Mulder's Creek Season One (17 stories) author: Neoxphile Feedback: Neoxphile@aol.com Genre: Virtual series Crossover X-files/Dawson's Creek Rating: pg-13 Website: www.geocities.com/mulderscreek disclaimer: I’m borrowing these characters from 1310 and Warner Brothers, I do not own them So you understand how this works in my mind, here’s where reality is twisted about to fit the story: Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Doggett, Reyes, Kryck and Fowley are sixteen year old sophomores in high school. Skinner and Reyes are twins, and Doggett often find himself on the outs with his uptight older brother, Kresh, a rookie cop. Season one was intitially posted at the X-Files OS between 10/22/2001 and 5/19/2002. *** Mulder’s Creek: 01 Bump in the Night Summary: The virtual pilot to this series.As Halloween approaches, some Capesiders are entangled in unrequited love (Scully likes Mulder who only notices Fowley) while others concern themselves with the planning of a last minute Halloween party. To complete the spookiness of a Halloween night, the gang finds themselves with a corpse on the twins’ front lawn and a possible murder suspect roaming the property. ** Opening Scene Mulder and Scully sit on his bed, watching E.T. "Now that, that’s what I’m talking about." Mulder says, gesturing to the TV screen. "You’ve got to be kidding me." Her eyes narrowed in disbelief, she unconsciously throttles the baby alien doll on Mulder’s bed. "No, it’s true!" "You’re trying to tell me that ET broke into this house and stole your sister? " "Yes. Or rather an alien who closely resembled him did." "Mulder, you don’t have a sister. I’ve known you since we were five. You’ve never had a sister." "I’ve told you a thousand times, it happened when I was four and she was a baby." "And your parents have never once mentioned her in the 12 years I’ve known them, nor kept any pictures of her?" "They don’t like to think about it." "You’re delusion, Mulder." Mulder sighs and returns his gaze to the TV. ** Theme song: "Stranded" by Plumb ** Tuesday morning, Capeside high school Mulder and Scully are putting away their books when Skinner and Reyes walk up to them. "Guess what! Guess what!" Reyes exclaims happily. "What?" Mulder asks, giving Skinner a look that asks- is she on her meds? Skinner nods. Reyes doesn’t notice the silent conversation and says "It took some doing, but we convinced Dad to let Skinner and I have a Halloween party. You’ll come right?" she asks, looking slightly less excited and a little nervous. "Of course." Scully answers for the two of them. She and Reyes aren’t the best of friends, but she hates to see that look of teetering self-esteem on Reyes’ face. Mulder smiles brightly at them both. Scully has no idea why. "Great!" "Hey, have you seen Fowley and Doggett? We’re planning to invite them too." Skinner says, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Before Mulder or Scully can reply, Krycek, walks up and gives them a smirk "Did I hear something about a party?" Reyes gives him a dirty look and says "Yes, but you’re not on the guest list." Krycek gives her his best hurt look "Are you still holding the E incident against me? I was a perfect gentleman as I recall, given your…incapacitated state." "Thanks only to my brother and Doggett as I recall." Doggett sneaks up behind her and puts his hand over her eyes. "Guess who?" "Um…is it the handsome guy I’m dating?" Doggett uncovers her eyes. "Hey, I thought I was the only one you were dating!" He says laughing. "You are!" she says and playfully punches his shoulder. Scully rolls her eyes, and looks away only to see Fowley approaching. Her expression turns icy when she notices Mulder’s eyes lock on Fowley. Jealousy that she tries to quickly smother wells up when Mulder waves her over. "What are we talking about today?" Fowley asks. "The Halloween party that Skinner and I are having. You and Doggett are both invited, of course." "Great, I love the chance to dress up." Fowley says. I’ll bet, Scully thinks unkindly. "What about you, Mulder, you going to be there?" Doggett asks. "Of course, wouldn’t miss it. Why do you ask?" "I don’t know, Mulder, I sort of thought you have other plans." "Like?" "Like sitting in a pumpkin patch waiting for the great pumpkin to come." "Very funny." "You do believe in some pretty strange stuff." Doggett says. Mulder looks annoyed. Doggett is his oldest friend, but he never takes anything seriously. First bell rings, and Mr. CSM, the history teacher, shoots them disapproving looks because they don’t immediately dash off to class. "You will never learn the truth by lolly-gagging in the hallways. Get to class." Mr. CSM himself coughs and walks to the teachers’ smoking lounge for a quick cigarette before his first class. Not wanting to be caught in the hallway at the final bell, the group goes their separate ways, and Sully wanders to her art class trying to think of a costume that will make her look more stunning than Fowley. ** 4pm at the docks Fowley sits on one of the docks looking out at the water. Mulder notices her there alone and walks up to talk to her. "Why so glum, Fowley? You look like your dog just ran away." "I don’t have a dog. I’ve just been…thinking." "About what? Nothing pleasant, I take it." "I was thinking about Spender." "Spender? Why?" "Come on, Mulder, he died right here. And I saw it. It’s hard to get past feeling guilty ever time I walk by here." "He fell in and drown. It was an accident, and it’s not like you pushed him, you were just there." "Just there helping him get so drunk that he thought hanging out here after dark was a good idea." "Fowley, don’t beat yourself up over this." Fowley stares off and starts talking as if she hadn’t heard him. "Some times when I’m here I get this feeling like I’m going to turn around and find him standing there behind me." "Now you’re starting to sound like Reyes." "Well before you book me the room next to hers for a summer of crazy camp, let me assure you that I don’t really believe he’ll be there. It’s just a feeling, that’s all." Mulder smiles at her. "So, you want to come over tonight? Scully and I are watching Silence of the Lambs." "Ohhh, a movie about a psycho. I met enough of them when I was living in NY, sorry. Besides, Gram is throwing a dinner party for the church league, and I’m expected to put in an appearance." "Well, if you can slip away and decide you can stand a little Lecter, the offer is still open." "Thanks." ** 4:30 p.m., at the Ice House Scully and Skinner bus tables while Scully’s sister Bessie prepares food in the kitchen for the dinner rush. Skinner holds up a slightly coffee stained $10 dollar bill. "Looks like someone was happy with our service." "A happy customer is a repeat customer." Bessie sings from the next room. "Bat ears." Scully whispers. "So I guess we’ll split it three ways." Skinner says loudly, and grins at Scully. A few minutes later Skinner follows Scully out back for their break, the last one they could possibly get in before thongs of people started showing up. "Skinner, do you think I’m as pretty as Fowley?" she asks, self consciously playing with a lock of hair. "Before I risk an answer, explain to me why exactly I was chosen to give an opinion on the matter." Scully throws up her hands. "You’re a guy, you have eyes." "I’m glad to know I meet your exacting criteria." "Well?" she asks, putting a hand on her hip. "Well, you’re both very pretty in different ways." "That’s all you’re going to say?" "Hey, I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em." "Thanks, I guess. Hey, can you do me a favor?" "Name it." "Convince your sister that she needs to know what Fowley is going to wear. If she asks about me, tell her you'll get the secret out of me." "And I’m doing this why?" "I need to know what the competition is wearing in order to pick a costume accordingly." Skinner give a world-weary sigh and goes back inside. ** 5pm Costume shop Reyes is joyfully looking for a costume, while dragging Doggett, who posses reluctance, up and down the isles. "Romeo and Juliet." "That couple from Natural Born Killers." Doggett counters. Reyes grimaces. "Fred and Wilma." "Siskle and Ebert." "Siskle is dead." "Then you can be him." "Rob and Laura Petrie." "That’s been done to death. Mortica and Gomez Adams." Reyes eyes lit up. "Oh! That has possibilities. Let’s do that." "Sure. Now, am I going to be Mortica, or are you?" "Doggett!" Twenty minutes later they had reserved the costumes and were on the way out the door. "Finally." Doggett exclaimed. "Now we can go home." "Not so fast. We need to go to the party store and buy supplies." "Oh boy." ** Wednesday afternoon, at the high school Mulder is on his way to his 5th period class when Krycek dashes up to him. "So Mulder, inquiring minds want to know." "Know what?" "Which of the lovely ladies you’re taking with you to the party." "You mean the one you’re not invited to?" "That’s moot. And you’re ducking the issue. Which girl is going to be on your arm Halloween night?" Mulder looks bemused, he hasn’t thought about bringing anyone. "I don’t know." He said honestly. "Well, I hope I’m the first person who gets the 411 on the issue." "Fat chance. Aren’t you supposed to be stalking someone right now or something?" "Nah, not until 7th." Mulder shakes his head and goes to history. ** That night Mulder and Doggett do a little late fishing at the creek. Doggett has caught half a dozen choggies (catfish) but Mulder keeps loosing his before he gets a chance to reel them in. "Man, what’s up? You usually fish twice as well as I do, and tonight all you’ve caught is a plant. It’s a nice enough plant, but...what’s eating you?" "Well, I ran into Krycek this afternoon-" "That guy. What a jerk. But you were saying?" "And he asked me if I was going to take Fowley or Scully to the party." Mulder finished. Doggett baited his hook and cast before asking, "So? Why would the question bother you? I’d just of told him to mind his own business." "I did, basically. But I hadn’t thought about who to bring. Who am I supposed to bring, anyway?" "I dunno, which one do you want to bring?" "I...You know I like Fowley, but I don’t know if she’d say yes if I asked her. And I sort of feel like I should go with Scully since we’ve always done something at Halloween..." Mulder trails off helplessly, and shrugs. "Mulder, there’s only one thing you can do in a situation like this." "What?" Mulder asks semi-eagerly. "Go stag. That way no one gets hurt, and neither girl is madder at you than the other. If they ask why, say you didn’t think this was the sort of party you take a date to." "Doggett, you’re a genius." "But sadly, so few people understand my vast intellect." Mulder grins, and actually reels in a fish this time, to go along with the nice enough plant. ** 10pm that night at the Potter house Scully picks up the phone. We only here her side of the conversation. "Hello, Potter residence, Scully speaking, who’s calling? Oh, hi Skinner, what’s up?" she pauses to listen. "That’s great. I knew if anyone could convince your sister to find out...she’s going as what? You’re kidding, right? Oh, that’s great. Thanks for letting me know. See you tomorrow." Scully hangs up the phone and smiles as she goes to get ready for bed. ** 4:30pm Halloween night at the McPhee residence- Reyes and Doggett finish carving pumpkins while Skinner drapes fake cobwebs around the house. Mr. McPhee walks into the living room. "Reyes, I’m impressed. You and Skinner have done a great job." "Thanks, Dad." She held up her pumpkin, which had a dripping face carved into it, up for him to see "What do you think?" "It’s spooky looking. Now, you and your brother know I don’t want any drinking going on here, right?" "Of course." "All right then. I need to go to the office, but if you need me just give me a call." He said, as he walked out the door. "You know, you and Skinner are pretty lucky to have a dad who trust you. My dad, he doesn’t trust me as far as he could throw me. That’s why he’s always got Kersh tailing me." "And here I thought it was brotherly love that prompted Kersh to look out for you." "Nope, it’s love of kissing Dad’s butt. All done." He put down his pumpkin and got up to wash his hands. "I think it’s time to get dressed, don’t you?" ** Two hours later Skinner answers the door. "Hey, Mulder, great alien costume. Where’d you find it?" "Mom helped me make it. I showed her a bunch of pictures of grays, and that’s all she needed to go by." Mulder said, peering through the huge eyeholes in the costume. "Well, we all knew she was talented." "That uniform looks real." Mulder said, admiring Skinner’s army outfit. "It used to be my dad’s." Just then the doorbell rings again, and this time it’s Fowley. "Wow. You’re a green M&M. Sweet." Skinner exclaims. Mulder just nods slightly surprised, but more wondering where Scully is. Fifteen minutes later Reyes was trying to get people to do the Monster Mash when the doorbell rang again. Mulder jumped up and said, "I’ll get it." If there was anything more that he hated more than the Monster Mash, he didn’t know what it was. He opened the door, to find Krycek in a Toga. Mulder frowned at him. "Hey, you weren’t invited. Oh my God…"Scully came in right behind him, dressed as little Red Riding Hood. A very grown up one at that, with a lacy short skirt under the red velvet hood. Krycek leers at her. "Thanks for distracting from my party crashing, Red. Maybe I should have come as the big bad wolf." He practically purrs. Until Scully punches him in the chest. "Don’t call me Red." She growls in his ear, then goes to join the party. Mulder trails behind her, finally remembering to shut his mouth. All eyes are on Scully, until the power suddenly goes out and a blood curdling scream is heard from outside. Only the glow of the numerous Jack O Lanterns shows the shocked look on every face. ** Then an insistent pounding on the door begins. At first no one moves, but then Skinner walks up to the door. There’s a groan of protest when he reaches for the doorknob, but he decides to peek out the side window instead. Eyes widened in alarm when he opens the door, but there’s a collective sigh of relief when Byers, Langly and Frohike, who are dressed as star trek characters, stumble through the doorway. "Shut it, shut it shut it!" Byers nearly screams. Langly, who is the closest, nearly falls over himself in his haste to shut the door. Reyes looks pale, but she bravely asks, "What’s out there?" She also decides this is a bad time to note that the older boys are an hour late to the party. Frohike’s eyes looked wild. "It’s terrible. There’s a dead girl out on the lawn." Mulder thinks he must really be shaken, the senior usually took ever opportunity to hit on Scully, and he hasn’t even seemed to notice what she is wearing. "Are you…are you sure? Maybe it’s just a person playing a prank." Reyes says. "I’ve never seen someone fake having their throat ripped out quite that well." Byers says with a shudder. "Who did it?" Doggett asks. "I’m not sure we’re looking so much for a who as a what Langly says. "Who’s the girl?" "We didn’t look long enough to find out," Langly says a bit defensively. "Well, one us is going to have to figure out who she is. Was. "Reyes says. "Yeah. And Mulder, you need to find what ever it was that killed her." Frohike says. Mulder looks startled. "Me? Why me?" "You’re the one who knows the most about this supernatural stuff." "We don’t even know it’s something supernatural. I’m a brave enough guy, but I’m not going out there all alone. What if it’s just some psycho with a knife? It’s too dangerous." Says Mulder. "He’s right." Says Scully. "We should split up into teams. "Mulder stares at her, which wasn’t exactly what he has in mind. Unfortunately, it seems he’s the only one who thinks that this should be a matter left to the police. "Ok." Says Reyes, the natural born delegator. "I think Scully is right. Skinner, Doggett and I will try to find out who the dead girl is. Krycek will stay here and call the cops, then go home. Langly Byers and Frohike will look for this thing to the north of the house, and Scully, Mulder and Fowley will check to the south." It’s hard to tell who looks more thrilled by the prospect, Scully or Fowley. Everyone else looks scared still, but they agree to Reyes plan. As Mulder, Scully and Fowley prepare to go outside, Mulder hears Krycek say "Some guys have all the luck," rather forlornly, and, for once, Frohike nods sympathetically. At the last minute Mulder decides to leave his mask behind. As it is, he thinks, it’s going to be weird enough for an alien, an M&M and Little red riding hood to be roaming around the woods looking for god knows what. When they’re outside Mulder peers into the dark in both directions. He muses aloud "South is…"both girls immediately point to the right. He’s too stunned that they agree on something to even be offended that they didn’t let him try to figure it out on his own. The piece of property that the McPhees own is inordinately large for the Cape, mostly wooded, so they know there’s a lot of ground to cover. They trudge off in the correct direction, listening carefully for…anything. ** Out on the front lawn Doggett, Skinner, and Reyes shine flashlights on the still body of the girl. Reyes looks sad. "I know who this is." "Who?" Doggett asks. "Nina Smith, she was a seventh grader. He older brother is in our grade." "Dave?" Skinner asks. "Yeah." Reyes agrees. "Oh man…this is going to kill him. He’s one of those guys that is totally involved in their families." Doggett says, suddenly remembering seeing Dave play with his younger siblings. "Yeah, we better go see if Krycek called the police like I told him to." Reyes says, shaking her head one last time. ** Meanwhile, Scully spots a small family cemetery. "Looks like the previous owners buried their loved ones out here." "Way previous." Mulder says. "I bet it hasn’t been used since the 1800’s." Scully nods her agreement. "I think we should check it out." Mulder follows her, and thinks he sees a flicker of movement behind one of the headstones. He runs towards it, and doesn’t realize that Fowley hasn’t been following them until he hears a scream behind them. He and Scully whirl around, and run as fast as they can, hoping it’s not too late. ** Kersh stands over the dead girl and shakes his head. "They were afraid that this was going to happen." "Who was afraid that what was going to happen?" Doggett asks. "The cops were, since this is obviously the result of a wolf attack." "You think wolves did this?" "Yup, that’s what I’m trying to tell you little brother." "I admit to not having a history of good grades, but even I know there hasn’t been a wolf spotted around here since before any of us standing here were born. So how could it be a wolf??" Doggett asks in frustration. "The zoo." "The zoo? You’ve losing me here, Kersh." "About four hours ago the Franklin Zoo reported that someone broke in and freed some wolves." "So you think that this girl here was killed by a Franklin park wolf." "Right." Kersh says, in a tone one would take with a slow child. "How fast can you run, Kersh?" "What does that have to do with anything?" "Just answer the question." "I dunno, around eight miles an hour." "For how long?" "An hour." "So, if a grown man can only run eight miles, do you really believe a wolf can cover 75 miles in four hours?" "Well…"Kersh looks sort of embarrassed. "It’s still the most logical possibility." He insists stubbornly "And Mulder thinks an over-reliance on logic is my problem..." Doggett says ruefully. Leaving Kersh to poke at the body, he turns to see Reyes on the steps, pointing a finger at Krycek. "I don’t care if you wore anything under your toga or not, and I certainly don’t want to see. Get the hell off my steps and go home!" Doggett takes a menacing step towards Krycek, who then holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender and walks off, still smirking. "Did you hear something?" Byers asked. They are deep into the north woods themselves, and Byers jumps every time one of them steps on a branch. "For the thousandth time, it’s only our feet." Frohike says exasperatedly. "We’re perfectly safe as long as we stay together. It’s statistically…"Langly trails off as they hear a large crash behind them. The bushes tremble as something heads straight for them. ** "Oh my God, that must be Fowley!" Mulder yelps, as if repeating the blindingly obvious is helpful in the situation. "Mulder, I thought you were both right behind me." "So did I. I guess when we ran towards those grave stones, she didn’t." He looks around, as if hoping he’s wrong. "Let’s go! We’ll do a lot better looking for her than standing here talking about it. Come on!" "I thought you didn’t like her." Mulder asks, looking perplexed. "For God’s sake, Mulder! There’s a big difference between not liking someone and wanting them to get their throat ripped out. I thought you’d be able to tell the difference." Scully says, stunned that he’d think she’d be less concerned than he is. "Uh...the scream came from that direction." He says, point the flashlight with one hand, and grabbing hers with his free hand. Scully can’t but help to feel a mix of joy and dismay as his fingers wrap around her smaller ones- if only it meant something to him too. But as they stumble through the over-growth, she knows it doesn’t. They’re just keeping close to try to find the girl he wants before it’s too late. ** Frohike grabs for a large stick, but Langly and Byers seem frozen with fear. Frohike pulls the stick above his head as the bushes part, prepared to bash whatever is on the other side. That is, until the bushes croak "help." He lets the stick fall from his fingers as Fowley falls towards him. Langly and Byers look greatly embarrassed and run over to try to help her to her feet. "Don’t." She moans. "I think my ankle is broken." So they help her sit instead. "What happened?" Frohike asks, as he takes off his coat and drapes it around her, secretly glad to have been the only one to think it was getting cold out. "I..I...Do you realize you’re heading north instead of south?" They shrug, they got turned around several times. "I was with Scully and Mulder, and I saw something behind me. Before I got a chance to tell them, they were running towards a little graveyard. I can’t quite explain why, but I decided to look for whatever it was myself. I didn’t find it, but I did find a big root to trip over. It was too cold to lie there and wait for someone to help, so I decided to crawl back towards the house..." "I’m glad you found us, even if you did scare the crap out of us." Langley says. "We’ll help you back to the house and call an ambulance." Says Byers. "If you can point out the right direction that is." Fowley grits her teeth and points. ** "Stop." Scully whispers, yanking on Mulder’s hand. Before he can say a word she holds a finger to her lips, then continued to whisper. "There’s something over there." He peers deeply into the woods and at last sees a flicker of movement. He leans towards Scully and cups his hand around his mouth. "Do you think it’s Fowley?" She shakes her head. He struggles for a moment, should they look for Fowley, who hasn’t screamed again and might be dead, or follow her probable assailant? At last logic wins over feelings, and he whispers "I think we better find out who that is." They begin to advance on the figure as quietly as they can. ** Kersh gets a report that the missing wolf has been picked up 30 miles from there, so he’s concerned that whatever is in the woods is more dangerous than he originally thought. As soon as he can get away from the body- after the coroner’s office sends someone for it, he orders everyone into the McPhee house, which fortunately has power again, to wait with Fowley for the ambulance to arrive. He sighs in frustration when he realizes that his brother’s best friend and the girl they hang out with are unaccounted for. "You kids stay in here, no matter what. If not, I might be able to manufacture a few underage drinking charges." He threatens them. "But no one has been drinking!" Doggett protests. "I’m sure that will make a difference to your parents." Kersh says flippantly. "All I’m asking is that you stay inside and watch horror movies and eat snacks while I go looking for the other two kids. I’m sure you can handle it." Knowing that Kersh is just looking out for their safety, the reluctantly agree. Kersh checks his gun before he starts out to find Mulder and Scully. He gives the Jack O’ Lanterns a dirty look, and is reminded how much he hates Halloween. ** The person they’re following, if it’s a person, is so far ahead of them that they stop whispering, they figure that as long as he/she/it is in sight, that’s good enough. "I hope she’ll forgive me for not keeping looking for her. If she’s still alive that is. I mean the first time we heard a scream like that, there ended up being a dead girl on Skinner and Reyes front yard. This does make more sense though, right? It’s not as if we know where she even is, and the responsible party is right in front of us..." Mulder rambles on nervously. Since Scully doesn’t know of anything reassuring to say to him, she decides to distract him instead, even though it’s not a conversation she wants to have. "So, you really like her. Why?" "It’s hard to explain. She’s not like anyone else I know... Of course I know other girls who are pretty and smart, but she believes in all my silliness, and that’s a heady sort of thing. But she doesn’t even seem to notice that I’m interested in her. She just sees me as a friend, and it kills me. But why am I telling you? It’s not like you can relate." Scully is glad for the dark, because of it he can’t see the expression on her face. Suddenly, the person they are following notices them, and begins to run. They follow suit, and crash through the underbrush after the fleeing figure. Kersh hears the sounds of rushing feet and yells "Stop!" but no one does. Instead someone runs into him and almost knocks him over. As soon as he sees the blood on the person who almost knocks him over, he pulls out his cuffs and begins reading the person their rights. Scully and Mulder come out of the woods a moment later, and Kersh glares at them; he’ll read them the riot act next. ** 11:05pm Halloween Night, Mulder’s room Mulder hangs up the phone as Scully climbs in his window. "Hey, I just got off the phone with Doggett. Kersh told him that the guy we chased to him was the one who killed Nina. It was her ex-boyfriend, and he was more than a little bitter about their break up. Kersh was partly right about what he said to Doggett about the wolves, though, the boyfriend confessed to having heard that news report so he tried to make it look like a wolf had killed her." "I’m glad that we were wrong about him hurting Fowley. I guess breaking an ankle is a good reason for a blood-curdling scream, too." Scully says. "Yeah. She got to go home about an hour ago. She says we should sign her cast tomorrow." "Sure." "You know, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you..." Mulder says with a wicked grin. "What?" Scully asks, curious about the look she’s getting. Mulder starts to sing off-key and reaches for her "Hey there little red riding hood, you sure as looking good. You’re everything the big bad wolf could want...." and dissolves into laughs as she giggles and tries to squirm away from his tickling. Scene pulls back through the open window to a wolf howling on a hill under the full moon. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: New Order ("Crystal") Hoobastank ("Crawling in the dark") Jimmy Eat World ("The Middle") And Rebeckah ("Pining") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 02 The Missing Summary: Reyes signs everyone up to work with little kids after school as an extra curricular activity. By the end of the day eight of the kids are missing. Opening Scene Mulder’s room. Mulder and Scully are in the middle of a somewhat heated debate. "Alright, I’ll grant you that The Patriot was a good movie even if it wasn’t directed by Spielberg , but Health Ledger?" "Yup." Scully says. "But he’s so...so blond and Australian." "I know! I love his accent." She gushes. "But accents don’t make people attractive." Mulder objects. Scully gives him a patronizing look. "You know so little." "Hey!" he protests. "I’m entitled to my opinion, Mulder. You picked Natalie Portman as most attractive person, I picked him. End of debate." She says with an air of finality. "I know, but Heath Ledger..." he mumbles, ducking when she throws a pillow at him. A pillow fight, amidst laughter ensues. ** Theme song: "Stranded" By Plumb ** 2pm at the High school Reyes has told everyone to meet her at the front stairs after school because she has a surprise for them. Everyone is gathered around waiting for her. She runs up out of breath. "This is going to be so much fun." She assures them. "What’s going to be so much fun, sweetie?" Doggett asks, looking at her warily. "Um, yeah." Fowley says. "You didn’t exactly tell us what it is where doing." Scully, Mulder and Skinner decide to say nothing, hoping that an absence of comments will induce Reyes to spit it out. "Well," Reyes starts, smiling. "You know that we need to do stuff in order to get into college-" "Like homework?" Doggett asks. "That too. I mean extra-curricular stuff." "You didn’t." Fowley says. "So I signed us all up to do an activity together." Reyes says. Mulder and Scully exchange uh-oh looks. "So Sis, what are we doing?" Skinner asks, trying to be as light-hearted as possible, though he’s not happy about this either. "We’re going to be mentors to a group of third graders once a week." She says. Doggett breathes a sigh of relief, he was afraid she was going to say Math Team. "Little kiddies I can handle. When do we meet the rug rats?" He smiles at everyone, but the look in his eyes tells them they dare not make a fuss. So no one does. "Thursday. "Reyes says, looking pleased with herself. "Great." They chorus, then split up for home. Mulder runs after Fowley. "Do you mind if I walk with you?" He asks. "No, come if you want." She tells him. "Good, because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about." He says, and earns an apprehensive look from her. ** "What did you want to talk about?" she asks, trying to keep the dread out of her voice. She’s sure that she knows what’s on his mind, and equally sure she doesn’t want to talk about it." "Here, let me take your book bag," he says, stalling for time. "Your crutches are enough to deal with." Sensing that that this is the wrong time for the discussion he wanted, he scrambles for another topic. "Thanks," Fowley says as she hands over the bag and gives him an uncertain look. "You were saying?" "Oh, Doggett and I were talking about rounding up people to go to a holiday concert next month. I’m pretty sure that Guster and 6Gig are going to be there, and a couple of national acts too. We saw Fuel and Disturbed last year. I was wondering if you’re at all interested, since I want an idea of how many tickets to buy." Mulder says, hoping that it’s a good enough cover story. "Yeah, sure. Count me in." She says, confused. "Ok, then. Oh here’s your house, do you need help up the stairs?" "Uh, no thanks." "Well bye then." He says, rushing off, leaving her to maneuver the stairs by herself. Fowley watches him go, wondering why. ** 4:30pm, at the Ice House Scully shuts the door to the storage room so she can mope in private. Watching Mulder run after Fowley hurt worse than she could bear to admit. No matter how hard she tried to, she couldn’t figure out why Mulder wanted Fowley…and not her. It wasn’t until there was a knock at the door that she realizes she’d been crying. "Just a second." She says, quickly rubbing away her tears. She takes a deep breath and tries to put on a calm face before opening the door. "Sorry, I was putting something up on a shelf behind the door. "Okay." Skinner says. "I think you missed a spot." He reaches and brushes a tear she missed off her cheek. "Damn. I thought I’d gotten them all." "Your eyes and cheeks are all red, so I would have noticed anyway. You want to talk about it?" She shrugs, sits on a crate, and looks at her hands. "What’s wrong with me?" She whispers. "Hey," Skinner says, squeezing her shoulder. "It’s not you that there’s something wrong with. Mulder’s the one who’s wrong." "You don’t understand. You and Reyes just moved here, you don’t know what it’s been like growing up with him. It’s like I’ve always been his friend, and I was just waiting for him to get past the ‘girls are icky’ stage to really notice me. Then he finally does get to that point, and notices her instead." "Maybe you don’t know it, but he notices you too. You should have seen the look he gave you when you first got to the Halloween party. ‘Girls are icky’ is not what was written all over his face. " "Then why?" She demands, throwing her hands in the air. "I think you scare him." Skinner says. "Me? I’m hardly an imposing figure." "It’s not anything you’ve done, just who you are." "That’s so much better." She says unhappily. "No, you don’t understand. What I mean is that a lot of guys get scared if they realize too young that they’re found someone perfect for them. So they run the other way to avoid the inevitable. " "So when do they stop running?" She asks. "Depends on the guy." Skinner says. "If you weren’t gay I’d kiss you." Scully says, giving him a hug. "Thanks, I sort of feel better, at least about myself." "No problem." ** After dinner at the Lindley house Grams is making a pie, and Fowley is rolling out the crust for another. Or at least she’s trying to. "Fowley, I don’t think your mind is on this." Grams says, as she pours apples into a pie shell. Fowley shrugs. "I guess not." "So, are you going to tell me what’s the matter?" Grams asks gently. "It’s Mulder." "That boy next door?" "Yeah, him." Fowley says. "I thought he was going to tell me that he likes me today, but he didn’t." "Well, maybe he was scared to." "That’s ok, I’m just worried about when he does tell me." "Do you like him?" Grams asks. Fowley shakes her head. "He’s a nice guy, but…" "Not the type you want as a boyfriend." Grams finishes. "I just don’t know what I’m going to tell him." Fowley says, getting up to pace. "Your heart will tell you what is right, when the time comes." "Grams, I hope you’re right." "You’ll see, Fowley. I may be older, but I still know a thing or two about love and friendship." ** 7pm at the video store Doggett is putting out the new releases, while Mulder trails after him. "Out with it, Man. I can’t take this ‘me and my shadow’ stuff much longer. You’re not here to rent a movie, or work." Doggett adds pointedly. "So why are you here?" "I really screwed up today with Fowley." Mulder admits. "How so?" "I asked her to go to the Holiday Bizarre with us." "My god, how could you? No one ever wants to be invited to a concert. You’ll never recover from this social stupid gaffe. " "No, it was a mistake because I meant to tell her about how I felt, not invite her to a concert with a bunch of other people." "Well, that makes more sense." Doggett says as he catches the video that is falling off the top of the stack he’s carrying. "Why’d you make the substitution, though?" "She was acting sort of strange towards me, so I sensed my timing was off. Maybe I should have told her anyway, though, if only to have it over with." "Well, tell her the next chance you get." "But how? I’m almost glad she was acting weird because I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say. I’ve tried rehearsing it a hundred times in my head, but it never sounds right." "Why are you asking me?" Doggett asks. "Because you’re better with girls than I am." Mulder says earnestly. "Yes, Doggett Witter is the reining king of finding new ways to be rejected by girls." Doggett sardonically replies. "Not all of them. Reyes fell for your not so subtle charms. Advise me." Mulder pleads. "Alright Mulder, this is what you do. Walk her home from our afternoon with the little people, and when you walk by the docks, find an excuse to stop. Then look her in the eyes and say ‘ From the moment I met you, I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind. I don’t know if you feel the same or not, but it doesn’t really matter, because one day you will. I love you Scully." "Fowley." Mulder corrected. "What?" "You said Scully when you meant Fowley." Doggett shrugs and gives Mulder an irritated look. "The brunette, the redhead, whichever." "Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind." Mulder says, then smiles and leaves the store. ** Thursday morning, at the High School Reyes and Doggett talk about what they’re doing that afternoon. Reyes gives Doggett an anxious look. "Are you sure they’re not mad at me?" "For the thousandth time, yes. No one of them has said anything negative about spending time with the kiddies once a week." "What if they decided not to tell you either, knowing that I’d ask you, and that you wouldn’t lie to me, and- " "They’re fine with it. We’ll all have fun. And even if we don’t, it’s only an hour a week." Doggett says. "I guess. I just don’t like having people mad at me." "No one is mad!" "I guess you’re right." "I always am." "Liar." Reyes says, laughing. Doggett gives a pretend sigh, and laughs too. ** At the elementary school A group of seven and eight year olds chase each other around the library, screaming. The exasperated librarian gives up trying to shush them and puts her head on her desk. Doggett, Reyes, Mulder, Scully, Skinner, and Fowley stare at the program director in dismay. Other teens complain bitterly that this isn’t what they signed up for. "They’re not always like this." She apologizes. "Most of them still have the Halloween candy they got last week. So they’re a little wired." "An understatement." Skinner says. A few minutes later the gang finds themselves assigned to their own small person. Doggett’s is a smart ass, which Mulder whispers is fitting, since he’s just like Doggett was as a little boy. The little boys Mulder and Skinner work with seem thrilled to have the older boys’ attention, and the little girls assigned to Scully, Reyes and Fowley seem very sweet. The hour is over before they know it. They tell the kids they will see them next week, and think it’s cute when they are begged not to leave. Scully leaves before Mulder gets a chance to say good-bye, which he feels slightly hurt about. He offers to walk her home, and is relieved when she says she’d like that. He stops by the docks as Doggett suggests. "Mulder, why are you stopping?" Fowley asks, leaning on her crutches. "I think you need something besides Spender’s death to associate with this spot." he says shyly. "A good thing or another bad one?" she asks before she can stop herself. "I guess that depends on how you see it. I want you to know that….I like you. A lot." He blurts out. Fowley looks at the ground. "Mulder…"she struggles. Mulder feels a pain rip through him, but he knows that deep down it’s what he expected all along. "I know, you don’t feel the same. But I needed you to know." He says with as strong a voice as he can manage. "You don’t hate me?" She asks, looking hopeful. "Of course not. I’m rational enough to know that people don’t always feel the way we want them to…but someday you might." He says, his eyes bright with emotion. "I-" "Don’t say anything. I’m not pressuring you, but in exchange don’t leave me entirely bereft of hope." Mulder says, not looking at her. The rest of the walk home is silent. ** 6pm at the Leary home Mulder spends most of the remainder of the afternoon outside, so he can be alone with his thoughts. His stomach eventually reminds him that he’s expected to eat dinner with his parents, so he heads in the house. His mother is speaking on the phone and says "Oh here he is" to whomever is on the line before handing him the phone. Mulder takes it warily, and quickly decides to hang up if it’s Fowley; he can’t take any more discussion of that mess with her. He’s surprised when he hears a familiar voice say, "Mulder? This is Kersh Witter. Your Mom says you’re about to eat dinner, but I need you to come down to the station as soon as you can." "Am I in some sort of trouble?" Mulder asks, confused as to why he could eat dinner first if he was, even his best friend's brother would find it hard to justify bending the rules for a serious offense. "No. I’ll explain when you get here." Kersh says, and hangs up. Mulder doesn’t sit down to eat immediately, because within five minutes he gets two more calls- from Scully, Skinner and Reyes- saying that they too have received the mysterious summons to the police station. Skinner’s dad agrees to let him drive the rest of them there, so Mulder anxiously waits out front for him as soon as he puts his plate in the dishwasher. The four of them are able to establish in the car that Kersh had said no more or less about what he wanted to any of them. Mulder frets the entire time that Fowley might have received a call too, and tries to brace himself for her possible appearance there. 15 minutes later they find themselves being escorted into a conference room where a few of their classmates were already seated. Mulder is happy that none of them is Fowley. A couple of minutes later Kersh walks into the room looking gravely concerned. He clears his throat and says "I’m sorry to have to have called you here tonight, but we have a serious situation going on, and any help you could offer to solve this would be much appreciated." The teens look at each other in confusion- Kersh’s preamble has done little to clear up why they’re sitting in a police station instead of doing their homework or watching TV. Kersh apparently decides that he should cut to the chase, because he tells them why they are there. "I don’t like having to tell you this, but the reason I’ve asked you to come down here is that some time after you left the elementary school this afternoon, the students you worked with today were reported missing by their parents. I want to assure you that we aren’t suspecting any of you, and that the children were all accounted for well after you left the premise. We’re hoping that someone might have remembered seeing a suspicious person hanging around the school, or having heard the children planning to do something after school without their parents’ knowledge." All eight faces look at him in shock and alarm. Capeside wasn’t the type of town you heard of one child disappearing in, never mind eight. Scully squeezed Reyes hand, because she thought Reyes looked like she was about to cry. Reyes tried to put on a braver face before asking Kersh, "Do you think...that they’re dead?" she let out a shuddering sigh after, it was the worst question anyone in the room could ask, and they had to face the answer. Kersh shook his head. "At this point we have no reason to suspect that they won’t be found unharmed. It’s important, however, given how young the children are, to find them as quickly as possible." He asks each of them if they can remember anything useful, but none of them gives him anything but helpless shrugs. He hands out his card and asks that they call him if they do remember something; they all fervently agree to do so. When they’re in the car Reyes voices her distress over the situation to Skinner, but in the back seat with Mulder, Scully hardly pays attention to what she’s saying. Scully is surprised by how down Mulder seems, and wonders if there’s more to his taciturn mood than just the disappearance of the children they barely know. She almost asks him if he wants to talk, but decides not to. Bessie is waiting for her at the door when Skinner drops her off, and Mulder doesn’t even seem to notice that he’s alone in the back seat as the car pulls away. Scully is just surprised he didn’t say goodnight. ** 7am Saturday morning, Scully’s bedroom Though Scully is an early riser by nature, the number on the clock is still too small for her tastes for a weekend morning. Tired of restlessly tossing from side to side she throws herself onto her back in frustration and tries to sleep once again. Every time she’s on the verge of falling asleep the conversation she overheard the night before comes rushing back to her. She’d been busing tables and waiting for the last handful of customers to leave so she and Bessie could close up for the evening. Kersh, Doggett and Reyes were among the nighthawks, and she found herself drifting near their table more than necessary. At one point Reyes plaintively asks Kersh why were the eight kids who were taken singled out. Kersh looked at her, surprised, and told her that the kids were the only ones who were waiting for parents instead of taking the bus. There was something about their exchange that bothered her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Even though at that point she was staring at the stars on her ceiling, the phone ringing next to her startled her nearly as much as it would have had she been sleeping. She clumsily fumbled for the phone, hoping that its ringing wouldn’t wake her sister or nephew. "Hello?" she asks, hating how rusty and unused her voice sounded. "Hey Scully, it’s me, Mulder. I hope you aren’t going to kill me for waking you." "No, it’s ok, I was awake." Scully says, hoping her tone doesn’t betray how shocked she is to hear from him. He didn’t speak to anyone at all at school the day before, and disappeared at lunch-time. "Ok, good. Normally I wouldn’t call so early, but I really need someone to talk to." Mulder says. Scully sits up straighter, and anxiously bunches the blanket that she has clutched around her. "Is it to early for a row in the creek?" "I’ll be over your house in a little while." She says. "Good, I’ll be waiting. See you soon." He says, hanging up. Scully stares at the phone as she puts it on its cradle. She’s not sure she’ll be able to contribute to a deep conversation at this time of the morning. She throws on some clothes, then tip-toes out of the room to find her coat and boots. ** Twenty minutes later, on the slip for Mulder’s rowboat Mulder is equally bundled up, sits in the boat; his hands are full with a bag of donuts and two pints of orange juice. Scully eyes these things quizzically as she sits in the boat. "You didn’t have time to go to the store after talking to me." "You’re right. I bought them a few minutes before I called. I was banking on you agreeing to show up." He says, handing over one of the bottles and opening the bag of donuts for her. She carefully chooses a chocolate honey glazed and settles on the bench. "You’re just lucky I was having trouble sleeping. " "I’ve been having trouble sleeping too, that’s sort of why I wanted to talk to you." He says, pulling a cruller out of the bag, and, with a boy-like quickness consumed it. "Oh?" "Yeah. Ever since this thing with the kids happened I haven’t slept much." He weighed the empty bag down with his thigh and took up the oars. The boat slide through the water gracefully. "I can understand why. I doubt many people have been getting a good night’s sleep, since this is a pretty terrible thing to have happened." "I doubt the reason for my sleeplessness is like anyone else’s." Mulder says, then looks away for so long Scully is afraid he’s not going to continue. Finally he looks back. "I keep thinking ‘what if the kids were taken by the same people who took Sam?’ Over and over again, on an endless loop." "I thought…that you believed that she was taken by aliens." Scully says hesitantly. "Oh hell, I was four. It’s hard to know what I really remember, and what images I borrowed from the countless movies and shows I’ve seen since then. What if she just died and my parents were afraid to tell me? What if her disappearance was Capeside’s answer to the Lindberg kidnapping? Maybe they didn’t know I slept in the same room as the baby, or worse yet, maybe they didn’t care, because really, what could a small boy do to stop them? Maybe I believe the alien stuff because it hurts less than thinking about being helpless against mere men." Scully wants to give him a hug, but doing it without upsetting the boat isn’t a possibility. "For what it’s worth, Mulder, I think you’ll find out eventually what happened. " "I know I will, if it’s the last thing I do." Mulder says, then crumples the empty donut bag in his fist. "I keep thinking, though, if only I could go back and sleep through Thursday. Then I would have missed this business with the kids, and not be dredging up the past right now. And I wouldn’t have talked to Fowley, either." Scully casts him a guarded look. "I was right, you know, about what I told you I sensed last week. She thinks I’m a great friend." Mulder says ruefully. "I’m sorry." Scully says, with more sincerity than she thought she could feel. She thought that she’d be happy if Fowley rejected him, but she found that she was able to push past those feelings and sense the loss he felt. "Not as sorry as I am." He said, rowing the boat back towards its slip. "Thanks for allowing yourself to be dragged out here this early. It’s nice to know that I always have someone willing to listen." "Doggett listens too." Scully blurts out. "Yeah, but not as well as you do." "Well, any time you need me…" "Thanks." Says Mulder, looking happy for the first time in days. "You know, Scully, you can tell me anything, too." Scully smiles, but silently disagrees. ** Noon, the video store Mulder is checking in videos when Krycek walks in the door. Though he suspects that Krycek’s visit will be anything but pleasant, Mulder tries hard to maintain the level of professionalism his boss expects. "Hi, is there anything I can do for you?" Mulder asks by rote. "Yeah, I’m looking for that Tom Cruise movie, The Firm." "Oh, that’s a good one." Mulder says, despite his dislike of Krycek. A film discussion always got him going. "I know. I like the scene that Tom beats up the Quaker oats looking guy in." Mulder rolls his eyes, he should have figured. "Anything else?" "Nope, I figure you’ve got too much on your mind to make a decent recommendation of anything else for me." "What makes you say that?" Mulder asks, giving him a look. "Word has it that a certain Miss Lindley rejected your offer to move beyond friendship. Tough break, Mulder. " "Why is it that you, of all people, seem to know so much about my personal life?" Mulder asks, half-frustrated, half-curious. "Oh, I have my sources." Krycek says evasively. "If I didn’t know for a fact that Fowley’s into older men, I’d be tempted to take a shot at her myself. You sure picked a hot girl to set your heart on, and God knows she and I would make a cute couple. Alas it’s not in the cards for either of us. See you around." Krycek says, picking up his video and sauntering out the door, leaving an annoyed Mulder behind. ** 5pm, the movie theater The lights come up as the final credits roll. Fowley and Reyes gather up their things, and get ready to leave the theater. They have just finished watching "Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone" which was ok, but not a movie they would have chosen to spend their Saturday afternoon watching. Unfortunately a viewing was required for their Popular Culture class, which would have been an easy A had anyone but Mr. CSM been teaching it; he required more work than they thought possible. "Well, that’s over with." Reyes said. "Yup. I swear, our town hires the weirdest people possible to work in the schools." Fowley complained. "What do you mean?" "First you have Mr. CSM who forces us to watch children’s movies in order to get a passing grade, and then there’s that librarian-" "The one from the elementary school?" "Yeah, her. Grams knows her, and I know for a fact she lives alone, well alone except for the cats. But today I saw that she had two carts full of groceries when I got to the store with Grams. She had a bag boy pushing one, and I can’t figure out how one person pushes two carriages. Do you think they let you fill one up and leave it up front? I thought they’d put the stuff ba-" "Why was she buying so much stuff?" Reyes, an idea formulating in her head. "I don’t know. I figured that she was one of those people who shop like once a month. Since bread and milk don’t last that long, what’s the point? You still need to go to the store once a week anyway." Reyes bolts from her seat. "I need to call Kersh. I’ll be back in a few." She says, dashing off, knocking Fowley’s crutches across the theater. Fowley looks longingly at her crutches. She wishes they were close enough to grab so she could smack Reyes with one, or at least get up. Since with the cast on she can’t maneuver the narrow isle without them, she settles into her seat and sighs loudly. ** Nearly ten minutes later Fowley hobbles out into the lobby to hear Reyes say "Fine, I will come down there then!" and slam down the receiver of a pay-phone. "What’s that all about?" Fowley asks. "Oh, I’m just suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to kill my boyfriend’s brother." "Funny how spontaneous homicidal urges are going around today." Fowley growls at a startled Reyes. "Did you even notice when you took off that you knocked my crutches away, and thereby left me trapped in my seat? If an usher hadn’t come in, I’d still be sitting there." "Sorry! It’s just that I needed to talk to Kersh right away, you said something that made me think about the kidnapping case. Kersh is being a jerk and won’t talk to me unless I go down there… are you game?" she asks hopefully. "Oh, all right. My Saturday is already shot anyway." ** The police station The girls sit across from Kersh, who isn’t considerate enough to keep the incredulity off his face. "I’m telling you Kersh, you need to check the woman out. I think she’s got some sort of Blair witch obsession and if you don’t do something soon there’s going to be a lot of kids buried in our town graveyard too." Reyes says. "That she was frustrated by the kids running around, which I might add you claim everyone was, and she bought a lot of groceries does not make her the prime suspect in the kidnapping of eight children, much less a potential murderer." Kersh explains. "So who is your prime suspect?" Fowley challenges. "For someone who claims to want information leading to a suspect, any suspect, you sure are pretty quick to shoot down what I’m willing to bet money is the only lead anyone has brought you." Kersh sighs and looks at his hands. "If I send someone over there for a quick look, will that get you girls out of my office?" "If you want us to leave, you’ll go there personally to check it out. And take us with you." Reyes said. "You know damn well I can’t be taking you into a possible crime scene!" Kersh practically shouts. "I didn’t mean we should go into the house. Staying in the cruiser is more what I had in mind." "If you weren’t dating my brother…"Kersh takes a deep, calming breath. "Get your coats on, and you better stay in the car. If I get in trouble you’ll have hell to pay, too." Reyes and Fowley exchange satisfied looks. ** An hour later at the librarian’s house Reyes and Fowley make good on their promise and stay in the cruiser, where they have a clear view of what’s going on. Since their arrival four other cruisers have pulled up and parked near-by. Kersh and another officer lead the librarian out in handcuffs, and several other officers follow at a safe distance, leading or carrying the eight scared children. None of them have been physically hurt, though they are all very shaken. They’re loaded into cruisers to be brought to the hospital to be examined before they can be released to their parents. Kersh remands his prisoner to the other officer before getting into the cruiser with Fowley and Reyes. "I want to apologize for not taking you ladies seriously earlier this afternoon. Thanks to you eight kids are going to be sleeping in their own beds tonight." "See? My being Doggett’s girlfriend is good for your career." Reyes says with a smile. "Why did she do it?" "She had some sort of breakdown, I guess, and just snapped. She says she’s hated her job for years and finally just couldn’t take kids running around the library any more. I don’t think she was planning to hurt them, and she didn’t seem to have any idea of what she was going to do with them. Just had them locked up in her basement. God only knows how long she would have held them if you hadn’t pointed out her odd behavior, though." "All’s well that ends well." Fowley says. "Home Jeves." She demands of Kersh who laughs much to their surprise. ** Sunday afternoon Doggett and Mulder are lying in front of the Leary’s TV in the living room, playing Tony Hawks 2. "We really need to get the new game when it comes out. It has a killer soundtrack." "Yeah, and I guess I could use the mindless distraction." Mulder says. "Why’s that?" "I took your advice on Thursday and told Fowley how I feel." "And from your grimness I’m lead to believe the mission was not successful." "Crash and burn, Doggett, crash and burn." "Ouch." Doggett says, wincing. "I recall telling you that I wasn’t the best source of advice, though." "I know, I think anyone’s advice would have failed. I’m doomed to be ‘a really good friend’ forever." "Not forever. I know this is trite, but there are other fish in the sea. You just have to let yourself notice them." Doggett says and goes back to playing the game. The final scene pulls away as the two skaters on the TV screen collide in mid-air. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Alicia Keyes ("Fallin’) Sebadoh ("Ocean") And Seven Channels ("Breathe") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 03 The Trouble With Turkeys Summary: Mulder, Scully and Doggett escape Thanksgiving preparations by taking their traditional trip to the Berkshires. Back in Capeside Reyes, Skinner and Fowley investigate sinister frozen turkeys Opening Scene Mulder walks through the doorway of his room, carrying two mugs of cider. He looks at Scully who is lying on her stomach on his bed, with a remote control aimed at the VCR ready to unpause "Home for the Holidays." She shifts to a sitting position and takes one of the mugs from him. "Thanks. I’m going to unpause this now. We’re at my favorite scene, you know, the one in which Claudia throws the turkey in her sister’s lap." She notices that Mulder is still looking at her. "What?" "Nothing." Mulder says. "You can’t just stare at someone and then claim it was for no reason." She says. "Ok… it’s just that most of the time I forget how little you are, and I remembered that just now." "So most of the time you…think I’m fat?" she asks, trying to rein in her emotions. Mulder notices the look on her face. "No, you goose. I just forget that you’re only about five feet tall-" "5’1"and the doctor says I might grow still." Scully interrupts. "5’1"then. It just that you seem bigger, so it’s startling when I notice how much smaller than me you are." "I’m not sure I follow that…" "Let’s just say you have a larger than life appearance and seem less vulnerable than you should." "Well, you know what they say, Mulder. ‘Good things come in small packages.’ " "Oh do they now?" Mulder asks archly, the look on his face suggests exactly how he interprets the cliché’. "Wouldn’t you like to know." Scully says, blushing. She had meant to be coy, but not that coy. "Um, let’s finish watching this. We do have school tomorrow, you know." Mulder groans. "Don’t remind me!" ** Theme song: "Stranded" By Plumb ** Monday 4pm, The McPhee home Doggett is standing on the steps, about to knock when Skinner opens the door. Doggett blinks in surprise. "How’d you know I was here?" Doggett asks. "I didn’t. I was just going to check the mail." So they walk over to the box. "Ah. Do you suppose you could tell your lovely sister I’m here?" "Sorry, I can’t. She and Fowley were ‘volunteered’ to go grocery shopping for the thanksgiving meal." "Weird that Reyes and Fowley have been spending time together, since neither of them has ever showed any interest in close friendships with other girls." "Yeah, I guess that having to work together for that class has made them realize that they actually have something in common after all." Skinner says, shuffling through the mail looking to see if there’s anything for him. "Good for them. What’s with Reyes and supermarkets lately? It seems like she’s spending a lot of time in them lately. I hope that doesn’t mean she’s developing an eating disorder or something." "Probably not, but come to think of it she does seem to have gained a few pounds. But she was too thin to begin with." "That’s true. So...does your sister shopping with her mean that you and Reyes are having Thanksgiving dinner with the Lindley’s?" "Unfortunately yes. Not that having dinner with Grams and Fowley isn’t nice, but Dad’s going to be down in Connecticut for a business trip over the holidays. Again. As soon as Grams heard that she immediately invited us over to dinner, which is awfully nice of her." Doggett sticks his hands in his coat pockets. "It’s typical of her though. I hope Fowley realizes how lucky she is to have her." "What are your plans for Thanksgiving?" Skinner asks. "Friends or family?" "Family. While you enjoy dinner at the Lindley’s , and Scully and Bessie dine with the Learys’ like they do ever year, I will be experiencing act one of the horrible play known as ‘ The Witter family dinners.’ Fortunately act two won’t be until the end of December..." "It’s that bad?" Skinner asks. "You’ve never met my two oldest sisters or their spawn, so you can’t even imagine. Well, I’m freezing my butt off and need to finish some homework, so let Reyes know I stopped by, would you?" "Sure thing." Skinner says and brings the mail in after Doggett leaves. ** 4:30 pm at the Leary house Mulder walks into the house and is surprised to come face to face with Mr. CSM. Mr. CSM smiles at him in a way that Mulder finds alarming. "Mulder. Nice to see you." "Is there something about my grades you needed to talk to my parents about?" Mulder asks, confused. "No, not at all. Your mother and I are both in the book discussion group at the library, and I was just returning the copy of ‘A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius’ she was nice enough to lend me. " "Oh. Mom doesn’t talk much about the book group. The book on the other hand, she assures me is brilliant." "It is. Have a good night, Mulder." Mr. CSM says as he walks to the door. "You too." Mulder says, and shakes his head as soon as the door closes." ** Tuesday, 3am, the Smith home Though Mrs. Gladace Smith’s daughters urged her to defrost food in the refrigerator, Gladace considered herself too old- 67 on her last birthday- to start doing things differently now. Which is why she is up so early in the morning. Gladace fills the sink with cold water and walks to the fridge to get the bird. She’s glad it’s only a medium sized one, now that she doesn’t have her husband around to do heavy lifting for her. She hears an odd noise, but assumes that it’s the motor in the fridge kicking on. She opens the door to the fridge, looks in, screams, and falls to the floor in a dead faint. Tuesday 2pm, the High School Most students grab their belongings as soon as the bell rings, and dash out of the classrooms, thrilled to be leaving for the holiday. Fowley is about to leave with Reyes when Mr. CSM calls out. "Fowley, might I speak to you for a moment?" Fowley shrugs helplessly at Reyes, and says she’ll be right out. Reyes nods and closes the door behind her. While she leans against the wall Reyes finds herself staring at the lockers across from her, not thinking of much of anything until she hears Mr. CSM raise his voice. "I told you I’ll take care of it," he says. Reyes idly wonders what "it" is, but doesn’t try to hear what Fowley says in return since it’s none of her business. She’s contemplating whether rearranging the belongings in Doggett’s locker would be considered cute or psychotic when Fowley comes out looking unhappy. "Everything ok?" Reyes asks. "Yeah. Mr. CSM just felt like making excuses about why he hasn’t given me a recommendation for honor society yet. It’s due next week, and we can’t get in without one. But you know that." Fowley says, remembering that most of the kids she knows are trying to get in too. "I’m sure he’ll have it in by Monday. I bet this lights a fire under his butt." Reyes says, glad she asked a teacher who was much kinder about complying with the request. "I hope so." Fowley says and looks back at the classroom. Mr. CSM is looking out the window. ** Wednesday 7:15 am, in front of Mulder’s house Scully shivers and pulls her jacket more tightly around her, and is thankful that, with this dreary dampness, she chose to wear her wool beret despite her suspicions that it makes her look silly. Mulder is wearing his leather jacket as usual, and for the life of her she can’t figure out how he stays warm in it. She shivers again and reminds herself that they’re supposed to have a good time today. Finally Doggett pulls up in his mom’s battered wood-paneled Volkswagen. "Good morning. Ready for our traditional adventure?" Doggett asks as he unlocks the passenger side doors. "Sure am." Mulder says, climbing in. Scully looks at the car hesitantly. "Are you sure that this car is safe?" "Yeah, sure. Mom said the last time it broke down was in the 80’s." "Has it been driven since then?" Scully asks, sliding into the backseat.. Doggett dodges the question. "This is great, the yearly tradition of driving up to the Berkshires-" "And avoiding all the requests to help with dinner." Mulder says. "I have to hand it to your sister, Doggett, her suggestion a few years back that someone should ‘keep the kids out from underfoot’ was inspired- now that it’s so ingrained as a yearly event none of our parents have the heart to say we have to stick around. It’s too bad that her flight won’t get in until late tonight." "It won’t be the same without Gretchen womaning the helm, but we must go on. At least she’ll miss out on KP duty too." "It’s wrong that I don’t feel the slightest guilt about leaving everything to your mom, right?" Scully asks Mulder. "I mean, I’m a girl. Girls are supposed to feel bad about this sort of thing." "You’re a girl?" Mulder teases, and ducks away from her reach. "Mulder, my Neanderthal friend, I think you’re probably the last male in Capeside to not notice that." Doggett says, which confuses Scully. Should she thank him, or chalk it up to him getting his jollies by making her blush? When she notices his grin she decides it’s the latter, and looks out the window muttering to herself about "men". "In fact," Doggett continues, "I think you’re also the last person to realize what a cute couple you and our girl Scully would make." "God Doggett, it’s not like that." Mulder says, furiously blushing, which makes Scully feel better about the red now fading from her own cheeks. "I,- um- shut up, Doggett." Mulder finishes lamely. Doggett laughs and turn onto the highway that will lead them to the mountains. 