From: Stonewar Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 18:47:00 -0500 Subject: Another One by Stonewar -Title: Another One -Author: Stonewar -Email: stonewar@navix.net -Rating: PG -Category: S X -Disclaimer: X-Files characters belong to FOX and 1013. . -Spoilers: One Breath, US Season 6 -Summary: Someone else shows up in a hospital under similar circumstancesas Agent Scully. Who is she? and Can they investigate now that they don't have the X-files FBI HQ January 20, 1999 It was far from peaceful in the bullpen. In fact it was cacophonous with noise of ringing phones, chattering voices and clacking keyboards. Special Agent Fox Mulder glanced over his shoulder at his partner sitting at the desk behind him, just in time to witness her tossing back a handful of ibuprofen. She was likely wishing for the good old days in their dirty little office. Despite its many faults like the lack of a second desk and the occasional mysterious smell, at least she could work in peace and quiet. Mulder gave a nostalgic sigh for the old office and a time when he didn't' have to twist and turn in strange contortions in an attempt to seem nonchalant while accumulating his recommended daily dose of Scully gazing.. He glanced at his monitor and noticed that the email icon was flashing. " Probably another inter-office memo reminding us that holiday window clings and toys on the desk do not uphold the dignity that the facility managers wish to project in a Federal building," He though while muttering curses toward the cubicle gestapo. He clicked the icon anyway just to delay going back to paperwork hell. DATE 01/20/1999 10:47AM TO: MulderF@FBI.GOV FROM: CarlisleKD@GUMC.EDU RE: ER Admittance Unknown Sorry, guy. I really hate writing subject lines. Anyway just dropping you a line to let you know another weird admittance showed up this morning around 6 am. Female 20's usual symptoms. KDC **** PAY DIRT! Mulder quickly deleted the email and grabbed his coat. "Mulder!" Scully called noticing his flurry of activity as he started down the aisle toward the elevators. "I have to go." "Where do you *have* to go?" That stopped his progress " Remember your New Years Revolution., Spooky." He turned back and sat back down in his chair facing her desk and compiled what to say while she leaned back and considered him with suspicious raised eyebrow. "I got an email." He began and she reciprocated with a 'please continue' gesture. "I sent out inquiries a while back to hospitals asking to be informed when patients are admitted under strange circumstances." "Like abandoned in the ER in an unexplained coma." "Exactly." "How many responses have you gotten?" "This is the third." Scully cleared her throat and composed herself before continuing. "We'll ignore for the moment that I'm only now hearing about this because you are keeping things from me again...What happened with the other two." Mulder noted the look she was giving him across the desk. Restrained anger kept in check because she was genuinely interested. "First one came in while we were out of town. Once we returned and check my mail ....It was too late. She never came out of her coma" "Autopsy?" "Clerical Error," her responded with at sneer. "she was cremated immediately." "Of course," she agreed with a similar expression. "And the second." "No connection. A serial killer had an attack of conscience and decided it was time to be captured and dropped a broad hint for VCS at Arlington General. The third...all I know is she's in her 20's and showed up at Georgetown University Medical Center at 6 a.m." he explained and stood up. "Mulder, take off you coat. I assume you deleted the email already? Please retrieve it from your trash file and compose a introduction explaining what you just explained to me citing file numbers, etc." He removed his coat and sat back at his desk and started to do as she asked albeit reluctantly while she dug her address book out of her purse. "You can forward it to Fowley and Spender after lunch and make sure you CC both Skinner and Kersh." His heart sank a little bit more as she finished her instructions. "Hey Mulder," called as she picked up the receiver and started to dial. "Its almost eleven, let me take you out to an early lunch. My treat. I hear GUMC has a great cafeteria.......ER please, Dr Javali." "I knew there was a reason I loved this woman," He thought. Part Two "Are you aware how thin the ice you're walking on is? Your current attitude of 'You may has well give me back the X-files because I'm going to investigate them anyway' is only hurting you...and us." Scully chastised over the echoing clicks of their heels in the Hoover building parking garage. Mulder sighed. "I know. I can't help myself sometimes." He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door for her. "Believe me, Mulder. I know," She said and got in the passenger's side. "That's why I'm coming along. We'll do the initial inquiry and once its clear it an X-file, we'll turn it over. That should be enough to satisfy your curiosity and show the others you can exercise restraint." "May I?" He asked with a smirk. "Not now, Mulder," She said sharply while she read the fax she received from her friend at the med center . "Ok, no banter, all business," He thought and quickly changed channels. "What did Dr .Javali fax over?" He asked. "Just the initial blood work results....oh and she's awake." She commented distractedly all of her attention focused on the fax. "Already? She was only admitted this morning." "Felix seems to think that the coma was induced but there is no trace of those drugs in her system." "It may be a drug they haven't seen before. So, no branched DNA, This may not be an X-file after all." He murmured as he pulled on to the Beltway. "She has an implant in the back of her neck. I asked him to check when I requested additional tests. He'd noticed it during the admittance exam." Scully closed her eyes, leaned her head back against the seat back. and lightly fingered the cross at her throat. She breathed a heavy sigh. Mulder's eyes grazed over face wishing he could spare her the pain of her memories or the pain certainly caused by the lack of them. He gently pulled the fax from her lap and scanned over it himself while pulled off at their exit. "Athena Braun," He read aloud. "Sounds like one of your video women," She remarked glancing over with a playful look. "Scully, shame on you. Judging someone based on their name. Just look at Star Jones." "Or Fox Mulder. So, you've been watching 'The View' on your coffee breaks, eh, Mulder." She teased. He glared at her. "Of course not, she was a legal correspondent during the Simpson trial." "Mm-hmm," She smiled closing her eyes again not believing him. "They did a rape kit." He pointed out on the form before handing back the fax while he pulled into the parking area. "They found some recent trauma." "Good luck finding trace evidence." He said with a derisive snort. "Speculums and latex gloves rarely leave any," She pointed out as they pulled into a parking spot. They collected their things and stepped out of the vehicle. "Mulder," Scully said trying to grab his attention as he walked toward the entrance of the hospital. When he turned she continued talking. "I think this is the case that will get them back for us." "Or at the very least away from them." He said finishing her thought. "Of course, I think that every time. Why do you think that this one is different?" "Well, this is a classic X-file. You can reference previous incidents. and its a clear cut federal offense - Kidnapping and doubly so if they crossed state lines which is so easy to do in this area." He closed the distance between them finishing Scully's thought "It also involves the Syndicate. So once its in Spender's hands he likely to bury it." "And that's negligence pure and simple. If he doesn't think its an X-file he should route to another division or at the very least put it in the hands of the local authorities. This is what I had in the back of my head when I had you type up that attachment. *We* are going through proper channels and when *He* doesn't follow though---" "We've given him enough rope to hang himself with." "Aren't you glad I came along?" "I'm always glad when you come" He said giving her shoulder a little squeeze. "I assume you have a plan for how we are going to know how he handles this case or *doesn't* handle it. Unlike some people I can mention we don't have spies." "Just turn on that Mulder-charm and Ms. Braun will keep you posted. You won't have to lift a finger." "You think I'm charming, Scully?" She turned to him and flashed a smile full of sweetness and light and said "I think you are a insufferable, arrogant, self-centered son of a bitch, but some women find you charming." she gave him a condescending pat on the cheek then walked past him through the hospital's main entrance. end part two. PART THREE Fox Mulder hovered at the door of room 831 to observe its occupant without letting her know she was being watched. He also debated whether to wait for Scully to finish speaking with her friend Dr. Felix Javali so Ms Braun would not need to repeat the answers to their questions. She was sitting up in the bed while a nurse checked her temperature and pulse. Her dark brown hair hang rather stiffly around her shoulders like it hadn't been washed in a while, but it still flipped up at the ends. Her complexion was the startling ivory that only dark haired women have. "Special Agent Peeping Tom, I presume. Come on in. I'm not so modest that exposed arms embarrass me." the patient called with a smirk, mischief dancing in her moss green eyes while the nurse wrapped the blood pressure cuff around her arm. "You were told we were coming." He stated stepping the rest of the way into the room. "We? I only see one of you ," She countered. "My partner is speaking with your doctor at the moment." She nodded her acceptance of that statement. "You seem familiar to me. Have we met before?" "Not that I recall, sorry." "Its ok. So go ahead ask