The X-Files (1993–…): Season 5, Episode 6 - Christmas Carol - full transcript

hello?

Merry Christmas.
Hello. Hi!

Oh, my god! Look at you!
Can you believe this?

How am I gonna
put my arms around you?

It's not gonna be long now. You're huge.

I know. Hi.

Hi. Welcome. Welcome. Hi, sweetie.

Let's get you two settled.
Sorry about the digs, 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, mom, that you're
staying in your old room...

And the nursery is going to
be in Dana and Melissa's room.

That's right.

I got it.thanks, Tara.

Mom...

You okay?

Oh, yeah. Just thinking
about your dad...

And Melissa
and how much I miss them.

Bill?

Scully residence.

Dana? Yes. Who is this?

Dana, she needs your help.

She needs you, Dana.



Go to her.

Who is this?

F.B.I., san Diego.

This is
special agent Dana Scully.

My badge number
is 2-3-1-7-6-1-6.

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, F.B.I. Could you
tell me what's going on here?

Well, no offense, Scully,
F.B.I. What's it to you?

I received a phone call
from this address.

It was a woman's voice. She
said that somebody needed help.

When was this?
About 20 minutes ago.

I've been here 30 minutes. I guarantee
no one's called you or anyone else.

The phone's off the hook.

Please, can you tell me
what happened here?

This is Mrs. Roberta Sim,
age 40.

Suicide. She's been dead
at least three hours.

You got a call from her?

She must have dialed
1-800-The great beyond.

Dana, 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?

I know 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 there
was an incoming call...

From this address
to your brother's house.

But from this end,
they show no outgoing call.

Plus, they confirm the phone here has
been off the hook for the last three hours.

What was their explanation?
Records mix-Up, software collisions.

It's just some kind
of mistake.

Anyway, I gotta wrap things
up, talk to the husband.

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

A lot of people check themselves
out around Christmastime.

Excuse me.

Hello? Hello?

Hello?

- Excuse me.
- Everything okay?

Yeah.

Oh!

Oh, that was a good one.
Is he kicking?

Yeah, he was kicking.
He's kickboxing.

You had boys and girls,
so which one kicked more?

Oh, I had some pretty tough
little girls.

I can't believe
I'm about to say this...

As big and fat as I am right now,
but I can't wait to have more.

This is our baby,
our son.

It kind of 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've 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 okay.

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! I'm gonna 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,
and it came from your house.

I have no earthly idea
what you're talking about.

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

You were here earlier. Yes,
the detective told me... yes.

Something about a
screw up with the phones.

I'm in 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.

I understand-- If you understand,
then you'll stop coming around,

Upsetting me
with this... nonsense.

Please.

Scully, F.B.I. What can I do
for you at this ungodly hour?

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

The Roberta Sim case?

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

We went through this before,
you and I, didn't we?

Whatever you wish to call it, I'd
appreciate seeing everything 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 before, two weeks ago.

A domestic
disturbance call?

We sent a unit because the
neighbors were complaining.

They were screaming at each
other. Wasn't a happy household.

Happy people don't
kill themselves.

- They ran a tox screen?
- Yeah, it's just procedure.

It says they turned up
high levels of Doritriptan.

Some kind of
new migraine medicine.

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

I figure she
anesthetized herself and then--

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

A couple more in her purse.

I'd like to borrow this.

She was adopted.

Danny, hi.
It's me, Dana.

Yeah,
merry Christmas to you too.

I'm wondering
if you can do me a favor.

Um, I need the complete
case files...

On my sister,
Melissa Scully.

Yeah, crime scene and autopsy,

Along with the P.C.R.S
that we ran.

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

As soon as possible.

Okay. Thanks, Danny.

- Dana?
- What?

Is this where you
stayed the night?

Yeah.
Some of it.

It's a vacation. What are you
working on that's so important?

Uh... some unfinished business.

So, you up for joining us this
morning? I've got a little work to do.

Can I join you guys later?

How are you gonna
get around?

I'll rent a car.

All right. Lunch.

We'll hold you to that.

Agent Scully.
It's been, what, four hours?

I was getting worried.

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

There's a possibility
she was murdered.

What, you got
another phone call?

I think it may have
been the husband.

Where did you get that idea?
You want 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.

Suicide 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'm guessing she didn't
want to be interrupted.

Your incident report says
the husband called the police...

- After he discovered his wife dead.
- Yeah.

But if the phone was off the hook
when you arrived, 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.

The stomach contents
appear to include coffee,

Whole wheat toast
and cantaloupe.

No medicine tablets.

Empty sample packets of
Doritriptan succinate were found,

But I see no evidence that
there were any pills ingested.

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

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

It was absorbed
into the bloodstream.

