Title: In The Family
Author: Paula Mackey
plmackey@delphi.com


Skinner glanced at his watch. 4:30 already and he still had piles of
reports to do. But today was one day he could not work over time. It had
been a few weeks now since he and Sharon had decided to try and
reconcile, although he had made that decision when he saw her lying in the
hospital bed. 

 Sharon had said to be home by six o'clock because she had a
surprise for him. He wasn't sure what it could be. For all he knew it would
be an extra marriage counseling session. He agreed though to be home
before then. 

 There was a knock on the door. Skinner sighed. This had better
not be Mulder. He wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. "Come
in." The door opened and as Skinner became aware of who it was, his jaw
dropped to the desk. "Cass..." Before him stood his little girl. Although she
was almost 18 and no longer a little girl, he always thought of her of that.
Mostly because he had never seen much of her during her teenage years.
He and Sharon had decided to send her off to boarding school. He was
never sure he made the right choice. It had been years since he had last
seen her. Now there she stood. She looked a little like her mom but not
much.

Cassandra brushed a strand of loose light brown hair out of her
face. She didn't want to be here but her mom had made her come. She
looked at him, unsure of just how to feel. She never had forgiven him for
sending her off. She expect her mom to be okay with the idea but never
him. "Hi." 

Skinner stood. He wanted to hug her. The look on her face told him
it probably wasn't a good idea. She was still mad. H pointed to the chairs in
front of the desk. "Sit down." He waited for her to get comfortable. "What
are you doing here? I thought you'd still be in school." 

Cassandra sighed. "It was mom's idea. She had them give me finals
early so I could come down and we could be a family again. Like we ever
were to begin with." 

"Cass, I know this isn't easy for you." 

 "It's Cassandra. And how would you know? I don't even get to
graduate with my friends. At least they care." 

 "Cass. I mean Cassandra, that's not fair." 

"You're damn right it's not! First you guys send me away to be
raised by a bunch of total strangers. Then, just when they start becoming
my family, you and mom decide to try and make things right again. Well, I
think it's a bit late for that!" She kicked at the floor with the toe of her
show. "I had a life up there ya know. It wouldn't have killed you and mom
to let me stay up there for another two months." 

 Skinner took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It
wasn't my decision. It was your mother's." 

 "Well, you didn't do anything to stop her. Just like last time." 

 "I didn't even know she did it." 

 "Oh..." Cassandra sat quietly for a moment then looked around her
father's office. "Kinda drab in here, don't ya think?" 

 Skinner looked around. He had never really noticed before. "I
guess it is." 

 "What exactly does an Assistant Director do anyway?" 

 He smiled. He never did tell his daughter what exactly his job was.
But then how do you explain government conspiracies, aliens, ghosts, and
cigarette smoking men anyway. "Well, most of what I do is paperwork. I
watch over several divisions of FBI teams. They send their reports to me. I
read them, consult with them, and make sure they follow official FBI
procedure." 

 Cassandra nodded. "Somehow, I pictured your job a little more...
exciting." 

 Skinner could tell she was disappointed. He almost wished he
could tell her about the 'exciting' aspects. But that might do more harm
than good. The less she knew, the safer she'd be... he hoped. He stacked
up his files and stuffed them in a desk drawer. "Why don't we head home?" 

 "I guess." Cassandra stood up and waited for her father to collect
his things and followed him out the door. She listened while he gave his
secretary a few last minute instructions. 

 Skinner looked back at her. "Okay, let's go." 

 She walked to the side but slightly behind him as they wove their
way through the maze of desks and corridors. She noticed a few odd looks
as others noticed them. Apparently, her father never made mention of
having a daughter. The thought of that hurt yet, at the same time it didn't
surprise her that he wouldn't tell anyone. 

They got to the car and she sat down inside. Leaning her head back,
she took a deep breath. She hadn't had much time to rest since getting off
the plane from Vermont this morning. She had tried to take a nap after her
and her mother had gotten home but that proved impossible. Her mother
was too busy trying to play mom and all it did was annoy Cassandra. 

 Skinner pulled the car out of the parking garage. Neither one
noticed the man in black put out his cigarette in a nearby vehicle. 

 The ride to the house in Falls Church, Virginia was a quiet one,
both Skinner and Cassandra trying to sort out what is was they wanted to
say. As they walked into the house, Cassandra could smell something that
resembled spaghetti sauce cooking. She couldn't remember the last time her
mom has actually cooked something that didn't come frozen or out of a
can. 

 Sharon came out of the kitchen to greet them. "You're home." She
smiled. "I see you got the surprise, Walter." 

 "Yes, I did." He gave Sharon a quick kiss on the cheek and went to
put his trench and briefcase in the coat closet near the front door. 

 Cassandra rubbed her eyes. "How long before dinner?" 

 "About a hour. Why?" 

 "I'm tired. I'm gonna go take a nap." 

 "Cassandra, I was hoping we could sit down and talk. We haven't
seen you in a long time." 

 "And that's my fault? Look, I have been up since 5am. I am tired.
It's not like I'm leaving tomorrow." Then she muttered under her breath,
"Unfortunately." 

 "What was that?" Her mother asked sharply. 

 "Nothing. Look can I just go lay down for awhile?" She felt a hand
on her shoulder. 

 "Sharon, just let her go take a nap." Skinner looked down at his
daughter. "I'll wake you when dinner's ready." 

 Cassandra nodded and headed down the hall to her old room. She
shut the door behind her but could still hear her parents talking. She shook
her head. It wasn't fair. Why after all this time? She picked up a stuffed
horse off the bed and sat down. She remembered the day she got it. 

 It was her first day home after having her tonsils out. She was only
five at the time and it had been very scary for her. Being away from her
mom and dad, in a strange place with strange people. And worse than that,
being poked with needles. Her father had been with her the first time a
nurse came in to take blood. Cassandra had screamed and clung tightly to
her father. All the while the nurse poked and prodded, her father had
whispered softly in her ear that everything would be okay, that he wouldn't
let anyone hurt her. She took comfort in those words. She believed in those
words. Little did she know at that time, that the same man who said he
would protect her, would send her away to be raised by total strangers. 

 Cassandra wiped at the tears running down her cheek. All that was
when they really were a family. She laid back on the bed with the horse
clutched to her chest and tired to get some sleep. 

 "She's right Sharon," Skinner said as Cassandra went into her
room. "She's gonna be here awhile." 

 Sharon walked slowly back into he kitchen and began cutting up
vegetables for a salad. "Walter, do you ever think we did the wrong thing
by sending her away? She seems so bitter and distant now." 

 Skinner thought for a minute, not sure of what to say. The
marriage counselor said to be honest and open with each other. But what
if that honest and openness hurt more than saying nothing would? "I... I
never wanted to send her away." 

 Sharon stopped cutting the vegetables and stared at Skinner.
"What do you mean? You agreed to it." 

 Skinner nodded. "I know. But not because I wanted it. Because...
because I got tired of arguing with you over it." 

 "So it's all my fault?!" 

 "I never said that!" He whirled away from Sharon and took a few
steps in the dining room. "I never said that," he repeated in a softer tone.
"She blames me just as much as she does you. She probably blames me
more." He took a quick look back. "I'm going to change clothes." 

 He walked down the hall to the stairs. He thought about going
down to Cassandra's room but she was probably asleep. As he walked up
the stairs he loosened his tie. He walked into the bedroom and tossed the
tie on the bed and removed his shirt. A picture on the headboard of the
waterbed caught his eye. It was one of him and Cassandra. 

 He remembered that day well. It was her first trip to the zoo. She
was 6... no, 7. Her favorite places had been the nursery and the pony rides.
She must have ridden the ponies 5 times that day. Each time she'd ask for
the same one too. One of the attendants was nice enough to take a picture
of Cassandra on the pony while he held the lead rope. Ever since that day
she wanted to be a veterinarian. He wonder if she still did. 

 They had always been so close. Now... now, he felt like they were
a light year apart. And the only one he could blame was himself. He went
into the bathroom and washed his face. Looking in the mirror, he suddenly
felt old. He tossed the washcloth in the sink and changed into a pair of
sweatpants and a T-shirt. He heard Sharon call saying that dinner was
ready. 

 He went back downstairs and stopped in front of the door to
Cassandra's room. He knocked before opening it. Cassandra was sitting up
in bed with her stuffed horse on her lap. "I didn't know you still had that." 

 Cassandra nodded. "Yeah. It's always been on my bed. Remember
when you gave it to me?" 

 "Yep, the day you came home from having your tonsils out." He
sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the stuffed animal. "You
were so brave going through that." 

 Cassandra laughed. "No I wasn't. I cried and screamed through the
whole thing." 

 "That's true, but never once did you say you were scared. I know I
was." 

 "You were scared? Why?" 

 Skinner patted down the mane on the horse. "Lots of things could
have happened to you on the operating table." He paused. "I don't know
what I would have done if something happened." 

 "You never told me that before." 

 Skinner looked at his daughter. "I know. And that was one of my
big mistakes." Skinner looked up as he heard footsteps coming down the
hall. 

 Sharon appeared in the doorway. "Are you two coming to eat?" 

 "Yeah, we're coming," Cassandra sighed. She followed her parents
out into the dining room and sat down at the table. She looked around at
the food. Her mother must have taken cooking lessons or something
because it looked and smelled good. 

 Sharon set a plate of spaghetti in front of Cassandra. "Go wash
your hands." 

 Cassandra glanced sideways at her mother. "Excuse me? Don't you
think I am a little to old to be told that?" 

 Skinner sat down across the table. "Cassandra, do what your
mother asks, please." 

 Cassandra let out a sigh but got up and went to the bathroom to
wash her hands. She came back and held them out to her mother. "Want to
see if they smell like soap to make sure I washed?" Cassandra half expected
her mother to snap at her for that comment but instead, she laughed. 

 "No, Cassie, I don't think that's necessary." 

 "It's Cassandra, for the millionth time." She flopped down in her
seat and began to sample the food. "Wow... what'd ya do, make mom take
cooking lessons?" she asked, glancing up at her father. 

 Skinner chuckled. Although he hadn't, it was something he had
often considered. 

They spent dinner talking idly about Cassandra's school. She would
be graduating in the top 1% of her class and already had offers from all the
major universities like Harvard and Yale. But instead she applied to the
University at California, Davis. They had the top veterinary school in the
states. 

 Skinner tried to be happy for her, but inside he wished she had
decided to stay a bit closer to home. He wanted to make up for lost time.
That was something Cassandra didn't seem to want. He was also shocked
by the fact that she had fallen off a horse during a jumping competition and
broke her arm and cracked a rib. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" 

 "Mom knew. They called her right after I was admitted to the
hospital. It was about 8 months or so ago." She glanced over at her
mother. "Why didn't you tell him?" 

 Sharon shook her head. "I don't know. We were separated at the
time. I didn't want to give your father anything more to worry about. I
thought I was doing the right thing." 