your questions." "If you insist," he allowed, amused that she had taken over the interview for a moment and had returned the control or rather bestowed it upon him like it was gift. "What was the last day you remember?" He asked as he pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down. "Umm...the 10th all day," she murmured searching her memory," the 11th is a complete blank, and just bits and pieces of the 12th. So December 12th, I guess." Six weeks. Sadness crept into his eyes. Ms. Braun picked up on it immediately, her expression also became more serious. "I've been gone for a while, haven't I?" She demanded timidly. "You're trying to figure out how to tell me without traumatizing more than I already am. Right?" "You are very perceptive, Ms. Braun." He said with a sigh. "Just tell me the date, OK." she asked bracing herself mentally and physically by gripping the bedding. "January 20th." "Shit!" That was not quite the reaction he had expected. Especially when the expletive conveyed Annoyance more that dismay. "I've missed the beginning of Spring term." She muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose as if warding off a headache. "Do you teach?" "I'm pursuing a Ph.D. in Anthropology at Yale." She answered leaning back against her pillows. "You were in New Haven on the 12th, then?" *Connecticut to Maryland this looks promising* he thought. "No, my mother called me home early. She'd been ill. I was at her home in Langley." She answered distractedly while the nurse prepared to take some more blood. She snapped her fingers. "Fox Mulder." "What?" Mulder responded. Then he realized he hadn't introduced himself when he arrived. "Then we *have* met?" "No, but I saw a picture of you once." She began, speaking very quickly like she were an adolescent rather than a woman in her twenties. "Mid-80's you were younger, of course your hair was longer and you were wearing a mortar board and robe over a hawiian shirt so I assume it was taken while you were in England." Mulder scooted his chair closer to the bed. "Where did you see that picture, Ms. Braun?" He demanded. There was only one picture that he was aware of where he was posed like that. "Stealing money from Dad's wallet during my misspent youth." she answered sheepishly. Mulder had no response for that statement. He re-evaluated the woman's features in a new light. her nose was somewhat prominent and had obviously been broken once during her 'misspent youth.' On second observation her eyes were actually hazel with a star burst of brown creeping around the moss green iris. She smiled a crooked grin, revealing a slight overbite, "Please call me Theen." Mulder stood abruptly "Will you excuse me?" he asked. He escaped the room quickly and practically ran over Scully in the hall. "Mulder, wait!" His Partner called after him as he continued down the hall. Swiftly he turned on his heel and returned to her side. "Scully, can you finish questioning, Ms. Braun, please?" He requested digging a business card out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "I'll wait for you downstairs." "What about that Mulder-charm," She smiled weakly taking note of the obvious distress on his face. "She has a fair amount of that on her own." he muttered as he turned away to press the elevator call button. End of Part three Another One by stonewar (4/?) standard disclaimers apply Sorry no energy to do much more than that. I did some god awful things to my hair and its depressing the hell out of me. *********************************************************************** Part 4 Mulder rose from one of the hospital's chairs in its lobby as the familiar rhythm of Scully's clicking heals reverberated from the direction of the elevator bank. As he closed the distance between them he dug into his pockets for the car keys and tossed them to her. Scully clutched the keys possessively as if she was afraid he was just teasing and would snatch them back again. She scanned is features trying to read his mood, but their silent communication didn't seem to be working at the moment. His face was closed. "How'd it go?" he asked as they exited through the hospital's revolving door. "Rather well, but I find it unusual that she's having trouble recalling the days leading up to the abduction." "You're calling it an abduction? Not disappearance? What convinced you?" "The fact she recalls someone dressed in riot gear crashing through her front door." "That must be one of the bits and pieces from the 12th," he mumbled as they reached the car "Mulder." She peered at him over the car. "What happened in there?" "I'm spooky. I flip out occasionally. I'm famous for it," he evaded while he climbed into the passenger's side of the vehicle. "Did you forget you are talking to? What were you doing down there while I was talking with Ms. Braun?" "Sittin', thinkin'" "More like sulkin' broodin'," she grumbled as they pulled out of the parking lot. After a few minutes of driving in silence Mulder asked, "Scully, did she seem familiar to you at all?" "Mulder, you know I can't remember anything from that time, besides she didn't mention any previous previous occurances of 'missing time'." "No, I mean, just in general." "Well, I guess she looks a little like Deanna Troi." "From Star Trek?" "Only taller and not as well endowed." "You watched Star Trek?" "On occasion. Are you going anywhere with this or are you just trying to distract me?" "Just talking....I want to get some background on her and go to the house--" He started. "No, Mulder. We have to let it go now. Remember the plan." She reminded him as they drove back to work. "I don't think this is the case that will get them back," He intoned staring out the window. "You're just saying that because you don't want to let it go." She accused. "No! I'm saying that because it will be as convincing as Sam walking through the front doors of Hoover ready to point fingers and name names. It just seems a little contrived because I'm...We're too close to it." "I disagree. That would work. Not likely to happen, but it would definitely be to our advantage. And I don't see how that analogy works either. We're close to all our cases from a certain perspective." "The word of a Mulder is tainted. They would never believe her." He sighed. "What about the mother could she corroborate Theen's story." She paused at his use of Athena Braun's nickname. She had asked Scully to call her Theen as well but she didn't feel comfortable using it after only one meeting. "Dr. Diedre Braun? No. On the 12th, she woke to discover her mother had passed away during the night. Not ten minutes after the coroner left--" "Black Ops Invaded." He finished for her. "I wouldn't have put it so dramatically but yes. The rest is a blank until this morning." "And the day before was a total blank," he recalled. "Scully, Is it just me or did she seem hyper to you?" "Nope, she was hyper alright. There were stimulants in her system that weren't present when she was admitted and weren't administered by the hospital." "So they wanted her to wake up. Curiouser and curiouser. Its going to be difficult to restrain myself while we wait for everything to fall into place." "Need help?" She offered with a smirk. He smiled at her allusion the remark he made earlier. "Be gentle with me," He returned. "By the way I gave your card to Ms. Braun. She says she's going to call you regardless who contacts her about her case. See. Mulder-charm." she remarked as she nudged him with her elbow At Scully's attempt at levity the smile on his face faded. Scully was confused but concentrated on maneuvering through the traffic surrounding the Hoover building. She silently ran the last hour or so through her head trying to discern what had upset him to this extent. They returned to the bullpen to find it mostly empty as most of the agents had gone to lunch at the more traditional hour. Mulder sent the email he prepared before they left as Scully began to compose one herself detailing her interviews with Athena Braun, her doctor Felix Javali and the tests she asked to be performed but the results had not yet been returned. While they were out to 'lunch' a case file was left in Mulder's inbox. He looked it over then tossed onto Scully's desk. "Here's a little something to keep us busy while play the waiting game." She paused her typing and opened the folder. "Shippenville, Pennsylvania." "Piles of Shit in Amish country." "Lovely." She replied her voice dripping with sarcasm. She returned to typing. " When do we leave?" "Soon as you're done will be soon enough since we have to drive." He informed her as he began to dig through his desk drawers for some seeds. "Drive?! Isn't it in the Western part of the state." "You obviously didn't see the budget warning Kersh lovingly added." He pointed to the memo paper clipped to the inside cover of the folder. She exhaled a frustrated sigh and finished the email. End of Part 4 I think I got 3 or 4 more installment in me before the story peters out. I'm not going to beg for feedback but I would like to know your opinion about my writing style. Too spartan? Too cryptic? can you even tell what's going on? All 4 parts are archived at http;//www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/5512 Part 5 Saturday, January 23, 1999 Mulder stumbled through the his apartment door his arms laden with his overcoat, overnight bag and packages that had arrived in the mail while he was in Shippenville Pa. The Philadelphia or even the Cleveland field offices could have handled such a simple inspection that took all of 45 minutes. He toyed several times with the notion of reporting Kersh for wasting Bureau resources by sending to overqualified agents on an unnecessary trip when closer capable agents were available. He may have even voiced this idea to Scully on the drive but he couldn't remember for sure. The drive home was a bit of a blur. He collapsed onto his couch and released a tortured sigh. He reached blindly over his head to his answering machine pressed play and dropped