TITLE: Conhouse - Chapter Sixteen e-mail Address: ErinStone1@aol.com RATING: anywhere from PG to NC-17 - it's a crap shoot CATEGORY: Scully/Slash SPOILERS: None Keywords: Scully Slash/Other Romance Archiving: You bet - just let me know where. Disclaimer: Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 own them ALL, ***except Lena Conhouse, she's mine, and of course, Wanda, who is mine in the literal sense.*** Comments are welcomed. Please send them to ErinStone1@AOL.com Mulder drove his car and Scully followed with Lena in hers. The women sat in silence while she drove. Lena spoke finally. "You're like Sabrina." Scully looked at her, trademark brow raised. "Beg pardon?" "You know, the smart one." Scully smiled slightly, "From Charlie's Angels?" "Right. You keep Mulder and I from skittering off like two bimbos in heels." Scully didn't look at her as she responded, "Someone has to, it scares me when I think about how alike you two are." She paused for a second, "Except, of course, Mulder is from =around here=." Lena winced. Silence again. Scully turned to Lena, opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and turned her attention back to the road. Her mouth opened again, "You lied to me." Lena closed her eyes. "No one is free from sin Ms. Scully, not even those put here to guard against it's worst forms." "I don't give a shit that you sinned," she stared at her intently, "I'm pissed because you lied =to me=." Dana pointed at her chest. "I'm sorry Dana. I'm ashamed and I'm sorry. I really believed that I couldn't tell you. You would have thought I was crazy. I tried to tell you the truth in small doses." "So were you ever going to dose out the last part?" Scully jaw tensed. "I guess I was playing by ear. I really did think you'd think I was crazy." Scully considered that for a second. Lena was right, she would have thought she was crazy. "You're right. I would have, I'll give you that much." Dana drove in silence. Lena held out her hand and after a second, Dana grasped it. The redhead eyed her, "Is there anything else I should know?" "You mean about me?" "Yes. About you." "Well..." Dana looked at her cautiously, "Well what?" "I have every piece of music ever recorded by Anne Murray." Lena shrugged. Dana regarded her seriously. "Snowbird?" "Yep, 'You Needed Me', 'A Little Good News', 'Walk Right Back'... I've got all of them." Lena leaned over and placed her head on Dana's shoulder. Dana smiled slightly, using just the corners of her mouth. She brought Lena's hand up to her lips and softly kissed it. "You're a piece of work." Lena let out a long held relieved sigh. "Thank you." Dana rubbed her cheek on Lena's forehead, "Are we gonna find Ruthie?" "Not sure· yet." Scully realized the Mulder's car had slowed. They had turned into what she would consider a 'fringe' neighborhood. Some of the small houses looked well kept, some, condemned. "I think we're here." Dana sat up in the driver's seat and took Mulder's lead, turning off her lights. They rolled slowly to a stop behind Mulder and she turned off the ignition. Scully met Mulder between the two cars, Lena on her heels. "Which one is it?" She looked around. "That one, there. No lights on." Mulder pointed to one of the less well kept houses, a small cape cod. "How do you want to do this?" Scully felt adrenaline rush through her for the upteenth time that night. "I think we should have Lena go to the front door and knock. You go to the west side of the house and start looking through windows, I'll take the east side." She was confused, "Why knock?" "We need to get the guy isolated Scully, we need to know where he is, and above all, we need to get him =away= from Ruthie, assuming she's in there with him." "She is." Lena said, raising the hair on both the agents necks. "Is he with her?" Mulder leaned down, looking at Lena intently. "Yes, basement I think, we've got to move now." "Scully, here, call for backup." He handed his phone to her and she dialed 911 quickly, giving the information to the DC PD and telling them to contact the Georgetown police as well. "They're sending over all available units in the area, lights off, no sirens." "Good. Lena, position yourself at the front door. Let Scully and I get out of view and then knock, make it loud." "And what if he comes to the door?" Lena looked frightened. "Your car broke down, you need to use his phone." "Ok." Scully stared at her, she leaned toward her, whispering, "Are