This is a stand alone piece. It contains no spoliers. All right, maybe a tiny reference to "Irresistible." Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine. They belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and 20th Century Fox. No infringement intended. However, Murphy, Black, and the attacker are from my fertile imagination. Classification: MSR, Scully angst Rating: R (language, sexual situations) Summary: Scully has an unexpected visitor in her room Feedback: Please! "The Motel Room" by Lisa (danil001@bama.ua.edu) "One day, one night, one moment" - Roma Ryan Scully had just stopped working on her report with Mulder for the case they had just finished. They had said good night to each other and she walked through the connecting door to her room. She walked inside, locked the door, and started taking off her clothes. She was exhausted and needed to go to sleep. A light was on nearby the bed but it was still dark. She got into her pajamas, climbed into the bed and turned off the light. A few minutes later, a man was covering her mouth with his hand. "You scream and I'll kill you." She had almost drifted off to sleep and was in a daze. He had ripped open her top with something sharp and ran his hands over her breasts roughly. She knew this wasn't a dream and she had to do something. Scully kneed him in the groin and tried to get out of the bed. He caught her arm and slapped her across the face causing her to fall back on the bed. He reached for her pants and ripped the side of them. She pushed against him even though it was dark and she couldn't see anything. If she could only get her gun across the room. She needed to get to the light. Scully managed to get free, but he grabbed her around the waist throwing her back down on the bed. He pinned her wrists to the mattress, but she kicked him off of her catching him off guard. She moved to the lamp and reached for the switch when he put the knife to her throat. She felt the cold blade against her throat. Using his other hand, he squeezed her breast painfully and moved his hand down to the waistband of her pants. Scully felt the hot tears come down her face. This wasn't going to happen to her. Gathering her last ounce of strength, she tried to turn the lamp on but it crashed to the floor. * * * Mulder heard a loud crash coming from her room. He got up from the table and reached for his gun. "Bitch, you're gonna pay for that." he said, grabbing her forearm and slashing it with the knife. Scully winced and pulled her arm to her chest. "Scully, you OK?" Mulder said from outside the door. "Mulder, help me!" she screamed. He put his hand over her mouth but she continued to scream for Mulder's help. He took his hand away and slapped her harder this time. "Mulder," she said weakly, falling to the bed. Mulder kicked in the door and the motel room was immediately illuminated by the moonlight. Scully was trying to get up. Mulder saw the man in her room and grabbed him by the shirt. Scully pulled her top closed as best as she could and turned on the light. Mulder looked over at her and saw her top ripped and the blood and tears staining her face. "You sonofabitch!" Mulder yelled at the would be rapist. He punched him in the face over and over again and then threw him against the wall. Scully watched this, never having seen Mulder this angry before. She saw her attacker now clearly and he outweighed her partner by a good twenty to thirty pounds. The man fell to the floor, apparently knocked unconscious. Mulder stood over him with his gun pointed straight at him should he awaken at any time. "Scully, call the police." Mulder said urgently. "Scully, did you hear me?" She picked up the phone and punched 911, telling them the name of the motel and room number. She sat down on the other bed next to the phone and held her arms to her chest. Mulder looked over at her, but she was just staring straight ahead as if this wasn't happening. He wanted to go over to her, but he needed to be here in case this guy came to. He then noticed the blood n her arm. "Scully, you're bleeding." She looked down at her arm but ignored it, continuing to hold her arms over her chest and look straight ahead. Mulder walked over to her but she wouldn't look at him. It was as if he wasn't there. He saw saw knife on the bed and picked it up with a tissue. He heard the sirens and walked back to the doorway where the man was on the floor. Two officers entered the room, identifying themselves as Murphy and Black. They asked what had happened and Mulder filled them in from when he got there. He gave them the knife. Murphy handcuffed the guy's arms behind his back and Black helped him get him off the floor. "Well I'll be damned." Murphy said. "It's him." Black stated. "Who?" Mulder asked. "The guy that has been suspected in a string of motel rapes in the last few weeks." Murphy said. "The bastard has always gotten away from us." Black said. Scully probably was raped. Mulder looked over at her. She was still in the same position. "I'll go put him in the car." Murphy said. Black looked over at Scully. "She won't talk to me and I know she's hurt." Mulder told the officer. "Was she raped?" "I don't know." Mulder replied. God, he hoped not. Not Scully. Mulder walked over to Scully and knelt down in front of her. "Talk to me. Please." Officer Black came and sat down on the opposite bed facing Scully. "Ma'am, can you fill us in on what happened?" Scully didn't move. "Maybe I should call Sarah - she deals with rape cases. She may want to talk to a woman right now." "I wasn't raped." Scully said weakly. A wave of relief