A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope everyone likes the chapter, even though it's kinda short. :)
CHAPTER TWO
The Mass Gen sits on the banks of the Charles River, facing Cambridge. Stretching an entire city block, hospital is a stone's throw from MIT. The hospital is also near the Government Centre, where the field office is. The Mass Gen is almost its own, self-sustaining city. The largest and oldest general hospital in New England, over a million people are treated there each year.
After parking in the enormous parking garage, Mulder followed Lopez into the hospital. "Cardiology's in the Bigelow wing," Lopez said, turning left abruptly. Once out of the main corridor, the crush of people was a little less intense, and Mulder was able to catch up with Lopez.
"Do you spend a lot of time here?" Mulder asked, once they had entered the elevator and were gently climbing towards the cardiology ward.
"The Mass Gen?" Lopez leaned against the slick silver elevator wall. "Sometimes autopsies are performed here. We prefer them to be performed here, of course. It's much closer to the field office than the state path lab is. Sometimes they do them at City." She grimaced. "If you ever get shot and they try to take you to City, beg them to take you anywhere else."
"Why's that?"
"That's where they take all the bums they find drunk on the street." She noticed his expression and glanced at the floor. "They're under funded. We have so many hospitals…"
"And this one isn't? Under funded, I mean."
"Of course not. It's associated with Harvard Med School, you know." Mulder couldn't help but smirk when he heard her say 'Harvard.' She noticed the smirk. "What?"
"The way you say Harvard. Hah-vahd. You must be a Boston native."
Lopez wrinkled her brow, clearly not amused. "You're going to find yourself in a lot of trouble if you're going to go around here laughing at everyone who says 'Hah-vahd.'" She made a point to mimic Mulder's bombastic attempt at a Bostonian accent. Mulder had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. He had forgotten how touchy New Englanders could be since he fled the Vineyard.
The elevator opened and Lopez led the way to the main desk. A fairly young red-head glanced up as they approached and grinned when she saw Lopez. "That was quick, Lee," she said.
"We were in Cambridge. This is Fox Mulder, from FBI headquarters, in DC. Mulder, this is Holly Burbank." Lopez leaned forward over the counter, craning her head to see the board. She was fairly short, so her feet lifted off the tiled floor. He found the action surprisingly appealing. "Dr. Larson's in surgery?"
Holly turned and also considered the board. "Yeah. Double bypass. Began at three."
Lopez righted herself and glanced up at the clock. "So he'll be busy for a couple hours still."
"With post-op, yeah."
"Lena?"
Both Mulder and Lopez turned at the sound of the voice. A doctor was coming up the hall. He was maybe Lopez's age, but probably a little bit older. He had dark hair cut in a modern style. He was fairly tall as well. He wore his stethoscope around this neck and his lips spread into a wide smile. Mulder had to admit he was handsome, if you liked the clean-cut, preppy type.
Lopez also smiled. "Hey, stranger," she said.
"Long time, no see," the doctor replied. Lopez darted towards him and he lifted her into the air. They kissed.
When the doctor had set Lopez back on the ground, she turned to Mulder, unable to hide her happiness. "Agent Mulder, this is my husband, Ethan Kinkaid. Ethan, this is Fox Mulder, the agent from DC."
Dr. Kinkaid extended a hand to Mulder. "It's nice to meet you. You're here to make certain that Lena doesn't get herself into trouble, I suppose?" Kinkaid also spoke with a Bostonian accent, though his was more traditional than Lopez's. Her voice, Mulder realized, was layered with the vestiges of other accents, as if she had once spoken with a different accent but had adopted a Bostonian accent.
"Uh, sure," Mulder muttered, trying to figure out why he was so surprised that Lopez was married. Why hadn't he noticed that ring before?
Lopez turned back to the doctor. "I'm glad you're here, actually. We were looking for Dr. Larson, but he's in surgery."
"Yeah, an emergency double bypass. All those French fries'll kill you. Why are you looking for Larson? Or is that for FBI eyes only?"
Lopez shot him a slightly put-out look. "Ethan. We wanted to talk to him about one of his patients. Lindsey Hobson."
Kinkaid's smile faded. "Yes, I know Lindsey. I saw her with Larson yesterday. Why don't we talk in the lounge?"
The lounge was a warm, inviting room. Several large windows looked out on the river and Mulder could make out the rounded rotunda of one of the MIT campus buildings. A few round tables were positioned around the room. Someone had left a pile of charts on the table nearest the windows. Kinkaid settled in a large leather chair next to another window and the two agents followed suit.