you sure you want to do this?" "No options." Lena shrugged slightly. "Is now a good time to mention that bullets do the same thing to me as they would to anyone else?" Scully looked at Mulder, "Maybe we should wait for backup." "No time." The whispered response came from Lena as she was making her way across the street toward the house. Mulder and Scully trotted after her. Lena stood at the front door, in the dark, working up her courage. She could sense Ruthie inside, the girl was cold, cement· there seemed to be cement. She was crying, although intense dehydration in the 4 year old made them dry tears. Lena tipped her head back and made a silent statement, 'courage, bravery· now would be a good time for a transfusion my friend'. And then it was there, the feeling of floating, being filled. She mouthed the words 'thank you' and balled up her fist, using the back of it to pound almost violently on the door. Both Mulder and Scully heard the banging. Scully saw a flash through the dimness inside the house. He was coming to the door. Her heart hammered in her chest. Mulder had made his way to the back of the house, to the back door. It was locked. He pulled his b&e lock tool out of the large inside pocket of his coat and started in at it. The door handle lock clicked opened easily, but the dead bolt was going to take him some time· Scully made her way along the outside wall at the west of the house so she could listen to the exchange between Lena and the perp. She heard Lena's voice first. "Hi, I know it's late and I'm so sorry to bother you, but my car just pissed out on me and I'm wondering if I can borrow your phone?" Nothing. Scully's heart started a slow sink. "Sir? Your phone?" There was a loud scuffling and Scully heard the front door slam violently. She ran around the corner· 'let her be there· please· let her be there· Lena was gone. "Fuck!" Scully ran to the door, quietly making her way up the steps and checked the handle. Locked. Shit. She made her way, crouching under the windows, back to the door Mulder was working on. "He took her." "Shit! Scully, help me with this." He had the lock tool in one hand and a small screwdriver in the other. "Shoot it off Mulder!" Scully whispered intensely. "We can't do that, we don't want him to know we're out here! If he hears us shoot the lock he may kill both of them." Lena was thrown to the floor of the basement beside Ruthie. She looked at the small girl for a second, taking a mental inventory of her cuts and bruises, and determined that she was at least physically all right. "You are one stupid bitch." Cook said, jeering at her. "I mean for christ's sake, I probably have the only house on this block without one fuckin' light on, and you come here for help? Dumb ass." "Well, now that you put it that way·" Lena shrugged. She wasn't frightened anymore, now just mildly irritated. Cook was surprised by her response. He walked to her and punched her in the face without ceremony. Lena's head snapped sideways and she let out a yelp, shocked and in pain, stars burst behind her eyes. Cook stood, rubbing his hand. He was a squatty little troll, balding, chubby. Kind of a Captain Kangaroo lookin' guy, Lena thought crazily as she rubbed her cheek where he had bashed her. "Who are you with? Am I fuckin' surrounded or what?" Cook yelled at her. He looked like he was coming in for another punch. Lena put her hands up, "Not the face Captain, for god's sake, I've got a small fortune in dental work here." He was incensed. A large foot crashed into Lena's stomach and she was suddenly grateful that she hadn't eaten since noon. The pain was excruciating, but she knew that if she kept him distracted long enough Mulder and Scully could get in unnoticed and take him down. "I'll ask you again." Lena tried in vain to get a breath, "I'm alone, all right? I'm alone. I was working on a hunch·" He reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her badge. "FBI," he threw it back at her, "whoopty shit." She rolled to a sitting position, holding her stomach where he had kicked her. She looked up at him, then over to Ruthie who was now pasted against the wall, trying to appear smaller than her tiny frame. "Well, looks like you should have called for backup." He smiled at her. "What? You surprised that I believe you? Well I do. I think I'd have a gun up my ass by now if you'd been smart enough to call for help. Dumb ass." "Don't call me that." She had to keep