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Title: Fate Author's Notes: Here's my first attempt at an X-Files fan fiction piece. In fact, this is my first attempt at writing something that isn't a term paper on Machiavelli, or a feasibility report, or a study on the Canadian media yadda, yadda, yadda in a long time so be nice. It has been a while and I have a bit o' spare time at work so . . . . The story is loosely based around an episode of Mad About You. I think you'll recognize which episode if you've seen it before. There are no couplings of our heroes, Mulder and Scully, but just a story that insinuates that their friendship was written in the stars. I firmly maintain that M&S should remain good friends, a la Harry and Sally (pre marriage, and pre sleeping together). I've tried to shy away from age references and detailed facts about our heroes' childhoods simply because I personally had no clue as to any of these details. I hope that doesn't annoy people out there. Anyways, here goes. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. All emails, flames, compliments, criticisms, and comments would be greatly appreciated, although some more than others. Send them to I'd also like to thank Sheryl Martin, not only for posting this story for me (oh yeah don't send comments to her I doubt she'd appreciate that; MY email address is above) but for inspiration provided in her excellent stories. Three cheers for Canadian X-Philes and people doing things for people that they've never met before. Let's get this started before the intro is longer than the actual story. All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions andChris Carter. No infringement intended on any part at all. (I hope this is good enough! Wouldn't want to get sued on first try, yet what would they get? Nice pair of basketball shoes? My favourite baseball cap? My contact lenses? That's all I own. Really.) His eyes searched the sky for answers. The shimmering summer sun crashed through the craggy branches of the trees that loomed before him and shone in his eyes. Not knowing exactly where to look for what he was looking for, Fox Mulder pulled one of his hands up to his forehead to shield his eyes and peered even harder. "It must be there," he muttered to himself with quiet determination. Moving about in the clingy summer heat, Fox still could not find what he was looking for, an affliction that plagued him for most of his life so far and, little did he know, would be a chronic problem for most of the rest of his life. It was as if fate was trying to deny him something. A good relationship with his parents was totally out of the question, and of course his missing . . . "Fox ! Have you found it yet?" Fox turned his head, used his raised hand to smooth back his tousled brown hair, then used it to point. "Naw, it's hidden way up there!" he griped in frustration. His younger sister joined him at his side, scrutinizing intently the spot that he had just pointed out, then turned to look at him. "You know," Samantha said matter of factly, crossing her arms over her stomach, "if you weren't chasing me with that stupid gun I wouldn't have thrown it into the tree like that!" He muttered under his breath something along the lines of how his sister would soon join his toy gun in the very same tree if he didn't find it and resumed his unrequited search for his cherished toy gun. He kicked himself for dropping the gun while he was chasing Sam in the first place. The darn gun was like a bar of soap sometimes. Giving up, Fox hiked up his baggy swimming trunks and smiled malevolently at his sister. "Well . . . . SPAMantha," Fox said, emphasizing the word SPAM just enough to get under his younger sister's skin, "you know that I'm going to have to throw something of yours into the tree now, just to be fair." His sister started back in horror. "B-B-B-But you were chasing me! I was just runnin' cause you were chasing . . . and . . . . you . . . ." Suddenly deciding this was all totally futile, Samantha scrunched up her face, placed her open hands on her ears thumb first, stuck out her tongue, and challenged, "You couldn't catch me anyways . . . Fox y LOXY!" He hated that name. With that, she turned abruptly and peeled off towards the family swimming pool, her long brown hair flying in all different directions. Now she's going to get it Fox smiled to himself. No one crosses the Galactic Fox like that. Nobody. Fox chased after his sister. "Daaaaaaaannnnnnaaaaaaaa!" Dana Scully cringed at her small desk. If she was quiet enough maybe they wouldn't find her. She gripped the side of the book she was reading tightly as she sunk low into her chair. "Daaaaaaaannnnnnaaaaaaaa!" screeched the