Corrigenda (10/15)
by charvill

Email: charityharvill@yahoo.com 
Category: MSR, A, Post-IWTB

Summary:  Dana Scully was treating more patients than just
Christian during the winter of 2008.  This is the story about the
father of one of those patients who is awed by the miracles our
favorite former-forensics-dabbling-FBI-agent-turned-pediatric-
surgeon performs.  Drama ensues, of course :-)

Author's Note: Corrigenda is a Latin phrase meaning
"things to be corrected"
Archiving: Please ask permission. 


Patterson Residence
Wednesday, April 16, 2008

3:29pm 

Twelve hours before Mulder had sat in the same exact spot as
he was in now, just far enough away from the house to remain
inconspicuous if the man drove up. And fifteen minutes ago,
Mulder's nails had drawn blood in his palms, when the
"suspect" finally made an appearance. The voicemail Mulder
had received from Skinner that morning "confirming" that Scully
was safe became nothing more than a distant - though utterly
distasteful - memory.  

Tony had pulled up to the house - Mulder noticed he did not
park in the garage, just as he had supposed - and got out with
a small, dark haired boy who was approximately William's
age. *Oh God.* Mulder had known about the child, but seeing
him up close, knowing what kind of monster his father
was *Unless the child was part of the reason he took
Scully Was it watching the boy* - Jeffrey, he recalled from
the file - *get along so well with Scully, and her surely amazing
bedside manner, that won Tony over?*   

Tony was dressed in khakis and a short-sleeved polo, a
combination that Mulder assumed was his work uniform.
*Computech. Wonder what that gives him access to * 

There had been no apprehension in Tony's movements, but
Mulder kept waiting for the moment when cautious eyes would
turn his direction. *Bring it, motherfucker.* Mulder had glanced
down at the Sig in the seat beside him, but felt rather
disappointed when the man and his son casually strolled inside. 

Now, not even twenty minutes later, Mulder watched in shock
as Jeffrey sprinted from the house, his backpack banging
heavily against his back. He breathed a quick sigh of relief
when it was obvious there was no danger to Jeffrey as he was
pulling on the locked car door handle impatiently. Tony
sauntered out a few seconds later, laughing in a smug way that
made it hard for Mulder to stay put, and hit the keyfob button
to allow Jeffrey passage inside. 

Mulder couldn't believe his luck as Tony backed out of the
driveway and took off in the opposite direction, allowing
Mulder an easy way to follow without making the dreaded and
all too-conspicuous three-point turn. 

**** 

Scully scrubbed her face with her hands, feeling the hot water
run over and between her fingers, the near-scalding water
rinsing away the day's confusing feelings. It was the first time
she had been fully nude in the shower since she got here. But
Tony had told her he would be leaving at three to pick Jeffrey
up from school and she for once trusted him enough to believe
no one would be watching the monitors. 

She was shocked at how easily Tony had worn down her walls
of doubt and hatred towards him. Oh, she sure as hell knew
that he was messed up - most likely because of losing his wife
in such a tragic fashion - but was he truly dangerous? She was
more sure than ever that the answer to that question was "no".
Kidnapping was one thing. Assaulting was another. 

So Scully had come up with her own game plan: pretend to be
his friend by acting less defensive and more open. The first step
was to accept his invitation to leave the room. So she did her
laundry. What she didn't expect was the conversation that
ensued.  

It was amazingly easy to fall back into her role as an agent  
picking apart every move he made, trying to find motives and
explanations. So, as she sat there with him, listening, she began
a mental-list: 


    1. He still watches after his mother-in-law. He is
       caring.

    2. He seems to truly hold a lot of affection for his 
       son. Witnessed from the peace he gets when talking 
       about him and his time with him at the hospital.

    3. He is courteous and considerate. He goes out of
       his way not to look at me or make me feel awkward 
       when he enters and leaves the room. Also witnessed
       by the privacy he afforded me doing the laundry and 
       the ample amounts of non-drugged food he continues 
       to supply me with. 

    4. He is gentle. Even when he was coming after me
       when I tried to escape he did everything he could not 
       to hurt or harm me.

    5. He has little to no interest (as far as I know) in 
       other women. Proven by how much time he put into stalking 
       me and with holding me here. 

    6. He thinks I am the one who should be with him for the 
       rest of "my" life.

    7. He respects every wish of mine (BUT ONE: FREEDOM).

 

She shivered under the water, thinking back to the last
revelation she had discovered: the nightmares. It was strange to
her that she didn't remember them, though she could imagine
that being kidnapped again would have traumatized her mind
enough to produce them. But all that was beside the point:
Tony was coming into her room at night. While the idea was
disturbing, there was absolutely no indication that he was
covering or being deceptive in his explanation about why. And
he had done everything he could to keep her from being further
torment by bolting before Scully knew he was there. 

