Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2005 22:19:35 -0400 From: neoxphile@aol.com Subject: [atxc-pi] NEW: Starkweather's Creek (07/12) Source: atxc Part 7 See part 0 for header information. Fox Mulder had stalked off to the bathroom, leaving Starkweather suddenly alone in the kitchen she realized. Neither Doggett nor the kid seemed to be anywhere around. It was Doggett's house, so his disappearing didn't bother her, but the boy was a different matter. Annoyed that the kid had wandered off and worried he'd get into something, Starkweather looked around for him, eventually resorting to peering out windows. She noticed him standing at the edge of John's yard, staring at something. Sighing, she decided to go out and see what he was doing before he made the neighbors nervous. She didn't notice that Caesar was hot on her heels. The duck, for his part, did not notice Mulder's paranoid fascination with him. He was just happy to have found a nice semi-liquid pond to paddle around it. It wasn't an actual pond, but rather an over-grown one the neighbor bought to keep goldfish in, which had rapidly been consumed by the neighborhood cats, but the duck wasn't picky. Water was water. Mulder thought as he watched it swim aimlessly in the black plastic pond. There was a sudden flash of orange in Mulder's peripheral vision, then he was wheeling away from a flurry of dark feathers. For the second time in his life, he was attacked by his winged nemesis. Or so he thought. The reality of the situation was that Caesar had snuck up on the duck and pounced. And panicking, the duck had flown up and away from the cat- and directly into Mulder, who shouted in fear. It dodged away from him at the last second, but not before upsetting Mulder's balance. Starkweather reached the multi-species trio just as the duck flew off and Mulder landed on his butt. A smirk began to form on her face until she realized that Mulder's face was a mask of terror. Her brows knit as she tried to figure it out. She worried that something else had happened that she hadn't seen. "Are you ok?" She asked as she reached down to give him a hand up. "Is it gone?" He asked, wild-eyed. "The d-d-uck." He stuttered. She looked around and noticed it flying over Doggett's roof. "Yeah, it's gone." "Oh, good." He said, but he was still trembling. "Seriously, are you ok?" Starkweather had never seen someone act that upset over a small bird before. He wouldn't look at her, and a blush crept over his cheeks. "I'm afraid of ducks." He muttered. Starkweather shrugged. Lots of people had phobias. "Yeah? Scully's scared of clowns. I thought she was going to jump out of her skin when we were surprised by a clown while taking Boo to the circus." "Oh." "Boo is William's nickname, by the way." She added. Mulder felt calmer, and grateful that she hadn't made fun of him over his fear. People less prickly than her had over the course of his life. "My Scully hates clowns too. She told me that she dreamed about them a lot when she was in the hospital." "In the hospital for what?" "Chicken-pox induced pneumonia. It was touch and go for a while, and that was really scary." He shivered a little as he remembered how scared he and Bessie had been those long days. "Really? My brother got really sick with the chicken pox not terribly long ago too..."They wandered back to the house, not realizing that they were getting along fairly well. For once. *** A little later that morning "Starkweather!" Doggett called out as Mulder Leary handed him the last of the luggage. "Get your rear in gear!" "Oh," her irritable voice came from inside the house. "Keep your shorts on." Doggett grinned at the boy as he put the last bag in the backseat of his truck. "It's going to be a tight squeeze," he said apologetically. "But Starkweather's driving and there's no way in hell I can fit back here. My knees will be touching my eyebrows." "It'll be fine." Mulder Leary said anxiously, shivering as he and Doggett stood in the garage. The three of them could have been going to Capeside in a Volkswagen Bug for all he cared. All he wanted now was to get out of Washington DC as fast as possible. <> he thought fretfully, wishing that Agent Starkweather would hurry the hell up. Or rather, that her cat would cooperate. "Should we go in and try and help her find the cat?" Mulder Leary asked, hoping he sounded calmer than he felt. "Caesar!" they heard her bawling out from inside. "Kitty! Oh come on you little shit head!" "Yeah we better," Doggett said, "Else I'm not going to have a house to get back to." They found her standing in the living room, one hand holding the cat carrier, the other hand on her hip, looking around, positively fuming. While Doggett and Mulder Leary were loading up the truck, she had taken the opportunity to take the shower she had wanted to the night before. Her hair, piled up on top of her hair in a thick bun, still looked damp, Meanwhile Fox Mulder, in the same rumpled suit he had on yesterday, sat on the sofa, watching his sister in great amusement. "Doc, come on," Doggett said. "We got to get going." He, like Starkweather, was dressed for comfort instead of protocol, jeans and a dark navy sweater instead of his usual dark suits. "Don't tell me something I don't know," Starkweather said pushing her bangs out of her eyes and setting the carrier down. Mulder Leary frowned as he caught sight of a funny looking scar on her forehead. Then his frown deepened when she turned around and he saw an even odder scar on the back of her head. He got an even better look at the scar when she knelt down. He tried not to stare, but couldn't help it. It looked really deep. Like someone dug something out of the base of her skull. "There you are," Starkweather said, unaware of Mulder Leary's morbid fascination with the back of her head as she reached underneath the footstool, dragging Caesar out. "Hey there fuzzy britches. Ready for a ride?" She stroked his head lovingly. "Hey Mulder, can you get the carrier for me?" Both Mulders reached for the carrier. "I think she meant you," Mulder Leary said nervously. Despite Caesar's apparent like for him, Mulder Leary had a sneaking suspicion that the like would dissolve into hate the minute he assisted Starkweather with the carrier. He still remembered Doggett warning about Caesar's biting tendencies. "No I meant you," Starkweather said to Mulder Leary. "He likes you. He hates him," she tilted her head towards Fox Mulder. Aware that Doggett and Mulder simultaneously pitied him and silently laughed at him, Mulder Leary put what he thought was a brave face and held the cat crate up for Starkweather to deposit the ornery feline into it. Once, locked in, Caesar began to hiss and spit loudly. Mulder Leary held the carrier as if it was a time bomb. "So, would it be alright for me to put a radioactive isotope, a detector and some poison gas in there?" Fox Mulder asked, earning a filthy look from the cat's owner. "For scientific purposes, only, of course." "I hope all your fish died in the night," Starkweather said. Then, turning to Doggett, she said "Ready to blow this taco stand?" "Mulder," Fox Mulder said, extending his hand. "It was nice meeting you." "Thanks," Mulder Leary said awkwardly, accepting the handshake. Then a mischievous smile crossed his face. "Nice to meet me too." "Jerilyn, Doggett," the older Mulder picked up his thick black coat off of the coffee table. "Safe trip." "What are you up to?" Starkweather said, eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Me?" Mulder said much too innocently. "I'm just going to head over to Georgetown. Spend some quality time with Scully and William." Starkweather and Doggett exchanged a look that Mulder Leary didn't like. "Right," Doggett drawled in disbelief. "In that case, we need to get going." "My coat's in the kitchen," Starkweather said, shooting another nasty look at Fox Mulder before leaving. "Mulder, head out to the truck," Doggett said causally. "I wanna have a word with Mu- uh, Fox for a minute." Mulder Leary nodded and, grabbing his own coat off of the couch, Once alone, Doggett said "I meant what I said last night, Mulder. Your expertise is not needed or wanted here. You need to leave this kid alone. You need to leave us alone." "Puppy-Man," Mulder said in a mock hurt voice. "Don't you trust me?" "About as far as I could throw you," Doggett said, digging in his pocket for his keys. "Now, I got to kick you out now. I need to lock up." "Would it be too much to ask," Mulder said as he pulled his coat on. "For either you or Jerilyn to call me and let me know how things turned out." "Why?" Doggett said, voice heavy with suspicion. As he drew on his black leather gloves, a Christmas gift from Maggie last year, Mulder said in a too-innocent-to-be-innocent voice. "I'd like to know if the boy made it home safely." Seeing that Doggett was not convinced, Mulder added "And I'm curious. I'd like to know how it turned out in the end." Grudgingly Doggett said "Yeah. Alright. We'll call you." Looking at his watch, Doggett said "We really need to get going Mulder." "Have a good trip," Mulder said as he let himself out. Doggett had the last word though. "Give my regards to Scully," Doggett said. "She's expecting you," he said with a nasty smirk as he shut the door in Mulder's face. *** Later Dana Scully's residence Georgetown "Hey, Scully, I'm-" The words died on Fox Mulder's lips when he saw look on Scully's face. It was far from friendly. Reminded him quite a bit of daggers, actually. "You're what?" She asked, a dangerous edge to her voice. "So happy to see you and Boo." He improvised quickly. William smiled at him and held out his arms, so he knew that at least one person was glad to see him, anyway. "So you're not just stopping by to say hi before you dash off to be a pain in Doggett and Starkweather's asses?" She asked icily. A sudden understanding filled him. "Starkweather called you, didn't she." He accused. "You're not going with them." Scully said firmly. "They don't need you. I do. William does." If she wasn't so furious, he might have asked her for what, and made a few comments that would have her blushing, but she still looked like she wanted to hit him, so he kept the innuendoes to himself. He wasn't, however, prepared to be bossed around like a child. "They don't need me, but I want to go. I'm off the x-files, so how much opportunity do I get to deal with the paranormal these days? This might be my only chance ever to see evidence of an alternate dimension." He told her, turning his best puppy dog eyes on him. "Fine." She said, picking William up and abruptly thrusting him into Mulder's startled arms. "Keep an eye on him." Mulder rubbed William's back, because Scully's sudden movements had obviously scared him. "Ok, but what are you doing?" He called as she stalked out of the room. "Packing." She called back. "If I can't convince you not to go on this idiot's errand, William and I are going with you." "Being called an idiot hurts Daddy's feelings." He murmured to his son before speaking up loud enough for Scully to hear over the opening and slamming of dresser drawers. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea." He protested. "It's going to be eight or ten hours in the car-" "If you want to stay home, I understand." Scully's voice floated back to him. Her tone was so sweet he cringed; that voice meant trouble. "But if you're going, so are we." "Oh boy, your old man has really done it this time." He told his son as they listened to Scully throw things at a suitcase. William regarded him solemnly, then reached for Mulder's nose, giving it a rough yank. "I see you agree." Mulder said, rubbing his injured part. *** Meanwhile... Downtown Alexandria, Virginia... "Have I mentioned that I hate driving your truck?" Starkweather said as she circled the block again looking for a parking spot near the kennel where Caesar would be lodging at. "Not in the last five seconds or so," Doggett said. "And you missed a perfectly good spot back there." "I'm not parallel parking this behemoth," Starkweather grumbled as she eased the vehicle into a parking spot behind the kennel. "Starkweather, the sign says 'Staff Only'," Doggett informed her as she shifted the truck into park. "Thank you Captain Obvious." "Doc, if I get a ticket-" "I'll pay for it, don't get your britches in a tangle," Starkweather said, opening the door then sliding out. Stuffed in the back seat, or so it felt, Mulder Leary opened his door to the best of his ability. He did, after all, have Caesar's carrier on his lap. And Mulder really didn't like the growls coming from inside the giant plastic box on his lap. Cats aren't supposed to growl. "Hurry," Doggett said as Starkweather took the carrier from Mulder Leary. "We're already running late." "Just keep your eyes peeled for Mulder," Starkweather said. "Twenty bucks says he's following us." "And what'n the hell'm supposed to do if I see him?" "I don't know. Go Terminator on him or something," Starkweather said just before she slammed the door shut. "Hey," Mulder Leary said thoughtfully. "I never really noticed but you do sort of-" "If you value your life, stop right there," Doggett said, leaning his head against his seat, closing his eyes. "Sorry," Mulder Leary grinned. "Bet you hear that a lot." "Oh yeah," Doggett grumbled. "People either run screaming from me or towards me. Hoping for an autograph." He stirred a little, trying to get himself comfortable. "You like movies, Mulder?" "Oh yeah. Me and Scully we used to watch a movie every Friday night. It was like our thing. Tradition I guess." Doggett noticed the past tense and for the moment let it slide. "What kind of movies did you guys watch? Action... westerns...? Or did Scully make you get chick flicks?" Mulder Leary laughed. "Not always. Sometimes she'd let me pick." "Bet this feels like one big movie, though," Doggett said artlessly. "Nice segue," Mulder Leary said, not buying Doggett's innocent act for a second. He'd seen Doggett Witter pull that one too many times to fall for it. John Doggett smiled. "You don't miss much, do you?" "Not really." "So you've probably figured out that Agent Starkweather and I are trying to help you, right?" "Well..."Mulder wrestled with his thoughts for a moment, wanting, needing someone to talk to but unsure if he should trust someone who could very well be a government pawn. > he reasoned with himself. "You seem to be." Doggett decided not to defend Starkweather or Fox Mulder at that moment because he knew that in the boy's eyes, their actions were not justifiable. And Doggett realized he partially agreed with him as far as Fox Mulder was concerned. "Then talk to me, kid, okay? Tell me what happened. How did you get here?" "I told you," Mulder Leary said helplessly. "I don't know." "Tell me again," Doggett carefully pressed on. "Just start from the beginning. Don't leave anything out." Mulder looked out the window. "Can I tell you later?" he asked. Doggett craned his head around and saw Starkweather returning. "Sure Mulder," he promised him swiftly. "We'll talk later." *** Later... The promise of talking later fell through however. Mulder Leary did not feel slighted however. Agent Doggett had looked exhausted. And once Starkweather had managed to maneuver the massive Ford truck through hellish DC traffic and onto the interstate leading north, leading home, Doggett's head started to bob. "Would you stop fighting it and go to sleep?" Starkweather said when Doggett shook himself awake for a third time. "The roads are fine. The weather is fine. And may I remind you, you *asked* me to drive so you could sleep?" Doggett's response was to yawn. "Alright, alright," he said settling down in his seat. Crossing his arms across his chest as he let his head relax against the head rest, he asked "You okay back there, kid?" His knees nearly touching his chin, Mulder Leary said "Oh yeah, I'm swell." Doggett was too sleepy to notice the sarcasm. Soon, he was out cold. "Don't worry," Starkweather said. "He doesn't snore. He does talk in his sleep occasionally. Which can be fun." Mulder Leary would have dearly loved to ask just how Mrs. Starkweather knew that Doggett talked in his sleep. But he wisely figured a moment of fun was not worth the price of his life. So he kept quiet. And hoped that there would be something good on the radio to listen to. But Starkweather decided to forego the radio since Doggett's truck had a factory CD player - a luxury she longed for in her car. "You like Dave Matthews?" Starkweather asked as she slipped the CD into the player. Actually, he didn't. At all. But the only thing that kept Mulder from opening the car door and flinging himself out of the moving vehicle was that he didn't relish the idea of walking home. "He's okay," was the best that he could do. "So," Starkweather said over the singer's grating voice, "How are you feeling?" <> Mulder Leary groaned. He'd rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard... or Dave Matthews wailing since to Mulder Leary, they were the same thing. But he said, "Fine," nervous again, not wanting to destroy the peace between them but not willing to be the subject of interrogation again. He wondered if he could *accidentally* kick the back of Doggett's seat until Doggett *accidentally* got woken up. "Do you know what *fine* stands for?" Starkweather asked him, her feral eyes flicking up to glance at him in the rear view mirror, then flicking back to the road. "Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional," Mulder Leary said. Starkweather allowed herself a smile. "You kiss your mother with that mouth, young man?" "Like you can talk," Mulder chuckled. "Your mom must still try and wash your mouth out." Starkweather felt that aching void within her threatening to pull her down whenever she had to think about her mother. "She would if she could," she managed to keep her voice light. "She died when I was kid." Now Mulder really contemplated throwing himself from the vehicle, out of sheer mortification. <> he asked himself. Normally he wasn't that tactless. "I'm sorry." "Don't worry about it." Starkweather said as she pressed down on the gas pedal, tired of driving at the speed limit. "It was a long time ago." Curiosity got the better of him. "How old were you?" "Sixteen." Mulder tried to picture Starkweather as a sixteen year old girl and failed. "How...?" he started to ask but wasn't sure how to finish his question. Thankfully Starkweather finished the question for him. "How did she die?" "Yeah..." "Cancer." "Oh." Mulder digested this. <>, the amateur psychologist pondered. Meanwhile, Starkweather took a shot in the dark, "Did you ever have anyone in your family seriously ill?" "No," Mulder said soberly. "Not like my mom or dad or anything." "Friends?" "Well, Scully's mom died. Of cancer," he said softly. For a horrible minute, Starkweather imagined Maggie Scully stricken with cancer but banished that thought straight away. Dana Scully could withstand much but Starkweather doubted even Dana could cope with losing Maggie. Starkweather then wondered about this young girl, this Scully Potter. How was she able to cope? <> Starkweather couldn't help but dwell on it. <> "I'm sorry to hear that," Starkweather said, somberly. "When did she pass away?" "It was a while back," Mulder Leary said, watching the frozen landscape pass by through the window. "We were in middle school." <>, Starkweather said, staring ahead at the road with an unreadable expression on her doll-like face, her "poker face" as her partner called it or her "interrogation face" as her husband called it. "That had to be rough," she said evenly, forcing down her own turmoil, remembering her own mother forgetting her name... forgetting her daughter's name... "Yeah," Mulder Leary said uncomfortably, not sure how much sure he should tell her. <> Mulder Leary decided it would be prudent not to give this highly strung woman any more reason to believe he came from a den of criminals. After all, she still believed that his parents, more specifically his father, had illegally masterminded his appearance in Washington DC. But doubt nibbled at him. <> Gale and Mitch would not sacrifice Sam again. And they certainly wouldn't surrender their brand new baby... would they? Did they? "...I did it Do you think I've gone too far I did it Guilty as charged I did it Was me right or wrong I did it Yeah I did it I told you I told you I told you I told I did it Guilty as charged I did it I told you I told you I told you I I did it Yeah I never did a single thing that did a single thing to Change the ugly ways of the world I didn't know it felt so right inside I didn't know at all Open up the curtain I heard sirens there the lights flash and crawl I did it justice I just did it for us all..." *** Later... Music was the only sound within the truck as the agents continued their trek up North to return Mulder Leary. Starkweather had been in control of the CD player for a large part of the ride. Mulder only complained once. He had put up with Prince whining about Purple Rain, Cake drooling over a Girl with A Short Skirt and A Long Jacket and Aerosmith complaining how the Dude Looked Like A Lady. And he even quietly endured Dave Matthew's shrilly rendition of All Along the Watchtower. However, when he saw her taking a Tori Amos CD out of the massive CD case she had brought with, he balked. "I'm not listening to femi-Nazi music," he said mulishly, this time not caring if he had to walk the rest of the way home. He had limits. Starkweather, as usual, assumed the world had the exact same music taste as she did, only rolled her eyes. "She's not a femi-Nazi," she said but she did put the CD away. Mulder heaved a sigh of relief. "What else do you got?" Mulder asked, trying to keep quiet for Doggett's sake. However Starkweather said "Speak up. Don't worry about waking up the old man. He'd sleep through an alien invasion." "Heard that," Doggett mumbled, but his eyes were still closed. "See," Starkweather snickered. "Told you he talked in his sleep." "Do not," Doggett said, sound asleep. Mulder Leary grinned. "Can I look at this?" he asked. "Knock yourself out," Starkweather said, while thinking <> Mulder reached over the seat and grabbed the heavy CD case. As he sat back down, he noticed the car following them a few miles back. <> he thought with a groan. "Hey, doesn't that look a lot like Agent Mulder's car?" Mulder asked, peering out the back window. He'd helped the other Mulder clear the snow from it, so he had a pretty good mental picture of what the vehicle looked like. Starkweather glanced at the rearview. "Exactly like it. Could you hand me my cell phone? It should be next to my purse." He didn't like the idea of her talking and driving at the same time, but he shrugged it off as something FBI agents probably did all the time- though he did open it for her. As soon as it was in her hand, she pushed one of the preset buttons. "I thought you were going home." She growled, making Mulder really glad it wasn't him she was talking to. Her brother was going to get it. She grumbled at her brother for a couple of minutes, and Mulder was startled to hear the