"So you saw Lindsey yesterday?" Lopez asked. "When did she leave?"
"She hasn't. We had to keep her overnight for observation."
That solved one mystery. At least they didn't have to traipse through all of Boston, looking for a six-year-old child. "She's here?" Mulder repeated.
Kinkaid nodded. "Why?" Lopez asked, leaning forward onto her knees.
"She has a hole in her heart, which is exactly what it sounds like. In Lindsey's case, she has a small hole between her left and right ventricles. She was – is – scheduled for surgery on it in a couple weeks."
"So why was she here last night?"
"Well, Lindsey's condition was first diagnosed when her regular physician noticed that she had a heart murmur. She went in for a check-up earlier this week and the doctor noticed that the murmur sounded stronger. So she suggested we admit Lindsey overnight to determine whether or not this was something that could impact her surgery."
"Who brought Lindsey in yesterday?" Lopez asked.
"Her mother."
"Alone?"
"Right. Tina Hobson always brings Lindsey and always comes by herself. She was really quite worked up about Lindsey's condition. She was terrified that Lindsey's condition was deteriorating."
Mulder frowned. "Was it?"
"No, not really," Kinkaid replied. "It was a false alarm. Lindsey's fine this morning."
"Can we see her?" Lopez pursed her lips.
Kinkaid shot her a worried look. "Lena, are you really sure…?"
"For the case," she interrupted. "She's the only Hobson still alive. We need to know if she remembers anything that might be relevant."
Kinkaid stood up and looked like he was about to argue with his wife. But then he just shook his head. "Come on, then. Her room is down the hall."
Lena was struck first by how blonde Lindsey's hair was. She didn't remember any of the other Hobson children having blonde hair. But that didn't mean anything. Her friend John used to be a towhead when they were children and had grown into his current brown hair. Mulder turned to her before they entered the room.
"You want to do the talking?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Not so good with kids, Mr. Mulder?"
He returned her gaze with a definite "fuck you" look. "I just thought she might be more comfortable around a woman, that's all."
Lena rolled her eyes and shot Ethan a dark look. He just shrugged and led them into the room. Lindsey looked very small in her bed and Lena felt her heart skip a beat. Twenty-four hours ago, this little girl had a family. Now she had no one.
Ethan sat down next to Lindsey's bed. "Lindsey, this is Lena and…uh." He looked back at Mulder.
"I'm Mulder, Lindsey," he said, sitting on the end of the bed. "Lo…uh, Lena and I want to talk to you for a few minutes." Both Ethan and Mulder turned to her and watched her expectantly.
Lena felt her stomach drop. How do you tell a six year old that her family is dead? She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Lindsey, som-something happened at your house last night…"
Lindsey just stared at Lena. "Where's Mommy?"
She felt like sobbing. "Um, well…Lindsey… Lindsey, your parents were seriously hurt last night. And the doctors did everything they could to try and help them… But, they didn't make it."
The little girl looked into Lena's eyes. All she could think about was another little girl in another hospital bed, staring up at another civil servant with the same knowing expression in her eyes. Lena felt the earth shift underneath her. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She heard Ethan say her name but ignored him. She looked up again and locked eyes with the child. "I'm sorry, Lindsey."
Mulder cleared his throat. "Lindsey, do you know anyone who might want to hurt your parents?"
Lindsey, now staring at the bedspread, shook her head. "Is Uncle Karl going to come pick me up?"
"Uncle Karl?" Lena frowned. "Who's Uncle Karl, Lindsey?"
"He comes to see me in the hospital sometimes."
"Did he come see you last night?"
She nodded.
"Do you know his last name?" Mulder asked.
"He's just Uncle Karl."
A few minutes later, Mulder and Lena left the room so Ethan could check Lindsey's vitals. "We need to know more about the Hobsons," Lena muttered, frowning.
"I took the liberty of having my people back in DC look into some of his activities on Capitol Hill before I left," Mulder said. "Hopefully they'll be sending us some information in the next couple days."
"We'll need to contact the Globe too," Lena said. "They should have some basic information about him and his family. And the Post. I have a friend over there who might be able to help us."
Mulder raised an eyebrow. "At the Washington Post?"
"Sure. One of my old classmates from USC works in over there right now. He primarily writes for the Metro desk, but I think he might do some pieces about politics."
"The University of Southern California?"
"Sure. I had to do my undergrad work somewhere, didn't I?"
"Fair enough." He glanced at his watch. "Hobson was a lobbyist for Hanover Cigarettes, wasn't he?"
Lena shrugged. "Right."
"Think we might have time to make his office before it closes?"
