MORE THEN A FEELING
Chapter 1 – Angelic Charms…
*Pairing: Mulder/Scully, Dogget/Reyes, Mulder/Rhodes
*Rating: T
*Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any character from the X-files, Millennium or The Lone Gunmen Series. I claim no hold over characters and locations.
*Summery: Mulder and Scully start looking into a murderer Michael Fulham and begin to seek information from Rhodes Rayne, a school counsellor who works in one of the roughest schools in D.C., well America for that matter. But why are they digging up this old case? And what use could Miss Rayne really be?
WASHINGTON D.C. – KALIKO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
*Monday 22nd May 2000* 8:46 *
"God you could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife!" The girl quipped, watching the two agents stare at each other in the foyer, they both whipped their heads around to look at the women they'd come to see.
"Miss Rayne?-"
"Rhodes is fine" she corrected moving past the two of them and in through the main school doors.
Mulder and Scully set off following her through the maze like corridors "Rhodes" Mulder called after her, catching up "I'm Agent Mulder, with the FBI, I left you a message. We were wondering if we could have a chat? The receptionist said you didn't have anything scheduled this morning…" Rhodes suddenly stopped walking and handed Mulder her arm full of paper work.
"In this job, not everything is scheduled Agent Mulder" With that she moved past him, leaving him trying to balance the folders and papers in his arms, Scully followed her into the girls bathrooms.
Rhodes was stood at one of the cubical doors, she knocked gently. "Hello anybody in there?", Scully raised an eyebrow as she watched the women knock again. "Is, Is your name Kathryn?, This is Rhodes, Miss Rayne, the school counsellor"
"Go away!" a young voice yelled out, now Scully could here broken sobs through a shaky voice.
"Kathryn, I know you don't know me, and this is probably very difficult for you to understand, but I think it best you come out of there so we can talk" Rhodes hand pressed against the door, her hand automatically went to her belly as she continued to talk to the girl.
"You don't know me! Don't pretend you do!"
"Kathryn, Look, I don't know you, all I know is right now you feeling confused… you're so lost, you want someone to tell you want to do, how to cope. You're scared of letting people in, letting people know what's wrong, so you're hiding… I want to talk to you… but I can't help if your locked in the girls toilets all day" Rhodes paused, waiting for a reply.
"Are you alone?" the girl's sobs sounded less intense. Rhodes glanced at Scully and raised an eyebrow.
"No, I'm not alone Kathryn… I'm with-"
"Dana, Dana Scully" Scully piped up, thinking it best not to mention the fact she was a Federal Agent.
"Who, who are you?" the girl asked, now stood just behind the door of the cubical, her highly polished black shoes poking out under the door.
"I'm a medical doctor, a friend of Miss Rayne." Rhodes smiled a brief thank you, and took a step back as she heard the lock click 'Vacant'. Rhodes hand was still resting on her belly, she the girl came into view she was mirroring Rhode's stance.
"I'm scared" The young girl admitted, big puffy red eyes from inconsolable tears falling, rosy red cheeks only highlighted by the light long blonde hair. She looked from one women to the other, Rhode hunched down a little bit, so that her aqua eyes were level with the young girls green eyes.
"What's wrong Kat, myself and Dr. Scully aren't going to tell anyone" Rhodes watched the young girl glance up at Scully for reassurance.
Scully simply nodded and smiled down at the girl.
"I-I-I'm p-pregnant" tears began to fall again, rolling down her cheeks. The girl burrowed her head into Rhodes shoulder. Rhodes looked up at Scully, her aqua eyes were glazed over, as if tears would dare to break if only the women's will wasn't so strong.
The girl soon stopped crying and she pulled away from Rhodes, drying her eyes. "Right, Kathryn, I'm going to take you to my office, we'll be alone there… I'll let your teachers know your not going to class this morning-"
The girls eyes went wide in the very mention of speaking to her teachers "Its okay, its okay, I'm not going to tell them anything… is that okay with you?" Kathryn nodded her approval. Scully moved forward and cautiously tapped Rhodes on the shoulder. "Hold on one second" the girl nodded again, picking up her bag pack and hugging it to her body like a teddy bear.
