When Worlds Collide
Part 7
by
Trycee
Time-Line: Present Day, Rural Virginia
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.
Scully was exhausted. She'd had two back to back surgeries and she needed coffee and a good meal. She went through the cafeteria line and decided to check out the menu. The cooks looked surprised. Her typical fare was yogurts and salads and an occasional grilled chicken breast but she was never very adventurous. Every one of them had a crush on her and so they looked forward to the days that she worked, even if she just breezed on by them. But there she was with a wide beautiful smile, looking cute in her blue scrubs and actually looking interested in the menu they'd prepared.
"Hi there!", one of the guys said.
"Hi," she said, with her forehead crinkling as she tried to read the specials written in swirly script.
She could tell by the way the guy smiled at her that he was taken by her even though she could barely look over the sneeze guard counter. "I'll have the grilled chicken, the sauteed squash."
"That's fried squash," the guy corrected in a strong Virginian accent.
She looked surprised but didn't change her mind. "I'll also take the mac n cheese!"
"It comes with cornbread!", he said.
"That's fine," she said, nervously.
He glanced at her a few times as he fixed her plate. "No yogurt today, Dr. Scully?"
"I'm trying to live a little," she said, taking it from him. She thanked him and then grabbed a diet soda and paid for her meal.
She walked over to her favorite spot, it was further in the back, a single table far from prying eyes so she could have some peace. She wasn't a complete recluse. She did socialize on occasion but she felt more comfortable in her own space. She sat down and pulled out her next file for the next patient for the third operation of the day. She began eating her food and was grateful for once that she had something other than a salad. She was caught off guard when a tray appeared in front of her with a male hand attached.
She glanced up and closed her eyes briefly and then turned around to see who all in the cafeteria was staring in her direction. She could see that she and Ethan were on display. "What in god's name are you doing, Ethan?", she said, quietly.
She was grateful that her every word could not be heard but she was sure that the gossip mill was on full swing.
"The last thing I need is to have a scandal with my name attached run rampant through this hospital. I have a reputation to uphold!", she said, glaringly. "What the hell do you think you're doing lately? This morning with the patient! And then watching me in the observation bay. Answer me! What are you doing?"
Ethan plopped down in the seat across from her and then sighed. "I'm trying to figure that out myself," he said. "Look, I'm not stalking you...it's just that when I saw you the other day...alot of feelings came rushing back to the surface. Feelings that I never let go of."
Scully shook her head. This was like a nightmare for her.
"I love my wife," he said, throwing up his hands. "I love her, But, I finally realized, and I know you probably think this is crazy that I'm just realizing this but, it's because she looks similar to you. That's why I fell in love with her. She reminds me of you. Like the Dana that I knew years ago. And then after three kids, things kind of died down for us. It's not exciting anymore."
Scully looked into the dark eyes of her ex and saw the graying of hairs around his temples and she felt sorry for him for a split second but then she grew increasingly uncomfortable.
"I see the new Dana and your exciting and thrilling and I have a lot of regrets," he said, staring down at his plate. "I'm very confused on how I feel...seeing you again after all these years."
She sighed loudly. "Ethan, you are a married man and you're wife deserves love and respect for who she is. I can't solve the problems with you and your wife. You don't know me, Ethan. And truthfully, you didn't know me even then!"
He frowned as he stared at her but she continued. "You are crossing the line professionally and personally!", she said, rising up.
"What about your lunch?", he said. "You can't sit with me as a friend?"
She looked down at her plate and tray. "I'm no longer hungry." She grabbed up her files and her tray and walked off.
Scully checked the observation bays for her next two surgeries and was grateful that he wasn't present. After her surgeries were done, she left the hospital with a few of her colleagues on the rare occasion that she socialized. There was one particular restaurant across the street from Our Lady that was frequented by all the hospital staff and that was where her colleagues had chosen to eat. It was packed full at this time of night, after all, there was a mandatory staff and faculty meeting for all non-essentials with Father Ybarra that took place once a year in the auditorium.
