A/N: Here we are again! I was very excited to write this story, so I ended up making a cool cover for it (at least I hope it's cool) to allude to some of its major themes. I've always enjoyed a good witch story, and since the very first episode established that Mulder and Scully have moved to a very 'witchy' place, I though it would be a good time to explore that. I hope you enjoy this fourth installment in my X-files series!

XxX

Chapter 1.

February 18, 2011.

Iden took a big breath and blew, extinguishing ten candles at once. Her audience cheered and her adoptive mother gave her a tight squeeze, but Iden was too focused to respond. She shut her eyes tightly, balled up her fists, and put all her power into her wish. When it was done, and the words were echoing around in her head, she opened her eyes and jumped up into the first set of arms she could find. Dana folded her into a warm mom hug and murmured, "Happy birthday, sweetheart."

It was probably the best birthday she had ever had. Everyone was there – Charlie and Sarah flew down from New York, Nancy brought her husband and their three sons, Hector and his kids all brought presents, the weird scientist Fox made friends with in Kentucky came to give her a colorful cryptozoology book, and Katie Whitehead and her dad even stopped by. Dana and Fox had covered their little country home in decorations and made a banner with her name over it to hang over the kitchen door. Everyone was loud and happy and Iden had never felt so special.

Birthdays were usually quiet affairs, sitting at home with Deloris and eating supermarket cupcakes. Her sister had never really understood birthdays – but that was forgivable now that Iden knew Deloris had been an alien.

Once the cake was distributed and the gifts were all torn open, the party broke into a few globs of adults talking amongst themselves, and kids running wild in the yard. Iden thought about joining them for a while, but ended up hanging out with Dana by the back door. Her mother seemed content with this arrangement. She folded her arms around Iden and hummed softly, swaying back and forth to some song in her head.

Charlie stood with them for a while, just as bold a redhead as his sister, and sipped from the beer in his hand. He watched the kids play. "Man, I miss that."

"No one will judge you if you join them," Dana said.

Charlie laughed. "Do you remember? Huh? We used to play that all the time. You, me, and Bill. You were the fastest, I was the smartest, and-"

"Bill was the biggest, I remember." Dana had a gleam in her eyes.

"Almost been a year, huh?" Charlie looked at Iden now, pointing at her with his beer can. "You must be a strong kid, putting up with these two for so long." He gestured sideways, encompassing the house, where Fox was somewhere entertaining other guests.

Iden smiled. It was impossible to dislike Charlie. He was always happy, he spoke quickly and with a strange, songlike rhythm, and there was no one on the planet he couldn't befriend. He was like Fox in that way. He had also come all the way down here just to wish her a happy birthday and give her a present, and that meant a lot.

"Hey, watch it," Dana said. "You have to spend the night with us."

Charlie shrugged, "Yeah, well, how about we all keep our pants on tonight?"

"What about Frankie?" Iden asked quickly, before Dana could respond.

Charlie looked quizzical, "Who?"

"The dog," Dana provided, motioning to the yard, where the multi-colored cattle dog was racing around with the kids, having the absolute time of her life.

"Oh, yeah. No, no pants for the dog. What happened to her ears, by the way? Sarah asked me."

"Some jerk-face cut them off," Iden answered, again cutting Dana off. "And if I ever find out who did it, I'll cut his ears off, too."

"No, you won't." Dana looked at her seriously.

"Call me, and I'll do it for you," Charlie said, winking.

Iden grinned at him. "Are you sure you have to go back to New York?"

Charlie clutched his heart in mock surprise, sliding down the doorframe to get to her height. "It's a damn shame, but I do. You know, I got hotdogs to eat, taxis to hail…"

"But you can do that here!" Iden insisted. "And me and Sarah could play together!"

"You drive a hard bargain. I'll tell you what. If I ever find work down south, this town will be my first choice. Deal?"

Iden nodded, and Dana rolled her eyes.

It was the best day of her life, aside from the day she was adopted, of course. Iden played until dusk, when the rest of the party broke up and the stragglers finally went home. She sat in her room and talked to Sarah for hours afterward, laughing so much she cried. Sarah told her all about New York, describing massive buildings and busy streets, and Iden told Sarah all about Virginia, about the quiet, lazy streams and the way Fox liked to go get the mail in his underwear, in the snow. When Iden told her how Dana had locked him out once, Sarah snorted soda out of her nose.

Iden was having so much fun she almost forgot her last, most important request. It was midnight before it popped back into her head, and she rushed out of her room to find Dana.

Charlie and Fox were sitting on the couch, drinking beer and talking about whatever they were watching on TV. Iden crept past them into the master bedroom, where Dana was sitting up in bed, reading a small novel that was pinched in her left hand.

Iden hopped up on the bed and sat across from her, "Whatcha reading?"

"Just a little practical physics," Dana responded, shutting the book with a snap and smiling at Iden. "Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah. I just wish Sarah could stay."

"Maybe we'll go up to New York and see them next time I get a holiday."

Iden brightened. "Really?"

"Really."

Iden was content for a moment, picturing all the amazing things Sarah had described, and then she recalled why she had come in here. "Dana… I wanted to ask for one more thing, for my birthday."

Dana looked a little apprehensive, "What is it?"

"I want to go to the festival."

Every year, the neighboring town of Swanford hosted the Widow Tree Witching Festival and Iden had never been allowed to go. Deloris always said the festival was dangerous and full of imposters, though Iden doubted it could be both of those things at the same time. She worried that Dana would be the one to tell her she couldn't go, so she asked her directly.

Dana surprised her, "When is it?"

"Two weeks from now, I think."

"Okay. We can go."

Iden squealed and launched herself at Dana, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Thank you!"

Dana squeezed her, laughing, "Did you think I would say no?"

"Well, Fox thought you might."

Dana scoffed. "It may surprise you to learn that Mulder is wrong sometimes."

Iden sat back, grinning. It was her best birthday ever, and she knew it could never be topped. It was simply not possible to fill her heart with more joy.