Title: Second Chance
Author: SupernaturalAngel
Summary: Post Requiem, pre this is not happening. Scully find that
caring for Mulder's long lost teenage daughter (and her 5-year-old
half-sister) helps her deal with her grief over Mulder's
disappearance.

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

Samantha:

I stared at the intimidating black door, and tried to gather enough
courage to knock. I finally took a deep breath and pounded my fist on
the metal.

"Come in!" A female voice answered.

I pulled on the handle. I opened the door to find a woman, sitting at
a desk in a chaotically untidy room.

The desk itself was completely covered in what appeared to be files,
magazines, and all types, shapes and sizes of paper. The bulletin
board was covered with snapshots of fuzzy, unidentifiable objects and
clippings from newspapers.

The woman had chin length, bright fire red hair, a long nose and
pretty blue eyes. She looked up at me curiously. I guess its not
everyday that the FBI gets visits from teenage girls.

"I’m looking for Agent Fox Mulder. I’m sorry. I must have the wrong
office."

She smiled, and looked at the chaos around room. Then her eyes grew
larger, somehow sadder. "This is Agent Mulder’s office. He’s not
here. He won’t be returning for some time. I am his partner, Agent
Dana Scully."

She avoided my eyes.

"Do you know where I could reach him? I believe he would like to see
me. Yet, I’d like to surprise him. I’m sorry. I have been quite rude.
I don’t know where my manners went. Allow me to introduce myself. My
name is Samantha Mulder." I smiled at Agent Scully.

She didn’t return the smile. In fact, she pulled out her gun.

"Samantha Mulder is dead. Who are you? Tell me the truth, or I’ll
shoot you, so help me god." She yelled.

My hands flung up. "I’m Agent Mulder’s daughter."

Her gun wavered, and slowly went down. "Daughter?" She looked
completely bewildered.

"He doesn’t know about me. See, while he was attending Harvard, he
met a woman named Elizabeth James. My mother. They developed a
serious relationship within the course of the year. Then Fox Mulder
had to leave for Oxford. A week after he left, my mother discovered
that she was pregnant. With me. She did not intend to tell my father,
because she knew that if he found out that he had a daughter, he
would rush back to help raise me. She wanted him to have a career. So
she moved back to England, where she was originally from, to raise
me. She was the daughter of a wealthy English lord, so she knew that
raising me would be no problem.

I had a nanny, and we lived in a beautiful manor in the English
countryside. We spent half of the year in the manor, and half of the
year in our apartment in London.

Well, six years after I was born, my mother, Lady Elizabeth, met and
fell in love with a wealthy American businessman. They married and my
mother gave birth to another daughter. Piper Charlotte Harrison. Lady
Charlotte, she was called. Piper and Samantha were American names,
and English lords do not permit their granddaughters to bear foreign
names. I was called Lady Anne. My middle name is Anne. Well Ann
without an E at the end, but my grandfather quickly added it on.

Anyway, two weeks ago, my mother and stepfather where killed in an
automobile accident. In her will, my mother left me to decide where
Piper and I would like to live. I chose to come here and live with my
father. Piper was to come with me. She’s waiting outside with our
social worker. I thought it might be better if I talked to my father
first. Do you know a telephone number where I might reach him?" I
asked. I was very apprehensive and the story just came out on its
own.

Agent Scully had looked at me with wonder while I told my story. Now
she lowered her eyes again. "He’s unreachable. I don’t know where he
is. I’m sorry."

I turned to leave. I was so disappointed. I thought I would meet my
father, at last, and he wasn’t there. Know I would have to return to
England and my grandparents.

"Wait!" Agent Scully cried out abruptly, just as I reached for the
door. "You can live with me. See, Agent Mulder and I, we’re engaged.
I’m carrying his child. I would like for you to live with me until he
returns, if you’d like." She looked at me hopefully. As if I were her
last chance of comfort. It was strange. But I would do anything,
rather than return to England. Living with an FBI Agent would be much
more exciting that living with my strict grandparents, who intended
to raise me like royalty.

"I would fancy that. We can go talk to Ms. Andrews right now. She’s
my social worker." I explained, and reached for the door again. This
time Agent Scully didn’t try to stop me. She followed me outside to
the bench where Piper sat with Ms. Andrews. I introduced everyone.
Then Agent Scully excused herself, saying that she needed to make
some telephone calls. We all decided to sit down at a small diner for
dinner (lunch, as the Americans call it). Agent Scully asked if we
minded if some of my father’s friends joined us. I didn’t mind at
all.

As we sat at the restaurant looking over the menu, I glanced at the
woman that my father loved and grinned. I would be living with her,
at least for now.


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

Dana:

At first, I couldn’t believe that the girl that looked so much like
Mulder’s sister was actually his daughter. She had his sister’s long
waist length brown braids, her liquid brown eyes, and radiant,
charming smile. Such a sweet face.

The instant she walked into Mulder’s office, her presence somehow
filled the dully aching hole inside of me. She was so much like him.
So innocent, emotional, but strong too.

His daughter. I still can’t believe it. Mulder has a daughter. A
beautiful, healthy, charming, sweet, teenaged daughter. Mulder. My
Mulder. My partner Mulder. My friend Mulder. The father of my child,
Mulder.

I know he would want me to take care of her. Besides, I couldn’t let
her go. She was my last chance. My last hope of finding peace or
comfort. I had to keep her with me. So I told a little white lie.
That I was engaged to Mulder. Of course I couldn’t tell Samantha that
her father was abducted by aliens.

Little gray men, Mulder would have said.

The poor child had already lost one parent. I couldn’t let her lose a
second. I would have to tell her, sooner or later. But for now, it
would be later.

I wonder why her mother never told her about Samantha. Mulder’s
sister.

I stopped musing about the situation and decided to call The Lone
Gunmen and Skinner. They had a right to know. I knew I should call
Doggett, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After I explained the
situation, and asked the Gunmen to bring Mulder’s sister’s file
(hacking into my computer, where the file was, would be no problem
for them), I joined Samantha, her little sister Piper, and Ms.
Andrews at the diner.


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

Samantha:

Agent Scully was going to keep me and Piper. (I am so used to calling
her Charlotte. Grandfather always insisted on it.) I was not going to
have to go back to England, ashamed of my decision to search for my
father. Agent Scully looked rather strict, but still nice enough to
live with. She didn’t seem to be the most amusing person to live
with, but she did not seem like Grandfather either.

Just as our meal was arriving, a man approached our table. He was
dressed in a suit, and bald.

"Hello. I’m Walter Skinner. You must be Agent Mulder’s daughter. I
was, uh, I mean am, his boss. Nice to meet you." He smiled at me.

"Hullo," I replied. " My name is Samantha. And this is my sister
Charlotte. I mean, Piper." I corrected myself. I smiled at him, and
continued to inspect my food.

I had ordered a chicken sandwich and a baked potato. Agent Scully
seemed a bit surprised by my choice. She herself had ordered a
chicken salad, the same as Charlotte.