 Cassandra got up from the table and shoved her chair back. "Well,
you were wrong! All it did was make me think you guys really didn't
care!" She stormed through the kitchen and out the backdoor, ignoring her
parents pleas to come back. She walked over to the swing that hung from
the big tree in the backyard. She remembered how big and scary it used to
be. She never used to come out to swing by herself. She always waited for
her father to come home. Now, the tree didn't look so scary and her father
didn't seem to care as much. 

 She sat on the swing and let it slowly rock back and forth.
Everything seemed so different now. She wished she was back at school.
At least there she was relatively happy. She could find things to do to 
make her forget all the pain of her family life. Make that, lack of a family
life. The hardest times were Christmas and Thanksgiving. Normally, a
friend would invite her to their house. It just wasn't the same though. 

 Skinner watched his daughter from the kitchen window, debating
on if he should go out and talk to her or just let her be. There was a time
when she would have come to him with her problems. Back then, the
problems were much more simple. Someone taking her pencil or cutting in
front of her in the line for lunch at school. The more he watched her, the
more he realized what a mistake it was to send her away. But then again
would she have been any happier dealing with what happened between him
and Sharon. Probably not. 

 He stepped out of the kitchen and onto the back porch. 

 Cassandra looked up but said nothing. She watched as her father
crossed the yard and went behind her and start giving her a gentle push on
the swing. 

 "I'm sorry about not coming up to see you when you were hurt. If I
had known..." he trailed off. He waited, but Cassandra still said nothing.
"I'm sorry for a lot of things. We did the best we could. We thought you'd
be happier some place else than dealing with our problems." 

 Cassandra stopped the swing and looked up into her father's eyes.
"Isn't that what a family is for? I mean, you guys told me nothing about
what was going on. I didn't know you and mom weren't happy. Hell, I
didn't even know you guys spilt up." She turned away as the tears stung her
eyes. "All I knew was you didn't want me around... you didn't care." 

 Skinner knelt down and took his daughter in his arms as she cried.
"Cassandra... I never stopped caring or loving you." 

 Cassandra wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Dad," she sobbed,
"There were so many times when I wanted you, I needed you to be there
for me and you weren't." She took a deep breath, trying to calm her
quivering voice. "I could understand mom, sending me away. We were
never close. But when you just sat there and said nothing when she told me
I was going away, I just figured you didn't care anymore either." 

 Skinner leaned back and lifted up Cassandra's chin. "Listen to me.
Your mother has never stopped caring for you either." He wiped away the
tears from her cheek. "When we did what we did, we thought... we
thought it was for the best. We were far from perfect parents. Maybe we
should have waited and learned how to be husband and wife before we
tried to be a mother and father too. It didn't happen that way, so we
muddled through things." He stood up. "I'm not gonna say I'm trying to
make up for lost time but I do want to at least try and be a father and
daughter again, to be close like we once were." 

 Cassandra stood up and hugged her father. "I love you, Dad." 

 "I love you too, Cass... andra." 

 Cassandra smiled. "Cass." 

"Come on, let go inside. It's starting to get cold." 

 They walked back into the kitchen where Sharon was washing the
dishes. Cassandra stepped up to her mother and put a hand on her
shoulder. "Mom?" 

 Sharon turn slightly and looked at her daughter. "Yes?" 

 Cassandra gave her a quick hug. "I love you." 

 Sharon smiled. "I love you too." And dabbed a blob of dish soap
bubbles on Cassandra's nose. 

 "Mom!" 

 "Hey Cass," Skinner called from the other room, "How would you
like a tour of the FBI building tomorrow?" 

 Cassandra's eyes lit up and she dashed into the living room where
her father sat going through his briefcase. "Really?? I can get a tour of the
whole building?" 

 "Well, maybe not the whole building, but most of it. You can come
with me to work tomorrow and I'll arrange it." 

 "Cool! Man, wait til all my friends hear about this!" 

 Cassandra hardly slept a wink even though she was tired. She was
up and ready to go the next morning before her father was even out of the
shower. Her mom made them bacon, eggs and pancakes, which Cassandra
practically inhaled. The drive to the office felt like it took forever as she
fidgeted in her seat. Finally they got inside and went through the normal
procedure of getting her a visitor's badge. Then they went up to Skinner's
office. 

 Skinner set his briefcase down and hung up his trench and suit
jacket. "Wait here and I'll see who I can get to give you a tour." 

 Cassandra nodded. "Okay." She waited for a few seconds before
she snuck around the big desk and sat in her father's chair. She giggled.
This was pretty neat. She whirled around in the chair a few times before
stopping to look out the window. She jumped and whirled back around
when a voice behind her said, "Excuse me, Sir?" It was a tall slender man
with short dark hair wearing a dark blue suit and a rather odd tie. 

 "I'm sorry," he continued. "I was looking for Assistant Director
Skinner." 

 "My dad went to find someone to give a tour. He should be back in
a minute." 

 The agent's eyes widened. "Your dad?" 

 "Uh huh... I'm Cassandra Skinner." She held out a hand. This guy
was pretty cute. 

 "Special Agent Fox Mulder." He shook her hand. "Nice to meet
you." 

 "Likewise." 

 They heard footsteps coming towards the office. "Cass, I..."
Skinner stopped as he saw who was in the office. "Agent Mulder." 

 Mulder cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Sir. I came in to see you
but..." 

 Skinner waved his hand. "That's okay. You didn't know." He
turned back to Cassandra. "No one will be in for another hour or so to
give you a tour." 

 "What about him?" Cassandra pointed to Mulder. 

 "Mulder?" 

 "I'd be happy to show your daughter around, Sir." 

 "I don't know." The last thing Skinner wanted was Mulder's
influence on his daughter. 

 "Oh, please!!" Cassandra jumped up from the and stood in front of
her father with a pleading look in her eye. She wondered if it would still
work. "I promise to be good!" 

 "It's not you I'm worried about." Skinner glanced at Mulder. 

 "I promise to be good too." He held up two fingers. "Scout's
honor." 

 Skinner sighed. "Okay. Two hours and that's it. I want her back by
then. Understood?" 

"Yes, Sir." 

Cassandra giggled with delight. "Thanks, Dad." She kissed him
quickly on the cheek. "See you in two hours!" Cassandra followed Mulder
out of Skinner's office. "So where do you work? Can I see your office?" 

 Mulder shrugged. "Sure why not. It's downstairs in the basement." 

 "Why down in the basement?" 

 "Well, you could say, I don't exactly investigate normal cases.
They are considered... unusual." 

 Cassandra shot him a rather quizzical look and wondered if maybe
she should have stayed and waited for someone else. "Umm... how
unusual??" 

 Mulder held open the elevator door for here. "Just paranormal
stuff." 

 "You mean like ghosts and little grey men?" 

 This time it was Mulder's turn to look at her quizzically. "How
come you didn't say green men?" 

 "Well..." Cassandra started as they walked out of the elevator and
down the hallway to Mulder's office. "They're not green. Everything I've
read says their skin tone is grey." 

 Mulder held open the door and motioned for her to enter. "You've
read about alien encounters?" 

 Cassandra stepped in. "Wow!" She walked along the walls staring
at all the pictures of UFOs and other bizarre things. She looked back at
Mulder how was still standing in the doorway. "Yeah, I loved reading
about all that stuff. My friends at school thought I was a bit strange but I
didn't care. I read a really great article by some guy named M. F. Luder." 

 "Really?" Mulder nodded as he shut the door and sat down at his
desk. "What did you think of what he said?" 

 Cassandra studied a picture of a small dark circle hovering over
some trees. "For the most part, his theory seemed sound. He got a little
out there towards the end of the article but what do you expect from a guy
who has no doubt spent his whole life chasing after E.T." 

 "You mean you think he's a little 'out there' himself because he's
been doing it so long?" 

 Cassandra plopped herself down at the second desk. "No, I just
mean he's been doing it for so long he no doubt knows more than he really
wants to tell so some of it will sound rather strange." 

 "Does your dad know you're into this stuff?" 

 Cassandra laughed and shook her head. "There's a lot of stuff my
dad doesn't know I am into." 

 "I didn't even know Skinner had a daughter." 

 "Yeah well, it's not like he went around announcing it to the world
these past 6 years." She traced her finger across the desktop. "Maybe if you
would have known him before, it might have been different." 

 The door to the office suddenly opened and another agent walked
in "Morning.... Mulder..." She glanced from Mulder to the stranger sitting
at her desk. 

 "Morning, Scully." Mulder grinned at the bemused looked on
Scully's face. "Cassandra, I'd like you to meet my partner, Dana Scully.
Scully, this is Cassandra Skinner." 

 "Skinner?" she repeated. 

 "Yep," Mulder turned and pulled a file from a stack on the corner
of his desk. "It seems as our esteemed AD has been keeping secrets
again." 

 "I see. Well, I just came to pick up that file..." 

 Mulder handed Scully a white file folder. 

 "Thank you. Sorry I can't stay. It was nice meeting you,
Cassandra." 

 "Same here." Cassandra watched as Scully left, still looking
bemused. "For a minute there, I thought you were going to be in need of a
new partner." 

 Mulder smiled. "She'll get over it." He rummaged through some
more files. "So tell me, what do you think of Bigfoot?" 

 "What? Do you mean do I think he exists?" 

 "Yeah." Mulder turned back to Cassandra with a small stack of
photos. 

 "Well, I think there's a better chance of something like the Loch
Ness monster surviving all this time without being found." 

 "Oh really? Why is that?" 

 Cassandra and Mulder sat and talked about everything from
Bigfoot to killer bugs. The thing that amazed Cassandra was how he talked
to her. He talked to her like she was an adult with a valuable opinion. What
amazed Mulder was how intelligent and open minded she was about these
things. Even if she didn't believe in it, she was willing to listen. They were
deep into a discussion about alien abduction when Mulder's phone rang.
Cassandra nearly jumped out of her skin. 

 Mulder picked it up. "Mulder... yes, Sir." 

 Cassandra didn't need to hear anything else to know who it was.
She glanced at her watch. Over four hours had past. She could hear her
father's voice over the phone. He must be pretty mad. 

 Mulder hung up the phone with one final, "Yes, Sir." 

 "He's pretty pissed?" 

 "Yep. But not at you. I'm 20 minutes late for a meeting with him." 

 Cassandra nodded. She didn't know how to take that. Either her
father trusted her or Agent Mulder. She wasn't really sure which. 

 When they got back up to Skinner's office, he was outside, talking
to his secretary. He looked over at them as they walked up. "Agent
Mulder, have a seat for a minute. I need to talk to my daughter first." 

 Cassandra rolled her eyes, she knew what was coming next. She
looked at Mulder before she walked in the office and saw him shrug and
mouth "Sorry." She shut the door behind her and waited. 

 "Your mother wants you to go home." 

 "Why?" 

 Skinner turned to face the window. "She didn't like the idea of me
letting you talk with Agent Mulder." 

 "What's wrong with Agent Mulder? I think he's really neat." 

 "Well, your mother doesn't think so. So, I called you cab to take
you home." 

 "Don't you think I'm old enough to decide who I talk to? Who I
hang around with?" 

 "Yes, I do. But your mother doesn't." 

 "Well she better learn, cause I'm not going home until you do."
Cassandra folded her arms across her chest and scowled. 

