Façade Chapter 4: Part IV, a x-files fanfic

A/N
Alas, it is the final end of Façade. Thank you to everyone who stayed with me and read my fics. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I had writing it, as I always say. And keep a look out for my upcoming fics!

Special Thanks to my beta and cousin, Jessica!

Façade
Part IV
Lady Sanna

7:16 AM

Mulder squeezed his eyes shut when bright sunlight shone through the sliding glass doors. Automatically, he rolled over on his side, letting the light warm his bare back, and wrapped himself around his other heat source, his partner. He smiled as he felt her bare skin against his and her scent wafting around him. It was nice to finally wake up to something.

Scully slightly shifted into a more comfortable position and fell back to sleep. She didn't want to work today. She didn't want to go through procedures and break her back trying to figure out mysteries. Most of all, she didn't want to see Jack. All she wanted was to stay in bed with Mulder and rest as if she were on vacation and not on the trail of some psychotic killer.

As Mulder also began to sleep, a loud knocking at the door immediately jerked him fully aware and awake. He looked towards the door then back at his sleeping partner and back at the door again. The person behind the door knocked loudly again and announced his business. Mulder groaned as he got out of bed.

"Just a minute," he called out.

He made his way into the bathroom, grabbed a large towel, and wrapped it around his lower half. Once done, he opened the door and found one of the chipper hotel workers with a large, manila envelope.

"Mr. Mulder? I'm sorry to disturb you, but I have an item that came in for Ms. Scully. She wasn't answering her door, and knowing that you two are well-acquainted with each other," at this the hotel worker looked towards the bed and Mulder cleared his throat, "I thought that you might be able to give this to her. It's urgent."

The worker handed him the envelope, bowed slightly, and left. Mulder read to see who it was from as he made his way back to where Scully was. Now awake, she sat up, drawing the sheets up to her chest.

"Mm, you know, Mulder, I was expecting breakfast in bed."

"Sorry, Scully, all they had was paper."

She gave him a tired smile and asked, "What is it?"

"It's for you. It just came this morning," he handed it over and sat on the edge of the bed next to her.

"This must be the medical records I had requested," she opened the envelope and pulled out the papers.

Her eyes started scanning the pages that were filled with Jack's records as well as records from his previous identities. She mumbled as she read on, brow furrowed, and all of her attention focused on finding anything that stood out. Finally, by the time she got to his second set of records, she found a few notes scribbled in by his doctor.

"Mulder, take a look at this. It says here that his doctor observed some behavioral abnormalities."

"Abnormalities?" Mulder questioned.

"He writes that the patient had some difficulty functioning and often seemed as if he was arguing with himself. Then he goes on with some other details about his troubles with simple thinking processes and here," she pointed, "he writes that he ordered a brain scan."

"And what did it come back with?"

Scully flipped the page and examined it. Her eyebrow raised. "Mulder, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

He took the scan from her hands. "Yeah, I've seen it before. Only I've never seen it to this extent," he peered at it closer. "I believe this means that Jack Nolan has a severe dissociative identity disorder."

"He has multiple personalities…?" she asked.

He nodded, "Which explains why I found him talking to himself in the mirror when I bumped into him at the café restroom."

"Wait, wait, you talked to him? How come you never told me?"

"I didn't get much out of him, so I didn't think that it was such a big deal until now."

Scully thought for a moment. "So, basically, we have a man with a split personality, or personalities, who murders the women that he loves. But for what, Mulder? Why? I mean, there isn't a definite pattern of what he looks for in a potential partner. "

"Well, I have a theory, but there are a few ends that are still loose," he replied.

"Then, I say we tie those ends and talk to someone who can give us some answers, his psychiatrist."

As soon as Scully finished her sentence, the phone rang and, getting a look from Mulder, she answered it.

"Hey, Alexandria, it's Jack," came the voice on the other line.

"Oh, hey, Jack. How are you?"

"Good, good. Hey, um, I was thinking of treating you to something special tonight. Are you free, because I know that you'll be leaving in two days and I want to make the most out of the time that we still have together."

"Yeah, I think I'm free tonight," Scully responded, trying to sound excited. "Where are we going?"

He chuckled, "It's a surprise! So, I guess I'll pick you up at about 8:30 tonight?"

"That's fine. See you then."

After she hung up, Mulder groaned, "Mr. I'd-like-to-spend-every-minute-with-you, I presume?"

DR. GIL STRASSER'S OFFICE
SAN DIEGO, CA
12:07 PM

"Thank you for making room in your busy schedule to see us, Dr. Strasser," Scully told him as she and Mulder sat down in the armchairs in front of the psychiatrist's large, oak desk.

Strasser folded his hands neatly and nodded. He was an older man, professional, and Mulder could've sworn that he was the spitting image of Sigmund Freud.

