Fletcher2: Rollercoaster 
By: Dana Starbuck
Feedback: dks_starbuck@yahoo.com
Disclaimers:  See Chapter 1
WARNING:  The next few chapters contain some violence and "ick".
THANKS:  Once again, big thanks to Athos, Selena & Rad (welcome back, Rad).
 Your help, feedback, patience and friendship is greatly appreciated.  I
can't do it without you.  And a special thanks to my cyberbro deejay. 
Words can't express my thanks and gratitude.

<<Chapter 25>>

ISU, Quantico
Tuesday, December 8th, 11:15 AM

Mulder poked his head in the lab, looking for Scully.  Elly spotted him and
waved him over.  <Another semi-legend, and he's good looking, too.>

"Agent Klingler, right?" he said.

"Elly," she said with a smile. "Everybody calls me Elly.  Are you looking
for Dana?"

"Yeah.  Is she around?"

"Through those doors and hang a left.  First 'cell' on the right."

"Thanks."

"Anytime," she said, adding a little oomph to the smile.

Mulder wasn't sure, but it almost seemed like Elly was flirting with him. 
He'd been spending so much time with Scully and Fletcher that he'd almost
forgotten what it was like to have a woman show an interest in him.  He
gave her one more glance before heading for Scully's office.  <Maybe later.
 After this case is over.  Maybe I'll ask her to lunch.  Can't hurt.>

"Hey, Scully," he said as knocked softly on the doorframe.

"Come on in, Mulder."

He stepped inside and nearly banged into her desk. <'Cell' is right. Makes
the basement seem like a two-room suite.>  "Love what you've done with the
place."

Scully snorted.  "You should have seen it before I renovated."

"I'll bet.  Did Bell Atlantic pull out the pay phone, or did you have to do
it yourself?"  Scully just gave him half a smile and took a sip of coffee. 
"Got a minute?"

"Sure," she said, pushing aside a pile of folders.

He closed the door behind him.  "Have you called Fletcher yet?"

"No.  I told Karrin I'd call at eleven-thirty."

"Tell her to keep Fletcher from watching the news or reading any
newspapers. I'd rather she find out from us that she's front-page news."

"Understood."  <If she hears about it on her own, she'll do something
stupid.  Like driving back to Jersey.>  "When are you planning on telling
her?"

"Tonight."

"That'll give her a little more time to recover, anyway," she agreed.
Scully sighed, then yawned.  

<She looks awful,> he thought.  <Coming home last night may have been good
for Fletcher, but I doubt it was good for Scully.  She doesn't look like
she slept at all.>  "I hope you're not planning on working late," he said,
concern in his voice.

"No, not unless something breaks with the case and Gabe asks me to stay."

"It's been awhile since you've had to be a doctor twenty four hours a day,"
he said with a wistful smile.

"Not since I shot you," she replied with a matching smile.

He reached for the door.  "I shouldn't be too late tonight.  Probably
around seven, seven-thirty."

"Not so loud," she said, smiling through her fatigue.  "You might start a
rumor."

"You think?" he cracked, smirking over his shoulder as he walked out.

Once he was gone, Scully picked up the phone and called Karrin.  It was
answered on the first ring.

"Karrin, it's Dana," she said, thinking how odd it sounded to hear her call
herself 'Dana' while at work, after years of saying 'Scully'.

"Hi, she's asleep."

"Has she been awake much?"

"Some.  I just came downstairs to start something for lunch."

"How is she?"

"She's okay.  Just a headache, which I've been treating with her pain meds.
 I'll tell you one thing; she must be feeling better.  She's one of the
worst patients I've ever had, and that includes the two year olds."

Scully laughed.  "You'll tell her I called?"

"Of course."

"Listen, you need to do something for us, and Marva has to do the same."

"What's that?"

"Don't let her watch any TV or read any newspapers."

"How come?"

"To make a long story short, Fletcher's in all the papers this morning, and
the case is making headlines in New York.  Mulder wants to talk to her
about it tonight."

"It won't be easy.  She keeps complaining about how bored she is.  Maybe I
should just overmedicate her – enough to keep her asleep, anyway."  Karrin
grinned, hoping that Scully knew she was kidding.

"Well, do your best," Scully replied, smiling.  "I know she can be
difficult."

