FBI Headquarters

8:04 a.m.

Three Days Later

Mulder sat in his chair, reading the local paper Byers had sent him from Seat Pleasant. In the corner on the third page was an article debunking the hostility at Cedar Grove High School.

"Food poisoning," Mulder muttered angrily. "'Five counts of violence due to food poisoning.'"

Scully walked in. "I just got done talking with Skinner, he said he'll talk to you later." She shook her head. "He wasn't too pleased with what happened, especially since we have no real proof of something that wasn't even an approved investigation. Though he was happy we didn't take the entire week off."

Sliding the paper across the desk, Mulder said, "Take a look at this."

Scully read the article and look back and Mulder, bewildered. "The school's blaming this on food poisoning?"

Mulder nodded. "They're re-admitting the five students on accounts of 'temporary insanity induced by unhealthy food.' The kid with the steroids is still busted."

"I don't believe this," said Scully. "No one's questioning them?"

Mulder shook his head. "School's back on good ol' fashioned city tap water, but they're thinking about shipping in organic foods from now on." He rolled his eyes. "The only good thing is Casey's record is safe, along with the four other kids."

Mulder paused, and stared Scully straight in the eyes. "I think a bigger group was behind this, Scully...I know it. The school was in on it; I think they were being paid to use that water, and that the government was testing that drug on kids."

Scully frowned. "But why on innocent teenagers, Mulder?"

Mulder exhaled slowly. "Because...no one would give them the benefit of the doubt. Because society would view them as just another one of the 'disturbed children.'"

Scully nodded slowly. The case was over, but neither agent was sure they had really won.


Cedar Grove High School

3:20 p.m.

Casey Byers hitched up her backpack and made her way out of the school's side door. Street hockey practice had been called off for the week, so everyone could "get back to normal," as her coach had said.

Shamefully, she hung her head. Her uncle Byers had told her Mulder's theory, and she believed it. It still didn't make anything she had done right, though.

She felt someone fall into step beside her. She raised her head, and saw Bill Akely walking next to her. His face was still bruised, and his nose was swollen. Seeing him made Casey feel even more guilty, and she turned the other way without speaking.

"Hey Casey, wait up!" she heard Bill yell.

"Yeah?" The young girl looked into her friend's eyes expecting to see anger, but perceiving warmth instead.

"Walk me home?" Bill grinned as best he could.

Casey sighed and looked away. "Bill, I'm so sorry for what happened. I'd never-"

"Hey, it's okay," Bill said softly. "It wasn't your fault, I read the news reports."

Knowing that wasn't the real truth, Casey didn't feel any better. "Still though, it doesn't make up for it."

Bill put his arm around her shoulders. "Look, Casey. We've been friends for a couple of months, and I'm not about to let your kicking my ass get in the way of what could be a beautiful relationship."

Casey found herself laughing for the first time in days, knowing that even though he meant those words to be funny, deep down he was being truthful.

She tossed her arm around his shoulders in response. "Okay, Bill. You got it."

Bill stared at the horizon, looking serious. "Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

Looking her deep in her eyes, his tone turned romantic. "Next scrimmage, use a plastic hockey stick...just in case."

Casey grinned and shoved him. "I should smack you for that!" she yelled as the two ran off towards home, the past week behind them, the future waiting. Maybe one day, she'd ask him to go UFO watching with her.


From the front office of the high school, principal Jim Nichols watched the two students depart. He was glad everything had calmed down, and proud of the way his student body had handled the situation. He smiled to himself; they really were a great bunch of kids, despite the "disturbed children" stereotype.

Squinting through the cigarette smoke and filtered sunlight, Nichols turned to the man sitting across from his desk. "I'm sorry our timeline ran out," he said. "The sick rate had gone down, and we sure appreciated the extra government funding."

The man, who had introduced himself only as a city representative sent to cease the treated water deal, took a long drag on his cigarette and smiled. "We appreciate the enthusiasm. Of course, this was purely a trial experiment anyway-we pay you to test our chemically-altered water, and you record the school's sick rate."

Nichols laughed. "Sounds like we couldn't loose. I just don't understand how the city profited."

"Some victories go unseen," the cigarette smoking man said as he stood to leave. He stubbed the butt of his Morley's cigarette on the "Thank You For Not

Smoking!" sign, complete with retro happy face. "Glad to hear the food poisoning ordeal is over," he commented.

The principal nodded, relieved. "Yeah, everything's squared away. A few men came in Monday morning when the building was closed to investigate and found the school food to be the problem. They must have been your guys, because they went ahead and changed the water tanks as well."

The cigarette-smoking man smiled. The water tank exchange had taken place on Friday evening, actually. He nodded to the principal and walked towards the door. "Good to hear they're not really 'disturbed children,'" he said before exiting. But he knew with the help of that new drug...in another place, another situation, the outcome would have been different.

Because not everyone would have given those kids the benefit of the doubt.