8am, Lindley home Fowley is rolling out the crust for another pie while Skinner and Reyes attempt to help complete the list Grams left of needed for dinner prep. Grams herself is at church finishing baskets of Thanksgiving food for the needy. "Why do I always get stuck doing the pies?" Fowley complains to no one in particular. "Because you’re not good at anything else." Skinner guesses. "You. Snap peas, not snappy comments." "Yes sir." Skinner says, saluting her. Fowley chooses to ignore both the gesture and the look of barely concealed smile that’s on Reyes face. "Grams told me the weirdest story before she left-" "Oh! Stories!" Reyes exclaims, looking up from the potatoes she’s peeling. "I love stories." "I think one of the women in her church is loosing her mind, but Grams seems to think that it really happened. So it seems that this woman got in the wee hours yesterday, and was going to defrost her turkey. Only when she opened the freezer to get the bird, it wasn’t exactly frozen." "Wasn’t exactly?" Skinner asks. "The woman said that it was…moving. And I don’t mean moving in the heartstrings- tugging way, either." "Frozen turkeys don’t move." Reyes says. "Exactly. Which is what makes the story weird. I think the poor old woman is mental." Fowley says. "Speaking of turkeys, this list here says to put ours in the fridge before Grams gets home." Skinner notes. "I’m sure we can handle it." Fowley says. ** 10:26 am, on the side of the road in the mountains Doggett concludes his string of swears and asks, "How the hell could she not have a spare tire?" "When you last drove a car during the Regan years little things like keeping a spare on it aren’t in the front of one’s mind." Scully says. "I guess." Doggett says, looking up warily at the cloudy sky. "Any ideas on what we’re going to do?" Mulder asks in as non-accusatory tone he can manage. "I don’t think that anyone else is likely to drive up the back roads any time soon." "I know." Doggett says. "So this is what is going to happen. Since I got us into this mess I’m going to take care of it. You two stay here on the off chance someone happens along. I’m going to walk back to where I last saw a garage." "Where was that?" Scully asks. "Oh, I don’t know, eight or ten miles back." "We can’t let you walk that alone!" "Yes you can, and you will. If the three of us go we’ll miss any possibility of someone driving along. No matter how remote that possibility is, we can’t risk it. It’s safer for two people to stay here than two to walk. It’ll be easier for one person to get a ride back, too." "Ok." Mulder said, and threw Scully a look to cut off any further protesting. Doggett walks around to the trunk and rummages through it. He returns a couple of minutes later with a care-worn comforter. "Here." He says apologetically. "We can’t leave the motor running because the nearest gas station was a lot further back than ten miles. Keep the emergency blinkers on, though, that’ll attract attention even if it gets darker." "It’s only 10:30, how could it get dark?" Mulder asks. "Did you look up at the sky? There’s a storm coming." "For your sake I hope that the storm is a few hours off still. "Scully says. "Here, take my scarf, I forgot I had it in my bag, so I won’t miss it." Doggett waves and starts down the road. Mulder watch him until he’s no longer in sight. "You know why I said ok, right?" "You hope he freezes to death?" "No. He’s the type of person who feels the need to make demonstrable amends, or he never gets over whatever it is that goes wrong." "I guess. It’s still dangerous for him to be walking that distance with a storm looming." "I know, but we have to have faith in him." Mulder says, unfolding the comforter. "What are you doing?" "I plan to tuck this around us, because the car is going to lose heat awfully quick. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not freeze to death, either." ** The Lindley home Skinner, Fowley and Reyes are sprawled on the couch, watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on DVD. "I love this. High quality cartoons on demand. What could be better?" Reyes asks. "Not much." Fowley agrees. Her eyes wander past the clock, and she jumps up with a gasp. "The Turkey! Grams will be home in two hours, we need to get that bird into the fridge to thaw now or we’re doomed. " Skinner stands up and makes a show of flexing his muscles. "This sounds like the job for a guy." "Yeah whatever." Fowley says. "If you want to do it, feel free. It’ll save me the trouble." "You ruin my fun." "Sorry. Let me try again then." She clears her throat. "Oh my, I don’t know what I’d do without a big strong man around to help me." Fowley says, batting her eyelashes. Skinner doubles over in laughter. "You have a gift, too bad it’s one that’s wasted on me. Let’s see to that bird." "Speaking of waste… It sucks that dad still won’t let you have Ethan over for a weekend." Reyes says as they walk into the kitchen. "I think he’s coming around, though. He managed not to cringe once the last time Ethan spent the afternoon." Skinner says as he swings open the freezer door. He’s about to reach inside when he shouts "Oh my God!" ** 1pm, the mountains by the side of the road Doggett opens the door to the tow- truck and thanks the driver for the ride. Then he pulls the tire out of the back of the truck and waves to the man as he drives off. He rolls the tire over the ground and towards the car that still has its blinkers merrily flashing. As soon as he’s around to flat tire he lets the good one wobble to the ground, and looks in the window, about to open the door and ask Mulder to help. His hand freezes on the door handle when he looks in the window. Scully and Mulder are slumped together up against the door, fast asleep. Doggett is amused for a moment how much they resemble little kids that fell asleep before taking off their snow suits, because they’re equally bundled up. "It’s not like that at all." Doggett says to himself when he notices that a sleeping Mulder has pulled Scully as close to him as possible. Sure, it could be merely for warmth, he thinks, but I wonder if he did it before or after he fell asleep? I’ll be she was asleep regardless. Doggett finally raises his hand and knocks on the frame of the car. "Rise and shine." He says loudly. "I need help with changing the tire." Scully wakes up first and pulls away from Mulder with a startled look, confirming Doggett’s suspicion that she had been asleep. Mulder slowly opens his eyes, and looks up at Doggett and yawns. "Oh good, you’re back. Is there a jack somewhere in this car?" "Yeah, in the trunk. I made sure it worked before setting out." "Good. Let’s get this changed and we’ll still have time to get to that restaurant before the lunch menu is over." Scully gets out of the car and takes a short walk while the boys wrestle with the tire. The day hasn’t gone as planned, and she’s sure that Doggett is going to harass them about having fallen asleep. It was so cold though, she thinks, we couldn’t help it. Sighing she turns to walk back when she hears them crow their self-satisfaction with having changed their first tire. She sighs and hopes the tire stays on. ** Lindley kitchen "What?" Fowley and Reyes scream simultaneously. "You didn’t tell me that you and Grams own stock in Ben and Jerry’s." Skinner accuses Fowley. "There are a dozen pints in here!" "Oh, that! Dammit Skinner, you scared us! Grams buys it by the case at Sam’s Club. Come to think of it, Grams said we could help ourselves after we finished the list. I just forgot." "Sure, you ‘forgot’. I can’t believe that you were holding out on us." Skinner says. "I wasn’t. I really forgot." "I think-" Skinner begins. Reyes interrupts the argument. "The turkey? Let’s put it away, be done with the list, and have ice cream while we finish the cartoons." "You have to be so reasonable all the time, don’t you." Skinner says to his sister as he picks up the turkey. Suddenly he drops it. "Skinner! What did you do that for?" Fowley asks. He looks as confused as they do. "I didn’t. I mean..." he trails off as they notice the package twitch. ** The Valentine home Mrs. Valentine throws up her hands while she yells at Krycek. Krycek glares at her and declares "I’m not spending Thanksgiving with that man." "You are spending the holidays with your father, per the custody arrangement, and that is final." "You can’t make me do anything. I’m bigger than you are, so what are you going to do, carry me onto the bus? I’d just get off at the next stop." Krycek says with a smirk. "You know what? You’re right. I can order you to do it, but I can’t make you. You don’t want to go see your father, then don’t. But I’m still going to spend the holidays on a cruise, one I’ve planned on for almost a year. Stay here and fend for yourself, for all I care. You’re the one who’ll have to face your dad about this, anyway." She doesn’t look like she thinks her speech would make a difference. In fact, Krycek thinks she looks like she really is too tired to care. And that hurt. Since he can’t back down now, he is going to be alone on Thanksgiving. ** A restaurant in the Berkshires A cheerful looking waitress takes their menus. Then Doggett heaves a sigh. "I don’t think I can take this." "Take what?" Mulder asks. "This, the holidays. Every year I gather with my family, and the verbal battering drains me. They’re emotion vampires, and I’m afraid that one of these dinners is going to prove too much and I’m to slump to the floor, dead." "Melodramatic much?" Scully asks. "You don’t understand. Yeah, your family is slightly dysfunctional, with your mom dead and your dad in jail, but at least it’s an ok dysfunctional. You and Bessie make things work without reliable parental figures. But my family is royally screwed up. Evil sisters with even more evil children, a brother that despises me for the most part, a father who is alternatingly distant and emotionally abusive, and a mother that just smiles and says nothing. The only one who is ever on my side is Gretchen and she’s not around much since starting college. I don’t think I’m being overly melodramatic." "I’m sorry. I bet you can’t wait until you turn 18." Scully says. "Amen. So, I bet you two are looking forward to your dinner, anyway." "Well…yes. But your speech has made me feel too guilty to express joy." Mulder says and Scully nods. "Enough of this. We’re supposed to be celebrating our narrow escape from slave labor." Doggett declares. "So, who do you think will win tomorrow’s football game?" "The pats for sure." Scully says with conviction. "My dad make not be the world’s greatest guy, but he did instill in me the belief that one should always have faith that the home team will win, no matter what." "Of course they will. I just hope none of us are betting money on it. "Mulder says. "What money?" Doggett asks. "We’re sixteen." The cheerful waitress’s return with their food curtailed further conversation. ** The Smith house Mrs. Smith smiles and opens the door, inviting in Skinner, Reyes and Fowley. "Thanks for having us over, Mrs. Smith." Fowley says. "Oh, I’m glad to, dear. I was afraid your grandmother was going to be the only one to believe me." "No, after what we just saw, we believe you." Reyes said. "Where’s your bird?" "I put it on the table in the kitchen. It’s still moving." Mrs. Smith says as she leads them into the kitchen. This turkey, which is unwrapped, is more active than the wrapped one sitting in the Lindleys’ refrigerator. It’s limbs twitched spasmodically, as if it somehow thought it was trying out for a part of a broom in Fantasia. They expected it to get up and walk any second. "I think," Reyes says, "That we’re dealing with some sort of demonic possession." "Which is oh-so-common to the greater Capeside area." Fowley quips. "I don’t think we should dismiss the idea out of hand. It’s a viable possibility." "What are we supposed to do? A Turkey exorcism? Evil spirits, leave this turkey!" Skinner has been staring at the twitching bird, and turns to Mrs. Smith. "Do you mind if I cut it open?" "No dear, be my guest." She says, then hands him a sharp knife. "Thanks." Skinner says, returning his concentration to the turkey. Reyes and Fowley don’t notice what he’s doing because their argument about the plausibility of turkey possession has now escalated to a point just short of name-calling. With a few careful cuts, Skinner finds exactly what he’s expecting. He turns to the girls and issues a command rather sharply. "Shut up and come over here." They sheepishly shuffle over and peer down at the dissected bird. "What are we- hey, what’s that?" Reyes asks. "Looks like metal." Fowley comments. "It is." Skinner says. "It’s similar to a clockwork, and the reason these birds are reanimated." "Who the hell would do that?" "I don’t have the slightest idea. All I know is that it looks like someone had a grudge and too much time on their hands." "I think we ought to give the turkey plant a ring then. Maybe we can help them head off some lawsuits." Says Reyes. "That sounds like a good and charitable idea." Mrs. Smith says, beaming at her. "Good thing the phone number and address are always on the packaging." A quick phone call later the trio is on their way back to a waiting DVD and ice cream. ** Thanksgiving Day 9am Krycek sighs and walks down the road towards the Ice House. His mom has made good on her threat, and left three hours ago for her cruise. The reason, however, for his dismay is not that his mother isn’t around, but that none of the area grocery stores are open. He knows because he’s checked. It’s the thought of there only being peanut butter and jelly in the house that propels him on this errand that he would otherwise avoid like the plague. Taking a deep breath, he walks up to the door of the icehouse and knocks. Scully, who is packing her nephew’s diaper bag while Mulder cracks jokes, is the first to hear the knock on the door. "I wonder who on earth that could be." "I dunno, maybe my dad, wondering why we’re taking so long to show up to go to the Capeside high game?" "Your dad would just come in, he knows he wouldn’t have to knock. I’m going to go see who it is." "Me too. What if I wait here and Bessie tries to hand me a screaming toddler? No thanks. Even if it’s an axe-murder I’m safer with you." "Oh boy." Krycek is almost convinced that no one is going to answer when Scully swings the door open. He does his level best to make sure there is no smirk on his face when he asks, "There’s no chance that you’re serving food today, is there?" "No, sorry. We close every year for Thanksgiving." "Oh." Krycek says, sounding crestfallen. "Why do you ask? Aren’t you eating with your family?" She asks. "No, actually. My mom’s gone for the weekend." Mulder interrupts. "Scully can I use your phone?" "Sure." she says, and he walks away. "You’re not spending the holiday with your dad?" Scully asks Krycek. "No. I barely know my dad. He and Mom got a divorce when I was three…"He trails off, shrugging. Mulder returns and asks, "Do you know where my house is?" "I think so, why?" "Mom says to be there by noon, ok?" "Really?" "Yup. See you at dinner." "Thanks." Krycek says sounding grateful, then walks away whistling. "Why Mulder?" "It’s true that there’s no love lost between us, but no one, not even him, deserves to be alone on the holidays." "You’re a good guy, Mulder." "Sshhh. Don’t tell anyone." ** 12pm, the Witter home Doggett looks at his shrieking nieces and nephews as they whirl past him. He can hear his sisters screaming at each other from the kitchen, and his dad bellowing about the food not being ready yet. Before he can sink into complete despair, Gretchen walks into the room and gives him a hug. "I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to you much last night or this morning, but there’s something I want to tell you." "What?" Doggett asks. "I want you to know that spending time with you is the only thing that makes coming home for these family things worth-while. What do you say little brother, how about we sneak back up to the den to play video games, and avoid the rugrats and shouting, until they call us for dinner?" "You’ve got a deal." "Good. I pick the game though." Gretchen says with a grin. "Race you upstairs." ** 12:15pm, the Lindley home Grams smiles as Fowley, Reyes, Skinner, and her old friend Mr. Brooks take their seats. Skinner and Reyes smile up at Grams, though they wish more than anything that their father was eating dinner as well. Though Fowley wouldn’t dream of saying it, she’s secretly glad that her friends are here instead of in Connecticut. "Does anyone mind if I give the blessing? "Grams asks them. They all shake their heads. "Thank you." She says, then bows her head. "Dear lord, thank you for allowing us to gather here today with friends and family. Thank you for the blessings we receive daily, and for the food we are about to eat. And thank you for allowing us to find a turkey that doesn’t have springs and gears in it in time for dinner." Fowley’s eyes are closed, but she thinks that her grandmother is probably watching her shake with silent laughter and tries to stop. "Please allow us to have many more days as bountiful as this one. Amen." Grams concludes. "Let’s eat." ** 12:30 p.m., the Leary home The game ran a little later than expected so everyone is only now sitting down to eat dinner. Mr. Leary holds up a hand and says, "I know you kids probably think this is corny, but I’d like for us to take the time to say something we’re thankful for. Who wants to start?" Bessie says "I will. I’m thankful that I own a business successful enough to support my family, whom I’m also grateful to have." Bessie says, dandling her son on her knee. "I’m thankful that I’m not eating a peanut butter sandwich in an empty house right now. Thank you Mrs. And Mr. Leary. "Krycek says, sounding entirely sincere. "I’m thankful to be here with friends and family." Scully says simply. "I’m thankful that another year has gone by and everyone I love is safe and happy. "Mulder says. Mr. Leary smiles brightly and says, "My wife and I are grateful to be having this meal with all of you, and for having this happy news to share- we’re expecting a new baby next year." Mulder stares at them in shock. He’s not sure which is more stunning: the news itself or that they didn’t choose to tell him before telling everyone else. A quick glance around the table shows that the others are also surprised, and the only one who looks happily so is Bessie. Mulder corrects himself mentally, Krycek doesn’t look surprised, but he’s so much of an outsider, Mulder decides he really doesn’t have reason to be. The silence is replaced only by the clatter of silverware. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Hippos ("Wasting my life") Long Pigs ("On and On") Lucky Boy's Confusion ("Fred Astaire") ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 04 Dead Man Walking Summary: Mulder tries to deal with the news of his impending sibling. And the reappearance of someone from Fowley's past leads her to question her sanity. Opening Scene Scully sits in a chair next to Mulder’s bed. He’s lying on his belly, his head on his arms, and his face, which is blotchy from crying, is turned away from her. Since she doesn’t know what to say she says nothing, instead makes soothing noises and gently rubs his back. Mulder rolls over, and props himself up on his elbows so he can see her. "I can’t understand why they would do this." "Me neither, Mulder." "It’s bad enough that they decided to just do this without mentioning it, but to tell me the same time as everyone else? I’m not wrong to think that I should have had the right to know before they made a general announcement, am I?" Mulder asks, giving her an intense look. "No, of course not. My parents told Bessie before everyone else, and she was only eight. Your parents should have had the same courtesy, especially since you’re almost an adult." "I…I can’t believe they’d decide to have another baby now. What are they thinking?" "Maybe they’re worried about being alone when you go off to college in a couple of years. This buys them eighteen years of insurance against loneliness." "Yeah, sure. What if this baby gets taken too? "I hope for their sake, and yours, it doesn’t." "But what if it does?" Mulder persists. "Then I guess your parents will have to live with it. They must know that already." "Which is what makes this totally insane. I can’t believe that after having one baby stolen they’d risk having another." "Well…they didn’t lose you. Maybe that gives them hope." "Maybe. But I still think they’re crazy." Mulder says, and flops back onto his stomach. ** Theme song- "Stranded" By Plumb ** Early morning, Lindley home Fowley reaches for him, and is rewarded with a kiss. There’s something comforting and familiar about his touch, but at the back of her mind something nags her. Deep down she knows there’s something wrong with this, that she shouldn’t be in his arms, being kissed, but the reason refuses to surface. And then it does. She pushes him away, instantly filled with fear. He gives her a puzzled look and holds his hands out to her longingly. She takes a step back- and falls out of bed. Fowley’s eyes snap open and at first she’s confused by what she sees- the rug. After a moment she frees herself from her tangled blankets and gets up off the floor. She’s making her bed again when Grams comes to her door. "I assumed by the thump that you were awake. What happened?" "I had a nightmare and fell out of bed." "Oh, Fowley. Did you hurt yourself?" "No." "I came up to tell you to get dressed. You have a visitor downstairs." "Ok, Grams, I’ll be down in a minute." Fowley hurriedly gets dressed, and runs a brush through her hair just long enough for it to look passable. The details of the dream stay with her as she climbs down the stairs, and she can’t shake her feeling of unease. Grams is talking to their guest when Fowley enters the kitchen. The visitor’s back is towards her, but she notes that it’s a dark-haired young man. Fowley picks up her customary cup of tea, which Grams had thoughtfully already poured and added milk to, when the young man hears her and turns towards her. The blood drains from Fowley’s face as the cup shatters on the tile. "You’re dead!" she says shakily. Spender’s welcoming smile fades into a look of concern as Fowley falls into a faint among the shards of porcelain and tea. ** Sunday night Doggett drives his sister to the airport. While he tries to make an outward show of cheerfulness, he can’t help but feel glum at her leaving. He realizes that his sister is either more perceptive than he imagined, or his act is spotty. "Though I suppose I should be flattered that you’re sad to see me leave, I worry about you, Doggett." "Who me? I’m fine. I’m always fine." "Or so you’d like me to believe." "Oh, what do you know? You’ve always been Dad’s favorite." "Not so. Kersh is his favorite." "Well, at least he likes you." Doggett says, quickly glancing towards her. "Dad likes you." "He has a funny way of showing it. I guess the message is lost under the weight of his declarations that I’ve been nothing but a disappointment to him my whole life." Gretchen sighs. "Doggett, he loves you and just wants you to do your best." "And therein lies the irony that escapes everyone- I am doing the best I can. This is it, my full potential, the real me. It’s just not good enough for some people. " "I wish I could tell you that Dad will come around…"Gretchen says at the airport comes into view. "But you won’t. You, at least, have the decency not to lie to me." Gretchen gives him a hug before getting out of the car. "I’ll see you next month, hold tight until then." "Don’t worry, I’ll keep a low profile as usual. It’s more peaceful that way. Have a good flight." Doggett says, being careful not to think about any of the recent air disasters. She’ll be fine, he thinks, no god would be cruel enough to take away the only family member who really loves me. "Give me a call when you get in, please." "Sure." She says, and walks to her terminal. He watches her until she’s out of sight. ** Late Afternoon, at the Ice House Scully and Bessie are dicing vegetables for that night’s stew while Skinner checks the glassware for spots. Scully paused a moment, still holding the carrot she was cutting, to say to Bessie "I’m worried about Mulder." "Why?" Bessie asks, looking up from the potatoes. "He’s not taking the news of the coming baby very well." "I guess that’s to be expected. He’s been an only child his whole life." Bessie says. Scully nearly says that’s not so, but decides at the last moment not to. "Did you feel that way?" She asks instead. "Me? No. I was thrilled. Not only was there going to be someone to take some of the blame, I’d get something to dress that was even better than a doll. You were the best toy Mom and Dad ever brought home." Scully gives her an injured look. "Toy?" Bessie smiles. "I was only teasing you. I was thrilled to finally have a baby sister, because I always wanted one." "Mulder’s never said anything about wanting a sibling." Scully says. "Then I guess it will take holding the baby for the first time to make him love it. But don’t worry, he will. Even pain in the butt little sisters grow on you." "Hey!" Scully says as Skinner bursts out laughing. ** The Lindley home Fowley realizes that she is being talked to. She opens her eyes and looks up at her grandmother. "Ah, there’s my girl. I didn’t know how long you were going to be out, so we put you on the couch. You didn’t cut yourself when you fainted, but I think they’re going to need to replace your cast. The tea made quite a mess of it." "That’s ok, I’m supposed to get a walking cast anyway." Fowley mumbles. Her eyes flicker from one corner of the room to the other, looking for Spender." Did I…? Is…was Spender here?" Fowley asks, hoping it too was a dream like the nightmare she had earlier. "Oh yes. He went upstairs to get a pillow for you." Ok, Fowley thinks, this isn’t happening, but I’ve got to pretend that I don’t realize it. Any second now, a dead man is going to walk into the room and I’m supposed to not be shocked about it. Spender walked into the room carrying a pillow, shield-like, wearing a tentative smile. Fowley watches him ease himself into a chair, and marvels at the thoroughness of her hallucination. His hair has grown a little since he died, and his tan is faded. He seems to notice her acute examination of him, because he says, "I’m not dead." "Ok." She agrees placidly. "You don’t believe me." "No, but I’m supposed to. How can it be my delusion if I don’t embrace the madness?" "You’re not delusion because I’m really not dead." Fowley smiles and says, "But you are. I was there when you died, remember? Oh, well, I guess not, but I do. You fell off the dock, and never came up. I cried at your funeral three days later. You drown, you’re dead, and this conversation can’t be happening because Grams doesn’t believe in ghosts and neither do I." "Did you see my body?" Spender asks pointblank. "They never found your body. Everyone supposes it washed out to sea." "This is what happened: You and I decided to celebrate Labor day by raiding my parents’ liquor cabinet, then we wanted to look at the water. As I was expounding on how much it sucked that school was starting in three days, I slipped in a puddle of brandy I didn’t realize I had made by holding the bottle sideways. I lost my balance and fell into the water. I woke up in the hospital a few days later after some fishermen from Quebec found me lying on the beach of one of the little islands that dot the coast here. The best the doctors could figure from my dehydration, I was probably lying on the beach for two days, so it’s a wonder the tides didn’t wash me back out to sea. For God only knows what reason, the fishermen decided to bring me to a Canadian hospital on their way home; I think that maybe they were over their limits and didn’t want to get caught by going ashore. Since I didn’t have my birth certificate I couldn’t get back into the US because customs tightened up considerably since 9/11. I was stuck in Canada for two months while I waited for a copy of my birth certificate to come in the mail. And now I’m back." "Why didn’t your parents send your birth certificate to you?" Fowley demands to know. "Because they’re still in New Mexico visiting my dad’s holdings. The only copy of it that they had is in our house here." "They couldn’t have had anyone go into the house and get it?" "No one has the key, because they decided to close the house instead of hiring a caretaker." Fowley sighs. He has reasonable answers to everything. Fowley pulls herself into a sitting position and reaches for her crutches. "I’m going to take a nap," she says. "If you’re still real when I wake up, I’ll interrogate you some more." Spender tries to say something to her, but she just waves him away. ** Monday, at the mall Reyes and Doggett are eating pretzels while watching parents subjecting crying babies and screaming toddlers to the annual debacle known as Pictures with Santa. "My parents used to do that to Skinner and I. I guess they thought that pictures of not one, but two scared little kids sitting on a stranger’s lap was too cute to forgo." Reyes says, looking sympathetically at the nearest screamer. "That’s back when they used to dress us in matching outfits too. And before you say it, Skinner wore pants, and I wore the dresses. They were sick people." "I guess there’s one good thing about being the youngest of five, then. I never was made to do the picture thing." "What, no cute pictures of little Doggett sitting on Santa’s lap? Your parents missed an opportunity to take a picture that will embarrass you for the rest of your natural life. How short sighted of them." Doggett smiles at her. "Are you planning to do that to our kids too? It’s obviously warped you, so I’m a little worried...." "Our kids? We’re having children?" "Oh, I didn’t tell you? Honey, I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you this...you’re pregnant." "God forbid!" Reyes says, giving him a playful swat. Doggett laughs so hard there are tears in his eyes. "Ok, you’re not pregnant. But maybe some day...." Doggett trails off. "I don’t know, if we had kids you’d probably dress them in little Nascar jumpers and I’d have to kill myself out embarrassment. " "Better than you giving them some new age names like Moon Child or Amethyst. "Doggett retorts. "No... I prefer Eric or Marie." Reyes says smiling. "Well sure, you say that now..." "Do you really think we’ll have kids?" Reyes asks. "Sure. We’ll get married, have 2.5 kids, buy a ranch and get Scully and Mulder to baby-sit for us when we go to the race track." "And for palm readings." "Right, that too. Come on, "Doggett says, talking her hand. "Let’s go to Spencers and see if they have any new posters." Reyes allowed herself to be led by the hand, happily daydreaming about the future Doggett described. ** 4pm Spender doesn’t see Fowley again until the next day, considerately giving her some time to absorb the fact that he’s still alive. He and Fowley decide to kill two birds with one stone and get some exercise by taking a walk while talking. Fowley got her walking cast and was eager to try it out, anyway. "How much longer are you going to be in that thing?" Spender asks, pointing to her cast. "I broke it by tripping over a root on Halloween night, so another three weeks or so. It can’t come soon enough. Have you ever broken a bone?" "No, I’ve been lucky. At least in that regard." "I don’t recommend it." Fowley jokes "Do you believe that I’m not dead now?" Spender asks, abruptly changing the subject. "I suppose I have to. You’re still here, and illusions don’t last this long, and since I don’t take LSD…yeah, I guess you’re alive." "Good. It’s easier to talk to someone who believes you’re real." Fowley stops, and says nothing. "Fowley?" Spender asks, sounding concerned. Fowley’s face crumples, and she shoves him, hard. "How could you let me believe you were dead? I needed you! Instead of writing to let me know you’re ok, you let me spend more than two months believing you were dead. And that it was my fault…." She turns away and covers her face with her hands. He reaches for her, but she pulls away, glaring at him. "Don’t touch me." "I’m sorry. I don’t think you’ll ever know how sorry, but I couldn’t let you know. I can’t explain it right now, but…I couldn’t let anyone know I was ok, especially you." "Why me?" "Because I love you. Because you were mine, and forces would use it against us." "What are you talking about? What forces? "Fowley asks. Spender shrugs helplessly. "I…I…My real father found out who I was, and sent me letters. Threatening ones. He…he said if I didn’t get out of the way for a few months he’d see to it that my life became a living hell. I don’t even know why. When I fell in the water, it seemed like fate, a good way to obey his demand. Just this week I got a letter saying I could come home again." "Who is he?" "I don’t know. He communicates through my parents. If they’re my parents, but people say I look like my dad, so how could this person be my real dad? Most of the threats were things he’d do to them if I didn’t disappear, and…even if they’re not my real parents, I love them. And they love me. I couldn’t let terrible things happen to them because of me. I’m sorry." "So am I." "Does that mean you’re not going to forgive me?" "It means I don’t know what I feel right now." "I can accept that. As long as you don’t hate me." "I don’t hate you. I don’t understand you, but I don’t think I could ever hate you." "I hope not." Spender says, which gives Fowley a chill. Tuesday 3pm, the Leary home While he’s the only one home, Mulder takes the opportunity to go into the attic to find what he wants. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Mulder reaches down and pulls up the corner of a board he carefully loosened long ago. The board comes up, and reveals the box hidden in the floor’s hollow. The lid of the box has his name written on it in his own childish scrawl. He gingerly removes the box, mindful of how precious the contents within are to him. When he was nine years old, his parents talked about Samantha for the last time. He was in bed, but they were being louder than they thought, and he could hear every word of their discussion. Argument. As usual Mulder’s mother accused his father of not caring, and his father told her they needed to move on. Mulder crept to the top of the stairs and watched as his mother, crying, gathered up all the physical evidence there ever was of his sister, put it in a bag, and brought it outside to the trash. The next morning he got up before the trash truck arrived, and rescued it. He brought it to school with him in his backpack because there was no other place that’d be safe, but he didn’t show it to anyone. When he got home he hid it in the wooden keepsake box that his grandfather made for him. Not long after he found the loose board to pry up, and put the box away for good. When his mom asked about the box’s whereabouts months later, he told his first deliberate lie, and said he lost it. There isn’t much in the box. Three photos of a sleepy dark-haired baby, a birth certificate, a wrist identification band, and the outfit his parents had brought her home from the hospital in. He rubs a corner of the white and pink-flowered outfit between his thumb and finger; the feeling of the soft fabric soothes him as always. It’s tangible proof of Sam’s existence, and it helps him feel less like his parents want him to: as if she never existed. When he hears a car come up the driveway he quickly puts everything back in the box and hides it again. He’s back downstairs before his mother walks into the door. He takes the bags of groceries from her and begins putting them away. When he hears her writing he turns, and something catches in his chest when he realizes that she’s writing the date of her next doctor’s appointment on the calendar. ** Wednesday lunch-time, at the high school Mulder, Scully, Reyes, Doggett and Skinner are sitting at their customary table at lunch, while Mulder and Doggett exchange pseudo-barbs for the entertainment of everyone else. The absence of Fowley from her usual spot is noticeable. She sits instead at a table alone with Skinner who has returned to school that day. "Look at her." Doggett says pointing. "Suddenly we’re not good enough for her to sit with." "Give her a break." Scully says. "It can’t be easy to have your dead boyfriend show up out of the blue." Reyes gives her a hard look. Since jumping to Fowley’s defense is the last thing the other girl usually does, Reyes is immediately suspicious. "Um…Is he still her boyfriend?" Mulder asks, sounding worried. Before anyone can answer, Krycek swoops in. "Awww, look at the love birds. It gets you right here, doesn’t it?" He says, pointing to somewhere other than his heart. The girls give him black looks. "Krycek, when you’re not around I miss you. Sort of like a recurrent bought of the stomach flu." Doggett say wryly. Krycek gives one of his signature smirks. "I can always count on you for a witticism, Wittier." Doggett gently nudges Reyes with his elbow. "See? There are people who think I can be depended on after all." Reyes rolls her eyes. "While this is all very droll, I wonder why you’re gracing us with your presence." Mulder says. Giving a wide-eyed innocent look Krycek says, "I’m here out of concern for you, Mulder. Now that the love of her life is back, Fowley isn’t going to ever reconsider your proposal for more than friendship, and I thought you could use the moral support." "Go to hell." Mulder says. "I hope you have plans for Christmas." He adds, meanly. Krycek walks off, suddenly looking only about 80% as smug as he did before. Since the tension is almost palpable, Scully makes a stab at changing the subject. She chooses something trite. "Is it hot in here, or is it me?" Mulder gives her a slightly leering look. "Oh, you’re always hot." Doggett gives Mulder a questioning look, even before Scully’s cheeks redden. "I’m done." Doggett announces, standing up. "Anyone else need to go to their lockers?" Scully jumps to her feet, and Reyes follows, leaving Skinner and Mulder to finish their lunches alone. As they put their trays away, Reyes asks Scully "Can we talk after school?" Scully nods, without even asking what about. ** In Reyes room Scully has never been in Reyes room before, and is feeling slightly uncomfortable as they sit quietly watching TV. It almost comes as a relief when Reyes finally begins to say what’s on her mind. Reyes decides not to beat around the bush. "So…tell me about your crush on Mulder." "I’m going to kill your brother." Scully says, rather softly. "No killing necessary. Every time I tried to get information out of him he just told me that he doesn’t gossip. Which so isn’t true…but anyway, I figured it out on my own." "How?" "I always sort of thought that you liked him, but today when you came to Fowley’s defense, that is not like you at all. Until I thought about it, you were defending her right to be interested in someone other than Mulder. Of course a girl would approve of someone showing interest in a person other than their own crush." Reyes says animatedly. "Skinner always said you were perceptive." Sully muses. "I am. So tell me why Mulder doesn’t know you like him." Scully looks at her wide-eyed. "Wow, that just doubly proves what your brother says. Ok, I haven’t told him because…"she trails off. "Because what?" Reyes persists. "… Because I’m afraid. Afraid that he’ll say he doesn’t feel the same, and that I won’t be able to forgive him for it." "Valid fears." Reyes remarks. "That’s not very comforting." "I know. But considering how wrapped up he’s been in his feelings for Fowley, I’d have to agree that a confession right now would be emotionally suicidal." "So why are we having this conversation?" Scully asks. "Because I thought you needed to talk to another girl about it. You do, don’t you?" "Yeah, I guess. It sort of does feel better to tell someone." "Good. Remember what they say, ‘good things come to those who wait.’" "I’ve been waiting my whole life." Scully says under her breath. "What did you say?" Reyes asks. "Nothing." Scully says, then tries to think of a new topic of conversation. "Is your dad going to be around for Christmas?" "I think so, why?" "I don't know. I guess I was just thinking of what Mulder said to Krycek at lunch, is all." Scully says. "Thanks for talking to me about this. Even if it's not a conversation I would have initiated on my own, I guess it's one I needed to have." "No problem. That's what friends are for." Reyes says, which startles Scully. The idea of a female friend is a novelty to her. ** Thursday, the Elementary school Fowley isn’t there, and her buddy is working with another teen and their buddy. The rest of the gang is spread between two tables with their kids. Scully, Mulder and Doggett are at the same table, and every time the kids get up to get more materials for their art projects, Mulder takes the opportunity to flirt with Scully. "Did you wash your pants with windex?" He asks her. "No, why?" She asks, expecting a silly reply. Mulder doesn’t defy expectation. "Because I can see myself in them." He says with a huge grin. Scully rolls her eyes, but is confused. Her discussion with Reyes the day before seemed so reasonable, but…The next time materials were needed, she went along with her buddy to get it. As she came back she noticed that Doggett was giving Mulder a dirty look, and seemed to be about to open his mouth. Then he seemed to reconsider as she slide back into her chair. She spent the rest of the time concentrating on helping her buddy decorate glass ornaments with glitter. When the period was over she said her good-byes quickly, and left with Skinner since they were both going over to the Ice House. It didn’t, however, escape her notice that Doggett pulled Mulder aside. ** As they stood in the now deserted corridor, Doggett glares at Mulder. "What the hell are you doing?" He asks, his voice tightly controlled. "I don’t know. You’re the one who pulled me aside, remember?" "You know I’m talking about how you’ve been treating Scully." "What’s the big deal? I thought you of all people, with your ‘cute couple’ talk would be happy that I’ve started to show some interest in her." "Is that what you call it?" Doggett asks. "Yeah, what would you call it?" "I would call it a thinly veiled plot to make Fowley jealous." Doggett holds up his hand to halt the protest that Mulder is sure to offer. "Don’t you think it’s a little obvious? Within mere days of Fowley rejecting you, and her long lost love showing up, you suddenly have a thing for Scully? I’m your best friend, so I’m not going to tell you that you’re an asshole, but did you even for a second consider Scully’s feelings? For God’s sake, man, she’s been one of your closest friends forever, so you know that she doesn’t deserve to be the pawn in your little manipulation game. You’re not going to do anything that will get Fowley’s attention, so forget it. Don’t add to this by hurting Scully in the process of working through an act of futility." "How does making Fowley jealous hurt Scully?" Mulder asks, bewildered. Doggett throws his hands up in the air, and sighs in frustration. "She likes you, you idiot. Everyone seems to realize that but you. She’s the last person you should have picked to make Fowley jealous- not that Fowley has even noticed any of it." Mulder doesn’t say anything for a long while; thinking of what Doggett has just told him fills him with shame; not to mention surprise. At last he looks up and says, "I’m never going to get the girl, am I?" Doggett cuffed his shoulder. "You know you will. Once you decide which girl it is that you really want in the long run. And as long as you never try to play them against each other." He added with a mock stern-ness. Or, Mulder realized, not mocking at all despite his playful tone. It was something to keep in mind- someone was keeping an eye out for Scully even when he was too wrapped up in his own goals to. ** 7:45pm The Capeside 10 pin Fowley looks slightly chagrined as her ball skids off of the lane and into the gutter. Spender tries to look sympathetic, but he is not entirely able to hide the glee he feels that he’s winning. "Remind me again why we’re here?" Fowley asks. Spender gives her a grin. "I said I wanted to go somewhere where there would be no… semblance of romantic pressure." "A noble but hollow gesture. That is why we’re here, isn’t it? To talk about ‘us’?" Spender looks slightly abashed. "Yes." "So we could have just as well had this conversation over a nice dinner." Fowley says, putting her ball down firmly. "So…speak." "I…I want to know where we stand." Spender says. "Do we stand anywhere? Death, whether it’s real or a hoax, is the ending of many things." Fowley says with a shrug. "Is there someone else?" Spender asks angrily. "No. Does that make you feel better? …or worse?" Spender fidgets the ball in the ball return. "Neither, just more confused. If there’s no one else, why can’t things be the same as they were before?" "How can you even ask that? Nothing’s the same. I can’t count on you any more. How do I know that if I was to take you back that you wouldn’t receive another mysterious letter demanding that you disappear again? I can’t deal with that again, especially not now. It may not be entirely your fault, but you can’t guarantee that I won’t end up suddenly mourning you again. I’m sorry, but it’s not a risk I’m willing to take." Fowley says, looking sincerely sorry. Spender sighs, but doesn’t look surprised. "We can still be friends, though, right?" "Of course." "And maybe someday, when I’ve resolved all this mess with this person claiming to be my long lost father…"Spender trails off. "Maybe some day." Fowley agrees. "Good. Since we’re here we may as well finish this set." Spender says, preparing to take his turn. "Oh, why not. How often do I get to indulge in my fetish for rental shoes?" Fowley laughs. ** Friday afternoon, McPhee home Mr. McPhee asks the twins to speak with him before dinner. Skinner and Reyes exchange worried looks; their father’s impromptu family meetings are never about anything pleasant. Mr. McPhee cleared his throat. "I have some bad news for you." Reyes braces herself, sure he is going to say he is going to have a business trip over the holidays. A quick glance at Skinner’s face suggests he has jumped to the same conclusion. Mr. McPhee continues, "While I was in Connecticut over Thanksgiving, I went to the hospital to see your mother." "You did?" Reyes asks, surprised. He usually tells them when he’s going to visit her. "Yes. She...she was the same. Oh, for a moment or two she was rational enough to tell me how much she misses us, but after that… I had hoped, at least a little, that she’d be able to come home for Christmas, even if just for a short visit. I’m sorry kids, it looks like it’s going to be just the three of us again this year." Skinner and Reyes rushed to their dad and gave him hugs. Most of the time their father showed no sentiment where their mother was concerned, so it greatly surprised them that he’d held any hopes of their mother recovering any time soon. ** Saturday 8am, Mulder’s yard Skinner and Reyes decide, while seized with a zeal to make Christmas special for their dad, to captain a shopping trip. Mulder’s house is the last stop before hitting the mall. He is about to get into the car when he suddenly hesitates. "I’m sorry, I forgot my list. I’ll be right back." "You’d better be." Reyes says. Doggett and Scully make faces at him behind her, so she has no idea why he suddenly smiles. By the time she’s turned towards them, they have innocent expressions pasted on their faces. Mulder runs back to the house. Since his parents are still sleeping, he goes up to his room as quietly as possible. He sees the list on his desk and is about to pick it up when his parents’ sudden voices alert him that they’re actually awake. He shrugs and is about to leave anyway when he hears his father speak. "Gale, you know it’s going to be different this time. They promised." "How do we know they’ll keep their word?" she asks him, sounding unconvinced. "We don’t have any reason to not believe them. They did exactly what they said they would before, so there’s no reason to believe they’d suddenly start lying to us now." "I want to believe that everything will be fine…"She trails off. "It will. We did just what we were supposed to, so we’ll get what’s coming to us. Once this baby is born we’ll have everything we ever hoped for." Not wanting to hear more, Mulder grabs the list off the desk and runs down the stairs, still trying to be as quiet as he can. Not knowing what to think about what he’s heard, he decides to keep it to himself. "Sorry, I had a little trouble finding it. Thanks for waiting." Mulder apologizes as he climbs into the car. "No problem. We’ll still get there in time to get a good parking space." Skinner says, pulling out of the driveway. "Can you believe this snow? Maybe we’ll have a white Christmas after all. "Mulder looks through the window at the snow and all it covers up, and thinks about how fitting that is. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Union Underground ("Turn me on Mr. Deadman") The Nixons ("Sister") And Collapsis ("Pure Triangles") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek. ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 05 Faded Photograph Summary: A picture Mulder was told of was of a cousin isn't, and it leads him and Scully on an adventure to find the truth. Opening Scene Mulder and Scully are intent on painting Christmas ornaments while "Frosty the Snowman" plays on the TV. Scully carefully and neatly paints, but Mulder is surrounded by a litter of paint-stained paper towels and drippy glasses of tinted water. Surprisingly, his ornaments themselves are just as neatly and intricately detailed as Scully’s. "I can’t believe what a mess you’re making." Scully says. "It’s my room, and I’m the one who has to clean it, so I can make as big a mess as I want." "Come to think of it, your room is pretty neat most of the time..." "Do you know why?" Mulder asks. "You’re cribbing from Skinner?" Scully asks mischievously. Mulder rolls his eyes. "You wish." "Do not! He’s a nice guy, but...we have too similar tastes in posters." "Ha. The reason is that when I was 10 or so I had a very messy room-" "I know. Weird science experiments germinated all over." Scully interrupts. "Anyway, one day I came home from school and my room was spotless-" "Christmas elves?" Scully guesses. "No, I didn’t leave out any leather. It was spotless because Mom took all of my stuff and locked it up in the basement. It took two solid weeks of begging to get my toys back.," says Mulder. The TV special breaks out into the Frosty The Snowman song, so they both turn to watch that part of the show. "Why don’t we play in the snow like we used to?" Mulder asks. "Because we’re old enough to find being cold and wet distasteful?" Scully suggests. "It’s just wrong. We need to recapture that part of our past. Do you remember when we were seven-" "Yes." "Stop interrupting me!" Mulder exclaims, and ignores Scully’s sticking her tongue out at him. "As I was saying, do you remember when we tried to make an igloo?" "Of course. Our brilliant idea to add water to harden it made it melt." "Yeah, but...It was fun. Why can’t we have fun like that any more?" "Who says we can’t?" Scully asks, earning a winsome smile. Until she paints the tip of his nose, at which point he lunges at her, laughing. ** Theme song- "Stranded by Plumb" ** Monday 7:15am at the high school Spender is on his way to his first class when Krycek approaches him, and to Spender’s surprise, pulls him into the empty library. "Are we researching something?" Spender asks. "I’m not, but you should be." Krycek says. "What are you talking about?" "Oh, I think you know. Think hard about what you were promised would be avoided if you ‘disappeared’ for a while. That promise wasn’t kept." "You’re lying!" Spender says hotly. "Am I? I’m not the one who can prove or deny that. I just know what I know. You know who you have to ask if I’m right or not. Later." Krycek abruptly walks away, leaving an anxious looking Spender there. ** 3:30 pm, Leary Home Mulder has the house to himself for a change, and ruefully wonders what fun he’s missing by not being a latchkey kid. His mother has almost always been home by the time he’s gotten home from school; she did the noon news instead of the six o’clock expressly for that purpose. The house seems quiet with no one home, and for a second Mulder gets a chill. Mulder runs up to his room, thinking that he may as well take advantage of his solitude and wrap some Christmas presents in the living room, where he has more room to spread out. It takes him two trips to bring everything down from his room, and he’s about to begin wrapping when he discovers the fatal flaw to his plan- he doesn’t have any scissors. A look through the everything drawer in the kitchen leaves him still empty handed, so he decides to look in his mother’s sewing kit. He feels guilty about going into his parents room so close to Christmas, because he’s a repentant peeker. Until he was ten or eleven, he used to sneak into their room to look for his presents, but eventually he grew to realize that it was more fun to be completely surprised on Christmas morning; Before he opens their door he takes a deep breath and hopes that his mom has gotten her wrapping done early. To his relief there are no unwrapped presents scattered around. He concludes that the presents are either in the closet, or his parents went way overboard on the last minute Internet ordering mentality. Either way, he doesn’t have to feel guilty anymore. Or, not guilty about being in their room, the fact that he still has some shopping of his own left to do righteously nags at him. As he rummages through the sewing kit, he turns up an old photograph that he’s seen a few times before. The subject of the picture is a small brown-haired girl, who is staring very seriously at the camera. I wonder if I’ll ever meet my cousin, Mulder thinks. Arden is two years older than Mulder, but they’ve never seen each other because her family lives in California. Mulder remembers having seen the photo for the first time about seven years earlier, and he wonders how it found its way into the sewing kit. Because he hasn’t turned on a light in his parents’ room, he brings the picture to the window to get a better look at it. She looks much as she does in the graduation picture that her parents sent over the summer; with her dark hair and hazel eyes, you can see a definite family resemblance between her and Mulder. The thing that strikes Mulder the strangest is that she’s so small in the picture, since his mother says it’s her first grade photo, and she looks two years younger than she should. Mulder shrugs and thinks suddenly of how small Scully was when he first met her. He’s about to put the picture away when a detail in it he has never noticed before catches his eye. There’s a calendar in the far left of the photograph. Intrigued, he picks up the scissors, shuts the sewing case, and brings the picture to his own room. He lays it on his desk and pulls out a magnifying glass to examine the calendar more closely. The magnifying glass drops from his suddenly nerveless fingers when he reads the year on the calendar- 1993. Mulder swallows hard and shoves the picture in between the pages of a book before going back downstairs to wrap his presents. ** Wednesday afternoon, McPhee home Skinner and Reyes sit at the kitchen table, finishing their homework. Reyes snaps her books shut, and puts her chin on her fists, looking at Skinner. "What?" "We need to do something for dad." "What do you have in mind?" "I think we need to tell him that we want him to bring us to see Mom over break." "Why? I don’t object to visiting Mom, but why do you think it’d be something Dad would want?" Reyes sighs. "It’s obvious that he wants to spend time with her, why else would he have wanted her home for Christmas? He won’t go to see her without us over break, though, so…you get it now?" "Yes. When do we tell him?" "Oh, whenever he’s in a good mood." "What do we do if that doesn’t happen before Christmas?" Skinner asks, laughing. Reyes rolls her eyes at him, but laughs too. ** Capeside Family Practice Fowley wiggles her pale foot, frowning slightly. "My foot seems to have lost all its color." She says to the doctor. "That’s normal for when a cast comes off. You’ll just have to spend a lot of time on the beach next summer. How does it feel otherwise?" "Not too bad, considering." "Well good. If you have any pain, make an appointment and I’ll take a look at it." "Ok, great. Thanks a lot." "No problem. Just bring a better flashlight the next time you’re going to be in the woods after dark." "I will." The doctor then leaves the room. Fowley wiggles her foot a bit more, and decides to brave putting on a sock, then her shoe. When she stands up she immediately feels a little strange, it’s been so long since she’s stood normally on two feet. After a moment or two she feels almost as steady as usual. She’s waiting for the receptionist to give her a receipt to give to Grams when Mrs. Leary walks in, apparently there for an appointment of her own. As soon as she sees her, she’s overwhelmed by the urge to run out of the office, receipt or no. Knowing it’s irrational, she compromises with herself, and doesn’t acknowledge the older woman’s presence to avoid being drawn into a conversation. Mrs. Leary notices the girl leaving, and smiles to herself. ** Mulder’s room Scully sits at Mulder’s desk as he paces around the room. "What is your problem?" She asks, finally reaching the limit of tolerance for watching pacing. "I have something to show you." Mulder says, going to his bookcase. "A book? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you touch a book outside of school. Are you feeling ok?" "Very funny. It’s something in the book." He says, pulling the photograph out of the book and handing it to her. "Look at this." "It’s a little girl. Is there something remarkable about this picture that I’m not getting?" Scully asks. "My parents tell me that it’s a picture of my cousin Arden, when she was in first grade." "And you don’t think it is?" "No, I don’t. Arden’s eighteen." "So?" "See the calendar in the left hand corner? I looked at it through a magnifying glass." "And?" Scully asks, nearly exasperated. "And it says 1993. Arden was ten that year. Even if mom was wrong and it isn’t her first grade picture…"Mulder trails off. "There’s no way the girl in this picture is ten." Scully finishes. "Right. I know you’re going to think I’m crazy, but-" "You think this is your sister." Scully states. "Who else could it be?" "Well, she does look a lot like you." Scully says, glancing between him and the photograph. "You don’t think I’m crazy, then?" "No more than usual." "Hey!" Mulder yelps. "You asked." "I thought about it, and the background looked somewhat familiar, so I checked some other photos in the family photo albums. I found out where it is from reading the back of another picture." "Where?" "A cabin my parents rented from his boss one summer. I want to go there." "Mulder, she’s probably not there now." "I don’t care. I just want to find that place. And I want you to go with me. We have Monday off because of the teachers’ workshop day. Please?" He doesn’t believe for a second that I’ll say no, Scully thinks. "What’s in it for me?" She asks. "Do it and I’ll be your best friend." Mulder says, giving her puppy dog eyes. "You already are!" Scully says. "Oh. I’ll think of something." "Really," Scully says sounding intrigued. "All right, I’ll go with you." "Thank you!" Mulder says, throwing his arms around her. That’s a start, Scully thinks. ** 8pm, Lindley home Grams is thrilled that Spender is over, having told Fowley a number of times he’s a "nice young man, "and goes into the kitchen to quickly bake some cookies. When Fowley protests that she needn’t, Grams says the batter is done anyway. So she leaves Fowley and Spender sitting on the couch alone. "You never said why you’re here." Fowley says sounding curious. Spender listens for the sound of Grams in the kitchen. When he hears her humming Joy To The World, he finally speaks. "Did anything strange happen while I was gone?" "Define strange." Spender hesitates, trying to think how to frame it. "What I mean is, did anyone try to make you do something you didn’t want to?" "No, why?" Fowley asks, puzzled. "It’s nothing then. Someone implied today that you were being bothered while I was in Canada, is all." "Who?" "Um...Krycek." "As if he knows anything about me." "Yeah, that’s what I thought." Spender says. "Smells like the cookies are almost done." "Good. I hope they’re chocolate chip. I have a chocolate craving." Fowley says. Spender just gives her an unreadable look and wanders into the kitchen. ** Friday 7pm, Cumberland County Civic Center After a three-hour car ride up to Portland Maine, they are thrilled to be standing in a mosh pit, because no one could take another second of sitting. The opening act, a band called Bad Ronald isn’t very good, but before long they’re mercifully off the stage, and the band Scully and Reyes really wanted to see, Jeremiah Freed, takes the stage, and the girls are in 7th heaven when their favorite song of all, Again, plays. Scully closes her eyes and sings along to the song- she knows every word by heart. Mulder smiles when he notices, he thinks it’s rare indeed to see her unselfconsciously get caught up in the moment. It’s not even his favorite single off the album that she’s played him many times, but he realizes that there’s something about the song that strikes a cord with her. Later, as the band Default plays, Mulder finds his eyes drifting towards Fowley. Mulder was surprised that she was still planning on going, because her lack of time for everyone except Spender had made him think that she was going to bail on them. He thought it was strange how long ago that his asking her to go to the concert seemed; years might well have occurred in the span of a few short weeks- it felt forever ago that he’d harbored the naive hope that she returned his affections. He knew Spender’s return somehow was the final nail in the metaphorical coffin, even if Spender had nothing to do with anything between he and Fowley. Mulder told himself that he was over it, and to enjoy the concert, but the unseen look he gave Fowley when the band played Wasting my time was more than a little resentful. For Reyes, The best part of the concert is when Saliva and Nickleback plays. It isn’t necessarily that they are her favorite bands, because they aren’t, but she likes how she fells during the last two acts. The feel of the music is fantastic. Only when a band plays live does she feel that she’s part of it- the vibrations sent through the floor, through her, connect her to it, as if it’s a living part of everyone there. On a different level, though, one she’s more readily able to put into words, she feels safe. She’s not sure if Doggett, Mulder or Skinner realize it, but as soon as the crowd got more rambunctious, they hovered more closely, protectively, to the girls. Reyes doesn’t consider herself much of a girly-girl, and never a shirking violet, but it’s admittedly satisfying to have three of the guys she cares for the most keeping them from harm without even being conscious of it. It’s incredibly cold when they walk out to their car, and the wind rips through them. Laughing, they run as quickly as they can to the parking garage. They know they’ll have quite a long wait to finally get out of the garage, but at least in the car they’re warmer. As they drive away at last, Scully looks back, and then at the people in the car. She wonders for a moment how many more times they’ll all be together before time and different destinies rift them apart. The thought is so fleeting she doesn’t have time to be sad before being drawn into conversation about the concert. ** Monday, 10am, Mystic Cabins, Mystic Connecticut Scully yawns and looks at Mulder. They have been sitting in the parked car for ten minutes, while Mulder tries to get up the nerve to approach the cabin. The cabin is set back from the road, and the yard is sprinkled with the requisite number of pine trees needed to give it a woodsy feel. There are a dozen other cabins, five other on its side of the street, half a dozen across the street, and one at the dead end of the road. The logs that make them all are silvered with age and rain. A small lake winds it way behind the cabin of interest and the others that are on the same side of the road. At last Mulder takes a deep breath and opens his door, climbing out. Scully scrambles to follow him; she wasn’t sure he was going to get out so she didn’t bother to take of her seatbelt until now. She’s only half way up the walk by the time Mulder is tentatively knocking on the door. No one answers. There are no lights on, nor are there any other signs of life. Mulder struggles with his emotions for a minute when it finally becomes clear to him that no one is in the building, and no one has probably been in quite a while. Even though he has been telling himself since figuring out where the photograph was taken that this is a long shot, his disappointment is profound. He swallows hard, surprised by the bile that wells up at the back of his throat; never before did he realize that the dashing of one’s hope could have a physical effect on a person. Before Scully can think of any way to comfort him, he bolts. She blinks, and for one scary second is treated to a vision of him throwing himself in the lake, trying to drown himself as well as his melancholy. Fear propels her feet, and she runs after him. To her vast relief, if puzzlement, she sees him scurrying from one thing in the yard to another, stopping only for seconds before choosing a new thing to examine. "Mulder, what are you doing?" she calls to him, exasperated. "Looking for proof. "he calls back, not looking up from his hasty examination of a tree stump. "Proof of what, exactly?" "Proof that my sister was here, obviously." Mulder says, beginning to sound agitated. "Mulder...it may have been years since she was here." Scully says gently. "How could you hope to find something after all this time?" "There’s something here." Mulder insists stubbornly. "I know there is, and I’m going to find it." Scully shrugs, and perches herself on the tree stump while he continues his search. Watching him makes her tired, and eventually her thoughts start to drift. It’s warmer here than at home, and the utter lack of snow is shocking. It never occurred to her that driving less than 100 miles south could illustrate such a contrast in weather. Just as she’s wondering if the weather forecaster’s are right about the potentiality for a Christmas eve snow storm, she hears Mulder shout, "I found it!" Scully looks up and sees him looking at the trunk of a tree. When she is standing by his side, he points to a waist high portion of the bark. Deeply scaring the bark are two primitive looking letters side by side. "S.L." She stares at them, and tries for Mulder’s sake to believe. "She knows her name." He says softly. As improbable as the possibility seems, she can’t come up with a more logical reason for the existence of two small letters carved into a tree at a child’s height. ** Monday 5pm, McPhee home Reyes and Skinner make a quick sweep of the house, making sure it’s in perfect order. They had decided that it was a good day to approach their father about possibly visiting their mom, and having the house look good would probably put him in a good mood. Mr. McPhee certainly looks happy as he come into the house, so Skinner and Reyes trade grins. He hangs up his coat before asking, "What came over you two?" "Oh, you know, we had the day off and couldn’t find anything more productive to do." Skinner jokes. "That’s both sad and nice." Mr. McPhee quips back. "I have a feeling I’m being set up for something, though." "Well, Dad...We weren’t planning on pouncing on you as soon as you walked through the door." Reyes says. "Out with it." Mr. McPhee says, still smiling. "Dad, we miss Mom. I know you wanted her to be home for the holidays, and we did too. Do you think you could bring us to see her, though? It wouldn’t be the same as having her here, but it’d be something." Skinner says. "Please Dad?" Reyes asks. Mr. McPhee looks at them both. "If you’re sure you’re up to it, of course I will." "Thanks Dad!" they both exclaim. "I’m glad you two want to do this, because...I had that thought too, but I didn’t know if you’d want to see her." "We do. I’m so glad we’re going." Reyes says. "We made dinner, too, let’s eat." Mr. McPhee mugs a scared look, then laughs when Reyes and Skinner respond by pretending to look hurt. 5:30 pm Mystic Pizza Scully toys with the crust to her pizza and looks around the pizza parlor. "This is eerily like the movie." She notes. "Of course it is. We couldn’t go to Mystic without going to the aquarium and here. They’re our cover story." He says, looking happier than he has in hours. "Had you been to the aquarium before?" she asks, thinking of how haunting the beluga whales sounded. She hadn’t expected whales. "Sure. My parents used to bring me there when I was a little boy. I’ve always loved the dolphin statue out front." Scully finishes her pizza and says. "Are we going to talk about it?" "About what." Mulder asks. "You’re not very good at playing dumb. You know I’m talking about this morning. You haven’t said a word about it since we left the cabin, and I know you’re thinking about it." Mulder’s eyes drift over towards the kids playing a video game. They look like middle school kids, and they sound happy. "There’s something I haven’t told you." He says quietly, when he looks back to Scully. "Really." She says evenly, but in truth she’s surprised. It’s not like Mulder to keep secrets. "Remember when we were about to leave for the mall last weekend, and I ran back into the house because I forgot my list?" "Yes, it was a little over a week ago. Of course I remember." Scully says, a bit sarcastically. "You think you’re a funny girl, don’t you. Anyway, when I was getting the list I overheard my parents talking." "About what?" "That’s the thing, I’m not sure what they were talking about, not for sure. I’m almost positive they were talking about the baby, though...and Sam." Mulder’s voice cracks a bit. "It sounded like...like that they were supposed to have another baby. Not that they necessarily wanted one, but they were supposed to have it." "Who would force your parents to have another baby?" Scully asks, confused. "I don’t know. But from the scared way my mother was talking, I’m pretty sure that who ever it was had to do with Sam’s disappearance, too. My dad told her that nothing bad would happen this time, and they kept their word last time, so they needed to believe them." "Why would your parents be involved with people who stole their baby, though? It doesn’t make any sense." "I know it doesn’t. It has to have something to do with my Dad’s work though, why else would they have had Sam at the cabin my dad said his boss owned?" "I wish I knew." Scully says sadly. "So do I. There’s more. Dad said that when this baby was born that they’d have everything they ever wanted. Does that mean two kids, or are they going to trade the baby for something? They couldn’t...couldn’t have done that with Sam, could they? They didn’t trade my sister for something, they couldn’t have." "I’m sure they didn’t have anything to do with it, Mulder. Your parents are good people. They wouldn’t have done that to her, or you." "I have to believe that too, or how could I keep myself from hating them? " "Mulder-" "I’m going to find out what happened, and what’s happening now, no matter what it costs me." I just hope the cost isn’t too high, Scully thinks. ** Tuesday, lunch-time Capeside High Besides the addition of Spender, the normal make-up of the lunch table is the same. That, and Mulder is now sitting as far away from Fowley and Spender as he possibly can. Scully and Doggett are insulting each other’s choice of lunch food when Reyes interrupts them. "Mrs Sweeny told the class today that’s she’s pregnant. I bet the school is glad that it’s going to be a summer baby so they don’t have to hire a long term sub for her." "Oh." Doggett says, sounding disappointed. "Long term subs are the most fun to torture. Remember the one that had his car taken apart by the high schoolers when we were in 6th grade? Gretchen never has confirmed or denied her involvement in that event." "Your sister?" Mulder asks, incredulously. "You I can easily picture being part of such a foul caper, but not your sainted sister." "If you lived with her, you’d know she’s far from a saint." Doggett says firmly. Skinner waits for a lull in conversation. "You know, Mrs. Jamerson said that she’s having a baby too. That’s sort of weird, isn’t it? Two teachers pregnant at the same time." "Must be something in the water. "Reyes jokes. "Good thing we bring bottled water, Scully." Scully laughs. "It is weird..." Mulder says absently. ** 3:30pm Leary Home Mrs. Leary is sitting on the couch looking at Baby magazine. She’s stops flipping through it when she notices Mulder drop his book bag in the hall. "Oh, honey, I didn’t realize you were home." She gestures towards the magazine. "There’s a lot about babies and pregnancy you forget in sixteen years, so I’ve been doing a little cramming." Twelve years, Mulder mentally corrects her. "You’re saying I wasn’t a memorable baby?" he teases. "Of course you were! But...parents tend to remember the high light reels best, not the monotonous day to day stuff." "Sure, you’re just trying to make me feel better. You know what’s strange though, Reyes and Skinner were telling me that Mrs. Sweeny and Mrs. Jamerson are pregnant too." "I know, that’s great isn’t it?" "You know?" Mulder asks. "Yes. They’re part of my book group. They told everyone at last week’s meeting." "I guess that is good news." Mulder says with forced enthusiasm. "It is. This is one of those things that it’s nice to have other people around who are going through it at the same time." "I suppose that would make it easier. I need to do some homework, call me for dinner." "Ok, Sweetie." Mrs. Leary says, smiling as Mulder walks out of the room. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Jeremiah Freed ("Again") Default ("Wasting my time") And Verve Pipe ("Photograph") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 06 The Gray in Red Summary: Mulder tries to convince Scully that Santa Claus is not only real, but also an alien. Opening Scene Mulder puts the last pieces of his Christmas village on his dresser while Scully rips open the bag of fake snow. Tiny skaters stand frozen on a glass pond, waiting to be plugged in so they can move. Santa in his sleigh poses equally motionless in his sleigh far above the houses. "Where’s the new house?" Scully asks. Mulder pulls a box out of the top drawer of his desk. "Right here." He says, opening the box to reveal a delicate gray church complete with tiny stain glass windows. "Do you have any idea where your mother gets them?" Scully asks, sprinkling the snow over everything. "I’m pretty sure she buys them at the Christmas Dove. That’s where I saw them for the first time, anyway, and begged to have them." "It’s sort of a neat tradition you and your mom have, a new building every Christmas." "Yeah, it’s pretty cool that she has never forgotten a year." Mulder says, putting the church next to the post office. Scully runs her index finger over the wire deer. "Do you realize that you just said something relatively nice about your mother?" "Yup. I feel better now. When I came home from school a couple of days ago she was reading some stuff about babies, to help her remember what they’re like, she said. " "So you don’t think that there are any sinister plans for this baby, then?" "Let’s just say I’m much more hopeful than I was before." Mulder says, turning on the power strip. "That’s great to here." Scully says. "God this looks pretty." She points to the village. As the tiny lights on the tiny trees twinkle, Mulder says "I know." *** Theme Song: "Stranded" By Plumb *** Thursday at the Elementary School The teens and 3rd graders exchanged presents earlier in the session, and the inevitable "awes" over the cuteness of the obviously handmade gifts from the younger kids melted the hearts of even the hardest teen hearts. Even Krycek, who had been reluctantly drafted a few weeks earlier as a buddy as an alternative to a month’s suspension for some shadowy misdeed, was moved almost to tears by the effort his little buddy put into his present. The director, aptly noticing that emotions were running, suggests a cathartic snowball fight outside. Scully frowns a little at the suggestion, because as she told Mulder, she really doesn’t like being cold and wet, but shrugs and goes with it when everyone else crows enthusiastically about the idea. After throwing on her coat, she chases after her buddy, who is much more eager to get outside. "Doggett, I have something for you." A small voice pipes. Doggett turns to look and gets a snowball in the face for his trouble. His buddy half yells, half laughs as Doggett tries to run him down. Skinner and his buddy catch the boy and keep him from running away until Doggett can extract his revenge. Reyes sounds very business like as she instructs Scully, Fowley and their buddies from behind the safety of their hastily built fort. "What you have to do is to pack the snow together very tightly so that it will stay together when you throw it. Watch." She says, lobbing the snowball, which hits Mulder squarely on the shoulder. Then, as he grabs an armload of snow and charges, she demonstrates the art of covering your head with your arms. She shrieks as the snow finds its way down the back of her jacket. Seeing that their leader is in peril, the three little girls charge Mulder and knock him onto his butt. He protests as they pelt him with snow, and systematically begin to bury him in it. He turns pleading eyes on Fowley and Scully. "You aren’t going to participate in this act of barbarism against a defenseless man, are you?" "No. "Fowley says. "But we’re not going to help, either." Scully says, and they walk back and start shoring up the side of the fort, leaving Mulder to the mercy of the younger girls. ** Friday Capeside high Reyes returns from caroling at a retirement home less than five minutes after the end of the school day. The carolers are told to go to their lockers immediately, so those going home on the bus won’t miss theirs. Reyes doesn’t go home on the bus, but since she doesn’t want to miss Fowley, either, she does dash to her locker as instructed. She’s putting her stuff in her back pack when the door behind her suddenly slams, and when she spins around, Fowley is standing in front of her, looking far less than happy. "What’s wrong?" Reyes asks. "Oh, nothing. I just had another lovely discussion with Mr. CSM about my history grade." "I thought you were doing ok in that class." "I am. I want to do better than ok, though, but he won’t let me do anything for extra credit over break." "That sucks. I’m sure your grade will be fine, though." "I’d like to think so... How was caroling?" Fowley asks. "Um...depressing. which reminds me... Skinner and I are going with our dad to Connecticut for Christmas. We should be back on the 27th, do you mind waiting until then to exchange gifts?" "No, that’s fine. Let’s get going, though, the halls seem strange with no one in them." "It spooks you?" Reyes teases. "Oh yes. You only moved here recently, but local lore has it that the high school was built on the site of a house in which two people committed suicide in on Christmas eve. Every few years someone who lingers late at school right before Christmas reports to see shadowy figures floating down the hallways." "You’re pulling my leg." "You want to risk that?" Fowley says smiling, and then races Reyes out the door. ** Mulder’s Room Scully plays with the Christmas village while Mulder finishes wrapping his last minute Christmas presents. "Boy, you cut it to the wire." "Yeah, I like to live dangerously." "Why am I here?" "Why are any of us here? Your parents loved each other very much and-" "You know that’s not what I mean!" Scully says, throwing a stuffed animal at him. "Why am I here right now? You said that you have a plan. What plan?" He looks at her gleefully. "We’re going to catch Santa this year." Scully does not hide her dubiousness. "Mulder, Santa isn’t real. Remember? They told us years ago." "Real? What’s real? I say he’s as real as you or I." "Mulder, it’s statically impossible for one man to circumnavigate the entire world and leave presents for all the Christian children." "For a man, yes, that’d be impossible. But Santa isn’t a man." "Well what is he then, a good spirit?" "He’s an alien, of course." "Mulder-" "Aliens have technology that we can’t hope to explain or understand. If anyone can do it, It’d be an alien, particularly a gray since they are the ones most often sited in this country. And, moreover, alien abductees often report that they’re missing time, so it’s obvious that they also have the power to manipulate time, which negates the argument that no one could deliver all the gifts in one night." "Mulder-" "Also, UFO sightings are also more numerous during the month of December than any other month, which would lead one to believe that he was doing test runs before hand." "Mulder, you’re insane." "But you’re still going to help me catch him, right?" "Well, yeah, but-" "Great. I’ll have a plan ready by Sunday night." Mulder says enthusiastically. Scully walks out of his room, shaking her head. ** Saturday morning, church basement Fowley hands a pair of baskets to a woman and wishes her a merry Christmas. Grams says "That’s the last of the volunteers. We’ll deliver this basket ourselves on the way home. Could you bring it out to the car?" "Ok Grams." Fowley says, glancing in the basket. She notices a tiny pair of jeans and a sweater. "This family has a little kid?" "Yes. A little boy, three years old." "But there aren’t any toys in this basket." Fowley says, thinking of the other baskets going to families with children. Grams shakes her head sadly. "We got the family’s name at the last minute. We’d spent most of the donations already, so we were just glad to be able to make up another basket at all." Fowley looks at the little outfit and imagines the person who’ll wear them waking up Christmas morning to nothing to play with. "Grams, can we stop at a store before we drop off the basket?" "Of course, Dear." "Good. I need to buy a couple of things." When they get there she picks up playdough, a coloring book and crayons, and a set of small cars, then has them wrapped. She puts them, and a box of candy canes, in the basket, and blushes a little when she notices how pleased Grams looks. ** Location unknown, daytime Small figures scurry back and forth from what looks like a workshop to the outdoors. They are all weighted down with brightly colored packages, which they place in a cloth receptacle inside a red vehicle. Package after package is placed within, and yet the receptacle does not overflow. The last few beings in the workshop look up from their labors in alarm as an imposing figure, resplendent in red, hurries through scowling and barking orders. He storms out to oversee what is being done at the vehicle, shakes his head impatiently, and hurries to another building. ** Potter home, Sunday afternoon Scully struggles to get her nephew into his coat. Alexander whines, and demands that Bessie comes too. Scully silently counts to ten and reminds him that his mother isn’t home. He pouts and finally allows her to get him ready. Scully wonders what on earth possessed her to agree to take him to buy a gift for Bessie, and then sledding, while Bessie shops, instead of countering with a suggestion that she entertain him at home with movies. Alexander breaks her train of thought by tugging on her hand, apparently now eager to get going. They are only half way to the nearby store when Alexander stops walking, and raises his arms in that universal gesture of mute appeal that all toddlers use when they’re tired of walking. Scully sighs and picks him up. As soon as they walk into the store he wiggles to be put down. The boy wanders the shop in awe. It’s a small country store, but big enough if you yourself are less than three feet tall. He looks up at Scully, wide-eyed, and says, "I pick?" "Yup." Scully agrees. "Pick something nice for Mommy." The boy screws up his face into a look of fierce concentration, and proceeds to examine everything in the store. Scully figures that since he’s only two he’s going to pick something that he really wants to himself, but that Bessie will be thrilled by the first present from her son anyway. So she’s moderately surprised when he leads her to a selection of live plants. He points and says, "Red one, Aunt Scully. Red one for Mommy." Scully pays for the poinsettia and brings her proud nephew home to put away his gift before going sledding. ** Leary Home, later that afternoon Mulder watches anxiously for a delivery truck. Though he did joke with Scully about living dangerously, he was worried that this last gift, her gift, wouldn’t come on time. The shipping company promised a Sunday delivery, but as the day wears on he becomes more convinced that they are not going to show up. Just as he is about to lose hope, the delivery truck pulls into the driveway. He bounds down the stairs two at a time, and makes it to the door before the driver has the chance to knock. "Hi, sign here please." The man says, handing Mulder a clipboard, then trades him the package for it. "Thanks. You have a merry Christmas." "You too." Mulder says, then turns to go back inside. He’s barely in the door when the phone rings. He grabs it, cutting off its shrill cry mid-ring. "Hello?" he says, juggling the box from arm to arm before putting it down. "Hey, this is Scully." "What’s up?" "You said you’d have a planned a way for us to carry out that insanity by tonight. If you still want to go through with it, that is." "Of course I do!" Mulder says, sounding indignant. "So, what’s the plan, then?" "Well... I gave it some thought, and I realized we have to do this at your house." "My house? Why?" Scully asks. "Because of Alexander. Santa stopped delivering presents to my house years ago, but he’ll be coming to your house because your nephew is a believer." "There’s almost a logic to that...will your parents object?" "No, I’ll tell them I plan to go to a late service with you, like always, and then ‘forget’ how late it’s getting when we exchange gifts." "We’re still going to the service for real though, right? Bessie would be mad if I didn’t." "Of course. And it’s perfect because it’s so late we won’t have to wait long afterwards for Santa to show up." "Whatever Mulder." Scully says, sighing. "See you tomorrow night." ** Christmas Eve day, McPhee home Skinner finishes packing and brings his suitcase out to the car. Reyes is running from window to window, prompting Skinner to stop her and ask what she’s doing. "I’m making sure all the windows are locked." "Of the few crimes committed in Capeside, breaking and entering is too mundane to rank." Reyes looks sheepish. "So maybe I should call Kersh and tell him not to drive by the house when we’re gone?" "Actually, don’t call him." Skinner says. "Why?" "Oh, I think that Doggett would appreciate extra time that Kersh has to spend on pointless things this week." "You know, I think you’re right." Reyes says, smiling. Skinner is about to help Reyes bring out the presents they’re taking with them, when Mr. McPhee comes down with his own suitcase in hand. "You kids all set to go?" "Yes, Dad." They say in unison. "Good. Your grandmother is expecting us there by dinner, and if we leave now we should make it. She sounded thrilled that we’ll be seeing her." Reyes and Skinner exchange a guilty look. "Maybe we can invite her to come up here for Easter." Reyes suggests. "That’d be nice." Mr. McPhee agrees. "Let’s hit the road." Skinner settles himself into the back seat, because Reyes gets carsick in back, and thinks about seeing his mother for the first time in six months. ** Dusk, somewhere in Capeside Doggett rustles his booklet of Christmas carols and shuffles his feet until they begin walking again. He purposely bumps into his sister and whispers, "Why haven’t we found a way to get out of this yet?" "I don’t think there is a way out." Gretchen whispers back. "Our family was put under a curse- freezing out butts off singing to people who wish we wouldn’t atones for the sins committed by our ancestors." "Are we descendants of Hitler?" Doggett asks. "Not that I know of. We’re not at all German." "Then who could have been so evil as to warrant such a punishment on us? I didn’t even get to see my girlfriend before she left." Doggett complains. "I don’t know who it was, little brother. Look on the bright side, only eight more houses, then Mom and Dad will feel enough pity about our cold-induced whines to let us go home." "Joy. Then onto arguments and alcohol abuse." "It wouldn’t be Christmas without them." Gretchen says, her voice totally devoid of irony. Doggett shrugs and looks for ‘we three kings.’ ** 6pm near the high school Fowley and Spender are walking back to her house. Spender grabs her arm when she slips on ice. She mumbles her thanks and nod when he warns her to be more careful. "It was nice of your parents to invite me over for dinner." She tells him. "I’m just glad they’re back from New Mexico. They were gone for months." "My parents are spending their vacation in the Caribbean . Not that I’d have seen them even if they had stayed home." "It must be rough to go without seeing them for so long." Spender says sympathetically. "Not really. To tell the truth, I much prefer living with Grams over how life was the last year or so with my parents." "I bet you clashed with them a lot back then- What’s that?" Spender asks, pointing to a second story window in the high school. "I guess it’s..." Fowley trails off when she really looks and sees what looks like a white figure pass by the window. "Oh, it can’t be." Her eyes get wider when a second figure trails after it. "Can’t be what?" Spender asks, sounding equally alarmed. "I told Reyes a story a couple of days ago. Supposedly the high school was built on the site of a pair of suicides. You must have heard that story." She pauses when Spender nods. "It can’t be anything but a story, right?" "It has to be. There are no such thing as-" Spender and Fowley freeze when they hear an unearthly scream float down from the school. Then they turn and run all the way to Fowley’s house. ** Two minutes later, inside the high school "That makes eight!" Frohike exclaims happily. "This is even better than last year." Langley says. "I’m glad we finally figure out how to run the ghosts along a track. It freaks people out more that they move so slowly." Byers resets the ghosts, and watches for more people. He calls to the others "Does anyone know exactly why the historical society has paid us to do this for the past three years?" "Nope, I’m just glad they paid cash." Frohike says. "You two never pay attention. It’s not the ‘historical society’ officially, just one member of it. It’s her theory that the Christmas Ghosts will gain notoriety and protect this school as a historical site when and if someone tries to demolish it to build a new school." "But there aren’t any real ghosts, right?" Byers asks, sounding a little worried. Langly shrugs. ** 11:45 pm, Potter home Bessie carries her sleeping son up to bed and hisses at Scully and Mulder that she will skin them alive if they wake him up. They nod seriously, and promise they won't. Scully taps her on the shoulder. "Bessie, you look really tired. I know where you left the presents 'from Santa' do you want Mulder and I to put them out for you so you can go to bed now too?" At first Bessie smiles, but then she looks suspicious. "What's the catch?" "Can we have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?" Scully coaxes. "Ok, you've got a deal. Good night. And Mulder? Please don't walk home without a flash light this time. Your mom was quite upset the last time, as I recall." Bessie says, walking up the stairs. "I'll bring it with me." Mulder whispers. "Merry Christmas." Bessie nods and disappears up stairs. Scully walks over to a latched closet and hands Mulder several packages. "Put them in front, that's how Bessie mentioned she was going to do it." Mulder brings them over to the tree and begins artfully arranging them. He picks one up and reads the label. "Hey, this one is addressed to you." "I know. Bessie told him that all good kids get presents, and since I'm not an adult yet..." Scully shrugs helplessly. "She also lets him think you're good?" Mulder asks, and ducks in case Scully punches him. Instead she just mutters. "One of these days..." While Mulder puts out the rest of the gifts, Scully hangs the already full stockings on the mantle. "I wonder what Bessie bought herself for her stocking." "What do you mean?" Mulder asks. "Well, since Brody isn't here..." She stops and pulls a small package out of her pocket to put in it. "There. Now at least one thing in it will be a surprise for her." "Make that two." Mulder says, handing her another tiny package. "My mom thought of that too." "Now what do we do?" Scully asks. "Now we hid behind the couch and wait." "For how long?" she asks with a bit of a whine in her voice. "Not long, I'm sure. Maybe we'll hear him and see the sleigh too." "Oh boy." Scully says, trying to find a comfortable spot behind the couch. Finally she reaches over the back of the couch and drags all the pillows down to them. "No sense sitting on the hard floor." Mulder tries not to laugh. *** 11:55 Capeside high school Byers is gathering up the ghosts when he thinks he hears something behind him. "Langly? Frohike? Was that you?" Then he looks out the window and sees the other two boys lugging out the sound equipment out to the van. It must have been all in my mind, he tells himself. He starts carrying the ghosts again when he hears the same noise. "This isn't funny. "he says to no one in particular. A little louder he says, "If there's someone here, come out now." the noise repeats for a third time, and this time he's finally able to place the sound- it's a door opening slightly. Clutching the ghosts to his chest, he decides that he has to investigate. Since they are the only ones who are supposed to be there, it's their duty to report any intruders to the police. He walks down the moonlit hallway until he comes to a door that's open slightly. He steels himself than rips the door open. The door hits the wall with a bang because he opens it too quickly, and he almost jumps out of his skin at the sound. There's no one there. "Hey Byers, where are you?" Frohike calls as he and Langly come down the hall. "Down here." "What are you doing in here?" Langly asks, poking his head into the room. "As it turns out, nothing. I thought I heard something, but the room's empty." "You're just letting yourself get spooked." Frohike observes. "You do that a lot." "I do not!" Byers says defensively. "Yes you do. Remember when we were in the woods Halloween night? You were sure you heard something then too." "I did hear something! It was Fowley with a broken ankle!" "Ok, so one thing you heard that night turned out to actually-" Frohike stops when Langly elbows him in the ribs. "Hey! That hurts." "Shut up and look over there!" Langly says. They all turn to look at the window. A vapory figure smiles at them, and holds out its arm for another approaching figure that's not ten feet from the trio. The three boys shriek and run out of the school as fast as they can. When they're safely in the car Byers finally dares to look up at the window. He nearly faints when the pair of apparitions waves to him. ** 12:30 am Potter home Scully is nearly asleep, and leaning heavily against her favorite couch pillow. She yawns and reaches over the couch back, feeling around for the throw that's on the cushions. Mulder's not sure if he should laugh or try to keep her awake. Just as she drags the throw over to their side, they hear something from the vicinity of the fire place. As she wraps herself in the blanket she tries to place the sound, it sounds like hail. Mulder puts his finger to his lip, and kneels so he can just barely see over the back of the couch. Scully crouches next to him, eager to see what is making his eyes so wide. She peered up and saw a figure standing by the fireplace, brushing the soot off his clothes. He was large, and the red coat he wore did nothing to disguise that, nor did the red pants. His black boots and wide belt were out of the Clement's poem, as was the red cap on his head. In fact, Scully thought, if it wasn't for the gray skin and the enormous almond shaped eyes, she would have thought that the poem was an autobiographical piece. The creature puts out his finger, and startles them both by making the pattern the lights on the tree blinked in change. A noise, something like a laugh, comes out of its mouth. It continues its work, and puts even more presents under the tree. Then, as suddenly as it came, it goes to the fireplace and begins to disappear up it. Mulder jumps to his feet and grabs Scully's arm, then pulled her out the door. She winces, then relaxes when the door doesn't slam behind them. Mulder points up in the sky, and Scully blinks, and rubs her eyes. The sleigh is just pulling away from the roof of the house, and small green creatures, very much like reindeer because of the horns, soar high into the sky. "Do you see it? Do you see it?" Mulder asks her excitedly. "I see something." Scully admits. They watch until the sight fades from the view completely, leaving only the dark star-speckled sky to look at. As soon as they are back inside, Scully disappears to her room to fetch Mulder's present. He takes the opportunity to retrieve her gift from where Bessie had let him hid it earlier in the night. Scully gives him her gift first, and she's tickled by how young and excited he looks as he tears off the wrapper. "Hey! I can't believe you found this!" He exclaims, looking down at Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. "Every bookstore I looked in told me it is out of print." "It is." Scully says. "But one of Bessie's friends works in a rare books store and reserved a copy for me when one came in during a bookstore liquidation." "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Mulder says, all smiles. "Maybe you can look our friend up." Scully suggests. "I will, but later on. You need to open this first." Mulder says, handing her his box. Mulder watches impatiently as Scully carefully unwraps his gift to her. He is nearly to the stage of wiggling when she at last lifts the top off the box and looks in. "Oh Mulder," she says, sounding awe stricken. She lifts out a blue teddy bear wearing a Santa hat. "I've never had a Vermont Teddy Bear before." He shifts from one foot to the other. "We've been friends forever, so I wanted to give you something that would be guaranteed for the rest of your life. He's called 'Blue Christmas' and I think that if I spent one without you I would be blue, too." Scully smiles and gives him a quick hug. After a cup of hot chocolate, with candy canes stuck in them of course, Mulder decides that he has to go home before his parents worry. Scully suggests he go out the back door because it's less likely to slam than the front. He nods and checks for his flashlight. As he's about to go out the door Scully looks up and makes a quick decision. "Wait a second." she says, and puts her hands on both his shoulders. She pushes herself up on her tippy toes and softly kisses the corner of his mouth. He looks both pleased and startled, so she points to the mistletoe that Bessie must have hung in the doorway. "It's the rule, you know." She says in way of an explanation. He nods wordlessly. "Merry Christmas, Mulder." Mulder walks home, flashlight in hand, smile on face, whistling Joy To The World for company. Credits C.C., KW and Neophile This Episode of Mulder's Creek included music from : Sponge ( "Christmas Day") Christie McVie ("Coventry carol") And Fountains of Wayne ("I want an Alien for Christmas") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder's Creek ** ** Mulder's Creek: 07 Break Summary: Everyone suffers during the holidays. Opening Scene Blankets cover Mulder from head to foot. He groans and rolls over onto his side, opening his eyes. As soon as he does, he notices that Scully is sitting by the side of his bed. And she's dressed like one of Santa's elves. He's not sure which he should ask first: why she's there or why she's dressed like that. "Nice outfit," he finally says. "You have to get out of bed." Scully tells him. "Sure, but why?" "Only 36 hours until the big day." She intones. "You mean Christmas? It's Christmas today." He says, still confused. "Get up! Up!" she insists, tugging on his arm. "Ok." he says, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. He's astonished to see a pair of candy-cane shaped slippers on his feet. "Where did the slippers come from?" Scully ignores him and pulls him to the open window, and starts climbing out it. "There's no ladder!" Mulder warns her, then covers his eyes as she walks off the roof anyway. Hoping he can catch her before she plummets to her death, he reaches out the window for her. And startles himself fully awake. Mulder groans and rolls over when he hears the hall clock ring five times. *** Theme Song- Stranded by Plumb *** 5:30am, Potter home Scully is awakened suddenly by the sound of tiny feet running down the hall. Someone fumbles with the doorknob several times before getting it to turn. She's already sitting by the time her nephew bursts into the room. "Christmas, Aunt Scully, Christmas!" Alexander says, his face dimpling with delight. She ruffles his dark curls before yawning and asking, "Why don't you go tell your mom?" He scrambles onto her bed and pouts. "Mommy's door locked." "Smart Mommy." Scully mutters, scooping the boy up. "I'll tell you what, we'll give your mom a half hour to wake up, then we'll go see what Santa brought you." He seems about to protest when she pulls The Polar Express off of her night table. He snuggles in her lap and points at the pictures as she reads to him. ** 6am Lindley home The unexpected scent of coffee greets Grams as she walks into the kitchen. To her utter surprise, Fowley is already in the kitchen, and putting sweet rolls in the oven. Fowley turns when she realizes that she's no longer alone in the room. "Merry Christmas, Grams." "Merry Christmas to you too, dear. I hope you won't be insulted, but what possessed you to make breakfast?" "Oh, it used to be a tradition with Mom and Dad. Once I was old enough to use the stove safely they had me make the rolls so I'd be too busy to wake them up for a few more minutes." "That sounds nice." Grams says, then pauses. "Do you miss them much?" "Sometimes I do. But most of the time I'm happier here with you to be honest." "That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long while." That's a shame, Fowley thinks. "Hopefully the rolls will be done before Mr. Brooks gets here. Are you sure he hasn't said anything nice to you lately?" Fowley gently teases. Grams turns slightly red. *** Leary home Mulder has slept only fitfully since his odd dream, so when he hears voices coming from downstairs, he decides it's time to join the world of the awake. He first looks carefully at his feet to make sure there aren't any slippers on them. To his relief there aren't. He's almost to the foot of the stairs when he sees her near his parents and pauses. Since he's not fully awake his first thought is, how did they make Sam older than me? He's about to say her name when he realizes who it is. The tall slender girl is not his sister. "Mulder!" Arden cries. "It's great to finally get to meet you." Slightly less dazed, Mulder says, "I had no idea that you were coming." Arden laughs. "My mom thought it would be cute to surprise you. She and dad are paying the taxi driver right now." "You must have flown though, right? It'd be expensive to get a taxi from California." Mulder jokes. "Our plane got in at 4am, believe it or not. We were supposed to get here late last night, but with the new regulations at the airports there were hours of delays." "I'm not too surprised. Logan has been talking about tightening security for months now, and anything they do towards that goal is going to add to the time travelers spend waiting." Could this conversation be any more boring? Mulder thinks to himself, and is thrilled when his Mom decides to come over to fuss over Arden. ** Potter home Scully is stretched out on her belly looking under the tree while Alexander walks up her legs. She rolls over and grabs him, which makes him giggle. "Don't do that, kiddo, you're going to hurt me." She says. For a second he looks like he's about to cry so she deftly distracts him by handing him the package she just fished out from under the tree. Bessie looks over and comments "Nice save." "Thank you, I try." Alexander throws wrapping paper around the room while impatiently waiting for someone to help him unwrap the gift that Scully had handed him. Since Bessie is looking at the tag of another gift, Scully lends him a hand, and he squeals in delight to see that it's a Blue's Clues toy. Without any warning, he drops into Scully's lap and nearly knocks the wind out of her. "Bessie, please take him before he kills me." Scully whines. Bessie picks up two packages and trades them to Scully for her son. "Is this some sort of weird joke?" Bessie asks, pointing at the presents. "What do you mean?" Scully asks, puzzled. "Well, look at the labels. ' to Scully from Santa' and ' to Mulder from Santa.' You two have a strange sense of humor." "Bessie, I swear I didn't have anything to do with this." "Then I guess it was Mulder's doing?" "It could have been. I suppose he could have put them under the tree when..." Scully trails off as soon as she remembers Alex is playing very close. "When he put out gifts from S-a-n-t-a for you know who." She finished doubtfully. "I'll ask him when I see him next." "Uh, huh." Bessie says without interest, because she's trying to keep Alexander from tripping over her. *** 9am Thompson Medical Facility Skinner feels his chest tighten as the hospital comes into view. He reminds himself that it's only his Mom that he's going to see, not anything scary. His efforts to reassure himself are close to completely ineffective, and he feels even worse when he notices how excited Reyes and their father seem to be. As they walk inside he doesn't contribute anything to the conversation, and instead concentrates on making himself smile at the damaged souls they encounter along the way to his mother's room. His only bit of relief comes when they are forced by protocol to sign in, which he does with painstaking care, because it takes longer. At last they get to her room, and he steels himself for what he's dreadfully certain will come next, he fixes his smile and follows them into the room. His mother is sitting in an arm chair reading a book. She looks up with a welcoming smile and says to her husband, "Oh, Honey, you brought Tim," while looking right at Skinner. It hurts him deeply even though he thought he had prepared himself for it. "Mom, it's me, Skinner." He says, with as steady a voice as he can manage. *** Thompson Medical Facility For a second Mrs. McPhee looks startled, then her eyes clear, and she quickly composes herself. "Of course you are. You just looked like Tim in this lighting for a minute is all." she attempts as a cover. "Tim's dead, I know that." Skinner is momentarily saddened, because the lighting would have to be absent completely for anyone to mistake him for Tim. Her current lucidity heartens him, "I'm glad to see you, Mom." "Me too," Reyes chimes in. "I'm glad you've come, because I've missed you kids terribly. I wasn't expecting to see anyone, but the head nurse said you were on your way. And today is Christmas?" Anxiety colors statement so it sounds as if she's asking a question. Reyes assumes it is one, and answers as such. "It sure is." "I know it is, I just said so." Mrs. McPhee says with a note of irritation in her voice. Then she smiles again and asks. "What did Santa bring you?" "Santa hasn't brought us anything in a long while, Mom." Reyes answers, sounding confused. "I was joking! Can't I make a joke?" She says, looking at Mr. McPhee. "Of course you can, dear." He says in a placating way. Skinner notices how upset Reyes is beginning to look and suddenly announces, "Reyes and I forgot Mom's present in the car. We'll be right back." Before his father can protest he grabs Reyes' hand and nearly drags her out of the room. Skinner fumbles for his keys when they get outside, and finally finds the trunk key. When he looks upset he notices that Reyes is so upset that she's shaking, so he puts his arm around her and says firmly, "It's not your fault." "Yes it is. It was my idea to come here because I thought it would make Dad happy, maybe even her or us too, but I can't say anything right. I can't even talk to her without upsetting her, and that will make Dad sorry he brought us, so we might not see her again for months and months, and it will be because of me." "Stop it. You know that it has nothing to do with you. She's been like this since Tim died, and that was her fault, if anyone's, so I won't let you blame yourself." "But how can you blame her?" Reyes demands. "Who else is there to blame? She got tired while driving him back to college after his winter vacation, and drove the car into a tree. It was a terrible accident, but it was her fault. Do you know how many times I wished that day had gone differently? Wished that she'd taken Dad up on the offer to take him, or let Tim drive her there like he asked right before they left? Or even wished she'd just gone to bed at a normal time instead of staying up doing Tim's laundry after he told her he was bringing it to the laundry mat? Everything that could have possibly changed revolved around her and the stubborn insistence that she could and should do everything herself. Now she can't control her own life at all." Skinner says, finally saying what has been on his mind for several months. "Does that mean you'll never forgive her?" Reyes asks quietly. "No, but I'll never be able to forget that if she hadn't been so controlling, I'd still have an older brother. " "You say that almost like I don't know what it was like to lose him." "I know you lost him too, but it's different. Having an older brother to beat a path for me through the world was something I expected and depended on. Because he was male, and because he was older, I could go to him and he'd know what to tell me because he'd done it all before me. I love having a twin sister, but you and I have a completely different relationship than Tim and I did." "I know. Sometimes when we were little I would think to myself that it was very lucky for me that you and I were twins, because I couldn't hope to match the bond you and Tim had. I thought if I'd been younger, maybe you would have shut me out too. Like Tim did a lot of the time without even realizing it. Sometimes I feel guilty, because I knew from the time we were toddlers that I liked you more than him." "But you know that thoughts can't hurt anyone right?" Skinner demands of his sister, and waits for her to nod. "You can't let yourself take blame for things that can't be helped. Don't let guilt get a stranglehold on your life like Mom has, especially about things that you can't control- feelings, and other people's reactions. Promise me." "I promise." Reyes says, still thinking about Tim, who would have been a sophomore in college now, had he lived. If he had lived they'd probably still be living in Connecticut, and never have heard of Capeside. Instead it's been almost a year in Capeside for them, almost a year in the ground for Tim, and almost a year here for their mother. When they go back to their mother's room they can hear their parents have what sounds like a pleasant conversation, so Reyes begins to feel better. Their mother looks quite happy when they bring in the presents. "I was just telling your Dad how happy I am that you could be here for Christmas. I just wish that Tim was here too, but he called me yesterday to say he was sorry he couldn't come. It was nice to hear from him, though." Skinner doesn't dare look at Reyes face to see her reaction. *** Afternoon, Lindley Home Grams and Mr. Brooks insisted that they would wait until after lunch to exchange gifts. Fowley persuaded Grams not to hold her to that, which doesn't seem to bother Mr. Brooks much. Fowley finds herself very curious what Mr. Brooks is giving her grandmother, because he looks happy for the first time that she notices when Grams starts to open it. "Oh, Arthur." Grams says when it's finally unwrapped. Fowley is proud of herself for not demanding to be told what it is that makes her grandmother sound so happy. "I thought the only way I could get you to go away to Atlantic City like we've been talking about for months would be if I bought the tickets myself. Two hotel rooms, so you won't have to worry about what the church committee with think." He adds deviously "You will go, won't you?" "Of course I will. Fowley is old enough to look after herself for a couple of days." "Where are you leaving?" Fowley asks Mr. Brooks. "Tomorrow. We'll be gone until the 28th." "No parties." Grams tell her sternly. "Though I don't suppose you need me to tell you that." "I won't cause any destruction to your home, I promise. Though that means I can't invite home sailors on shore leave..." Fowley says, causing Grams to look upset for a moment before laughing. "I hope you two win a bundle." "Thank you dear, but the experience alone will be wonderful even if I don't win a cent." Grams says. "Who wants pie?" "I do, I do!" Fowley and Mr. Brooks chorus, making her laugh more. *** 11pm, Leary home Mr. and Mrs. Leary, as well as Arden's parents, decide to turn in early, leaving Mulder alone with his cousin- something he's been dreading all day. He has managed not to talk to her much since their conversation this morning, but he can't avoid her now without sounding rude. He's desperately trying to think of a reasonably interesting topic of conversation when Arden surprises him by speaking up first. "There's something I've been dying to ask you all day, but not within hearing of our parents." "What?" Mulder asks warily. "Where's your sister?" Mulder takes a shuddering breath; he's shocked that a family member wants to talk about Sam. "I don't know." "You really don't? I was hoping if someone would tell me something, it'd be you." Mulder makes a helpless gesture. "She disappeared a couple of weeks after she was born. My parents never talk about her. " "You were only little, so I can sort of understand them not talking to you about it." "I meant it when I said never. I don't think they've said her name in my hearing since the night she disappeared." Mulder says resentfully. Arden gives him a sympathetic look. "Do you remember anything about it?" "I'm not sure. I sort of remember someone or something being in the room, and waking up later to her crib being empty. It's strange that they had her crib in my room then, since there was a nursery. I think they might have just painted it though. The only other thing I remember was that my parents wouldn't tell me where she was, and I asked and asked, but finally gave up." "Was there something wrong with her? It's not a nice possibility but sometimes when a baby has problems people whisk it away so they don't have to deal with it." Mulder shakes his head violently. "I have pictures. And I remember a little before she disappeared that my parents cooed over her about how perfect she was." "So it's a mystery." Arden summarizes. "One that I'm trying to solve. I think she's still alive. I know she was in 1993, and my parents know that too. I'm going to find her if I can." "I'll help you if I can, Mulder. I'm sure my parents know something about it. There might be letters or something at my house." "Thank you." Mulder says gratefully. "Don't sound so surprised by the offer, Mulder. She's my blood too, so I have a stake in finding her a well. It's not right that a part of our family is unaccounted for, and seemingly not missed by the older people in our family." "You know something, Arden? I'm really glad I finally got to meet you." Mulder says, meaning it. "Likewise. But promise me one thing." She says. "What?" "Let's never talk about airport again." "Deal." ** Early morning, December 26th, Leary home Things are hectic in the house because the two Mrs. Leary's are dragging their reluctant husbands out to do after-Christmas clearance shopping. The looks on both Mulder's father, and his Uncle's faces make it apparent that shopping is the last way either of them would like to spend the day after Christmas. Neither of the women notice. "Oh, and if you buy anything that can't fit into your carry on luggage, you could fed-ex it to yourself right from the mall." Mrs. Leary says to her sister-in-law. "That's a great idea. That way we won't miss out on any of the bargains due to lack of space. Maybe they'll even have some cute baby clothes on sale, too. You'll have a cute baby to wear them by then." She replies fondly. At the last minute Mrs. Leary decides to try to coax Mulder and Arden to come too. "No thanks, Mom, I think we'll stay home and watch a movie." Mr. Leary mutters something to his brother about wishing they'd thought of that, and earn dirty looks from their wives. When they're finally driving away Mulder turns to Arden and says, "I hope you don't mind, but I would rather show you some stuff instead of starting a movie right away." "As long as it's not a body, I'm game." Arden teases. Arden waits in Mulder's room while he goes up into the attic for his box. He brings it down and she exclaims over how cute his little-boy scrawl on the lid is. He pulls out the book the other photo is in, as well. "These are pictures of Sam," he says, spreading them out. "She was an adorable baby." Arden says. "But I might be a bit biased, because besides the shade of her hair color, she looked a lot like I did at that age. I was blond at first, though." "Where you blonde when you were six?" Mulder asks, handing her the last photograph. "Yeah, it didn't start to darken until I was eight or so. "She pauses to look at the picture in her hand. "Where did you get this?" "My mom's sewing kit. Years ago when I first saw it she claimed it was your old first grade picture. But it's not." "No, it's not. The kid in this picture was too small to be a first grader, anyway." "She was almost four. The calendar in the corner says it was 1993. She'll be thirteen this winter, so she had to be nearly four in the picture." "Mulder, do you have any evidence that she's still alive?" Arden asks gently. "A couple of weeks ago I figured out where this picture was taken. My friend Scully and I went there on a day off from school." "Did you find anything?" "We found her initials carved into a tree. It may be naive, but I believe that means she was there again when she was old enough to write. And if she was alive six or seven years after being kidnapped, I find it plausible that she's still alive now." "If you believe, that's reason enough to keep looking." Arden says, patting his hand. ** Afternoon, Witter home Doggett waves as two cars leave his driveway, two cars with screaming women, and flailing children in them. Doggett sighs and walks back into the house with Gretchen. "Well, that's over with." He says. "Yup." "And we don't have to do it again until Easter, right?" Doggett asks with a slight note of desperation in his voice. "Right, not until Easter. You can calm down now." "No, I don't think I can yet. Maybe by next week. Why are the holidays such a grueling ordeal in this house?" "Because our older sisters are crazy, and our nieces and nephews are imps?" Gretchen guesses. "I think maybe you're right. Dad doesn't help though." He says. "True. I think the three of them enjoy setting each other off though." "Good point. I've got a great idea." "What's that?" She asks, suspiciously. "Let's go get some donuts and hot chocolate, and bring them to Kersh at the station." "That's sweet, Doggett, but why?" "If we're nice to him it will make him paranoid." Gretchen laughs and agrees to help him surprise their older brother. ** That night Mulder's house Mulder's parents are out bringing Arden's family to their plane when he hears a knock on the front door. He opens the door to find Scully standing on the steps holding two packages and looking bemused. "Hi Mulder, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." "No, my folks are out and I'm not doing anything much." "Ok, good." She thrusts the packages at him as she walks into the house. "Bessie demands to know if you're behind this." "Behind what?" Mulder asks, trying not to drop them. "These presents. They're to us...from Santa." The surprised look on his face convinces her that they're not from him. "I didn't do this." Mulder says. "I might have had I thought of it, but I didn't so I didn't. Does that make any sense? It sounded better in my head than coming out." "I understood what you said, but I don't understand these. What could they possibly be and where did they come from?" She asks. "As for what's in them, we won't know until we open then. We know where they came from, though, the alien Santa Claus must of left them." "Mulder-" "Don't you even say there was no alien. I saw it, I saw you see it." "I saw something, I'll grant you that, but what exactly we saw I'm not ready to stick a label on." "Ok, then whatever we saw left them. Happy? Let's open them." "Which one of us should open them first?" Scully says sounding nervous. She briefly holds the package to her ear, but puts it down with a sheepish look when she realizes that Mulder is trying not to laugh at her. "We'll open them at the same time. That way we'll have time to react if they're bombs." He says straight-faced. Scully takes a deep breath and opens it. What's inside leaves her speechless. She glances over at Mulder and sees that he's equally at a loss for words. In Scully's hand is a necklace that her mother promised to her, but never found after her death. In Mulder's hands is a frame that contains a childishly painted winter scene marked in the corner with a year- 1997- and two letters- SL. All they can do is exchange shocked looks. ** 9am, December 27th Fowley wakes up and makes herself breakfast. She idly wonders if her grandmother and Mr. Brooks are having fun in Atlantic City when she hears a knock on the door. She figures that it's Reyes coming over to exchange presents as planned, so she opens the door without looking out the side window to see who it is. A middle aged man and woman stand on the steps, and Fowley's skin looses all color when she sees them. The only thing she can think of to say is "No." but her denial doesn't make them disappear. "You know that this was being arranged." The woman says, and Fowley shakes her head violently, backing away. "You signed all the paperwork-" The man begins. "Not by choice." Fowley spits out. "If not for the threats against my grandmother I wouldn't have." "Be that as it may, the document is legally binding." The man says coldly. "You'll need to come with us now. Go get whatever you need, and let's go." Fowley tells herself not to run, that it will only make them suspicious. She palms the phone on the way by it, careful not to be seen, and barricades herself in her room. She knows she's only buying herself a couple of witnesses who won't be able to really help, but that's all she has time for before they'll catch onto her game, pry open her door and drag her downstairs. ** Reyes bikes as quickly as she can to Fowley's house, with a fiery ball of dread making it harder to get there faster. The thing that scares her the most is the brevity of the call: Fowley only asked her to come as quickly as she could, then the line went dead. The memory of the panic in her voice terrifies Reyes, and for a second she agonizes over whether she should call the police before she leaves or not. In the end she decides not to take the time to. She arrives just in time to see a hysterical Fowley being pushed into a car by a woman Reyes has never seen before. Fowley sees her and only has time to gasp out one thing before the windows are rolled up on her. "They're going to take him away from me." Reyes hears quite clearly, even over the whirl of the window's motor. Reyes shouts to be heard through the glass, "Do you mean Spender?" Fowley shakes her head no, beginning to cry, and the noise from the car's engine obviates anything else she might have tired to say. A door slams and Reyes whips her head around to see a man coming out of the house. He looks at her for a moment before growling, "We're her parents, this doesn't concern you." Before climbing into the passenger seat of the car. Because there's nothing else she can do, Reyes runs after the car a bit, not even thinking of using her bike because she's too preoccupied to remember that its lying on the Lindleys' front lawn. She hopes to see a license plate number, but the car doesn't seem to have one. When she can't run any more she stands in the middle of the road, panting. Spender lives farther away, and though he suspects what is wrong, and his urgency is no less than Reyes, he only catches a glance of Fowley's stricken face as the car peels past his. He sees Reyes in the middle of the road looking about to collapse, and makes a split decision, following the car probably won’t get Fowley back, so he stops his car long enough to pull Reyes into it. Since the radio is off and Spender doesn't feel like talking, the harsh sounds of Reyes breathing are all that can be heard. He glances at her, relieved that her face looks less ghastly than it did a moment ago. "If you have asthma, you shouldn't have been running." Reyes tries to catch her breath. "It's only when I exert myself. The man said they were her parents, but-" "They aren't her parents." "I didn't think so, either, so that's why I was running, trying to see the license plate number, but there didn't seem to be one." "There probably wasn't one. Fowley's parents aren't in the country, and I've seen pictures of them- the people driving the car were definitely not them." "Do you know who they are?" Reyes asks. "I'm trying to piece that together. I sort of understand what's going on, but not enough to make real sense of it. I'm pretty sure they work for the government though." "Why would they kidnap Fowley?" "I don't think they were, exactly. I think is more like she didn't want to go with them more than they were forcing her to. Probably a black-mail sort of arrangement." Reyes finds that her head is spinning with unasked questions, and worry about why Spender had an idea how to answer any of them. She never had any reason before not to trust him, but now she doesn't know how much of what he says to believe. Instead of asking another question, she says instead, "I got there too late to do anything or actually talk to her, but just as they made her get into the car she said 'They're going to take him away from me.' I asked her if she meant you, but she shook her head no." "I know she didn't mean me." "Who did she mean?" Reyes can't help but ask. "She meant her son. Our son." Spender says tersely. "She only told me on Christmas Eve, but she's pretty far along, about four and a half months." Reyes stares at him in shock. "This wasn't supposed to happen, dammit!" he pounds his fist on the steering wheel. "He said if I disappeared that they wouldn't pick her for the experiment, but they think they did anyway. I guess they didn't know she was already pregnant." "Who told you? What experiment?" Reyes asks, desperately trying to understand what he's talking about. "I don't know exactly. There are letters, I only got letters with sketchy details. And threats, lots of threats. I can't talk about this any more right now, ok? I just can't. Give me until we go back to school to try to fill in more blanks, and I'll let you read everything, I'll tell you everything I know, then. I just can't talk about it now. Please don't tell anyone about the baby, please, I think it might be safer if no one else knows, we shouldn't tell anyone anything if we really want to be safe." Spender says quickly as though he needs to get it out as rapidly as he can because he’s on the verge of falling apart. "Ok," Reyes agrees, feeling pretty broken up herself. "I'll talk to you after school on Wednesday, then." "Good, ok. I'm sorry." Reyes has the impulse to hug him, but since she doesn't know him well, instead tells him to drive home carefully, which he promises to do. It isn't until after he drops her off at her house that she remembers her bike. ** Leary home Mulder’s mother seems very happy, even though she’s sitting at the dinning room table, in the middle of writing a list. Eventually curiosity overwhelms him. "What are you doing, Mom?" "Oh, Mulder. I’m writing a list of supplies I need to buy, because your dad and I have decided to have one of those huge New Years eve parties like the ones we had when you were little." "That’s nice." Mulder says, thinking back to when he was small and in the way during those parties. His parents had always put him to bed by nine-thirty, and he’d sneak out to the top of the stairs and watch in the dark until they’d come up at 11:55 to "wake" him. Every year he’d watch too long, and have to scramble to get back in bed. "You can invite whomever you’d like to come." His mother says in an offhand manner. "The more the merrier." "Wow, thanks, mom!" "You’re welcome." She says, going back to her list. Mulder has no problem getting Doggett, Skinner, and Scully to come, but Reyes says she doesn’t think she’s up to it, and there’s no answer at Fowley’s house. The strangest refusal comes when he calls Frohike. "We can’t come, Mulder. We’re starting an e-newsletter." "You need to work on it at 9pm on New Years eve?" "Well… we’re hoping to have the first issue out on the first." Frohike insists stubbornly. "I don’t see how a couple of hours will effect that one way or the other. What are you calling this newsletter, anyway?" "The lone gunmen." "That doesn’t even make sense." Mulder says. "It’s a word play, Mulder, a word play." "If you say so. Give me a call if you, Byers, and Langly think you’ll be able to tear yourselves away long enough to put in an appearance." "Will do. Oh! Will the beauteous Ms. Porter be there?" "Scully said she’d come, yes." "Did she say what’s she’s going to wear?" Frohike asks, which makes Mulder roll his eyes because he can practically hear a leer in the question. "No she didn’t." "Ah, a mystery. Maybe we can make it after all." "Goodbye, Frohike." Mulder says, shaking his head as he hangs up the phone. ** December 28th, Lindley home One thing after another happens at Reyes house, which while the averted mini-disasters serve to take her mind off of what happened the day before, it also means she needs to wait until the afternoon to go back for her bike. She's not thrilled by the idea of running into Grams. Her bike is no longer on the front lawn when Reyes reaches the house. She thinks that Grams must have put it in the garage, so she finds that she needs to knock on the door. Grams doesn't look upset when she answers, which surprises Reyes greatly. "I thought that might have been your bike." Grams says. "Sorry." "That's ok, it's in the garage. Fowley's not here, by the way. I have a note from her parents saying that they decided at the last minute to take her with them to Europe for the rest of the school year. I wish they'd waited until I'd gotten home so I could say good-bye. My daughter has always been impulsive like this, so I can't say it surprises me more than disappoints me." Grams says, sounding as though she believes the note. "Oh. We'll miss her," is all Reyes can think to say. "As will I. Don't worry, she'll be back this summer." Grams says with a smile. "Thanks for putting my bike away." Reyes says, then fetches it. All the way home she wishes that she hadn't promised Spender not to tell anything about what really happened to Fowley. But, she thinks to herself, those people meant business, they might really do terrible things if we don't go along with the story ** December 31st, 11:55pm Leary home Mulder sits at the top of the stairs, looking out at the party. His parents friends laugh excitedly, but taking care not to spill their glasses of champagne. His friends too, seem to be enjoying themselves as well, except perhaps Frohike who was acting disappointed until he found the young weather person from Mrs. Leary’s news station to hit on. Scully isn’t at the party. She called Mulder at ten to tell him that one of Bessie’s friends had gotten herself into a bad situation, and needed a sober ride home from a party in Boston. Since it’s nearly impossible to get a baby-sitter on New Years Eve, Bessie decided that Scully and Alexander are likely to cause her less worry if they’re with her. As the final count down for begins Mulder sighs. It wasn’t until she called that he finally admitted to himself that he had intended to kiss her at midnight. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Transister ("Dizzy Moon") Guster ("Rocketship") And Incubus ("Wish you were here") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder's Creek: 08 Aftermath Summary: Everyone deals with Fowley's sudden departure, and Mulder holds a dark theory about his drivers' ed teacher. Opening Scene Mulder's room. Scully and Mulder are watching Urbania when Scully suddenly gets a serious look on her face. "What?" Mulder asks. "I can't believe there are still people with prejudices like that." "Why not? You know there are...after what Skinner went through being harassed about football, I think it'd be obvious there are." "I didn't mean that it's literally unbelievable, but not something I'm capable of understanding." Scully says sighing deeply. "Oh. I'm glad in that case, because it's the people who do understand, and even empathize with that point of view who are the dangerous ones." "Mulder? When we do movie night, let's not show this one, ok? It's a great movie, but too depressing." "You've got it. Shall we have people watch The Last Supper instead? At least it has a liberal bend to it." "Sure, if you consider killing people because they're annoying liberal." "Don't you?" Mulder asks, then smiles expectantly. "Mulder!" ** Theme song- Stranded by Plumb ** New Years day, Leary home Mulder and Doggett are shoveling the Learys’ driveway. Both are covered in a fine coat of snow, not because it’s still snowing, but because they occasionally heave a shovelsful of snow at one another. "This is good exercise, isn’t it?" Doggett asks. "Sure. Isn’t that what our dads told us?" "Yes…they’ve told us that for years, but a dawning cynicism makes me wonder if the ‘it makes you develop strong muscles’ spiel when we were 12 is just their way of making us want to do a chore." "You think we’ve been duped?" "Mulder, they may as well told us white-washing fences is fun." Doggett says ruefully. "Oh well. At least we’re nearly done. And, to tell you the truth, I think it might have made us stronger anyway." "That sounds suspiciously like the ‘it builds character’ speeches in Calvin and Hobbes." Doggett says accusingly. "I mean our bodies, you idiot." Mulder says grinning, then ducks the snow that is suddenly flung at him. "I’ve been meaning to ask you, Mulder, are you looking forward to tomorrow night?" Mulder leans on his shovel. "I don’t know if I’m ready for it." "You’ve got to do it, Mulder. Every sixteen year old guy wants to." "Not every guy." Mulder objects. "Sure they do. Why else would they pour over the magazines? But you’re right, not everyone wants to at sixteen. There are even people who never do, and they live limited boring lives." "It’s a big responsibility. I’m not sure I can handle it." Mulder insists. "It’s always scariest the first time. But look at me, I did it and I’m good at it now." Doggett brags. "I wouldn’t say you’re exactly good at it…" "I’m great. You’ll see, it’ll be fun. Besides, it’s not as if the drivers’ ed instructor won’t be sitting beside you ready to use his brake if you screw up." "Did that happen to you?" Mulder asks. "Who me? No, I was a natural. ‘Borrowing’ dad’s car to practice several months earlier didn’t hurt though." "Are you sure it didn’t hurt? I seem to remember it causing some anguish during your many groundings over it." "I try not to remember that." Doggett says, grinning. "Anyway, how was your vacation? It’s weird that we didn’t see each other at all before the party last night, and we barely got to talk then, but such is life." "It was…interesting. I finally got to meet my cousin Arden, which was nice. And something strange happened on Christmas eve…" "What?" "Scully…um…Scully kissed me." Mulder says, feeling a sudden rush of blood to his cheeks. "She didn’t!" Doggett exclaims. "Yeah, she did." "How was it?" "Brief. She kissed me under the mistletoe right before I went home." Doggett thinks for a moment before asking, "So, does that mean you two are an item?" "No. At least I don't think so. I mean, I've seen her since then, and it's been like nothing changed. Except..." "Except what?" "Except I found myself wishing I could kiss her at midnight last night." "I knew it! I knew something would finally open your eyes. Good for Scully being the one to do it." Doggett says, laughing. Mulder kicks the snow. "I think, unless she forces the issue, I'm going to take this slowly. See what happens." "Well, that worked with Reyes and I, so..." Doggett just trails off, grinning. ** Wednesday, Capeside High Mulder looks bored as he waits for the pile of papers to come around so he can turn in his English assignment. His thoughts vacillate between fresh indignation over the thought that this teacher actually assigned them a paper over break, and wondering where Fowley is. He thinks of how few days she’s missed in the past two years, and wonders if it might be a good time to make Chicken soup and bring to her house. Just as the pile reaches him, and he thanks his classmate, his teacher clears his throat, which is his signal that he has an announcement to make. Mulder quickly passes the papers on and looks up, trying to appear interested. As soon as the papers finish making the rounds, the teacher begins to speak. "It’s my regret to inform the class that I received word this morning that Miss Lindley will not be in this class for the remainder of the school year. Her parents have decided to take her to Europe with them for the semester." He waits for the unhappy sounds of the class to die down before saying, "Today we’ll be reading from ‘MacBeth’ so if you will please turn to page 257…" Mulder turns to the required page, but his mind isn’t really on the play. He keeps thinking to himself that he can’t believe that she’d leave without saying good-bye. ** Scully is in class the next period when she hears the same announcement from her Math teacher. She’s equally shocked, but her thoughts are more about how Mulder and Reyes are going to react to the news. Reyes is the only one of them to have ever gotten close to her with only platonic intentions in mind, so Scully wonders how she’ll take the loss of her friend. For a moment Scully feels guilty that she herself isn’t really Reyes friend, and silently vows to make more friendly overtures in the future. It is, however, Mulder’s reaction that she’s most worried about. As much as she’d love to think otherwise, she knows that he still has feelings for Fowley, even though its been a while since he voiced them. Though she knows that it isn’t Fowley’s fault, but she fears that her disappearance is going to make feelings well up in him that she’d rather believe he wouldn’t have. Fowley didn’t want him, can’t I have a turn at earning his affection? She thinks, before drifting off into another daydream that reenacts Christmas Eve. ** Doggett sneaks up on Reyes and wraps his arm around her waist. Instead of looking pleased, she looks as though she’d just been ripped from deep thoughts. Doggett internally shrugs and asks, "Hey Cutie, would you like to go to the movies after school tonight? The Realto is finally showing Lord Of The Rings." A worried look crosses her face. "Um, tonight? I can’t. I’m supposed to work with Spender on a project for our Science class. Could we do it tomorrow night or this weekend?" "Sure." Doggett says, but is immediately suspicious of anything involving Spender. There’s something about that guy I just don’t trust, he thinks, then gives Reyes a hug before walking away. ** After School, Morgan home Reyes stands on the steps of Spender’s house, and debates with herself over whether or not she should actually knock. As much as she wanted to know what has happened with Fowley, she wasn’t sure that Spender actually knew anything, or was just a raving paranoid. No one really knew what had happened to him during the months he was gone, he could have been one of Mom’s floormates for all I know, she thought, and I’m really getting a complex about knocking on doors, so maybe I’m not too far behind. Before she made up her mind, the issue was resolved by Spender opening the door Spender’s face is etched with anxiety, and Reyes can instantly tell he’s been feeling as upset about Fowley as she has, which makes her relax somewhat. "Come on in. "Spender says, sounding tired. Reyes does. "My parents are at a dinner party, as usual, so they won’t be around at all tonight." Reyes follows him up to his room, and wishes for a moment that she were more like Scully; able to do that without feeling odd about it. Once they’re in his room he points to an easy chair, which looks out of place in a bedroom. She walks to it and sits, grateful that he’s the one to sit on the bed. Spender looks at Reyes and asks, "Can I trust you?" "Of course." "I mean, really. Really trust you. If I put my trust in the wrong person, it might cost Fowley everything. How do I know you’re the right person?" he demands. Reyes shrugs helplessly. "I’m her friend." "I know. That’s the only reason I’d even consider telling you these things." He says, which makes Reyes relax a little. "You have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone about Fowley’s connection to these things. I know you might eventually be prompted to discuss some of it, but you’ll leave her out of it. As far as we know she’s in Europe with her parents. Right?" he presses. "Right." Reyes says quickly, wondering why he thinks she’d share any of what he wants to reveal to anyone. Spender folds his hands into his lap. "I don’t know if I expect you to believe me, because I’m not sure I fully believe myself. This is what I was told, though, and though some parts of it seem incredible, I don’t suppose I really have a choice other than to think it’s the truth…though I’d rather it wasn’t because it involves me too. Are you ready to listen?" He asks. Reyes nods, he begins, telling her a stranger story than she’s ever heard. He doesn’t really look at her as he speaks, as if making eye contact will make his tale too difficult to tell. "This spring," He begins softly. "I started getting letters from someone who claimed to be my father. At first I didn’t believe him, of course, since I live with both my parents. The letters, though, persisted. One after another they came, which struck me as insanely like the beginning of the first Harry Potter book. Though I didn’t want to read them, something compelled me to, and…eventually I began to believe. I was desperate to prove this strange man wrong, so I looked at my parents blood donor cards, and when I did I knew. Theirs are A and B, and mine…is O. " He stops for a moment to make sure that Reyes is paying attention. "Once I believed his first claim, the explanations began, and the threats. He claims that I’m an early product of a genetics experiment that’s still on going. Apparently they’ve spent nearly 20 years trying to create children with something special about them. The maddening thing is that he never said what. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual about me, so I assume I’m one of the failures. Frankly I prefer that, since God only knows what they’ve done with the successes. Not that I know for sure if there have been any, yet." Reyes can’t resist any longer, so she asks. "What were the threats, and what does it have to do with Fowley?" "I’m getting to that. Apparently whatever they’re doing wasn’t able to get approval by the medical community, so they’re doing this stuff privately. In order to secure women to participate they blackmail them, and make various threats to them, and their loved ones, if they refuse. They’re powerful people, so no doubt they are fully capable of carrying out those threats, and they have a way to make you believe them. I believed them. I guess someone found out that ‘my father’ was leaking information to me, or maybe he himself decided to play an even more twisted game, but I got a letter saying in no uncertain terms that if I didn’t leave they were going to target Fowley for one of their experiments. I don’t know if it was only because I loved her, or if they had more complicated reasons, but they said they’d use her." "So you left." Reyes says. "Not at first. First I...well, Fowley and I were dating, you know, and were intimate. You have to understand that I believed they’d harm her even if I did what they said. So, I…So, I…" Reyes blinks in surprised understanding. "You got her pregnant on purpose?" Spender nods miserably. "I figured that if she was already pregnant they’d leave her alone, so she’d be safe from them even with me being gone while I pretended to follow orders. I don’t think even now I did the wrong thing, but it was wrong not to tell her. I don’t know if she’ll forgive me for that. I didn’t know for sure if it worked until just last week...I guess it worked and didn’t work, because Fowley said they started threatening her about her grandmother not three days after I ‘drown.’ She said she already knew that she was pregnant when they first got her to submit to the experiment. For some reason they didn’t give her a pregnancy test first, isn’t that unbelievable? You think that such a highly, though sinisterly, intelligent group would be smart enough to check something like that first. But they didn’t. So Fowley began playing games with them, just like I did. I only hope that they don’t take it out on her, or the baby, when they find out they’ve been had." "What are they doing…to the women?" Reyes asks, unable to bear asking about Fowley specifically. "Artificial insemination, from what Fowley told me on Christmas Eve. That’s all. I don’t have the slightest idea what their aim is, but from what that man told me, they found that this method is as effective as any other is. I shudder to think of what they did before now…what they might have done, to me. Right now, though, I’m more worried about her than me, since I seem fine." "What are we going to do?" Reyes asks in almost a whisper. "Nothing. We can’t do anything to them. All we can do is hope." Reyes almost retorts that isn’t right, that there must be something they can do, but she thinks that he’s probably right. They’re just two kids, and no one will believe them. "All right. But if things change…" "If I can find a way to change anything, I’ll count on you." Spender says with a weak smile. "You’d better." Reyes says. ** 6pm Mulder hesitantly wraps his hand around the shifter, and throws a nervous look towards the driver’s ed. instructor. The man has already proven to Mulder that he’s not the most patient of souls, so it’s not a surprise to him when the man snaps at him. "Put it in drive, Mr. Leary. We’re not going to get anywhere in park." Mulder tries to keep his hands from shaking, and fails. He’s used to being a passenger, and honestly doesn’t mind leaving the driving to Scully and Doggett, which is why he’s only going for his license now, at his parents insistence, three months after he first became eligible to. There reasoning is that once the baby is born they are going to have less time to drive him places he’d like to go. Why can’t I wait until closer til he or she is born, Mulder thinks, putting the car into drive. "Thank you for finally beginning. You’ll note that the gas petal is the one on the right. If you’ll step on that a little harder, we can get above 15 miles an hour." The instructor says, managing to sound only slightly sarcastic. Mulder fights a rising panic, he thinks it can’t be safe to travel at the speed suggested on the sign they quickly pass. I can’t believe how fast 30 miles an hour feels from this seat, he thinks. Every day I ride in cars going this speed, or even twice it, and have never felt the danger. He is thankful that his instructor is not a complete sadist, and has him drive to the school via back ways rather than the highway. As soon as he gets out of the car he breathes a shaky sigh of relief; he got through his first driving experience without killing himself or anyone else. ** Thursday night, Potter home Scully is restlessly wandering through the house. When Bessie notices her abandon the book she’s reading for the third time in favor of walking around the room, she decides to ask what’s up. "Scully, sit down would you? You’re making me nervous. What’s on your mind?" "Nothing." "Liar. I know you, and I know there’s something up. Spill it." "I’ve just been thinking, that’s all." "Uh, huh. Thinking about what?" Scully hesitates for a moment, unsure of how much she wants to tell her sister. "I’ve been thinking of how a girl Mulder had a crush on left school this week without saying good-bye." Bessie senses that she’s leaving something out, but decides to play along instead of demand embarrassing confessions. I remember being 16, she thinks. "And you’re worried about he’ll take it. You’re a good friend, Scully." "Thanks, but that’s the thing, how will it make him feel? I haven’t talked to him about it…" "You said had a crush on, not has, right?" "Yeah. I think it’s mostly past tense since she rejected his offer of more than friendship." Scully says, unconsciously playing with her hair. "In that case, I suspect that he won’t feel as bad about it than he would if he still harbored active hopes of winning her over. He’ll probably lament over what might have been for a few days, resent that she didn’t say good-bye for a while longer, then move on with life." Bessie says, drawing on her own memories of high school almost-relationships. "You think so?" Scully asks. "Yup. He might be a bit temperamental for a few days, but you and Doggett will have the old Mulder back before you know it." "Thanks, Bessie." Scully says, giving her a hug. Bessie smiles to herself over Scully’s shoulder, glad to have said what her sister needed to hear, and even more glad that it is probably the truth. ** Leary home Mulder and Doggett are in the basement, playing air hockey on a table preserved from the elder Learys’ distant youth. I swear this table is warped with age, Mulder thinks furiously as Doggett sinks the puck for the 10th time. Doggett whoops with joy. "Whoo yeah, ten to zip. I schooled you. Who’s the man now?" "You’re the man now, Doggett." Mulder says listlessly. "Awe, don’t be bitter just because I’ve won every game of air hockey we’ve played in the past year." Doggett crows. "Brag now, but just you wait until the spring. Once the snow thaws I’ll whip your butt on the basketball court as usual." Doggett yawns. "Sure, sure, once it gets close May I’ll start worrying." "Don’t you mean March?" Mulder asks. "Don’t you remember this past winter?" Doggett counters. "Good point." "Besides, I need something to feel good about now." "Why now?" Mulder asks. "Do you have any idea where my girlfriend was last night?" "I take it from your tone that she wasn’t doing unspeakable things with you." Mulder quips. "She was with Spender, working on a science project. Or so she says." Doggett says darkly. "Are you jealous? You sound jealous." "Did I really? I’m not, but I’m practicing sounding it. I figure it will come in handy one of these days. Mulder rolls his eyes. "Leave it to you to think that’s the sort of thing that needs to be practiced…" "You never know," Doggett says, reaching for the puck. "What do you say to me letting you try to reclaim a bit of you dignity with a rematch?" "Yeah, whatever." Mulder says, then begins to play. ** Friday afternoon, Capeside High As Mulder gets out of his father's car, he notices that the driver ed teacher, Mr. Long, is putting crates into the back of the driver's ed car. He pops back out of the car when he sees that Mulder is almost to him. Mr. Long gives him a pained grin. "I'm sorry to say, Mr. Leary, that since we're the last warm bodies at the school, the principal 'volunteered' us to bring some things to the school's remote storage unit. Sorry." "No reason to be," Mulder says. "It'll be an adventure." Though, in truth he's nervous about driving to a strange place. "That's the spirit. There isn't a lot of lifting to do, so that's a blessing anyway. Please put your bag in the trunk, there isn't a lot of room in the car as you can see." He says, pointing at the crates. "Sure thing." Mulder says, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. He pops open the trunk and sees that most of it is taken up by a large cyndical bag. He shrugs and hopes he's not going to be the one to carry it. He puts it in the trunk, and right as he's about to close it, he notices something poking out of the bag- something that looks a lot like a human hand. Shaken, Mulder slams the trunk and gets in the car, casting a scared look at Mr. Long. Mr. Long apparently misinterprets the look and says reassuringly, "It's not that far to the storage unit." It doesn't help, because Mulder is now more worried about being there than getting there. *** McPhee home Skinner opens the door, and is surprised to see Scully standing on the steps. He thinks hard for a moment, then gives up in confusion. "I'm not supposed to be working now, am I? I wrote down the schedule..." Scully smiles and pats his arm. "Don't worry, I'm here to see your sister." "Oh, she didn't mention you were coming over." "That's because she didn't know I was." Scully says, grinning. Skinner shrugs. "I'll go get her." Reyes is as surprised as Skinner is, but she tries not to show it. "Hi Scully, what's up?" "I want to go to the mall, and I was wondering if you might like to go too." "Sure. Do you have Mulder with you?" She asks, looking outside. "Nope. He's taking driver's ed. So this will be a girls' night out sort of thing." "Sounds fun." Reyes says, wondering why on earth Scully would come up with the idea. "Great, let's go then." Scully says brightly. ** . Somewhere in Capeside Mulder tries to tell himself that the best thing he can do is to just take directions from Mr. Long, and not to panic. Sure, don’t panic, he thinks. How do I do that? There’s a body in the trunk! Ok, ok, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation. It was pretty dark in the trunk since there’s no light, so maybe it wasn’t a hand. Maybe it was just something shaped exactly like a hand. Oh, that’s likely. Wait, maybe it was just a hand. Yeah, that’s it. Why would it be better if there was a human hand in the trunk? There’d be a body missing one somewhere else. Maybe there’s a not sinister reason for a body being in a trunk. Maybe, um….don’t panic, don’t panic! Mulder jumps when Mr. Long speaks to him. "You seem a little nervous, Mr. Leary." "I am. I’m afraid of getting lost because I don’t have a good sense of direction." Mulder says, making things up as he goes along. "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get there without any problems." Mr. Long says. But what about getting home? Mulder worries silently. ** McPhee home Skinner is doing his homework in the kitchen when his father comes home. Skinner shuts his book and takes some of the bags of groceries from the older man. "What, do you think I can’t handle carrying in the bags?" Mr. McPhee asks, teasingly. "Well dad, you are getting pretty old…"Skinner jokes, emptying a sack of potatoes into the vegetable bin. "Funny. Where’s your sister?" "She and Scully went to the mall for some reason. I didn’t ask why." Skinner says, shrugging. "That’s ok. "Mr. McPhee says, putting away some boxes of cereal. "I…I had something I wanted to talk to you about alone anyway." "What, Dad?" Skinner asks, his face looking expectant. "I was thinking about your, um, your…friend, Ethan. He’s a nice young man, and we haven’t had him around in a while…There’s a long weekend coming up, and I was thinking that maybe you could ask him if he’d like to come for a visit." Mr. McPhee says, looking very nervous. Skinner is touched that his father is able to make the offer. "Thanks, Dad. I appreciate that a lot." "Well good." "Are we going to watch the Bruins game?" Skinner asks, shifting the subject to more comfortable territory. Mr. McPhee looks relieved. "Of course. Did you hear about the Baby B’s? They’ve got a great lineup right now, and I heard something about them calling up someone who went to UNH to the majors…" ** Capeside Mall Reyes laughs as she looks in the mirror, because Scully has just dropped silly looking hats on both their heads. An old woman gives them a dirty look, which makes Scully laugh too. "I think," Scully says still giggling, "That madam disapproves of our capricious behavior. The fecklessness of youth these days, really. "Scully says affecting a haughty tone, suddenly straight-faced. Reyes nods, trying not to laugh. Reyes has been pleasantly surprised at how their excursion has turned out so far. To her surprise Scully isn’t as serious as she had suspected, and has a fairly decent sense of humor. Since she feels comfortable talking to Scully, she decides to ask her what’s been on her mind all along. "Why me?" "What?" "Why did you ask me to come with you instead of Skinner?" She clarifies. "Because as nice as being friends with boys is, some times it’s nice to spend time with other girls. I love Bessie, but she’s older and pre-occupied, so she’s not a lot of fun most of the time. And…I sort of thought that maybe you needed to get out of the house." Scully finishes softly. "I miss her." Reyes says simply. "I…well, you know I don’t, but I guess I understand why. Mulder misses her too, I think, but for different reasons. In a way I wish I’d been one of the people who’d gotten to know her for the person she must have been. But she’ll be back this summer, right?" "Right." Reyes says, keeping her private worries of that likelihood to herself. "Maybe I’ll get a chance to start over with her then." Scully says. "But in the meantime, I’d like to see if maybe…maybe we could be friends too." Scully finishes, giving Reyes a hopeful look. "I think I’d like that." Reyes says, grinning. "What do you say to going to ogle the cute guys working the sunglasses display?" "Sounds like a plan." Reyes says, forgetting to worry about Fowley for a moment. ** Somewhere in Capeside Mulder is getting more nervous as his instructor commands him to pull onto a dirt road, and leave behind the last vestiges of civilization. The car rumbles ominously over the frozen dirt and rocks, the mere sound of which adds to his anxiety. "Take a left here, Mr. Leary." Mulder does what he’s asked, and soon sees a small wooden structure not too much larger than a shed. It’s getting very dark, so even though he strains his eyes, he can’t see if the building has any signs on it or not. Being that the case, he’s dismayed to realized he only has Mr. Long’s word on it that it actually is owned by the school. "Pull up close to the path, please, we don’t want to have to carry this stuff too far." "Yes, sir." Mulder says, inching his way forward, then turning off the engine. "Do you think you can handle the crates in the back seat?" Mr. Long asks. "I need to get something from the trunk." "Yeah, sure." Mulder agrees quickly, momentarily happy not to be the one to get it, whatever it is, from the trunk. Mulder cringes a bit when he sees Mr. Long sling the bag over his shoulder. It must not be a heavy…thing, he thinks. Keeping as much distance between them on the path as he can, he follows behind with the crate. Even though the moon is now all the light afforded by the night, it’s well lit enough for him to an arm fall out of the bag. He nearly faints when Mr. Long nonchalantly stuffs it back into the bag and continues on as though nothing unusually has happened. ** Capeside Mall Scully and Reyes are finishing their frappes while they sit at a table in the foodcourt and watch busy people pass them by. "There's something to be said about ice cream on a cold day, but I'm not sure what it is." Scully remarks. "Perhaps a statement on the inborn masochism of New Englanders?" Reyes suggests. "You might be on to something there, but most people prefer the term 'stoic' to 'masochistic.' "Scully says, trying not to giggle. "You know, there was a paper a few years back on ice cream consumption in this country. In the majority of the country, ice cream is only popular in the summer. Here is different, not only do people consume ice cream year round, there's only a slight dip in sales during the winter months." "My grandpa always said it took a special person to live here all their lives...but he used to call crazy people special too." Reyes says, then feels guilty for a moment. Scully nods in agreement, because she doesn't know much about Reyes' family history. "We've bought a lot of things that we'll probably regret, had a fattening treat, and walked slowly by the sunglasses hut. Is there anything else we should do?" Scully asks. "We could talk about boys." Reyes says. "In general, or did you have any particular boys in mind?" "Ones we know." Reyes says. "So, you’ve known Mulder and Doggett your whole life, right?" "Pretty much. Since we were five." "But you were always better friends with Mulder." "Well yeah. I think it all goes back to our field trip to the farm when we were in first grade. Doggett and I got into an argument, and he pushed me into the duck pond. Things went down hill from there..." Scully says, grinning. "We get along better now, though. Sort of." "I'm glad you don't get along too well, though." Reyes says. "Oh?" "I'm competitive by nature." Scully says nothing, but laughs so hard she stops breathing for a second. "I'm sorry, but he's the last person I would try to steal away from someone. Well, last after Krycek." Reyes don't look offended. "He might be a nut, but he's my nut." "And you're welcome to him." "He told me something though, about you...." Reyes trails off. "What?" "He claims that you kissed Mulder." "Um...yeah, I guess I did." "Good for you! I bet that has made him think." "I hope so... Are you ready to go home?" Scully asks. "Ok. Sure you don't want to look at valentines' day cards first?" Reyes teases. "No!" Scully says, much to Reyes amusement. ** Capeside High remote storage Once they’re inside the building, Mr. Long reaches up and pulls the string for the bare bulb dangling from the ceiling. "You can see that the school spared no expense in constructing this place." Mr. Long says, sounding almost jolly. Mulder quickly agrees, wondering if he’s going to become victim number two, or an accessory after the fact. "You can stack those crates over there." Mr. Long says, pointing to the far wall. As Mulder does, he hears the sound he’s been dreading- Mr. Long opening the bag. He freezes, and doesn’t move until Mr. Long calls to him. "Mulder, help me with this, would you?" He cringes to himself again and slowly turns around. Mr. Long has pulled the body halfway out of the by the time Mulder has gotten back to him. The first impression Mulder has looking down at the body is that whoever the woman was, she had really bad hair. As he notes the waxy skin and looks for wounds that would indicate a cause of death, it all becomes clear to him… "Have you had CPR in health yet?" Mr. Long asks, thumping the body. "Poor Annie here has gotten clumsy attempts at resuscitation from more inept students than is bearable to think of. At least it gets to hang out in storage when not in use. Heck, this place is even heated." "No, I haven’t taken Health yet. Not until next year." Mulder says, trying to keep from laughing at himself. "Maybe you’ll be better at CPR than most of the kids. I want to thank you for helping me to bring this stuff here. Get in the passenger seat, I’ll drive us back." "Sure." Mulder says, thankful to have gotten everything wrong. By the time he’s gotten home he’s no longer upset, so it seems more like a great joke than anything else, so he calls up Scully to share. "Scully, you won’t believe the night I’ve had…"he says, finally laughing. ** Reyes turns on her computer and is about to log onto her e-mail when her brother knocks on the door. "Hey, Skinner, what’s up?" "You won’t believe this. Dad suggested that I have Ethan up next weekend!" "Wow, that’s great! I’m glad he’s finally coming around." Reyes says, smiling. "What did you and Scully do?" "Oh, you know. Girl things." "That sounds nice. Well, I just wanted to tell you about Dad and ask how your night was. I need to call Ethan now. See you later." Skinner says, bounding out of the room. Reyes shrugs at his sudden exit, but thinks how nice it is that their father has made a willing step towards accepting her brother’s boyfriend. She logs onto the Internet, and goes to look out the window while waiting for it to connect. The neighbors still have their Christmas lights up, which she thinks is oddly comforting. As soon as the computer exclaims, "You have new mail!" she returns to it. She sits down suddenly when she sees that the first e-mail in her in-box is from someone using the screen name FLindley. Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Powderfinger ("My Happiness") Ill Nino ("What Comes around") And Unwritten Law ("Follow the leader") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder's Creek: 09 Three Strange Days Summary: A ski trip goes off course, and strange events make everyone wonder if they're alone in building they pick to shelter them from a blizzard. Opening scene Mulder is packing up his Christmas village while Scully watches. "Do you think you could give me a hand with this?" He asks, sounding slightly annoyed. "No...it's more fun to watch." Scully says, ignoring his glare. "Why didn't you do this a week ago?" "I don't know...I didn't think of it." Scully sighs to herself. "I bet you had other things on your mind." "And what is that supposed to mean?" Mulder demands to know. Scully shrugs. "I mean Fowley leaving." "Sure, I've thought about it, why do you care?" Mulder asks, getting a bit defensive. "I care because you're my best friend, and you haven't said a word about it. Even Reyes has, and we're only just beginning to become friends." Mulder raises his eyebrows when she says that. She pretends not to notice. "Well, there hasn't be a lot to tell. It's not like we were friends, not like she and Reyes were, but it hurt a little that she didn't think enough of me to believe I was worth saying good-bye to. Besides that I haven't really thought too much about it." "Really?" Scully asks, sounding surprised. "Really, it's not as though I care as much about her as Doggett. Or you, for that matter. She was just someone I had a crush on." Scully picks up a house and asks. "Where does this one go?" Mulder tosses her the box. "Right here. Lazy..." he says, grinning. *** Theme song- Stranded by Plumb *** McPhee home, Wednesday afternoon Before she checks her new mail, she re-reads the message she sent to the person claiming to be Fowley: While I'd like to believe that this really is Fowley, I think I need some proof to know that this isn't someone just pretending to be her. If this really is you, I'm sure you'll understand. Reyes The message from the mysterious FLindley, had simply said "Reyes, it's me, Fowley. Talk to you soon." and since then Reyes has been struggling for days, trying to decide if she should believe that this person really is Fowley. So she finally decided the night before to ask for proof. Her hands tremble a little bit when she opens her inbox and sees a new message from FLindley. Taking a deep breath she opens it and begins to read what it says: Hey! I should of know you'd ask me to pass a little test, because, well...you've always been one of the most pragmatic people I've ever known. It's good that you're watching out for yourself, and me, I think, like this too. So here's a piece of proof I can offer. When you and I were talking to Kersh in his cruiser about the librarian, you told him that your being Doggett's girlfriend was good for his career. Since there was only the three of us there, it's not as though anyone else could have known it. If that's not good enough, Ms. Cautious, let me know and I'll think of something else =) Like how I teased to about the school ghosts when we were alone right before Christmas break, for example. Let me know if you believe me yet, Fowley Reyes sighs with relief- it has to be Fowley. ** Thursday night, Leary home Mulder is helping clean up after dinner, by putting the dishes in the dishwasher; which he hates to do. When he's about to drop the last of the spoons into the silverware tray, he hears his dad call for him from the living-room. He slams the dishwasher door and mutters to himself about wishing that his parents would be so kind as to actually walk into the room when they wanted to talk to him. "Yeah, Dad?" He asks, sitting on the couch. "Guess what!" Mulder thinks he'd rather not, but still asks "What?" His father looks happy, but the last time he looked this happy was Thanksgiving dinner, so Mulder doesn't feel any more at ease. "I spoke to Mr. McPhee, so it's all arranged." "What is?" Mulder asks, confused. "See, I wanted you to ask...I've arranged a ski trip for this weekend. Mr. McPhee and his twins, as well as Scully and Doggett are going to be joining us. Does that sound good?" Mr. Leary asks with a smile. "Of course! Thanks Dad!" "Your Mom won't be joining us, though. She doesn't like to ski much anyway, and she said that the baby has been making her feel too sick most mornings to enjoy the vacation. She's going to visit your Aunt Gwen, so she says we shouldn't feel guilty." "As long as she's happy..." Mulder says, thinking happily of a weekend without adult females around to keep people in line; his father has been the more permissive parent Mulder's whole life. "I think that Mr. McPhee is going to lend Skinner his SUV to drive you kids up, since he and I have to work on Saturday morning, and there's supposed to be a little storm, so we want you kids to be there before it." "Ok, sure. I need to call Doggett." Mulder says, already mentally planning ways to torment Reyes and Scully during the trip. ** Friday night, Potter home Scully sighs loudly for Bessie’s benefit. She shoves clothes into a duffel bag then slams it on the bed. Bessie looks amused. "I can’t believe you’re making me do this." She says to Bessie. "I don’t see what your problem is. Most people would be delighted to go away for the weekend. But you…you sulk." "Most people don’t hate snow." Scully complains. "You know I do. I have no interest whatsoever in skiing!" "You’ll live." Bessie says, patronizingly. "At least you’ll have a good company." "Oh yeah. Just me and Reyes against four boys. They’re ok when we’re not out-numbered, but when they have the advantage they’re suddenly eight years old again, and determined to drive us insane." "Four? How do you get four? Surely you’re not including Mr. Leary or Mr. McPhee." "I’m not. Skinner’s boyfriend, Ethan, is coming too." "You and Reyes will just have to be crafty." "But-" "You’re going." Bessie says firmly. "Have I ever told you how much you suck?" "Yes. Frequently. It’s never done you any good, though." Bessie says as she walks away. "You’re so insensitive…"Scully mutters to herself. She can’t understand why Bessie won’t believe her that the trip isn’t going to be as much fun as she thinks, because every single time Scully has gone on a trip with Mulder and Doggett they’ve made her the butt of endless pranks. At least there won’t be any poison ivy around this time, Scully thinks, trying to look on the bright side. ** Saturday morning, McPhee home Reyes opens the door and pulls the dark-haired young man standing on the porch into the house, and gives him a hug. "Ethan! It’s so good to see you. " "It’s good to see you too. Where’s Skinner?" "He’s getting his skis. Said he’d be down in a second." Neither of them notices Mr. McPhee until he startles them by saying, "Glad you could make it, Ethan." "Thank you for inviting me, sir." "You’re welcome." Skinner bounds down the stairs, but at the last second before he’s in the others’ sight he tries to appear nonchalant. "Hey." He says by way of a greeting. "Hey yourself." Ethan says, smiling. ** Scully is slumped in the back of the McPhees’ Landrover with a frown on her face as she listens listlessly to Mr. McPhee’s admonishments about having a safe trip. "…and Skinner, if the roads do happen to get bad, you know how to shift into four wheel drive, right?" "Yes Dad." Skinner replies patiently. "Ok, good. Call me when you get there, ok?" "Yup." "I’ll expect to here from you in about three hours then." Mr. McPhee says, still looking worried. "Mitch and I should be joining you around seven tonight. Oh, the lodge knows that you kids will be checking in first, so don’t worry about that." "Thanks Dad, see you tonight." Skinner says, then waves and rolls up the driver’s side window. "Finally!" Doggett says, from where he is sitting with Reyes. "He just worries, Doggett." Reyes says disapprovingly. "You’ll have to excuse him, he’s just not used to parental concern." Mulder tells her. Reyes says something in reply, but he’s too focused on trying to decide if tickling Scully would jolly her out of her bad mood, or make her slap him. He decides that inaction is the better course. "Actually, "Ethan says from the passenger seat, "I think your dad has loosened up a lot, Reyes. He seems less…" "Uptight?" Skinner suggests. "I would have used a less harsh term, but yes. He seems to have changed a lot since I last saw him." "Dad’s coming to terms with a few things." Skinner says. "Are we there yet?" Scully asks plaintively, making everyone but her laugh. ** Though the forecast didn’t call for snow until the late afternoon, it begins snowing lightly less than a half-hour into the trip. Reyes, Doggett, and Mulder take it as a good omen for the ski trip, but Ethan and Skinner are more worried than optimistic. During the conversation Mulder occasionally looks over at Scully, willing her to wake up and join the conversation. He isn’t surprised though, because there’s always been something about car trips that makes her fall asleep when she’s not the one driving. He shrugs to himself and hopes that the nap will put her in a better mood. If she was actually sleeping instead of merely pretending to, he might have gotten his wish. Instead she’s thinking of the last trip she had gone on with Mulder and Doggett. They’d been twelve years old that summer, and completely unaware of the news that would be waiting them when they returned home to Capeside. Mr. Leary and Sheriff Witter had been the chaperones for that particular trip, which none of them had thought was strange because the parents usually switched off on that duty. Since the two men were friends, they spent a lot of time fishing together, which left the three kids with a lot of unsupervised time alone together. The fact of which Mulder and Doggett took shameless advantage of, and tried to come up with the most outrageous tricks that their young minds could conceive of to harass Scully. Though she acted appropriately annoyed, it wasn’t that bad. She didn’t like finding worms in her shoes in the morning, and their trick of rubbing poison ivy all over her soap-they smartly raided the first aid kit for rubber gloves to do it unscathed- did leave her with a painful rash, there was something she really liked about the trip. When she had time to think about it when she was a little older, she hit upon what it was; they treated her differently than Bessie did. It was as if on that trip she got to experience, at least for a little while, what it would be like to have had a brother. Though she claimed to Bessie that she didn’t want to go on this trip because of the teasing, it isn’t the real reason. She’s afraid that this trip will open up the barely healed scars that were gotten from mental wounds right after the trip. The day after Scully got home from that trip, she and Bessie learned devastating news: their mother had terminal cancer. For some inexplicable reason, thinking about the fun she’d had that week with Mulder and Doggett made her feel guilty. She’s abruptly lifted out of her sad trip down memory lane when she feels the SUV move sideways. "What was that?" She asks, opening her eyes. "The wind. It’s gotten wicked windy all of the sudden. I’m going to pull off the road in put this thing in four wheel drive." Skinner says, making a general announcement. Scully peers out the window, and is surprised how bad the weather has gotten. Snow swirls wildly in the wind and a half-inch or so is piled up on the road. "Have you driven in weather like this before?" Scully asks Skinner, because she hasn’t. "Yup, don’t worry, we’ll get there safely. You were out for quite a while, so I bet you don’t realize that we’re over halfway there already." Skinner says as he puts the car back on the road. "Oh." She says, returning her gaze to the window. ** They pile back into the vehicle after stopping for lunch at a roadside diner. Though Reyes and Scully had insisted that the place looked like a dive, Mulder and Skinner protested that it had a certain charm about it. Their meal only served to prove that people who base their entire opinion of diners on what they’ve seen in movies don’t spend a lot of time pondering the quality of food. Feeling fuller and distinctly more queasy, they head back out into the storm. "Dad expects us to call in an hour, are we almost there, Skinner?" Reyes asks. "I think so. Ethan, check the map, would you?" "The map says that it’s about 30 more miles, I think we’ll make it there in plenty of time." Ethan says, as much to reassure himself as her. "Besides," Skinner adds, "He must know by now that the storm has slowed us down a little." "I hope you’re right…"Reyes says doubtfully. As they drive on they finally encounter plow trucks, though they try to avoid driving directly behind them. Doggett points at one. "Look at that, proof that my Dad is wrong. He said that the plow trucks were hibernating this year because of the unseasonably warm weather. Looks like this sudden cold snap has woken them up!" No one laughs, because it is just then that the snow picks up in earnest. Within a half an hour the snow is coming down so hard that they are driving in white out conditions. Skinner tries not to let his nervousness show, but he is frightened by how little he can see beyond the beams of the headlights. He’s never imagined that snow could come down so fast that it’s as difficult to see through as the cotton batten that his mother had used to stuff toy animals with when he was small. Trying not to let his panic show, he asks Ethan. "Where do we go next?" "The brochure from the lodge says that it’s off of exit 27 on pine tree road." Skinner relaxes a little once they’re finally able to see the exit. They drive down the road, looking for street signs. As the miles pass they feel more desperation because they can’t really see the signs well enough to read them. Since New England roads often stretch out for miles and miles this way no one feels out-right panic, but they are on the edge of it. Finally, once he spies something by the road side Ethan tells Skinner that he sees a sign that might be the right one. Skinner decides to risk being wrong, and drives up the steep dirt road. Four miles up the road they come to a large well lit building, and everyone sighs a breath of relief. They park in the lot in front of it, and begin to walk through the stinging snow towards their salvation. Before they are halfway up the walk they see one of the rarest of weather phenomena’s- lightening during a snowstorm. For a moment they pause in awe of this, because it is unlikely they will ever see it a second time. The bolts of lightening are harder to see in the snow filled sky than they would be during a rain storm, but their electric brilliance does allow them to stand out more than anything else in the leaden skies. When they hear a bolt of it strike a nearby tree the trance is broken, and they pick up their pace. Doggett has a smile on his face as he pushes the heavy oak door open, but it fades as he looks inside and sees that there is no one at the reception desk. "I guess the staff is somewhere else in the building." He says, and the others nod in agreement, not really listening as they stamp their feet to get the snow out of their boots. "Hello?" He calls, and listens to his voice echo throughout the interior. "I think we should go and look for the receptionist so we can check into our rooms." Reyes suggests. They decide to check both directions at once. Turning lights on as they go they find no one on the ground floor, so they gamely go up the stairs and search there too. Both groups meet back down stairs a few minutes later. "We didn't find anyone." Reyes says. "Neither did we." Mulder replies. "That's odd. You wouldn't think that they'd go off during the middle of the afternoon. Suppose they went outside to get something?" Ethan muses aloud. Scully half listens to them, but is more interested in a plaque she notices by the desk. "What's the name of this lodge?" She asks. "The Lincoln," Skinner says, irritably. "Why? I must have mentioned that three or four times already." "How come that sign says 'Fairchild' then?" She asks, pointing to the plaque. "There's no one here because this isn't the right lodge." "Skinner!" Reyes exclaims. Before an argument can really start, Doggett decides to intervene. "We have to look at this rationally. There's no way we can go back out into the storm because, if it isn't obvious to everyone else right now, we're in the middle of a blizzard. The wind has been picking up even as we've been in the building. If we go out there again we're going to get lost or worse." "What could be worse than getting lost?" Skinner asks. "We're in the middle of old growth forest. Old growth trees tend to fall during heavy winds, and being crushed by a huge tree sounds worse than being lost to me. We're going to have to stay here, at least for the night. There's power, at least for now, and there's a cord of wood stacked by that fire place over there so even if we do lose power we're not going to freeze to death. No one is here so it's not as though anyone is going to bother us for trespassing, and no one would be heartless enough to send us back out into the storm again today, anyway." "If there's no one here, why are there lights on in the lobby?" Ethan asks. "They probably didn't want potential looters to think the place is abandoned." Scully says. Reyes sighs deeply, "I guess we should take a look around and see if there's any food, too." They walk down the hall in the direction someone thinks they remember seeing the kitchen. ** The kitchen is approximately the same size as the one in the Ice House, so that comforts both Scully and Skinner for some reason. They are also the only ones who know what to look for when it comes to checking the cabinets for food. "There is a ton of canned goods, so we won't stave." Skinner tells them, peering into a pantry. Doggett reaches for one of the cans and says, "Ravioli! My favorite! But why hasn't anyone looked in the fridge or freezer?" Scully gives him a look he can't read, so he's not sure if she's making fun of him or not. "Since we don't have any idea how long it's been since there were other people here, it's probably not in our best interest to look in them. Even if the food hasn't evolved into a new life-form yet, the smell could make us wish that we were back out in the storm." Doggett gives a good-natured grin as he thinks about what she's just said. "This," he announces, "Is why I'm glad that we have at least one scientifically inclined person among us. Had it been up to me, the fridge would be open by now, and we'd all be throwing up in the snow. Thank you for saving us, Scully." She rolls her eyes, and then notices that Reyes has a phone in her hand. "Any luck?" "No." Reyes says unhappily. "There's no dial tone. Mulder, do you have your cell phone?" Mulder hands it over, and shoots Scully a look that suggests that the necessity of having one is something they've long argued about. Before he can say anything to the effect that he's right, Reyes hands it back to him. "No service." she says. "I guess there's no tower here, then." Mulder says. "Or it blew down." Doggett says cheerfully. "Let's have some ravioli!" Reyes isn't distracted by this tactic. "Dad's going to be awfully worried." She says to Skinner. "I know. He might even be mad too, but when he finds out we're safe that's all that's going to matter to him...I hope." Skinner can resist adding, which coaxes a reluctant smile from his sister. "Food now?" Doggett asks. "I vote for a fire now, and food later. "Mulder says. "But I'm hungry!" Doggett insists. "You're always hungry. We only ate two hours ago, anyway." Before Doggett opens his mouth again, Scully reaches into one of the cabinets, picks up a can, looks at the bottom for the date, than tosses it to him. "Have some fruit to tide you over." "Can peaches! My second favorite!" Doggett says, pulling the top off. He happily sticks a fork in the can and trails behind everyone else back to the lobby. He's so intent on savoring the sweet goodness of his snack that he almost walks into Ethan because he doesn't notice that everyone has stopped abruptly. No one is saying anything, so he looks over Ethan's shoulder to see what it is that has them speechless. A fire roars merrily in the fireplace. Sticking the fork back into the can he says, "That wasn't there 20 minutes ago. I know it's obvious, but some situations call for the stating of it. We're not alone here." No one contradicts him. ** 4pm, McPhee home Mr. McPhee and Mr. Leary look at each other in a grim silence. While they both know that one of them is going to have to call Bessie, sheriff Doggett, and Ethan's parents, neither of them is eager to do so. At last Mr. Leary speaks. "I called the lodge again about five minutes ago, and they still haven't checked in." "The state police said they haven't seen anything yet, though, so perhaps they're ok." "You know, it could be that they're just lost. The snow was pretty heavy for a while there, so maybe they just took the wrong exit. For all we know they're at a hotel somewhere, safe and warm." "If they were, wouldn't they have called by now?" Mr. McPhee asks. He doesn't really expect the other man to answer, and he's sure that his thoughts mirror his own- they called and left a message at the lodge at noon, to let the kids know that they weren't going to be able to join them until the next day. The receptionist at the lodge agreed to give them the message to call home as soon as they got there. But now, four hours later, the lodge still hasn't seen them come in. Sighing deeply, Mr. McPhee picks up the phone again, this time dialing the Potter's number. "Hello, Bessie? This is Reyes and Skinner's father. I'm afraid I have some worrisome news..." *** At The Lodge After the shock of the spontaneous fire wore off they went and looked in all the rooms again, trying to find the person who had started it. Again their search was unsuccessful, which leads them to be even more worried than they have been so far. They sit around the sinister fire, and try to puzzle out what is going on. "I think the answer is obvious, "Mulder insists. "We're dealing with the paranormal. Since the ghost has thoughtfully provided us with a fire, I think it's a friendly entity." Reyes is inclined to agree with Mulder, but Scully objects. "There are no such things as ghosts." "You don't know that for sure, Scully." Mulder says. "Isn't the high school haunted?" Reyes asks, then is confused when Doggett, Scully and Mulder laugh. "No, it isn't." Doggett says when he catches his breath. "But Fowley says it is." Reyes says. "What Fowley, and you, don't know is that the only spooks in that school around Christmas time are Byers, Frohike, and Langly, who have been paid to provide evidence of haunting." Doggett says. "Hey, did you know that they're calling themselves 'the lone gunmen' now?" Mulder asks. "That doesn't even make sense. There are three of them." Scully says. "I know, that's what I told Frohike, and he got all huffy about it." "I Scully is right," Skinner interrupts. "The likelihood of the fire being the result of a ghost's prank rather than that of a potentially dangerous person hiding in this lodge is low. We need to be prepared for the possibility of someone else, whose motives aren't friendly, to be in this building with us." "What do you suggest we do?" Ethan asks. Before Skinner thinks of anything, Reyes says, "I think we should stick to the original sleeping arrangements we were going to have at the right lodge. While there are a lot of rooms, it's probably better that we double up as intended. There are two beds in every room I looked in, and....well, safety in numbers and all that. The rooms have locking doors, too, so no one will be able to get in while we're sleeping." "Reyes is right. Besides, that will be less rooms to have to clean up in the morning, so we don't leave a mess for whomever it is that owns this place." "Are the rest of you ok with that?" Reyes asks, waiting until they all nod. "Ok then. Doggett and Mulder in one room, Ethan and Skinner in a second, and Scully and I in the third. Now we just need to find three rooms together that we like." The lights flicker as they troop upstairs, and the wind continues to howl outside. ** 11pm Despite several more searches, no one has been found in the lodge. Eventually Skinner and Ethan yawn and say goodnight. Not too long after Reyes and Doggett also decide they’re tried and say they’ll go up to their rooms too. Reyes asks Scully to come up soon because she doesn’t want to be alone too long. Scully barely acknowledges that because she and Mulder are still in the middle of a heated debate about the plausibility of a ghost being in the lodge. "Scully, you know that we’ve seen things before, so why can’t you just admit that there’s a world beyond our comprehension? Can’t you just accept things without definitive proof? " "If it was that easy, I’d believe everything that anyone ever told me. Would it be better if I had believed you when you told me that the Chinese food place was serving cat?" "Well, it would have been more entertaining, anyway." Mulder says grinning. "This isn’t funny, Mulder. That you’d propose blind acceptance to anything is quite disturbing." "Could you lighten up just a bit?" "No, I don’t think I can. I’m going to put out the fire, then go to bed." "Ok then. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Good-night." "‘night." Scully says, looking up from the fireplace. ** Doggett knocks on the door of Reyes and Scully’s room. Reyes opens the door and yawns. "What are you doing here?" she asks. "Coming to get you." "Me? What do you mean? You and Mulder are supposed to share a room." "We’re supposed to, but we’re not going to." "But-" "But nothing. You are scared, and I don’t think you’ll feel safe even with Scully in the room. You girls need someone to protect you." "Am I supposed to think you’re my knight in shining armor, or sexist? "Reyes asks, sticking out her tongue. "I’d prefer the former, but that’s up to you. Come on, get your stuff." "They’re not going to like this…"Reyes says, but grabs her bag. "They’ll get over it." Doggett says, pulling her down the hallway. ** Since Mulder makes a detour through the kitchen in order to get some of the canned peaches, he doesn’t come upstairs in time to see Doggett coax Reyes into their room. He tries the door then knocks when he realizes that it’s locked. Doggett opens the door, looking sleepy. "Mulder, there’s been a change of plans." "What are you talking about?" Mulder asks, surprised that Doggett is blocking his way into the room. "Reyes is scared of ghosts, so she’s going to sleep here. And you’re going to sleep in Scully’s room. Good-night." Doggett says, shutting the door in Mulder’s face. "Doggett!" Mulder whispers loudly at the locked door. Sighing deeply, he goes looking for Scully. He unintentionally startles her as he walks up behind her and says "How’s putting out the fire going?" "Not bad. I think it’s safe to leave now." She says, standing up. "You’re not going to like this…we have a problem." "What problem?" "It seems that Doggett and Reyes have decided that our sleeping arrangements needed adjustment." "Oh no." "Since Doggett locked me out of the room, there are two options the way I see it. The first option is that I take a fourth room, and you stay in the room that you and Reyes were supposed to share. The second is that we share a room." Mulder looks at her expectantly, figuring that she’ll choose the first option. The look on her face suggests that neither option strike her as being ideal. "Um…since we don’t know who is wandering around this place…and there are two beds in the room…" Mulder holds out his hand and says "In that case, miss, I suggest we go up to our room," which gets a reluctant smile out of her. ** Ethan shakes himself out of a troubled sleep, and notices a figure standing in the darkness. Before he convinces himself that one of his odd dreams has come to life, he realizes that it’s Skinner standing at the door. "What are you doing?" Ethan asks. "Did you hear that?" Skinner asks quietly. "What?" "I heard someone walking down the hallway just now. I’ve been trying to decide if I should open the door. " Ethan sits up and asks, "What’s to stop you? It’s probably just one of the others getting up to use the bathroom." Skinner looks at the door, and it seems to Ethan that he’s about to object. Instead he shakes his head and climbs back into his bed. "I hope you’re right." Is all he says. ** Mulder looks over at the other bed and nearly strains his eyes trying to make out Scully’s form in the darkness. Eventually he’s able to tell that she’s lying curled up on her side, but he can’t tell if she’s awake or sleeping. "Scully." He whispers into the gloom, hoping not to wake her if she is in fact sleeping. She rolls over and asks drowsily, "What is it, Mulder?" He is a little surprised that she’s awake. "I’m lonely." He tells her. "How can you be lonely?" She asks. "I’m not twelve feet away from you." "This bed is too big," he complains. "I feel like I’m lost in it." "What am I supposed to do about that?" She asks grumpily. "Oh…" "Please?" She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. "Do you swear, on your honor, to be a gentleman?" "Of course." He says quickly. "I’m probably going to regret this…"she mumbles to herself, but climbs onto the unoccupied side of Mulder’s Queen sized bed. "Thank you." Mulder says before rolling onto his side. "My security Scully…"he says yawning, making her giggle to herself. ** Reyes blinks a few times and tries to identify the scraping sound that has just waken her from a sound sleep. A quick glance at the clock shows her that it’s nearly six am. The scraping sound cuts off abruptly, but not before she realizes that it’s coming from outside the door. She shakes Doggett awake and makes him open the door with her. As soon as the door is opened they see that someone has dragged all their ski stuff up from the lobby and piled it in the hallway. "Another prank from our friend." Doggett notes sardonically. "This isn’t funny." Reyes snaps. "I didn’t say it was." Doggett reminds her. "Let’s get everyone up for breakfast." A knock on the door wakes Scully up, and she untangles herself from Mulder’s arms. Mulder doesn’t stir even as she abandons the bed. She looks down at him, and can’t quite remember when it was that he had snuggled closer to her. She remembers, though, that he was whimpering, as if in the troughs of a nightmare, at the time. She hadn’t been able to wake him to ask what his dream was about, and hadn’t had the heart to push him away. ** Down in the kitchen they ate pancakes made from a mix, and discussed the events of the night before. No one claims responsibility for the moving of the ski equipment, nor does anyone own up to have been walking outside Skinner and Ethan’s door in the middle of the night. "I don’t want to alarm anyone, but when I first got down here, I opened the door. We got about three feet of snow yesterday, and there’s no way to get the SUV out." "So what are we going to do?" Skinner asks. "When I was poking through a closet during one of our ‘searches’ yesterday, I found a bunch of cross-country skis. I figure that a couple of us could use them to get down to the end of the driveway, and maybe out to the highway to leave flags for anyone who might be looking for us." Doggett says. "I’m a good skier, who else will come?" "I will." Ethan says. "Then let’s go." Doggett says, grabbing his coat. Once they’re outside they find that the situation isn’t as grave as they worried it might be, because they find that the dirt road has actually been plowed, leaving just the extended driveway to block their escape. "So," Ethan asks. "Any idea how we can most quickly clear a path for the SUV?" "Since the driveway is a good half a mile long, I think we’re going to need to leave the idea of doing anything quickly out of the equation." "I guess you’re right. Let’s tie these up and go give people the good-bad news." Ethan says, sounding disappointed. ** Not long after Ethan and Doggett return, they find where the lodge stores its cache of snow shovels. Working three at a time, they spend most of the day shoveling a path through the snow. The other three wait inside until it’s their hour to shovel, which keeps them from staying out in the cold too long, and lets them rest for a while near the fireplace. Though they work until right before it gets dark, they only get halfway down the long winding driveway. Somewhat dejected, they go back inside once the sun starts to set. "I can’t believe we got so little done!" Skinner exclaims as they wait in the kitchen for the cocoa to be ready to drink. "We worked all day and only have that much to show for it." "We cleared out a quarter of a mile of snow, that’s a hell of a lot of snow if you really think about it. I don’t think we could have expected to do more given how short the day is this time of the year." Scully points out. "You don’t suppose we could pile into the Landrover and then sort of let gravity bring us down to the road?" Skinner suggests hopefully. "We’d get bogged down in the snow before we got through six feet of it. The snow is too deep to try something like that." Mulder says. "How would you know?" Skinner challenges him. "Care to explain it too him, Doggett?" Mulder asks. "Ok, sure. You know how we got all that snow last March? Anyway, Dad asked Mulder and I to clear the driveway. Our driveway is hilly like this one, so we had the brilliant idea that if we cleared just part of it, we could do what you just suggested. It worked great- for about four feet. We spent over an hour digging the snow out from under the car so we could even move it once we cleared the rest of the driveway. I don’t recommend it." "So we’re stuck here at least another day." Skinner says. "Sorry." Mulder says, sounding it, but wondering why he’s so impatient to leave. "I think we ought to get to bed early, "Reyes suggests. "That way we can get started as soon as it gets light." "Whatever." Skinner says, looking unhappy. They all go to bed at ten, and are slightly less scared than they were the night before because nothing strange has happened all day. ** In their room Reyes leans on an elbow and looks towards Doggett as he undresses. He throws his shirt on a chair and asks her, "Are you enjoying the show?" "You know it." Reyes says, grinning. "I’m worried about Skinner though." "Thank you Ms. Non sequitur. Unless there’s some sort of horrific connection in your mind between me undressing and your brother. Since you don’t strike me as the least bit redneck… " Reyes laughs. "No, it was just what I was thinking about. I’m worried that things aren’t going so well between him and Ethan." "Because of his mood?" Doggett asks. "That, and how quiet Ethan has been…" "I guess you’ll have to let them work it out. I know that siblings sometimes try to help, but it usually just makes thinks worse. One way or the other, Skinner will be ok. Eventually." "You’re probably right." Reyes says. "Aren’t you going to fold your shirt?" She asks, ducking as he throws it at her. ** 10pm, Leary home Mitch doesn’t realize that he’s dosed off until he hears the phone ring. By the time he realizes that he’s on the couch, where he must have been watching TV, the phone is already in his hand. "Hello?" "Mitch, this is Mr. McPhee. I just talked to the lodge again, and they confessed that there were some brochures that went out with a typo in them- they gave the wrong exit number off the highway. They tracked down the mistake and let the state police know what exit was given in error. We’ll get a call as soon as they know anything." "Thanks for letting me know." He says, hanging up the phone and hoping desperately that the call from the police is good news when they call. ** 4am, The Lodge Mulder nearly jumps when Scully shakes him awake. "What? What?" he asks. She doesn’t say anything, but instead points to the window. A stooped figure is standing there, barely illuminated by the dim moonlight. At first Mulder thinks it might be a ghost indeed, but as he swings his feet over the side of the bed to investigate, the figure spooks, and runs to the door. It flees out of the room, slamming the door behind it. Mulder opens the door, intending to track the intruder down, but whoever it was is already gone. "Did you track down the ghost?" Scully asks shakily. "While I appreciate the attempt to humor me, but you’re right about it being a non-ghost. A ghost wouldn’t have needed to open the door." "So what do we do now?" "I think we need to wake everyone up and stay together so we’re safe." He says. "Solidarity in the face of weirdness?" "Something like that." ** The six of them sit in silence, waiting for the sun to come up. Finally, as the sky starts to lighten, they grimly put on their winter gear and prepare to continue shoveling. Right after Scully and Mulder woke everyone, they decided that they’d work twice as hard to get the driveway cleared as quickly as possible. They’d already trudged outside once and threw their stuff in the Landrover, and would have preferred to stay in it as well had it not been so cold out. Just as they’re walking to the door they hear the unmistakable sound of feet coming from the hallway. They all whip around in time to see a figure running towards them. The man is elderly, and has a long white beard. The thing they notice most is the mad gleam in his eye. He waves his arms and shouts "Get out of my house! Get out! I own this place, you get out!" Though his threats didn’t scare them overly much, the presumably loaded double-barreled shotgun that he’s brandishing does. They do as he demands and race out into the snow. To their horror he seems likely to follow them, so they jump into the SUV and drive it as far as they can. They hope that they can use the shovels to defend themselves if necessary, happy that they thought to put some in the SUV the day before after finishing the last session of shoveling. As they round the corner and out of sight of the lodge, they see a welcomed sight- a state cruiser and a plow truck are headed towards them. They run through the snow to hail the cruiser and hysterically tell the officer about the crazy man with the gun while the plow truck makes a path for the other vehicles. The officer insists that they drive back up with him to the lodge to point out where they last saw the man. They describe again what they saw, but fall silent as the lodge comes back into view. Twenty minutes have wrought inexplicable changes in the building. The formerly sound building no longer is. The siding is now weathered and many of the shingles are missing. A huge portion of the roof has fallen into the second floor. As they stare at the lodge in awe, the officer remarks that it doesn’t seem as if the man is still around. "I can’t believe you poor kids stayed in this place for going on three days. I’m glad you made it through ok, because you couldn’t have paid me to stay there." Doggett recovers first and asks, "Why not?" "Oh," says the officer. "You know how old run down places like this get the reputation for being haunted. I guess the squatter you ran into knew that too and was hoping to scare you with it. " "I guess." Doggett says, staring at the lodge again. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: The Cure ("Fear of Ghosts") 3rd Eye Blind ("Good For You") And School of Fish (‘Three Strange Days") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder's Creek: 10 Fever Dreams Summary: Doing Bessie a favor leads to Scully becoming deathly ill. Mulder and Bessie spend a lot of time with her at the hospital as they both deal with fear and regret. Opening scene Scully walks into Mulder's room and tosses him a one pound bag of M&Ms which he catches with a happy look. "For me?" he asks, shaking the bag. "Yes, they're for you." "Hey, thanks! I love M&Ms because of the way the hard little shells crack in your mouth, and I think they remind me of sunflower seeds. Of course they'd be the sugar version, and far less healthy for you..." He trails off and gives her a suspicious look. "There has to be a reason you're giving me one of my favorite candies, but you haven't brought it up yet. " "A girl can't give someone candy without wanting something?" She asks, and he shakes his head. "Yeah, you got me...Bessie wants me to baby-sit for Alex and Jared again tonight, and they run me ragged, so I need some help if I'm going to retain even a shred of sanity after the experience." "Who's Jared?" Mulder asks, stalling for time. Baby-sitting toddlers isn't his idea of fun. "The little boy that belongs to the friend Bessie is going out with tonight." Scully says. "She's going out with a friend and leaving you home to baby-sit? That sounds Cinderella-ish to me." "They're going to a class at the local community college. It's just a four week one on bookkeeping for small businesses. This is week two, so...will you help me?" "Of course I will." Mulder says, not thoroughly convinced he's just made a wise move. "I appreciate that. And look at it this way, it will give you an idea of what life around this house will be like in a couple of years." "Are you trying to change my mind?" Mulder asks, giving her a sour look when she laughs. *** Theme song- Stranded by Plumb *** Wednesday afternoon, McPhee home Doggett and Reyes are sitting on the couch watching afternoon TV when Skinner stomps down stairs, curtly says "later" and disappears out the front door. "I take it that Skinner isn't any happier than when we were at the lodge?" Doggett asks, sounding concerned. "No, he's not. Apparently he and Ethan had some serious discussions that they didn't mention to us." "About?" "Ethan doesn't like how a long-distance relationship feels, so he's asked Skinner to consider seeing other people." Reyes says sadly. "Ouch. Does that mean they're officially broken up?" "I think it's more of a trial separation." "I'm not sure that's much better." Doggett says. "I know. I sort of hope that Skinner finds someone else, here." "Well...If I could find someone to put up with me here, I'm sure your brother can too." Doggett says, wrapping his arms around her. ** Wednesday night, Potter home Two small boys tackle Mulder while he's sitting on the floor, then laugh hysterically when they manage to bowl him over. Once he's on his back the climb on him and won't let him up. "Scully!" Mulder calls weakly for help. "When Toddlers attack, next on FOX." Scully intones as she scoops up a child under each arm. They demonstrate their displeasure at this by whining and flailing at her. Once Mulder has recovered his balance, Scully passes Jared to him, and sits on the couch with Alexander trapped on her lap. "Mulder, if you could please push play on the VCR..." she says through gritted teeth as her nephew screams. Mulder traps Jared's arms so he'll stop throwing punches, and turns on the movie. It works like magic, and within two minutes of the opening screen of Dinosaurs the boys settle down and watch it like two almost civilized human beings. A half-hour later they're both snoring, so Mulder and Scully carry them to Alexander's room and put them in his crib. She pauses a moment to look at them after switching off the light. "I think I can see why people have them," She tells Mulder as they walk back to the living room. "They look like angels in their sleep." "But only in their sleep." Mulder says. "So I take it you’re hoping for a sister, then? "Scully asks. Mulder shakes his head. "I want my parents to have a boy. I have a sister, and I don’t want another." "Why not?" "If the baby is a girl…I think that it will make me think of Sam more. Maybe if it’s a boy I won’t have to worry as much. It probably wouldn’t make a real difference, any where but here." He says, tapping his temple. "Oh…the baby is due in May, do your parents know what it’s going to be yet?" "No. They’ve done ultrasounds because of Mom’s age, but they’ve asked the doctors not to reveal the baby’s sex because they want it to be a surprise. I guess you’ll think that’s quaint." "Not really. I don’t think I’d want to know, either." Mulder gives her a long look. "Have you given much thought about that sort of thing? Having a baby, or babies?" "A little. I think all teenage girls ponder that once in a while, because we’re conditioned to grow up believing we’ll all be wives and mothers." "I see. Have you thought of who you’ll like to father your hypothetical offspring?" he asks, hoping to fluster her. Instead she calmly says, "No, but I’ll meet a charming handsome man in grad school, I’m sure." "Oh." He says, partly disappointed that he didn’t get a rise out of her, and partly disappointed that she didn’t say him. "Only two more weeks of baby-sitting the little hellions, right?" "Fortunately yes. Bessie’s next class is on Friday of all nights, so I’m thrilled beyond measure." "I’m sure." He says, giving her a sympathetic look. ** Thursday Afternoon, McPhee home Reyes is waiting for Doggett to pick her up so they can get a pizza. While she waits she checks her e-mail and listens to the unhappy music emanating from her brother’s room. So far all her efforts to cheer him up have been rebuffed. Shrugging to herself, she opens the latest message from FLindley: Hi Reyes, Wow, it sounds like you guys had some adventure last weekend. I know you were asking how I am, and I’m fine to tell you the truth. I don’t like it here, and I’m worried about the baby, but so far we’re both fine and dandy. I don’t know if I told you, but I found out for sure this week that it’s going to be a boy. Whatever it is that they’re doing to the other women’s babies must be subtle, because they couldn’t tell he’s not one of them from looking at the ultrasound. I’ve been slowly learning what is that they’ve done, and gotten a few hints at their aims. I’ll let you know what I find out more, ok? Later, FLindley Reyes signs off, wishing Fowley would say something more, and decides to make the final overture of the day to her brother. She knocks on the door, and hears the music being turned down. She’s is glad that he lets her in. "What’s up?" He asks her, not unpleasantly. "Doggett and I are going out for a pizza. Would you like to come with us?" She asks with a hopeful look on her face. "I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m up for it." Skinner says, feeling bad when she looks disappointed. "Maybe tomorrow we could something?" He suggests as an afterthought and atonement. "Sure, you name it." Reyes says, hearing Doggett outside. "See you later." As soon as she leaves the room Skinner turns up the music and stares at the wall. ** Friday afternoon Mulder and Scully are walking home when Mulder remembers that she said she’s supposed to baby-sit later in the evening. "So…you’re baby-sitting the boys tonight. Do you need any help?" He asks, because as much as he hates to admit it, he sort of had fun with them. "Actually, I’m only looking after Alex tonight, so I won’t really need the help, but thank you." "No Jared?" "No Jared. His mom called yesterday to say he wasn’t feeling well, so she’s going to miss the class tonight, and get notes from Bessie." "At least you get a break, right?" Mulder asks. "It’s nice, isn’t it? I think that Alex and I will spend some quality time with the play-dough, and maybe play trucks." Mulder gets a far-away look on his face. "I remember my trucks…"Then he blinks and shakes his head as if to clear it. "Are you baby-sitting on Monday?" "No, why?" "I haven’t seen Lord of The Rings yet, and I was wondering if you might like to come with me then." "That sounds great, Mulder." "Good. It will be fun. "Mulder says, grinning. ** Leary home When Mulder gets home his mother is sitting in the living room surrounded by small rectangles of colored paper. She looks up when he walks into the room. "Hi Honey, how was school." "Ok, Mom…what are you doing?" "I’m looking at paint swatches. Your Dad wants to get the baby’s room painted soon, but he’s left picking the color to me. Do you want to help?" "Ok." Mulder says, taking a seat on the couch. She passes him a handful of the rectangles and says, "We were thinking a shade of green, since we don’t know if it’ll be a boy or a girl." "You don’t want to wait until after the baby’s born so you could pick blue or pink?" Mulder can’t resist asking, though he knows it’s cruel. A shadow passes over her face. "No. No, we don’t want to do that." Mulder is certain she’s thinking of Sam too, which was his aim, but instead of bringing it up he hands her one of the paint samples. "I like this one, Mom." "Mint mist. That’s a nice one, Mulder, despite the name. I think it’s perfect, in fact. We’ll have to send your Dad after it this weekend." ** Monday afternoon, Potter home "I’m sorry, Mulder but she’s been in bed most of the day with the flu, so I can’t let her go to the movies even if she is feeling better." Bessie says. "I understand." Mulder says. "I’ll go see if she’s awake so she can at least say hi." "Ok, thanks." Bessie goes into Scully’s room and sees that she’s still asleep. As she turns to leave, Scully moans softly, so Bessie puts her hand on her forehead, then tries to wake her. As soon she realizes she can’t she bolts from the room and grabs up the phone in the kitchen. "Mulder, please come over here as quick as you can. I need you." She says, sounding panicky. Mulder looks at the dead phone for a moment, then runs for his coat. ** Bessie meets him at the door looking pale. "Thanks for coming over so quickly, Mulder. Scully’s in trouble." "What’s wrong?" Mulder asks, feeling scared. "She’s burning up. I took her temperature as soon as I got off the phone with you, and it’s 104. She needs to go to the hospital, right now, she won’t wake up, and I’m not strong enough to lift her. If you don’t think you can do it, I can call an ambulance, but I’d prefer not to because it’d scare her to wake up in one." "Oh. I’ll get her to the car for you." Mulder says, in a daze. Bessie gives him a quick hug. "Thank you so much. I’ll grab Alexander and start the car." Mulder almost expects Scully to yell at him to get out of her room, but she doesn’t stir, even as he turns on the bedroom light. She’s pale, he thinks, so pale, much more than usual, and it makes her hair seem redder some how. He pulls her into a sitting position, and wraps a comforter around her before attempting to pick her up. He’s surprised how light she seems, because as far as he knows she weighs around 115 pounds. Her eyelids flutter a little as he walks out to the car, but she doesn’t come close to waking. ** Bessie has called ahead, so there’s a doctor waiting with a gurney when they get to the hospital. He ushers them into an exam room and looks intently at Scully’s arm before looking up and gruffly asking Bessie, "Where are her parents?" "I’m her legal guardian, her older sister. "Bessie says quickly. The doctor seems to relax a little when he hears that. "Do you know if your sister has had the chicken pox before?" "I’m not sure." Bessie says. "I don’t remember her having had it though." "We can send over to your primary care physician for her records. Has she been exposed to someone with it recently, that you know of?" Bessie looks at the floor. "She’s been baby-sitting a friend of mine’s little boy for a couple of weeks, and he came down with it on Thursday." The doctor picks up Scully’s wrist and points at a scattering of sore-looking spots on her forearm. "This looks like Chicken pox to me, and she was around the boy when he was most contagious…since it’s serious in adolescents and young adults, we’ll have to admit her for at least a few days." "Will she be ok?" Bessie asks in a small voice. "We’ll have to get her fever down, and see how things look from there." The doctor says, not looking her in the eye. Mulder takes Alex from her, and puts his arm around her shoulder when she starts to cry. ** Late Monday night, Capeside hospital Scully runs. There’s a striped tent coming up on the right, but she doesn’t duck into it because she feels that it might be more of a trap than a blessing if she’s followed into it. There she could be backed into a corner, defenseless. Instead she runs. She’s not sure if he’s still after her, because the pounding of her own shoes on the hard packed ground overwhelms the sounds of others’ feet. But she can feel him behind her, grinning. A blood-red smile, and maniacal eyes, that’s how you know not to trust them. They’re danger signs like the coloring of poisonous butterflies. Stay away. And she’s trying to, but he’s in pursuit. Trying to get her to be part of the show, chasing her down, demanding she return. If any of the paint gets on her she’ll be stained…fear makes her stumble, and around the corner of another tent she sees the toe of a floppy shoe… The night nurse hears Scully cry out in her sleep and come in to check on her. Scully doesn’t protest as her temperature is taken, but the nurse shakes her head; so far all their efforts haven’t got her fever below 102. The woman leaves, planning to consult the doctor who is coming onto shift in twenty minutes. ** Tuesday afternoon, Capeside hospital Bessie taps Mulder on the shoulder, and he looks up at her. He’d been watching Scully sleep for about an hour, and he is beginning to make Bessie worry. "Hey Mulder." "Hi. Bessie, how is she doing, really? I asked a nurse, but the woman wouldn’t tell me anything." "She’s a little better. They’ve gotten her fever down to a more manageable temperature, and though she’s been asleep most of the time, she has been awake off and on, so you don’t have to worry about her being in a coma or anything." "How did you know that’s what I was worrying about?" He asks, surprised. "It’s written all over your face. Let’s take a walk." "But…" "She probably won’t notice we’re gone, Mulder, let’s go." Mulder reluctantly follows Bessie out of the room, and casts a look back at Scully’s sleeping form. It worries him that she’s so still. They walk past the gift store and out into the cold mid-winter air. "It’s too bad it’s winter, Mulder. There’s supposed to be a duck pond around here somewhere, but I suppose it’s iced over now." "That’s ok. I don’t like ducks." Mulder says quickly, shuddering a little. Bessie gives him a surprised look. "You know, I always thought that Scully was feeding me a line when she claimed you were afraid of ducks." Mulder gives her a sheepish look. "It’s just one of those things…" "And you were the one to pull her out of the duck pond after Doggett knocked her in all those years ago." Bessie marvels. "Maybe that’s why she loves you." Instead of asking her to qualify what she means by ‘love’ he says, "Yeah, maybe." "She’s going to get better soon, Mulder. She has to, because if she doesn’t I won’t be able to live with myself." "Bessie…" "Please don’t tell me not to feel guilty, if it wasn’t for me she would never have been around Jared, and probably wouldn’t have gotten sick at all." Mulder feels helpless because there really isn’t anything he can say to make her feel better. ** Wednesday afternoon, McPhee home Skinner is startled when Reyes comes up behind him and pulls off his headphones. He swivels his chair away from the computer so he can look at her. "I didn’t hear you knock." He says pointedly. "That’s because I didn’t knock. Look, Skinner, we need to talk." Reyes tells him. "About?" "About you’re wallowing in self-pity. I know that given the circumstances some wallowing is justified, but you’re going over-board." "Am not." "Yes you are. How many times have you listened to ‘ only a memory’ by the Smithereens this week?" "A few times…" "Uh huh. I’m sorry that things between you and Ethan aren’t working out the way you want to, but you need to get out more." "Reyes, I know you mean well, but I think I need to try to work things out with Ethan before looking for someone new to get to know." "That’s not what I meant, though I hope that you’ll do that as some point. I mean you literally need to get out of the house more and out of your room." "Oh." Skinner says, relieved that she isn’t giving him the ‘it’s time to move on’ speech. "Doggett says he wants to teach me how to play pool this week. You should come." "Sure, ok. I bet I can beat the pants off of him." "Maybe, but I’d rather be the one to get him out of them." "Reyes!" Skinner is shocked until he realizes that she’s just joking with him, then he laughs too. Mr. McPhee walks by the room at that point, hears laughing, and shrugs. He knows better by now than to ask his children what they find so funny. ** Late that night, Capeside hospital Scully looks at Mulder shyly and says, "I have a confession to make." He asks her what it is, and she hesitates. "I think…I think I’m in love with you." Scorn fills his eyes, and he gives her a pitying look. "I hope you weren’t expecting a heart-felt declaration in kind." Scully’s face falls, but he doesn’t even seem to notice as he continues. "The only one I’ve ever loved in Fowley. She’s perfect, a goddess, and so much more deserving of my adoration than you are. She’ll be back this summer, you know, and I’ll be waiting for her. " "Oh." Is all she can say, since her throat is tight with unshed sobs that threaten to overwhelm her. He gives her a quizzical look and asks, "I’ve known you most of our lives, don’t you think I would have made a move by now if I was at all interested?" Scully turns away from him and the whole room turns with her. Mulder walks towards her from a different direction. Scully looks at Mulder shyly and says, "I have a confession to make." He asks her what it is, and she hesitates. "I think…I think I’m in love with you." He gives her an uncertain look. "I don’t know what to say." He confesses. "You don’t have to say anything." She tells him. "No, I do. It took me a long time to understand it, but I realized something after Christmas- whenever I think of the future, I think of you. It’s significant, I think, that I can’t imagine you not being in my life. I think I love you too." Mulder says, then pulls her to him and kisses her. Bessie looks up from her half doze and listens as Scully coughs weakly in her sleep. Doctors had warned her that pneumonia was a possible complication of getting the chicken pox after childhood, and Scully had complained about her chest hurting when she’d been awake in the afternoon. Never in her experience as her sister’s caretaker has she felt so inadequate a substitute for a parent; and never has she wished more for their parents to be around to, if not take over the burden, at least offer her some words of comfort about the situation. Bessie’s eyes lose focus as she stares at the bright blotches of color on her sister’s skin, and finally she drops her head to her folded hands as she allows herself to pray. ** Friday afternoon, Leary home Mrs. Leary knocks softly on Mulder’s door, but doesn’t wait for an invitation before coming in. Mulder is lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, which she suspects he’s been doing ever since he got home from the hospital. His eyes are red, but she doesn’t think he’s been crying. She sits as lightly on his bed as she can, given her condition, and puts her hand on his forearm. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asks him. "She’s not getting better, Mom. Actually, she’s worse. Bessie said…Bessie said that Scully’s doctor told her that the type of pneumonia that comes from the chicken pox kills up to three people in ten who get it, and she’s got it. I keep thinking about that, 30%. A three in ten chance that Bessie loses her sister and I lose one of the most important people in my life." Mrs. Leary looks out Mulder’s window while she gathers her thoughts. "Mulder, does she know that she’s one of the most important people in your life?" "Sure. I mean, I guess she’d have to know that, right?" "You’d be surprised what people don’t know when we don’t tell them in black and white. Maybe it’d make you feel better if you tell her what you think of her?" "Bessie says she’s awake some of the time, but I haven’t seen her awake in a week." Mulder says, sighing. "I don’t know if that matters, Kiddo. Sometimes it’s important to say things even when we’re not sure that we’re being heard." She says, standing up. "Maybe you’re right. I try to think of something to say when I go to see her tomorrow Thanks." He says, getting up, and going to hug his mother. While hugging her he feels something bump against him, and he jumps back, surprised. "What was that?" Mrs. Leary smiles at him. "I think your brother or sister just kicked you. Not even born yet, and already giving you a hard time." "Oh." Mulder says, still surprised. "Has the baby been kicking long?" "A few weeks. Not as hard as you did, though. I thought my insides would still be bruised when you started kindergarten!" she teases him. Mulder is shocked that he had no idea the baby was as big as it must be. Weeks! His ignorance makes him feel guilty. "Mom…would it be ok if I put my hand on your belly, when the baby kicks again?" he asks hesitantly. "Of course it would be, Mulder. I didn’t know if you’d want to, since you haven’t asked before, but it’s fine. Most people like to feel babies kick. Sometimes complete strangers will ask to, and that’s far less all right, but..." "I can’t imagine anyone doing that!" "You’d be surprised, people are weird about pregnant women. I find that telling them sharply that I don’t like to be touched works well when they approach with their hand out." She tells him. "I need to start dinner, would you be willing to peel potatoes for me?" "Sure. Though I’m not sure what I’ve done to warrant KP duty." Mulder says, following her to the kitchen. ** That night, Bill’s Billiards Doggett, Reyes and Skinner go to the counter and pay for an hour of table time. "If you like this," Doggett tells Reyes, "We can pay for another hour." Reyes looks at the slightly dusty mirrored advertisements on the walls, and takes note of the not-quite-adequate lighting. "Classy place you’ve brought me to." "Hey, it’s either this or Pete’s Pockets, and…that place is more of a dive than this one is. Trust me, this is the best place in Capeside to play pool." "I take it that you’ve been to Pete’s?" she asks archly. "My dad’s sheriff, and some times, while I was growing up, he got called to the scene of incidents when he had Kersh and I with him. There’s a bar next door to Pete’s and it was the scene pretty often. He’d give us some money, and send us to play pool while he dealt with things in the bar. Pete would give us free sodas to stay on Dad’s good side, and Kersh and I learned a mean game of pool." "There’s something twisted about that sort of nostalgia, but if it made you happy…"Skinner shrugs. "Skinner, Reyes says you’ve played before. Rack ‘em up." Doggett says as he grabs cues off the wall. Reyes takes hers and gives him an uncertain look. Doggett shows her how to hold it. "Most people will hold the cue in their dominant hand, and use the other hand to sort of stabilize the cue." Reyes moves the cue into what Skinner and Doggett decree is a sufficient hold. "Now, you want to bend at the waist and take aim at the cue ball, which is the white one. Try not to get it into a pocket itself, because that’s a scratch and you lose a turn. You want it to hit one of the other balls, but not the eight ball. The eight ball needs to be the last ball sunk or you lose. You can practice a bit before we worry about stripes and solids. You should bend forward a little more," Doggett says from behind her. "Here let me help you-" "Doggett, help her lean forward any more, and I’ll be obligated as her brother to give you a beat down." Skinner says in a pseudo-menacing voice. "Sorry, Man." Doggett says, taking a shuffling step back. "Just remember to watch yourself." Skinner says, unable to keep a straight face. "I will, I will." Doggett says, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Skinner, I’m glad you decided to join us tonight." "Why?" Skinner asks suspiciously. "I can’t just be glad that the brother of the girl I love is spending time with us? No? It makes your sister happy, and when she’s happy, I’m happy." "Oh, Doggett." Reyes says, giving him a kiss. Skinner covers his eyes. "Let me know when it’s safe to look again." He groans. ** Sunday afternoon, Capeside hospital Scully picks up the dark-haired baby girl out of her crib and smiles indulgently at her daughter as she coos and waves her arms. She walks down the hallway, past the row of framed diplomas, and into the study. Mulder looks up with a smile, takes the baby from Scully, and his other arm snaking around her waist. Bessie goes to the cafeteria to get some lunch while Mulder sits in Scully’s room, next to her bed. Mulder looks around to make sure that there’s no one else coming in the room before deciding to act upon his mother’s advice. He picks up her hand and clears his throat. "I feel silly doing this, because you probably can’t hear me since you’re sleeping. But my mother says that this is good for me, and maybe you, so I guess I will. She told me that I should tell you how I feel about you, which I thought was kind of silly, since how could you not know already? I thought about it though, when you know someone well you become guilty of assuming that they know more than they do, just because they know you. So here’s the truth: I’m terrified that you won’t get better. I know you’re a fighter, but the odds aren’t fantastic when it comes to living through this. You, though, I believe will be one of the lucky seven, when I’m not overwhelmed by pessimism, that is. The thing is, I need you. I know that it’s selfish, but I need you more than…anyone. I don’t know if I can live with out you…I love you, Scully. Please get better." Mulder bends down and kisses her softly on the lips. A few seconds later, Scully’s eyelids flutter. Her eyes open and for a moment she looks totally confused, and then she focuses on his face. "Mulder?" "I’m here, Scully." "Mulder, I’ve had the strangest dreams… I’m so glad you’re here." "So am I, Scully, so am I." Mulder says, barely able to keep from crying in relief. ** Wednesday afternoon, Potter home Scully is wrapped in a fluffy blue robe with stars and moons on it. She gives Mulder a grateful look when he piles her books onto a nearby table. "Thank you, Mulder. Even if I was given the ok to go back to school, I don’t think I could deal with going out in public looking like this." "Why not?" Mulder asks. "Why not?? Look at me, I couldn’t bear for anyone to see me." "I don’t see why not, you look as lovely as always." Scully holds up some fingers in front of Mulder’s face. "How many fingers?" she asks. "Two, why?" Mulder asks, looking puzzled. "I was worried that you had gone blind while I was in the hospital. You’re obviously just crazy." "I’m not crazy," Mulder says. "I just choose to...ignore your spots in favor of the memory of your normal beauty." "You’re such a suck up." Scully says fondly. "No, I’m just very nice." Mulder says, putting his arm around her. Scully snuggles closer to him. "While that may or may not be true, at least you’re warm, which is nice because I’m cold." "Parasite." Mulder accuses. "Sycophant." Scully retorts. "Why do I put up with you?" "Because you love me?" Scully suggests. "You wish." Mulder says laughing. Scully just smiles knowingly. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Butthole Surfers ("Whatever") Smithereens ("Only a memory") And 3 Doors Down ("So I need you") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder's Creek: 11 Flowers and Felonies Summary: Valentines' plans are hard enough to deal with since Scully's still ill and Skinner's heartbroken by his breakup, but tension grows when an ex-boyfriend stalks Doggett's older sister. Will anyone have a happy holiday? Opening Scene Mulder is sitting at his desk, draped over the chair. Music plays softly in the background as he talks to Scully on the phone. "I can't believe you're not here for movie night. You're always here for movie night!" "I wasn’t last week." Scully points out. "There was no movie night last week. You were near death, so exceptions were made." "So make another exception." Scully suggests. "Two weeks in a row without movie night is unacceptable!" "Look, yes I’m home now, but I still can’t go back to school, and Bessie won’t let me leave the house. You can cancel movie night, have it without me, or bring a movie over here to watch." Mulder frets to himself, because he doesn’t like any of the choices. "We’ve never had movie night anywhere but here before…"He says doubtfully. "I know that change is your least thing favorite thing, but you’re a brave boy, and you can handle it." "Why are you making fun of me?" Mulder asks petulantly. "Because you make it easy." Scully says. "Enough." Mulder says, hanging up on her. He shakes his head, picks up the video and heads down the stairs. ** Theme song- Stranded by Plumb ** Friday lunch time, Capeside High Doggett and Reyes are sitting at lunch with Mulder while Skinner goes up to the lunch counter to buy a juice. Reyes sighs and watches him from a distance. "So, he and Ethan are officially broken up now. I feel so bad for him, but I can’t help thinking that maybe this was meant to be, because I don’t think things were ever going to work out between them." "It’s unfortunate that so many things that are for the better are so painful." Mulder remarks. Reyes nods. "Needless to say, I don’t think Skinner is going to be celebrating Valentine’s day this year." "Speaking of Valentine’s day," Doggett says, "Are you going to ask Scully to the Valentine’s day dance?" Mulder shakes his head. "Why not?" "Because she just got home from the hospital is why not. I don’t even know if she’ll be back in school by then…" "That’s too bad. Will you still go?" Reyes asks. "I doubt it. I don’t much like dancing any way." Mulder says as Skinner sits down with his juice. "You’re talking about Valentine’s day again, aren’t you?" He accuses his sister. "Yes…" "I hate Valentine’s day." Skinner says, glowering at her. She shrugs. ** Saturday morning, Leary home Mr. Leary opens another can of mint mist paint and stirs it while Mulder stands on a stepladder to paint the wall near ceiling. Mulder grimaces when paint splatters onto his cheek again. He’s wiping his face with the back of his hand when Mrs. Leary comes into the room. "Oh, this looks so nice already! I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s done. I wanted to let Mulder know that a letter has come for him, and let you both know that brunch will be ready in fifteen minutes." Mr. Leary smiles at Mulder and says, "I think this is a good time for a break. Why don’t you go wash up? I’ll cover the paint." Mulder washes his hands and takes his letter up to his room. It has a California postmark, but no return address, which intrigues him. Before he opens it he’s already sure it’s from Arden, and he’s not disappointed. He sits on his bed and reads: Hi Mulder, Hope that things have been going well for you, too. I’ve been busy at college, of course, and that’s sort of why I’m writing to you. When I got back to school I did a search of some of the old news paper archives from Massachusetts that the school has access to and found something you’d find very interesting, I think. I hope this is helpful. Love, Arden Mulder unfolds another piece of paper, which looks like the printout of an editorial. His heart leaps into his throat as he reads the headline: The Search for Samantha Leary Halted Abruptly In an unexpected turn of events, the missing child case involving five-week-old Samantha Leary has been shut without resolution or comment by authorities. Samantha, who was kidnapped three weeks ago from the bedroom she shared with her four-year-old brother, has not turned up, dead or alive, so it is puzzling that the case has been declared closed. Efforts to contact the baby’s parents and the authorities have been met with silence. This reporter intends to follow up on this as facts reveal themselves. Scribbled on the bottom is Arden’s comment "Reporter seems to have left paper after this piece." Mulder folds the letter and article up and puts it in his desk before going down to brunch. ** Sunday afternoon, Witter home Mulder and Doggett are playing pool in the Witter’s garage when a car pulls into the yard. "Going to see who that is?" Mulder asks. "Nah. It’s probably just one of my mom’s friends. So, what do you think of this pool table?" "It’s pretty nice." Mulder says, though he can’t determine its age. "I told my dad about how Skinner and I were teaching Reyes how to play, so when he heard that this one was being sold at an estate sale he talked the heiress into selling it to me for fifty bucks. I would have invited you to play when it got dropped off yesterday, but your mom said you were busy." Doggett says, giving Mulder a questioning look. "Yeah, I was helping Dad paint the nursery." "Oh." Doggett says, sounding disappointed. "I thought maybe you were over Scully’s, asking her to the dance." Mulder shakes his head. "Your continued obsession with getting Scully and I to date is disturbing to say the least." "What obsession? I barely bring it up." Doggett protests. "So you really think that I was going to believe that you had decided to swap around our sleeping arrangement because you were worried the girls would be ‘scared’?" "I thought that was a pretty good excuse, actually. You could have slept in another room, but you didn’t, so… and as a bonus I got to spend the nights with my girl. It all seemed pretty clever to me." Mulder sighs. "You’re a twisted man, Doggett." "I try." Mulder looks out the window. "Isn’t that Gretchen’s car?" "Can’t be." Doggett says walking towards him. "She’s at school…"He’s puzzled when he sees that it is hers after all. "Hey, do you think we could continue this later?" "Sure, no problem." Mulder says, then heads home. Doggett puts the balls away before going to the house. He’s about to open the door when he notices that he can see his sister and his father sitting in the living room. He’s even more concerned when he realizes that she looks very upset. However, before he can put his hand on the knob, the door swings open and Kersh grabs his arm. "Let’s go for a ride, little brother." "Where to?" Doggett asks sounding bewildered. "I’ll buy you an ice-cream cone." Kersh says, leading him to the car. When they sit in the booth with their cones, Doggett asks. "Why is Gretchen home? She’s not supposed to be home until spring break next month." Kersh looks unhappy. "There’s things that our sister has been keeping from us. The fact that an ex-boyfriend has been harassing her for one. And that she has a restraining order against the guy for another." "He’s still bothering her, then?" Doggett asks. "He sent her a few very threatening letters before she called dad for advice. He demanded she come home immediately." "That bad?" "Worse. She’s going to stay her until Dad and the cops at her school catch the guy." "Poor Gretchen." Doggett says, deciding not to finish his cone. ** Monday morning, Potter home Scully is surprised to see Mulder waiting on the front steps when she responds to the doorbell. "Sorry, Mulder, I still can’t go back to school yet." She says, pointing to spots on her neck. "I didn’t think you could." Mulder says. "But I was hoping that you could do me a favor today." "What’s that?" she asks. Mulder pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. It has a name written on it. "Do you think you could use the Internet to see if you can find an address or phone number for this man?" "I guess so, but why can’t you do it?" "I don’t want my parents to ask questions if they see me doing it. Arden sent me an editorial that he wrote about Sam’s kidnapping, and said he seemed to have left the paper immediately afterwards." "So you’re planning to track him down." Scully guesses. "If he’s still alive." Mulder says grimly. ** Capeside high school Skinner is listening to his science teacher drone on about hydras when there’s a knock on the door. "Please read the next page while I get that." The woman says. She returns a couple of minutes later with a lanky teenage boy in tow. "Class, it seems that we have a new student. This is Reed Lane. Your family moved here from Vermont last week, is that right?" "Um, yes." Reed says, looking at the floor, which allows his blond hair to fall into his eyes. Skinner wishes he wouldn’t because he’d like to get another look at his bright blue eyes. Embarrassed by his thoughts, Skinner tells himself to get a grip. "Reed, please take a seat." The teacher says, and to Skinner’s disappointment he chooses a seat in the back next to one of the most popular girls in class. It figures, he thinks to himself. ** Potter home Mulder hands Scully a list of assignments before slumping onto the couch. "You know that your teachers don’t really expect you to keep up with your work while you’re out, don’t you?" Mulder asks. Scully shrugs helplessly. "I know that, but…I can’t not try to catch up. It’s not like I have anything much to do while I get well." "If you say so…It gets me out of last period ten minutes early so I can get the assignments for you." Mulder says, grinning. Scully hands Mulder a printout. "It seems that your reporter lives in Boston. I got his address, but his phone number is unlisted." "Thanks!" Mulder says, suddenly finding himself thinking about the dance. "I thought you had a doctor's appointment today, did he or she give you an estimate on when you'll be fit to return to school?" "Probably Monday." "Oh." Mulder says, trying to hide his disappointment since the school is strict about one needing to attend school the day of the dances in order to be allowed to go. "As long as you get completely well, though, right?" "Sure. But I'm getting stir-crazy." Mulder notices something in the room and gets an idea. "I bet your sister hopes you get well soon, too. She must be swamped." "Not as much as you'd think. She's at the Ice House more than usual, but she did get someone to fill in for me temporarily." "Thanks again for getting me this address." Mulder says, with a plan formulating in his mind. ** That night, the Ice House- Skinner clocks in for his first shift since Scully has been out, and is a little nervous about the rush. He'd offered to come in while she was in the hospital, but Bessie had decided just not to be open then, putting a hand-written "closed due to family emergency" sign in the window. She'd explained that the regulars would understand, but he'd found himself wishing that he could have done more. Noticing the time he quickly put on his apron and ran out front. Bessie heard his hurried steps and calls "We're over here, Skinner." Before he has time to wonder who comprises 'we' he sees that Bessie is talking to someone. When she steps aside to point at the cash register he realizes that it's the new boy from school. "Skinner, Reed here has graciously agreed to work here until Scully is feeling up to being back at work." Maybe longer, she mouths to him when Reed isn't looking. "Oh, hi." Skinner says. "You're in my science class." "I know." Reed says, then turns back to Bessie. Skinner feels a bit put out, so he decides to occupy himself by putting out clean silverware. The night seems longer than usual, because Reed doesn't talk to anyone unless he has to. Skinner finds himself hoping hard for Scully's speedy recuperation, because their banter helps pass the time. Bessie, however, seems to think that Reed is doing a wonderful job, and Skinner worries that she might actually hire him permanently. The only time during the night that Reed approaches civility is when, as they're closing up, he asks Skinner if he lives nearby. "Yeah, about a block from here. Why?" Skinner asks. Reed shrugs and mumbles something about trying to make small talk. Skinner thinks of sending Scully a Get Well Soon card. ** After midnight, Witter home Because he stayed up later than he should, Doggett is only just falling asleep. His thoughts are drifting, and he's drowsily rubbing the toes of one foot against his soft blanket when a sound intrudes on his awareness. The car seems to be driving away when he finally identifies it. He realizes that he's not the only one who heard it, because he hears someone walking downstairs, presumably to the door. The door opens, and he nearly drifts off again, only to be startled fully awake when he hears a surprised scream. By the time he throws off the covers he hears heavy footsteps going down the stairs, which leads him to believe that either his father or Kersh is going to investigate. Doggett, wearing only a t-shirt and boxers but wishing he thrown on his robe because its chilly, stands on the balcony and looks down, blinking in confusion. It's not until he gets all the way down that he makes sense of what he sees: his sister and father are looking into a box with looks of horror and disgust on their faces. Doggett braces himself, not wanting to look in too, but he's compelled to by some perverse impulse. The box is an ordinary cardboard one, and tissue paper overflows the top of it. Doggett takes a deep breath and looks inside. He recoils in shock when he sees what's inside: a dead possum, which looks like it met its fate beneath the wheel of a car, lies in the box, partially covered by a note written in an angry black script. The note says "Found you Gretchen. I'm coming for you." Doggett looks over at Gretchen and is surprised that she isn't crying. Instead there's a hollow look in her eyes. Their father, on the other hand, looks like he can barely contain his anger. Doggett isn't surprised when the man declares that they're going to catch the SOB and bring him in. After he clams down and tries to comfort Gretchen, he demands that Doggett stay awake so he can talk to him. Doggett sits on the couch and waits for his father's return. He must nod off because he feels a not-so-gentle touch on his arm. "Wake up, Doggett." "Oh sorry, Dad." Doggett says, stifling a yawn. "This is getting to be more serious than I ever anticipated, so I've made a decision." "What's that?" "I'm calling your friends parents in the morning, because I think it's high time I teach you kids, and your sister, how to defend yourselves. I'll borrow some stuff from the department and take you all out to my shooting range. I wish I could bring you kids to a real range, but you're too young, so we'll have to make due here." "Which friends?" Doggett asks in daze, trying to imagine his friends with handguns. "Mulder, Mr. McPhee's kids, Scully...when that other girl you kids hung out with comes back this summer we'll have another lesson." "Dad, Scully just got out of the hospital." Doggett protests. "Is she still on bedrest?" "Well, no, but she's not well enough to come back to school according to her doctors." "That's just a technicality to help the doctors and schools cover their backsides. She'll be ok for an hour or so." "Ok, Dad..." Doggett says, too tired to argue. "You go on back up to bed, I'll take care of everything in the morning." Doggett stumbles back up to bed, wondering if his dad has finally gone crazy. ** Tuesday afternoon, Witter home Sheriff Witter passes out ear protection to everyone after carefully explaining how to aim only at the person-shaped target. He is pleased that the kids seem like natural marksmen, all except Mulder, who instead of shooting the target in the head as instructed, shoots near the waist; and says it was an accident. To his surprise the person with the best aim isn't one of the boys, it's Scully. He wonders if she'd be an even better marksman if she were feeling better. While the sheriff watches Scully with admiration, and the boys with open envy, Reyes can't help but be concerned about her. Though even Reyes can see that her skills are greater than everyone else's, she also seems to be the only one who notices how tired the effort is making her. After Scully somewhat shakily sets down the gun, Reyes asks her if she'd like to take a short walk to get out of the small stuffy building that the Sheriff's personal shooting range is kept in. Scully flashes her a grateful look. "So, how do you feel about being better at this than all the boys? They're jealous, you know." Reyes says. "I know. It sort of makes me scared. Until today I never thought of being in a position in which it'd be important to know how to protect myself with a gun. Somehow knowing that I could makes the world seem like a scarier place all of the sudden. I just keep thinking about poor Gretchen..." "So do I. Doggett's dad is very unhappy that she refused to come out here with us, since of any of us, she's in the most danger of ever having to put this sort of knowledge to use." Reyes nods, and decides to change the subject. "So, when are you going to be coming back to school?" "Monday. It's stupid, though, because I'd probably be fine tomorrow, but doctors' orders..." Scully says, sighing. "Oh, I guess that's why Mulder hasn't invited you to the Valentine's dance." Reyes blurts out, then mentally kicks herself. "Yeah, I guess..." Scully says, sounding dejected. Skinner is right, Reyes thinks, I really don't know when to keep my mouth shut. ** 5pm, The Ice House Mulder is just leaving the Ice House when Skinner gets in for his shift. Since Mulder seems too busy to talk, he waves goodbye, resigning himself to another delightfully taciturn evening with Reed. Skinner sighs to himself when his prediction comes true and no one says a non-vital word for half the night. He tries to fill the void a little by chatting with some of the regular customers, and Bessie when she comes out front from the kitchen, but it doesn't do much to improve his mood. He wonders if Reed has something against him personally, or if he's just sullen by nature. Before he has time to puzzle out the most likely answer to his musings, something one of the customers says grabs his attention. The person speaking is a young man, who, with a stocky build and an unkempt look seems vaguely menacing to Skinner. The man repeats what he says to someone else, this time at a different table. Skinner's blood runs cold when he is sure he hears the man asking about Doggett's sister. Telling himself not to run, Skinner tries to act nonchalant as he goes out back to talk to Bessie. Once he's out of the customers' hearing he lets his composure slip a bit. "Bessie, I need to use the phone, it's an emergency!" "What's the matter. Is someone hurt?" "No. There's a stranger in the dining room asking about Gretchen Witter. I need to call her dad." "Oh God. You call him, I'll try to stall him until they get here, ok?" "Ok." Skinner says, though he doesn't really think so. He gets a hassle immediately when he asks for the sheriff, being treated to the usual run around one gets when they ask to talk to someone of importance. Finally he loses his temper. "Look, I don't care how busy he is, I need to talk to him NOW. There's a strange man in the Ice House asking about his daughter, and I'm pretty sure he'll fire you if you don't get him on the phone right this second." Instead of a reply Skinner hears the phone being dropped on the desk. A minute later the person he was speaking to apologizes. "Officers are on their way there." "What if he leaves before they get here?" Skinner agonizes. "Please don't do anything to try to keep him there by force. That'd just make the situation unduly dangerous. If he leaves there's a good chance that the officers will catch him anyway, ok?" "Ok." Skinner goes back out into the dining room only to see a stricken Bessie. "He left." she says. "The officer on the phone says they might still catch him." Skinner says, but not with any confidence. ** Wednesday afternoon, Leary home Mulder hangs up the phone after talking to Doggett. To the Witter family’s dismay the man who’d been harassing Gretchen had alluded the police when he’d left the Ice House the night before. Mulder wonders what it was that the man had mailed Gretchen yesterday, but Doggett had told him that he didn’t want to talk about it. What could be worse than a dead possum, Mulder wonders. Right before they finished their conversation Mulder offered to come over and spend the night since Mrs. Witter is away taking care of her elderly mother, but Doggett told him that his father was only going to work during the day until the matter is resolved. Mulder sighs and wishes that there’s something to do for Doggett to make him feel better about his sister, but since there isn’t, he decides to see what he can do about his own sister. He takes out the piece of paper with the reporter’s address on it, and takes a deep breath before pulling out a pen and paper. He chews on the end of his pen for a moment before he begins to write: Dear sir, You don’t know me, but you might have some knowledge of my family, which could help me. I suppose it’s rather bold of me to ask you, a man I’ve never met, for a favor, but so few people are willing to help me that I find myself needing to reach out for whatever leads I can. You see, when I was four years old, someone came into my room and took my newborn sister out of my life; and no one is willing to talk about it. Most people, my parents included, go about their daily lives pretending that I never had a sister named Samantha. I’m the only one who wants her found, it seems, and from bits and pieces I’ve learned from my determined, if amateur, sleuthing I’m confident that she is still alive and out there some where. Since you left the paper not long after your editorial on the strange closure of her case, I wonder if you might have been threatened because you learned too much. I don’t want to put you in danger, of course, but if there’s anything, anything at all, that you could tell me to help me better understand the circumstances of her disappearance, I would be forever grateful. Sincerely, Mulder Leary Mulder puts the letter through the fax copier, so he can keep a copy of the letter for himself with all the other evidence of his sister he’s collected. As an after thought he photocopies the editorial that Arden sent him as well so he can refresh the man’s memory. When he’s through he folds the letter, addresses it, and walks out to the nearest mail box immediately to send it before its discovered or he loses his nerve. ** 9pm, Witter home Gretchen, Doggett and Sheriff Witter are playing a card game when the phone rings. Doggett answers it and listens long enough to realize that it’s not for him. He hands it to his father before going back to the game. "So, Gretchen, do you have any threes?" "No, go fish." "Are you sure you’re not holding out on me?" "You say that like I have a history of cheating." She says indignantly. "You do have a history of cheating!" "That was a long time ago." "It was Thanksgiving!" Their argument is interrupted when their father hangs up the phone. "There’s going to be a change of plans. There’s been a prison break, and I’m required to go and help out. I’m going to call the station and see if I can have your brother come right home at midnight instead of going out after work, ok? I wish I could have him come home now, but he’s the only one scheduled to be in the station right now, and it’s too late to call someone in to replace him. You won’t be alone for long, though." He concludes, trying to sound reassuring. "That’s ok, Pop. We’ll be fine." Doggett says. "Yeah, we will be, Dad. "Gretchen says, going back to the game. As soon as their father leaves they begin to cheat outrageously, punctuating the game with frequent accusations. By eleven Gretchen notices the time, and suggests Doggett go to be since it’s a school night. "You sound just like Mom. ‘Do your homework. Go to bed at a decent hour.'" Doggett complains. "Poor Mom, she still thinks there’s hope than one of us might actually listen to her and do what’s good for us. Go to bed." Doggett grumbles and complies. Gretchen turns on the TV for company and pulls out some of the books she needs to research a paper, and settles into formulating a paper about Chopin’s The Awaking. A few minutes later she thinks she hears something and jumps, then she realizes its only the chime of the clock in the kitchen. Thinking of the kitchen makes her hungry, so she decides to get a snack to help her studying. She toasts an English muffin and pours herself a glass of milk. She laughs silently to herself that she’s using a plate, because both of her brothers would have just carried the English muffin into the living room with their bare hands, shuffling it from hand to hand trying to avoid the heat from hurting one hand more than the other. In the living room she’s just taken the first bite when she hears the door in the kitchen open. "Do you want me to make you an English muffin too, Kersh?" she calls to him. He doesn’t answer right away, which worries her. Though she’s still frighten, she can’t help but feel pity when she sees him adopt a typical macho pose leaning up against the door like all the bad guys who break into homes in horror movies do. "Gretchen, "he says in a husky voice. "So we meet again." "Spare me the theatrics. What are you doing here?" "I think you know." He says, leering. "I think you’re going to have to enlighten me." She snaps at him. "You belong to me." "Even if it once was true, it no longer is. We broke up, Chad. You need to move on." "But I can’t. If I can’t have you no one can." He says, lunging at her. "Could you be any more cliché? "she asks scornfully, but she leaps back with a shout when she realizes he’s actually holding a knife. "While my methods might be a little pat, I think we’ll find they’re efficient enough." He says, stepping closer while she flinches backwards. "What’s going on?" Gretchen whips her head towards the stairs, and her heart squeezes when she sees her younger brother standing there, rubbing his eyes with one fist. Until that moment she’d forgotten how young he was, since she was used to thinking of him as another adult. Chad takes one look at Doggett and growls. "This doesn’t involve you, Kid. Go back to bed." Doggett runs to Gretchen’s side, and says. "Since it involves my sister, I think you could say it does involve me." "That’s cute, "Chad remarks, noting that he has six inches and fifty pounds on Doggett." The pup is going to defend his sister. Were you planning to use your bare hands?" "No, I thought I’d use this." Doggett says, leveling one of his father’s pistols at the man. Chad sneers at him. "You wouldn’t have the guts to use it." Doggett tries to calm the tremor in his hand, because he thinks that Chad is right. No part of him wants to actually fire the weapon, but neither can he stand by and let his sister be harmed. "I’ll do what I have to." He says as bravely as he can manage. "You’re bluffing." Chad says, raising the knife and tensing to spring forward. The front door opens with a slam, and someone shouts "Drop your weapon!" Chad hesitates for a fraction of a second, but then continues to advance on Gretchen and Doggett. A shot is fired and Chad crumples to the ground. At the sound of the gun, Gretchen and Doggett scream and run towards the staircase. Chad’s knife drops to the floor with a thud, as he groans and grabs his leg. Kersh cuffs Chad, then calls dispatch for an ambulance. He checks on his siblings, and finds that they’re sitting on the stairs looking shocked. "Are you ok?" Gretchen says she is, but she’s going to bed. Kersh then asks Doggett again since he’s still sitting there. "Um…I think so." Doggett says shakily. "I’m proud of you, little brother. You did a brave thing tonight. But no more guns, though, unless Dad’s around, ok?" "Sure. I promise not to ever touch a gun again until the next time someone is trying to kill us." Doggett says, smiling weakly. Kersh ruffles his hair and grins. ** Valentines Day, Capeside high school Skinner scowls and folds his arms across his chest, looking disdainfully at all the paper hearts that fill the room. It looks like someone threw up streamers, he thinks, noticing that they’re a most unfortunate shade of pink. He still can’t believe he’s at this dance. He’d been prepared to dress in black and spend the night listening to singers bewail their own ended relationships in such black terms that his own break-up would seem like a walk in the park by comparison. Then, as always, his sister got involved. She insisted that if he really wanted to get over Ethan, spending the night in mourning would be the worst way to do it. For a second or two her arguments must have clouded his judgment, because he found himself agreeing to go to the dance. Now he stands against the wall, daring anyone to call him a wallflower, and wishing he’d stuck to his original plans for the evening. If he wasn’t feeling bad enough about this wasted evening, he has to be in sight of Reed walking through the gym doors. To his dismay Reed is walking right towards him. Now my evening is complete, he thinks to himself. For once Reed has a fairly pleasant look on his face. "You here with anyone?" Reed asks him. "No. I’m only here because my sister misguidedly thought it would be healthier than spending the night alone." Reed nods sympathetically. "So I guess that means you don’t have a boyfriend either." He says, causing Skinner to look at him, stunned. ** Potter home Bessie hands Scully a dress and demands she got get dressed. "Come on, I’m not going to let you mope around the house tonight. It’s just a dance. There will be other dances. Tonight you, Alexander and I will go out for a nice dinner and try to be happy, ok?" "But I’m not sure-" "Sweetie, if you’re going to ask me yet again if you look ok to be seen in public, I’m going to have to ignore you. The spots are all gone, and you look fine. Alexander and I are ready and just waiting on you. Now go get dressed!" Scully goes to her room and puts on the dress that Bessie gave her that morning. It’s white and silky, and to her surprise it fits her perfectly. She thinks that Bessie must have snuck a look at the tags on the dresses in her closet. A couple of minutes later there’s a knock on the door. "Can I come in?" Bessie asks. "Now that looks wonderful on you. I knew it would as soon as I saw it. Is it ok if I do your hair?" Scully submitted to the brush, knowing that Bessie could do wonderful things with hair. As soon as she’s done she tells Scully she’ll be waiting in the kitchen while she finishes getting ready to go. Scully is slipping on her shoes when she hears the front door open. Bessie calls to her "Goodbye, Scully." Then the door shuts. Scully figures that it’s a tactic to get her out of her room faster, so she hurries up. She’s confused when she hears the car drive off before she’s halfway to the front door. Mulder is standing at the table, putting two long stemmed wineglasses on the table, with a bottle held under his arm. "It’s not really champagne," he tells her when he notices her look. "It’s sparkling grape juice, but it has the requisite bubbles so we can pretend." "You set this up." She says, figuring it out. "I did. I knew that you couldn’t go to the dance, so I dragged Bessie into my little scheme, so don’t be mad at her, ok?" "Ok." Scully says, still a little surprised. "She’s right, you know, there aren’t any spots any more." He says, looking at her in a way that almost makes her wish that the dress wasn’t so low-cut. Almost. "You look gorgeous in that dress. It kind of makes me glad that all the boys at the dance won’t see you." He grins. "You don’t look so bad yourself." She tells him, thinking that it’s been a long time since she’s seen him in anything but jeans and a sweater. "I let mom dress me. It made her happy. Oh, that’s for you. Open it please." He says, pointing to a large white box on the counter, which until then it’d escaped her notice. She opens it, to reveal a dozen long stemmed red roses nestled in pink tissue paper. "Mulder... I don’t know what to say." "Say you like them." "I love them." She says, gently touching the soft petals of one of them. "Good. Bessie said there’s a vase under the sink, why don’t you put them in it?" He says, disappearing into the living room. She hears music pouring out of the cd player as she joins him. He holds out his hand to her. "May I have this dance?" He asks her. She smiles and accepts the invitation. Somehow dancing in the living room seems less silly than wonderful. "I’ve been thinking." He tells her. "About?" "About you, actually. You see, I’ve thought about it long and hard and I’ve come to a realization: I love you." He pauses a moment, trying to read the look in her lively blue eyes. "Maybe I’ve always loved you, but have just been too dense to realize it until far too recently, but that’s not what’s really important here." "And what is important?" she asks, surprised that she can breathe. "What is important is I need to know if you too feel that maybe, just maybe, that we could be good for each other. "he smiles when she nods against his shoulder. "In that case…Scully, would you…would you go out with me?" he asks in a nervous voice. Scully throws her arms around his neck. "Of course I will." A look of perfect happiness shines on his face. "I’m so glad. There’s something I’ve been meaning to do since New Years…"he says, letting his voice trail off so she’ll look at him. Before she can ask what it is, he wraps his arms tighter around her and kisses her. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Marry me Jane ("Secretly Waiting") Possum Dixon ("Holding") And Nina Gordon ("Tonight and the Rest of my Life") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder's Creek: 12 Bigfoot Birthday Summary: What's the perfect birthday present for an afirmed skeptic like Doggett? His very own backyard paranormal incident. At least Mulder and Reyes think so... Opening scene Mulder and Scully are perched on his bed watching the romantic comedy Playing by Heart, when Mrs. Leary comes in the room. They look up at her, and exchange a slightly guilty look. She smiles and cheerfully demands that Mulder go help his father bring in firewood. As soon as he leaves the room she sits on the bed next to Scully. "You seem to be feeling better." Mrs. Leary says, smiling. "Yup. Pretty much as good as new again." Scully says. "I'm glad you're better. You gave Bessie, and Mulder, quite a scare. There's nothing like almost losing someone to make you think." Mrs. Leary pauses as she watches a blush slowly creep across Scully's face. "Maybe it made Mulder think hard about a few things?" She suggests. "Maybe." Scully mumbles. "He told me that he confessed how much he cared about you while you were sleeping, but I wonder...you were awake, weren't you?" Scully smiles and nods. "But don't tell him, ok?" "Oh, I wouldn't think of doing that. But I'm glad that something finally got him to take action. Promise me you won't break his heart, though, now that you're dating." "I promise." Scully says solemnly. "Good." Mrs. Leary says, patting Scully's knee before getting up. Mulder bounds into the room a moment later. "We're all done with the wood, Mom." "Glad to hear it." She says as she walks out of the room. "What did you talk about?" Mulder asks Scully. "You know, girl stuff." "I don't want to know then. So...should we tell Doggett that we're dating, or let him figure it out on his own?" "Let's let him figure it out. It'd be more fun that way." "You're a wicked girl." Mulder says, grinning. ** Theme song "Stranded" By Plumb ** Saturday morning, Leary home Mulder is sleeping when he dreams that he is hiding from someone who is insistently pounding on the door. Eventually he realizes that his door is actually being knocked on. He groans and rolls over so he see the clock, which has a much lower number on it than he'd like to see upon waking on a weekend morning. Maybe if I pretend to be sleeping, they're go away, he thinks, closing his eyes as the door opens. Someone walks into the room, then small hands shake his shoulder and rip away the covers. When he at last opens his eyes, he's surprised to see Reyes standing over him. "Your mom said I ought to wake you." "It's not even seven yet! Why are you here?" Mulder asks her, grabbing his blankets back. "Next Saturday is Doggett's birthday." "You woke me up to tell me that?? I know that already!" "I woke you up because we need to plan something special for him, Silly." "Whatever you do, don't plan to involve his family. Every party he's ever had that they're been a part of has ended in disaster." "Yeah, I know. He's told me, lots of tines. Actually, he once said that if I ever threw a party and invited anyone he's related to, he'd leave me for a stewardess." "Now, was this a hypothetical stewardess, or did he have one in mind?" Mulder asks, not being able to resist teasing her. "It had better be hypothetical. Now, if you were Doggett, and turning seventeen, what would you want for your birthday?" "To be a junior. "Mulder says promptly. "I still don't know why our parents consented to us not starting first grade until we were seven. The education department in this state has always been known for its bizarre experiments-" "That's nice, but...something more realistic than that." "Well...the only other thing I can think of that he'd want certainly wouldn't involve me." He says, giving her a suggestive look. "Mulder!" He holds up his hands as if to ward off a blow. "Ok, ok, I'll try to think of something." "Good." "But now I'm going back to bed. Let yourself out please." Mulder says, burrowing into his covers. Reyes shakes her head and shuts the door behind her. ** Monday afternoon, LGM headquarters In the basement of Langly’s home there is a partially finished room that is full of bean bag chairs and hung with love beads. Mulder is sitting in one of the chairs with his legs stretched out. Reyes sits across from him, looking skeptical. Frohike nods. "Sure, we can arrange that." "Good. We want to surprise him, and make him think that this is real." Mulder says. "I know he said to ‘surprise’ him, but do you think he’ll really like this?" Reyes asks, sounding worried. "If we can actually surprise him, I think he’ll be thrilled…but maybe only in retrospect. Of everyone I’ve ever met, he’s always been the least likely to believe in anything remotely paranormal. Hell, he makes Scully look like a believer by comparison. I think the act of believing in something, finally, might be refreshing." Mulder tells her. "But won’t he be mad he’s been duped?" She asks. "Only if he finds out that it’s not real. If he does, I’ll say it was all my doing." Mulder says, shrugging. "But that’s not entirely true." Reyes objects. "Close enough to it to keep you out of trouble." Langly interrupts. "We can do this in a way that is sure to convince him that it’s 100% authentic. He’ll have fun, and so will we. What do you say, Reyes?" "Ok." She answers reluctantly. "Great!" Byers exclaims. "It will be fun to branch out from ghosts." Reyes raises an eyebrow and hopes she won’t live to regret agreeing to this. ** That night, The Ice House Feeling slightly bad about the whole mess with Gretchen’s stalker and his escape from the restaurant, as well as happy her sister has fully recovered, Bessie suggests that Doggett, Reyes, Mulder and Scully have dinner there. "What did we do to deserve the invite?" Reyes asks Mulder. "It’s important to know the right people." Mulder tells her, nodding sagely. "It’s not as though you could have done anything more than you did Bessie. And things worked out ok. You shouldn’t feel bad." Doggett tells Bessie as she wanders by the table for the fourth time since they sat down. "I know, but it makes me feel better. And I’m going to invite your sister when she’s on spring break, so warn her." "Well, if it makes you feel better…"Doggett trails off, giving her a winning smile. Skinner watches his sister and his friends with a little bit of envy. He doesn’t really like eating out, but he wishes that he is with more lively company. He glances over at the taciturn Reed and wonders what his problem is. He has barely said another word to Skinner since asking about his romantic attachments or lack thereof. Skinner decides that it’s not worth the effort of trying to figure out if Reed is interested because he’s such poor company that it’s not as if he cares much one way or the other. He does care, though, that Bessie mentioned that she was going to decide soon whether or not to keep Reed on at the restaurant. Skinner hopes not, but at least Scully will be coming back so he’ll have someone to talk to either way. "This is strange." Scully remarks from her seat. "What is?" Reyes asks. "Being on this side of the table. I’m more used to being on the serving end." "Come over here for a second, Maybe I can make it feel less strange." Mulder says. Scully does and he pulls her on to his lap. "There now you’re up higher. Does that seem more normal?" He asks. Catching Doggett’s shocked look she whispers "subtle" in his ear before sliding off his lap and insisting that she needs to talk with Bessie for a moment. "What was that?" Doggett asks when she’s out of earshot. "What was what?" Mulder asks innocently. Doggett waves his hand. "That!" "I don’t understand what you’re asking." Mulder says, sounding puzzled. Doggett puts his hands over his face and Reyes rubs his shoulder. But she smiles at Mulder when Doggett isn’t looking. ** Tuesday morning, Witter home Doggett looks out the window again while he waits for Mulder to come over. They’d planned to spend a day of their February vacation together, but Doggett found himself suddenly more anxious for Mulder to show up because he couldn’t trust his eyes. Glancing out the window, though, they were still there. When Mulder arrives he notices immediately that Doggett seems a little edgy. "Doggett is something up?" He asks. "Um…There’s something I want to show you." "Ok, sure, but remember I’m not a trained medical professional." Mulder quips. "Something outside, you goof." Doggett says, leading the way to his back yard. He walks to the middle of the yard and stops, looking down. At their feet are several footprints. Very large footprints. Doggett scratches his head and says "well?" "I know your brother has big feet, but why was he walking around barefoot in the middle of the winter?" Mulder asks. "Funny. You know that those aren’t Kersh’s footprints." "Then what do you think they are?" Doggett shrugs helplessly for a moment, and sighs when he realizes that Mulder is going to make him say it. "If it wasn’t wholly impossible, I’d have to guess they belonged to Bigfoot." "It’s not that far fetched-" Mulder begins, while Doggett roles his eyes. "Hear me out. There have been over 300 sightings of creatures that match the description of Bigfoot in New England since the 1700’s. Since Bigfoot doesn’t really look that much like a bear and there aren’t any primates but humans indigenous to this country it has to be something strange people are seeing." "Even if there was such a thing, don’t you think that development would have forced these things into extinction long ago?" Doggett asks. "Not necessarily. Some animals have defied expectation and have flourished in developed areas. Coyotes for example used to live just in the Midwest, but now they’ve been spotted in all 48 contiguous states. Raccoons too, which are forest animals, thrive in cities now a days." "But Bigfoot are much larger, at least in theory, so where could they hide?" "I don’t know. The woods, I guess. They’re supposed to be shy, and maybe their range isn’t very big." Mulder shrugs. Doggett gives him a doubtful look. "There are woods about half a mile from here…" Mulder shivers and looks up at the leaden skies. "Maybe we can take a look some time. When it’s not so unpleasant out." He adds. "Yeah, maybe." Doggett says. "How about a game of pool?" ** Wednesday afternoon, Capeside mall Scully and Skinner are in Sam Goodies looking for presents for Doggett when Skinner suddenly changes the subject to something that’s been on his mind for days. "I can’t believe Bessie decided to hire Reed on permanently." He complains. "Why? What’s he like?" Scully asks curiously. "I haven’t even met him yet." "Oh, he has all the social skills of a turnip." "I don’t know, Skinner, I’m sure there are some very affable turnips out there, you just might not have met one with good things to say yet.. "she says, breaking into giggles. "He’s that bad, huh?" "Yes. He barely says anything to anyone, and practically alienates the customers. He’s quick though, so I guess that’s why he unduly impresses your sister. Me, I’m not the least impressed. He was so cold to work with that it made me wish with all my heart that you were better so I’d have someone pleasant to work with." "Thanks. I’m thrilled to hear that your concern for my health revolved around your desire for friendlier company. "Scully says dryly, ignoring Skinner’s embarrassed look. "I have a feeling, though, that there’s more to this story than you’re telling me." Skinner shuffles his feet. "Ok, the thing is…he’s gay too. You know I love my sister with all my heart, but she’s a little too concerned with my ‘happiness’ for my comfort. I let it slip that he asked me at the dance if I had a boyfriend, and now she’s convinced that I should be interested in him. But I’m not. I know she means well, but I don’t like the implications of her thoughts. It’s like, well, what if I was straight but Asian? Wouldn’t it be wrong in that case to assume that just because there was one Asian girl in the school I’d have to be interested in her? I suppose my comparison is a little far a field, but it bothers me that she thinks I ought to like him just because he’s gay, you know?" "I know. I think you’re going to have to grin and bear it until you gently change her mind, though, because like you said, she does mean well." "I’ll try. What do you think, should I get Doggett the latest Backstreet Boys cd?" "Um…I think Staind is more his speed." "Oh, I know, but I thought it’d be good to broaden his horizons." Scully shrugs. "I wouldn’t…" Skinner laughs at her and she grins in spite of herself when she realizes that she’s been had. ** Thursday morning, McPhee home While most people look at vacations as a time to sleep in, Reyes saw the mornings of vacation as an opportunity to enjoy peace and quiet in the house while her brother slept. She got up at the usual time, showered, then firmly grasp the remote control and enjoyed having sole possession of it. She indulged in a guilty pleasure and watched cartoons until Skinner finally rolled out of bed at ten. When it seemed that Skinner was planning to camp out in the living room too, she went back to her room to toy with her computer. As she expects, there’s a waiting message from Fowley. Her correspondence with the other girl is beginning to frustrate her, because as much as Fowley reveals, so much more is still left in the dark. Feeling more than a little trepidation, Reyes opens the message. Reyes, As I promised, I have finally pieced enough together of what’s going on to give you a coherent picture. The experiments that they are doing involve gene recombination. The strange thing, though, is that they are using sperm as the cell to contain the introduced genes, instead of eggs like they usually do. I suppose it’s easier on everyone this way, since it’s an involved and painful process to harvest eggs, at least from what I’ve read about fertility treatments. It’s also fortunate for me that they’re doing things this way, all things considered…Amazing things have already been done by introducing DNA to things. They treat that disease, prophoria, that makes little kids age rapidly with it; I think the kids are missing something and they put it in them this way. And they’ve created a rabbit that glows in the dark by giving it genes from a special type of jellyfish. The maddening thing is, though, that no one will say what it is that they’re doing to these babies, and what genetic material they’ve introduced for what purpose. Someone has thrown around the term "superior human" when talking about these children yet unborn, and it makes me afraid for them…who knows what they’ll be like? If they’ll even be entirely human? This is all the more distressing because…well, I never told you this, and you have to promise to keep it to yourself, but…I think that Mulder’s mother is involved in this somehow, and I worry for his sake that things will turn out badly. Don’t tell him, but keep an eye on him after his brother or sister is born, would you? Hopefully by then I’ll be able to tell him what’s going on in person; hopefully I’ll know everything when I come home. They promise me that I’ll be able to keep my baby, that this is just a temporary measure to ensure I won’t disappear before the birth, before the tests, but oh, I am so afraid… FLindley Reyes turns off the computer and tries not to cry. She can’t help but empathize with Fowley’s feelings of fearful helplessness; she feels that way whenever she thinks of her mother. Telling herself to cheer up, she turns her thoughts towards Doggett’s birthday and the plans she and Mulder have in store for him. ** Thursday afternoon, Baby’s World Mulder is not sure why he and Scully have been dragged along by Mrs. Leary and Bessie, but they find themselves trailing by the women and being quizzed on cuteness of various pieces of merchandise. Mulder figures that his best defense is to agree that everything they like is lovely, that way he’s not required to defend any dissenting opinions. He feels that Scully is far braver, because she dares to have actual opinions on the items in question. When he thinks about it the realization that she’s having a much better time than he is makes his head hurt, so he tries to force it out of his mind. He purposely dallies in an isle, hoping that only Scully will notice. Finally he asks her what he’s been wondering since they got in the store. "Why aren’t there any aliens?" "What?" Scully asks, blinking. "Why aren’t there any alien themed things here?" he clarifies. "There are ducks, bears, every infant friendly cartoon character, and even sports, but no aliens." "I suppose that people don’t think of aliens when they consider things for a newborn." Scully says. "Well they should." Mulder says, pouting. "I want to have something with aliens on it for the baby." :"Mulder, have I ever told you that you’re weird?" He nods. "Well, I’m telling you again. But if it’s that important to you, I can help you out." "How?" "Bessie has been teaching me how to quilt, so if we go to a fabric store we could find something to your liking to make something nice for the baby." "A fabric store would have stuff like that?" "They sure would. There’s lots of weirdos like you, so they tailor to a broad range of tastes." "Would I have to sew? I’m not very good at it. You do remember my home ec. projects, don’t you?" Mulder asks her, giving her sad puppy eyes. Her brief shudder makes it clear that she does remember. "I’ll help you with the sewing." She says, sighing. "I don’t know why I let myself get talked into these things…" "Because you’re a wonderfully soft-hearted person." Mulder explains. "And if my mother and Bessie weren’t staring at us right now, I’d show my gratitude with a kiss." "Just remember you owe me. "Scully says archly. "Let’s catch up to them." In the end Mrs. Leary settled on a walnut nursery set that even Mulder thought was quite lovely, and arranged for it to be delivered later. "Why do I see furniture construction in my future?" Mulder asks her. "I think, dear son, that perhaps you are clairvoyant." "Oh sure, you say that like it’s a good thing now, Mom, but when I decide not to go to college and open a psychic hot-line you’re going to be all disapproving." "It’s a mother’s privilege." She says, making him grimace. ** Thursday night, McPhee home Doggett looks again at the swatch of dark fur in his hand as he dials Mulder’s phone number. He’d almost put the Bigfoot nonsense out of his head, until he discovered this bit of oddness not long before dark. It was caught on a bush at the border of the yard, and looked to him as though it was lost when its owner suddenly fled the yard, perhaps evading notice. Doggett shakes his head at his foolishness, but still is compelled to call Mulder. "Hey Doggett, what’s up?" Mulder asks. "Hi. I tried to call you earlier, but you must have been out." "I’m not sure still how it happened, but Scully and I were drafted to help decide on furniture for the baby’s room." "Sounds exciting." Doggett says cheerfully. "Oh it was. It’s scares me that Scully actually seemed to be having an ok time." "Girls are weird like that. They are wired to think things involving babies are interesting, even when they aren’t." "Better them than us." Mulder says. "Was there something in particular you were calling about though? I seem to be monopolizing the conversation." "Um, yeah. You know how we said we might go into the woods and take a look around? I feel an overwhelming urge to prove you wrong." "Sure. How about Saturday morning? Then I can give you your birthday present. Are you surprised I remembered the date this year? I wrote it on the calendar and everything." Mulder says, sounding proud of himself. "No, I’m not surprised. You’re the only one who remembers consistently." "Someone has to." Mulder says wryly. "See you Saturday morning. ** As soon as he hung up the phone, Mulder picked it up again. "Hey Frohike, it’s Mulder. Doggett has taken the bait. He even called me and asked if we could go into the woods so he could ‘prove me wrong.’ Saturday morning around 10, ok?" "Sure, Mulder. We’ll go and set things up at 8:30 or so." "Ok, great. Thanks." "No problem. You don’t mind if we tape it, do you?" "Go ahead. Just make sure that Doggett never sees the tape." "He won’t. I just want it for a seminar about faking sightings that we’re going to in a few months. I’m sure he won’t be there so the secret will be safe. See ya." Mulder then calls Reyes and tells her that he’ll be out of the way for sure after ten so she can set up for the party. "Everything is all arranged, all you have to do is to come up with a reason for him and I to need to go to your house." "Don’t worry. I’ll think of something." She assures him. "Good. I think this is going to be a birthday he’s never going to forget." "I’ll make sure of that one way or the other." "Reyes, you make me worry." Mulder says, laughing. ** Friday noon, The Ice House Scully is surprised when she works with Reed for the first time; despite Skinner’s repeated complaints that Reed is nearly non-communicative, he’s been talking to her almost non-stop. Finally, when there’s a lull in conversation she asks him what his deal is. "What gives? Skinner says that you’re almost silent, but you’ve been talking my ear off since you got here." Reed shuffles his feet and looks at the floor. "Well…you know how it is. Some times it’s hard to talk to a cute guy." "So you think he’s cute?" Scully asks. "Sure. Those big brown eyes, that smile…don’t you think he’s cute?" Scully shrugs. "To tell you the truth, I never really thought about it." Reed looks surprised. "Why? Because you know he’s gay?" "Nope. Because I’ve only had eyes for one person since I’ve been old enough to think boys aren’t as icky as I first was lead to believe. All the other guys I know…they’re just friends whose looks I’ve never really noticed." "That sounds like that’s one guy who should consider himself lucky." Reed tells her. :"I hope he does." Reed gives Scully a searching look before deciding to ask her a question. "So, um...he said that I don’t talk. If he brought it up, I guess it was a complaint…" "Well, yeah. He doesn’t like working with someone who doesn’t say ‘boo’ during their entire shift." Scully tells him, opting for honesty rather than tact. "I guess I’ll have to work on being friendlier." Reed says, making Scully wonder to what end he has in mind. ** Saturday morning, in the woods Doggett leads Mulder to the entrance of the woods, but feels incredibly lame doing so. In order to appear less of a sucker to Mulder he blusters about proving Mulder wrong. "So, you’re ready to be proven wrong?" Doggett asks. "How do you plan to prove that there isn’t a Bigfoot in these woods?" Mulder asks curiously. "I’ll do it when we spend time out here and don’t find anything." "That isn’t a fair way to go about it. We could be out here all day and not see a squirrel, but that wouldn’t prove there weren’t any in these woods. " "Fair or not, unless we see a Bigfoot, I’m entitled to believing I’m right…and you’re wrong." "Your sense of justice is skewered, Doggett Witter. But since it is your birthday, I’ll agree to your terms." "Good." Doggett tells him, glad that he’s very unlikely to be taken for a fool now. "There’s a footpath over there, we should probably stick to it so we don’t get lost." "Sure. You’re the leader out here." Mulder says, trailing behind him. ** McPhee home Scully tosses Reyes the package of streamers she requests. Reyes catches them deftly and calls her thanks from across the room. "Good catch." Scully says approvingly. "These skills come to you out of necessity if you grow up with two brothers." Reyes says, smiling. Scully wishes for a moment that she’d been able to know Reyes’ brother Tim, too. "I guess having sisters is different." "I guess. Since I never had one, I don’t know, either." "Ah. That means you need to marry a guy with sisters, and I need to marry one with brothers." Scully quips. "Well…Doggett has three sisters, but Mulder doesn’t have any brothers." "No…but who knows? Maybe his new sibling will be a boy." Scully says, smiling a little. "Wow, not a word of protest to indicate I was barking up the wrong tree…" "Ok, you got me. He and I are dating. But don’t tell Doggett." "That’s great! But why? Why not tell Doggett, that is, not why are you dating Mulder." "We decided it’d be fun to watch Doggett put two and two together on his own." "Why should I be party to you being mean to my boyfriend?" Reyes asks. "We’re not being mean. We’re repaying the hard time he’s been giving us since November." "Oh. In that case, my lips are sealed." Reyes says, putting the finishing touch on the streamers. "Hey, let me show you the cake." ** In the woods Mulder trudges dutifully behind Doggett, who seems to be having fun playing tour guide. He nods solemnly when Doggett points out various things that aren’t Bigfoots, trying desperately to keep a gleeful look off of his face. Finally he asks Doggett to stop for a minute so he can load his camera. "Why? You want to photograph some trees?" Doggett sarcastically asks, but does stop. "Well, yeah. My mom loves nature photography, and since we were going to be out in the woods, I thought I’d snap some pictures. Maybe I can have my dad blow one up and frame it." "That’s nice. I sort of wish I got along better with my parents." "Don’t let me fool you, our relationship can be as much of a roller-coaster rides as anyone’s. We’re just on an upward arc at the moment, which is good given how bad things were in November…"Mulder trails off when they hear a stick snap in the distance. "What was that?" "Um...Probably a deer." Doggett says. "Cool, maybe I can get a picture of one." Mulder says excitedly, aiming his camera in the direction the noise is coming from. The snap of sticks becomes louder and more frequent. "I think it’s headed right for us!" Doggett spins towards the sound while Mulder snaps a series of pictures. It comes towards them all the while- large, hairy, huge feet, and looking slightly angry. The thing veers off to the right about five feet before it would collide with Doggett and keeps on going. Mulder snaps a couple of pictures right as it runs by Doggett and lowers the camera; he’s sure at least one of them shows Doggett and the Bigfoot in the same frame. He and Doggett watch as it continues to crash through the undergrowth and out of sight. Mulder glances over at a white face and shaky Doggett. "So…" "That was a…that was a…"Doggett mumbles. "A Bigfoot." Mulder supplies. "Aren’t we supposed to go to Reyes for a study session in about a half hour?" Doggett stares at Mulder, waiting for him to gloat about what they saw. When he doesn’t Doggett tries to pull himself together enough to drive the short distance to Reyes’ house. ** McPhee house The party goes as one might expect, and Doggett is thrilled to be remembered by his friends. He glances occasionally at Mulder, still slightly disarmed that he hasn’t brought up the Bigfoot encounter to anyone. He laughs hard when he gets his gift from Mulder, though- A copy of Harry and the Hendersons. Neither of them explain the significance of the gift to anyone. Right before Reyes brings out the cake, Mulder and Scully disappear. Doggett decides to go look for them, and the two "let" themselves be caught kissing in the laundry room. "I knew there was something going on!" Doggett accuses, interrupting them. "What are you talking about?" Mulder asks. "You two…kissing!" "We weren’t kissing." Scully tells him, trying to sound shocked at idea. "You mean just now? Scully suddenly stopped breathing and I had to do CPR. You know how recoveries from serious illness are-" Mulder says. Doggett is about to tell them he’s not stupid when he notices they’re both smiling at him. "Why wouldn’t you just tell me you’re dating?" "Because it’s more fun this way." Scully says seriously, patting his arm. Doggett gives her a disgusted look and leaves them. ** Mulder and Scully are returning to the living room when Frohike pulls Mulder aside. "I’m sorry Mulder." "About what?" Mulder asks him. "About the whole Bigfoot thing. We really tried to set it up, but we weren’t able to get the Bigfoot suit that the costume shop promised us. Maybe we can try again some other time, ok?" Frohike says. "Um. Ok." Mulder says, shaking his head. If it wasn’t the Lone Gun Men, he thinks, what the hell did he and Doggett see? ** At the end of the party Frohike gives Reyes the thumbs up sign, and she grins wickedly. ** Saturday night, Leary home After he gets home from the party, Mulder eats dinner and goes up to his room. He’s surprised to see that there’s a letter waiting for him on the bed. The handwriting is unfamiliar, but he realizes immediately that the return address matches the address that Scully gave him for the reporter. Mulder’s hands tremble in anticipation as he tears open his letter. He flops onto the bed and begins to read: Dear Mulder, I remember your sister’s kidnapping case quite well. In fact it is what prompted the end of my career in journalism. You see, I learned too much for the comfort of some apparently involved. While I don’t feel comfortable giving you too many details (in case this letter is by some chance intercepted) I would rather discuss the issue with you in person, for safety’s sake. However, I do feel comfortable telling you that I discovered that your sister is not the lone victim; five children (all under the age of six years) whose parents are employees of a company with locations all over the country disappeared at roughly the same time. Of those children, all but your sister and one other child were "found" unharmed within three years of their disappearances. I will discuss my theory on why this is when we meet. I think we should meet at 3pm on Saturday in the Museum of Science in Boston where there would be too many people around for us to attract much attention, if anyone is indeed watching. I’ll let you know where in the museum to meet, so pay attention in the next few days. Be careful Mr. Leary, your search is leading you into the path of dangerous people. Q. Mulder stares at the phone, almost expecting it to ring. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Queens of the Stone Age ("Lost art of keeping a secret") Matthew Good Band ("Hello Timebomb") And Depeche Mode ("Never Let Me Down Again") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 13 The Road Not Taken Summary: A stranger offers Mulder a glimpse of a life in which Sam was never kidnapped. But is it any better? Opening scene Mulder and Scully are playing battleship at his desk, when Mulder closes his board for a moment. "Hey, what gives?" Scully asks frowning. "I’ve been thinking about something." He tells her. "Me?" she asks coyly. "Far too often," he tells her. "But I was thinking about something else this time. That reporter wrote back to me." "What did he say?" Scully asks curiously. "He’s totally paranoid, but he said that Sam wasn’t the only one kidnapped. Five kids were taken, and all of them but Sam and one other kid were found within three years of their disappearance. He said he’d give me more details if I meet him at the museum of Science this weekend, but not otherwise, because he’s afraid his mail is being tampered with." Mulder says sighing. "He sounds nuts. Are you really going to go into Boston to meet him?" "I don’t know. Yeah, he sounds like he’s a few French fries short of an extra value meal, but there are a lot of people around at the museum so even if he is, nothing too dangerous could come of it." "I don’t know Mulder…" "Scully, I need to know the truth, and he might be the only one to lead me to it." Scully doesn’t reply, but casts him a worried look. ** Theme song- "Stranded" By Plumb ** Tuesday morning, Capeside High Mulder sits in his English class waiting for his teacher to finish reading the piece of paper a messenger has just brought him. The man looks irked when he rejoins the class. "This little memo," he says, giving it a shake. "is to inform us that there is a slight change of plans. The head of the English department has decided to spring a grade-wide assignment on us…without telling the rest of the faculty in advance. Everyone is supposed to memorize a ‘poem that is meaningful to him or her’ and recite it in class next Monday. Sorry I couldn’t give folks a heads up on this." Mulder hears the man mumble to himself about wishing he’d gotten a heads up too. Then the teacher goes to his bookcase and starts yanking out books. He piles them neatly on a table before continuing to speak to the class. "I’ve got several volumes of poetry right here in the classroom, and anyone who’d like to get a pass to the library can. I forgot to mention earlier that the memo said that anyone who’d like to can write their own poem, too." Mulder thinks about attempting to write his own poem, then discards the idea. Even if he could write something decent, he wouldn’t want to share it with the whole class. Mulder decides to look through one of the collections of poetry on his teacher’s desk instead. ** That night, Leary home Mulder is helping Mr. Leary put the baby furniture together. Mulder tries to pay attention, but he finds himself admiring the paint job they’d done on the walls. Now that a couple of weeks has past, the room doesn’t smell of paint at all, and the walls look perfect, because nothing has been nailed to them yet. Eventually his father gets annoyed and tells him to pay attention. Mulder grins at him. "Not too long now, huh Dad?" "Nope, just a couple of months. It makes me glad to get this all done now, though, since babies don’t always wait to come when they’re supposed to." "Was I early?" Mulder asks. "A couple of weeks. Not so early as to cause much concern, but early enough that I spent the night before you came home putting together your crib." Mr. Leary says ruefully. "And they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks." "Who you calling old, Boy?" "No one, no one." Mulder says quickly. They’re just finishing up when the phone rings. Mulder hears the phone ring, then his mother calls to him that it’s for him. Mulder picks up the extension in his room. "Hello?" he asks cheerfully, expecting it to be Scully or Doggett. A deep male voice says. "Near the giant grasshopper." Then the line goes dead. Mulder hangs the phone up gently, and tells himself that he’s just gotten his secret instructions. ** Thursday afternoon Reyes is walking home from mentoring at the elementary school when she notices Spender walking down the street towards the library. She only hesitates a moment before deciding that she needs to talk to him. "Spender!" she cries, and runs towards him. She can’t tell if he’s ignoring her, or just didn’t hear her, because he doesn’t turn towards her until she’s almost upon him. "Oh hi." He says vaguely. "Spender, we need to talk." Reyes tells him. "What about?" "Fowley. Have you heard from her too? I’m worried about her." "Yeah, I got a postcard or two. What’s to worry about though?" He asks. Reyes can’t believe how unconcerned he sounds. "Well, her situation, of course. It’s starting to sound rather dire." "She’s having a great time with her parents in Europe. You know that." Spender says, sounding annoyed. "But…" "I think we should be happy for her. She’ll tell us all about the trip this summer. Look, I’ve got to go." Spender says walking away while Reyes stares after him. Reyes can’t figure out what just happened, but Spender’s attitude really worries her. There’s something about that boy that isn’t right, she thinks. ** Friday night, Fanny’s Fabric Festival Scully rolls her eyes and gives up trying to keep up with Mulder’s erratic dashing up and down isles. Why do I ever go shopping with him? Scully asks herself as he stops for a moment to look at yet another thing with alien motifs. "I think I like this one." He tells her excitedly. "You’ve said that six time in a row already." "This time I mean it, though." "Could you really, truly have made a decision? Actually made up your mind on what you want so we can get out of here some time tonight?" "Geez, sarcastic much?" Mulder complains. "Yes, I’ve really, truly come to a decision on what quilt I want to make." "Want me to make." Scully corrects him. "Ok, whatever." Mulder says, handing over the quilt squares for her inspection. "See, if you look at this illustration here, it shows how the quilt is supposed to look when it’s done." Scully looks at it and nods in approval. Sweet infantile looking aliens hover in a spaceship on a background of stars. "That’s pretty cute, Mulder." "It’s exactly what I had in mind." Mulder tells her. "Speaking of your mind…have you decided if you’re going to Boston tomorrow or not?" Scully asks. Mulder takes one look at her alarmed face and wishes that he could give her an answer that would put an end to her worries. But he can’t. "I’m sorry, Scully…I’m going." Scully doesn’t answer him, but instead looks away. "I know you think me going is a dumb idea," he continues. "but I don’t really have a choice. If I don’t hear him out, I might lose Sam. I…I need to know what happened to my sister." "I know, Mulder." Scully says sighing. "Promise me you’ll be careful." "I will. You know I will." When she doesn’t say anything else, Mulder takes her hand and leads her towards the cash registers. ** 2:55pm, Boston Museum of Science Mulder feels guilty about lying to his parents- he told them that his trip was worth extra credit for his science class, and a classmate was going with him- but he chalks it up to another sin committed in the commission of trying to locate his sister. One more lie isn’t going to make much of a difference, if his parents ever find out. Fresh indignation about their lack of concern about his sister kicks in, and he exonerates himself of that guilt. He lets his sense of purpose propel him towards his meeting with the strange Thaddeus Quinn. So here he is after a solo bus trip. He’s standing in the foyer of the museum, wondering if it’s too soon to go down stairs to where the giant grasshopper is. The grasshopper is a fixture of the museum, and it’s been there since long before Mulder was born. Most of the exhibits have changed through the years, but it has always remained on the bottom floor. Of monster proportions, Mulder can’t fathom why anyone would have thought that creating a 25-foot long, very detailed, grasshopper was a good idea. As he thinks about it, he admits to himself that his stream of thought is an avoidance tactic, something to keep himself from thinking about what happens if the man isn’t there. As he walks down the musical staircase he sees a nervous looking man pacing by the grasshopper. Butterflies fill Mulder’s stomach as he walks towards the man. The man stops his pacing and looks up at Mulder. "Mr. Leary, I presume." Mulder doesn’t like the look in the man’s blue eyes, it’s as if the man is trying very hard to control a wildness that’s lurking just beneath the surface. "Yes." Mulder says, deciding that he has no choice but trust the man. The man speaks low, his eyes flickering paranoidly towards all passersby. "I know you want to know what it would be like if things were different. So I’m going to show you." "What?" Mulder asks, looking confused. "If they hadn’t taken your sister, I mean. I’m going to show you, right now." Mulder is about to ask him what on earth he’s talking about, because he suddenly feels like the psychiatrist in 12 Monkeys, but the man reaches out towards him. Mulder flinches backwards, but the man is undeterred. There’s an electric-like shock when the man’s hand comes in contact with his arm, then everything shimmers. ** Mulder is no longer standing in the middle of the museum, and Thad isn’t touching him any longer. In fact, the man is no longer there. At first Mulder feels slightly disoriented, because he feels like he’s in an impossibly familiar place. Shaking the cobwebs from his head he accepts the fact that as improbable as it is, he’s at home. Not his home in his time, he immediately surmises, because it’s been years since the toys that strewn the room have been out on display. He catches movement in the dark room out of the corner of his eye, and looks just in time to see a small figure slipping out of the room. Mulder follows. When he does, Mulder finds himself standing beside his four-year-old self, who is dressed in a light blue blanket sleeper, as they watch his parents from the stairs. Little Mulder doesn’t notice him, and when Mulder reaches out and touches the child and gets no reaction whatsoever, he decides that the boy doesn’t know he’s there at all. However, something makes him want to stay on the stairs to spy on his parents, just in case his theory isn’t as sound as he thinks. He’s shocked at how young Mitch and Gale look as they sit on a couch he only vaguely remembers, but he reminds himself that they’re almost thirteen years younger than they are now. The only thing that is unchanged is his mother’s swelled waistline, and it strikes him odd to know that here she’s carrying Sam, not the brother or sister he’s never met. Gradually he’s able to focus on his parent’s conversation. "Mitch, whoever told you that must be insane." Gale says, sounding upset. "I wish they were, but I’ve been watching the news and one child has disappeared already. Someone out there is serious. Seriously disturbed to boot, but serious about this none the less." "What are we going to do?" She asks him, wringing her hands. "Well, we can’t do what they ask, and if we don’t, who knows what might happen to Mulder or this baby? The way I look at it, there’s only one thing that we can do. I’m going to have to quit my job." "But Mitch, this project is your life’s work." Gale protests weakly. "I know. I’ll find something else, though, because my kids mean more to me than any job." "All they’re asking is that couples have another baby after vitamin treatments, could it really be something bad? " "I think it could be. The fact that these treatments are supposed to start before the child’s conception, which makes it too late for this baby, make me think that they’re doing something much more sinister than infusing the babies with vitamins. I mean, think about it, if it truly was just vitamins, wouldn’t they be able to do FDA trials, instead of black-mailing people into it by kidnapping their kids until they comply? No, I’m going to thank the person who warned me, and get out now. If I’m not an employee they won’t have any power over me." It comes as a bit of a shock to Mulder, but he finds that he can pretty much tell what the little boy is thinking. He supposes it’s not too odd, since the boy is him, so there’s a connection there. Young Mulder doesn’t seem to understand what they’re talking about and heads back to bed. Mulder wants to stay to see if they say more, but he’s compelled by some force to follow his younger self. He tries to sort out the conversation he’s just overheard, but it overwhelms him. ** There’s a brief distortion and Mulder finds himself looking at himself again. This time he’s a little older, and his face has lost some of it’s baby chubbiness. This Mulder is clumsily wrapping a baby toy, a set of stacking cups in various sizes. He finally untangles the scotch tape from his fingers, adequately covers the present, scoops it under his arm and runs downstairs. Mulder follows the boy slowly, having no memory that corresponds to the event to prepare him for what he’ll see. A baby with dark hair and hazel eyes sits in a high chair, stuffing Cheerios into her open ,mouth. The little boy puts the present on the table and makes a beeline towards the baby. He kisses her on the top of her head and says in a piping voice, "Hi Sam! It’s your birthday, and I got you something really neat, I think you’ll like it." The baby looks up at him with an adoring gaze, her small hands reaching for him. Mrs. Leary looks over at them and smiles. "Mulder, do you think you could be my special guest greeter while I finish the cake?" "Sure mom." The boy says, still playing with the baby. "Remember, Mulder, that I invited a little girl who is going to be in your kindergarten class this fall, so be nice to her." "I remember, Mom." He says, going towards the door when it rings. Though it takes a lot of will power not to abandon his post when Doggett shows up, he continues to answer the door as politely as he mother could wish. Eventually he opens the door and is surprised that the people standing on the steps are strangers. A woman who the boy instantly labels as pretty is standing on the steps with a small girl. The boy decides that this must be his future classmate, though she’s much littler than the girls in his and Doggett’s preschool class. He likes the way that her hair is long and red like the woman’s, and decides to talk to the girl after greeting her mother. "How old are you?" he demands of her as soon as she’s in the living room. "Five." The girl says, revealing two missing front teeth. "Me too." The boy tells her. "And him, too." He adds, pointing at Doggett who is now playing with Sam out of boredom. "And the baby is your sister." The girl guesses. He nods. "I have a sister too, but she’s big. Thirteen." The boy think about the number for a second, counting up to it in his head, before saying, "That’s old!" Before the girl can reply, Doggett comes over and demands that the other boy join him now that the guests are already there. The girl looks after them wistfully, but sticks near her mother. Mulder almost tries to tell the girl that it’s not how they meet at all, that they won’t really meet until the first day of school, but then he remembers that no one can hear him. ** There was another moment of distortion, and when it passes Mulder decides that his alter ego must be about seven years old now. Mulder is worried because the boy looks very upset, though he’s valiantly playing cars in the corner of the living room with Sam. Sam behaves like a typical three-year-old, and often forgets to use what a schoolteacher might refer to as "an indoor voice." Young Mulder tells her sharply to keep her voice down each time, and casts worried looks towards the stairs. Sam takes it in stride, and doesn’t get the least bit upset by the frequent reminders. All this makes Mulder worry seriously about what is going on. He finally concludes that they’re being watched by a cranky babysitter when the doorbell rings. Mulder watches as the boy opens the door cautiously. Scully stands on the steps smiling, and Mulder notices that she now has her front teeth again. The boy gives her a mournful look and tells her that he can’t come out to play. Scully nods resignedly, and nods without comment, save only a "see you at school tomorrow." The boy sighs and shuts the door. He cringes when his fear comes true: a voice bellows from another room to keep it down. Mulder feels a stab of fear when he hears the boy call "Yes, Daddy." Until this second he was trying to convince himself that the voice was just similar to his father’s. Mulder sinks into a chair, forgetting to be surprised that the furniture supports him. Why would his father be home in the middle of the afternoon, sounding perhaps like he’s hung-over? Dad doesn’t drink, or at least my version of him doesn’t, Mulder corrects himself. For the first time since this weird journey has begun, Mulder wonders why Thaddeus Quinn was so eager to show him how things might have been different. Mulder lets his head sink into his hands as he becomes overwhelmed with despair. Just what is different in this reality? Mulder hears the door open, and sees his mother walk into the house. Mrs. Leary looks flustered, and looks weary as the children clamor for her attention. Mulder notices that her bag has the same station logo on it that he’s associated with her most of his life, so the consistency is comforting. "Mulder, where’s your Dad?" she asks the boy, who points towards the master bedroom. She looks irritated and stalks out of the room. A few minutes later, Mrs. Leary walks back into the living room and gives Mulder and Sam a half-hearted smile. "I just talked to Grandma, you’re going to spend the night there. Won’t that be fun?" Sam makes a joyful sound and jumps up and down. The boy smiles, but it fades. "How am I going to get to school?" "I’ll pick you up before I go in to work tomorrow. Why don’t you and Sam go upstairs and play in her room before dinner?" The boy nods and leads Sam out of the room. Mulder digs his heels into the carpet, determined not to leave the room with his younger self. To his surprise, this strategy works, and he’s not compelled to leave this time. Instead he follows his mother to his parents’ bedroom. Mr. Leary looks like he hasn’t shaved in days, and perhaps hasn’t showered in as many. Dressed only in a pair of blue and white stripped cotton boxers, and a dingy wife beater, he lays on the bed looking at the ceiling. He looks pathetic, but the look Mrs. Leary gives him is anything but sympathetic. "Why am I not surprised to find you like this, again?" She asks him. "I don’t feel well." Mr. Leary whines. "You probably feel like you didn’t take your antidepressants for about a week is more like it. You told me that you could be trusted to take them, but I think this proves I should go back to counting them." She says bitterly. "Oh, you don’t know what it’s like. You’ve got your fancy job at the news station, and I’m here, unable to find a decent job. I thought when I left Candling I thought that I’d be able to get a good job in a second with my background in genetics. But no. Three years of nothing but temp work breaks a man’s spirit." Mr. Leary moans. "Well you better get yourself together, Mitch." Mrs. Leary says evenly. "Or I’ll consider my mother’s offer to take the kids to her for a break until you do." Mr. Leary doesn’t reply, but get out of bed, paws at the cluttered nightstand until he comes up with a bottle of pills and stalks into the bathroom. ** When that now-familiar moment of distortion comes, Mulder presses his eyes tightly together, not wanting to look. After a moment of self pep talk, he opens his eyes a slit, just enough to see that he’s facing the front windows. Fine, I’ll look out the windows instead of at the boy, he tells himself, because it will hurt less. It only takes a moment before he realizes his folly, the mere sight of the ice encased yew bushes near the front door is enough to tell him when he is this time. Mulder clearly remembers fixating on the wonder of the perfect berries covered in ice, so it’s to no surprise that when he turns towards his other self the boy is twelve years old. Though the child is dressed up and waiting for a funeral as well, the boy is not trying to distract himself by thinking about something as lovely as the berries. Instead he’s looking at the clock and willing his father to get home on time. Mulder senses the boy’s grief clearly, because it’s part of his own life. Scully’s mother had been a very important force in her life, so in his too by extension. It had all happened very rapidly, the news that she was sick came after their summer trip, and she lost ground so quickly. By January she was gone. The worst part, Mulder thought both then and now, was that you couldn’t bury people in January, not with the ground frozen solid, so they’d had to cremate Mrs. Potter, and the woman had always been wary of fire. The only other option for winter deaths was to freeze the deceased and delay the funeral, but that was more than Scully’s family could bear the thought of. Mulder lifts himself out of his thoughts when Sam comes into the room. She’s just how he’d picture her looking at age eight, her long dark hair done in braids, and her eyes huge. Sam puts a comforting arm around her brother. "I don’t think Dad is going to be home in time." She tells him. The boy shakes his head stubbornly. "Dad knows I need to be there for Scully. He won’t let me down." He insists. As the afternoon wears on the boy feels defeated. He hopes that Scully will understand that he had no choice but to believe that his father would bring him to the funeral, and it’s not as though he wanted to miss it. The boy can’t believe that his father could forget something so important. Mr. Leary comes home from work at his usual time and gives the boy an apologetic look. "I’m sorry, Son. They wouldn’t let me leave early, and I couldn’t risk getting fired…" Mulder watches as intently the boy doesn’t say anything. He knows that his father has at last found a job that suits him, but he guesses that the man is too new there to expect any favors. The boy tries to muster up the will to tell him that it’s ok, but something makes it so hard. ** Another lurch, and Mulder is at the high school. His other self is sitting at a lunch table next to Fowley, with Doggett and Scully across from him. He looks carefully at their faces, and guesses that this must be some time last year. Fowley looks somewhat out of place, and not really secure, so he surmises that it must be towards the beginning of the year when she was new to Capeside; which would also explain why Reyes and Skinner aren’t there since they transferred mid-year. While it should gladden Mulder’s heart that Fowley seems as if she’s much more interested in this Mulder than she ever was in his own reality, it doesn’t. The boy is thinking mournfully that he and Scully have drifted so much since that ill-fated funeral, and how it makes him jealous that Doggett is the one whose every word she has been hanging on for the past three years. Mulder is suddenly filled with indignation. Why is Thaddeus letting him see this? It’s all so futile, that he’s still not entirely happy even with his sister in this life. It strikes Mulder that Thadd is almost trying to make Mulder think he’d be better off without his sister, but he refuses to believe it. He has no guarantee that this is even what would have really happened if his sister had never been taken. As soon as he sees Thadd again, Mulder decides he’s going to give the man a piece of his mind, and maybe a punch in the nose. He’s so angry that he doesn’t realize at first that everything is starting to shift again. ** This time Mulder decides that he must be in the real present or thereabouts, because looking at the other Mulder is like looking in a mirror. Except that the other boy has a cast on one arm, and a cut above his eye. He’s alone, sitting on a bench in the hallway of an uninviting looking building that Mulder has never seen before in his life. The boy has his good hand over his face, and Mulder tries to block out the boy’s thoughts but can’t. The boy’s thoughts are a bit jumbled, but Mulder senses that he’s replaying the events of a few days before. Other Mulder pictures himself and his family in a car. Sam and his father are arguing about something stupid, whether or not twelve is too young to get pieced ears. They argue loudly, and the boy wishes they’d give it a rest; Mr. Leary and Sam clashed a lot lately. Mrs. Leary starts to try to calm them both down, but her voice rises to a scream as she becomes aware of the oncoming truck… The nearest door opens, and the boy is invited inside. He takes a seat wordlessly, and looks up at the middle-aged man behind the desk. The man is wearing a suit, so Mulder decides that he must be a lawyer. He finds that he’s not too far off the mark when the man addresses the other boy. "I’m sorry to have to meet you in a circumstance like this. As you probably know, I’m in charge of handling your parents’ final wishes." Mulder gasps, but the boy just nods. "Your parents have placed yours, and Samantha’s, guardianship in your Aunt Gwen’s care. I haven’t had much time to talk to her yet, but she seems like a lovely young woman. While it is a forgone conclusion that she will care for your sister, you do, as you surely know, have the option for petitioning the courts for emancipated minor status, since you are almost seventeen years old. I must caution you, though, before you get your hopes up, that while you would legally be an adult, the courts probably wouldn’t grant you custody of your sister before your eighteenth birthday. You aunt is amicable to considering a change of guardianship at that time, though." The boy nods wearily, and the Lawyer shuffles some papers. "As a friend of the family, I feel that it’s my duty to suggest that you allow your aunt to be your guardian until you’re eighteen. You’ve been through a lot in the past few days, and life is going to be turned upside down from now on. There’s no sense of adding an unneeded burden of additional responsibility on yourself when you don’t have to. It’s ok to keep being a kid for another year or so, just like your friends. Your aunt wants to take care of you, and it’d be better for you if you’d let her." The boy thinks of all his reasonable arguments towards favoring becoming an emancipated minor and sighs. None of them seem that strong, suddenly. "Can we keep our house?" is all he asks. "Of course. Your aunt wants to keep as much continuity in your lives as possible, so she’s going to move into your house, and rent out her own until you kids are grown. She really wants what’s best for you both." "Ok." "Good, good. Your parents wisely chose to take out sizable life insurance policies on themselves, so you and your sister should want for nothing. Except for custodial expenses, your inheritance will be in trust until you turn eighteen, at which time you’ll gain access to half of their leavings. Sam’s half will also remain in trust until her eighteenth birthday as well. You’ll be very comfortable." The lawyers says smiling. The boy can’t believe that the man could think that he could find solace in money. Both of his parents are gone forever, and the man is babbling about how "comfortable" they’ll be? Mulder tries to tell the boy that this isn’t how life really is, but the boy doesn’t hear. His failure to reach the other boy makes Mulder cry in despair… ** Mulder realizes his butt feels cold and opens his eyes. He’s sitting on a titled floor, slumped up against something, and there’s someone standing over him. The person, a woman, gives him an encouraging look. "Well now, it looks like you’ll be ok now after all." She tells him, and he has no idea what she’s talking about. Then he realizes that the thing he’s slumped up against is the base to the grasshopper’s display. He flicks his eyes back and forth and surmises that he must be back in his own reality because there is no Mulder there but him. "I, um.." be begins, but trails off when it becomes obvious that he can’t explain what happened. The woman notes the fear and confusion on his face and pats his arm. "It’s ok sweetie, they caught the man who did it. Good thing there were people who saw the whole thing." "Did what?" Mulder asks, wondering what people saw. "I guess you don’t remember." She says sympathetically. "Some guy was talking to you when he pulled out a hypodermic needle and plunged it into your arm. Guess it was something that knocked you out, but not too long, since that only was five minutes or so ago. Like I said though, they caught him and arrested him right away." "Thaddeus Quinn, that’s what he said his name was." Mulder mumbles. "Oh no, Thaddeus is upstairs giving a lecture. This guy was Stan something. " "I was supposed to meet Thaddeus…" "Were you? I think he’ll be through in a minute or two. You know, he used to be a journalist, but he’s made a big name for himself writing books about endangered species since then. He’s not a bad writer, but a bit fanatical if you know what I mean. He’s right upstairs in the natural science wing." "Thanks." Mulder tells her, getting to his feet. He shakes off her well-meaning advice to wait for the paramedics to look him over and disappears upstairs before anyone can track him down to take his statement. There are a lot of chairs set up in the room that contains exhibits of taxidermy behind glass, which should be morbid but somehow aren’t. A man in his forties, with blond hair and brown eyes, speaks emphatically to his audience. A huge sign on an easel bears the man’s photograph and an invitation to hear his lecture on his newest book "Fading Fast." Mulder looks at the sign, looks at the man, then leaves, exiting the museum and not looking back until he’s boarded his bus for the trip home. ** Monday morning, Capeside high school- Scully is nervous as she waits for her turn to recite her poem. Her poem. She still can’t believe that she’s taking the plunge and reading an original poem. She wrote the poem the last day she was in the hospital, and to her, it seems to sum up how she feels about the many bad dreams she had before she got better. Eventually it’s her turn, so she recites in a calm clear voice, Just Another Nightmare I dream Of storms and lakes That I must inexplicably swim in, Only to spring from the water Out into a misty forest. Running on bare feet I fear the cries of Repulsive black shadows That want to lick my skin raw, Leaving live nerves exposed to their tortures. I crush the knife-like urge to scream Though I only have weak moonlight To drive them back. Later, as the rain rusts my hair, I trudge back, aching, To the bed I left in sleep. Her classmates and teacher are impressed, and they embarrass her by heaping praise upon her. ** Mulder spent the entire weekend thinking about why he decided to leave the museum without speaking to the real Thaddeus Quinn. At first, on the bus, he’d chalked it up to having been so overwrought about what had happened, or might have happened, that he’d been unable to think clearly. Later he admitted to himself that he’d known exactly what he was doing, and he just didn’t want to hear what the man had to say. As for what happened…He still wasn’t sure. Perhaps he’d been injected with a powerful hallucinogen, which is what he knew Scully would tell him if he ever revealed it to her, and he only saw what his mind wanted to. Or maybe he’d met a Clarence-like angel with a cruel streak who really did enable him to see how things might have been different- and no better. While the mystery was somewhat disarming, Mulder didn’t think it really mattered either way. Now and forever he would be cured of his tendency to obsess on what might have been. The important thing, he thinks, is what happens now, and what is going to happen. Mulder hopes that his failure to show up didn’t upset Thaddeus too much, because maybe some day he’ll be ready to hear what the man says, as long as the information is used as a clue to further future research instead of fuel for wishful thinking. At least, Mulder thinks as he stands up before the class, this weekend helped me decide on my poem. "I thought long and hard about finding a poem that means something to me. Finally I found one that’s perfect, because I’ve often found myself wishing things were different, and I’m trying hard to leave that habit behind me. I’m going to recite The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost…"He begins. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: One Side Zero ("New World Order") Lifehouse ("Sick Cycle Carousel") And Pete Yorn ("For Nancy") ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 14 MiB Summary: Frohike interviews Scully and Mulder about the "alien Santa Claus" and includes it on their e-zine. This prompts MiB agents Jay and Vee to come to Capeside with two goals: deport the alien Gremmlic for illicit activities, and to mind-wipe Mulder and Scully. Opening scene Mulder lovingly examines the small quilt that Scully has handed him. "It’s perfect!" He exclaims. "No, it’s not close to done yet." Scully corrects. "I still think it’s perfect." Mulder insists stubbornly, tracing his finger over one of the baby aliens. "Well, in that case you ought to thank Bessie for being a good teacher, then." "Oh, I will, next time I see her." "Maybe she could even try to teach you how to sew." "Are you mad at her for some reason?" Mulder asks, raising his eyebrows. "No, why…"It suddenly dawns on Scully what he’s getting at, and she rolls her eyes." So, tell me about Boston." Mulder decides that he’s going to keep the details of his adventure to himself, at least for now. "I never met Mr. Quinn." He tells her, which is the truth so he feels less guilty. "You didn’t?" "No. Apparently he was there to give a talk on his book about endangered species, and he must have run out of time, because I waited for him as instructed, and he never showed. " "That sucks, Mulder. But you know, we can still look into what he said about those other missing kids, you know. " "I know. And I have the feeling that they were all kids of employees at my dad’s company." "Why’s that?" "I don’t know. It just sort of makes sense some how." Mulder says, shrugging, and looking away so she can’t see the expression on his face. ** Theme song- Stranded by Plumb ** Wednesday 2:10pm, Capeside high school Mulder slams his locker shut with a sigh of relief. It has been a very long day, full of tests and quizzes, and he’s relieved that it’s finally come to an end. Confident that he’s done well on all of the exams, he whistles quietly to himself as he makes his way to the exit. So it’s a surprise to him when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He wheels around and sees Frohike behind him. The older boy looks up at him and blinks, then grins. "Just the person I’ve been looking for." Frohike says. "What for?" Mulder asks, immediately suspicious. "Ah, I have a little favor to ask. "He holds up a hand to stop Mulder from replying. "Let me ask before you say no, ok? I want to do interviews with Capeside residents about the weird things that happen in this town. If you think about it, there are a lot of strange things that happen in such a small town-" "Frohike, can you speed it up a bit? This is like watching grass grow." Mulder gripes impatiently. "Oh! Anyway, I figure that if anyone has a finger on the pulse of Capeside weirdness, it’d be you." Frohike finishes. "I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be insulted or flattered." Mulder says, and Frohike shrugs. "As a matter of fact, Scully and I did see something quite ‘weird’ on Christmas eve." "Scully? My, my… So you’ll do the interview? Both of you?" "Frohike, you’re drooling. I will, but convincing Scully will be no small feat." "I’m sure you can do it." Frohike says. "She loves youuu." "Shut up, Frohike." ** Friday morning, Capeside High Reed takes a deep breath and reminds himself of his conversation with Scully several days ago. It’s not as thought I didn’t want to try to talk to Skinner before this, he tells himself, but I couldn’t. I’m a big boy, I can do this, Reed thinks as he nervously pushes his platinum blond hair out of his eyes. Skinner is a bit disarmed when he walks into class and sees Reed looking intently at him with a friendly expression on his face. He’s even more surprised when Reed speaks to him. "‘morning, Skinner. Hey, um, the teacher said we need lab partners for this project, work with me?" Reed says a little too quickly to sound natural. Intrigued by Reed’s seemingly newfound ability to speak, Skinner says, "Ok, sure. Why not?" The class breaks out into conversation as the teacher hands out large dead frogs. Reed decides the best way to get to know Skinner is by questioning him about his life. "So, have you lived in Capeside your whole life?" Skinner shakes his head. "Nope. My dad, twin sister and I moved here about a year and a half ago. We used to live in Connecticut." "You have a twin? That’s neat! I’ve always wished I had a sibling, and having a twin would be even better." Reed says, feeling more comfortable. "It’s nice. She can be a pain sometimes, but I can’t imagine what life would be like without Reyes. " "Reyes is your sister? I’ve seen her before. She’s come by the Icehouse to talk to Scully before. She seems like a sweet person. " "Usually." Skinner says grinning, until the teacher hands him their dead frog. "Uh...say, you want to do the cutting? Since you work at the Icehouse you must be used to cutting things up." Skinner kids, sliding the animal over to Reed. ** Late afternoon, McPhee home Reyes stares at her computer, frustrated. Fowley e-mailed her three days earlier, saying that she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to sneak into the facility’s library to break into the computer system. Though she knew it would only be a matter of time before Fowley got found out, it still comes as a shock that her last e-mail seems to have gone unread. Fowley, How much do you know about Spender? I’ve been talking to him a bit, and he seems a little…unstable. Should I be concerned? I hope you and the baby are doing well. Take care of yourself. Love, Reyes Re-reading the message just makes her more anxious, so she shuts off the computer. ** Saturday midmorning, Lone Gunmen HQ Mulder tries to hide his nervousness as he leads Scully up the path to Langley’s house. Rather than try to convince Scully to cooperate with the interview, Mulder decided to just bring her there. The wisdom of which he now finds himself doubting as they pass a sweet-looking old woman on the walkway. "Mulder, if you don’t tell me where we are-" Scully begins, but stops as Frohike pops out of the front door. "Why do I suddenly have the feeling that I’m going to kill you?" Choosing to pretend he didn’t hear her he points his thumb over his shoulder and says, "Hi Frohike. Who was that woman?" "Gladace Smith. She had a fantastic story about a dancing turkey." Frohike says, leading them to the basement. "Someone tell me why I’m here!" Scully demands. "You didn’t tell her? This is no way to conduct an interview." Frohike chides. "Don’t give me that ‘holier than thou crap’ Frohike." Mulder growls. Frohike gives Scully a smile, as well as a leering look before saying, "I’m writing about strange things that have happened in Capeside, and Mulder volunteered to share something that happened to the two of you on Christmas Eve." Scully starts to blush and blurts, "It wasn’t that strange…wait, are you talking about the thing we saw?" she asks, regaining her composure. "Yeah, the alien. What did you think I meant?" Mulder asks, giving her a look that suggests he knows exactly what she thought of first. Scully punches him in the arm. "Give me one good reason I should agree to talk to this idiot about what we saw." She demands. Mulder gives her a slow smile. "If you don’t, I tell Frohike what you were talking about a minute ago." Scully’s eyes widen for a second, and she thinks it over. "So, Frohike, did you want to start that interview now?" She asks. Though Frohike desperately wants to know what on earth they’re talking about, he isn’t a fool, nor is he about to give up his chance at getting a good interview. "Sure, why don’t we go on down to the basement and set up?" "The basement?" Scully asks, sounding a bit worried. Mulder takes her arm. "Don’t worry, there aren’t any clowns lurking down there." He reassures her. "I told you not to read IT…" Frohike tries to act professional, and sets up a reel to reel tape recorder so he can capture their words. Mulder gives it an approving look. "Pretty professional." "Yeah. I bought it off of an ex-cop who wasn’t supposed to have it." Scully doesn’t like the way her body sinks into the beanbag chair that she’s forced to sit in because there aren’t any other type of chairs in the basement. "Does anyone else feel totally undignified when they sit in these things?" She asks no one in particular. Frohike gives her a puzzled look and shrugs. "So, Mulder, Scully. Tell me about Christmas Eve." "We saw Santa Claus." Mulder says. "There isn’t a Santa Claus." Frohike objects. "I used to say the same thing…"Scully mumbles under her breath, but Frohike has good hearing so he catches it. "Actually there is. But Santa isn’t a human being." Mulder elaborates. Scully rolls her eyes, but Frohike rubs his hands together in anticipation. "Come again?" "Ok, so, Scully and I stayed up late on Christmas Eve, after we got back from a late mass. We hid in the living room and waited for Santa to appear." "Did he?" "Sure did." Mulder says happily. "Something did, but I don’t know for sure that it was Santa Claus." Scully objects. "What did you see?" Frohike asks. "We saw a jolly fat…creature, all dressed in red and covered from head to toe in soot. He even had some right on his gray cheek." Mulder explains. "Gray??" "Yeah, gray. He was a gray, you know the type, tall, long fingers, gray skin, big almond eyes…the whole nine yards." "What did you see, Scully?" Frohike asks. "I, um…don’t know. There was definitely something. And it did fit Mulder’s description, but…" "You don’t think it was an alien." Frohike prompts. "I figure that it was someone who knew Mulder’s interest in aliens playing a cruel trick on us." Scully says. "Even if that was the case, it wouldn’t explain the reindeer creatures." Mulder objects. "Reindeer creatures?" Frohike asks, thinking that this interview is even better than he hoped. "Yup, little glowy green reindeer-shaped beings pulled the sleigh away." "That part was strange." Scully admits. "But I’m sure there’s some logical explanation…" "You have both been wonderful. I only have one more question." "What’s that?" Scully asks. "What were you talking about earlier?" "This interview is over." Scully says coldly, getting to her feet. "Can’t blame a reporter for trying." Frohike sighs." Thanks you both, I’ll send you a copy of the newsletter when it comes out." "I thought it was an e-zine." Mulder comments. "Well, it is. I mean I’ll send you a link." Mulder mouths "If she’s mad at me you’re in for it" at Frohike as he leaves, and tries to catch up with Scully. Frohike watches him go, and hopes he’s not in trouble. "Scully." Mulder says in a wheedling tone as he catches up to her outside. "Please don’t be mad at me." "Why shouldn’t I be?" Scully asks. He gives her puppy-dog eyes and she sighs in defeat. Mulder throws his arms around her. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" "Not nearly often enough." Scully tells him, smiling in spite of herself. ** Wednesday night, LGM HQ Langly shakes his head as he reads through the latest issue of the LGM e-zine. Frohike insisted that they couldn’t go wrong by using stories of Capeside paranormal as the basis for an issue, but the story about the dancing turkeys was too much for even him to swallow. As he types up the html codes, which he is inordinately proud of having memorized, he sighs deeply, and hopes that readers will forgive them. At least, he thinks, Mulder’s story is entertaining, if not at all believable. He pushes save on the html editor and hopes for the best. ** 15 minutes later, a nondescript office A man dressed in a suit stares at his computer screen and gives a look of disgust. He picks up the phone and asks for his supervisor. "Sir, I think you ought to come up here and have a look. There’s been an apparent sighting…" The man hangs up the phone and waits for his supervisor’s arrival. He re-reads the screen, thankful that the situation isn’t his to deal with; all he's supposed to do is monitor the internet. ** Late Thursday afternoon, Capeside Library Mulder sighs, and surreptitiously eats another sunflower seed while keeping an eye out for the librarian. The stacks are dimly lit, and the microfiche machine in jammed in the back corner of the room. All of this adds up to an atmosphere that is much less than inviting, and Mulder hopes that he can get out of the room quickly. As the pages zoom by he feels a bit dizzy and slows down his scrolling. That there is so much to go through makes him impatient, and he mentally curses the local paper for not putting their back issues on the internet like a normal paper would. Finally, he comes across an article that’s promising- one that mentions Sam’s kidnapping and that there were four others; which means the paranoid Mr. Quinn wasn’t feeding him a line after all. Mulder decides that he must have hit the jackpot, because not only does the article mention that at least one parent of the each of the children worked at Candling labs, it also gives locations of which branch. Mulder jots them down and decides to look up the other kidnappings later, particularly interested in the only other one that occurred in New England. He’s stuffing his notebook back into his bag when the haggard looking librarian comes down to tell him that the library will soon be closing. Mulder thanks her and gets out before he finds himself on her bad side. *** Later that day, MiB headquarters Though there are aliens wandering by the conference room while the trio talks, it’s so ordinary to them that they don’t even notice that it’s odd anymore. Agent Jay scowls at the others as they talk excitedly about the necessity to investigate a supposed sighting of a gray. MiB Chief Zed is adamant that the witness has his mind wiped, and Agent Vee is less sure. Jay himself is against mind wipes unless they’re absolutely necessary, hence his distaste. Finally he can’t take it any more and snaps at his partners. "They’re just a couple of teenagers, and the girl doesn’t even believe. What harm can there be in letting them retain the memories?" "They may just be kids now, Tiger, but they’re going to grow up at some point, and since they’re intelligent, they might make something of themselves. If they attain positions of power one day, they might be in the position to have people believe what they say. And what if one of those little nuggets the press likes so much is their reminiscing about a long ago Christmas?" Zed asks. "Christ, Zed, why don’t we just shoot them instead? I think you’re reaching a bit here." "It’s best to ere on the side of caution." Zed insists. Jay can barely contain his frustration. Since Zed is his boss, he has to do what the man says. Or at least appear to, he amends mentally. "I expect you to pay them a visit tomorrow." Zed says firmly. "Replace their memory with a false one about playing a practical joke on their writer friend. The story was all a hoax to play on the guy’s gullibility. " "Of course, sir." Vee says. Jay sighs. "Yes, sir." ** Friday morning, Capeside high school Scully looks out the window in boredom; another rousing game of "como se dices" isn’t holding her interest at all. Reyes notices that their Spanish teacher has been casting annoyed glances Scully’s way, so she pokes Scully to get her attention. Scully pulls her eyes away from the window, and joins in the chorus of voices answering their teacher’s questions. "Como se dices the bathroom?" "El bano." "Como se dices bread?" "El pan." "Como se dices my brother?" "Mi hermano." Scully says, yawning. Soon after the teacher mercifully let them switch to English to work on their group projects, but reminded them for the 100th time that they’d have to speak in Spanish only the next year. Thankful for the chance to speak English, Scully doesn’t feel guilty about chatting idly since their project is nearly done. She turns to Reyes and asks "Speaking of brothers…Has he said anything to you about Reed lately?" Reyes shakes her head. "No, why?" "It’s weird. They went from not speaking at all to speaking frequently. Not that I’m complaining, it’s far nicer than the hostile silence that had been the hallmark of almost all shifts with the two of them working at the same time." "Well, he hasn’t said anything to me…" "You’ve got to promise me you won’t say anything to anyone, especially Skinner, but…I have this feeling that Reed has a little crush on him. He said he’s cute, anyway." Reyes smiles at the thought of someone finding her brother cute. "Don’t you think he’s cute?" Scully laughs instead of answering, making Reyes roll her eyes. ** Midmorning Vee drives their large black, rather nondescript, car while Jay looks out the window. Vee hums along to the song on the radio, but Jay is so lost in thought he doesn’t realize that she’s made a sound. While he doesn’t actively dislike Vee, he doesn’t know the woman well. She’s only been on the project for two months, which hasn’t given Jay much of a chance to get to know her, not that he’s made much of an effort towards that end. Instead he mourns the loss of his former partners. First there was Kay, who recruited him. Kay didn’t tell him that he was making Jay his replacement, not his partner, until the last minute and Jay found himself liking the older man a great deal in a short time. After 35 years with the agency, Kay decided to toss in the towel, and was gone, just like that. Then there was Elle, who was his partner for most of his time with MiB. She’d been pretty special, and he had admitted to himself even before she became his partner that he was attracted to her. Nothing serious ever happened between them, but they worked well together. Until Elle had fallen victim to a freak accident two and a half months ago, things had been going smoothly. She isn’t dead, at least Jay doesn’t think so, but they’d been involved with tracking down an alien who’d been violating treaties with his planet, and he had a nasty surprise for them- a dimensional relocator device, which the alien used on Elle, then itself. There is no way of knowing where Elle ended up after that, so she’s a good as permanently lost. Jay is startled out of his depressing musings when Vee pulls into the driveway of a pretty two story home. Vee pats her sandy blond hair before proceeding up the driveway. Jay rolls his eyes and trails behind her, not eager to be there. Vee is already knocking on the front door by the time he joins her on the stoop. Jay is somewhat surprised that the woman who answers the door is heavily pregnant; it never occurred to him that the mother of a teenager might not have finished having children. The woman gives them a quizzical look, so Jay quickly says, "Hello ma’am, my name is agent Jay, and this is my associate, agent Vee. We were hoping to talk to Mulder Leary." "Are you FBI agents?" Mrs. Leary asks them. "Yes, ma’am." Vee says with a smile. Mrs. Leary invites them in. "I’m sorry, but my son is in school today. He should be home around three if you’d like to come back then. Unless it’s an emergency and you need to get him out of class…" "No, that’s all right. We can wait to speak to him." Jay assures her. "I don’t know if this is something you can disclose, but is this about those elementary kids being kidnapped back in the fall? I was told that none of the older children were going to have to testify at the trial." Mrs. Leary says, sounding weary. Jay internally shrugs and decides to go with it, even though he has no idea what she’s talking about. "You’re correct, ma’am, they won’t need to testify. However, kidnapping is a federal offense, so we’re gathering statements." "Well, ok then. If you give me a phone number, I’ll have my son call you as soon as he gets home, would that be ok?" Jay pulls out a pad of paper and scribbles down his cell phone number. "That’d be wonderful. Thank you." Back in the car Vee gives him a questioning look. "What do we do until the kids get out of school?" Jay smiles grimly. "I think we ought to pay the alien in question a little visit to find out his motive for showing himself to those kids, don’t you?" Vee nods, and Jay begins to give her directions. ** Capeside high, 5th period Doggett deftly passes the basketball to Mulder, who sinks the shot. The gym teacher, who insists to deaf ears that he’s the physical education teacher, blows the whistle, signaling that it’s the girls’ turn for a scrimmage. Doggett and Mulder gratefully shuffle off the court and collapse against the wall. Doggett seems to be admiring more than the girls’ skills, which earns him a glare from Mulder. "What? I’m just looking." "Yeah, whatever." Mulder says, still giving him a disapproving look. "You’re saying you never…admire, other girls?" Doggett asks. "Nope, never." Mulder says, feeling loyal. "So no one could turn your head, not even for a second?" "Not a millisecond." "Not even when Fowley comes back this summer?" Doggett challenges. Mulder hesitates for a millisecond. "Of course not. She doesn’t mean anything to me now." "Good. I didn’t spend all that time trying to get you to date Scully only to have you blow it this summer." "Doggett, you’re a little mentally ill, you know?" Mulder asks. "I know." Doggett says, smiling beatifically. ** Gremmlic’s house Instead of knocking politely, agent Vee opts instead to kick the door down. Jay finds himself admiring the woman’s can-do attitude when it comes to alien-human interactions. Gremmlic gave them a look, which coming from a human probably would have seemed startled. Gremmlic dropped the issue of Popular Mechanic that was in his hand, and asked "What are you doing here?" "Why don’t you tell us." Jay say evenly. "If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked you." Gremmlic protests mildly. "Cut the crap, Gremmlic." Vee says in a considerably less mild tone. Gremmlic turns to Jay, with a twinkling in his huge almond eyes. "Hey, who’s the new chick? She’s not a pretty as the other one, but I like her fire." Jay doesn’t allow himself to be baited. "Gremmlic, you are in violation of the interplanetary treaty, specifically statue number 311-" "Hey, I’ve been fully clothed my entire visit!" Gremmlic exclaims. "Interplanetary statues, not police codes, pay attention. By violating statue 311, via showing yourself to humans, you have forfeited your right to stay on this planet-" "Come on Jay, it was a joke! I show myself, as a little joke, to a couple of idiot kids, and now you want to throw me off the planet? That ain’t right, man!" Gremmlic says, completely unconscious of how odd "man" sounded coming from him. "A couple of ‘idiot kids’ who have told their story to a magazine." Jay states. "Cool! Do I get any kickbacks from that?" Gremmlic asks eagerly. "No, but I can kick your butt if you’d like." Vee tells him. Gremmlic does a catcall, and Jay finds himself needing to physically restrain Vee. "Easy, kiddo. "Vee opens her mouth to protest, but thinks better of it and composes herself. Before they leave Jay tells Gremmlic to gather his things and be ready for a ship out that night. "And before you even think of running, remember that we can track you." Gremmlic watches them go and sighs. Then he grabs some suitcases out of the closet and begins packing, telling himself that Earth wasn’t that fun, anyway. Feeling morose, he goes into the cellar to tell the reindeer to pack too. ** 2pm Leary house After the first knock Mrs. Leary sighs loudly to herself and goes to open the door. She stayed home from work because she wasn’t feeling well, so constantly getting visitors wasn’t making her feel any better. She shuffles to the door and opens it, only to find that there’s no one there. She catches a glimpse of a man wearing a bowler and trench coat scurrying past the house and out of sight. He’s gone so quickly that she can only assume that she imagined that the vulnerably exposed nape of his neck was a silver-gray color. Shaking her head, she waddles out to the kitchen and rummages through the everything drawer until she finds what she was looking for: a novelty door sign that Mulder once gave her in a fit of childish generosity. A couple of minutes later, the cast of Dinosaurs admonished visitors not to disturb. Gremmlic pulls up the collar of his coat when the heat of the sun beating down on the back of his neck tells him that he might not be as covered up as he thought. He frets for a moment that the exposure might result in a tan, which shows up as an unattractive sooty color on beings of his complexion. It was stupid, he thinks, to believe even for a second that the idiot kid could help him. For a moment, though, it seemed reasonable to think that he could get the human boy to advocate on his behalf, and attempt to convince Jay to allow him to keep his interplanetary visa. Jay’s probably flashy-thinged the kid by now, anyway, Gremmlic thinks ruefully. When he gets home the reindeer tell him that they have a confession to make: they never liked Earth in the first place. They cheer him up a bit when they suggest a visit to Pluto, since the planet is so far from a sun Gremmlic wouldn’t even need sunscreen there. ** 3pm Capeside Library Mulder puts a couple of quarters into the microfiche machine and waits for it to print out the copies of the article for him. He can’t believe that they actually make models of the machine that are designed to charge for copies, but then, people will do anything for money, he thinks. The copies drop into the tray, warm and smelling of toner. He picks them up and ruffles through them, making sure that the article was printed in its entirety. The other child missing from New England was the one that Thaddeus Quinn had alluded to- the only child besides Sam that had not been returned to their family. Mulder had carefully looked into all four kidnappings, and in every other case there was an article about the child’s miraculous recovery. Not so in this case. According to the article the missing child, a four-year-old boy from Maine, had been named Scott Martin. He was last seen in his yard, playing on a tire swing. His mother reported that she brought some clothes in from the line, and when she got back outside, he was gone. And no sign of him has ever been found. This especially grieves his parents as he was their only child, and they were never able to have another, though they’d been trying for a baby around the time of the boy’s disappearance. Mulder shivers a little bit when he thinks about how the boy was his own age, would be his age now if he were still alive. He wonders if it was merely chance that whoever stole his sister took her instead of him. His head suddenly pounding, Mulder escapes the library and goes to look for comfort from his girlfriend, who can always cheer him up. ** 4pm Agent Vee’s fingers grip the steering wheel a little too hard for most people to have considered her to seem calm, though by all other outward appearances she looked like she was. She resisted the urge to look away from the road to glare at her partner. It isn’t as though she doesn’t respect Jay, because she does, or that she thinks that he is a poor agent, because he’s not, but he’s the most disorganized person she’s ever worked with. What they should have done, and would if she was senior agent, was go down to the high school and demand to speak to both of the students, probably using the in that the boy’s mother gave them- the kidnapping case. But instead it’s two hours after school let out for the day, and they still can’t track either of them down. The boy still hasn’t called, and the efforts to find the girl are proving equally futile. They stopped by her home and were greeted by a woman in her mid-twenties who took a moment away from chasing after a toddler to tell them they might try the restaurant the family owns. At the Ice House, which Vee wondered if was so named to poke fun at the climate this far north, there was no one there but a few customers and a pair of teenage boys, neither of which was Mulder Leary. The boys were far more intent on each other, not that there’s anything wrong with that, Vee thinks, than giving them any suggestions where to find them. Vee sighs and hopes Zed won’t have a fit if this turns into a multi-day assignment. Jay glances at Vee, and is hoping that she won’t scream at him or throw things at him before they complete the assignment. Though he doesn’t know her overly well, he knows she has a temper, and the white knuckles clutching the steering wheel tell him that he might be approaching the limit of what he can get away with. Good thing she doesn’t know what he was doing while she was inside the Ice House… ** 5pm Leary house Scully lets go of Mulder’s hand as they approach his front door. Though she knows that it’s irrational, she’s still a little shy about being affectionate towards him in his parents’ view. She looks at him out of the corner of her eye, and wonders why he had seemed so needy when he came by to get her earlier in the afternoon. She could tell that he was upset by something, but he never told her what, and instead just demanded a hug; not that she begrudged him one. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be on his mind now, because he was looking quite happy. Turning to her, he says "They’ll be here any minute. Why don’t we sit on the steps and wait for them?" Scully shrugs and sits down beside them. They don’t have long to wait. Within a couple of minutes they spot a sleek black car driving down the street, and it pulls into the driveway. A man and a woman both dressed in black suits and wearing ray ban sunglasses climb out of the car and walk towards them. "Hi." Mulder says with a friendly smile. "Are you the FBI agents that mom said wanted to talk to us?" The woman nods and says, "Yes, we are." "I thought the case was closed." Scully comments. "It was, but something has come up that caused us to need to reopen it temporarily. We have something to show you, and would like a statement from each of you about what you remember about the night of the kidnappings." Jay says, reaching into his pocket. "What was it that you wanted us to look at?" Mulder asks curiously. "This." Jay say, pulling out the silver instrument out, and quickly pushes a button that flashes a red light while they look at it. Scully and Mulder’s eyes glaze over and they stare dumbly at the MiB agents. Vee says, "You didn’t actually see an alien the night of Christmas Eve. You concocted the story to play on the gullibility of young Frohike. We’ve been talking about a kidnapping case since we got here, understand?" They both nod then shake their heads to clear them. Jays shakes their hands and thanks them for their statements. ** Jay tells Vee that he’ll drive them to the airport, and she asks him if they should find Frohike first. Jay shakes his head. "I asked Zed, and he told me not to bother. He said that the boy was the type of person who was going to go through life lacking credibility with everyone but the paranoid schizophrenic." Vee shrugged her shoulders. She’d read the issue of the LGM newsletter so it made sense. "I think our work here is done." Jay concludes. Something nags at Vee, but she can’t quite put her finger on what it might be. "I guess you’re right, Jay. Let’s go back to HQ." Jay smiles to himself, because Vee has no idea that right before they left for Capeside he disassembled his mind-wiper and replaced the insides with a harmless light bulb. He did, however bring a spare along, and used it to convince Vee that they’d seen Gremmlic off on his ship immediately before they went to the Learys’ house. Jay supposes he ought not have, but he’s always had a soft spot for the reindeer creatures. ** "Mulder, those people were pretty strange." "I know. But it was sort of fun to play along, wasn’t it?" "Yeah…do you think that the woman was fooled, though?" "Totally. I still wonder why the guy called us and told us to play act. What do you think was supposed to happen when he showed us the ‘magic flashlight’?" Mulder asks. "Beats me. Was the woman threatening us?" "I guess." "Mulder…have you ever thought about joining the FBI? They were nuts, so I think you’d fit right in." Scully says playfully, then squeals as Mulder tackles her. Neither of them notice the gray figure, nor the green glowy ones, that are spying on them and smiling. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Will Smith ("Men in Black") Jets to Brazil ("Resistance is Futile ") And The Notwist ("The Incredible Change of our Alien") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 15 Liars’ Club Summary: Mulder and Reyes begin to show the strain of the secrets they’re each keeping to themselves, which makes Scully and Doggett suspicious and resentful, but a trip to the Zoo helps put things into perspective. Opening scene Clinking their glasses of green tinted white grape juice together, everyone looks expectantly at Mulder from their various seats in his room. He gives them a puzzled look. "What?" "Well…it is Saint Patrick’s day…"Reyes says, then trails off. "So?" Mulder asks. "You haven’t, um…you haven’t…"Scully tries to say. "What haven’t I done?" Mulder says exasperated. : Doggett gives him a level look. "You’ll have to forgive the ladies for not spitting it out, but they’re burdened by a larger measure of tact than I am. It’s Saint Patrick’s day, and you haven’t led us on any wild goose chases. No spot the leprechaun, no hunt for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow…are you feeling ok?" "Oh, sorry to disappoint everyone. I thought we’d only tackle a couple at a time if that’s ok with you. The Easter bunny and the tooth fairy this year, and Lucky and cupid next year." Mulder says sarcastically. When they nod like he’s say something reasonable, he covers his face with his hands and sighs deeply. ** Theme song- Stranded by Plumb ** Thursday afternoon, Leary house Mulder sits at his desk, on the pretense of doing his homework, but instead he’s staring at an envelope that still on top of his books. Since he didn’t hear from Thaddeus Quinn for a couple of weeks, Mulder assumed that the man had lost interest in his plight when he hadn’t met the man at the library. This letter arriving yesterday, then, came as a shock. It was mostly an inquiry into whether or not Mulder would like to arrange another meeting, since the first one hadn’t been successful. Though he was truly tempted to write back to the man, he wasn’t ready to. Mulder pulls his attention away from the letter, and looks out the window. ** 10 minutes later, McPhee home Reyes sits at her computer, on the pretense of doing her paper, but instead she’s staring at her empty e-mail inbox. Though it has been a long two weeks since she last heard from Fowley, she still logs on and expects to hear from her. Any number of terrible things can happen in two weeks, so it makes Reyes feel worse every day that passes, and makes sleeping each night just that much harder. Reyes pulls her attention away from the computer screen, and goes to see if her father feels like watching a movie before dinner. ** 6:30pm, video store Doggett is sitting on the floor putting the new releases on the low shelves behind the counter when he hears the bell ring, which indicates that there’s a customer. Before he can get up he hears a familiar voice say "Hello?" Doggett stand up quickly, saying, "Sorry about that, just putting stuff away." Only then does he realize that looking at Krycek. Krycek’s face doesn’t wear its customary sneer, which immediately puts Doggett on guard. "Hey, that’s ok." Krycek says. "So, is there anything I can help you find?" "Well, no." "No?" Doggett asks, confused. "I could rent something, but… I really came to talk to you." "Me? What about?" "Ok, so, you know the prom is coming up, right?" "Of course. I also know that sophomores can’t go." Doggett points out. "Right. Unless they’re invited by an upperclassman." "Ok…what does this have to do with me?" "I need advice about how to get an eleventh grade girl to invite me." "So why are you asking me??" Doggett asks, sounding surprised. "Don’t take this the wrong way, but… You have this really pretty, sweet girlfriend, and you’ve been dating her for months with no problems, at least no obvious ones." Krycek says, giving Doggett a questioning look. Doggett shrugs in agreement. "So I figured if someone like you could hold onto a girl like that, you must know a thing or two about the inner workings of girls’ hearts." "Gee, I’m flattered." Doggett says wryly. "Will you help me, them?" Krycek says, sounding more than a little pathetic. "Um…give me a few days to think it over, ok? If I come up with anything, I’ll let you know." Doggett says, unable to believe he’s even considering giving Krycek advice. "Thanks! So…do I really need to be 18 to rent the unrated version of American Pie 2?" ** 8pm, Potter home Scully pouts and gives Mulder an appealing look, which he doesn’t notice. That’s why Scully is pouting in the first place, Mulder seems so distracted to her that she can’t stand it. Nothing she’s said to him all night seems to have sunk in, and it’s beginning to irritate her. All he’s done since he’s gotten here is sit on the couch like a lump! She fumes to herself. She think for a moment, and decides on a new strategy. She gently runs her fingertips up his neck and says, "Mulder, what do you say, want to go looking for UFOs?" her fingers run through his hair now. "We haven’t seen an alien in a while, so why don’t we go to some dark secluded spot and look for one?" Mulder, his coy innuendo detector apparently on the fritz, says in a disinterested tone, "Thanks, but no. Why don’t we watch Friends instead? They’re probably going to pull out all the stops over the next couple of months, because you know how it is. A long running show with a loyal following always does some sensational bits right towards the end of the series. That’s when they drag old characters back for a cameo. I wonder if any of the parents will be in this episode." Mulder is stunned when Scully smacks him with a couch pillow, hard, and pouts instead of saying anything. "So I take it that you don’t want to watch Friends?" Mulder asks carefully. "No. I don’t want to watch Friends. What I want is to know why you’ve been a million miles away all night." "No reason." Mulder says, turning his gaze back to the TV before catching the dirty look Scully shoots him. ** 9pm, Witter home Doggett has planned to take full advantage of the fact that his parents are out for the night, which explains why Reyes is sitting on his lap and having the back of her neck kissed. Doggett sighs and gives up trying to seduce his girlfriend; he can’t believe how tense she is. "What?" Reyes asks. "Funny, that’s what I was going to ask you. Why are you so tense?" Doggett asks. "I’m not." "You are so. If you were any tenser I’d be afraid that you were going to snap in two. Can’t you feel it in your muscles?" Reyes can’t, at least she didn’t until he mentioned it. "I’m fine." "You’re fine. Of course you are. You know that line doesn’t work on someone who habitually uses it themselves. Ask Gretchen, if you don’t know what I’m talking about. My ‘fine’ usually means ‘you wouldn’t understand’. Is that what yours means, or is it more of an ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ fine? "Reyes doesn’t answer him, so he presses. "Well?" "I’m just…fine." She says lamely, getting off his lap. "I’ll, um, see you tomorrow." Doggett doesn’t say anything in reply, not even goodnight. ** 11pm Reyes tosses and turns in bed, still unable to sleep even though she’s been trying for a hour. She’s been keeping her worries about Fowley a secret for months now, but until now it didn’t occur to her that anyone else could tell she was worried. She’s surprised that her composure slipped enough to let the worry seep out into her life, because she considers herself quite good at pushing things down so deep that no one realizes that there’s a problem. She’s spent eighteen months shrugging off people’s questions about why her mother doesn’t live with the family, and that’s lulled her into believing that she could hide her distress about anything important and overwhelming. The fact that both her brother, in December, and Doggett have now called her on two instances in which they noticed her worry bothers her. Perhaps, she thinks, she’s not as good at pretending as she thought. And now, with the cold reception she got from Doggett after being distracted, she worried about him too. She wishes there was a way to tell him what’s on her mind without telling him. As unhappy it makes her that he’s ticked off with her, she can’t bring herself to do anything that might put Fowley in greater danger. She sighs and strips off the covers, hoping that remaking the bed might make it comfortable enough to sleep in, assuming that she can turn off her mind. ** 11:30 pm Mulder stares at the fading glow of the stars plastered to his ceiling, and considers turning the lights on for a few moments to recharge them. They’re not in any particular patterns, nothing that could be called purposeful consolations, though one might find Aries several times if they looked, because for all his imagination, Mulder can’t really see the constellations as being pictures. Ink blots, clouds, even the swirl of the pasta in giggle noodle soup, but not the stars. He just enjoys looking at the glowing points without thinking about them. He played The Sims on his computer until he was too tired to keep his eyes open, but now he can’t sleep. He must have reached that point of overtiredness that keeps sleep at bay without even realizing it, because now he’s more awake than he’s felt in a while. If only he could decide whether or not Scully bought his act. Maybe she really did think he was just thinking of an insipid TV show, but knowing her…of course she knows I’m hiding something, he thinks, beginning to get angry at himself, she’s so smart that she must know. He spends the next forty-five minutes trying to come up with a rational excuse for his behavior, then falls dead asleep with nothing resolved. ** Friday 5pm, Potter home On a rare Friday night that didn’t involve cooking for 100, Bessie and Scully were having dinner in the comfort of their own kitchen. Once a month Bessie trusted the restaurant to a part time manager and took the night off. Scully smiles fondly at her sister as Scully amuses Alexander by showing him how to make his fingers "walk" up his arm. The toddler giggles, and gamely tries to imitate her, but he ends up with three or sometimes four legs because he hasn’t the fine motor control to isolate two chubby little fingers and move them in tandem. Scully fingers jump and skip to amuse the boy, but she’s watching Bessie’s face instead of his. "Bessie, could we talk?" "Sure." Bessie says, hoping that nothing’s wrong. Scully doesn’t know where to begin, so she blurts out the first thing she thinks of. "What does it mean when your boyfriend is acting distant?" Bessie opens her mouth to answer, but Alex’s demand of "More aunt Scully, more!" gives her a moment to rethink her intended reply. She watches a moment as Scully walks her fingers over the boy’s plate and makes him shriek with laughter. "There could be a lot of reasons. Have you had a fight recently?" Scully shakes her head violently. "We never argued before, though I was sort of mean to him after he ignored me last night…He claimed to want to watch Friends of all things when I called him on ignoring me. I hit him with a pillow." Scully says, sounding a little ashamed of herself. "Well, the lack of arguments is good. Like I said, though, there could be a lot of reasons. Maybe he’s worried about a test coming up, or thinking about how his life will change after that baby is born, or is scared to take his license exam…or maybe he really did just want to watch a tired sitcom." Bessie says, trying to sound as reasonable as their mother would have. "Oh." Scully says, looking down at her feet. Thinking that her sister probably isn’t contemplating her footwear, Bessie gently asks, "What is it that you’re worried might be the reason?" At first Scully thinks that her fear is too silly, but she quickly realizes that Bessie wouldn’t laugh at her. "I know he’s never given me a reason to think so, but I have this nagging fear that once Fowley comes back this summer, he might begin to regret how things worked out between them…I’m not saying he’d stray, but, well, you know. People can’t help having thoughts and resentments." "I talked to him quite a bit while you were in the hospital, and I really don’t think that Fowley has been anyone he’s thought about for months. Maybe he’ll reflect on how things would have been different, which is human, but he loves you." "I know." Scully says, managing a weak smile. But still, she thinks… ** 7pm, Capeside police station Kersh is sitting at his desk listening to NPR on the radio when the alarm on the door beeps, indicating that it’s been open. At first he’s mildly excited that maybe someone is going to give him something to investigate, but his expression sours a little when he sees his younger brother walk into the room. Doggett is carrying what appears to be two bags of take-out from the Ice House, so Kersh’s tone is less annoyed that it’d normally be. "Doggett, you know you’re not supposed to be here." "You know, I do know that. In fact dad told me never to come to the station unless it was an emergency. Yet here I am." Doggett cheerfully tells him, then passes him one of the bags of take-out and pulls a can of soda out of his coat pocket which he also passes over. Kersh gives him a grateful look because he’s starving, and asks, "What’s the emergency?" "I’m in desperate need of a heart-to-heart with an older sibling." Doggett says. "Gretchen’s roommate told you that she’s out for the night." Kersh guesses. "While that is true, you’re the one I wanted to talk to." "Why?" Kersh asks, immediately suspicious. "Because Gretchen has never had a girlfriend. At least I hope not, not that there’s anything wrong with that, but Mom and Dad would flip. Anyway, of all of my older siblings you’re the most qualified to help me." "I’m honored." Kersh says sarcastically. "What’s your problem?" "My problem is that Reyes is stressed out. Which means…"Doggett trails off, blushing. "Anyway, how do help her relax? I don’t think she’s going to tell me what’s wrong, which bothers me a little, but are there any general measures I could take?" He asks sounding hopeful. "Sure. You could take a quick course on massage at the community college. Actually, scratch that. Oils and deep pressure could lead to an even more stressful situation…"Kersh says, watching Doggett’s face become even redder. "Or you could try reading aloud to her-" "Seriously?" "Yup. Being read to is supposed to calm most people. " "But wouldn’t she think that’s sort of silly?" Doggett asks. "Maybe, but hey, if she laughs she’s calmer, too, right?" "I guess." Doggett says, sounding doubtful. "It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?" Kersh asks, then focuses his attention on his food instead of his brother. Doggett makes a mental note not to ask his brother for any more advice. ** Wednesday afternoon, Bobby Kennedy Memorial Zoo While the zoo won’t officially open to the public until Memorial Day, the state has decided to open it to various school groups. The principal at Capeside High was surprised by the number of students who signed up for the trip, but she apparently forgot how determined high school kids could be to get out of classes for the day. Mulder, Scully, Doggett, Reyes, Skinner and Reed all signed up for that very reason. A teacher, who is less than thrilled with being stuck with chaperoning duty, decides to thwart some of the kids’ joy by assigning them partners. To keep them out of trouble she tells them that if their partner gets in trouble for unbecoming conduct on a field trip, they’ll suffer the same penalty: I’m going to put peer pressure to my own use, the woman thinks grimly. ** Reed falls after Skinner, and Skinner can’t shake the feeling that Reed is much like a worshipful puppy. Since Skinner has never had a puppy, he’s not sure how to handle the situation. "So, um, what’s your favorite animal?" Reed asks Skinner happily. Skinner thinks about answering "Dogs" but decides that he’d better not. "My favorite zoo animal is the hippos." "Hippos? Why?" Skinner shrugs. "I like how they spend so much time in the water. They’re sort of like frogs, but big, grayish-purple and mammals. It’s kind of calming to watch them, you know?" "But…you know that they kill lots of people every year, don’t you?" "There’s that too." Skinner says, grinning at him. Reed gives him a quizzical look and takes a step backwards. ** When they first found out that they were going to be paired up, they asked their chaperone if they were being punished for something. She shooed them away with her hand, and walked off towards the cold drink stand. Scully and Doggett made faces at each other then sighed in resignation. "I think we should declare a truce. Just for today." Doggett suggests. "Which means you promise not to push me into anything?" Scully demands to know. "Of course." Doggett says, giving her a dirty look. "This sucks." Scully complains. "I guess we have to make the most of it." Doggett tells her. "I guess. It’s not as though spending the day with Mulder would be much better, though." Scully says grumpily. "Do I sense trouble in paradise?" Doggett asks mockingly. Scully rolls her eyes and silently asks God what she did to deserve this. "Sort of. He’s been… I don’t know, distant lately." She says, waiting for the punch line. Doggett surprises her instead by saying, "I thought it was just Reyes..." ** Mulder and Reyes headed towards the aviary. When they heard their assignment for partners, they both thought about how they didn’t really know each other that well. They found that sort of funny, since they’ve known each other for a year and a half. "So…tell me about Doggett." Reyes demands as they watch a red macaw wing its way from one end of the room to the other. "What do you mean?" Mulder asks her, looking startled. "What I’m after is someone an impression of him from who has known him his whole life. I mean, I asked Scully, but they aren’t exactly…close." Reyes says smiling. "That’s an understatement. What can I tell you? He’s got a great sense of humor, idolizes his older sister, and has got me out of more tough spots that I can count. He’s a skeptic, a loyal friend, and has a weird fascination with mine and Scully’s relationship. Is that the sort of thing you wanted to know about?" Mulder asks. "Yes, thank you. There’s just one more thing…"Reyes says, trailing off as she gathers her nerve to ask. ** Skinner watches as a moose walks in front of him. He turns to Reed and asks, "Have you ever seen one of these guys in the wild?" The moose seems to notice that he’s being watched and gives his head a shake, making his antlers brush a few branches hanging down from a nearby tree. "Sure. Lots of times. There was more woods where I used to live, you know. I bet you like them because they cause car crashes." Reed says slyly. "No…"Skinner says, not talking his eyes off of the animal. "It’s hard to believe that they’re part of the deer family, since they’re so big and all." "Yup." Skinner turns to look at Reed, and decides to see what Reed’s reaction to personal questions will be. "So tell me what your ex-boyfriend was like." "W-w-what?" Reed stammers. "I was thinking about what you said on Valentines, about me not having a boyfriend either. " "Oh, um…I haven’t dated someone serious yet." "Ah. Ethan and I broke up right before Valentines. That was hard. I’m still not completely over it. "Skinner says, trying not to sound bitter. "That’s a shame." "Yeah…"Skinner sighs. "I think the problem was that we got too serious too quickly. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but he goes to a private school and neither of us really thought about how hard the long distance deal was going to be. I think from now on I’m going to think a lot more before getting involved with someone." "That’s probably a good idea." Reed says faintly. ** Doggett and Scully tear out of the primate house like dogs with their tails on fire. An elderly man they very nearly knock over gives them the finger. Scully stops laughing to catch her breath and tries to put on a stern look on her face. "Why did you do that? The fence is there for a reason!" "Is it my fault that Krycek didn’t know that?" "Since you told him to climb the low fence, I’d said yes." "It’s not as though he got hurt or anything." Doggett protests. "I don’t know, it sort of looked like the security guards weren’t being real gentle with him." Scully muses. "I still want to know why you did it." A mischievous grin spreads across Doggett’s face. "A few days ago Krycek came to see me at the video store. He came to beg me for advice, of all things." "What on?" "Girls." "Um, what?" Scully says, trying desperately not to laugh. "Go ahead, laugh. I would if I were you. Anyway, he wanted to know how to convince an 11th grade girl to invite him to the prom. I told him that breaking into the gorilla enclosure would definitely impress Sandy Webb…" "You just didn’t want him to ask for any more advice." Scully accuses. "Guilty as charged. Do you blame me, though?" "Of course not. I just wish I had a camera with me. Especially when the gorilla reached out and grabbed him by his backpack." "The look on his face was priceless, wasn’t it? I think they wanted him to stay and be their king." "Ha." Doggett stealthily backed out of hitting range. "‘Course, had it been you, it’d be the Orangutans who’d mistake you for their royalty. " "Jerk. Let’s go to the reptile house, I bet you’ll feel more comfortable with the snakes." Scully retorts. Doggett starts walking towards the reptile house suddenly, leaving Scully scrambling to catch up. When she does he says, "While I love taking the time to trade barbs with you, I was wondering if we could go back to talking about Mulder and Reyes." "Sure, why not. "Scully says, surprised by how quickly he switched gears. ** ** "What do you think their problems are?" Doggett asks Scully. "I’m not sure. I worry that Mulder might be thinking of Fowley, though…"Scully says, finding it hard to believe that she’s having a heart-to-heart with Doggett of all people. "He’s not." Doggett assures her. "Yeah, well, Bessie said the same thing. I know you both mean well, but-" "No, I’m serious. Last week he gave me a hard time for paying too much attention to the girl’s basketball game in gym, and I asked him point-blank if he never thought of any other girls, even her, and he said instantly that you’re the only one he has eyes for him. Reyes, though…"Doggett tells her, watching a boa constrictor’s tongue flicker out. "That’s nice to hear, Doggett. And you shouldn’t worry about Reyes’ heart, either, because as hard as it is for me to believe, she is totally in love with you. Did you cast some sort of love spell on her or something?" Scully asks with a grin. "Well, if they love us, why won’t they tell us what’s wrong?" Doggett says, stamping his foot. "I don’t know…but have you ever kept something you were thinking about a secret from loved ones before?" Scully asks, while trying to get a tortoise hatchling’s attention. "Of course. Who hasn’t?" "That’s my point. Maybe we should…let them work things out on their own until they decide to tell us about their problems." "That’s hard. "Doggett says, nearly whining. "I know, but…it’s what we’d want them to do for us, isn’t it? We wouldn’t want them to act paranoid and pry. "Scully reminds gently. "Yeah…"Doggett admits. ** Mulder makes faces at the elephants and enjoys himself thoroughly. "Hey Reyes, what do you think, am I bugging the elephant or impressing him?" "What?" Reyes asks, distracted. "Nothing. Just checking to see if you were paying attention. Hey, you never did say what the other thing you wanted to know about Doggett." "I know." Reyes says unhappily. "Mulder, I’m going to ask you something else instead. Suppose you were told that you needed to keep a huge secret for someone’s safety, but then you begin to think that maybe the that the person who made you make the promise wasn’t really to be trusted?" "I think I’d opt for caution just in case, but I might tell someone I really trusted." Mulder tells her. "I don’t think that Doggett is the best person to tell, since he’d probably go to his Dad and brother and get the law involved, but…could I tell you?" "I’d be honored, but why me?" "I think you’re the most equipped to keep an open mind about this. "Reyes says with a shrug. "Ha. People keep paying me that compliment, but..." Mulder says, smirking. Reyes decides that she can tell him part of what on her mind without mentioning Fowley’s name, so that’s what she decides to do. "There’s this person I know, and he is convinced that something bad has happened to someone he and I both know, and that there’s a cover up involved to cover up what has really happened-" "First test of credibility: Why does he know more about this than everyone else?" Mulder asks, putting himself into detective mode. "Well, his take on what happened is that she’s secretly been drafted to be part of a genetics experiment. He says that he found out about the project when someone claiming to be his father told him that his parents aren’t really his parents-" Reyes pauses when she notices the strangely stricken yet excited look on Mulder’s face. "What’s wrong?" "Is your source our age?" Mulder asks quickly. "Yeah, why?" Reyes asks, confused. "I don’t know if you know it or not, but I have a sister." Mulder says, seeing from her surprised look that she clearly didn’t. "Yeah, not to many people know that. Anyway, my sister, Sam, was kidnapped as a baby. I’m trying really hard to find her, and even though the pieces are falling into place, I’m still missing most of them…One of the pieces I discovered most recently was that four other kids were kidnapped around the same time. Only one of them besides Sam, a boy named Scott Martin, from Maine, failed to be returned to his family. He was four when he was kidnapped, the same age I was when they took Sam." "You think he could be the same kid?" Reyes asks slowly. "It’s possible, isn’t it? Who is the guy you’ve been talking about?" Mulder asks. Reyes hesitates for a moment, then takes a deep breath. "Spender Morgan." "Spender Morgan, Scott Martin…they’re close enough that a preschooler might accept the name change…Reyes, would you be willing to do some sleuthing with me? Maybe try to find out for sure if Spender is connected to my sister somehow, and if he know for real what happened to your friend?" Reyes feels her heart lighten all of the sudden. Maybe there is something she can do to help Fowley after all. "Ok, sure." "Alright. We’ll have to keep it on the DL, though, ok? There’s a lot I haven’t even told Scully, because…I’m afraid that she wouldn’t believe me. Half the time I get the impression that she’s only humoring me because she’s a good person and wants me to be happy. In reality, though, you know what a skeptic she can be, almost as bad as Doggett…for what it’s worth, I think you were probably right to decide not to tell him. The last think we need is cynical significant others dampening our enthusiasm for finding the truth." Mulder tells her. "I know, but it still feels dishonest. We’ll tell them once we have proof, though, right?" "Of course. But it will have to be the type of proof even they will accept." Mulder looks at his watch. "We’re supposed to be meeting at the front gate in fifteen minutes. Is there anything we should look at first?" "I want to see the zebras. There’s something cool about their ability to camouflage themselves despite the stripes." Reyes says, thinking for a moment of Mulder and herself trying to be like that. ** 5:30, Ice House Reed comes in and grabs his apron, and gives Skinner, who is already working, an uncertain look. Skinner’s heart goes out to the guy, since he’s been in the guy’s place before: Ethan told him that he wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship before too. Skinner decides that while he probably has done the right thing by not letting Reed deceive himself, it’s also up to him to make Reed think that things are still ok between them. So Skinner decides to just act normal. "Hey Reed. Quite a crowd tonight, huh?" "Yeah, maybe we’ll be tipped well." Reed says, suddenly looking sure of himself. "Hope we don’t have a riot or anything." "Why would we have a riot?" "Blueberries are out of season." Skinner tells him. "Are you trying to be cryptic?" "Yup. Is it working?" Reed laughs and shakes his head. "They’d call it the blueberry riots of 2002-" "We don’t serve anything that’s supposed to have blueberries in it, though." Reed objects. "I know. Hence the riot." Skinner says, nodding sagely. A custom needs their attention, and Skinner sighs a breath of relief; he hasn’t screwed things up as badly as he feared. ** 9pm, McPhee home Reyes watches Doggett as he gets up suddenly and walks out of the room, leaving her sitting on the couch. She wonders what he’s doing when he returns with a magazine. He gives her a nervous smile, while he stands there rolling the magazine into a tube, so she instantly wonders what’s up. "You’re not going to make us take one of those relationship quizzes, are you? Even I think they’re bull, and I’m a teenage girl." "No, no." He says quickly. "It’s just that there’s this story in here that I think you’d think was amusing." "Ok, give me the magazine, then." Reyes says, reaching out. "Nope. I’m going to read it to you." He says as he sits down beside her. Reyes smiles and worms her way closer to him. "Goodie. I love being read to. It’s a shame that no one reads us anything interesting at school." Doggett looks down at her and notices how content she seems. I’ll be damned, he thinks, maybe Kersh isn’t a moron after all. "This is called ‘Keeping Faith’, just so you know." Reyes nods. He clears his throat and begins reading. "I woke up next to a toilet. As I stared at the white porcelain fixture, it occurred to me that it wasn’t even my toilet. I could see a rubber ducky sitting on the edge of the tub, and I was then absolutely sure that this was not my bathroom. My head ached in a strange way, and then it came to me- I knew how I got into this bathroom. After having chased my three year old nephew, Cole, into this room, he whacked me in the head with the handle of an unfortunately nearby plunger. I staggered to my feet and looked into the mirror- a large red welt across my forehead showed up nicely against my still winter-white skin. While it was invisible, at least from what I could see in the mirror, I could feel a large bump on the back of my head. I guessed that I had hit my head on the toilet, too. Five minutes passed before my expression looked calm enough to confront Cole..." Reyes laughs sleepily, and when he feels her melt limply against his side, Doggett decides that for the moment all is right with the world. ** 9:15, Potter home Scully opens the door and is surprised to see Mulder standing on the steps. He doesn’t say anything, but has a goofy look on his face. "What is it, Mulder?" Scully finally asks when she tires of him beaming at her. "There’s something I need to tell you." "What?" He leans towards her and whispers in here ear. "I saw some lights in the sky. It might have been a UFO. Let’s go look for it." Then he takes her hand and pulls her towards the dark night. ** Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Alien Ant Farm ("Attitude") Monster Magnet ("Your Lies Become You") And Joan Osborne ("Crazy Baby") Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder’s Creek ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 16 It came from the Closet Summary: Alexander wakes up nightly complaining of monsters in his room.Mulder and Reyes figure out who Spender really is, and he and Scully discover what’s in Alex’s closet. Sort of. Opening scene Mulder is toying with the anatomical correct baby dolls his mother gave him as a joke for his birthday, while Scully watches with a smirk. "You don’t know how badly I wanted those when I was…seven." "Want them?" Mulder asks, holding the dolls out to her. "I think your mom would be crushed." Scully tells him sweetly. "Why do you think she got you a boy and a girl, though?" "I guess ‘cause they don’t know what the baby is going to be." "Maybe it’s a hint. Could be twins." "God forbid!" Mulder says, dropping the dolls. "I think there was a hint attached to this gift, though." "What was that?" "Mom said that they were ‘for practice.’ I envision myself doing a lot of baby-sitting in the future." "Welcome to my life." Scully says sardonically. "The baby isn’t even here yet, and he or she is already taking up a lot of your parents’ time…how do you feel about your birthday having been so low-key this year?" "You don’t think I mind, do you? I’m ever so thrilled every year to be reminded that I was born on the first of April. " Scully gives his arm a squeeze. "But you’re my April fool, Mulder." Mulder glowers at her. "Laugh now, little girl…"He tells her as ominously as he can. "Oh…I’m so scared." Scully says, attempting to look frighten. ** Theme song- "Stranded" By Plumb ** Thursday morning, Capeside high Doggett is on his way to his third period class when he sees Krycek walking quickly toward him. For a brief moment he considers ducking into the nearest classroom, but decides that’d be cowardly. "Witter, how are you?" Krycek asks, looking a lot friendlier than Doggett thinks he ought to, so Doggett is immediately disarmed. "uh..fine, you?" "Great. So, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that field trip last week." Here it comes, Doggett thinks. "Oh?" "That advice you gave me worked great." "It did?" Doggett asks, trying not to let his confusion color his voice. "Yeah. Sandy felt so bad that I got in trouble while trying to impress her that she asked me to go to the prom with her. Anyway, thanks a lot." Krycek calls as he walks towards his class. Doggett stands there for a moment, wondering what is wrong with society, then rushes off to class himself. ** 2am, Potter home Scully is in the middle of a pleasant dream. She’s just to the part where she’s sitting on the beach while Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny serve her non-alcoholic drinks with tiny umbrellas when a piecing shriek rips her out of her tropical vacation. "Mommy! Mommy!" Alex cries, then hiccups. "Aunt Scully!" Scully sighs and slips her feet into her bunny slippers. Bessie is a sound sleeper, and her room is farther from the little boy’s, so Scully has been finding herself in his room a lot lately. She isn’t surprised when she sees him. His eyes are huge, and his dark curly hair clings damply to his forehead. At first his eyes don’t seem to see her standing near his bed, and he’s wearing a look of extreme fright that seems misplaced on a two and a half-year-old’s face. Scully’s heart breaks as she looks at him. "Alex, it’s ok." He blinks twice while looking up at her and then starts to cry. Scully gathers him up in her arms and tries to soothe him. He clings tightly and his tiny fists hold onto her night shirt, as if he is scared that she’ll leave him if he loosens his grip. Scully paces the room while she waits for him to calm down some, and her eyes scan the room for what she knows she’ll need next. Eventually he allows himself to be put back down. "Monster in the closet." He says flatly, waiting for her to pick up the flashlight from off his dresser. "Alexander, there is no such thing as a monster." Scully reassures him. "Are too!" he insists, popping his thumb into his mouth and giving her a beseeching look. Scully gives in and flicks on the flashlight. Alex burrows into his covers as she slowly opens the closet door. She shines the light into all the corners as he watches her. "No monsters here, kiddo." Alexander hops down and peers into the closet, crowding close to her legs. "You don’t see any do you?" she asks him, and he shakes his head. Scully closes the closet door and turns off the flashlight. He protests. "No! Under bed, under bed!" he insists, pointing. Scully gets down on all fours and shines the light under his bed. There’s nothing scarier than a Barney figure and a few dust bunnies under there. "There’s nothing under there either." She tells him as she scoops him up and tucks him into bed. "Now go to sleep." For a moment she thinks he’s going to say something, but he closes his eyes. She leaves the door open a crack and goes back to bed, planning to complain to Bessie in the morning. ** Friday afternoon, Capeside High School Mulder is talking to Scully as they put things in their lockers. After a couple moments of only his voice filling the void, he notices that Scully seems less enthused about the weekend than he does. He turns to her to ask her why that is when he realizes that she seems to be having trouble keeping her eyes open. "Uh... you not get enough sleep last night or something?" Scully waves her hand tiredly "Alex again." "Oh. He’s still convinced that there are monsters in his closet, then. Guess it’s better than the little green men I thought I saw lurking outside my bedroom windows, but not much better." "And under his bed, where ever. The lack of sleep is catching up to me, all I want to do is take a nap, but… if I go home it will be too noisy to sleep. The lack of sleep during the night doesn’t affect Alex because he just sleeps later in the morning to make up for it." "Ok, then, come home with me. You can take a nap in my room." He tells her and earns himself a skeptical look. "Don’t look at me like that. Mom is on a cleaning kick, you know how pregnant women get, but she’s too awkward now to do much bending and lifting, so my afternoon is going to be taken up by being instructed on how to organize the guest bedroom and bathroom. I’m not going to see the inside of my bedroom for hours." "Well, if it’s ok with your mom…" ** To Scully’s great relief, Mrs. Leary had no problems whatsoever with her sacking out in Mulder’s room. His room is quiet, and dimly lit with the blinds closed, and his bed is soft and comfortable…Scully wakes up and looks at the clock. She’s surprised to find that two hours have passed since she first closed her eyes. To her dismay a look in his mirror shows her how tangled her hair is, so she rummages through her backpack for a hairbrush. Five minutes later she wanders down the hallway towards the sound of Mulder and Mrs. Leary’s voices. "Thanks, Honey. It looks great." Mrs. Leary says leaving the room. She smiles at Scully as she passes her in the hallway. Scully pokes her head into the room and admires Mulder’s work. The room is neat as a pin and has brand new sheets and drapes, the packages to which Mulder is gathering up. "Looks nice, Mulder." "Oh hi, you’re awake. Thanks. One of my aunts is supposed to come stay with us for a week or two after the baby is born, so Mom wanted to make sure that everything was all ready." "Isn’t it a little early to be worrying about that?" "Well, yeah, it’s supposed to be another month, but my mom has a feeling that the baby is going to be early for some reason. She said something about not thinking the due date is completely accurate." Scully looks around the room and notices all the feminine touches. "In any case, I think your aunt will like it." "Me too. Knowing Aunt Gwen, though, she’ll bring some of her paintings to decorate the room with. "Mulder says with a smile. "Does she still have the one she did of you, Doggett, and I when we were seven?" "She did the last time I was at her house." "It will be nice to see her again. But I’m not posing again." Scully says. "Awe, come on. You, me and Doggett hugging, what could be better?" Mulder teases. "Lots of things!" ** Thursday, 7:45pm, Witter home A large bowl of potato chips and a container of dip sit on the coffee table, nearly forgotten as the action heats up. Doggett, Mulder and Sheriff stare intently at the television screen. The Bruins are playing the Senators, and Sheriff Witter doesn’t think that they are playing to their full potential. "Look at that. They need to put some heart into it if they’re going to beat the Senators and the officials. You know, that’s how it always is at away games. The New England teams are always getting screwed on the calls…"He rants, not noticing that the boys are both rolling their eyes. They’ve heard this all before. "What the Bruins need to do is pull that idiot DeFoe out of the game. He couldn’t save his own *ss the way he’s been playing lately. I think we should call him Byron DeBlow since he’s deblowing the game. If they don’t put another player in goal he’s going to keep dragging the team down and they can kiss another Stanley cup goodbye…"Sheriff Witter continues to insult both the player and his manhood until the period is over. Several minutes into the break he turns off his rants and speaks calmly. "So Mulder, Doggett here tells me that you’re dating that little red-haired girl Scully." "Yes, sir." Mulder tells him with a smile. "Are you sleeping with her?" Sheriff Witter asks in a conversational tone. "N-n-no sir." Mulder stammers. The sheriff nods. "Good. She’s a nice kid and one hell of a shot. I wouldn’t want you to be responsible for ruining her future." Mulder wishes the floor would open up and swallow him. "Maybe she’ll go to the police academy with this one here." Sheriff Witter says, jerking his thumb in Doggett’s direction. Doggett is smirking through this exchange, and he suddenly has a sneaking suspicion that his father knows that. "And you, "He says, turning towards Doggett. "You better keep it in your pants too. Your girlfriend is nice enough, but I already have enough snot-nosed grandkids around without you adding to their number. You better not be responsible for making me a grandfather until you’re out of the academy, Boy." "Yes, dad. "Doggett says, his cheeks now the same rosy color as Mulder’s. They’re spared any more advice because the game comes back on. "Is the ref blind??? My grandmother could call the game better than this, and she’s dead!" Sheriff Witter grumbles. Doggett and Mulder both plan to get snacks during the next break. Snacks that’ll take several minutes to prepare. ** Tuesday afternoon, Capeside high school Reyes watches the buses pull away while she waits for Mulder to say goodbye to Scully. She turns her head when she hears him explain that Doggett had asked him to talk to her, and is a little surprised when Scully looks like she more or less expected that. For a moment she wonders what sort of things Scully and Doggett talked about during the zoo trip. Embarrassed to be eavesdropping, Reyes turns her thoughts to other things. Reyes decides that though she has no real qualms about teaming up with Mulder to try and figure out if Spender is the long lost boy from Maine, she can’t tell him her suspicions about Fowley. For one, Fowley has hinted that Mulder’s mother might be involved, and she doesn’t want to worry him needlessly about his unborn sibling; revelations might be better after a problem seems to present itself, not before. And furthermore, she thinks, Fowley is his former crush, so the revelation is sure to cause him some anguish, no matter how happy he is with Scully. No, she tells herself, I need to find out if Fowley really is in danger on my own. But how? A brilliant plan begins to formulate in her mind. She is on the yearbook staff’s insert committee, and she can use that to her advantage… She blinks in surprise when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Mulder looks concerned, and she blushes because she has no idea how long she’s been in her own little world: that Scully doesn’t seem to be there any longer doesn’t make her feel better. "Um…are you ok?" Mulder asks her. "I’m fine. I was just lost in thought is all." "Well, that’s ok, we all concentrate on our inner-workings now and again. " "Thanks. So, you said you thought you might have a way to prove that Spender is really Scott Martin? What did you have in mind, finding someone who can do DNA samples? Unless you have an uncle or someone who’s a biologist…"Reyes trails off doubtfully. "Nope. Nothing that scientific, though it would be nice if we had the means. I think we can satisfy ourselves with this." Mulder says, pulling something of his backpack. Reyes takes the cardboard folder and asks "What’s this?" Reyes opens it as he says, "The class picture from my kindergarten class. Spender is the last one on the right." Mulder says pointing to the smiling little boy. "Oh gosh, there’s you, Doggett and Scully in the front row…awww. This is cute, but what does it prove?" Reyes asks. "By itself, nothing. But if we can find a picture of Scott Martin on the Internet, it could help prove, or at least disprove to ourselves that they’re one and the same person." "Ok, great. Let’s go to my house, then. I’ll drive." Reyes says. "Ohhhh, scary." Mulder teases her. ** "Well, here’s a picture of Scott Martin." Reyes says. "Are you sure? There could be a lot of Scott Martins, and I don’t want to get our hopes up for the wrong reason." Mulder cautions. "This one is on a missing children’s website, and it says he was kidnapped from his home in Maine thirteen years ago this August." Reyes explains. "That sounds like our boy. Let’s compare the pictures." Mulder says, holding the photograph up to the computer screen. "I’ll be damned." "It has to be him, Mulder. The resemblance is uncanny." "Yup. Now you need to decide if you think that his being a kidnap victim lends to or detracts from his credibly in regards to what he claims to know about your friend." "Thanks Mulder. I’ll have to give it some thought before I decide whether or not to confront him." "Glad to be of assistance." Mulder says with a bow. "Once you’ve talk to him let me know, then we can consider broaching the subject of my sister with him." "Sure. I’ll get back to you." Reyes says, planning to put off actually speaking to Spender for as long as possible. ** Thursday 9pm, Potter home Scully smiles to herself when she thinks about the phone conversation she had with Mulder earlier in the day. ** "Mulder…do you think you could come over and help me babysit?" "I don’t know…if I do, do you promise not to become deathly ill immediately after?" Mulder asks. "Mulder…" "I mean it. If it happens again, I’m liable to develop a complex of some sort. Not to mention that I’d be forced to sue you for causing me emotional distress." "Mulder…" "No, don’t make light of it. It was really scary to watch you be so ill and not be able to do anything to change that. A feeling of complete helplessness-" "Mulder, I promise not to get sick." "Well, ok, then. See you tonight." Mulder says, hanging up. Scully sighs. ** Alexander has been asleep for an hour and Scully finds herself getting bored of the TV. She shuts it off and figures that Mulder’s lack of protest is a good sign. "So, what do you want to do until e.r. comes on?" He asks her. "How about talk? At least until Alex wakes up and starts crying." "He’s still afraid of the boogie man?" Mulder asks sympathetically. "Unfortunately, yes. He wakes up in tears three or four nights a week. Were you ever afraid of stuff like that?" Scully asks, letting the exasperation she feels seeping out into her voice. "Sure. I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I was afraid of the little green men. I used to have horrible nightmares about them for two solid years after Sam disappeared. Didn’t you fear things in the dark? It’s a fairly typical little kid thing." Scully shakes her head. "I didn’t start developing my fears until I was quite a bit older than Alex." "Fears are a pretty strange thing. And closets, well, you know, they’re dark and closed, so that makes them the perfect hidy-hole for whatever we’re afraid of. So…what’s the most terrifying thing you could find in a closet?" "What a silly question." Scully chides. "Ok, if I’m really going to answer this, I’d guess I’d have to say a clown. Wild ferocious eyes, knife in hand, ready to spring out at me…I know for a fact that Bessie would say hers would be a horde of large venomous spiders. What would freak you out, Mulder?" "I should think you’d know the answer to that already, my dear. A flock of ducks, of course." "Mulder, I love you so it pains me to say this…even your fears are weird. I know that you are afraid of ducks, but why??" "Ok, picture this. I’m three years old, and almost as little as Alex. My parents bring me to a petting zoo type place called Friendly Farms. My dad leads me by the hand to the duck pen. There are lots of little ducklings there, and they are so cute. I reach out my chubby little hands, desperately wanting to touch one of those little yellow balls of fluff. My dad tells me to be careful, and I very gently touch one of the ducklings. Its warmth surprises me, and it peeps softly. Then it happens." "What?" Scully demands. "The peeping must have attracted the attention of the mother duck, because she rushes over to investigate. She flies up near my face, and I fall over because I’m so startled. She must be startled too because she attempts to get away, but in her haste beats her wings and whacks me in the head several times. My dad scoops me up, and I leave with him, sobbing, scared I’d hurt one of the ducklings when I’d fallen. I hadn’t but the bad feeling about ducks was then forever burned into my impressionable mind." Mulder finishes. Scully wraps her arm around his neck. "My god, Mulder, you’re completely insane." She says, kissing his cheek. "But that’s part of my appeal, right?" "Of course." "That’s good to hear, but I’d rather discuss your appeal…"Mulder says, sweeping her off her feet and making her giggle. ** 9:15 Witter home After his parents went to bed, Doggett abscond with the cordless phone and brought it up to his room. Half expecting to be politely explained to by a roommate that she was out for the night, Doggett was pleasantly surprised when his sister answered the phone. After a few moments of exchanging niceties, Gretchen cut to the heart of the matter, as was her way. "So, Doggett, why are you calling?" "I need some advice. It’s about Dad." "Oh, God, you didn’t get your girlfriend pregnant, did you?" "No!! What is with you people? She’s not that type of girl, ok? First Dad, than you… Anyway, dad hinted strongly at something, and I don’t know how to respond if he ever does ask for one." "It would help if you’d tell me what he said." Gretchen grouses. "Ok, so when he was interrogating Mulder and I about our sex lives, see what I mean? He told Mulder that maybe Scully could be a cop, and be in my class at the academy." "So?" "So I don’t know that I want to be a cop. Yeah, it’s a family tradition and all, but could you picture me with a gun every day?" "Maybe, maybe not. You handled yourself ok when Chad broke in." Gretchen reminds him. "I was scared to death! I probably couldn’t have pulled the trigger." "Probably? I don’t know, Doggett, maybe in a few years you’d make a good cop. You should give it some serious thought before deciding for or against it." "I plan to, but do you think that Dad really expects me to do what he and Kersh do? I mean, yeah Kersh embraced it whole hog, but I’m not Kersh." Doggett gripes. "That’s for damn sure. I think that Dad realizes that you and Kersh are fundamentally different. Our half-brother has only had Dad to hold onto, you know? I mean when Dad and his mother got divorced, he was only a very little boy, and she flat out told him she didn’t want him, which is why Dad was getting custody of him. That’s got to put some deep scars on a little kid…so of course he idolizes Dad and grew up to be just like him. We’re the lucky ones, you know, in this family. Mom and Dad have been together since before we were born, so we missed out on all the drama that Kersh and our older sisters endured. It’s made us different than them in some ways, I think. I’ve gotten pretty far a field here, but the point I was trying to make is that Dad must realize that his sons are two totally different people. And if you tell him that you don’t want to become a police officer, I think that he might be disappointed, but he’d understand. Does any of this help?" Gretchen asks. "Yeah, sure. Thanks for the advice." Doggett says, only half listening to her tell him a story about her idiot roommate. Instead he finds himself thinking about his older brother. He knows from family lore and photos from his parents’ wedding that his sisters had been seven and eight at the time of the wedding, and Kersh had been almost six. The girls were thrilled, but Kersh had a hard time letting another woman into his life. From what his mother once said, it took until after Gretchen’s birth for Kersh to truly accept his father’s remarriage. By the time Doggett was old enough to be aware of other people’s feelings, Kersh’s bad feelings towards his mother were so long past that it shocked him to find out that Kersh wasn’t his mother’s son. Somehow that his oldest sisters weren’t his father’s daughters had seemed far less surprising in contrast. That Kersh eventually was able to bond to Doggett’s mother seems to him to be slightly less than miraculous. On one of the rare occasions that their father was inclined to speak of his first wife, he had said that she hadn’t wanted to get married in the first place. He asked her several times, and each time was refused; she repeatedly told him that she didn’t think a mixed marriage could ever work out. However, the stigma she perceived to be attached to marrying a white man was lesser than the one of bearing a child out of wedlock, so eventually she relented and accepted his proposal. From the start things were rocky, and Sheriff Witter said he was not surprised that she ended up leaving them. But Kersh was clearly was surprised, even though he endured her verbal abuse for years. She wasn’t shy about telling him that it was his fault, at least in her opinion, that she was stuck in a loveless marriage. Kersh, Doggett thinks, must be a strong person indeed to have gotten past all that and have a positive relationship with his stepmother. When Doggett finally finishes talking to his sister several minutes later, he vows to himself to do two things: one, think realistically about the possibility of following his father’s footsteps; two to attempt to get to know his brother better. ** 9:30pm, the Ice House Skinner has been carefully cultivating a platonic friendship with Reed since the field trip, and has grown to like the other boy a lot. He’s now sure that the initial impression he’d gotten of Reed was due only to shyness, but he’s equally certain that it’s why he seems so lonely. He needs to meet other people, Skinner thinks, and I have an idea of how he can do that. As they get ready to go home, Skinner taps Reed on the shoulder. Reed looks slightly startled, and Skinner wonders why. Shrugging the odd reaction off he asks, "Do you ever do any hiking?" "What exactly do you mean by ‘hiking’? I don’t mean to be insulting, but people usually mean one of two things: getting to the top of a mountain, or taking a stroll in the woods. Which did you mean?" "Mountains. Chcora, actually. I’ve heard that it’s nice this time of year, so I was hoping to get some people together to give it a shot. Interested?" "Yeah, it sounds like it could be fun." Reed says with an enthusiasm that belies the look of apprehension that filled his eyes as soon as Skinner said "people." Tactfully pretending not to notice Reed’s nervousness, Skinner gives him a pleased look. "Great. I haven’t asked anyone else yet, so I’ll have to get back to you on who else will be coming, and when we’ll go, ok?" "Fine with me. Thanks." Reed says, putting his coat on and slipping through the door before Skinner has even reached for his jacket. ** 9:45pm, Potter home A shriek from the nursery sends Scully and Mulder running into Alexander’s room. The toddler is bolt upright in bed with huge tears running down his cheeks. For one second Mulder watches in fascination as a tear rolls itself down the boy’s smooth mocha skin, then he sits on the bed and pulls the boy into his lap, giving Scully a "let me handle this" look. Alex immediately buries his face against Mulder’s shoulder and continues to sob. Mulder rubs his back and makes soothing noises for a while, then leans the boy back so he can look him in the eyes. "What’s the matter, Buddy?" Mulder asks, sounding both friendly and concerned. The boy draws another hitching breath and squeaks, "Monsters!" "Where are they?" Mulder asks. Not used to an adult taking his fear seriously, Alex gives Mulder a suspicious look before replying. "Monster in closet." Mulder holds up his hand to keep Scully from correcting the child. He listens hard and hears something, once, twice. Both times from the direction of the closet. A look of confusion crosses his face, and he swiftly picks the boy up. "I think you should try to sleep in your Aunt’s room while we look for the monster, ok, Alex?" "You get rid of it?" The child asks hopefully as they walk to Scully’s room. "We sure will." Mulder says, setting him on Scully’s bed. Scully gives him a questioning look as she tucks Alexander in. They wait until his eyes droop shut before closing the door behind them. Once they’ve walked back to Alex’s room, she puts her hand on her hip. "Care to explain why you’re feeding into his fear that there’s a monster in the closet?" she fumes. "Scully, there is something in the closet. I’m not saying it’s a monster, but I heard it twice." "What do you think it could be?" "I don’t know, and I have a feeling we’re not going to be happy when we find out." Mulder tells her flatly. ** Scully presses her ear against the closet door. She jumps back with a startled look on her face. "I heard something!" "I told you." Mulder tells her smugly. "It’s not as thought I didn’t believe you…"Scully mumbles. "You’re a terrible liar. I think we ought to see what this is, don’t you?" Scully’s eyes become huge. "Are you sure?" "Well, whatever it is, I doubt that it will leave in handcuffs if we called the police on it." Mulder says, but his face clearly says he’s amused by her apprehension. Scully, who correctly interprets his look, pushes his shoulder. "Here’s the flashlight." Mulder takes it, put slips it into the back pocket of his jeans. "I don’t want to scare it to death…whatever it is." "Hey, uh, Mulder, what are we going to do with it after we open the door?" Scully asks. "That’s a good question." Mulder says, thinking for the first time that it might be something other than a renegade toy. "You don’t have a cage or anything around, do you?" "I think there’s a pet carrier downstairs from Bessie’s old dog." Scully tells him. "Ok, why don’t you go get it?" Mulder suggests. Scully locates it after a few moments, which surprises her considering how long it has been since the dog was still living, then hears a girlish shriek. For a moment she wonders if Bessie is home, then realizes that as improbable as it is, it must be Mulder. Worried about why he’d make such a sound, Scully rushes back up stairs in time to see Mulder slam the door to the closet closed. Mulder’s face is white and his hand trembles as he drops it away from the doorknob. "Mulder, are you ok?" "Yes…"he squeaks. "What happened? And did anyone ever tell you that you have a girly scream?" "I do not." Mulder indignantly replies. "Anyway I reached into the closet, and something touched me. Or I touched it, it amounts to the same thing either way." "What was it?" "I don’t know! But it was furry." "So it is something alive, then." "Obviously. I’m going to open the door again, and if I yell it will be a very masculine yet, and look for it." Scully tries very hard not to smirk. "Was it big?" "I don’t think so." Mulder tells her. "Ok, here we go." Mulder says throwing the closet door open. Something from the depths of the closet screeches angrily and rushes them. There are two girlish screams and then it’s in the room. The raccoon pounces on Alexander’s bed and snarls at them. Scully wrings her hands, but Mulder has an idea. He grabs for the extra blanket on the top shelf of the closet and throws it over the irate animal. It squirms furiously, but he manages to bundle the blanket around it. "Watch for teeth!" Scully shouts. "I am, I am!" Mulder says, stuffing the yowling bundle into the pet carrier. The masked creature has hand-like paws and shakes the cage like an indignant prisoner calling for the guard. "Now what?" "I suppose we bring it outside and let it go." Scully says, shrugging. "Ok, but how did it get in here in the first place? I think we ought to see where it got in." Scully looks at the rattling pet carrier and grabs the handle saying "First things first." They release their bandit back into the wild, then troupe to the closet. Mulder shines the flashlight into the back of the closet and exclaims "Ah ha!" "Ah ha?" "Yup. There’s a hole in the back wall. Not too big but perfect for a raccoon.. My guess it a shingle fell off and it dug its way through. Tonight we can shove something heavy against the wall, and I bet my dad and I can fix it for you tomorrow." "Great." Scully says, with a smile, then helps Mulder find something to shove against the hole, and puts Alexander back into his own bed. ** Outside, the raccoon chitters to itself and stalks off into the woods. Once it’s deeper into the forest, it looks in all directions with a hard shine in its beady eyes. It shrugs down its shoulders and suddenly grows much larger, its claws longer and its fur a uniform color. It bares its fangs and looks at the Potter house, giving a regretful shake of its shaggy head before lumbering off in the direction of the nearest porch light it can see. ** Santana feat. Everlast ("Leave your lights on") Prime ("I’m Stupid") And Rob Zombie ("I’m your boogie man") ** ** Mulder’s Creek: 17 It’s a Girl Summary: A week starts with a hike and ends with a birth, the revelation of a betrayal and something completely unexpected. Opening scene Mulder kisses Scully’s cheek, and says good-bye as she climbs down the ladder that leads up to his room, something she hasn’t done very often since they got older. Mulder watches as she walks down the road, and thinks about how unfair it is that people have to grow older and change. Not that all change is bad, he thinks as he flops onto his bed. The changes between him and Scully are fantastic, he reflects. But still his mind gnaws at the anxiety he’s shoved back as far as he can to a remote corner. Though he would never admit it to anyone, he’s become increasingly worried about his new brother or sister. A small but vocal portion of his thoughts are terrified that he won’t be able to be a good brother to the child. He figures that now that he’s seventeen instead of four, he should be able to protect the child from all harm, but he’s not sure he can, and even less sure that he’d be able to deal with it if he can’t. Nothing indicates that the baby will be in any danger, but he’s strained his memory, and he can’t recall any warning signs that Sam was in danger either. The closest thing to a warning in his memory was the skewed vision that he was shown by a questionable source. Beyond that, he fears that he won’t love the baby. Most of his life has been spent missing a sibling, but that hasn’t taught him a thing about what it means to be an older brother. Mulder rolls over onto his side, trying to banish his apprehension and failing. What if, he keeps thinking, I can’t love him or her because they’re not Sam? Not missing, not lost, all but forgotten, needing to be found…somehow less deserving of a brother’s devotion? It’s ok that the baby isn’t Sam, he tells himself, his new mantra, it’s ok…finally his mind exhausts itself and he falls asleep. His last conscious thought is one of gratitude that he seldomly lets his doubts get the best of him like this. It’s May 1st. ** Theme song- "Stranded" By Plumb ** Saturday 9:30am, base of Mount Chocorua Skinner looks over his group of would-be hikers with the stern eye of a drill sergeant. Reyes doesn’t notice, because every hike she’s ever been on with him has started just this way, but Reed, who is standing close to Scully, looks a bit taken aback. Everyone else looks faintly amused. "Did you put on sun screen?" He demands of Scully, Reed and Reyes, eyeing their fair skin. "Yes, sir." Scully says, saluting him. "We put it on before we left and brought more with us, sir!" Reyes smirks, but Reed is surprised to hear Scully give Skinner a hard time. Skinner gives her a sour look. "Does everyone have water? People tend to under estimate how thirsty they get on a hike, and the water from natural sources isn’t safe to drink until it’s been decontaminated." "Everyone has a couple of bottles, Skinner." Doggett tells him. "I handed them out when we got out of the car, remember?" "I will hold you personally responsible if anyone runs out then." Skinner says gravely. Doggett rolls his eyes. "Ok, whatever." Skinner points at the trail map that is posted behind glass. "It should take us two hours to hike to the mountain’s summit, and once there we can have lunch and take a break. The hike back down the other side should take us somewhat less. Perhaps an hour and a half is a conservative estimate." "How long did you estimate it will take us to eat lunch and rest?" Mulder asks, earning a glare. Skinner opens his mouth to reply when a voice calls out, "Oh great, you haven’t left yet." Everyone turns to look. ** Krycek smiles broadly as he rushes up the path towards them. He’s holding the hand of a vacuous looking blond who seems a little nervous. "You all know Sandy, right?" "I think I’ve seen her around school." Doggett admits. No one else seems to remember seeing her before. Krycek chats loudly and excitedly to Sandy about how cool it’s going to be to be on the hike. The girl looks less than convinced. Reyes leans over and hisses into her brother’s ear. "Why did you invite him??" "I didn’t!" Skinner whispers back. As the two siblings discuss their unwanted company in hushed tones, Reed becomes even more worried when he overhears what Doggett, Mulder and Scully are talking about. "I don’t know about this, should we really be wandering around the woods? We don’t have the best track record out here. "Doggett says. "Come on, Doggett. The Bigfoot didn’t hurt us-" "Bigfoot?" Scully asks, raising an eyebrow. Ignoring the interruption, Mulder continues. "And the haunted lodge was in a completely different town. Besides, I just checked the cell phone and it works this time. " "Good. Ever since I saw the Blair Witch Project I’ve vowed never to go into the woods without a phone." Doggett jokes. Reed can’t help but gawk at them. Either Skinner’s friends are insane, or there’s something much weirder about his new home than he ever realized. Neither possibility fills him with much comfort. Fortunately, no one notices that he’s looking at them like they have two heads apiece. Skinner gives up his attempts to reason with Reyes and looks pointedly at his watch. "I think we’ve wasted enough time here. "He turns towards Krycek and Sandy. "Since you’re already here… just try to keep up." Krycek is the only one who seems happy about the idea. ** As they walk up the footpath, Scully listens to Sandy sing Krycek’s praises, and finds herself thrilled that she’s never had the displeasure of meeting the girl before. No wonder Krycek likes her, she thinks to herself, she’s a complete idiot. She’s one of those overly friendly people that tend to disarm you because they act like they know you, Scully adds to herself. Sandy tried to draw Reyes and Scully out, with talks about makeup and hair, and though they firmly but kindly ignored her, she seems too dumb to realize or be bothered by it. Reed, on the other hand, is finding that he is having fun. Skinner and Scully’s friends may well be insane, but they’re entraining and they seem to like him. Reed finds himself fascinated by Scully’s boyfriend, because he’s never met anyone as open minded to the paranormal as Mulder. "What about ghosts? Do you believe in those?" Reed asks him. "Sure. Everyone here has seen one." Mulder tells him with a grin. "There’s no proof that’s what it was-" Scully and Doggett object simultaneously, making Mulder roll his eyes. "We saw one." Mulder reiterates. "What about vampires?" "I’ve never seen one of those. I suppose they probably exist though." Mulder muses. "And aliens?" "Oh yes. There are definitely aliens." Mulder says without elaborating, which surprises Scully. "Is there anything you don’t believe in?" Reed asks, captivated. "There is one thing. I don’t believe in politicians with people’s best interests at heart. That’s too far fetched." Mulder says solemnly. Reed grins. To Skinner’s annoyance, there is dissension amongst the ranks before they are even half way up the mountain. They come to a spot on the trail that had been damaged by winter storms, and part of the damage is to a footbridge. There’s no way that anyone would attempt to cross on it, because it looks like it would collapse before anyone got their entire weight on it. Skinner looks at the bridge and immediately decides that the best course of action would be to walk along the edge of the river until they come to a spot that would be narrow enough to pass over. Almost everyone agrees that this would be sound thinking. Krycek, possibly made imprudent by his zeal to impress his intended prom date, immediately objects. "Look, there’s a nice big log that goes from one side of this river to the other. All we have to do is walk over it." Scully looks the log over, then peers down. The log is a good six feet above the water level. "No way. We’d never get across without getting wet." "Sure we would. It’d be easy, right Sandy?" Sandy gives Krycek a beaming look, possibly loosing a few IQ points to her admiration of his braveness. "If you think we can do it, I’m sure we can." She simpers. Krycek leers at her. "We can do it any time you want, sweetheart." Sandy blushes prettily, and both Scully and Reyes have the sudden urge to slap some sense into the girl. But neither of them cares enough about her to bother. "Do whatever you want." Skinner tells him. "I’m sticking to looking for another way across that won’t require a balancing act. I’ll see you on the other side of the river" Krycek sneers. "You do that. Anyone with balls can follow me." He says, turning and starting to walk towards the log with Sandy in tow. Everyone else follows Skinner without a look back. Scully whispers loudly to Reyes in an earnest tone "Is Sandy a cross dresser then? "Reyes giggles, but Mulder looks like he’s going to swallow his tongue in his effort not to laugh out loud. ** They walk for fifteen minutes, then, just as Skinner predicted, they find a spot of the river that is both shallow and narrow, that they all cross over without getting so much as the soles of their boots wet. When Reed wonders aloud how Krycek and Sandy have faired, people laugh and then change the subject, which makes him wonder why they all dislike the boy so much. Mulder spends the rest of the hike up asking Skinner "are we there yet?" at five minute intervals until Skinner barks at him to shut up. Mulder assumes a wounded look and tells Skinner that he was just trying to give Skinner a jump start with dealing with noisy offspring. Skinner snorts and tells him that fatherhood probably isn’t in the cards for him, all things considered. Mulder gives him a sympathetic smile and tells him to rent The Next Best Thing; a suggestion that does nothing to improve Skinner’s mood. Mulder wisely stops pestering Skinner right before they reach the top of the mountain, not wanting to give Skinner a reason to push him over the edge. Scully looks down from the summit, and silently marvels at how small everything bellow looks. It’s not a large mountain by any means, just over half Mount Washington’s size, but it’s high enough to make the buildings she can see from her vantage point look like so many monopoly game pieces. The things that are newly blooming mingle with dead foliage on dead trees, turning into a solid picture, much like the quilt Scully made for Mulder. Minus the aliens. Reyes, though seeing the same thing as Scully, wasn’t really seeing it at all. Nor did she seem to have noticed that it is very cold from the wind, and that Doggett is giving her concerned looks because she’s the only one who hasn’t put her jacket on. Physically there, her mind is miles away. While she has admitted to herself that she has doubts about Fowley’s story, it only just hit her that perhaps she ought to confirm that Fowley is really in the danger she claims to be. The doubt in her friend’s word is hard to swallow, but she does manage a faint smile when Doggett drapes a jacket over her shoulders. They are about a third of the way back down the mountain when they hear a shrill voice, and a gruff male one answering. Scully stops for a moment. "Do you suppose that’s Krycek and Sandy?" "Well, who else could be having an argument in the middle of the woods?" Doggett asks. "I was afraid that you were going to say that… do you suppose we ought to check on them? They’re obviously not on the path and probably lost." She says with an air of regret. Doggett and Skinner shake their heads emphatically, but sighs. "She’s got a point, we can’t just leave them there. Besides, this would be a good deed, and there’s that karma thing. The red sox are doing well this season and every bit of good karma helps." Brightened by the idea of a sox pennant win, everyone follows Scully and Mulder in the direction they hear the voices. Sandy, who is the only person wearing shorts, now has pink skin that clashes with her blond hair. Scattered throughout her sun burn are bleeding scratches and large welts from bug bites. She looks like she’s near tears, but Krycek doesn’t look like he’s feeling much better. Though he isn’t sun burnt and bug bitten, he is drenched from head to toe. He’s nearly shouting at her as they approach. "I’m sorry! Ok, I’m sorry. This was supposed to be fun but it wasn’t. Now you probably don’t want to go to the prom with me…"he trails off, giving his own version of the puppy dog look. Sandy looks shocked and squeals, "Oh no, I’m not that mad, sweetie. I’m sorry I blamed you, but…I’m just sorry." She finishes vapidly. "Sweetie?" Mulder whispers to Scully with a smirk. Skinner decides that he ought to be the one to draw attention to the rescue efforts, so he strides over to the pair of goey eyed wayward hikers. "The trail’s over this way, if you’re interested." Skinner says, pointing with his thumb, then turns abruptly, leaving the pair to scramble to keep up. Once they are back at their vehicles, Scully and Reyes take pity on the pair and provide a blanket and a bottle of Aloe Vera to ease their suffering. ** Tuesday 6pm, The Ice House The light crowd at dinner surprises Skinner, but Bessie assures him that in May people start to enjoy the lengthening day and begin to eat their meals later to accommodate their daylight goals. Skinner decides not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and takes the down time as an opportunity to chat with Reed. As they chop up vegetables, Skinner asks Reed, "Did you enjoy the hike this weekend?" Reed half smiles. "It was fun." "What do you think of the people Scully and I are friends with?" "Well, Doggett seems like a bit of a no nonsense sour puss, and if I didn’t sense that Scully would take it as a mortal insult, I’d suggest that she and he had a lot in common. They fight like cats and dogs, right? Your sister is sweet, and Mulder…well, he’s entertaining even if I doubt his sanity a bit. I liked them a lot." Reed says, grinning for real. "I’m glad to hear it. They liked you too. Maybe you could hang out with us more often. It would do you good to get to know people in Capeside, since we still have two years of high school left." "I know. I try to put my shyness aside, but…it’s a hard thing to overcome. I’m outgoing, but only around people I know. It’s sort of like being a living example of a paradox." "I think people probably all have some sort of paradoxical facet to their personalities." Skinner tells him. "I suppose. That’s why a jerk can act nice in some cases…speaking of witch, I’ve been meaning to ask, what do you all have against that guy Krycek? I can see why you’d have reason to dislike the girl, since she seems like she’s been swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool, what with that sickening hero worship thing she was pulling the whole hike, so she was very obviously annoying, but…well, why don’t you guys like him? He seemed rather innocuous." "He’s subtle, I’ll give him that." Skinner admits. "You’d have to get to know him a little better to figure out why he’s so off-putting. He’s the epitome of sleaze. Some people can be nice to you then stick a knife in your back, you know? He’s like that, which grates on people’s nerves. I swear to god that guy is going to be a congressman when he grows up, he’s already perfected the art of being pleasant to people to when it suits him and when it means that he can get something he wants from them." "So I should take this as a warning to avoid him?" Reed gently teases. "Definitely. Most definitely." Skinner tells him as he dumps the chopped carrots into a waiting bowl. ** 7pm Witter home Doggett finds himself doing something he’s done but rarely: knocking on his brother’s door. Kersh has an apartment above the garage, and Doggett is usually content to leave him be, but his vow to get to know his brother nibbles at his conscience. "Oh, it’s you." Kersh says by way of a greeting as he opens the door. "Come in, would you? You’re letting in the black flies." Doggett doesn’t see any flies, so he shrugs as he walks in. "What did you want?" Kersh asks, getting right to the point. "Oh, to talk to you." Doggett hedges. "It better not be about doing something ‘as a family’ when Gretchen gets home. I’ve already gotten enough of that from Mom. Why she would ever want to do something with our older sisters when not practically required to by law on federal holidays is beyond me." Kersh grumbles. Doggett holds up a placating hand. "Trust me, I’m the last person who would urge you to take part in something like family togetherness. I’m still trying to figure out if our nieces and nephews are really one hundred present human, and not the result of some sort of hybridization with apes gone awry. Or maybe our sisters just married Neanderthals, that could account for it too, we see their husbands so rarely that it’s hard to tell… Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about you." "This should be good." Kersh says, nearly rude. "What about me?" "I wanted to know if you could tell me…why you decided to be a cop." "I don’t know, Doggett. I don’t recall ever deciding." "You mean Dad told you to be one?" Doggett asks. "No, nothing like that. I mean, I always thought that I was going to be a cop when I grew up. I guess I took it for granted that I was going to grow up and do the same thing as Dad." "And now we get to the heart of the issue…You talk to Dad a lot, so maybe…Dad made a comment to Mulder about maybe his girlfriend could go to the police academy the same time I do. Does he really expect me to be a cop too?" "I don’t think so, Doggett. I know it would make him happy if you decided to become one too, but I don’t think he actually expects you will. Hell, I don’t think he had that sort of expectation for me, and I always told him I wanted to become one. If you’re worried about disappointing him by doing something else, you shouldn’t. As long as you grow up to do something responsible and productive, he’ll be happy." "So I guess ecco-terrorist and roadie for Ozzy Osborne are both out." Doggett jokes, finally feeling better. ** Wednesday 4pm Bentley Playground Alexander shrieks joyfully as the swing begins to climb again in its upward arc. He claps his hands against the side of the toddler swing and demands "Higher push!" Scully reminds him to hold onto the swing and is rewarded with more shrieks as she pushes him even higher. Mulder watches the rise and fall of the swing, and tries to remember when he was so small that he himself fit into the bucket shaped swings meant for the very young. Though he fails to remember that, he does vividly remember his own love of swings as a small boy. One of his proudest preschool accomplishments, on the scale of tying his own shoes and learning to whistle, was figuring out how to pump his legs to make himself move on the swing. It felt like flying, he thinks dreamily. Amused by the far away look on his face, Scully calls over to him, "Penny for your thoughts?" Mulder gives her a sheepish look. "I’d be over-charging you. I was just thinking about how much I loved swings as a little kid." Scully looks at the full-sized swings on the swing set. "So climb on to a swing, then." "Oh I don’t know…"Mulder says giving the swings a doubtful look. Scully turns to her nephew. "Wouldn’t it be silly if your aunty and Mulder went on the swings too?" "Yes!" the boy shouts. "You swing!" Scully turns back to Mulder. "You wouldn’t want to disappoint him, would you?" she asks, giving Alex a big push. She then plops into the swing next to Alexander. Mulder grins in spite of himself, and takes the swing next to her. "So Scully…what’s it like having a baby in the house? I don’t really remember…" "Much like these swings, it has its ups and downs. Babies are cuddly and sweet some of the time, and it’s fascinating watching them turn into real people instead of the helpless beings they are at birth. The real fun starts when they start to walk and talk. On the other hand they are loud and demanding, and keep you awake at the worst of times. In a way it’s sort of like living with any other person, except they’re a lot shorter and you can’t win arguments with them. Never argue with a toddler, Mulder." Scully says as she swings. "Your aunty is silly." Mulder remakes to the little boy, getting a giggle of agreement from him. ** Thursday 5pm, Lindley home Reyes takes a shuddering breath in a failed attempt to calm herself then raises her fist and firmly knocks on the door. Grams answers the door and smiles when she sees that it’s Reyes. Reyes’ heart breaks a little, because she suddenly realizes how alone Grams is without Fowley around, and that she hasn’t given the woman a thought for months. "Oh, hello. How have you been, Reyes?" Grams asks, looking pleased to have a visitor. "Fine. And you ma’am?" "Never better. My friend Mr. Brooks and I have been keeping busy, with bingo and going to museums. Activity keeps you young you know." Grams smiles. "What can I do for you today?" "I’ve been put in charge of gathering candid pictures for an insert that’s planned for the yearbook. I we get everything to the publishers this week, they’ll print it up and we can pass them out with the yearbooks in June. I was wondering if you had any pictures of Fowley on the trip with her parents?" Reyes says exactly what she’s been mentally rehearsing for days. "Of course, dear. Let me go get one." Grams tells her, then goes up stairs. Reyes taps her foot softly but nervously as she waits for the woman to return. Since she didn’t really expect that there would be any pictures, every second becomes more anxious. Grams starts talking to her as she walks down the stairs. "It’s fortunate you came today, because this only arrived here yesterday afternoon. No note from Fowley, she has never been one for writing, but her parents claim she’s having a good time." Grams finishes speaking just as she hands Reyes the picture. Reyes looks at the picture wordlessly. "Thanks." "That’s what you wanted, right?" "Oh yes. I’ll return it as soon as we get it back, ok?" "Sure. Or you can give to Fowley yourself when she returns in June." Grams says pleasantly. "Ok, thanks." Reyes says, managing a weak smile, slipping the photo into her backpack. ** As soon as she gets home, Reyes pulls out the picture out and stares at it. The back drop is the Eiffel tower, and banners visible in top of the picture make it obvious that the city was in the middle of celebrating Valentine’s day. Fowley, flanked on either side by the man and woman who tore her away from Gram’s home two days after Christmas, smiles at the camera. And she’s a slim as the last time Reyes saw her. Reyes shakes her head in an effort to clear it. By Valentines Fowley was supposed to be nearly seven months pregnant, but in the photo she clearly isn’t. After pondering that impossibility for a moment, Reyes realizes there’s only one place she can turn, and reaches for the phone. "Lone Gunmen e-zine, how can I help you?" Langly’s voice asks her. "Hi, um, it’s Reyes. I know you guys are able to do all sorts of useful things…do you think you could find out if a picture was real and where an e-mail originated?" "Yeah, sure, no problem. Why don’t you bring the photo over after school tomorrow? While you’re here you can log onto your e-mail from one of our computers, ok?" "Ok." Reyes says, getting a headache. Every time a she wonders if she’s being lied to or if Grams is the one being tricked, her head hurts worse. ** Friday, 1am, Leary home Mulder wakes up to go to the bathroom and rubs his eyes with his fists. The hallway light is on, which is unusual for that time of night, since his parents habitually go to bed even earlier than he does. At first he wonders if his mother has gone into labor, but since there’s no air of panic or frantic activity, he quickly decides that it’s probably not the case. After he leaves the bathroom he becomes aware of his parents’ low voices. Feeling as though he’s doing something wrong, he can’t resist creeping up to their door so he can listen to what they’re saying. Mulder presses himself against the door frame and listens hard. Mrs. Leary sounds worried. "Are you sure that everything is going to be ok?" she asks her husband. "Gale, we’re about to get everything we’ve ever wanted. Our dream is going to come true. You’ll see, after this our lives will be perfect." "Oh, Mitch, I want to believe you, but…it’s been so hard waiting." Mulder hears his father’s low laugher. "It won’t be long now. You’ll see, it will all be worth it." Mulder imagines that his father touches her belly as he says it. Mulder yawns and walks back to his room with a happy look on his face. ** Friday, last period, Capeside high Mulder doesn’t notice that the teacher takes a phone call, because he’s concentrating so hard on his test. He didn’t get enough sleep the night before, because it took him a while to fall asleep again after his spying, so completing it is taking more of an effort than he’d normally have to make. Finally, he checks over the paper and gets up to hand it in five minutes before the bell rings. His teacher looks up at him and says "I didn’t want to interrupt you during the test, but I was asked to send you down to the office when you finished." Mulder clutches his pass and walks down to the office, hoping that his dad is there to pick him up. To his disappointment, the office is empty save only the secretary. The woman looks up at him and smiles, though. "You’re Mulder, right?" she asks him and he nods. "I have a message here from your dad, ok? He said that your mom went into labor this morning, and he's sorry not to have called sooner, but he knew you had a big test today. And while he wants you to come to the hospital once school gets out, he’d prefer you didn’t drive. Instead he’s arranged for Sheriff Witter to come and get you." "Thanks." Mulder says, thinking that his father is probably right: he’d be too nervous about getting there on time to drive safely, and since he’s only had his license for six weeks, he hasn’t had a lot of experience driving while under pressure. And, he adds to himself, since I didn’t drive here, it would take all that much longer to go home and get a car. "The final bell is going to ring any minute now, so you can go to your locker now then wait out front for the Sheriff if you like." She tells him kindly. Mulder takes her advice and, though it seems other wise to him, has a very short wait for the Sheriff who pulls up in his cruiser. Mulder hops in back. "Mulder, this better be the only time I ever see you back there." Sheriff Witter says gruffly, but Mulder knows he’s joking. The man has been friends with his father for almost as long as he can remember, so both men treat the boys like their own sons. "You’ve got it sir. I’ll get Doggett to bail me out of trouble before it comes to that." Mulder rejoins, and the older man cracks a smile that Mulder can see from the rearview mirror. "So, Mulder, are you looking forward to being a big brother?" "Sure." Mulder says, not bothering to mention that he’s been one most of his life. "Do you have a preference for a baby brother or baby sister?" "Uh… I sort of hope it will be a boy. The age difference is going to make things strange enough, but at least with a brother I’d have some clue as to what he’s thinking." "Yeah…God knows Kersh was thrilled when Doggett was born. He was scared he was going to have another sister." The sheriff says with a chuckle. Mulder tries to picture Kersh being thrilled about something. ** 2:25pm, LGM HQ Langly greets Reyes at the door a few minutes after school gets out, and explains that Frohike is away. She nods like she wondered where he was, and tries not to babble nervously as the older boys examine the photograph. After several minutes of looking at it through magnifying glasses and testing it by other means using a computer program he doesn’t explain, Byers looks up and says. "I’m about 80% sure that this is an authentic picture. It doesn’t seem to have any of the telltale minor errors in it that’d make it likely to be computer altered, since it’s so hard to make things match up perfectly on a pixel by pixel error. I know someone I could send it out to make sure that it is, though, if that would make you feel better about it." Byers looks at her face and gets the feeling that she’s not going to feel better either way. For a moment he wishes he knew if she wanted the photo to be real or not. Reyes is about to make a noncommittal reply when Langly waves them over. He’s been trying to figure out where the e-mail she’s been getting have been originating from. Reyes chose the first message from FLindley to have them examine, since it seemed to be the one that would present the older boys with the least to be curious about. "I think I’ve got it." "Good. What can you tell me about it?" She asks him "Well, first off I got the location. It was sent from right here in Capeside." Reyes feels like she’s been kicked. "Can you tell who sent it, though?" She asks trying to keep her emotions in check. "Yup, sure. Just let me…"Langly types rapidly on the computer. "I’m just hacking into the customer service logs of the ISP provider. Don’t worry, they won’t even know we’ve been here…I think" he continues. "Ok, got it." "Who is it?" Reyes asks, her composure starting to slip. "The customer’s last name is Morgan. They live at 313 Terrence Green." Reyes sits down heavily, landing in a beanbag chair. Langly gives her a concerned look, but doesn’t say anything to her. Morgan, Reyes thinks. Spender Morgan. Taking a shaky breath she thanks Byers and Langly. "Are you ok?" Byers asks her as she’s about to leave. "Yeah, sure. I’ve just gotten a nasty shock is all." "Well, take care of yourself…"Langly says, wondering what exactly she had just found out. Something obviously more profound than we’d be lead to believe from the rather innocuous e-mail and picture. I’ll never figure girls out, he tells himself with a shake of his head. Byers watches her from the window and wishes that she would have stayed long enough to get over her surprise. If anything bad happens to her because of this, Doggett is going to kick our asses, he thinks mournfully. ** 2:35pm, Capeside hospital The cruiser barely has time to park before Mulder hops out. Mulder rushes through the hospital, but tries to slow down when he is glared at by a nurse. On his way up to the maternity ward he passes another nurse and waves: Though she doesn’t seem to recognize him, she was one of Scully’s nurses in February. He wanders to a couple of dead-ends in his haste, then it finally occurs to him to look at the signs, which he does rather sheepishly. From then on he’s doing a better impersonation of someone who knows where they’re going. He skitters to a stop at the nurse’s station and talks to the nurse, a friendly looking middle-aged woman, there. "Hi, I’m looking for my mom, Gale Leary." The nurse smiles. "You must be the big brother. She’s in room number five." Mr. Leary must have heard Mulder coming, because he steps out into the hallway just as Mulder reaches the room. "There you are, Mulder. Did Sheriff Witter give you a ride?" Mulder nods. "Good. I’m sorry I couldn’t come and get you…" "Did I miss it?" Mulder asks excitedly. "Unfortunately yes, but not by much. Just an hour or so. 8 pounds three ounces and as a healthy as a horse. Your mom and the baby are in the room." Mr. Leary says with a smile. For a moment Mulder is disappointed, but then he cheers up; he’s avoided hours of sitting around in the lobby. "What is it? A boy or a girl? "he ask excitedly. "Why don’t you ask your mom?" Mr. Leary suggests, continuing to stand in the doorway once Mulder passes him. Mulder tries to calm himself, and walks quietly into the room, making a beeline for his mother’s bed. He thinks she looks tired, but serene. Mulder’s eyes are on the dark-haired bundle in her arms. "How are you, Mom?" he decides to ask first, forcing himself to look up at her instead of at the baby. "Physically I’ve felt better, but I’ve seldom been happier." She says, sounding as though she means it. "Do I have a brother or sister?" Mulder asks, his excitement finally bubbling over. Mrs. Leary gently places the baby in his arms. "I’d like to introduce you to your brand new brother, Price Willem Leary." "Price." Mulder breathes, looking intently at the baby he’s holding; the weight of the baby makes him seem more real to Mulder. The infant opens his rosebud mouth and yawns at him. Mulder’s heart melts. All his doubts about being able to love a new sibling evaporate instantly. "Price is a Welsh name." Mrs. Leary says a few moments later, holding her arms out for the baby. Mulder reluctantly hands him back. Mrs. Leary’s face suddenly gets a strange expression on it, one that Mulder has never seen before. She’s looking behind him at something he can’t see. "I’d also like you to meet your sister." She says very softly. Mulder spins around and sees someone standing in the shadows. When she steps forward he can see that she looks much as he imagined she would at almost thirteen. Her long brown hair is in a braid, though, and he never pictured that; and though he knew from pictures that her eyes look like his, he finds it startling to look into eyes identical to his own. She gives him a tentative smile, which he knows he should return and would if he wasn’t completely in shock. Everything starts to go gray around the edges, and he’s incredulous that he seems to be on the verge of passing out, something he valiantly fights against. I can’t faint like some delicate southern belle who has gotten too excited, he rages at himself, even as his knees buckle and he finds himself involuntarily sitting heavily in a nearby chair. He can barely hear his mother’s soft voice, but later will distinctly remember her saying, "We got her back, Mulder. Samantha is finally going to come home." Credits Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile < Voice Over> This episode of Mulder’s Creek featured music from: Home Town Hero ("Questions") 6Gig ("Tincan Experiment") Jack Johnson ("Drink The Water") And The Pixies ("Gouge away")