"No problem at all, Agents," he responded. "Now what can I do for you? I'm not under suspicion or something, am I?"

"Not at all. We were hoping that you could tell us a little bit about one of your patients, Jack Nolan," started Mulder.

The doctor leaned back in his chair at the sound of his name. "May I ask why?"

"Sir, to put it plainly, he's a serial killer that we've been trying to track down for some time now. Any information about his mental condition would be a great help to us," Scully said.

"Oh my, a serial killer? I knew that there was something deeply wrong with him, but a murderer?"

"What do you mean by that?" Scully inquired.

Strasser took in a deep breath, knowing that this could get him in trouble, but he needed to tell them. "Jack isn't a normal person. He's not like the many patients that come to me with simple, psychological problems. I can't say that I've never had one like him before, but," he paused, "he's definitely someone who needs advanced, professional help."

"Can you confirm to me and Agent Scully that Jack has severe DID?" Mulder asked.

"How did you know?"

"We have medical records from his previous doctor which also contained brain scans. Agent Mulder identified the condition, being that he himself studied psychology in college," Scully commented, "but can you tell us anything else that could've triggered this condition?"

He held up a finger, got up from his chair, opened a file cabinet, and took out a manila folder. "This is everything that I have observed and found," he walked back to his chair and handed Scully the file. "I won't bore you with the whole story, but basically, Jack had a very troubled past. He says that he was brutally abused by his parents and was abandoned in an unfamiliar park at the age of eight, leaving to fend for himself. By some miracle, he was saved when a social worker happened upon him.

Throughout his earlier years, he was transferred from foster home to foster home, bad luck following him everywhere. Anyway, I believe that the beatings and abuse from his biological parents still haunt him to this very day, causing DID."

"PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Mulder muttered.

"Right, Jack's PTSD lead to a more severe problem, but the mental level with which Jack is experiencing it is unknown to me."

"Has he told you personally or verbally that he acknowledges his disorder?" Scully questioned.

Strasser shook his head. "No, but I've been trying to get it out of him for a year. I've had no luck, unfortunately. Whenever I try to get more clues about his condition, he immediately gets up and leaves. Now, I know for a fact that he is aware of his split persona."

---

"I knew it!" His 'other' cried, "I knew it from the moment you met her!"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it again!" Jack shouted.

"She's a whore, Jack! Oh yeah, she played you good," he laughed.

"I said, shut up!" Jack buried his face in his hands.

"Ohh, I'm shaking in my little booties!" he mocked as he reached for a beer. "Well, what can I tell ya, Jack? I told you relationships are the worst way to go," he took a long swig of beer and belched.

Jack's face contorted in disgust. "What should I do? I asked her out tonight and I don't know how to confront her. I just can't go right out and say that I watched them have sex!"

"Wait, you're asking me?" His 'other' put on a large grin and propped his feet on top of the table. "This is a first."

"I'm desperate, Tom," Jack replied.

"Whoa, hold on there, who's Tom?"

"I gotta call you something, right?"

"Well I'll be. I finally get a name after all these years," he chuckled. "I was wondering when you were gonna get your head out of your ass."

Jack rolled his eyes. "So, how about it, Tom, what am I going to do?"

Tom leaned back in the lazy-boy chair, took another drink of his beer, and simply stated, "Do to her what you did to the others. It's as easy as that. And hey, I'll even take care of it for ya."

At first Jack thought it impossible to do something like that to Alexandria, but when he remembered that she had cheated on him, he considered. He never agreed to what Tom suggested, but somehow his 'other' always took complete control and did whatever he wanted. He wondered if he was slowly losing power over his own body, but didn't dwell on it too long, because for the first time in his life, he accepted Tom's proposal.

---

8:20 PM

Back at the hotel, Mulder and Scully started piecing their evidence together. They had spent most of the day talking and interviewing the people with whom Jack associated with regularly, excluding family. Getting a hold of his familial records took more than just their badges, so they threw that out the window and took on what they had. However, they did have some luck with his biological parents, but unfortunately, they both died a year earlier from driving under the influence.

And as Scully pulled on her little, black dress and applied her makeup for her 'special occasion', she couldn't stop thinking that she was going on a date with a confirmed psycho. It had been bad enough that the man was a murderer who could get away with anything. Sighing, she checked herself out in the mirror and walked into her partner's room.

She spotted him surrounded by files, a pen in hand, and by the look on his face, she could tell that he was so close to a definite answer, but not quite. As she sat across him, he looked up, and gave her a small smile.

"You look nice this evening," he complimented as he started rolling his pen between his fingertips. "How come you never dress this nicely for me?" he raised an accusing eyebrow and she gave him a small smile back, but it left just as quick as it came.

"What's wrong, Scully?"

"…You know, I can't wait until this whole thing is over," she said quietly, "I just feel so fake."

"Well, you are undercover."

