This one is a lot longer! I'm sorry for another long wait! Thank you to so kiss me goodbye for the little nudge!
Mulder stood outside Scully's hotel room knocking on the door. After a second attempt he finally heard rustling noises from within. "Good morning, Scully!" he called to her.
She opened the door and with half opened eyes asked, "What day is it?"
"Friday," he replied. Mulder took a long look at his partner. She was dressed in pink satin pajamas and her hair was a total mess! "What time did you get in last night?"
"Um, I think it was 11:30." She opened the door all the way inviting him in. Finally Scully noticed Mulder had his hands full.
"Breakfast?"
"You are a godsend!" She took a container of mixed fruit and yogurt from him and sat down at the small table covered in papers.
Mulder soon followed and examined the table. "What time did you go to bed?"
"I don't remember." She yawned. "I spent a long time at the coroner's office looking for our victim. Seems he had been misplaced. We finally found him in cold storage. Apparently we overlooked him once or twice. Poor kid. The autopsy took hours to complete. Let me finish breakfast and get dressed. Then I'll give you my preliminary findings. We should get the rest from the lab by the end of the day."
They finished their meal and Mulder left to let her get ready. It took her longer than he expected for her to knock on his door. She must have taken an extra long shower, he guessed. It didn't matter to him, though. Messy, or put together, she was still beautiful to him. It was only 9:30, but the late start might go noticed by the conventional group they dealt with yesterday.
"I'm sorry it took me so long. I didn't realize what time it was." Scully sat down at Mulder's table and laid her files on it. "So, the obvious cause of death was suffocation. He must have used a pillow again, because there are no outward signs of strangulation or anything else. No fibers this time, though. When I examined the exterior I noticed he actually had more signs of trauma than the other victims had."
"Makes me wonder if this one fought back."
"That was my guess, too. But, not all his injuries were fresh. He was abducted on Saturday night, but his oldest bruise appears to have happened later on Sunday."
"Where is that bruise?" Mulder asked.
"His left thigh. None of the other victims had wounds like this. The suspect must have beat him with some kind of stick. It didn't break his leg, but the bruise is the size of an orange. It has significant signs of healing."
"That is strange. The other victims' bruises were localized around their wrists and ankles."
"He had those too," she said. "And, they were consistent with the other victims. His other signs of trauma included smaller, newer bruises on his back, and even his head. I had to use a UV camera to see that one. He must have hit his head during a fight. He had no stomach contents, either. That is new, as well."
"I bet he was refusing to eat. The other victims had no signs of neglect like that. Is there anything else that's different?" he inquired.
"Not that we can tell at this point."
"What about the cuts? Anything tell us about what he's using?"
Scully sighed, "No, we may not figure it out until we catch him. The cuts are too inconsistent. I wouldn't put it past him to learn that it's more than one object."
"Ok," Mulder said. "Let's get this info to Agent Hughes' team and see where we can go from here."
Mulder and Scully drove over to the Wichita office in silence. Each of them thought of the latest evidence and what it might mean. As they walked into the conference room all eyes turned to them once again.
"We thought you'd be here sooner," Agent Hughes said. He was clearly agitated at their late arrival.
"We're sorry," Scully responded, "I got a late start."
"Well, I understand you have some new information from the autopsy."
"We do! Agent Mulder and I have gone over some of it already and have some ideas to present."
"Good, we could use something useful at this point." Agent Hughes gave the two visiting agents the floor. The team discussed the new evidence until it was past lunch time.
Dr. Scully was seeing signs of Agent Hughes' deteriorating condition and suggested they take a break. The rest of the team was happy she mentioned it, but Agent Hughes bolted out of the room as soon as it was agreed upon.
"I'd better go check on him. He looked pretty bad." Scully said to Mulder.
"Good idea, can I grab some lunch for you?"
"Sounds great, thanks!" Scully quickly followed Agent Hughes into his office. "Are you ok?"