"Miss Rayne-"
"Rhodes" she cut in, Scully smiled apologetically.
"Rhodes, If you'd like I'll stay here with you, for medical advice, maybe we can discuss things when you have a spare moment later?" Scully could see the other women considering this, she paused and glanced at the young girl.
"Okay. That sounds fair enough, Do you want to go and tell…" she nodded her head towards the doorway "…him, to make himself scares or something?"
Scully nodded and moved out of the bathrooms.
"Don't tell me, you were powdering you nose" Mulder looked at Scully holding the bundle of files in his arms, she held her arms out and took them into her own, barely able to she over the top now. Mulder smiled.
"Mulder, There's situation with one of the students, I've told Miss Rayne-"
"Rhodes" he corrected playfully
She ignored his comment "-that I'd stay and help her, She going to give me some time to discuss things later"
"Right. Okay, well keep me posted" with that he smirked at her again, trying to balance the files under her tiny frame, did I little kick of his heels and set off back down the corridors. As if perfectly timed Rhodes walked out of the bathrooms holding the blondes smaller hand in her own. She quickly let go of the girls hand and took the big pile of files that she could see were just about to slip out of her grasp.
Rhodes was a good half a foot taller then Scully, same petit build. Her eyes were the most unusual aquamarine and her hair seemed black until it caught in the light, it would shimmer the strangest black-blue.
Scully looked at the girl smiled "C'mon, Lets follow her… we can pick up any papers she drops" the girl smiled and set off walking along side the red head, pacing down the empty corridors.
All of a sudden Scully saw a boy running down the corridors, he shoulder barged right into Rhodes' side. The papers fell everywhere. Without warning Rhodes had dived up and across, grabbing the boy by his bag. He turned, shocked and looked at her.
"What's your problem?!"
"You're guilty, what have you done?" her eyes were ice cold
"I aint done nut'in!" he tried to pull away, as Scully gathered up the scattered pages she couldn't help but notice the huge change in the women's attitude.
"You're lying!" her eyes darted down the corridor to a limping first year, his glasses now wonky and hair ruffled up. She frowned. A teacher from a near by class room was now walking down the corridor.
"Is everything okay Miss Rayne?" the old male teacher asked "What are these students doing out of class?" he looked slight annoyed. Rhodes face was serious and stern, she seemed to grow taller as she spoke to the fearfully big man looming over her.
"I think you want to take him down to Mrs. Jenkins office, think you'll find he's been roughing up the first years" she looked down the corridor and saw the little boy had now disappeared.
"Really?" The boy Rhodes had collared was probably at least twice the size of the little boy who'd just disappeared. She nodded and began to walk away, leaving the boy with the frightful teacher. "And the girl" he asked looking over at the little blonde helping Rhodes and the red-head women with a visitors badge, pick up the papers.
"She's with me" Her gaze broke through him and he broke away first, marching the boy she'd just apprehended down the corridor.
Scully couldn't help but feel that this women was a little too good at her job.
WASHINGTON D.C. – KALIKO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
*Monday 22nd May 2000* 12:34 *
By Lunch time Scully felt utterly exhausted, she slumped down in one of the comfy chairs as Rhodes walked back in.
"Tired?" she asked, slumping down herself opposite Scully. Handing her a large mug of coffee.
Scully nodded, resisting the urge to yawn "Thank you." she sat up right to try and portray a little more of a professional demeanour. It seemed Rhodes didn't resist the urge, letting herself yawn and stretch out.
"Sorry" she apologised, "It doesn't take it out of you around her, all these hormonal teenagers going through dramas that the rest of the world just doesn't seem to grasp" she placed her feet up on the table. Scully now knew why this women seemed taller then her, the impressive heeled black boots that now rested on her highly polished desk were bigger then the ones Scully could wear all day.
"You seem to understand them"
She shrugged "Its my job. Children and young adults are in desperate need for some guidance, from someone who's been through what their going through; and not surprisingly a lot of adults as well." She paused for a moment and took a sip of her coffee, licking the cream from around her lips.