"I know, but this whole façade… Well, I just hope I never have to do this again," she sighed.

Then, right on time, the horn of Jack's car could be heard from the parking lot. "Alexa!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Mulder turned back to Scully. "I believe your prince charming has arrived!" he joked.

---

8:43 PM

"I really appreciate you coming out here with me, Alexa," Jack told her as he drove down a winding road.

"No problem. I always enjoy your company," she replied, "but I'd really love to know where we're going."

Jack had blindfolded her after she got in the car to heighten the levels of surprise. "We're almost there, hang on." With that, his foot pressed on the gas, the car picking up more speed.

A few minutes later, Scully could feel the car slowing down, and finally, coming to a stop. Her heart was racing from being unaware of her surroundings, but she tried to appear as calm as possible. Then, she felt Jack help her out of the car, and started to lead her across from what she could sense, an open field. The grass swished beneath their shoes, and the cold, damp air surrounded them. There was only the sound of her and Jack, so she assumed that this was either a secluded place or someplace people don't usually visit.

Then, a few feet later, they stopped, he removed her blindfold, and when she finally knew where he took her, she clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle the scream that threatened to come out. Her eyes were wide and her heart was beating furiously. There before her, laid his four dead lovers on top of their graves, their bodies covered in deep lacerations.

"Oh my god," she breathed.

"I did this all for you," he smiled, wickedly.

"What is this? Why did you bring me here?"

"I wanted to show you the kind of man that I really am," he replied. "This was and is my life." He took her hand in his and kissed the top of it, but she quickly withdrew it from his grasp. "I wanted to make you mine, Alexandria. I am madly in love with you."

"So you show me this!" she started panicking.

"Well, at first, I was going to take you to the beach, but then I thought, 'Hm, I should take her to see something that's more meaningful to me. Besides, her other boyfriend might have already taken her to the beach!'"

Scully took a step back. "Other boyfriend? What other boyfriend?"

"Oh, like you don't know," he accused. "Yes, I saw you with another man! Do you know how hurt I was to find out that way? Do you know how ripped apart I felt?" he shouted at her, enraged like she had never seen before. "Well, Alexa, this is what happens when you cross the line!" he pointed at the four dead women. "This is what happens!"

Scully took another step back. "Jack, please calm down. I can explain everything. This has just been a whole misunderstanding," she pleaded, hoping to persuade him.

He advanced toward her. "Oh no, I'm going to end this before I end up even more broken!" Carefully, Jack reached into his inside, coat pocket and pulled out his knife… the murder weapon. "Goodbye, Alexandria."

Then, Jack lunged after her, but Scully jumped out of the way and ran as fast as she could to the parking lot. Her eyes searched frantically for anyone that could help her, even if it was dead at night, and ran towards his car. Scared out of her wits, she looked back and saw him coming close on her heels, glistening knife in hand. Then, as soon as she reached the car, she tried to open it, but it was futile. She immediately ran towards the large amount of foliage that she hoped would give her some cover.

'What am I going to do!' she screamed in her head.

---

Mulder flipped another page, wrote some notes, sat back in his chair, and let out a long sigh. More and more paperwork seemed as if that was all he did, but he had to figure out the missing pieces. It was all he needed. He rubbed his eyes then proceeded to resume his work.

All of a sudden, his phone rang loudly, and he jumped. Quickly, he answered it, hoping that it was Scully.

"Mulder."

"Agent Mulder? It's Agent Perry. Listen, you need to get to Agent Scully as soon as possible," his voice full of distress.

This got Mulder into action. "Why, what is it? What's going on?" he demanded as he quickly grabbed his gun and started for the parking garage.

"Agent Scully's tracker was showing that she was moving quickly, but I don't think she's in a car. We believe that she's being chased, and unfortunately, we lost the trace, but we're definite that she's still in the same area," he reported.

Mulder started his car, shifted into drive, and sped out of the parking garage. "Where was the last signal given?"

"The San Diego Cemetery," Perry replied. "I already gave out an alert to the other agents and they are on their way as well."

"Alright," Mulder ended the call, his heart racing, and sped northbound, hoping that he would get there before Jack got to her.

---

Scully spotted a row of large, thick bushes and jumped behind them. She laid down against the dirt and tried to still her breathing. She could hear Jack's heavy footsteps and his labored breathing as well and prayed that he wouldn't find her. Beneath the bushes, there was enough room to keep an eye on her pursuer.

He stopped and looked around, quietly listening for any tell-tale sounds that would give away her position. He was like a lone wolf, desperate for food. Even his eyes reflected it.

"Tom, maybe we should give up on her," Jack said.

"What! You want that whore to live? Do you remember what she did to you? She lied and cheated on you, that's what she did!" his 'other' spat.

"Please, I don't think this is a good idea anymore. I didn't know what I was thinking when I accepted."

"That's what you do wrong, Jack, you don't think."

