I do not own The x-files or make any money from this writing.
Leaning on the edge of Sam's desk Dana crossed her arms. Once again Sam seemed to be living up to the strange and spooky Agent her reputation foretold. "I'm very sorry this Ruby girl is missing but she's not a child and this just doesn't seem substantial enough to warrant an investigation." She looked over the magazine she'd been given upstairs, it was clear just from the front cover why their bosses didn't think this was appropriate literature to base their work on "This paper isn't exactly cutting edge reporting." She was being polite, the idea of travelling to Iowa based purely on a tabloid was bizarre in the extreme. "I'd rather go see the bat child as those parents do need professional help, or the 100 year old who gave birth to a lizard baby"
"How many other papers would report on this? They'd all be too afraid of being mocked."
"Well, at least if we had a legitimate source, we could..."
"Pop Quiz Scully, if I tell you that this case is located near Lake Okobogee a UFO hotspot where as a child Ruby's mother witnessed this." she slapped down a photo "It was August 1967, there were four sightings including one from a national weather service plane. This is a light blasted, digitally enhanced enlargement of a photo taken by a girl scout" she stopped to take a breath "The Air Force said it was a weather balloon caught in a wind sheer. But there wasn't a weather balloon launched that day within seven hundred miles. Scully if I tell you this does it make the case more credible?"
"Well..." it was hard when Sam threw that logic at her to argue with her.
"Yes or no answers only please" Sam had that smile again and Dana found herself nodding
"Yes, yes it does."
(–)
The case itself needed very little intervention from the agents, the local authorities had handed the information over freely and Scully could see why they had written the whole thing off. The young woman in any other time and place would have become just another teenager who left home and fell through the cracks. Unfortunately as Sam investigated they actually ended up causing more trouble, the younger brother had been noting strange binary codes down and after sending it to be checked out whatever Kevin had been writing brought the NSA down on them. Sam tried to make Scully feel bad for telling them where Mulder had got the code but Dana had been swift to point out that if she really thought it was something maybe they should have found a more secure way to look into it.
The two women were at odds as they stood by the lake side arguing the point, Sam seemed sure that there were signs of an alien abduction all around them and Dana felt she was grasping at straws until out of the corner of her eye she saw a white wolf emerge from the foliage.
"Mulder" she whispered beckoning her over, carefully the two women followed the wolf back into the wooded area until they saw three other wolves pawing at the ground "It's a grave" Dana whispered "We need to call this in. Dammit Mulder!" Sam had fired off a round causing the wolves to scatter but Scully to jump out of her skin "A little warning perhaps?"
"It could be her" walking forward Sam started pulling at the stones fighting Dana off as she tried to stop her
"It's a crime scene Sam" pulling on the other woman's arm Dana managed to get her away from the grave "You could be contaminating evidence, go back to the car and call it in."
"I have to see Scully!"
Scully grabbed her by both arms and shook her a little "You will! You will, but given the smell the level of decomposition will be high, she might be unrecognisable but she is definitely beyond our help. Go call it in."
When Sam finished her call and got back to her Dana turned to look at her "It's not like you to not think about the evidence"
"I know"
"I see why this case it affecting you but I need you to talk to me." she said nothing and so taking her hand Scully stared hard at her "Talk to me."
"Do you ever wonder 'what if?' for example what if I had been taken instead of Fox, what if he hadn't been returned? Would I still be searching for him over twenty years later? Would I have just moved on like everyone expects Ruby's family to?" Sam's expression was pained and a little lost "Kevin reminded me so much of myself when Fox was gone, I want to help him"
"I understand that"
"No you don't", Sam sounded pained "they stopped looking for him, mom and dad told me that he had died. They were planning a memorial service our house full of those leaflets they print when someone dies... orders of service all covered with his face. I was living in a house that had given up when he was discovered. What if he hadn't escaped from wherever he was? What if he'd fallen into a ditch and died? He was on the other side of the country, another closed file no one cares about." Dana put an arm around her whilst Sam wiped tears from her cheeks "People go missing all the time. There'll always be another little kid sitting listening to people saying kind words with tight looks on their faces as they don't know what to say. Another kid listening to the arguing and the crying at night but this one I could help. I wanted to help him find her."