sound of a wailing baby coming in over the phone. It hadn't occurred to him that Agent Mulder might have dragged his poor son along. He looked out the window again, and thought he could make out someone in the passenger seat, so he figured it must be the other Scully. Starkweather finally reached into the back seat and dropped the phone near her purse. "That's just great. My goddamn brother decided that he'd like to tail us, and brought poor Scully and the baby along too. Doggett is going to be pissed when he finds out." "Oh." "Since they've got the baby with them, we're going to have to stop in an hour or so and wait for them to change him at a rest stop." Mulder turned all the way back around in his seat. "Do you think it would be different if you'd grown up knowing that you each existed?" "Do I think what would have been different?" "You and your brother. I mean, I grew up knowing that Sam was out there somewhere, so I was thrilled to get her back. But Sam didn't even know she had a family until the day she came back to us. Her? Less than thrilled. God, she wouldn't even talk to anyone for months." "Sometimes kids are quiet after a traumatic experience, and finding out you have a family is pretty shocking-" "No, I don't mean quiet like she didn't say much, I mean she didn't say anything. At all. My parents were worried she was mute. She started talking to me at Fourth of July, but didn't say a word to them unless she was forced to until right before school started, 'cause she didn't trust them. I bet if they didn't threaten to put her in special classes she still wouldn't talk to them. "So that's what I was wondering about. Maybe if you'd been looking for each other, you'd feel differently." Starkweather bit her lower lip. <> "That's an impossible question to answer," she finally said. "Why?" Mulder Leary asked, thinking she was just dodging his query. "Because," she said "There's no definitive answer to that." "Well, why not?" "Even if we would have known about the other, I don't think anyone would have exactly broken their backs to reunite Fox and I and become one big happy family." "Why not?" Mulder Leary asked, thinking of all of the stunts he had pulled trying to get to the truth about Sam's disappearance. "Mulder," she said, not unkindly. "How would you feel if your father created a sibling with someone other than your mother?" Mulder digested that bit of information quietly. "You're his half-sister," he said, believing that he was beginning to understand. Starkweather knew her exclusion was misleading him, but she really didn't care. <> she thought coldly. <> She then spied her exit. Doggett stirred as she switched lanes to get to the exit ramp. "What're you doin'?" he said sleepily, still not opening his eyes. "Making a pit stop," she said. In a softhearted voice that Mulder didn't think she was capable of, she said to Doggett "Go back to sleep, you're exhausted." The corner of his lips quirked up just a little. "Yes'm," he said obediently, shifting in his seat, trying to get comfortable as Starkweather pulled into rest stop. Mulder Leary turned and saw Fox Mulder's car following them, parking a few feet behind them. "Mulder," she said, shifting the truck into park. "Get your coat on." *** "Do I have to get out?" Mulder Leary asked, giving the other car apprehensive looks. "Yes." Starkweather snapped. "You're crammed in the back seat, do you want your muscles to cramp up? Get out and stretch, it's not like they bite." "Are you sure?" He muttered under his breath, giving the already-sleeping-again Doggett an envious look. Scully couldn't help but stare as Starkweather and the young man got out of Doggett's ugly truck. He made her wish there were some photos of her Mulder at that age handy so she could compare the two. Like everyone else, she did wonder if there was a familial relationship, but dismissed it quicker than anyone; she knew his past hadn't been littered with too many discarded relationships. Her first thought was to say, you must be Mulder Leary, but that's painfully obvious, so she doesn't give the thought breath. "Nice to meet you." She said finally. "Hi." He replied shyly. Of all the people he's met, these almost dopplegangers, she looks the least like her namesake. Some of it's the length of her hair, but mostly it's the sharpness of her features, his Scully's face has more softness to it. He was glad that they didn't have a greater semblance; his homesickness was already nearly unbearable. When Fox Mulder appeared a moment later carrying his son, all thoughts of homesickness fled his mind, crowded out by horrorstruck fascination. If he hadn't known for absolute certain that there were two babies, he would have been utterly convinced that the man held his little brother. Not only did the two little boys look just alike, they also seemed to be close in age. It did not escape Agent Mulder's attention that the boy was looking at his son in much the same way he might have if someone had approached him carrying an infant gray. "Do you want to hold him?" He offered, mostly to see what the reaction would be. Mulder Leary's eyes widened. "Uh... no thanks." "I thought you liked babies." The older Mulder teased. "I like a baby." He muttered. "My head's kind of achy and I'm getting stuffed up. I'd hate to give him a cold or something." He said in a louder voice. Scully and Starkweather exchanged a look. He didn't seem sick to either of them. Scully came to his rescue, however. "William's been changed, so I guess we'll see you later." "According to the directions we got off of mapquest, there's a restaurant about sixty miles from here, so we're planning to stop there for lunch." Starkweather told Scully. "Sounds good, meet you there." Fox said with a salute. Starkweather groaned as expected, but she was really paying more attention to boy than her brother. His reaction to William really bothered her. *** Meanwhile in DC... Reyes arrived to an office like a ghost town. The only light coming in to the room was from the half window near the ceiling, and it was so quiet and empty she half expected to see a tumbleweed blow by. A little panic voice suggested that she must be missing a meeting, but she thought she'd definitely have remembered something like that. After she dropped her bag onto her desk, she decided to go visit Skinner. Skinner didn't look too surprised to see her. "Agent Reyes." He was alone, so she was right about the meeting. "Looks like I'm the only on in today. Any idea why?" "Doggett and Starkweather are bringing that young man home, and Scully called to say she wasn't going to be in either. Something about having to look after Mulder. I hope he's not getting sick again." It surprised her, but she couldn't help but feel a little slighted that Doggett and Starkweather had gone off without even mentioning it to her. "I see." "I'm sorry, but I guess today is going to be a catch up on writing case files day for you." Skinner did look sorry, but then, he hated doing paperwork himself. "That's fine, sir. There are two or three reports I've been meaning to type final drafts of. Sir... what do you think of this boy showing up here, so suddenly?" Skinner shrugged. "The surveillance tapes don't indicate that he broke in, so I'm not sure what to think." "I met him, briefly, and... I don't want to sound like Mulder, but there was something not right about him being here." "You think he's up to no good?" "No no, nothing like that. He just shouldn't be here." She stressed the last two words. "Then it's good that he's on his way home." Skinner replied. "You don't think he's a ghost do you?" He added, making a rare joke. "No...but he's something." She gave him a halfhearted smile. "I'll go start on those case files now." All the way down to the basement she couldn't shake the idea that the boy's appearance meant something, something that hadn't occurred to any of them yet. But her frustration over a lack of an answer was forgotten by the time she polished off the first case file of the day. *** Later En route to Capeside "I feel like a chauffeur." Scully glared at the back of Mulder's head, but she responded sweetly "I would have volunteered to drive but I was afraid my little feet wouldn't reach the pedals." Scully elected to sit in the back seat, half because she wanted to be able to attend to William's needs right away and half because she was afraid she would have spend most of the trip hitting Mulder repeatedly. She didn't want to cause an accident, especially with William in the backseat. Mulder had obvious misgivings on bringing his son along but for the most part, mercifully, William had cooperated. And he nicely distracted Scully as she played with him in the back seat and read him stories. <> Mulder had thought earlier <> But now William had dropped off to sleep and Mulder couldn't keep the radio tuned in to one station to save his life. "How's your mom?" he asked out of the blue. "She's fine," Scully said evenly. She looked out the car window and crossed her arms, watching the sun sinking over the tree lined horizon and waited for his next attempt at a diversion. "How's Bill and Cara?" (Continued in part 8) Part 8 See part 0 for header information. "Tara." "That's what I said." Scully leaned back in her seat and shifted as much as her seat belt would allow so she could get a little more comfortable. "They're fine." "Good, good," Mulder said distractedly. "Have you heard from Charlie lately?" "Mulder, we still have a long car ride ahead of us," Scully got tired of Mulder's dawdling. "William's finally asleep. I'd like to talk about the reason why we're here." "You want to talk about the boy?" Mulder asked, amazed. "Eventually," Scully said. "But first I want to talk about why we're here." "I thought we agreed never to discuss religion or politics?" "Mulder," Scully said, softening her voice to cushion the blow. "You've got to let it go. The X-Files. They..."She looked away from the window and stared at the back of his head. "You're sacrificed so much and gained so little. Isn't it time..." "Time? Time for what Scully? To soften? To forget? Forget about my sister? My sisters," he amended himself. "Or to forget about what was done to you? Or me? Or what could happen to William if we let our guard down?" "So what are we going to do Mulder? Leave the lights on all the time? Home school William? And then what after that? When he's eighteen and we've kept him so sheltered, he's afraid of his own shadow?" Scully realized that she wanted to start yelling so she forced herself to keep quiet. William had been so good through most of the long, boring car trip; she would hate it if he woke up cranky now. "Do you think that not I'm scared, Mulder? Do you think I don't lay awake at night, worrying about what could happen?" "Of course I know when you lying awake worrying. You usually steal all the covers then." "Mulder, everything has to end sometime. I know what the X-Files means to you, I do. I spent nine years with you, fighting the same fight with you. Nine years is enough. The threat... the conspiracy, it's too big for two people to battle alone. We have allies now, Mulder. People that we can trust," she put heavy emphasis on the word 'trust'. "John, Monica, Jerilyn... they are in the X-Files now." "You're still in the X-Files," Mulder pointed out. "On limited hours," Scully said. "And I'm rarely sent out to the field anymore. And..." "And...?" "I was offered a transfer. To a teaching position to Quantico." Scully waited for Mulder's reaction. When he didn't respond, she added "And I'm considering it." She waited again and still nothing. "Mulder?" "I'm sure the pension plan at Quantico is better than what they're offering for field agents at J.Edgar. What do they have? 401k?" "Mulder. It's not just about better benefits." "But they factored in?" "Mulder. Someday soon, William is going to need dental care. And regular eye exams. And who's going to pay for his food, his clothes, his schooling is something would happen to one of us? So yes, the benefit package is an incentive." "It's a plot Scully." "Mulder come on..." "You're the last senior agent in the X-Files. If you leave, you're leaving the X-Files in the hands of rookies." "Neither Agents Doggett or Reyes can be considered rookies as they have been with the Bureau for many years," Scully contested. "Plus, they've all had experiences with the X-Files now. And we're still here Mulder. We can still help them if they need help. We just need to know when to help. And I don't think our assistance is necessary in this instance." "You really could walk away," Mulder said in wonderment. "Just like that. Forget about everything we fought for. Cried about. Bled over. And just leave. Leave it... leave it in the hands of a guy who sees things so black and white that Ted Turner couldn't even colorize them. In the hands of one woman who follows every new trend, from tarot cards to charkas to whale songs and in the other woman who literally sees the truth every time she looks in the mirror but does not acknowledge what is looking back at her." "Why should Agent Doggett color his views," Scully asked with admirable calm. "Isn't it better to approach a case with objectivity? And I suspect the only reason why you grossly insulted Agent Reyes' intelligence is that you just dislike her. Especially since you have made more unconventional leaps than she ever has. And as far as Jerilyn not seeing the truth when it looks at her from the mirror, doesn't that make you a hypocrite, seeing that you should have been able to determine that Bill Mulder was not your natural father when you looked in a mirror." Mulder shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe you said that." "I can't believe you said those things about John and Monica and Jerilyn.... John and Monica are our friends, Mulder. And Jerilyn's your sister. You... you're acting like William when I take something away from him and tell him no." "I didn't have toy a taken away from me, Scully." "Are you sure?" When Mulder lapsed into a moody silence, she said "Mulder, it might just be time to pass the torch." "Is that how you really feel? Honestly. Can you really just... everything Scully. Everything, our lives are in that office. I only accepted this job with the city to have an income and to stay in the loop politically until I was reinstated into the Bureau. With everything that we have learned, with everything and everyone that was sacrificed to continue this unobtrusive lie being spoon- fed to every man, woman and child, children like William, Scully. You can just leave." "It wouldn't be an easy choice, Mulder. But it may very well be the choice that I might take. A choice made easier because we have Agents Doggett, Reyes and Starkweather in the X-Files." She knitted her brows as she strove to think up the right words to make him understand. Then it came to her. "'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.'" Mulder frowned in confusion. "Billy Joel?" "No. Timothy II. Chapter Four, Verse Seven." "I'll get that tattooed on my ass," Mulder droned. "Here's some more food for thought, Scully. 'The first casualty when war comes is truth.' Attributed to Senator Hiram Johnson. When the storm breaks Scully, and the skies finally fall, can you really honestly say you fought the good fight and kept the faith?" "So how is following Doggett and Starkweather as they bring a teenager home fighting the good fight? Seems like undermining their authority to me." "Because," Mulder said stubbornly. "They're wrong. They're going to end up in the middle of nowhere. Because this boy doesn't exist in this universe." "Mulder," Scully said. "There is no conclusive evidenc-" "Of parallel dimensions, I know. I heard it from Jerilyn already," Mulder said, annoyed. "But listen to me Scully. In all of our years working in the X-Files, how many times did we discover things that were supposed to be scientifically impossible? Things that you have seen with your own eyes?" When she didn't answer, he went on. "I believe that there is more to this boy that what meets the eye. I believe he doesn't belong in this world... Scully? Are you listening?" Actually, she wasn't. She was fussing over William, who had just woken up and started to whine. "This stinks." "Yeah, I know. I wish we could see eye to eye sometimes Scully, but we're two different people. You've been a doubting Thomas ever since I've met you but let's just think about all the times I've been right... for example, directions." "No Mulder, I wasn't talking about us. I was talking about your son," Scully said, her face wrinkled in revulsion as William's fussing grew louder. Then the odor finally wafted to the front seat. "Good God," Mulder said, unrolling his window. "The next rest stop is at least another twenty miles." "Like father, like son," Scully said under her breath. "Full of shit." *** After the second unmistakable thump, and Will's first shrill cry, Fox Mulder vowed that he'd let Scully shoot him again if he ever indulged once more in the thought "Things couldn't get worse." Obviously they could, as evident by the force required on the steering wheel to keep control of the car. "Flat tire?" Scully asked tersely as he finally got the car off to the side of the road. "Obviously." "Sarcasm doesn't help anything, Mulder." "No, but it makes me feel better." He reached back and unsnapped the carseat's straps. "It's ok, buddy." He crooned, extracting the tearful baby from his prison. "Just a little car trouble, we're ok. Everything will be fine." It would have been easier to let Scully take him out since she was closer, but he wanted to calm himself too, and holding William often had that effect on his mood. "Do we have a spare tire?" Scully was suddenly more tired than angry. "Should be in the trunk." Mulder passed their son to her, and got out of the car. Scully heard the trunk open and a tire being man handled out, but doesn't notice that she hasn't heard anything else for a while until William is quiet and back in the carseat. Looking out the window, she saw Mulder standing near one of the tires. He seemed to be staring at it, since she couldn't see his down turned face. William seemed content with a plastic key ring he was shaking, so she got out of the car. "Have you ever changed a tire before, Mulder?" She asked, startling him. A dull red crept across his cheeks. "I've never gotten a flat before. But I know how to change a tire." He assured her. "In theory." "Ah. Why don't you go get the jack from the trunk?" She resisted the urge to ask him if he at least knew what it looked like. When he returned with it, she talked him through the procedure. "I didn't know you knew anything about cars." Mulder told her admiringly. "Bill and Charlie were obsessed, and Mom made them show Missy and I the basics. Neither of us learned how to rebuild an engine, but knowing things like this comes in hand now and again." Mulder smirked. "I'll have to thank Bill the next time we see him." "Do you want to call Doggett to explain the delay, or should I?" "Oh, let me." He told her, whipping out his phone. "I owe you one." "Just one?" "Don't push it, Woman." "Mulder...does something about the spare tire look odd to you?" Mulder looked up in the middle of dialing, and noticed that air seemed to be leaking out of the tire at an alarming rate. "Shit." *** The waitress was clearing their plates when Doggett swore softly, and closed his cell phone. "That was Muldah. Now I know why they didn't show up for lunch. Apparently, he and Scully got a flat tire, and they don't have a spare." "So they call triple A." Mulder Leary said, wondering what the big deal was about. "They're not members." Doggett grumbled. Mulder looked at him in surprise. He didn't know anyone who could drive who didn't have a membership. Maybe it was the all too real possibility of driving off an icy road that prompted people up his way to get them. "Let me guess," Starkweather smirked. "You're going to play knight in shining armor, and we're supposed to be good and wait here while you're gone." "Well, yeah." Doggett admitted. "That was the idea I had in mind." She waved a negligent hand. "You better get going before they freeze to death." "You'll be ok?" He asked, eyeing them anxiously. "I promise no blood will be drawn." Starkweather told him. "Now get! I don't want my nephew to get frostbitten while you worry about our ability to play nice." "I'll be back as soon as I can." Doggett promised. "Guess we should order more coffee." Mulder commented. "That depends on how clean the bathrooms are." She replied. Fixing him with a sharp look, she asked what had been on her mind for quite a while. "Alright, what is bothering you about William? I know there's more to it than him looking like your brother." "I..."He stammered, giving her a shocked look. He thought she was too self involved to notice that sort of thing about a person. "The truth, too." She added quietly. "I've got the idea that there's a whole lot you haven't told us. I'm not accusing you of lying, but the sin of omission is one of your obvious faults. I guess that's normal for teenagers, but don't." He surprised her by asking a question instead of launching into a confession. "Is William a *normal* baby?" "Does he seem damaged to you?" Starkweather asked, feeling faintly insulted. How dare anyone imply there was something wrong with her nephew! Mulder shook his head. "I didn't ask if there was something wrong with him, I asked if he was normal. My brother, he's not normal." Starkweather was intrigued. "Not normal how?" "Not normal like he can make small creatures like butterflies do things for his amusement. And he can move things. With his mind." Mulder replied flatly, not happy to be discussing it with her. "And that's just so far, he'll probably be able to do other things when he's older." He added, thinking about the files he'd snatched. Starkweather felt like she'd been doused with cold water. The boy couldn't know about how special Mulder and Scully's son was. When she noticed that the silence was dragging on, she finally spoke. "I don't see what that has to do with my nephew, even if by some chance it's true." His stare intensified, and she had the urge to squirm away from his scrutiny, which was ridiculous since he was just a kid. "He was an IVF baby, right?" She began to wonder what the signs of a brain aneurysm were, he knew too much, maybe he was a really involved hallucination. Shrugging internally, she decided that being evasive wouldn't help even if he wasn't real. "We think so. " The boy just nodded. "I thought so. He looks too much like Price not to be a Candling baby." Starkweather shot him a puzzled glance. "I thought your father's company only dealt with genetically altered food." She accused half-heartedly. Mulder shook his head. "I said that his company deals with genetically altered food, that it's all HE does, and that they don't have anything to do with physics. All of which is true. But..." "Sins of omission?" She asked weakly. "Right." He stared off into space, trying to think of the right way to word things. He'd thought he'd be confessing this all to Doggett, or maybe