that arm over his eyes while he toed off his shoes. *BEEP* "Yo, Mulder you gotta come over and see what we got cooked up for the impeachment hearings. We'll have cheese steak and that horse piss you call beer." *BEEP* "Mulder, this is Byers. Please don't encourage them with you interest. I'm trying to talk them out of tampering with the C-SPAN broadcasts." *BEEP* "Hey Punk ass, disregard that last message We weren't going to interfere with C-SPAN. All the best coverage will be on the networks anyway. We were only trying to get the Narc's panties in a twist. But we do have something cool cooked up for the hearings. Stop on by." Mulder chuckled at the little war that was being waged on his machine. It lightened his mood somewhat until he heard the next message. *BEEP* "Fox... oh wait I think she said you prefer Mulder. Um....this is Theen. They released me today but I don't want to go back to the house by myself. So I'm going to run up to New Haven and take care of things there first. Can you meet me at the house in Langley on Sunday around noon. call me if you can make it 210-555-6392. bye" *BEEP* "Mulder, You'll never believe what Doohickie just did--" "Gimme that phone, you GODDAMN HIPPIE!" "Down, Troll, Down." "You're gonna Pay!" "Oof!!" *CRASH* *BEEP* "End of messages." Mulder breathed another sigh and got up to turn on his computer. Officially, he had let the abduction and subsequent reappearance of Athena Braun go, but unofficially he requested some background information on the woman who had implied that she was his half sister. He couldn't use his bureau contacts because it would get back to Kersh and he couldn't use the Gunmen because it would get back to Scully. So he was forced to used one of his less reliable, less connected sources. He opened his email to find that the source already had information for him. Nothing spectacular. Nothing he couldn't have found out himself in a couple of hours. But its was the price you had to pay to keep a low profile. -Her Transcripts. With the exception of average grades she received her freshman year she was an excellent student. -Her tax returns and work history. She had worked as a bartender in that strip club on 4th Street two summers ago. Funny. -CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH Athena Mulder Braun July 1, 1974 10:47am Female Single birth Langley, VA Langley AFB Hospital Mother - Diedre Maria Braun Age 33 State/Country of Birth- West Germany Father - UNKNOWN Age n/a State/Country of Birth- n/a All the thoughts that he didn't allow to consider when she innocently said 'I saw your picture in Dad's wallet' Came crashing in around his ears. His father was having an affair even before Sam was taken. He acknowledged his youngest child with his presence but not on paper While he acknowledged his oldest child on paper but not with his presence. Did he know his mistress was expecting when Sam was taken? Did he consider Athena a replacement? Was his father a good parent only to his female children? Does Mom know about her? I wonder if Theen knew I had no clue that she even existed? What does she know about me? I wonder if she was in his will? Did she go to the dad's Funeral? I wonder how different my life would have been if I knew I had another sister? *********** End of part 5 ****************************************************** PART 6 Home of Dr. Diedre Braun Langley, VA Sunday January 24, 1999 Further up the gravel road she could see the dust being kicked up by an approaching car. Theen pumped her legs to put the tree swing she was sitting on in motion. "He's early," she thought. Mulder pulled his government issue Taurus into the driveway leading to a converted carriage house garage and parked next to Theen's very dusty, dark blue Escort with a cracked windshield. "Do you believe water's bad for the paint job? he asked as he crossed the yard. She drug her feet in the dirt to stop the swing and looked up at with a strange expression. "Dad used to say the same thing." Mulder was shaken by the comparison a tried to cover by changing the subject. "I like your hat." he gestured at her baseball cap depicting the USS Enterprise Aircraft carrier "Thanks" She said raising a self conscious hand to her head. " Most people don't get it and just ask if I was in the Navy." "I know you weren't," he commented holding out a hand to her. She took it and pulled herself out of the swing "Checked me out, huh? thought you might." She shrugged. "I would have too, if I had your resources." They stood facing each other for an awkward moment until Theen began to fidget with the pockets of her coat. "Can we go in? I'm kinda cold out here?" she asked softly. He gave a very slight nod, so they turned toward the front of the house. As they stepped onto the porch Mulder noticed yellow police tape across the broken front door. "You haven't been inside yet?" He inquired. She shook her head no. "I was waiting for you up in Dad's apartment," she gestured to the second story of the carriage house. "Do you want to go up there first?" She asked when she notice how his eyes had riveted to the building. "No. Maybe later." He mumbled turning his attention to pulling the tape from the door. "So the Police followed upon your call for the coroner and found this." gesturing the splintered door frame. "I assume so. I should probably stop in and let them know I'm back." They carefully lifted the door so it could open on its remaining hinge. Theen peered over Mulder's shoulder for her first sight of her mother's home since her abduction. "They ransacked it!" she shrieked and pushed past him. She stalked into the room to make it right again. Mulder followed her into the living room with a confused look on his face. The furniture was pristine white and artfully arranged. A folded afghan and throw pillows were neatly arranged on the sofa. "Poor kid, Insanity probably runs on both sides of her family," he thought unkindly while he watched her move the knickknacks to their proper positions which was evidently a quarter inch to the left. She then turned to the sofa. "They obviously tore the place a part then tried to put it together again. Mom was very anal about how the room should be arranged." She said as she switched the positions of the solid and patterned throw pillows. "They almost got it right but I noticed the differences. Of course I have help." She pointed out as she tapped her temple. "You have an Eidetic memory?" He observed. Noting how quickly he picked up on that she concluded, "You, too?" He answered in the affirmative. "This is the study." She said as she pushed open the sliding doors at the end of the living room. Mulder was overwhelmed by the number of books crammed into the small room. He noted that about a quarter of them had German titles. He watched Theen duck under the desk in the center of the room. It had only two things on it. An oversized Monitor and a keyboard. When she crawled out from under the desk she had a connection cord in her hand. "The tower is gone and so is the filing cabinet." She announced pointing to an Aloe Vera plant sitting on the hardwood floor in the middle of a scratched dusty square roughly the size and shape of a filing cabinet. "What did your mother do?" He asked as he watched her dig through the drawers and finding them all nearly empty. "She was a biologist just like Opa. She traveled a lot." she opened her mouth to say something else but stopped. "I used to know more. I know I did." She muttered in a confused tone. The confidence that had radiated from her when she first entered the room was gone. Mulder moved to her side and removed the pad of post-its she had pulled from the last drawer she looked in from her hand. "Let's look upstairs next, Okay?" He suggested softly. She nodded and lead the way. At the head of the stairs they could see the first door on the right was standing open. Theen had not budged from the top stair, so Mulder continued up the stairs and into what he assumed was her mother's room judging from her reluctance to enter. The room was completely bare no furniture, no curtains and the carpet had been ripped up. As he exited the room again Theen has not in the hall where he leftr her. He foundher sitting on a frilly pink bed in the room across the hall. The walls were covered with drawings of rainbows and unicorns. "The room has been completely sanitized. What did she have?" He asked as he pulled a stuffed rabbit out of the wicker chair by the bed and sat down. The question startled her out of her reverie. "Huh? She had an extended illness. Cancer, I think." "She didn't tell you." "No. That *is* what she told me 'It's cancer, I think.' She hated doctors. She used to take me but never let them touch her. I think it had to do with what she saw of her father's work in Germany before he moved the family to America after the war." "Operation Paper Clip." "That sounds familiar." "It should. Its probably what brought your parents together." he said bitterly. "Have they been in this room too?" She nodded sadly. "Have they been through your luggage?" "I don't know." She sighed as she stood up from the bed. "We haven't checked my room yet." "This isn't your room?" "Not in a long time. I took over Gram's old room when I turned 14, besides my feet hang over the edge of this bed." She lead him to another bedroom. This room seemed to be a celebration of teenage angst. Black and white striped wallpaper, black and red bed set, not a stuffed animal in sight and a poster of the "The Scream" on the wall. "There really isn't much left in here except the furniture. I've lived in dorms or apartments since I was 17 and took everything with me. Not much to disturb in here really." She explained and flopped back onto the bed. "They took your micro cassette." Mulder observed. "My what?" She asked propping herself up on her elbows. He squatted next to the bed and pointed to the micro cassette recorder with headphones connected on the bedside table. "What were you listening to?" "I don't know!" She cried. "There are these holes