Title: Waltzing Down the Fair Weather Highway (3 of ?)
Author: phoenix99 (xphoenix99@hotmail.com)
Category: MSR Angst angst ummm... angst. yes, this is a WIP 
Rating: R for stuff
Spoilers: Tithonus 
Summary: Mulder is recovering from his gun shot 
wound. Scully is trying to figure out what exactly 
she has done by investigating Diana's death.
Archive: sure, if you want to. Just keep my name attached.  
Feedback:  uh yeah. love it. need it. gets me motivated
Disclaimer: The X-Files and everything related to it 
belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and 
Fox, and is used without permission. No copyright 
infringement intended, and no profit will be made.

*this is part 3 in a series. You have to read the first 
ones to understand what's happening.

Note: again thanks iga58 for whatever it is that you 
do. :-P

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Skinner dropped me off out side my apartment. 

By the time I got inside I had come to the point of 
visibly shaking from the emotions I was experiencing.

I sat down on my couch and buried my face in my hands, 
rubbing my eyes and temples trying to relieve the stress 
and uncertainty I was feeling.

I let out a shaky sigh and glanced at my watch.

4:45 pm

I should have stayed at the hospital. I was obviously 
becoming irrational. 

I shouldn't have left him.

I pulled out my phone and punched in the number of the 
hospital. Funny, I knew the number off by heart.

I checked in with the nurse I had spoken to earlier 
and she said Mulder had pulled through the operation 
fine. They had actually finished ahead of schedule. No 
problems or complications. 

And that the doctors had never seen anything like it.

At that point I dropped the phone. 

It bounced off the carpet and onto the tile of my 
kitchen. The noise rattled me out of the sudden daze 
I had slipped into. 

I picked up the phone and hung it up.

I turned toward bedroom where I changed into some 
more professional clothes, grabbed my cell phone and 
badge, and left.

I called a cab and instructed the driver to take me 
to the Bureau Morgue.

We were half way there when I began to second guess my 
decision. I had myself almost convinced that it was a b
ad idea, and that it wasn't worth the risk. 

But I had to know.

The cab came to a stop. 
  
It was five o'clock, so most of the staff had gone 
home. The people who work here aren't surprised to see 
me here after hours. Acutely five is rather early 
for me.

When I entered the morgue I was almost knocked 
over by a tall, skinny blond kid. Most likely the 
person on assistant shift.

"Oh, sorry. All be right back, I just have to make 
some photocopies upstairs."

The elevator doors were already closing when he 
finished talking. He looked like a new guy; I hadn't 
seen him around before.

I entered the office and quickly scanned over the 
materials on the desk. I found the inventory list 
with all the drawer numbers and names of the bodies.

15- Diana Fowley

I scanned down the list for a likely candidate to 
take Diana place.

07- Heather Mayer

I erased Diana's name and scribbled Heather Mayer over 
top. After switching the names I tried to touch up my 
poor forgery. Hoping it would pass muster I 
replaced the clipboard to it's original place.

I sat down in one of the chairs sitting in the office 
just as the assistant returned.

"Sorry to keep you waiting...can I see your 
identification, and what body are you here to autopsy?"

I handed him my badge.

"I'm here to autopsy Heather Mayer."

"uhh..." He picked up the chart and scanned down to her 
name. "Heather Mayer.... unknown cause of fatal brain 
abcess...?"

I nodded

"Alright, let me pull her out for you."

He unlocked the door and pushed it open, and I followed 
him to the main room. 

I felt my stomach turn as we approached the box that 
contained Diana's body.

I wasn't always impressed by the way she acted, and I'm 
sure she was working with C.G.B. I must admit to 
being jealous of her obvious closeness with Mulder, but 
jealousy is a natural human emotion. I tried not to let 
my prejudices and my emotions affect how I saw her and 
Mulder, but every time she came around, Mulder changed. 
The truth became blurred and he seemed to act as if I 
were the enemy.

All I could do was show him the facts that I knew about 
her. 

I could not make him believe.


The assistant slid open the door and pulled out the tray.

