My dad and I decided that we were going to watch all nine seasons of the X-Files. This just popped into my head. I'm sorry.

Benny sat nervously in the chair, fiddling his fingers and trying to take up as little space as possible.

Opposite him, behind a solid oak desk, Assistant Director William Lorde shuffled through the file open in front of him. After a few moments of tense silence, he said, "Benjamin Day. Graduated at the top of your class. Highly recommended by almost all your teachers. Oh, I see here it says you have a degree in astrophysics. You're quite accomplished for your age." Lorde closed the file, and Benny could hear a 'but' coming.

"So can you tell me, Special Agent Day," Lorde continued, "why it is you have been here for three months and can't keep one partner for more than three weeks?"

Benny felt his cheeks burning. "Can't say, sir."

"I've received varying complaints from your former partners, some of which include-" here, Lorde referred to the file again, "-greener than grass, easily distracted, and…" His brow furrowed and he narrowed his eyes at the page. "…under no circumstances should be given caffeine. Sounds like there's quite a story behind that one."

By now, Benny's face was completely red, all the way to the tips of his ears. "Sorry, sir," he mumbled.

Lorde leaned back in his chair with a sigh, folding his hands. "The FBI exists to maintain order, and I like order. I like it very much. But you, Agent Day, you aren't very orderly."

Benny stared down at his hands clenched white-knuckled in his lap. His tie was suddenly feeling very tight.

Lorde watched the young man contemplatively over steepled fingertips. "You're a clever kid, Ben – can I call you Ben?"

Benny swallowed and nodded.

Lorde stood up and walked around his desk. "You've got a lot of potential. I'd hate to cut you down while you're still growing." He came to hover over Benny's shoulder, and Benny tried not to flinch at the strange emphasis Lorde had put on cut. "So I'm gonna give you another chance."

Benny straightened up and twisted his head around to look up at Lorde hopefully.

Lorde smiled, and the smug tint to it was lost on Benny. "I've got a division that isn't quite as… orderly as I'd like it to be. Have you heard of the X-Files?"

Benny shook his head.

"Well, I'm a little glad of that," Lorde laughed. "It's a very small division. Honestly, I hate to call it a division, it's so small. More of a pocket, really. I've been feeling a little cut off from it lately. So I'd like to assign you to the X-Files, and you'll type up thorough reports for me of the cases you cover. Do you think you could do that?"

Benny nodded vigorously. "Absolutely, sir!"

Lorde chuckled and patted Benny on his unruly hair. "Excellent, Ben. I like knowing the contents of my pockets." He returned to his desk and sat down, scribbling something onto a post-it note and holding it out. "Your new partners will fill you in on the rest."

Benny shot to his feet. "Yes, sir," he said, taking the scrap of paper. It had the location of his new division on it. He was too excited to realize what the office number indicated. "Thank you, sir!"

Lorde just smiled thinly and waved him off. Benny scrambled to the door, accidentally opened it into his face, and nearly tripped out of the office. He pulled the door closed and leaned back against it, exhaling deeply. Then he grinned and punched the air. He all but sprinted to the elevator, bounced on his toes until the doors slid open, and hopped inside. He checked the post-it for the floor number, and his unease suddenly came creeping back. Hesitantly, he pressed the button for the basement, and the cab rumbled downwards. Lorde's office was on the top floor, so Benny had a nice, long trip to let this latest development stew, and his earlier anxiety returned full force. Basement meant it was either super top-secret important, or it was something people just wanted to forget existed. Benny had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter, which became more of a certainty when the doors opened onto a badly-lit hallway. He set off down the hall, glancing around nervously. It looked like hardly anyone ever came down here. Finally, he found the office wedged between a janitor's closet and a storage unit. The door was open, and he could hear talking from inside. He peeked through the doorway.

Sitting behind a desk stacked high with files was a middle-aged man with big, round glasses and wiry brown hair that was graying at the temples. He seemed to be having a conversation with himself as he flipped through the pages in front of him. Benny felt like he was listening to one side of a phone call, but there was no phone apparent. "What about this one?" the man was saying. "Seems like there's-" He stopped abruptly and rolled his eyes. "You always say it's a weather balloon! If you're going to doubt me, at least be more creative about it." Pausing again, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ok, no, seriously. I've got a good feeling about this one."

Benny felt he should probably announce himself. "Um," he said.

The man jumped a little in surprise and looked up at Benny wavering in the doorway.

"Hi," Benny said with a small, uncertain wave. "Is this the X-Files?"

The man stared at him blankly for a second, and then he grinned. "Oh, of course! You must be the new recruit Lorde was telling us about yesterday. Come in, come in."