passed over Mulder. "Then can you tell us what did happen, if we don't get a statement we can't press charges." "Can I have a blanket? I'm cold. My top was ripped." Mulder got a blanket from the shelf next to the sink and gave it to her. She put it around her shoulders and hugged it to her chest. "I came in - I was next door finishing some work with Mulder. There was one light on - I left it on. I undressed and put pajamas on and got into bed. He was on top of me and covered my mouth with his hand saying 'You scream and I'll kill you.' " Officer Black had taken out a notepad from his jacket and started to write in it. "He ripped ... open my top with the knife and started to touch ... touch me." She stopped. "He touched me ... my breasts. I kicked him and tried to get out of the bed but he hit me. I ... I had to get over to the light. I couldn't see anything and needed by gun across the room. He grabbed me again and forced me back on the bed. I kept trying to fight but he was strong. I felt the knife at my throat and he was .. touching me again. She stopped. "The lamp fell to the floor and I heard Mulder's voice outside and screamed for help. He cut me with the knife and hit... hit me again." she finished with tears in her eyes. Mulder listened as she told them what had happened to her. She was having a hard time getting the words out. He could still see the fear in her eyes as if she felt she was not safe. "OK, I think we are done now." Black said. "If you think of anything else you can call me." He put his card on the table. "How did he get in here?" Scully asked. "I know I locked the door." "He might have picked the lock or had a key made. He was hiding in the room until it was dark. He uses the element of surprise on his victims - that's his M.O." "He was probably in the bathroom. I didn't go in there." "What about the cut on your arm?" Mulder asked. Scully removed her arm from the blanket. It had stopped bleeding. "It's only superficial." "I think I've got some bandages in the car. I'll go get them." Black said. "I need to take a shower." Scully stated. She got up and walked right past Mulder not even looking at him. She took a washcloth and towel and closed herself in the small bathroom. Taking off the blanket, she saw the blood on her top and arm. There were red marks on her chest where he had had his hands. She didn't even want to look at them. Discarding the rest of her clothes, she got in the shower letting the hot water run over her body trying to rid herself of what happened. If it was only that simple. Putting on her robe from the back of the door, she walked out of the bathroom and threw away the pajamas. Mulder was there sitting on the bed. "The officers left and Black gave me these bandages for your arm. I'll put them on for you." Scully walked over and sat down next to him. He took the large bandage out of its wrapper and put it on her arm - pressing lightly so the adhesive would stick better. As he applied the second one, he noticed the red marks on her wrists where the bastard held her down. Mulder looked at her face to see if it was swollen or bleeding. "Its fine, Mulder. I'll just have a swollen lip." "You need to get some rest." "I'm not tired anymore." Scully stated. "Could you get me the files we were working on, I want to finish that report." Mulder just stared at her. Dammit, why was she doing this? "Mulder?" she asked again. "Fine, I'll go get them." "No, I'll get them." He opened the door that joined their rooms and picked up the files from the table, taking them back to her room. She was sitting at the table ready to work. It had to be almost two o'clock in the morning. Scully opened the files and started to read over their report. She was really trying to concentrate, but tears were blurring her vision. She looked over at the bed. The sheets were all tangled up in the middle of the bed like lovers who had shared a night of passion together. However, it was just the opposite. Violence had taken place. She looked back at the files again. Mulder was sitting in the chair opposite her and could tell she was upset and trying to hide it by working. She was looking at the bed as if it was going to jump out and attack her at any moment. He wanted to say something to her, ask if he could do anything but she would just tell him everything was fine. Scully looked over at the bed again, remembering him on top of her and how scared she was. His hands on her body. Why didn't she turn the lights on? Look around the room? The tears started to run down her cheeks. Mulder got up and went over to her. He took her hands in his. She began to cry harder. "I can't look at that bed without . . ." Mulder put one arm around her back and the other under her knees lifting her off the chair and into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. He took her over to his room and placed her on the bed. She reached up to him and he sat down, gathering her in his arms. She was sobbing into his chest. He held her tighter. After awhile, her tears began to subside and she moved out of Mulder's embrace. "Mulder, your shirt." she said referring to how wet it was from her tears. "It doesn't matter." he told her pushing some hair away from her face. "I should have turned on the lights and looked around the room." "You didn't do anything wrong, how were you supposed to know there was someone in your room." Mulder told her. "You were able to fight back." "Yeah, and then I knocked a lamp over and you came in." Scully said. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful for your help." "You were able to handle your fear and fight him off so he didn't rape you." "I wished I turned on the light." she said getting off the bed and walking towards the bathroom. "It would have only taken a few minutes. I would be able to reach my gun, it was lying on the dresser by the TV." "It's not your fault." Mulder said. "No, you don't understand." Scully said, getting upset. "I could have held him back away from me with the gun . . . he wouldn't have been able to come near me . . . or touch me at all." she said breaking into tears again. Mulder got off the bed and went over to her and took her hand. "C'mon, you need to get some rest." he said leading her to the bed. He pulled down the bedspread. "I won't be able to sleep. I close my eyes and feel the knife at my throat. Or him on top of me." Scully cried, sitting down on the bed. Mulder sat down on the bed behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Scully laid her head against him and closed her eyes. "Promise me something." he whispered. "What?" she asked putting her hands on his arms. "If I start to snore, you'll nudge me awake." Scully laughed softly. She started to feel better. Comforted. Protected. A few minutes later, she fell asleep in his arms. He gently moved her onto the pillows, and pulled the covers up over her. Taking off his shoes and jeans, he went to the other bed and tried to get some sleep. * * * Scully woke up. Her face was starting to hurt. She got up and walked over to the mirror. Her lip was swollen and bruises were beginning to form around her lower lip. She should have put ice on it earlier. Mulder was asleep and she didn't want to awaken him, so she got back into bed. However, she couldn't go back to sleep. She kept thinking about the attack and all the images of what had happened kept running through her mind. Sitting on the far side of the bed with her legs pulled up towards he chest, she began to cry softly. Mulder heard her crying and went over to the bed. "I couldn't sleep. Scully said. "My face was starting to hurt, I should've put ice on it." "I'll go get you some." "Now?" she said glancing at the clock. "It's four in the morning." "There won't be a wait." he said picking up the bucket and room key. Mulder came back with the ice and went over to the sink, putting some into a washcloth. He took it over to the bed where Scully was still sitting. "Thanks." she said applying it to her face. "You should go back to sleep." "Are you going to be OK?" Mulder asked. She nodded. "I'll just keep the ice on for a few more minutes and then go back to bed." Mulder went back to the other bed and got under the covers. After ten minutes, Scully took off the ice, which was almost melted anyway, and tossed it into the sink. She noticed that Mulder had fallen asleep already and could hear him breathing softly. She walked over to the door that led to her room and saw the sheets in disarray on the bed and the pieces of the lamp in the wastebasket. Mulder had probably cleaned them up. She looked back at him and then closed the door to her room. She walked back to the bed opposite his and climbed under the covers. * * * * Scully woke up and looked over at the clock. It was almost ten. She was surprised that she got this much sleep. "Hi." Mulder said kneeling down in front of her bed. "I was just going to go get some coffee. Do you want some?" "Yes." she replied. He was dressed and his hair was still wet from the shower. She didn't remember hearing the shower. Scully got out of bed and went over to get dressed. The room didn't seem that bad in the daylight. She pulled on a sweater and a pair of jeans. However, she packed up the rest of her stuff and put the suitcases between their rooms. She sat back down on the bed and switched on the TV, but all of the news stories were about violence, so she clicked it off. Mulder came back with two coffees and a white bag. He sat down on the bed opposite her and put their breakfast on the table between the beds. "I hope blueberry is OK?" he asked, taking out the two muffins. "It's fine." she replied, stirring the cream into the hot paper cup. "Thank you for everything you did." "I just went to the diner down the block." "No, everything you did for me last night." "Scully, " he said softly. "I'm always here for you. " Scully looked at him and knew he would help her get through anything, especially since last night was almost the worst she could imagine happening to her. But this wasn't work related, it was personal and he listened to her and comforted her as long as she needed. "I know you are, Mulder." she said. "It helped me that you were here - it was hard to tell the officers what he did to me." "It was hard for me to hear what he did to you." he said, touching her hand. Scully felt the tears in her eyes again. She didn't think she could cry anymore after last night. "We need to get you out of here and back home." Mulder said, releasing her hand. "I'll put your suitcases in the car." Scully wiped the tears from her eyes. Home. Surely she would feel better getting out of here and back to her apartment. The sooner the better. She grabbed the rest of her coffee and went out to the car. Two weeks had passed and Scully wasn't feeling any better. She was having weird dreams or not sleeping at all except with a night light on. She was trying to pretend that everything was all right, but could tell Mulder was worried about her. He couldn't help her anymore and she was thinking about going to see a therapist. She chose someone who specialized in women's issues, hoping this woman would understand what she was going through and could help her. Dr. Abigail