The New Girl

            By Jinx

Chapter Four

Home

            Rianna, Mulder, and Scully met at the office. Scully and Mulder each carried a suitcase but Rianna carried only her purse and a laptop case.

            "Where's your bag?" Scully asked.

            "We're staying at my house. Most of my clothes are still there," Rianna answered.

            "Your house?" Mulder questioned.

            "Yeah," she said. "It's free and the food's good."

            "Okay…." Scully said.

            "Come on," Rianna told them. "The Metro is waiting."

            "The Metro?" Mulder asked.

            "Yeah. I've only been in D.C. for two days. My Mustang is still in Dallas and unless you feel like paying nine dollars a day for parking, we're taking the Metro."

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            "Please put up your trays, turn off all electronic devices, and make sure your seat is in the full upright position," said the nasal voice of the pilot. "We are preparing for landing."

            Rianna closed her laptop and put it in the case. She looked over at Mulder and Scully and realized they were both asleep. "Mulder!" she said, tapping his shoulder. "Mulder, we're landing soon and you're snoring."

            "Huh?' he said as he woke up.

            "We're landing soon," Rianna replied patiently. "You need to wake up now."

            "Oh," he answered. He pulled his seat up. "Hey Scully? Wake up, we're landing."

            "What?" she asked. "What's going on?"

            "We're landing," he told her.

            "Oh." She pulled her seat up and Mulder rubbed her shoulder tenderly.

            Rianna smiled and tightened her seatbelt.

            "What are you smiling about?" Scully wondered.

            "Nothing," Rianna answered. "Nothing important."

            Fifteen minutes later, the plane touched down and the three of them entered the terminal.

            "Where's the baggage claim?" Scully asked.

            Rianna wasn't listening. "Mom!" she shouted and started running (no small feat in the five inch heels she was wearing.).

            Mulder and Scully watched while Rianna ran and hugged her mother.

            "I missed you!" Mrs. Heart said, hugging her tightly.

            "I missed you too!" Rianna exclaimed. Her voice had transformed to fit a sultry southern accent. Where had that come from?

            Mulder cleared his throat.

            "Sorry," Rianna apologized. "Scully, Mulder, this is my mother. Mom, these are my partners, Special Agents Mulder and Scully."

            "Hi," he said.

            "Ready?" Rianna asked.

            "If you all are, I am," Mrs. Heart told them.

            "We need to get our luggage first," Scully reminded them. "Unfortunately, we don't live in Dallas like you do."

            "Sorry," Rianna apologized. "To Baggage claim B!"

            Rianna led them through the airport, weaving and bobbing through the crowd. When they reached the baggage claim, Rianna pounced on Mulder and Scully's suitcases before they could even make a move. Where had the teenager like vitality come from?

            "Ready?" she asked.

            They nodded silently and took their bags.         

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            Rianna opened the front door. "Dad?" she called.

            A man walked into the foyer. "Rianna!" He hugged her tightly. "How have you been Sweetheart?"

            "It's only been a few days, Dad! But I'm fine."

            Mulder and Scully shifted uncomfortably, looking at each other and wondering what to do.

            "Dad, this is Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Dana's father was also in the army," Rianna told her father.

            "Really?" he asked. "Bill Scully, right? I remember him. It's nice to see you Dana, both of you."

            "I'm going to give them a tour of the house and show them their rooms before lunch," Rianna told him.

            "Okay Rianna," Mrs. Heart said. "I'll start making lunch."

            "Leave your bags here for now," Rianna ordered. She gestured to the room on the left. "This is the music room and library."

            Mulder and Scully peered at the enormous blue room. Mahogany shelves filled with books lined the walls. A grand piano and various instruments filled the room.

            "Music is a big thing in our family," Rianna told them. "Mom's a music teacher so I know how to play just about everything in there. She was a little upset when I chose Med School over Julliard."

            "Your house is, um, huge," Mulder said.

            Rianna laughed uncomfortably. "My Grandfather was the owner of an oil company. This was his house. He left it to us because we lived with him anyway."

            "Oh," Scully said. They walked through the room and into the dining room.

            "Self explanatory, I think," Rianna said, leading them through the enormous dining room and out. "That's the coat room over there and that's the kitchen. There's the powder room," she explained as they walked down the hallway and back into the foyer. She grabbed their suitcases and dashed up the stairs, setting them down at the top. Mulder and Scully followed slowly, examining the wide, sweeping staircase carefully.

            "Okay, I'll let you guys pick which rooms you want but tow of us will have to share a bathroom," Rianna warned.

            She had never seemed so happy or at home. It was odd for Mulder and Scully to see her outside of her normal business-like manner. They could almost see her dressed down in jeans and sneakers despite her neat grey suit and heels. It was odd but Scully realized that Rianna was really just acting her age.

            Mulder and Scully looked at each other, amazed at her transformation.

