Title: Calm Before the Storm 
Author: Eileen S. Whipple

Email: whipples@connect.ab.ca

Rating: PG-13

Classification: SA

Spoilers: Beyond the Sea, One Breath, Memento Mori, Christmas Carol,
Emily, Drive

Summary: Scully suspected this a year ago but was proven wrong. Now,
the discovery of two young girls is going to change her life forever.

Timeline: Starts on Thanksgiving, 1998 (November 26) and ends at
Christmas 1998. Forget "The Ghosts That Stole Christmas" even
happened.

Archive: Sure. Just as long as I know where, and my name and e-mail
address stays attached. 

DISCLAIMER: Chris Carter and 10-13 own Mulder, Scully, etc. (you know
who they are!) I am just borrowing them. The rest of the characters
are mine.

See author's notes at the end.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 1

Just a Family Thanksgiving

 November 26, 1998

 Bill Scully smelled the air as he entered his mother's kitchen. "The
food smells great. Do you need help with anything?"

Margaret Scully smiled at her son. "No, Bill. I'm fine." She glanced
down at the carrots she was chopping. "Could you cut the rest of
these? I have to stir the soup."

"Sure, Mom." He carefully took the knife from his mother and stood in
her place in front of the counter. "You know, you always overdo it on
the cooking for Thanksgiving."

I'm used to cooking for many people, although it was mainly you and
your brother eating the food. Your sisters ate small helpings. That's
probably why we had as many leftovers as we did." Margaret sighed and
set down the soup ladle. "It's going to be so nice to have the family
together tonight."

"Most of it," he muttered, keeping his focus on slicing the carrots
and not his fingers.

Margaret went to her son's side and put a hand on her hip and the
other on the counter's edge. "Bill, I know you don't like Mulder much
but he is Dana's friend. Show him some respect, for her sake. She'd
be angry if she saw that you hated him."

"She has seen it, but I don't hate him. I dislike him."

"Well, whatever it is, put it aside for your sister."

The doorbell rang and they heard Bill's wife Tara get up to answer
it. "Mom, Bill, it's Charles," she called.

Both broke into grins and rushed to the front door. "Mom!" Charles
Scully exclaimed, wrapping his arms around his mother. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." She let go of her youngest son and hugged his wife,
Marina. "It's so good to see you all again."

"Grandma!" Margaret felt a tug on her skirt, looked down and saw
Charles and Marina's four-year-old daughter, Olivia.

"Olivia, sweetie." Her grandmother picked her up. "Marina, where's
Daniel?"

"Oh, he's outside flying a paper airplane he made on the way here."
Marina hugged Tara and Bill quickly. "Now, let me see your baby boy."

Bill and Tara's infant son Matthew was crawling around his playpen in
Margaret's living room. He pulled himself up when he saw his parents
and his relatives.

"He's precious," Marina said. Tara picked Matthew up and Marina took
him into her arms. "He's gotten so big since his baptism." She
laughed as her nephew kicked his legs.

Olivia asked Margaret, "Is Auntie Dana here?"

"Not yet, sweetheart, but she will be soon."

"Supper smells wonderful, Mom," Charles said, taking Matthew from his
wife. "Dana's never usually late. Perhaps she got stuck in traffic."

Bill chuckled. "On Thanksgiving? It's only five-thirty. She'll be
here soon."

"And we finally get to meet this partner she's always mentioning."
Charles rocked his nephew.

"Charlie, can I speak to you in the kitchen?" Margaret asked. She
gave a small smile and waited as her son handed Matthew to Tara.

He followed her in. "Really, Mom, I can't wait to eat. You always
were the best cook."

"Charlie, I need to talk to you about something, about Bill and
Mulder."

"What is it?"

"Well, Bill doesn't like Dana's friend much. He feels it was Mulder's
fault that Missy was murdered."

Charlie cringed. His older sister Melissa had been gunned down after
being mistaken for their sister Dana. He didn't like to think about
his deceased sibling; it shook him up.

"I do not blame Mulder for Missy's death. It wasn't his fault. Dana
knew that it was dangerous when she joined the FBI and I knew it was
as well."

"I understand, Mom. The only person to blame for Melissa's death is
the man who shot her." He hugged his mother. "I'll give Mulder a fair
chance."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 "You know, Scully, your mother didn't have to invite me to dinner,"
FBI agent Fox Mulder said. "I could've stayed home and ordered
pizza."

Dana Scully shifted in the passenger seat. "That's exactly why she
did. She knew you'd probably be alone."

"My mom is at her friend's in Greenwich. The roads up there are
really bad and besides, I don't think my mom would want to spend
Thanksgiving in my tiny apartment."

The two FBI agents were making their way to Baltimore for dinner with
Scully's family. Mulder sped up the car to the maximum speed but
slowed down when he saw his partner clutching the large container of
mashed turnips.

Mulder said, "I'm sure you're happy about seeing your niece and
nephews."

"Yeah. I haven't seen Matthew for a long time, and I hardly see
Olivia and Daniel."

"Is that why I've never met your younger brother?"

"Yeah. He's been busy with work."

"What does he do?"

"He's in the navy but he's also an accountant."

Mulder grinned. "So you're not the only smart one."

"My entire family is smart." She pushed a few strands of her red hair
behind her ear.

The residential streets of Baltimore were packed with parked cars.
House lights shone brightly as the sun was just beginning its descent
in the sky.

Scully saw her mother's white house. "Stop here. This is it."

Mulder slowed the car down and parked beside the curb. "I remember
her house." He saw a child running around on the lawn. "Who's that?"

"That must be my nephew Daniel. He's the one who likes Babe, or used
to anyway."

Mulder laughed. "I remember that." He turned off the engine. "Hold
tight, Scully. I'll get out and grab the turnips from you."

She carefully opened the door and put her right foot on the road. He
did come around to grab the dish from her. "Thanks," she said.

"Aunt Dana!" they heard as soon as Scully stepped out of the car. The
young boy who'd been running around on the front lawn hurried to
Scully.

"Hey Danny. How are you?"

He threw his arms around her, his head resting on her abdomen. "Good.
I couldn't wait for you to get here, but Olivia really wants to see
you." Danny looked curiously at Mulder. "Who's he?"

"Danny, this is my partner, Fox Mulder. Mulder, this is my nephew,
Danny."

"Glad to meet you, Danny." Mulder shook his hand. "Firm grip for a
boy your age." He clutched the turnip container.

"Let's go inside, sweetie," Scully said, taking her nephew's hand.
She saw a white object tucked under his arm. "Is that an airplane?"
They started up the sidewalk.

"Yeah. I was bored on the drive up here. I also made a boat but since
there's no rain, it's useless for now."

"Well' I'm sure it's a great boat," Scully said. She let go of
Danny's hand and followed him onto the porch.

"You can have it." Danny opened the door and he called, "Everybody,
Aunt Dana and her friend are here."

Scully's stomach growled as the smell of her mother's wonderful food
wafted towards her.

"Dana!" Margaret emerged from the living room and embraced her
daughter. "We've been waiting for you."

"It was a fair drive."

Margaret gave a bright smile. "Mulder, I'm glad you could make it."

"It didn't take much for your daughter to convince me." He looked
down. "We brought turnips."

"Thanks." Margaret took the container. "Go make yourselves
comfortable in the other room." She saw her grandson. "Hey Danny, you
don't say hi to your grandmother. Come help me in the kitchen." She
took his hand and led him away.

Scully took her coat off and hung it in the foyer closet. Mulder was
purposely taking his time, removing his trench coat and shoes slowly.

She went into the living room and was greeted by her family. Her
brothers were the first in line for hugs and kisses. She was
especially happy to see her youngest brother Charles.

"Dana, it's been what, a year and a half? You've got to stop making
yourself so scarce. We've missed you."

She laughed. "We have telephones."

Charlie kissed his sister's forehead. "I've called you."

"I know, and I appreciated every one of them," Scully said as Charlie
moved out of the way and let their older brother Bill greet his
little sister.

"Dana, you look amazing." Bill held her tightly, resting his chin on
the top of her head.

"You're just saying that because you're my brother." She pulled back
to face him.

He assumed an offended look. "No, I said it because I mean it.
Really, you do. It's so nice to see you not wearing a suit."

She was wearing a forest-green scoop neck sweater and a knee-length
black skirt. The skirt showed off her pale legs and matched
wonderfully with her black velvet pumps.

"Bill, don't hog Dana," Tara said, replacing her husband in the
embrace.

Mulder watched the greeting from the doorway. He smiled but this
sight made him ache. He wished his family could have been this way.
He was also saddened because of the upcoming anniversary he wished
had never existed. His younger sister Samantha had been taken from
him on the twenty-seventh of November, twenty-five years earlier.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a tug on his pants. He looked
down and saw Scully's little niece Olivia. He recognized the
four-year-old from the picture his partner kept in her wallet.

"Hello," the little girl said. She beamed up at him.

"Hi, Olivia," he said, bending down slightly. He was amazed at
Olivia's resemblance to Scully when she was a child. He'd only seen a
few childhood photos but he remembered that adorable face and
beautiful red hair.

Olivia's blue eyes grew wide. "How did you know my name?"

"Your Aunt Dana told me. She showed me your picture." His voice was
growing higher, the way most adults' voices did when they spoke to
children.

"Are you Auntie Dana's friend? I've never seen you before."

"Yeah, I'm her friend Mulder."

He then heard Scully. "Charlie, it looks like Olivia has met Mulder
already." He looked up and saw Scully and her brother.

"So you're Mulder," Charlie said. They shook hands. "I'm Charlie,
Dana's little brother."

Mulder said, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Olivia looked up at her father and stretched out her arms, telling
him to pick her up. "You've met my daughter and my son. That's my
wife Marina, over by Tara. I'll introduce you."

Scully knew Mulder wasn't really a meet-and-greet type of person but
he seemed to be enjoying himself. She knew one reason was her
siblings' children. He was a sensitive man and from what she'd seen,
loved kids.

Mulder said a curt hello to Bill and Tara before meeting Charlie's
wife.

"Aunt Dana!" Danny ran into the living room. He held the boat he'd
told Scully she could have. "Dad said you liked boats and sailing,
that you used to go with Grandpa all the time."

"I did, honey." She took the boat from her nephew. "This is
beautiful, Danny." She was surprised at how much he took after his
father, and Charlie was like William Scully Sr., their father. This
was the fifth Thanksgiving since he'd passed away from a massive
heart attack and her family missed him a great deal. He was a great
Navy captain, husband and father.

Margaret entered the room. "Dinner's ready."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully ate a piece of gravy-drenched turkey and looked around the
table. She and Mulder were the only ones who weren't making any
noise. The adults were chatting, Olivia and Danny were telling jokes
and Matthew was squealing as he smeared mashed potatoes on his face.

Scully pushed carrots around on her plate and Mulder noticed her
boredom. "Scully, this is so much better than my family's
Thanksgiving dinners. This is normal."

Margaret ate a forkful of salad. "I'm very sorry about you two losing
the X-files. Dana tells me you're working hard to get them back."

"We are, Mrs. Scully, and I believe we're getting closer. I can feel
it." He got Bill's cold glance and looked away.

"Mom, we're leaving tomorrow night," Charlie said, changing the
subject.

"Oh, do you have to leave so soon?" She wiped her fingers on herblue
linen napkin. "I just love having the family together."

Bill pushed his empty plate away. "Christmas is in less than a month.
Aren't we all coming out here then?"