voice again. "Your boyfriend is here!" Boyfriend? Now what was Melissa talking about? She had no BOYFRIEND. Guys were gross. She heard her sister and one of her brothers giggling outside her door. One thing good about moving here, Dana thought quickly to herself, was that at least this time she had her own room. The thoughts of her old home struck a pang of melancholy in her heart. The Scully's had lived here a year now yet Dana still missed her old home. Once again daddy had to move so we all had to follow. Having a dad in the military was like that. She was just getting used to this house now. "Dana! You'd better open the door quick, he's getting . . . . he might go away!" Assorted shrieks and giggles could be heard outside her door. Dana slowly put her book down and shouted, "Go away Mel, I'm reading." More giggles and a short scream of laughter. Harumphing to herself, Dana blew a strand of her red hair out of her eyes, hauled herself out of her small study chair, and stomped towards the door. Before she reached it, however, Melissa's head poked through the door and taunted, "Your boyfriend is here Dana." Trying to seem uninterested, Dana turned back around and seated herself comfortably back in her chair and resumed her reading. "Well, send him in then." Maybe if she played along they would go away. Hearing her brother Chris struggling with something, she turned away from her book and looked in his direction. Chris suddenly flung a green mass onto her desk. Dana caught her breath and pulled her book away from the mass on the table, her eyes bugging out in horror. It was a . . it was a frog. Neat! With her siblings staring expectantly, Dana nonchalantly picked up the frog, turned it to face her, made a little cross-eyed face at it, and said "Ribbit! You're late!" The frog answered with a strained groan and a resigned blink. Dana then turned to Melissa and uttered "Mel, he says he likes you better." With that she turned her face away in mock tears and handed Melissa the now struggling frog in her outstretched hand. Melissa screamed in horror and ran out the door hollering to their mother about how Dana was sick. Chris took the frog and exclaimed, "You're no fun Dana, I'm going to play football." "Can I come?" Dana asked hopefully, clutching her book under her chin with both hands. "NO! You're a girl! Go play with Melissa's dolls or somethin'!" With that, Chris put the frog in his pocket, turned around and left, slamming the door shut behind him. Dana fumed with anger. BOYS! I'm never going to be friends with a boy she screamed to herself wildly. She threw her book over her shoulder, and angrily crossed her arms and pouted. The book gracefully flew through the air and hit the wall with a slight thud. Now she was in a bad mood, even after her parents had announced the trip to the museum tomorrow. "The museum tomorrow! Awwwright!" Fox exclaimed in obvious delight. Sam smiled at her brother's rejoicing. He was so silly. Fox suddenly stopped frolicking and turned to his sister seriously. "You sure now Sam? They said tomorrow right?" he asked her. Samantha rolled her eyes and sighed, "Of course stoopid. Tomorrow". Fox never believed anything she said. He was always so suspicious she thought. Fox , reassured, continued his little jig. "The MUSeum, the MUSeum! Woo hoo!" Fox loved going to the museum. It let him immerse himself in thoughts of things past, present and future. He jaunted about in a small circle, clapping to the rythmn that only he heard. Suddenly Sam's delighted little smile became sombre. She gripped her tiny hands behind her and stared at the floor. "Fox ?" she started slowly. Fox , in the midst of his little dance stopped and stared at his sister, his hands still in the air from clapping his heart out. "What . . .?" he replied slightly embarrassed, lowering his hands to his sides. Painfully Sam continued, her hands still tightly clasped behind her back. "Will there be dinosaurs there?" she asked sheepishly. "I dunno, I hope so . . ." Fox replied, then remembering his little sister cowering underneath the large skeletal remains of carnivores past during a previous trip to the museum, he assured her " . . . but don't worry they're not real. They've been dead for a million years now. And . . .I'll protect you." "You will?" her sister asked feeling slightly reassured, her head raised to meet his gaze. "Always," Fox said not really sure what he was saying. She smiled at him then handed him the toy gun that she had gone out and found for him earlier on that day. "You'll need this then . . . . . Fox y LOXY!" With that she veered away from his grasp and took off to her room screaming with laughter and chanting his least favourite nickname. Fox