From: Erinstone1@aol.com

Shrink - Chapter 16
ErinStone1@AOL.com
Rated: R
Spoilers: none
Category: Scully/Slash
Archive: Yes-please make me aware of any final posts to a site.
Feedback: Any/all is welcome
Disclaimer: Scully and Mulder are not mine. I make no profit from this story.

Summary:  Scully decides she needs to take responsibility for her unhappiness.





Scully very slowly pulled the headphones off her head and mumbled softly, "I 
need to make a call." She walked to her bag and pulled out her cell phone. 

Gail walked into her office area and opened her briefcase. She leafed through 
a handful of folders and pulled the one labeled 'Pickett, Robert' from the 
pile. She then came back toward Scully and sat heavily on the couch as she 
listened to her side of the phone conversation.

"He said he was close Detective. I think we ought to check all of the 
surrounding buildings again."

She looked toward Gail as she listened, then, "Yes, he must have followed me 
to my apartment last night. He said some things that make me certain he was 
watching me through my bedroom window."

In direct response to Scully's statement butterflies took flight in Gail's 
stomach. She couldn't think of a worse way to find out that Scully had 
dressed for her. It made her sick to think she'd put Scully in a position to 
be hunted as well. She opened Pelt's folder and read through her notes 
looking for anything she may have missed earlier.

She didn't hear the rest of the conversation and only noticed that Scully had 
hung up when she sat down next to her on the couch.

Gail didn't want to further embarrass her so she quickly directed the 
conversation. "This is Pelt's file. I think you should read it. Maybe I'm 
missing something."

Scully looked relieved as she took the folder, "Like what?"

"Anything. Something that could be used to defuse him."

"Tell me about him Gail. Can you?"

"Yeah. I don't give a shit about confidentiality in this case. He lost his 
patient rights when he went after Marlene."

Scully nodded. "What was he like when he first came in?"

Gail sat back and put her feet up on the coffee table. "He was charming, 
really charming. He seemed to be just a regular guy who was struggling with a 
little depression. He said that he thought his age had something to do with 
it. He told me his was closing in on 50. We talked about his family, none of 
which was probably true." Gail said as she rubbed her forehead. "We talked 
about his mother a lot. He said she was a teacher." Gail stared out at the 
greenhouse. "I never suspected that he may be schizophrenic. Not once."

"I talked to Detective Johns today. He filled me in on Pelt's past. Would you 
like to hear about it?"

Gail turned on the couch to face her. She pulled her knees up to her chin and 
nodded.

Scully took a deep breath, "He apparently did what he's done with you to 
three other psychologists. His assaults involved rape in every case except 
Marlene's."

Gail closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knees.

Scully ran a hand over Gail's hair, "You okay?"

"That's not what I wanted to hear."

"I'm sorry Gail."

Gail lifted her head. "This means that he's atypical."

Scully was confused. She thought Gail had been shaken on a personal level by 
the fact that Pelt was a rapist. That didn't seem to be the case. "What?"

"Atypical. He's not your garden variety schizophrenic."

"I'm not following·"

"Generally speaking, people with his type of mental illness don't commit sex 
crimes. The crimes they do commit are based in violence; as a reaction to a 
paranoid fantasy that they're being persecuted."

"I'm still·"

"I was wrong, he's not schizophrenic."

"Then what is he?"

"I think you'd call him criminally insane."

"And that means·"

"That he hurts people because he likes it."

"That's not good."

"No. Detective Johns should know about this."

Scully nodded and picked the cell phone up from the coffee table. She sat 
back and hit the 'redial' button.


-end-