Title: Even In His Youth
Author:  Brian Olson
Summary: Eventually things all add up...

Mulder awoke, dazed and confused. He rubbed his eyes and took a good
look at his surroundings.

A chalkboard. Some demented student had drawn a picture of a raging
fire engulfing what appeared to be an attempt at an automobile of some
sort.

A crowd of 15-year-olds and a chorus of shouting and screaming. A
hippy- looking dude launched a paper airplane and it, ironically
enough, crashed into the fire drawing on the chalk board.

An empty teacher's desk. Had Ms. Walker been in the room, the sream
chorus would have been replaced with total silence.

Obviously, Mulder was in his ninth grade geometry class, which
certainly explained why he had been sleeping. He *hated* geometry. It
wasn't that he was a bad student -- in fact he was quite good. It was
just that he couldn't seem to grasp the concepts.

Wait a second.

Mulder was now even more confused. He had always been a good
student. He could remember bringing home excellent grades in that very
class -- but he knew that right now, he was suffering.

But why?

He just couldn't grasp the concepts. Though he couldn't remember ever
bringing a bad grade home, he knew he was in deep trouble in that
class.

Weird.

*Maybe I should go back to sleep,* he thought to himself. Strange, he
was more tired than the class usually made him. He felt downright
weak.

*Very* weird.

A loud *crash* at the back of his desk made him jump. He turned to see
Eddie, the high school's biggest jerk, laughing hysterically.

"You think playin' bumper-desks is funny?"

Eddie made a tire-screeching noise and backed his desk away. *When
will that guy ever grow up.*

"*Class!*" Ms. Walker shouted from the doorway. The students moved so
fast to their desks, they could have been enlisted army snapping to
the attention of their drill sergeant.

Ms. Walker made her way to her desk, eyeing the students as she sat
down. Mulder couldn't help but feel she were staring at *him* the
whole time. He didn't like the feeling of being stared at. It made him
feel uneasy.

She picked up a stack of test papers, stood, and proceeded to pass
them out. Mulder felt a sinking feeling. He stared straight ahead.

The teacher moved out of his field of vision, and he knew she had to
be being him. It seriously bugged him.

He jumped again -- this time because a hand flashed right in front of
his face with a test paper attached to it. He took the paper and
looked at his grade.

He couldn't believe it. *F*

An *F*! He had never gotten an *F* on anything in his life. How could
this be happening?  How could it have snuck up on him like that.

He knew he'd be in deep trouble at home.

Right he was. His father had called him into the living room after
dinner. "You have to prevent things like that from happening! You need
to take control of your life! You won't have any future if you let
these things happen! Are you listening to me, Fox?!"

(Whereas most parents called their children by their full names when
they were angry with them, Mulder's parents called them by his first
name.)

He didn't know what to say. His father was right. And he felt ashamed.

The next day at school, Mulder decided to seek the help of a tutor. He
had asked Ms. Walker, who had someone in mind.

A red-haired girl walked into the classroom. "Mulder, this is
Dana. She's tutored before."

They began their sessions. Unfortunately, they didn't go too well.

"What's the matter, Mulder?" Dana asked while they were finishing up
their latest session in the classroom.

"It's...it's nothing."

"*C'mon*. What is it?"

"Well..." Mulder stood and walked over to the window. "It's just
that... I mean, I'm learning a lot from you, it's just that..."

"*What?!*"

He decided to come clean. "You act like you know so much more than I
do. It's like you're a better student. Well you're not! I'm just as
good as you are!"

"Hey!" Dana shouted. "What's your problem?! I'm just helping you out
of a jam! Show a little gratitude!"

"I didn't see that *F* coming! It wasn't my fault!"

"Yes it was!!!" Dana stood, and took a deep breath. "I can't do
this. You won't let me." She stormed out of the room. Mulder muttered
a profanity and pounded his fist in the wall.

A week later, it was finals time. Mulder *had* to pass...or else he
was dead.

The teacher ominously passed out the tests. Mulder was worried beyond
belief.

*I can't do this myself!* he thought to himself. *Why did I leave Dana
behind?! I'm such a jerk!*

Just then, he began to remember everything Dana had told
him. Everything they had done, everything they had worked on
together. He began to feel that he could actually pull through!

And all of a sudden, the tired and weak feeling he'd had for the last
few weeks disappeared. He took the test with all the confidence he had
ever had.

A week later, the scores came in.

"Mulder," the teacher announced, "you passed with flying
colors. You're going to make it, kid." She was actually smiling.

But it was nothing compared to the smile Dana gave him when he told
her he passed.

"That's great!" she enthused.

"Listen, Dana, I'm sorry I didn't want your help. I let my ego get in
front of my common sense."

"It's all right. I'm just glad you made it."

Mulder smiled ear to ear...

...and that's exactly how he awoke. Dazed and confused, he took a look
at his surroundings.

He was in a white room, in bed, with his mother and Scully hovering
over him.

"Mulder, are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah. I think so. What happened?"

"Don't you remember? Paul Strober? The fugitive we were suppose to
bring in?"

Mulder thought hard. "I got a lead and went off by myself. He... he
found me first, though." It was all coming back to him. "I was driving
down the street he was supposed to be living on somewhere. I felt like
I was being followed...and then...he crashed into me. From behind."

"That's right."

A doctor came in with Agent Hunter, an old friend of Mulder's. "See,
Doc? He's awake."

Mulder got an affectionate hug and kiss from his mother.

"You've been in a coma for weeks, Mulder. We didn't think you were
going to make it."

"Neither did I. But you helped me through it Scully."

Scully only smiled.

"You saved my life. You pulled me out of the burning car."

"Yeah, well, I found that paper on your desk with the tip written on
it."

Mulder though for a moment. "What happened to Strober."

"He died at the scene," said Hunter.

Mulder held his hand out to Scully. She took it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't let you help me. I'm sorry I... let my
ego get ahead of my common sense."

She smiled. "You made it. That's all that matters."


THE END