CHAPTER 6: IN THE STILLNESS OF REMEMBERING WHAT YOU HAD...AND WHAT YOU LOST
Several months had disintegrated after the funeral. The offices of the J. Edgar Hoover building were just beginning to reassemble themselves, working their damndest to be like clockwork, everyone so afraid the hour would strike and the cuckoo bird would pop out. But the cuckoo had not made a peep. Tension had begun to alleviate, nerves not as steel-like. Everything was in its right place.
Walter Skinner sat in his office talking to some unknown person. He seemed rather content, the tears had been shed, his forehead was no longer crinkled, and he actually adorned a smile on his face as he spoke on the phone. With a brief goodbye, he hung up and jimmied a drawer open under his desk. He pulled out a file with a plain appearance and laid it out on his desk. The first page had a very thorough report on it, typed and signed by an Agent Dudley Carson. The second page had scrawled writings of what appeared to be field notes. Skinner attempted to turn the page, but it stuck so he licked his finger and continued. Evidence photos of a gold cross that had slightly tarnished from the salt water and other various photos of strewn luggage and other personals. The final page contained an autopsy photo of a once beautiful woman who was now half there, bloated by sea water and hungry fish she was almost unrecognizable, but her hair was still a beautiful shade of auburn not at all affected by the two months within the ocean. A small tear dropped from Skinner's eye as he placed a finger across the top of the page which read:
D. K. Scully FP-2518J76 02-24-97 04:25:53
There was a knock at the door and Skinner quickly put the photo back in his desk.
"Come in." He blew his nose into a tissue and looked up. "Agent Carson. Just the man I needed to see. Sit down." Dudley nodded and took a seat across from Skinner of whom he noticed seemed a little red-eyed. He assumed allergies and crossed his legs. "As you may know, the tragedy of Agent Scully's death affected us all deeply."
"Yes sir, I am well aware of her reputation in these halls."
"Anyway, as you may know, she had a very close partner in the x-files, Fox Mulder, who has been on a leave for the past several months. What I wanted to inform you is that he is going to be returning to us today, albeit very slowly. Although he does not always go by the book, he is a remarkable agent, so disregard the rumours you may have heard about him. I cannot be there all the time, so I was wondering if you could help him readjust. Do not bring up what happened unless he wants to talk about it. He seems to be in denial. Do you understand, Agent Carson?" Skinner peered over at Dudley somewhat menacingly.
"Yes sir. When is he expected?"
"In an hour or so. By the way, I appreciate you doing the autopsy on Agent Scully. No one could look at her without getting emotional. I guess we had all hoped that since we hadn't found her body that she was all right, but you sometimes wishing is just not enough. Anyway, that's all for now agent. I will call you when he gets in."
"Thank you sir." Agent Carson turned on his heel and left the room. As he left Skinner's office, he winked at his receptionist and continued to walk briskly to the elevator. He got in with several slightly recognizable faces and pressed the "B" button on the panel. Whistling while he worked his way to the office of Fox Mulder, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Dudley had a look of confusion on his face and knocked on the door. "Hello? Is someone in here?" He peeked in, and to his surprise there was a very familiar looking woman standing at the filing cabinet. "Excuse me, miss?" She turned for a second revealing beautiful azure eyes, she then returned to her search. She looked VERY familiar. "Are you authorized to be down here?" There was an indefinite pause as she continued rifling and then picked up a file and closed the drawer. She looked up at Agent Carson again and began to walk towards the door. "May I see some identification?" She finally spoke.
"You don't need to see my identification." She stared at Agent Carson for a moment and then walked past him disappearing into the elevator. He felt as if he were in a trance, and after she was gone, he shook his head feeling fuzzy. He blinked a couple of times and went to the file cabinet to see what she might have taken. There was but one file missing. He gasped in realization and ran to the elevator to find the woman whose file it was. A woman who could not have by any justification just been there. A woman that was... A woman named Dana Scully.
