Subject: NEW: A Different Partner 1/2 From: trustno142@aol.com (TrustNo142) Date: 6 Jan 1998 01:40:51 GMT I did not write this. Please respond to the author Classification: Future MSR Rating: PG Spoilers: Pilot, itty-bitty reference to Squeeze. Can you find it? Author's note: This really doesn't have MSR per se, but it is implied. I needed to do this one to introduce Aerin Consul. The next part will have definite MSR, sort of. I'm working up to it. They have to work their way into the UST, then let it happen. ;-) If you haven't seen the pilot, this might not make much sense. I plan on writing the better episodes with them in it. If you have a fav ep you want me to do, tell me! Questions, comments, 1-800-YOU-SUCK, send them all to kyselyea@hotmail.com. Enjoy. Disclaimer: Not mine CC's, Fox, 20 Century No infringement No profit No sue All good Alternate Universe #1: "A Different Partner" by Kyselyea Aerin Consul walked into the government building with her head held high. If there was anything her guardians had taught her when she was little it was to have confidence and good posture. She was raised in Little, Kansas by her father's brother and his wife. They had a daughter named Diana and a son named Ray. They even had a dog named Toto. Aerin had felt exactly like Dorothy Gale sometimes. She wished she could have been anywhere but there. And she knew that if she had gotten her wish she wouldn't have been clicking her heels together anytime soon. Little's population was 376, all white. Even though most of the town was prejudice against other races (including her aunt and uncle), Aerin had managed to come out unbiased. As much as anyone can be unbiased anyway. Her aunt and uncle taught her confidence and drilled proper etiquette into her since she was seven when they "rescued" her from her mother. Aerin didn't even remember her father and her mother was just a fading memory to the 28 yr. old. She walked up to a secretary sitting behind a desk and announced herself. "Agent Aerin Consul." She listened to the directions and then proceeded on to her meeting. She stopped outside the door and straightened her navy blue skirt. The matching jacket and cream blouse covered her (in her opinion) less than adequate chest. She tucked her shiny black hair behind her ears and smoothed it down. It reached her shoulder blades and was very thin. A few wispy bangs hung down to her dark eyebrows and emphasized her ice blue eyes. Her face was youthful and line free. She didn't look over 20 and had to work hard to earn respect. Aerin took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It was immediately followed by a "come in" which she complied to. Inside the room were three men. AD Blevins at his desk, an assistant to his side, and a tall man smoking a cigarette in the corner. Blevins nodded to her and said, "Agent Consul, please have a seat." She smiled and sat and waited for him to continue. "I see you've been with us. just one year?" "A year yesterday sir. But, a lot can be learned and done in a year." "Yes, yes. It says here you attended med school and law school, then you decided to join here. Why?" "Well, I went to med school to please my aunt, and law school to please my uncle. As a forensics pathologist the FBI offered to recruit me. So I joined to please myself." The assistant spoke then, "Law and med school? But you're only 28!" "When I was five and old enough to start school, I could already read and write and do some arithmetic. I was placed in second grade. I had a late birthday anyway and would have graduated at 17 if I had started in Kindergarten. I graduated at 15. I finished my undergrad at 19, med at 23, law at 27, and then I joined you guys. Uh.sirs." The cigarette man didn't show any emotion at all. Blevins raised his eyebrows. The assistant decided to continue on. "Um, are you familiar with agent named Fox Mulder?" "Yes, I am. By reputation anyway." They waited in silence, obviously for her to explain. "He's an Oxford educated psychologist who profiles for the Violent Crimes Section. In 1988 he helped catch Monty Props. AKA: Spooky Mulder." The cigarette man scowled slightly at this but Aerin decided to ignore him. Blevins now spoke, "Yes, well, Agent Mulder has become increasingly involved in a project outside the usual mainstream. Are you familiar with the so-called X-Files?" "They have to do with unexplainable phenomenon." "More or less. The reason you're here is we want you to assist Agent Mulder on these X-Files and write field reports on your observations and the validity of the work." Aerin took a deep breath. "Am I to understand you want me to discredit his work?" She said this with a slightly bitter tone. She'd never met the man but she had studied his work and thought that he was a genius; even if he was a little spooky. Blevins replied, "We trust you to make the proper scientific analyses. You should contact Agent Mulder shortly. I look forward to your reports." *** Aerin walked towards the elevators conjuring up all sorts of pictures for the infamous Spooky. She was so lost in thought she ran into a small redheaded woman. Startled, Aerin looked down. "Agent Scully! Hi. What are you doing here?" Her teacher at the academy smiled at her and said, "I have a meeting with AD Blevins. Why are you here?" Although Aerin was only 5' 6", standing next to Agent Scully always made her feel big. "I had a meeting too. I've been assigned to work with Fox Mulder." Dana gasped, "Spooky?!" "Yeah, I'm going to see him now. I'm a little nervous." "Oh you'll do fine. You were always one of my better students." Aerin smiled at the small praise. Coming from Agent Scully it was a lot. "So, what do you think you're here for?" "I think I'm being assigned a partner to work in the field." "Cool. Maybe I'll see ya out there." Dana smiled, "Yeah. Feel free to call me anytime you might need help. I've got to run or I'll be late." Dana left and Aerin mentally kicked herself. *** Aerin stepped out into the cool air of the basement. She turned the corner and saw a door with 'Special Agent Fox Mulder' on it. She knocked lightly. "Sorry, nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted." Aerin pushed open the door and peeked in. Aerin strode in and walked over to the man hunched over some slides. He turned at her approach. She stuck out her hand, "Hi. I'm Aerin Consul. I've been assigned to work with you." He took her hand and said, " Isn't it nice to suddenly be so highly regarded. So, who did you tick off to get stuck with this detail, Consul?" "Well, l think I spilled some coffee on a janitor a couple of months ago." She smirked at him. He returned the gesture. She smiled, "Actually, I'm looking forward to working with you." "Oh really? I was under the impression you were sent to spy on me." Mulder looked her over once. "Or for me to baby sit you." That just plain pissed her off. "If you have any doubt about my competence or credentials." "You're a medical doctor, you also have a law degree, you did your under graduate in biology." While he was speaking he took off his glasses and began to search through a pile of papers and files. He pulled out a folder and turned around. "'Origins of Species by Means of Species Selection.' Aerin Consul's senior thesis. Now there's a credential. Rewriting Darwin." "Did you even get past the cover page?" "I did. I even liked it. It's just that in most of my work, the species *you're* used to aren't the ones I investigate. But maybe I could get your medical opinion on this though. Oregon female. Age 21. No explainable cause of death. The autopsy showed nothing. Zip. There are however these two distinct marks on her lower back. Dr. Consul, can you ID these marks?" Aerin looked at the two red bumps on the girl's back. "Most likely needle punctures. Could be electrocution. Or an animal bite, but that's doubtful because the rest of the tissue is untouched." She turned to face him. Mulder clicked the slide projector and said, "How's your chemistry? This was the substance found in the surrounding tissue." Aerin turned back around. "It's organic, so maybe it was an ani." Mulder smiled at her double take. "Is it. is it a synthesized protein?" "Beats me. I've never seen it before either. But here it is again in Sturges, South Dakota and again in Shamrock, Texas." "You got any ideas?" "I have plenty of *theories*." Aerin rolled her eyes. She hated people who liked big, fancy words. "But maybe you can explain to me why it's bureau policy to label these cases as unexplained phenomenon and forget about them." "Because they're unexplained phenomenon?" Mulder frowned at her. "Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?" "Scientifically.yes. Logically.no." It was hard to tell whether shock or confusion won over his face. Aerin felt a little satisfaction out of this. "What do you mean?" "Well, with the law of averages and probability, it would be an anomaly that this planet is the only one with life on it in all the other galaxies in the universe. It would be a big waste of space. But, if you ask if I believe that little gray men zoom around in spaceships kidnapping people and shoving implants up their noses, I'll laugh in your face." Mulder's face fell. "At least you know what color they are. Anyway, that conventional wisdom. It's wonderful. You know, this Oregon female, she's the fourth person from her graduating class to die under mysterious circumstances. And when science and convention offer us no answers, might we finally turn to the fantastic as a plausibility." "Look, it's *plausible* that something was missed in the post mortem. It's also *plausible* that something was missed in the investigation. What I would resort to with the Fantastic is to clean my kitchen counter. Just because the answers aren't in front of your face, doesn't mean they aren't there. You just have to look." "That's why they put the "I" in FBI. See you tomorrow, Consul. Bright and early. We leave for the very *plausible* state of Oregon at 8 am." "Bright and early, Spooky." Mulder turned around in his chair with a hurt puppy-dog expression on. "I'm not spooky." "Yeah? And I'm not a kid." Mulder's mouth turned up slightly at one corner. "Go ahead and call me Spooky." Aerin put on her best