Title: Vendetta Author: Morley E-mail Address: CSMsWife@aol.com Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know! Spoiler Warnings: None Rating: R Classification: Mulder/Scully Married, Romance, Angst Keywords: Alternate Universe Summary: This fanfic takes place in an alternate universe. Fox Mulder is a profiler for the FBI and Dana Scully is a teacher at Quantico. Mulder has just finished profiling and successfully capturing the notorious murderer, Michael Sterling. In my universe there is no such thing as an X-File and no one from Chris Carter's mind has been killed. Samantha, however, is still missing. Mulder and Scully have been married for four years. They have one daughter, Eve. They are celebrating Eve's third birthday. Little do they know that Michael Sterling escaped the day after he was captured and is seeking revenge on Fox Mulder... PART 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~ W. 23rd and W. 22nd Annapolis, MD August 14, 2000 Michael Sterling watched the happy couple cross the street holding the hands of their little daughter. He wished he could just hit the man hard with his car but he wanted to stalk them, scare them first. In a few days, he would get his revenge. Sterling longed to feel the warm blood of a victim in his hands. He had not killed in four days and he anticipated destroying Fox Mulder. He decided to wait because he knew that Mulder's death would have to be very painful and the longer he waited, the more pain Mulder would be in. Aiming his gun, he said to himself, "A few near-death experiences are certain to keep the young family on their toes." "Mommy, Daddy!" Eve Mulder shouted excitedly. "I want my Birthday ice cream now!!!!" Fox looked down at his daughter. She looked just like her mother with her auburn hair and blue eyes. "Ok, Sweet Pea," Dana answered, "we're going." Smiling, she looked up at her husband. He was so gorgeous. Dark brown hair and deep hazel eyes. She was extremely lucky to get a hold of him, her friends at Quantico told her. They were heading to Aglamecie's Italian Ice Cream Parlor when two shots were fired. Fox dove in front of his wife and daughter, feeling a bullet graze his shoulder as he protected them from harm. Five minutes later, all was still. Fox got up and looked at Dana and Eve. "Are you two all right?" He was so worried about them that he didn't notice he had been shot. "We're fine, Fox," Dana replied. "Oh God! Your shoulder!" Fox shook his head. "It only stings. The bullet just grazed it." Eve gave her father a hug and started crying. "Oh, honey, it's alright. We're all going to be fine," he told her. Eve held onto Fox for dear life as Dana got up to meet a police officer that was heading to them. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Two hours later "Agent Mulder." Fox looked up to see his boss, Reggie Purdue. "Are Dana and Eve alright?" "Yes, sir, they're fine. Dana is talking with Detective Stanford. He seems to be in charge here, but I think it may be a Bureau matter considering what I just found out," Fox said tersely. "I understand that you're angry, Agent Mulder and I'm sorry. I don't know why no one informed you of Sterling's escape yesterday afternoon." Fox interrupted him. "Sir, 'I'm sorry' doesn't cut it! My wife and daughter and not to mention myself, could have been killed this afternoon. We weren't taking any precautions because we had no fucking clue!" Heads turned toward the two men and Dana walked over with Eve, taking Fox by the arm. "Honey, calm down, we're all fine. They'll find Sterling. Come on, lets go home, it's been a long day." Fox thought about what his wife was saying then looked at Eve when she pulled on his shirt. "Daddy, I want to go home now," she said quietly. Fox nodded and took her hand in his. "Agents, I'll have men posted near your home. We'll make certain Michael Sterling doesn't get away," Purdue promised. Dana thanked him and the three walked to their car. "Fox, it wasn't his fault. He thought you already knew about Sterling," Dana reasoned. Fox sighed. "I know, but I was just scared. I don't want to lose the two of you. You are both the most important people in my life. I lost my little sister and I never found her again. I don't want anything to happen to you or Eve." Dana gave her husband a hug and Eve hugged her parents. "You will never lose us, Daddy. That bad man won't take us away from you!" Eve told him. She said it with so much conviction that Dana and Fox believed her. ~~~~~~~~~~~ FBI Headquarters Violent Crimes Section August 16, 