Chapter 1

I perch on my seat in the alcove before the doorway of Assistant Director Skinner's office.

"Agent Simonson, Agent Skinner can see you know," his secretary informs me. I swallow my nervousness and force a smile in her direction. First day in the FBI, nothing to be worried about. Nothing Quantico hadn't prepared me for.

I walk in and try not to let my eyes wander about the spacious office too much. I read supervisors don't like that. So, I walk in and approach the desk. An older man with glasses flips through a file, not yet acknowledging my presence. As the silence stretches, my uncertainty intensifies. Finally, I decide he is looking for a show of initiative.

"Assistant Director Skinner, I'm Agent Simonson." I stretch out my hand, but he doesn't look up at me. One of my mentors at Quantico warned that Agent Skinner is brusque, but this is even more severe than I expected. I withdrawal my hand somewhat awkwardly.

"Take a seat, Agent Simonson." I stop myself from rushing to comply; instead, I ease myself into the chair and recline slightly, pretending the coldness in my boss's gaze hasn't rattled my already tense nerves. I've never had a problem making a good first impression before. Seems there's a first time for everything. It's a shame, too, since I find him rather handsome despite being a decade or two my senior.

"So, you've been assigned to my division." He leans back in his chair, and a microglance at the file he was reading reveals my name: my personnel file, no doubt.

"It seems that way, sir. It's good to meet you." I smile but get only a scrutinizing stare in response.

"Did you request the major crimes division when you graduated?" He's not one for pleasantries, that's for sure.

"I did, sir. It wasn't my first choice, but I'm happy to be here."

"What was your first choice?" His voice his tight, his gaze unforgiving.

"Research, specifically on criminal pathologies, but it's no matter. I'm here now, and I'm excited to get started with casework. That is why I joined the FBI, after all." He doesn't react to my statement verbally or visually. We sit in silence for what feels like a full minute.

"New recruits aren't usually placed in such a rigorous division. There's no room for mistakes in this field, and I certainly have no time to hold your hand through the process."

"I assure you that won't be necessary." I realize too late that he wasn't finished with his statement, and I accidently interrupted him. His stare darkens, which I didn't think was possible.

"As I was saying, this is no place for a green Quantico graduate. If this wasn't your first choice, I can't seem to fathom why you would be assigned here." There is a long enough pause that I decide it is safe to answer.

"Sir, if I may postulate, my exam results were all in the top percentile, as I know you know," I say with a nod to the file on his desk. "I know I don't have much experience, but I'm a fast learner, and I won't weigh you or my partner down. Perhaps there wasn't an opening at the research division but there was in your jurisdiction, which accounts for my presence here." His jaw clenches.

"We do have an agent temporarily missing his partner, but she is recovering and will be returning to duty soon. As it is, he has been handling his casework without problems."

"Well, I shouldn't think I will be too much of a burden if I'm only serving here in the interim until his partner returns." I say my remark with a smile to soften the scent of smart-ass. "Who is my partner? I haven't been briefed on the details of my assignment yet." He stands and turns around to look out the wall of windows.

"Agent Simonson, did you happen to make any enemies down at Quantico?" My eyes inadvertently widen. I'm glad he's not facing me so that instinctual reaction goes unnoted. Apprehension about my assignment is growing in the pit of my stomach.

"Sir? None come to mind? Forgive my incomprehension, but what would inspire such a question?" He turns around again and tosses a case file in my lap. I hesitate a heartbeat to open it, unsure if this is my assignment. It must be.

I review the summary page – incidents of what appear to be animal maulings in the New Jersey area. Gruesome, but I didn't come to the FBI expecting cupcakes and rainbows, so I doubt that would inspire Agent Skinner's question about enemies. I look for the primary agent's name, certain that will be my partner. My eyes widen once again, and I glance up at my boss.

"Agent Mulder is working on this case?" He sits again, still stoic and unreadable.

"I take it you've heard of him."

"Of course, his profiling work is still mandatory curriculum." I struggle to keep my enthusiasm from my voice. Maybe this is why I was assigned here instead of research. Profiling is similar to criminal pathology. Maybe the Bureau wants me to have experience with casework before moving into a more hands-off division, and working with Agent Mulder is a rather prestigious assignment. This could just be the first step in ultimately landing where I asked to be. But why would Agent Skinner ask if I've made enemies?

I realize Agent Skinner spoke and get out of my head and into the present. Replaying what happened, I remember Agent Skinner asked if I am familiar with Agent Mulders more current work. I shrug.

"I looked up his most recent casefiles when we went over his profiling of the Manhattan Murderer. They were a bit more…sundry than I expected an agent of his stature to be working on, but I only had access to the past three cases, figured it was a happenstance that such unusual cases had ended up under his review all at the same time."

"No fluke was involved. Agent Mulder has a penchant for the…unusual." This meeting keeps getting stranger.

"Forgive my saying so, but animal maulings don't seem that unusual. Unfortunate, certainly, but most likely not even criminal. The most unusual aspect of this case I can see is that the FBI is looking into it." That, for some reason, makes him crack a smile.

"If you always see things quite so black and white, you'll be a thorn in Mulder's side the entirety of your partnership." That doesn't sound promising.

Silence grows while I try to find something odd about this file. It is clear Agent Skinner isn't about to tell me, and I suspect this is a test to see if I'm as good as my test scores indicate. I flip through the first few pages of the file before anything jumps out at me. Then the gears click in my head, and I double check my hunch, and then double check the dates.

"These three maulings, they all happened about a month apart, and," I hesitate, almost embarrassed to say the tenuous pattern I noticed, "on the full moon, if I'm not mistaken." He nods once. This is definitely not how I expected my first day would go.

"I'll let Agent Mulder fill you in on the rest of the details. His office is on the Basement floor. Take the elevator down and head left. His office is towards the end of the hall on the right."

"Thank you for your time, Sir." Casefile in hand, I head down to the basement to meet Agent Mulder and hopefully figure out why Agent Skinner thought my assignment is so awful as to only be explainable due to enemies in high places. Although, if this first case file is any indication, it's because Agent Mulder is chasing werewolves. What a great way to start my career at the FBI.

A/N: The story is pretty plot heavy initially (as we all know Skinner would take time to warm up to someone), but if you're just here for OC/Skinner stuff, you might want to skip ahead to chapter 6.