"That's the plan, Bill," Charlie said.

"I can't wait until Santa Claus comes." Olivia took a drink of her
milk.

The dining room grew silent. Everybody finished eating and Tara
cleaned up her son's face and highchair. Margaret stood up and began
clearing off the table.

"No, Mom." Charlie jumped up and grabbed the dishes from her mother.
"Go sit in the other room. The rest of us will clean up." He turned
to his kids. "Olivia, Danny, go with Auntie Tara and Matthew into the
living room. You can have a nice visit with Grandma."

Tara lifted her son from his seat and followed her niece and nephew
into the next room. Margaret said, "Just let me help stack the
dishes."

"Scully, you never told me I had to do dishes." Mulder grinned.

"It's a family tradition, isn't it, Dana?" Charlie nudged his older
sister with his elbow.

"Yeah," she responded. "All the big kids had to, meaning everybody
except you."

They moved into the kitchen and set the dirty dishes in the sink.
Margaret left before her children could give her grief about never
relaxing. Scully filled the sink with water and soap and let the
dishes soak. "Hey Charlie, remember how we used to put up the
Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah, and Dad would make us take it down the day after Christmas."
He wrapped his arms around his sister from behind. "You would work so
hard to pick up the needles."

"Have you been taking it easy at work?" Bill asked Scully.

She rested her head on Charlie's chest. "Yeah. Mulder can vouch for
me."

Bill's look was solemn. "Any nosebleeds?"

"No, Bill. I'm fine. My cancer's still in remission. Everything's
okay."

"Auntie Dana! Your coat is ringing!" Olivia yelled, scurrying into
the kitchen.

"My cell phone." She bolted to the foyer, hearing the shrill ring of
her phone. She dug into her pocket and quickly answered it. "Scully."

"Agent Scully, are you with Agent Mulder?" It was Assistant Director
Alvin Kersh, their new superior.

"Yes, sir."

"I received a phone call at my home from a detective in San Diego.
He's requested you two to help him investigate a case he's working
on. He just said it was a homicide but it better not be pertaining to
an X-file."

"Do you have the detective's name?" She was sure she knew who had
asked for them.

"A Detective John Kresge. He'd like you and Mulder to go to San Diego
as soon as possible."

"Sir, I thought Agent Mulder and I were to investigate domestic
terrorism."

Kersh's voice was stern. "You investigate what I tell you to
investigate. Detective Kresge is having the files sent to the airport
in San Diego so you can read them when you arrive."

"I'll book the plane tickets for tomorrow. Thank you for calling,
sir," Scully said flatly before hanging up. Mulder found her rubbing
her temples. "What's wrong?"

"That was AD Kersh. We're investigating a homicide in San Diego, and
we leave tomorrow."

"So much for the weekend off. I thought we were investigating
domestic terrorism."

"'You investigate what I tell you to investigate'," she replied,
imitating Kersh. "Guess who requested us?" Scully said in her normal
voice. She didn't wait for Mulder to answer. "Detective Kresge."

He frowned. "Well, book the tickets for the afternoon. I'd like to
sleep in."

She sighed. "I'll call tonight. I'd just like to relax. I'll let Bill
and Charlie do the dishes." She padded into the living room and
Mulder followed her.

"Who was it on the phone?" Tara bounced Matthew on her knee and he
started screeching.

Scully slumped down beside her mother. "Our boss. We're going to San
Diego tomorrow."

Tara smiled widely. "Hey, you can visit us when we get home on
Monday."

"Yeah." She glanced at Mulder and he rolled his eyes. Olivia
surprised Scully by hopping on her lap. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Auntie Dana, Matthew can say my name. Watch." The little girl caught
the attention of her baby cousin. "Matthew, say 'Olivia'."

"O-wiv-ya," he managed to say.

Scully smiled. "That's good." She yawned, covering her mouth. "Mom,
I'm sorry to say this but I think I should go. I have to make our
flight reservations."

Margaret stood up. "Okay, Dana. I wish you could stay but I see how
tired you and Mulder are."

Scully managed to stand up with her young niece in her arms. "I'm
going to put you down, okay, sweetheart?" Olivia nodded and her aunt
placed her on the couch.

The goodbyes took almost as long as their greetings earlier that day.
Scully was surprised that Olivia had been able to say goodbye without
tears or "Don't go".

Mulder and Scully put on their coats and stepped out the front door.
"I'll give you leftovers when you get back, Dana," Margaret said.

"Thanks for dinner. It was great, Mrs. Scully." Mulder put on his
leather gloves.

"You're welcome, Mulder. We all enjoyed your company. And Dana, call
me when you get to San Diego."

"Sure, Mom. See you soon."

Mulder waited until Scully's mother had closed the door. "Are you
sure Bill's your brother? You and Charlie are so much...happier."

"Bill's complicated, but he's a good man. Never mind what he thinks
about you for now, but I know Charlie likes you. Olivia is fond of
you as well. You have such a way with children."

"She's a cute kid. She looks like you when you were young."

Scully smiled but it faded. "I shouldn't have agreed for both of us
to take this case. I know tomorrow is Samantha's anniversary." She
put her hand on his arm. "You don't have to come."

It was his turn. "I'm fine." 

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 2
Delicate Matters

 November 27, 1998

 The airport in San Diego was busy when the two FBI agents arrived at
three the next afternoon. People were returning from their holidays
in Mexico or Hawaii.

"I don't want to work," Mulder complained, grabbing his luggage from
the baggage carousel. "I want my Thanksgiving weekend off."

"Tough." Scully put her soft-sided leather briefcase over her
shoulder and reached for her suitcase. "Now, when I spoke to Kersh,
he told me that Detective Kresge left the files for us. I'm guessing
they'd be at the security desk. After, to check in at a motel and
review the reports.

"Do you have any idea what we're investigating?" he asked. They made
their way to the security desk.

"Other than it being a homicide? No, I don't. I shouldn't have
accepted a case so readily." She reached the counter and caught the
attention of a young, armed guard. "Excuse me, I'm Special Agent
Scully. Detective Kresge left me some police files here for me." She
dug into her pocket and produced her FBI credentials.

"Yes, miss." The guard reached into a drawer and handed her several
manila folders.

Scully smiled. "Thank you." She flipped open the top folder. "Kresge
left a note. He wants one of us to call him when we get to the
motel," she told Mulder.

"Let's go then."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Scully, FBI. I'm so glad you wanted to take this case," Detective
John Kresge said over the phone.

"Well, Agent Mulder and I aren't on the X-files at the moment, and we
were stuck looking after domestic terrorism. This is a change."
Scully leaned back on her bed.

"I take it you've read the files I left you."

"Yeah. Mulder's looking over them right now."

"Well, we have to solve this case as soon as possible. Miranda
McQueen left behind twin daughters and we need to find Ms. McQueen's
husband. He's the main suspect right now."

"Yeah. We need to find the girls a place to stay. Does Ms. McQueen
have any family around?"

"Her mother Edith McQueen lives in San Francisco. We're trying to get
ahold of her."

"So McQueen was Miranda's last name? Most women change their names
when they get married. That's strange." Scully knew the name McQueen
from somewhere.

"It's not that uncommon, but she only went back to it a few years
ago. She and her husband Dale Wallace were less than happy. They were
planning to divorce."

Scully turned onto her side. "That sounds like a motive for murder to
me. They were planning to divorce but don't and Dale thinks murder is
easier than divorce. He doesn't have to pay alimony or anything."

"Well, like I said, he's our main suspect but he's been out of town
for the past few days, on business, but he could have been here,
stabbed his wife and left again."

"Or hired someone to kill her," Scully blurted out.

"We're checking that, but we're also talking to neighbours, asking if
they saw any strangers around," Kresge said.

"Where are Miranda's daughters right now?"

"Amy and Alexandra McQueen are staying with their friend.
Fortunately, both girls were out of the house when their mother was
stabbed to death but they discovered her body."

"That's awful. Agent Mulder and I are going to contact them for
questioning, but they're going to decide whether or not they want to
talk to us. I don't want to force them."

Kresge told her, "Rest up then. You had a long flight. I'll talk to
you later."

She waited until she heard a click to hang up her phone. She fell
back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She started thinking.
"Where do I know the name McQueen from?" she said out loud.

After a few minutes, she remembered. There had been a McQueen family
living on the naval base where she'd lived in San Diego. Melissa and
Bill Scully had been friends with the two McQueen girls but Scully
couldn't remember their names. It had been many years and her
siblings had only become friends with them a few months before the
entire McQueen family moved to San Francisco. Bill broke off his
relationship with the oldest girl but Melissa remained friends with
the youngest. That was one reason why she decided to attend the
University of California at Berkeley. That McQueen was probably not
related to Miranda.

Scully knew that she had to be careful when she and Mulder spoke to
the victim's daughters. Amy and Alexandra McQueen were sixteen years
old and were probably in distress due to their mother's murder. She
knew they'd likely be vulnerable and there would probably be only a
*slight* chance they'd want to talk to them. Persistence would help
but they wouldn't force it.

Scully had a way with getting children to speak. She treated them
well, like a person should treat kids, and showed them respect but
she tried not to seem patonizing. She wasn't but like Mulder, when
she spoke to children, her voice rose and it sounded like she was
talking down. She was able to control it with older kids.

It was only six but Scully was already tired. She felt sharp pains in
her stomach; she hadn't eaten anything since the night before. She
never ate breakfast or lunch after Thanksgiving. She knew Mulder
would probably take her to dinner. He usually did when they started a
case.

Scully got off her bed and slipped on her suit jacket. She was going
to surprise her partner by asking him to dinner first.

The air was cool as she went up the stairs to the motel's second
level where Mulder's room was located. The brisk walk was refreshing
and she didn't feel as tired as she'd been while on the phone with
Kresge.

Mulder's door was open slightly. He was probably getting some cold
air circulating through his room. Scully decided to knock anyway. It
was common courtesy, despite the fact that the door was open and they
were partners with keys to each other's apartments.

"Mulder?" she said after rapping on his door gently. She heard slow
breaths.

"Come in, Scully," he said in the darkness. "Turn the light on,
please."

She ran her hand over the wall, searching for the switch. She found
it and flicked it up. "There you go."

He was sitting on the edge of his bed, his back to her, his shoulders
slumped forward. She moved closer and saw a photo in his hand. She'd
expected this at some point that day, twenty-five years since his
sister disappeared. Sometimes, he sat and stared at Samantha's
picture when he thought Scully wasn't looking, as if he cared what
she thought.

She didn't care. She'd done the same thing, for nearly half a year.

"Mulder, I spoke to Detective Kresge. He said that Miranda McQueen's
daughters are staying with a friend. We can talk to them tomorrow."

Mulder put the picture face-up on his bedside table. "Okay. Do you
want to grab something to eat?"

"I was just going to ask you that." She smiled. "I'll buy us supper."

"No. You invited me to dinner last night. I owe you."

"My mother invited you. Besides, you always buy dinner when we're on
assignment."

Mulder sighed and stood up. He grabbed his grey blazer off the back
of a chair. "Let's go. I saw a pizza place down the street. Is that
okay or would you prefer a more elegant dinner?"

Scully grinned. "Pizza's fine. It's cheap and tasty." She exited the
room ahead of him. She waited for him to lock the door. "Mulder, I
know today's a rough day but I get the feeling you think I think less
you when you look at Samantha's photo."

Mulder did a double take. "Scully, I don't think that. I'm just like
you. I'm private with such delicate matters. I didn't think less of
you when kept looking at your picture of Emily." He said the name
quietly.