It was a great relief to both of them when the body was clearly a male, there was still a chance for Ruby.
(–)
Finding Ruby was in Dana's opinion completely unlikely and so when she and Darlene literally tripped over the body she found it amazing and she did everything in her power to keep her alive. As they travelled home she couldn't help but look over at Sam who looked serenely content, it had upset them both when Darlene had sent them away but as Sam looked at Kevin and Ruby together she'd seemed reassured that the brother and sister would be happy.
(-)
Paperwork is the biggest part of any job in law enforcement with hours devoted to making sure every piece of evidence every small paragraph of testimony is correctly typed up and filed. Dana and Sam were in the middle of this when there was a knock at the door, Sam was about to call out her usual greeting when the door crashed open and Fox Mulder came rushing in his face lit up with boyish enthusiasm.
"The Jersey Devil!" It was all he said and to Dana's amusement it sparked in Sam the same sort of youthful wonder that Fox currently had.
"The Jersey Devil?" Sam stood to face him "How sure are you?"
"They found a body in the New Jersey woods yesterday, missing it's right arm and shoulder. They think they may have been eaten off," He paused building the suspense "by a human."
"Where in New Jersey? And who was the guy? I mean it could be a Mob thing."
"Outside Atlantic City, homeless guy, no reason to end up the way he did!"
"Um Excuse me you two" Dana was getting very confused "Could one of you explain to me how you two can think the Jersey Devil is real?"
"You've heard of it?" Sam seemed surprised by this
"Yeah, it's supposed to come out of the woods and attack people, right? And yes of heard of it, it's sort of like an East Coast Bigfoot or Abominable Snowman who I have also heard of and struggle to believe in."
"Ah but we have an X-File! In 1947 a normal family sees dad get dragged off into the woods, later cops find dear old dad with a few appendages gnawed off."
Fox jumped in with what he knew "Cops corner a large naked man in the woods and gun `im down, the autopsy shows human flesh and bones in the man's large intestine!"
"There is no Autopsy report" Sam continued "the original disappeared from the Patterson PD's files a few years after the incident"
"All we have is a statement from the attending pathologist" The brother added "But now we got a cannibalised body in New Jersey, someone or something out there is hungry!"
"You two could sound a little less happy about it. Also, it's not our case" Dana argued "I don't want to be heading out to Jersey with you two on a case that isn't ours when we have all this to do" she pointed to the paperwork "I have plans tonight that I want to be here for" she wasn't completely looking forward to the plans but she had committed to them.
"Ooh does Scully have a date?" Sam teased and Scully shook her head.
"No I have my Godson's birthday party, I promised I would help and if I didn't have to stay late at work get there early to set up. This is not an FBI matter Mulder... Mulders," she looked from one face to the other knowing she wasn't getting through "local police can handle it and if we show up there we're just gonna step on toes. You two can go if you want but I'm staying here."
"So it's OK if we go" Fox told Sam "I have a lead nearby I want to follow up. You and me little sis, searching for the Jersey Devil, it'll be just like when you visited me in England and we went to Loch Ness!"
"Except this time we have a recent incident to start from." Sam grinned at her brother practically vibrating excitement.
"Come on I already requisitioned a car."
"I don't understand" Dana said slowly
"What's not to understand?" Sam asked "we have a chance to investigate and prove one of the great urban legends!"
"Oh No" Dana shook her head "I understand that you feel the need to look for this thing, I understand that it could be an interesting case, what I don't understand... is why only she is known as Spooky when you're as into this stuff as she is." she stared up at Fox Mulder in surprise "You're just as interested in the paranormal, the other worldly, the downright bizarre but no one talks about it."
