The New Girl

            By Caitlin "Jinx" Wasson

Chapter Twelve

Meeting

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            Mrs. Scully paced back and forth in the foyer. Her daughter- daughters- and their strange partner would be there in a few minutes. Oh, she was so nervous. Her sons, Bill and Charlie, were waiting in the living room.

            The doorbell rang.

            The boys sprang off the couch and answered the door. Standing between Dana and Fox was a young woman who looked strikingly similar to her daughter. She looked closer and started noticing the subtle differences. Her hair was longer and curly with subtle, slightly darker lowlights. She was very small, only five feet tall with a waif-like appearance. How had she stood up to the rigorous FBI training with her extremely thin, flimsy body? Her skin was a bluish white tone. However, her cheeks and lips were rosy as she smiled softly.

            "Hi," she said. "I'm Rianna and these are for you." She handed Maggie a dozen red roses.

            "Thank you," she replied. "Please, come in."

            Rianna teetered a little as she walked in. It looked like she was going to fall.

            "Careful Heart," Fox said, grabbing her elbow. "You need to watch it. You know what Dr. Readen said."

            "Don't worry Mulder, I'm not made of glass," Rianna replied as she leaned into him for support.

            "Rianna, these are your brother's Bill and Charlie," Maggie. Said.

            Rianna gave her brothers hugs. Neither Bill nor Charlie could believe how skinny and bony she was. Something had to be wrong with her.

            Rianna waited while Maggie kissed her other daughter and hugged Mulder. "This may seem like and awkward question but what should I call you?"

            "Just call me Maggie for now," she told her.

            "Alright," Rianna agreed, smoothing her green floral skirt. "Can we sit down?"

            "Of course," Mrs. Scully replied, ushering her into the living room.

            Rianna perched delicately on the couch, crossing her ankles, exactly like Dana.

            "How old are you?" Charlie asked.

            "Twenty six," Rianna replied. "I graduated high school a year early and did summer courses to get through Med school faster. That's no small feat at Yale."

            "If you don't mind me asking, why are you so…" Mrs. Scully began.

            "Skinny?" Rianna finished. "That's what not eating for two years can do to a girl. I have cancer and the chemo and radiation makes me throw up anything I eat."

            "Cancer?" Bill asked. "What kind?"

            "A brain tumor and leukemia," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I only found out the cancer is back yesterday."

            "I'm so sorry," Maggie said.

            "Don't be," Rianna said. "In my life, the good comes with the bad. I find out my parents aren't my real parents, but I find you. I get transferred a thousand miles away to a department that is the laughing stock of the FBI and end up loving it. The cancer comes back; my boyfriend and I get engaged. It's a balance between good and bad for me."

            "You're engaged?" Maggie inquired.

            Rianna nodded. "To my longtime boyfriend. He's moving to D.C. to be with me. Mulder and Scully don't know half of it."

            "What don't we know?" Dana asked.

            "About the thousand red roses and the white—well, actually grey—horse," Rianna told her. She smiled.

            "What's his name?" Bill asked.

            "David," she answered. "David Rogers. We started dating in the first year of Med School. He's moved all over the place for me."

            A timer went off in the kitchen. "It sounds like dinner's ready. Why don't you and Fox go into the dining room while Dana, Bill, Charlie, and I bring in the food?" Mrs. Scully suggested.

            "Okay," Rianna agreed, getting up and walking carefully toward the dining room. As if in slow motion, she began to lose her balance.

            Mulder rushed over but couldn't get there fast enough to catch her.

            "Oof!" Rianna said as she hit the floor with a soft thump. She immediately started getting up.

            Mulder stopped her. "Yu can't walk. I'm going to carry you."

            "I can walk!" she protested as he scooped like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. "Mulder! Put me down!"

            Maggie, Bill, Charlie, and Dana listened from the kitchen.

            "He's very protective of her, isn't he?" Mrs. Scully asked Dana.

            "Very," she replied, jealousy tingeing her voice ever so slightly.

            Mrs. Scully patted her arm. "Don't worry, dear. He loves you. Anyone can tell by the way you look at each other

            "Mulder and I--."

            "Aren't like that," she finished. "I know." She sighed. "I just wish you'd realize how you feel."

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            "This is delicious, Maggie," Rianna told Mrs. Scully. "You've really outdone yourself. I'm stuffed."

            Mrs. Scully looked at Rianna's still half-full plate in dismay. How would she gain weight if she didn't eat much?" "Why thank you Rianna," she told her.

            "If you don't mind, can I ask you a few questions?" Rianna asked.

            "Sure," Maggie replied. "It's not fair if we get to learn about you and not the other way around."

            "Where's my father?" she questioned.

            "He died," Bill told her. "Several years ago."

            "Oh," she said. "Do I have any other siblings?"

            "Melissa," Scully told her. "She died several years ago, though."

            "Oh," she replied. "What about nieces or nephews?"

            "Matthew is Bill's and Fiona and Sarah are mine," Charlie said. "You'll meet them soon."

            Rianna could help but think that she might not live that long. She felt sick. "Can you tell me where the bathroom is?"

            "Right out in the hall. The second door on your left," Maggie said, pointing into the hallway.

            Rianna got up and strode quickly to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Promptly, she proceeded to throw up everything she'd eaten since 1 o'clock that afternoon.

            "I knew I shouldn't have had that second granola bar this afternoon," she muttered, flushing the toilet.

            She got up and rinsed her mouth out and looked at her soft green tank top. A drop of blood dripped onto it.

            "Oh shit," she whispered, grabbing the tissues. Nosebleeds in leukemia patients were dangerous. She could wind up bleeding to death if it didn't stop soon.

            But maybe this was just a minor nosebleed and would stop soon. Rianna tilted her head forward and pinched her nose like she'd been taught.

            After a minute, she realized her nose was still bleeding and the tissue was completely saturated with blood. Panicking, she grabbed the whole box of tissues and went back into the dining room. Maggie and Mulder were clearing the table while Bill and Dana chatted.

            "Mulder," she said through the wad of tissues.

            "What?" he asked.

            "I need to go to the hospital," she told him.

            "Rianna, what's going on?" Scully questioned.

            "My nose is bleeding uncontrollably. I already soaked through two tissues completely in one minute," Rianna answered, trying not to panic.

            "Oh god,
 Maggie said. "I'll drive."

            "You don't have to," Mulder told her.

            "No Fox. You and Dana have both had at least three glasses of wine. You can't drive." She took Mulder's keys.

            They rushed out the door and into the car. Scully sat in the front seat with her mother while Mulder helped Rianna into the back.            

            "Lay down," he told her. "Now put your head in my lap and pinch your nose."

            She obeyed and he put a hand on her neck, monitoring her pulse.

            Mrs. Scully drove as fast as she could without getting them into an accident.

            "Mulder…" Rianna mumbled. "I can't…."

            He grabbed a wad of fresh tissues and tilted her head back further, pinching her nose. "It's okay, you'll be fine. Don't worry. It's going to be okay," he soothed. He looked at Mrs. Scully through the rear-view mirror. "Hurry. Her pulse is starting to drop."

            "Mulder… David…" Rianna whispered as she slipped into oblivion.

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I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!! :D I had a great break but I'm glad to be back at my computer. I've got a new story coming out on Tuesday, I think. I need to work on the ending a little. It's called "Something I Want To Say" and it's based around some X-Files poems I wrote.

Luv Y'all!

Cait