Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warnings:
Category:
Fandom:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Collections:
Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
Stats:
Published:
2020-11-04
Completed:
2006-09-08
Words:
36,510
Chapters:
22/22
Kudos:
16
Hits:
6,807

Sojourn

Summary:

Rated: FRT-13(this part)
Genre: Hetero (sorry Peja)
Summary: Skinner and Scully take the lone survivor of a brutal attack cross country.
Warnings: Graphic violence;rape,(this part)love,lust,jealousy and a little Scully bashing coming up.
Submitted through the XFilesFic mailing list.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Sojourn
by Mummiehelen

The sisters had been blessed with beauty, intelligence and artistic talent. The younger one, Erica was a photographer who sold her black and white landscapes at art fairs and supplemented her income by being the staff photographer for the local newspaper. She still lived at home with her parents. Older sibling Caterina a portrait artist, had studied in both Floernce and Rome and trained at The School of The Art Institute in Chicago. Her studio and residence was a SoHo loft.

They gathered at the parents home for dinner one Saturday a month. Honoring this tradition was in appreciation for the good life they'd been given. Private schools, country clubs and a grand estate to grow up on came courtesy of their father's import business.On this particular weekend, Mother and daughters fluttered around the kitchen preparing the meal. Once it was ready, they set the table, lit the candles and waited for Carmine Matteo to come home. When he didn't, Erica made a suggestion.

"Maybe we should call to see what's keeping dad."

"Your father knows what time dinner is served. If he's late, it's for a good reason." Feliciana Matteo replied.

Suddenly there was a crashing sound of broken glass at the front of the house.The women went to investigate and found two men with guns. They ran to the back door only to find another armed man posted there to prevent their escape.

"What do you want?" Feliciana asked and got backhanded for an answer.

While the other two held the daughters, Mrs. Matteo was severely beaten before they asked where her husband was.

"He's at his office as far as I know." she said through bleeding lips.

One man threw her to the floor and when he was certain she was too weak to fight back, raped her while the daughters, gripped by the other two, watched helpessly. Then the attack was turned on them. They were beaten and raped repeatedly as the men took turns. Caterina looked over at her mother on the living room floor and knew she was dead. Erica was on the opposite side, so badly bruised as to be unrecognizable. With the last of her strength, she begged them to spare her sister. Federal agents arrived on the scene just before she lost consciousness.

When she woke, she had no idea where she was or how much time had passed, only that she was enveloped in pain, both physical and emotional. She saw a light overhead and a vague human outline. She tried to open her mouth but found it difficult with swollen lips.

"Don't try to speak." the voice said.

"Where am I?" she asked anyway.

"Georgetown University Hospital." answered the man she assumed was a doctor.

"My sister...my mother?"

"Try to rest." he evaded.

Caterina closed her eyes. Her head hurt, her body hurt but mostly, her heart hurt. She knew her mother must be in the morgue but needed to know her sister's condition. She sensed rather than saw people working around her and something being injected into her IV drip. Thankfully, she slipped back into the blackness of drug induced sleep. Some time later she woke to the sensation of warm fingers wrapped around her hand. She squeezed them lightly.

"Are you awake?" a different voice than before asked. This one was deeper, richer, full of genuine concern.

"Yes."

"Do you feel able to talk?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"My name is Walter Skinner. I'm with the FBI. I'm sorry but I have to ask you a few questions."

"Alright."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

She explained in as much detail as she could remember.

"Would you recognize the men if you saw them again?"

"Yes. Did anyone bring my totebag?"

"I'll check." he said and excused himself, returning a few minutes later.

"It's here. What do you need?"

"My laptop. I can draw them for you but, I need help to sit up."

A moment later she felt the bed being raised and hands lifting her.

"Comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you." she lied, struggling to get into a position that was. Then she opened the computer and logged in to the program she wanted and using a steel stylus, began to draw on the screen,

"Kinda like an Etch-a-sketch, eh?"

"Kinda." she said as she finished a basic outline drawing of the three attackers. Then she turned it toward him. "By the way, was anyone there when my father got home to tell him what happened?"

"Uh...he never showed up."

"What are you talking about? He was due home for dinner." she said, obviously becoming upset.

Skinner could have kicked himself for giving that information away.

"I think I've taken up enough of your time for now. Perhaps you should rest."

She bit back a caustic remark about having to 'rest' every time someone didn't want to answer her questions but, closed her eyes instead.It would take a concerted effort on her part but, eventually she got the doctor to tell her her mother had been pronounced at the scene and that her sister was DOA.

When the worst of her injuries were healed, Caterina was moved to a safehouse in Baltimore. At about the same time, Skinner got a call from the Director stating he and Agent Scully were assigned to escort Ms. Matteo to San Francisco. Even though he felt a twinge of unease at his growing attraction for her and the idea of driving across the country made him distinctly uncomfortable, he knew it was useless to argue.

"Yes Sir." he said.

He called Scully in to explain their assignment.

"First thing I want you to do is go to her loft and pack about a week's worth of clothing."

She knew why he had her do this task. First, a woman would know better what another woman needed on the road. Second, he didn't want to rumage through her things trying to figure out what to pack. Third, he trusted that she wouldn't take anything personal that could be identified with her old life; photo albums, framed pictures, heirloom jewelry. Cause if Ms. Matteo didn't realize she was leaving her life behind by now, she would soon enough.

She went on the pretense of gathering evidence in case anyone became suspicious. She looked around trying to find fault with the place but it had classic loft features; brick walls, high ceilings, wood floors and frosted windows with chicken wire. Caterina had added skylights in the studio portion. The agent studied the wall of sketched portraits. They were good...very good. Then she went to the sleeping area and packed a bag without sparing another thought for the artist.

When she arrived in Baltimore from New York, she was told they'd be leaving the next day. She was less than thrilled to learn they'd be sharing driving duties on primarily back roads.

"I thought it was put out that she was dead." she groused.

" And that's exactly why she can't be seen until we reach our destination when it'll be too late for them to stop her from testifying." he shot back.

Next he had to tell Ms. Matteo.

"How long do you think it'll take?" she asked.

"I figure six days drive. Feel up to it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, not really. But, we'll try to make you as comfortable as possible."

Caterina felt that even though her body was recovering, she wasn't mentally ready for this. She still had so many questions left unanswered and doubts about her future. Add to that the mixed messages from the assistant director and the distinctly negative vibe from the agent/doctor and it should be one hell of a road trip...or The Road Trip From Hell!!

End of Part One