 Skinner looked back at his daughter. "Please, Cass... just go." 

 Cassandra glared at her father. "Fine!" She grabbed the door
handle and yanked it open. "I still don't see why everything has to be her
way!" With that she stormed out of the office slamming the door on her
way. 

 Skinner's secretary jumped. She looked wide-eyed at Cassandra.
"You're taxi is waiting out front. If you like I can have someone show you
the way out?" 

 "No thanks. I'm a big girl. I think I can manage on my own." She
stopped in front of Mulder. "Bye, Fox. I hope we get to talk again." 

 Mulder nodded. "Bye Cassandra." 

 Cassandra headed downstairs mumbling and muttering the whole
way. She tossed her visitor's pass on the desk of the security officer and
went out the front door. There was a yellow cab waiting out front. She
started to head for it when another one pulled up behind it. The driver got
out and approached her. 

 "Miss Skinner?" he asked. 

 Cassandra looked him over before answering. About 6 feet tall,
short brown hair wearing a leather jacket and jeans. "Yes?" 

 "I'm the one they called to take you home." 

 "Oh, okay." She walked with him to the cab and he opened up the
back door for her. As he got in and sat down she asked. "Well, since you
already know my name, how about telling me yours?" 

 The driver looked back and smiled. "Alex. Now, buckle up," he
said as he turned around and pulled into traffic. 

 As Cassandra reached back for the seat belt she noticed a tall man
smoking a cigarette and dressed in black get out of the other waiting cab.
He looked her right in the eye. It sent a chill down Cassandra's spine. She
shook it off and buckled the seat belt. "You know where you're going
right?" 

 Alex looked at her in the rear view mirror. "I sure do." 

 "Good." She settled back, glancing around the cab. She'd been in
cabs a few other times. But something about this one didn't seem right.
She couldn't quite figure out what is was. Cassandra tried distracting
herself by looking out the window and the fall scenery. It only succeeded in
bringing other thoughts to her mind. First and foremost what to do about
her mother. Somehow she had to make her see she wasn't a little girl
anymore who needed nor wanted to be told what to do. Her father saw it,
why couldn't her mother. Cassandra chuckled softly. Maybe because her
mother only saw one thing when it came to her daughter. 

 "Your awful quiet." 

 The cab driver's voice startled Cassandra. "Huh? Oh, I... I just have
a lot on my mind." 

 "Well, it'll be a few minutes before we get to your house. Anything
you wanna talk about?" 

 "Since when do cab drivers wanna listen to sob stories? I thought
that was a bartender's job?" 

 Alex smiled. "A little young to be going into bars, aren't you?" 

 "If you only knew," Cassandra said with a mischievous grin. 

 Alex bit his tongue to keep from asking if AD Skinner knew some
of what his daughter did. He couldn't blow his cover with her. She was too
valuable to him. Instead he asked, "You like to walk on the wild side a bit,
huh?" 

 "I have. On occasion." 

 Alex steered the cab in front of the Skinner house and stopped. He
picked up an envelope and a piece of paper. He scribbled down a name
and number. He handed them back to Cassandra. "The envelope is for your
father. The name and number is for you for the next time you feel like
taking a walk." 

 Cassandra smiled and tucked the paper in her jacket pocket.
"Thanks. What do I owe you?" 

 "Nothing. It's already been paid for." 

 She got out of the cab and watched it speed away. Strange but
likable fellow. Then she turned back to the house and took a deep breath in
preparation for the fight that was going to ensue. 

 She walked into the house and headed straight for her room. She
tossed her jacket and the envelope on the bed. She heard her mother call
from upstairs. 

 "Cassandra? Cassandra is that you?" 

 "Well, who the hell else would it be," she muttered. Then loud
enough for her mother to hear. "Yeah, it's me." She went into the kitchen
and got a glass of water. 

 Her mother came downstairs and joined her. "I can't believe your
father let you wander around the FBI without supervision." 

 Cassandra set her glass down on the counter with a loud thud.
"First off, I was with Agent Mulder. And secondly, I am old enough to
supervise myself. I learned how to do that real early thanks to you." 

 "Cassandra Ann!! Don't take that tone with me!" 

"Why not? It's about time I stood up for myself. I'm not a little girl
any more!" Cassandra turned away. "You think I haven't figured out the
real reason you sent me away? You think I haven't figured out the real 
reason you suddenly want me back? Why you want to play 'mommy'
again?" 

 "Cassandra, I don't know what you're talking about." 

 "Bullshit! You know, maybe if you admitted it to yourself, you
might be able to admit to Dad!" She slammed the glass into the sink. It
shattered, gauging into her hand. She lifted her hand as the blood dripped
into the sink. 

 "Oh my god!" Sharon reached for her daughter's cut hand. 

 Cassandra yanked her hand away. "Just leave it... leave me alone."
She grabbed a kitchen towel, wrapped it around her hand, and headed for
the hall bathroom, locking the door behind her. She unwrapped the towel
from her hand and washed the blood away. It was a bad cut but it would
heal, a lot quicker than her other wounds had. 

 There was a knock on the door. "Cassandra? Cassandra, are you
all right?" 

 She dug under the sink to find some gauze and cotton. She
managed a half way decent bandage. Atleast the blood wouldn't drip
everywhere. 

 "Cassandra... answer me!" her mother pleaded again. 

 "Much to your disappointment..." she yanked open the door. "I'll
live." She walked into her bedroom with her mother following closely
behind. 

 "I don't understand where all this anger is coming from? What did I
do wrong?" 

 "You figure it out." She tossed herself on the bed. 

 "Cass, please." 

 Cassandra turned and glared at her mother. "DON'T... call me
that!" She let out a long disgusted sigh. "You wanna know where I get all
this anger from? I get it from you! From you sending me away when I was
11 because you couldn't stand the fact Dad loved me more than he loved
you. That he'd rather spend time with me instead of you!" 

 Sharon laid a hand on her daughter's leg. "That's not why we sent
you away." 

 Cassandra brushed the hand off. "No, it's why *you* sent me
away." 

 "No, that's not true." Tears started streaming down Sharon's face.
"We were having problems of our own..." 

 "Yeah and I was one of them!" Cassandra grabbed the stuffed
horse and rolled onto her side. "Just go away!" she screamed. 

 Sharon got up and left the room crying and in shock from her
daughter's harsh words. 

 Skinner knew there was going to be a fight when Cassandra got
home but he didn't realize how bad until he walked in the front door and
Sharon was on the couch crying. He dropped his briefcase and trench and
knelt in front of her. "Sharon, what's wrong? What happened?" 

 Sharon lifted her tear streaked face to meet his. She was silent for
a moment, trying to find the right words. "Why don't you ask your
daughter." She managed only those words before she started crying again. 

 Skinner held her in his arms. He didn't know what to do, stay and
comfort his wife or find out what happened from his daughter. Sharon was
right when she had said 'your daughter'. Cassandra had never been her
daughter. 

 

 He had been so excited when he came home from work nearly 18
years ago to find out Sharon was pregnant. They had only been married a
few months and it had been rocky but he felt this was just what they
needed to bring them together. Instead it nearly tore them apart. 

 Sharon didn't want the baby. She wanted an abortion. But in those
days, abortions were rare unless the mother's life was at stake. She came
right out and told him that she'd go to Mexico to have it done if need be,
but she did not want that child. 

 Skinner begged and pleaded with her for two weeks not to do it.
To carry the baby to term and if she still felt the same, they'd talk about
giving her up for adoption. Finally, Sharon relented and agreed to the 
terms. When the time came to have the baby, she told him she would keep
it if it meant so much to him. And so Cassandra Ann became the light of
his life. He never meant to neglect his wife. Nor did he realize how bitter
she became until shortly after Cassandra's 11th birthday. 

 It was then Sharon announced it was either Cassandra or her. She
insisted she loved her daughter but that they need their time alone to be
husband and wife. It tore Skinner apart to have to make the decision. The
vows he had taken said 'til death do you part'. He had to make the effort to
make her happy. 

 Now it had been Sharon's turn to try and make him happy by
bringing Cassandra home. And once again, it seemed only to force them
apart. 

 He kissed Sharon's forehead lightly. "I'll go talk to her." He stood
and walked down the hall to the bedroom. He knocked and opened the
door without waiting. He saw the bloody bandage as Cassandra rolled
over. He rushed up to her. "What happened??" 

 Cassandra squinted slightly, still partly asleep. "Huh?" 

 Skinner took his daughter's bandaged hand. "This... what
happened?" 

 She wiped at the dried tears on her face. "I broke a glass." 

 Skinner unwrapped the bandage. The cut wasn't too deep but the
risk of tetanus or infection was high. He gently pulled her into a sitting
position. "Come on. We have to get you to have this cleaned and stitched
up." 

 Cassandra shook her head. "I don't wanna go." 

 "Cass..." 

 "Daddy, please... it'll be fine." All she wanted now was to be her
daddy's little girl again. For him to hold her and tell her everything would
be okay. 

 Skinner hugged her. "Okay." He held for a moment before he
asked, "What happened when you got home? Why is your mother crying?" 

 Cassandra held her father tighter. "I told her I knew why she sent
me away. That she was jealous because you loved me more than her." Her
voice quivered as she asked, "Mom never wanted me, did she?" 

 Skinner leaned his head back, trying to fight off the tears. How
could his little girl know so much? Had it been that obvious to a child? He
tried to speak but couldn't. He didn't know what to say. 

 "Tell me the truth Daddy, please." 

 "We hadn't been married long when you were born. She wasn't
ready to be a mother. But I thought it would help us. It didn't. It only
succeeded in pushing us apart. She does love you, you know." 

 "But not as much as you do." 

"No." He stroked his daughter's hair. "Cass I know it's too late to
make up for what's happened, but I want us to try and be a family. Your
mother and I have been going to counseling for the past two weeks. I want
you to go with us. Maybe, it'll help... everyone." 

 Cassandra nodded but still held onto her father. "If you want me
to, I'll go." 

 "Thank you, honey." He pulled away. "I'm gonna go talk to her."
He stood up. 

 Cassandra looked up at him biting her lower lip. "I didn't mean to
hurt her." 

 Skinner brushed her cheek with on finger. "I know." Then he
caught a glimpse of an envelope with his name on it. "What's that?" He
motioned towards it with his chin. 

 Cassandra reached back and picked up the envelope. "I don't
know. The cab driver gave it to me." She watched as her father managed a
brief smile, took the envelope, and left her room. Suddenly she 
remembered the cab driver gave her something too. She picked up her
jacket and searched through the pockets pulling out a square piece of
paper. On it was written: 

 

 "When you're ready for a walk, call me. 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex 555-0452" She glanced at the phone, at the paper, and back
at the phone. As she heard the voices in the other room get louder, she
picked up the phone and dialed the number. 

 "Sharon, she knows about you not wanting her. And I didn't tell
her." 

 Sharon looked up from the couch. "I never thought she'd find out.
I never thought she'd use it against us." 

 "She's not using it against us. She's hurt for christ's sake." 

