From: Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 17:44:00 EDT Subject: "The Meeting Place" (1/1) By Jen TITLE: "The Meeting Place" AUTHOR: Jen EMAIL: JenR13@aol.com SPOILERS: Chinga, 3, Fire, Duane Barry RATING: PG CLASSIFICATION: SR ARCHIVE: Go ahead and archive, just keep my name and email address with it. SUMMARY: Mulder grows bored one night and finds some company in a chat room. Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and company are not mine. They belong to Chris Carter and Fox. Writer's Notes: I got an idea and wrote this. Hope you like what resulted. :-) "The Meeting Place" By Jen Well, boredom can really get to you. It got to me tonight. A Friday night I spent at home, on my couch. Bored out of my mind. It's not a new experience, though. Scully was out. Had her nephew's birthday party to attend, I think. Maybe. Damn, I should pay more attention to Scully when she talks about things like that. I glanced around my living room. The couch was already covered with sunflower seeds. Never can eat those things without making a mess. My computer sat on the table and it's glowing screen glared back at me. I had already e-mailed the Lone Gunmen. No new news there. Three videos sat on the VCR, but for once, I had no real desire to watch them. I stared at the television screen. An old game show was on. I reached for the remote and switched it off. Not in the mood for TV. The boredom was getting worse. Last time I was this bored was when Scully tried to take a vacation. I called her all the time. Of course, she can manage without me. Then, why is it I can't manage without her? Why do I become bored when she's gone? And Scully, well, she has a grand-ole-time without me. You need to get a life, Mulder. I got up from the couch and walked over to my computer screen. Nothing cures boredom like the Internet. I logged on and decided to have a life, even if it was just an Internet one, tonight. Logged into a chat called "The Meeting Place." So, it didn't have the most original name. But I went it anyway. Talked for a while. There was really no one interesting on tonight. But I kept talking. If I kept talking I wasn't bored. Talked till near 12:30 a.m. My eyes are starting to hurt from looking at the damn screen so long. I need a break. But just as I was going to exit the room a person called "Redgal23" entered the room. "Redgal23," I repeated to myself. Sounds like it's worth a look. I went over to her screen name and clicked to see if she had any info. After a minute the computer responded: "No profile for [Redgal23]." Oh, well. I went to exit again, but I couldn't. Redgal23. Reminded me of Scully. "Nah," I said aloud, "It can't be Scully." But still, the curiosity was driving me crazy. Even if it wasn't her, I still was drawn to find out who it was. "Hey, Red," I typed. The boredom I had had earlier this evening seemed to have disappeared. "Hey yourself, Believer," she typed. Believer13. That was my name. Thought it up late one night. Sure, it was a little lame, but I am a believer. At least I thought I was. Now, I'm not too sure. Pausing for a moment, my thoughts seemed to be stuck with that last thought. Stop it, I told myself, and I turned my thoughts back to the computer screen. "You must have some strong beliefs to have a name like that," Red commented. "I guess you could say that." I tapped my fingers next the the keyboard, thinking about who this person could be. I was beginning to doubt it could even be Scully. "Ooooo, I think we have a match between Red and Believer, here. Success of the meeting place," a person named LifeLines typed. I smiled. What a stupid comment. "Meet in private chat. Away from prying eyes :-)," Red typed then and I agreed. Five minutes later, I was in a private chat room with this mysterious "Red." "Now that we have ditched the public, I'd like to know a little about you, Believer. How about what you're believing in?" Red questioned. What I'm believing in? Wow, I don't even know if I could answer that one myself. It seemed to change. The search for Samantha was the source of my beliefs. Right now, the hope that she was still alive was the only belief I could strongly rely on. "Something," I typed. "Isn't believing in something a good start?" "Of course. Everyone has to believe in something. But they should know what it is." I sighed. She was right. "What about you? What do you believe in?" I asked. "Me? I believe in faith, I guess." "Faith?" "Yes, faith. It's great to turn to when you have nothing else there." "Sounds nice." "It is. It's sound, too. Ever try it?" "Faith? Not really, it's kind of lost on me." "I thought it was lost on me, too. But it was never lost. Just put on hold, I think. It just needed me to believe again." That statement was true. Maybe I did have faith. I have faith to keep looking for Samantha. That's faith. "Maybe I do have faith. Faith in the truth," I typed, still hoping that someday I would find out what that truth was. "Truth. You need faith for that." "Yes, you do." "You also need faith in other things. Like life and love." I stopped and thought for a second. Love. A strange thing. It had as many hidden truths as the X-Files did. And I, at 37, was yet to discover them all. Maybe I never would. "Love needs strong beliefs and a lot of truth. :-)" I typed. "Right about that. :-) Ever been in real love?" In love? Where did that question come from? I sat back and thought about it. When I was with Phoebe I had thought I was in love. But, know that I look back, I wasn't really. I was young and naive. There were other relationships. Like Kristen. But she hadn't really meant anything. In fact, no girl I dated really meant something. The only female in my life that meant something was Scully. But we were partners and friends, right? I thought that was it. But as I remembered the question, about real love, I still got a picture of Scully in my head. Could I really have those kinds of feelings for her? I though about how lost I was during her abduction. I felt like someone had torn my heart out. Is that just friendship, or more? My mind said, no you can't, she's your partner! But my heart, said yes. A simple yes and nothing more. I was confused. Then I remembered the only piece of good advice my mother had ever given me. It was listen to your heart. Well, mom, don't ever say I don't listen to you. "I guess I have. I just haven't told the person yet," I typed, my mind overloaded with the thought process I had just gone through. "Why not?" "Cause I don't know if she feels the same way." Here I was typing my life out to this unknown person. And why? I didn't know the answer to that question. I didn't think this was Scully anymore. "She could. The only way you will find out is by asking. Asking could give you the faith you need." "Oh, I have faith. The faith to keep looking. Looking for love, is different though." There was a long pause. I grew puzzled. I had abandoned all thoughts that this person could be Scully, so I hadn't given a second thought when I typed that last line. Finally, she typed a response. "You sound like someone I know......" She trailed off in her message and picked it up a second later. "Mulder?" "Scully?" There was silence. What had I just gotten myself into? --That's it. Should I write more? Send all comments to JenR13@aol.com.