Regina could have sworn she was melting.
The human body shouldn't be capable of secreting this much sweat, enough for her to feel a bead drip down her calf, even in stockings. But four years of medical school and another four in residency, all of which included summertime in D.C., told her that it was not only plausible, but to be expected when riding in a Metro car with the A.C. on the fritz in the middle of July.
She once again cursed her mechanic for the delay in her car's repairs as she tried smoothing down the hair frizzing at her temples. So traffic was never much fun either, but she would need at least 10 minutes in a walk-in freezer to regulate her temperature at this point, and that wasn't going to be a possibility before her meeting with the Assistant Director. At least it wasn't that far of a walk, she thought as she pushed through the now open doors at Judiciary Square. She sighed as she stepped from one swamp into another, no hint of fresh air circulating, and made her way out onto the street.
It was still unbearably muggy, but there was some relief in the crowd thinning out as she made her way to the J. Edgar Hoover Building, distinguished in its waffle-like façade. She had been here before, a few times even, but it still held a special power, even after all the time she had spent at Quantico. If not more so. She was used to the classrooms and training grounds, both as a trainee and teacher, but this was Headquarters. This was where all that training became the search for justice. This was where the history happened. She loved medicine, she did truly, and being a pathologist was rewarding in ways she hadn't imagined, but to be a full-time field agent… The pull that had made her sign up in the first place hadn't faded in her two years with the FBI.
Passing through security, she flashed her badge and a smile and stepped onto the first open elevator, doing her best to look like she belonged there. Anything to help compensate for the sweat still dripping down her back even in the chilled elevator and for the new dampness on her palms—nerves this time. There hadn't been any explanation for the Assistant Director requesting the meeting nor even indication if it were good or bad. She couldn't help but be grateful for her mother's lessons on comportment. She never wanted to be grateful to her mother for anything, but at least she seemed perfectly poised despite the heat and her anxiety.
The doors opened on her floor, and she stepped out into the bustling hall. It wasn't long before she was in front of AD Nolan's office. She took one last deep breath and walked through the door.
The sweet-looking secretary looked up questioningly.
"Special Agent Mills. Assistant Director Nolan requested to see me?"
"Oh, yes, of course," the secretary replied. "Just a moment."
Regina didn't bother to sit down as the secretary knocked and entered the office before she came right back out.
"You can go in, he's ready for you."
Regina gave the woman a nod and walked through the second door just as confidently as she had the first—but she couldn't help but falter a little when she found it was not just AD Nolan waiting, but three others, all seated around a table. With room for her at the head.
"Please, take a seat, Agent Mills," Nolan said as he indicated her chair. He seemed a touch older than when she had last seen him in passing a few weeks ago. Tense. As far as Assistant Directors went, he was known to be fair, tough, loyal—but prone to bouts of anger and a little too acquiescent to the powers that be. Regina had to assume that was who the others in the room were. She didn't recognize the men—though one, with a sharp nose and hair a little too long for the FBI, did seem oddly familiar.
"Thank you for coming in today," Nolan continued, taking his own seat beside her.
"Of course," Regina replied graciously, still eyeing the unknown men who apparently wouldn't be giving introductions.
"I'm sure you're curious as to why."
Regina nodded in agreement, wondering what could possibly be flustering Nolan and what she could have to do with it. Nolan paused a moment longer, checking in with the men around the table before taking a deep breath and turning back to her.
"Do you know a Special Agent Swan?"
Regina looked at Nolan, surprised. What kind of question was that? What did Agent Swan have to do with her? Why would it make Nolan nervous? Was this some kind of test?
Still, she managed to respond calmly, not liking the intensity with which the sharp-nosed man was staring at her.
"No, Sir, I don't know her personally."
"But you know of her?" One of the other men, a balding, fatter one more typical of FBI bureaucracy, asked.
"I heard about her at the Academy. Harvard grad. Youngest member of the Behavioral Crimes Unit. We studied her profile on the Telltale Heart Killer."
"And did you hear anything else?" The bald man probed.
Regina knew what he was looking for, but she was struck by the feeling she was selling this Agent out, even if everyone already knew the stories. She replied anyway.
"She had a reputation for…thinking outside the box. Believing in…the impossible. And a nickname—Spooky Swan."
Her answer somehow managed to get the sharp-nosed man to relax just a touch. As if her underlying disdain for believing in the supernatural was all he had been looking to hear. He looked to Nolan, giving him a barely identifiable nod. Nolan took it as his cue to continue.
"Well, Agent Mills, you see… some time back, Agent Swan left the Violent Crimes Unit to reopen what are known as the X-Files."
"The X-Files? As in unsolved cases believed to be related to the paranormal because no one could solve them?" Regina didn't bother to hide her derision. It seemed to be what they had been looking for, and she couldn't believe that these urban legend cases actually existed, let alone had someone assigned to them full-time. Still, the smirk that passed over the sharp-nosed man's face left her feeling unsure in her own knowledge.
"Yes," Nolan confirmed, if a little pained to do so. "Agent Swan has become particularly dedicated to investigating these cases. And I'm assigning you to join her."
"You…What? Sir?"
Regina cringed a little at her uncontained response, but Nolan seemed entirely unfazed.
