Title: In the Time Innocence Still Belonged to Us
Author: Agent Spooky
Feedback: Gladly accepted at msmessina@yahoo.com.br 
Rating: PG 
Category: MSR (sort of)/ Pre-X-Files
Spoilers: None.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. CC & 1013 and who else has
the rights do.

Summary: Two very different kids become best friends
over the summer.

*~*~

"Mommy!" The little girl screamed as loud as she could.
Then she heard footsteps down the hall and finally felt 
them coming into her room.
 
"What sweetie? What is it?" The petite dark-haired woman 
asked.

"I had a bad dream." She said in a small voice.

The woman left out the breath she was holding. She knew her
daughter. She wasn't afraid of anything. She couldn't even
remember a time when her daughter had screamed like that
over a nightmare or came to sleep with her and her father
because of a thunderstorm. Her little girl wasn't like that.
She was the bravest and the toughest of her four children.
That's way she ran like that when she heard her daughter screaming. She had assumed the worst.

She smiled and sat beside the little girl on the bed.

"What was the bad dream about?"

The little girl looked at her with big frightened blue eyes
and shook her head. 

The woman put a strand of her daughter's red hair that had fallen
into her eyes behind the little girl's ear.
"Don't want to talk about it?"

The little girl hesitated before speaking. "What if they don't like
me in San Diego?"

The woman smiled fondly. "Why wouldn't they? You're a bright
and beautiful girl. You never had any trouble making friends."

"But now it's different. Now I'm the new kid."

"Sweetie, your father works in the Navy. We all knew that sooner
or later we would have to move."

"I know mom, but I still don't like it." She said crossing her arms.

"I don't either. But it's not something that we have any control of.
Now try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay. Goodnight mom."

The woman kissed the girl's forehead. "Goodnight Dana." Then she
closed the door behind her.

*~*~

San Diego, California
Summer of 1974


Things weren't well in his house. They weren't well at all.
And he knew they would never be again. His father had taken
his mother and him in this summer vacation to see if things
could get a little better. To try and forget what happened
just 8 months ago. Even if it was for just a few weeks. But
he knew better. His sister's disappearance was too recent. His
mother still was in medications. And his father started to
drink much more than he used to. And when he drank he got mad.
He still had his bruises as proof.

His father had rented a house for the summer. He said he wanted
to get away from the familiar places. So they came to San Diego.

The boy woke up that morning because of the screams coming down
the stairs. He put on some clothes and tiptoed to the top of the
stairs where he could see his parents arguing. Again.

"This is all your fault Bill! You knew it! You knew they were going
to take her from us and you didn't do anything!"

"What did you want me to do?! If I hadn't let them take her
they would've killed all of us and taken her anyway! Is that what
you wanted?"

"Maybe it would've been better!"

The boy descended the steps slowly and got out of the house through
the back door. He didn't want to see their parents arguing. Sometimes
he wished he was the one who had disappeared.

There was a kind of ladder at the side of the house that
lead to the roof. He climbed it and sat on his favorite spot 
on the roof. He liked to go there. He could see everything 
no one could see him. He watched a family moving in the 
house almost in front of his. They were all happy and
talkative. Like his own family before his sister
disappeared.

There were four children. All red-haired. The man the boy assumed was
the father was bald and the mother was dark haired. The older child 
-a boy of about his age- was teasing his yyoungest sister. The little
girl said something to him that made her brother's ears turn pink and
he stopped picking on her. The boy on the roof smiled. He could tell,
even from where he sat, that she was a special girl.

Then he heard his mother calling him. "Fox! Come eat your
breakfast before it gets cold!"

He sighed and climbed down the ladder, still looking at 
the happy family and wishing just a little of that
happiness for his own.

*~*~

San Diego, California
Summer of 1974
a few hours later

Fox was in the roof again. And again looking at that family. The kids
were playing baseball in the yard now and the father was 
making barbecue. Maybe he should go down there and introduce
himself.

Fox climbed down the ladder and when he was almost there, 
a baseball came rolling towards him and stopped at his
feet. He bent down and got it. When he straightened up 
again he came face to face with the red-headed girl.
Well, chest to face was more like it.

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Hi," she answered equally shyly.

"Is this yours?" he asked holding the ball.

"Yes."

He gave the ball back to her.

"Thanks."

"Hey Shorty! Did you get lost or what?!" A boy's voice 
screamed from somewhere in the house behind them.

"I'm coming Bill!" She screamed back, then she gave him an embaressed
smile. "That was my brother."

He smiled back and nodded.

"Would you like to play with us?" the girl asked him.

"Me?"

"I don't see anybody else around here. So, would you?"

"Sure."

They started walking back to her house.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Fox. Fox Mulder."

"Hi Fox Fox Mulder. I'm Dana Scully." 

When they arrived at her house, he saw her older brother holding
a baseball mitt above his head and a little boy was jumping trying to
get it.

"Leave him alone, Bill." She said in a firm voice that made him
proud. Although he didn't know why.

"Finally! Did you find the ball?"

"No, he did," she said pointing to the boy next to her, "everybody
this is Fox and he's gonna play with us."

"Fox? Wow, your parents must hate you." Bill said with a smirk.

"Bill!" Dana said warningly.

"No, it's okay. At least I don't pick on little kids with half of 
my height just to feel good about myself." Fox smirked back.

Sensing the tension in the air, Dana clapped her hands and
said loudly, "So, let's play ball."

After an hour, a few bruises and one broken window later,
the barbecue was finally ready.

Everybody was sitting at a table in the yard, eating
hotdogs and hamburgers. Dana's parents liked Fox, she
she could tell. They were asking him all the same
questions they always asked to her friends.
'Where do you live?' 'How old are you?' 
'Do you have any brothers or sisters?'. He seemed 
hesitant to answer that one.