After we finished our food, I excused myself and Charlotte to go to
the rest room and clean up. Not that we needed cleaning.
I just wanted to talk to Charlotte. She hadn’t spoken a word
throughout the whole meal.

"Charlotte, are you all right? You haven’t said anything. Do you like
Agent Scully?" I asked her, concerned.

She nodded her little curly blond head and looked at me with her big
emerald eyes. They shone with tears.

"You miss Mummy, don’t you?" She nodded her golden head.

I squeezed her tightly and wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks.
I couldn’t tell her that Mum would be back, because she wouldn’t. I
couldn’t tell her that everything would be all right, because I
didn’t know if it would be. I just stood there, holding her tightly.

Suddenly the door swung open. Agent Scully stood and surveyed the
scene before her. Her own eyes filled with tears as she watched us
embrace. She blinked the tears away rapidly.

"Piper, would you please let me talk to your sister for a moment?"
She asked. Charlotte nodded, and left the rest room.

"You two are close, aren’t you?" She asked suddenly.

"Yeah. Even though we have different fathers. I adore her."

"Do you think she’ll be unhappy here?"

"I think it will take her a while to get used to the different
customs, but I think she will adjust. She would be more unhappy in
England." I looked away, realizing that I should not have spoken the
last sentence out loud.

"Why? Why would she be unhappy in England? I thought you were treated
like princesses there."

"That’s the problem. Grandfather controlled our lives completely. Our
clothes, books, tutors, nannies, and even our friends had to be
approved. We had no freedom to make our own choices. But that is
beside the point. Why did you come in here?"

"I wanted to ask you if you would like to spend tomorrow with
Skinner. He could take you to see the sites around the city. That way
Ms. Andrews and I could speak about your living arrangements." She
looked at me questioningly.

I nodded. I wanted to ask Skinner about my father. 

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

Dana:

I couldn’t believe how much I like that girl. I feel like I would die
if I couldn’t keep her. So I arranged for her to stay with Skinner
while I talked with her social worker. Then I called the Gunmen up
and told them to meet me in my office. I also told them to run a
search on Mulder’s daughter.

Then I walked into the bathroom. And I saw those two girls hugging
each other as if they hung on to life. Then it hit me: Samantha
hugged her sister in the same protective way that Mulder hugged me.
And then, the little one, Piper, looked up at me with those big green
eyes and she looked so vulnerable, so helpless, I felt the sudden
urge to hug her too. If it was Mulder, he would have done it.

I try to imagine living with two kids, one of them a teenager, and I
can’t. But I know that I’ll make it somehow. They are so polite, so
charming, and well mannered (and their British accents are so cute!).

But my biggest surprise came when we ordered our food. I thought that
Samantha would order a hamburger and French fries, but she ordered a
chicken sandwich and a baked potato. That is the first time I have
seen a teen pass up junk food for a baked potato! And the little one,
she ordered a chicken salad! A five year old.

After we left the diner, I reminded the girls that Skinner would be
at their hotel at ten o’clock.

That evening, as soon as I returned home, the phone rang. Skinner.
Backing out. Some lame excuse. I don’t blame him, really. But we
couldn’t just leave the girls alone. The only people I could think of
were the Lone Gunmen. Oh, boy. Three men, a teenager, and a
five-year-old. Great combination.

I sighed and reached for the phone. I dialed and waited for someone
to pick up.

"The Lone Gunmen." A weird voice answered.

"Langly, turn off the tape recorder. It’s me, Scully." I heard a
click, then Langly’s voice.

"I hate to do this but, are you guys free tomorrow?" I asked wearily.

"Why? Do you need a date? Frohike would love to accompany you
anywhere."

"No, I don’t need a date. And if I did, I wouldn’t be calling you. I
need a baby-sitter."

"You’re joking, right? I think you have the wrong number. The Baby
Sitter’s Club is next door."

"I think you’d be a little more interested if you know who your
charges will be."

"Okay. Who do you want us to baby sit? An alien?"

"Close. Mulder’s daughter."

I could almost hear Langly’s jaw drop. "You would trust us in the
same room with Mulder’s daughter? I’m honored, Scully!"

"Well, don’t be. You’re my last reserve. Please say you’ll do it.
I’ll pay you of course."

His voice suddenly turned serious. "Just letting us near her is
enough of a payment. What time do you need us to be there?"
"Ten sharp at room 507 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. And please don’t
mention Mulder’s disappearance. Her dad is away, and you don’t know
how to reach him. And please don’t tell her about any government
conspiracies that work through beauty magazines, or something equally
crazy. Pretend you’re normal."

"Pretend? We’re the most normal residents of this city, Scully!"

"Oh, yeah!" I grinned. " Uh, and one more thing. She has a five-year-
old sister."

"Okay, thirteen-year-old we can handle, but five year old? Whoa!" 

"You can handle them. They’re sweet kids. Very polite and everything.
Please don’t mess up. I really want to keep them."

"Okay. Bye Scully."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and wondered what I had done.


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

Samantha: 

I had dressed, eaten breakfast, watched an hour of television, and
read six chapters of Great Expectations by the time the doorbell rang
at ten o’clock. I opened the door and let Agent Scully and her
companions in.

Skinner was not present. But three other men were. One had long blond
hair and black framed eyeglasses, another was short, stout, and the
third tall and, well, handsome.

I held out my hand. "Samantha Mulder. And this is Piper Charlotte
Harrison." I nudged Charlotte softly.

"Hullo." She said softly, looking curiously at the three men.

The handsome man shook my hand. "Byers. John Byers."

The other two followed his example.

Agent Scully introduced everyone. "Byers, Langly, Frohike, this is
Mulder’s daughter, Samantha. Samantha, these are Langly, Frohike, and
Byers. They are here to show you around the city today."

"Okay. Ms. Andrews is in the next room." I turned to Byers. "What
will we be amusing ourselves with today?"

"Um, do you want to take a tour of the White House? And maybe we can
go to the zoo." He responded nervously.

"Zoo? Why would we go to the zoo? We had a pet tiger in England and
our very own menagerie." Charlotte protested. I clamped my hand over
her mouth. The men exchanged looks.

"We would love to go. May we take a tour of the White House first? I
hope it will be as amusing as Buckingham Palace." I tried to make up
for Charlotte’s lack of manners.

"You’ve taken a tour of Buckingham Palace?" Langly asked politely.

"Actually, no. We attended a few banquets there and I suppose I was
remembering the occasion when us children played hide-and-seek in the
Royal Gardens."

The three men exchanged looks. I knew I had said too much. They would
think that we were spoiled brats.

"Okay, let’s go." Langly herded me and Charlotte out of the door. He
paused and looked at Charlotte’s white cotton dress and my white
peasant style shirt and flowered skirt. "Hope you brought a change of
clothes."

"Why would we need a change of clothes?" I asked.

"She might spill juice or some thing on her dress." He motioned at
Charlotte.

"She hasn’t spilled anything since she was a year old." I choked back
a laugh. Then I suddenly remembered my computer.