 "And I'm not?! She'd just as soon see me dead." 

 Skinner sat down next to Sharon. "No she wouldn't." He hung his
head. This wasn't going to be easy. "You know, you've never really treated
her any different." He paused, waiting for the objections, but they didn't
come. "I saw it. The looks you'd give her when we were together. It hurt
me too." 

 Sharon said nothing. What was there to say. It was true. She loved
and hated her daughter at the same time. 

Cassandra quietly walked up behind her parents. "Dad." She said
softly. 

 Skinner turned around. "Yes, Cass." 

 "I'm gonna go for a walk. Okay?" 

 At first Skinner was going to object. But decided against it. "Fine.
Just don't be gone to long." 

 "I won't." She walked to the front door and opened it. She turned
back to look at her parents. "Bye Mom." And she walked out. 

 Slipping on her jacket, she pulled out the piece of paper she had
scribble directions to the park on. She had been there many times before
but that was when she was little. Her father took her there all the time. 

 She shook her head. She didn't want to think about those thoughts
right now. This little rendezvous was meant to take her mind off her
family. She smiled as she recalled the conversation she had only moments
before with the cab driver Alex. 

 He had seemed rather surprised she had called. Or atleast called so
soon. But he wasted no time in setting up a place to meet. She didn't like
deceiving her father but if he knew where she was going, he'd certainly
object. Some day she was going to have to tell him she wasn't the angel he
thought she was. But not today. 

 She turned the final corner and saw the park ahead. More
importantly she saw who was waiting in the park and smiled. Alex was
standing against a tree with his back to her. Definitely a nice view, she 
thought. 

 The crunching of leaves behind him caused Alex to turn around.
He figured Cassandra must take after her mother in the looks department.
He just couldn't picture her getting those kind of good looks from Skinner.
He walked up to meet her. "Glad you could make it." 

 "Me too." 

 He motioned to a nearby bench. "Have a seat." 

 They sat down on the bench, facing each other, elbows propped up
on the back of it. 

 "What happened to your hand?" Alex asked. 

 " I broke a glass earlier. It's no big deal." 

 Oh... so, why did you call?" Not that he needed an answer. 

 "You said anytime I wanted to walk." She shrugged. "Plus, I think
you're kinda cute." 

 "Only kinda cute?" 

Cassandra smiled. "Okay, I think you're hot." She leaned forward
and kissed him lightly on the lips. 

 Alex pulled back. "Just how old are you?" Again a question who's
answer really did not matter. 

 "Old enough to know better, young enough not to care." She ran a
finger down his chest. 

 "Young enough to get me thrown in jail?" He took her hand,
kissing the tip of her finger. 

 "Only for another few weeks." Atleast in her eyes 6 weeks was a
few. This time Alex leaned forward to kiss her and she pulled back with a
teasing grin. "Just how old are you?" 

 "Young enough to know better and older enough not to care." He
grinned and reached behind Cassandra, pulling her close, kissing her deep.
She shocked him by kissing him back in a way that got him quite aroused.
He broke off the kiss. "You... are good." 

 Cassandra smiled and blushed. Compliments from guys her age
were one thing. But to be complimented by an older man was something
different. "I aim to please." 

 Alex noticed a man in black watching them from a distance.
Someone else might have thought nothing of the man, but Alex knew
better. He took Cassandra's hand. "Come on, let's go for a drive." 

 Skinner glanced at his watch. Cassandra had been gone 2 hours
and it was dark outside. He wondered if he should go looking for her. He
turned away from staring out the window and noticed the envelope 
Cassandra had gotten from the cab driver. He picked it up and turned it
over in his hand before opening it. On a sheet of while letter paper, in what
appeared to be printing from a laser printer, read three simple words,
"Watch Your Daughter". 

 His heart raced. Was it a threat from that cigarette smoking
son-of-a-bitch or a warning from someone else? He heard Sharon in the
kitchen. What should he tell her? He didn't want to make her worry about 
Cassandra, if that was even possible. And he didn't want to scare Cassandra
either. 

 He looked at the phone and thought about calling Mulder. Then
decided against it. He'd wait awhile longer before making any rash
decisions.  

Alex stopped the car a few blocks from Cassandra's house and
turned off the engine. He leaned across the console between the seats and
nuzzled against Cassandra's ear. It was unbelievable what this girl did to
him. And not just physically. For some reason, she seemed to touch a part
of him, he thought had died. "Can we do this again?" he whispered. 

 Cassandra turned so her lips met his, kissing them gently. "I'd love
too. Maybe next time we can do more than just eat dinner." 

 Alex kissed her back. "You are bad." He smiled. 

 Cassandra ran her fingers through his hair. "And you love it." She
looked at her watch. "I'd better go. Don't want anyone getting too
suspicious." She reached for the door handle. "I'll call you." 

 "I hope so." Alex said softly as he watched her exit the car. 

 Cassandra waved as he drove away. Her good mood soon faded as
she got closer to the house and had to face her problems once again. She
expected to see her parents, or atleast her dad, pacing back and forth 
wondering where she was. Instead, when she opened the door, her father
was watching the local news. 

 Skinner tried not to show his relief as his daughter walked in the
house. He didn't want to make her suspicious of anything. "Your mother is
upstairs." 

 "I take it that means you want me to apologize?" 

 "Your mother's a good woman. But she's only human." 

 Cassandra hated when he did that. He should just come right out
and say yes. She went upstairs and found her mother folding laundry.
Picking up a shirt, she folded it neatly and put it on the stack of others. 
This was the one thing her and her mother used to do together. "I can fold
more than just handkerchiefs and towels now." 

 "Cassandra..." Sharon paused for the right words. "I'm sorry." 

 "Me too." 

 They folded the rest of the clothes in an awkward silence. Sharon
placed a stack of towels in the closet. "I car pool to work tomorrow. I'll
leave the car keys on the kitchen counter so you can use it if you like." 

 "Thanks Mom!" The one thing Cassandra feared would happen
would be that she'd get stuck without a car to use. "I'm going to take a
bath." She trotted gleefully downstairs, into her bedroom to fetch her 
pajamas, and then into the bathroom.  

The hot bath felt good. It relaxed her enough to where she fell
asleep long enough to have a short dream about Alex. She climbed out of
the tub, dried off and put on her pajamas. It was late so she decided to go
to bed. Her father was still sitting in the living room going over some files. 

 "Your mom said she's leaving you the car keys tomorrow." 

 "Yep." Cassandra nonchalantly tried to take a peak at what he was
reading. 

 He pulled the file out of her view. "I want you to be careful." 

 Cassandra sighed. When would they learn. "Yes, Dad. I'm going to
bed now. I'll come by the office tomorrow for lunch." 

 Skinner nodded. "Okay. I'll leave a visitor pass for you." 

 She kissed her father on the cheek. "Goodnight." 

 Skinner left for work the following morning before Cassandra was
up. He went straight up to his office with the note from the cab driver. He
picked up the phone and dialed a number. It rang twice before it was 
picked up. 

 "Mulder." 

 "Agent Mulder, I need to see you in my office, immediately
please." He didn't wait for an acknowledgment before hanging up the
phone. 

 Five minutes later, Mulder appeared in the doorway. "You wanted
to see me, Sir?" 

 "Have a seat." Skinner sat down himself and tapped a pen on the
desk. He didn't like having to ask for help. He unfolded the letter and
handed it to the younger agent. 

 Mulder read it and looked up at his boss. "Have they done
anything to her?" 

 Skinner shook his head. "Not yet. And I can't let her or her mother
know about this note. I want you to take it and have it analyzed in every
way possible. You'll find my finger prints, my daughter's, and your's on it.
I want to know if anyone else's are there. As well as any other leads it may
provide." 

 "I'll get right on it." Mulder stood and started for the door. 

 "Fox," Skinner called. "I don't think I need to tell you how
important this is." 

 "No, Sir. You don't." 

 Cassandra picked up her visitor's pass at the guard station and
headed to the basement to see Mulder. She like this guy. He may seem
strange to some but Cassandra enjoyed talking to him. She went to knock 
on the office door but it was already open. She peered in but didn't say
anyone. So she plopped down at Mulder's desk and picked up the phone.
Hopefully Alex would be available for lunch since her father probably
would not be. 

 The phone rang and was picked up. "Hello?" 

 "Alex. It's Cassandra." 

 The voice suddenly sounded more cheerful. "Hi! What are you up
to?" 

 "Well, I thought you might like to get together for lunch. I have
the car today." 

 "Great! I know the perfect place." 

 Cassandra dug around on the desk until she found a notepad. She
wrote down the directions Alex gave her. "How about in 90 minutes?" 

 "Okay... see you then." 

 The door behind her squeaked cause Cassandra to jump and whirl
around. It was Mulder. "Shit! You scared me." 

 "Sorry. Who were you talking to?" 

 "Do you make it a habit of listening on other people's
conversations?" 

 Mulder shooed her out of his chair. "Only when they make the calls
from my office." 

 Cassandra snatched the sheet of paper she had been writing on off
the pad. "I'll remember that next time." 

 "Did you come to finish our discussion on alien abduction?" 

 "No, I just came to say hi and go see my dad. I gotta be
somewhere in a little while." She headed out the door. "Have a nice day." 

 Mulder waited for the door to shut before he picked up the pad of
paper and rubbed over it with a pencil revealing the address of a restaurant
just outside of DC proper. 

 Cassandra smiled as her father's secretary looked up to greet her.
"Is he in?" 

 "Yes, just a moment. Let me tell him you're here." She punched the
intercom button. 

 "Yes?" Skinner's voice grumble. 

 "Your daughter is here, Sir." 

 "Thank you. Send her in." 

The secretary motioned to the door. "Go right in." 

 Cassandra walked into the office. "Hi Dad." 

 Skinner looked up from his paperwork. "Hi Cass. I hate to tell you
this..." 

 Cassandra nodded. "I know, I know... you can't go to lunch." 

 "I'm sorry... I just have to get caught up with work." 

 "Okay, well, I'll see at home then." 

 "Cass, tonight is counseling so be home by 5 o'clock, okay?" 

 "Okay. See you then." 

 No sooner had Cassandra left, Skinner's phone rang. "Yes?" 

 "Sir, is your daughter still there?" 

 "No, she just left. What's the problem, Agent Mulder?" 

 "I think I need to come up." 

 Skinner hung up the phone and stared blankly ahead. Whatever
Mulder found out it must be important. The few minutes it took Mulder to
come up seemed like an eternity to Skinner. He didn't even greet the agent
when he walked in. "What'd you find?" 

 Mulder handed the pencil rubbed piece of paper to the AD. 

 Skinner looked at it and up at Mulder. "Is this supposed to mean
something to me?" 

 "When I got back from lunch, Cassandra was in my office talking
on the phone. Does she have friends in the area?" 

 Skinner shrugged. "I don't know. She might." 

 "Well, I could tell who she was talking to but she sounded like she
was meeting whoever it was for lunch. Probably there." He pointed to the
paper. 

 Skinner stood up and took off his glasses. He stuffed on hand in
his pant pocket. "Mulder, I need a favor. An unofficial favor." 