Benny stepped hesitantly into the small, cluttered office, and the man stood and leaned across the desk with his hand extended. "Special Agent Liam Copp," he said. "And you're… Special Agent Day, right? I'm sorry, I can't remember your first name."

Benny nodded and shook Liam's hand. "Benjamin," he replied. "B-but you can just call me Benny."

Liam's smile was so sunny and genuine that Benny felt some of his jitters melting away. "Benny it is," he said, sitting back down. "So how much did Lorde tell you about our little operation here?"

"Not much," Benny said, fiddling with his cuffs. "Nothing, actually."

"That's alright," Liam said, and gestured to the only other chair in the room. "Have a seat."

Benny pulled the chair up to the desk and sat, and Liam continued, "Tell me, Benny. What do you think of the possibility of extraterrestrial life?"

Benny was a little thrown off balance by that. "W-well… I think it would be pretty neat. And the universe is so big we're in no position to say it's impossible. I really like space," he felt the sudden need to add. "I almost went into aerospace engineering."

Liam was fascinated. "Really? What changed your mind?"

Benny looked down at his hands. "I'd… rather not talk about it."

The older man nodded understandingly. "Well, I'm glad we've got a rocket scientist on our side."

Benny blushed and wasn't able to suppress a pleased smile.

"The reason I asked," Liam said, "is because here, we investigate the conventionally inexplicable. Reports of close encounters, alien abductions, and general weirdness. Do you think this is a job you'd be willing to do?"

Benny eyed the piles of manila folders. "It does seem interesting," he said. "But you keep saying 'we.' Is there someone else here?"

Liam snapped his fingers. "Oh, yes, of course! I just wanted to give you the low-down before I let Mal introduce himself. Here we go." He took off his glasses and picked up a pair of aviators off the desk, sliding them on. His posture changed, became stiffer, and his open, friendly expression twisted into a scowl. When he spoke again, even his voice was different, gruffer. "So you're the new kid," he growled.

"Um," Benny said.

Liam – or was it even Liam anymore? – gave Benny an assessing look over the top of his sunglasses. "Benny, huh? I don't like it."

"Sorry," Benny said reflexively.

The changed man glared at Benny in silence for a moment, then said, "Special Agent Malcolm Copp." Unlike Liam, he made no move to shake hands.

"Nice to meet you," Benny offered.

Malcolm snorted. "I doubt it. Now," he said, leaning forward and folding his hands, "I must say, you don't quite seem the spy type."

Benny blinked, feeling lost. "Spy?"

Malcolm leveled a finger at him. "There's only one reason Lorde would assign someone else to this shithole of a department, and that would be to keep a close eye on us and report everything back to him. That's what he asked you to do, isn't it?"

"Well…" Benny floundered. "Yeah, I guess. But he didn't say anything about spying. He just wants me to write case reports. He said you guys have been kinda out of touch."

Malcolm took off his aviators and set them aside, rubbing his forehead. "It's the same thing, kid," he said wearily. "Lorde's just manipulating you."

"You make him sound like some kind of villain," Benny said.

Malcolm let out a short bark of laughter. "You're greener than grass, aren't you?"

Benny felt heat rise to his cheeks at the echo from earlier, and he shot to his feet. "I might be a rookie," he snapped, slamming his hands down on the desk so hard a stack of papers toppled to the floor, "but I am perfectly capable! If you'd just give me a damn chance, if anyone in this place would, I can show you just how fast a learner I am! I'm not just some kid to be passed around because nobody wants me-" his voice cracked on that, but he powered on, "-I'm a fully qualified FBI agent, and they don't exactly hand out badges like candy!" He came to a stop, breathing heavily, his heartbeat slamming in his ears.

Malcolm was watching him with a stunned expression, and then he suddenly burst out into laughter – a genuine, deep belly laugh. "Well color me impressed," he said. "You've got some guts, kid."

Benny wanted to object to the 'kid,' but the word had lost its condescending edge and he had a feeling he'd just been nicknamed.

"So tell me," Malcolm said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the UFO poster behind him. "You a believer or a skeptic?"

His rush of adrenaline was fading, and he gave the question some serious thought. "Neither," Benny said after a moment. "The universe is full of endless possibility, but I also like some solid evidence."

Malcolm nodded approvingly. "A neutral party. That might be just what we need around here." He extended his hand across the desk. "Welcome to the team, kid."

Benny couldn't help smiling as he shook Malcolm's hand. "Thank y-"

He was cut off as Malcolm abruptly tightened his grip so hard Benny thought he might lose feeling in his fingers. "Now," Malcolm growled. "Your first assignment is to clean up those darn papers you knocked over."