Summery: Mulder & Scully head off to a small New England town, following reports of a woman that can read people's thoughts & feelings with uncanny accuracy; could she be another anomaly like Gibson Praise? As always, please R&R.
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Dana Scully studied her partner, whose eyes were fixed unblinkingly empty road that seemed to go on forever; she could see that after ten solid hours behind the wheel, the hypnotic effect was finally beginning to take its toll. They were off on another wild goose chase, after many years together; she knew better then to argue using logic, because Mulder just couldn't fight his nature. "How long have you been awake?" Mulder's voice brought her out of her daydream. "Not long, want me to drive?" She asked, & was mildly surprised when he pulled over. "Do you mind?" The weariness was evident in his voice; Scully merely shook her head as they switched places.
Scully hesitated in waking Mulder once they had arrived at their destination (New Haven Mental Hospital… go figure); he didn't get enough sleep as it were & he always looked so peaceful at rest. "Hey, we're here… I still don't know what you plan to accomplish with this visit." She said as he emerged from the car & stretched the kinks out of his body. "Well, I thought you'd be happy, Scully. I've finally realized that I need help. Like you've said, admitting you have a problem is the first step to healing." He said dryly as he grinned at her, Scully rolled her eyes exasperatedly, but she couldn't completely hide the urge to smile. Mulder gave her his 'I know you found me amusing' expression as they entered the hospital. "Can I help you?" The nurse at the front desk said without looking up from admiring her freshly painted nails. "Err… yes, we're Agents Mulder & Scully from the FBI & we'd like to speak with a Candace Warner?" Scully said. "No Shit, the FBI? Really?" "Why does our interest in this woman surprise you?" Mulder said. "Well… not even the other residents find her interesting enough to shoot the breeze with; I can't imagine why the FBI would." She said as an orderly seemed to appear out of thin air. "James will show you to her room."
"So, Miss Warner…" Mulder began. "Candace, please." She replied with a flirtatious wink. "…you seem like a perfectly normal, sane human being, so why are you here?" "My parents dropped me off here when I was just a kid, they couldn't deal with what I was." She replied casually. "In case you haven't noticed, this place isn't like other mental hospitals. Because it's just a façade, this is really a facility to train & nurture the unusually gifted. It's a place for parents to unload their 'special' children when they don't know how to deal with them anymore" She said. "What, like in X-Men?"' Mulder said dryly, Candace smiled. "Sure… I guess." She replied. "I can't imagine dumping my kid off at some facility in the middle of nowhere just because they exhibit extra abilities." Scully said. "Why, there are countless reports of parents beating & drowning, or even shooting their kids, I think that many of the parents would have done the same thing if they thought that they could get away with it, that & if they knew for sure that their kids wouldn't retaliate." Candace replied. "If this place is what you say that it is, why are you here?" Mulder interjected. "Because, I can read people's minds." She sais with a smile. "Just because she might possess the ability to read minds, doesn't mean she is like Gibson Praise, Mulder. Gibson was an anomaly." Scully said as she & Mulder talked in the privacy of their car. "So, why can't this woman be too? What if this ability is like any other mental defect or affliction like Downs Syndrome or Bipolar disorder?" He replied. "It would be far fetched..." "…but not improbable." Mulder finished for her. "Okay… say that you are right, that this is like any other mental affliction, that the DNA, in some individuals does mutate & become active. To prove that, Candace would have to undergo a battery of tests that I seriously doubt she or her doctors for that matter, would agree to." Scully said. "They might, if they knew the danger she might be in." Mulder replied.