Chapter Three - Proof?

The Attic, Halliwell Manor

Paige, Piper and Mulder followed Phoebe and Scully upstairs to the attic. Mulder was last in the short line, so none of them noticed that he was checking Piper out. Well, none of them except Phoebe, who sensed it - being an Empath and all. She chuckled to herself, opening the door that led to the attic. Scully stood next to Mulder, watching Piper lay out five white candles and Paige light some incense. The sisters joined hands and began their chant.

"Here these words, here my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the Great Divide."

"This is bullshit." Scully muttered to Mulder

"Here these words, here my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the Great Divide." She heard them say again.

"Complete bull sh-" She trailed off when her sister's apparition appeared in front of them.

"Ah, the Charmed Ones... What can I do for you?"

"We called on you to prove a point to your sister." Piper replied

"Dana?" Melissa said, with a slightly worried tone in her voice.

"Missy... is it really you?"

"My baby sister! I've waited so long for this moment to come, when you could see me again."

"But ... how?"

"Broaden your mind, Dana. Magic, that's how. Piper, Phoebe and Paige are the most powerful witches of our time, Dana and I told them of you. I wanted to help you learn to tap into your powers, but now I hope The Charmed Ones will do that for me..."

"Charmed Ones?"

"Um, that would be us." The sisters said together.

"Wh-what power is it you think I have?"

"I don't know that Dana, but you will learn."

"How do I know this isn't some trick - that you're not just a hologram or something."

"Maybe this will help; Ahab sends his love, Starbuck."

A sob escaped Scully's throat, and a lone tear drifted down her cheek unchecked. No one knew what she and her father nicknamed each other, except her family and Mulder.

"Oh my God, Missy I'm so, so sorry!"

"Don't blame yourself, Dana, it's not your fault." Melissa replied simply.

"But it is! That bullet was meant for me!"

"That may be so, but that doesn't make my passing your fault. You have to move on." She told her younger sister, then turned to a skeptic looking Mulder and said, "Fox... your sister says she wants to speak to you."

"Samantha's dead?" He barely choked out, silent tears falling, leaving a wet trail down his face.

"I'm sorry Fox, but yes she is."

At that moment, a girl appeared next to Melissa. She didn't look much older than fourteen didn't.

"Missy, didn't I tell you he hates being called Fox?"

"Sorry Sammie, it just sounds so much better than Mulder."

"Try telling him that. He only ever let me call him Fox!" She laughed, "Hey Fox, good to have you seeing me again."

"Samantha? Oh my god, what did They do to you?!"

"It doesn't matter now, Fox. I'm okay. I've been trying to tell you that, but you were too busy trying to find me alive. Last time we met, I wasn't ready to accept it, and neither were you. But it's true, we both had to move on. Sooner rather than later, Fox."

"It matters to me, Sam. I want to know how you died."

"Well, you already know, Fox. You read my diary, remember? You know about the tests, and me running away, and then the man that smoked a lot came to get me from the hospital when he found out where I was. I tried to escape - climbed through the window but another man was waiting for me there. So I had to get more tests, and well eventually I couldn't take it anymore."

"I'm so sorry, Sam, I should have protected you."

"Oh will you stop it Fox! It wasn't your fault that our father was selfish enough to let them take me!"

"I'm sorry Dana... you too Fox. But they're calling us back."

"No - don't go!" Both of them yelled together, but they'd already gone.

Mulder and Scully clung to each other, sobbing. All those years that they'd felt so guilty, all the years Mulder had spent trying to find his sister. And now, he had proof that she was in fact gone... He had known it for some time, since she was there in the field with all those other children. Some part of him refused to believe it, but now, he couldn't refuse the truth. She was gone and she was never coming back. Essentially, it was the closure he needed, all he wanted to hear was that she forgave him and she'd given him that.

Scully sobbed into Mulder's shoulder. The guilt and shame she'd felt had somehow been lifted. She knew now that Melissa didn't hold her responsible for what the Syndicate had done to her. It didn't matter to Missy that the bullet was not meant for her, for Melissa always had believed in fate. Something that Dana Scully had never gotten her head around. But, finally, she felt she was released. She was free to grieve. And free to move on, just as Melissa told her she should do.

This is so not turning out how I planned. Anyways, please let me know what you think. And feel free to send some ideas if you feel it needs improved...