"Wait! My laptop. I always carry it. Just a second." I dashed back
and pulled the computer off of my bedside table.

Soon we were walking over to the White House, which is a short way
from the hotel. The tour was quite dull.

When it was over, I asked the men to take a short break. "Can I check
my email please? I want to see if Charlotte sent me an email.
Charlotte is my best friend and I haven’t seen her in three months."

I tucked a loose hair behind my ear. "See, Charlotte is Princess
Caroline of Monaco’s daughter. That is why grandfather approved of
her. She lives in France. Please?"

Langly cheered up a bit. "Sure. Computers are definitely my kind of
thing."

"What do you mean?" Charlotte questioned.

"I mean that I know a lot about computers. I know more than any
hacker in America. Heck, I can even hack into Madonna’s email if I
want to." Langly boasted.

My mouth dropped. "You can? Will you? Please? What about Nicole
Kidman’s? She’s my favorite actress." I asked.

"Sure."

"Let’s go back to the hotel and go through people’s computers."
Charlotte exclaimed. I agreed quickly. The men exchanged looks and
agreed. We walked back in record time.

In my room we set up my computer. Then we logged onto the Internet,
and Langly showed me how to put up a special sort of shield that
prevents anyone from going into my files. Then he showed me how to
find out people’s email addresses and screen names and their
passwords. We logged into Nicole Kidman’s email account on Yahoo
first.

I giggled as I read an old love letter to her husband. She had old
emails to her kids saved too. Charlotte liked those. Then we logged
on to Madonna’s email and read letters she wrote to her husband and
their replies.

Before the day was over we had invaded and read George Clooney, Mel
Gibson, Britney Spears, Eminem, J.K Rowling, Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe,
and a few other celebrities’ emails. Agent Scully and Ms. Andrews
walked in the room just as we were in the middle of reading a letter
from Meg Ryan to Russell Crowe. We quickly logged off and shut down
the computer.

Ms. Andrews went to her own room letting the six of us have some time
to talk.

"So what did you five do today?" Agent Scully asked, like she was
dreading the answer.

"We had a lot of fun." I answered.

She looked rather surprised. "What did you do?"

"We hacked into Madonna’s computer." Charlotte answered before I
could stop her.

Agent Scully’s eyes widened. "You what?" Her eyes flickered to
Langly. "Will you girls please go downstairs and buy us all some
sodas?" She handed us a few dollars. I took them and led Charlotte to
the vending machine two floors below.

We bought everyone sodas, except ourselves. Grandfather never allowed
us to drink soda. So we bought bottles of mineral water instead. We
took our time letting Agent Scully talk to our three nannies.
When we returned, Ms. Andrews had come back into the room and
everyone was waiting for us.

"So what will happen to us? Will we stay with you Agent Scully?" I
asked, not daring to hope.

She smiled at me. "Yes. You will. My apartment will be a bit cramped,
but you can stay as long as you like."

I dropped the sodas and the water bottles on a nearby table and ran
over to her. I embraced her. "Thank you so much." I whispered and I
felt tears wet my cheeks. I tried to wipe them away on my sleeve.

When I finally let go I saw that Charlotte clung to Langly. He looked
amazed at being clutched around the legs by a little girl. Charlotte
let go of him and moved on to Frohike. Frohike looked just as
surprised as Langly. When Charlotte moved on to Byers, he was ready
for her. He pulled her up into his arms and hugged her back.
Charlotte grinned at him and turned to her audience. We were all
watching her carefully. "Can they take care of us again?" She asked
happily.

The room roared with laughter. Agent Scully answered through her
laughter. "Yes. Yes they can."

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

Dana


When I woke up that morning, I was extremely nervous. Obviously. I
had a feeling that letting the Gunmen babysit Mulder’s daughter
wasn’t a good idea. Well, it turns out I was wrong. But let me start
from the beginning.

I awoke at seven, an hour later than usual. I had taken the day off.
I dressed in a pair of gray pants and a plain white shirt. I fixed
myself a bagel with some cream cheese, even though I was feeling a
bit queasy. They sure don’t kid around about this morning sickness
stuff. Ugh.

I left my apartment at a quarter to eight. I picked the gunmen up
from their office and we drove to the hotel together. No one dared to
speak in the car. We were all too nervous to even think about opening
our mouths.

When we got to the hotel, the girls and their social worker were
waiting. Samantha was reading to Piper. She put the book away and
eagerly glanced at the Lone Gunmen. I introduced everyone. Then Ms.
Andrews and I left for my apartment, where we would discuss the
girls’ living arrangements.

"Would you like a cup of tea, coffee, juice, anything . . .?" I asked
nervously, before we sat down at the kitchen table.

"No, thank you. I’m fine." She sat down and opened a folder she had
been carrying. "The girls’ mother left them almost a million in US
dollars. She wished to pay for their education with some of that
money. The rest was to be used to help them locate themselves
wherever they wanted to go after collage. The girls do have access to
this account. But they can each withdraw a maximum of $2,000 per
year. However in this case, I think that they could use this money to
pay for their food and other costs while living with you."

Wow. I never imagined that two girls could have such a large amount
of money. "No. I don’t think that will be necessary. My salary is
large enough to cover the living expenses of three people."

"Okay. But if you ever change your mind, you will also have access to
the account. Where will they attend school?"

"There is an elementary school within walking distance of my
apartment. It’s George Washington Elementary and Middle School. Or,
if they like, they can attend FBI Academy instead. It’s a special
school for the kids of FBI employees. They have living quarters to
it, so that if I ever get called away to an assignment. It has a very
intense academic program too. And the kids get free extracurricular
classes after school."

"That’s good. Would you like for the girls to have contact with their
grandparents?"

"It’s up to them. I don’t mind."

" You might not know this, but Piper has a blood disorder called
Thalassemia. She needs blood transfusions about once a month. She
also takes pills everyday for keeping her blood iron level down.
There is no cure for the disease. The only known cure is a bone
marrow transplant. Usually from a sibling. Samantha hasn’t been
tested to check for a match. The disorder doesn’t limit Piper’s
physical activity in any way. She just has to be careful not to eat
too much of the foods that have a high iron count. No beef, spinach,
beans. Lots of tea, chicken, and fish."

I nodded. "I’m a medical doctor. I’ll make sure she does everything
she’s supposed to. And I have insurance that is sure to cover all the
costs."

"That’s good." Ms. Andrews nodded.

"What do they like to do? For fun?" I asked hesitantly.

"Samantha is a big nature girl. She loves hiking, rock climbing,
anything outside. She’s also very smart. She’s fluent in English,
French, and Italian. She also knows German and Latin. She plays the
piano and dances ballet. She has a brown belt in karate and loves
archery. Her tutors were very proud of her. She was doing grade
eleven work on grade seven. She loves their manor near Nottingham.

Piper, on the other hand is a little more shy. She also had piano and
ballet lessons. She’s fluent in French and English. She had just
started Latin, Italian and German. You might want to let her
continue. She was about to start her karate lessons. And she has the
voice of an angel."