"I just don't dedicate my life to it." Fox shrugged as he picked up his sister's jacket and threw it to her "The occasional weird interest can be overlooked if the rest of the time you're chasing serial killers, psychotic con men and other hooligans with an excellent record."
"Can I leave you with this Dana?" Sam asked but Dana could tell it was just a formality as the two of them stood practically bouncing with excitement.
"Sure, we only have one desk after all, it'll actually make things easier for me." The Mulder siblings left together fighting over who would drive and Dana couldn't help but smile after them, they were so similar in moments like this, as excited as a 2 year old in a candy store.
(–)
With Fox's talents at sweet talking the fairer sex they had no problems getting into the morgue, once there they had plenty of time to talk to the pretty female Doctor who had done the autopsy.
"I know they say animals can develop an appetite for human flesh but, this is no animal. You see the teeth marks, just below the clavicle, they're definitely human."
"But it was the Skull fracture that killed him?" Sam asked "That looks like a pretty substantial blow"
"It would have been a very strong person who did this"
"Had he been drinking?" Fox asked "Also who found the body?"
"His blood alcohol level was pretty high, luckily he probably never knew what hit him. It was a park ranger who found the body, Boulay I think his name was."
"Was he still alive when he was being chewed on?" Sam asked hoping the answer would be no
"Hard to say for sure, no sign of a struggle but with the blow to the head and the alcohol he would probably have been too out of it to know it was happening."
"You say it was human, any idea who might have chewed on him?"
"I'd guess Male? Definitely a large adult" the woman looked uncomfortable "Look I really shouldn't be telling you this. I'm under pressure to keep this quiet so I'm keeping some of this under wraps and the rest of the law enforcement around here are doing the same thing."
"Because they think it might be the Jersey Devil?" Sam asked smirking as the other woman flinched "I mean it seems like its the obvious conclusion"
"That's just a story made up to scare kids and keep teenagers from going into the woods for sex." she dismissed the idea immediately "Look I gotta get back to work and if Detective Thomson finds out you're here he'll go nuts."
"Thank you so much for your help" Sam rolled her eyes at her brother's flirtatious tone and smirked as he took the woman's hand and held it just that little bit longer. He stuck his tongue out at her as soon as the doctor was gone "Shut up Sam"
Later when the ranger had taken then out into the woods to show them where he found the body she regretted teasing her brother as she utilised similar skills to get the man talking. He told them about strange stories he's heard over the years and the odd disappearances that happened around the area. "I found the body just over there, lying in those rocks. Thirty-two years with the park service, I've come across some weird stuff but I tell you, never anything like this!" The Ranger was obviously uncomfortable retuning to the scene and kept looking around.
"The victim was a homeless man, you get many of them wandering around out here?"
"Well, occasionally we see some but, most are scared of the woods and don't like to come out here."
"Scared? Of what?" Sam enquired looking innocent
"I don't know, probably the devil."
"Really, I thought that was just a myth." Fox followed his sister's line of questioning knowing it would lead to getting more information in the long run.
"Depends on who you talk to."
"Well what do you think?" Fox smiled and Sam knew why, she was doing her best innocent young woman with no knowledge act and it was always funny to see it work.
"Well like I said I've seen a lot of weird stuff. Like one time, a little over four years ago, I saw what I thought was a, large man come out of a, copse of birch trees, not, not a stitch of clothing. And he was about, sixty yards away, and he starts, sniffing the air, you know like a dog. And then he looks straight at me, and I swear he smelled me because he took off into the woods so fast, you'd swear it wasn't human."
"Really. You never saw him again?"
"No, but sometimes when I'm out here alone I feel him watching me. Once or twice I've found things, some scat half buried like a cat's only more human. Found a half eaten rabbit with what looked like a human cuspid tooth in it it was still warm, freshly killed. And some deer bones that looked like they'd been sharpened into tools for hunting and the like.
"Do you think it might be what's responsible for the body you found?"
