and watched silently as Scully walked up the short flight of stairs in front of her apartment building. He waited until she was no longer in sight before turning back to the road and driving home. ********** the end -------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====----------------------- http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet