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Title: Anabelle 04. The Hunt Summary: Mulder and Scully go apartment hunting and The Lone Gunmen meet Anabelle for the first time. Oy... Here's the fourth installment in the Anabelle series. I told ya I was planning to do something sappy and funny. The last piece in this series was probably the angstiest thing I've ever written and it really drained me. Time to get back to my roots--sap! It's what I'm best at. ;) If you're just tuning in to this I recommend reading the other three stories in the series. Lucy, thank you so much for beta'ing this! Archive: Yes, Gossamer especially, anyone else just tell me where it goes. Feedback: Please? The addy is RhiaRamsay@aol.com Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine. The Lone Gunmen are not mine. Anabelle Mulder is. If CC wants to borrow her he's gonna have to take it up with me. Monday, March 7, 1998 Fox Mulder pulled the car up to the curb outside the tall apartment. He turned around in his seat to face the teenage girl sitting in the back seat with a sulky look on her face. "C'mon, Anabelle, you said you would go to therapy." Anabelle Mulder crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "Can I take that back?" Mulder sighed and looked over at Dana Scully who was sitting in the passenger seat. Scully shrugged her shoulders, seeming to say that she couldn't figure out what Anabelle was thinking. He looked back to Anabelle. "Please, Belle. Cassie is taking you on as a patient as a great favor to me. And you do need help, you even said so yourself. Please?" Mulder pleaded, not bothering to use the whipped puppy look he used with Scully because Anabelle could see right through it. Come to think of it, Scully could see through that look too... Anabelle brushed her rainbow hair back with one hand. "What the hell, I'll go." She raised her head to look at the two in the front seat. "But Dana, please, whatever you do, make sure he picks out a nice apartment. I don't want to end up sleeping in a closet." With that, Anabelle got out of the car, her forties style dress swirling around her legs. As soon as she went through the main doors to the building Mulder pulled the car away from the curb and started on their sojourn to find the perfect apartment. For the past week or so Mulder had been looking frantically through the want ads to find the perfect place for him and Anabelle to live. He knew they couldn't manage at his apartment for much longer. Anabelle was living out of boxes and he wanted her to have her own room. Scully had offered to help him find one, and he had eagerly accepted, knowing that she would have a better eye for the whole hunting business. The three of them looked through five different local newspapers, spanning Virginia and Maryland, looking for something that would be suitable for the two of them (or in Anabelle's opinion the three of them, because her new project was going to make Mulder and Scully see what was right in front of their faces, to see that they were head over heels in love with each other.) They had narrowed it down to a few places, a few apartments and even a few houses, although Mulder was adamant against doing yardwork. The money wasn't a problem, the inheritance from Mulder's dad would help with it. Now, they were driving down a highway, on their way to the first apartment building. Suddenly Mulder let out an explosive sigh and a sort of laugh. Scully looked up at him from where she was looking through the ads. "What is it?" she asked. Mulder laughed disbelievingly. "I never thought I would be in this position. I never pictured myself going house hunting, ever. It's so...so..." "Normal?" Scully said with a smile on her face. They'd been over this route a few times in the past few days. Mulder was still getting used to the sudden changes in his life. Nothing up to that point had prepared him for the challenge of taking care of a teenage girl, which, in comparison to other things he had encountered was somewhat normal. But they were all adapting to it, slowly, but surely. They finally got to the first apartment building on their list, not far from Mulder's old one. It was a typical apartment building, brick, with fire escapes adorning the side of it. The car sidled to a stop at the curb and Mulder and Scully got out and began to walk up the stairs to the front entrance. "I think we're supposed to go see the manager," Scully said, looking down at her notepad. The lobby of the building was simple, a row of mailboxes here, an elevator there. Nothing Mulder or Scully was too impressed with. They reached the manager's office and knocked on the door. The manager opened the door, and for some reason Scully was reminded of Frohike. There was the same lecherous old man air about him. "Yes?" he said? Mulder spoke first, him being the one actually buying the place. "Yeah, hi, I called earlier about the apartment for rent?" The manager opened the door wider and stood to the side. "Come on in." They followed him in, sitting down in the seats he pointed them to. As Mulder listened to the manager explain the finest parts of his apartment, Scully let her eyes wander around the office. It was a little dingy looking, the walls needed a fresh paint job, there were a few cracks in them. It just wasn't appealing to her. She looked over at Mulder. Even though he appeared to be listening intently Scully could see the disinterest in his eyes. In the corner of the room, something moved, and Scully's eyes were drawn to it. Her eyes imperceptibly widened when she saw that it was a snake. Not a big snake, but a snake nonetheless. She nudged Mulder's calf with her leg, trying to get his attention. Mulder looked over at Scully, grateful for the distraction from the manager whose claims were just