"Wow." Again, I was very impressed. They were well raise into the
high culture. "So, their actually royalty?"

"Yes. Their grandfather is a Lord. They have met the Queen and the
young princes. Samantha is good friends with Harry. Her best friend
was Charlotte Casiraghi. Princess Caroline of Monaco’s daughter. Here
are some pictures of their family and home." She handed me a stack of
pictures.

I sifted through them. There were pictures of and old couple,
obviously the girls’ grandparent. The man had a strict look. The old
lady looked proud, but kind. There was a picture of the two girls
laughing with a younger couple. Samantha’s mother and stepfather. I
stared at the pretty blond woman. So she had won Mulder’s heart so
long ago. She looked nice, down to earth. The man next to her looked
happy. He was looking at the woman and the girls lovingly, with a
smile on his face. There was a picture of Samantha, hair in neat long
braids, wearing a peasant style dress, sitting in s wooden swing
which was tied to a tree. She looked so much like Mulder’s sister! He
has a picture of his sister sitting on a swing just like this one,
her hair in the exact same style.

I sifted through the photos. Their were photos of the family in
Paris, Rome, Switzerland, Ireland, Greece, Egypt, Germany, at famous
sights. There where pictures of their manor (a large three story
brick house with lots of balconies and ivy crawling on the walls),
their country villa in France (a whitewashed house surrounded by
vineyards), and their London apartment (a five bedroom apartment
right in downtown London).

I began to have second thoughts. These girls were obviously used to a
very expensive lifestyle. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind.

"So, is that it?" I asked.

"You have to sign some papers about Piper’s hospital visits, the
girls’ bank account, and a few other things. Then we’re done. We can
go to the hotel. I’ll let them pack their things and they can start
moving in tomorrow." She looked around. "Where will they sleep?"

"In the guest bedroom. It’ll be their bedroom. They’ll have to share.
Will that be a problem?" I twirled my hair apprehensively.

"Oh, no. I think they’ll be glad. Piper’s a bit nervous and Samantha
is very protective of her."

"Okay. I’ll try to be extra careful with her feelings." I replied,
helping Ms. Andrews gather the documents up. She handed a bundle of
papers to me. Hospital records, reports from tutors, things like
that.

By the time we headed back to the hotel, it was almost five. When we
walked into the room, the sight was amazing. Samantha and Langly sat
side by side in front of a laptop. Frohike was holding up a giggling
Piper so that she could see the screen. Byers was peering at the
screen and tickling Piper at the same time. Everyone was laughing.

My mouth dropped so low, it could have probably swept the floor.
Everyone looked up. Samantha quickly closed the screen.

"What did you five do today?" I asked, wondering what crazy thing the
Gunmen had done to amuse the girls so much.

"We had a lot of fun." Samantha answered.

"What did you do?"

"We hacked into Madonna’s computer!" Piper exclaimed. Samantha
covered the little girl’s mouth with her hand, but it was too late.

"You what?" I asked, dumbfounded. 

Hacked? Into Madonna’s computer? Are these guys crazy? They where
entertaining royal kids by showing the how to hack into other
people’s computers? Langly, you’re in trouble now! I thought.

" Could you girls please go downstairs and buy us all some sodas?" I
tried to keep my voice calm. I handed Samantha a few bills. She
ushered Piper out the door. I turned to the Gunmen. They were all
staring at their shoes sheepishly.

"How can you guys show them how to hack into celebrities’ computers?
Don’t you know it’s illegal? And their just kids. What if they
accidentally told someone what you do? You could get sent to jail!" I
scolded.

" We’re sorry. It’s just that they were so bored during that White
House tour. They really liked reading celebrity emails. It kept them
busy for four hours." Byers apologized.

"Four hours? So it wasn’t just Madonna’s?" 

"Well, technically, no. Russell Crowe’s, Mel Gibson, Britney Spears,
Eminem, and others. Come on Scully, give us a break. What were we
supposed to do? Play Barbies? They wouldn’t blab. They’re good kids.
So, are you keepin’ ‘em?" Langly asked.

The girls and Ms. Andrews walked back in the room at that moment.

"So are we staying with you Agent Scully?" Samantha asked. She looked
as if she were terrified of the answer I was about to give her.

I nodded happily. "Yes. My apartment will be a bit cramped, bit you
can stay as long as you like." I was quite surprise when she dropped
the cans of soda on a table and hugged me around the waist. I hugged
her back an buried my face into her long brown hair. Tears welled up
in my eyes. I could feel Samantha’s tears soak into my sleeve. She
tried to wipe them away. When I looked up, there was a sight to see.
Truly.

Piper was hugging Langly around the legs. He seemed shocked at the
fact and just stared at the little girl. When she moved to Frohike,
he looked just as stunned. But Byers pulled her into his arms and
hugged her back.

The girl grinned. "Can they take care of us again?"

Everyone laughed. "Yes. Yes they can." I replied.

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

Samantha

I couldn’t believe it! I was to start moving in with Agent Scully
today! Last night, I couldn’t fall asleep for hours. We all went to
supper together. All of us. Charlotte, Agent Scully, Ms. Andrews,
Langly, Byers, and Frohike (Agent Scully calls them the Gunmen
because the have a newspaper called the Lone Gunman.)

I awoke at ten this morning! Ten! Can you believe it? I have never
awakened so late in my entire life! Well, we did come in from supper
after eleven. And I did toss in my bed for another two hours or so.

When I finished my breakfast, I started gathering my possessions. I
gathered my toiletries, clothes, and books. I packed them, then
helped Charlotte do the same. We were ready to leave the hotel at
one. Ms. Andrews drove us to Agent Scully’s apartment. It wasn’t a
long drive.

The car stopped with a grunt and I stared at my new home. It was neat
apartment building, not too big, not too small. The neighborhood
seemed pretty quiet.

I stepped out of the front seat and opened the door for Charlotte.
She jumped out, also staring at the building. Ms. Andrews lead us in
the hallway and up a flight of stairs. She knocked on a door.

The knock was answered fairly quickly. Agent Scully opened the door.

"Hello. Come on in." She looked at me and Charlotte apologetically.
"You guys will have to share a room. I’m sorry. I know you’re used to
a bigger place."

"It’s okay." I murmured. She showed us into a medium sized room with
twin beds. It was neat and cozy. She had placed a stuffed bear
wearing a pink ribbon around his neck on one bed. On the other, there
was a small book. I put my duffel bag on the bed with the book and
Charlotte took the one with the bear.

I slowly reached for the book. I opened the first page, and saw that
it was a photo album. I leafed through the pages. There were pictures
of my father. They looked just like the picture Mum had shown me,
except here, he was a bit older.

I felt tears in my eyes. I tried to blink them away, and not let
Charlotte see them. It was too late. She came over to me and clutched
me around the waist.