sighed and pocketed his gun. She was going to DIE for that! Dana loved the museum. The various sights and sounds dazzled her young senses and caused her heart to quicken and a large grin to become plastered permanenetly on her lips. She gripped her mother's hand tightly and stared in wonder at the huge dinosaur before her. Her mother looked down at the red-haired head of her youngest daughter and smiled. She then turned to her husband and suggested that they stop by the canteen for some refreshments. Dana, hearing this, nodded frantically in approval and tugged an affirmative on her mother's arm. She hadn't noticed how thirsty she had become and craved a drink of any type as long as it was refreshing. She turned to look at Melissa who made a face back at her. The happy family rounded the corner and entered the "Crustacean Cafe" and took a small table near the door. Being the youngest and the shortest in the family, Dana put her arms on the table trying to look a little taller. Fidgeting uncomfortably, she wished that there was some way she could adjust the seat so she could actually see the other people at the table. Just as she finished this thought, her father returned with various drinks to befit the various tastes in the family. The feeding frenzy was on. Melissa and her brothers being a little bigger than her were already reaching for the bottles that lay strategically out of reach of Dana's arms. Unable to reach the drinks effectively, Dana tried in vain to get at the drinks in her current position, but resigned herself to kneeling on her chair. She had to be quick though, she thought to herself, there'll be nothing left but . . . . . She grabbed the last bottle, looking at the label anxiously. "I HATE this stuff! . . . . Mo . . ." Her cries were interrupted by Melissa who had nudged her in the ribs and began flaunting her Coke. Dana made a face at her sister and turned her attentions back to wheedling her parents for another drink. Her parents, however, would hear nothing of it. "Children," her mother started, "Your father and I have something exciting to tell you." Still clutching her unwanted drink, Dana looked up at her parents puzzled. "Are there any dinos around Fox ?" Sam asked anxiously, her voice slightly quavering. Samantha had clamped one hand securely around her older brother's hand and one hand tightly over her eyes, spread just enough so she could see where she was going. "No! There aren't any around at all." Fox replied. Relieved, Samantha removed her hand from her eyes with a hefty "Whew" but let out a little yelp and quickly replaced her hand as a giant skeletal T-Rex loomed menacingly over the two children. "Fox !" she cried, "you lied to me!" Fox sniggered to himself. Once again his parents had stuck him alone with Sam so they could go get a drink. She was such a downer on his trip. He wanted to go exploring but he couldn't do it right with his kid sister in tow. If it wasn't possible for him to lose her he was going to at least make her trip as miserable as possible. "Be quiet you fraidy cat! I've never seen a bigger chicken!" Fox shot back. "I'm not afraid!" Sam retorted, now both hands over her eyes having let go of Fox's hand to confront her slimy brother. "Yeah, prove it . . ." "Fox Mulder! I'll tell mom . . ." "Fraidy cat, fraidy cat . . . ." Fox taunted. "I'm not afraid of no dead dinos!" announced a determined Samantha. With that she whipped both hands to her sides and raised her chin in defiance. At once she began to feel uneasy with the large carnivore still looming over her but she wasn't about to let Fox get the upper hand. "Then walk 10 steps in front of me without holding my hand!" Fox challenged. "Fine! I will!" accepted Samantha. Taking a couple of tentative steps forward, Samantha quickly turned her head back around to see if Fox had fallen in behind her. Fox made a face at her which she returned whole heartedly. She stalked forward towards the quickest exit from the dinosaur exhibits without looking back again. Behind her Fox smiled to himself and rubbed his hands with glee as he turned in the opposite direction. The perfect time to go exploring the museum by himself. =========================================================================== "We've decided to move again" The words hit her like a punch in the stomach. Dana was expecting news from her parents along the lines of a new sister, or a pony for Dana, or that her dad was bringing home one of those new fandangled computers from the military that everyone was talking about. Not news like this. This was a disaster. Dana clutched the unopened bottle in her hand and fought back tears. She was just starting to get used to this place and her dad had to move