They started down the steps. Scully's mind was now on Emily, her
deceased daughter, the mysterious young girl who entered her life
just as fast as she left it. Scully had been missing for several
weeks four years before and during that time, she'd had unorthodox
tests performed on her. All her ova were extracted, rendering her
infertile. Emily was the result of an ovum being fertilized with
unknown male genetic material. The beautiful child was simply a
laboratory experiment who didn't live to see her fourth birthday.
Scully found her while on Christmas vacation in San Diego, and the
child passed away after New Year's.

During her time missing, Scully was also given a nasopharyngeal
tumour, a malignant mass that spread before a bizarre medical
procedure caused it to go into remission.

Scully occasionally took time to think about everything that had
happened over the past few years, including the murder of her sister
Melissa. She wondered how she'd managed to stay sane.

"Mulder, I don't think less of you either. I thought you were trying
to be a man, because there's that stupid notion that real men don't
cry. That's a bunch of crap."

He gave his partner a small smile. "Thanks. You should have seen me
during _Bambi_."

Scully grabbed his tricep and pushed him forward. "Come on. I'm
starving."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm sure your family was disappointed you had to leave so early."
Mulder drank some water. "And this time, it wasn't me asking you to
come. *You* told *me* we had to leave. That must have infuriated
Bill."

"Mulder, my brother is strange but he's the way he is because he
cares for me." Scully took a bite of pepperoni pizza, chewed it
thoroughly and swallowed.

"Christmas is just around the corner. You'll see your family again."

"I'm glad we won't wind up here in San Diego again. I was reluctant
to come here for this case but since Detective Kresge asked us, I
thought it might be good to investigate something that doesn't deal
with piles of shit."

"Well, perhaps you can have a nice family Christmas at your mom's
place with your brothers and their families."

Scully shrugged, picking some cheese off another slice of pizza. "I'd
like that. I rarely see Charlie and Marina and their kids even though
they're closer to me than Bill is. They live in Norfolk, most of the
time."

Mulder's face grew solemn. "I know Bill blames me for everything
that's happened to you, your family. Do you know if Charlie thinks
the same?"

"Mulder, Charlie doesn't think anything like that. He'd never met you
before yesterday. He doesn't judge from what's he's heard, which is
surprising because he's probably heard an earful from Bill."

"So you don't mind the fact that I'm not fond of your big brother?"
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Tara treats me well but I think
that's just her Kathie Lee Gifford nature."

"I've always thought she was more like Martha Stewart. She's always
baking and decorating, especially around Christmas. She and Bill are
probably putting up their tree soon. Answering your earlier question,
I don't mind if you don't like my brother. I know you've tried to be
friendly but I should have warned you about Bill in advance. He's
impossible sometimes."

He cocked an eyebrow. "So he's not the only one who is impossible?"
He yelped as Scully kicked him sharply in the shin. "I stand
corrected."

Scully changed the subject. "Detective Kresge's told me that Miranda
McQueen's husband Dale Wallace is the main suspect. They suspect he's
out of town but he could have been back, or he could have hired
someone."

"Scully, the police should know that 'could haves' aren't good
enough. Sure they help narrow down suspect lists but we need proof,
something."

"Mulder, I know but Dale has a motive. He and his wife had wanted a
divorce, but they didn't get one. I said Dale may have simply
murdered his wife so he wouldn't have to pay alimony, or so that any
prenuptial agreements wouldn't be valid."

He polished off his pizza. "Well, if he's the only suspect, I guess
that's enough to constitute searching for him, until we talk to their
daughters. Perhaps they can shed some light on whether or not there
are any other suspects."

"We have to be careful speaking to Amy and Alexandra McQueen. They
discovered their mother's body." She stifled a yawn.

Mulder crumpled up his napkin into a ball, tossed it on his plate.
"We'll get going."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Scully slid into her large motel room bed, not unlike the other beds
she'd slept in while on the road. She pulled the white comforter up
to her chin. It was thinner than her goose-down blanket at home but
warm enough.

She checked her alarm clock again, making sure it was set for seven.
She was planning to go for a jog in the morning. She didn't really
know her way around the part of San Diego where the motel was located
but she was only going to do two or three miles.

Scully rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. She didn't want to
think tonight. It was nights like this where she'd keep herself
awake, thinking about her life and its awful events so far and then,
fall into equally terrible dreams. Nightmares about her sister, her
daughter, herself and what was to come. It was hard to stop dreaming
about Melissa, and Scully had only recently let go of Emily. She'd
occasionally dream about her deceased loved ones but now, they
weren't nightmares.

She concentrated on her breathing and put herself to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 3
Red Hair and Migraines

 November 28, 1998

The night sky was giving way to the light that was beginning to
bleed through the clouds at seven-thirty the next morning. Few
motorists were around, and the streets around the Nelson Motel were
silent.

Scully leaned over, stretching her back and catching her breath at
the same time. She could hear her heart thudding, her ears pounding.
Her legs were sore; she'd decided that since she was only doing
several miles, she'd increase her speed. She was sure she'd burnt off
most of the calories from the pizza she'd eaten the night before.

She stood by her motel room door. She stretched her calves and
hamstrings. The silence around her was interrupted by footsteps on
the stairs above her head. She waited to see who it was.

"Hey Scully." Mulder appeared before her. He was dressed in navy blue
sweatpants, a grey Georgetown Hoyas sweatshirt and black Nikes. "I
guess I can't ask you to come running."

She shook her head, her red ponytail flying. "You should've told me
when you were going out for a run."

"I'll be back around eight or so. Call Kresge and set up a meeting
with the McQueen girls."

Scully took off her black track jacket and then, threw it over her
shoulder. "Sure. I think I have his home number. Have a nice run."
Mulder nodded and took off quickly.

She took her keys from her jacket pocket and unlocked the door. Her
mouth was getting dry, and she'd forgotten her water bottle on her
bathroom counter. She got inside, closed and locked the door.

Scully grabbed her water bottle and drank half of it in fifteen
seconds. Breathing heavily, she went to her telephone and dialled
Kresge's phone number. She remembered it from her previous
investigation with him.

"Hello?" a female voice said on the other end.

Scully frowned. She hoped she'd remembered the number correctly. "May
I speak to John Kresge please?"

"Hold on," the woman said.

Several minutes later, Scully heard Kresge say, "Hello?"

"Detective Kresge, hi. I was hoping I'd gotten the right number."

"Oh, that's my girlfriend Lorelei. What can I do for you?"

"Agent Mulder and I would like you to arrange a meeting with the
McQueen girls for us."

"Sure. I'll make the call as soon as I hang up with you."

"In that case, I'll let you go now and rather than calling me on this
phone, just ring my cellular phone."

"Okay. I'll let you go." Kresge hung up.

"He has a girlfriend," Scully said after hanging up. "So I guess he
didn't request me because he was attracted to me." She laughed at
herself for thinking that although she had to admit: when she was
working with Kresge before, she'd found him attractive. She hadn't
seen him since her arrival the day before but she was sure he looked
the same.

She grabbed her cell phone and headed into the bathroom to have a
shower. She put a towel on the toilet seat and her phone atop the
towel. She was going to wait for Kresge to call before starting the
shower. She pulled her damp T-shirt off and placed it gently on the
counter. The shirt was from her niece Olivia; the little girl had
painted a picture on the white shirt and gave it to Scully for her
last birthday.

Scully stared at the fluorescent green trees and the Day-Glo yellow
sun. There were two people between some trees. One person was taller
than the other, and they both had bright red hair. She'd guessed it
was them, aunt and niece.

She loved her little niece and nephews. Each addition to her family
made her happy. She was overjoyed when her brother Bill's son Matthew
was born. She'd only been disappointed that she couldn't give him a
cousin, but she'd come to terms with her infertility. She still
wished she could have her own children but when she was ready, she'd
adopt. Until then, she'd spoil her brothers' kids rotten.

Scully picked at the dry paint on the shirt before peeling off her
sweaty black leggings. She removed her socks and her bra, adding them
to the heap her leggings had created. She hooked her thumbs in the
waistband of her panties and her phone rang. She picked up the black
Nokia and pressed the TALK button. "Scully," she said. She crossed
her left arm over her breasts.

"It's Kresge. You can come down to the station around eleven to talk
to Amy and Alexandra McQueen."

She sighed. "Thank you." She heard a click and pushed the END button.

She turned on the shower, took off her underwear and moved under the
hot water.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Detective Kresge, how are you?" Mulder shook John Kresge's hand.

"I'm fine, Agent Mulder." He turned his head. "Agent Scully, so nice
to see you again." He grabbed her right hand and shook it.

She smiled. "I thought I was going to talk to you on the phone the
entire time I was here."

Kresge grinned. "I wouldn't let that happen. Now, I'll show you to
the interrogation room."

"Kresge, before we go, do you have a photo of Miranda McQueen?"
Scully asked.

"There wasn't one in the files I left at the airport? Well, that's
weird but I can get one for you."

"Thanks. I'd appreciate it."

He led the two agents down a long hall and stopped at the door on the
right side. "The girls are in there with their friend's parents.
They're taking care of them until their father returns and if he
isn't suspected after being interrogated, they'll be returned to his
care."

Scully put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it. She started into
the room, and Mulder followed her. "I'll watch you through the
one-way glass."

"Are you supposed to tell us that?" Mulder asked, laughing slightly.
"I guess it's because we're not talking to criminals."

Kresge left them, and they stepped into the room. It was extremely
quiet except for the whispers between the two girls.

They were identical in facial features only. One had jet-black hair
and her sister had hair nearly the same colour as Scully's. Both had
pale skin, blue eyes, finely boned noses, full lips and a sprinkle of
freckles across their noses and cheeks. Unfortunately, the agents had
no idea who was who.

"Hello, my name is Special Agent Scully, and this is Agent Mulder."
Scully took a seat across from the twins and their friend's parents.

The man beside the redhead said, "I'm Robert Doyle and beside Lexie
is my wife Julia."

"I'm Lexie McQueen," the raven-haired girl said.

"That means you're Amy." Scully looked at the other girl. There was
something in Amy's eyes that was familiar; it was a mysterious look.
Her twin had the same quality. Scully wondered why the quality was so
familiar to her.

"Yeah," the girl replied quietly.

"We know this is a hard time for you both but we want to find who did
this." Mulder took a seat beside his partner.

"I don't know," Amy said.

"Alexandra, what about you?" Scully asked, taking out a pen and
notepad.

"I don't know either, and nobody calls me Alexandra except my mom.
Call me Lexie." She leaned forward, resting her head in her hands.

"Okay, Lexie," Scully said. "We know you both found your mother but
we want to know if you saw anything or anyone suspicious."

"No, nothing like that." Lexie shook her head. "It was just a regular
day. My dad was away on another business trip, my mom was home from
work and Amy and I were returning from our ballet lesson. The door
was unlocked, which isn't unusual for my mom. I'm always forgetting
my keys."

"Did anything look unusual around the house?" Mulder asked.

"No. Everything was normal. Nothing inside the house was different."
Lexie squeezed her eyes shut.

Scully was worried. "Lexie, what's wrong?" She reached across and
touched the girl's hand.

She reached into her purse that was slung over her shoulder. "I
suffer from migraines. They've been really bad since my mom died."
She pulled out a prescription bottle. "I take Tylenol 3. They help as
long as I take them when I feel a headache starting."

Scully frowned. "I'm sure they're awful. My sister suffered from
occasional migraines when she was in her teens."

