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colebaltblueTitle: Variations on a Theme
Author: colebaltblue
Artist: TLynnfic
Word Count: 21,000 (this chapter 1,600)
Rating: PG
Warnings: no specific ones
Summary: Alternate universe. Dr. Dana Scully is a medical examiner for the city and county of San Francisco when she is assigned the Jane Doe #19292. In Washington, D.C. behavioral sciences unit FBI agent Fox Mulder becomes interested in Jane Doe #19292 and heads out to San Francisco to investigate. The rest, they say, is history.
Author's Notes: Written for the X-Files Big Bang 2010. Many, many, many thanks to Tracy and Cass for their comments, critiques, and corrections.
8:23 am
May 17, 1993
San Francisco City Medical Examiner's Office
San Francisco, CA
Scully sat down at her desk, eyeing the folders in her inbox while she turned on her computer. Jane Doe #19292's sat on the top. She had entered it into the database Friday before she had left for the day. The blood panel wouldn't be back for another week or two, but she couldn't bring herself to file Jane Doe into her pending pile just yet, something was still bothering her about the case.
She reached and pulled the files that lay underneath it towards her, autopsy case notes from a few weeks ago that needed to be completed now that their lab work was back. She opened the first one and reached for the corresponding lab work file to make her follow-up notes.
Her phone rang.
"Scully," she answered. She frowned into the phone when she heard her boss's voice. He was asking about Jane Doe #19292.
"No, sir," she responded to his query about whether or not she had been able to find any reports from local hospitals about Jane Doe. George had been diligent about contacting emergency rooms, pediatric wards, and even social services. She had sent out notices to a few doctor's message boards inquiring if anyone in private practice had any knowledge about Jane Doe, but hadn't heard back. Perhaps someone had called the chief medical examiner?
"The FBI?" The news that the FBI had responded surprised her, quite frankly. If Jane Doe had been a kidnap victim or a missing person's case, George would've brought that to her attention right away. Her boss responded that an agent from the behavioral sciences unit was coming out to speak to them regarding the case. The idea of it being a serial case hadn't crossed Scully's mind when she had written her report and failed to find any match characteristics in the FBI databases to recent cases.
She hung up the phone.
"Did you find a cause of death?" came a male voice from the doorway, startling her out of her thoughts.
Scully looked up quickly to find a tall and lanky man leaning on the door jam. His legs and arms were crossed and his head cocked slightly to the side. There were dark smudges under his eyes, as if he had tried to apply black eye shadow and got it all wrong. His eyes were piercing hazel in color and held hers with a hint of something she decided to label as distrust, but she wasn't sure.
"Who are you?"
"Agent Mulder, FBI, did you find a cause of death?"
"How did you get in?" Scully asked, eyes scanning behind him, looking for his escort before focusing on him again.
"Through the door like everyone else, did you find a cause of death?"
Scully pressed her lips together, not sure if she liked he way this was starting off. "Cause of death?"
"Jane Doe 19292, did you find a cause of death?"
She glanced at the file in her inbox before looking back at him. He had followed her gaze and his sudden movement startled her as he stepped forward quickly, reaching for the file in one fluid movement. She placed her hand on it the same moment that he grabbed it, their eyes met.
"Who are you?" she said, a little bit more pointedly. He paused for a second, considering her, then let go of the file and took a step back.
"Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI, behavioral sciences unit. I'm here about Jane Doe 19292." He paused, cocked his head to the side, took out his badge and ID and showed it to her. "Did they not tell you I was coming?" She took the badge.
She stalled for time, scrutinizing his I.D. His first name really was Fox. He was who he said he was, not that she really had any doubt. She looked up at him, considering, he glanced at the file again and she wondered what he was so eager to see. If he was here, he had most likely read the report in the database and the file would offer nothing more than a few pictures than the online report.
She raised an eyebrow at him, handing his badge back to him before indicating the seat in front of her.
"The cause of death remains undetermined," she finally answered.
