Just so you're aware, I stole way too much dialogue from the show. Honestly, you might as well go watch 3x 12 "War of the Coprophages" (which will not have my happy beginning and after moments that are not case centric). That's basically all this is. Then, you can read the end I guess. That deals more with Chloe. The Chloe part may actually be the cutest. Although, I'm more than likely biased.
Disclaimer: Aside from not owning most of this chapter, I also do not own Orson Welle's "War of the Worlds" broadcast which sent those who tuned in a little late to the radio program heading for their cars and running out of town. Also, the episode was based partly on the broadcast. - - brought to you by the generous contribution of IMDB trivia.
Enjoy!
On Friday, Scully locks up the office and happily decides to spend her weekend cleaning her apartment. Deciding to pick up dog shampoo and a pint of ice cream on her way home, Scully tries calling her partner to ask him how Chloe is doing. Ignoring the fact that the man's cell goes to voicemail, she decides to call him the next day. Kicking off her shoes once she enters her apartment, the woman puts her items away before heading to bed. The next day, she cleans most of her apartment, runs a couple errands, and continuously tries to get in touch with Mulder. Finally, as she cleans her gun. she tries his number again and finally he answers. When she hears him say his name, Scully responds, "Mulder, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day."
Hearing him tell her his apartment complex is being fumigated, Scully now understands his comment from the other day. Then, he tells her he is in Massachusetts. Curious, the red head asks, "Visiting your mother?"
"No, just, uh... sitting and thinking," Mulder replies as his partner settles in to the man's talk about extra terrestrial theories and soon replies with her own scientific explanations as she finishes cleaning her gun. She is happy she does finish, because Mulder's next comment catches her off guard for a second.
"Scully... what are you wearing?" He teases causing the woman to laugh as he explains, "I understand what you're saying, but I, I, I just need to keep looking."
Grabbing her silverware polish and grabbing a fork off the table, Scully replies, "Yeah, well, don't look too hard. You might not like what you find."
"Isn't that what, uh, Doctor Zaius said to Charlton Heston at the end of "Planet of the Apes?"" Mulder questions while Scully casually counters, "And look what happened."
Companionable silence engulfs their conversation until Mulder states, "Scully, I got to go."
"Wait... Mulder, what's going on?" The red head questions before hearing a click to end the call and then a dial tone. Confused, Scully asks, "Mulder?"
As if she needs more phone calls from her friend, the woman continually receives calls throughout the night with Mulder insisting she come up, but her giving a reason over the phone letting her stay home. However, her curiosity peaked, Scully does research. Sitting at her desk with the pint of ice cream she buys the night before, Scully calls her partner with her findings. When he picks up, she says, "Mulder? I've been doing some research. Back in the mid-'80s, there was a cockroach species previously only found in Asia. And since then, it's made an appearance in Florida. They've now completely established themselves in this country."
"Do they attack people?" She hears Mulder say.
"No, but they do exhibit behavior different than our domestic breeds," Scully explains adding, "They, they fly for long distances and they're attracted to light."
"But do they attack people?" He asks. Swallowing some ice cream, the medical doctor replies, "I'm suggesting that what's happening out there might be the introduction to this country of a new species of cockroach. One that is attracted to people."
"Well, that all makes perfect sense, Scully. I don't like it at all. Did you know that the federal government, under the guise as the department of agriculture, as been conducting secret experiments up here?"
Knowing his FBI tactics, Scully asks, "Mulder, you're not thinking about trespassing onto government property again, are you? I know that you've done it in the past, but I don't think that this case warrants-"
She is cut off by Mulder who says the words she dreads.
"It's too late, I'm already inside," He answers. Scully hits the palm of her hand on the desk and sighs before zeroing in on the background noises from Mulder's end of the call. Now curious, Scully asks, "Well, what's going on? What do you see?"
When Mulder tells her he is in a house, Scully takes a bite of her ice cream before asking, "What does the place look like?"
"It's a, uh... typical two-story suburban house. Nice big living room, sparsely furnished," The agent explains as his friend continues to eat her food. Scully listens to him continue to describe where he is when he says, "Moving walls."
"Moving walls?" She queries. There is a pause before Mulder answers, "Yeah. They're rippling. Oh! Cockroaches!"
"What?!" Scully asks as she decides to disregard her food of choice.
"Cockroaches. They're everywhere. Ah, I'm surrounded," The man exclaims as his partner demands, "Mulder, you've got to get out of there right now!"
Hearing the man scream, Scully calls through the receiver, "Are you all right? What happened?"