 "You want me to follow her, keep an eye on her." 

 "Until we can make heads or tails of that note, I want to know
everywhere she goes and everyone she sees. Starting with her lunch date." 

 Cassandra easily found the restaurant. She parked the car and
went inside where Alex was waiting. 

 Alex stood and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. He didn't
want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. "How are you?" 

 "Fine... now," Cassandra answered with a flirtatious wink. 

 The hostess seated them, handed them the menus, took their drink
order and left. 

 "Did you miss me?" Alex teased. 

"Yes, I did. I was going to wait until after I saw my dad before I
called you but I ended up doing it from Agent Mulder's office." 

 That name sent chills down Alex's spine. He really didn't care to
run into him again. The last few times had been painful. 

 Cassandra sensed Alex's uneasiness about Mulder. "Don't worry,
he wasn't there when I called." 

 "I wasn't worried. I just don't think your father would be too
thrilled about us. So we just have to be careful... until you're eighteen." 

 Outside, Mulder found Cassandra's car and then found a spot to
stakeout the restaurant. He knew the people who would be out to harm
Cassandra would stop at nothing to do it. They had already killed Scully's
sister and his own father. An AD's daughter wouldn't matter much if it got
their point across. The Skinner's sure picked the wrong time to try and be
a family. Mulder settled back in his car with a bag of sunflower seeds and
waited. 

 45 minutes later, Cassandra exited the restaurant alone. She hated
to leave Alex but he said he had business to attend to. So they made
arrangements to meet later. She got into the car and sat there for a 
moment. Closing her eyes, she could fee the warmth of his kiss and the
smell of his cologne. Finally she started the car and drove off. 

 Alex watched her leave from inside the restaurant. He hoped by
now, Skinner had a tail on her. He had to keep her safe for atleast another
week. That would hopefully ruin the plans the MIB cartel had. But it was
no doubt going to cause more problems for him. He found himself falling
for her and falling fast, something he never expected. He knew she fell for
him the first time she kissed him. Why couldn't anything be simple? He
sighed as he turned away from the window. 

 Mulder followed Cassandra out into traffic and picked up his cell
phone. he dialed the number for Skinner's office. The secretary answered
informing him that the AD was busy. Mulder insisted that it was important
and he be allowed to talk with him. With a sigh, the secretary clicked him
on hold. A few seconds later, Skinner picked up. 

 "What did you find out?" 

 "Nothing much. By the time I got there she was already inside.
When she left, she left alone. I am following her now but I think she's on
her way back to the house." 

 "All right. Make sure she gets there in one piece. Then wait there
until I get home. You can leave then." 

 "Yes, sir. Any word from the lab on that note?" 

 Skinner left out a slightly frustrated sigh. "No, not yet." He hung
up the phone and immediately went to dial the lab but decided this matter
deserved a personal visit. 

 The lab was fairly quiet as Skinner walked in. The only sound was
that of the agents whipsering as the saw Skinner come in and look around. 

 Skinner found who was looking for hunched over a microscope.
He walked up behind the red-haired man. "Agent Pendleton?" 

 Pendleton jump and nearly saluted. "Assistant Director Skinner,
Sir!" 

 Skinner had to force back a smile. "Did you find anything out
about that letter Agent Mulder brought down?" 

 "Well, it was printed on standard 20 pound bond printer paper by
an ink jet style model at 600 by 300 DPI..." 

 Skinner cut him off. "Did you find anything that might lead us to
who wrote it?" 

 "We found four sets of finger prints. One was yours and one was
Agent Mulder's. The other two we ran through all the databases."
Pendleton paused. 

 "And??" Skinner was in no mood to be toyed with. 

 "We got a match on one of the other sets. From a police database
in northern Vermont. It appears that one Cassandra Skinner has a record
with them." 

 Skinner's face lit up with anger. "She what?!" He felt the other
agents turn and stare at him. 

 "I'm sorry, Sir. I figured you would have known. She has juvenile
offense record. Nothing too serious, drinking, shoplifting, speeding. All
things that will go off her record when she turns 18." Pendleton felt like he
was always the bearer of bad news. 

 "What about the fourth finger print?" 

 "We're still running it through the databases." 

Skinner muttered a thanks and stormed out of the lab. He could not
believe that Sharon would hide those things about Cassandra from him. He
slammed to the door to his office shut and stared, scowling out the
window. He felt like going home and confronting Sharon about this. But
how would he explain how he found out? It was normal FBI procedure to
run finger prints on visitors when it was needed, but what would be the
need? How would he say he got her fingerprints to begin with? Too many
questions that he couldn't answer just yet. 

 Cassandra glanced down at the clock radio as she sat at a stop
light. She felt like going and talking with Mulder but it was almost three
and the traffic would get bad soon. She promised her dad she'd be home
by five for that family counseling appointment. 

 "Yeah, like that's gonna be loads of fun," she muttered. 

 She really didn't care about being close with her mother again. She
never was before so why should it change now. She did however, want
that closeness again with her dad. She knew, though, that it would mean
telling him things she had hidden from him for years. Things that would
disappointment him. 

 For Cassandra, the worst thing she could ever hear from her father
was "I am disappointed in you". That would hurt worse than anything else
she could imagine. She knew she wasn't perfect, but did he? 

 She parked the car in the driveway and headed into the house. She
figured she had enough time for a nap before the session. Unless of course,
her mom was in a mother/daughter bonding mood. To her surprise, no one
was home. So she grabbed a drink and plopped down on the couch to find
a boring movie that would put her to sleep. 

 The slamming of the front door jolted Cassandra awake from what
was turning out to be a wonderful dream about Alex. She squinted and
rubbed her eyes. 

 "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I didn't know you were sleeping." Sharon
apologized as she set down her purse and hung her jacket. "I'm glad you're
home. I was worried that your father didn't tell you about the counseling
session tonight." 

 Cassandra picked up her glass off the coffee table. "No, he told
me." She carried it into the kitchen and refilled it. 

 "So how was your day? Did you get to have lunch with your dad?" 

 Cassandra took a drink and tried to figure why her mother cared.
"No, Dad was busy so I just said hi to him. I did see Agent Mulder for a
little while. I think I'll go back and talk to him tomorrow." She smiled to
herself at the disapproving look on her mother's face. She knew that'd get
her. 

 "Well, if you must. I just don't understand what you see in him." 

 "He's interesting. He knows all kinds of weird stuff too." She
paused. "Not to mention the fact he's cute." 

 "And a bit old for you!" 

 Cassandra chuckled, "Maybe," and walked back into the living
room. She heard her mother sigh. Cassandra felt bad about the way she'd
been treating her mother, but she couldn't help it. She was mad at her. 

 

 Skinner drove down the street to his house. He saw Mulder
parked a few houses away. He slowed, waved him off, and pulled into the
driveway of his house. He had calmed down some since finding out all the
details of Cassandra's police record. Danny had been right. There was
nothing serious on her record. It was still enough to frustrate Skinner. He
felt it was very unfair of Sharon not to tell him this. Just like when
Cassandra had fallen off the horse. 

 He walked in and saw Cassandra sitting on the couch watching
some long haired, heavy metal rock band on MTV. The words of the song
barely intelligible over the noise of the instruments. 

 Cassandra looked over at her father as he put his briefcase down
on the couch. "Hi Dad!" 

 "Hi Cass." 

 Sharon walked up and kissed Skinner on the cheek. "Hi, Walter.
Did you have a good day?" 

 Skinner struggled with the answer. "Yeah... I guess," he finally
said. "I'm going to wash up real quick before we go." 

 Cassandra could see something was bothering her father.
Something her mother apparently couldn't or didn't want to. She followed
him upstairs to the bedroom. Leaning on the door frame, she asked,
"What's wrong?" 

 "Nothing, Cass. Just a rough day at work." He hung his suit jacket
up in the closet and loosened his tie. 

 Cassandra shrugged. "Okay." She turned and walked back
downstairs. Picking up her jacket from her room, she waited in the living
room. She hoped this wouldn't take too long. She was supposed to meet 
Alex in the park at 8 o'clock. 

 After what seemed an eternity to Cassandra, her father finally came
down and they left for the counseling session. 

 They drove ten minutes to a small office building. It resembled any
other office building in the area, windows on all fours sides and square.
The counselor's office was on the third and top floor of the building. From
the waiting room, Cassandra got a nice view of the city. 

 She stared out the large window as she listened to her father
explain about her presence. She couldn't hear what the receptionist said
but apparently there wasn't a problem with it. 

 A few minutes later, a door next to the receptionist window
opened and a man's voice called, "Walter, Sharon, Cassandra... come on
back." He led the down a hallway to a room at the end. 

 Cassandra stepped in, expecting to find some sort of mad scientist
lab or something. Instead, it looked like someone's living room. A couch
and loveseat sat on two sides of a wooden coffee table. Across from the
couch was a large, leather office chair. There was also a TV, VCR and
stereo systems behind the couch. 

 Cassandra sat herself on the loveseat as her parents sat on the
couch. She took the time while everyone got settle to look over the
counselor. He wasn't much different than what she expected. Rather short, 
slightly balding, and dressed in slacks, a blue shirt, and tie covered by a
white lab coat. The only thing missing was the thick rimmed black glasses
and he'd be perfect for the next Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde movie,
Cassandra thought. 

 The doctor finally took his seat in the office chair. He turned to
Cassandra. "Well, hello there Miss Cassandra. My name is Doctor
Wingfield." 

 Cassandra cringed. By the tone of his voice, he made it seem like
he was addressing a child. 

 "How are you today?" 

 "Fine." 

 "Your father tells me you are down from school in Vermont. How
do you like being back home? How did your little friends take it when you
told them you were coming home?" 

 "First off, most of my *little* friends are about twice your size.
And second, stop talking to me like I am five." 

 "Cassandra!" Sharon said in shock. 

 "No, no, that's quite all right, Sharon." Dr. Wingfield turned back
to Cassandra addressing her in a normal tone. "Well, I see you have
definite opinions about certain things. So what's your opinion about your
family situation?" 

 Cassandra looked from her mother to her father. Both sat
expressionless on the couch. She glanced sideways at Dr. Wingfield. "I
think it sucks. For the most part." 

 "What do you mean by 'for the most part'?" 

 "Well, how would you feel if you got yanked out of school two
months before graduation, taken away from all your friends, having to
miss out on all the fun, just because your mother decides she wants to play 
house?" 

 "I sense a lot of anger and frustration from you." Dr. Wingfield
scribbled in a notepad. 

 Cassandra burst out laughing. "And you get paid to do this??" 

 "Cassandra Ann!" Skinner growled, leaning forward on the couch. 

 "What? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I'm
angry." 

 Dr. Wingfield cleared his throat. "So, tell me, why are you angry?
It's not just about being taken out of school." 

 "No, you're right. I'd say it started almost 18 years ago from the
day I was born with a mother who hated me cause I got all the attention
from her husband. So, she sends me off and never even bothers to tell my
father that I was in the hospital for 2 weeks." Cassandra suprised herself by
how calmly she had said all that. 