"Well little lady I got a pension coming up in a few years, I wouldn't want to say the wrong thing..."
"Of course"
"But I'll tell you one thing, I don't ever come out here without my weapon any more."
It was all they were going to to get so Sam asked "How far is it back into town from here?"
"Bout a mile, mile and a half."
The two of them exchanged a look agreeing silently that the walk would be worth it "We're staying at the Galaxy Gateway for the next couple of days, if you think of anything, will you call us?" she handed over her card with her cell phone number.
"Sure"
"Thank you Ranger" gave her most winning smile and once the Ranger was out of earshot Fox muttered 'Creep' under his breath. "Look men of that age and type respond differently to me if I am all business." she retorted "Whilst he might have told you that stuff eventually I might have just got it out of him a bit quicker."
"Yeah but did you have to be so" he put on a light breathy voice "Oh thank you Ranger Rick" he blinked a few times and she reached out to swipe at him.
"I sounded nothing like that! Just because that's how your 1-800 numbers girls sound"
(–)
Back in DC Dana was surprised how much she was enjoying the party. The boys were running around like crazy and though she was exhausted she couldn't stop smiling "I'm so glad you're here Dana." Ellen touched Dana's shoulder "I really needed the help" They had finally gotten the kids sat down around a table eating food and there was just a little less chaos.
"You're pretty amazing Elle."
"How so?"
"You're just such a natural at all this, I don't know how you keep it all together."
"In time you develop a Mommy radar."
"Mm hm, I don't think I'm cut out for it"
"Dana, you went through the FBI academy, I think all women should do that as training for motherhood." as the two women work Dana can feel Ellen watching her "Seriously, you're great with kids, what're you talking about?"
"I just sometimes wonder how I'm supposed to find the time?"
"Well first you have to get a life."
"I have a life"
"Then it helps if you can find a man."
"I case you'd forgotten the last man I had was a little useless"
"What about men at the office, didn't say your co-worker had a cute brother?"
"Yeah but I think it would be best to keep my work and home life separate. If it went badly I'd be stuck working with his sister."
"Well there are a couple of divorced dad's due to pick up their son's I could introduce you" Dana laughed it off but didn't say no and later when she opened the door to an attractive man who Ellen informed her was one of these divorced fathers she ran a hand through her hair and checked her clothing wasn't covered in cake before giving him a smile.
(–)
"I cannot believe you got us arrested" Sam and her brother were sitting in a small white room waiting to be questioned and refusing to look at each other. They had been camping out in a homeless man's shelter after giving him Fox's motel room key when they'd seen something. Unfortunately a patrol had arrived at the time and the two were soon bundled into the back of a police car and were now sitting in an interrogation room.
"Me?" Fox sounded amazed at her accusation "I have never been on this side of the table before can you say that?"
"I've never deserved to be on this side of the table, if people weren't so scared of having the truth known then I wouldn't have to be here all the time"
"All the time?" Fox turned in his chair to look at her properly "I was talking about the time you 'borrowed' mom and dad's car to go to the movies with your friends without telling them. How often has this happened exactly?"
"Musketeer Bar?" Sam asked pulling two from her pocket and offering one to him.
"SAM?" he was still staring at her but Sam was saved from answering the question by the arrival of detective Thomson
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Enjoying the night life here in beautiful Atlantic City." Fox replied sounding for all the world like it was the truth.
"I'll go right to the D.A.'s office if I have to, obstructing an investigation, misconduct."
"I think that's a good idea, let's all go see her together, and while we're at it why don't we add withholding evidence to the list?" Sam responded rising in her seat
"What are you talking about?
"I'm talking about the evidence you are telling everyone to keep under wraps, statements given to you describing something stalking the back streets of Atlantic City. Evidence of a man attacking and attempting to eat a homeless man. Why else would you have officers sweeping the streets tonight? You know it's out there!"
"No I've got a perpetrator out there. Whether it's Hannibal the Cannibal or Elmer Fudd, I've got a job to protect the people in this city."