"Flashlight went out," He tells her. Now, a little confused, the red head questions, "Mulder, what's going on?"
Eager for an answer, she is a little perturbed when her partner answers, "Got to go."
Hearing the dial tone from her phone, Scully calls, "Mulder! Mulder!"
When she heads to bed that night, she keeps the phone near her just in case. In the middle of the night, the woman's phone in fact does ring causing her to answer quickly while rubbing her eyes from sleep.
"Mulder, are you okay?" She asks. She sighs a little in relief when her partner says he cannot sleep. At least she knows he is okay. Humoring her friend, Scully sits up and asks. "What happened at the U.S.D.A. site?"
"They're conducting legitimate experiments," He tells her before stating, "I met an entomologist, Doctor Berenbaum, who agrees with your theory of an accidental importation of a new cockroach species."
Intrigued, Scully asks, "Did he give you any idea of how to catch them?"
"No. But she did tell me everything else there is to know about insects."
Feeling a little pang of jealousy, Scully questions, "She?"
When he gives a fun fact about Egyptians worshipping scarab beetle and honoring them with pyramids, Scully states, "Did you know the inventor of the flush toilet was named Thomas Crapper?"
She hears her partner laugh a little before continuing, "Bambi also has this theory I've never come acro-"
Her eyes widening, the red head questions, "Who?"
"Doctor Berenbaum. Anyway, her theory is-"
"Her name is Bambi?" Scully questions in disbelief. As Mulder explains Dr. Berenbaum's theory, all his partner can say is, "Her name is Bambi?"
A pause ensues before Mulder asks, "Scully, can I confess something to you?"
"Yeah, sure, okay," She states wondering if his comment will be of any significance or simply to keep her from asking about Bambi again.
"I hate insects," He replies. Wondering if her night has gotten better or worse, Scully decides to reassure her partner by telling him that many people fear insects.
"No, no, I'm not afraid of them. I hate them. One day back when I was a kid, I, uh... I was climbing this tree when I noticed this leaf walking towards me. It took forever for me to realize that it was no leaf."
"A praying mantis?" Scully states trying to keep her composure and not laugh. Instead, she listens to her partner as he says, "Yeah, I had a praying mantis epiphany and, as a result, I screamed. No, not... not a girlie scream, but the scream of someone being confronted by some before unknown monster that had no right existing on the same planet I inhabited. Did you ever notice how a praying mantis' head resembles an alien's head? I mean, the mysteries of the natural world were revealed to me that day, but instead of being astounded, I was... repulsed.
"Mulder," Scully begins unable to resist what she says next, "Are you sure it wasn't a girlie scream?"
Suddenly, an actual scream breaks their banter as Scully questions, "What was that?"
"Oh, I got to go," Mulder tells her before she is again greeted with a dial tone.
"Mul... no..." Scully states as she takes her phone away from her ear. Deciding to find out what is really happening, Scully changes from her pajamas and starts to pack her suitcase. Halfway through her job, Scully hears her phone ring. Answering, she asks, "What happened now?"
"One of the motel guests died," He confides.
Now doubly worried for him, Scully says, "Mulder, I'm coming up there right now."
"Scully, I think this man died from simply from a reaction to the cockroaches," Her partner tries to tell her. Throwing clothes into her suitcase, Scully muses aloud, "Two cases of anaphylactic shock in the same day in the same town is highly improbable."
"No, I... I'm saying that I think this man simply had a heart attack. Word about the cockroach infestation and the deaths related to it have gotten out and... I think this man simply saw some cockroaches and scared himself to death," The agent explains.
"Regardless, Mulder, something strange is definitely going on up there."
"Maybe not. All your conjectures have proved correct. The exterminator did die from anaphylactic shock. The teenage boy did die from self-inflicted wounds and was getting high off methane fumes derived from burning manure. The medical examiner did die from a brain aneurysm."
"I still haven't been able to explain the cockroaches at all the sites," She tells him.
"Or the fact that their exoskeletons are made of metal," Mulder says more to himself.
"Metal? What are you talking about? Mulder?" The red head asks trying to get into her partner's head. She speaks again when he does not answer.
"Mulder, I'm coming up there," Scully tells her friend definitively. She rolls her eyes as he says, "Whatever."
Hours later, after asking for directions and witnessing deranged supermarket patrons reenact their own version of Orson Welle's "War of Worlds" broadcast, Scully contacts Mulder. Telling him how crazy the town is, she soon begins her theory on his case and they agree to meet up at a designated research facility. Arriving at the building, Scully finds a brunette sitting in Mulder's car. Seeing her, the red head cannot help stating, "Let me guess... Bambi."