blurting it out to Fox in a rush, but he'd said too much to Starkweather not to tell her everything. "Besides working on genetically altered vegetables and livestock, they do things with human genetics too." "To help infertile people have babies?" She asked hopefully, but was disappointed when he shook his head. "They're manipulating genes to make babies with desirable traits." "Like blond hair, blue eyes, and an IQ of 160?" She asked desperately. "Like mind reading, telekinesis, remote viewing and mind control." He said with a sigh. "And they require people who work for them to have one of these babies. Price, he was my parents' fulfillment of that obligation." Setting aside her incredulousness, she let her natural curiosity take over. "You can't make people have a baby. What can they do if someone refuses?" "They break into their homes and steal one of their children, holding it as a hostage until they cave in." Mulder said darkly. "Your sister." She blurted out in surprise. "Don't you think it's odd that my family got her back the day my brother was born?" He asked, sensing that she was struggling to believe. "They kept her for years! All because my parents wouldn't agree to have another baby." "That's horrible." Starkweather said vaguely. "They're terrible people." Mulder said hotly. "They even kept Fowley's baby." "Mulder, you need to slow down. I'm not following you very well. What are they making these babies for, and how is your friend, not to mention your baby brother, involved in this?" Starkweather asked, turning her puzzled hazel eyes on him. He forced himself to breath slowly a few times, then took another stab at explaining. "Ok. Back in the mid 70s Candling decided to diversify, and branch out from just dealing with food. They felt that there was money to be made in creating people who could be useful to certain parties." "Useful for what?" "For recognizance, for spying, for killing. Typical scifi stuff, but real." He said guilelessly, not noticing her eyes widen in shock. <> "Oh." "At first they tried eugenics back for the first few years, breeding people with the 'gifts' they were hoping for together. But that didn't work a lot of the time, and there were a lot of what they called nulls born- " "Null as in nothing?" Starkweather asked. <> "Yeah. So they decided that that they were going to have to genetically manipulate embryos, or maybe they are only zygotes, I'm not sure, if they were going to be able to get the babies they wanted all the time. So about a few months before my sister was born, they isolated the gene that caused the expression of these traits and began inserting them into unborn babies-" "Wait, they couldn't have. No one had isolated genes back then." Starkweather protested. Mulder shook his head. "No one when public admitting they'd succeed by that point." He corrected. "And why would they? It's not like they were doing something as good as using genes put in viruses to cure disease, or as harmless as making bunnies glow." Starkweather grudgingly admitted to herself that she was impressed. Even if he was making it all up, he knew more about gene manipulation than she'd ever dream a kid his age would. "Good point." "Anyway, what they were doing to the babies could only be done before they were implanted, so they were sort of upset that my parents conceived my sister the old fashioned way. They didn't think that it would be a problem to convince my parents to have another baby right away, though." "But they were wrong." Starkweather said, feeling the need to state the obvious. "They were wrong." He agreed. "My mother was totally freaked by the idea and insisted the babies were 'monsters'. A few other parents seemed to share the same opinion, so they did the most logical thing an evil corporation would, and kidnapped the kids of parents who refused." "How many kids?" "Five that I know of. Three kids went home not long after, but they kept Sam for years." "What about the fifth kid?" Starkweather asked. "They gave him to another family when it became clear his parents couldn't have another baby. He died, though. Poor Spender." Starkweather vaguely recalled him saying that the boy had drowned. "So Sam was the only one that got kept long term. They have a school for these kids of theirs - they call the project the Prescient Project - in New Mexico, so she was pretty much raised there." "Did your parents know where she was?" Starkweather asked, thinking about Bill Mulder's deal with the devil. "I don't know." Mulder shrugged. "It's about the only thing I don't know. They did know that they wouldn't get her back until they agreed to have a baby for the prescient project, though." "So they just let her stay there for years?" Starkweather asked, feeling angry on the behalf of the boy before her and a girl she'd never met. "They tried to have a baby a few years sooner, but... something went wrong. I guess they were upset about it, so it took years before they tried again. When they did, I got my sister back." He said with a small smile. "How do you know all of this?" Starkweather demanded, before she could be overwhelmed by pity. "Did you parents' tell you?" "My parents haven't told me dick." He said hotly, then blushed when he realized he might have been overheard by other patrons. "Oops, excuse my language. My parents went away on a business trip over the summer, so Sam and I sort of ran away." "Sort of?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, since they never found out..." Mulder shot her a mischievous look. "We went back to the school where Sam had lived most of her life, and broke in to get the files on her and Price, and Spender and Zane- " She didn't know who Zane was but let it go." And me. Then once I read those over, we had to get the files on what the project itself was all about." "Two kids did all that?" "We had some help. Some of the project kids who lived outside the school gave us a hand. Now they had some pretty neat powers...anyway, with their help we got the files, and that's how I know what I know." "Ok, but what does this have to do with your friend Fowley?" Starkweather asked, hoping to finish the conversation before Doggett got back. "It's strange. We were all told that her parents had taken her on a trip to Europe, but Reyes kept getting e-mails from her, telling her the real truth. She was being kept against her will because they thought her baby was one of the project kids. But it wasn't. She was pregnant before we even thought Spender had drown. Even when it must have become completely obvious that her kid couldn't be one of there's, they kept it." "Do you only have it on the say-so of these e-mails that there ever was a baby?" Starkweather asked, suspicious. E-mails could come from anywhere. He shook his head. "Back in December Fowley told me too. She was really messed up about the anniversary of when Spender came back, and got weepy about not even knowing what those people were doing with their baby." "So they're keeping this baby in New Mexico?" "No. Right before they took it away, she heard someone say they were going to keep it right in Capeside. Probably where Dad works." "Was the baby a boy or a girl?" Starkweather asked. She didn't know why it was important, it just was. "A girl." Mulder Leary told her. He didn't say anything else, but picked up a menu instead. She wondered why he suddenly clamed up, but it became obvious less than a minute later. "So, what were you two talking about?" Doggett asked, as Scully hailed a waitress for a high chair. William bounced excitedly in Mulder's arms, obviously glad to finally be free of the car. "We were discussing the possibility of having desert." Mulder Leary said promptly, betraying no trace of guilt. That fascinated Starkweather for a reason she couldn't put a finger on. "All this time?" Doggett replied, sounding surprised. "There are a lot of choices." Starkweather told Doggett, gesturing at the list. "It's not the type of decision you want to make lightly." Doggett shook his head, and turned to Mulder and Scully to make recommendations about what they should order. *** Later... After a somewhat subdued late lunch or early supper, depending on how one viewed it, everyone was back on the road. Claiming he felt fine, Doggett insisted that he drive. Suspecting that as chivalrous as he liked to act, deep down he was really like all the other boys who didn't want to share their toys if they didn't have to, she turned her cattiness up another notch and spewed out overwhelming statistics about automobile accidents caused due to sleep deprivation. Doggett docilely let her drive some more. Mulder Leary wanted to laugh but wisely stifled the desire as he remained scrunched up in the back seat, hoping to fall asleep before Starkweather started playing any of her God-awful music. However after the unsettling conversation she had with Mulder Leary regarding the Candling babies, Starkweather was in no mood to listen to music or to engage in conversation. She had only wanted to drive to serve as a distraction. If she had to pay attention to the road, she couldn't really dwell on a previous conversation, could she? The problem was, yes she could since she own a strange ability to concentrate on two things at once. Most of the time she welcomed this, it was nice to be able to listen to one thing, think about something else and still remember what she was originally listening too. She hadn't realized that this was not a normal human trait until she was a teenager and then she had studiously hidden it, not wanting to be ridiculed anymore than she already was by her peers. As a grown woman, she still concealed this oddity, but as her secret weapon, the base for her arrogance and her formidable intelligence. Today, it gave her no solitude; she could not just focus on the road. But at least she could pretend that she had to so that Doggett and the kid would leave her be. <> Doggett, no fool, didn't wonder why Starkweather kept so quiet during the drive. He just hoped that she trusted him enough to tell him what was on her mind eventually. Clearly it was troubling her. And a troubled agent was not a focused agent. Or so he told himself. *** Feeling better after his long nap, Doggett insisted on driving the rest of the way once they hit Providence, Rhode Island. He figured that Starkweather would immediately pass out in the passenger seat, but she was wide awake and admiring the scenery. Or so he thought. "Doggett, stop the car." Starkweather insisted. He gave her a brief, puzzled glance. "Why?" "Because there's a Petco right there." "Doc-" He protested, but she cut him off. "Caesar is pissed at being boarded, do you want me to have to deal with a pissed cat? Stop for just a minute so I can get him something to make him happy. You'll be with me when I pick him up." She reminded him threateningly. "Bribing cats..."Doggett muttered, but he dutifully pulled into the parking lot. Fox Mulder pulled in behind him, casting puzzled glances at them. Doggett just pointed at Starkweather. The other man nodded knowingly, and mouthed the word "women." Fortunately for him, his back was to Scully. "I'm staying here, so make quick." Doggett grumbled. Starkweather got out, and heard the one of the rear doors open. "You're coming too?" She asked, glancing at Mulder Leary. "Unless it's going to make you mad at me." "Naw." Starkweather quickly found what she was looking for, a container of pricey cat treats and a remote controlled mouse a clerk assured her was a big hit with cats, even ones that didn't normally attack everything that moved. Glancing around, she finally spotted Mulder peering into one of the Plexiglas cages. "You coming?" "Um, just a minute." "Fine. But remember what Doggett said about being quick." Doggett gave her an annoyed glance when she got back into the car. "Where's Muldah?" "He said he'd be just a minute." She replied with an unconcerned shrug. Three minutes later, Mulder reappeared carrying something Doggett couldn't quite make out in the dark; he couldn't believe how early it had gotten dark. To his surprise, the boy came to his door and rapped on the window. "Open your door, please." Doggett did, and then was surprised by having a small pet carrier thrust into his hands. "I bought you a thank you gift for letting me stay with you and everything." Mulder explained, looking quite pleased with himself. "She's got all her shots and everything." Doggett peered into the pet carrier, and a tiny gray-faced creature looked back at him with amber eyes. "I thought you said you didn't have much money with you." "I didn't. They're working with the NSPCA to get unwanted kittens adopted, so she was only twenty bucks. Isn't she cute? They said her name is Fluffy, but you can change it if you want to since she's only eight weeks old and probably not too attached to it yet." Doggett stared at the kitten, wondering what he was going to do with the thing. For a second he wonders if Caesar spilled his secret, but he dismissed the thought as ridiculous. Knowing that it would upset the boy if he refused the gift, he sighed softly, and handed the carrier to Mulder. "Keep her in the back seat with you, ok? There's not enough room up here for the carrier." "Sure." Mulder Leary agreed and then shook a small bag. "I remembered kitten food too." "Great." Doggett said, managing not to sound sarcastic. "Aww, Doggett got a little pussy on this trip." Starkweather whispered only loud enough for Doggett to hear. "Don't start." He groaned. Mulder, who hadn't heard, gave Starkweather a puzzled look, and she shook her head, silently professing to have no idea why he'd said that. *** Much later... If the car ride for Doggett, Starkweather and Mulder Leary was uncomfortable, then the car ride for Scully and Fox Mulder had been downright miserable. Especially for Fox Mulder when Scully began to gloat when signs counting down the mileage to Capeside began to manifest themselves on the roadside. "Look Mulder," Scully said in that patronizing voice that Mulder loathed whenever her science rationale beat out his gut instinct. "Capeside, ten miles." The car's headlights shone on the sign ominously, the only light available as the sun had retired hours earlier. Since Scully had been announcing the miles left to go for the past hour, all Mulder said was "Thank you for the ongoing narration," in his most disdainful, aloof monotone. He refused to let her know just how aggravated he was at the moment. <> he told himself stubbornly, now in the back seat with William, who, thank God, had stopped whining. Figures that he would start to teethe on a long ass car trip while his doting parents were already stressed out. Unlike Starkweather who had tortured her car-mates by playing her CDs all the way, Mulder had insisted on playing the radio. He had gotten excited every time static started to take over, only to be disappointed when it was obvious that the static was due to the fact that they had driven out of that particular station's transmitting signal. So that ruled out driving through a wormhole. Unless there was another rip in the time-space-continuum right before they entered the town. <> Mulder thought fretfully. <> He hoped someone, maybe Skinner, maybe Reyes, would feed his poor fish, left behind in the old world. *** The kitten began to mewl piteously once they got to Capeside's town-line. "Are you doing something to upset her?" Starkweather snapped at Mulder. He didn't seem to hate cats as much as most males she knew, but you always here those stories about adolescent boys harming small animals... "No, I swear. She just woke up." "At least we're almost there." Doggett muttered. His thoughts turned to wondering if a local vet would prescribe kitty tranquilizers for the trip home. Mulder Leary tried to comfort the kitten by putting his hand in the carrier without letting it out, but Fluffy continued to cry. "Must be strange to wake up and find yourself in a moving vehicle with people you've just met." "Must be." Starkweather agreed sardonically. A couple of minutes later Fluffy had cried herself out and dosed off again, so Mulder decided to play tour guide. "That's where Scully works." Mulder Leary said, pointing out the window at the Ice House as it loomed into view. "That's nice." Starkweather said politely. Why did she care where his girlfriend worked? "Her sister's place, right?" Doggett asked, thinking back to the conversation they'd had days before about Mulder's friends and families. "That's right. Too bad they're closed now." Mulder sounded as wistful as he felt. It would have been neat to show up with a couple of FBI agents and order burgers, fries and frappes while Scully and Reed or Skinner goggled at Doggett's oh-so-familiar looking, yet older, doppleganger. "Awfully big place for a young woman to run on her own." Doggett observed. "She gets by. A bunch of kids work there part time, and she has someone manage the place a couple days a week." "Their father doesn't help out?" Starkweather asked, surprised. To her, a place like that looked like a family business. "That'd be hard to manage from jail." Mulder answered reluctantly, breaking his promise to himself not to mention that to her. "He...maybe when he gets out he'll go back to helping at the restaurant. I mean, Bessie doesn't hate him like Scully does, so... I dunno." He shrugged helplessly. "Guess Capeside isn't Pleasantville after all." Starkweather said faintly. Mulder gave her a puzzled stare. "Pleasantville? Nah. More like Eerie, Indiana or Sunnydale California." He joked. But that wasn't what Starkweather was getting at, at all. *** Fox Mulder's car pulled into the driveway right behind Doggett's, and he was glad to see that they wouldn't be blocking the parents' cars in, even if he didn't want them to get away. One fewer possible reason to cause the parents' wrath, the better. It took all of Mulder Leary's self control not to throw open the truck door and run into the house as fast as he could. Instead he politely waited for everyone else before going to the house. Doggett stopped him as he was about to open the door. "What are your parents going to think about having five people show up unexpectedly?" The boy shrugged. "Beats me. I never know what they're thinking, even when they're talking to me." He lead them into the house and they all walked in cautiously, making him wonder if they were worried that something foul was going to jump out at them. No one was in the living room. "Mom? Dad?" Mulder called uncertainly as Doggett shut the door. So much for a living room vigil praying for his safe return. To his relief, he heard footsteps, but ones far too light to belong to either of his parents'. Sam came down the stairs quickly, carrying Price. "Mulder, where have you been?" She then noticed they weren't alone in the room. "And who are they?" (Continued in part 9) Part 9 See part 0 for header information. Price looked excited, and tried to squirm out of Sam's hold. "'Der! 'Der!" "'Der'?" Starkweather mouthed at Doggett with a smirk, obviously thinking of its nickname potential for her brother. Doggett just shrugged. Mulder reached for Price before he answered Sam. His relief that they were both fine nearly made him cry, but he didn't want a lot of fussing over him so he confined himself to blinking a few times to clear his eyes. "God, Sam, it's a long story." "Well, you've got time, I think. Mom and Dad aren't home yet." "They're not? Since when do they let you baby-sit Price?" He asked, thinking of all the times her requests to had been denied. "Since tonight. They're over talking to Sheriff Witter. About you. He drove them in his police car and everything." Sam said, staring at William. "Boy, he looks a lot like Price, doesn't he?" Scully, who was thinking the same thing, asked, "Don't you think we should call your parents and let them know you're home?" Before he could answer, Sam did. "I think you should tell me what's going on first." Mulder noticed the shocked look on the woman's face and decided she didn't spend any time whatsoever with thirteen year old girls if one having a mind of her own surprised her. "Agent Scully, why don't you put William in Price's playpen? They can play while we decide what to tell my parents." He suggested. Price looked upset to be going into the playpen, but the sight of the other baby being lowered in startled him out of fussing. "'Agent Scully'?" Sam repeated. "This ought to be good." No one said anything, but all eyes were on her. *** As Sam led Scully to the playpen, Starkweather watched the girl carrying the baby named Price intensely. Sam's comment about how similar William looked to Price was a huge understatement. If they had been the exact same age, they would have been twins. The same lovely blue eyes, eyes that would have been considered beautiful in a girl but deemed a waste on a boy's face. Starkweather cataloged the boys in her potent memory and continued to watch the girl with the long brown hair help Dana Scully get the boys settled in the play pen. Soon, after introducing several plush, baby friendly toy animals into the pen, the boys were playing happily, squealing and giggling. Scully, secure that William would be entertained for a while, returned to the clutch of adults surrounding Mulder Leary. Sam lingered to reach down and stroke Price's wispy fine hair. She noticed Starkweather studying her with them. Sam gave the tiny woman with the long blonde hair one of the fierce scowls she reserved for nosy adults. <> the precocious pre-teen thought <> Sam decided she didn't like her. How could she? Like repelled like. Starkweather, of course, could have cared less if she realized Sam's verdict of her. Annoyed by Sam's dirty looks, she lifted her dark eyebrows and returned Sam's scowl with a just-who-do-you-think-you-are-missy? look. Then Starkweather returned her attention back to the boys playing in the crib while still listening to the debate regarding what to tell Mitch and Gale. "We'd really like to speak to your parents about how you wound up in Washington DC," Scully said in that tone of voice that did not provide room for debate. Mulder Leary took a deep breath and said "I know. But honestly, they're not going to be able to tell you anymore than I can." "Let us be the judge of that," Starkweather said with a purr in her voice as she continued to study the babies. Doggett glanced at Starkweather, eyebrows high, silently asking for elucidation. But she had her poker face on as she watched the babies. Doggett flicked his icy eyes over to the playpen and then to the girl towering over the boys as if she was their sworn guardian. He gave the girl a small, friendly smile and received a puzzled look in return. <> Sam was thinking, mystified. <> Meanwhile, Mulder Leary realized that he may have told Agent Starkweather too much, backpedalled frantically. "First we really need to decide on what to tell my mom and dad before you guys start questioning them." "What do you mean, decide?" Doggett asked gruffly. Mulder Leary's look wasn't the slightest bit guilty. "Well, if you think my parents are actually going to believe that I just showed up in DC...not having a good explanation