annoying, not enticing to put down rent. His eyes met hers, then followed her gaze to the corner of the room. Mulder internally winced. Snakes were one of those creatures he didn't need. He looked back at Scully, pleading for some way out of the situation. Scully caught the hint in his eyes and very discretely reached a hand into her coat pocket, where her cellphone was. She pressed the first speed dial, and a second later, Mulder's phone rang. "Excuse me," Mulder said to the manager, and pulled his phone out. He appeared to listen intently for a minute, then said "Okay," and hung up. "I'm really sorry, Sir, but something just came up and we really have to go." "Okay," the manager said, and before he could finish Mulder and Scully had walked out of there. Mulder shot a grateful look over at Scully when they were making their way over to the car. "Thank you so much," he said with a smile on his face. "It's no problem," Scully said. "I didn't really like the look of that place anyway." "Me neither." They arrived at the next place, a small little house close to D.C, but far enough in suburbia to make Mulder more than a little nervous. Scully caught the wary look on his face and turned to him, concerned. "What is it, Mulder?" she asked. He grimaced. "It's this area. It just gives me the creeps." Scully looked out the window at the row of nice houses, manicured lawns, and quiet streets. "I don't know, Mulder. To most people, this is the American dream." She shot him a sideways glance. "Though, admittedly, you and Anabelle are not most people." Mulder laughed under his breath. "Got that right." Suddenly he threw the car in gear and sped down the street at a pace so fast that Scully had to brace her hands on the dashboard to keep herself from crashing into it. "What the hell was that?" she gasped as soon as she got her breath back. Mulder looked over at her and grinned. "I couldn't take five minutes there. You really expect me to consider even living there?" Scully shrugged playfully. "Well, it is a nice area," she teased, and laughed at the evil look Mulder gave her. Five apartments later there was still no luck, Mulder was getting tired and annoyed, Scully was getting tired of Mulder's annoyance, and for some reason every place they went to seemed to think that they were a couple looking for a place. At least something brightened up the otherwise gloomy day. It was something that had kept Scully's mind entertained all day--her and Mulder being a couple. Lately she was considering it more and more. After she went into remission she had decided that life wasn't worth wasting, that she should take her chances before it got too late. To seize the day. One of those things was her relationship with Mulder. She knew instinctively that he loved her, she just wasn't sure what type of love it was. Was it the type of love one has for a sister, or for a friend? Or was it the love one has for someone like a lover, a spouse, a soulmate, the one person they knew they couldn't live without? Scully was fervently hoping that it was the latter --because that was the way she felt aboutt him. She knew that she was head over heels in love with him, the kind of love that she'd never be able to give up. Little did she know that Mulder was thinking along the same lines--what if they were a couple? Would things be different between them? Would the working relationship that they had, which was damn good as it was, be compromised in some way? Or would things get better for them? Mulder was hoping for the better. Scully stared out the car window at the moving trees, bored. The day had yielded no luck whatsoever, and now they were on their way to pick Anabelle up, who was probably chomping at the bit to get out of therapy. In that respect, she was just like Mulder. Suddenly a sign caught her eye. "Hey, Mulder, pull the car over," she said. He slowed the car and pulled up to the curb. "What is it?" She pointed a few feet behind them. "There was an apartment for rent sign back there. Maybe we should check it out." Mulder winced. Not another place...he thought morosely. But Scully seemed eager about the place, so he quietly conceded and got out of the car and caught up to Scully who was making her way to the house. The house they were walking towards was a large, Victorian style house, at least three floors, and with a wrap-around porch. "I hope you don't expect me to buy that whole thing," Mulder said to Scully, who was reading the sign on the front lawn. "Don't panic, Mulder, it's just the upstairs apartment." She looked over at the iron staircase on the side of the house leading up to the second floor. Mulder rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Fine," he said with fake exasperation in his voice. Scully elbowed him in the ribs, and they smiled at each other. Then, they began the trek up to the second floor. When they got on the landing Mulder knocked on the door to the apartment. They heard a clacking from inside the apartment and shortly the door opened revealing a young woman with straight brown hair and dressed in a black business suit. "Hi," she said to them. "Are you here to see the apartment?" Mulder nodded. "We were just driving by and saw the sign and wondered of we could take a look." The woman held the door open all the way and ushered them inside. "Come right in and take a look around." Mulder and Scully found themselves in a large room with white walls and hardwood floors. The woman walked over to the single table in the room and took a few papers and handed them to Mulder. "Here's the general information about the house," she said, and began to explain to Mulder the details while Scully looked around the place. The front room they had walked into was big, a combined kitchen and living room, taking up about half of