From: "David Hearne" Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 14:56:37 -0400 Subject: xfc: Back in the Day II: Electric Boogaloo (1 of 1) Source: xfc TITLE: BACK IN THE DAY II: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO (1 of 1) AUTHOR: DAVID HEARNE CLASSIFICATION: Post-ep for "Rain King" RATING: PG SUMMARY: Dana Scully goes to her high school reunion. She *doesn't* meet a past love of hers. Okay? She just doesn't. SPOILERS: Rain King, Small Potatoes, Paperclip, Pusher, Eve, Home, Christmas Carol, Emily PERMISSION TO ARCHIVE: Yes to all. Send feedback to ottercrk@sover.net Website is located at http://members.dencity.com/hearne AUTHOR'S SUMMARY: Thanks to all the people who had song suggestions. If your suggestion didn't make it in, don't be offended. I just couldn't find a way to squeeze it in. Or I forgot it. Sorry. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX When the sound of The Go-Go's hit Scully in the face, she wondered if her partner had been right. "Why in the world would you want to go to your high school reunion?" "I don't know. I guess this whole Rain King case has got me thinking about high school and...well, the reunion is coming up...so there you are." "Is that all?" "Yeah, I guess that's all. Isn't that good enough?" "I'm just wondering if this is going to turn into one of those stories where you meet a former boyfriend and he makes you regret all the choices you made in life." "Grow up, Mulder." However, as she stood in the gymnasium of Woodham High School, she was tempted to flee. Gathered in the gym was a collection of balding heads, droopy faces and sagging bodies. A few were attempting to dance along with "We Got the Beat." More than a few were drunk. This is my generation? she wondered. All these thirty-somethings were once pink, fresh young 'uns? What happened to them? For that matter, what happened to me? And what connection do I have with any of them? Despite all the miles she had travelled, she was just about to leave the gym when she heard, "Dana!" Scully turned to see an overweight woman heading in her direction. Her extra weight wasn't tremendous. She could be best described as "pleasingly plump." When she moved, she didn't seem impeded by her extra pounds. She also had a face as smooth as it had been in her youth, making it easy for Scully to recognize her. "Uh...Sylvia?" "That's me!" She stopped in front of Scully. "How about a hug?" "That...that would be..." They both laughed and they did hug each other. "God, look at you," Sylvia Hazzard said. "You look great!" "So do you." Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Well, I haven't gotten fatter if that's what you mean. But you! You've actually gotten better-looking!" Scully looked away in embarrassment. "Come on..." "Dana, you're just about the only person here who doesn't look like they got hit by a truck." Scully took another examination of the reunioners. "No. They just got...old." "Exactly. Come on. Let's sit over here." They moved to an empty table. The music over the speakers switched to "Heart of Glass." "Okay," Sylvia said. "Where do we start?" "Hm. I'm afraid there's a lot of territory to cover." "I know. We didn't keep in touch after high school, did we?" "That's just part of growing up, I guess." "Don't I know it. Anyway, I'll start with the life stories. I'm not married. Came this close..." She held a thumb and forefinger three centimeters apart. "But we backed off at the last minute. Good thing, too." "Why? Did this guy turn out to be another Berwood?" "Oh, sweet Lord, no! No, I'm still friends with my ex-fiance. Berwood, on the other hand...I didn't mind him being a fool, but he turned out to be a jerk, too." "Not to mention a firebug." Sylvia covered her face and giggled. "Oh, please, don't remind me of that!" She lowered her hands and looked at Scully. "I'm really sorry about that. Who knows what would have happened between you and Marcus if we hadn't..." "Not a whole lot would have happened. Marcus was a nice guy, but...he wasn't as spectacular as I had once thought him to be." "Comparing him to someone else?" "Uh, no. Not really." Sylvia's eyes twinkled. "Who is it?" "Who is what?" "The great love of your life." "You mean...cookie dough ice cream?" Sylvia slapped Scully's knee. "I mean, the guy you're seeing now. I don't see a wedding ring, but he's obviously something special." "I'm not seeing anyone." Sylvia looked at her. "Really." "So whoever this guy is, it's a case of unrequited love." "Sylvia..." "He's someone you're close to, but you haven't made any romantic headway with him yet." "Who are you supposed to be, a fortune teller?" "So I'm right, then." Scully looked up at the ceiling. "This man isn't gay, is he?" Scully's eyes fell back onto Sylvia. "No! Of course not!" "Are you sure?" "Well, I would be very surprised to learn so." Sylvia pointed a finger at Scully. "So there *is* something." Scully prayed for salvation. It came in the form of a voice singing -- "'Just some good ol' boys...never meanin' no harm...'" Sylvia Hazzard froze. Without looking at the singer, she said, "I promised myself that if I ever heard that again, I