in my memory. The doctors said it was result of the trauma that I was having trouble remembering the days leading to my abduction. But that isn't the only thing missing. I used to be really close to my grandfather. I know I was! And now I can barely remember the things he said to me. I was special because of my memory. And now I can't rely on it." Mulder reached up and brushed the tears from her cheeks. "There is nothing wrong with your memory, Theen. They probably took you that day to retrieve those memories they felt were dangerous." "If I knew something dangerous. Why didn't they just kill me like Dad." She said angrily. Mulder flinched at the memory she refereed to. "I have two theories about that." He began. She nodded for him to continue. "Perhaps out of respect for the contribution your Grandfather and Mother made to The Project they left you alive to join them at a later date and perhaps get those memories back." "Can they do that?" Mulder just shrugged. "Who knows what they are capable of. And the second....your mother had you late in life--." "33 is not that late." she interrupted "In the seventies its not that ideal either. Perhaps you are too valuable to kill." "Are you implying I was engineered?" "They must not have taken all you memories relating to The Project if you were able to deduct that just from what I said." "Great," she ground out as she swung her legs to the other side of the bed and paced the floor on the far side of the room. "that's probably they more likely of the two, since they removed an ovary." she mumbled "They did what?" He asked startled. "They removed one of my ovaries." She repeated with an embarassed flush on her cheeks. "So you are still fertile?" He asked in a concerned voice. "Maybe they want the Mulder line to continue," She snorted. "Yep, that would explain why I'm still alive," he deadpanned. Mulder turned back to the cassette recorder on the nightstand. "I wonder why they took that tape. they could have easily listened to a excerpt to see if it was important or not." "Tape?" She stopped her pacing and asked. "Yes, the tape I mentioned before." He reminded her. "Tape," She said again. Her eyes widened and bolted from the room and down the stairs. Mulder chased after her and found her kneeling in front of the TV in the living room. She said the word tape again softly then pulled the ejected video from the VCR. As she did that they both heard a small clatter inside the VCR. Mulder lifted the door and saw a floppy disk sitting in the cassette compartment. She whispered in an awed voice, "I don't remember hiding that there." Mulder turned to Theen and smiled. End part six **************************************************** Part 7 Mulder and Theen decided that finding the disk was enough discovery for one day and were excited to see what was on it. As the CPU for the computer in the study was missing and Theen had let her laptop battery run down while it was in her trunk, They agreed t go to Mulder's apartment. He jotted down the directions in case they got separated and she followed him home on the Georgetown Pike in her dirty Escort. On the ride home Mulder's thoughts strayed from the possibilities the disk contained to the woman following him home. Though 'woman' somehow didn't fit. He had glimpsed the precocious 12 year old she must have been a few times before the sober mature-before-her-years expression that an only child always seemed to have slipped back into place. He had asked her about her poor grades she earned in her early education career which seemed to be incongruous after she confessed that she, too had an eidetic memory. She had not been surprised he had seen her transcripts. "I didn't read a textbook until my sophomore year. Before that I relied entirely on lectures. I may have never done the work but at least I always showed up for class." She said with a grin. It seemed obvious to him that it was a rebellion against her parents to refuse the use the genetic gifts granted her. In further rebellion, he had learned over the quick lunch they shared in her mothers kitchen, she had declined full scholarships to colleges who were willing to overlook her grades because of her test scores and quirky application essays in favor of a small state school who gave her a smaller scholarship to be the baton twirler for their marching band. To prove that she had not made up the story she pointed out the the pictures of herself nestled between the knickknacks in the living room dressed in ridiculous looking sequin leotards "No 'Soccer Mom' was my mother," was her only comment. Mulder sighed as he turned off at his exit. it looked like he was going to have an overnight guest tonight if he had read Theen correctly. She didn't feel safe in her childhood home anymore and despite their short acquaintance she obviously felt safe with him. "Maybe I remind her of Dad," He thought with a shudder. If that was the case. The father Bill Mulder was to Theen was different than the father he was to Fox. When they pulled up to the Apartment building on Hegal place. She made no presumption that she was there for anything other than to work and only asked if she could bring in her laptop to charge the battery. "What are you doing about school? Your message said you went up there right after you were discharged. You've only missed a couple weeks, right?" Mulder asked as he unlocked his door.. "So far it only been a couple weeks but I'm likely to miss more to take care of the house . So the -- What are we calling it? Disappearance? Missing time?" "Strait forward kidnapping works for me.. I though it was awfully considerate of them to leave the front door like that as evidence ." "--Anyway," She continued scanning the wall for an outlet. " I would have missed a few weeks going through Mom's things regardless. So my adviser and I decided to phone it in until things settle down." He decided not to add insult to injury and point out that her mother's colleagues had already take care of a lot of that. So he simply took Theen's laptop from her arms and plugged it in to charge in the entryway. Crossing the room to his computer he pulled the disk from the pocket of his leather jacket. "Feels like Christmas all over again," He grinned over his shoulder as he switched on the machine. Theen dropped her coat and cap on the sofa and dragged the coffee table forward to sit next to him, craning her neck so she could see the monitor. Mulder looked down at her with a look that many of he fellow agents had used on him. "Crazy kid," He thought "Go get a chair from the kitchen, Doofus. You aren't going to miss anything . Its' not even finished booting up." He chuckled as she darted from the room. By the time she had settled next to him in the kitchen chair he had the disk's contents, a single text document, open. --------------------------------------------------------------- "This is the first of 4 pieces Mom had entrusted to me as a bargaining chip so I can -- and these are her words 'have a long and happy life and never have to dirty your hands in the Project.' This document is a transcript of Mother's 'Confession' which she wisely recommended that I record with her micro cassette recorder. Parts of it are verbatim because I felt the verbiage she used was important and in other places I have summarized because of time. Mother likely won't make it through the night. The second piece is a sample of the vaccine. Not the successful version the Russians developed but the last failure her lab had produced. Her illness had weakened her already by the time they discovered it and was losing power within the the group so she did not have access to the new vaccine but she had been assured that her version was similar enough that she likely would have duplicated the results in a matter of weeks. The third and fourth pieces are the hard drives of her her home and work computers downloaded onto zip disks. They contain the notes for her research and every little bit of information on the group she could gather from memos on the parking problems that have at some facilities to excerpts of the Annual budget. Now after listening to Momma all night I am feeling extremely paranoid. She has warned me that they will strip the house of everything they feel is theirs including any memories I might have and they feel is threatening. The hiding places of the 3 other pieces is in code because as I said I'm feeling really paranoid and I don't think the hiding place for this disk is very good and if They get it first they won't be able retrieve the remaining pieces. Look at your favorite Fred Astaire Movie -SANITIZED CHEECH AND CHONG -STOP POKING ME! -SHOE FLY DON'T BOTHER ME. "I was so young when we immigrated to America. I barely remember Germany but I do remember how I loved to watch Papa work in his lab...." Mulder turned toward Theen. "So what's your favorite Fred Astaire Movie?" She continued to stare at the screen confused. "I don't like Fred Astaire." "This is going to harder than I thought." *********************************************** End of part seven Shall I have a contest to see if you can guess the hiding places? ******************************************************** Part 8 Monday, january 25, 1999 Mulder's Apartment 6:45 am Mulder peeked into his bedroom to make sure he wasn't disturbing Theen, who after much argument finally agreed to sleeping on the bed last night. He didn't have to worry. She was already awake perched on the windowsill dressed in a Yale sweatshirt and plaid flannel pajama bottoms she had retrieved from her car the night before. She was trying to read the list of Fred Astaire films they had printed from the internet last night. "You're up," He said as he came the rest of the way into the room. "You know, you could try turning on a lamp instead of trying to read by streetlight." He commented as he crossed the room to the closet. When he had grabbed clothes last night for the morning he had forgotten socks and a tie. "I couldn't sleep. I keep thinking it's _Top Hat_ and