might make them think of kidnapping..." "He's got a point." Starkweather said. "They've already had that happen to them once, so the truth seems like a flimsy cover in this case." "So what are we supposed to tell them?" Scully asked. *** One hour and thirty minutes later... "We really should pay more attention to the permission slips we sign, Mitch." Gale said with a chiding tone as he paid the pizza delivery boy. He just shook his head. "It's your signature, Gale." Mulder Leary decided to try to smooth things over before they really argued. "It's not really either of your fault's. If I hadn't gotten sick, I wouldn't have missed the bus, so you wouldn't be worrying about this right now." "Are you feeling better, Honey?" Gale asked, reaching out to feel his forehead. "I'm fine, Mom. It wasn't anything a little Imodium AD couldn't cure. It must have been going around, because Agent Starkweather got sick too." Starkweather only nodded, not trusting herself to offer details of her illness that would lend credence to his imaginary bout of the runs. Gale nodded. "Agent Doggett, it was very sweet of you to look after Mulder when it became clear that his bus wasn't going to return for him." "Just think of it as your tax dollars at work, Ma'am." Mitch was still looking out the door, even after the pizza boy left. "It's starting to storm again. Did you folks have reservations for a hotel tonight?" "Actually, no." Fox Mulder spoke up. "We were planning to go on to my family's vacation home in Quonochautaug, Rhode Island." They hadn't actually discussed the idea, but he'd come up with the plan while driving. "I don't think that's a good idea." Mitch said, looking concerned. "That's over a two hour drive in good weather, never mind the snow. And who knows how much worse it'll get? Maybe you folks should stay here tonight, and leave in the morning." Starkweather started to open her mouth, but Scully quickly answered Mr. Leary. "That's very kind of you." He nodded and put his arm around his daughter. "Sorry, kiddo, but you're going to have to bunk with your brother tonight." "Joy." *** An hour earlier.. "You parents can't be that stupid, Mulder." Scully objected. "How can you say that? You've never met them." Sam mumbled, but everyone heard her, only Scully pretended not to have. Mulder Leary smirked. "They're not stupid, per say, but they're not terribly... terribly..." "Externally focused?" Starkweather suggested. "Exactly. They're kind of self-absorbed. We get away with things we never would if they were paying any attention to us at all." "Doesn't that make you sad?" Scully asked, feeling surprised that none of the other adults looked like they thought it was. Sam and Mulder looked at her like she'd suddenly said something in Sanskrit. They shrugged. Why would their parents' lack of smothering attention be something sad? "If you tell them that I was there on a field trip, and got separated from the group when I fell ill, they'll swallow it hook, line and sinker." "Won't they be suspicious?" Scully asked, apparently desperate to believe their parents weren't that oblivious. "They're happiest when no one forces them to ask questions." Sam spoke up, and her brother could only nod in agreement. *** Later that night Up in his room, Mulder unfolded the cot as Sam watched with her arms full of blankets. "I didn't even know mom and dad kept this thing. I haven't had a sleep-over in forever." "I thought Scully used to sleep in your bed when she slept over." Sam said, her grin mischievous. Ignoring what she was implying, incorrectly, Mulder replied, "She did. Doggett used to sleep on this thing. He didn't think it was too uncomfortable, so hopefully it'll be ok for you too." "Did he sleep on it because you thought it was weird for two boys to sleep in the same bed?" "No, he slept on it because he kicks in his sleep. I'm going to feel bad for whomever he marries." She laughed and made up the bed. "So tell me how you really got to DC. I mean, you couldn't have really just appeared there, poof!" "That's what happened." "It's not possible." Sam argued. "You can't just be transported from one place to another in the blink of an eye." Mulder didn't say anything for a long while. "Something like this happened before. Well, not exactly, but close enough." "What? When, tell me!" She demanded, already sprawled out on the cot. He sighed. "I've never told this to anyone before-" "Not even Scully?" "Especially not Scully. So you have to promise not to tell anyone about it." "Like with the Candling stuff." "Exactly." He agreed, thinking that what he told Starkweather didn't count since she'd be gone soon enough. "Cross my heart and hope to die." Mulder hesitated. "I'm not sure you'll believe me." "Oh come on, Mulder. After what we saw those kids do to help us in Roswell, how could anything you could tell me be more unbelievable than something I with my own eyes?" "You'd be surprised." He muttered. "Ok, so while you were...gone, Arden found an article about you that I'd never seen, and sent it to me. It was an editorial about how shameful it was that the search for your kidnapers was cut so short. It was, um, only three weeks." He paused, feeling bad about the hurt look on her face. He'd forgotten that she had no idea how short the charade about a search had gone on. Even if it hadn't been real, it could still be painful, obviously. "Anyway, I wrote to the man who'd written the article, hoping he'd be able to give me some clue, any clue, about what happened to you." "Then what happened?" Sam asked, looking a little more cheerful. Mulder thought she liked hearing stories about his search for her. He could see how reminders that someone cared were nice. "Then he got in touch with me and asked me to met him, alone, at the museum of Science. So I did." "This story doesn't sound too unbelievable. Except maybe for the part about Mom and Dad letting you go to Boston alone." Sam pet Fluffy through the bars of her pet carrier as Mulder talked. It hadn't taken much begging to be allowed to keep the kitten with them for the night, and she mistakenly thought they were being nice to allow it. Fluffy rubbed her nose against Sam's fingers, but didn't howl to get out. Mulder continued when she sheepishly returned her attention to him. "I lied. Told them it was for science class." "Of course." "The unbelievable part was when I met the guy. Except it was someone else, and the guy knew my name...he touched my arm, and, it's so hard to explain this part, since I never have quite figured it out, exactly. Something happened, something damn strange." He bowed his head, more speaking to his folded hands than his sister. "I...I saw what would have happened if you had never been taken. No one could see or hear me, but it was like I was there, watching myself get older in a world in which your kidnapping never happened." Sam raised an eyebrow. "You saw what could have been like in 'It's a Wonderful Life'?" He looked up at her. "It wasn't wonderful. Things were just as bad, but different bad. In that life Price was never born, and Mom and Dad died in a car accident. " "That doesn't sound like it was any fun to see." Sam said softly. "No. The only good part about it is you were there." Sam looked like she was going to cry for a moment, but pulled herself together. "So this is different than that, right? I mean, this is our reality, not something else that might have happened." "I guess so. When agent Starkweather pulled her gun out and pointed it at me, I almost wet my pants. That was my first clue that this wasn't just a repeat of that other thing." He told her with a grin. A few days later, it was sort of funny. "Yikes." "Yeah. Shouldn't not knowing how I got to DC worry me more?" Sam shrugged. "From things you've told me about growing up here, it seems like weird things are bound to happen to you. Kind of like you're a magnet." "A weird things magnet, great." "It would explain why Scully likes you, she's sort of weird." "Yeah, just let her hear you say that..."He threatened. "Oh no, don't tell her!" Sam protested, until she realized he was kidding. He didn't continue to tease her, because he realized something. The last time she'd slept in his bedroom was the night that she'd been kidnapped. It made him feel vaguely uneasy, even though he knew that anyone who tried to bother her now would be met with a fight. "Sam...wanna watch TV for a while? We shouldn't bother anyone if we keep the volume low." "Sure." She gave him an inquisitive look, but didn't ask why he didn't want to talk any more. She was understanding like that. *** Meanwhile... "We're sorry," Gale apologized again as she brought more pillows and blankets to Doggett and Starkweather as they stood waiting outside of Price's tiny room. "It's okay," Doggett said, taking them from her, hoping that she had left some pillows and blankets on her own bed. "We're getting used to carpet-camping," Starkweather said. "Are you sure we're not going to disturb the kids?" "Oh no," Gale started to say, and then she stopped and corrected herself. "Well, at least not Price anyway. He'll sleep through anything." "And this little guy," a soft voice coming up from behind Gale said. "Is out cold," Scully said as she eased past Gale, Doggett and Starkweather, heading for the door. As Doggett opened the door for Scully, she whispered "Can I put him in the same crib as Price?" "Oh sure, that'll be fine," Gale said in a warm voice, watching Scully disappear into the darkened room. She emerged only seconds later. "Good night," she said in a hushed voice, giving Doggett and Starkweather a small smile as she went back down the hall. Doggett and Starkweather mumbled their goodnights and went into the baby's room. By the dim glow of Price's nightlight, they were able to find the sleeping bags that Mitch had gotten for them. Quietly, Doggett handed Starkweather a pillow and some blankets, then he got down and started to undo one of the sleeping bags. Starkweather knelt down onto the floor as well. First she put down the pillow and blankets and then reached for the sleeping bag that was left. "God I'm tired," Starkweather whispered as unrolled the sleeping bag, obviously Mulder's old sleeping bag from childhood. Or at least she hoped it was, since there was a huge picture of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it. It also smelled of mothballs. But as exhausted as she was, she was not going to complain, not one bit. Doggett didn't even answer; he just unfurled the nice normal blue colored sleeping bag, tossed the pillow near the top of it and then laid down, pulling the quilt over himself. "G'night..." he mumbled. Starkweather meanwhile had snuggled down into her sleeping bag, which was quite warm, thank God. She didn't bother to pull the extra blanket over her since she was comfortable enough and prone to kick off blankets in her sleep if she got too hot. "Night," she said in a soft voice, allowing herself fade into sweet oblivion. *** Meanwhile... The bear, which had been removed from its place of honor on Sam's bed, had been set on the seat of her desk chair. It was now staring at Scully with its hard plastic eyes. Eyes which seemed to be passing judgment on her in a manner that William's toys never had. It was that moment she realized that she was going crazy with tiredness. That, combined with the fact that she and Mulder were now in the bed of a thirteen-year-old girl who was fond of purple sheets and stuffed animals. It made her think about being under her parents' roof, and she couldn't say that it was a feeling she enjoyed revisiting. It was hard to relax, especially cramped by Mulder's frame taking up most of the mattress. At least the girl had a full-size bed; her own at that age had been a narrow twin-size that discouraged the thought of having more than one body in it. Mulder's hand brushed her leg, and she slapped it away. "Stop it." "Why?" He asked, giving her a pouty look. "If you really need me to explain why it would be inappropriate, I'll have to get you copies of etiquette books." She whispered threateningly. "Too kinky for you, huh?" He asked in his typical monotone. She punched him, but he just smirked. He'd almost thought she'd fallen asleep when she began to speak to him again. "Mulder, are you... all right?" "Right as rain." "I thought we declared a moratorium on the use of clichs." She chided him. "Meeting Sam Leary...that couldn't be easy for you." He propped himself up on his elbows. "She's not Samantha." "Well, she probably is, I'm sure Sam is a nickname..." She paused, realizing that he wasn't talking about names. "Oh. Of course not." He sighed. "My head said that, but... I don't think my heart listens to logic. When it became obvious that Capeside was a real place, I couldn't but hope a little..." "I'm sorry." Scully said softly. He shook his head. "This is better. If she'd been somewhere I could find her all along and I didn't, and couldn't take her home even if I could find her, that'd be worse. I'm not sorry that she's not my sister. I'm just sorry that I'm not as lucky as her brother." Scully nodded in the dark, trying to understand how he felt. Mulder knew Scully was trying to divine his feelings. Time and time again, Scully tried to understand what made him tick and time and time again, she came so close but never quite grasped the beliefs he clung to. But she tried and he loved her in so many ways because she kept trying. Friend, lover, wife, mother, partner, all types of women rolled up into this one petite person with icy eyes and fiery hair. All the other women in his life had been ripped away from him, from Phoebe due to her own treacherous nature to his own mother due to suicide. Scully almost filled the void left behind. He wished he could say that Scully was enough and be able to walk away. He wished that he hadn't been lying about being fine, being free the night when he saw Samantha's shade dancing with the other glowing children. He wished the truth was enough. And now, here was this girl, another Samantha. No. Not Samantha. Sam. And yet... and yet, he looked at this girl and didn't see Samantha Mulder as she could have been at age thirteen. He looked at this girl and saw Jerilyn Starkweather as she had been at age thirteen. Young enough to be wonderfully nave and yet old enough to understand the boon and plague of secretiveness. And bearing the dual weight of youth and experience on her skinny shoulders. Two big chips. However, Sam didn't act as bitter as Starkweather. <> Mulder sighed and shifted a little in the narrow bed. <> he mourned as he draped his arm over the sleeping Scully. He envied this young Mulder for receiving the gift the older Mulder spent most of his life yearning for. His last thought before dropping off to sleep was <> The last sound he made was a soft chuckle as his imagination led him down into his subconscious where he dreamed of being young again, building sand castles with two girls with dark brown hair, the oldest girl with bright blue eyes, the youngest girl with hazel eyes just like his. But in his dreams, or rather, like his dreams, the castles kept collapsing. **** Much Later... "Night," Starkweather said in a soft voice, allowing herself fade into sweet oblivion. Until snuffling woke her up. She rolled over, looked up at the crib and saw William. He had pulled himself up into a standing position and was looking down at her, whimpering. "William, go to sleep," Starkweather mumbled. William continued to whine, the snuffles threatening to become full blown tears. "Doggett," Starkweather said. "Don't even pretend to try and pretend that you're asleep." "Well, what'n the hell d'ya want me to do that you can't?" came the grumpy response. "I don't know! Just do something! Before-" Price sat up and squealed, happy to see his new buddy standing by him in the same bed. "Too late," Starkweather said, wiggling her way out of the sleeping bag. "God dammit," she said under her breath as she stepped over Doggett to get to the crib. "Guys," she said to the baby boys. "Don't do this to me, okay?" She fished around the crib until she found a pacifier. Which baby it belonged to was irrelevant to Starkweather. She popped it into William's mouth, then picked him up, gave him a kiss and laid him back down. That seemed to appease him. Price, however, was not so easily placated. Evidently he thought it was play time by the way he giggled and clapped his hand. "Yes, yes, I know, cheer at the clown," she grumbled as she tucked Price back in. "Go to sleep you little puke," she ordered him in a sweet sing song voice. Price popped right back up again, laughing. Soon William was up. "Jesus fucking Christ," she groaned. Doggett snickered. It was dark, but Doggett guessed Starkweather was giving him a foul look as she said "Instead of lying on the floor like a male chauvinist pig, why don't you help me?" "Because this is more fun," Doggett said, but he was getting up. "What is more fun?" Starkweather scowled as Doggett stood beside her by the crib. Bending down to pick up Price, he replied "Seeing you out of your element. Seeing you not have an answer for everything." "The way you're talking," Starkweather said snippily "You make me sound like an insufferable know-it-all." William held his arms out to Starkweather. "Well, at least someone in this room still likes me," she said, scooping William out of the crib. "Oh, stop the pity party," Doggett said, sitting on the closed toy chest, rocking back and forth while rubbing Price on the back. "I was just giving you hell." Starkweather claimed the rocking chair. She felt herself getting maudlin as she started to rock William. After all, if her baby had lived, he would have been roughly the same age as William. Or she. The miscarriage happened before the sex could have been determined. There wasn't much of a baby to lose. Just a lot of blood... She shook her head and cuddled William closer to her as she continued to rock. "Doc?" Doggett noticed how quiet she had become. "What's on your mind?" But Starkweather was not in a chatty mood. "Nothing," she said, looking down at William's face, seeing how his long lashes were beginning to droop and feeling his body relax. "I'm just tired." <> "Jerilyn?" "What?" Starkweather said, looking up. "Price is asleep," Doggett said, looking at her oddly. "How's William?" She looked down at William again. His brown hair was tousled. The only thing he had inherited from his dad physically. Every thing else was trademark Dana Scully. The big cornflower eyes were closed though, finally. "He's out," Starkweather said, carefully getting up, hoping not to jar the boy back awake. As they put the sleeping boys back into the crib, Starkweather said "I don't see how people can do this." "Do what?" "This.... two babies at once." "Well, twins do happen," Doggett said matter-of-factly. "I'm sure you've come across it once or twice in your medical studies." "Ha ha," Starkweather said in a whisper. "What'll we do if they wake up again?" "What we should have done the first time," Doggett said. "Pawn them off on their mothers." But both of them knew that they wouldn't do that. "Speaking of twins, is it just me or do Price and William-" Doggett didn't let Starkweather finish her thought. "Look a lot a like? Yeah. I noticed." "What do you think?" "I think it's spooky," he said. "Mulder grew up in the New England area, his family vacationed in Martha's Vineyard," Starkweather theorized. "Maybe he has some distant relatives?" "Thought he was the last of his line?" Doggett asked. "Who knows, we have such a screwed up family tree," Starkweather sighed. "Maybe Teena Mulder had family around here. I should ask Mulder what his mom's maiden name was." She yawned; feeling so tired that her body ached. "Or maybe the connection's on Scully's side of the family, she was a Naval brat, she moved around, maybe she's got relatives here, who the hell knows. I want to get some sleep before those two little hellions wake up." "They really aren't hellions you know," Doggett said reproachfully. Starkweather gave him a sheepish smile. "I suppose they could be worse." She got back on the floor again. Too tired to attempt to get into the sleeping bag, she reached for the blanket she had previously rejected. "Good night." "Night Doc," the insomniac replied, laying back down and rolling over to his side, facing away from her. Starkweather sneaked a peek at her partner then rolled to her back, ready to sink back into the depths of slumber. And then it happened again, the slice of pain cutting down from her ribs to her pelvis tore through her. Only this time it was much worse, so bad she actually cried out but tried to stifle it when she remembered the two sleeping babies. As fast as the pain stabbed at her, it faded, leaving behind vertigo and nausea. She curled up in the fetal position and tried to control her breathing as her body broke out into a cold sweat. But every breath was a struggle as she fought not to hyperventilate. Then she felt Doggett kneeling over her, one hand gently lifting her head the other hand resting on her back. "Starkweather," he said softly in an agitated voice. "What's wrong?" "I'm not sure," she gasped out. "I don't know." "I'm calling 9-11," he said. "No," she said, making herself sit up. "No," she said again. "It's okay. It's over now. I just feel kind of sick. Not worth an ER visit." "It could be appendicitis," he said stubbornly. "The pain isn't happening at the right part of the body for it to be appendicitis," Dr. Starkweather said just as stubbornly. "Other organs can get infected just as easily," Doggett protested. Starkweather wanted to point out his glaring medical ignorance but she felt too wiped out to argue. Knowing him that he would keep badgering her until she gave in, she said "If I'm not better by the morning, I'll go, alright?" Doggett wasn't going to allow himself to be pacified that easily but new whimpers diverted his attention. William and Price, startled by the commotion, had woken up again. Starkweather tried to drag herself to her feet, but Doggett said. "No, stay there, I'll take care of them." "Two kids by yourself are you insane?" she said. "You don't know how many times I've asked myself that question," Doggett said as he got up to tend to the kids. Neither boy was hungry or in need of a diaper change. William was whining and pointing down at Starkweather. "What?" Doggett asked. "You want out? No, Will, it's bedtime." "Oh, bring him down here," Starkweather said wearily. "He can be my teddy bear tonight." Doggett whispered to William, "Spoiled brat," affectionately as he lifted him out of the crib and placed him in Starkweather's arms. William instantly snuggled up against her. Which left Price feeling pretty left out so he started crying. "Oh, come on," Doggett said, lifting him out as well. "None of that." He claimed the rocking chair Starkweather had used before, planning on rocking Price back to sleep. Doggett actually dozed off before Price went back to sleep. But not before Starkweather and William fell back asleep first. Doggett stirred a little bit to find everyone, including the kid in his arms out for the count. And