05x06 - Christmas Carol

[bunniefuu]

Hello? Merry Christmas!

Hello.

Hi! Oh, my God! Look at you!

How am I gonna get my arms around you? It's not gonna belong now.

You're huge! Dana... I know.

Welcome, welcome. Hi sweetie.

Well, let's get you two settled.

Sorry, Mom. I know you hoped you'd never spend another night in base housing.

Are you kidding? This is wonderful.

It's the exact same layout as our old house.

That's the navy for you. Bill tells me, Morn. that you're staying in your old room and the nursery's in Dana and Melissa's room.

That's right.

I got it. Thanks.

Mom? You OK?

Yeah. Just thinking about your dad.

And Melissa. How much I miss 'em.

Bill?

Scully residence. Dana?

Yes. I'm sorry, who is this?

Dana, she needs your help.

She needs you, Dana.

Go to her.

Who... who is this?

FBI, San Diego. This is Special Agent Dana Scully.

My badge number is 2317-616.

Can you transfer me to your sound agent, please?

I'd like to trace the last number that was dialed into this phone.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who are you?

Scully. FBI. Could you tell me what's going on here?

Well, Uh, no offense, Scully, FBI. What's it to you?

I received a phone call from this address. It was a woman's voice.

She said that somebody here needed help. When was this?

About 20 minutes ago. I been here 30 minutes.

I guarantee you, no one's called out to you or anyone else. Phone's off the hook.

Please, can you tell me what happened here?

This is Mrs Roberta Sim.

Age 40. su1c1de.

She's been dead at least three hours.

You got a call from her, she must have dialed 1-800-The Great Beyond.

What's going on? They're joking about you getting a call from a dead woman.

I thought it was a dead woman, just not the one in there.

What are you talking about? It's not possible, but it sounded just like her. Who?

Our sister.

Melissa.

I don't know what to tell you. Pac Bell does confirm that there was an incoming call from this address to your brother's house, but from here they show no outgoing call.

They confirm the phone's been off the hook for three hours.

What was their explanation? A mix-up. Software glitch.

Obviously just some kind of mistake.

Anyway, I gotta wrap things up.

Talk with the husband.

Listen, weird phone calls aside, this is looking pretty straightforward.

A lot of people check themselves out around Christmas time.

No, this is... you know, it's fine. It's just old. It's very, very old.

Excuse me.

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Excuse me.

Everything OK? Yeah.

Oh!

That was a good one. Is he kicking?

He's kicking. Kick boxing.

You had boys and girls. Which one kicked more?

I had some pretty tough little girls.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, big and fat as I am right now.

I can't wait to have more. This is our baby, our son.

Kinda gives everything new meaning.

I can't help but think that life before now was somehow... less.

Just a prelude.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Mom, I'm very happy for Bill and Tara.

You don't seem to be.

Mom...

Several months ago, I learned that, as a result of my abduction, of what they did to me, that I cannot conceive a child.

I'm so sorry.

It's OK.

I just never realized how much I wanted it until I couldn't have it.

Dana, where is it? Where is that rabbit? I'm not telling.

I'm gonna find that rabbit and cook it. Turn it into stew.

No, you're not! Rabbit stew, here I go.

You're not gonna find him!

Bill!

Scully.

She needs your help.

Who is this? Why are you doing this?

Go to her.

Mr Sim, my name is Dana Scully. I'm very sorry for your loss and I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour... What do you want?

I received a phone call less than an hour ago.

I was addressed by name and told that I needed to help someone. A woman.

I traced the call. It came from your house. I have no idea what you're talking about.

This is the second time this has happened. I'd like to get to the bottom of it.

You were here earlier. Yes.

The detective told me about a screw-up with the phones.

I'm in the middle of a meeting.

No one's called you from here. Not earlier today, and certainly not tonight.

You can't imagine how bad a day this has been for my daughter and myself.

Well, if you understand, you'll stop coming around upsetting me with this nonsense.

Please.

Scully FBI. What can I do for you at this ungodly hour?

I'd like everything you have on the Roberta Sim case.

The Roberta Sim case?

There is no Roberta Sim case. It's a simple su1c1de.

We went through this before, didn't we? Whatever you wish to call it, I'd appreciate seeing everything that you have.

In the spirit of the season?

So what are you looking for?

Can you even tell me?