"Well, I don't care anymore. I don't want things to end like this!" he cried. "Seeing those four women… I don't want a fifth."

Tom rolled his eyes. "You are such a wuss, I swear."

Scully watched and heard him argue with himself or, rather, his split persona. She had never seen anyone with this kind of condition, but what she saw, frightened her to the bones. Jack, her friend, was fighting for her and, from what she could hear, Tom wanted to kill her no matter what. Nothing was standing in his way.

Suddenly, she lost sight of them and couldn't hear anything but her own breathing. Frozen, she couldn't will herself to move. She wasn't sure where he was now, being that he could be anywhere. Then, slowly, she started to rise from her position. She tried to stay as low as possible and make absolutely no noise at all. Step by step, she inched her way out of the bushes, and by the time, she figured that it was safer, she bolted. She wasn't sure where, but she just needed to get out of there.

Running and running, it almost seemed endless, like she was caught in a never ending maze. Just when her hopes were high, seeing that no one was coming after her, she was grabbed from behind, and thrown carelessly to the ground as if she was some kind of rag doll. Scully screamed as Jack flung himself on top of her, pinning her to the ground, weapon in hand.

"Stupid, stupid woman," he snarled.

"Why are you doing this to Jack!" she cried. "Tell me!"

He slowed his breathing and looked at her with that crazed look in his eye. "My, my, maybe you are a smarter woman than I thought." He leaned closer to her, his face inches from hers. "Let me tell you something. Jack was a pathetic loser, a weak, pathetic loser. He could never hold out on his own, so that's why I'm here, but I proved to strong for him," he smiled and nodded. "That's right, it's my body now."

Scully's eyes widened in horror as he raised his weapon above his head. 'No, this can't be happening!' She was stuck. There was no one to help her and the FBI team probably had no idea where she was. This was the end.

"So long."

Then, as the weapon rapidly descended, a single gunshot was heard.

---

The dark blue ocean swayed, pulled back, and threw itself onto the edge of the beach, crashing into the sand and retracting, repeating this dance over and over again, never going any further, never reaching what it sought after. 'This was what it must've been like…'

Scully sighed as she stood on the shore and watched the ocean that she once knew as a young child. Every day, she would run down to the beach and make sand castles, waiting for her father to return home. And every day, she would watch the ocean and wonder. Even now as an adult, she could still feel that familiarity that she shared with these oceans. It comforted her. It was her place where time would stop and she could think. It freed her.

Just moments ago, she was facing death, but by a miracle, someone had saved her, the only person that could save her. It was Mulder that released that bullet and it was he that ran to her, taking her in his arms, shaking, and just holding her close, making sure that she was alive. She buried herself against him, feeling his warmth against her body, and closed her eyes to keep the tears from streaming down her face.

Once collected, Scully then removed herself from Mulder and walked quickly over to Jack. He was still alert, but he was losing blood fast. She dropped to her knees to aid him, but he stopped her.

"Please… don't," came his hoarse reply. "It's time that I take control."

"Jack," she breathed in disbelief.

"I never wanted to hurt you or anyone else. This is my repentance." He took a hold of her hand and squeezed it with what little strength he had. "Cherish what you have and love." His eyes then turned towards Mulder and finally, closed forever.

Thinking about it made Scully want to cry. Jack was a tortured soul, living in constant deprivation and in some way, she added to that. Her partner was right, maybe this wasn't a case for her, but she had made a choice and she learned from it. It was the only thing she could do.

In the distance, she heard footsteps walking towards her.

"There you are. I was looking all over for you," Mulder said, joining her.

She glanced up at her companion. "I just came here to think."

He only nodded in response and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"…Why?" she asked.

Mulder slightly shook his head. "Because all he wanted was to be loved for once."

Scully looked up at him.

"Think about it, he didn't have loving parents, he didn't have any friends, he didn't even have a place to call home. I think once he did find what he was looking for, he became insecure, paranoid, if you will, that he would lose it. It was then that his other personality was created."

"But how could it get that bad in which it took over his body?"

"He strengthened it by talking to it, spending time with it, wanting to build a companionship, but somewhere along the way, that companionship was turned upside-down. Then, I guess you could say, that there were two souls fighting for one body."

She closed her eyes and let out a slow breath as she recollected her thoughts. "…Jack said that he was going to take me to somewhere special, but I don't think it was to the cemetery."

"You don't?"

"No, he said something about the beach, but," she looked around, "I don't see anything out of the ordinary here."

"Well, maybe he just wanted to bring you to the ocean."

"Maybe," she shrugged slightly. "…You know, Mulder, we're very lucky."

"How's that?

"Well, first of all, we have what Jack never had; we have families, good friends, a job that we love…"

"And each other," he added.

Scully smiled, "Yes, and each other."

CASE CLOSED: JULY 27, 2006