 "That's not the only thing she didn't tell me, Cassandra." Skinner
sat up and looked at Sharon. "She also didn't tell me you were arrested on
several occasions for things like underage drinking, shoplifting, reckless
driving." 

 Sharon stared down at the carpet. "I didn't think you needed to
know." 

 "You didn't think I need to know?! For christ's sake, Sharon, she's
my daughter! I had a right to know!" 

 "You didn't tell him?" Cassandra looked shocked. "How could you
not have?" 

 "What else haven't you two told me?" 

 Sharon sat silently. 

 "I just figured mom would tell you. You where never there when I
called." 

 "Why did you do it all in the first place? You had to have known it
was wrong." A tone of disappointment crept into Skinner's voice. 

 Tears once again flowed down Cassandra's face. "I wanted to
come home. I thought maybe if it seemed like the place was bad influence
on me, you'd come get me and bring me back." She took a deep, 
shuddering breath. "But you never said anything." She looked into her
father's eyes. 

 "You could have told me, Cass. You could have said what you
wanted." Skinner fought back the tears. 

 "I didn't think you'd listen. I thought, when you found out what I
had done, you'd say you were..." She couldn't finish the sentence. 

 Dr. Wingfield spoke up. "Disappointed?" 

 Cassandra nodded. 

 Skinner took off his glasses. He leaned forward, his elbows on his
knees, glasses dangling in on hand. He stared at the floor and shook his
head. "Cassandra, the only person I have to be disappointed in is me. I did
a bad job at being a father. If I had opened my eyes, I would have seen
what was going on." He searched for the right words. "I swear I have
never stopped loving you. I love you just as much now as the first day I
held you. I thought you were mad at me and I couldn't blame you if you
were." He glanced sideways at Sharon. "Was that your plan all along? To
push us apart?" 

 She looked from Cassandra to Skinner. "I just didn't realize that's
what I was doing until it was too late. If I told you, then you might have
wanted to leave." She paused. "Then when I thought I couldn't get you
back, I filed for divorce. I wanted to tell you then, but you wouldn't speak
to me. I made a big mistake... I'm sorry." 

 Skinner reached out and held his wife as she cried. It was then that
Cassandra realized her mother only wanted the same thing she did, to be
loved by the one man that meant everything to them both. But Cassandra
couldn't forgive her mother for all those years of hurt and pain she had
caused. Atleast not yet. 

 Dr. Wingfield cleared his throat. "Well, I think we have just
touched the surface of some very strong emotions here." He looked at
Cassandra who was staring at her parents. "It takes a stronger person to 
forgive than to hold a grudge." 

 "Maybe. But I just spent the last 7 years of my life thinking I had
lost my father because my mother hated me. I'm not strong enough to
forgive so quickly for that." 

 "Well, that is something we can work on next time." 

 Cassandra took that as a hint that the session was over and left the
room. She didn't bother to wait for her parents. She headed straight for the
elevator and jab at the button. Cassandra knew she was hurting her father
by not being forgiving, but what else could she do. Cassandra felt a gentle
hand on her shoulder. 

 "I know you're trying," Skinner said, stroking his daughter's hair.
"Don't think this is all easy for me, though." It was far from easy for him.
He had shut off a part of himself from the world for so long, built so many
walls. 

 When they got back home, Cassandra climbed out of the car and
said she was going for a walk. She didn't wait for any replies. She just
headed off for the park. She'd get there a little early but that'd give her 
chance to think. In a way she wanted to go back to Vermont. To just
forget all about this. Now that she knew it was her mother that had kept
her father away all those years and it had nothing to so with her father not
caring any more, she wanted to be his daughter again. 

 And then there was Alex. Cassandra smiled as she thought about
him. Definitely a good reason to stay here, she thought. It was strange
how strongly she felt for him and she hardly knew him. She hoped the 
feeling was mutual. If her family situation wasn't already tense, she'd bring
him home to meet her dad. Even though Alex was atleast 10 years older
than her, she thought him and her dad would get along good. 

 She made her way over their bench and sat down. She glanced
around the dimly lit park. The few lights scattered around provided just
enough light to make out the outline of the trees and swingsets. She 
looked at the slide about 10 yards in front of her. She used to love going
down it. She got and walked up to the ladder. She started to climb up to
the top and smiled. It was silly, she knew, but it just looked like so much
fun. She got to the top and sat down. Giving herself a big shove, she slid all
the way down and landed on her backside in the soft sand. She laughed
out loud.
 "I take it that was fun?" a voice asked.
Cassandra
whipped her head around to see Alex standing on the sidewalk at the edge
of the sand with a big grin on his face. Cassandra blushed. "You weren't
supposed to see that." Alex walked over and held out a hand. "But
I did. And it was cute."
 Cassandra took his hand and let him help her
up. She brushed off the sand from her pants. "Thanks... I think."
Alex
brushed her cheek lightly. He hadn't stopped thinking about her all day.
Actually, he hadn't stopped thinking about her since the day they had met.
He kissed her softly at first. Then harder, more passionately. 
Cassandra returned the kiss, in kind. She wrapped her arms around him,
under the leather jacket and press herself against him. She could felt his
excitement in more ways than one. She wanted him. Here. Now.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, came three dark dressed men. Two of them
grabbed Alex and began to beat him. The third took Cassandra and tried to
drag her away.
 Cassandra kicked and screamed, struggling against
her unknown captor. When she saw the other attacking Alex, she fought
harder. She had to help him. But nothing helped. She was pulled away. 
"Alex!!" He had managed to temporarily take down of the men but was
losing to the second. That's when Cassandra noticed a fourth man running
up from the street. By the time she noticed who it was, it was too late. Her
captor had gotten her to a black van and was shoving her inside.
 
Skinner had followed Cassandra to the park. He knew she'd be mad, but
that message on the note still haunted him. He had watched from behind a
row of bushes as she had slid down the slide and as the too distant figure
helped her up. He watched as they embraced and kisses, wondering just
who this man was. Then as the three darkly clad men attacked the couple,
Skinner sprang into action. He had left his gun at home and cursed himself
for it as he ran towards them. By the time he got to where the three men 
where fighting, the fourth had taken Cassandra, put her in a dark van and
drove off.

He stopped suddenly when he realized who it was that had
been with his daughter. He never though he'd see Alex Krycek again. It
took a moment for him to decided whether to help the two men beat the
living daylights out of Krycek or to save that pleasure for him and him
alone.

Just as he stepped in to help fight off the men, they broke off the
attack and ran. He looked down at Krycek who was one his hands and
knees, panting and bleeding. Skinner reached down. Grabbing Krycek by
his leather jacket, he hauled him and slammed him back against a nearby
tree. "Where'd they take her, you son-of-a-bitch?!?!"

 Krycek tried to catch his breath. "I was trying to stop them!"

Skinner slammed Krycek against the tree again. "Why should 
I believe you?! How do I know you didn't set her up like you did 
me?!"

"I didn't! I sent you that note because I knew they were after her!" 
Krycek took several deep breaths.

He wanted to say he loved her and would never hurt her. Something in
Krycek's eyes made Skinner believe him. With a disgusted sigh, he let
Krycek go and watched him fall in a heap to the ground. "Why did they
want her? How did they know she was here? And how did you know?"

Krycek pulled himself up to a semi-upright position and wiped the
almost dried blood from his face with the back of his hand. "They know a
lot of things. Things that you'd be surprised about." He paused, looking up
at the frustrated man. He felt for Skinner. If he hurt at the loss of
Cassandra, Skinner must also. "I have a few people who I pay well to give
me information. I think I may even know where they will take her."

Skinner glared at him. "You'd better know. Cause right now, that's
your only saving grace!"

 Cassandra found herself flung nearly into the
lap of a man waiting in the van. The first man shut the sliding door behind
him and sat down in the driver's seat. He started the van and sped off,
leaving Cassandra to only hope her father would make sure Alex was
okay. She got up of the van floor and sat at the far end of the bench seat.
As far away from the man as she could. She surveyed her
surroundings. Both men looked almost exactly alike. They reminded her of
men who would play "Goon #1" and "Goon #2" in an old style gangster
movie. Goon #1 was driving and had brown hair, while Goon #2, with
grey hair, just stared at Cassandra. She swallowed hard, about to say 
something as cliche as the men sitting in the van. "What do you want with
me?"

 Goon #2 said nothing, just smiled.
 Cassandra shook her head.

"Gee... what stimulating conversationalists." She had to maintain control.
Letting these guys know she was afraid was the worst thing to do, she
thought. Getting no reaction from either Goon, she turned her attention to
the road, trying to make out some kind of landmarks in the darkness. 

Sharon jumped off the couch with a gasp as she saw Skinner and
the bloodied and bruised Krycek walk into the house. "Oh my god! What
happened?!"

Skinner pointed down the hallway. "Go clean up." Krycek
nodded and headed down the hall. "Where's Cassandra?" Sharon laid her
hand on Skinner's arm. "I don't know." He brushed off her hand and
walked over to the desk. He reached in, pulling out his FBI issue SIG
Sauer. "Some men attacked her and Krycek in the park." 

"Krycek?"

 
She made her way over their bench and sat down. She glanced around
the dimly lit park. The few lights scattered around provided just
enough light to make out the outline of the trees and swingsets. She
looked at the slide about 10 yards in front of her. She used to love
going down it. She got and walked up to the ladder. She started to
climb up to the top and smiled. It was silly, she knew, but it just
looked like so much fun. She got to the top and sat down. Giving
herself a big shove, she slid all the way down and landed on her
backside in the soft sand. She laughed out loud.

"I take it that was fun?" a voice asked.

Cassandra whipped her head around to see Alex standing on the
sidewalk at the edge of the sand with a big grin on his face.
Cassandra blushed. "You weren't supposed to see that."

Alex walked over and held out a hand. "But I did. And it was cute."

Cassandra took his hand and let him help her up. She brushed off the
sand from her pants. "Thanks... I think."

 Alex brushed her cheek lightly. He hadn't stopped thinking about her
all day. Actually, he hadn't stopped thinking about her since the day
they had met. He kissed her softly at first. Then harder, more
passionately.  Cassandra returned the kiss, in kind. She wrapped her
arms around him, under the leather jacket and press herself against
him. She could felt his excitement in more ways than one. She wanted
him. Here. Now.

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, came three dark dressed men. Two of them
grabbed Alex and began to beat him. The third took Cassandra and
tried to drag her away.

Cassandra kicked and screamed, struggling against her unknown captor.
When she saw the other attacking Alex, she fought harder. She had to
help him. But nothing helped. She was pulled away.  "Alex!!" He had
managed to temporarily take down of the men but was losing to the
second. That's when Cassandra noticed a fourth man running up from
the street. By the time she noticed who it was, it was too late. Her
captor had gotten her to a black van and was shoving her inside.

Skinner had followed Cassandra to the park. He knew she'd be mad,
but that message on the note still haunted him. He had watched from
behind a row of bushes as she had slid down the slide and as the too
distant figure helped her up. He watched as they embraced and kisses,
wondering just who this man was. Then as the three darkly clad men
attacked the couple, Skinner sprang into action. He had left his gun
at home and cursed himself for it as he ran towards them. By the time
he got to where the three men where fighting, the fourth had taken
Cassandra, put her in a dark van and drove off.

He stopped suddenly when he realized who it was that had been with
his daughter. He never though he'd see Alex Krycek again. It took a
moment for him to decided whether to help the two men beat the living
daylights out of Krycek or to save that pleasure for him and him
alone.

 Just as he stepped in to help fight off the men, they broke off the
attack and ran. He looked down at Krycek who was one his hands and
knees, panting and bleeding. Skinner reached down. Grabbing Krycek by
his leather jacket, he hauled him and slammed him back against a
nearby tree. "Where'd they take her, you son-of-a-bitch?!?!"

Krycek tried to catch his breath. "I was trying to stop them!"

Skinner slammed Krycek against the tree again. "Why should I believe
you?! How do I know you didn't set her up like you did me?!"

 "I didn't! I sent you that note because I knew they were after her!"
Krycek took several deep breaths. He wanted to say he loved her and
would never hurt her.

Something in Krycek's eyes made Skinner believe him. With a
disgusted sigh, he let Krycek go and watched him fall in a heap to
the ground. "Why did they want her? How did they know she was here?
And how did you know?"

Krycek pulled himself up to a semi-upright position and wiped the
almost dried blood from his face with the back of his hand. "They
know a lot of things. Things that you'd be surprised about." He
paused, looking up at the frustrated man. He felt for Skinner. If he
hurt at the loss of Cassandra, Skinner must also. "I have a few
people who I pay well to give me information. I think I may even know
where they will take her."

Skinner glared at him. "You'd better know. Cause right now, that's
your only saving grace!"

Cassandra found herself flung nearly into the lap of a man waiting in
the van. The first man shut the sliding door behind him and sat down
in the driver's seat. He started the van and sped off, leaving
Cassandra to only hope her father would make sure Alex was okay. She
got up of the van floor and sat at the far end of the bench seat. As
far away from the man as she could. She surveyed her surroundings.
Both men looked almost exactly alike. They reminded her of men who
would play "Goon #1" and "Goon #2" in an old style gangster movie.
Goon #1 was driving and had brown hair, while Goon #2, with grey
hair, just stared at Cassandra. She swallowed hard, about to say
something as cliche as the men sitting in the van. "What do you want
with me?"

Goon #2 said nothing, just smiled.

Cassandra shook her head. "Gee... what stimulating
conversationalists." She had to maintain control. Letting these guys
know she was afraid was the worst thing to do, she thought. Getting
no reaction from either Goon, she turned her attention to the road,
trying to make out some kind of landmarks in the darkness.

Sharon jumped off the couch with a gasp as she saw Skinner and the
bloodied and bruised Krycek walk into the house. "Oh my god! What
happened?!"

Skinner pointed down the hallway. "Go clean up." Krycek nodded and
headed down the hall.

"Where's Cassandra?" Sharon laid her hand on Skinner's arm.

"I don't know." He brushed off her hand and walked over to the desk.
He reached in, pulling out his FBI issue SIG Sauer. "Some men
attacked her and Krycek in the park."

 "Krycek?"

Skinner forgot that Sharon knew nothing of the events surrounding
the DAT tape and Scully's abduction so the name was unfamiliar to
her. "The guy that's in the bathroom." "I don't understand. Who would
want to hurt her?" "I don't know. But Krycek might." He paused.
"Look, I'm gonna be gone awhile. I don't know how long. I'm calling
Agent Scully to come and stay with you, just in case." He picked up
the phone, dialing Scully's number. When she answered he explained
most of what had happened. He did the same as he called Mulder. Just
as he hung up the phone, Krycek appeared. Skinner motioned towards
the couch. "Sit down and don't try anything."

Krycek obeyed. He watched as Skinner rushed around, gathering various
things he thought might need. He glanced at Sharon who just stood in
shock and confusion.

 "Can someone tell me what is going on? There's more to it than what
I've been told," she finally said.

Skinner turned and looked at her from the dining room. "How does it
feel to only be told half the story?" He knew that wasn't nice but he
was angry and he couldn't hide nor control it any more.

Sharon started to protest but waved her off. "I don't have time to
explain. I'm leaving as soon as Mulder and Scully get here. Just
don't leave the house and listen to what ever Scully says. I'll
explain later." Sharon glanced over to Krycek. He shrugged. From what
Cassandra had told him, he knew the family situation wasn't good.
They were both worried about Cassandra and so was he. But he couldn't
understand why Skinner wouldn't tell his wife what was going on.

15 minutes later, Mulder and Scully burst through the front door.
Both stopped and stared in anger and shock at Krycek.

Mulder started towards him, muttering "You mother f...", but was
stopped short when Skinner grabbed his arm.

"He may be our only link to her."

Krycek swallowed. If it wasn't for Skinner he was sure Mulder would
have torn his head off.

"Scully," Skinner said, "Stay with Sharon. Don't let anyone in
unless you know who they are. Call and let the Bureau know what's
going on. Tell them NOT to send anyone else unless they hear from
me." He pushed Mulder towards the door. "Come on Krycek. You're
driving." He tossed him the keys and the trio head out for the car.

They all climbed in, Skinner and Krycek in the front and Mulder in
the back. Skinner din't want Mulder hurting Krycek until he was sure
he wouldn't be of any more use to them. "Where would they have taken
her?"

"They have a house, in the woods about 45 minutes from here. We'll
have to park off the main road and walk in. They've got the drive to
the house bugged."

"What makes you think they'll take her there?" Mulder questioned.

"Not many people know about it and it's out of the way." Krycek
backed the car out of the driveway and headed out of town.

Cassandra couldn't make much out in the darkness, just a lot of
trees. She didn't have a watch but they seemed to had traveled
somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes when she felt the van being
turned onto a dirt road. They bounced down the road for a few
minutes. Finally she could make out a log house.

The van came to a stop and Goon #1 opened the sliding van door as
Goon #2 shoved Cassandra out. She stumbled and fell on to the ground.
Saying nothing the Goons just picked her up and drug her into the
house where a third man waited.

 The house consisted of three rooms: the main room, a small kitchen,
and an even smaller bedroom in which they tossed Cassandra. Cassandra
looked around. She'd seen bigger walk-in closets that were better
decorated too. There were no windows, only a small light hanging from
the ceiling, a small bed along the left hand wall, and a desk across
from the door. She plopped herself on the bed and tried to think of
what to do. She could her the men's voices in the other room but
couldn't make out what they were saying. Then it was quiet. She
started to smell something. Something like... food! her stomach
started growling and she realized she hadn't eaten dinner yet.

She walked over to the door and started kicking and banging on it.
"Hey!! What about me?!?! I'm hungry to ya know!!" After a few more
minutes of her insistant banging, the door opened.

 Goon #2 pointed at the table. "Your dinner awaits, my Princess," he
said snidely.

 Cassandra kicked him soundly in the groin. "I am NOT your princess!"

 He double over in pain as Goon #1 laughed.

Cassandra marched over to the table and sat down.

Goon #2 walked over to her and pulled his hand back. "You little
bitch..." The sound of a slide racking on a gun stopped him.

 "The merchandise is to be unharmed," Goon #1 announced. "Fine!" Goon
#2 pulled the plate of food away from Cassandra just as she was
getting ready to eat it. "She'll just be real hungry then." He
grabbed her by the back of her shirt. He pulled her to the bedroom,
stopping to get a length of rope from the floor. He tied Cassandra's
hands behind her back and then secured to the bed leaving her just
enough rope to lay down on the floor. He gagged her and picked up the
pillow from the bed, tossing it at her. "You're lucky I'm in a nice
mood tonight." He sneered at her as he shut and locked the door.

Cassandra pulled her knees to chest. Positioning the pillow
inbetween her knees and he chest, she laid her head on it and cried.
She was alone, hungry, and scared.

Krycek stopped the car about 100 yards from a small dirt road. "We
have to walk from here. It's about another quarter mile through the
woods."

Skinner walked around to the trunk of the car. "Open it."

 Krycek obliged.

 Reaching inside, under some blankets, he pulled out a spare gun. He
tucked it in the back of his pants and quietly closed the trunk.
"Let's go."

 Krycek lead them silently through the woods. His mind raced. He knew
whoever it was who had Cassandra wouldn't kill her just yet. But they
may hurt her. If any of them had laid a hand on her, he'd kill them.

 He looked back to make sure Skinner and Mulder were still with him.
If he survived the fight that would happen when they rescued
Cassandra, he'd then have to worry about surviving Mulder and
Skinner. They hated him and with good reason. Though he didn't kill
Mulder's father nor Scully's sister, it'd be difficult to convince
them of that. Of all the girls to fall in love with, it had to be
with Skinner's daughter, he sighed.

 Finally, they reached the edge of the woods and stopped. In front of
the log house was parked a dark van.

Krycek pointed to the far side of the house. "The room they'd keep
her in would be there," his whispered. "There is only one door that
leads into the main room and no windows."

 "Any idea how many people will be in there?" Skinner whispered back
through the otherwise still night air.

Krycek shook his head. "Two, four, many more."

The trio crouched silently at the edge of the woods trying to
formulate a plan.

The sound of the door knob jiggling made Cassandra look up. The
third man who had said nothing during the altercation earlier, walked
into the room. He was a bit stockier than the other two and possibly
younger.

Cassandra pressed herself hard up against the bed as he approached
her.

He squated down a foot or so in front of her. "You really are cute. I
can understand what Krycek saw in you. But I have no clue where you
got your looks from. Certainly not your old man." He reached out and
ran a finger up Cassandra's leg.

She tried to pull her leg out of his reach but it was impossible.
She had no where to go.

He reached out with his other hand and straightened her legs out.
Then he straddled her. Pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket, he
blindfolded her. He nuzzled against her neck and loosened the rope
that tied her to the bed. He began kissing her neck.

 Cassandra squirmed and tried to get away but the ropes held her. She
tried screaming but the gag served it purpose.

 "Relax... I promise not to hurt you if you don't fight me."

Being a willing participant in this was the last thing Cassandra
planned on doing. She jerked her knees up into his crotch. The effect
wasn't as strong as she had hoped.

 The man slapped her soundly across the face and Cassandra could feel
the blood run out of her nose. Her face burned and throbbed.

"Now maybe you'll just relax a bit," he hissed. He pushed her onto
her side and rolled her as far over on her back as the rope would
allow. Just as he had unbuttoned her blouse, the was a loud crash in
the other room. He jumped up, grabbing his gun from it's holster.

As gunshot rang out, Cassandra tried to crawl head first under the
bed. Half way under she got stuck. Cassandra heard the door being
swung open into something solid, someone perhaps. She could hear who
ever it was fighting in the room. Blindfolded, tied up, and stuck
under the bed, Cassandra was helpless. Tears soaked the blindfold.

A hand grasped her leg and started to pull her out from under the
bed. She kicked and tried to scream dispite the gag. She felt a hand
untied the rope the bound her to the bed. She was sat up as the
blindfold was taken off. She blinked through the tears, trying to
make out the face in front of her. Cassandra heaved a sob of relief
as Alex pulled down and the gag and untied her hands. She threw her
arms around him. "Oh god, Alex!! You're okay!"