priss face and snorted. She turned on her heel, tossed her hair over her shoulders, and marched out the door. Mulder thought *** Aerin sat on the plane looking through the reports. Aerin turned to Mulder who was lying down on the chairs across the aisle from her. She started to speak then noticed his headphones. She grabbed one end and pulled it out. "Hey, Spooks." Just then, the captain announced that they were making the final decent. Mulder turned around. "Hey, Kiddo.." The plane tilted and plummeted and Mulder almost fell out of his seats. Aerin grabbed on to the armrests and felt a small smile. She loved roller coasters. The plane tilted again and leveled out. Mulder turned to face her. "This must be the place." "Think we'll hit any more on the way down?" She was still smiling and Mulder just stared at her. *** Aerin thought now was as good as time as any to prove her capabilities to the obnoxious man driving down the high way. "You didn't tell me this has *already* been investigated." "Yeah the FBI got involved after the first three deaths when local authorities failed to turn up any evidence. Our boys came here, spent a week, enjoyed the local salmon, which with a little lemon twist is just to die for if you pardon the expression. Without explanation they were called back and it was reclassified and buried in the X-Files. Until I dug it up last week." "And the oh-so-slick Spookster found out something they didn't" "Ooo" "Dr. Nemman didn't find any marks or tissue samples when he did the dissections." "Dissections?!" "Well, it's essentially the same thing as an autopsy. Besides, why use big words when diminutive ones will suffice?" She smiled sweetly at him. "Good question." "Anyway, as I was saying. The last victim had a different medical examiner." "That's pretty good, Consul." "Better than you expected? Or better than you'd hoped?" "Well, I'll let you no once we get past the easy part." He turned to grin at her. "So, young.so, bitter." Aerin sighed exaggeratedly. "So, we gonna arrest the guy for withholding evidence?" "We won't be able to do that until we do a little grave digging. I've arranged to exhume one of the bodies to see if we can get a tissue sample to match the girl's. You aren't squeamish about that kind of thing, are you?" "I wasn't when my brother and sister and I dug up our two year dead hamster to appease the Chicken God." "And people think I'm weird." Aerin was about to explain when the radio started flipping stations. The car clock flashed and a high frequency buzzing started. "Ugh! What is it?" Mulder was looking up in the air and not paying attention to her. He pulled over and stopped the car. The buzzing immediately stopped. Mulder got out of the car and walked around to the trunk. He moved some cases around and pulled out a can. He then proceeded to paint huge orange 'X' on the road. Aerin stared at him as he looked to the sky. He went back and started to put away the can. "Should I even ask?" "Oh, you know, it's probably nothing. But we'll just have to see." "Whatever." *** Aerin made a face as she started up the hill towards the cemetery. It was funny, she could handle grizzly, bloody corpses, but being in their final resting place always made her nervous. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Aerin and Mulder turned around to see a man climbing up the hill. He was obviously upset about something. "You think you can just come up here, and do what you damn well please" Mulder said, "I wasn't aware this was of any concern of yours." Aerin chimed in, "Who are you anyway?" "I'm Dr. Nemman." "Oh, you weren't aware of our intentions?" "No, no, I've been away." "Oh," said Mulder, "so, that's why you didn't perform the latest autopsy." A red-headed girl walked up just then and said, "Dad? Let's go home. Alright?" "Yeah, in a minute." Her voice became pleading, "Daddy, please. Let's go home." Dr. Nemman gave a final look at Mulder and Consul and turned around and left." Mulder mumbled, "Guy obviously needed a longer vacation." "Or an enema." Mulder looked at Aerin in surprise. "Wow, and here I thought I would have to corrupt you." They walked up the hill and watched as the grave was opened and the casket was slowly raised out. Aerin looked at the cause listed for death on Ray Soames. "Oh, come on. Missing for only seven hours, in July, and he died of exposure?" Mulder looked at her. "I told you there was something going on around here." There was a creaking noise, then a snap as the rope holding the casket broke and sent the body and its container down the hill. It hit a gravestone and stopped, partway open. Mulder reached it first and started to open it. One of the men overseeing the exhumation said, "This isn't procedure." Mulder gave a little scoffing sound and opened the casket anyway. Everyone turned away from the smell and Aerin stared at the body in the coffin. The non-human body. It was gray, short, and looked like some sort of ape. Mulder cracked, "It's a safe bet Ray Soames never made the varsity basketball team." Aerin snickered and the rest of the crowd stared at the two agents. *** Aerin was