"Please don’t cry, Anne." She whispered, worried. I swallowed my
tears and tried to smile. At least he’s not dead, I thought. I’ll see
him, soon. He’ll take care of me. Charlotte too. Poor Charlotte.
She’s an orphan. She has more to cry about than I do. I wiped my eyes
on my sleeve, and clutched Charlotte.

We hung on to each other for a minute, then returned to unpacking.
Ten minutes later, Agent Scully called us into the kitchen for
afternoon tea.

"Thank you for letting us stay," I spoke. And then I added awkwardly:
"Agent Scully."

She paused. "What do you want to call me? You can’t call me Agent
Scully. It’s way too formal."

"Can I call you Aunt? Aunt what’s your first name?"

"Dana. Dana Katherine Scully." She answered.

"Aunt D." I decided.

She smiled. "Okay." Then she turned to Charlotte. "What do you want
to call me?"

"Kat." Charlotte said confidently.

Aunt D laughed. "Okay with me."

We ate the rest of the cookies in silence. After we finished, Aunt D
asked us to wait on the couch while she washed the dishes and cleaned
up. Charlotte and I sat obediently and waited. Aunt D came over and
sat in an armchair across from us.

"Do you two want to go to Washington Elementary or to the FBI
Academy? Washington is the neighborhood school. It’s just a regular
school. FBI Academy, on the other hand is escpecially designed for
kids of FBI Agents. It’s actually FBI Children’s Academy, but we call
it Junior Academy. It’s really demanding. Classes are three grade
levels above the usual and there are all kinds of extra classes you
can take. Ballet, swimming, gymnastics. There’s also a live-in
branch, where every student has a room and bathroom. They stay there
when their parents are out of town on assignments. Where do you want
to go?"

"Washington." I said. Finally to be able to go to a regular school!

"FBI Academy!" Charlotte yelled at the same time. 

"Okay. You two can go to different schools." I wasn’t so happy about
the idea, and neither was Charlotte. But we silently agreed to try it
out. We nodded.

"Do you want to go shopping for some new school clothes?" Aunt D
asked.

Charlotte was nodding furiously. She looked like she was about to
break her neck. I laughed. I pointed to her. "She’s the boss." Aunt D
laughed too. She grabbed her car keys and her purse and we were out
the door.

She took us to a big shopping mall about twenty minutes away from her
house. Our house, I corrected myself.

We bought a lot of clothes. It was rather strange buying them from
stores. See, in England we always had our clothes tailored. I have
only bought shoes from stores. And we could choose anything we
wanted! Amazing!

I bought jeans, khakis, and a bunch of T Shirts from Gap and Old
Navy. And I also bought a few pairs of sneakers and sandals. And a
few new bathing suits. They were wicked! One was a bright purple
bikini and the other was a black sparkly one piece. (I also bought a
few leotards and tights for ballet class. I’m still going to take
ballet.)

Then I helped Charlotte pick out her outfits. She basically bought
the same things as me, only in smaller sizes.

After that, Aunt D took us to a store called Osco Drug. It was a
drugstore. She allowed us to pick out nail polish, body glitter, lip
gloss, and hair clips. (We also purchased school supplies like
notebooks and pens.)

I picked out pretty shades of pink and purple nail polish, a red lip
gloss, bubble gum flavoured lip balm, and glitter stick. Charlotte
bought the same lip balm and about a million wee butterfly hair
clips.

We visited a store selling things for the home. Charlotte and I
picked our bed covers (mine is dark purple crushed velvet, and
Charlotte’s is fuchsia pink), bedside lamps plain old lamps (mine in
purple, Charlotte’s in fuchsia) and a few squashy pillows to sit on.
Our idea was to furnish our room in pink, purple, and white.

When we returned to the apartment, it was almost eight. Charlotte got
ready for bed and put on her new nightgown. I took a shower and put
on a pair of pyjamas. Then I watched some TV while Aunt D read
Charlotte a story (from one of our new books).

My mind wasn’t on the TV show though. I kept thinking about my
father. Fox William Mulder. My father. I can’t believe that I’m going
to meet him soon. I don’t know exactly when, but that’s a mere
detail. I wonder what he’s like.

Will he be strict, or laid back? Will he hug and kiss me like Mum
did? Will he like me? Will he be surprised by the fact that he has a
daughter?

I pray that everything will be good. I hope he likes me. I opened my
eyes. Aunt D is standing in the doorway, motioning for me to join her
and Charlotte in the bedroom. I go and kiss Charlotte on the cheek
and pull her blankets up.

"I love you," I whisper.

"Love you too," She mumbles in her sleep.

Aunt D leads me back to the living room and we sit on the couch
together. She puts her arm around me.

"What’s my father like?" I ask.

She pause for a moment, thinking about it.

"He’s really sweet. Very into paranormal things. He will be delighted
to learn that he has a daughter. You’re his only family. He always
wanted more family. His mother and father, your grandparents, died.
And he never really got over his sister."

Sister? Mum never told me he had a sister. As a matter of fact, she
never even told me who I was named after.

"He has a sister?"

"Actually, he doesn’t. She’s ... gone."

"I’m sorry."

"So am I." She murmured, and hugged me. "So am I."


~*~*

That night I had a rather puzzling dream. I saw a boy and a girl.
They looked alike, both with dark hair and soft brown eyes. The girl
looked a lot like me. It was kind of creepy. She disappeared in a
cloud of bright light. Then the boy started yelling, "Samantha!". I
tried to talk to him, comfort him, but he kept running, calling
"Samantha!" every few steps. Then I awoke.

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

Dana

I am heartbroken. These girls are so sweet. Samantha cannot wait to
meet her father, I can tell. I just can break her heart. How can you
tell a thirteen-year-old innocent girl that her father was abducted
by little green (excuse me, gray) men? It hurts me to think that I
have to break the news to her. And I will. Just, not right now.

I called Skinner and told him that I have the girls. And I asked him
to let me have a few days off, to settle then in. Oh, yeah and also
to tell Doggett about the girls. He complained, but he’ll do it.

My belly is starting to swell. I feel sick in the morning. Soon I’ll
have three kids to take care of. And I was complaining about not
being able to have kids. I have two and a third on the way.

In two days they’re starting school. I fixed all their papers
yesterday. I hope they make friends. Piper is going to attend the
Junior Academy, and Samantha’ll go to Washington Middle School. I
guess she wants to go to regular school. I took them out to buy
school clothes and other supplies. They were so happy! Samantha had
never worn nail polish before!

When we got home, I put a child to bed for the first time. I read
Piper a Cinderella book. She fell asleep quickly.

Then Samantha started asking me questions about Mulder. And stupid
old me mentioned his sister. But how was I supposed to know that her
mother hadn’t told her who she was named after! She doesn’t know
about her, or her disappearance.

I pray that we find Mulder, alive and well. My mind is telling me
that he’s dead, but my heart isn’t agreeing. I pray my heart wins
this battle. I’ll never ask for anything else in my entire life if
Mulder returns, safe and sound. Please God let him live

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

Samantha:


It is my first day of school. Ever. We had tutors in England. I have
never taken classes with other children (except Charlotte, of
course). Butterflies flutter in my stomach and my scrambled eggs
don’t help. I awoke at seven, dressed ( jeans and a black Gap T
Shirt), made my hair (two braids, my favorite style), and gathered my
new notebooks in my bag (backpack? Is that what Americans call it?).

