From: jen paton <jen.paton@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 14:39:39 -0700
Subject: Samantha's Gone by Flennifer
Source: direct

TITLE: Samantha's Gone
AUTHOR: Flennifer
RATING: PG 
SPOILERS: None
CLASSIFICATION:VA - Vignette/Angst
SUMMARY: The Mulder family and Sam's dissapearance. 
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, so don't sue me.
 
 The restaurant was nice, but later, Teena would not remember what it
had been called. Or what she had eaten. She would recall that dinner had
been predictably boring until the maitre'd had come to the table  and
told Bill he had a call. Bill had excused himself promptly. Teena
remembered thinking that he was unusually jumpy this evening. She had
dismissed it as stress from work, and, besides, they didn't get along
too well anyway. Thats why she was taken aback when he had suggested
dinner. She had almost thought he would ask for a divorce, what a relief
that would have been. But then he had gotten the phone call...
*
William Mulder took the reciever in his shaking hand. Perhaps, he
thought desperately, Spender's called it off. But he knew what he was
going to hear.
*
 He came back to the table, took her arm, and said, "Honey, we're going
to have to go home.''
 "Why, Bill?"
 "Come on." he said, almost wrenching her to her feet.
 *
 In the car, Bill said nothing at all. After what must have been five
minutes of pregnant silence, Teena spoke quietly. 
 "What the hell is going on?"
 It took a full minute for Bill to speak. "The police called. Samantha's
gone."
 "What do you mean, 'Samantha's gone'?" 
 His tone became angry. "She's gone, Teena. Someone took her."
 "Bill, you're kidding." Teena said. He had to be. Fox was taking care
of her. Someone couldn't just waltz in and take her.
 Angrier still, Bill spoke, "Teena, I wouldn't kid you about this."
 They pulled onto their street. There were five police cars, lights
flashing, parked in the cul-de-sac. Teena felt physically ill. 
 She was out of the car before Bill had fully stopped. She ran up to the
front steps before being stopped by a blond police officer. 
 "Are you Mrs. Mulder, ma'am" he drawled. 
 "Yes, damn it. Where's Fox?"
 *
 Fox was sitting on the couch, staring straight at the wall accross from
him. 
 "Fox?" she asked quietly. No answer. She walked over to the couch and
sat next to him, put her hand on his knee. "Fox?"
 He turned his head to look at his mother, and when he saw the question
in her eyes his own eyes filled with tears. "Mom." he said in a tiny
voice.
 She put her arms around her son and asked him, "What happened?"
 "I don't know, Mom." then he began to cry.
 Teena cried also. For Samantha, mostly. But also for Fox, and
Samantha's father.
*
 Miles away, a very anxious Mr. Spender lit a cigarette just as his
phone rang. Maybe it didn't work out, he thought hopefully. But if it
hadn't, he was screwed. Christ. He picked up the phone. It was Bill
Mulder, who said two words. "Everything's fine." Mr. Spender smashed his
cigarette angrily into his ash tray.
*
 Fox was never the same after that evening. He detatched himself from
his peers, from his father, but mostly from his mother. Teena was deeply
troubled by this, because it was as if she had lost Fox along with
Samantha. 
 Still, Fox remained closer to Bill, and Teena couldn't help thinking
that Fox knew what was going on. But what could she do about it. 
 Then there was the story he told her that night, about what had
happened to Samantha. It had been late the night that she had
dissapeared, so Teena had blamed the story on shock. Fox had made up the
story to cover up the memory of what really happened. That had to be it.