They sat on the couch, waiting to be called into Skinner's office. Mulder was overly excited, his thoughts on the drawings of the Tali-Keno, hoping they would catch a glimpse of it.

"There is a possibility of snow at this time of year in Vermont, Mulder," Scully said quietly beside him and he smiled.

"I don't think it will snow," he replied and she inhaled as she crossed her arms.

"You're a meteorologist now, I had no idea."

"I dabble in many areas," he said with a shrug and she laughed under her breath, shaking her head as she looked toward Skinner's office door.

"Don't confuse my laughter for acceptance. Skinner will listen to reason at least," she said and he hummed at a high pitch as he folded his hands in lap.

Her head whipped to look at him and he met her eyes for a second before the door opened and he jumped up quickly.

"Agents," Skinner said, holding the door open and gesturing for them to enter.

Scully stood up, holding Mulder's gaze, and he smiled as she walked ahead of him. Skinner sighed as he closed the door behind them and sat down at his desk.

"Good morning. Agent Scully, I'm sure Agent Mulder has filled you in on the case, but I needed to give you a bit more information."

"Sir?" Scully said and Mulder watched her shift slightly in her seat, not looking in his direction. "I'm sorry, but Agent Mulder hasn't told me anything about the case."

"I did. I mentioned the-"

"If you could please continue," she said, speaking over Mulder, cutting her eyes to him, and giving him a small shake of her head.

"Men have been disappearing in a town outside of Burlington, Vermont," Skinner began with a sigh. "Two were reported a month ago and it has now risen to four. The first man was found last night, dehydrated, cold, and with unexplained injuries. He has not spoken about what happened to him and the local authorities are perplexed as to what happened to him, so they have asked for help."

"Wait," Scully said, sitting forward in her chair. "This is… there's an actual case?"

"Yes, Agent Scully. What did you think we were doing here?" Skinner asked, his tone short.

"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't aware-"

"Sir, Agent Scully and I did not discuss the case in full. We only discussed what I believed could have caused these disappearances."

"You believe you know?" Skinner asked and Mulder nodded.

"The Tali-Keno," he said and he heard Scully inhale sharply as she turned her head toward him.

"What Agent Mulder is saying," she said, giving him a hard stare. "Is that we were discussing something else and then he mentioned this meeting."

"No," Mulder said, shaking his head. "That's not what I meant."

"Mulder," Scully said in a harsh warning whisper, but he paid her no heed.

"The Tali-Keno is a creature believed to be seen around Halloween," he stated as Scully groaned and looked down at her lap.

"A creature?" Skinner asked, sighing with a shake of his head. "Agent Mulder…"

"There have been eyewitness accounts, sir. Sightings of the creature that haven't been seen in hundreds of years."

"Agent Mulder," he said again, glancing at Scully who was still looking down at her lap.

"The Tali-Keno was believed to only appear around Halloween, a time when people believed the spirits of the dead returned to earth. People were told the Tali-Keno would attack, snatch children, or cause general mayhem if provoked, therefore it was best to stay home and out of trouble."

"And you believe that… these men who have disappeared-"

"While known to be in a graveyard, surrounded by a forest."

"- have been taken by an entity-"

"Creature," Mulder interrupted again, and Skinner sighed with another glance at Scully.

"Creature," Skinner said, closing his eyes briefly. "A creature that hasn't been seen in hundreds of years?"

"And from all I've read about it, is known to be indigenous to West Virginia."

"But you believe it's been sighted in Vermont?" Skinner asked and Mulder nodded. "How did it get way up there? And why?"

"Questions we'll ask when we get there," Mulder said with a grin.

"Agent Mulder, three men are missing. One is injured and may possibly never speak again. I hardly think this is a laughing matter," Skinner said sternly and Mulder stopped smiling, glancing quickly at Scully.

"Yes, sir," he said, nodding his head as he tried to appear solemn.

Skinner sighed and shuffled papers around on his desk before holding a file out toward Scully. She rose from the chair and took it, holding it against her chest.

"Go and see what you can do to help. Hopefully you can get that man to talk and find out more information to bring the person responsible to justice."

"Yes, sir," Scully said with a nod as Mulder stood beside her and Skinner fixed him with a hard look.

"You'll notice I said person and not creature, Agent Mulder. I'm not sending you on a wild goose chase here. These men and their families need our help."

"Yes, sir," Mulder replied. "We'll do what we can."

"See that it's so, Agent Scully," Skinner said and she nodded, glancing quickly at Mulder.

"Yes, sir."

"You have a flight at two and I expect to hear from you by this evening." He nodded at them and then looked at the door, signaling that they were dismissed.

"Yes, sir," they both said, walking to the door.

Mulder placed his hand on Scully's back as they walked into the hall and toward the elevator, his head bent close to hers.

"Looks like you're in charge," he said quietly and she chortled as he pushed the down button on the elevator pad.

"If I was in charge, we'd stay here and not be flying to Vermont near the beginning of November."

"Think of the fall colors, Scully," he said as they entered the elevator and he pressed the button for their floor. "I'm sure it's beautiful there this time of year."

"Yes," she said, opening the file and looking through it. "That will be a comforting fact when I can't feel my toes and we're deep in a forest yet again- at least the surroundings will be beautiful."

"That's the spirit," he said, punching her lightly on the arm.

She looked up at him, shaking her head as she closed the file and sighed.

"I get the pick of rooms. And I want the one with the best heater."

"Whatever you want, Scully," he said, waving his hands out wide to indicate his offering.

"Good," she said as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. "And you're buying me a coffee at the airport. A big one. Very strong."

"Gladly," he said, smiling as she walked out ahead of him and his eyes fell to her hips, mesmerized by the swing of them. "Whatever you want."