He hugged her tight. "And so are you." He kissed her on the top of
her head as the scuffling in the other room finally stopped.

 Mulder and Skinner burst into the room.

 "Daddy!!" Cassandra jumped up and ran to hug her father.

 Skinner winced.

Cassandra pulled back and notice the blood stained shirt sleeve.
"You've been shot!"

"It's okay," he replied returning his daughter's hug. "I'll live."
"You, on the other hand, might not be so lucky!" Mulder lunged at
Krycek.

Krycek jumped up but not in time to ward off the attack. Mulder threw
him over the bed and into wall.

 "NO!!" Cassandra screamed, grabbing Mulder's arm before he could hit
Krycek any more. "Leave him alone!"

Skinner pulled Mulder off Krycek. Cassandra crawled on the bed and
helped Krycek sit up. "What the hell is your problem, Fox?!" She
dabbed at the blood dripping from Krycek's lip. "Are you okay, Alex?"

Krycek reached up and took her hand. "Cassandra," his voice barely
above a whisper. "There's a lot of things you don't know about me."

Mulder looked from Cassandra and Krycek to Skinner. "What's going
on?"

Skinner took a quick breath as a sharp pain shot through his arm.
"I'm not even sure." He grasped his upper arm, hoping to stop the
pain.

"Well, maybe Alex would like to explain on the way to the hospital."
Mulder steered Skinner towards the door.

"What do you mean,'Alex explain'? What about you explaining?"
Cassandra helped Krycek up and followed Mulder and her father into
the main room.

"Where are they?" Krycek asked, looking around the shambles of a
room.

"They got away. I didn't care. I just wanted to make sure Cassandra
was okay." Skinner looked over his shoulder at her. She had her arms
wrapped around Krycek's waist and her head against his chest. Telling
her the truth wasn't going to be easy. But, it had to be done.

On the way to the hospital, Skinner and Krycek explained to
Cassandra the basic events surrounding their past relationship.
Krycek insisted he had not shot Bill Mulder nor Melissa Scully and
that he did what he did out of fear for his own life.

Cassandra just sat in the backseat of the car, not knowing what to
say. It was obvious her father and Mulder didn't believe Krycek. But
she did. She listened as Krycek explained how he woke up one day in
the middle of a field in South Dakota, not knowing where he had been
or how he had got there. How he wanted revenge against the Cabal that
he felt was responsible. That chance came when he found out they were
looking to take Cassandra and use her as leverage against Skinner.
All he expected to do was to keep an eye on her for a week or so
until Skinner's report was presented to the FBI Director. He never
expected to fall in love with her.

She reached across the back seat and took his hand as the car pulled
up the the emergency room of the nearest hospital.

Cassandra stayed with Alex in the waiting room as the doctors
stitched up Skinner and Mulder made all the necessary phone calls.

 Krycek sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at the tile floor.

 "Alex," Cassandra said taking the chair next to him. "Alex, look at
me, damn it!"

Slowly he turned his head to look at her. "I'm sorry..." He turned
away again.

 Cassandra knelt on the floor in front of him, taking his face in her
hands, forcing him to look at her. "It doesn't matter to me, Alex.
It's all in the past."

 Krycek pushed her hands away and stood up, taking a few steps away.
"It should matter. Your father will never let us be together." "My
father doesn't have a say in my life. He hasn't had a say in it for
the last 6 years. I'll be 18 in less than two months. I won't need
his permission for anything after that."

 Krycek looked back at Cassandra sitting on the floor. She looked so
young, so innocent. He didn't want to be the one to corrupt her with
his way of life. "I almost 10 years older than you. You've got your
whole life ahead of you to live. You don't wanna get stuck with me,
having to constantly watch your back, worrying about who's gonna find
you and when." "Don't you think that should be my choice to make?"

Krycek helped Cassandra off the floor. "No, I don't. It should be
ours. If anything ever happened to you because of me, I'd never
forgive myself." He kissed her, afraid it might be the last time he
ever got the chance.

Their kiss was interrupted by someone's shout. "Cassandra!"

Cassandra turned to see her mother running through the emergency
room, followed closely by Scully.

Sharon ran up and hugged her daughter. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
She looked around. "Where's your father?"

Cassandra motioned to the hallway of rooms. "They're stitching him
up. Mulder's with him. It was nothing serious."

 Sharon put hand a Krycek's arm. "Thank you for saving my daughter."

 Krycek patted Sharon's hand, nodded, and walked away. He stuffed his
hand in his pockets and stared out of the emergency room window.
Cassandra watched Alex walk away. She didn't know what to do, what to
say. She took several steps towards him when she heard footsteps from
down the hallway.

Mulder and Skinner, his arm in a sling, walked up to the trio of
women.

Sharon hugged and kissed Skinner. "Are you okay?"

Skinner nodded. "I'll be fine in a few days." He turned to Cassandra.
"Krycek and I need to have a talk." Cassandra swallowed. "Please be
nice to him, Daddy." She looked pleadingly at her father. She watched
as he walked over to Krycek. He said a few words and Krycek followed
him outside, never once looking at Cassandra. They stood outside and
talked for what seemed forever to Cassandra. Or atleast her father
talked. Krycek just stood there, head hung, nodding like a child
being scolded. Finally, Skinner walked back into the emergency room.
"It's late." He glanced at his watch. "Or early rather. Let's all go
home and get some sleep. We can finish this later."

Mulder and Scully left together as Skiner, Sharon, Krycek and
Cassandra all climbed into Skinner's car. Skinner started the car
then turned to his daughter. "Krycek is staying with us until the
morning when all three of us will have to have a talk."

When they arrived at the house, Skinner immediately ushered Krycek
into a spare bedroom, shutting the door. "You," he pointed to
Cassandra when she gave him a questioning look, "are to stay out of
there. Understood?"

She nooded dejectedly and crawled into her own bed and was sonn
sound asleep.

While Cassandra slept, Skinner explained what had happened to
Sharon. He didn't tell her the whole truth, just that it had to do
with something at the Bureau. He also told her he was very
disappointed in her having kept so many things about Cassandra from
him. To him, it was a major obstacle that now had to be overcome if
he wanted the marriage to work. Sharon pulled the covers of the bed
up a little higher. "Do you want it to work?" Her voise was soft, as
if she was afraid of the question as well as the answer.

"I don't know, Sharon. I don't like the idea of you keeping secrets."

"You keep secrets all the time."

"That's work. That's totally different. Some things I can't tell you,
even if I want to. The secrets you keep are family ones."

Sharon sighed. "I just wanted you to love me as much as you love
Cassandra."

Skinner was silent. He loved them both. But, it was true, he did
love his daughter more. "It doesn't make what you did right though.
You hurt her and you hurt me." With that, he leaned over, kissed his
wife on the forehead and said, "Well, talk more after we've had some
sleep."

 Several hours later, the smell of bacon cooking, woke Cassandra from
her sleep. She rolled over and looked at the clock on the dresser.
Almost 11 in the morning. Sitting up, she shook her head, trying to
clear her mind. Last night seemed like a bad nightmare. But it was
over now. Or atleast that part was over. She slipped out of her room
with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and into the bathroom to clean up.
She hoped Alex was still here. The door to the bedroom he was
sleeping in was open and he wasn't there. She took a quick shower,
changed, and headed for the kitchen. At the end of the hall she
stopped and took a deep breath. Please, she thought.

Much to her happiness, Alex was sitting at the kitchen table,
drinking coffee and reading the morning paper. He looked much better
than the night before.

Krycek smiled as he saw her. "Good morning."

"Hi." She returned his smile with a wink. She looked into the
kitchen. "Morning, mom."

 "Morning, honey. Would you like some pancakes, eggs and bacon?"

Cassandra's stomach growled loudly and demandingly. "Yes, please!
Two eggs, three pancakes, and lots of bacon." She sat down at the
kitchen table, pouring herself some apple juice. "Where's Dad?"
"He'll be down in a little while," Sharon replied. "He's making some
phone calls."

Cassandra nodded and slipped a hand under the table to run Alex's
knee. She gave him a teasing smile as he peaked out from behind the
paper.

 "Yes? May I help you?" He teased back. "Comics please."

Krycek laughed and pulled the comics out of the paper and handed
them to her.

Cassandra had just finished reading them when her mom brought over
the plate piled with breakfast.

 Krycek's eyes widened. "You're gonna eat all that?" "Every last bit!
I am starved!"

 Skinner came walking into the dining room dressed for work.

Sharon handed him a cup of coffee. "You're not going in after what
happened last night, are you?"

"I have to." He sipped the coffee watching Cassandra finish off the
last of her breakfast. He didn't know what he would have done if any
harm had come to her. And oddly enough, he had Krycek to thank for
it. He set his coffee cup down on the table. "Cass... I've given it a
lot of thought and if you want to go back to Vermont and graduate
with your friends, it's fine with me. You can stay here too if you
like, but things won't be easy." He saw Cassandra glance quickly at
Krycek. "I've asked Krycek to go with you if you decide to return to
Vermont, just in case whoever those men were working for decide to
try and take you again." He let out a long drawn out sigh. He
couldn't believe he was about to say this outloud. "And if you stay,
you can continue seeing him without my interference."

Cassandra's eyes got wide and she jumped out of her chair. Running
up to her father, she gave him a big hug. "Thank you, Daddy!" She
looked over at Krycek, who appeared to be in a bit of shock too.

Krycek shrugged. "I... I don't know what to say... other than thank
you." He had Skinner to thank for a lot of things as Skinner promised
to see to it that he wouldn't be persued by the Bureau for anything
that happened in the past.

"Just... take care of her." Skinner looked down at Cassandra. "I
love you."

"I love you too." She hugged him once again. "I guess it's time for
me and Alex to have a talk." She took her plate over to the sink
where her mom was washing dishes. "Thank you, mom." She placed a kiss
on her mom's cheek.

"I'll see evryone tonight. I may be home late though." Skinner picked
up his breifcase and left.

Cassandra motioned to Alex to follow her out back. She walked over
to the big tree with the swing. As soon as Alex was within arms reach
she grabbed him, pulled him close, and kissed him. It took a bit of
coaxing from her before she finally got him to relax and return the
kiss.

 Krycek pulled back to catch his breath. He burshed a strand of hair
from Cassandra's face. "What are gonna do?"

She leaned against the tree and shrugged. "I'd really like to go back
and graduate with everyone." She smiled playfully at him. "And show
off my new boyfriend."

"I'm not sure I'm that much to show off."

Cassandra frowned. "Alex! You are too something to show off. All that
stuff that happened in the past, has happened. You or I can't do
anything to change it. You're different now and now is what matters.
Now and the future. Hopefully a future that you'll spend with me. If
others don't like it, than that's their problem!"

"Sometimes, Cassandra Ann Skinner, I think you are too smart for
your own good." He slowly pressed himself against Cassandra with that
mischievous twinkle in his eye that she loved so much.



 
***** THE END *****