It says here your precinct visited the Sims two weeks ago.

A domestic disturbance call?

The neighbours were complaining. They were screaming at each other.

It wasn't a happy household. Happy people don't k*ll themselves.

They ran a tax screen?

Yeah. It's just procedure.

Says they found high levels of doritriptan. Some kind of new migraine medicine.

Apparently, you take enough, you're wearing a cloud for a hat.

I figure she anaesthetised herself, and then,,.

Found a bunch of empty sample packets in the bathroom trash.

Couple more in her purse.

I'd like to borrow this.

She's adopted.

Danny? Hi, it's me, Dana.

Yeah. Merry Christmas to you too. I, uh, I'm wondering if you can do me a favour.

I need the complete case files on my sister, Melissa Scully.

Yeah, crime scene and... and autopsy, along with the PCRs that we ran.

Right, but I need you to send them to the San Diego field office.

As soon as possible.

OK.

Thanks, Danny.

Dana?

Is this where you stayed the night? Yeah.

Some of it.

It's supposed to be a vacation.

What you workin' on that's so important?

Just some unfinished business. Are you up for joining us this morning?

I've got a little work to do. Can I join you guys later?

Well, how are you gonna get around? I'll... I'll rent a car.

All right. Lunch.

We'll hold you to that.

Agent Scully. It's been, what, four hours? I was gettin' worried.

I'd like to order an autopsy on Roberta Sim.

There's a possibility she was m*rder*d.

What, you got another phone call?

I think it may have been the husband.

Where'd you get that idea? Want a coffee?

No thanks. He's got an ironclad alibi.

Mr Sim was at the doctor's office with his daughter.

He was there all morning. I checked.

I took another look at the police photos this morning.

There were no hesitation cuts on Roberta Sim's wrists.

su1c1de victims seldom make the fatal cut on the first try.

Seldom, but not always.

Is that all you got? No.

Why was the phone off the hook when you got to the Sims' house?

The wife took it off. I guess she didn't wanna be interrupted.

Your incident report says the husband called the police after finding his wife dead.

Yeah.

But if the phone was off the hook, how did he call you?

Did he find the phone off the hook, call you, and then have the presence of mind to return it to the way he found it?

Does that make sense to you? What are you suggesting?

I'm suggesting that there are questions which beg further investigation.

Order an autopsy.

Stomach contents appear to include coffee, whole-wheat toast and cantaloupe.

No medicine tablets.

Empty packets of doritriptan were found, but I see no evidence that pills were ingested.

Well, obviously there were. Doritriptan showed up on the tax screen.

Then why didn't it show up in her stomach?

It was absorbed into the bloodstream.

No. I don't believe the absorption would be that complete. Not that close to her death.

Then how did the doritriptan get in her system, Ms Scully?

A needle puncture? On the heel of her right foot.

Extremely tiny and easy to miss. It was meant to be overlooked.

I believe this woman was injected, anaesthetised so she wouldn't fight back, then her su1c1de was staged.

What do you think? It's a possibility.

And then again it's possible this woman stepped on a tack and the rest is blue-sky conjecture.

I'd say it justifies opening a m*rder investigation.

This is your doing.

You didn't have the decency to leave me and my daughter alone...

Mr Sim, please.

Now, you're gonna want to calm down and let us do our business, OK?

Mr Sim, where's your daughter right now? Why?

She's at a friend's house. Thank God she's not here to see this.

Detective? This was in the trash out back.

You got an explanation for this? Yes.

My daughter has a severe form of anaemia. She requires daily injections.

We'll check that out.

I want you to analyze this. Get a PCR on the blood.

We need to identify whose it is.

Dana?

Are you all right?

It's two o'clock in the morning. Where have you been all day?

We were expecting you for lunch.

Mom...

Sit down.

The woman who committed su1c1de has an adopted daughter.

A three-year-old named Emily. I got a sample of Emily's blood and I had the lab run a test on her DNA.

It's called a PCR test.

This is Emily's.

And this... is Melissa's, which we ran during her m*rder investigation.

They match.

What does it mean, "They match"? It means... that this little girl Emily...

is Melissa's daughter.

It's not possible.

You can't deny the remarkable resemblance.

Melissa was three years old when this picture was taken. Practically a baby.

All kids can look the same at that age. Mom, it's uncanny.