I should look through Opa's clothes in the attic." "Do you normally have trouble sleeping?" He asked as he pulled on a pair of socks. "Nah. I could sleep 12 hours a day if my schedule let me," She smiled. "I really hate keeping you out of your bed--" "I told you last night I don't sleep on the thing. I don't care for waterbeds." "Then why did you buy it?" She laughed. "Long Story." "It takes me back," She yawned as she crawled to the center of the bed and sat cross legged. "Mom had one when I was little I used to crawl into bed with her when Dad stopped staying in the house with us." "Please don't say you were conceived in a waterbed." "Supply closet. I am a office romance love child after all." "Theen that was an image I didn't need," He admonished. "Sorry.... Whoa! Those are *some* ties. Are those jellybeans?" She exclaimed as she scrambled off the bed to get a closer look at his collection. "Easter eggs. I'm saving it for April." She sorted through the ties while he moved over to a mirror to knot a somewhat sedately patterned mauve tie around his neck. "Mulder." "Huh?" "I dare you to wear this one to work," She challenged with a crooked grin holding up a navy blue tie with tiny marijuana leaves on it. "I don't think so. I'm not that much of a rebel." He straightened his tie, ran his fingers through his hair one last time and headed out the door. As he passed Theen she whispered, "Peanut Butter." "What was that?" She held up the tie again and sung softly, "Peanut - Peanut Butter and Jelly." "Sanitized Cheech and Chong." "One down, three to go," She sighed picking up the list again and followed him into the Main room. "What are your plans today?" He asked as he tied his shoes.. She flopped into the chair and hooked a knee over the arm. "I have an appointment with Mom's lawyer," She said sadly. "Then back over to the house, I guess, depending on what the Will says." She watched him fasten his weapon to his belt and slip his ID wallet into his inside jacket pocket. "Well, I'm off to work now," He announced awkwardly and pulled on his trench coat. "You have my number?" "I still have the card Agent Scully gave me in the hospital......Wait" she called as he opened the door. "She said another agent would contact me but no one has. Do you think I should call? I have been moving around a lot and kind of difficult to reach." Mulder mentally slapped himself on the forehead. *Duh! the plan.* "Well, I really can't get involved. Do what you think is best." "Isn't is a little late for that?" "I mean officially." "Oh." "Just don't use my phone or mention your middle name it guarantees bad service." She smiled at what she assumed was a joke she didn't quite get as he continued out the door. ***** J Edgar Hoover Building 8:30am "Morning, Mulder," Scully greeted placing a tall coffee on his desk. "Morning, Thanks," He returned taking a sip from the cup. "Working on the report?" She inquired as she sat at her desk. "Just finished. No Brainer. You?" "All I have to do is print it and its done. Any gifts from Kersh in your in-box?" "Not yet." They returned to their regular routine of busy work, scut work and asinine phone interviews. All through the morning Mulder chafed against the appearance he tried to convey of a reformed man. A man resigned to his fate and willing to bow to higher authority. "How was your weekend, Scully?" "Are we calling Sunday the weekend now?" You say that like its my fault." It usually is. But I concede this time it wasn't," She allowed. "How generous of you. So, did you have a fun filled wee--day of laundering your unmentionables or did you do something interesting?" "Unmentionables? Nothing stopped you from mentioning them before?" He swiveling his chair around and flashed her an innocent look and mouthed "Moi?" "You're just fishing to get me to ask about your weekend." "Now that you mention it. I did have an eventful weekend. When I got back I had a message from--" He was interrupted by Scully's phone ringing. She held up her finger to pause his narrative and turned away to answer the phone. "Scully." She shifted her eyes to connect with Mulder's and he knew it was Kersh. "We'll be right there." She answered. Sighing she hung up the phone and slouched back in her chair "We almost made it to lunch without hearing from him. What do you want to bet this has to do with your 'eventful weekend.'" *** A.D. Kersh began his rant before they had even reached his desk. "When I received you e-mails last week. I thought you two were finally seeing the light and letting the X-files go. You actually followed procedure. You received a tip, verified its validity and passed the Braun case to the proper department without fuss. This morning I heard that Agent Fowley had reported that she and Agent Spender are being harassed by the aforementioned Ms. Braun." "What does that have to do with us?" Mulder asked at the same time Scully asked "Harassed how?" "I'll get to your question in a moment, Agent Mulder. Phone messages, Agent Scully." He said as he held out a stack of pink message slips. Scully took the stack and Mulder read over her shoulder. His mouth twitched in amusement at the contents of her messages. Theen had checked in at every stop during her errands this morning. Letting them know the number and how long she would be there, then calling again as she left to letting them know she would be unavailable until she reached her next destination. Mulder sobered his expression before addressing Kersh, "Again, What does this have to do with us?" "You deny putting this woman up to this?" Kersh inquired with accusation in his tone. "Yes, sir. I never advised her to contact the FBI on her own." Scully took this as a cue to move the plan forward and take a little heat off of Mulder. "Sir, I did mention to Ms Braun she would be contacted by another agent later when I interviewed her briefly. And that *was* five days ago maybe she is genuinely worried that the crime committed against her is being ignored." Kersh's face softened slightly. "I see, but you are counting Saturday and Sunday in that five days." "*We* were working on Saturday," Mulder pointed out. Kersh focused his glare at him in response. "I also have heard that have had contact with Ms. Braun since the initial interview, Agent Mulder." "She contacted me," He admitted with a clenched jaw, his feathers a little ruffled like they do every time he is reminded that he is being surveilled in some way. "Regardless, You should have no communication with her while the investigation is open and assigned to other agents." "Respectfully, sir, You can't do that," Mulder continued even though internally he debated whether revealing more was wise or not. "Respectfully?" Kersh parroted with a hint of amusement that neither of the partners had seen before. "Please enlighten me, Agent Mulder." "I spent 25 years of my life searching for my sister--" "They warned me this would come up eventually." Kersh muttered under his breath settling back for a long diatribe. "--And now that I found another one. I'm not going to let you or anyone separate us." Scully's head snapped to attention at the disclosure of 'another one' for she too had powered down for a famous Mulder Rant. Kersh sat forward in his chair. *That was surprisingly short* he thought. "Ms. Braun is your sister?" He asked neutrally. "Yes, sir. We lost our father a couple of years ago and she just recently lost her mother. I'm the only family she has left even though our acquaintance has been brief." Kersh looked away to consider the situation before offering, "You understand that this further restricts you from investigating this matter?" Yes, sir, I'm just there for support and to help her recover her memories." Scully once she recovered from the shock of Mulder's revelation, though her features never betrayed that shock, added "As long as *someone* investigates it. We will be content." "So will I," A.D. Kersh agreed. "Interstate kidnapping and forcible restraint are serious crimes. Dismissed. END OF PART 8 (I didn't mean to make him so nice! He just came out that way.) Another One by stonewar (9/?) TITLE: Another One (9/?) AUTHOR: Stonewar EMAIL ADDRESS: stonewar@navix.net RATING: PG CLASSIFICATION: S X SPOILERS: One Breath, Season 6 Pre 2F/1S Disclaimer: You know what? I can't seem to write during my free time. Only when I'm at work. So from a certain perspective I am getting paid for this. Seriously though, I don't own or claim to own for the intellectual property of Chris Carter and 1013. ****************************************************** PART 9 "How long have you known?" Scully asked as they stepped into the elevator breaking the silence that a reigned since their departure from Kersh's office. "She hinted at it, at the hospital but I didn't know for sure until we got back from Pennsylvania." "I take it, this was the eventful weekend you were trying to tell me about." "Part of it," He nodded. "I should have told you sooner." "It was shock to find out in front of Kersh, but its only been a couple of days. I think you fell within the grace period." She assured him. "My god. only a couple of days. I can't believe this all happen over a weekend." Mulder whispered in disbelief as they got off on their floor. He followed Scully to their desks feeling heavy. Rather than lightening his load confession had added to it. "So what happened, did you father remarry and not tell you?" "No, the relationship with Theen's Mother was over before Mom and Dad got around to divorcing. They had dragged their feet about making their separation official for years." "Then Athena's paternity is something she's only known intellectually. No wonder you never heard of her before." She reasoned as she sat down at her desk. "No, that's just it. She had a relationship with him. He went to her competitions and graduations." He sighed slumping down in his own chair. "I got the impression that Dr. Braun was a very strong willed woman. She decided her child would have a father in her life and made sure he was around to be that father even after the affair ended." "Really?" Scully commented clearly impressed. "Of course you can't make a daddy out of father if he doesn't want to be one. His a presence in her life in exchange for free room and board in the area. Now I know why we always stayed at hotels when I visited him when he was working." "I was beginning to worry when you flipped out on me Thursday. Now I see it was more than justified. You said she had contacted you?" She asked leaning forward. The Mulder family soap opera was more interesting than background checks. "She wanted someone to be with her when she went back to the house for the first time." "Moral support." "Yep, the police had been there. That helps document the time of the abduction," He informed her, abruptly switching gears. "There was some physical evidence too." He continued explain the condition they had found the house and the apartment over the garage. "Mulder most of that is the absence of an object rather than presence of evidence, which is difficult to prove." "I know but it does point to the fact that someone other than Theen was involved." Scully finally nodded in agreement and prepared to return to work when Mulder spoke again. "There was only one picture of Sam and I in his apartment but his frig was covered with her childhood drawings. She said he still visited after he retired." "Are you jealous?" She asked neutrally. "Yes! Extremely jealous. This makes me rethink every exchange I ever had with him. What if he was reaching out to me toward the end because he was feeling the empty nest with Theen in college rather that regretting the distance of our relationship. And part of me wonders why he never mentioned her. Was it because he was ashamed of his illegitimate child or because he did want to expose her to me. Afraid I'd lose her too." "Mulder, " She admonished. "I know that's not realistic now that I know better, but I dealing with years of childhood conditioning so I still think it even though I don't want to." Scully reached across the desk and laid a hand on his arm. He covered it with his own to acknowledge the comfort she was offering before he too returned to work. *** 4:27 p.m. Mulder was winding down for the day. He attempted to resisted the temptation to turn acquisition forms in to airplanes when the phone rang. "Mulder." "Mulder! Mulder, I found them!" Theen shouted excitedly over the the interference on the phone. "Theen, where are you?" "On my way back to the city." "You're driving right now?" "Yes. Why?" Mulder covered his mouth to restrain his laughter and looked over at Scully when she raised her eyebrows questioning. "Are you laughing at me?" Theen demanded. "No, not at all." He lied while he caught his breath. "If you had a cell phone why did you leave all those messages this morning?" "Oh I didn't have it then. I picked it up at the house. But good idea I'll call them and leave my new number." "You do that," He answered rolling his eyes heavenward shaking his head. "Can you meet us at the Old Post Office in about 45 minutes." "I'll try but rush hour is gearing up." "Don't worry. I'll wait for you." "OK, Bye." She finished without letting him say anymore. "Athena?" Scully inquired. "Yeah. Did you get a chance to read the manuscript I gave you?" He asked. He had given her a printed copy of Dr. Braun's last words over lunch. When she nodded he announced, "She found the tapes." "What about the vaccine?" "That too, I assume. I'm going to meet with her then go on to the Gunmen's. You wanna come?" Scully wrinkled her nose. "I don't think that's necessary, but let me know what you find. Especially about the vaccine." "I'll get you copies of the research notes." "I'd appreciate that." "Are you sure I can't talk you into joining us, at least for dinner. The Old Post Office has that Indian Place you like so much." "OK, I'll come to dinner." She aquciesed. "Great, Good" Scully was curious to see them together. They must have hit it off really well right away for Athena to have revealed such personal information so early in their acquaintance. The Manuscript had revealed Dr. Braun's position within the Project and outlined her hopes and disappointments with her research. She had also detailed the tests she had performed on herself when she had discovered she was pregnant in 1973, including prenatal genetic screens that were total unheard of by the regular medical community at the time. When she had remarked on those passages to her partner. He had explained that those facts had alleviated worries they had about the possibility that Theen was engineered or a hybrid. When they arrived at the Old Post Office, they were the ones that were late. Theen was waiting for them in the food court. She was sitting at a table typing on her laptop while picking at a plate of french fries. Her face lit up when she saw them approach. Mulder signaled to her that they would grab dinner for themselves before joining her at the table. She nodded and put away her computer to wait for them. "Its good to see you again. Are you feeling better?" Scully asked as she sat down. "Not Buzzing, you mean? Much better." she answered referring to her state when they had met previously "What were you working on?" She inquired, attempting to make small talk while waiting for Mulder to join them since the Chinese place had a much longer line than the Indian restaurant she had patronized. "Just typing some notes that I had taken down before all this happened," she sighed. "I'm having trouble narrowing down my topic. I'm hoping rehashing some old information will inspire me." "What have you done so far." "I've written some minor papers on the culture around Urban legends, enthusiasts of graphic novels..." "Alien Abductions.:" Scully couldn't resist adding. "Too big. I looked into it but its a topic better suited for a psychiatrist than an anthropologist anyway whether you believe the claims or not." Scully was surprised by that answer and tested the water a little more by suggesting the increasing popularity of government conspiracies. "Done that, Even got it published." she said with a familiar grin and stuffed a handful of fries into her mouth as Mulder sat down with his plate of beef lo mein. "Got 'em?" He asked without any preamble. "Here," She answered around the mouthful of food and pulled out two zip disks and a vial of a dark brown liquid from the pocket of her winter coat hanging off the back of her chair. "Where were they?" "I feel so stupid." she groaned. "The clues were so obvious once I figured out the movie." "Which movie was it?" "Daddy Long Legs." "I never cared for that one," Scully commented. "I liked the book so much better." "Exactly! I read that book at least 10 times in sixth grade. It should have jump up off the page at me." "Then everything was in Dad's apartment. Isn't there a fireplace up there?" Theen nodded. "They were in the flue and taped to the bottom of the poker stand thing - whatever its called." "And where was this?" Scully asked picking up the vial of vaccine wrinkling her nose at the brown stuff crusted on its surface. "In a jar of Peanut Butter." Mulder reached over and took the vial from Scully's hand to look at it himself. "Theen, Dad died in '95 exactly how old was that peanut butter." "I don't know. It tasted OK to me." She answered with a shrug and went back to devouring her fries. Scully and Mulder exchanged glances wondering if she was serious. Since business was out of the way, they settled into easy conversation, with Theen doing most of the talking. Mulder encouraged her to talk about herself, voraciously consuming everything about her he had missed because he didn't know she existed. Scully was surprised that he had not told her of the X-files or his search for Samantha confirming her suspicions borne from Athena's earlier words. An opening came up to take the conversation go in that direction but Mulder let it go by and gave Scully a warning look that he wanted her to do the same for now. *** "Are you sure I can't talk you into coming with us?" Mulder asked again as he walked Scully to her car. "No, I have that lecture next week to prepare for, but it was nice seeing Athena away from the hospital. She's a cute kid." "Oh you think she's cute, huh? Could it be the family resemblance?" He teased. "She looks nothing like you, Mulder," She countered. "You share some features but that's it." "Humor me, what features?" He challenged as they stopped next to her car. She paused after she turned her key in the lock. " Eyes, and although her hair is long, I can see she has that unfortunate cowlick." She directed her eyes to his hairline causing him to subconsciously put his had to his head. " I think she has your hands too." She took the opportunity while he examined his own hands to finish unlocking the door and climb in. "You avoided talking about our work." She stated pointedly, having decided not to beat around the bush. "She has an innocence about her I don't want to ruin by dragging her into our world. Sometimes I think They did her a favor by trying to take her memories." He admitted sadly. "And yet you are taking her to the Gunmen's place." "That's like Disneyland for the paranoid," He chuckled, "Too outrageous to seem real if you're not." She digested that statement for a moment before adding, "You don't have to impress her." "I'm not trying to." "Yes, you are. You're trying to be the great protector, when that's not what she needs." "What does she need?" He sighed. "A brother. Did you see her face when you walked into the room? You may have just discovered her but she has know about you for a while. I think she idolizes you." "No, She doesn't." He said quickly. She gazed up at him from the drivers seat and smiled, "What's a little hero worship among siblings, Mulder. Maybe if you're lucky it can be nurtured into friendship. It took Missy and I awhile but we did it and we had to work through years of rivalry. You have it easy. A clean slate. If you can do that you can you'll have one up on my own brother. That's