would kill you." Two hands touched her shoulders and the singer said, "If you did that, what meaning would your life have?" Sylvia sighed, then smiled and turned to the man behind her. "I can't believe it," she said as she hugged Phil Lanois. "You actually made it here." "With only the worst intentions," the lean man in glasses told her. Then he looked at Scully and blinked. "Dana?" "I know," Sylvia said. "I'm so jealous of this woman's beauty, it sickens me." "Hi, Phil," Scully said. "Damn, look at you," Phil said as he gave her a hug. "What happened? I mean, where did you go right?" "Guys, I don't look that good." "Dana, in this room, you shine like a stream of bat's piss in the dark." "Phil!" the two women said. "Whoops. As ever, Monty Python sketches come out of my mouth." Phil sat down at the table, placing himself on a backwards chair. "So is this girl talk or can the possessors of the extra Y join in?" "Actually, we were just about to talk about our jobs," Scully said. "Weren't we, Sylvia?" "If you say so...Dana," Sylvia responded. "Well, I'll go first since I have the lowest occupation," Phil said. "I'm a movie producer." "That doesn't sound so low." "It does when the movies have titles like 'Blood Fiend 2' and 'Professor Psycho.'" "You produced 'Professor Psycho?'" Scully said. "Uh, yeah. Did you see that?" "Well..." "There goes my high opinion of you." "I was watching it with a friend of mine. He's into movies like that." "Oh?" Sylvia said. "And you're willing to watch slasher flicks with him?" "It's not a slasher flick," Phil said in a faux-stuffy voice. "It's a psychological thriller." "Be quiet, Phil. I'm trying to solve a mystery here." "There's no mystery," Scully insisted. "The man I watched it with was my partner..." "Partner?" Sylvia said. "Partner?" Phil echoed. "Is this guy gay or something?" "No," Scully sighed. "He's my partner in the FBI." "The FBwhat?" Scully pulled out her ID and showed it to Sylvia and Phil. "Wow," Phil said. "Special Agent Dana Scully." "I can't believe it," Sylvia said. "I know," Scully replied. "Kind of caught me by surprise, too." "Actually, I can believe it," Phil commented. "I mean, you've always had a certain...authority about you." "Really?" "I guess you get that from your father. Boy, I remember the time I met him. If he had told me to do twenty, I would have done it." "Yeah," Scully said, nodding as she put away her ID. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," Sylvia said, a smile spreading on her face. "Now I get it. This partner...he's the one..." "Forget the partner," Phil interrupted. "I want to know if she's shot anybody." "Yes," Scully answered. "I shot my partner." Phil and Sylvia looked at Scully, then laughed because they didn't know what else to do. "So, Phil," Scully said. "You make movies..." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The dance floor was empty, despite the chirpy sound of Culture Club. Scully, Sylvia and Phil were still talking. "...and I've been working at First Federal ever since," Sylvia said. "That's been my exciting career." "Well," Phil said. "Working in a bank is a lot more distinguished than my job. What about you, Dana?" "What about me?" Scully replied. "We've been talking about our occupations for the past ten minutes. Seems like we should be listening to you. Chances are you have the most interesting stories to tell. Right?" "Uh..." What do I tell them? Scully wondered. So, people, do you want to hear about the guy whose emotional state controlled the weather? Or the man whose tumor enabled him to control other people's actions? How about the young twins with super intelligence? Or would you like to hear about the Peacock family? Once again, Scully prayed for intervention. Once again, it came but not as agreeably as before. "Dana Scully, you're a stuck-up bitch." They all turned to a man on wobbly legs. His face was blank and emotionless despite his mean words. "Do you know who I am?" he asked. Scully looked at him, then said, "Harvey McEnroe." Harvey nodded. "You're a stuck-up bitch, Dana. Always have been. Always will be." With that, Harvey stumbled away. "A...ha," Phil said. "Dana," Sylvia said. "you're not going to take that seriously, are you?" "No," Scully told her. "I'm not." "Because Harvey hasn't changed. He's still the guy who thinks you're supposed to instantly like him. You're supposed to open up and tell him all your secrets. If you find him too intrusive, he thinks..." "I know, I know. He thinks he's the life of the party, but he's just pathetic." "Right." "So let's not talk about him. He's nothing but the past." "Now, wait," Phil said. "The past is not 'nothing." If it was, why are we here?" "Why are you here, Phil?" Sylvia asked. Phil looked around him, then said, "Because I hope Principal Fisher will be here." "Why? You never liked him." "Exactly. That's what I plan to tell him." "Oh, come on, Phil," Scully groaned. "I'm going to march right up to him and say..." "That would make you no better than Harvey." "No, no, Dana. You see, Harvey doesn't like you because you only speak when you have something to say. Idiots like him think that makes you 'stuck-up.' But Fisher was a definite waste of space. And he deserves to be told that." "So you flew all the way out from California to just insult a man?" "Why did you come, Dana?" For that, she had no answer. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "Celllllll-a-bra-tion time, come on!" "Looks like the party has revived itself," Sylvia observed of the dance floor which was now full. "That's Kool and the Gang for ya," Phil commented. "But if they start playing 'Rebel Yell,' I'm out of here." "As I recall, Phil, that was your anthem." "Arrrrgh, don't remind me." Sylvia burst out laughing. "It's not that funny." "No. Look at Harvey." Harvey McEnroe was on the dance floor, his legs and arms gone spastic. "Now there's a waste of space. You know he's going nowhere." "What about us?" Phil asked. "Where are we going?" Sylvia and Scully looked at him. "I mean, we still have some years left to us. What do we want to accomplish?" The table was silent for a few moments, then Sylvia said, "I want to have a baby. I know, I know. That is so 'Thirtysomething.' But I'm a human being, dammit. A need to propagate is in my...Dana, what's wrong?" "Nothing," Scully said. "You looked...so..." "It's nothing. I think it's time I head on out, though." "What? Oh, come on." "No, really. I should go." "You should," Phil said. He stood up and added, "Let's all go." Scully looked at Phil, then at Sylvia. Her overweight friend touched her with a hand. "Let's go, Dana," she said. Scully let out a breath, then nodded. "All right." The three of them headed for the door. Halfway there, a voice called out, "Are you leaving so soon?" Phil's feet got stuck on the ground. He slowly turned and saw a man in his late sixties approach them. "Principal Fisher?" he whispered. "That's right," Fisher said, smiling. "I'm afraid I don't quite remember you." Phil hesitated for a moment, then said, "Phil Lanois." "Well, good to see you, Mister Lanois," Fisher said. He held out his hand. Phil looked at the hand while the two women looked at him. Then he shook the hand and mirrored Fisher's smile. "Good to see you, Principal." "And let me see..." Fisher said, turning to Scully and Sylvia. "Dana Scully and Sylvia Hazzard, right?" "That's right, sir," Sylvia answered. Phil looked away from Fisher and shook his head. "Are you sure you want to leave now? Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves." "Well...we just..." "We rather be by ourselves right now," Phil said. "I see," Fisher said. "Well, I understand. You three must have a lot of catching up to do." "M-hm." "Well, good night. See you next year!" "Yeah." As Fisher walked off, Sylvia and Scully turned to Phil. He just shrugged and said, "He's only a man. How about that?" Scully nodded, then looked at the dance floor. "'Scuse me a second..." she told her companions, then walked to the mass of twisting and jumping people. She stopped right in front of Harvey McEnroe. He almost opened his mouth, but she flashed her ID at him. He stopped dancing though his body still swayed like a puppet in the wind. His face was stunned. Hers was very calm as she spoke to him. Then she walked back to Sylvia and Phil. "What...did you say to him?" Sylvia asked. "I just reminded him not to do any driving tonight." Phil grinned. "So you get your revenge and I don't?" "That's just tough, Phil." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "Hello?" "Mulder, it's me." "Hey, Scully." "I'm just calling to tell you I'll be flying back tomorrow." "Right. So how did the reunion go? Have any shattering realizations about your life?" "Yeah. I decided to get a new partner. I also met a couple of old friends." "Beats meeting old enemies." "I met one of those, too. Anyway, we left the reunion early and just drove around town for hours." "Have a good time?" "Yeah, we did. You should have heard us when we got 'Eye of the Tiger' on the radio. We had ourselves a hearty sing-a-long." "No, thanks, Scully. I've already heard you sing." Silence over the telephone wires. "Scully?" More silence. "Scully, don't take it personally..." "No, no. I'm not mad at you, Mulder. In fact, I'll be glad to get back to work." "Even though we're still stuck on the crap detail?" "Yeah. Even though." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "You know, if I tried to pitch this story to a studio, they would call it derivative and corny." "What story is that?" "Two classmates meet at a high school reunion and fall in love." Sylvia looked at the man in her bed. "Has that happened?" "Yeah," Phil said. "I think it has." "Hm. You're right." The couple snuggled closer in the hotel room. "What are you thinking about?" Phil asked. "About Dana. She still seemed...moody when we split up." "Dana has always been moody. Or serious, anyway." "Well, this was more moody than serious. Something was bothering her, but she just couldn't come out with it." "That's Dana Scully, too. She likes to keep her pain to herself." "I know. But you can't hold it in forever. It's going to come out one way or another. I just hope..." "What?" "...her partner has a good shoulder to cry on." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX