By Julie Cantrell
xfsista@hotmail.com
 

Rating: PG-13
Category: SA
Spoilers:  None
Keywords: Rape (attempted)
Summary:  Scully deals with an attack.
Feedback:  PLEASE!  I live for feedback!  Please send comments to me at
xfsista@hotmail.com
Archive:  I'd be honored, just ask first.  DO NOT ARCHIVE at Gossamer
(I've already done that).
Disclaimer:  Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully belong to Chris Carter,
1013 Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox Television.  No infringement
is intended.  Donald Becker is of my own creation, but I threw him out
with the trash when I finished this story.  :)
Visit http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dungeon/3881/ to see the image that
goes along with this story (click on fanfic button).

******************
Dignity
by Julie Cantrell
******************

"Mulder, you've got to be kidding me," Dana Scully spouted into her cell
phone as she walked from the library to her car.  She had been doing
research on their latest case while Mulder was following a lead.  As
usual, her partner was suggesting a theory that was less than believable.

"C'mon, Scully," Fox Mulder's voice floated through the earpiece, "you
can't tell me that after all these years that you're suprised at my
theories."

"On the contrary, Mulder," she countered lightly, "you never fail to
amaze me."

She could hear him chuckle lightly which brought a smile to her own face.

Suddenly, Scully was shoved to the ground from behind.  She emitted a
soft gasp as she flailed her arms for balance, dropping her phone in the
process.  She tried to break her fall, but failed miserably as the heels
of her hands scraped against the pavement.

Instincts kicked in and she reached for her holster.  A large hand clamped
over her wrist and twisted her arm painfully behind her back, while another
hand pulled her gun free and tossed it aside.

'Phone!' she thought frantically.  Her eyes darted quickly looking for the
cell phone.  Relief washed over her as she noticed it out of the corner
of her eye.  Her alleviation was short lived when she realized that the
battery pack had been knocked off when she had dropped it.

Scully started to panic when she felt a clumsy hand slide up her waist
and brush the side of her right breast.  She gasped for air as she tried
to regulate her breathing.  'Stay calm,' she told herself.  The hand slid
further and twisted her tender flesh.  Her eyes pinched shut and she
gritted her teeth to keep from screaming.  The smell of cheap liquor
assaulted her nose as the breath of her attacker slipped down her face
next to her ear.

"Oh, yeah," he whispered menacingly.  "This is going to be so good."  He
continued to painfully knead her breast.

Before she knew what happened, he had flipped her on her back.  The gritty
texture of the asphalt dug into her back.  He pinned her arms over her
head and straddled her waist.  For the first time, she saw the face of
her assailant.

She quickly sized him up.  He was a young man, somewhere between 25 to 30,
average build, about five feet and 11 inches in height, around 170 pounds,
and slightly drunk.  His blond hair was thick with a lock that fell over
his left brow.  He looked like a clean cut college student with the
exception of his eyes.  The piercing blue burned with unheard of hatred
and anger.

He leaned over Scully and began kissing her neck.  Blood rushed in her
ears as she fought another wave of panic.  His heavy breathing fell hotly
on her neck.

He sat back up and began fumbling with her blouse with one hand, while
the other held her wrists together.  He quickly became annoyed and ripped
it open exposing her chest to the cool, night air.  Scully squirmed when
his lips returned to her body, only this time to her chest.  He sat up
angrily and backhanded her across the face.  White hot pain seared behind
her right eye.

'Stay focused, Dana,' she told herself.  'Don't pass out!'

She blinked a few times when she realized his fingers were stumbling with
her slacks.  When he saw he needed two hands, he let go of Scully's wrists.
He hadn't noticed her quick recovery from his shocking blow.

Scully folded both of her hands into a tight fist.  Using all of the
strength in her arms and upper torso, she bolted upright and pounded the
man in the middle of his chest.  He fell off of her and she scrambled
to her feet.

The attacker looked up at her in shock and jumped to his feet as well.

"You bitch!" he seethed.  He bolted after her, but she quickly stopped
him by kicking him in the ribs.  He growled in pain, but remained standing.
Scully pulled her right fist back and belted him in the jaw.  She brought
her knee to his groin and he dropped to his knees.

She saw her gun on the ground and picked it up.  She quickly trained
her weapon on the assailant.  Sirens wailed in the background.

******************

An hour later.
D.C. General Hospital

Mulder was frantic by the time he got to Scully's room.  He took in her
appearance and the blood drained from his face.

"Oh, my God," he whispered.  "Scully..."