"Maybe I can get her to watch a movie or something.  If I keep control of
the remote, and keep it on the movie channels or the sports channels, we
should be all set.  I really don't think she'll be able to stay awake for
very long anyway."

"Good.  She needs her rest."

"How 'bout you?  How are you doing?"

"Hanging in there.  As long as I keep going, I'll be okay.  Once I stop,
I'll drop."  Scully looked at her watch.  "What time is Marva due?"

"One-thirty.  That'll give me plenty of time to get to the hospital."

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

"You'd do the same for us, though I doubt we'd be getting shot."

"Hold that thought."  Scully yawned again.  "Tell Marva I'll call about
three."

"Will do."

"Thanks again, Karrin."

"That's what friends are for."



Fletcher's House
Tuesday, 1:30 PM

"How's our patient?" Marva asked, setting down an oversized tote bag on the
kitchen table.  She gave Karrin a quick peck on the cheek.

"Sleeping."

"How _is_ she - really?" Marva asked, her voice lower.

"Damn lucky to be alive.  From what Dana told me this morning, Fletcher
will have one heck of a scar.  As it is, her eye's swollen shut and she's
already got the makings of a pretty impressive black eye."  Karrin
stretched.  "Dana called a few hours ago.  She asked us to keep the TV off,
at least off the news channels, no matter what Fletcher says.  And
absolutely no work."

"Surely Fletcher won't try to work today."

"I already sent her back to bed once."

"You're kidding!"

"Nope.  I went downstairs to fix lunch and got on the phone with Dana. 
When I came back, Fletcher was in her office, firing up her PC.  I read her
the riot act and put her back to bed."

"She won't dare try that with me," Marva said sternly.  "I'll handcuff her
to the bed if she does."

"The idea is not to excite her, Marva," Karrin deadpanned.

"Don't make me tickle you."

Karrin held a hand to her head and mimed a swoon, earning a laugh. "She's
due for a pain pill at four.  Don't wake her up to give it to her.  She's
okay to sleep now.  We don't have to keep waking her up every two hours." 
She put her coat on.  "Oh, yeah, before I forget, Dana said she'd call
around three.  If Fletcher's up, you might want to have her talk to her."

"I will."  Marva placed her hands on Karrin's hips.  "What time will you be
home?"

"After midnight.  I got lucky.  Jamie McGurk switched shifts with me, so I
don't have to pull a twelve hour shift."

"Lucky you, lucky me," Marva replied, her voice husky. "I'll wait up for
you."

"Extra lucky me."  

After a lengthy kiss, Marva said goodbye to Karrin and headed upstairs to
Fletcher's room.  Fletcher was sound asleep, flat on her back.  Even with
Karrin's description of Fletcher's injuries, Marva was still shocked to see
how badly Fletcher looked.  <Glad I can't see the wound,> she thought,
sitting down on the rocking chair.  <I never was very good with the gory
parts of life.>



ISU, Forensics Lab
Tuesday, 2:55 PM

Scully closed her office door.  She slowly looked around the room at the
piles of folders that had begun to accumulate on her desk and shelves. 
Several autopsy X-rays were still hanging up, though she'd turned the exam
lights off.  <Maybe there was a reason that I never had my own desk when I
was working the X-Files with Mulder.  My space here is starting to look as
bad as his.>  She smiled as she picked up the phone and dialed Fletcher's
number. <At least I can listen to Classical while I work; Mulder and I
could never agree on music, either in the office or the car.  And I
definitely have to do some decorating.  No UFO posters, though.  Maybe a
print or two from the National...>

"Buchanan residence."

"Marva, it's me."

"Hey, kid."  <She sounds exhausted,> Marva thought.

"How's Fletcher?"

"A pain in the butt, which means she's much better."

"Is she awake?"

"Since about two o'clock."

"I'd love to talk to her."

"I bet you would," Marva said, smiling.  She handed the phone to Fletcher,
then left the room.

"Hey, Red," Fletcher said casually.  

Scully almost sighed out loud as she felt some of the tension in her body
ease.  <It's so good to hear her voice.>  "How do you feel?" 

"Are you asking me as a doctor or as my lover?"

"Both."

"I'm fine.  The headaches aren't as bad as they were this morning.  I don't
need to take the pain pills as often.  I don't like them anyway.  They mess
up my brain."

"I hope you're getting plenty of rest."