Emily looks exactly like Melissa.

That's why I ordered the PCR test.

Her face may change, but her DNA can't. And that test is accurate?

There is a 60% chance that Melissa is Emily's mother.

I'm going to order a more comprehensive test, an RflP.

It'll take a couple of days, then we'll be sure.

I am already sure your sister did not have a baby. She would have told me.

Remember about four years ago Melissa took off?

She traveled the West Coast. We didn't know where she was.

She was pregnant and didn't want us to know?

That was 1994.

Emily was born that November.

She could have given her up for adoption and none of us would have ever known.

Dana, listen to me. I know what you're going through.

Mom, this has nothing to do with anything that I'm going through.

It has happened to me.

When your father d*ed, it was a long time before he left me.

I saw him in my dreams. The phone would ring and just for a moment I was sure it was his voice.

And you're doing the same thing with Melissa. You're seeing her in this child.

But that does not make this child my granddaughter.

We're still connected to them, Dana.

Even after they're gone.

Look at all the presents! Dana, quiet. They'll hear us.

This one's for me. You wish. That's for Billy, you dope.

This has gotta be it! It's gotta be Hotel California.

Shh! You'll wake everybody.

I wonder what this is. I don't know, but I got one too.

You don't have to shake it, Dana. You can open those now.

Thanks, Mom.

Your grandmother gave me a cross just like that when I was about your age.

It's pretty.

It means God is with you. He'll watch over you wherever you go.

Dana?

Hi. Sorry. There's a detective here to see you.

I'll be right down.

I know it's early. Not a problem.

Interesting tidbit on Mr Sim. What?

Bank deposits. Large ones. $30,000 a pop.

Three in the last 18 months. All the cheques have been made out to his wife.

The last one was deposited yesterday, après mort.

Where'd the cheques come from? A pharmaceutical firm in Chula Vista.

Dr Calderon? Yes?

I'm Agent Scully with the FBI and this is Detective Kresge with the San Diego Police.

What can I do for you? We're investigating Roberta Sim's death.

When did this happen? You knew Mrs Sim?

Her daughter is a patient at our clinic. What were you treating her for?

She’s a subject in a clinical trial.

We're developing gene therapies for several blood disorders.

Emily's suffering from a rare type of autoimmune haemolytic anaemia.

She’s a very sick little girl.

What's her prognosis? I really couldn't say.

These are ongoing double-blind trials. It could be years before we have results.

You've been paying the Sim family compensation?

Emily's a special case. We were lucky to find her.

How did you find her? Her father brought her to our attention.

Then why are the cheques made out to her mother?

How shall I put this?

These payments are a gesture of goodwill towards Mrs Sim.

She wasn't convinced that our treatment was the way to go.

She wanted Emily out of the programme?

She filed the paperwork but her husband later withdrew it.

Dr Calderon, did you ever prescribe doritriptan injections to Emily?

No. I prescribed them for the husband when he mentioned he suffered from migraines.

Marshall Sim, you're under arrest for the m*rder of Roberta Sim.

What? Where's Emily?

Are you out of your mind? You have the right to remain silent.

This is crazy!

Anything you say can be used against you...

I wouldn't k*ll my wife! You have the right to an attorney...

Let's get you right in there.

Let's just get you buckled in here nice and safe, OK?

You like that, huh?

I'll see you soon, OK?

Every year my husband insisted on putting the angel on top of the tree by himself.

Man's work. Yes.

Dana, can you give me a hand in the kitchen?

Yeah.

What's up?

I need you to tell me what's going on. What do you mean?

Dana, you're a million miles away. I thought you came to see the family.

I did.

I thought this thing was resolved, that you caught the guy that m*rder*d that woman.

We did.

Then it's about the girl, isn't it?

Mom told me.

You really think Melissa had a baby? Yes, I do.

She called you from beyond the grave to tell you that?

Sounds like something your partner would say.

It does not matter where that phone call came from.

What matters is that little girl needs my help.

This isn't about any little girl, Dana. It's about you.

It's about some emptiness, some void inside yourself that you're trying to fill.

I don't expect you to understand, but I'm not going to justify my...

Dana?

There's a telephone call for you.

Hello? Merry Christmas, Agent Scully.

Got a little present for you. Marshall Sim just confessed.

He admitted to being at the house that morning?

I got a signed statement right here.