He looked at the file again before returning his eyes to hers, asking permissions this time. She inclined her head, giving it. He leaned forward and picked up the file, opening it as he sat back.
Scully watched him for a moment, but he seemed utterly engrossed in the file, so she returned to typing up her reports and notes from yesterday's autopsies. He was distracting, sitting there across from her like he belonged in her office in a way that she never felt she had. She was startled when snapped the folder shut and retuned it to her inbox. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, looking at her.
"What do you think killed her?"
Scully was puzzled. She had already answered that question. "I won't know that until I get toxicology back. And even then, I may not know." She paused, then looked at him, "you know from the report that it wasn't external trauma, why are you asking?"
"I didn't ask what killed her, I asked what you think killed her."
Speculation was not something she did easily, preferring to work with the facts as they laid out in front of her. Conjecture did a great disservice to the dead and could easily taint your findings, leading to false conclusions.
"I don't speculate, Agent Mulder."
"Try."
Scully shook her head and looked back at her computer screen, wondering what the consequences would be if she threw him out of her office. She pressed her lips together as she considered.
"Fine, I'll go first," he continued. "I don't think you'll find anything conclusive on the toxicology report, a series of drugs, suggestions of immuno-deficiencies, signs of drug therapies, but nothing fatal. I think you'll find signs of subtle torture, but nothing conclusive." Mulder sat back and looked at her, daring her to respond to his conjecture.
She waited, considering his purpose and his interest in the case. Finally, she answered, "I don't speculate, Agent."
She wasn't sure what she expected his reaction to be, but the slow smile was not it. The corners of her mouth twitched in response. "What is your interest in this case, Agent Mulder?"
His demeanor changed, a guarded look came over his face and he sat up just a bit. It was a strange change for someone from the FBI looking into innocuous-seeming Jane Doe cases.
"I'm looking into connections to a cold case."
"Of victims similar in profile to Jane Doe?"
He nodded in response, but maintained his guarded look.
"I hadn't heard of a possible connection. Has one been established indicating this could be a serial case?"
His eyes narrowed, considering her. She felt as if she was being judged for something. Like when her brothers used to look her up and down before refusing to let her into the "boys only" forts despite her offering up the use of sling-shot if she could only join.
"It hasn't yet."
She wasn't sure what to make of that, perhaps the connections were tenuous at best, perhaps there weren't enough cases or details to establish a pattern. "What case does this Jane Doe connect to?" Scully found herself sucked in, despite herself.
"A disappearance back east of a little girl."
"A disappearance? With no remains? How does that connect to Jane Doe?" She could see Mulder begin to shut down and close off to her questions. She decided to try a new tactic. "When was this disappearance?" Maybe Mulder was looking for the kidnapped girl to turn up as a body.
It apparently was the wrong question to ask. A mask fell over his face, "nineteen seventy three."
"Mulder! That's twenty years ago! If that girl was still alive she'd be almost thirty and not turning up as an 8 year-old buried in a shallow grave in Golden Gate Park."
He answered her with a dark look, "thank you, Doctor Scully." He stood up and reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. Scully's look softened, she could tell that she had screwed up. He was scribbling something on the back of the card. He handed it to her, "you can reach me at this hotel, please contact me as soon as you have more information, I'll be in town for a few more days."
He turned to walk about. "Agent Mulder," she said. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "I was planning on stopping by the place where she was found this evening…"
Mulder's face relaxed slightly and he nodded. "I'd like to join you, please call me before you go." He left with an abrupt grace in his lanky form.
Scully looked at the card in her hand. He was staying in a hotel off of Van Ness and had included his cellular phone number on the back. She hadn't been planning on going to the park tonight, or even to see Jane Doe's spot in Golden Gate Park at all, but Mulder intrigued her, his interest in the case intrigued her and his apparent belief that it was connected to a twenty year-old kidnapping intrigued her.
She picked up her phone to cancel dinner plans with Ethan.
