Well, it's only June 24, 1996 and we are all desperate for an
Xfile fix. Anyway, I've been going back and watching what
first year eps I have, and decided to write a little something
about the very early phases of the M & S relationship. I'd say
G on this one folks for a rating and 10 thumbs down for the
title...Anyway, all the old legal disclaimers apply. The series
belongs to CC, Fox...et. al., etc. (If you don't think I know
them see my other gazillion stories.) All comments can be
sent to macspooky@erols.com. Enjoy.

"Things Not Seen in the Pilot"
by
Macspooky

Special Agent Fox Mulder stood before Assistant
Director of the FBI Blevins and two of his associates barely
able to keep the sneer off his face. He stood with his hands
behind his back, he feet slightly apart and wondered what the
hell they were calling him on the carpet for now. He hadn't
done anything that he knew of in at least two weeks and he'd
already been chewed out for that extensively. God, how he'd
like to tell these guys where they could stuff it. Blevins was a
royal ass kisser. He sure hadn't made AD for his ability to
solve cases. That was about the one thing everyone else in
the Bureau agreed with him about. One associate was a
stranger, younger than Blevins, and the other man made the
hairs on the back of his neck stand up. If he thought he could
have gotten away with it, he would have snatched the
cigarette out of the man's mouth and shoved it where the sun
didn't shine...hmm...interesting fantasy that....

"Are you paying attention, Agent Mulder?" snapped
Blevins suddenly.

"Yes Sir..." He felt his eyes start to roll and stopped
himself. He hadn't heard a thing past the word "expense
reports and over budget."

"Fine. I'll expect those reports on my desk by the end
of the day. By the way, Agent Mulder, you are being
assigned a new partner."

"I don't want a partner. I work alone," he informed
Blevins. This could not be tolerated. They were going to try
to put him on a leash and yank the chain. He did not like

that.

"Not anymore you don't, Agent Mulder."

Mulder looked at Blevins with even more distaste if
that was possible. He wasn't particularly worried about it.
His partners never lasted long. Heck, the only one he had
really liked had been shot and killed. He had felt terrible
about that. Afterwards, however, they had saddled him with
a long string of fools and idiots and it hadn't taken him long
to rid himself of their presence one by one. Within weeks, he
had them begging for a transfer. Whoever else they sent
should be just as easy to get rid of.

"And just who is this partner to be?" he inquired.

"Dr. Dana K. Scully. She is a forensic pathologist
who has been teaching at Quantico..."

"Oh, that Dr. Scully..." He had heard rumors. He'd
have to check her file, but he knew she was young. She
should be easy to get rid of. "Okay, Sir....Is that all, Sir? I
need to finish those reports, Sir...."

As Blevins dismissed him, he wondered what Mulder
was up to. That had been entirely too easy, and he did not
expect the reports to be forthcoming anytime soon. It was a
matter of pride with Mulder to aggravate. Well, they would
just see how much longer that lasted. Soon not even his
connections in so called high places were going to be able to
protect him if he stayed his present course.

Fox Mulder headed immediately to personnel and
pulled a single folder....Dana Katherine Scully. He headed
down to his windowless basement office and getting himself a
cup of coffee settled down for a good read. He grinned
maliciously. This oughtta be a piece of cake. He picked up
the phone and called a contact at the University of Maryland.
He needed a senior thesis in a hurry.

There was a knock at the door.

"No body here but the FBI's most unwanted."

Jeez, when she shook his hand and said, "I'm looking

forward to working with you. I've heard a lot about you," he
came closer to losing his lunch than he had since the time he
had drank six Black Russians at the retirement lunch for the
last outgoing AD when he heard her say those words. The
difference was that then there had been cause to celebrate.
Jeez, what a geek. Not only had they sent a spy, but a geek
as well. Ah well. She looked like a teenie bopper in
desperate need of transformation into a princess for the prom.
It shouldn't be too difficult. He'd have her gone by the time
they got back from Oregon. The thought made him smile.



Dana Scully looked at her watch and tried not to look
nervous. Her partner was late and they would be the last to
board. Perhaps it was because her dad had been in the
military all his life, but Dana had been raised on the
importance of promptness. All the Scully children had
learned the importance of being on time at an early age, all
but her sister Melissa that is. Melissa had spent a lot of time
in "time out" as a child and one of her prime offenses had
been lateness and failure to observe curfews. Finally she saw
Mulder dashing up the corridor. She could almost feel the
flight attendant giving them a dirty look as the plane's door
was finally closed. Agent Scully heaved a sigh of relief when
her newly designated partner stretched out across four seats
and popped out a walkman leaving her to fend for herself.