"Too much of it," Fletcher grumbled.  "It's all I've done.  I'm tired of
'resting'."

"You need to.  You know that.  It's the best thing for you."

"Yeah, yeah, right," she complained.

"Fletcher..."

"Scully, you and I both know the only way I'll get any real rest is if
you're here with me."

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Good."  Fletcher attempted a grin.  "What time are you coming home?"

<'Coming home.'  I like the sound of that.>  "I'm going to try to leave
around six."  There was a knock at her door.  "I've got to go. Someone's at
the door."

"Okay.  I'll see you tonight."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."



Fletcher's House
Tuesday, 6:30 PM

Scully trudged up the stairs after a quick check of the downstairs for
Marva and Fletcher.  Between her lack of sleep the night before and the
high-octane day she'd just gone through, she was worn down to the nub. 
<I'm so tired.  I just want to check on Fletcher, then get about twelve
hours of sleep.>

Fletcher was awake and sitting up in bed.  Marva was in the rocking chair
and they were watching a movie.  Fletcher spotted Scully and started to get
up.  Scully raised a hand.  "Don't get up."

"Then come over here," Fletcher replied, moving over on the bed.

Scully kicked off her shoes and sat down beside Fletcher.  "Hi, Marva," she
said, tucking her feet up and leaning against Fletcher's pillows.

<She looks wiped out,> Marva thought.  <Between no sleep and worrying about
Fletcher... the poor woman looks ready to drop.>  "Girlfriend, you are a
wreck.  Go change your clothes and I'll fix supper up for both of you."

"You don't have to do that, Marva."

"Sure, I do."  She smiled, getting up from the rocker.  "It's not every day
that I get a chance to play in Fletcher's kitchen by myself."

"Marva, if anything is out of place..." Fletcher warned.

"Relax, Fletcher.  I know my way around.  Besides, I'll probably just do
something simple, like grilled cheese and soup."

"Sounds wonderful," Scully sighed.  "Do I have time to take a quick bath?"

"Sure."



Tuesday, 7:30 PM

Marva took her time preparing dinner, wanting to give them some time alone.
 <Dinner, a hot bath, and a strong drink and Dana will be out like a
light.>  She heard the front door open and looked up to see Mulder.

"Fox Mulder, how are you?  Long time, no see." Marva said, hands on her
hips.

"What do you say, Marva," he said, dropping his briefcase and a stack of
newspapers on the kitchen table. 

"You hungry?"

"Always," he replied, draping his coat over a kitchen chair.

"Knew that was a rhetorical question.  I'm making some soup and sandwiches
for dinner.  Want some?"

"Sounds great, thanks."  He opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle
of beer.  "How's Fletcher feeling?"

"Better.  Very bored."  She pointed at the newspapers.  "Can I look?"

"Sure.  I've got to show them to Fletcher tonight."

Marva quickly scanned the articles, paying more attention to the photos. 
<God, how horrible.  I can't believe Fletcher survived it.  Poor Mulder. 
He was there; he saw all of that as it happened.>

"Has Dana seen these?"

"Just a glance during a meeting."

"Fletcher looks dead."

"I know," he said quietly, taking a long swallow.  "I thought she _was_
dead when I first got to her."

"I'm glad you were there, Mulder." 

Mulder's eyes opened wide.  He and Marva had always grated on each other's
nerves.  <It's not that we dislike each other.  It's more like we've
competed for Fletcher's time and attention, like we've been vying to see
who's the better friend.>

"I'm glad I was there.  If she'd... if she'd died, and no one was with
her... "

"But she didn't.  And that's what's important," Marva said, giving his arm
a quick squeeze as she returned to the stove.  "Do me a favor? Go see if
they're ready for dinner."

"Sure."

Mulder quickly trotted upstairs.  He hesitated in the doorway, not really
sure if he wanted to go into the room even though the door was wide open. 
Scully was lying on top of the covers, clad in her pajamas, Fletcher's robe
wrapped around her.  She was resting her head on Fletcher's chest, her hand
on Fletcher's stomach, Fletcher's arm around her shoulders.  Mulder had
seen them kiss before, had seen them hug before.  But there something about
this scene -- the way they were looking at each other, holding each other
-- that was far more intimate than anything he'd ever seen them do.

He tapped lightly on the door.  "Marva wants to know if you're ready to
eat, er, ready for dinner."