Aunt D and Charlotte had risen before me, since Charlotte has to be
at school at seven. I waited for Aunt D to come back impatiently. She
dropped off Charlotte, then came back for me.

"Hey." She greeted me, as she came through the front door.

"Hullo." I glanced up and grabbed my backpack. "I’m ready to go." 

"Okay. Let me just grab some breakfast." She went over to the counter
and pulled a piece of toast and a bottle of some kind of murky liquid
and grabbed her keys again.

We jogged down to the car and I threw my backpack in the front seat,
following it. I hadn’t ridden in the front seat for a long time. Only
Mum allowed us to do so, when we were in France (in our villa). It’s
really wonderful! You can see all of the autos in front. I feel like
I’m the one driving. (In England the driver’s seat is where I’m
sitting now.)

We got there soon. The school consisted of a large brick building and
three smaller added-on ones surrounded by a large colorful
playground. Children of all sizes chased each other. They were
screaming and laughing, flying past. Only blurs of color. I feel like
I’m watching the circus. My eyes hurt from the brightness.

I felt like a black hole. Wherever I stepped, people stop running and
stare. Whispers are directed my way. Girls point at my braids, boys
at my long legs. This is not highly unusual. In England comments
where always directed my way. The outfits I wore, the words I said,
they were all discussed as soon as I was out of hearing range.

I tried to ignore them and smile. I saw a few friendly faces in the
crowd. A girl, my age, smiled at me. She was a bit . . .
punky-looking. Her black hair was streaked in blue and purple, she
wore a black t shirt which said I: Got Attitude, You: Got a problem
with it?, a hooded zip sweatshirt, and a large bag.

But her face was friendly and smiling. I smiled back. Aunt D left me
at the door. I waved farewell to her and walked up to the punky girl.

"Hi," She greeted me. "I’m Dyanne. Where did ya transfer from?"

"Hullo. I’m Samantha. I’m from England, actually."

"Cool! Have ya met Prince William?" She laughed, as if the idea were
totally outlandish.

"Sure I have. But, personally, I like Harry better." I told her.

Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious? You’ve met them? But how ... ?"

"My grandfather is a Lord and we’ve been invited to the Palace quite
a few times." I leaned toward her and whispered: "But try not to
spread it around."

"Okay." She stammered, and I laughed.

"Hi, I’m James. And you are . . ."

"I’m very glad to meet you!" Opps! I clapped my hand on my mouth and
laughed. He was indeed handsome. He had tanned skin, sun bleached
brown hair and deep turquoise eyes. " And my name is Samantha."

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "How ‘bout if I showed you
around?" I slid out of his grasp.

"Thanks, but Dyanne already volunteered." She nodded at him, as if
she really had volunteered. "Yup! Sorry Jaime. But you can should him
around!" And she laughed, pointing to a boy who was obviously new,
like me, judging by the look on his face.

We became friends. Dyanne, Bella (Isabella, one of Dyanne’s friends),
Nikki (Nicole, another of Dyanne’s friends), Jaime, and a boy named
Ben. And Jaime became my boyfriend. All in one day.

That afternoon, I walked home alone. My friends all lived in
different directions. I thought about how much had happened that day.
Dyanne convinced me to accept Jaime’s offer. I really do like him.
He’s a nice guy. My classes were a breeze. I sat in the back of
French and whispered to Bella the whole period. They put me in
Algebra for math, which I learned last year. And I there isn’t one
book on the Reading list that I haven’t read!

I smiled. I’m a normal girl. Finally.

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

Piper (Charlotte)

I woke up at six o’clock this morning, to go to school. I have never
been to school before. I don’t want to share my teacher with twenty
other children! It’s not fair. Why couldn’t Kat just hire me a tutor?

But I am a little excited about meeting other kids. And taking so
many fun classes!


(That evening.)


I made a million friends today! Ruby, Kelly, Tommy, Freddy, and
Madeline. And I’m learning Greek and Latin as well as German and
Italian. And my ballet and piano and karate classes were so much fun.
I’m glad I picked the Junior Academy. Too bad that Anne didn’t too!
She would have liked it.

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

Dana:

I sent them to school. Plain and simple. Or, rather, it should be. I
was so worried. Will the kids like them? Or will they think that
their accents are strange?

But at the end of the day, both were beaming and rushing to tell me
about their friends.

According to Piper, Ruby was blond and green eyed nice and very loud,
Kelly was black haired brown eyed and quiet, Freddy was blond and
brown eyed and very loud and squirmy, Maddy was red headed and blue
eyed and really smart, and brown haired and eyed Tommy was plain
hilarious.

And according to Samantha, Dyanne was weird but really nice. The
dark, Spanish Bella was very secretive and quiet. Nikki was purple
haired (purple?!) and green eyed, loud and funny. Ben was the
quietest, next to Bella. And Jaime, well ... Jaime was her
boyfriend!

I’m a bit worried about Samantha’s friends. I mean I know I should
judge people by their personalities rather than appearances, but . .
. And purple hair? That was just Nikki. Dyanne had blue and purple
streaks! She, Nikki, and Jaime had gotten detentions for the whole
month for spray painting flowers and butterflies on lockers! Flowers
and butterflies?

But nonetheless, both of the girls are happy. I hope they’ll stay
happy.

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


Two weeks later 
Dana:


"Sam?" I called, as I walked in the door. What is that? I wondered.
Something purple and pink streaked showed above the couch in front of
the turned on TV.

"Anne?" Piper shouted. I noticed that her accent seems to be fading a
bit.

The colored mop turned.

My jaw dropped. "Samantha?" I gasped.

"Anne has circus hair!"

"What did you do to your hair?"

"I streaked it."

"Purple and pink?! Are you crazy?"

"Relax Aunt D, it’s not permanent. I’m just bored." She yawned
lazily.

"I think we better talk, Sam." I turned to Piper. "Pips, can you go
do your homework on the kitchen table? I’ll give you some cheese
sticks so you don’t get too hungry. Dinner might be late tonight." I
added, eyeing Samantha’s new hairdo.

Sam sighed, but picked herself up from the couch and plopped down on
her bed. I walked in after her and shut the door behind me.

"Why did you do it?" I asked calmly. At least, I hope I sounded calm.

"Because I had nothing else to do. All my classes are easy, I do my
homework for about half an hour and you and Charlotte doesn’t get
home until seven. I’m very bored! Besides, Dyanne has streaks and
Nikki’s whole head is purple."

I remembered when I was fourteen, how I had breezed through my
classes and made friends with rebellious kids. I had been pretty
bored myself.

"I know how you feel. When I was a little older than you, I felt the
same way. What do you think we should do?" I sat next to her.

