Divine Intervention
An X-Files / Touched by an Angel / Piercing the Darkness Crossover
by Laura Picken
Inspiration (and somewhat summary): Mulder seems to have no problem leaving Scully behind at the drop of a hat. However, whenever he does that, he tends to wind up in a hospital. I thought maybe a divine 'knock upside the head', so to speak, would change his attitude. Hey, one can always hope!
As for bringing Touched by an Angel (specifically) into it, the one part of the show that I can't stand is the fact that in every single episode I've ever watched, the climax of the show is this part where Monica launches into a speech of "I'm an angel and I bring a message of love from God" even when, in many cases, it probably wasn't necessary to reveal that. I started to wonder what would happen if she were confronted by someone who confronted _her_ with the truth. Naturally, Mulder and Scully came to mind, and well...
I'm trying to write this so that you can understand this story if all you've seen is the X-Files, but it's difficult at best. If there is anything about the angel realm that is unclear, please e-mail me with a good description of what's got you confused and I'll try to work an explanation into the story. Having seen at least one episode of the X-Files (or the movie) is pretty much a requirement, though.
Disclaimer (I'm trying for a record): Mulder, Scully, Mrs. Scully, Agent Pendrell, the Lone Gunmen and Skinner belong to Chris Carter and 1013 Productions, not to mention Fox. Tess, Monica, Kathleen, Clara and Andrew belong to Martha Williamson and Moon Water Productions (Since this is the first TBAA fanfic I've ever seen, please don't sue - just have Della Reese call me. I would _love_ to meet her). Tal, Guilo, Tom Harris, and Sally Beth Roe all belong to Frank Peretti (If you have never read one of his books, I strongly suggest you do. They're excellent). Bajor belongs to Gene Roddenberry and the wonderful world of Star Trek. I believe Jessica McLintock (if the name is spelled correctly) is a clothing designer in the US, so her name belongs to her. The term "blue-flamer", from what I understand, is old FBI slang, but I took it from the book "Mindhunter" by John Douglas. (I think that book should be required research reading for anyone who's doing a Mulder character piece, but I digress.) Anyone else I happen to briefly mention that you've seen somewhere before belongs to whomever they belong to. Have I covered all the bases? Good. All have been used with love, respect, admiration, and (mumble this part) without permission. If you sue me, you'll have to sue every other wonderful, talented fanfic writer whose work I've ever had the privilege to read, so I'm claiming safety in numbers.
The sleepy little town of Hamelton, Vermont, and its citizens (and angels and demons, except for those mentioned above), however, are mine.
Should you find anyone you like there, feel free to use them or the town, just don't take them out of character, e-mail me the work when it's done, (I would _love_ to read it) and make sure you remember me fondly in the disclaimer. Any and all medical references in this story, including references to drugs, etc, are also the product of my own overactive imagination. There is no medical truth to any of it. There are many Christian and religious references in this story - if that offends you, why are you reading a story about angels in the first place? In deference to Touched by an Angel fans, this story is rated a very mild PG (for one briefly described act of violence in the beginning of the story). It's no worse than you'd see on Touched by an Angel in any episode that deals with violent death. No swearing, no sex 0:-). Although this will be an MSR (couldn't help myself, sorry. Let's just say that the movie leads me to believe that CC just might be seeing things -our- -way- *g*), all MSR-related stuff will be in a separately posted epilogue, so skip that if it's not your cup of tea.
Now that you've heard me drone on long enough, let's get down to business...
308 March Street
Hamelton, VT
Monday, February 1
11:45 p.m.
Jessica threw a pillow over her head, trying to block out the sound of the flute player practicing next door. She had just gotten to sleep not fifteen minutes earlier, and already that blasted music had woken her twice. Turning over to see if her husband was sharing her pain, she discovered that Bill was not likely to wake up before the next ice age. Giving up on sleep for now, she started to get up to go get a mug of warm milk, when her daughter, Sharon, blocked her path, the ever-present Carter the Bear being gently squeezed in her small arms.
"Mommy?"
"Yes dear?" Jessica replied, yawning. [Why am I suddenly so tired -now-?]
"Do you hear the music?"
Trying to keep the annoyance at her neighbor out of her voice, Jessica replied, "Yes I do, sweetheart."
"I'm scared of the music, Mommy. Can I sleep with you tonight?"
Jessica sighed.[Sharon is eight years old, but she's still scared of her own shadow sometimes. I guess she's just a sensitive child.] Wordlessly, she got up, pulled the covers down on the bed, and motioned for her daughter to get in.
