From WATSON@austen.oit.umass.edu Thu Nov 07 18:55:23 1996
Enter Don Starbuck
by Andrew Watson (watson@som.umass.edu)

Rating: G, in my opinion; yours may well differ

Classification: V

Keyword: Future

Disclaimers:
Walkman is a trademark of Sony
Elvis Costello belongs to Declan MacManus, or vice versa
The FBI belongs to the Federal Government
The character of Don Starbuck belongs to me
The Greedy Davids also belong to me--contact me if you want them to
reform and play at your wedding and/or wake
Other characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013, etc.

Don Starbuck sighed as the tape in his Walkman reached that ancient
song. Why had Claire put it on there? Why did he care if, way back in
nineteen-seventy-whatever, the angels wanted to wear Elvis Costello's
red shoes? He flipped the tape. That was more like it. The Greedy
Davids. A pity they'd split up; the solo careers of the individuals
hadn't been nearly as successful as the band's time together.

A couple of songs later, he arrived at the FBI building. He put the
Walkman into his black leather briefcase as he entered, wanting it to
be out of sight when he met his new partner. This wasn't exactly a
coveted assignment, but it was his assignment, and he wanted to make a
good first impression.

He took the elevator down
to the basement, made his way along the cramped corridor, then
hesitated in front of a door. Should he knock? After all, it was to be his
office too. Before he could make up his mind, it was made up for him
by a command from within the office. "Come in!"

He entered.

The first thing he noticed about Agent Scully was the vibrant red
of her hair, accentuated by the strands of grey in it. Her refusal to
colour these strands seemed defiant, probably because everything else
about her, from her blue eyes to the way she stood regarding him as he
entered the room, exuded defiance.

Who was she defying? Don asked himself. Skinner, he decided, and
pretty much everyone else in the Bureau. Not him, though; he had yet
to prove himself worthy of her defiance.

"You must be Agent Starbuck," she said, as if suspicious of his very
name. But she did extend her hand. "Don," he said, shaking.  "Scully,"
she replied, as she gripped his hand firmly--very firmly for such a
small woman, he thought as he tried not to wince at the pressure--and
shook it.

He started to notice the office. For the most part, it was busy but
neat, a triumph of organization, the piles of papers and files all
shipshape. Two of the desks provided exceptions. One was clear, 
probably ready for him. Another was a swamp of paperwork, or perhaps a
monument to chaos. The other thing that stood out was the poster with
a flying saucer and the words "I want to believe."

"Did they tell you to watch out for Spooky's ghost?" Scully's question
snapped his attention back to her.

"Spooky's spirit, yes. I'm very sorry about your partner."

She nodded. "Mulder's spirit will live on, at least until they close
down the X-Files. Speaking of which, I presume that you have been told
that your reports will be read with particular interest?"

"Yes. But I'll report what I see, and--"

"Even if it's little grey men?"

"My reports will not be biased on grounds of size, color, or gender."

Don noticed the smile that briefly visited her eyes. He also noticed
that she allowed no trace of it to change the set of her mouth.

"Well, the best way to introduce you to the X-Files is to get to work
on an X-File." She strode briskly to the slide projector, and
hesitated briefly before turning it on. Powerful emotion under
powerful control, thought Don. It was not the combination of emotion
and control that surprised him--that was understandable in an agent
who had lost her partner of several years--but the sheer amount of
both.

Then Don's attention was grabbed by the image projected onto the
screen, His work on the X-Files had begun.

	The End.

I wrote this story when I started thinking what would happen if one of
the two leads--specifically, David--left the show. I don't think it's
out of the question that CC would try to continue the show. One of the
ways in which it could be continued would be to write a new partner.

I doubt if I'll continue this, because I doubt that there's much of an
audience for Mulder-less X-Files.

But I would welcome feedback, particularly on whether this glimpse of
Scully rings true.

And I would be interested in other Vs based on other theories of how
the show might continue without one of the leads. I'm not interested
in rants about how it shouldn't and musn't, because I know that the
rants are out there.

	Andrew.