Disclaimer: I do not own any of the x-files characters.
***This has nothing to do with anything, but did you know that Johnny Depp is sometimes credited as Oprah Noodlemantra.
Chapter Summery: Mulder meets Mable for the first time. It takes place eighteen years after the prologue. This would make Mable about 28. There probably will be a lot of UST between Mulder and Scully, but probably not much straight up romance. I want to stay true to the show. There will be NO real romance between Mable and Mulder. Although Mable thinks otherwise, Mulder is just trying to be nice. By the way, I have nothing against dogs.
Goodbye Mable: Neighbor
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Mulder irritably pressed the couch cushion against his ear in a futile attempt to drown out the maddening din. The tenets in the room above him had just bought a yappy mutt. Technically, tenets were not allowed to have dogs-- especially dogs that were loud and obnoxious, but these people were friends of the owner. Apparently this made them above the rules.
He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. He desperately wished he had earplugs. He sat still on his on his couch for a few minutes and then, foregoing sleep, he stood up to make himself a pot of coffee. As he sipped the steaming drink, he wondered if anyone had ever been driven mad by the repetitive barking of a dog. The thought did not worry him too much. He was, at least according to his colleagues, already a bit off his rocker.
Mulder decided he would file a complaint about the dog before he went to work. He fidgeted impatiently and looked at his watch. It read 4:34 a.m. He sighed deeply and picked the TV remote. He casually flipped through the channels and found nothing that piqued his interest. He thought about calling Scully, but decided against it for obvious reasons. However as the minutes ticked by in an unnaturally slow fashion, calling his partner seemed more and more like it would be a really good way to pass the time.
Finally he decided to call her. He dialed her number and waited while it rang a few times. "Scully," said a weary voice on the other end.
"Hey, it's me," said Mulder, feeling a pang of guilt brought on by the tired sound of her voice.
"Mulder?" she groaned. "What time is it?"
"4:46 a.m."
She did not answer for a few moments, but then she asked, "Well.are you okay?"
"Yeah," he answered.
She sighed and then spoke in a slightly heated voice, "What do you want?"
He winced. "I guess it can wait until morning. I'm sorry, Scully. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Yeah, tomorrow," she said as she hung up.
As he put down the phone, Mulder realized that the dog had stopped barking. He frowned in disbelief and rapped on the wall to make sure he had not suddenly gone deaf. Then he sighed in relief and tried again to fall asleep.
Mulder did not want to wake up the next morning. By the time he did, he was running late. He blindly ran around his apartment in an attempt to quickly get ready. When at last he was out into the hall, he right ran into a young woman, sending her flying to the ground. She was pretty --in a straggly sort of way. She had thin, long brown hair and hazel eyes. She was very slight. She was pale, thin, and probably a foot shorter than Mulder.
He leaned down to help her up, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I didn't get much sleep. That damn dog kept me up half the night. He's not yours, is he?" She shook her head and he continued: "Good, I think I might shoot the owner if this keeps up. She pulled a horrified face. He smiled, "I'm just kidding." He paused for a few moments, and then to break the suddenly awkward silence, he said, "I'm Mulder, by the way." When she spoke, her voice was shaky and listless. " I-I'm Mable, I-uh just moved in." She pointed to a door a few down from his.
He nodded, "Maybe I'll see you around some time." Then he looked at his watch and swore under his breath, "Oh God, I'm late. Bye Mable. It was nice to meet you." She smiled as he ran off.
When he reached the office, Scully was already there. He apologized for the late night phone call, but she simply shrugged it off.
"You have a meeting with Skinner in a few minutes. He just called me." Scully said. Mulder frowned, "Am I in trouble?"
"I don't believe so," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you did something that would anger the F.B.I. Again."
"What are insinuating?" Mulder said smiling.
"Nothing," she looked at her watch. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry." When he arrived at Skinner's office, he was seated at a table with a group of other agents. Skinner stood in front. When he spoke, he talked directly to Mulder, "Agent, we just picked a guy who confessed to the murder of his wife's lover. The problem is that he won't tell us what he did with the body. He says that he buried the guy in place where he could never be exhumed. We believe that the victim is, in fact, dead. There was blood all over the husband's study and it matched a sample the victim gave earlier-"
Mulder cut him off, "Is this an x-file, sir?"
Skinner sighed, "Well no, this man is from your past. His name is Joe Engle. Do you remember him?"
Mulder pondered this for a moment, trying to match the name with a prior case. "Yeah," he said finally, "He was charged with the murder of his cousin. The poor guy had been killed with a chainsaw; it was pretty messy. However, the forensic scientist working on the case was accused of tampering with evidence, so Engle got off Scott free."
Skinner nodded and pulled out a file. "This is your profile of Engle, along with the file for the current case. I was thinking that you go down to the jail tomorrow and talk to him. We can't convict him without the body."
Mulder nodded; he was a little disappointed the case had nothing to do with the paranormal.
"I'll get right on it," he said.
"What was that about?" Scully asked when Mulder was back in their office.
He held up the file, "Some guy killed his wife's boyfriend. I have to talk to him. I'll review the case when I get home."
She did not press the subject any further.
Mulder left a little early. He intended to buy some earplugs before the stores closed. In his rush to leave, he forgot Joe Engle's file. He called Scully and asked her to drop it off at his apartment on her way home from work.
******Sorry, I know that chapter was not too interesting and it sort of dropped off at the end. However, everything in it is essential to the story. I will work on my presentation; I promise. If it really pained you to read this chapter, I will revise it. PLEASE REVIEW!!!