Sam was on a roll now her frustration level was high "Oh is that your job? I think it's to keep the dice rolling, keep the tour buses full of tourists rolling in. You know you've got to fill those casinos or this town disappears like a quarter down the slot!"
"We saw it" Fox interrupted before Sam could throw more insults at the detective. "We saw something out there that hasn't been explained."
"What did you see?"
Sam unfolded the drawing that Jack the homeless man they'd spoken to earlier had given them of the creature. She holds it up to be seen by Detective Thompson, the man took it from her and began to laugh "You two have been spending too much time in supermarket check-out lines."
"Who's going to be responsible when you lose your first tourist, Detective?" Sam accused "this creature won't keep to homeless men forever."
"No, but you two are wasting my time and impeding the solution of this case." The man threw the picture down on the table "You wanna go on a safari, go to Africa. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your weekend." he left them alone in the room slamming the door with force.
Sitting back in his seat Fox folded his arms "Well here's another fine mess you've gotten me into"
(–)
As Dana entered the office a fellow agent called out to her "Agent Scully, Agent Mulder is on line three." Scully smiled her thanks to the agent and picked up the phone on the desk beside her
"Where are you?"
"Agent Scully?"
"Oh! Fox!" Dana felt embarrassed at having answered the phone the way she had "I thought they meant it was Sam"
"Well now I know why she asked me to call instead off doing it herself."
Wincing Dana decided she's have a go at her partner later "Sorry, so, where are you both?"
"Well we're not far from where you left us"
"You're both still in Atlantic City? Tell Sam I refuse to do all of her paperwork for her, you'd think a woman with her qualifications would be less of a procrastinator."
"Well Scully I promise you to make her do the work if you do me one small favour."
"What's that noise in the background?" there sounded through the phone the noise of someone retching hideously and she suddenly felt worried about where her partner and her brother were. "Are you both alright?"
"That was a guy getting sick. We're fine but we're kind of in the Drunk tank."
"The drunk tank?" Looking around Scully realises that other people are listening in and so she turns away to continue to talk to Mulder. "What on earth has she done this time?"
(–)
It amused Fox no end how much Scully reminded him of a mother picking up her naughty children from detention. After getting them clean because as Scully said it was not hard to see why they mistook you them a couple vagrants she took them to her car and told them she had someone she wanted them to meet. Hungry Sam had groaned and acted very like a teenage version of herself when their mother had made her dress up to go to parties, he liked the relationship the two women had part friends, part colleagues and part mother and recalcitrant child.
"I'm just so hungry" Sam complained so eventually Scully took them through a drive-through to get them what they needed
"Am I buying or did you manage to pan-handle some spare change while you were at it?" Scully was obviously very unamused by the situation and Fox decided it was easier to hand over the last of the cash in his wallet to placate the woman, guess it was true what they said about redheads.
"Thanks Fox" Sam had bitten into the burger with relish whilst he had tried to be a little more delicate. "Seriously Scully it was totally worth it for what we saw"
"Worth spending the night behind bars?"
"Absolutely" Sam agreed and though Mulder wasn't 100% sure he agreed with her he nodded as well "It was beautiful moving like a cat, quick and graceful. There's no way a normal human could've got up on the roof that fast."
"I agree, and I think it's not a predator it's a scavenger the homeless man just fell in their laps a free meal." Fox spoke decisively, he'd thought a lot about it overnight "They found a way to eat and took it."
"Maybe. It was going through the garbage I think in search of food, if it was a man-eater why didn't it come after me? It may have felt threatened."
"It felt threatened? What about you and your job? What's gonna happen when word of this gets back to the bureau?"
"They dropped the charges," Sam reminded her "that guy Thompson, he ran us through the system just to spite me."
"I'm talking about this Jersey Devil thing, it is not going to be good for either of your reputations."
"We saw it, it was so animal like the way it moved, the way it sniffed the air. It's come out of the woods." Fox looked around at where Dana had pulled up "Where are we?"