"I don’t know!" She said, in an exasperated sort of way.

We both lost ourselves in thought for a few minutes. "Maybe you
should transfer to the Junior Academy. It’s supposed to be a lot
harder there."

"But I don’t want to leave Dyanne, Nikki, and Bella." She glanced at
me sideways. "Or Jaime."

"I think your future is a lot more important that three friends and a
boyfriend you just met two weeks ago. You’ll find other friends.
Don’t worry."

"I’ll think about it. " She sighed. "I’ll let you know tonight."

I nodded. "Okay. Dinner’ll be ready in fifteen minutes." I left her
and began preparing dinner. But my mind wavered from the stir fry I
was cooking.

I hope she chooses to go to the Academy. If she doesn’t I’ll have to
make her. I won’t like it, but its better for her to be mad at me and
learning than happy with me and running loose.

"Kat! It smells funny! What is that?" Piper shrieked from the table.

I rushed to the stove. The rice was stuck to the bottom of the pot
and looked as if no amount of scrubbing would remove it. God, I’m bad
at this mom, housewife thing!

I dumped the pots in the sink and filled them with water. Then I
reached for the phone and ordered us a large pizza. I think we all
deserved it.

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

Samantha 


How am I supposed to leave my friends? And Jamie? Good girlfriends
don’t just abandon their boyfriends!

It’s not fair! I repeated over and over in my head, until the words
made no sense, held no meaning. I glanced around the room, secretly
hoping for a sign that would help me decide what to do.

My eyes landed on my copy of Great Expectations sitting lonely and
forgotten on my bookcase. My eyes welled up with tears. How could I
just forget about it? My mind searched for an excuse. An excuse for
the book that lay forgotten while I acted like a horrible stupid
spoiled brat!

I’m going to the Academy and I’m going to straighten up my act. My
eyes fell on the book once again. That’s what mum would have wanted
me to do.

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

Dana


You can’t imagine how relieved I was when Samantha agreed to go to
the Junior Academy! Without me forcing her to! Phew! Tomorrow is her
first day. I hope she doesn’t regret her decision.

My life seems to have been put back together lately. Well, except for
one huge piece that’s missing. Mulder. Oh God I hope he’s okay. A and
I hope he’ll be back.

The girls seem to like me even though I can see that Piper misses her
mother like crazy. Life is so unfair. She’s only five and an orphan.
Sam too.

But I’m really impressed with Piper. She’s only five but she can read
and write as well as solve addition and subtraction problems. Right
now she’s memorizing the times table. And she’s taking voice, piano
and ballet. Oh yeah, and karate too. She has a green belt. And she
doesn’t seem tired at all when I pick her up at six o’clock. (She
starts her classes at seven am, but she does get breaks in between
classes and lessons.)

Samantha will be taking Trigonometry/Calculus, German, Greek/Latin,
Literature (European), Chemistry, History (Medieval European), and
Anatomy. Then, after school, she’s taking archery (twice a week),
ballet (on pointe, every day), Karate (twice a week), fencing (three
times a week), tennis (twice), and piano (twice).

Very busy schedules. I’m busy too. I’m back at work and Doggett acts
very strangely around me. But I’m too busy with the girls to notice
too much. They demand so much attention!

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

Samantha:

Once again it is my first day of school. Yesterday Jamie and I broke
up. We both decided that it would be much better if we could be free
to flirt and date other people. Escpecially since Jaime always flirts
with every pretty girl that crosses his path (including Dyanne,
Nikki, and Bella).

Today I had to wake up earlier than usual at five thirty. Aunt D
drove me and Piper to the bus station and we took the bus out of the
city. The school is located in the outskirts. It’s huge, I found when
I arrived.

It was a four story brick ... mansion. Complete with indoor and
outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a soccer field, baseball
diamond, football field, stables, an ice rink, and track. It was
surrounded by woods and rolling green hills.

My first class was trigonometry/ calculus (which was on the third
floor) so I left Charlotte to her Literature on the first floor.

"Bye" I called.

"Good bye," She waved.

I climbed the staircase and entered the classroom. There were four
rows of desks, five desks in each row. But three desks were
unoccupied.

I dropped my backpack and made myself comfortable. Then I glanced
around curiously. People were looking at me as curiously as I was
looking at them.

"Hi. What’s your name? I’m Amanda. What’s your name?"

"Samantha Anne." I eyed her. She had white blond hair pulled back in
a ponytail, pale skin. And chocolate brown eyes. I could see quite a
few freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. Quite strange
looking. But the smile on her face made me feel at ease. I smiled
back.

"Cool. This is Fiona." She pointed to the girl on her left. She had
bright aqua eyes and softly curling reddish brown hair. She looked a
bit moody, but I smiled at her anyway.

"Hi," I greeted her.

"Hi" She answered in a bored voice.

Before we could say anything else, the teacher started the lesson by
introducing me to the class . . .

****

When Aunt D picked me and Charlotte up, I was exhausted but happy. I
had become friends with Amanda (even though Fiona seemed to dislike
me) another girl named Haylee (she was really nice, short and black
haired. Her eyes are amazing though. They’re a piercing blue.) and
David (who, though very subtle, flirted with me throughout our lunch
period). That gave me mixed feelings.

At first I remembered Jaime and his impish flirting. Then I
remembered Prince Harry with his charming grin, who continuously
teased me. I had certainly enjoyed that and flirted back.

Then I remembered Tommy. He lived in the manor next to our and we
would often roam the lush and misty forests and hills surrounding our
manors. We had known each other since we where three. But a little
before we turned twelve, something changed inside of me. Tommy was
still my best friend but he was something more too. I guess he felt
the same way because he kissed me in the forest on my birthday. A
present, he called it. But I had to leave him when I came to DC.

Suddenly, I feel extremely homesick.

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

Piper


Anne came to my school today. She’s coming to school from now on. She
met Madeline, Ruby, Tommy, Freddie, and Kelly. She said she likes
them. She also became friends with Ruby’s sister Amanda. The whole
day was a lot of fun.

But I did have some trouble with my Latin today. And my kicks in
karate. But Miss Qualette complimented me on my pirouettes! I miss
Mum though. She used to hug me all the time. Kat is nice, but she’s
not the same as Mum. I wanna go back home. I’ll ask Anne if we could
go back, at least for a month or so.


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

Two months later
Samantha: 

I’m so busy. I’m rehearsing for the end of the year ballet recital
(We’re performing Swan Lake). I got the white swan. Fiona is the
black swan and she seems to hate me more than ever. Charlotte is one
of the little swans but she has a small solo. My costume is gorgeous!
It’s white and glittery. And I get to wear a beautiful headdress.

The recital is next week. Aunt D is away on an assignment so
Charlotte and I are staying at the Junior Academy(in our own room).
She left three days ago and said that she would be back for the
recital. I hope she makes it.

I wonder very often when my father will return. And how he’s going to
react to me. I hope he doesn’t hate me. I miss England and even
Grandfather. I miss Mum most of all though. I cry myself to sleep on
most nights after Charlotte falls asleep.