She was nervous about the flight, edgy about her first case in
the field, and uncomfortable about working with "Spooky
Mulder" after the non welcome he had given her the day
before. Having him otherwise occupied would give her the
opportunity to study the file yet again. She wanted to make
certain that she hadn't missed anything. "Spooky Mulder"
may have had a reputation for being strange, but it had been
immediately obvious to her that he was not stupid. She
would have to be on her toes in dealing with him.

Mulder inserted a classical tape in his player and
closed his eyes, pleased that the flight was not really crowded
and he could avoid sitting next to his new partner. He had
already committed the entire case file to memory by reading it
once. His first impression of Dana Scully, in spite of her
excellent credentials, was that she was a real prig. She had
probably been the girl everyone had hated in school....the

smart one that thought she knew all the answers, the one that
wouldn't kiss on the first date...the second or the third...when
she could get one. Rumor had it that she had had an affair
with an agent working out of the Baltimore office, Jack
Willis. He had dumped her. Apparently she was some sort of
Iron Maiden or something. Mulder would not have expected
Jack to admit that it might have been his own lack of sexual
prowess that might have driven a woman away. Jack was a
member of the boy's club after all, and that kind of admission
was simply not made. Of course, rumors could be wrong,
but the impression he had gotten yesterday was that in this
case, however, they were entirely correct. He could well
believe she was some sort of Ice Queen. He wondered briefly
if she discussed Einstein's theory of relativity while making
love, if she made love, not that he was about to ask. The
thought had very little appeal. He turned briefly and studied
her. Prim...definitely prim. His new partner was buried in the
case file...probably trying to figure out how to go about
screwing him over in her little reports to her boss. As he
studied her, he found himself thinking of a puppy on leash
being led by her new owners in directions she might not wish
to go if she knew any better.

************************************************

At first, Fox Mulder was amused when his new partner,
all 5'2" of her, had ripped off her robe revealing the briefest
beige colored bra and panties. She had been holding her own
on the case so far, had in fact, performed in much better
fashion than he had expected although her attitude towards
his theories were really quite predictable. She had not backed
off when he had argued with her or been rude to her, and she
had gone through all the physical discomfort of the case
without a word of complaint. She had endured the rain and
faced off the sheriff, had even gone one for one with him in
the parking lot of the hospital and had not backed down.

Despite the proper appearance, she had turned into a feisty
little thing. Maybe it was having brothers. Anyway, he had
found himself enjoying arguing with her. Hell, he had even
conceded in that autopsy bay that he had his own doubts
about the alien origin of the strange corpse. Now that was
something he had never done before. He would really have
to watch himself. He couldn't allow himself to be defeated by
such a tiny little thing no matter how much of a dynamo she

might be.

Now, however, she seemed terrified that she had
some sort of alien marks.....Dr. Scully, the so called
scientist....the skeptic...the spy. She had appeared at his door
looking like a frightened 16 year old who thought she had
seen the boogie man. Yeah...it had been tough keeping a
straight face and not laughing out loud as he had announced
that she had mosquito bites. The words "ditz brain" had gone
through his head, possibly the only thing that had kept his
mind off the pleasant curve of her hip. Of course, he wasn't
the sort of guy to let the lack of brains take away his
appreciation of a woman's hip, but his one was his partner
and a spy so he had to be extra careful not to be distracted
by his current lack of a sex life.

Suddenly though, it hadn't seemed quite so funny. As
she sat down, he realized that she was still trembling, and
now, she was embarrassed. Instinct beyond rumors told him
that Dana wasn't the type who easily took her clothes off for
a man and he was nearly a stranger. It had hit him suddenly
that it had nothing to do with being an Ice Queen as Jack had
indicated. There was something about her that was decidedly
ladylike in an old fashioned sense. She would not be a
woman for one night stands. She would want love and caring
in a relationship. His new partner had been very frightened
indeed to come to his room as she had. When she had leaned
up against him for that brief instant, she had reminded him of
a younger sister, a scared little sister looking to an older
brother for support between rounds of sibling rivalry.