the first floor. On the front wall facing the street was a big bay window, on the side wall next to the door where they entered was a brick fireplace. Towards the back of the room was the kitchen area, with an island dividing the kitchen area from the living room. Scully wandered down the hall to the other half of the house. She looked to her left and saw a staircase leading upwards. She recalled the real estate agent saying something about the apartment having two floors. She'd look up there after she went through the other rooms. Right before the staircase though was the open door leading to a bathroom. She pulled open the door to the left of her, just next to the staircase. It was just a simple room, but with a large door connecting it to the kitchen...'probably the dining room,' Scully thought. She next looked into the room on the right. The standard white walls were adorned with plenty of built in shelves made of brown wood--the library. The outstanding feature in it was in the corner of the room, the half-circle inside of the turret. A perfect place to curl up with a good book. Yes, this room at one point was a library. Walking out of the room, Scully started up the staircase to the second floor. There were seven doors surrounding the upstairs hall. She chose one to the right of her, in roughly the same area the living room was downstairs. She opened the door to yet another white-walled room, but the presence of a fireplace said to her that this was the master bedroom. This was where Mulder would sleep. If she concentrated she could see in her head Mulder lounging there on the bed on a lazy, rainy day, the embers of a fire crackling in the fireplace. She could see herself curled up next to him, leaning over to press a kiss to his lips- She shook her head abruptly to clear it. These were not thoughts she should be thinking. They were just partners, best friends, but nothing more. That's what she kept telling herself until she somewhat believed it. Scully continued her tour of the rooms, small, white walled rooms. The last stop was the room over the library. It was another white room, but this one had another half circle turret in the far corner. She was standing there looking over the street when Mulder caught up to her. "So? How does it sound?" she asked when he came to stand next to her. Mulder shrugged and moved to look out the turret windows with her. "It seems pretty good, actually. It's a large place, it's in good condition, the rent isn't too bad, a little more than I had hoped but nothing I can't afford. It's only about five minutes from your place," he finished, mumbling slightly under his breath. "What about the other tenants?" Scully asked. "Well, the apartment on the main floor is where the owners of the house live, an older couple. In the basement apartment are a couple of college kids. From what the real estate agent said the older couple is pretty lenient about the apartment, we can have any pets we want, don't have to get permission to repaint the rooms or change anything in here, things like that," Mulder finished, turning to face Scully. She looked up at him. "It does sound like a really good deal. You going to take it?" He shrugged again. "I think it's the best thing we've seen all day. I'll definitely consider it." Scully sighed and ran a hand along the molding of the turret. "I would have loved a room like this as a kid," she said dreamily, remembering the little talks she and Melissa had had as children about their dream houses. "So would Anabelle," Mulder said, leaning back against the corner where turret met room. "She's got a real thing about mediaeval things. You've seen some of the things she wears that she designed. Maybe it comes from growing up at Oxford, that place is as old as the hills. But I know she'd love this. She'd say it'd reminded her of a castle." Scully looked down at her watch, and bit her lip. "Hey Mulder, we better get going, her session's going to be over soon and we're late as it is." Mulder straightened up. "You're right. C'mon, let's get going." Together they walked out of the room and back downstairs. The real estate agent was waiting in the living room for them. "So," she began with a bright smile, "how did you and your wife like the house?" "We're not married," Mulder and Scully chorused, having practiced the line at the other apartments. "Actually it's for me and my daughter," Mulder said, clarifying the situation. "Okay," the agent nodded. "So, will we be hearing from you again?" she asked. "I think so," Mulder said. After they said their good-byes Mulder and Scully left, speeding towards the city to pick up Anabelle who they both knew would be very impatient and irritated at them if they were too late. Little did the know that the real estate agent was watching them drive off from the living room window, smiling. She could tell that those two had used the words 'just friends' concerning their relationship many times. But this house had a strange thing about it. In all her years in the business (and believe her it was a lot, despite her youthful appearance) she'd never seen a house that had so much luck in the matchmaking business. Actually what the house seemed to do was bring out feelings in people, more often that not romantic feelings, that they had been hiding for years. She walked to the door and went out, walking down the iron staircase to the front lawn where the 'apartment for rent' sign was, and pulled it out of the ground. Yes, this apartment was definitely sold. Sunday, March 20, 1998 "This place is incredible!" Anabelle said for what had to have been the thousandth time since they moved in two days ago. They had taken the time Anabelle had before starting school (which was the next day, a fact she was not at all happy about) to get the paperwork