"Is that all you want to talk about? Can we go?" Amy said.

"Just a few more questions," Scully insisted. "What did you girls
think about your parents fighting?"

"I hated it. I love my father and mother but I truly believe they
would've been happier apart." Lexie opened her pill bottle. Mulder
poured her a cup of water from the pitcher Kresge had left on the
table. "Thanks," Lexie said as he pushed the cup to her. She took her
medication.

"I'd like to let you know something but I don't want to upset you."
Scully paused. "Your father is our main suspect in your mother's
murder."

Amy nodded and said softly, "We know."

Robert Doyle stood up. "I think we're finished here. Lexie needs to
have a nap."

Scully stood up as well. "Sure. Thank you all for taking time to see
us, and Lexie, I hope you get well soon. Try taking a warm bath in a
candlelit bathroom. That usually worked for my sister."

The twins gave small smiles as they followed the Doyles out of the
room.

"I didn't know that Melissa suffered from migraines," Mulder said,
getting up. "Did you when you were young?"

"No. It was just Melissa. We figured she inherited it from my
father's mother but Melissa's disappeared in her early twenties. She
believed it was because she'd started meditating." Scully wore a wide
grin whenever she spoke about her big sister and the good times from
the past.

"Want some water?"

"No, thank you," Scully replied. "You know what? Those girls reminded
me of Melissa. I don't know why. They had this mysterious twinkle in
their eyes, and Missy always had that look."

"And Amy's red hair. I think it's natural, and I'm sure you and
Melissa are the only women I've met with naturally red hair."

"Yeah. It's natural. I bet Lexie dyed her hair black because she was
called 'Red' by her schoolmates. She probably didn't want to be
identical to Amy."

There was a knock at the door and Kresge entered. "I have the picture
you requested." He placed the small glossy photo on the table.

"That's Miranda McQueen? Then I knew her after all!" Scully
exclaimed.

"How?" Kresge asked.

"She was best friends with my sister and Miranda's sister dated my
brother. The McQueens lived on Miramar Naval Base here in San Diego."

"Did you know Dale Wallace?" Mulder took the picture from his
partner's hand.

"No. I don't believe so. I could have but I don't remember. I can't
even remember Miranda's sister's name."

"It's Michelle. She lives in San Francisco," Kresge said.

"Oh, Mich! I remember now. Bill dated Mich. I'm thirty-four years old
but lately, my memory is like that of a seventy-year-old's."

Kresge opened the door. "We're still looking for Dale. We believe he
could've fled to Arizona. Someone fitting his description stopped at
a convenience store near the California-Arizona border."

"Did that just come in?" Mulder asked. Kresge nodded. "Well, send
some cars out, or get an Arizona police force out looking."

"Okay, and as soon as we find him, he'll be brought here for
questioning."

"Good plan. Until then, we'll stay in touch with Amy and Lexie."

"From what I could see, you two are really good with kids," Kresge
commented. He glanced at Scully.

Mulder stood up. "Scully, I just need to use the restroom. When I get
back, we'll leave." He left the interrogation room.

Kresge leaned against the wall. "How have you been?" he asked Scully.
He folded his arms across his chest.

"You mean about Emily, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I'm
doing okay. It's been hard but I'm fine."

Kresge and Scully had investigated the murder of Emily's adoptive
mother Roberta Sim. Kresge had even risked his life on the case.

"Well, that's good. How's your family?"

"My nephew celebrates his first Christmas this year. He's getting
big. I saw him several days ago. I'll see him again on Monday."

"And that's the child your sister-in-law was pregnant with last
year?"

Scully nodded. "Yeah. Tara gave birth after New Year's. He's such a
sweet baby." She looked at her watch. "Agent Mulder should be ready.
Please excuse me."

"Perhaps you two can come for dinner after this case is closed." He
ran a hand through his brown hair.

Scully put her hand on the doorknob. "Maybe." She made a quick exit.

She wondered why Kresge was so concerned with her situation. "Maybe
he's genuinely interested and not making small-talk," she said to
herself.

"Hey Scully, are you ready to go?" Mulder strode down the hallway.

"Yeah. Let's just stay at the motel. I'm tired."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully's motel room was extremely dark when she awoke from her nap.
It was nearly eight; she'd been asleep for nearly six hours. She knew
she wouldn't sleep through the night.

She blinked hard, her eyes adjusting to the blackness. She was glad
she wasn't near the motel sign. That's where she usually got stuck
and the bright light usually kept her up late.

She picked up her cell phone and pressed a button. The screen lit up
and she saw she'd missed three calls. All three were from Mulder. She
dialled his cellular phone number.

"Hey Scully," he answered. "You fell asleep. I missed you."

She heard moaning in the background; it was coming from his
television. "Obviously, you found some other company." She loved
ribbing him about his interest in pornography.

"You must have been wiped. You've been sleeping since two o'clock.
Did you have a nice snooze?"

She rolled onto her side. "Yes, but I'll be up all night now. I
missed your calls. I don't usually sleep that heavily."

"Well, I heard from Kresge. He has several police cruisers out
looking for Dale Wallace. He's also gotten police on the watch
between Arizona's border and here."

"Hopefully, he's found soon. Those girls need to know who killed
their mother and if it is their father, I feel for them. I just hope
that if he did kill Miranda, Amy and Lexie are sent to live with
their grandmother or their aunt."

"Perhaps you should call Michelle McQueen and talk to her. She, as
well as her mother, have been notified of Miranda's death."

"I guess I'll get Mich's number from Kresge then, but I know it will
a tough adjustment for the twins if they must go live with their
aunt." Her voice grew soft. "Everything changes when a loved one
dies."

"I know, Scully. Now, would you like some supper? I'll order some
Chinese food and we can have a nice evening in your room."

She smiled. "That sounds great. Come down when you're ready."

"Okay. See you in a few."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 November 29, 1998

Scully set her chopsticks in her box of noodles. She was getting
full but the food was so delicious, and she had been starving due to
oversleeping. She'd already eaten the whole container of chicken
balls.

She looked over at Mulder. He was fast asleep in the chair. It was
nearly one in the morning and she'd expected him to fall asleep in
the comfortable recliner. She had been so busy eating and watching
late night comedy shows, she hadn't even realized he had fallen
asleep.

His white dress shirt was pulled out of his pants. His brown hair was
flat on the side of his head he'd slept on for most of the evening.
He had his arms crossed and his feet propped up on the attached
footrest.

Scully pulled her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees.
She reached for the remote and changed the channel, finding a talk
show. Her head started throbbing painfully. She always developed
headaches when she stayed up late. That was why she rarely did it on
purpose.

She rubbed her temples and groaned. She didn't know how Lexie McQueen
could handle migraine headaches. Scully could remember her sister
Melissa and how severe her migraines would get. Melissa refused to
take medication and had the patience, sanity and pain threshold to
wait them out, even if they lasted more than a day.

She cringed when the phone started ringing. "Who could be calling
this late?" she said before answering it.

"Agent Scully, it's Kresge."

"Detective Kresge, what are you doing calling so late?"

He said quietly, "I realized I hadn't given you a picture of Dale
Wallace. I think it was because we weren't looking for him. I'm sorry
I haven't been helpful."

"You have been. Just send it over later on."

"Why are you still up?"

"I fell asleep this afternoon for about six hours, and I'm not
tired."

"I would ask if you wanted to go for coffee but if Lorelei wakes up
and I'm gone, she'll flip, especially if she discovers I'm out with a
pretty woman."

Scully's mouth curled into a wide grin even though Kresge couldn't
see it. "Well, I'll let you go then. I shouldn't keep you up just
because I can't sleep."

"I'll see you tomorrow and then, I'll take you for coffee."

"That sound great. Goodnight." She put the receiver in its cradle.

Scully looked at Mulder. He hadn't moved at all, and she didn't think
he would for the rest of the night. Her head pounded as she stood up,
grabbed a blanket and moved across the room to his side. She draped
the cool cover across his legs. His arm twitched but he didn't open
his eyes.

She knelt down at the end of her bed and pulled out her suitcase. She
rummaged around inside for her bottle of Tylenol. Once she found it,
she took two pills with a swig of soda from dinner.

Scully got on the bed and lying on her stomach, kicked off her shoes
and turned off the lamp. The TV behind her was still on but she
thought that could help put her to sleep.

It didn't so she started thinking despite the nagging pain in her
head. Her partner amazed her sometimes. He'd handled the day before
so well; she could safely say that the abduction of Mulder's sister
had left some serious emotional scars. However, he acted normally and
didn't seem like he was depressed. She knew he was hurting but with
Samantha, he did that every day and had done so since the day she'd
disappeared. He was consumed with guilt and the desire to find her.
That was his reason for starting work on the X-files in the first
place. Now, they were gone but Mulder was as determined as ever to
get them back.

Scully felt her eyelids growing heavy and eventually, she couldn't
open her eyes. She was too tired. She knew she was going to sleep
well.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Four
Deep Thoughts

 Scully was rudely awakened by her partner shaking her. She moaned as
she opened her eyes. Mulder was smiling. "Hey Sunshine. Wake up. It's
nearly ten."

She shot up. "Did a package arrive for me?"

"You mean the photo of Dale Wallace? Yeah, it did. I signed for it."

"Kresge called me late last night to say he'd forgotten to show me
what Dale Wallace looked like. Can I see it?" She put her hands out
to prop herself up.

"Sure." Mulder picked up an envelope from the top of the television.
"You should've gotten me up last night. You were the one who reminded
me about male and female agents not being allowed to consort in the
same room while on investigation," he said in one breath.

"You just looked so tuckered out," she commented, taking the padded
envelope from him. She reached inside and removed the picture.

"Do you recognize him?"

"No, Mulder. He probably met Miranda after she moved. They could have
dated while the McQueens still lived in San Diego. I wasn't friends
with her."

"Well, I guess Kresge sending this to us means we're on the lookout
as well. So much fun."

Scully nodded. "I hope this case doesn't drag on for too long.
Christmas is next month. Hopefully, I'm home for that."

Mulder noticed the Tylenol on the bedside table. "Headache?"

"A really bad one last night. It started suddenly but it's gone now."

It was silent until the phone rang. Mulder answered it but handed it
to Scully. "It's Kresge. He needs to speak to you urgently."

She took the receiver. "Kresge, what is it?"

"Dale Wallace was arrested in Mesa, Arizona. Some of my officers went
down to get him back up here."

"Great. Did he put up a struggle?"

"Yeah, and it's usually a sure sign of guilt."

"We'll see." Scully hung up and turned to Mulder. "They caught Dale
in Arizona. He's being brought up here."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The muscular man was smug. His brown hair was messy and his face was
unshaven; his navy blue blazer was wrinkled. His lawyer, Joan Ross,
sat beside him, whispering in his ear.

Mulder frowned when he saw Dale Wallace. The man was unmoved. He'd
signed a confession, saying he murdered his wife.

"Mr. Wallace, my name is Fox Mulder. I'm with the FBI." Dale nodded.
"And this is my partner, Dana Scully."

The man smiled widely. "Melissa's little sister. I've heard a lot
about you."

Scully was surprised. "You knew my sister?"

"Very well. She was best friends with Miranda."

Mulder cut to the chase. "Mr. Wallace, why did you kill your wife?"

"We wanted a divorce but we had a prenuptial agreement. Divorce meant
everything split down the middle. Guess I got a little greedy," he
said cruelly.