Chapter 3
Author: colebaltblue
Artist: TLynnfic
Word Count: 21,000 (this chapter 1,600)
Rating: PG
Warnings: no specific ones
Summary: Alternate universe. Dr. Dana Scully is a medical examiner for the city and county of San Francisco when she is assigned the Jane Doe #19292. In Washington, D.C. behavioral sciences unit FBI agent Fox Mulder becomes interested in Jane Doe #19292 and heads out to San Francisco to investigate. The rest, they say, is history.
Author's Notes: Written for the X-Files Big Bang 2010. Many, many, many thanks to Tracy and Cass for their comments, critiques, and corrections.
8:23 am
May 17, 1993
San Francisco City Medical Examiner's Office
San Francisco, CA
Scully sat down at her desk, eyeing the folders in her inbox while she turned on her computer. Jane Doe #19292's sat on the top. She had entered it into the database Friday before she had left for the day. The blood panel wouldn't be back for another week or two, but she couldn't bring herself to file Jane Doe into her pending pile just yet, something was still bothering her about the case.
She reached and pulled the files that lay underneath it towards her, autopsy case notes from a few weeks ago that needed to be completed now that their lab work was back. She opened the first one and reached for the corresponding lab work file to make her follow-up notes.
Her phone rang.
"Scully," she answered. She frowned into the phone when she heard her boss's voice. He was asking about Jane Doe #19292.
"No, sir," she responded to his query about whether or not she had been able to find any reports from local hospitals about Jane Doe. George had been diligent about contacting emergency rooms, pediatric wards, and even social services. She had sent out notices to a few doctor's message boards inquiring if anyone in private practice had any knowledge about Jane Doe, but hadn't heard back. Perhaps someone had called the chief medical examiner?
"The FBI?" The news that the FBI had responded surprised her, quite frankly. If Jane Doe had been a kidnap victim or a missing person's case, George would've brought that to her attention right away. Her boss responded that an agent from the behavioral sciences unit was coming out to speak to them regarding the case. The idea of it being a serial case hadn't crossed Scully's mind when she had written her report and failed to find any match characteristics in the FBI databases to recent cases.
She hung up the phone.
"Did you find a cause of death?" came a male voice from the doorway, startling her out of her thoughts.
Scully looked up quickly to find a tall and lanky man leaning on the door jam. His legs and arms were crossed and his head cocked slightly to the side. There were dark smudges under his eyes, as if he had tried to apply black eye shadow and got it all wrong. His eyes were piercing hazel in color and held hers with a hint of something she decided to label as distrust, but she wasn't sure.
"Who are you?"
"Agent Mulder, FBI, did you find a cause of death?"
"How did you get in?" Scully asked, eyes scanning behind him, looking for his escort before focusing on him again.
"Through the door like everyone else, did you find a cause of death?"
Scully pressed her lips together, not sure if she liked he way this was starting off. "Cause of death?"
"Jane Doe 19292, did you find a cause of death?"
She glanced at the file in her inbox before looking back at him. He had followed her gaze and his sudden movement startled her as he stepped forward quickly, reaching for the file in one fluid movement. She placed her hand on it the same moment that he grabbed it, their eyes met.
"Who are you?" she said, a little bit more pointedly. He paused for a second, considering her, then let go of the file and took a step back.
"Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI, behavioral sciences unit. I'm here about Jane Doe 19292." He paused, cocked his head to the side, took out his badge and ID and showed it to her. "Did they not tell you I was coming?" She took the badge.
She stalled for time, scrutinizing his I.D. His first name really was Fox. He was who he said he was, not that she really had any doubt. She looked up at him, considering, he glanced at the file again and she wondered what he was so eager to see. If he was here, he had most likely read the report in the database and the file would offer nothing more than a few pictures than the online report.
She raised an eyebrow at him, handing his badge back to him before indicating the seat in front of her.
"The cause of death remains undetermined," she finally answered.