"No, ma'am. I don't," he said quietly.

When everybody finished their meals, the adults went 
to the kitchen to wash the dishes and the kids went to
the living room to watch tv. Except Fox and Dana.
They sat on a swing in the porch.

"Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you lie?"

He looked surprised. "About what?"

"About having siblings. You do, don't you?"

He looked at his hands. "I had a sister.
But she disappeared last November."

"Disappeared? How?"

"I don't know. I was babysitting her and the next thing
I remember is that she wasn't in the house anymore.
She was just gone."

"I'm sorry." 

"Yeah, so am I," he looked at her again, "how did you know
I was lying?"

Now it was her turn to look at her hands. "Something in your
voice. And the way your eyes changed color. I don't know,
it's like I already knew you. It's weird."

"Yeah, I feel the same thing about you."

They looked at each other intently.

"Who wants ice cream?" Her father yelled inside the house, startling
them both.

Fox stood up quickly. "I should go, it's getting dark."

She nodded. "See you tomorrow?"

"Certainly." He smiled all the way to his house. He couldn't 
remember a time when he was this happy. Although he didn't know
why. Yet.

So, in the next day they met again, and in the next and everyday
after that day, until one day, he didn't show up. He said he would
be at her house at 9 o'clock that morning. She checked her watch
again. It was almost ten. Dana decided to go to his house. 
She hesitated a little because she had never been at his
house, although Fox knew her parents very well,
she didn't know his. 

When she was about to knock at his door, she heard his voice.

"Dana?" 

"Fox?" She said looking up. "What are you doing up there?"

"It's kind of a hiding place. Come on up. Use that ladder there."

She climbed the ladder and sat beside him on the roof.

"You can see everything from here." She said smiling.

He nodded sadly.

She looked at him. "Fox what happened? Why didn't you come today?"

He looked at his hands and shrugged.

"You can tell me. I thought we were friends." She said putting
her hand on his back.

He winced. She frowned and pulled his shirt up a little.

"My God, Fox. How did you get this?" She said looking at
the big purple bruise on his back.

"My Dad needed a punch bag. He left his at home, so I
guess I was the next best thing."

"Seriously Fox, why did he do this to you?"

"I don't know. I guess he blames me for my sister's disappearance."

"It's not your fault. You're just a kid."

"He doesn't care. Enough talking about it, I got something I want
to give you."

"What?"

"It's in my room. Don't worry, my parents aren't at home
right now. Come on," he said standing up.

She followed him to his room. It looked like a tornado had passed
through there. 

"Have a seat. If you find a place."

Dana cleaned a spot in his bed and sat down. After a moment, he found
what he was looking for and sat next to her. 

He gave her a box. She opened it and there was a home-made
rag doll inside it.

"Oh, thank you Fox. She's cute." She gave him a kiss on the
cheek. He blushed.

"It was my sister's. I kept it but I figured you'd make better
use of it."

She looked insulted. "I don't play with dolls anymore."

"I didn't say you did. It's just that girls like dolls
whether they play with them or not."

"It's not that I didn't like the doll, I did, but why 
give it to me now?"

"I'm going home tomorrow. Class starts on Monday and my dad has to go
back to work. I wanted you to have something from me so you 
wouldn't forget about me."

"I would never forget you, Fox."

They hugged each other tightly. When they broke apart he 
said, "So what do you say we head over to the park
and have some ice cream? I heard there was going 
to be a band playing there all day today, 
but I forgot the name."

"Sounds wonderful."

So they headed to the park, after telling Dana's parents
she was going to be late, bought ice cream and sat on
a bench to wait for the show to start.

"Dana, I have to tell you something." He said after he 
finished his ice cream.

"What?" She asked with her mouth full.

"I-I like you."

She raised an eyebrow. "I like you too." She said, not getting it.

He sighed. "Not like a friend. And not like a sister
either. It's something different. I never felt like this
with anyone before."

She put her hand over his. "I feel the same way. It's weird."

"Look, the show is going to start," he said putting his
arm around her.

When it was getting dark, they headed back home. He accompanied her
to her house.

"Want to come in?" She asked when they arrived at her door.

"I'd love to, but I still have to pack."

"See you tomorrow?"

"I'll probably be gone before you wake up. My dad wants to live
early."

"Well then, it was nice meeting you Fox." She stretched her hand.

"Nice meeting you too, Dana." He shook her hand and pulled her to
him, holding her tightly. They stood there for several seconds, until
they reluctantly broke apart.

He cleared his throat. "I gotta go."

She nodded and he left.

It wasn't even morning yet. The sun had barely come up and his father
was already putting their luggage in the trunk. Fox opened the back
door of the car and was going to come in when he heard his name.

"Fox!" Dana said from the other side of the street. She stood there
in her pajamas with a robe over them clinging the doll to her chest.
He smiled and crossed the street.

"I was up all night and came up with a plan." She said smiling.

"It must be some plan for you to have to be up all night. What is it?
Bet our allowances at a casino in Las Vegas, win some money and then 
run away to Mexico? Because if it is, forget about it. You have to be
at least 21 to get in a Casino."

She rolled her eyes and gave him back the doll. "Keep the doll."

"I thought you liked it."

"I did. I do. But if you keep the doll, then we'll have to meet 
again someday so you can give me the doll back. That way we'll know
we'll see each other again."

"Sounds like a great plan."

His dad honk the horn. Twice.

"You should go." She said looking at his father.

They hugged and he gave her a peck on the cheek. Then he
crossed the street, got in the car and they didn't stop waving until
they couldn't see each other anymore.

And what would you know. Her plan really worked!


THE END