From: "Emily Miller" Subject: Before: Dana's Gift 1/1 E.Miller Date sent: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 16:49:05 -0600 DISCLAIMER: All, even the rabbit, belong to Chris Carter. CARCHIVE: Anywhere, if you ask first. RATING: PG CLASSIFICATION: VA SUMMARY: Why the rabbit was in the lunchbox. Before: Dana's Gift 1/1 E.Miller >>>>>>>> Melissa locked eyes with her younger sister. Dana stared right back, refusing to give in as much as it hurt not to. Even when a single strand of hair fell from behind her ear and tickled her cheek so that the itch ached and her hands twitched and tried to reach to scratch it, she didn't move an inch. The seconds, then minutes, passed with such agonizing slowness that Dana was ready to scream. It had never lasted this long, never before. One of them would have to give in soon. "Don't tell me you two are doing that AGAIN," a voice said, entering the girls' bedroom- and breaking concentration. Both looked up without realizing it. "Bil-ly!" Melissa complained. "I was gonna win this time!" She and Dana lay on their stomachs on the carpet, latest competition for 'superior Scully' ended. "Don't even try to kid yourself, Missy," Bill said, trying his best to show off imaginary elder-brother wisdon. "Dana beats you every time." "I've been practicing," Melissa insisted. Dana, who'd been madly rubbing her fingernails over her cheek, finally managed to kill the itch and was able to breathe again- and speak. "Who said you could come in here, Bill?" "I did. There's no law that says I can't." "Mom and Dad," Melissa said, taking Dana's side. Even if all kinds of contests went on between them- like the staring contest that had just ended in a tie- they immediately bonded together against the most evil thing in their life- siblings. Actually, sibling, because Charles hadn't had a chance yet to get very bad. He wasn't even a year old. He just cried a lot. "Mom and Dad aren't the law," Bill countered. "They are here and they said you can't come in our room," Dana said. "Okay, that's fine. I won't tell you what Mom and Dana got you," he said, as though he was completly innocent. Dana wanted to ignore him- chances were he was lying- but she just couldn't. "What'd they get me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Don't listen to him, Dana. He's a liar. He probably just wants to get you downstairs so he can shoot you with that stupid BB gun Dad gave him." "It's not stupid. I'm getting one just like it next year," Dana said. "Girls shouldn't shoot, stupid. You'll probably kill something," Melissa said. "I could shoot Bill. He's a thing." "Hey, good idea! I'll tell Mom and Dad to make sure you get that gun." "Uh, Dana, are you coming or not?" Bill asked, interrupting the giggles of his sisters. God, he wished Charles was older. Girls were so DUMB. "I think you're lying," Melissa said. "You just think that because Mom and Dad didn't get you anything. They got you that fish last year and you killed it." "I didn't kill it!" "You didn't feed it!" "I did, too!" "Yeah, maybe once a month!" "Get out, Billy!" "Make me!" Melissa started to get up, ready to fight even though Bill was 5 years older, but Dana beat her to him. "Show me what Mom and Dad got me," she said, more to stop a fight than anything else. It would be better to get shot and get Bill in trouble than have Melissa and Bill fight and have Melissa grounded so they couldn't play together. "Yeah, go on, you traitor," Melissa muttered, slouching back to her bed. Dana ignored her, knowing she wouldn't stay mad long. She never did. "What'd they get me?" she asked Bill eagerly as she followed him downstairs and into the living room. "Can't tell. It's an early Christmas present." Her eyes lit up. Christmas present! And it was still NOVEMBER! "Where is it?" "They went to get it," he said, and that was all he would say. Dana thought she was going to explode by the time she finally saw her parents' car at the end of the block. She skidded in her sock-feet across the wooden floor and threw open the door, flying out, jumping the steps on the porch, and across the front yard to where her parents were just getting out of the car. "Mom! Dad!" she flew into her dad, who caught her and lifted her up. "Did Bill tell you what we got you, Starbuck? Or did he just tease?" "He TEASED, Daddy!" she was going to say more, get Bill in trouble, but was too excited. "What'd you get me?" "Maggie? Could you get it out?" Dana wiggled in her dad's arms as she watched her mom open the back door and lift out a shoebox... with holes punched in the top? "What is it?" Dana asked, struggling until her dad gave up and put her down. She ran to her mom. "What is it, Mommy?" "Calm down, Dana. It's not going anywhere. It's asleep." "Can I have it? Please?" Dana reached for the box, jumping up and down excitedly until her mom FINALLY handed it down. "Be careful. You don't want to hurt it." Dana was sure by then that it was something alive. She sat on the edge of the grass and carefully pulled the top off the box, peering inside even as she did. A tiny ball of gray woke up in the light, eyes wide and shiny, ears rising up to listen. Its nose twitched as it took a careful hop from one side of the box to the other. Dana couldn't speak. She caught her breath, looking at the little animal now rubbing its nose over the hand that held the box on her knees. She reached the other, trembling slightly, to stroke a line in the soft fur with he fingernail. "What is it?" she finally managed to whisper. She took her eyes off her new pet long enough to look up at her mom and dad. "A cat?" Her mom laughed. "No, Dana. It's a rabbit." "Oh, okay." Her eyes went back down to the... rabbit. "Hi," she said softly, in the same voice she used when talking to Charles. As she continued to slowly stroke the rabbit with a gentle finger, Melissa silently joined her on the ground. "What is it?" she asked. "A rabbit. Mom and Dad got it for me as an early Christmas present." Now it was Melissa's turn to look up at her parents. "Mo-om! Da-ad! You got me a stupid fish and you got her a RABBIT!?" "Maybe they like me more," Dana said, under her breath so no one