Title: What He Knew
Author: Gillian Leigh
Summary: What if Skinner had been abducted instead of Mulder? What would it mean for the X-Files and for Mulder and Scully themselves? Why would he have been abducted in the first place? Post-Requiem.
Disclaimer: They're not mine. If they were, would I be writing this?!
J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building
"Mulder, sit down," Scully hissed at her partner in an urgent whisper. She was sleep-deprived from their conspiracy session with Agent Doggett the night before, and hungry, this meeting was cutting into their lunch hour. Well, the meeting would be cutting into their lunch hour, if Deputy Director Kersh had bothered to see them yet.
Kersh's assistant looked up when she had snapped at Mulder, and raised her eyebrows before turning back to her typing. After a moment, he sank into the chair beside Scully, and for the first time, she noticed how pale he was.
"Are you alright?" she asked, studying his face in concern.
"I'm fine," he replied snippily, throwing the phrase she too often used back in her face.
"Mulder..." she started to argue with him.
"Scully, just leave it," he said, avoiding her gaze. Seated in the chair to Scully's left, Doggett watched them, and noticed how strained all conversation between the two had been and how tense they both were.
There was no denying that he was nervous as well, having been called in with them for this meeting. Kersh had not sounded happy when he had called Doggett, and when he caught up with Mulder and Scully in the elevator, they said the same thing. Not one of them had a good feeling about this meeting.
Mulder checked his watch for the umpteenth time since they'd gotten to the Director's office, wondering what was taking Kersh so damn long to get them into his office. He had an increasingly sinking feeling about what the Gunmen would find after they checked out those photos of Skinner. The longer it took them to call him back, the more firmly he believed that the pictures were indeed authentic. A hand shaking his shoulder brought his attention back to the situation at hand.
"Mulder?" he looked up to see Scully standing before him. "The Deputy Director's ready for us." He nodded and got to his feet, holding the door open for Scully and then Doggett before going inside the office and shutting the door behind him.
"Agents, have a seat," Kersh said, motioning to the three chairs that sat in front of his desk. The three sat down, the male agents one on either side of Scully, and focused their attention on Kersh. "I'm sure you're wondering why I called you to my office this morning." Doggett risked a glance at Scully and Mulder, who were both watching Kersh with blank expressions. If he hadn't spoken to them, he wouldn't have any idea how nervous they were. Focusing his attention on the Director again, Doggett readied himself for what might come.
"Contrary to what you may have originally thought regarding this meeting, I didn't call you here this morning to talk about the Assistant Director or his disappearance. We're here this morning to discuss the X-Files division." Mulder bristled. What the hell did Kersh have to do with the X-Files?
"It has been brought to my attention," he continued. "That there has been a recent decline in your health, Agent Mulder." He looked at Mulder, as if for confirmation.
"Yes Sir," Mulder began, evenly, "I have cancer." Beside him, Scully inwardly cringed at how he sounded, how totally devoid of emotion he seemed when he spoke. Kersh nodded, his expression not changing from the scowl he normally wore.
"In light of this recent...development... and A.D. Skinner's absence, myself and the OPR have decided that it would be best if we added another agent to the X-Files investigative unit, so that as Agent Mulder's health declines, the work can continue..." Scully was angered by Kersh's assumption that Mulder's health would continue to decline, and that he cared only about the work and not the agent, and though she was seething, she said nothing.
"Who pissed you off enough to get stuck in the basement with us?" Mulder deadpanned, none of his usual jokiness present. Kersh shot him a look before continuing.
"Because Agent Doggett has been interacting with you two since the search for A.D. Skinner began, and because the position of Task Force Leader will not be a permanent one, the Review Panel and I have decided to appoint Agent Doggett to the X-Files Division," he concluded. All three agents were experiencing varying degrees of shock at Kersh's announcement, with Doggett's being the most severe.
"With all due respect, Sir," Mulder began, "Agent Doggett has no experience with paranormal phenomena. And I--"
Kersh cut him off. "Agent Scully had no experience when she joined the X-Files, and you trained her."
"Agent Scully didn't need to be trained. Her experience as a doctor and her strong scientific background were what she used in the field. They were the qualifications that led the late Section Chief to assign her to me. I don't precisely understand what Agent Doggett's qualifications for the X-Files would be," Mulder shot back, feeling both angry and helpless.
"Agent Doggett worked as a police officer in New York for years, Agent Mulder," Kersh said, hotly. "And he was a Marine before that. Between those two services and acting as an FBI agent since his graduation from Quantico, I believe that he has enough qualifications to be 'stuck in the basement with you' as you put it," he paused for a moment to glare at Mulder, as if daring him to try and argue. Mulder was ready to open his mouth, when Kersh said, "I won't have any arguments. It's done Agent Mulder. Agent Doggett, you can move your things into the office as soon as you'd like. There will be a desk delivered for you this afternoon. You're dismissed."
Doggett rose from his chair immediately, followed by Scully, and finally Mulder, who remained to glare at Kersh for a moment. He would have argued again, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Scully's eyes met his, and their message was clear.
Don't.
He shook her arm off, and rushed off, brushing past both her and Doggett out of the office.
"Mulder!" she called as he walked down the hall toward the elevators. She called his name again, but louder the second time, and was angered when he didn't even turn around or show any sign of acknowledgement. "Damn it, Mulder," she muttered under her breath, feeling defeated and exhausted. She turned to Doggett, who had also watched Mulder stalk off down the hall. "Agent Doggett..."
"Please, call me John," he interjected, trying not to look too downtrodden.
"John... I have to apologize for Mulder in there. He didn't mean to be rude, I'm sure... He's just in shock..."
"You know what, Agent Scully?" he began, looking over at her. She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "I haven't been here all that long, and already I've realized that every time Mulder screws up, you feel the need to apologize for his actions. Not that I don't appreciate the effort on your part, because I do, but I have to say that I think it's about time that he grew up and acted like an adult for once instead of a spoiled child." With that he shook his head, and walked away, leaving Scully standing alone in the middle of the corridor, the subject of many curious glances.
Shaking off the lightheaded feeling she got from having eaten too little for this time of the day, she headed over to the nearest vending machine and bought a Hershey's bar. Chocolate was supposed to be good when you're stressed, right? She shook her head, and retrieved the bar, breaking off a hunk and immediately chewing and swallowing it. As she walked toward the exit, she thought more about Mulder and Doggett, who were both acting like idiots at the moment, and Kersh, who couldn't have picked a worse time to be infuriating.
As she placed her lunch order at the local deli, one thought of all the others that swarmed through her mind like bees stuck out above all else, and as ludicrous as it was, it was bothering her. Doggett was getting a desk. It would be his first day in the office, and he would have his own desk. She'd worked down there for seven years and she didn't have a desk, and her name still wasn't even on the goddamn door!
She accepted her sandwich and change from the clerk with a sigh, and headed back to the Hoover Building to try to do some damage control. She frowned. Mulder was certainly not fun when he was pissed off, and it appeared that Doggett was the same way. It looked like it was going to be pretty tense in that office from this point forward.