"Sure," Fletcher said, sitting up a little straighter.  "Why don't we all
have dinner up here?  I could use the company.  There're some TV trays in
the den. Just bring a couple up."

"Okay."  Mulder paused.  "After dinner, Fletcher, I need to talk to you."

"About the case?"

"Yes."

"Sure."

- - - - -

Once they'd eaten their supper, and after Marva left, Mulder returned to
Fletcher's bedroom, newspapers in hand.

"We having a current-events test tomorrow?" Fletcher asked.

"You might say that.  Your name's up in lights."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The story's out.  Everyone knows that Algernon is behind the shooting and
the killings.  It's out now that we're after a serial killer."

"Goddamnit," Fletcher swore.  Scully put her hand on Fletcher's arm to calm
her down.  Fletcher shrugged it off.  "Let me see."

She quickly read through each paper, ignoring the photographs that she was
in.  When she got to the Ledger, and its verbatim reprint of Algernon's
letters, she threw it across the room.  "What were those stupid bastards
thinking?!  He's gonna eat this up with a knife and fork!"

"We do have a lead," Mulder said, handing Fletcher a folder. "Forensics got
a hit on those samples from the second site."

"What?"  She turned to Scully.  "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"We only just discovered it yesterday afternoon.  And you really haven't
been in any kind of condition to discuss anything until now." <Maybe not
even now, but if we held this back from her any longer, she'd go rabid.>

Fletcher skimmed the folder's contents.  "So, Doctor Scully, explain this
all to me."

"Algernon has been spending considerable time in the sewers." Scully gave a
brief synopsis of Elly's findings from DCPW, as well as some of the
suppositions made at the meeting earlier in the day.

"Hmmmmm," Fletcher said, tapping her front teeth with a fingernail.  "Let
me think a minute.  Algernon – lab rat... sewers... rats are in sewers...
hmmmm... "  She closed her eyes and thought.  "His first or last name is
Charles," she said softly.  "Or possibly Cliff."

<I don't get it,> Scully thought.  <Where is she getting the name from? 
How can she know that?>

"You're thinking about the movie," Mulder said, rocking in the chair.

"Yup.  Cliff Robertson starred in the movie 'Charley'.  The book was
'Flowers for Algernon.'  Our Algernon is identifying with the book, but in
a warped sort of way that only makes sense to-"  She suddenly snapped her
head up.  "Mulder, do you remember the DPW truck that was parked when we
were in Blenheim?"

"Crocker and McHugh are already following it up.  They've got the task of
checking all the records with the county."

"Is there anything else, any other leads?"

"Nope."

"Nothing else from the labs," Scully added.  "They dug the bullet out of
the front door, but the best Ballistics can say is it was fired from a
high-powered hunting rifle, possibly a Remington bolt-action.  The shell
was too mashed up for any kind of solid match.  We're also double and
triple checking all the autopsy results.  You were right, by the way. Time
of death was after 2 AM."

"Had to be.  Okay, you guys want to get me healthy?  Keep me informed. I
want an update, at least twice a day.  And I want the paperwork every night
for my review."

Scully and Mulder both knew not to argue with her.  He nodded, stuffing the
folder back into his briefcase.

"Well, I'm going to watch a little TV and have another beer," Mulder said,
getting up and starting for the door.  "'night."

He closed the door behind him, certain that they wanted some privacy.

"Fletcher, you really need to take it easy," Scully said, getting up from
the bed and hanging up the robe on one of the bedposts.

"I feel fine.  I'm not even getting headaches anymore," Fletcher lied.

<Uh huh. Tell me another one.>  Scully got under the covers.  <I don't care
how tough you are, Fletcher.  You were _shot_.>  She reached up and turned
the light off, then turned to face Fletcher in the dark.  <I could sink
into this mattress and never come up for air.>

"You must be exhausted," Fletcher said, moving into Scully's arms.

"I'm very tired," Scully admitted, kissing the top of Fletcher's head. 
"I'm glad to be home and in bed."

"I'm glad you're home, too," Fletcher replied, snuggling up next to
Scully's breasts.  She slowly unbuttoned the top few buttons of Scully's
pajama top.

<I could – I _am_ going to fall asleep with her at my breast,> Scully
thought, drifting off to sleep.

-end-