What about the witnesses that placed him at the doctor's office?

I guess they were mistaken.

Maybe they weren't.

Where is he now? County lockup.

Did they identify themselves? They said they were his lawyers.

How long were they here? 10, 15 minutes, tops.

Dammit.

When did you get back?

Just now. You're just in time.

I was on my way over to the neighbours'. Mom and Tara are already there.

What? What happened?

Marshall Sim, Emily's adopted father, is dead.

They made it look like su1c1de, like his wife.

Oh, my God.

Do you know who did it? No.

Do you think it has something to do with that little girl?

I think it might.

Dana, I have to show you something.

Look at the date on the back.

Does Melissa look pregnant to you in that picture?

It's four weeks before the girl was born. Bill, that doesn't prove anything.

Melissa didn't have to get pregnant to have a baby.

There's in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood...

Dana, listen to yourself.

You're creating this whole scenario to fulfill a dream.

What dream? To have a child.

Look, I understand. I know the need.

God knows, Tara and I tried for years.

But making this girl into Melissa's daughter is not the way.

You're only going to end up hurting yourself.

Hi. Hi. I'm here to see Dana Scully.

May I ask...? I'm Susan Chambliss from the county.

It's about the adoption.

Hi. Thanks for coming out on Christmas Eve.

Not at all.

I don't understand.

I think I have a right to know why you're rejecting my application.

It's not mine to accept or reject. Dana.

We only make recommendations to the judge.

But at this point I'd advise against you becoming an adoptive parent.

You're a single woman who's never been married or had a long-term relationship.

You're in a high-stress, time-intensive and dangerous occupation.

One that I sense you're deeply committed to.

And one which would overnight become the secondary priority to the care and wellbeing of this child.

I'm not sure this is a sacrifice you're prepared to make.

Well, it's one that I've given a great deal of thought to.

I mean, to be honest, I've started to question my priorities since I was first diagnosed with cancer.

And I feel like I've been given a second chance.

Ever since I was a child I've never allowed myself to get too close to people.

I've avoided emotional attachments.

Perhaps I've been so... afraid of death, and dying, that any connection just seemed like a bad thing.

Something that wouldn't last.

But I don't feel that any more.

I know you're a trained physician and are aware of Emily's medical condition.

I wanna stress to you, Dana, Emily is a special-needs child.

According to her doctors her condition is incurable.

She requires constant care, both medical and emotional.

The good news is you have first-hand experience of grave illness.

The bad news is you'd have to relive it through the eyes of a child.

I realize that.

And I feel like I'm ready.

We'll review your final application and make our recommendations.

I wish you luck.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

I'll show myself out.

Dana?

Melissa? Didn't know anybody else was up.

I couldn't sleep.

How come? You worried about Quantico, or who gets the most presents this year?

I guess I'm afraid of making a big mistake.

I could tell Dad sure thinks I am.

Well, it's not his life, Dana.

Yeah, I know that.

But, you know, when I started med school it felt so right.

It just seemed like that's where I was supposed to be.

And then by the time I graduated I just knew it was wrong.

And now the FBI feels right, and... what if that's wrong too? There is no right or wrong.

Life's just a path. Just follow your heart and it'll take you where you're supposed to go.

God, you sound like a greeting card.

I don't believe in fate.

I think we have to choose our own path.

Well, just don't mistake the path with what's really important in life.

Which is what? The people you're gonna meet on the way.

You don't know who you're gonna meet when you join the FBI.

You don't know how your life is gonna change, or how you are gonna change the life of others.

Hey!

Good morning!

Hey, sleepyhead. Merry Christmas.

Did Santa come? Santa's still here.

She always had to be first up at Christmas. Couldn't wait to get at those presents.

OK, enough pleasantries. I'm dying to know what's in this box.

I've waited for a month. Let me open it.

This one's from Charles.

Don't open anything. I'll be right back.

FBI courier. Agent Dana Scully, please.

No, I'm afraid I need Agent Scully's signature, sir.

Sorry, ma'am. They make you sign for everything these days.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

What is it?

It's the DNA test on Emily Sim's blood.

What does it say?

It says definitively that Melissa is not Emily's mother.

But they found striking genetic similarities between them, so many that they... ran a test against another sample that they already had.

What sample? What are you trying to say?

According to this,

I am Emily's mother.