Title: The Way It Could Have Been
Author: Petey )
Rating: PG
Synopsis: Mulder begins wondering about the way things could have been. Hey, if friends could do it, so can the X-Files. I like to think of this as the episode that never made it in S4 because it was too corny.

Jubilee Park
March 7, 1998
9:10pm

Jo-Jo rose from her couch and sauntered into the kitchen. She had been staring blankly at the fish tank for almost an hour, having nothing else to look at. The same song played continuously from her PC.

It was her first week alone in the new apartment. She hadn't been able to find a roommate. It was something she had planned to do before moving out, but her friends bailed at the last minute. Living with someone she didn't know felt unsettling, the thought of meeting someone new and becoming good friends sounded nice. It was the matter of trust that made it hard for her to find a roommate.

"Empty" she muttered, closing the fridge.

It wasn't really empty, it just didn't have anything she wanted. It wasn't like home anymore. Any food in her house was carefully selected for each meal she would have to eat until next pay day. She made a mental note to account for midnight munchies next time.

Tonight was going to be another early night. She had found she had been getting a lot more sleep now that she had the privacy to go to bed whenever she pleases, have a shower, go out, come home at any time she wanted without question. She could do without the phone calls from mom.

She took her pills and turned out all the lights.

1:04am

It was an easy break-in, a hot summer night and an old house with old windows with nothing to hold them down. The man dropped into the living room silently and headed for the bedroom. He was at ease now, knowing the light he had seen on was the fish tank. The bedroom door was already open. He stood at the door way and watched the sleeping figure. He licked his lips and watched.

Just watched.

The figure stirred in bed, the thin sheet tightened around her and showed the curves of her body.

The man's breathing shallowed as he watched her sleep. His eyes glistened red, reflecting the light from the digital cloak on the night stand. He crept closer to the foot of the bed and watched.

Just watched.

Jo-jo woke from her dream and saw him standing there.

"Oh my god!" she screamed and jumped back. Her arms flailed and hit random things off her night stand. The digital camera hit the floor and set the flash off. The quick burst of light lit up the man's face in an eerie blue glow. Her head banged against her headboard and she clutched her chest.

"Shhh." He tried to soothe her. "Go back to sleep"

She continued to clutch her chest, unable to scream anymore.

The man knew he had been caught. He left using the same window he has used getting in.

--End--