2000 1:15 pm "Agent Mulder, you have a call on line two." "Thanks, Candice," Fox replied to his secretary picking up the phone. "This is Fox Mulder, how can I help you?" All Fox heard was heavy breathing. "Who is this?" he demanded. "Agent Mulder, you know so much about me, you tell me." "Sterling! What the hell do you want?" "Oh, I want you dead, of course. You have two hours to get to your home or your lovely wife and daughter won't be there when you arrive..." Sterling hung up with a laugh. Fox slammed the phone down and sat up. "That bastard!" Candice watched her boss. "Sir, is everything all right?" "Candice, call Reggie and tell him to send agents to my house ASAP! I got two hours to get home or he'll kill Dana and Eve!" ~~~~~~~~~~~ Mulder Home 2:45 pm "Mommy! Where did you put my Pokemon movie?" Eve shouted as she tore apart the living room searching. "Honey, it's in the cabinet near the television," Dana replied entering the room. Sighing as she looked at the mess, she exclaimed, "What in the world happened in here?" Eve looked up innocently from under the couch. "Uh... a hurnicane?" Dana smiled. "Eve, that's hurricane. And look." She walked to the cabinet and revealed the movie. "PIKA!" Eve said jumping up and down with excitement. "Sit down and I'll put it in jumping bean." "Will you watch it with me, mommy?" "In a minute, Eve, there seems to be a mess in the living room," she told her as the phone rang. "And I have to answer the phone." Dana picked up the phone. "Mulder residence." "Mrs. Mulder? This is a friend of your husband's, Michael Sterling, perhaps you've heard of me?" Dana's face turned a deep shade of red. "You bastard! You are no friend of my husband!" "Ha! Anyway, I just want you to know, that someone will die again soon. Please, let Fox know, I know he'll want to know." With that, Sterling hung up. Dana was shaking with anger and fear when Eve walked up behind her. "Mommy, are you okay? You look like you sawed a ghost." "I wish it were just that, honey. Hold on, I need to call your daddy." Dana quickly hit the memory button for Fox's office number. His secretary answered. "Candice, this Dana, is Fox there?" "Dana? You mean, Fox hasn't called you? I thought he would have. Oh wait, nevermind, he was in such a hurry to get to two he didn't even grab his cel phone." "What's going on? Why is he in a hurry to get here?" Dana asked worriedly. "He said that Michael Sterling was coming after the two of you if he didn't get there first. That was about an hour and a half ago. He said Sterling gave him two." "He's not home yet and it's almost 3:15! What should I do?" "I advice you to go to a neighbor's house. Fox should be there anytime now. I've also gotten a hold of AD Purdue. There's a team of agents coming as well." Dana sighed with relief. "Okay, thank you so much Candice." "You're welcome, Dana. Be careful." The two women hung up just as Fox came through the door, with Sterling right behind him. END PART 1 PART 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~ 3:02 pm Eve had fear written all over her eyes as she watched some man attack her dad. "Daddy!" she screamed with tears running down her cheeks. "Mrs. Mulder, keep your daughter quiet!" Sterling growled, knocking Fox unconscious with his gun. This only made Eve cry harder. She ran to her dad. "Eve!" Dana shouted. "Wait right there," Sterling said, pointing his gun at Dana. He ignored Eve and inched closer to Dana. She eyed him wearily. Surely he wouldn't do anything in front of her daughter. Sterling grabbed her arm and pushed her into a chair. "Sit there and don't move!" He was heading back to Fox when he heard: 'Pikachu, I choose you!' "And get Eve to turn that off!" "Eve, honey, could you turn off the television for mommy please?" Eve looked at Dana. "But-- but what about daddy?" Dana shook her head and told Eve not to worry about him. Eve said okay, turned off theTV, and sat by her mom. The only thing they could do was sit and wait for Sterling to do something. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Outside the Mulder Home 3:28 pm "Will someone please tell me what's going on in there?" Reggie Purdue shouted. "Sir, we checked, Agent Mulder is unconscious and Dana and Eve are on the couch. Sterling is pacing, maybe wating for Agent Mulder to wake up." Purdue nodded. "Lets see if we can get a call through," he suggested. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 3:32 pm Fox woke up with a pounding headache, and, for a second, he forgot why. Then, it hit him. Sterling! He sat up too quickly and watched spots dance in front of his eyes. "Ahh, look who's joined the land of the living." Fox looked up at Sterling then at his wife and daughter. He sighed with relief when he realized they were all right. "Why don't you let them go, they had nothing to do with your capture. It was all because of me." Sterling nodded. "I know but what they witness, you'll just have to deal with." He stepped menacingly towards Fox and kicked him multiple times in the side. Fox could just feel his ribs cracking. Dana and Eve were screaming at Sterling to stop but he wouldn't listen. He then pulled his gun out again. Dana's eyes grew wide and she told Eve to look away. "No, please! Don't kill him!" Dana pleaded with tears streaming down her face. "I'll do anything, just don't kill Fox!" Sterling eyed her closely. "No, sorry. I have a need to make him suffer." He carefully aimed his weapon and fired twice. ~~~~~~~~~~~ 3:47 pm Purdue figured Sterling must have disconnected all the phones. He realized there were no other options but to storm the home. One problem remained: How do it without harming the young family. "Sir, Agent Mulder's awake but now Sterling's beating him to a pulp!" Purdue nodded. He couldn't think of what to do next. Fox Mulder was not only one of his agents but also a very close friend. He didn't have to think long, two shots were fired from inside the house. "GO, GO, GO!!!" ~~~~~~~~~~~ 3:49 pm When Dana heard Reggie Purdue shouting, she pulled Eve onto the floor with her. Eve was shaking horribly. She was in shock. Eve had looked up just in time to se Sterling shoot her father twice in the chest. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Georgetown Medical Center 6:03 pm Dana was pacing. It had been two hours since they brought Fox up to surgery and there was still no news. She turned to look at Eve. She was sound asleep on the chair. Eve was no longer in shock, but she was now in denial. She couldn't believe her father had been hurt even though she had seen the whole thing. "Dana!" She looked up to see her mother. Maggie Scully ran to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Oh, I was so worried about all of you!" She said through tears. Maggie saw Eve sleeping. "Did she see..." Dana nodded and started crying again. "How's Fox doing?" "Oh, mom. He's lost so much blood... I- I can't lose him..." "Shhh...shhh... he'll be fine, Dana." "Mrs. Mulder?" Dana turned to see the doctor that had been performing the surgery on Fox. "I'm Doctor Maloney. Why don't you have a seat." The two women sat as Doctor Maloney explained Fox's condition. END PART 2 PART 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~ ICU 7:28 pm Dana held her husband's hand as if she could wake him up with her touch. Dr. Maloney told her that they were able to stop the internal bleeding and all they had to do was wait for the pain meds to wear off. Closing her eyes, she thought about Eve. Dana had no idea how their daughter would get through this. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Scully Home 11:21 pm Maggie handed her husband a cup of coffee. "Did you check on Eve, Bill?" she asked. Bill nodded. "She's sound asleep, but for how long, I don't know. How's Starbuck doing?" "As good as can be expected," Maggie replied with a shrug. "NO!!!! Don't hurt my daddy! STOP, please!!!!" Maggie and Bill ran into the guest room to find Eve thrashing about. "Daddy, don't leave me!!!" Bill held onto Eve as Maggie attempted to wake her up. "Eve, sweetheart," she said, "it's grandma Maggie. Wake up, Eve, you're having a bad dream." Eve's eyes shot open five minutes later and she looked at her grandparents. Bill let go and Eve immediately wrapped her arms aournd Maggie crying uncontrollably. "It's okay, everything will be allright, you'll see." ~~~~~~~~~~~ ICU August 17, 2000 9:05 am Dana had just gotten off the phone with her mom when Fox woke up. He took in his surroundings and nearly jumped of the bed when he didn't see Eve. "Fox, Eve's fine, she's with mom," Dana reassured him. "Are you allright?" he asked quietly. She nodded with a small smile and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "Get some rest before we talk, Fox." He hardly ever won arguements with his wife so he shut his eyes. Leaning back in her chair, Dana went over what her mom had told her. Eve fell asleep around eleven but woke up twenty minutes later screaming. She was reliving what she saw and just couldn't get it out of her head. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Scully Home 10:13 am "Eve, honey, I brough you some chocolate milk, I know it's your fav-" Maggie stopped midsentence. Eve was lying on the bed, unmoving, her eyes open. She wasn't even blinking. "BILL!" ~~~~~~~~~~~ GMC Emergency Room 10:52 am Dana walked aimlessly through the ER. The doctors were checking on Fox so she decided to work out the kinks in her body. "Three year old, unresponsive, in a catatonic state..." Dana overheard an EMT shout. She shuddered. *That must be horrible to see happen to your own child.* She turned just in time to see Maggie and Bill walking behind the stretcher. Dana looked at the child on it and saw that it was Eve. ~~~~~~~~~~~ ICU 11:03 am "Dr. Maloney, where's my wife?" "She said she wanted to work out some of the kinks out. She slept in that chair all night. We offered her a bed but she wouldn't leave your side. " Fox nodded. "So, tell me exactly what kind of pain you're experiencing." He explained to the doctor that it felt as though his lung was about to burst. "Interesting description, Fox," he said with a chuckle. There was a knock at the door and a nurse entered. "Dr. Maloney, Dr. Stanz needs you. A three year old was just brought in. She appears to be catatonic." "I'm on my way," he replied putting Fox's chart down. "I've given you more meds, it should hold you out for a while." "Thanks, Doc." The doctor nodded and left. The only people he needed now were Dana and Eve. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Children's ICU 2:15 pm "Dana?" Dr. Maloney said. Dana reluctantly took her eyes off Eve. "We don't know how long she'll be in this state. She could wake up in two hours or two weeks." Dana closed her eyes and swayed and the doctor caught her arm. "Are you going to be allright if I leave you?" he asked having her sit down. "I-I think so. Oh God, how is Fox going to take this?" Dr. Maloney told her to think about that very carefully because of the trauma he's been through. "Do you want to be the to tell him or should I do it?" "No, I will." ~~~~~~~~~~~ ICU 2:35 pm Fox opened his eyes when he heard the door. He smiled when he saw Dana. That smile, however, was immediately turned upside down whe he saw that she had been crying. "Dana? What's wrong? I'm-I'm not dying, am I?" he asked nervously. "No, Fox, you're not dying, sweetheart." He sighed with relief then asked where Eve was. "Is she allright?" Dana didn't answer. "Dana!" She took his hand and gently broke the news to him. "Fox? Say something," Dana pleaded. "I want to see Eve. I want to see my little girl." ~~~~~~~~~~~ Children's ICU 3:01 pm "Hello, Fox," Maggie said when Dana wheeled her son-in-law into Eve's room. "Hi, Mom," he replied sadly. She informed them that the doctor would be in soo with the test results. Dana watched with tears in her eyes as Fox talked to Eve. It almost seemed as if she were awake. "Eve, sweetie, it's Daddy. It's time to wake up now, we're all okay. Mommy's okay, I'm okay. Come on Eve, I still haven't seen that Pokemon movie you wanted me to watch. What do you say, Sweet Pea?" Fox said with a smile. If faded when she didn't wake up. He then asked Dana. "Wh-what are we going to do if-if she doesn't wake up?" Dana pulled him into a hug. "She will wake up, Fox, you HAVE to believe that." Fox nodded, but Dana wasn't so certain herself. "Mom," Dana said looking at Fox, who had fallen asleep. "Do you believe Eve will wake up?" "Oh yes, Dana. Remember that promise she made you? She told me all about it. She said, 'That bad man won't take me or Mommy from Daddy and he won't take Daddy away from me and Mommy.'" Dana smiled. She remembered Eve saying that to them. It was the day Sterling had shot at them. Eve's birthday. *She will wake up!* ~~~~~~~~~~~ Eve heard her Daddy and Mommy but she couldn't see either of them. Was her Daddy all right? He must be! "Daddy... Mommy..." she said quietly. "Eve?" she heard Fox and Dana say at the same time. "Can you hear us, Sweet Pea?" She moaned. "Daddy? You're okay?" Opening her eyes she saw that he was. "DADDY!" she yelled smiling. "Oh, Daddy! I'm so glad you're okay!" Fox swept her in a hug. "And I'm glad you are, Eve!" Eve looked over at her Mom. She was crying. "Mommy, why are you crying? I'm fine, Daddy's fine, we're all fine!" "Oh, Eve!" Dana replied kissing her on the cheek. "I missed you, I didn't think you were coming back to us." "Member what I said Mommy? No bad man will ever take us away from each other!" Eve said with a smile. THE END Feedback? Yes, please, or I'll go into withdrawal! : ) E-mail me at CSMsWife@aol.com