he decided it would take way too much effort to put the kids back into the crib. <> was his last conscious thought before he drifted fully asleep. *** Waking with a start, Starkweather had just enough presence of mind to keep from sitting up suddenly and waking her sleeping nephew, who was still cuddled up against her. She yawned and eased away from the baby, glancing at the crib. It was empty. For one terrible second she wondered if Price had been kidnapped and how would they ever explain that he'd been taken while two FBI agents were in his room, but looking around the room, she spotted him in Doggett's arms. They were both still in the rocking chair. Doggett was going to be begging for aspirin soon, she was sure of it. For a moment it made her wonder if he'd sleep in a rocking chair to pacify a child of his own. If he had. She let him sleep, and stared at the mint-green walls instead, remembering a dream she'd had during the night. It had been about Price. The only thing she could attribute the dream to was her morose thoughts the day before about children like him- and her - not being allowed a normal life. That had to be why she'd dreamed about him as not a baby, but a little boy, maybe three, maybe five years old. She wasn't good at figuring out how old small children were, and the fact that he'd been held during most of the dream didn't help. In the dream she found herself sitting in a pew of a church she'd never been to. No one else sitting there was someone she met, but they all looked vaguely familiar, so she thought they must have been Mulder Leary's friends and their families. No one else was sitting in the same pew as her, but she didn't feel shunned, just ignored. Everyone's attention was focused on two shiny caskets that a pastor was standing over. When they came in, Mulder and Sam looked a few years older too, and a little boy who could only be Price was held in Mulder's arms. Either shy or in grief, the boy hid his face. The three of them approached the caskets, and when they reached them, Sam took Price. That's when she finally got to see his face. It was calm, and his wide blue eyes looked over the mourners with a lack of interest. For some reason, that chilled her; she never wanted to see a look like that on Boo's face, not when something important was happening. He looked away from her when Mulder took the podium, as offered by the Pastor. Looking somewhat more grieved than his brother, Mulder began to speak. "I want to thank you all for being here today, I think it would have meant a lot to my parents. The pastor has asked me to say a few words about them. What can I say about Mitch and Gale Leary? They were my parents, and they raised me but I can't really say that I knew them. Mom and Dad had a lot of secrets, and they didn't seem to care too much about whether or not these things harmed their children. "They let Sam be taken away and raised by strangers for almost thirteen years, and they punished me for ever asking about her. Since I refused to forget her as ordered, they turned a cold shoulder to me most of my life. I do thank them, though, for getting Sam back by having Price. "And Price... maybe of the three of us, he's the one they sinned the most against. When he turned eighteen, they were planning to turn him over to the people who created him, so he could learn to spy, maybe even kill, without feeling anything. What parent wants that for their child? "Because of this, Sam and I understand why he had to kill them. Really, what kind of life would he have if he didn't? It was self defense, we all understand that." Everyone in the church nodded solemnly, and Starkweather wondered if Mulder was going to explain how a small boy had managed to kill his parents. Instead Price waved one small hand in the direction of the caskets, as if to say good-bye, and she was so glad she couldn't see his expression. Then she woke up. Shuddering at the memory even still, she bent down and picked William up, then walked over to Doggett. Price looked too innocent to harm anyone. Surely the dream was just a strange idea her subconscious was wrestling with. For all she knew, it really had to do with buried feelings about her own parents. Leaning over, she whispered in Doggett's ear. "Hey, do you want them to think you're trying to steal their baby?" "What?" Doggett opened his eyes, and realized he and Price were still in the rocking chair where they'd fallen asleep. "No, of course not." "Relax, I was just teasing." "Ok." Both babies were back in the crib by the time Mulder Leary came to see if they were awake. *** "Hungry?" Mulder Leary asked, reaching for his little brother. The baby looked up at him with a solemn look. "Os?" "Sure. After we get you dressed." He smiled at Starkweather and Doggett as he grabbed a change of clothes and a diaper for Price. "Mom and Dad aren't awake yet, but I'm sure Price won't mind sharing his fruit loops if you're hungry. There's other cereal too. I can't cook, but you know I can make toast, anyway." Doggett was slightly annoyed that Mitch and Gale weren't up, but he decided that it was irrational since he didn't know their schedule. "Sounds good. Just give us a couple of minutes to get dressed, and we'll be down." Once he was out of the room, Doggett and Starkweather looked at each other. "Who wants to get dressed first?" She asked. "How did we do this last night?" "I forget." Doggett admitted. "Why don't you? I'll see if Dana and Mulder are awake yet." They weren't, he quickly summarized while peering through the barely opened door. He sniggered a little bit as he shut the door; he never would have guessed that Scully was the one who snored quietly in her sleep. Feeling like a fool for standing alone in the hallway, again, he tapped his foot softly as he waited. Starkweather got William dressed first and then herself. After she put her clothes on she picked her nephew up settled him on her hip. Before she could leave the room she spotted his binky in a corner of Price's crib. "Wouldn't want forget that." She said pocketing it. It might come in handy during breakfast. (Continued in part 10) Part 10 See part 0 for header information. Just before Doggett died of boredom, the door to Price's room opened, "Your turn." Starkweather said. "Took you long enough." Doggett grumbled good-naturedly. "I had to dress two people, not just myself." She pointed out. "And I'm pretty sure you won't require a diaper change, so you'll probably be quicker." "Good point." He agreed. Starkweather arrived in the kitchen just in time to hear Mulder Leary say. "No no, Price." The baby giggled from his high chair, but a box of cereal that had been floating a foot in the air landed on the table with a soft thump. Both Starkweather and William gave it goggled looks. "Sometimes he gets impatient." He told her, as if that explained the incident away. "Yesterday, you were telling me the truth." She said slowly. He looked surprised. "Of course. It's the type of thing you lie about to avoid telling the truth about, not the other way around." She sat heavily in the chair, William on her lap. If he'd told her the truth about his brother's unusual powers, what else that he told her about had also been the truth? "Do you think you can feed him by having him sit on your lap?" Mulder Leary switched gears, thinking about breakfast again. "There's only one high chair, so..." "That's ok. We've all gotten good at this. He's gone a lot of not very child-friendly places." Satisfied with the answer, Mulder went back to getting bowls of cereal. *** Meanwhile Reyes and Skinner McPhee's residence Capeside, MA As far as Skinner was concerned, snow days were good for one thing and one thing only, sleeping in as late as possible. With her brother sawing logs and her father braving the foul weather and fouler roads to get to work, Reyes inevitably became bored. Even the Internet lost its appeal after an hour or so. She had hoped that Scully or Fowley or Doggett would be online, or even Mulder but none of their screen names had popped up on her Buddy List. Doggett, she shrewdly concluded, was probably of the same mind of as her brother and snoozing still. Scully, probably busy with Alexander but as for Mulder and Fowley, with those two enigmas, who knew what they could be up to? Mulder would probably be off snow-shoeing in search of the Abominable Snow Man armed with only a digital camera. As for Fowley... Reyes shuddered slightly and blamed it on the cold. Reyes loved her friend Fowley but sometimes couldn't help but wonder if Fowley told her one thing but turned around and then did the complete opposite. Bored silly, Reyes wandered around the house aimlessly until she gave up and made herself a stack of cinnamon toast and a cup of jasmine tea before migrating to the living room. Resigned to spending the day killing brain cells as she watched day time talk shows and soap operas, she set her breakfast on the coffee table before plopping down onto the sofa. Just as she reached for the remote control, the phone rang. Reyes leapt off the couch and dashed for it. A ringing telephone meant human contact. Salvation from the boob tube! "Hello?" she said, hoping for either Doggett or Scully, preferably Doggett, she *really* needed to discuss prom with him. If boys had their way, they *would* wait until April or May before getting around to ordering the corsage or renting a tux. But it was not Doggett or Scully. Instead a calm female voice asked politely "I'm sorry, who is this?" Reyes hesitated. What kind of question is that? "Who is this please?" "Oh dear," the calm voice said. "I must have the wrong number. I'm calling from the Mutual Trust Insurance Company; I'm returning a Joseph McPhee's call about the updates he wanted to discuss regarding his auto and home owner's insurance?" "Oh," Reyes relaxed. Boring adult stuff. "I'm sorry, but he's not available right now. Can I take a message?" "No, that's okay... ah, I'm sorry, I missed your name?" <> Reyes thought with a roll of her eyes. "Reyes," she said. There was a strange soft sound at the other end of the phone, as if the caller had to pause for breath. "Thank you, Reyes," the caller said evenly. "I'll try again later." "Alright," Reyes said politely before ending the call. "Good bye." Meanwhile, Monica Reyes hung up her phone with trembling fingers. Her instincts had rarely led her wrong before. It all started with seeing that strange boy, the one with the look of Mulder about him at John's house that set her mind and psyche spinning. Nothing huge, just a niggling in her brain that something's not right... and then her conversation with Skinner the next day... though nothing of import was really said, it only served to strengthened her convictions that something was not right with this corner of the universe. She had trouble sleeping and so had made herself a cup of chamomile tea before going to bed. Her dreams were fragmented and restless, plagued with images of hospitals and lakes and grey skies and remorseless snowfall. She woke up several times in the night, writing down what vague images she could remember before trying to go back asleep again. Monica Reyes woke up with the dawn. Giving up on sleep, she reached for her dream journal, an ugly little diary she had found on the discount shelf in Wal-Mart. Sitting up in bed, she began to decipher her awful handwriting: 5 hospital beds Oh my God, what is going on 8 doors Forever mine One time Oh God, where am I? 2 agents 2 babies 2 cats 1 world "What the hell?" Reyes said to herself bemusedly, preparing to forget about it. "Maybe chamomile is stronger than I thought..." Then she tilted her head, looking at the page sideways. Then she reached for a pen. 5 O 8 4 1 O 2 2 2 1. Brow furrowed, she re-wrote the sequence, substituting zeroes for O's. 508-410-2221. A telephone number? Reyes went to take a shower, get dressed and eat a little breakfast. She found the left over tea from last night and poured it down the drain, noting that some of the tea leaves stuck to the mug. So, on more of a whim than true belief, she studied the leaves, debating with herself it they really *did* appear to be in a shape of a telephone. Taking her dream journal with her to work, she ran the phone number plucked from her imagination through the FBI's massive computer data base and discovered it did belong to a real person, named Joseph McPhee. Who lived in Capeside. The same Capeside that Doggett and Starkweather had departed for to return Mulder's doppelganger. Curiosity aflame now, Reyes concocted a flexible cover story and dialed. And nearly fainted to hear her own voice in her ear. "No, that's okay..."Reyes licked her lips, "Ah, I'm sorry, I missed your name?" "Reyes," came the polite reply. Reyes inhaled sharply. "Thank you, Reyes," Monica Reyes had said, fighting to keep her voice even "I'll try again later." "Alright. Good bye," the girl named Reyes McPhee had said politely. <> Monica Reyes thought almost obsessively. <> She leaned back in her chair. Well, not quite her chair. Fox Mulder's chair. She didn't have a desk as it seemed to be considered sacrilegious to clear off Mulder's desk for her use. Reyes swiveled around in Mulder's chair until she was facing the wall, facing the I Want to Believe poster. She reached out and touched the poster. Then she got out of the chair, put on her coat, grabbed her keys, purse and attach case and hurried out the door, face set. *** Meanwhile Mitch and Gale Leary's residence Capeside MA... "There you are," Gale said in the honeyed voice reserved for the youngest Leary member. Following close behind Gale, was Dana Scully, her hair perfectly coiffed and her blouse and slacks pressed. Starkweather touched her own hair, tied back in a sloppy pony tail and wished she had put her hair up in a more professional style. Meanwhile, Price banged his hands on the high chair tray, almost knocking his "Os" over. William, on the other side, reached his arms up. "Mommy!" he crooned, a big smile on his face. Scully's solemn face lit up. "Hey there sweetie," Scully said, crossing over to relieve Starkweather of her bouncy burden. Just then, Mulder walked in. "Morning," he said, pausing to ruffle Starkweather's hair. "Arggh!" Starkweather lifted her arms to defend herself. "Mulder, just because you're losing your hair doesn't mean you get to play with mine." "Would you like some coffee Mr. Mulder?" Gale asked hospitably. "I'd love some," Mulder said, then hastily adding least that Scully think he was rude "If it's not too much trouble." "No trouble at all," Gale said. Then she said to her son "Mulder, would you pour a cup for our guest?" "Sure," the younger Mulder said, rising to do his mother's bidding. "So Mrs. Leary," Mulder put his hands in his pocket, surveying the kitchen. "Looks like we're all still snowed in here, do you mind if we move into the living room for some 'adults only' conversation?" "Sounds kinky," Starkweather said under her breath. "And you're not invited," Mulder said to Starkweather, sticking his tongue out at her when he turned his back on Gale and Scully. However, he was all seriousness when he turned around again to accept the coffee from Mulder Leary. "I didn't want to come with anyway," Starkweather muttered while thinking <> "I'll go find Doggett and Mitch and meet you all in the living room," the senior Mulder drones as he exited. "It'll be refreshing to have a mature discussion for once," Gale said, sounding excited. "Sometimes it's so hard to have a meaningful talk when you're running after little ones. I'm sure you know what that's like, Dana." "Yup," Scully said as William played with the chain of her cross necklace. But the look on Scully's face was anything but excited. Like Starkweather, she wondered what exactly her partner was up to now. The kitchen seemed quiet once Scully and Gale came through and took possession of the little boys. Sam had bolted a bowl of cereal, but she was already off, having said something about organizing a sledding expedition with Daden and some other kids from their grade. So that left just Starkweather and Mulder Leary, listlessly eating soggy cereal and cold toast. "Mulder..."Starkweather gave the boy a hesitant look. "Do you think that your friend's baby is really being held in some sort of secret compound?" He shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time." Mentally cursing herself for falling prey to the Mulder duty-gene, she reluctantly offered help. "Maybe... Maybe you should have some help investigating this." "Yeah... I tried to get Doggett and Skinner to come with me one night, but they were all like ' I don't want to waste my time on another one of your stupid schemes, Mulder. Wasn't hiking bad enough?' so I dropped it." It took her a moment to sort that out, but she finally realized he was talking about his friends, not hers. "I was thinking more...professional help." "I'd really rather not ask Kersh or Sheriff Witter. They're ok, but they'd probably go in guns a'blazing, thinking that it was a hostage situation. I don't think that'd look too good in the paper." Starkweather stared at him, wondering if he was dense, or truly that unused to adults offering to help. "Or I could help you." "Yeah, you could, but- Wait, really?" Starkweather shrugged. "I don't plan to sit in on the pow-wow with your folks, so maybe this would be something constructive to do." "You're really not interested in grilling my parents?" Mulder looked surprised. She just shrugged again. "Doggett and my brother are the ones who think the answers can be found by talking to your parents." "Where do you think the answers lie?" "Your dad's work place is as good as any to look." "But maybe there aren't any answers." He told her quietly. "It wouldn't be the first time." She agreed. *** "Who are you calling?" Starkweather asked when she noticed Mulder Leary pick up the phone. "Scully and Reyes. My Scully and Reyes, that is." He clarified. "I think they'd be handy to have with us. Scully especially, she's been there before." Starkweather thought about teasing him, and making a comment about his girlfriend's "usefulness" but his omission seemed more important. "Not Fowley, though?" Mulder shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. What if we go there, and we find nothing? Or find out that something has happened to the baby since she last saw her? I don't think either of us would like that if it were our babies, right?" "Right." Starkweather absently agreed. She was really thinking about the baby she lost, and trying to push away the wistfulness that the idea of it being somewhere, anywhere, to be found brought up. "But neither of us have kids. At least I don't, and you better not." She managed a faint smile. He gave her an intent look that made her feel uncomfortable for reasons she couldn't readily identify. "I'm not sure you have to have a child to understand what it's like to be responsible for one. Or even to be expected to be responsible for one." Starkweather knew he was trying to articulate something about his feelings about his siblings, but she thought there was something he was saying, maybe about her, too; something she wasn't even aware of, perhaps. She dismissed the idea as paranoia, how could he know something about her that she herself didn't know? Still, she found it mildly unsettling. "That's too profound for this time of the morning, Kid." "Yeah..." When she didn't say anything else, he picked the phone back up. *** "What are you wearing?" Scully Potter rolled her eyes, but there was a faint smile playing on her lips as well. "A blue, oil-stained jumpsuit with the name Moe sewn onto the chest, hip waders and a bee keeper's helmet." "Sounds hot." "Mulder, what do you want?" "A guy can't call his girlfriend just to see how she is?" "A guy can. You, however, can't." He sighed deeply for effect. "I was hoping you're not too busy to meet a new friend of mine." "What kind of friend?" "The kind with a badge and a gun." "Aren't we a little old for playing cops and robbers?" "Nah. Ask Sheriff Witter, all sorts of grown ups play cops and robbers. This friend is an FBI agent, though." "No, really." "Really. Someone finally wants to look into Fowley's claim that someone kept her baby." "You did tell him that Fowley is unhinged, didn't you?" "Her, and no. Reyes thinks what Fowley said is true too, you know." "Yeah... but you and Reyes will believe anything." "Come on, you know you love that about us. Say you'll come with." "Yeah, all right. I was bored anyway." "Great. Pick you up in twenty minutes." *** Reyes nearly didn't pick up the phone when it rang again. She figured it was that telemarketer again, but something told her that it was important, so she reluctantly grabbed it after the third ring. "Got plans for today?" "Nope. My brother and my boyfriend are both doing their best imitation of still life. Still life with pillow." "Oh good. So you should be happy when we come to kidnap you in fifteen minutes." "Who's 'we'?" "Me, Scully, an FBI agent." "Sure." "Why won't anyone believe me? Just be in front of your house, ok?" "Right. See ya in a few." As she hung up she felt a stab of hope. Maybe the day wouldn't be such a waste after all. Even if Mulder was making up the part about having an FBI agent with him. *** Starkweather hid her amusement the best that she could while he was on the phone. Listening to him flirt with Scully and tease both girls, it stuck her that it must be what he was really like, when he was in his element. Even though he'd been bewildered in DC, he'd handled himself fairly maturely, though probably not as well as she would have at his age. But who would? Maybe he was just more comfortable at home. "Problem. How are we going to pick them up, and get to your Dad's work place? I don't fancy taking Doggett's monstrosity. I mean, truck." "Not really a problem." He told her. Then he went to the doorway and called out, "Mom, can I borrow your car?" "Sure honey." Floated back to them. Giving her a smug look, he grabbed a set of keys off a rack on the kitchen wall. "Let's roll." "You're driving." It wasn't really a question, but Mulder answered anyway. "Unless you want to borrow Doggett's truck after all..." She just shook her head. "I'm not a bad driver. Once I figured out that my driver's ed teacher wasn't really a murderer, I did real well in the class, and I've had my license for a while now." She smirked, because she was sure that 'a while' probably meant something in the neighborhood of a year. Still, he couldn't be worse a driver than her half brother. She hoped. *** Meanwhile... "Did you sleep alright?" Gale asked anxiously as she placed Price in the playpen next to William. "I can't imagine Sam's bed being very comfortable for two adults." "It was fine," Scully assured Gale. "Wasn't it, Mulder?" Mulder didn't respond, he was too busy watching William playing with Price. William, giggling, had snatched the pacifier out of Price's mouth and popped it into his own. "Mine," Price said, taking the pacifier back and shoving it into his mouth. "Aww," Gale cooed, "Isn't that cute?" Scully forced a smile, thinking of all the germs and viruses that can be transmitted from