He quickly turned in surprise at the voice behind him. He had already pulled his shirt tail up and was about to stick his syringe into his abdomen. "I didn't realize anybody was following me." He turned his back to her again and administered his insulin. When he turned again he fixed his shirt and disposed of the needle.
"Type 1?"
"Yeah, I was diagnosed at 6"
"Wow, that's early!"
"Both my parents have it, too."
"Do you need anything? Is your lunch nearby?" Scully scanned the room for a mini fridge.
"Actually, it's down the hall in the break room," he said as he sat down.
"I'll be right back." Scully didn't realize she had given a slight smile to the ailing agent, but he did.
She returned promptly and handed over his sandwich. "You don't seem to change your routine much, do you?"
"I like what I like, is all," he replied.
"Your color is coming back. You know, I bet you could get your own fridge in here. That way you'd be closer to your food. You could also store your insulin in it."
"Thanks, but a mini fridge doesn't make me look all that good. Some of the higher ups have them. I don't want my colleagues to think I'm all high and mighty. Besides, I don't keep that much insulin at work. Usually just enough for a week."
"What about taking more regular breaks? Is that a sign of weakness too? Just to let you know, everyone in that room was thinking the same thing already." Scully said.
Agent Hughes simply nodded and continued to eat his sandwich. "Thanks for checking up on me."
"It's nothing."
"No, really. I appreciate it."
"I'm just doing my job."
She turned to leave the room when he asked, "Since when does the FBI care about my health issues?"
"I am also a doctor. The FBI was career number 2."
He looked genuinely surprised. "I would never have known."
"How do you think you got that autopsy done so fast?"
"That was you?"
"No, I really used my feminine charm to get it done. Of course, I did it. Didn't Agent Mulder tell you?"
"He didn't say a word about it to me. Care to have a reassignment?"
At this, Scully released a giggle. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I like my position."
"Well, if you ever change your mind you are always welcome in Wichita."
"Thank you," Scully began to blush.
Agent Hughes stood and walked around his desk to Scully. "Would it be ok if I asked you to dinner tonight?"
This time it was Scully who was surprised. "Agent Hughes..."
"Please, call me Donnie."
At the sudden introduction to his first name Scully nearly vomited. Agent Hughes could see she was distressed and asked, "Agent Scully are you ok? Did I say something wrong?"
At that moment Mulder entered the room, "Scully! What happened?" He looked at Agent Hughes with a serious expression backoff! it said!
"I don't know, she just seemed to freak out suddenly."
"I'm ok." Though her words said one thing, her face said another, getmeoutofhere!
"I've got it from here, Agent Hughes." Without another word Mulder whisked his partner away. As soon as they got out of the hall Mulder asked, "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing, Mulder, I'm fine."
"Scully, tell me. I need to know how badly to kick his ass!"
Scully stopped walking. "Don't worry, he didn't do anything inappropriate."
Knowing he wouldn't get the truth out of her, he gently asked, "Are you ok?"
She simply nodded. She wanted Mulder to give her a hug. She thought that was a silly thought, but wanted it, nonetheless.
They began walking again, but more slowly. "Are you going to dinner with him?"
"Mulder! How did you...? Were you spying on me?" She was immediately angry with her partner, again.
"More like eavesdropping." Mulder lowered his head in guilt. "I walked up to the door just before he asked you. I didn't want to spoil the moment so I just waited. I guess that was a bad idea."
Scully's expression only softened slightly. She was still angry with her partner, but she was more upset about the leading agent's name.
"It's ok if you want to get out of here. I'll cover for you." He finally lifted his gaze to meet hers'. "I did get you some lunch. It's a nice big salad!" He was trying to raise her spirits in spite of everything.
His little puppy dog face made her relax some more. "That sounds nice, Mulder. I hope I can keep it down."
"It's in the conference room where you were seating." Mulder looked up and saw Agent Hughes coming down the hall. "Would you like me to explain things to Hughes?"
"No, I think I owe him an explanation. Thanks, Mulder."
Mulder walked away but looked over his shoulder just as Agent Hughes' countenance fell. Poorguy, Mulder thought. All because his parents named him Donnie.