trying to begin the autopsy for the strange body, but Mulder kept flashing a camera. He was talking excitedly about something. The last flash was right in her eyes. "Hey, buddy, there is enough light in here that you don't need a flash. Knock it off." "Alright, but I want x-rays, tox screens, tissue samples, the whole nine yards." "Mulder, look where we are. We don't have those capabilities." "What about the x-rays. There's no reason we can't do those now." Aerin sighed and rubbed her forehead. Mulder saw her reaction and could almost hear her mind snapping shut. "I'm not crazy, Consul." Aerin put a hand on her hip and looked at him. He gave a half smile, "Not that crazy. I'm just as skeptical as you." He gave her his sad puppy-dog look. She already knew she was going to give in. She was going to have to build up some kind of resistance to that look. *** Aerin placed the phone back in its holder after the fifth set of rings wasn't answered. She'd been trying to reach Agent Scully for nearly two hours. It was getting to be late on the East Coast and Aerin didn't want to call her at home. She turned back to the photos and x-rays spread out in her room. She sighed. She got out her laptop and recording of the autopsy of the strange body. She began typing and didn't stop until the knock on her door. It was 4:37. "Who is it ?" "Steven Speilberg." Aerin got up and walked over to the door while talking, "I thought I told you while I could easily surpass Drew Barrymore, I'm not going to be in the sequel to ET." Aerin opened the door. "Oh, it's you." "Yeah, I'm way too wired. Going for a run. Wanna come?" Aerin paused. A run would be nice. She turned to look at the clock. "Aww, come on, I'll protect ya." "Yeah? Who'll protect me from you? I'll pass. Thanks though." "Did ya figure out what that little thing up Ray Soames' nose is?" "No, but I'm going to call someone to find out." "All right. Today we're going to a doctor who treated Soames." "OK. Can I take a rain check on the run?" "Anytime." "Goodnight, Spooky." "Night, Kiddo." Mulder barely got his face out the doorway in time to avoid the door. Aerin picked up the phone and dialed Agent Scully's cell phone number. She answered it on the third ring. "Colton, I swear if you call me one more time before I get to work, I'm going to rip your liver out myself." "Agent. Agent Scully?" "Oh! Hello. Who is this?" "It's Aerin Consul." "Oh hi Aerin. Sorry about." "No prob. Annoying partner?" "You wouldn't believe!" "Maybe I would." "Oh yeah, how's it going with Mulder?" "Umm, well, he doesn't trust me yet. He's extremely paranoid. I think he's testing me. See how far I'll go. I'll just have to take the asshole down, won't I?" Dana laughed. "Can you imagine if I were assigned to him?" "No! He believes in aliens and all sorts of neat stuff like that. You'd shoot down all his theories and leave him crying. Of course, it would be nice to see him cry. I'll have to introduce you two." "Aerin, why is it so staticky?" "Oh, I'm in Oregon." "Oregon?! What time is it?" "Umm, it's about 4:55." "Why are you still up?" "I was going over all the information on the case. It's, I don't even know." Aerin filled Dana in on the body in the grave, the implant in his nose, and the marks found on the victims. "Aerin, I'm as baffled as you are. I don't know what could possibly be going on." "Ok, well, thanks anyway. I might have some more information tonight." "Ok, give me a call, no matter how late. This is intriguing" "Ok, goodbye Dana." "Bye Aerin." Aerin hung up and picked up the container holding the metal implant. She leaned back on the bed and stared at it. To Be Continued in Part 2..... *** Alternate Universe #1: "A Different Partner" by Kyselyea Aerin was bored stiff. Mulder and the doctor were talking about a whole bunch of stuff that really didn't seem to impact the case. Then they were led inside the building to look at some vegetable. There was a girl reading to him. Mulder went to talk to her, then she started screaming. This woke Aerin up a little bit. She snickered to herself. Mulder seemed to have that affect on women. Then he lifted up her night shirt. Aerin saw the bumps on her back. She looked at Mulder and saw in his eyes that he had expected this. He hadn't been telling her everything he knew. Aerin turned around and stormed out the door. When Mulder finally caught up with her, she was outside. "Hey, um, what's his name, Billy, said he was sorry he didn't get to say good-bye." "Damn it, Mulder, what aren't you telling me?" Mulder didn't answer her but looked at his feet. "What is going on. What do you think is going on. I can't do shit out here if you hide information from me." "What's the point? You wouldn't believe me anyway." "Who cares? That was bound to happen. But you have to at least tell me!" "Alright. Fine. I think those kids were abducted." "By aliens?" Mulder nodded. Aerin's jaw clenched. "Do you want to go to the woods?" Mulder nodded again. "Fine, let's go then." *** Mulder and Consul were mucking through the woods, trying to find something that would give some sort of clue to what happened to the