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 that this woman
was injected,

Anesthetized so she wouldn't fight
back, then her suicide was staged.

- What do you think?
- It's a possibility.

Then again, it's possible this
woman simply stepped on a tack,

And the rest is
blue- Sky conjecture.

I'd say it justifies
opening a murder investigation.

This is your doing, isn't it?
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, okay?

Where is 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 anemia.

She requires
daily injections.

We'll check that out.

I want you to analyze this,
get a P.C.R. On the blood.

We need to identify whose it is. Okay.

Dana,
are you all right?

It's 2:00 in the morning.
Where have you been all day?

We were expecting you
for lunch.

Mom... sit down.

The woman who committed suicide
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 P.C.R. Test.

This is Emily's.

This... is Melissa's...

Which we ran
during her murder 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 that there's
a remarkable resemblance.

Melissa was three years old when this
picture was taken. She was 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 P.C.R. Test;

Because 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 R.F.L.P.

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.

Mom...

Remember about four years
ago, Melissa took off?

She traveled up and down
the west coast.

We didn't know where
she was half the time.

You're saying she was pregnant,
and she 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 I'm going through.

It has happened to me.

When your father died, 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 got to 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
checks have been made out to his wife.

The last one was deposited
yesterday, apr?s-Mort.

Where'd the checks come from? A
pharmaceutical firm in Chula vista.

Dr. Calderon?
Yes?

I'm agent Dana Scully
with the F.B.I.,

And this is detective Kresge with
the san Diego police department.

- What can I do for you?
- We're investigating the death of Roberta Sim.

- When did this happen?
- You knew Mrs. Sim?

Her daughter, Emily, is a
patient here at our clinic.

What were you
treating her for?

She's a subject in one
of our clinical trials.

We're developing gene therapies
for several blood disorders.

Emily suffers from a rare type
of autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

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 any results.

You've been paying the Sim
family some compensation for this?

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

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

Then why are the checks
made out to her mother?

How shall I put this?

These payments are a gesture
of goodwill towards Mrs. Sim.

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

She wanted to pull Emily
from the program?

She filed the paperwork, but
her husband later withdrew it.

Dr. Calderon,
did you ever prescribe...

Doritriptan injections to Emily
during the course of her treatment?

No, I prescribed them
for the husband...

When he mentioned he was
suffering from migraines.

Marshall Sim. You're under arrest
for the murder of Roberta Sim.

What?
Where's Emily?

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

I didn't kill her! If you
refuse to remain silent,

Anything you say can and will be
used against you in a court of law.

We'll get you right in there.

Oh.

We'll just get you buckled in
here nice and safe, okay?

You like that, huh?

I'll see you soon, okay?

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

A 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? I'm here,
Dana. You're a million miles away.

I thought you came
to see the family.

I did.

I thought this other thing
was resolved.

I thought you caught the guy
that murdered 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 that
partner of yours would say.

It does not matter where
that phone call came from.

What matters is that there is
a little girl who 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 am not gonna justify my motives--

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.

they identified themselves?

They said they
were his lawyers.

How long were they here?
Ten, fifteen minutes tops.

Damn it!

- When did you get back?
- Just now.

You're just in time. I was
on my way to the neighbors'.

Mom and Tara are already
there. What happened?

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

They made it look like a
suicide, just 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 about 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.
There's 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 in
on Christmas eve.

Not at all.

I don't understand.

I mean, 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 well-Being
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 anymore.

I know you're
a trained physician,

And are aware of Emily's
medical condition.

I want to
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 firsthand
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.

Okay.
I wish you luck.

Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.

I'll show myself out.

Dana?

Melissa? I 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
I'm making a big mistake.

I could tell dad
sure thinks I am.

Oh, well,
it's not his life, Dana.

Yeah, I know that.

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

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

Then...

By the time I graduated,
I just knew it was wrong.

But now the F.B.I. Feels right,
and what if that's wrong too?

There is no right or wrong.
Life is just a path.

You 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.

Just don't mistake the path with
what's really important in life.

Which is what?

The people you're gonna
meet along the way.

You don't know who you're gonna
meet when you join the F.B.I.

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.
Couldn't wait to get to those presents.

Merry Christmas.
Enough pleasantries.

I'm dying to know
what's in this box.

I've been waiting for months!
Let me open it.

this one's from Charles.

From Charles?
Don't open anything.

I'll be right back.
Excuse me.

F.B.I. Courier for
agent Dana Scully, please.

I'm afraid I need agent Scully's
signature, sir.

I need you to sign here,
please.

Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.

what is it?

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

What does it say?

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

But that they found striking genetic
similarities between Emily and Melissa.

So many
that they ran a test...

Against another sample
that they already had.

- What sample?
- What are they trying to say?

According to this...

I am Emily's mother.

I made this!