"The only problem is, when we grow up, become adults we forget how hard it was to be a teenager, how difficult it was to get up in the morning… how cruel other children can be… how scary the world is, and how difficult it is when the people that these children are screaming out to, parents, teachers, who ever it maybe… just dismiss their feelings and view points because they are children. Feelings are feelings, weather their based in our bio-chemistry – our DNA or hormones, or in our cognitive workings."
Scully wasn't so sure of what to say, she suddenly jumped as the obnoxious sound of her cell rang out. She didn't notice Rhodes jump as well. Both Scully and Rhodes cheeks flushed out of embarrassment.
"Scully" she answered. Rhodes lips twitched into an amused smile, as if she knew who Scully was talking to.
"I'm still at the school… I'm just having a cup of coffee if you must know…" she tried to lower her voice a little, so not to disturb the counsellor. "…I'll get round to it…" there was a long pause "…really?... what? Mulder?" a long beep rung down her ear as he cut her off. She sighed and replaced her cell phone back into her pocket.
Rhodes raised an eyebrow "You two been working together for a long time?"
"About seven years, I think, give or take" she took a swig of her coffee and watched as the other women rolled her mug in her palms, as if warming them on the ceramic. Scully noticed her smile to herself and wanted to ask her why she'd asked, feeling very aware of this women's startling intuition into other peoples emotions.
"So…" Rhodes interrupted Scully just as she went to open her mouth "…and had some questions you wanted to ask me." She peeped out of her main office door, a few children were eating their lunch in her offices waiting room. She smiled to them and pulled the door closed. "…Don't think we'll get a better time then right now"
Scully took a deep breath and lent forward, closing the gap between herself and Miss Rayne "I'd like to discuss Angelic charms…
WASHINGTON D.C. – HOOVER BUILDING - BASEMENT
*Monday 22nd May 2000* 1:00 *
Mulder had been going through files with a fine tooth comb. He knew the basics about this women, she had qualifications in Cognitive behavioural therapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Paediatric Neuro Psychology, Educational Psychology, Occupational Psychology, Criminology, Sociology… and pretty much any other psychological degree there was out there.
She'd flown through just about every coarse there was available. Her work on the Angelic Charms was the only case she ever worked on for the FBI. Mulder had been through the case notes and he couldn't have written a better criminal profile if he'd tried. The emotion poured into every word scripted on the paper was completely apparent. He noticed how in areas where was talking about particularly violent crimes here hand writing would become more aggressive. In areas where she was referring to childhood abuse her writing would become more shaky, nervous, small. As if this women, Rhodes, was completely in the killers head.
Michael Fulham had killed twenty children before he was caught. In one of the reports filled after Fulham was caught, Rhodes stated that 'Fulham feels his business is unfinished, the murders he has committed he see's no wrong in. No injustice, the wrong doing he believes is in his capture – he looks at these murders just like an artist would look at their unfinished painting, if they were told they could never paint again' a later statement outlines the hard evidence. Twenty children, all buried in their school playgrounds, Twenty different schools in Twenty different states. Rhodes believed that he only needed to kill one more for his work to be complete.
On each child he'd placed a tiny gold charm bracelet. In one of her writings she'd stated 'Each little girl dressed in a white dress, led out like an angel in a shallow grave , he'd cared for the children – bathing and dressing them before laying their bodies to rest. On each victim Fulham placed a delicate golden charm bracelet. The bracelets consisted of charms. On the first victim, Anna Meadow (aged 10), had one charm, a circle engraved 'A.M.'; the second victim, Jayne Day (aged 11), had to charms one mirroring the original a circle 'A.M' and a oval 'J.D.'. the third victim…'
WASHINGTON D.C. – KALIKO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
*Monday 22nd May 2000* 1:05 *
"His finial victim almost completed the charm bracelet, Kayla Martins aged 11, her charm was a tiny crafted 20 pointed star with her initials scrolled into the delicate metal." Rhodes' aqua eyes had clouded over, remembering each and every child he'd ripped away from this world. "The bracelet held enough room for one more charm…" she visibly shivered "We never found the bracelet he kept for himself, I knew he had one, every other detail in my profile was true – yet we never found his memento."