"That's all?" Scully said in disbelief. "All this over money and
property?"

"I'm a businessman, Miss Scully. I know about needing to sacrifice
things to succeed."

Mulder was sickened. "But did you have to kill Miranda? You've left
your two daughters motherless, and it's almost Christmas. Did you
think about that?"

"No. My daughters aren't on my mind when it comes to business." He
changed the subject. "How's Missy? She moved to the East Coast and I
haven't heard from her since."

"Mr. Wallace, that's not relevant now. This isn't about your
friendship with Melissa. It's about you murdering your wife." Scully
was growing frustrated at Dale's lack of emotion. She knew that some
killers showed no remorse but usually, they were the ones who
murdered perfect strangers.

"I've told you why I did it, Miss Scully."

His lawyer spoke up. "If you're finished, my client is going to be
put into holding until he is sentenced."

Scully shook her head. "No. I want to talk to Dale." She straightened
her back. "My sister died, Dale. She was murdered about three years
ago."

His face grew serious. "I'm really sorry."

"She was killed by somebody like you. Somebody who was blinded by his
own desires."

"Well, we all had some good times together," he said, ignoring
Scully's previous comment.

Mulder stood up. "I need something to drink." He left the room in a
hurry. Scully assumed he was disgusted with Dale's attitude.

"Our lives were all about parties and nights out, until Amy and Lexie
came along, that is."

Scully fiddled with a pen on the table. "Were you happy about that?"

"Not really at first, but I love them. We were twenty at the time we
adopted them--"

"They're adopted?" she asked.

"You shouldn't look so surprised," he replied.

"Why not?" she challenged, leaning forward. She was calm.

"They're Melissa's children."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mulder poked his head into the women's washroom. "Scully, are you
okay?"

He heard Scully blow her nose. "I'm a little shaken up right now."
Her voice boomed from inside a stall.

"Did Dale say something to you? I saw you rush from the interrogation
room."

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Just give me a while."

Mulder closed the bathroom's door and looked down the hallway for
Kresge. Other police officers had been watching the interview so
Mulder wasn't sure where the detective had gone.

"Agent Mulder," he heard behind him. It was John Kresge. "Where's
Scully?"

"Um, she's in the bathroom. I think Dale Wallace said something that
upset her, probably about her sister. Dale and Miranda were friends
with Melissa Scully."

"Give her some time and maybe she'll talk about it."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She wasn't sure if she should believe the murderer. How could her
sister have had kids without saying anything?

Scully wiped at stray tears that had escaped from her blue eyes. She
couldn't believe she was crying in a bathroom stall. It was
reminiscent of her teen years and all the heartbreaks she'd suffered
that had caused her to run and hide.

She pulled herself to her feet and emerged from the stall. She saw
herself in the mirror. Her eyes weren't red but they were wet. She
went to the sink and splashed some water on her face.

Scully was determined to find out if there was any truth to what Dale
had said: Melissa was the biological mother of Amy and Alexandra. She
knew that their adoption papers were probably sealed but she could
manipulate Dale into requesting to see them. She'd try getting them
through proper channels first.

If the twins were indeed her sister's daughters, she knew she'd have
a tough time telling her family. This was similar to the year before.
When Scully had discovered Emily the previous Christmas, she'd
originally thought the child was her sister's. Emily was identical in
appearance to Melissa as a toddler, but Scully was wrong. She knew
for damn sure that these girls were not her own; they were much too
old. That meant that Melissa had been nineteen or twenty when she
gave birth, if Amy and Lexie were her children.

Mulder was probably waiting for her outside. She dried her hands with
a paper towel before leaving the washroom. Mulder was out in the
hall; he was leaning against the wall. He immediately went to Scully
when he saw her. "Are you feeling better?"

She crossed her arms. "No," she said, her voice barely audible. "Dale
Wallace *did* say something to me."

She saw a flash of anger in his eyes. "Damn it! What did he say?"

"He and Miranda adopted Amy and Lexie, and Dale told me that these
girls, the children Miranda raised as if they were her own, are
actually Melissa's kids."

Mulder's mouth dropped open. "I'm sure he's lying."

"I don't know. Melissa was always so secretive. She could have been
pregnant and I wouldn't have even known."

"But didn't you see here then? You both lived in San Francisco at the
time. Weren't you attending Berkeley?"

"Yeah but Melissa never looked pregnant. She put on twenty pounds or
so but I thought that was because I constantly told her she was too
thin. I think that was because I was jealous she was slimmer than I
was." She chuckled slightly.

Mulder's voice was low. "Scully, are you sure you can trust this man?
He may have been your sister's friend but he's also a murderer."

"I don't know, Mulder. I have to get the adoption records, to see if
Melissa's their mother, unless I can do a DNA test, a PCR. I need to
know for sure if Melissa had children."

"Scully, consider all this carefully. If they are your nieces or if
they're not, you must be prepared. Talk to your family and get them
ready for the news. I'm not sure how they're going to feel if Amy and
Lexie are Melissa's kids."

"Perhaps that's why they reminded me of her, and Lexie has migraine
headaches. She inherited them from her mother."

"Scully, I'm taking you back to the motel so you can spend some time
alone and really think about this. I don't want you getting worked up
and being disappointed."

She licked her upper lip, a gesture of anxiety. "I know. I don't want
to either."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The scotch tasted awful and it burned Scully's throat. There was
still half left in the small bottle Mulder had brought her. She
rarely drank but when she did, she enjoyed rich red wine. This scotch
was rancid to her; it was an acquired taste she never had. Scully
knew Mulder sometimes went to the bar when he was feeling down so
he'd probably assumed the drink would help his partner as well.
Unfortunately, Scully's thinking required a clear head. She screwed
the cap on the scotch bottle. If she'd had a drink every time
something terrible happened in her adult life, she'd probably be
deemed an alcoholic.

Scully sighed and leaned forward in her chair. She perched her elbows
on her thighs, put her head in her hands. Now that she'd stopped
drinking, the silence was horrendous. She wanted them--sobriety,
serenity--to think but it wasn't helping at all.

<Who knew a simple case would lead into such a surprise?> Scully knew
she'd be up half the night wondering. If what Dale Wallace had told
her was true, that would mean two new additions to her family--she'd
have more nieces. She had to get ahold of the girls' adoption records
and birth certificates.

She couldn't understand how her sister could have had twins and not
told her family, and why Melissa's swollen stomach had not shown
more. But then, Melissa used to wear loose dresses; Scully rarely saw
her sister in jeans.

How Melissa covered up her pregnancy was not as important as why she
never told her sister. Scully remembered one pregnancy scare but that
had been negative, or at least that was what Melissa said.

"I can't believe Missy lied to me." Scully shook her head.

Her deep thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. "Mulder, I
thought you wanted me to think," she called.

"It's Kresge. I need to talk to you."

She jumped up and went to the door. "Hold on." She undid the chain
and pulled the door open.

He stepped inside. "I heard about what Dale Wallace said to you and
I'm sorry he made you so upset."

"But is he telling the truth?"

"I don't know, but he probably was friends with your sister."

Scully asked, "Can you help me get my hands on the twins' birth
certificates?"

Kresge winced. "It might not be so easy. I'll see what I can do. For
now, Edith and Michelle McQueen are coming here to plan Miranda's
funeral. Maybe you can ask them if they know anything about the
twins' birth parents. It could be anybody, or it could be your
sister."

Scully laughed nervously. "I never imagined this would happen. I
guess I assumed that if my sister had been pregnant, she would have
told me. I do remember she thought she was expecting once, and she
probably was."

Kresge looked down. "I'm really sorry about everything that's
happened. You seem to suffer in San Diego, or maybe it's me." He
startled Scully by embracing her.

"I don't think it's you." She reached up, putting her hands on his
shoulder blades. Her cheek was pressed against his chest. He had a
musky smell, like he'd put on cologne and most of it had worn off.
She knew what was happening probably didn't look right because John
Kresge was an attractive man, but he was simply comforting her.

He broke the silence. "If you need anything, give me a call." He let
her go. "Lorelei's made my favourite dinner so I should leave." He
went to the door.

"Thanks for stopping by." She opened the door for him. "Contact me
with any new developments in the case."

"Sure, and I'll see what I can do about accessing Amy and Alexandra's
records. I can't promise anything."

Scully waited for Kresge to head to his car before closing the door.
It was growing dark outside. She didn't want to sleep. She wanted to
jog.

She went into her suitcase and pulled out a pair of black shorts and
a blue sweatshirt. The phone rang after she'd started to change.

It was Mulder. "Hey Scully, do you want to go for a bite to eat?" 

"No thanks. I'm going for a run." She sat down and pulled on white
sport socks. "I need to clear my head. You can join me if you'd
like."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully ran, taking long strides. The world around her was a blur.
The residential street seemed to continue forever, and all was silent
except for her feet hitting the pavement. Her partner had passed on
the jog. That meant she could pick up her page--no Mulder lagging
behind. He ran longer distances but he did it slowly. She could do
short distances quickly.

Tomorrow was a big day. Bill and his family would be home and Scully
would have to visit them. She was contemplating whether or not she
should tell her brother about her suspicions. He hadn't been too
supportive the year before, when she'd suspected Emily was Melissa's
daughter. Now, with Amy and Lexie, Bill would probably insist that
Melissa hadn't been pregnant, because she would have told their
mother and father. <Bill thinks he knew Missy so well,> Scully
thought as she pumped her arms and pounded the pavement.

Brothers and sisters never usually had the closeness that two sisters
had. Bill was protective of Scully and Melissa but he only knew what
they told him. Ever since they were young, the sisters could tell
things about each other by facial expressions, body language or their
manner of speaking. However, if Melissa *had* been pregnant and her
sister never noticed, that mean their communication had decreased
somewhat along the way.

Scully slowed down until she was jogging on the spot. She used her
sleeve to wipe the sheen of sweat from her forehead.

"Tomorrow is a big day indeed."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

<"Dana! You gotta show up more often!" Melissa exclaimed. Her
younger sister walked down the hall to Melissa's apartment.

"School's been hectic. I just finished exams and now, it's summer.
Finally." Dana threw her arms around her sister. "Hey Missy, have you
gained some weight?"

"Yeah. I've started eating more, thanks to your comments. But no
meat."

"Well, you look good." Dana entered Melissa's home. "Would you mind
getting me a glass of water?"

"No problem. Have a seat." She ushered her sibling into the tiny
living room before heading into her even smaller kitchen.

Dana sighed at the sight of her sister's messy coffee table, but
messy was Melissa. Her room always looked like a dump, mountains of
clothes heaped on either side of the room.

Dana became nosy when she saw a piece of paper with her sister's
flowing script on it. She read it. "'I can't believe it. I'm
pregnant, with twins to top it all off. What am I going to do? I
can't tell anybody, especially since the father is married. Everyone
will think I'm a whore'."

A whisper. "Dana, it's true. I'm pregnant." Dana looked up and saw
Melissa's small abdominal bulge, one that would probably go unnoticed
by any person on the street.

Dana frowned. "Oh Missy. You're not a whore, but you should tell Mom
and Dad."

Melissa shook her head furiously. "I can't.">

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 November 30, 1998

Scully opened her eyes and was greeted by the early morning
sunshine. She'd slept the entire night, having only one dream about
her sister. She had never discovered anything like that letter so it
wasn't simply a flashback.

It was eight o'clock. Scully knew she had several hours to prepare
for her visit to her brother's house; her family's flight to San
Diego left at seven Eastern time. Bill and Tara would be tired, and
Matthew would probably be cranky. Perhaps today was not a good day to
tell them about Amy and Alexandra McQueen.

