Home of Trevor Jones

12:30 p.m.

"Oh. Hurry in. It's cold out and you've not got a coat," Mrs. Jones, the grandmother of the second missing man, Trevor Jones, said to Scully as she ushered them inside. "You need something warmer on you."

"Thank you," Scully said with a smile. "I do have a coat, but we just had to drop it at the dry cleaners."

"Oh dear," Mrs. Jones said, closing the door. "Nothing too awful of a reason for it, I hope."

"No. Simply an unfortunate mishap with an overly excited and very muddy dog," Scully told her. "Completely unavoidable."

"Well, I hope it's cleaned and ready for you soon. There's a chance of snow coming. I can feel it in my knees and they've never been wrong yet. I'll make us all some tea, that should warm us up."

"That would be great," Scully said and Mrs. Jones nodded, leading them into the living room and telling them to make themselves comfortable.

They looked around the room that was decorated mostly in pastel colors. The side tables were covered in long peach colored tablecloths that ended in a ruffle. The couch was a pale floral print, as were the chairs sitting opposite it, all with ruffles along the bottom.

Pictures on the wall were of three girls and a boy, no doubt Trevor and his sisters. They all had blonde hair, Trevor's short, while the girls wore it long. In all of them, they smiled happily at the camera.

"Seems like a pretty normal family," Scully said, looking at more pictures, which cataloged the children as they grew.

"Any family does from the outside," Mulder stated and she nodded, knowing that was true. "Three sisters… Was he spoiled or abused by them?" He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"I'd say a little of both. I doted on Charlie, but also punched or kicked him if he made me angry."

"Huh… that doesn't sound like you," he said under his breath, glancing at her quickly as she laughed quietly.

"You grow up with an older brother like Bill, you learn how to fight."

"So he's always been an ass."

"That is a good assessment."

"Here we are," Mrs. Jones said as she walked into the room, carrying a tray laden with tea cups and saucers, a teapot, and cream and sugar. "My neighbor was over a bit ago so the water was still warm. Just needed a heat up."

"Let me help you," Mulder said, reaching for the tray but she shook her head.

"Thank you, but I've got it." She set the tray on the coffee table and smiled sadly at them.

"Please have a seat."

They sat on the couch with her across from them in one of the overstuffed chairs, their cups of tea held on their laps.

"Mrs. Jones-" Scully began.

"Harriet, please."

"Harriet," Scully said with a smile. "Could you tell us about Trevor? And about his disappearance?"

"Trevor is such a good boy," Harriet said, looking up at his picture above the couch. "He's the youngest of four and was always a bit spoiled by all of us."

Mulder shifted and Scully knew he was silently telling her he had been right.

"Trevor and his sisters lost their mother, my daughter, when he was seven. Their father had been gone since he learned my daughter was pregnant with Trevor, claiming he didn't want anymore children. Good riddance, I said, as he was a lazy man and left my Corrine to do all the work and then complained about it not being done properly. A real piece of work." She shook her head and sighed. Taking a sip of tea, she looked at them. "I took them in when Corinne was pregnant and they all grew up here. When my daughter died, I had custody of them and I raised them on my own once my husband died. They're all wonderful kids. Like I said, Trevor was spoiled and babied, but it left him empathetic and kind. When he was in high school on the lacrosse team, there was always a group of boys here talking and laughing. Those boys… they nearly ate us out of house and home." She chuckled and then sighed, shaking her head.

"Was he ever in any trouble?"

"No," Harriet said. "He was a good boy. He did anything I asked of him. He always let me know where he was going and when he'd be back. When he got home, he checked in and told me goodnight. He's a good boy… a young man. He's twenty two. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize he's not still a little boy playing in the backyard in the sandbox."

"Gram, I'm headed out now. I… oh hello," a woman with long dark blonde hair said as she stepped into the room. "Sorry, I didn't know anyone was here."

"This is Renée, Trevor's oldest sister. Renée, these are the FBI agents who are here to help find Trevor and the other missing men."

"Good," she said as Mulder and Scully stood from the couch to introduce themselves, their teacups set onto the coffee table. "The sheriff is…" She shook her head and clenched her jaw, biting back her words. "We need help."

"That's what we're doing here," Mulder assured her. "We'll do what we can to find them."

"Good," she said again, nodding her head. "That other guy came back and he disappeared when Trevor did. Maybe that means he…" Her voice broke on a sob and Harriet stood up. Placing her teacup on the side table, she hugged her, the younger woman nearly a foot taller, but seeming small in her grandmother's arms.

"They'll find him, Née. They will. I've been praying every night for guidance and help. And now they're here. It will be okay."

"Yeah," Renée said, sniffling and nodding her head.

"It's okay, honey. It's all going to work out and be okay. I know it."

"I don't know how you do," Renée whispered and Harriet exhaled a soft laugh.

"I don't know either, but I do. I feel it."

Mulder looked at Scully and she glanced at him quickly before looking back at the women. Harriet was swaying with Renée, speaking quietly to her. After a moment, Renée stood to her full height and nodded at her grandmother.

"Thank you, Gram."

"Of course, Née." She smoothed Renée's hair and then reached for a tissue from a side table. "Now, chin up and keep the faith."

"Yeah," Renée said, laughing shakily and wiping her eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

"Good girl."

"I'm sorry," she said, turning to Mulder and Scully and sniffling again. "It's so hard not knowing if he's okay. If he's…" She looked at Harriet and nodeed. "We'll find him."

"We will."

"Yeah." She blew her nose and reached for another tissue. "I just miss him so much. Miss his stupid jokes and him barging into the house claiming he's starving, no matter the time of day. That boy was always hungry."

"Yup. I was just telling them about Trevor and the lacrosse boys."

"Oh!" Renée laughed and nodded as she wiped her eyes. "Nothing was safe if it was left in the pantry or fridge. Those boys would eat anything and everything. They'd scrape your plate clean, sopping it all up with bread or a tortilla. I had to keep my own food in my room just so I was assured that I would have something to eat."

"My brothers were the same," Scully said with a smile. "Hungry and smelly, that's what I remember most about them as teenagers."

"Oh, the smell…" Harriet said with a nod and they all laughed. "No offense to you, Agent Mulder. You actually smell very nice."

"No offense taken. I remember my teenage years quite… vividly," Mulder said, making a face, and they laughed again.

Renée sighed and looked at her grandmother. She hugged her again and then looked back at Mulder and Scully.

"Thank you for being here. I… I will have to remember to have that faith my grandma's talking about. Until then, I'll do what I can to help. And on that note, I need to get going." She smiled at her grandmother and she smiled back.

"Call me when you get there?"

"Always," Renée said, kissing her grandmother on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Renée said goodbye to Mulder and Scully, waving to her grandmother and leaving the room. They heard the front door close and Scully watched Harriet sit down heavily into her chair, her body nearly doubling over.

"Are you-" Scully started to say, taking a step toward her.

"You have to find him," Harriet said softly, looking up at her with tears in her eyes, appearing older than she had only seconds before. "My heart is broken without him."

"We'll do all that we can to find him," Scully said softly, and Harriet nodded, her tears spilling over.

"Thank you. Thank you both."