kids. Aerin noticed the ground was soft and bent down to look. There was an ash all over the ground. She picked some of it up and put it in her pocket. Just then bright lights flashed on her. Mulder was by her side in an instant. It was the sheriff. He ordered them out of the woods. There was a brief argument, but eventually Mulder and Consul conceded. As they were driving down the road, Aerin showed Mulder the ash. She glanced down and noticed his compass was spinning wildly. "Mulder, what's with your compass?" Mulder looked down, then up to the sky. He was looking around and ignoring Aerin's questions. "Mulder!" "Consul, I don't know what." Then there was a flash. Aerin looked around her. Mulder was trying to restart the car. "What was that?" "I don't Know, but we lost power: brakes, steering, everything." "But, what was the." "We lost nine minutes!" Aerin stared at Mulder. He had a look on his face like this was a good thing. Mulder got out of the car even though it was pouring. He yelled a little bit and began skipping down the road. Aerin got out and followed him to the 'X' on the road. "Abductees!" "Hmm?" "People who see UFO's often report missing time. I looked at my watch right before the flash. It was 9:03. It turned 9:13 right afterwards." "Mulder, you can't 'lose' time. It's an unlosable thing." The car started by itself and light flooded on Mulder and Consul. "Not in this zip code." Aerin walked slowly back to the car. "If I find an implant up my nose, I'm blaming you, Mulder. MULDER!" *** Aerin started to shed her clothes and put on her bathrobe. It was late, but she really needed to talk with Dana. A groggy, menacing voice picked up after two rings. "Colton." "Uh, Dana, it's Aerin." "Oh. Did you find anything else out?" "Sort of. But Dana I'm so scared." "Why? What's the matter. Is Mulder.?" "No, it isn't him directly. It's just that. I don't know. There are people from the same graduating class that are still alive and they have those marks. Mulder thinks they've been abducted by aliens. And we were out in the woods and there was this ash stuff all over the ground. I think it's a cult. But there was the sheriff. And then Mulder said we lost nine minutes." "Aerin! Whoa wait. You're going too fast. What do you mean lost nine minutes. And what about the woods?" Aerin explained what happened at the hospital and in the forest. She then told her about the orange 'X' Mulder painted the day before and how there was a light and the car stopped running right where that spot was. "Mulder said he looked at his watch right before the flash and that we lost nine minutes." "But, you can't lose time. It's a universal invariant." "I know. I told him that. But then the car started all by itself and he just said, 'Not in this zip code.' I really don't know what to do. Maybe I should tell Blevins I can't handle it." "No! Aerin. You're doing as well as can be expected. Maybe you should." Dana's voice disappeared with the flashing of the lights. "Dana? Dana?!" Aerin went into the bathroom and turned on the water. She took off her bathrobe and started with her panties when she thought felt something. She looked behind her and then turned to the mirror. Mulder was looking through a magazine, or was trying to with the lighting, when he heard a squeal next door followed by a someone shouting his name. He got up and ran to the door. When he opened it Aerin barreled into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her face under his chin and started crying. Mulder's arm went around her waist (the other held a candle) and realized he was touching skin. He looked down her and saw she was only wearing her underwear. "Aerin? Aerin?! What's the matter?" "They got me, Mulder. Look." Mulder was confused at first and then slid out of her arms and down her body to look at her back. He saw three small bumps. Aerin was still shaking. Mulder figured out they were mosquito bites and felt terrible for freaking her out like he had. He stood up and hugged her to him trying to keep the wax from dripping onto her. "Aerin. Shh. It's all right. They're just mosquito bites." Aerin stopped shaking so hard but didn't move from his embrace. "What?" "Mosquito bites. I got eaten up too." Aerin moaned and still didn't move. She couldn't look him in the face she was so embarrassed. "I feel like a moron." "No, it's my fault. I got you worried about it." Aerin turned around quickly so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I'm sorry. I'll go.." "No. Wait. You're still shaking. Let me get you a blanket." She let him and then he led her to the bed. She didn't even think how this might be a bad idea. She lied down and he sat on the floor and tilted his head back against the bed. "So," she began, "is this where we bond?" He chuckled. "Ok. You go first." "Well, my parents were actually my aunt and uncle and my brother and sister were actually my cousins. There was this mean older kid who lived about a mile and a half from our farm. He always told us there was this terrible Chicken God who watched over all the farms and if we did something wrong or bad he would punish us. He