shared saliva. Mulder, however, was not enthralled by the baby antics. He was too busy studying the boys interacting with each other. They had the same facial expressions, the same little hand gestures, even similar laughter. To him, it was spooky... almost creepy. "How was your pregnancy?" Mulder asked tactlessly. "Mulder," Scully scowled, now realizing what Mulder was up to. This wasn't a friendly chat amongst adults, this was going to be an interrogation. Understandably, Gale squirmed. "Oh... fine. Being pregnant is no walk in the park you know, well, I take that back *you* wouldn't know," she said to Mulder. "But I'm sure, you know," she smiled warmly at Scully. Scully smiled wanly back. <> She looked over at her son in the play pen and felt a stab of guilt. <> Just then Mitch and Doggett strolled in. "So is this where the party is?" Mitch said jovially. "Oh yeah," Doggett muttered, sitting down on the couch next to Scully. "Big party." Scully shushed him. "What idiotic stunt is Mulder trying to pull now?" Doggett whispered to her. Scully only shook her head. "Great," Doggett grumbled. *He* wanted to be the one asking questions. Not Mulder. "Mitch," Mulder reached over to the coffee table and scooped up a handful of peanut M&Ms out of the pretty candy dish. They weren't sunflower seeds, but they'd do. "I'm curious to hear about what you do for a living. Your son alluded that it was interesting work." Mitch lit up. "I love it. We are making fascinating advances in the body's natural detoxification processes and food can assist that process. It's a very exciting time for us at Candling" "If you don't mind," Scully said, leaning forward, chin on hand, elbow on knee. "I'd like to hear about these advances. I am a scientist as well as a federal agent." Mitch beamed. "Everyday we are faced with external toxins that we cannot avoid. Air pollution, pesticides, cigarette smoke. Not only are we exposed to these toxins, but so is the food we eat. Plus, more toxins are introduced to food by the ways we cook it, grilling and frying especially." "So that was the Colonel's secret," Mulder said. Everyone ignored him. "To protect itself from these toxins, the body relies on its own detoxification system, which it an intricate network of enzymes working together to break down the toxin and then to remove what is left of the toxin out of the body through either urination or sweating. Bored by the conversation Doggett looked over at Scully. She was hanging on every word. Mulder's eyes had glazed over and Gale's face had that familiar look most spouses wore when their significant other was babbling about something that most people just didn't care about. The same pained expression Doggett remembered Barb having whenever he had started talking about NASCAR. "Now," Mitch rambled on "Research shows that the genes that make up the detoxification process vary from person to person. And that diet and lifestyle factor in greatly with the detoxification process as well..." Doggett thought he was about to fall asleep. He noticed that Mulder's eyelids started to droop and Gale had picked up a magazine and started reading. Scully, meanwhile, still appeared to be fascinated. "However, with the onslaught of pollutants, the body may not be able to keep up with the incoming toxins, so what Candling has been researching are ways for food to assist the body's detoxification process." "How?" Scully asked. "Through enhancing the antioxidant benefits of cruciferous and allium vegetables provide." Doggett just about turned to ask Starkweather what 'cruciferous' and 'allium' meant, and then he realized she wasn't there. <> he wondered as he interrupted Mitch. "Sorry, but what are cruciferous and allium vegetables?" "Oh. Sorry. Cruciferous are your broccolis and cabbages and allium are your onions and garlic. But we're also working with other vegetables, such as corn, for reasons I will explain in just a moment. Candling is also working on increasing the vegetables defenses against toxins. This will also benefit the meat industry as we are in the trial phase of creating a grain feed, mostly corn-based, for livestock that will be healthier for the animal to consume and therefore, healthier for us, to consume the animal." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm no vegetarian." "How are you, uh," Mulder dug into the bowl of M&Ms again. "'Enhancing' these vegetables, Mr. Leary?" Mitch looked surprised that Mulder would even ask. "Well, most of it is through genetic manipulation, Mr. Mulder." "Genetic tamperin- oops, I mean testing, has been quite controversial, Mr. Leary." Now Mitch looked miffed. "We're not in the business of making foods bigger and brighter for the purpose of profit. We're trying to make food safer, and more nutritious." "Have you used human subjects in your testing, Mr. Leary?" Mulder asked, eyeing Gale. "No, never... at least, not during my tenure at Candling and certainly not for the first series of tests." "Are food the only things that undergo genetic testing?" "In my department." "What about other departments?" Doggett was awake now, watching Mulder mercilessly question Mitch. <> Doggett thought. <> "I have no idea," Mitch said stiffly. "The other departments are confidential." "Does Candling handle any quantum physic projects?" "Again. I don't know. I only have access to my department and the people under me," Mitch said stubbornly. "As far as I know, there is no quantum physic projects and no genetic testing on anything but broccoli and onions." "I find that hard to believe," Mulder said. "Especially while sitting in a room, looking at a boy that looks nearly identical to my son." When the room became deathly quiet, Mulder said. "Mr. Leary, I suggest you start telling us what's going on." Gale, no longer looking bored, but afraid, clutched the magazine tightly. Mitch's shoulders slumped. "I don't have any answers for you," he said miserably. "I was hoping, after seeing your son, that maybe... maybe you'd have answers for us." "All we have," Mulder said. "Are more questions." "Our waking lives are ruled by questions," Scully said. "Maybe," Gale said timidly. "Maybe we do know the answers, but we're just afraid to face the truth." "Or maybe we're not asking the right questions," Mitch sighed. "Or maybe we don't know how to ask," Scully said. "Mulder, after all, you were the one that said 'a dream is an answer to a question we haven't learned how to ask.' Maybe what we need to know is buried within, in our past or in our subconscious, and we just don't know how to bring that truth from within... to without." "Hey, I've got a question," Doggett said. "Where in the hell is Starkweather?" "I've got another question," Mulder said. "Where's Mulder?" He paused. "Did that sound as strange coming out of my mouth as I think it did? *** Later To her relief, Starkweather found her foot groping for the imaginary brake far less often than she'd anticipated. Skinner probably would have been spared a lot of antacids if Fox Mulder attempted to treat driving as seriously as the boy did, which sort of surprised her. It was a good thing that Mulder drove to Scully's first, because Reyes apparently decided to walk there. As they got into the back seat, Starkweather secretly studied them in the review mirror. At least she hoped it was in secret. Mulder's friend Reyes looked exactly like she'd picture her friend having been half a lifetime ago; except she had trouble imagining Monica with waist-long hair, ever. Mulder's girlfriend, on the other hand, didn't really make her think of Dana as much. She wondered why that was, but the car was in motion again before she decided, and the thought was quickly forgotten. "Are you really an FBI agent?" Reyes asked, leaning forward to see Starkweather. "Yup." Starkweather pulled out her badge and flipped it open so the girls could see. "That is so cool. I'd like to do something like that when I grow up." "Not me." Scully disagreed. "I'm going to be a scientist." "You can be both." Starkweather said. "I'm a doctor." "Doctor Scully." Reyes laughed, making Scully frown at her. "Hey, Mulder, where are we going?" Scully asked suddenly changing the subject. "Exactly." "Um... my dad's work." "Oh no, not again." Scully covered her face with her hands, which caused both Reyes and Starkweather to give the girl alarmed looks. "Why is that bad?" Reyes asked. "The last time you were there you got a puppy, didn't you?" "A puppy?" Starkweather wondered aloud. Everyone ignored her. "Kid, what's with you and giving people pets?" Mulder shrugged. "I didn't get Fox there, I saw him after we went there. Bessie got him for me the next day." "Is anyone going to fill me in as to what the hell you're talking about?" Starkweather asked in her most authoritative tone. The girls shrank back, but Mulder seemed unfazed. "A guy that used to work at my dad's company got fired. He decided that the perfect revenge would be to drive various animals, both indigenous and ones he imported, insane with sound waves that humans can't normally hear. The animals attacked people. We very briefly stopped by Candling, but found the guy's place in the woods." Starkweather was slightly startled by the matter-of-fact tone in his voice. "You kids lead weird lives, don't you." "Yes." Scully and Reyes immediately agreed. "I dunno... I like to think of it as interesting." Mulder objected. "You know how teenagers claim boredom all the time? Living here that's not a problem." Sighing, she slumped back on the seat, just thankful that the X-Files were only part of her recent past. These kids seemed to live in a spooky world all the time. "Do these weird things happen here all the time?" "Not always." Scully replied. "Sometimes it's just people. Like the kid who disrupted play practice by pretending to be a ghost." "I told everyone it wasn't a ghost. But no one believed me." Mulder pretended to be injured. Rolling her eyes, Starkweather could only imagine how people would react to Fox Mulder claiming something wasn't the paranormal. Eventually they pulled up to Candling. All the windows were dark, and there wasn't a car in the parking lot. "Snow day?" Reyes asked. "Yeah. That's why my dad is home. Strange, though, since the roads are ok." "Don't look a gift snow day in the mouth." Reyes suggested. "Or something." "So Kid, how are we going to get in? I'm not nearly as good as breaking and entering as my brother." Starkweather wondered why she hadn't thought of that logistic before. It bothered her a little that she hadn't. "How about just entering?" Mulder asked, pulling a card out of his pocket. "Mom's car isn't the only thing I borrowed for this trip." Starkweather rolled her eyes. She pulled out one of her business cards and a pen, quickly scribbling down cell phone number. When she was done, she handed the card to Mulder. "I remember being a teenager, so I know it's practically useless to tell you not to wander off." "We won't-" Mulder began to protest. Starkweather cut off. "If you get out of shouting distance...call me if you have trouble." Mulder sighed and the slipped the card into his wallet anyway. She was probably right, knowing them they would wander off. It was a compulsion. *** "So," Starkweather said as Mulder swiped the security card. "What are we looking for?" "We'll know when we see it," Mulder said cryptically. Starkweather swiftly smacked him on the back of his head. "Ow!" he said, rubbing his head as Scully and Reyes sniggered. "What was that for?" "Always wanted to do that to 'my' Mulder whenever he said that," Starkweather said sweetly. "But he's too tall." Still giggling, the girls hurried inside, followed by Mulder. Starkweather, last to enter, looked around furtively, and then heaved a big sigh before ducking inside. When Starkweather shut the door, she and the kids were plunged into total blackness. "Mulder, where are the lights?" Reyes tried to keep her voice from quavering. "Hold your horses," Starkweather said. A few minutes later a powerful flashlight beam cut through the darkness. "Alright," she said in a soft authoritative voice. "Everyone around me. None of this idiotic Scooby Doo splitting up bullshit. Mulder, where are the lights?" "I don't know," he confessed. "They've never been off before. This is weird." "This surprises you?" Starkweather asked nastily, shining the flashlight in Mulder's face. "Not really and cut that out! It hurts my eyes," Mulder said, lifting his arm to shield his eyes from the ruthless flashlight beam. "You're lucky that's all I hurt," Starkweather muttered as she shined the light down the hall. "Long hallway with lots and lots of doors," she said. "Mulder, can your dad's card open all the doors here or just the one we came in?" "It should," Mulder said. "What we're looking for," Scully said in an assertive voice, "Is probably in the basement." "What makes you say that?" Starkweather said warily. "Um," now Scully faltered a bit. "Probably because it's easier to hide illegal scientific research in a part of a building that's hardly used." "Or because all the mad scientists work in either basements or towers and Candling is sorely lacking in towers," Reyes said, trying to battle her nervousness with humor. "You kids watch too much damn TV," Starkweather said. "First thing we're going to do is find the light." Just then all the lights came on. "Lights found," Mulder said faintly. "Right, okay," Starkweather said, clicking off her flashlight and reaching into her coat. "In my world, this is a bad sign." Reyes and Scully's eyes widened with Starkweather drew her gun and took the safety off. "It's not worth it, guys. Let's get out of here." Mulder opened his mouth to protest but Starkweather savagely cut him off. "We're leaving. Right now." She handed her flashlight off to Reyes and put her hand between Scully's shoulder blades and gave her a push. "Walk, don't run." Starkweather began herding Scully and Reyes towards the door. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Mulder heading towards the other direction. "Mulder! Come on!" "We've come this far!" Mulder said. "Besides, for all we know, we could have just tripped a silent alarm which triggered the lights." "And the cops," Starkweather yelled back at him. "I'm not willing to lose my badge over this, Mulder, get your ass over here, now!" "I'm not worried about the cops, especially since Sheriff Witter is my best friend's dad," Mulder said stubbornly, still walking away. "I can just make something up." "God dammit, Mulder, not everybody is as stupid as your parents!" Starkweather said tactlessly. "One of these days you're going to tangle yourself up in your own lies and today might be that day." "It doesn't matter Agent Starkweather," Reyes said, her voice sounding slightly hysterical. "The door won't open." "What?" Starkweather stalked over to the door and gave it a good yank. Then she pushed it. "Son of a ..."She called out to Mulder again. "Do we need the card to get out." "No," Mulder said, feeling his mouth go dry. (Continued in part 11) Part 11 See part 0 for header information. "I think we may have more problems than the local cops," Starkweather said, grabbing Scully by the coat collar and hauling her back away from the door. "Get behind me," she said, cocking her service weapon. Reyes made a small squeaking noise and ran to Scully. The girls huddled behind Starkweather as she pointed her gun and fired twice at the door handle. The halls reverberated with the gunshot echoes. Mulder and the girls covered their ears. "Shit!" Starkweather said. "We're trapped." *** "Well," Mulder said. "Now we don't have a choice but to keep going, do we?" "Mulder," Starkweather said "Obviously someone doesn't want us to leave. I have a sneaking suspicion we're the next science projects." She reached into her coat pockets. "What are you doing?" Mulder asked as she pulled out her cell phone. "Calling for reinforcements," she said as she hit Doggett's number in her speed-dial. "What the hell...?" she said. "What do you MEAN no service?" She looked at the kids. "Any of you have cell phones with you?" "I do," Reyes said, pulling out her phone. "I'm calling Doggett." "Funny, that's who I was trying to reach," Starkweather said. Reyes dialed Doggett Witter's number by heart. "I don't have service either," she said weakly. "Mulder, are we really trapped here?" "There's nothing to be afraid of," Mulder said bracingly, to convince himself as well as his friends. Starkweather's gruffness seemed to be making a bad situation worse. "We'll find a phone and call my dad." "Mulder," Starkweather said seriously. "What if your father is behind all of this?" Mulder scowled. "My dad is not a bad person." "Then why are you so desperate to find out what happened to Sam and Price? To assuage your own worries about your father's morals?" Starkweather asked. "Look, kid, I know how you feel. I thought my dad was king among men, but he wasn't. He was involved in a... in a lot of illegal dealings. People died because of him." Starkweather swallowed hard. "He killed people, Mulder. And that's a hell of a burden to bear; being the child of a cold-blooded killer." "Mulder, I think Agent Starkweather is right," Scully said. "Maybe ignorance is bliss. Let's find a way out of here." "Scully, would you be saying that if someone had taken Alex?" Scully didn't respond, she just looked at the floor. "Come on guys," Starkweather said. "Let's just find a way out of here. Everyone, stick together. Reyes." Starkweather looked around and saw Reyes staring at one of the hall way doors, as if it spellbound her. "Reyes, come on, keep up with the rest of the class." "Something's not right," Reyes said. "About any of this. It doesn't make sense. How could the lights come on if there's no body here?" "Because someone is here and if probably good and pissed off we are here," Starkweather said impatiently. "Actually," an unctuous voice purred behind Starkweather, Scully and Mulder, "I'm rather delighted to see you here. I'm terribly glad my experiment is working so nicely." Starkweather whirled around and gave a little gasp. Scully, without realizing she had done so, grabbed Mulder's coat sleeve. Mulder protectively held Scully to him as Starkweather pointed her gun at Mr. CSM. "You smoking son-of-a-bitch" Starkweather said, her hands starting to shake. "This time I'll shoot more than your knees," she threatened. "Oh Agent Starkweather," Mr. CSM said mockingly, "You have no power here." He knocked her gun easily out of her hands. When he tried to grab at her, she twisted her wrist out of his hand with a neat little martial arts move and then spread her arms out wide, as if her skinny limbs could protect Mulder and Scully. She started walking backwards, forcing Mulder and Scully to do the same. Reyes was rooted to her spot on the floor. "I told you he was evil," Mulder hissed at Scully. "I thought you only said that because he gave you a C on the last quiz!" Scully whimpered as she and Mulder continued to back up, away from their encroaching teacher. "And you know you deserved that C, Mr. Leary," Mr. CSM intoned. Mulder's mind was whirling. What was going on? And how did Starkweather know Mr. CSM? But then how could Mulder have known that Mr. CSM was the spitting image of the Syndicate mastermind only known as the Smoking Man? Weaponless but not defenseless, Starkweather glared at the old man as she shielded the kids the best she could with her tiny body. "You stay the hell away from these kids," Starkweather said. "I have no use for the girls," Mr. CSM said. "They're too young, too... underdeveloped. It's only you and the boy I want." "No," Scully said in a shaking voice, now moving in between Starkweather and Mulder. Mulder felt Scully's hand reach for his and grip it tightly. He interlocked his fingers with hers and desperately tried to think of a way out of this disaster. "Take me," Agent Starkweather replied. "Let the others go. They're kids for Christ's sake." "I assure you, Agent Starkweather, the boy will feel minimum pain." Mr. CSM snapped his finger and a door opened. Reyes shrieked as the ghostly figure of Spender drifted though the doorway. Spender became corporeal as he barreled into Starkweather, Scully and Mulder, knocking them all to the ground. With a strength he didn't have in life, Spender grabbed Mulder and hoisted him up off the floor, his arm around Mulder's throat. Meanwhile Mr. CSM tried to pin Starkweather to the floor but her boot connected with his chest, which sent the old man reeling. Starkweather then scrambled for her gun as Mr. CSM strained to get back up again. Mulder meanwhile struggled with Spender, feeling light-headed from the lack of air. He sensed that he was being dragged towards the door Spender came out of and Mulder knew that he did not want to go through that door at all. Vainly he tried to slip from underneath Spender's arm but the more he fought, the tighter Spender's grip became. Suddenly, everything became a noisy blur. Mulder heard gunshots and then he heard girls screaming. At first he thought one of the girls had been shot and then before he knew it, he was at the bottom of a dog pile. Scully and Reyes had charged Spender as Starkweather had fired at Mr. CSM. With primal screams, they had pounced on Spender, knocking him and Mulder down. Now they were pummeling Spender, trying to get him to let go of Mulder. Starkweather, meanwhile, was on her feet, her long hair falling out of its prim-and-proper bun, her chin and hands scraped up from her fall, her eyes blazing bloody murder. In perfect firing stance, she aimed her gun at Mr. CSM, who lay on floor, nursing a bullet wound in his upper arm. "Should have done the world a favor and blown your fucking head off a long time ago," Starkweather said, her hands no longer shaking. "I wonder," Mr. CSM gasped as blood gushed out of his arm. "I wonder if you would like to know where John Doggett is." Starkweather froze. "He's at the Leary's." A cruel smile unfurled on Mr. CSM's lips. "Is he?" *** By this time, Scully and Reyes had overpowered Spender and managed to get him to let go of Mulder. Spender didn't move as Scully and Reyes rolled him off of Mulder. When Scully and Reyes hauled Mulder to his feet, Mulder rubbed his throat, wincing in pain. The three of them helpless watched the confrontation between the agent and their teacher. "What did you do?" Starkweather said in with a flat, dispassionate voice that frightened Mulder more than her raging tirades. <> he thought as he watched Agent Starkweather take a step closer to the wounded man. <> But what really frightened Mulder was that she was going to kill him and she wasn't going to have an ounce of remorse or pity. It was as if she was a machine. "Agent Starkweather," he croaked out. Starkweather ignored him. "What did you do?" she said again. Mr. CSM smiled serenely. "Perhaps one of our old friends can tell you." He looked over his shoulder. Starkweather also stared past Mr. CSM. She watched as one of the doors down the hallway on the left side opened with a creak. Starkweather felt her stomach turn to water. "Oh my God," she breathed, backpedaling as Knowle Rohrer stepped out of the door