"I'm fine, Mulder," she said, as expected.

"Who did this to you?" anger flashed in his eyes.

"His name is Donald Becker.  He's suspected in the rapes of several
women in the area," she calmly explained.

"Rape?" he questioned.  "Scully, did he...?"

"No, Mulder," she cut him off.  "He didn't get the opportunity."

"I'll kill the son of a bitch," Mulder spat viciously.

Scully sighed, "Mulder, he tried, but he didn't.  I took care of it."

"But, Scully?" his voice filled with pain again as he traced a finger
along her battered face.

"Trust me, Mulder, he looks worse than I do," she smiled, but the pain of
the bruise made it look more like a grimace.

Mulder smiled back.  "Somehow, I don't doubt that."

As quickly as the smiles came, they disappeared.  Silence reigned for
a few brief moments.  Scully broke the silence and spoke solemnly.

"Mulder," her voice sounded strangled, "I've been violated in ways I can
only imagine.  My hopes for the future were stolen from me and my own
body has been used to betray me.  Sometimes, I feel lucky that I don't
remember the details of my abduction.  I feel that even though my body was
violated, I still have my dignity.  That dignity is something that I will
not let anyone, especially some low life rapist off of the street, take
away from me.  No matter what happens, I'll always have that."

By the end of her speech, her voice had gained confidence and conviction.
Mulder breathed a silent word of thanks to any deity that would listen and
enveloped her in a hug.  After a comfortable moment, he pulled back.

"Have I ever told you that you're one hell of a woman?"

"Not in so many words, Mulder, but you have," she smiled at him.

"Need a ride home?" he offered.

"Yeah," she murmured.

******************

After bidding Mulder goodbye, Scully slipped into the bathroom.  She stood
in front of the mirror and looked at her beaten visage.  She sighed
wearily and pulled off the scrubs that had replaced her shredded blouse.
She finished undressing and stepped into her rarely used shower.  As the
hot water hit her, she relived the last few hours in her mind.

When she had given her statement to the local police, many of the officers
patted her on the back.

"Good job, Agent Scully," one of them had said.  Another one laughed.

"That's what the asshole gets for going after an FBI agent."

Scully knew that she had done what she always had.  She had assessed the
situation and had taken control.  It was what she was supposed to do.  She
had, indeed, done a fine job.

But, why didn't she feel any better about it?

She looked down at her black and blue body and tears began to flow.  She
wasn't crying out of fear or pain.  She was crying out of pure relief.  In
an instant, she could have lost what she had prided herself on her entire
life:  her dignity.

She was fortunate, she realized, to have the training that she did.  Women
were raped all of the time.  Their dignity and pride was stripped from
them carelessly by sick individuals who needed help.  Her tears of ease
turned into sadness for those who didn't have the skills to keep them
from losing a part of themselves.

As the salty tears mixed with water skidded off of the tip of her nose,
she washed away the smell of sweat and booze from the animal that had
the audacity to call himself a man.

******************

One month later.

She hadn't been in front of a class since the X-files were closed the
first time and she had been shipped to Quantico.  Thankfully, she was
here by choice today.  She would teach on the Saturday mornings when
she and Mulder weren't out of town on assignment.

She looked out into the sea of faces that were adorned with fear.  If
she did her job right, she would erase that look of helplessness.

She felt slightly uncomfortable in her grey sweats and matching t-shirt,
but she held her head high as she stood before the group.

"Good morning!  I'm Special Agent Dana Scully.  Welcome to 'Women's Self-
Defense 101'."

******************

The End

******************

Author's notes:  This story was inspired by debates on atxc about Scully
rape stories.  By writing this, I hope that I was able to convey the
following things:

1.  I love to see Scully kick butt!  She's a strong, independant woman
who uses her skills wisely and effectively.

2.  Helping others can be just as comforting as being held by the one you
love.  I wanted to see Scully do one of the things she does best:  help
others.  Not only help, but empower.

3.  This story isn't graphic.  Frankly, I didn't have it in me to be
graphic.  The subject was already ugly.  I hope that lack of gratuity
doesn't take away from the seriousness of the situation implied.

4.  More than anything, I hope that you see this as a positive outcome to
a sometimes exhausting discussion.

Also, I hope that anyone who has written fanfic involving rape in the past
doesn't take offense.  I just wanted to point out that these types of
stories don't have to follow a formula.

Big thanX to Maureen O'Brien for her kind and very encouraging words!

All comments can be sent to xfsista@hotmail.com and I welcome all constructive criticism.