            "This is bedroom number one," Rianna said, gesturing to the first door on the left. The enormous yellow bedroom was filled with expensive antique furniture. "We never use this one. The furniture is too old."

            She moved on. "That's the bathroom and this is one of the other bedrooms." She moved inside.

            The walls were painted bright cerulean blue with clean white trim. A large white computer desk was against the wall, next to the door to the bathroom. A large queen sized sleigh bed was tucked in between. A T.V. and sitting area was by the door.

            "I've got to show you the best part," Rianna said. She threw open the French doors and walked out onto the balcony. Mulder and Scully followed her, blinking in the bright sunlight. The view was spectacular. It showed the sweeping lawn and garden. In the distance, they could see the Dallas skyline.

            "Whoa," was all Mulder could say.

            "Beautiful, isn't it?" Rianna said. "C'mon. I want to show you my room." She walked down the balcony and through another set of French doors leading into her own room.

            The walls were painted a shade of soft green, trimmed with a creamy toned ivory. The floor was covered with a plush creamy colored carpet. Bookshelves lined with books were underneath the two windows on either side of the French doors. The door was on the right wall and her white, wrought iron canopy bed was beside it. Across from the door was a large computer desk with a T.V. and a desktop computer. The stereo was beside the bathroom door. On the other side of the bed was a table, two chairs, and shelves.

            "Where do you keep your clothes?" Scully wondered aloud.

            "In the bathroom. There are two closets and dressers in there," Rianna told her. She opened the bathroom door and walked through into the next bedroom.

            In this one, the walls were painted peach with a pale yellow trim. The floor was a hard, light colored wood, covered with a few throw rugs. The furniture was much the same as the other rooms, wood painted a soft white.

            "As dangerous as I know asking two women to share a bathroom is, I'll take the room with a view," Mulder said.

            "Guess I'm in here, huh?" Scully said. "I'll go get my suitcase."

            "Okay," Rianna agreed. "I'll let you guys get settled before lunch."

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            Rianna didn't wait for an answer. She went straight into the bathroom and shut the door. Leaning against the door, she heaved a sigh. Keeping up the happy-to-be-home-and-not-awkward-at-all-since-I-found-out-I've-been-lied-to-my-entire-life act was extremely difficult and was wearing her out, especially when you added the factor of her other secret that not even her parents knew. It looked like everyone was fooled though.

            She walked over to one of the sinks and turned the cold water on. After splashing her face with water, she flicked off the lights and went into her room.

            The door to the bathroom was open and the lights were off but Rianna didn't bother. She sat down and rested her head on the desk, hooking her hands behind her neck.

            "How long am I going to have to keep this up," she wondered. She sighed. "I just hope it isn't much longer until we get back to D.C."

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            Mulder, Scully, and Rianna were at the Dallas Adoption Agency, in the heart of the city. Mulder had driven Mrs. Heart's Honda because Rianna's car was in the Garage.

            "Hello, I'm looking for Mrs. Elizer," Mulder said to the woman at the front desk.

            "Do you have an appointment?" she asked in a bright Texas twang.

            "Yes," Mulder replied.

            "You don't look old enough to be adopting a child," the receptionist said, pointing to Rianna. "So I'm assuming you two are the future parents?" She pointed at Mulder and Scully.

            "No, we're FBI agents," Scully explained. "We're investigating a case involving Agent Heart's adoption from this agency."

            "Oh," The said. "Mrs. Elizer will be with you in a minute."

            The agents sat down on the extremely uncomfortable plastic chairs in the overly bright waiting room.

            A middle-aged petite dark haired woman walked out of the office.

            "Hello Mrs. Elizer. We spoke on the phone," Scully said. "I'm Agent Scully. This is Agent Mulder and Agent Heart."

            "Yes, I remember," Mrs. Elizer said. "Why don't you three come into my office?"

            The three agents followed her into her small, cramped office. They all sat down.

            "What can I do for you?" Mrs. Elizer questioned.

            "I was adopted from this agency as a baby, as I found out a week ago. We need to get some information about my mother, my real mother," Rianna told her.

            "All right, Sweetheart," Mrs. Elizer replied. "I can see what we have. Judging by your age, I'd say that it was before we got our computer system though so I'm not sure how much we can offer."

            "Even a name would be helpful," Mulder said. "We just need information."

            "What are the names of your adoptive parents?" she asked.

            "Rick and Nicole Heart," Rianna answered.

            "Okay and your phone number?" Mrs. Elizer inquired.

            "219-410-9160," Rianna told her.

            "I'll let you know soon," Mrs. Elizer said.

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I wonder why all of the flamers think I give a rat's ass about what they think. Go ahead, give me a bad review. I don't care! As a matter of fact, I'll just write more to spite you!! I'll write more no matter what!!

Luv all of the cool ppl! (i.e. CB15, gabiabi, dana-muru, Shoegal227, Matt, Gem, Skinfull, IrishRavenX. You guys rock!)

~*Jinx