and started to advance on them. "Run," she said, turning towards Mulder and the girls. "Don't just stand there, run!" Seeing the panic plain on her face, the kids all turned and fled. There was no sound in the hall except for the clatter of shoe soles and boot heels. They turned a corner down another long hallway with doors everywhere. Running blindly, they ran towards the elevator. "Hurry, hurry!" Starkweather urged them. Reyes reached the elevator first and frantically pushed the button. "It won't move!" she wailed. "You need the card," Mulder said, with Scully in tow, clutching her hand. He didn't know why Starkweather ordered them to bolt from that guy like that but if she was scared, then it had to be bad. Mulder swiped the security card just as Rohrer rounded the corner. "Agent Starkweather," Rohrer purred. "Aren't you glad to see me?" Starkweather fairly pushed the kids inside the elevator and pushed the close button as Rohrer began to sprint towards them. The doors closed with a soft swish in Rohrer's face. "Who is that man?" Scully asked. "He-" Starkweather started to say just as fist rammed through the stainless steel doors. Reyes and Scully screamed. Mulder ducked fast, barely missed by Rohrer's fist. Starkweather took her gun and unloaded the clip into Rohrer's fist and arm. Rohrer howled and then Starkweather began to push Rohrer's arm out of the door. Mulder helped her as Scully collected her wits enough to push the button to the top floor. The elevator lurched up. There was a sickening sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone as Rohrer was separated from his arm. The arm flopped to the floor and then started moving around of its own volition. "Sick!" Reyes said, stomping at it with her shoes. "What is that thing?" Starkweather knelt down and took out the Beretta she kept strapped to her ankles. She shot the arm again and it stopped moving. "It's part of a project in biological engineering project to enhance a human being's natural abilities and instincts to defend and destroy." "Like the Terminator?" Mulder asked. Starkweather smiled humorlessly as the mangled creaked open just enough for every one to slide out. "Kind of," she said. Scully looked around. "Another hallway," she groaned. "And more doors," Reyes said. "Well, I didn't really care for what was behind door number one," Starkweather said. "Should we check door number two?" "I don't care about any door," Scully said savagely "Just as long as there's a big red exit sign above it." "Amen," Reyes said as they went just a little bit ahead of Starkweather. "Don't go too far!" Starkweather admonished them as she stopped to hand Mulder her service weapon. When his hazel eyes widened, she said "It's unloaded. You think I'm nuts enough to hand you a loaded gun?" Mollified, Mulder took the weapon as she checked his throat, which was rapidly turning purple and blue. "You okay?" "Fine," he rasped. Starkweather then took back her service weapon and then handed him the Beretta. "No one has accused me of being fully sane before she said lightly as she put a fresh clip into her service weapon. "Don't get all Dirty Harry on me with that thing. Keep the barrel pointed down," with her free hand she guided Mulder's hands so that he held the gun properly. "Unless you're ready to shoot and don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes. That little bad boy doesn't have that far of a range." "Okay," he said in a shaky voice. "What are you thinking?" she asked him seriously as they slowly walked to catch up with Reyes and Scully. "What you said about that guy whose arm we ripped off," he said, wishing that there was a drinking fountain somewhere. His throat burned. "The biological engineering..." "Yeah?" "How do you know so much about that kind of stuff?" "Um..."Starkweather debated with herself and then realized that in light of what just happened, it was time to come clean. "The X-Files are chock full of crazy shit like that. My brother Fox Mulder believes that the uh..."she rolled her eyes "*Super Soldiers*, as he likes to call them, were in fact a government conspiracy to create a race of humans invulnerable to the aliens planning on taking over the world. I don't necessary believe in the aliens part... but there's a lot of it that I can't deny." "Like what?" Mulder said, his heart pounding hard. "Like that fact that my mother and I were part of the experiments in gene alterations," she said. "Like the fact that someone deliberately poisoned my drinking water so I would miscarry." Her eyes constantly scanning the hallways for potential threats, Starkweather said "So you see, Mulder, I want answers just as bad as you do." Uncomfortable with the subject topic, she cleared her voice and called out "Scully, Reyes, any luck?" While Mulder and Starkweather had been talking, Scully and Reyes had been pulling on doorknobs. "They're all locked!" Reyes said. "And there's no place to swipe card on these doors either," Scully said, pushing her hair out of her face. "How are we going to get out of here?" A door at the end of the hall opened. Mr. CSM, Spender and Rohrer all walked out. "That's just it, Miss Potter," Mr. CSM said as he adjusted his cuffs. "You're not." *** Scully and Reyes slowly backed away from Mr. CSM, Spender and Rohrer. Rohrer was still missing an arm but the glint in his narrowed eyes let them know that he was not handicapped in any way, shape or form. Mulder clenched the gun but was too afraid of putting his finder on the trigger. Starkweather, meanwhile, was in firing stance the minute Scully and Reyes were behind them. He looked over at Starkweather and she looked back at him. Mulder saw the defeat in her eyes and he knew then that they were not going to get out of this. <> Another door, behind them, opened and their miracle walked out. Monica Reyes beckoned them. "Jerilyn, this way! Hurry!" She didn't have to say that twice. Starkweather and the kids turned heel and fled. The minute the last person was through the door, Reyes slammed it shut behind them, once again, cutting off their light source. "Oh good," came Mulder Leary's voice from the abyss. "Another dark hallway." "It's alright," came Monica's reassuring voice as she turned on her flashlight. "I know the way. Hurry," she said as she cut ahead of them and started walking. As they hurried down the hallway, Starkweather and Mulder kept looking nervously over their shoulders, expecting the monsters they had left behind to appear behind them. After all, Rohrer had ripped through the elevator door as if it was tissue paper. To their amazement and heartfelt relief, they arrived at the end of the hall with no unexpected guests. Not to say though, that the surprises ended there. "Here we are," Monica said, shining her flashlight on the door at the end of the hall. With her long-legged gait that five-foot-two Starkweather envied, Monica walked over to the door and opened it. "After you," she said to Mulder Leary with a bewitching smile. Mulder, realizing he still had Starkweather's Beretta, handed it back to her gingerly before going through. Something felt familiar about this... "Oh my God," Mulder said, peering through the door. "Scully, Reyes, come on." "What is it Mulder?" Scully Potter said, following him through, with Reyes McPhee right behind her. "Hey!" Sam said, sitting straight up in her bed when Mulder, Scully and Reyes walked through her closet doorway, her comic book fluttering out of her hands. "What are you doing in my closet? And how did you all FIT in there?" "Ever see Monsters Inc?" Starkweather asked blandly as she and Monica Reyes entered. "We're the monsters. Boo." Sam scowled. Then her brow furrowed. "Why are you all coming out of the closet?" she asked innocently. Starkweather sniggered. Mulder glared at Starkweather and said "Shut up." "What?" Starkweather said angelically but Sam, not as innocent as she seemed, was already blushing over her verbal blunder. "Come on, lets join the others in the living room," Monica said. Starkweather grabbed Monica by the arm. "What the hell is going on?" Monica smiled that damnable calm smile of hers. "I'm hoping you'll be able to tell us, Jerilyn," she said before leaving. Starkweather looked back over at Sam. Sam shrugged disinterested and returned to her comic book. Starkweather entered the living room to find Doggett, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully still speaking to Mitch and Gale intensely. "Mr. and Mrs. Leary, you can go now, you're no longer needed." Mitch and Gale got up without a word and left. "Mom?" Mulder Leary said as his parents passed him by without a word. "Dad?" "Who are you?" Scully Potter asked Monica Reyes. Then she fells silent when saw Dana Scully sitting next to Fox Mulder, with little William in his arms. "Jerilyn, Mulder," Monica Reyes stood in the middle of the room. "This is nothing but a dream." "What?" Starkweather said. *** Hearing that, all the other adults, and William, suddenly left. "Are you on crack?" Starkweather added giving Monica an incredulous look. "If anything this has been a nightmare." "Hey!" Mulder Leary protested. Starkweather absently patted him on the head, until he pulled away with a glare. He stalked to the other side room. Monica shook her head. "I mean it's an actual dream. None of this is real. Nothing that's happened over the past few days has happened in reality." Starkweather groaned. "Ben is right about you and Mulder-" she looked at Mulder Leary." I mean my brother- he says neither of you are wrapped too tight. First Mulder has this crazy idea about alternate worlds, and now you're sprouting this crap about dreams. Remind me why I wanted to work for the X-Files, again?" There was a shrewd looking Monica's eyes. "You mean Ben said, don't you?" "Well, was a couple days ago, but he says it quite often." "Jeri, Ben's dead." "What do you mean? "Fear filled Starkweather's eyes. "Did something happen to him last night? You should have called me. Wait, why would someone had told you instead of calling me? There was no problem with my phone yesterday." Starkweather couldn't bear the look in Monica eyes. Why should there be so much pity there? "Honey, Ben has been dead since December of 2001. He died on the seventh of December, don't you remember?" "The seventh isn't for four days!" Starkweather said hotly, but even then she said it, the stirring of a memory worried the back of her mind like a stubborn sharp-toothed dog. There was something about a funeral, and it didn't have anything to do Price. "I know you think you're an empath, you think you see the future now too?" Mulder Leary gave her confused look. "That was over two years ago, agent Starkweather. Its April 4th 2003." "No it's not, it still March." Reyes McPhee told him. "No, I know it's April. It was my birthday when all this crap started, and that was April Fools' Day." Mulder said with faltering confidence. "That explains a lot about you." Starkweather mumbled. "Your birthday isn't for like two weeks." The look Reyes McPhee gave him was puzzled. "Ha! I knew you weren't 18." Starkweather declared triumphantly. Mulder held up his hands in surrender. "If it's not early April," and he shot Starkweather a look. "And I know it's not December 2001, then when is it?" Reyes McPhee and Monica Reyes said at the same time "It's March 15th, 2003." *** Starkweather reached up and ran her hands over her own head. Then she reached over and did the same thing to Mulder Leary. "What are you doing?" he asked. "At least one of us must have a head injury. I'm just trying to figure out which one of us it is." Starkweather said as she ran her hands over her head again. Then stopped when she discovered her hair was not in its usual prim-and-proper bun, but hanging loose, down to her chin. "Oh," she said faintly, letting her hands fall. "It is just a dream." Mulder Leary thought he was hallucinating for a moment when he saw tears welling up in her hazel eyes. "You alright?" he tentatively asked her. When she didn't answer, he asked "How did this happen? How did we get here?" "I believe," Reyes said "That the four of us are having an out-of-body experience and our conscious selves have left the worlds we normally occupy to commingle in this alternative universe." "English translation, please," Starkweather said. "We're all living the same dream at the same time," Reyes McPhee said helpfully. "How?" Mulder Leary said. "Well, Reyes and I," Monica chuckled for a moment at how silly that statement sounded coming out of her own mouth "Are in touch with our own spirituality and psychic potential. So reaching out with our minds would be relatively easy in the right circumstances. It's only logical that she and I would connect on another dimension." "Barf," Starkweather and Mulder Leary said in unison. "Jerilyn, you were in a coma for an extended period of time. As a last resort, you slipped into an unconscious state to escape your kidnappers." "I didn't just slip!" Starkweather spat at her. "They beat me into unconscio-"she stopped and turned away. "They what?" Mulder asked faintly. "Nothing," Starkweather said. "Like hell nothing," Reyes said. To Mulder Leary, she said "She was abducted-" "Kidnapped," Starkweather sourly corrected her. "By an organization who conducts secret experiments on human subjects in order to build the perfect weapon against the alien invasion." "There are no aliens," Starkweather snapped. "But they believe they are, which makes them dangerous," Reyes countered. Turning back to Mulder, she said "Mulder, our Mulder, tried to find her but he was captured and nearly killed, executed with full sanction of our government. He escaped and took Dana with him. We found Jerilyn only a few months ago. She was not in good condition." "Hey, Reyes, I really don't feel like talking about this now," Starkweather said. "Or around a bunch of kids, dream-kids or not!" "But you keep dreaming about it," Reyes said. "You re-live it every night. Only tonight was different. Tonight, your dreams brought you here. To these kids. To Dana and Fox and-" "Stop," Starkweather said feebly. "I know what you're getting at. This whole time, this whole fucking dream is just wishful thinking. A stupid hope. Something I'd never ever admit out loud while awake." "You miss your brother," Mulder Leary said. "As much as you complain about him, you're worried about him and you want him to come home." Starkweather snorted but didn't say anything. In a soft voice, Reyes McPhee asked "What about William?" "We don't know where he is," Monica said. "Dana gave him up for adoption shortly before Mulder was arrested." Looking steadfastly up at the ceiling, Starkweather said "The pains I was feeling were probably just the phantom pains from the little procedure the Syndicate performed on me." Looking at Reyes again, she said "So, that's all fine and good. This is just another shining example about how fucked up Jerilyn Starkweather is. Whee. What about him?" she pointed at Mulder Leary. "How did he get involved?" "Oh, I think he's just a weirdness magnet," Reyes McPhee said brightly. "Gee, thanks," Mulder Leary said dryly. "Or maybe this is how his subconscious is working out the conflict he feels about his parents' involvement with Sam's disappearance and Price's conception?" Starkweather said, glad that the subject of discussion was no longer on her. "Maybe," Mulder said while thinking <> He remembered Scully clasping his hand when Mr. CSM threatened to take him. He clenched his hand in a fist. "Well," Monica said. "I think this has been dragged out long enough. She smiled at Jerilyn. "See you on the other side," she said as she walked out of the room. "Bye Mulder! I hope I remember what we dreamed about...err, except the soldier guy losing his arm. That was..."Reyes shuddered before she exited through another door. Soon it was just Jerilyn Starkweather and Mulder Leary alone in the living room together. "Well," Starkweather said. "It's been real, it's been fun..." "But it hasn't been real fun," Mulder finished for her. They smirked. "You take care of yourself kid," Starkweather admonished him. "From the way your friend was talking, you have a tendency to get into trouble." Worry in his eyes, he said "What about you? Are you going to be okay?" "Me? Oh sure. I'll be okay. Cross my heart." "You don't have a heart," Mulder Leary said, jokingly. "Details." Still Mulder felt guilty for leaving her. From the way Monica Reyes was talking, her world, her universe, was an empty one. Before he could express his concern, he gripped his head and cursed. Starkweather hurried to him. "Like I said," she said with a sigh, running her hands over his head again. "One of us had a head injury and it's you buddy-boy. That's probably how you got sucked into this dream. You're more than asleep, you're unconscious. You've got a lump the size of a goose egg here." "Well quit touching it!" Starkweather chortled. "If you have a concussion, you shouldn't sleep. You better shake ass and wake up now." "I guess," Mulder Leary. "But-" "I'm fine, I promise you," she said, getting testy now. "And I'm not alone. I've friends waiting for me back home. Now scram before you wind up here permanently." As Mulder Leary stumbled out of the room, Starkweather called after him "And think about the FBI as a possible career choice! I think you'd be good at it!" An arm snaked around her waist and then another across her chest. "Just friends waiting for you back home?" Doggett breathed into her ear before kissing her neck. She turned around and Doggett straightened up as she reached up to unknot his tie. "Hey, I had to get rid of the PG-13 element before I could do anything." Pulling his tie off and working on the buttons on his shirt, she said "And I can do anything I want to now. It's my dream." *** Though he was on his way out of the room like Agent Starkweather asked for him to, Mulder Leary paused just long enough to hear her say "And I can do anything I want to now. It's my dream." With that in mind, he went to look to and see where Reyes and Scully, his Reyes and Scully, were. He found both girls outside in the snow. They both looked a little puzzled still, though Scully more so than Reyes. "Haven't figured out how to wake up yet." Reyes admitted sheepishly. "I kind of thought I opened the front door and go outside and then, you know, wake up. Apparently it doesn't work like that." Mulder glanced over at Scully who was standing little apart. He didn't think she could really hear them. "I guess we keep dreaming until it's time for us to wake up the real world. And I think you should go home and look for Doggett or something else to dream about that is more fun than this." "That's ok, this isn't too bad to dream about." "I really think you should go home. I'd like to talk to Scully alone." A light dawned in Reyes' eyes, and then her look was one of concern. "Are you sure you want to do that? You know this is just a dream. You know it's not real to her." He gave her sad smile. "The dream I can control is a lot more than I've had lately." "Yeah..." She agreed. But she gave him a dispirited glance as she walked away. It made him a little mad, why did she think he needed her approval? He wouldn't have monitored her dreams. As he knew she would be, Scully had been completely oblivious of what was going on, and she didn't seem animated again until he approached her with his arms held out. She went to him readily enough, seeming pleased when he wrapped his arms around her. "What were we talking about again?" She murmured into his shoulder. "I was just reminding you how much I love you." Mulder held his breath waiting to see what she would say in reply. He felt her nod against him. "Oh yeah. Now I remember." If he'd expected it to feel good, he was very wrong. It fell more like his heart was breaking. All over again. So much easier to pretend when he didn't know that he was pretending... Even so, he didn't have it in him to be cruel to this Scully, a figment of his dreams or not. "I should probably tell you more often." He said contritely to the dream he held in his arms. "You should." She agreed. "I tell you every day, don't I?" "Yeah..." It was even worse when his dream stood up straighter to kiss him. So much worse. *** March 16th, 2003 Capeside, Massachusetts 4:45am EST It was quiet except for a few faint beeps, and he was lying in bed. Not his bed, from the feel of it. Mulder was groggy when he sat up. He couldn't sit all the way up, and that worried him at first, until he realized that there were electrodes attached to his forehead. The other ends were attached to machine that seemed to be collecting some sorted data, at least judging by the little arms that made marks on paper. A woman in scrubs seemed to notice his movement and rushed over. "Oh, hi, Mulder. Looks like you're the first one to wake up. We won't let Reyes sleep too much longer though, since you drove in together." Looking over his shoulder he sees Reyes lying in a bed much like the one he seems to be laying in. it slowly comes back to him. He knows why he's there. Both of them, actually. They're there to earn extra credit for their social studies/psychology class. They'd thought a sleep lab sounded like the best experiment. Maybe because they were both fans of the movie Flat Liners. Not that either of them thought they'd die during this experiment. The woman, a nurse he supposed, reminded him where he should go to change back into his street clothes, adding that they'll be debriefing the experiment in a few minutes since Reyes was waking up. He was glad of the reminder of where the bathroom was, since it was really hard to remember much from the night before. Glancing in the mirror he looks at his throat, expecting it to be black and blue from the strangling he'd gotten. <> There was, however, a cut on his forehead, and looking at that made him grimace. He had no trouble remembering how he'd gotten that. *** Capeside High School The day before 7pm EST It sucked to be at the school on a Saturday night, but all the kids who'd signed up for extra credit experiments were expected to attend a meeting first. Even if, unlike Mulder and Reyes, they'd signed up for an experiment that wouldn't be occurring for a month or more. <> Mulder thought, repressing a sigh. << Mister CSM never misses an opportunity to prove that he's a windbag.