These thoughts had her so enraptured that it wasn't until her
chattering teeth caught her tongue in a painful clamp that she
realized how long she had been in there.  

***** 

Mulder parked his white Ford sedan in front of a house
conveniently located caddy corner from the large ranch that
Patterson somehow had access to. He immediately committed
the address of the home to memory so he could check it out as
soon as he got back. He reached into the glove compartment
for the binoculars he'd stashed there earlier and scooped up
five loose sunflower seeds from where the bag had spilled out
onto the passenger seat. Training the lenses on the silver car, he
watched as it rolled to a stop in front of a large two-story
dwelling that looked like something out of a classic movie. The
beautiful frame house was painted a cream with dark brown
trim. The wrap-around porch had a large stoop with two
chocolate pillars welcoming Tony and Jeffrey as they made
their way in with a key. 

*So this house either belongs to them, too, or Tony is involved
deeply enough with someone that they would trust him with a
key. Interesting.* While the two were shielded from Mulder's
eyes behind the walls of the house, Mulder used that time to
examine the rest of the property. There was a gate that he
could easily jump - no taller than the gate he and Scully had in
front of their own property - but he didn't want to risk getting
caught and having Skinner keeping an eye on him to keep him
from the property. Not to mention the restraining order that
would surely follow.  

But seeing this ranch was so much more than Mulder dared to
hope for, so the idea of blowing it by rash decisions was not an
option. As soon as Tony put the key in the door, Mulder knew:
Scully was here. He shifted his magnified gaze from the house
to the parts of the ranch that were obscured by large hickory
and cherry trees. Swinging the car door open, he crept out and
moved to get a better angle on the brush.  

There was some kind of tan colored building, like a shed or
something behind the trees about a hundred yards from the
back of the main house. Mulder darted across the street hoping
to get a less obstructed view. As he did Mulder heard a door
close and the sound of heavy footsteps on a wooden porch. He
shifted to see Tony walking quickly from the main house to the
building where Mulder was now positive Scully was being kept.
His heart began racing, sweat forming on his brow, wishing to
God that he had some kind of proof that Scully was okay. That
letting Tony go on living another second did not equate to
Scully being assaulted - *again! Again you idiot! Are you really
gonna let him hurt her again? Go after him!* - and that he
needed to stay put to gain more information and possibly have
something to present Skinner.  

If he hadn't been holding the binoculars, his fingernails would
surely have done further damage to his recently scabbed over
palms. Everything inside Mulder screamed, go, but he
remembered the last time he had done such a thing. And he
knew Scully was in no position to save his ass if he got into
trouble. The irony that swathed the fact that this was the very
first time that Mulder chose not to throw caution to the wind in
search of a truth that might save the only person who meant
anything and everything to him was infuriating. And, as he
watched Tony fumble with his key, he prayed to whatever
benevolent God there might be to watch over Scully. 

**** 

Tony closed the entry door behind him and relocked the double
deadbolt. He had not looked forward to seeing Dana this much
since back when she worked at the hospital. There was
something new about her. Not that she was back to normal, but
he had noticed how seeing the sun for the first time in so many
days had lifted her shoulders. His mind replayed the image of
her, the rays highlighting the blonde streaks in her mass of
copper waves - she had not taken the effort to straighten it in
the fashion he had always seen when was at the hospital - while
she seemed to absorb every particle of sunlight that enriched
the air around her, and it made his heart swell with hope. So
occupied by the vision in his mind's eye he didn't see the piece
of paper in the hallway before the sole of his loafer slipped on
it. Catching himself on the door frame of Dana's room, he
stooped down to pick up the folded sheet and opened it. 

"I know you only come to my room based on those scheduled
hours you told me about before, but I was wondering if that
could change. Can I come out again?" 

The joy he had felt after watching Dana eat now escalated into
what he could only describe as a high. He hastily pocketed the
note, pulled out his key (now kept with his others on his key
chain since the incidence where Dana had slipped it away from
him after rendering him unconscious) and knocked on the door
three times. 

"Dana?" he called noticing that the room was void of her
presence. It was then that he realized he had forgotten to wait
the usual time and knock again like the ritual he usually
performed. Her note had clearly thrown him. 

"One second," came a slightly panicked reply from the
bathroom.  

"No problem." Tony moved to sit on the chaise to wait, not
wanting to alarm her further. She must have written the note
much earlier, he surmised. 