***This has nothing to do with anything, but did you know that Johnny Depp is sometimes credited as Oprah Noodlemantra.
Chapter Summery: Mulder meets Mable for the first time. It takes place eighteen years after the prologue. This would make Mable about 28. There probably will be a lot of UST between Mulder and Scully, but probably not much straight up romance. I want to stay true to the show. There will be NO real romance between Mable and Mulder. Although Mable thinks otherwise, Mulder is just trying to be nice. By the way, I have nothing against dogs.
Goodbye Mable: Neighbor
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Mulder irritably pressed the couch cushion against his ear in a futile attempt to drown out the maddening din. The tenets in the room above him had just bought a yappy mutt. Technically, tenets were not allowed to have dogs-- especially dogs that were loud and obnoxious, but these people were friends of the owner. Apparently this made them above the rules.
He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. He desperately wished he had earplugs. He sat still on his on his couch for a few minutes and then, foregoing sleep, he stood up to make himself a pot of coffee. As he sipped the steaming drink, he wondered if anyone had ever been driven mad by the repetitive barking of a dog. The thought did not worry him too much. He was, at least according to his colleagues, already a bit off his rocker.
Mulder decided he would file a complaint about the dog before he went to work. He fidgeted impatiently and looked at his watch. It read 4:34 a.m. He sighed deeply and picked the TV remote. He casually flipped through the channels and found nothing that piqued his interest. He thought about calling Scully, but decided against it for obvious reasons. However as the minutes ticked by in an unnaturally slow fashion, calling his partner seemed more and more like it would be a really good way to pass the time.
Finally he decided to call her. He dialed her number and waited while it rang a few times. "Scully," said a weary voice on the other end.
"Hey, it's me," said Mulder, feeling a pang of guilt brought on by the tired sound of her voice.
"Mulder?" she groaned. "What time is it?"
"4:46 a.m."
She did not answer for a few moments, but then she asked, "Well.are you okay?"
"Yeah," he answered.
She sighed and then spoke in a slightly heated voice, "What do you want?"
He winced. "I guess it can wait until morning. I'm sorry, Scully. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Yeah, tomorrow," she said as she hung up.
As he put down the phone, Mulder realized that the dog had stopped barking. He frowned in disbelief and rapped on the wall to make sure he had not suddenly gone deaf. Then he sighed in relief and tried again to fall asleep.
Mulder did not want to wake up the next morning. By the time he did, he was running late. He blindly ran around his apartment in an attempt to quickly get ready. When at last he was out into the hall, he right ran into a young woman, sending her flying to the ground. She was pretty --in a straggly sort of way. She had thin, long brown hair and hazel eyes. She was very slight. She was pale, thin, and probably a foot shorter than Mulder.
He leaned down to help her up, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I didn't get much sleep. That damn dog kept me up half the night. He's not yours, is he?" She shook her head and he continued: "Good, I think I might shoot the owner if this keeps up. She pulled a horrified face. He smiled, "I'm just kidding." He paused for a few moments, and then to break the suddenly awkward silence, he said, "I'm Mulder, by the way." When she spoke, her voice was shaky and listless. " I-I'm Mable, I-uh just moved in." She pointed to a door a few down from his.
He nodded, "Maybe I'll see you around some time." Then he looked at his watch and swore under his breath, "Oh God, I'm late. Bye Mable. It was nice to meet you." She smiled as he ran off.
When he reached the office, Scully was already there. He apologized for the late night phone call, but she simply shrugged it off.
"You have a meeting with Skinner in a few minutes. He just called me." Scully said. Mulder frowned, "Am I in trouble?"
"I don't believe so," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you did something that would anger the F.B.I. Again."
"What are insinuating?" Mulder said smiling.
"Nothing," she looked at her watch. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry." When he arrived at Skinner's office, he was seated at a table with a group of other agents. Skinner stood in front. When he spoke, he talked directly to Mulder, "Agent, we just picked a guy who confessed to the murder of his wife's lover. The problem is that he won't tell us what he did with the body. He says that he buried the guy in place where he could never be exhumed. We believe that the victim is, in fact, dead. There was blood all over the husband's study and it matched a sample the victim gave earlier-"
Mulder cut him off, "Is this an x-file, sir?"
Skinner sighed, "Well no, this man is from your past. His name is Joe Engle. Do you remember him?"
Mulder pondered this for a moment, trying to match the name with a prior case. "Yeah," he said finally, "He was charged with the murder of his cousin. The poor guy had been killed with a chainsaw; it was pretty messy. However, the forensic scientist working on the case was accused of tampering with evidence, so Engle got off Scott free."
Skinner nodded and pulled out a file. "This is your profile of Engle, along with the file for the current case. I was thinking that you go down to the jail tomorrow and talk to him. We can't convict him without the body."
Mulder nodded; he was a little disappointed the case had nothing to do with the paranormal.
"I'll get right on it," he said.
"What was that about?" Scully asked when Mulder was back in their office.
He held up the file, "Some guy killed his wife's boyfriend. I have to talk to him. I'll review the case when I get home."
She did not press the subject any further.
Mulder left a little early. He intended to buy some earplugs before the stores closed. In his rush to leave, he forgot Joe Engle's file. He called Scully and asked her to drop it off at his apartment on her way home from work.
******Sorry, I know that chapter was not too interesting and it sort of dropped off at the end. However, everything in it is essential to the story. I will work on my presentation; I promise. If it really pained you to read this chapter, I will revise it. PLEASE REVIEW!!!