heard it. Then, more loudly, she said, "Hey, Melissa, you can help me feed it and stuff. Come on, let's go find a place to put it. It can be both of ours." The two girls got up and left, walking very slowly so they wouldn't scare the rabbit. Behind them, their parents looked at each other and smiled. Dana could always be counted on for keeping peace. >>>>>>>> "What're you gonna name it?" Bill asked, leaping out at Dana and Melissa as they entered the house and almost making Dana drop the precious shoebox. Only Melissa reaching out a hand to grab it saved it from falling. "None of your business," she said. "Let's just ignore him," she said to Dana. "Yeah. He was being mean earlier, anyway," Dana said. They left Bill looking half-amused and half-angry, going upstairs to the room they shared and this time remembering to lock the door, even though they weren't supposed to. "Bill's stupid. He's not an 'it', he's a HE," Dana said as they sat on her bed, box between them. The second it quit bouncing from their walking, the rabbit went back to sleep, curled up in the corner, ears tucked down against a small back. "Well, he was right about naming it. We- YOU- have to decide on a name," Melissa said. She reached out and touched the rabbit for the first time, smiling as she did so. Its- HIS- fur was soft and long, gray with a little white mixed in. "I already know what I'm naming him." "How can you decide so fast?" "I don't know. I just can." "So what's his name?" "Fox," Dana said, nodding her head as she did as though very satisfied with her choice. "Fox? Why Fox?" "It's just... right..." she leaned a little closer to the box. "Fox! Hey Fox!" she whisper-cried. The rabbit woke immediately, kind-of-hopped, more like walked, over to the corner closest to Dana, and started digging with small, sharp claws and chewing with teeth, trying to get out and to Dana. "Toldja it was right." >>>>>>>> The whole house was asleep, but Dana couldn't. Her parents had insisted that she put her new pet in the garage, in an old bird cage until they got a real rabbit- home. She wasn't sure what rabbit homes were called, but she knew they had a name. She would have to ask Melissa tomorrow. But for then, she got up and tiptoed past her sleeping sister and out of the room, down the stairs and to the back door. She stretched as high as she could, standing on shaky toes, and just managed to reach the lock and turn it. She was out. The garage was like a room out of one of the horror movies Bill loved to watch. It smelled bad, so Dana breathed through her mouth as she groped for a light switch on the wall. She finally found it and pushed it up, breathing a small sigh of relief when light flooded the small space. Quickly closing the door before anyone still awake heard or saw anything, she then turned and walked to the corner where the bird cage sat. Her rabbit, awakened by the sudden light, was blinking his bright eyes at her as she opened the door of his new home. He hopped out and over to her leg, where he curled up to go to sleep. Dana giggled as she felt the soft nose tickling her leg. That nose hadn't stopped moving once since she'd first laid eyes on him. "Stop it, Fox," she whispered, even though she didn't really care if he did or not. She stroked him gently for a few minutes, until he was asleep and she was on her way. Her eyes were barely staying open when she had a wonderful idea. She was usually the first one up, not counting her dad when he was home, so why shouldn't she just take Fox back upstairs to sleep with her? She could take him back down when she got up, and no one would ever know. And she could clean up when he... after any messes he made. "Fox, you're gonna sleep with me tonight, okay?" she said, picking him up and cradling him against her arm. He didn't even wake up fully, just wiggled his nose a little more and kicked once as though not sure of this new position. She had only one problem getting him back to her room- getting the door open again, then closed and locked. She finally had to set Fox on the floor for a moment to get it locked, but he didn't go anywhere, much to her relief. She picked him up again and went on her way. She was crawling into bed, Fox resting on one edge of her pillow, when Bill appeared in the door. He looked half-asleep, his hair sticking up and his eyes only partially open. "Dana?" he said, voice sounding weird. She pretended to be asleep. "What're you doing?" She swallowed hard, considering trying a fake snore, but deciding that probably wouldn't work, just give her away. "I know you're not asleep. What were you doing downstairs?" Bill asked. "None of your business," she said, bringing her head up enough to glare at him- and hopefully hide Fox. Her movement, even so small, woke Fox up. He opened his eyes again, nose twitching, and did his normal hop-waddle over to Dana's arm, where he tried to curl up and go to sleep against. Dana bit her lip, watching him, knowing she was caught. "You brought that thing up HERE?" Bill said, eyes widening and mouth dropping open. She had asked earlier why that dumb animal couldn't sleep with her, but had only gotten a VERY firm 'no' from both parents- and she'd gone ahead and done it anyway. "So what?" Dana asked. "So WHAT!? Mom and Dad are going to kill you!" "Not if they don't find out." "But they're going to find out." "How?" She had a sinking suspiscion, but wanted to make sure. He grinned at her, that horrible, mean grin he used only on her. "I'm gonna tell them." "Bi-ill!" His grin only got wider, reminding her of that cat in the movie about the girl and the rabbit, the one Charles liked so much lately. "Fine, I'll hide it and you won't be able to find it and they won't have any proof I had it up here!" she said. "Sure, Dana. You do that." He didn't believe her. He raised his eyebrows for a moment and waved before leaving. For some reason, that wave made her all the more determined to hide Fox. And she knew just the place. In the basement, in Melissa's old lunchbox. No one would ever find it there. >>>>>>>> It had to come from SOMEWHERE, didn't it? :) Emily Love feedback, in case there's somebody out there who thinks I don't.