From: Laura Herold <76021.3043@CompuServe.COM> Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Scully's V-File (1/1, short) Date: 25 Jan 1996 02:09:00 GMT Credit is due to Chris Carter, etc, for the characters, locations, and backstory from The X-Files. No toes were intentionally stepped upon. Comments may be sent to 76021.3043@compuserve.com Scully's V-File by Laura Herold 10:27 pm, February 14 It had been a long day. All Dana Scully thought about as she drove home was making a cup of tea and relaxing. Mulder had come up with a case that he had linked back to an X-File from 1970. They had spent the day going over the current case and the prior investigation. This case was going to take them to Bakersfield, California. As Scully got out of her car she sighed: another cross-country flight, another week or so of fighting exhaustion as well as Mulder's unbridled intuition. Walking down the hall, Scully saw a package in front of her door. As she drew closer she recognized the shape. It was one of those heart-shaped boxes for Valentine's Day. Scully hadn't really thought about the day as Valentine's Day. After all, she wasn't seeing anyone and hadn't been involved with anyone for quite a while. Not that she had ever been the type that got all sappy about romantic holidays. She picked up the box and unlocked the door. It was great to be home, if only for a short time. She and Mulder would be leaving early in the morning. Scully set the box on her kitchen table and walked into the kitchen. She filled a mug with water, plopped in a tea bag, and tossed it in the microwave. Then she walked back over to the table. There was no card with the box. Did she have a secret admirer? Scully smiled. That thought was an arrogant indulgence, but it made her feel good nonetheless. She wondered who would be sending her chocolates. An old beau? Her mother? Someone in the apartment building? Someone at the Bureau? The microwave beeped, and Scully took out the mug. She steeped the bag a few times and then threw it in the sink. Then she walked back over to the table and sat down. For a few moments she looked at the box as she sipped her tea. Finally she tore the red cellophane wrapping off the box and opened it. Inside was an assortment of dark and milk chocolates. She picked up one of the milk chocolate squares and looked at it tentatively. Scully was a little worried. What if it was coconut? Or jelly? Or that god-awful unidentifiable pink stuff? Now that stuff was an X-File. She was willing to believe that pink filling was the work of aliens. She set the square down and studied the assortment while she sipped some more tea. Probably the best way to approach this situation would be to get a knife and cut one open. Or she could shmush one until the filling oozed out. But Dana Scully was an FBI agent who lived life on the edge. She picked up a rounded milk chocolate piece, held her breath, and took a bite. Caramel. What a relief. The shrill ring of the phone pierced the silence. Scully sighed and set down the chocolate. She walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello," she said. "It's Mulder," the easily recognizable voice of her partner said. "I just wanted to double-check the time the flight leaves." "8:35 am from Dulles." "That's what I thought." There was silence for a moment. "Mulder?" Scully said, looking at the box of chocolates. "What is it, Scully?" "I have a bit of a mystery here, and I was wondering if you would help me with it." "I'll do what I can." "Well, I returned home to find a box of chocolates in front of my door." "And the mystery is . . . ?" "Who sent it. There was no card." "Suspects?" "Nothing concrete." "May I make a suggestion?" "It doesn't involve aliens, paranormal occurrences, or government conspiracies, does it?" "Of course not, Scully, that would be ridiculous." Scully smiled. "OK, go ahead," she said. "Maybe it's just someone who thinks that you should be getting chocolates on Valentine's Day." "Someone taking pity on me?" "No. Someone who thinks you deserve it. Someone who thinks that maybe if you weren't all wrapped up in a bunch of craziness with a lunatic partner you would have more of a life that included gifts on Valentine's Day and anniversaries and all those other days." Scully closed her eyes for a moment. Her life was often a hectic mess, that was true, but she didn't necessarily dislike it. She could have been a doctor with a regular practice. That was what her parents had wanted. They had wanted her to have a "regular" life after the hustle and bustle of her Navy-brat childhood. They had wanted her to settle down, get married, and have children. But she had always wanted something more, something different, something challenging. She had never expected anything like the X-Files, though. There really wasn't anything like them, after all. And that, of course, was because of Mulder. There was no one like him. His theories were off-the-wall, and he drove her nuts. But the bottom line was that he was intelligent and reliable, and those things made him a great partner. He was also her friend, probably one of the closest friends she had ever had. There were times when they had both crossed the line of professionalism. Sometimes she wasn't sure where the line was or if it even still existed. "Scully?" Mulder said. "Are you still there?" "I was just thinking. Despite all of the craziness, I like my life." "That's good to hear." There was an awkward silence. Scully broke it: "I've got to pack and get ready for tomorrow. Try to get to the airport on time, OK?" "OK." Scully picked up one of the chocolates. "Mulder?" she said. "Yeah?" "Thanks." "You're welcome. See you tomorrow." The line went dead. Scully hung up her phone and bit into the chocolate. Ugh, she thought. She looked at the half in her hand. The pink stuff. It figured. She spit the part she had bitten off into a napkin and threw it and the other half away. Then she went to the bedroom to pack. ************************************* Laura Herold (76021.3043@compuserve.com)