About a half hour later Mulder looked up from the file he was reading at the sound of the elevator doors ping open, followed by the sound of heels clicking along the corridor. He smiled to himself, his mind already preparing a number of teasing remarks he could make about her as yet unexplained lateness. He knew she'd have a good excuse, probably traffic; it was a bitch from Georgetown at this time of morning. Add to that an accident and you had a recipe for disaster and a very pissed off partner. Either that or she'd had to detour to Quantico to drop off an autopsy report. His train of thought was interrupted by someone coming through the door.
He smiled and prepared to deliver his first remark about her lateness when he realized that the person who had walked through the door was not the person he'd been expecting. This woman was tall, around 5"9, with short blond hair and green eyes. She turned to him as she shrugged off her coat and smiled slightly, placing her coat on the stand. Mulder watched in amazement as the woman crossed the room and sat down at the other desk, flipping on the computer with a slightly agitated sigh. Finally she spoke, a slight Southern twang accenting her voice.
"Sorry I'm late. Skinner grabbed me and gave me an earful about you not having your report in on time. I told him you'd have it on his desk by the end of the day. I presume you've done it?" He blinked, gobsmacked. Who the hell was this woman? After a beat he found his voice.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" The woman smiled.
"Are you feeling alright Mulder?"
"Yes I'm fine, but that still doesn't explain who you are, or what you're doing here."
"I work here! Seriously Mulder, have you hit your head again or something?" Mulder wasn't quite sure what to say. He glanced at the door, praying for Scully to walk through it and sort this thing out.
"Um no you don't. I work here with another agent, Agent Scully. She'll be here any minute, she must be running late." At this the woman laughed out loud. All Mulder could do was stare at her, bewildered.
"I've worked here on the X-Files with you for six years Mulder, and I've never heard of an Agent Scully. I think you're delirious."
"Look will you at least tell me your name?" Off her look he continued. "Please, just humor me?"
"Ok, to humor you, my name is Special Agent Frankie DuCain. I was assigned to you... Hey!" But Mulder was already out the door and down the hall. He was seething. If Skinner was going to split he and Scully up surely he had a right to be told first? And why hadn't Scully told him? And where the hell was she? A thousand and one thoughts ran through his mind as he rode the elevator and walked the short distance to Skinner's office. His secretary was behind her desk, typing something on her computer. She looked up, startled as he stormed in.
"Agent Mulder..." she began but he stopped her before she could say anymore, his tone begging no arguments.
"Is he in?" She simply nodded. "Hold his calls." Mulder then opened the door and slammed it shut behind him.
Skinner's head jerked up at Mulder's sudden and unannounced entrance. He regained his composure immediately.
"What the hell is the meaning of this Agent Mulder?"
"Why? Why spilt us up? What did we do to piss off the powers that be this time? Did we get too close again or what? And why wasn't I told? I have to find out from my new 'partner' What have you done with Scully? Is she back at Quantico, is that why she'd not here today?" Skinner stared at him, his brow furrowed with confusion.
"Mulder what the hell are you talking about? Agent DuCain has been your partner for the past six years." At this Mulder slammed his hands down on the desk, causing Skinner to jump.
"No she's not. I don't even know her! I haven't met her before today! My partner for the past six years has been Special Agent Dana Scully. Dana Scully." He repeated her name for added effect.
"What are you talking about Agent? I've never heard of an Agent Scully." Mulder couldn't help but laugh slightly at this.
"Of course you know her! We've been the collective pain in your backside for the past six years!" On seeing Skinner's blank expression Mulder continued, trying really hard not to lose his temper completely. What the hell was going on? "She's about 5"3, slim build, auburn hair, blue eyes, very pretty." Skinner sighed, removing his glasses and standing to walk over to the younger man, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I know this last case has been hard for you. It must've dredged up a lot of emotions connecting to your sister's disappearance, but concocting this story about an 'Agent Scully' isn't going to relieve that. I think you should go home. Take the rest of the day off and relax. Take your mind off work."
"I'm not making her up!" Mulder lowered his voice slightly as Skinner's secretary entered the room. "I'll prove it to you." He dug in his pocket for a second before producing his wallet. He opened it and produced a photo of him and Scully. It had been taken on his birthday one year. He'd been feeling down but she'd still insisted that they go out and celebrate. It had turned out to be one of the best nights of his life. Triumphantly he handed the picture to Skinner for him to look at, which he did.
"I don't know what this is supposed to prove Agent," he replied, handing it back to him. "It's a picture of you and your mother." Shaking his head Mulder looked down at the photo in his hand. Sure enough it was a picture of him and his mother, on his birthday.
"But I don't understand," he said, his voice no more than a whisper. "Where is she?"
"Go home Mulder," Skinner replied gently, placing a hand on his shoulder and ushering him out of the room. Mulder went, too bewildered to resist. He walked slowly down the corridor, slipping the photo back into his wallet. Why was Skinner acting like Scully had never existed? And he wasn't even going to try and explain the photograph. He was passing the computer room on his way back to the elevator to take Skinner's advice when an idea struck him.
He entered the room and shut the door with a click behind him. Holly, the girl behind the desk looked up and smiled at him as he crossed over toward her.
"Good morning Agent Mulder. What can I do for you?"
"I need you to do a search for me. I'm looking for a someone."
"Another agent?"
"Yeah. Special Agent Dana Scully." Obediently she typed in the name before hitting search. After a few moments she turned to him.
"Sorry Agent Mulder, there's no one here by the name Dana Scully. I can't find any record of her ever working here. Are you sure that's the right name?"
"I'm sure. That can't be possible." He straightened up and walked towards the door.
"Sorry I couldn't be of more help," Holly called after him as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