"I should know for sure," she mumbled into her blanket. "I need all
the answers."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Chapter Five
Second Mother

"Dana, it's so great to see you again." Tara Scully hugged her
sister-in-law before pulling her inside. "Bill is just giving Matthew
a bath."

"That would be a sweet sight. According to Mom, every new sibling for
Bill was at risk in the tub when he was around." She slipped off her
shoes. "And I thought I was jealous when Charlie was born."

Tara led Scully into the warm kitchen. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No. I've been busy all afternoon," she lied. All she'd done was
watch daytime TV in her motel room with no interruptions from Mulder
or Kresge. They knew she needed time to herself.

"We were just going to sit down to dinner when he got downstairs.
I'll set an extra place." Tara put on a pair of oven mitts. "Have a
seat. I just have to pull this roast beef out."

Scully's stomach growled. Tara's food was always delicious. "It
smells wonderful, Tara."

"Thank you." She set the roasting pan on the stove. "When do you
think you'll be done with this case?"

"I don't know. There were some new developments," Scully answered.
She fidgeted with a place mat.

Tara brought a plate and some cutlery to the table. "Well, I hope
you're finished soon."

"Mama." Matthew toddled into the room, followed by his father.

Scully smiled at her brother. "Hey Bill. I told Tara about how you
tried to drown Missy, Charlie and me when we were babies."

Bill picked up his son. "I was jealous but then, Dad gave me a big
talk on how important it was to be a big brother."

"Are you going to Mom's for Christmas, for sure?" Scully asked.

"Yeah, and as far as I know, Charlie is going to be there too. Why?
Is this case you're investigating going to hold you up until then?"

He'd nailed it, partially. "Maybe. I was telling Tara that we had
some new information come to light. It doesn't relate to the case
directly. It's about the murdered woman's daughters, and Melissa."

Bill gave Matthew to his wife and sat down across from Scully.
"Please tell me this isn't a replay of last Christmas."

"Not an exact replay," Scully said. Bill looked confused. "Remember
the McQueen family that lived near us when we lived on the base here?
You dated the oldest girl Michelle, and Missy was best friends with
Miranda."

"Yes, I remember them."

"Well, Miranda McQueen was our victim. Her husband, Dale Wallace,
killed her. They had two children, twin daughters. According to Dale,
these girls were adopted and Melissa is their birth mother."

"Just what we all need," Bill said crossly.

"I only told you to prepare you in case Amy and Lexie are Melissa's
kids. They need to be told about their real mother."

"Dana, if Melissa was pregnant, why did she keep it a secret?"

"Because she could. She only saw me in San Francisco around the time
the girls were born."

He shook his head. "How old are they?"

"Sixteen. That means Missy was nineteen or twenty when they were
born. She was probably frightened, too scared even to tell me."

"Fine, but did you ever notice her belly growing? Like you said, she
only saw you since you were attending Berkeley."

"Bill, I only saw that she was gaining weight. Her clothes were
always baggy and I told her she was too thin. She gained about twenty
pounds but I only assumed that was because of my nagging. It's not
impossible for somebody to not notice a pregnancy."

Tara sat beside her husband. She kept quiet. Bill reached out and
grabbed his sister's hand. "Dana, you and Missy were close. Why
didn't she tell you?"

"She was afraid of being judged. That's what I think anyway. Missy
acted tough but she didn't always act maturely. Why would she have
asked for my help so often?"

"Dana, I can't accept this until there's proof," Bill admitted.
"Can't you do tests?"

"If Dale says it's okay. He was also a friend of Missy's."

Tara spoke up. "I'll serve supper, if you're still hungry."

Scully said, "I'm not. Thank you." She checked watch. "I have to go.
If you'd like, phone Mom. I'll keep in touch."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey Scully. Where have you been?" Mulder asked when he saw his
partner getting out of their rental car. He was returning from the
soda machine. He saw that Scully's cheeks were tearstained but he
didn't ask about it.

"I told my brother about the girls and my suspicions. He doesn't
accept it, not until I've gotten proof."

"That seems to run in your family." His joke didn't go over smoothly;
Scully frowned. "I'm sorry, Scully. I'm sure you don't need this
now."

"No problem, Mulder. I just need to lie down."

"You've been doing that an awful lot but I know how you feel. You
sleep, wishing everything would go away."

"No. I'm sleeping because I'm tired." She removed her room key from
her pocket. "I've decided that if Dale agrees, I'm going to get some
tests done on the twins' DNA and compare it to Melissa's. I'm going
to request her files from the Bureau."

"And if they are your nieces, what are you going to do? Are you going
to tell them?"

Scully slid her key into the door's lock. "I don't know. Everything's
going to change."

When she was inside and the door was closed, she picked up her phone
and dialled the number of the Bureau's laboratory at headquarters.
She hoped somebody was there.

A lab technician named Jenna O'Shea answered. "Agent O'Shea, it's
Agent Scully."

"Hi, Scully. How can I help you at this late hour?"

"Could you pull out the files on my sister, Melissa Scully, and have
them sent to the San Diego office?"

"Sure. I'll get on that right now."

"Thank you." Scully hung up the phone. "There will be a huge change."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 December 1, 1998

Dale Wallace was slouching in his chair. He wore the drab orange
prison garb. He actually smiled when he saw Scully come into the
room. "Dana, how are you?"

"How am I? Well, my whole life is in shambles because of what you
told me," she said furiously.

"But you need to know."

"Why? The girls are almost adults. If they're my sister's children,
I've missed so many years."

"If?" Dale echoed. "Dana, they are Missy's girls. I was there the
entire time Missy was in labour, the entire thirty-two hours."

"How can I believe you? You're a murderer."

"But I care about my girls. They *are* mine."

Scully sat down, dropping onto the chair like a stone in water. "What
do you mean?"

"I married Miranda when she was nineteen but I was having an affair
with your sister. We accidentally conceived and she didn't want an
abortion. I agreed to help her through it. Miranda never suspected a
thing. She just assumed Melissa was pregnant by an old boyfriend. I
then convinced Miranda that we should adopt the babies because
Melissa wanted a stable life for them."

Scully couldn't believe what she was hearing. "If that is true, did
your wife ever find out?"

"No. She thought she was adopting Melissa's kids fathered by another
man, not by me. She never thought about that."

"I'm going to have to perform DNA tests on the girls' blood as well
as yours, just in case."

Dale shrugged. "Go ahead. Send a doctor to draw blood whenever you'd
like. It's the only way to prove that I'm their father. Missy left my
space blank on the birth certificates, in case you wanted to look at
those."

"Thank you for co-operating, Dale, but you've shattered my family.
Our lives will be changed forever," she said, her voice Arctic-cool.

"I thought you'd like to know that Missy had kids, since she passed
away. That is, unless you have something against illegitimate
children."

"No. If these girls are indeed my nieces, my family would accept
them." <I hope so.>

"I know you miss your sister, Dana, but Missy was thinking about you
when she was pregnant. In fact, Amy's middle name is Dana." He added,
"Lexie's middle name is Margaret, after your mother."

Scully smiled. There was now a bigger chance that Melissa was in fact
the girls' birth mother. Scully wanted to know more but she knew it
would hurt if she got excited and the girls ended up being someone
else's children. She wanted to know but decided she would have to
wait.

"Dale, I'll send the doctor later today. I'll get some blood from the
girls as well."

"Go ahead, just as long as they're willing but don't tell them why.
Let them live with Miranda's sister, believing Miranda was their
mother."

"So they can be even more furious with you when they *do* find out?
They'll never visit you in prison."

"Now that I'm in jail, I can't make decisions for my kids so do
whatever."

Scully nodded. "I will," she said before leaving.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Scully pulled up to the Doyle residence and turned off the car. She
sat, staring at the large white house and its lush green lawn. She
was afraid to face the twins, knowing they could be her nieces.

She took her first step by getting out of the car. It took a few
seconds for her to get up the front walk. She was making progress.
Shrieks sounded from behind the house so Scully took the curving
sidewalk to the backyard.

The twins weren't the ones making the noise. They were sitting on the
edge of the Doyles' swimming pool. Lexie wore sunglasses; Scully
guessed it probably wasn't a migraine day. She recognized Julia Doyle
in the water but wasn't sure who the other female was.

"Agent Scully," Julia called. "Come on over to the pool."

Scully moved slowly toward Amy and Lexie. She stuffed her hands in
her pockets. "Mrs. Doyle, I spoke to your husband a while ago. He was
on his way out."

"Yeah." Julia pulled herself onto the deck. "Agent Scully, that's my
daughter, Rhiannon." The girl looked like a young version of Julia,
with the same dark hair and eyes.

Scully gave a small smile. "Fleetwood Mac?" she guessed.

"My favourite song, but call her Annie. She thinks her name is
geeky."

Scully waved. "Nice to meet you, Annie." The young girl nodded and
swam to her friends.

"Amy and Lexie seem to be handling this trauma well but I hear them
crying at night and I'm afraid to intrude. They're upset as it is."
Julia crossed her arms. "It's even harder now, with their father
being the killer."

"Let them come around. They will talk when they're ready."

"What can I do for you?"

"Some things have come up concerning the girls' background. Dale has
given me the okay to get their blood. If they decline, I won't do
it."

Julia's forehead creased. "Was there something wrong with Miranda?
Was she ill?"

"No. She was healthy when she died. That's not an issue because
according to Dale, the girls were adopted. I'm trying to find out who
their real mother is."

"Who do you think it is?" The woman was becoming more worried.

"I can't say right now."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully glanced into the backseat. Amy and Lexie sat in silence.
They'd reluctantly agreed to go.

"So, how have you been, Agent Scully?" Lexie asked, running a hand
through her damp black hair.

"I'm fine," she lied. "Thank you for asking."

"Our mom's funeral is in a couple days. Are you coming?" Amy said.

"Yeah. I don't know if you two knew this but your mom was my sister's
best friend, and your Aunt Michelle dated my brother."

"Is that why you chose to investigate? Because you knew my mom?"

"No. I had no idea, and I never really knew your mom. Missy usually
went to her house. She said hi to me when she came by to get my
sister."

Amy smiled. "Aunt Missy! How is she?"

"Um, she passed away, three years ago," Scully said, <Aunt Missy?>
she thought.

Both girls grew teary-eyed. "We've always loved Aunt Missy," Lexie
said. "She's the one who suggested our middle names when we were
born. She moved away when we were eleven. She said her sister was
sick. She must've meant you."

That was when Scully had been returned from her abduction. Melissa
had been there nearly the whole time while she was comatose.

Amy sniffled. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, much better." She decided not to talk about her cancer or
Emily.

"So you must have been the one in all the pictures in Aunt Missy's
apartment. She was always telling us stories about her adventures
with her little sister Dana. She said she suggested Dana for Amy's
middle name because she reminded her of you when you were born."

Scully smiled, though she ached inside. Melissa had lied to the girls
as well, feeling it was in their best interest. It probably was at
the time.

"I just want to let you both know: don't worry about the blood tests.
We don't believe you have any diseases," Scully said. "How have your
migraines been, Lexie?"

"Bad. I don't have one now, but I had one for two days before today."

"Perhaps I can get the doctor to prescribe a better medication for
it."

"Whatever, just as long as they go away. Sometimes they're so bad, I
stay in bed all day with my blinds closed. I've missed at least a
month of school, not all at once though. Sometimes I just go to
school with headaches."