He realized that in his distaste for the idea of having a
partner, he had been cruel to her. From the get go he had
gone out of his way to be sarcastic and mean, to let her know
that she wasn't wanted, that he knew she was a spy for his
superiors. Looking at her profile though as she sat in his dark
motel room looking pale and shaken, he realized that she
really was very young and green. He knew that she had never
been in the field before, but the full impact of that hit him just
then. The possibility occurred to him that they might be
using her, and that she was so inexperienced, such a very young
woman trying to make it in the old boys network, that she
truly might not even realize it, or at least not the extent they
would go to to discredit his work.

He stood up from the chair.

"You are still shaking, Scully," he said quietly.
"Come on. Lay down on the bed and get warm."

She looked up at him, not certain of him or his
motivations. He realized how his words had sounded. After
all, she had just undressed in front of him, and a lot of guys
would consider that as a come on or some kind of
entitlement.

He didn't find her unduly pretty, but rather quite plain in
fact. She was definitely not the type of woman he usually
found attractive at all, and he had never been particularly fond
of redheads, but there was something vulnerable about her at
the moment that made him feel a little protective. Yeah,
protective....like a big brother.

"Hey, I'm not coming on to you. I just don't need a
partner with a cold right now. I mean, Scully, aliens have an
acute sense of hearing, you know, and if we are on stakeout
duty I don't want you sneezing and giving us away." He
grinned.

She smiled at him remarking that she didn't know that
aliens even had ears, or did they all look like Mr. Spock, and
moved to the bed thinking that a lot of women would find
that grin difficult to resist. If the man wasn't so obnoxious, he
might almost be charming....a definite almost.... Of course,
she also knew a lot of women who wouldn't care about the
charm part. They would simply be glad to rip his clothes off
and enjoy his body and his good looks. Her friend Jane had
always told her that for a one night stand, nothing else
mattered. She found herself chuckling at the image of her
good friend enjoying what Fox Mulder undoubtedly had
under his clothes. That wasn't her style. She wanted love and
affection, something she had only thought she found with
Jack, but in the case of Mulder, if she had never actually met
the man and didn't know how obnoxious he was, she could
appreciate her friend's perspective. He pulled the blanket
over her wondering what she was snickering about and
parked himself on the floor.

"First case in the field, Scully..." He wasn't asking.

"Yeah....that obvious huh?" she sighed.

"You'll learn, Scully," he said reassuringly. "We all do.
It's okay. Hell, I nearly got myself killed on my first case.
Thought I was John Wayne...you know....super G man...only
it turned out to be a grade B movie instead....a really bad one
too."

Dana chuckled just a little. She was getting warmer
finally and the internal trembling had ceased, but she was still
feeling like an idiot. She had been fortunate that her career
had remained unscathed after her foolish affair with Jack
Willis and she sure as heck didn't want to screw up this time.
If word of this got back to Blevins.......

"I won't tell..." he winked as though reading her
thoughts.

"Thanks...." she replied. "I feel dumb."

"Hey, rewriting Einstein at 20.....not dumb, Scully."
They lapsed into silence for a moment and then
suddenly, Mulder found himself telling his new partner about
his sister. He didn't know why. He hardly ever talked about
it, especially not to fellow agents. It always hurt to discuss it,
and he had found no compassion among his co-workers who
referred to him as "Spooky." It was foolish probably to tell
her. He was setting himself up for more misery in confiding in
her. She had still been sent to spy on him, and yet, as she lay
there and listened quietly asking him an intelligent question
periodically, he realized that there was nothing but
compassion in her response. She either related to the pain he
felt at the loss of Samantha or deserved an academy award
for her acting ability. He found himself discussing the
information he had been trying to access and the way he was
being blocked.

"I'm not part of any agenda. You have to trust me. I'm
here to solve this case just like you." He gazed at her briefly
and realized that in her heart of hearts, Dana Scully believed
that. Maybe she didn't have an agenda herself. She really
didn't, however, know what she was up against. Like it or
not, they had one for her. He thought for a moment how
wonderful it would be to have someone to trust, someone to
confide in, someone who would not laugh at him and treat

him like a madman. What he wouldn't give for someone to
ease the loneliness.... He began to tell her about Dr. Verber,
but before she could form a response from which he could
glean more about her, the phone rang. Peggy O'Dell was
dead. He knew he was really on to something here.

***********************************************

He found himself standing by an open grave in the
pouring rain, the cold wind blasting him with sheets of water,
laughing hysterically as he expounded on his most precious
theories to his tiny little spy. It was incredible. She was
forcing him to laugh at himself, to laugh with her, while at the
same time, she told him about Peggy's watch stopping and
was willing to investigate his insanity further. Her mind was
closed and yet it was open. She was at least willing to listen!