I prepared myself to look away if I couldn't handle what I 
saw, which was weird considering the number of bodies I 
had seen.

But, luckily I was saved. The white sheet that was 
laid across her covered her entire body.

"There you go."

He left and I heard the click as the door shut behind 
him and he returned to his post in the office just 
outside.

I snatched up Diana's chart and report, which the assistant 
luckily hadn't bothered to check, and pushed the body into 
one of the eight autopsy bays lining one wall. 

I took a deep breath before I jerked the sheet off her.

Her skin was already getting a greyish hue. I noted all 
the tell tail signs of the autopsy that had already been 
performed, and decided to look at the report.

Skinner was right.

'No obvious cause of death. Toxicology screen revealed 
nothing. No signs of organ disfunction or natural causes 
of death. Outer exam revealed no puncture wounds, 
possible rashes or infections. Subject appeared to be 
healthy at time of death. 

Conclusion: inconclusive, no found cause of death.'

I looked back at the stiff corpse infront of me. 
Glanced at my watch,
5:40 pm, 
and turning into my professional persona I drew up my 
scalpel and prepared to cut.

------------------------------------------------------

Nothing. I had gone over every possible organ, looked 
for every sign, I even looked for the paranormal. To 
no avail. Everything looked great, at least from a 
pathologist point of view.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Her body had just stopped. Everything. It was as if 
every cell in her body had lost the will to live all at 
the same time.

I was so engrossed in trying to find an answer, anything 
to explain what had happened to Diana, that when I heard 
the people talking to the assistant outside, they were 
already asking about me and who I was autopsying. 

It seemed the assistant had misplaced the list, that 
should buy me some time.

I quickly covered the body, hid the chart and rushed the 
body out of the small room. 

The two men were still outside the door talking with the 
assistant.

Maybe if I can switch the bodies...

I rushed over to the wall of drawers. Drawer 15 was 
still unlocked, but I had to get drawer 7 open 
somehow.

Grabbing some small tools from the closest tray, I 
attempted to pick the lock.

From outside the door I could hear strings of  
conversation. 

"She is doing an autopsy on Heather Mayer, someone who 
died of a brain abcess, not Diana Fowley. She's already 
been autopsied"

"Well, we'd like to talk to her about it, and make sure 
she hasn't 'accidentally' examined the wrong body."

"Fine, let me get my keys out of the back room."


*click*


Drawer 7 slid open and I pulled it out. Wheeling 
around another examination table, I pulled Heather 
Mayer's slab onto it, and pushed Diana's body into 
replace it in the drawer. I snapped Diana's new drawer 
closed and wheeled Heather Mayer's body into the my 
autopsy room.

I heard them enter, so I quickly tore off the sheet, 
grabbed a scalpel and crudely performed a 'y' incision to 
make it more believable.

The door clicked open and two men entered. 

"Agent Scully?"

"Yes?" I answered rather breathlessly. I don't think 
they noticed.

"Are you performing an autopsy on Heather Mayer?"

"Yes."

"This autopsy isn't schedualed until tomorrow 
afternoon." 

"I was asked to come in today instead."

"Well, we'd like to see the body."

I stepped back from the table. They both grimaced then 
nodded at me.

"We'll have to ask you to leave Agent Scully. You 
are off duty until next week when you and Agent 
Mulder will be asked to attend a hearing to discuss 
the events surrounding Agent Fowley's death. You are 
also not to enter this facility until further 
notice. Do you understand."

"Yes."

I replaced the white sheet over the body, removed my 
scrubs, and left as quickly as I could.

When I stepped outside the building I paused minute 
to catch by breath, then looked down at my watch.

6:43 pm

Shit. Skinner said he'd pick me up at my apartment 
around seven.

I ran out to the street and caught a cab for home.

Forty five minutes until my interrogation.

Maybe if I'm lucky Mulder won't remember it. Maybe 
he won't question Diana's death.

Right.

How am I suppose to explain Diana's death to the OPR?
 
What am I going to tell Mulder? 

What am I suppose to tell myself?


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to be continued....