"We're not there now because Julia told us to take a week off," Amy
added. "Annie was just spending today with us."

"It's good you have friends like that. Annie seems great."

"Mom always said Aunt Missy was that kind of friend. She'd do
anything for Mom," Amy said, her voice shaking. Scully looked in the
rear-view mirror and saw the girl struggling to keep herself from
crying.

"Girls, I know what happened to your mother was traumatic but it's
good to talk about it." She inhaled deeply. "It was a relief for me
to talk after I lost my father, my sister, and my daughter. It's
therapeutic, but only if you're comfortable about discussing the
tragedy."

Lexie nodded. "We know. When your father died, we listened to Aunt
Missy talk to our mom about it. They both cried. Missy felt bad that
she didn't go to the funeral."

Scully gulped. "Do you know why she didn't come?"

"She said she couldn't bear to say goodbye. She knew she had to but
she couldn't. She thought you'd all think it was because she'd always
been angry at him."

Scully bit her lip and took a deep shaky breath. These girls could
possibly answer some questions about the time Melissa hadn't spent
with her sister, like why she'd travelled up and down the West Coast
in 1994. Obviously, she'd gone to see Miranda and the girls before
leaving for Washington to see her comatose sister.

"Did your aunt...Missy...keep in touch with you and your parents
after she left California?" She was extremely curious; she wanted to
know if Melissa had really left her children--if they were hers.

"Yeah. She called twice a week and always talked to us, for hours on
end," Amy answered. "She wanted to know everything: how we were
doing, what our school marks were like, if we'd gotten taller. Then
she stopped calling. That was probably because she'd passed away."

"So Melissa was very good to you?"

Lexie spoke up. "She was like our second mother. She watched us when
our parents went out. She came to visit us when we were sick. She
picked us up from school. She loved us."

Scully kept her focus on driving but as they neared the doctor's
office, she heard the twins whispering in the backseat. The only
thing she managed to make out was Lexie telling her sister: "If Aunt
Missy hadn't died, she would take care of us."

The sadness of the sentence caused a tear to escape from Scully's
eye. They girls had no one: their "mother" was murdered, their
"father" was in jail, and the woman who'd loved them, the woman they
called Aunt Missy, was gone.

Scully wanted to comfort them by telling them that Michelle McQueen
would probably take care of them. However, she decided to stay silent
so Amy and Lexie could mourn the loss of the three people they loved.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"How long will it take for the results to get back?" Lexie asked.
Her arm was bent at the elbow so her vein could seal.

"Not too long." Doctor Shirley Daniels smiled. "By tomorrow night at
the latest but we have good lab technicians. The results should be
done by tomorrow afternoon."

Scully stood up. "Dr. Daniels," she said, motioning to Lexie, "this
young lady suffers from severe migraine headaches and her
prescription for Tylenol 3 isn't working well anymore. Could you
prescribe something for her?"

"How bad are the headaches, Lexie? How often do they occur?"

"They occur frequently, about two times a week. They can be really
bad at times and sometimes they hurt a bit." She tucked a few stray
locks behind her ear. "They've usually awful."

"Perhaps we can wait until the stress in your life has lessened
considerably, and then I'll prescribe Imitrex. It's a new effective
migraine drug." She looked at Scully. "However, the price is quite
high. Nine tablets are about a hundred dollars."

Lexie winced but Scully said, "I'll pay for as much as she needs."

"That is incredibly kind of you," said Lexie, "but that's too much
money."

Scully shook her head. "It's not a problem. Besides, you need it to
ease the pain. No medicines stop migraines altogether. You can't be
in this much pain for the rest of your life."

"But we will pay you back somehow. I promise you." Amy's face was
serious and sincere.

"Don't worry, Amy. I can pay. It's fine."

Lexie got off the examination table. "Are we finished?"

Scully smiled. "Almost. Just go wait outside."

The twins did as they'd been told, and Dr. Daniels waited until they
were gone to ask, "When are you going to have the suspected mother's
DNA results sent to me?"

"I'll get someone to bring them after we leave. They're waiting at
the Bureau's office in town."

"Thank you, Agent Scully. I'll begin testing the girls' blood against
Mr. Wallace's blood." She pulled out her prescription pad and wrote
out the Imitrex order. She tore off the sheet and handed it to
Scully. "Get the girls' grandmother to fill this. I've been thinking
and Lexie should have it as soon as possible, but why do you insist
on helping these girls so much? Imitrex is very expensive."

Scully sighed. "They remind me of my sister."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Chapter Six
Trying Time

 December 2, 1998

It was nearly three in the morning and Scully was awake. She'd
jolted out of a dreamless sleep only to find her pillow wet with
tears. From the damp feeling, she'd sworn it was blood but she hadn't
had a nosebleed for several months. Her cancer was in remission so it
had no reason to cause her nose to bleed.

She hadn't dreamt at all during her several hours of sleep, but she
didn't know why she'd wept.

Scully sat up and threw her covers aside. She hadn't gotten much
sleep in the past few days but it wasn't affecting her as much as she
thought it would. She was still alert on the case.

She turned on the light and stared at the telephone beside her bed.
She wanted to call her mother to talk about what was going on but she
couldn't--not until she knew the answers.

The DNA tests would be ready in about twelve hours and she knew it
would be the longest wait since she'd waited for Emily's DNA test
results. That had been hell to sit that long, and this new trying
time was going to cause her to act the same way. There was the
anxiety, the wandering thoughts, and the planning for what was to
come.

Scully put her hand on the phone, her fingers curling around the
receiver. The urge to call her mom was increasing but she knew Bill
might have called their mother; Scully prayed he hadn't. She would
tell everyone when she was sure.

When she was younger and had something to keep from her parents, it
was usually kept a secret until her brother found out. He always
ruined secrets, but threatened to beat his siblings up if they didn't
keep his. It was the Right of the Big Brother.

The worst would be telling the twins themselves if they were
Melissa's kids, but Scully wouldn't be able to tell them straight out
anyway. She planned to get to know them. After all, they would be her
nieces. She wanted to know them: what they liked, what their hobbies
were, what they remembered about the happy times in their past.

She also knew they'd need a permanent place to stay. They couldn't
live with the Doyles forever. They needed to live with their family,
the one they knew. Scully didn't expect them to come live with her or
her mother. <Perhaps they could live with Michelle.> Amy and Lexie at
least knew her as an aunt when in fact, she was not related to them
at all.

Scully would also have to tell the girls they were adopted. The twins
had been lied to their entire lives. She was determined to stop the
lies from hurting them. "But Amy and Lexie will be hurt no matter
what."

She swung her legs off the bed, knowing she wouldn't get back to
sleep. She'd probably go jogging in a few hours. She couldn't count
how many times she'd been up at night, her mind filled with thoughts
and ideas about how to solve the problems in her life. The nighttime
was the only time she really had to herself. She'd be bothered by
something and it would be nearly impossible to sleep. Now she knew
how Mulder lived.

In the beginning of their partnership, Mulder rarely called her
before the sun set. He was consumed by certain personal demons, and
they kept him up nights. Scully had thought he was somewhat strange
but eventually, she knew how he felt. It all came about after her
tragedies began unfolding themselves around her.

Her "abduction" had caused her nights of light, easily interrupted
sleep, if she could even nod off at all. The deaths of family
members--her father, her sister, her daughter--had caused many late
evenings of secret tears. Learning about the cancer that had taken
residence in her body gave her thought after thought about her
dwindling life. Though the cancer was in remission, she still thought
about it.

She sometimes had nightmares about faceless men, and shadows
belonging to something that wasn't human. She knew it was from
working with Mulder on the X-files, even though she didn't believe in
the paranormal.

Scully collapsed on the bed and stretched out. Perhaps she would
sleep after all.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Scully, please stop pacing." Mulder watched his partner stop in
mid-stride and sit down in a chair near Kresge's desk.

The detective nodded. "The courier will be here soon and I'll give
you the envelope as soon as I get it."

"I can't help it." She tugged at her blue shirt. She had only dressed
casually in jeans and a tee-shirt. She didn't feel like being dressed
in a suit that day.

Mulder asked, "What are you going to do if these results are
positive? If Melissa is the birth mother?"

Scully smoothed back several strands of hair. "I'll request a leave
of absence."

"Maybe you should take time off either way," Mulder suggested.

She rubbed her eyes. She'd fallen asleep again that morning and slept
right through her alarm, so she didn't go jogging. Mulder had pounded
on the door to wake her up after she'd switched off her alarm clock.

There was silence until Scully heard a voice say, "I'm looking for a
Detective John Kresge." Her head shot up as she saw a man dressed in
a grey suit approaching Kresge's desk.

"I'm John Kresge," he called to the courier. He waved him over.

"Please sign near the X." The man passed Kresge a clipboard and he
signed his name. The courier then handed over a large manila envelope
and left.

"Thanks," Kresge called after him.

Scully jumped up and snatched the envelope from the detective's
grasp. She tore it open and pulled out its contents.

"What do they say?" Mulder asked as she scanned the first sheet.

"Dale Wallace is the biological father of Amy and Alexandra McQueen."
She flipped to the next sheet.

"What does it say about your sister?" Kresge moved closer.

She read down the page and her lower lip began trembling. She bit it
before saying, "I'm going to call Kersh."

She turned and rushed out. Mulder decided to give her some time to
herself, to sort out her feelings.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully managed to control her tears until she reached the police
station's doors. As the wetness fell on her cheeks, she knew she had
to get to her car and go somewhere. She had no idea where to go. She
knew she could drive although her vision would be blurry.

She was saddened and angry at the same time. Her sister hadn't even
trusted her enough to tell her she'd given birth to baby girls. She'd
kept it a secret from so many people, in so many ways.

Scully felt some happiness as well. She had more family now, even
though Amy and Lexie had been parts of the McQueen family for their
entire lives up to that point. They had to know they were part of the
Scully bloodline, but she knew there was a possibility the girls
could be shattered by the news.

Scully got into the rental car and started it up. She didn't see
Kresge or Mulder following her. She would return when she was calm
and dry-eyed. She carefully pulled out of the parking space and left
the station's lot.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully passed the naval base three times while driving around. She
was seriously thinking about telling Bill so he could never say she
kept secrets from him. Her entire family deserved to know but she
wanted to tell the girls first.

She wanted to know them. She was curious to see how many traits
they'd inherited genetically from Melissa. Scully already knew where
Lexie's migraines were from. She wanted to know about what careers
they were interested in, who their friends were, if they had
boyfriends. They were all the things Melissa would have wanted to
know.

Life was going to change forever, for Amy and Lexie and their new
family. Scully wasn't sure how her brothers would take the news, but
now she had proof to show Bill. The tests performed were extremely
reliable; they were the tests she'd had done when she'd thought Emily
was Melissa's daughter, and the results were low for Melissa's DNA.
However, they were a nearly positive match when tested against
Scully's DNA.

She knew her mother would be disappointed that her daughter kept twin
children a secret, but Scully also knew Margaret would be somewhat
joyous. She loved the grandchildren she had and was saddened when
Melissa passed away childless, or so she believed. Now she had two
granddaughters.

Scully wondered how she'd come to find her long-lost nieces. "Mulder
would call it fate," she said. But she didn't believe in fate. Things
happened for a reason, and there was no invisible hand orchestrating
events. This was just a coincidence.