When she finally emerged, a long three minutes later, his eyes
nearly shot out of his head, his gasp echoing off the walls before
he could stop it. Her hair was slightly damp, waves of crimson
falling over her shoulders leaving black drops on her fitted,
brown scoopneck shirt. His eyes fell over her curves down to
the khaki pedal pushers that left her pale feet obscenely
exposed, tiny coral painted toes teasing him where he now
shifted in his seat. 

"Sorry," she said in a voice was hard to hear over the din
caused by the roar of blood pounding in his head as it rushed in
time with his racing heart. "I lost track of time. I thought I would
be more presentable by the time you found my letter." 

*Presentable? You couldn't be more presentable if you had just
spent five hours in the salon,* he thought but was only able to
smile like an idiot, mumbling, "S'okay." 

"So," Scully said, pretending not to notice the effect she was
having on him, "do you think we could work something out?" 

*Get your mind out of the fucking gutter, Tony! This is what
you have been working for...don't blow it by being a pervert!*
"Yeah. Yes. Of course." *Stop grinning, moron!* "I
mean...well, what did you have in mind exactly?" 

Her brow furrowed. "I get to ask?" 

"Of course," he replied instantly. Tony felt the urge to pull her
into his lap and never let go. Deep breath, take it slow, one
step at a time. "You know what my qualifications are, right?" 

Her face remained expressionless as she nodded. 

"So?" 

"Can you show me around the ranch?" 

He hesitated, thinking about what chances she would have to
escape or cause some sort of scene. His neighbors weren't
close but they *were* within hearing *and* viewing distance.
This could prove tricky but...well, it would have to happen
sooner or later. A thought popped into his head. "Jeffrey might
see us." 

Her head cocked to the side, a question etched on her
forehead. "But I thought that was a good thing?" 

He nodded emphatically in agreement before amending, "It will
need to be worked out between us first as to what we will tell
him." 

"You mean why I'm here?" 

He nodded again. "I don't like lying to him, but I obviously can't
tell him the whole truth about how you came to be here." 

"So how did I come to be here, then?" 

Tony studied her for a second: There was no sarcasm or
bitterness in her question which he found a little jarring. She
simply wanted to know how this would be explained to his little
boy. 

"He's only six," he smirked, "so while his age holds the
possibility of a million follow-up questions it also means he will
probably be too excited by seeing you to care about much else.
I think we should just tell him you're staying in the guest house
for awhile because...well, because I asked you to." 

"That's it?" 

Tony laughed. "Yeah, I think so. Like I said, he's only six." He
glanced down at her hand and then back up. 

"What's wrong?" 

Could she really read him that easily? he wondered. "Well, I...I
haven't brought anyone else home since his mother..." 

Dana moved to sit across him on the bed. He didn't miss the
fact that it was the first time she had gotten close, let alone sit,
upon it since the night she found him there beside her. "It will be
confusing for him to see another female presence. He'll jump to
conclusions." 

"Yeah," he sighed. *I just wish I could affirm those jumps.*
"How do I know that you won't do anything to try and free
yourself? Obviously, if Jeffrey's there, I won't be able to
restrain you in any way. Don't misunderstand me: I want this to
happen. More than anything. But I also can't compromise my
son's security and future by allowing you the opportunity to
make a break for it." 

"So what can I do to make you believe that I won't try
something?" 

Tony knew he couldn't use ties, handcuffs, or gags, but he
*did* have a physical advantage. "I have an idea. But it will
involve doing something that you have, so far, been deeply
averse to." 

"Mmm, hmm..." 

"I will need to touch you..." 

Dana's eyes dropped to the floor between them. "I thought you
might say that." 

"If it's too much, then we may have to put this off..." 

"No," she said more calmly than he supposed Dana must feel.
"I understand the necessity. It's a fair request considering what
you are putting on the line so that I can get out of this room for
a little while."

 
*Wow.*  

They sat in silence for a few more seconds before Dana stood
and moved towards the bathroom. "Can you give me five
minutes to dry my hair?" 

"Of course, Dana." 

**** 

Mulder, having decided -- after nearly twenty minutes of
self-loathing -- that sticking around would have been
counterproductive, was picking up speed as the ranch moved
into the Ford's rearview mirror. He glanced up to eye the
beautiful abomination and felt his stomach lurch when he
noticed two figures walking up the stoop of the main house:
Tony and a petite woman who could be none other than his
Scully. And they were holding hands. 

The sound of Mulder's tires squealing and his engine revving as
he spun the Ford around was enough to stop them in their
tracks.

*************
END Part 10