always made us do stuff to make the Chicken God happy. Hence, the exhumation of the hamster. He continued to torment us till he fell in love with my sister and she started bossing him around." "So, your sister still bossin' him around?" "They've been married for three years now. I have a niece on the way. While you might think a country life was good, it wasn't really. I never even saw a another race in the flesh until I was 16 and started college. Oh yeah, other childhood trauma. I was two years ahead and was always picked on. So, you got any childhood traumas?" Mulder's smile faded. "I was twelve when it happened. My sister was eight. She just disappeared out of her bed one night. Just gone. Vanished. No note, no phone calls, no evidence of anything." "How." "It tore the family apart. No one would talk about. There were no facts to confront. Nothing to offer any hope." Aerin turned so that her head was near his and wrapped her arm around his neck. He brought one hand up and rested it on her arm. He brushed his thumb over it a soothing rhythm. "Poor Spooky. How did you.deal with it?" "Eventually I went off to school in England. Came back, got recruited by the Bureau. Seems I had a natural aptitude for applying behavioral models to criminal cases. My success allowed me a certain freedom to pursue my own interests." He turned in her arm to look at her. "That's when I came across the X-Files." Aerin moved her arm off him and leaned on her hand. "You just found them on accident?" "Yeah, at first it looked like a dump site for UFO sightings, alien abduction reports. You know, the kind of stuff that most people laugh at as being ridiculous. But I was fascinated. I read all the cases I could get my hands on. Hundreds of them about paranormal phenomenon the Occult." Mulder got a hesitant look on his face and turned around. "Go on. I want to know." "There's classified government information I've been trying to access, but someone keeps blocking my attempts to get at it." Aerin sat up Indian style and put her hands in her lap. "Who?" "Someone at a higher level of power. The only reason I've been allowed to continue with my work is because I've made connections in Congress." "What, are they afraid you're going to go public with it or sell it to the Russians?" He half smiled then said, "You're part of that agenda. You know that." "Look, if I am, *I* don't know about it so it won't do 'them' any good. Why can't you trust me? Apparently I trust you enough to run in here half naked looking for you to protect me. I don't like bad guys. I'm not one of them. Anything that you tell me in confidence stays with me. I learned not to tell secrets the hard way." "I'm telling you this, Consul, because you need to know. Because of what you've seen. In my research, I've worked very closely with a doctor Hietz Werber. He's taken me into deep regressive hypnosis. I've been able to go back into my own repressed memories to the night my sister disappeared. I recalled a bright light outside, and a presence in the room. I was paralyzed. Unable to respond to my sister's cries for help. Listen to me, Consul. This thing exists." "But." "The government knows about it and I gotta know what they're hiding." In his excitement, he moved to right in front of her face. Aerin leaned ever so slightly towards him. He looked surprised but didn't pull away. His lips parted slightly and the phone rang making them jump away from each other. Mulder leaned over to get the phone and brought it back to the bed. "Hello? What?! Who is this? Who is." Mulder hung up the phone. "What was that about?" "It was some woman who just said Peggy O'Delle was dead." "That girl in the hospital?!" "Come on go get dressed." Mulder stood up and took off his denim shirt for her to put around herself. "Umm, Mulder.thanks." He smiled at her. "Hurry up. *** Two weeks later. Aerin threw the other half of her rice cake at Dana. "How can you eat this stuff? It can't be good for you." "Aerin, I'm surprised, someone that grew up on a farm, doesn't know about good nutrition." "I do know about good nutrition. That's why I'm rebelling." "I think Mulder must have some influence on you." "That he does. I'm still with the jerk, aren't I?" "I thought you said he was cute." "Damn, he is. But that doesn't mean he can't be a jerk. You two need to meet. You use bigger words than I do and you might be able to throw him off. And maybe, you can set up a date. That'd be great." "So, you're *trying* to set me up on a date with a jerk?" "He's not a jerk. He's obsessed." "Obsessed with what?" Aerin shrugged. "Everything above?" "So, you really think we'd hit it off?" "Yeah. Or hit each other. He's so your opposite. Which means he's perfect for you." "How so?" "Opposites attract." "Problems." "Dana, just meet the guy. You never know, maybe he's your soul mate. And by some random twist of fate I was assigned him so that you two would be able to screw each other without getting in trouble with the Bureau." Dana looked at Aerin. "I meant, umm, make love?" Aerin smiled sheepishly. "I don't believe in soul mates." "Maybe he'll make you believe." End