"And after this was your first and last case for the FBI?" Scully asked, her stomach whirling, listening to the emotion that was rooted behind each victim.
Rhodes looked back at Scully, breaking out of her daze. She smiled briefly, a nostalgic smile "I started work on the case after the 17th victim, Melissa Arkwright aged 10 , was found in Boston, Masseuses… on July 11th 1995, The FBI had had several criminologist and profilers working on the case before me but none had made much head way. Over the next year I worked on the case he killed three more little girls. When we caught him I was given a pat on the back, offered a fast track position through the FBI…" her voice was sombre and powerful, drawing Scully into the account. "I was praised by everyone for my work on that case… three little girls died, and I sat back studied their tiny bodies as if they were objects, spoke of them as numbers, 1st victim, 2nd victim and so on… and I was praised for it. Three girls died while I was on that case. When I caught him I had a clear shot of his head… I should have shot that son-of-a-bitch right there and then… but I didn't… I did everything on the up and up…"
She glanced away realising that she'd been rambling on for long enough now "…so I left, got a job working here, one of the worse school in America – according to the newspapers… keep getting letters from the FBI, CIA and the ABC's or whatever… wanting me to do this and that… but its not worth it. I started working for the FBI thinking I could help people, where who did I really help? Those 20 murdered little girls?..."
WASHINGTON D.C. – HOOVER BUILDING – BASEMENT
*Monday 22nd May 2000* 3:25 *
Scully slumped down in front of Mulder's desk, audibly sighing as she relaxed into the chair. Mulder warily peaked up over the file he was reading to get a glimpse of his partner.
"You okay there Scully?" he asked, waiting for her to snap
"Yeah" she sighed again and began to play idly with her wrist watch, he looked her up and down before sitting up right in his chair and placing the oversized folder back on his desk.
"Did you two not play nicely?" he asked in a playful tone, making fun of Scully's pouty lips. She looked up at him and let out another sigh. He scoffed "If you don't want me to pry to find out what's up you shouldn't sit there and huff and puff at me"
"Mulder, she knows I wasn't telling her everything, she knows there's more to this than 'routine' questions. And I think she worried, I can tell" Scully let her head fall backwards "Aaa! God! This is so frustrating!"
"She's under your skin…" he stated, Scully straightened herself and shot Mulder a venomous look "…its okay, she's under mine as well… I've spent the whole morning reading page after page of information, profiles, intricate details about this Michael Fulhum and every word she writes just gives me the chills… listen to this…"
Mulder lifted up the folder and began to read the hand scrolled notes
"With each layer into his Psyche that I slowly peel away I feel more exposed and vulnerable to this man. I feel like one of the children myself, if only I could force my eyes close maybe I can keep him from dragging me down into a shallow grave. I can feel we're close, He knows we are to. It's a rush for him, he gains sexual excitement from the chase – only fuelling the work, passion, artist vision causing him to take the life of these Angels-"
"Okay Mulder, stop, I got the live show… and from her its far more compelling."
"Sorry" he placed the folder back down, not wanting to push his partner any more, she looked exhausted. "What did you find out from her then?" He lent forward engaging her in conversation.
"Well, probably just as much that you know from reading those reports. She passionate, deeply emotionally connected to each victim, the killer, pretty much anyone she comes into contact with. The Angelic Charms case was the first and last case she worked on in the FBI. Although she receives letters on a regular basis inviting her back she has never and ,I don't think, will ever accept their proposal"
"Do you think she'd change her mind if you thought she might be able to find the 21st charm?" Mulder's gaze was burning into Scully's skin.
"I don't think she'd believe you, that nightmare ended last year, when he was sent to the electric chair-"
"What if we could prove that he's back"
"Then I think that you better be damn sure that he is first"
A/N: Please Review if you want me to continue with the story, would love some feed back. I have a good idea where this is going of if I get a little feedback that would be fantastic. This is my first X-Files fic so fingers crossed =D
…Just that little green button please… --