Jessica never saw the gun hidden behind her daughter's teddy bear. So she had no time to scream when she felt the cold metal placed between just above her heart and heard her daughter release the safety and pull the trigger. The feel of the bullet hitting the mattress woke Bill up enough to roll over and see his only daughter pointing his gun just above his heart. His last words were to his daughter: "Sharon? Why?"
-^v^-
Sharon watched her sleeping parents carefully. Kathleen had told her that if she tapped her parents with the magic wand, that they would be able to get a good night's sleep and wake up all rested and ready to play. Sharon looked up at her imaginary friend and smiled. It would be good for Mommy and Daddy to get a good night's sleep, they had been really tired and grouchy lately anyway. Placing a tiny blood-stained hand on her father's shoulder, she whispered, "Good night, Daddy! Good night, Mommy! Maybe we can go to the playground tomorrow?"
Kathleen came up behind the child and whispered into her ear, "We can go to the playground right now, if you want..."
The excitement evident in her voice, Sharon practically bounced on the bed, asking Kathleen, "Can Mark come to? I really really want him to come!"
Kathleen looked down at her little excited charge and smiled. "He's already there, child! I sent him while you came here to help Mommy and Daddy." She extended a carefully manicured hand out to the girl, who climbed out of the bed and immediately onto her back. Moving carefully so as not to drop the blood-covered child, Kathleen tucked the covers carefully around Sharon's parents. "To make sure they get a good night's sleep," she whispered Waving a hand over the gun to make sure no fingerprints could be detected on it, she couldn't help but think, [The master will be so pleased...]
Taking the girl's hand in his own, Kathleen walked with her out to the hallway. Looking down to get Sharon's attention, Kathleen asked, "Ready?"
Sharon nodded excitedly.
Kathleen then declared, "On the count of three."
They both counted together, "One, two, three!"
And vanished.
-^v^-
308 March Street
Tuesday, February 2
9:30 am
Carrying her customary bag of bakery-fresh blueberry muffins, Paula stormed into the house in her customary fashion. [The kids are at school,] she figured, [and Bill's on his way to work, so Jessie won't mind if I just get things started...] Setting the muffin bag down on the table, she went to go grab a plate out of the cupboard when she realized that there was no coffee in the coffee maker. Allowing herself to think out loud, she said, "Strange. Bill always has at least two cups before he goes to work..."
The muffins forgotten for the moment, Paula called out, "Jessie? Jessie, are you awake yet?" She grew even more concerned at the way her words echoed through the unnaturally quiet house. [Maybe their power went out during the night and they overslept,] she thought, [It's not like they've been getting a whole lot of rest lately. I'll just go upstairs and check on them, see if everything's okay.]
Quickly and quietly, she climbed the stairs. [What -is- that smell?] Now worried, she ran for the master bedroom, and saw her two friends, in bed, looking like they were asleep. She sighed in relief. [They probably overslept. Strange that anyone could sleep with that smell...like something died in here? Oh God.] She didn't want to think the things she was thinking, but she knew she had to at least check. If she woke them up, well, she could simply blame it on paranoia and offer to help clean up whatever was causing that odor, which was getting worse by the minute.
Tiptoeing her way over to Jessica's side of the bed, she nudged her friend gently, whispering in her ear, "Jessie? C'mon, sweetie, wake up." Brushing a hand against her friend's face, Paula suddenly, horribly realized what was creating that awful smell.
Her best friend's blood.
-^v^-
"Tess, why do people have to go through so much security to get into this particular building? This isn't an airport."
Standing near the metal detectors to get a good view of the people as they came into the building, Tess replied, "Because, Monica, this is the headquarters of the FBI."
Monica's eyes widened a little in excitement. "FBI? Are we going to catch some awful murderer? Infiltrate the mob? Save the President of the United States?"
Tess rolled her eyes, then replied to her enthusiastic young associate, "That's the Secret Service, Monica. Remember?"
Many people walked into the headquarters of the FBI at the same time as Tess and Monica, but only one person caught the older angel's attention. Tapping Monica on the shoulder, the older angel motioned for her to follow.
This petite redhead that Tess had expressed an interest in entered the elevator, pressed "B", and waited for the doors to close. Many others walked into the elevator, some of them talking to each other, but none of them speaking to her. They reached around her to push the buttons for their respective destinations, then let out a collective groan as the elevator started to go down instead of up as they were expecting. When the elevator reached the basement, the redhead forced her way out the doors and down the nearly empty corridor. Behind her, unnoticed, Tess and Monica appeared again, quickly following her.
Monica asked Tess, "So who's she, Tess?"
"She is the one we're here for," Tess replied. "Her name is Dana Scully. She and her partner investigate things that most humans barely even know exist. But they're about to get a case that is going to test the limits of everything they believe in, and we're here to make sure they pull through it together."
-^v^ -