his focus on her and not Ruthie. "Dick weed." He laughed, crossing the room again, and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head back. "Well, you just keep showin' me it's true now don't you?" His hot breath smelled of dead things. "Where would you like you're next bruise?" She could feel her scalp ripping free of her cranium. She said flatly, "Surprise me", enjoying the look of sheer confusion on his face. He head butted her instantly and she fell to the floor lifelessly, nearly knocked out. The ripped skin across her forehead sent ringlets of blood onto the floor. "Surprise." He mumbled, walking away toward Ruthie. Lena could see him grab the girl by her upper arms and pull her into a standing position. She was shaking violently in his grasp but her small face seemed not to register anything. She was beyond emotion, apparently, and the fact scared Lena to death. Lena bent her arms, trying to gain purchase on the concrete floor and lift herself up. She felt Scully, suddenly, talking to her. She looked toward the door at the top of the steps but didn't see her there, and she realized that Scully's voice was coming from inside her, 'we're in, hang on baby, we're in." "Thank god." Lena whispered, and let herself slump back to the floor. Her eyes slid shut and she lost consciousness. Mulder put his palm on the basement door handle, testing it, he turned to Scully and mouthed the word, 'unlocked'. Slowly· slowly· he turned the knob in his hand and pulled the door back, peeking down the stairwell. He could see Lena sprawled on the floor, blood seeping from her forehead. He watched her for a long moment, and closed his eyes in relief after seeing her chest rise and fall in rhythm. He turned to Scully, "She's alive. On my count." And he tipped his head toward the basement. She nodded, holding her breath. On three he burst down the steps, taking all of them in nearly one leap, and trained his gun on Cook, "STEP AWAY FROM THE GIRL!" Cooked turned from Ruthie, a look of defeat and disgust on his face. Mulder approached him carefully, turning him to face the wall and cuffing him. He turned and called up the steps, "WE GOT HIM." Three uniforms that Scully recognized as Georgetown cops came down the steps to take Cook. One of them read him his rights as they pulled him up the steps. Mulder had Ruthie in his arms as he crouched beside Scully and Lena. Scully had Lena's head in her lap, trying to rouse her. "Lena· Lena." Lena's eye opened, the other tried, but was swelled shut from the punch. She didn't say anything. She raised her hand toward Ruthie and the girl just looked at it unresponsively. Lena let her good eye go to Mulder, "lay her on me." The words were slurred some, her mouth was bruised. Mulder looked at Scully briefly, and seeing no objections in her eyes he carefully placed the 4 year old on top of Lena. The little girl stiffened at being let go, her eyes sparked with alarm and she hung onto Mulder's shirt, pulling him to her as he tried to pull away. Ruthie then seemed to have heard something familiar and her face suddenly turned to Lena's. She stared at the bruises and touched her fingers to the cut on Lena's bloody forehead. Quietly, she relaxed, laying down across Lena, her small head resting under Lena's chin. She appeared to have fallen asleep. Lena's looked again at Mulder, "You can take her now." He reached for the sleeping girl, picked her up and handed her to a policeman who stood nearby, waiting. The girl was taken upstairs to a waiting ambulance. Scully whispered to Lena, "We need to move you, get you some medical attention." She was sick with worry. The injuries that were apparent were severe and the ones that weren't apparent scared Scully to death. "No hospital." Lena said, trying to sit up. Mulder instinctively grabbed for her arm, helping her. Scully grabbed at the other. They had her standing. "You have to, you could have broken bones Lena." The injured woman shook her head, "No breaks, just bruises." She seemed to be standing more on her own. "No hospital Scully. My work-ups would draw attention." Scully looked at her in realization. "Oh." She looked at Mulder and he narrowed his eyes. She knew an explanation would have to be given to him sooner or later. She picked later. "Come on Mulder, let's get her back to my apartment." He opened his mouth to demand and explanation and got an icy look from Scully. Scolded, he just said, "ok". End - Chapter 16