Barrows' waiting room was nicely decorated in mauve tones and was comforting, however, Scully was still a little apprehensive. The receptionist called her name after she had filled out the necessary forms and ushered her to Dr. Barrows office. The office was nicely furnished and had a light blue couch and two overstuffed chairs inside. Scully chose one of the chairs and sat down to wait. Ten minutes later, Dr. Barrows came in and introduced herself. She was about as old as Scully, tall with shoulder length blonde hair. The doctor read over her paperwork. "You look nervous, Dana. Have you seen a therapist before?" "Yes. I'm just not sure where to start." "Whatever you want to tell me. You wouldn't be here unless there was a reason." Scully told her about what happened in the motel room and how Mulder had come to her aide yet again. "I thought it would get better after I was back home, out of that room." "You just can't forget something like this, it takes time to heal." "I'm doing fine in the day, it's just at night when I go to bed, the more I try not to think about the easier it comes back." Scully said. "If it weren't for those dreams - or nightmares, I could . . ." "Tell me about them." "He is attacking me again. He's on top of me and I try to fight him off, but he keeps touching me and his hands are hurting me. I can't get away, I don't have my gun." Scully said with tears in her eyes. She reached for a Kleenex on the table next to her. "Dana, you have been through something very traumatic and can't expect to recover in a matter of days. Believe it or not, the nightmares are a helping you to heal and won't last forever." Dr. Barrows replied. "Not all of them are nightmares. There's one about Mulder. I'm lying in the bed at the motel with him and he has his arms around me saying: 'I won't let anyone hurt you.' He can't protect me from everything, even though he may want to and has tried in the past. However, part of me wanted to sleep next to him in that bed, to feel his arms around me one last time." "What do you mean by one last time. Is he leaving?" "No, it just changed after we got back to work." Scully replied. "What changed, did he do something or say something to you that led you to believe otherwise?" the doctor asked. "You don't understand, I wouldn't have made it through that night without him. I felt like we were the only two people who existed that night. His room was our safe haven, or at least mine, and he protected me from my fears." "Then tell me more about how you felt with him." "Comforted. I mean he's always been there for me, but this was different. When he picked me up and carried me over to his room, it surprised me. He hugged me tight, like he was trying to take away all the pain and hurt I had suffered." "He obviously cares about you very much." Dr. Barrows said. "We are partners and good friends, but this was the most physical contact that we shared. Given the situation, it was understandable, however, I wished it could. . ." Scully broke off, tears welling up in her eyes. "Could what?" Dr. Barrows asked. "Go on." "I know he cares about me very much, but that doesn't mean he has anything more than platonic feelings for me." "Do you know that?" Dr. Barrows asked. "It's been four years and nothing has happened between us so I figured he is comfortable with our friendship and nothing more." "You aren't going to know unless you talk to him about this and the way he makes you feel." "I wish I knew what to do," Scully said, pushing some hair behind her ear. "He might reject me. We couldn't go back to the same again, and we work together, it could cause a big problem." "Whatever you decide to do will involve risk, suppressing your feelings or telling him exactly what you are feeling will be hard." Dr. Barrows explained. "I know. I'm afraid to talk to him about it. I wouldn't know where to begin. The attraction has always been there between us, but neither of us has acted on it" Scully stated. "I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be honest, OK?" "All right." "You went through something very traumatic and he comforted you. Are you projecting those feelings you had then onto him now?" the doctor asked. "At first I wondered about that, but I want this closeness between us all the time. This bond we have together could continue into other areas of our lives." Dr. Barrows looked at Scully. She had expressed the way she felt about him in such a reserved way, like she was talking about another person. She gets close to it, but doesn't quite make it. Keeping her emotions in check as if she is afraid to let them come out. "I hope you aren't going to say it to him like that." Dr. Barrows said. "What do you mean?" "It sounds so clinical, with little emotion to it." "I don't understand, I've just told you the way I feel about him for the past half hour, what else do you want from me?" Scully said, raising her voice a little in the process. "I want to hear it from your heart, don't second guess yourself, don't think about all the possible problems. Pretend Mulder could be taken away from you forever." Scully thought about that and she would never want that to happen without at least letting him know her true feelings. "I would tell him that we could be good together, for each other and . . ." Scully broke off. "No, I would say I loved him and not just as friends do, but the kind of love I wouldn't want to go without. I want to know what it feels like to sleep in his arms all night, to wake up next to him in the morning." "Then that's exactly what you say to him." END Well, what'd y'all think? - L.