She bowed her head and made the sign of the cross before she began eating her meal as did her colleagues. Our Lady was a private Catholic hospital and being a devoted Catholic was a requirement for employment, and so praying over there food for nearly all of them had been ingrained in them from birth. She smiled at her fellow doctors before digging into her turkey burger with seasoned sweet potato fries and broccoli slaw.
"So, Dr. Scully," Doctor Edwards said, glancing around the table before his eyes settled back on her. "There's word that there's problems arising and your name keeps being mentioned."
Scully's eyebrow raised. "In what way?"
He leaned in closer to her ear. "The new Director of my department," he whispered. "He has only been here two days and hasn't gotten anything done."
Scully looked around the table at the two other doctor's who were both nodding in agreement. She looked back at Doctor Edwards and he continued. "The kids Parent's, many of the Staff, the nurses, a lot of us doctor's are all pissed!", he said, looking at Scully.
"I've heard about it in my department," Doctor Ellen Leahy said.
Doctor Holstein cleared his throat. "No program budgets are being approved, no equipment has been ordered. It's like no one is at the helm!", he complained.
They were all staring at her. "But, what do I have to do with all this?", she asked.
They looked at each other and then at her. "He seems to be neglecting his duties and focusing his attention...on you."
"There's been some low level rumblings, nothing to take to the higher up's yet," Doctor Edwards said, "But Minette has told more than a few people that you were past friends, but he's neglecting his new responsibilities and turning up in places he isn't supposed to be just because..."
"I'm there," she sighed. "We were friends in the past," she said, looking at them. "But his mistakes are solely his," she said, looking them directly in the eyes. "Believe me any attention that he is paying me is absolutely unwarranted."
They nodded their understanding. "That's why we thought we'd come to you and let you know before you hear it from someone else."
"I appreciate it," she attempted a smile.
Just then her phone rang. "Scully," she answered.
"Hey, Scully," Mulder's melodic voice rang out.
"Hi, honey," she said on purpose. "Where are you and Will?"
"We're about two hours outside of town, so we stopped for pizza. We might have a night investigation, but I'll let you know."
"Do you want me to go home or stay here?", she said, sitting up.
"When we see a few more signs that'll give us an idea if we should stay or not. We're trying to listen to some daytime EVP recordings and Roy has been scanning the videos we recorded so I'll call you."
"Remember I have my mandatory meeting."
"I didn't forget," Mulder said, handing the phone over to William.
"Hi, mom."
She smiled wider. "Hi, sweetie."
"Mom," Williams voice became tense and she could hear the difference in his tone. "Mom, whose Father Ybarra?"
"He's my boss," she said, alarmed.
"Someone's gonna want to talk to you before it gets to him. Some of the priests are gonna want to talk to you mom."
"Thanks, William," she said, turning away from the others. "Thanks for looking out for me."
"Always," he sighed. "We'll call you later."
"Alright."
William handed the phone back to Mulder. "What was that about?", he asked. alarmed.
"I'll tell you later," she said. "I'm eating dinner with colleagues."
"Alright," Mulder said. "Love you. We'll call you later."
"Love you too. Be careful."
She heard the phone click and then she slid her phone back into her white coat jacket. "Sorry about that."
"No problem," Doctor Edwards said. "We all do it. It's the nature of being doctor's and having a family."
She smiled but said no more. She instead turned back to her turkey burger and fries and nibbled on the lukewarm food as her mind exploded inwardly. Williams words were haunting her.
After dinner, Scully and about a hundred or more other staff and worker's walked across the street to Our Lady, leaving from various restaurant's surrounding it to attend the mandatory meeting for all non-essentials. She followed behind Doctor Ellen Leahy into the auditorium and was walking down the sloped walkway when three priests started to approach her. "Fathers," she said, in greeting.