"Before we go home I have somebody I want you to meet C'mon." Getting out of the car they followed her as she led them through a college building, once inside they head to an office where Scully is greeted by a professor who offers them all coffee something Mulder is glad to take him up on. "I've told Professor Diamond what you're looking into right now, he's done some research on this sort of thing."
"So you know about the Jersey Devil?" Sam asked and Fox found himself wanting to warn his sister not to get up someone else's nose but as the professor seemed more open than the detective he decided to sit back and let her handle it, after all this was a damn good cup of coffee he'd been given.
"Well yes, it's interesting but many cultures have a story like that one. There are Yetis, Sasquatch, Russian Almas, Dsonoqua."
"Why is that?" Sam seemed to like the man and was less confrontational than she usually was "In your opinion?"
"Oh, it's a kind of universal wild man myth. It's posited as a symbolic fear of our dual natures as humans, as creators of life as well as destroyers of it."
"So you think it's purely myth?"
"I didn't say that exactly, humans have retained hereditary traits through evolution that have proven to be extremely destructive. As a society even now we tend to be tribal and aggressively territorial, this is oriented by selfish sexual and reproductive drives that make co-operation beyond the family-a-tribe hard for us."
"What if through some fluke of nature, a human was born, who reverted to it's most animal instincts, a kind of carnivorous Neanderthal. Wouldn't he occupy a space above us on the food chain?"
"Oh sure, but these days all he'd have to do is wait outside any fast-food restaurant and eat us on the way in." The professor and Sam laughed together she seemed to be appreciating his thoughts on the matter.
"And haven't there been cases where men have been raised in the wilderness by animals who have no language and hunt like predators?
"Oh yes several, but you see there are no animal packs in the area we're talking about that are likely to raise humans that way. Also Cannibalism is extremely rare, even among the lower mammals" The man paused seeming to think about it "It could be possible in the jungles of New Guinea it's just, highly unlikely that what you're suggesting could've survived civilization, a revolution, out in the woods of New Jersey."
Sam grinned at this response "Yeah, highly unlikely, but not outside the realm of extreme possibility?" it was a question Fox had heard her say before and Fox saw her partner roll her eyes at it so obviously Dana had as well.
"It would be an amazing discovery. One that would make my career."
"Fascinating as all this is, I have got to get back to Washington by 7:30" Scully announced "so if you want to keep talking about this I'm going to have to abandon you here."
"Another birthday party?" Fox found himself asking
"No. I have a date." she said it without looking at any of the other three people in the room
"Can you cancel?" Fox's question which even Sam seemed to realise this was a bad one, had been instinctive. Had they been on an actual paid case he'd have been well within his rights but the disdain on Scully's face and the daggers Sam sent her brothers way were loud for such silent gestures.
"No" she told him coldly. "not because I can't but because I won't. I'm entitled to a life outside work."
"I have a life" he argued "I do" he was annoyed when Sam laughed at him "I date!"
"Scully wants a real relationship not a series of hook ups with whatever young thing joins the office Fox" the two women shared a smile and he wondered if they'd talked about him like this before. "You go Dana, we can carry on without you."
(–)
Later when Fox had suggested that the creature might be female and Ranger Boulay had called them about a body being found Sam managed to persuade her brother to let Scully enjoy her date uninterrupted but to call Dr Diamond given his earlier interest in their case. Unfortunately the body disappeared and soon the two agents found themselves accompanied by the ranger and the doctor as they set out on a desperate search for the female Jersey Devil.
"If it is a large primate, it could have a natural fear of heights."
"Like Sam" Mulder teased
"Shall we light a quick fire?" she snapped back "And from what I saw earlier this thing has no fear of heights."
"It should want to stay close to it's food source." Dr Diamond informed them as Fox cut open the fence for them to break in. Fox made sure he was first stepping through the fence to hold it back for the others to follow. Sam had suggested that the doctor stay back as he was the only one of them unarmed and untrained in the situation but he reminded them that he might be useful if the creature could be communicated with.