He looked at the file again before returning his eyes to hers, asking permissions this time. She inclined her head, giving it. He leaned forward and picked up the file, opening it as he sat back.
Scully watched him for a moment, but he seemed utterly engrossed in the file, so she returned to typing up her reports and notes from yesterday's autopsies. He was distracting, sitting there across from her like he belonged in her office in a way that she never felt she had. She was startled when snapped the folder shut and retuned it to her inbox. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, looking at her.
"What do you think killed her?"
Scully was puzzled. She had already answered that question. "I won't know that until I get toxicology back. And even then, I may not know." She paused, then looked at him, "you know from the report that it wasn't external trauma, why are you asking?"
"I didn't ask what killed her, I asked what you think killed her."
Speculation was not something she did easily, preferring to work with the facts as they laid out in front of her. Conjecture did a great disservice to the dead and could easily taint your findings, leading to false conclusions.
"I don't speculate, Agent Mulder."
"Try."
Scully shook her head and looked back at her computer screen, wondering what the consequences would be if she threw him out of her office. She pressed her lips together as she considered.
"Fine, I'll go first," he continued. "I don't think you'll find anything conclusive on the toxicology report, a series of drugs, suggestions of immuno-deficiencies, signs of drug therapies, but nothing fatal. I think you'll find signs of subtle torture, but nothing conclusive." Mulder sat back and looked at her, daring her to respond to his conjecture.
She waited, considering his purpose and his interest in the case. Finally, she answered, "I don't speculate, Agent."
She wasn't sure what she expected his reaction to be, but the slow smile was not it. The corners of her mouth twitched in response. "What is your interest in this case, Agent Mulder?"
His demeanor changed, a guarded look came over his face and he sat up just a bit. It was a strange change for someone from the FBI looking into innocuous-seeming Jane Doe cases.
"I'm looking into connections to a cold case."
"Of victims similar in profile to Jane Doe?"
He nodded in response, but maintained his guarded look.
"I hadn't heard of a possible connection. Has one been established indicating this could be a serial case?"
His eyes narrowed, considering her. She felt as if she was being judged for something. Like when her brothers used to look her up and down before refusing to let her into the "boys only" forts despite her offering up the use of sling-shot if she could only join.
"It hasn't yet."
She wasn't sure what to make of that, perhaps the connections were tenuous at best, perhaps there weren't enough cases or details to establish a pattern. "What case does this Jane Doe connect to?" Scully found herself sucked in, despite herself.
"A disappearance back east of a little girl."
"A disappearance? With no remains? How does that connect to Jane Doe?" She could see Mulder begin to shut down and close off to her questions. She decided to try a new tactic. "When was this disappearance?" Maybe Mulder was looking for the kidnapped girl to turn up as a body.
It apparently was the wrong question to ask. A mask fell over his face, "nineteen seventy three."
"Mulder! That's twenty years ago! If that girl was still alive she'd be almost thirty and not turning up as an 8 year-old buried in a shallow grave in Golden Gate Park."
He answered her with a dark look, "thank you, Doctor Scully." He stood up and reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. Scully's look softened, she could tell that she had screwed up. He was scribbling something on the back of the card. He handed it to her, "you can reach me at this hotel, please contact me as soon as you have more information, I'll be in town for a few more days."
He turned to walk about. "Agent Mulder," she said. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. "I was planning on stopping by the place where she was found this evening…"
Mulder's face relaxed slightly and he nodded. "I'd like to join you, please call me before you go." He left with an abrupt grace in his lanky form.
Scully looked at the card in her hand. He was staying in a hotel off of Van Ness and had included his cellular phone number on the back. She hadn't been planning on going to the park tonight, or even to see Jane Doe's spot in Golden Gate Park at all, but Mulder intrigued her, his interest in the case intrigued her and his apparent belief that it was connected to a twenty year-old kidnapping intrigued her.
She picked up her phone to cancel dinner plans with Ethan.
Chapter 3
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