"Fox told me to wait out here while he checked inside first. Should I come along with you?" Bambi asks.
"No," Scully begins before adding, "This is no place for an entomologist."
Entering the building, the female agent soon relies on her cell to call her partner. Once she finds him, Mulder runs toward her telling her the whole place can blow up. Running outside, Mulder tells Bambi to take cover while he and Scully duck behind his car. After the police come, Mulder is approached by Doctor Ivanov who helps him during the case. As the man talks with the two federal agents and the one bug expert, Mulder watches in fascination as Ivanov and Bambi walk off together while discussing their love of science fiction. Seeing his expression, Scully states, "Smart is Sexy."
When her partner looks at her, the woman explains, "Well, think of it this way, Mulder. By the time there's another invasion of artificially-intelligent, dung-eating robotic probes from outer space, maybe their uber-children will have devised a way to save our planet."
Instead of a rebuttal to her statement, Mulder says, "You know, I never thought I'd say this to you, Scully... but you smell bad."
He smirks before walking away while Scully follows behind him. Arriving in Virginia the next day around three in the morning, Mulder decides to go home and write his report knowing that his daughter is staying with Anna. Not until around noon, does Mulder wake up when he hears his daughter knock on the main apartment door. Seeing his appearance, the preteen states, "You look awful, Dad."
"Thanks, Chloe," He says sarcastically as he lets his daughter inside, "Are you hungry?"
Shaking her head, Chloe asks, "Did you stay up all night?"
"No, I slept," He answers wondering how his daughter can act so much like Scully sometimes and not be related. Shrugging, Chloe grabs her bike from her bedroom and asks if she can ride. Mulder tells her she can, but soon realizes that her bike is getting too small for her. He makes a note to get her a new one for Christmas, although part of him wonders if it is a good idea. She rarely rides anymore. Brought out of his thoughts, he hears his daughter call out a good- bye before calling his partner. When she answers, Mulder asks her rather work related questions regarding her report. The lack of intamacy prompts Scully to ask, "Mulder, are you okay?"
Unsure if he wants to tell his friend that he still hurts a little from being rejected by Bambi, he decides against it and tells her he is fine.
"Okay. How did Chloe's sleepover go?" The red head asks instead. Mulder shrugs replying that he has not asked yet. After a brief silence, Mulder says, "She hasn't said. I was going to go out to eat dinner tonight if you want to come. I can make sure Chloe doesn't talk about the party until then!"
He hears his friend laugh before agreeing to the plan. Making his daughter wait until Scully shows up, Mulder wonders if he is being rather cruel to the preteen. Instead, he smiles when Scully walks up and his daughter immediately drags her inside.
"You didn't have to wait on me you know," Scully states as they walk into a diner halfway between the Mulder's and Scully's residences.
"Felt I should after last night," Mulder states with a shrug reminding both of them of their time in Massachusetts. Instead of a reply from his partner, his daughter looks up at him.
"Dad, can I tell you about the sleepover now?" Chloe questions as they sit at a booth. Nodding, Mulder listens to his daughter as she describes the party and how something happened, but she is not sure what.
"Where were you?" Mulder questions.
"I got bored and walked into the living room where Laura's little sister Carrie was watching Bambi and coloring. Then, I got roped into watching the movie with her."
"You didn't want to spend time with Laura?" Scully questions from her seat beside Mulder.
Shrugging, Chloe answers, "They were playing Truth or Dare and I got bored, so watching Bambi was better than sitting there."
"Looks like you two have something in common this weekend, Mulder," Scully murmurs with a small grin designated for her partner.
"Dad watched Bambi, too?" Chloe asks confused.
"Among other things," The red head murmurs as she eats a French fry from her plate. After a sideways glance from her partner, Scully decides to stop making snide comments and focus on the eleven year old in front of her.
After dinner, the trio parts ways with Scully heading back to her apartment. Seeing her off, Mulder drives his daughter back home and soon finds himself blindsided by Chloe who asks, "Who's Bambi?"
"Just someone I met on a case," He offers.
"Was she pretty?"
"Sort of," Mulder asks uncomfortably. He forgets how perceptive the eleven year old can be. At his daughter's satisfied hum, he asks suspiciously, "Why?"
"Just thought I should know about a possible new girlfriend," She mumbles turning to the car window.
"There's no girlfriend, Chlo. Trust me," The father replies as he remembers Ivanov.
"Sure, Dad," Chloe answers secretly happy that her father and Scully still have a chance together.
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