"Place your right hand on the Bible, raise your left hand and repeat after me," the court usher said. "I swear that the evidence I am about to give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God." Scully obliged and the usher stepped away. The judge motioned for her to take a seat and then turned towards her.
"For the benefit of the court could you please state your full name and occupation?"
"My name is Dana Katherine Scully. I work as a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation." The judge nodded and glanced at the prosecution attorney, who stood and approached the witness stand.
"Agent Scully, how long have you been working for the Bureau?"
"Objection!" The defense attorney jumped from his seat. "What relevance is that?"
"I am merely trying to establish that Ms. Scully is a respectable citizen your honor." The judge nodded at the prosecution and then looked back toward the defense.
"Sustained. Answer the question Miss."
"Roughly eight years."
"And how did you become acquainted with the defendant?" Scully glanced over at Evan. He smiled at her and she shivered, switching her gaze to the attorney.
"My partner and I were drafted in on a case involving several attempted kidnapings around the same area."
"So when was the first time you met the accused?"
"The day we carried out an operation to catch the person behind these attempted kidnapings."
"And could you describe this meeting to us?"
Scully took a breath before starting to speak.
"He had grabbed a child, a little girl. He'd run with her into the woods and I'd given chase. He dropped the girl and I carried on after him. I lost him and was calling for backup when I'd heard a sound behind me. I turned round and saw…. the defendant. He was holding a rock. He.. he disarmed me but I fought back. The next thing I knew he knocked my legs out from under me and I landed hard on the floor, knocking the wind out of me. Then the accused hit me round the head with the rock and everything went black."
The attorney nodded and out of the corner of her eye Scully saw Evan lean over to his lawyer and whisper something in his ear. The man stood and proceeded to speak.
"My client would like the court to know that he had never intended to hurt Agent Scully."
"Then why did he hit her round the head with a rock?" The prosecution lawyer retorted.
"Where there any witnesses other than Agent Scully?"
"No, but I'd imagine that the scar on Agent Scully's forehead and her medical records will prove evidence enough. May I continue now counsel?" The other man withdrew and took his seat again.
"Now Agent Scully we've heard from the doctor that treated you after you were found. I would just like to take a moment to remind both the court and jury of her testimony." He pulled out a manila folder, which he opened and proceeded to read from. "Agent Scully's injuries consisted of two cracked lower ribs, severe concussion, a deep laceration to her left cheek, abrasions on both her wrists from being restrained with rope, serious dehydration and malnutrition, countless bruises and other minor lacerations as well as damage to the vaginal tissue and cervix consistent with forced sexual intercourse. In other words, rape."
Scully closed her eyes silently at that word. Rape. Images from her captivity danced against the blackness of her eyelids, as if they were movie reels being shown from some unseen projector. The sound of the attorney saying her name jolted her back to reality and she opened her eyes.
"I appreciate that this is difficult for you, but if it's possible I'd like you to describe to the court the events that lead up to the accused's assault on you."
"He had called my partner, Agent Mulder. From what I could hear he was taunting him. He said something into the phone and then backhanded me hard across the face."
"Do you know why he did this?" She shook her head before carrying on. "He spoke some more and then placed the receiver against my head, motioning for me to talk."
"If I may, what was that conversation between you and your partner about?"
"He was simply checking that I was ok. I said that I was."
"What happened then?"
"The defendant didn't like something I'd said to Agent Mulder so he ripped the phone away from me and hit me hard across the face with it. He then said something more to Agent Mulder before hanging up."
"He then began hitting me with the leg of a broken chair. After dropping his weapon he straddled me. He held his knife to my throat and threatened to kill me if I made any noise." Tears began to well up in Scully's eyes as she recalled her ordeal but she blinked them away. She didn't want to make the defense lawyer think she was playing for sympathy. "He then proceeded to rape me."
"Can you remember what you were thinking while this was happening?" She was beginning to struggle to keep her voice even, but she wouldn't allow herself to crack.
"I remember… wishing I could be any place other than there." A tear threatened to fall but she brushed it away with a simple motion of her hand.
The prosecution lawyer nodded slightly and smiled at her sympathetically before turning to the judge.
"No further questions, your Honor."
The defense lawyer took this as his cue to stand and he approached where Scully was sat. He lent cockily against the edge of the witness stand and smiled sickeningly at her. She wanted to vomit, but instead kept her stoic expression.
"So Agent Scully do you have a boyfriend?" The prosecution attorney jumped up before Scully could reply.
"Objection! Your Honor, what relevance has this got to the matter in hand?"
"I was merely trying to establish some more background on Agent Scully for the jury. Would you answer the question please Ms. Scully?"
"No. I'm single and have been for quite a while now."
"So there's nothing going on between you and your partner back there is there?" He jerked his head back at where Mulder was sitting, his jaw clenched with anger.
"No. We're partners and friends. Nothing more."
"I didn't think that was possible. A man and woman being 'just friends'."
"Well it is. I think you've watched 'When Harry Met Sally' too much Sir." This remark raised a few muffled laughs from the courtroom, Mulder included. The attorney smiled along with them.
"Tell me something Agent Scully. This whole traumatic ordeal you've supposedly been put through, yet you never seem to show any emotion. This is a courtroom, not a poker house." He laughed at his own joke and Scully felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Damned by her own mind if she cried, and damned by this tricky bastard if she didn't. She couldn't let all these people see her weak, see her vulnerable. She just couldn't allow herself to do it. The attorney's voice jolted her back to the present.
"I put it to you Ms. Scully, that this whole thing is a fabrication. That you weren't raped, or even assaulted by my client, that you faked those medical records, which would be easy to do given your medical background, and inflicted those injuries we see today on yourself, all which were part of an elaborate plot to send my client to jail for crimes he did not commit!"
"OBJECTION! On what evidence exactly are you basing this utterly preposterous theory of yours?" The prosecution attorney eyed the other man with a critical gaze.
"Her stoic appearance. Surely a rape victim would be more emotional than this!" The lawyer waved his arm, indicating towards Scully.
"Please may I remind you that you're not dealing with Joe Public here. You are dealing with an agent of the FBI, who has been trained to maintain stoicism and self control in all sorts of situations."
Before the defense attorney could reply, Scully cut in.
"If I could say something, please." She turned to the judge, who nodded for her to continue. "I work in a male dominated environment, where a woman has to work twice as hard to gain respect. If you show any vestige of emotion, show your colleagues and male counterparts that you're weak, you ultimately lose that respect and equality. I taught myself how not to show emotion, and eventually cut myself off; made myself appear aloof, icy. I learned that crying is a sign of weakness, and I would hate to been seen as weak by anyone. So excuse me for not conforming to the stereotypical rape victim, the crying, emotional nervous wreck, but that's just not me."
The court fell silent. Even the arrogant attorney was lost for words. After a few quiet moments he found his voice.
"No further questions your Honor," he said, a little embarrassed, and returned to his seat next to Evan.
"You may step down Ms. Scully," the judge turned to her and smiled gently. Scully rose and left the stand, exiting the courtroom swiftly. "We will return tomorrow at 1 pm for the closing statements. Court is adjourned." He brought his hammer down sharply before exiting the room himself.
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Told you this post would be longer lol. Enjoy and please post reviews because they make me happy!
Lily
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