again. She wanted to throw the bottle against the wall and scream. With their parent's announcements, a bevy of strangled cries and frantic questions hurtled forward from the other Scully children. Dana remained silent in the din, staring glassy eyed at the dark liquid in the bottle before her. She was just getting used to this place. "Dana?" her mother looked at her youngest, concerned, "We've heard from the other children, do you have anything to say about this?" The tears welling up in her eyes, Dana couldn't say anything. She blew a strand of her hair out of her eyes. She didn't want to leave her friends. She didn't want to leave her school. She didn't want to leave her favourite park with the jungle gym. She was just getting used to this place. Then she exploded. "I DON'T WANT TO MOVE AGAIN!" she cried in anguish. Grabbing the bottle, she jumped out of her seat and ran as fast as she could out of the restaurant, her parents still staring in shock from the outburst. Fox was enjoying himself. He had seen the whole dinosaur exhibit and was tickled pink. All he had to do now was go get . . . .And then it had finally struck him. "Samantha!" he said out loud, but totally to himself. In his intoxication with his surroundings, Fox had totally forgotten his sister and his promise to his parents to take care of her for them. Panic filled his head as started to get cold with fear. He hated his sister sometimes, but overall he liked her for a girl; and he had promised to take care of her, not only to his parents but to her. He didn't know what he'd do without her sometimes. Frantically, he looked about him. His throat had gone dry with fear and he was beginning to have trouble breathing. Looking at his watch in despair, he noticed he had 15 minutes before he was to meet up with his parents again. It was a quarter to four now and he had 15 minutes to find Samantha. He started running down the corridor. Dana felt silly. Forlornly she walked down the corridor clutching her bottle, her head hung in shame. She had run until her little legs could carry her no further suddenly becoming acutely aware of the fact she had no idea where she was. She stared dejectedly at the bottle in her hand. "Stoopid drink!" she remarked bitterly hoping that this would make her feel better; that the drink that she detested so much could explain why she had to move, why she had to leave another home behind. Dana puttered about miserably not feeling any better. Not looking where she was going, Dana sighed heavily. Suddenly someone came barrelling around the corner and ran right into her knocking them both to the ground and sending the bottle skittering off into a corner. Dana quickly sat up and clenched her fist ready to pound the lights out of the young boy who was already standing over her offering his hand to her with a sheepish grin on his face. His smile was so goofy looking that Dana couldn't help but not be mad at this jerk, whoever he was. "Sorry!" he said lamely and totally out of breath. "It's Ok," Dana said looking around her feet for her drink that she had dropped in the collision. Finding it and picking it up, she looked back up at the boy. He had light brown hair on top of his silly little head and he looked like a little lost puppy dog. Dana smiled inwardly to herself. Still extremely out of breath, the boy managed to spit out, "Have you seen a girl about this tall and brown hair?" the boy asked motioning one hand to about a bit below his own chin. Dana shook her head. "Nope. Sorry." A dejected look suddenly crossed the boy's face. He had put his hands on his knees and started to moan. Suddenly feeling sorry for the boy, and worried that he might die right there on the spot, she put out her hand and offered, "Do you want this? It might make you feel better." The boy looked up slowly seeing Dana with her outstretched hand clutching at a bottle. "What is it? Iced Tea?" he asked still out of breath. "No. It's root beer. You can have it though. I haven't opened it yet." He took the bottle and thanked her politely. The two stood there awkwardly until the boy suddenly began to rush forward and right by Dana. "Thanks a lot for the drink. I think I see my sister!" he called backed to her and waved. What a weirdo, Dana thought to herself, as she herself spotted what she was looking for. Her father rushed forward and grabbed the pretty little red- head in his arms. "Dana Katherine Scully don't you ever run off like that again," he said as he hugged her tightly to him. She felt safe in his arms and felt stupid for running off. "I'm sorry daddy," she said truthfully, "Only if you promise to never leave me." Her father looked at her with a strange look in his eye and smiled. "Fox