CHAPTER 7: COMING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Several months had disintegrated after the funeral. The offices of the J. Edgar Hoover building were just beginning to reassemble themselves, working their damndest to be like clockwork, everyone so afraid the hour would strike and the cuckoo bird would pop out. But the cuckoo had not made a peep. Tension had begun to alleviate, nerves not as steel-like. Everything was in its right place.
Walter Skinner sat in his office talking to some unknown person. He seemed rather content, the tears had been shed, his forehead was no longer crinkled, and he actually adorned a smile on his face as he spoke on the phone. With a brief goodbye, he hung up and jimmied a drawer open under his desk. He pulled out a file with a plain appearance and laid it out on his desk. The first page had a very thorough report on it, typed and signed by an Agent Dudley Carson. The second page had scrawled writings of what appeared to be field notes. Skinner attempted to turn the page, but it stuck so he licked his finger and continued. Evidence photos of a gold cross that had slightly tarnished from the salt water and other various photos of strewn luggage and other personals. The final page contained an autopsy photo of a once beautiful woman who was now half there, bloated by sea water and hungry fish she was almost unrecognizable, but her hair was still a beautiful shade of auburn not at all affected by the two months within the ocean. A small tear dropped from Skinner's eye as he placed a finger across the top of the page which read:
D. K. Scully FP-2518J76 02-24-97 04:25:53
There was a knock at the door and Skinner quickly put the photo back in his desk.
"Come in." He blew his nose into a tissue and looked up. "Agent Carson. Just the man I needed to see. Sit down." Dudley nodded and took a seat across from Skinner of whom he noticed seemed a little red-eyed. He assumed allergies and crossed his legs. "As you may know, the tragedy of Agent Scully's death affected us all deeply."
"Yes sir, I am well aware of her reputation in these halls."
"Anyway, as you may know, she had a very close partner in the x-files, Fox Mulder, who has been on a leave for the past several months. What I wanted to inform you is that he is going to be returning to us today, albeit very slowly. Although he does not always go by the book, he is a remarkable agent, so disregard the rumours you may have heard about him. I cannot be there all the time, so I was wondering if you could help him readjust. Do not bring up what happened unless he wants to talk about it. He seems to be in denial. Do you understand, Agent Carson?" Skinner peered over at Dudley somewhat menacingly.
"Yes sir. When is he expected?"
"In an hour or so. By the way, I appreciate you doing the autopsy on Agent Scully. No one could look at her without getting emotional. I guess we had all hoped that since we hadn't found her body that she was all right, but you sometimes wishing is just not enough. Anyway, that's all for now agent. I will call you when he gets in."
"Thank you sir." Agent Carson turned on his heel and left the room. As he left Skinner's office, he winked at his receptionist and continued to walk briskly to the elevator. He got in with several slightly recognizable faces and pressed the "B" button on the panel. Whistling while he worked his way to the office of Fox Mulder, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Dudley had a look of confusion on his face and knocked on the door. "Hello? Is someone in here?" He peeked in, and to his surprise there was a very familiar looking woman standing at the filing cabinet. "Excuse me, miss?" She turned for a second revealing beautiful azure eyes, she then returned to her search. She looked VERY familiar. "Are you authorized to be down here?" There was an indefinite pause as she continued rifling and then picked up a file and closed the drawer. She looked up at Agent Carson again and began to walk towards the door. "May I see some identification?" She finally spoke.
"You don't need to see my identification." She stared at Agent Carson for a moment and then walked past him disappearing into the elevator. He felt as if he were in a trance, and after she was gone, he shook his head feeling fuzzy. He blinked a couple of times and went to the file cabinet to see what she might have taken. There was but one file missing. He gasped in realization and ran to the elevator to find the woman whose file it was. A woman who could not have by any justification just been there. A woman that was... A woman named Dana Scully.
CHAPTER 7: COMING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