"You're being assigned to the X-Files, Agent Mills. We would like you to use your scientific background to report on the validity of Agent Swan's theories and findings. I'll expect weekly reports separate from your case work to be delivered directly to me."
Regina was still struggling to find her bearings. There were many other scientifically inclined agents, not to mention some that had many years of experience on her, and why wouldn't they just shut Swan down all together if they thought her theories were untenable?
"You want me to disprove Agent Swan's work?"
"Not necessarily, Miss Mills," the sharp-nosed man finally spoke, his voice rugged with what seemed to be years of cigarette smoking and a bit of a brogue. "Just submit it to your most rigorous scientific testing."
His voice seemed even more familiar and disconcerting than his looks. And she knew innately she had reached the limit of her questioning.
"Of course," She ceded. "I'll go introduce myself to Agent Swan."
"Good," Nolan seemed to sigh in relief despite the tension that still vibrated in the air. "She'll be expecting you."
Nolan shook her hand and showed her out the door, informing his secretary to direct Regina to Agent Swan's office before directly heading back into his office and sitting behind his desk, slightly more comfortable, it seemed, with something between him and the other occupants of his office.
Regina didn't see much else before she headed back into the hall, but she did hear the click of a lighter and smelled a whiff of smoke.
Regina finally felt dry and even a little cool as she walked down the basement hallway. Apparently cold air did sink, even if there was little down here that needed a moderate climate. Rooms filled with boxes, storage. The maintenance offices. And finally, as she turned the corner, Agent Swan's office. And now, she guessed, hers.
This hadn't been where she expected to be after that meeting. Not that she had expected much of anything. But she had originally gone into the Bureau because she felt she could make a difference, and she had in her teaching. But now? Disproving some whackadoo theories that shouldn't even exist to begin with? It felt like punishment. Perhaps if she did well here she would get another, better assignment? The dark before the dawn?
But—she was now a field agent. And she worked at FBI headquarters. And she would get to meet the infamous Agent Emma Swan, whose profiles truly were outstanding. Perhaps it wouldn't just be punishment after all.
Regina knocked before opening the door but didn't wait for an answer before she stepped inside.
The office was larger than she had imagined, but a mess, the walls covered in all sorts of images—at least two of skulls, one human and one not readily identifiable—stacks of papers and files threatening to tumble off the cabinets they sat on—And right in the middle, at the lone desk, a lanky, finely muscled blonde in a discount pantsuit and high ponytail sitting, sizing her up.
Regina stepped forward, extending her hand.
"Agent Swan, I'm Regina Mills. I've been assigned to work with you."
"Mills." Swan grasped Regina's hand and shook firmly, her fingers slightly cold from the air conditioning. "Can't say you're what I was expecting."
"Sorry to disappoint."
Emma chuckled. "For one, you didn't, for two, if they're going to stick me with a spy, I definitely approve of their choice."
Somehow, Regina was flustered. New situations were tough for anyone, but Regina had years of practice and the firm belief that the Agent Swan she had heard of was likely just on the edge of sane, someone to be pitied at best—but this Emma in front of her was calm and cocky and it seemed knew exactly what was happening, all while eyeing her like she knew her inside and out. Or she would soon enough.
"It's okay," Swan continued, not allowing Regina's recovery for a retort. "I know what the Man is up to, and I know you probably didn't have much choice getting stuck down here—in fact, who did you piss off?"
Regina hated feeling so off kilter, and she had been asking herself the same question just moments ago, so she stuck to the one thing she felt she could scoff at. "The Man? Really?"
Emma didn't look perturbed by her eyebrow raising. If anything, she looked more intrigued. "Yeah, Cancer Man and his buddies, whoever they are. Generally known as the Man."
"Cancer Man…"
"He's always smoking," Swan explained the nickname. "And lurking."
Swan's barely repressed shutter suddenly connected the dots for Regina. "The one with the sharp nose and long hair?"
Swan looked impressed and eyed Regina even closer. "You know him?"
Regina ignored Swan's question in favor of her own. "Do you know anything about him?"
Swan shrugged. "Not really. Just he's covering some shit up and he doesn't want me working the X-Files for reasons that aren't he doesn't believe. Why?"
Regina could've inferred the not wanting Swan on the X-Files part, but the having something to hide was new—and utterly believable. But he was above Nolan in the hierarchy of power, so what would it be?
"I just saw him for the first time," Regina admitted, eager to discuss more, "He was in my meeting with Assistant Director Nolan."
Swan smiled cheekily. "Ooh, careful, Mills, you're not much of a spy if you reveal all your secrets."
Regina scowled. She wasn't a spy. Not if Emma already knew her mission, anyway. "Agent Swan, I'm here to work with you—"
"Emma," Swan interrupted.
"What?"
Regina really had had enough of being thrown off her game. And yet, somehow she knew that with Agent Swan, it wasn't likely to end.
"We're partners now, Mills. So Emma. Or Swan, if you'd like."
"Alright," Regina agreed. "Swan."
"Better." This time Swan's smile was full and genuine. She looked like an angel. Or a puppy. Hardly spooky.
Suddenly the mystery Regina wanted to solve most was the woman right in front of her. And it looked like Swan was going to give her a chance.
"Welcome to the X-Files, Regina."
A/N: I don't know that I'll continue this, but I needed to write something, and with both The X-Files and Regina on my mind - seemed like a good idea at the time.