"Come on," he said finally, "Let's get out of here."

"Where are we going?" she asked in a little girl voice
that still smiled.

Silently they walked back to the rental car and got in
and then quite suddenly, he found himself laughing again.
They laughed together. She started it, and he joined in.

"You know, Mulder, chasing after monkey corpses in
the pouring rain wasn't part of my life's plans....."

"Alien corpses, Scully, not monkey....."

"Chasing after alien corpses in the pouring rain
definitely wasn't part of my plans.....you know......you
know.....we are going to lose the deposit on the rental
car....."

"Why do you say that......"

"It's soaked, Mulder.....and they are going to charge
us for scraping sodden sunflower seeds off the floor...."

"It's in the contract, Scully. They have to....."

"So tell me....how does your wife...or significant other

or whatever... feel about it?"

"Feel about what?"

"Digging sodden sunflower seeds out of your suit
pocket...or maybe....maybe she doesn't have to....I mean
maybe by the time you get back....they've
grown....poof...instant flowers....very romantic..."

"Not enough light down there, Scully," he managed to
choke out. "Hell, you're a scientist. You should know that."
The image of sunflowers growing out of his pockets was
so incredible, he burst into laughter again and they were
nearly back to the motel before he could stop long enough to
take his handkerchief and wipe the tears from his eyes. It
was contagious between them. Neither of them could quite
pull themselves together.

"No significant other...." he managed to croak
finally...."No wife.....and now I think I know why.....it's the
sunflower seeds. Heck, the dry cleaner cringes when she sees
me coming with my suits." He blew his nose trying to regain
his dignity as she let out a loud honk.

As they went into their new motel rooms to change, he
realized that for a brief moment in spite of everything, he had
felt wonderfully, beautifully happy. He was as close as he
had ever been to answers. Maybe this time he would be
lucky, and for a short time, for just the briefest moment, he
had had someone to share those hopes with. Soberly, he
realized that he needed to be very careful, truly extra
cautious. He had never been able to work with a partner
before, and this young woman had been sent to spy on him.
He must not allow himself to lose sight of that no matter how
vulnerable she might appear. He must keep repeating the
word "spy."

*************************************************

"Tomorrow," she said quietly into the phone. "We'll
talk tomorrow."

Dana Scully hung up. She had been lying in bed
trying to sleep when her partner had called to tell her all the

records of their first case in Oregon had disappeared. She
was disconcerted. Although she did not believe his theory
about aliens at all, something had obviously been going on.

What, she couldn't say. She and Mulder had done what they
were sent to do. They had solved the murders...Still,
something was amiss. She may have been young and lacking
in field experience, but she did have instincts and that
cigerette smoking man that always seemed to be hanging
out in Blevin's office gave her the creeps. It occured to her
that she may have had no other agenda than solving cases and
building a career, but that someone else might have
something different in mind. Working with Fox Mulder could
destroy her hopes for promotion and recognition if she wasn't
very careful.

She sighed thinking about her new partner. Jeez, the
man was loony toons. What a jerk! She didn't think she had
come across anyone more obnoxious than him, and he had
certainly gone out of his way to make her feel unwelcome.
She had been tempted to rip those sunflower seeds out of his
pocket and throw them to the birds where they belonged.
The constant cracking and disposal of the shells had nearly
driven her mad, particularly since he really hadn't cared
whose motel room floor he dropped them on. Somehow she
had even found some in her bed.

She had had to bite her tongue to keep from asking him if
he had been a parrot in his last life. What had stopped her
was the fear that he would take the question seriously. And
yet, there was something about him....something sort of lost
and vulnerable...in pain, and when she had made a fool out of
herself over those stupid mosquito bites, rather than laugh at
her, he had been incredibly understanding and gentle. If he
had thought her a ditz brain, he had kept the fact to himself,
and in spite of the fact that she had literally ripped her clothes
off in front of him, he had treated her with the utmost respect
and had been concerned about her well being. Just for an
instant, standing there in the cold pouring rain by those empty
graves something had passed between them. They had shared
a special moment of laughter and, she realized a kind of
caring however bazaar.

Dana Scully finally drifted off to sleep wondering just
what she had gotten herself into. Perhaps, she thought, she

should have been content to remain as a teacher down in
Quantico. Her dream of being a field agent had not included
an insane partner like Fox Mulder, and yet, somehow it had
been exciting and she wouldn't have traded the experience for
anything. Her last thoughts were of how she was going to
explain Mulder to her mom and dad......

The End.