"We'll start with the lower floors. Ranger Boulay how much time will that dart give us?"
"It'll put down a five hundred pound bear for an hour"
They entered the building and Sam looked around, it's the type of old building she's searched many times before with no lighting, musty smells, broken doors and smashed barred windows.
"Something here!" Dr. Diamond called out "It's blood. She could be bringing her killing here or she could be injured." he sifted through at a pile of rubbish. There are a few empty bags and plastic covers, "If she's injured she might try to head home, lick her wounds so to speak."
Leaving the Ranger and doctor below Mulder and her brother ascend the stairs guns raised and ready, they neither of them intended to shoot the creature but they were also aware that drug addicts often used these places and it would be embarrassing for two FBI agents if they were attacked like that.
"What if it is a female Sam?" Mulder whispered as they cleared rooms "How close is she to you or me? Does she feel emotion? Are her days just spent looking for food? Is she a mother?"
"Maybe she spent her days looking after the male, after all they can't do it themselves." Sam joked in a low tone.
"Eight million years out of Africa, I don't think we're all that different."
"We're not Fox, but we've built skyscrapers, put men on the moon and built computers that work faster than the human mind we believe we are more than her because of these achievements and that's why we dismiss what we don't understand!"
"And in the meantime we pollute and overpopulate the earth"
"Without really thinking of the damage we do, we're just animals at heart... some of us more than others." she grinned at him waiting for him to catch the joke.
"Hey" he punched her arm lightly then paused "do you hear that?" Sam paused quietly, there were new voices downstairs they moved a quietly as they could to the railings and peered over.
"...his name is Fox Mulder and she's Samantha Mulder, they're federal agents, you ever hear of him?" It was detective Thomson and several men all armed and ready.
"No".
"You know him?"
"No." Dr Diamond was lying for them and Samantha could kiss him for it. Putting her hand in her brother's she pulled him away, they could still hear
"Well what are you doing here?"
"I'm a professor of Anthropology."
They continue their search and just as they entered a room Sam saw a figure running past the window. "There" she hisses and the two of them give chase to the outer levels of the building. They head further up not seeing her until Fox calls out and points. Across the roof of the next building someone is running, the nude figure is tall with long dark hair down her back. Seemingly without a second thought Sam sees her brother run and jump over the gap onto the other roof. Not a big fan of heights Sam isn't sure she can join him. The distance isn't wide but its dan high off the ground. She hears voices near her, they are coming and she really doesn't want to get put behind bars, taking a deep breath she steps back as far as she can and then running leaps over landing where Fox had and falling flat on the roof as she did so.
"Damn" she hissed holding her knee, it hurt but ignoring the pain she got back to her feet and followed in the path of the Jersey Devil and her brother.
Once inside the dark building the Mulder's move slower than the creature, Sam pondered the woman's ability to move so quickly, could she have better vision in the dark than them? Did a life time of having to move and think fast make you better prepared for this sort of chase. As she moved she almost fell again as her leg gave way, she's really done some damage when she made that jump.
There is a cry nearby and she catches up with her brother just in time to see both he and the female fall to the ground. The beast straddles Fox's legs and swipes at him hitting his head hard against the stone beneath him.
"FBI! Get away from him" the exclamation is instinctual Sam knows the she-creature had no idea what the FBI is but all she can think of right now is her brother and to her shock it works. The woman jumps away snarling, Sam runs to her brother giving up the chase "Fox? Come on Fox don't do this to me!" he's breathing but not conscious.
"Sam?" his words are slurred and she immediately fears that his head has been hit harder than she thought "Zat you?" he's blinking like what little light there is, is bothering him
"Stay down, Mulder you've been hurt."
"Oh Sam you should've seen her, she was beautiful."
"Stay still" Pressing down on his chest she shook her head "You're bleeding Mulder" He chuckled eyes closed expression goofy "What?"