She looked at the car clock. It was already six o'clock and hunger
was starting to gnaw at her. She'd wanted something to eat before but
she knew that, due to all her crying, the food would have no taste.
She decided to go back to the motel and perhaps get some dinner. She
didn't want to talk to Mulder yet, or anybody for that matter.

Scully turned on the radio. The music that came out of the speakers
was some chart-topping rock song and she was not in the mood for it.
She put a tape on; Mulder usually brought music for their rental
cars. This tape was soft rock.

She pulled into the diner's parking lot. She didn't want to try any
other restaurants because she knew she liked some of this diner's
food. There were many people inside, most probably from the nearby
motel, where Mulder and Scully were staying. She could smell the
greasy hamburgers on the grill and decided to order a bowl of
vegetable soup.

She placed her order quickly and found a booth at the back of the
diner. It was quiet and secluded. She could just sit and attempt to
read the newspaper while she waited for her soup. She picked up the
paper, looked at the front page, and tossed it back onto the table.
The first story was about Dale Wallace and his crime. She put her
head in her hands.

"Ma'am?" Scully looked up and saw the waitress with her soup. The
young woman placed the bowl and a spoon on the table. "Would you like
anything to drink?"

She shook her head and forced a smile. "No, thank you." The waitress
smiled and placed the bill on the tabletop.

The soup was hot. Scully leaned over and blew on it gently. The smell
made her stomach growl. She picked up her spoon, took a piece of
potato from the bowl and ate it. She planned on taking her time. She
knew Mulder was probably worried about her and she appreciated that
he cared, but she wanted to avoid him until morning.

She finished her dinner in fifteen minutes and decided to get a drink
to go. She'd probably just go to her motel room and make some phone
calls. She knew she'd have to call her family soon, to tell them the
truth, but she was just going to call her mother and attempt to talk
to her as if nothing was going on.

Scully went back up to the counter with the bill in her hand. She saw
the waitress who'd brought her the soup. "Could I get a large orange
soda to go? I just have to go to the washroom. I'll pay right now."
She pulled a five-dollar bill from her pocket and left it on the
counter.

She hurried off to the restroom to wash her hands. She stood, staring
in the mirror as she turned off the taps. There was some redness to
her eyes but not enough to match the crying she'd done during her
drive. She rarely cried but sometimes, the tears were unstoppable.

After she'd dried her hands, she left to pick up her soda and change.
She stopped when she saw Mulder at the counter. "Is that her?" the
waitress at the till said to him, pointing a finger at Scully.

"Yeah. Thanks," he said. He grabbed the plastic cup. "Scully, don't
worry. I paid for your dinner."

She nodded. "Thank you, but you didn't have to."

"Well, I saw the car outside and I saw you head to the bathroom. I
thought it would be nice to treat you." He smiled hopefully. "Have
you called Kersh?"

Scully took the soda from her partner as they exited the diner. "No.
I'm going to tomorrow morning. I just need time for it to sink in."

"So I guess the girls are...Melissa's. I'd told you to take time off
no matter what, so when you said you'd call Kersh, I wasn't sure. But
I didn't think you'd react that way if they weren't her children."

Scully handed him the car keys. "Mulder, I'm not sure what I'm going
to do. This is going to cause a major strain on my family."

Mulder got in the car and opened the passenger side for Scully. "I
can only make suggestions. One is to go to see the girls and comfort
them at Miranda McQueen's funeral. After, learn about them. See if
they're in any condition to find out the truth. Next, tell your
family about this and introduce them to the twins." Mulder stopped.
"But wait until the girls know the truth if you introduce them to
their family."

"Have you heard when Miranda's funeral is to take place?"

"Kresge told me tomorrow at three. It's being held outdoors, in St.
Michael's Cemetery. You don't have to go but I'm sure you're welcome
to attend."

She rolled down the window. "Could you come with me?"

"Sure. I'd like to." He looked at his partner. "Scully, it will get
easier. The pain won't go away completely but it will become easier
to deal."

"I know, Mulder. I just wish Melissa was here so I could ask her all
the questions I have in my head."

"It's understandable to feel that way. Unfortunately, the only person
that has some answers is Dale Wallace."

"That man disgusts me. He is the father of my sister's children but
that's all he is."

The sight of the motel was welcoming. Scully was tired but she knew
she'd probably nap a few hours and be up the rest of the night
planning what to tell Kersh.

Mulder parked the car near her room. "Maybe I should rent another
car. If you're going to be bonding with your new family, you'll need
this one."

Scully got out. "Mulder, just tell me when you need it." She trudged
to the door of her room.

"I will, but don't worry about it. Just worry about yourself right
now."

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Scully managed to find Kersh's home number in her organizer. She
didn't want to bother him at such a late hour but she'd worked up the
nerve and knew it would probably be gone by morning. She moved to the
phone, picked up the receiver, and dialled the long distance number.
It was nearly eleven o'clock on the East Coast.

A woman answered, "Kersh residence."

Scully wasn't sure how to address her superior. "Is Mr. Kersh there?"

"Hold on. May I ask who's calling?"

"My name is Dana Scully, Special Agent Scully."

"Okay. He'll be with you quickly."

Scully was glad she'd said she was an agent. She didn't want to get
Kersh in trouble with his wife.

Suddenly, Kersh came on the line. "Agent Scully, what can I help you
with?"

"Sir, I'm really sorry to bother you but I needed to call you."

"Is it about your assignment?" He sounded only slightly annoyed.

"Yes. Some things have come up as a result of this assignment.
They're very personal things, and I'm calling to request a leave of
absence."

"Is the case closed?"

"Pretty much. Dale Wallace, Miranda McQueen's husband, is in jail."

"And what are these personal things?" Kersh asked.

"I'm sure you knew that Miranda died, leaving behind two daughters.
After some DNA tests, I found out these girls are actually my
sister's children."

There was a moment of silence. "How much time would you like off?"

"A week, sir. If I need any more time, I'll call you."

"Please tell Agent Mulder to call me. Goodbye, Agent Scully."

"Goodnight, sir." She hung up.

Now, she only had her family to phone. She wanted to do that the next
day, before she left for Miranda's funeral.

Scully put her head in her hands and sighed. The girls were going to
be extremely upset when they found out the truth about who their
mother really was, who *they* were. That was the problem with lying
to children. She knew it was going to be hard going to the funeral
and just standing there, the secrets bottled up inside. The twins
were distraught already. She didn't think they were prepared for more
pain but then, she didn't know how they felt inside. She had to find
out.

She yawned. She was so tired; her eyes were beginning to sting. She
just wanted to sleep. She removed her clothes and crawled under the
covers. She switched off the bedside lamp and tugged the blankets up,
over her nudity. She thought she could get lost in the motel's sheets
and pillows, and fall asleep.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 December 3, 1998

 It was a dreary day, appropriate for a funeral. The sky was dark but
the air was warm. A surprising number of people had shown up for
Miranda McQueen's funeral.

Scully and Mulder stood near the front of the crowd on the right side
of the coffin. They faced Amy and Lexie, as well as Michelle and
Edith McQueen. Scully hadn't said hello yet but she would after the
funeral.

The priest said the required prayers, then announced, "Miranda's
daughters would like to say a few things. Amy, Alexandra, come up."

The girls moved slowly to take their places near the head of the
casket. Amy said, "Thank you all for coming to remember our mother.
My sister and I also appreciate all the donations of money you've
sent to our house. Your generosity is astounding."

Lexie put her arm around her sister. "Our mother was so loving, so
warm, and we're going to miss her so much."

<She's not your birth mother!> Scully's mind screamed. <You have to
know that!> She kept calm on the outside.

Amy started crying and Lexie tightened her grip on her. "Amy and I
will be staying with our relatives, but we'd like to thank the Doyle
family for taking us in after our mother passed away."

Scully saw Robert and Julia Doyle standing side by side, Rhiannon in
front of them. Julia had her hand on Edith McQueen's shoulder.

Lexie broke down as well and the twin sisters sobbed on each other's
shoulders. Many people were beginning to tear up at the sight of the
siblings in pain; Scully straightened her back, attempting to stay
cool but she felt a teardrop slide down her cheek. She looked at
Mulder. His eyes were shiny and damp in the corners. He gave a small
smile as he took her hand and squeezed it gently.

In the next few minutes, the funeral party started to leave, giving
their condolences to the girls as they walked past them. The Doyles
were staying with them until the casket was lowered into the ground.
"Let's stay," Mulder said.

Edith and Michelle went over to comfort Amy and Lexie as the coffin
was put into the empty space. Annie Doyle hugged her friends
fiercely.

Scully made her way over to the group. She caught Edith's glance.
"Mrs. McQueen, I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Did you know Miranda?" the elderly woman asked, tightening her brown
jacket over her black dress.

"Um, not really. My name is Dana Scully."

Edith looked surprised. "One of the Scully kids? It's been a long
time."

"Yes, I know." Scully looked down at the grass.

"I understand you've been helping the girls. The name they mentioned
sounded familiar but I couldn't connect it with anybody but Melissa."

"Melissa and Miranda were best friends, but I barely knew your
daughter. When I arrived in town, I thought about the entire McQueen
family but couldn't imagine it was the one I'd known."

Michelle came up behind Edith. "Mother, who is this?"

"This is Dana Scully, Melissa and Bill's younger sister."

"You're an FBI agent?"

"Yes, I am. As you know, I've been working on your sister's...case."

Michelle looked around. "Where's Melissa? I would've thought she'd be
here to say goodbye to Miranda." The words shook but Michelle didn't
cry.

Mulder came up behind Scully, just as she said, "Um, Missy...she
passed away three years ago."

Michelle embraced her. "Oh, Dana. Do you know if Miranda knew?"

"No, she didn't know. Melissa died suddenly. She was murdered."

The arms around Scully loosened. Michelle began weeping and walked
away.

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Dana. I'm sure my Miranda would've
been there if she'd known." Edith's eyes were moist but she hadn't
broken down. Scully guessed she was the type of person who didn't
show her emotions well, even at her slain daughter's funeral. She
stood straight and looked strong, like she was able to stay composed
in a time of such tragedy.

Mulder finally spoke. "Mrs. McQueen, I'm Dana's partner, Fox Mulder."
He used Scully's first name since Edith had called her by that one.
"I'd like to express my sympathy for your entire family, especially
your granddaughters." He looked at his partner.

<Keep it up.> She wanted to keep the twins' true heritage concealed
for a while longer, until she got enough courage to show them
all--Edith, Michelle, and the girls--the DNA test results.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Mulder." Edith turned to Amy and Lexie,
who were speaking quietly with the Doyles. "Girls, are you ready to
go?"

Lexie nodded slowly. "We'll go back with Annie to get our stuff, then
we can go home."

Mulder said to Edith, "You're going back to the house? Do Amy and
Lexie want to go?"

"Although they will continue to grieve their mother, they'd like some
semblance back in their lives. They want to get back to school and
continue their ballet training."

Robert Doyle called, "Mrs. McQueen, my wife will bring the girls back
to the house when they're ready." He ushered Julia to their vehicle,
while Amy walked behind them. Annie and Lexie were holding hands,
lagging behind.

"Dana, Mr. Mulder, you're welcome to come back to the house for
coffee," Edith said curtly before turning to go to her car where
Michelle was waiting.

"Would you like to go, Scully?" Mulder asked.

She bit her lip. "Yeah, I think I would."

Mulder began strolling to the rental car but Scully stood still,
watching the cemetery employees throw the final shovel full of dirt
in the grave.

Miranda was truly gone, and she was the only mother Amy and Lexie had
known.