>> Mr. CSM looked rather smug as he addressed the twelve students grouped in front of him. "I hope you children-" <> Mulder thought indignantly. "- realize that it's quite a rare privilege to be allowed to take part in academic psychology experiments at your age. Usually the volunteers are only those who are well above the age of eighteen, many of them graduate students. I was, however, able to convince a former associate that my students are mature enough to take part in something like this. I'm sure that you will not prove me wrong, hate to have my former colleague think that I-" Mr. CSM went on at length for the next 20 minutes into how they ought to be on their best behavior when they were taking part in experiments. Looking around the room, it was quite clear that Mulder wasn't the only one tempted to tell Mr. CSM where he could stuff his warnings. Even Reyes looked a little bit taken aback by their teacher's apparent lack of faith in them. Finally, he let them go. "C'mon Mulder, if we don't hurry were going to be late." "We wouldn't want that." Mulder said with a sneer. Just as Mulder was walking by a bust of Jung that was pompously displayed on Mr. CSM's wall, it tipped and fell. "Oow!" Mulder yelped in pain, one hand reaching for the spot on his head where the bust had hit him. "Oh gosh, are you ok?" Reyes gave him a concerned look and reached for his hand, he swatted her questing fingers away. "Oh, Mulder you're bleeding!" "Shit. Yeah, that does hurt. I'm going to have a helluva headache..." Reyes reached for his arm to steady him, but he mumbled, "I'm OK. Just let me look at it in the mirror." Leaving his slightly frantic, way too helpful, friend behind, Mulder staggered into the boys' room. It didn't look at that bad, but there was a lot of blood considering that scalp wounds are known to bleed a lot. Using some of the rough brown paper towels, he was able to get it to stop bleeding fairly quickly. She still looked upset when he came back out. "Are you okay? Or should we go to the ER? I'm sure that Mr. CSM will understandable if we have to miss the experiment..." "Nah, I'm all better." He said lifting the paper towels to show her. When she grimaced, he added. "Well, almost." "Are sure? I know you are mostly doing this so I didn't have to do it alone..." She was right. If Doggett had been the class too, Mulder never would've volunteered. "C'mon, Reyes we're going to be late, you said so yourself." "How about I drive though? You know, just be safe. You'll be lucky if you don't end up with a lump on your forehead." She smiled a little. "That might make it hard to see to drive." "Whenever, let's go." Neither of them noticed Mr. CSM watching them leave the building. *** March 16th, 2003 Capeside, Massachusetts 4:55am EST "So, I bet that you're both dying to know what that experiment was about." A slightly geeky looking lab technician said brightly. Way too brightly for not quite 5 a.m. They both nodded wearily. "What we were trying to do is see if we can get two people to dream the same thing. "Mulder and Reyes exchanged startled glances. "In this debriefing will see if we were successful." Man turned his head to look Mulder. "Why don't you start by telling us what you remember about your dream?" "Well, it was my birthday and I was listening to a CD, when all the sudden I found myself an office in Washington D.C." (Continued in part 12) Part 12 See part 0 for header information. "Yeah!" Reyes said excitedly. "And you ended up with a bunch of FBI agents who looked like us. And had the same names even." "Uh huh. The one that looked like Doggett liked me, but the others..." The lab geek looked about ready to die of happiness "This is so exciting! Go on!" "...they thought he would there because of something sinister his dad did, or maybe because there was more than one world." Reyes said looking amused. "Yeah and when I finally got home there was this strange stuff about a... soldier?" Mulder said. "Super soldier." "I wonder where the hell that came from." Mulder said hoping to convince Reyes that it'd just been dream wackiness. "Who knows?" she shrugged. "I also wonder about that stuff about Fowley having a baby." Mulder said. Reyes blushed little bit. "Um, I think I might have put that in the dream." She turned to the lab geek. "Is that all possible?" "I'm not sure. But I suppose it might have been." "Ok yeah... I've got the future on the brain, babies, husbands, that sort of stuff." Her face turned little red. "I wonder what that stuff about Mr. CSM was." Mulder said. Reyes snorted. "Probably just our subconscious commenting on how we feel about him." After several more minutes of gleeful interrogation by the lab geek, they were allowed to go on their merry way. *** "Wow, that was weird, huh?" Reyes remarked as they walked out. "I never thought to be doing an experiment like that we signed up." "Me neither. I picked it because you got the most credit for it because it was so long." Mulder confessed. "I don't think I would like that on a nightly basis." Reyes told him. "Dreams are supposed to be private, not a group thing. I hope you're not too upset that I tagged along." "Nope, not upset at all. It was actually kinda cool. It's just too bad it wasn't happier dream." "Ha. At least it wasn't a dirty dream. I'm not sure that I'd even want to see Doggett's." she said with the smirk. "You know what the worst part of that dream was?" Mulder asked Reyes as they got into his car. The sun had only begun to rise, so there were very few cars on the road yet, unlike there'd be in a couple of hours once the churchgoers woke up. She didn't say anything, seeming to give the question serious consideration. He turned on the radio while she thought about it. I never thought I'd come back around I never thought I'd see you again And it took one night when I packed my life And one to take it out again I took a look at a photograph Where we didn't even notice the lens Something came to life from that 3x5 It was you and me and innocence This is what I want This is what I need This is exactly what I've been waiting for This is what I want This is what I need This is exactly what I've been waiting for "Having an FBI agent point her gun at you? Being stuck away from home with no way to get back? Having Spender try to kill us? That scary super soldier thing losing an arm in the elevator?" He shook his head each time, even though she shuddered at the last mention. "The worst part was in the dream Scully and I were back together." "Oh man..."She moaned sympathetically. "I guess that would be the worst part for you." "I dunno, maybe all of that crap being real would have been worth it if Scully would forgive me." "Awww, Mulder..." I set it up in a picture frame Then I put a nail into the wall Time has put lines here on my face But it doesn't matter now at all "Yeah. I know ' hold on, it will get better'. But it's really hard to re-earn someone's trust, you know?" Reyes just nodded sadly. "It will get better, though, Mulder. Really. Didn't you say that you talked to her last weekend when you went to get burgers at the Icehouse?" Mulder gave a derisive snort. "A civil conversation about a lunch order is miles from where I want to be, Reyes. Miles and Miles." "One step at a time though, you know?" "I know." Because it was me and you when we were together It was me and you when we were apart It was me and you in my mind and It was me and you in my heart This is what I want This is what I need This is exactly what I've been waiting for "Baby steps, right?" He gave her a weak smile. "That's the ticket." Reyes agreed. "I just hope it doesn't take nine months. Like a baby." He added when she gave him a look. "That's way too long." The look in her eyes said it all: even another minute was too long, but he'd have to keep fighting the good fight and hope that she'd come back around again. It took so long to find it and some they never will A color print it took time and it held it still. This is what I want This is what I need This is exactly what I've been waiting for This is what I want (It took so long to find it) This is what I need (and some they never will) This is exactly what I've been waiting for *Autopilot Off "What I want"* ** After Mr. CSM spoke to the lab geek, he picked up a tape recorder and began to speak into it: "My theory proved correct. Having a head injury, however minor, does seem to make one more susceptible to having another person be able to observe and participate, minimally, in their dream. This pair of subjects seemed to have far greater success than the previous pairs that did not contain any one with an injury." He smirk the little to himself. Setting up that bust to fall on Mulder had been a stroke of genius. And there was no student that he would have preferred to have it break on. Something about young Leary just rubbed him the wrong way. It had been an ugly statue anyway. He continued to recite to the tape recorder." Results on parasitic dreaming show some promise. At the moment I'm not sure of the practical applications for this but I'm sure they will prove to be quite lucrative. This might be the thing that helps me regain some of the financial potential that I gave up when I lowered myself to work with these mewling infants. Alas, molding the next generation is more important than creature comforts..." *** March 16th, 2003 Dr. Starkweather's residence Arlington, Virginia 4:55 AM Eastern Standard Time The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a big, furry, orange face. "Hello beautiful," Starkweather said, reaching out to stroke her cat. Caesar mewed and rubbed his face against her chin. "It's Sunday," she whined. "I want to sleep in." Caesar's plaintive mew turned into a demanding yowl. "Cat, I didn't sleep very well last night," she started to say but her powerful memory betrayed her, flashed back scenes of last night's dream like a slide show. Staring at the ceiling as she remembered the dream, she reached up and touched her hair. Chin length. Short again. Dammit. She closed her eyes and tried to shake the dream off. After all, she had experienced worse. Last night's dream was a welcome change from the usual gauntlet of reoccurring nightmares. A slow smile unfurled on her face. Especially the ending to this particular dream. Then she frowned. Of course the dream had ended *just* as it was getting good. Typical. "Alright, alright," she said, sitting up. Caesar leapt to the floor, trotting out the door, knowing victory and food were at hand. Having kicked off the covers sometime during the night, Starkweather simply rolled out of bed and shuffled out the bedroom into the giant room that served as a living room and a kitchen. "Mornin' Doc," came a muffled voice from her couch. Starkweather froze. "What are you doing here?" Doggett sat up. His hair stuck straight up and he had a day old beard on his face. "I was trying to sleep but your damn cat was caterwauling." "But why are you trying to sleep here?" "You said I could." "Oh," Suddenly Starkweather felt very stupid. Doggett had called late last night begging to crash at her place. He had been stuck in the X-Files office the day before trying to catch up on the mountains of backlogged paperwork while fighting a head cold at the same time. When he finally figured it out that he was fighting a losing battle, he had felt too drained to attempt the drive home to Falls Church. Starkweather's place was closer. "Sorry, Papa John, I'm not awake. Are you feeling any better?" "No," Doggett said pathetically. "I kept having fucked up dreams all night." "You and me both," Starkweather mumbled as Caesar wound his way around her legs as a reminder of what her real purpose in life was. "Alright, alright I'm going, I'm going." As Starkweather placated her cat and as Doggett lay back down on the couch again, the phone rang. "I'm not here," Doggett mumbled. "No shit," Starkweather said, tempted to let it go to voice mail. But when she saw the caller ID said REYES, M, she picked it up. "What?" "Jerilyn, I'm sorry for calling you so early but..."Reyes hesitated, looking at the cover of her TV Guide, where a group of good-looking actors posing as teenagers graced the cover under the headline "Dawson's Creek." "I had a really odd dream last night." "Then you shouldn't drink tequila before going to bed," Starkweather said grumpily. "You shouldn't stereotype, I don't like tequila," Reyes said primly. "Well, my mom and the Admiral were both Irish so knock yourself out with the politically incorrect ethnic joke of your choice." "Anyway," Reyes said, filing away that little tidbit about Starkweather's ancestry for future usage, "The strange thing about the dream was I felt like my soul was transported to another dimension. Another world. An alternative universe so to speak." "Oh God. First of all, Reyes, there is no such thing as alternative universes." "How do you know? Many respected scientists such as Hugh Everett III have theorized the possibility of other worlds." "Most of those theories speak on a molecular level. You have to realize that the atomic world is vastly different than from 'our' world and reality as most people see it. Most scientists believe that Everett's theory can only be applied to the micro level." Starkweather rubbed her forehead. "I feel like I've already had this conversation." "You did," Reyes said. "With Mulder." "When?" Starkweather said. She hadn't seen Mulder, Scully or William in almost a year. "In your dream last night," Reyes said. "Reyes, it's way too damn early for this," Starkweather mumbled. "Can we discuss out-of-mind experiences some other time? Like never? Does never work for you?" "Just answer one question for me, please." "Oh alright. The answer is 42." "I haven't asked the question yet." "Yes, but 42 is the answer to everything. Didn't you know that?" "Did you dream about a boy who looked like Mulder?" Starkweather didn't answer but she bit her lower lip. "I thought so," Reyes sounded supremely smug. Then she sounded giddy. "This is so exciting! I've always wanted to have an out-of-body experience. Do you think John had the same dream as well?" "I wouldn't ask him about it," Starkweather said. "At least not today." "Why?" "One, he'll bite your head off if you wake him at the ass-crack of morning on a Sunday about this. Two, I talked to him yesterday and he's sick. It's just a cold, but you know how fucking whiny he can get." "That's true," Reyes said. "Oh, my puppy is barking. I got to go before he wakes up my neighbors. We'll talk later, okay?" "Alright, talk to you later," Starkweather said, thankful that Reyes' dog decided to make a nuisance of himself just then. "Bye." When she walked back to the couch, Doggett grumbled "I do not get fucking whiny when I'm not feeling good." "Right," Starkweather said. "And I'm Martha Stewart." "What'd Monica want?" "Oh she wanted to toss some theories around about alternative universes but I said it was too damn early for that kind of shit. Oh, and thank me for sparing you her lunacy this early in the morning." "Thank yo-" Doggett started to say but then he sneezed. "And thank you for coming to spread disease in my apartment," Starkweather sighed. "Sorry," Doggett said, sounding and looking truly piteous. "I'm going back to bed," Starkweather said. "Do you need anything?" Doggett shook his head. Starkweather turned to go back to her bedroom, but paused to ask. "What were you dreaming about that was so weird?" "I dreamt that Arnold Schwarzenegger kept showing up at my house holding a picture of a kid and asking if I knew this boy." Starkweather pressed her lips together and shook with suppressed laughter as she went back to her bedroom. She heard Doggett call feebly from the living room "And stop laughing!" *** much much later... In an alternative universe far far way... Mulder and Scully are both in bathing suits, and they're walking hand in hand on the pristine beach of some island far away from Capeside. Someone's toddler throws his beach ball, and it rolls past their feet. Scully bends to retrieve it- "Leary?" Mulder looks up from his daydreams. There's a worried looking woman with her arms full of envelopes a few rows away from him. "Over here." He calls to her. The arrival of the much awaited photo delivery is greeted with a lot of enthusiasm from his classmates, anything to distract from polynomials. It only takes her a few steps to reach Mulder's desk." Oh good." She says, handing him an envelope with his name on it. "If there are any problems, you can call the photographer. I don't suppose that he could retake them, but you know, discounts." "Ok." He agrees, giving her a look. For an adult, she doesn't seem too professional to him. Unfortunately, he's actually expected to be paying attention during math, so he's forced to shove- carefully- the envelope of pictures into his bag, without even taking the time to look at them. It's not until he's home and getting ready to do his homework that he remembers the picture. He pulls them out, and then dumps them on his bed. He doesn't look too goofy in his tux, he decides, so he won't protest much when Gale insists on hanging one of the bigger photos on the wall in the living room, and pointing it out to everyone over the age of thirty when they walk into the house. Scully, however, takes his breath away, half because of the perfect image she presents in the pictures, half from the memories of that night. He's not big on fashion, but even he can tell that the silky green dress she wore looks so good on her that you'd think that it'd been made for her. Everyone thought she looked stunning. Especially Krycek. When he thinks of what had happened between the two of them at the end of the night, he has to smile. Grabbing a pair of scissors off his desk, he trims himself a wallet-sized photo, knowing that Mitch and Gale will claim most of them to send to various relatives. Since they paid for the pictures, he guesses he can't complain too much as long as he's left with enough to trade with friends. Besides, Scully ordered pictures too, and that halves the people he has to give them to. Pulling out his wallet, he notices that there's not an empty space to put the picture in. He looks at each photo in turn, wondering which one he should sacrifice to make room. A picture of Price at his first birthday, and another when he was only two weeks old. Mulder and Sam with their arms slung around each other's necks, taken not long after she'd begun to talk- at least to him. One of him and Scully and Doggett when they were in kindergarten; they were at missing at least one front tooth. Others of his friends. At the very back of the bunch he finds the photo that lead him and Scully to Mystic Connecticut a year and a half ago. Sam looks so sad in the photo...as best as they could tell she'd only been four years old. He pulls it out and presses it between the pages of his yearbook from the year before. Unhappy Sam isn't something he's eager to think about, especially considering how different that is from how she is now. Of course, he has to take all the pictures out to rearrange them, since he wants to put the prom picture first. It's as he's manhandling the wallet that something falls fluttering by his hand. He finishes putting the pictures back in before bothering to reach down to the floor to get it. Once it's in his hand he can see what it is: a business card. With a cell phone number scribbled on the back of it in large girlish handwriting. He stares at it, momentarily stunned. <> Gale calls for him, telling him that dinner is ready. He drops the business card onto his desk. << There has to be a rational explanation.>> Yet as he's leaving the room he looks back at his desk and wonders... The End (MC Universe) **** However... Melanie Doggett's residence Starkweather-universe May 1, 2003 "... you worry too much," Doggett said to Starkweather before getting out of his truck. Starkweather arched an eyebrow but said nothing as Doggett walked around to the back to get William out of his car seat. But she thought <> Once William was in Doggett's arms, Starkweather climbed out of Doggett's truck, never an easy feat it was a fully loaded dual Ford pick up truck, the equivalent, to someone as short as Starkweather, to a tank. Still, she got out as gracefully as she could and then grabbed William's luggage. Doggett's sister met them on her porch. "My first customer," crooned Melanie, reaching out to stroke William's hair. William, playing shy and coy, smiled at Melanie and buried his face in Doggett's chest. "And a flirt," Melanie's blue eyes sparkled. Looking up at her "little" brother, she asked "How long are you and Jerilyn going to be in Savannah?" "Don't know," Doggett said honestly, rubbing William's back. "'Til the case is done, I guess." "You will stop in and saw hello to Mama, will you?" Melanie said sternly. "Of course I will," Doggett said, handing William off to Starkweather in one swift move as he took William's bags from her. "Here, lemme take these up to William's room." "Very subtle, Doggett," Starkweather said, placing William on her hip. "Next time just say, 'Hey Melanie, I want to talk to you in private.'" "Fine," Doggett said. "Hey, Mel, I want to talk to you in private." Melanie shook her head. "You two," she said as she looped her arm through Doggett's. "Be back in a hot minute," she said to Starkweather and William as she led Doggett into the house. Starkweather looked down at the boy on her arms and playfully tapped him on his button nose. "Now you be good for Melanie while Papa John and Aunt Jeri are gone," she told him. "Me be good," William said. "No, it's 'I'll be good'" Starkweather corrected him. "I be good." "Close enough," Starkweather said, starting to hug him, but as soon as she cuddled William close to her body, something in her coat pocket poked her. "Ow," she said, shifting William to her other arm. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a pacifier. "What the hell?" Starkweather said, examining it. "Binky!" William said, reaching for it. "No, Will, big boys don't have binkies," Starkweather said, holding it out of William's grasp. "Besides, I don't remember your mother letting you have one after you started getting teeth." Looking at the pacifier closer, her thin brown brows crinkled together when she saw a strange word written on it. "Price...?" she wondered aloud. William lit up and reached for the pacifier again. "Price!" he squealed. "Price my friend!" Starkweather stared at the toddler in her arms and remembered a baby from her dreams, a baby with William's deep blue eyes. She shuddered. Then she kissed William on the top of his head. "You're a weird little kid, you know that?" Starkweather murmured into his hair. "Unfortunately, you get that from your dad." "Me want Price," William said. "Price my friend." "I don't think your world and Price's world are going to cross again, buddy," she said even as she thought <> *THE END... for now* Bibliography: Quantum Physics http://www.jracademy.com/~jtucek/science/what.html http://www.jracademy.com/~jtucek/science/terms.html http://library.thinkquest.org/3487/qp.html http://everythingforever.com/everett.htm http://members.tripod.com/~EshlemanW/ John Wheeler http://www.usd.edu/phys/courses/phys300/gallery/clark/wheeler.html Gribbin, John. In Search of Schrdinger's Cat. Bantam Books, Toronto: 1984. ISBN 0-553-34103-0 Rae, Alastair. Quantum Physics: Illusion or Reality? Cambridge University Press, London: 1986. ISBN 0-521-26023-3. Genetic Testing of Food http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic893.html Directions: www.mapquest.com Soundtrack: X-Files Main Titles, Mark Snow Mulder's Creek Theme (Stranded, Plumb) Thanks Bro, Filter Psycho Future, Girls Against Boys My Sister, Julianna Hatfield I Did It, Dave Matthews Band Purple Rain, Prince Girl with A Short Skirt and A Long Jacket, Cake Dude Looked Like A Lady, Aerosmith All Along the Watchtower, Dave Matthews This is What I Want, Autopilot Off ### The End ###