should be a good incentive." Mulder nodded in agreement and looked over at Theen standing next to his car, waiting for him. "Just remember what parents have said for years. You don't love one child more that another, you just love them differently." His eyes snapped back to Scully's, "How do you do that?" He whispered. How did she know that guilt was niggling at him that he might be trying to replace Samantha with Theen. "It's a Gift." She replied and pulled her door close, started her car and pulled into traffic. End of Part 9 ************************************************** Part 10 Mulder pulled his car in front of the most recent location where the Lone Gunmen kept their offices. Theen had been quiet the whole drive staring sightlessly out the window. What had happened to her during her unaccounted for time was hard to describe. As her pre abduction memories returned to her, like the knowledge that she had lost her mother 'the day before,' she didn't feel the loss as strongly as she though she probably should have. They had theorized that perhaps she had done her grieving during those missing six weeks. So now she mourns the times she missed and being deprived of the chance to mourn her mother properly.. Theen got out of the car and trailed behind as Mulder stomped his way up the stairs to the Gunman's lair. She caught up just after he gave a strangely patterned staccato knock. She smirked slightly, "A secret knock?" She thought, "Who are these people?" She noted heavy wiring nestled around the door frame, when her gaze focused along the top of the door she saw a security camera swivel around and telescope its lens toward her. She shrank back clutching Mulder's arm. Mulder stepped in front of her and looked directly into the camera and said "Play nice. We brought gifts." While waving the zip disks. The electronic lock disengaged and Mulder led her into the room. "Mulder, you gotta quit bringing dates here. We aren't the drive-in," Frohicke groused, pushing the door closed behind them. "Dates?" She whispered. "He means Scully." Mulder whispered back The little man leaned in for inspection. Theen shied away stepping backwards bumping into Mulder's chest. He grasped her shoulders to steady them. "No fire," Frohicke muttered and headed back to his corner. Mulder leaned down and assured Theen, "Don't worry. Under these circumstances, that's a good thing." He pushed her forward to perform the introductions. "Theen, That's Frohicke and the guy in the corner is Langley." In response the blonde head did not turn around, but simply raised a hand to wave. Byers stepped forward and held out a hand, "I'm John Byers." Theen shook his hand, "Athena Braun," she smiled relaxing some. "What do you have for us, Mulder?" Byers asked. "Theen received an unusual inheritance from her recently deceased mother. It seems she was the head of vaccine research." Mulder related as he produced the vial with a flourish. "*THE* vaccine?" "No unfortunately, an earlier generation of it. But if someone were to expand from what we have here, you should get the same results within a short amount of time. At least that's the theory." "Well, then, let's take a look and see what we have here," Byers sighed and took the disks from Mulder's hand. Theen wandered over to the bowed, broken down couch against the wall next to where Langley had camped out and sat down tucking her legs under her. "Hi. He said your name was Langley, right?" She said timidly. Langley nodded not looking away from his screen. "Oooh Kaay." she drawled letting her eyes scan the room. "Here." Langley's voice drew her eyes back to him. He was holding a stack of paper. "This will keep you busy. Maybe you'll learn something." She took the stack and set it on her lap. She thumbed through the back issues of THE LONE GUNMAN, sorting them into chronological order. Once the stack was neat and straight she set it aside. "You barely looked at them." He accused shaking his head. "I've already read these. Is the January/February issue out yet?" Langley did a double take the moved to consult another terminal then returned. "You're not on our subscription list. Are you bogarting our newsletter?" "*Our* Newsletter?" She started to ask. "You mean THE LONE GUNMAN is made here?" she continued excitedly. "What did you say?" Mulder called from across the room where he and Byers had sequestered themselves. "They make THE LONE GUNMAN here! You didn't tell me." "Didn't think you'd heard of it." He shrugged. "There still isn't an Athena on our mailing list," Langley pointed out, his eyes pinning her with an intimidating look through his heavy black frames of his glasses. "No one I know subscribes under their real names," She laughed. "rumor has it Chelsea Clinton subscribes under the name Denise Rodham." "Hmmm, that name sound familiar. I'll have to check that out," Langley muttered. "OK, what your pseudonym." "Miller Brown." "Miller Brown!" Frohicke yelped and launched himself across the room. Eyes wide Theen stood up on the couch and pressed herself against the wall as if she was being cornered by a charging bull. "The Unity of Descent: A Look at the Conspiracy Community" got us nominated for most improved news publication." He gushed, grasping her hands and pressed kisses onto them. "Mulder?" She whimpered for help. Mulder rushed to her side and laid a heavy hand on the scruffy man's shoulder, "Down, boy." He ordered. "You've contributed?" He asked focusing a disbelieving look at his sister. She shrugged "No one else would publish my paper. My evaluation was riding on it." Byers joined the commotion. "It was quite refreshing and attracted a larger mainstream audience than our regular issues" He assured Mulder. "Word of mouth was very good." "Yeah, response was phenom. We're even kicking around the idea of branching out to put out an annual academic journal for some of the more coherent manifestos we receive. It'll give us some prestige." Langley pointed out, moving in to bodily block Frohicke from further accosting Theen. "Prestige cancels out our street cred," Frohicke insisted. "So we probably won't do it. But still it is an honor to meet Miller Brown." He smiled and lifted his camera snapped several shots of her. "Thank you," She returned with a shaky voice. She made eye contact with Mulder, look she gave him clearly said 'I want to go home now.' "Ok, That's enough excitement for one day I'm going to take Theen home now. Maybe she'll come over to play another day, Frohicke." Mulder announced reaching his arm around her shoulders to led her away. "If you ever have anything else ready to publish. Send it our way. I found your writing quite insightful." Byers called after them. Theen responded with a timid smile and nodded. When they reached the street they both started apologizing for what transpired upstairs "I didn't know they would act--" "Sorry I freaked--" "Don't worry about. Sometimes I forget how intense they can be." "I was star struck for a moment then it turned into a big bundle of wrong." "Imagine what might have happened if I told them how we were related," He added. She shuddered and got into the car. "I'll stop by tomorrow to pickup what they were able to come up with." End of part 10 **************************************************** PART 11 DeFazio's Italian Restaurant February 5 Athena Mulder Braun was seated at a secluded table set for 3 sipping her glass of water and fiddling with one of the breadsticks from the basket at the center of the table. She contemplated the strange occurrences from early December to this first week of February, of which she could only remember 2 of the 8 weeks. It had all begun just before her mother's death after extended painful illness. Her mother had called her home to confess her part in a global conspiracy. Some of it Theen had suspected but that had only scratched the surface. The next morning after the coroner took her mother's body away several men in black crashed through her front door. That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in a Georgetown hospital six weeks later. She was spared the depressing prospect of spending her first Christmas alone but somehow she was also cheated out of properly mourning her mother's passing. Leading her to believe she had been conscious during the time she was missing but the memory was extracted later along with the memories of that last conversation with her mother. She also brought home two souvenirs of her time away. A chip implanted in the base of her neck, which she was quite forcibly warned never to remove under any circumstances by Agent Scully and a compromised reproductive system. She was aware that she got off easier that other victims of similar abductions with one ovary still intact. Something she was sure she would be grateful for when she was settled in her career enough to want to start a family. Family was another unexpected out come of this situation. She finally got the meet her half-brother Fox. She got to ask the questions she always wanted to ask. Like did he ever witness and have and explanation for their father's strange mood swings. Having to endure him being doting and attentive one moment and cold and unapproachable the next. Did he live in Samantha's shadow like she did? She knew she was not as pretty, vivacious or affectionate as the sister that went missing before she was born, but ever since she learned of her she could feel him comparing her to Samantha, often unfavorably. The responses 'He's out of the country' and 'It's simply not done' from both her her mother and her father prevented her from meeting him sooner. So after a while she simply stopped asking and didn't even attempt to meet him when she was old enough to do so without her parents knowledge or consent. It was ingrained in her that 'brother' was something she simply wasn't allowed to have. Strangely, Spending time with Mulder made her feel younger, like a little kid being doted on by a college aged sibling. Perhaps they were both attempting to recapture the time they