"Yous only call me Mulder to be nice to me when things are bad, it's not bad Sam." he put his hand over hers helping her press down "Imma gonna be fine."
The SWAT team came running in, soon after the medics followed and Sam watched as her brother who had once again lost consciousness was lifted into the ambulance. Dr Diamond kept asking Sam questions, there were officers with guns surrounding them but for just a moment Sam didn't care. There was an announcement and suddenly everyone was moving out, Dr Diamond and the ranger went with them keen to see this adventure through to the end, Sam looked after them wistfully but climbed into the ambulance her place was with Fox.
(–)
"I'm looking for Fox Mulder" Dana pulled out her ID as she spoke "he was brought in earlier with a head trauma?"
The nurse at the desk inspects the ID and points her down the hall "Room 215"
"Thank you" approaching the door Scully's arms tightened on the bag in her arms, she had come straight here when she'd heard and now she was worried she might be intruding. Deciding it would be ridiculous to turn back now she knocked.
The door opened and Sam stood there with her phone to he ear "Yes mom" she waved Dana in "I'll bring him to see you as soon as he's out"
"Sam!" Fox hissed his face angry, his sister limped back to the bed and sat down.
"I'm sure he'd love to stay with you if the doctors don't clear him"
The brother was looking murderous now and Dana fought a smile down as he ground out Sam's name warningly.
"OK Mom I have to go a doctor just arrived" she winked at Scully and with a cheery goodbye she hung up "Mom sends her love."
"You better tell her the doctors told me everything was fine"
"Like you kept my break up under your hat?"
"Seriously? That was ages ago!"
Dana decided to cut in before the argument got out of hand "Coffee?" She held up the two cups
"Please" Fox brightened up but Dana shook her head
"None for you, it's not good for a concussion."
"Of course my only other visitor is a doctor" the man lay back on the bed wincing as his head touched the pillow.
"I did get you these" She reached into the carrier bag and pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds "Sam says you're addicted to these more than coffee."
"Aw thanks" he sat up his blanket falling down revealing a shapely torso and a bandaged waist, she felt herself flushing under his intense smile and turned to give Sam her coffee then throwing her a bag of gummy worms which she happily ripped into.
"So I heard about what happened, the Detective got his way, all swept under the rug." She felt bad about deserting them, had she been there maybe the creature would have been captured alive, maybe Sam wouldn't have injured her knee, maybe Mulder wouldn't be in a hospital bed.
"Yeah" Sam opened up a file "The good Doctor Diamond and Boulay made sure we got these though." The pictures are sad to see, the creature lies dead her lower half covered in leaves and dirt "We think she was trying to bury herself"
The room is quiet as they all sit saddened by the turn of events "You know as they were a couple it is conceivable that they had a child maybe more than one" Fox finally said.
"The Jersey Devil may live on in their offspring." Sam agreed brightening a little
Dana hated to be the one to depress them again "Out there alone without parents its hard to think they'd survive."
"We don't know for sure these are the only ones out there, there could be a whole tribe."
"I made a few calls before you arrived, Dr Diamond and I have an appointment at the Smithsonian with an ethno-biologist when we get all the medical reports through. I bet she'd want to talk to you both about this."
"I can't" Fox told her opening up his seeds and biting into one "I've been called about a case and need to get back to the office, if I don't go back people are going to question what I'm up to. I told them I fell down some stairs so they should be keeping me on desk duty." fox smiled at his sister "This was fun though, working together."
"It was" she agreed kicking off her shoes and pulling her feet up onto the bed. "Just like old times looking for Nessie, La Bete Gevaudan."
"That trip to Hutukngna" he agreed and Dana sat down resigning herself to a rather creep trip down memory lane with the Mulders.
Holy Hannah that was a long one but I enjoyed it mostly, Conduit was glossed over so sorry for anyone that loved that episode but I didn't think it was that relevant for my version. It might be a couple of weeks before I upload again, sorry.
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