Mulder had never been woken by a rooster crowing before. He actually thought it was one of Scully's jokes, rolled over and went back to sleep. An hour later, he heard a sharp knock on his door.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"Didn't you hear Chester?" Scully asked, opening the door and finding him still in bed. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Time to get up."

"To milk the cows?"

"I wasn't kidding, and you missed it. Breakfast is on the table. Hurry up before it gets cold."

"Scully, I didn't know..."

"That's alright. I won't hold it against you for too much longer."

She picked up the pants he had changed out of last night and threw them at his head.

"Get moving."

"Yes ma'am."

She closed the door behind her and he rolled out of bed. It was cold in the house, so he quickly made his way to the bathroom for a hot shower.

Once he was dressed and ready, he walked into the kitchen. Scully was sitting at the table, a grin creeping over her face as she watched her grandparents. Mulder sat down next to her and nudged her with his elbow.

"What's so funny?"

"Lucy and Ricky over there," she said, gesturing into the kitchen.

"Why?"

"Just watch."

"I've told you a thousand times, Gene. Wipe off the top of the mustard."

"I can't help if some squirts out that I don't notice."

"Maybe if you made it a habit to wipe off the lid, we wouldn't be having this fight again."

"Well Mama, maybe you need to quit getting your knickers in a knot over a little crusty mustard."

"I wouldn't care if I didn't have to tell you all the time."

"What about the lint trap in the dryer? You never clean it out! You could start a fire!"

"I never use that dryer, you do!

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do! Every night another load of laundry. Are you an infant, Gene? Do you really soil your clothes that much?"

Mulder and Scully both bit back laughs.

"This is like breakfast theatre," Mulder whispered.

"I know."

"That's us in 30 years."

"Yeah, except we'll be armed."

They smiled and nodded together, then turned back to the show.

"I don't know what the dryer has to do with the mustard anyway."

"I thought we were discussing our shortcomings here."

"We're not talking about this anymore."

"Well Edith, I guess we know who wears the pants in this family."

"It's not who wears the pants Gene. It's what's in them."

"Mama!"

Mulder and Scully could hardly contain their laughter anymore, and had to actually turn away from each other.

"Oh Gene, don't act so scandalized."

"Fine, fine. Will you hand me the ketchup?"

"This has a crust on it too!"

"It wasn't me!"

"Dana, stop laughing. This is your future."

Scully nodded and tried unsuccessfully not to look at Mulder. He just shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth and avoided her gaze.

"Are they always like this?" he asked finally.

"Well, not when they're asleep."

He smiled and squeezed her knee gently under the table.

"So, what time do you kids think you'll be back for dinner tonight?" Edith asked, setting down a plate of toast on the table in front of them.

"I don't know, Gram. The case has barely started and the local police haven't really done much on their own."

"Well, you can't expect that sheriff to do much of anything."

"Why's that?" Mulder asking, finishing off the last of his orange juice.

"He's lazy. Always has been. Ever since I hired him as a farm hand 20 years ago. Had to fire him after a week. Kid wouldn't do anything."

"I knew I knew his name from somewhere," Scully said. "Zeke Mills. He was friends with Bill. No wonder he's lazy."

"Yep. That's what happens to kids with entitlements. Bet he doesn't make it through this next election."

"Now Grandy, let's not have your political grandstanding again. Move on to a new hobby."

"I agree, Gene. Just don't make it shooting at the neighborhood cats with a cap gun again."

"Alright, alright."

"We've got to go. I'll call you when we know about dinner."

"Thanks for breakfast," Mulder added.

"Anytime. Go protect and serve and see if you can light a fire under Mills."

"We will, Grandy."

The left the house and Scully stopped halfway down the porch steps, doubling over with laughter.

"Scully?"

"I haven't seen a good fight in years. Charlie's gonna be so jealous."

"Your family has weird priorities," he said, shaking his head and getting into the car.

The case was absolute insanity. The original crime scene hadn't been found, the bodies had been moved at least twice, and the final crime scene had been seriously compromised. Particles on the body could have come from any one of the three locations, and based on the police force here, could have come from a negligent officer. It was a forensic nightmare.

Mulder and Scully rode back to her grand-parents house in silence. They both hated cases like this, and there really wasn't much to say at this point anyway. He reached over and took her hand, and she laced their fingers together, still staring out the window. Once the car stopped, they just sat there for a while.

"Scully?"

"I'm just so frustrated, Mulder. This should be a simple open and shut case, but because a bunch of people are more concerned with town politics than finding a murderer, those two people will never have any justice. I hate that this doesn't even surprise me anymore."

He nodded and stroked her wrist gently, noticing her pulse was faster than normal. She was more upset than she was letting on.

"We'll figure it out, Scully. We always do."

"I know."

"Come on, let's go inside. You need bed and food. Not in that order."

She smiled a little as they got out of the car. The porch steps creaked under their weight and Mulder opened the screen door. Her grandparents were sitting on the couch in the front room, each of them reading a book.

"Hi kids. There's some dinner in the oven if you're hungry," Edith said.

"You two look bushed."

"Yeah, that's accurate," Scully answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "We'll clean up in here when we're done."

Mulder followed her into the kitchen and watched as she took dinner out of the oven. He would have helped, but he knew she needed to do something with her hands right now. She set a plate in front of him then sat down too. He reached over and took her hand, and they ate quietly for a while.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"Why would one body show signs of refrigeration when the other wouldn't? I mean we've been assuming that the victims knew each other. What if they didn't?"

They just looked at each other for a moment, both wondering why they hadn't thought of that before.

"I'll call the field office. We may have something that crosses county lines. We could take over this case."

"Hallelujah."

He patted her hand, then grabbed his phone to make the call.