"Doctor Scully, may we speak to you?"
She turned and walked back the way she came, past those who were taller than her, pushing against her as they came in, blocking her way. She navigated through the crowd and walked down the hall further away from the auditorium. She crossed her arms in front of her defensively. "Can I help you?"
Father O'Conner looked uncomfortable as they stood in a semi-circle around her. "Doctor Scully, we're concerned, not about your work, which as usual is exemplary, but about your association with a new Director that we hired."
"Director Ethan Minette," she said.
"Yes," a tall Priest spoke.
"We are concerned because his work has seemed to be suffering and yet we chose him carefully," another Priests added.
"He beat out hundreds of candidates and we felt that he was the best for the job. And then he gets here and then..."
"We're concerned about the rumors and the reports we're receiving from staff." Father O'Conner said. "We're concerned with Director Minette's work performance and his preoccupation with you."
She glanced down and then looked back up into each man's eyes directly and fiercely. "You need to speak to him about that! Why are you coming to me?"
"We're concerned, Doctor Scully, because this IS a Catholic hospital and we are very strict when it comes to the relationships between our employees especially married employees though we are certainly NOT accusing you of any wrong doing, Doctor. Our concern is the Director's intentions."
Scully's neck was red and her eyes were ablaze. "I'm not aware of his intentions."
"We understand," one of the men said. "What we needed to ask, Doctor Scully, and understand that in a normal hospital, this may be inappropriate for us to ask, but this is a Catholic hospital, Doctor, and we answer to the Church."
She raised an eyebrow. "I understand."
"Doctor, what is your relationship with Director Ethan Minette?"
She looked at all three of them. "Ethan and I were engaged years before I met my husband. I haven't seen him in over twenty years. The Family Appreciation Day dinner was the first time since then and he approached my family and introduced us to his family."
"Are you concerned about his behavior towards you?", Father O'Conner asked.
She scrunched her face. "I'm not afraid for my safety if that's what you're asking me. I am a Former FBI Agent, if you can recall. I can handle it. But, I am concerned that this situation could become a distraction."
"Well," Father O'Conner smiled. "It's certainly good to know that you can take care of yourself but we'd prefer to handle it within the confines of the board."
"What will you do?"
"Well, he is on a thirty day probationary period. All hires are regardless of who they are. We would prefer not to have to take this to Father Ybarra. So, he'll receive a warning. We have strict Catholic codes of behavior that every employee signs upon hire that we expect all hires to abide by. And if they violate those codes of behavior than it's grounds for termination. We answer to the Church."
Scully nodded her head as she stood in front of them. She was a Roman Catholic and though she didn't agree with her faith on every issue she understood it. The priest shook Scully's hand and she walked back into the auditorium. She searched for Doctor Ellen Leahy but couldn't find her amongst the mass of people. She found a row of empty seats in the back and sat down alone. She glanced up just as Father Ybarra walked past her, his eyes burrowing into her as he continued towards the stage. She scanned around her trying to make sure she didn't have any surprises. She was grateful when she didn't see anyone.
He could see her clearly and it was obvious that she was unaware that he was watching her. He was battling with himself. He was not a madman. He would never harm her. She was once his and he had loved her deeply and had never gotten over her. He couldn't possibly work with her everyday and not have those same feelings resurface. She was gorgeous, small and delicate yet tougher than he remembered, with deep sea eyes that sucked him in like a black hole. Her red hair was now longer than he had remembered. It looked soft and he wanted to run his fingers through it. He remembered the way she looked up at in him when they were in bed together. Those moments were branded in his brain. She had branded him permanently. 'How could you ever get over Dana Scully?', he thought to himself. His intention wasn't to stalk or be a nuisance, in his thinking, it was more like he just wanted to be around her. He wanted to get to know her again. It couldn't be strange to want to be around someone that had once been his. Right? They were friends, just friends but he could get his fill, couldn't he?
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