Mulder I HATE you!" Samantha pronounced fiercely. "Sam, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Fox said dejectedly. She turned her back to him furious at him for leaving her with the dead dinos, not hearing his frantic apologies. "Sam, please forgive me. I'm sorry. I was dumb to do what I did." Fox tried again. She just sighed and tapped her foot still facing away from him. "I'll give you some of my root beer." Fox offered. Her interest piqued, Samantha turned around slowly with a sly smile on her face. "The WHOLE bottle!" she answered spying the full and unopened bottle in his hands. "Deal!" he grinned. She took the bottle from him and gave him a big hug. Quickly she pulled back and looked into his eyes seriously. She pointed a tiny finger into his face and said quietly, "Don't you ever leave me like that again Fox . I mean it." "Never again," he said seriously as he rose and took her hand leading her back to where they were supposed to meet their parents. Mulder looked up from his paperwork to spy the beautiful, yet busy, Special Agent Scully slightly obscured by a tremendous amount of paperwork and typing away at her cherished notebook computer. Her eyes scrutinized the screen intently. "Say Agent Scully, how's the paper work going?" From behind the pile of wayward files and equipment requisition forms came a muffled grunt. "Scully?" Mulder tried again. Another grunt. "Scully?!" he tried louder. A subdued sigh. "Scully?" he tried even louder. Exasperated, Scully tore herself away from her unfinished thought, faced her partner, and exclaimed, "Mulder! Sometimes, the trick is to know when to stop! I'm trying in vain to justify your permanent acquisition of all the FBI's geiger counters and stopwatches and your constant interruptions aren't going to help me stop the guys at Equipment Requisition from coming down here and breaking your thumbs! Although right now that doesn't really seem like an implausible course of action." Mulder leaned back in his chair and gave Scully a engaging grin that automatically disarmed the potential situation and said, "Silly Scully, tricks are for kids." Which fired the flames anew. Giving Mulder a look that would both revive the dreaded mummy and probably kill him again, Scully turned back to her typing. Aghast, Mulder fell back into silence. "Scully?" Scully stopped typing her sentence and looked at their office's low ceiling in obvious pain. She tried hard to remember the phone number of the Equipment Requisition's Reclamation and Appendage Separation Department. Sighing, she turned to her partner resigned to whatever machinations Mulder had in store for her. He was just too persistent. "Yes Mulder," she answered in a strained voice. "How's it going?" he asked in turn. "Not bad," she replied truthfully, surprising herself, "but I could use a break though." "How's about we break early for lunch and go to the nearest friendly neighborhood museum to enrich our rather paper-worked out lives? I've had a craving to visit the new dinosaur exhibits for a long time now." Scully gave Mulder a quizzical look. She was curious as to her partner's strange request, but she knew better than to question her partner's whims that seemed to come and go constantly. Besides, dinosaurs had always fascinated her as long as their extinction wasn't caused by a stray UFO. She pushed an errant lock of her red hair aside "Sure. Why not. Just let me go grab something to drink before we go. I'm really thirsty for some reason." Mulder quickly pulled himself away from his desk smiling with glee, tugged open his drawer, and hauled out a bottle of root-beer he stored for special occasions. "Do you want this? It might make you feel better." he offered, the bottle of dark liquid held in his outstretched hand. The two friends looked at each other strangely for a moment both staring at each other as if in a silent reverie. Then they both laughed nervously not sure what each other was thinking and Scully accepted the bottle. Mulder stood and pulled on his suit jacket then his over coat and Scully did the same and they left the dank basement office of the X-Files together. "Did I ever tell you how much I liked museums as a kid?" The End
Well . . . . What do you think? Email comments to Diang.Iu.es2.es.emr.ca Scully's friend: What about that guy you work with? You said he was kind of cute. Scully: Mulder? He's a jerk. Obsession is such an ugly word. I prefer infatuation. Diang Iu (Ryan Rodriguez, Lindsay Bisset, Steve Beatty, Skippy Ambachtsheer, Bob "Not Quentin" Tarantino, Sean Blaney, and Doug Peacock) Owner of UWO's first group E-mail account. I get so much mail and NONE of it is mine.
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