She seems happy. She has friends, she likes Aunt D a lot, but I can
feel Mum slowly fading from her memory. She is only five. But its
scary.

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

Dana:

Oh, god. He’s back. Mulder. I have a million different emotions
running in my veins. At first he was dead, but now ... now he’s on
life support and he is slowly dying. I told Samantha and Charlotte
that I was on an assignment and left them at the Junior Academy. I
can’t tell them. I just can’t. It hurts me so much. But at least I
have them.

And this baby inside of me. They’ve been my life force these past few
months and especially the last few days.

Why can’t I just have a normal life?

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

Samantha:


The recital is tomorrow. Aunt D called and promised to be there. And
she said that she’d be bringing someone important with her. I wonder
who it is.

Charlotte is so excited that she’s bouncing off the walls (did I use
that expression correctly?). She’s happy here with her friends and
everything.

I have to leave for dress rehearsal. 

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

Charlotte:

I have a solo! I have a solo! It’s so cool. And my costume is so
pretty. But Anne’s prettier. I’m so proud of her. She got the role of
the white swan! She gets to dance almost throughout the whole
recital! I want to be like her when I grow up.

I miss Kat. She went away to look for a missing little girl. So we’re
living at the Academy. At least till Kat returns.

I have to go and put my costume and make-up on because dress
rehearsal starts in five minutes!


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

Dana: 

He’s alive. Skinner took him off life support and it saved Mulder’s
life. I am eternally grateful to him. Now I’m waiting for the right
opportunity to introduce him to Sam. I think the recital is a good
time.

He’s still in the hospital, but I’m picking him up at five tomorrow
evening. The Gunmen and Skinner (and maybe Doggett, yes I asked him)
will also be at the recital.

The Gunmen are so attached to the girls. Langly is crazy about
Samantha and Byers would gladly die for Piper.

I wonder how he’s gonna react.

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

Samantha:

I spun my way off the stage after my bow. My face was dripping with
sweat, my hair and costume plastered to my face and body. But I wore
a smile on my face.

I think that was the best performance I have ever given. The audience
absolutely roared with applause. It thundered through ever corner of
the theater and echoed.

"You were good," Fiona grumpily told me. I smiled.

"Thanks. You were good too." Then she disappeared. I blinked a few
drops of sweat away and grabbed a tissue. I wiped my face of the
makeup, unpinned my braids and removed my headdress. As I was
removing my toe shoes someone walked in.

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

Dana:

I picked him up at five and we headed to the outskirts of town. 

"Where are we going? What’s the big deal? Can’t you just tell me?" He
complained irritably.

"You’ll see soon enough," I tried to be patient. "And can you stop
with the sunflower seeds? You’re trashing my car."


He looked at he, then to the rearview mirror. "You have stuffed
kittens hanging from your mirror. Gosh Scully, you’ve changed a lot."
He laughed.

"They’re Piper’s." I answered automatically.

"Piper? Who’s Piper?"

"Never mind. You’ll find out soon enough."

"You aren’t going to tell me anything are you?"

I shook my head.

"Fine." He muttered.

We rode in silence after that. But not for long. I parked the car in
the parking lot and hurried him to the auditorium of the school. Its
huge and magnificent. We found seats in the middle and waited for the
curtain to rise.

"what is this, the opera?"

"No. You’ll see."

I saw the Gunmen and Skinner sitting together in the front row. Then
the curtain slowly began to rise. Ten year olds in glorious white
swan costumes pranced daintily around the stage.

Mulder stared at them, then me, amazed. "you took me o a kiddy
ballet? Scully is this your idea of some sick joke? If so, it’s not
funny."

I sighed. "Just watch will you?"

He frowned but his gazed turned toward the stage. Samantha entered.
She was beautiful. And she danced as if gravity didn’t apply to her.
Mulder was captivated. He couldn’t see the strong resemblance to his
sister because he was quite far away, and she wore layers of makeup
to let her face be seen.

"Wow. That kid’s pretty good."

I nodded and smiled.

We watched the rest of the ballet, then headed backstage. Samantha
was removing her makeup when we arrived. Her braids, which were
pinned up during her performance, were cascading down her back. She
had her back to us.

"Hi there, superstar." I greeted her.

"Aunt D? Hi." She answered, not looking up quite yet.

Mulder looked at me puzzled. "Aunt?" he mouthed. Samantha’s gaze
traveled up, away from the tissue with which she was scrubbing her
face and to me and Mulder.

She gasped.

"Samantha?"

"Daddy!" She ran into his arms, and I felt tears stream down my face.

"Daddy?" He whispered.

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

Mulder:

Samantha. My sister. She’s alive. Is it a miracle? I kept asking
myself. But I don’t believe in miracles. She’s dead, a voice repeated
in the back of my head. It’s not really her. I told it to shut up.

"Daddy!" She ran and hugged me. 

"Daddy?" I felt my stomach drop. What is this? Some kind of sick
joke? I thought to my self.

I looked at Scully, stunned and puzzled. She just nodded.

"Daddy?" I mouthed.

"She’s you daughter." She smiled. The girl still hung on to me
fiercely.

"But ... I don’t have a daughter!" I said. The girl pulled back.
She smiled. Samantha’s smile. Samantha’s braids. Samantha’s eyes.
Samantha’s innocence. But not Samantha.

"You do. Do you remember Elizabeth? Elizabeth James?"

"Elizabeth?" I gasped. "You’re Elizabeth’s girl? She never answered
any of my letters. She never told me about you. But why are you here
now?"

Her gaze turned to the ground. "She’s dead." She whispered, tears
rolling silently down her cheeks. I reached out to hug her. I felt
tears in my own eyes. Elizabeth dead.

Scully steers a little blond girl out of the dressing room and shuts
the door behind them.

"So you’re my daughter?" I ask stupidly.

She nods hopefully.

I hug her again. It seems like we hold on forever. She is like a
carbon copy of my sister.

"What’s your name?"

"Samantha Ann Mulder."

I gasp.

"Why does that surprise everyone?" She asks irritated.

"You mean you don’t know?"

"No. And I don’t know why Aunt D pulled out her gun the first time I
told her my name. She said something bout Samantha being dead. But
how could she know about me?"

"Your mom named you after my sister. Her name was Samantha Ann Mulder
too." I feel tears fill my eyes again. I try to brush them away
angrily. "She disappeared when she was eight and I was twelve. You
look so much like her. You could be her twin."

Damn. I’m a father and I didn’t even know it! How could I be so
stupid. I should have called Elizabeth. I should have guessed. I
should have been there. She grew up without me. Be at least she’s
here now.

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

Samantha:

He’s back.

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

Dana:

The are reunited. (or is it united? They’ve never met before!??) It
was the saddest and happiest thing in the world! He thought she was
his sister!

Here they come now. She changed into normal clothes. The Gunmen are
coming from the other direction. Everything is the way it should be.

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

Piper (Charlotte):

And we all lived happily ever after. 


                  The End