settled and get them into the new apartment. She walked down the first floor hall to see Mulder and Scully trying to adjust his black leather couch to just the right position in the living room, somewhere between the fireplace and the TV, which was directly opposite the fireplace. Anabelle perched herself on a stool near the island. "Hey are you sure you really want that couch there?" she said. Mulder straightened up and shot her an evil look, dusting off his t-shirt, grimy from all the moving they'd done that day. "Why is that?" She leaned against the island counter. "Well, I just figured that since this is a new house and everything we could get some new furniture to go with it. After all, the only furniture of mine that made it down from the city was a bookcase, luckily with the books still in it. I'm sleeping in a sleeping bag right now, I at least need a mattress." She held up an IKEA catalogue that was on the island. "This looks promising," she grinned. Mulder groaned and slumped against the arm of the couch. He looked over at Scully, who was standing there grinning with her arms crossed over her chest. "Is there any way you can persuade her out of this?" he asked pleadingly with the puppy dog eyes in place, even though using them on Scully never worked. Scully shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, Mulder. I've seen your stuff and I think that getting some new things can't hurt." "See," Anabelle cried, waving a hand at Scully, "she agrees with me!" Mulder looked back and forth between the two of them, and he suddenly realized that it was a futile effort to protest against the two ladies. 'Why is it that when it comes to the two of them I can't refuse them anything?' he thought. He mentally winced at the thought of spending a day buried in the middle of a department store, and groaned out loud. Anabelle grinned and looked at Scully, happy with her success at getting new furniture. Suddenly she hopped off her stool. "Hey, Dana," she said, "can you come upstairs with me? I need some help hanging up some posters I just got." "Sure," Scully said, and they headed upstairs. Mulder sighed explosively and fell back onto the couch, his legs dangling over the arm. No sooner did he relax did the doorbell ring. He moaned and hauled his tall frame up off the couch. When he got to the door and looked out the peephole he saw none other than the Three Stooges, a.k.a. the Lone Gunmen, all standing there with housewarming gifts. Mulder had nearly forgotten that he had told them that he was moving into the new place today. He also realized that they had never met Anabelle, nor did they have any idea she even existed. They were going to be in for one hell of a surprise. He pulled open the door and showed them in. "Hey, Mulder," Frohike said as they moved into the house and made themselves at home.. "We got you a little something for the new place." Langly held up a small black box. "See this thing? Can find even the smallest bugs hidden anywhere. Want us to give it a test run?" "Why don't we just have Mulder give us the grand tour first?" Byers piped up. "And where is the lovely Agent Scully?" Frohike asked. Mulder leaned back, perching himself on the back of the couch. "You guys finished?" he said with a smirk on his face. Before any of the men could speak again a sharp scream and a loud thud came from the upstairs. The Gunmen rushed upstairs at the sound of the scream. Mulder followed a little more slowly, knowing that the scream was from Anabelle and the thud was that box of clothes she had perched precariously on top of all the other boxes hitting the floor. He got upstairs just as the Gunmen were knocking on the door where the thud came from. Mulder pushed past them and opened the door, ignoring their looks. He opened the door to see Scully sitting on the bench seat surrounding the walls of the turret, doing something she rarely did-giggling. On the floor of the room was an overturned box, and a large pile of clothes. Sticking out of the bottom of the pile of clothes was a pair of feet clad in Snoopy socks. Mulder leaned against the doorjamb and laughed, it was just as he thought. From behind him the Gunmen were trying to figure out what the hell was going on, so they finally pushed their way into the room and saw something they couldn't really make sense of--a pile of clothes moving with feet poking out from under it. The Gunmen stared at each other, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. Finally the pile of clothes sat up, shirts falling away to reveal a girl with unruly rainbow painted hair. "Who are you?" Frohike said. Anabelle looked up at Mulder with an eyebrow arched. "They don't know?" she said with a teasing lilt to her voice. She got up and brushed the remaining clothes off her. "Boy are you gonna have explaining to do." She began to walk out of the room amidst the stares of the Gunmen, but was stopped by Mulder grabbing onto the belt loops of her jeans. "Who is she?" Byers asked, wanting to know what was happening. Scully sat back on the bench seat, waiting to see how things played out, and to, if necessary, pick the Gunmen's jaws' up off the floor. The Gunmen looked at Mulder expectantly. "Well?" Langly prompted. Mulder looked down at Anabelle, still struggling to get away. "Guys, this is Anabelle...my daughter." The three men stood there open-mouthed, until Byers finally got something out. "Daughter? As in..." Here Anabelle butted in. "As in he knocked up my birth mother, who is, thankfully, very dead." Frohike looked over at Scully. "And you knew about this?" Scully just sat back and smiled. The end of this part, but don't worry, there will be more. Next-Anabelle's first day of school....this ought to be interesting. ;)
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