missed. She looked up as the Maitre'd approached the table escorting Agent Scully. "Mulder's going to be a little late," Scully said in greeting as she sat in the chair the Maitre'd pulled out for her. " Nice place. How did you find it?" "Mulder recommend it." Theen responded watching as Scully admired the tasteful place settings and classy decor. "I knew he was holding out on me." she murmured to herself. "So....You're heading back to School?" "I have to. I'm getting nothing done. I need that academic atmosphere to get me working again." "I'm sure you'll need to get back to work as well." "I did have a TA position by they gave it to someone else when I didn't show up and the beginning of term." "I hope that doesn't put too much of a cinch on your finances." "No, I only took it for the teaching experience. Mom's lawyer tells me I have trust funds up the wazoo from Opa, Dad and now Mom too." She shrugged. "Did you finish putting your Mother's affairs in order?" Scully inquired grasping for a topic of conversation to burn time until Mulder arrived. "They tell me that could take months, so the lawyers are going to handle that. I did finish sorting through her personal things though." "Are you going to keep that beautiful house?" "I don't think so. Can you believe some people have had offers pending since this summer. The vultures were just waiting for her to kick off," She said disgusted. A waiter approached and asked "Would you ladies like anything from the bar while you're while you waiting for the last member of your party to arrive?" "No It's all right, We'll order now he should be arriving shortly," She answered and went ahead and ordered for herself and Mulder, then selected an appropriate wine. Theen also ordered but as the waiter left she cast a look toward Scully that said "Well, aren't you full of surprises." Scully startled when she looked up then chuckled at her own reaction. "I just can't get used to see his expressions on someone else's face." Theen smiled taking pride in being compared to Mulder, but she still remained curious how Scully could presume to order for Mulder with such confidence. "Though he likes to think himself unique, and in many ways he is." She explained. "He is dreadfully predictable when it comes to food. Its like pulling teeth to get him to try to something new." "Something new what?" Mulder asked as he came up behind them. He kissed Theen's cheek and laid a hand lightly on Scully's shoulder before sitting. "We were discussing what we ordered for you," Theen answered. "What did you order?" He asked, the panic face slowly creeping into his features. "Breaded calamari with pesto over mosticotti" Theen informed him with a bland expression while his eyes grew wide. "I ordered shrimp fetteccini alfredo like I always do." Scully assured him before he panicked any further. "Interesting being on the receiving end of that sense of humor isn't it." She observed with a smug expression which earned her a dirty look. "OPR just let out," He announced. "What did he get? I know suspension or dismissal too much to hope for but..." "Written Reprimand." "That's it? You could wallpaper your bathroom with the reprimands in your file," Scully groused obviously disappointed. "I agree. It doesn't amount to much, but it wins an internal battle of sorts. Spender now knows he can't act with impunity. Following 'their' orders have consequences. That They sometimes can't and aren't always willing to protect him." "Of course," She agreed seeing his point. "He'll rethink his position and maybe won't work against us so stridently." "Or maybe he'll bow out gracefully now that the position he never wanted in the first place. Doesn't have the power he thought." "What are you two talking about?" Theen interrupted. "You still haven't told her," Scully accused. "When will you learn that withholding information doesn't offer any protection?" "I'm sure it will sink in eventually," He mumbled around a mouthful of breadstick. Scully turned toward Theen and explained, "Agent Spender was cited for willful negligence." "Because of Me? ...That's the guy who wouldn't return my calls, right?" Theen asked, eyes wide with surprise. "He ignored you offers to assist in your own investigation. He ignored his superiors inquiries into the progress of the case and he failed to direct the case to someone else if he felt it didn't fall within his divisions focus." Scully rattled off the charges that had been addressed by the review board. "He also allowed a fellow agents sister to twist in the wind violating the old boy network tenet of 'We take care of our own." Mulder added. "And here I thought have the Mulder name attached to you would be a liability." "What's going to happen to my case now?" "It's still labeled an X-file, so the other agent in the division, Agent Fowley will be handling it. She was exonerated for any wrong doing in the matter." He informed her. "You still believe she didn't know about the case. She was the one who complained about Athena's phone calls in the first place." "Skinner admitted he only followed up with Spender about the investigation and the tech guys backed up her assertion that her email account was malfunctioning and she never received my original message." Theen sat back in her chair attempting to blend into the wallpaper. She had a feeling she was watching an old argument or rather a new argument on a old theme. She knew this case had ceased to be about justice for her early on and they had other goals in mind though Mulder hadn't been exactly forthcoming with those details. When they were together he pretended it was all about her and she appreciated the effort but she didn't expect justice in any conventional form. The message her Mother left her lead her to believe it was an impossibility and was the reason for the measures she took to make sure her daughter would be protected after she was gone. "She said she thought Athena's messages were from a girlfriend," Scully scoffed rolling her eyes. "You saw the messages. They didn't mention the case and when Spender complained she concluded it was a stalker." "And that's more believable?" Now theen was interested. " Is it outside the realm of believability that Agent Spender would have a girlfriend or a crazy exgirlfriend that this scenario asks for." "You haven't met Spender." Scully stated calmly. "No I haven't," She smirked, "but that's why he's in trouble now isn't it." Scully's lips turned up a little at Theen's volley until Mulder continued speaking. "We may hate him, but someone could find him attractive. A woman in love can forgive a multitude of faults." he pointed out. and ended his statement by signaling for a waiter. "Tell me about it," Scully muttered under her breath. Mulder didn't hear her but Theen did and bit her lip to keep from giggling. She had observed these to over the last two weeks and decided they were the strangest couple on earth. Mulder said you for give a multitude of faults in those you love and she was learning to love them. She was going to miss them both when she went back to New Haven. Scully noticed Theen's struggle with laughter and begged with her eyes "Don't laugh, please don't laugh!" Theen understood, if she laughed she would have to explain why she was laughing. If she explained she would disrupt their lovely little status quo of denial they were enjoying. Then everything would be awkward. Mulder turned back to the table after requesting a glass of iced tea from the waiter to see Theen and Scully looking at him with innocent expressions and sweet smiles. Suspicious, He opened his mouth to question their apparent collusion. "Have you found out anything interesting on my disks?" Theen asked quickly changing the subject before it could begin. "Uh.. yes," He answered caught a little off guard. "The research data was very heavily encrypted, but most of it is translated now. The second disk didn't have much on it but Consortium junk mail. The guys seem to be deriving too much entertainment from the fact the shadow government is having more parking problems that the federal government." Scully smiled at the joke and in relief for the subject change. "They were still bugging to get you to contribute something. Do you want me to take you over there again?" "No!" "I'm sure I can get them to behave." "No, I'll be frank, they scare me. I'll restrict my contact with them to written correspondence." "They'll behave now that I explained who you are." He pushed. "They aren't that bad. They grow on you." "Like fungus" Scully inserted with a grin. "Don't get me wrong I find them invaluable source of information but I sympathize with Athena. They still scare me too sometimes." "I think your worried she'll dethrone you in their affections," He teased. "That is something I would gladly bestow on my worst enemy." Their meal arrived and the waiter poured the wine. Theen raised her glass. "To Family and going home," She toasted. "To Friends and a safe journey," Scully added. "To the first nail in Spender's coffin," Mulder finished. End of Part 11 End of Another One. Athena Mulder Braun is a flighty little twit in my opinion. so I'm not going to write about her anymore. but if you find her worthy of further development, I'm putting her up for adoption. Applications will be accepted at stonewar@navix.net ------------------------------------------------------------------ Canny one-armed audio-visual manipulation, nagging the whiny amorality of his superiors, chauffeuring the Syndicate kids to and from their assignments, always ready to lend a hand with the stiletto or be there for someone's "first time." Alex Krycek: Soccer Mom of the Consortium. --From Amanda Finch's My Two Slightly Mundane Dads -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ "A French man in the summer is a little stinky this smell is...is something from the X-files!" --Diego, JESSE 3-25-99 Stonewar's Reality http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/5512/ ------------------------------------------------------------------