Dana stood outside of the car, hand held above her eyes to shield them from the sun. The June day was dazzlingly bright, and was threatening to be even hotter than the 88 degrees the forecast had suggested. The sun shined off of her auburn hair as though it were made of metal. Today she was wearing a form fitting t-shirt and jean shorts that came barely to the middle of her thighs, showing off her shapely legs. It was a far cry from the professional attire she normally wore as an FBI Agent. The outfit was apparently not enough, however, to keep her husband's attention for very long. Fox Mulder was currently striding quickly through the park towards a small crowd of police officers surrounding a small section of canal cordoned off with yellow caution tape. Watching him, Dana sighed. They had gotten so close, within a few hours of the cabin they were renting in Northern Maine. She should have known better, should have expected that SOMETHING would side track them. It always did.
"Mom? Where's Dad going?" came a small voice from the back of the car. Dana and Fox's eleven year old son Sammy leaned over the seat, craning his neck to watch his Father, his bright blue eyes magnified by the glasses that slid uncontrollably down his nose. Eight year old Kody Doggett sat beside him, still absorbed in his handheld video game. Dana and Fox's fourteen year old daughter Emily had not commented on the situation yet, but that was because she was riding with Monica and John Doggett in their SUV, but Dana was sure her teenager would be adding her attitude into the mixture before too much longer. At this point Dana could barely blame her.
Sure enough, the back door of the Doggett's SUV swung open and Emily Christine Mulder swung out. Trim and with a slightly athletic build, long straight brown hair with auburn highlights, green eyes and clear creamy skin, it was already easy to see that she was going to be a real beauty. The stylish brand name jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt she wore were indicators of the popular clique she was a part of at her school. The furious expression on her face and the manner of her brisk stride were her Mother. Once upon a time, when she had first been assigned to The X-Files, Dana had been the one with the brusque, dismissive, exasperated attitude her daughter now sported. This attitude was especially directed at her parents. Emily had every intention of living the privileged upper class lifestyle that her friends enjoyed, and crazy parents who made a career out of chasing boogeymen, ghosts and monsters were absolutely not a part of that equation. When she had been ten she'd gone to work with her parents for Take your Daughter to Work Day, and one of the agents from another department had stopped by and asked if this was 'Little Spooky'. Emily had never forgotten that early lesson about being judged by who you associate with, and she had no intentions whatsoever of letting anyone ruin her chances for the life she wanted.
"Mom. What is he doing?" Emily asked, tossing her long hair over her shoulder abruptly and putting her hands on her hips. She looked in the direction her Father had headed off in and made a revolted noise. "Is he serious? It's not bad enough I have to be drug halfway across the country to go camping in the middle of nowhere, but now we're going to sit around while he tries to make a crazy case out of something mundane he just happens to pass by." Emily's voice dripped with loathing. The teenager flopped down on the ground in the shade of the car, arms crossed.
"Emily Christine, you better reconsider who you're talking about, and who you are talking to. You need to show your Father some respect. He works hard and gives you a lot. You could try appreciating it for once in your life." Dana watched Mulder approach one of the officers. "We are FBI Agents, it's our responsibility to stop and see if we can be of assistance if we see a crime when we are off duty."
Emily looked up at her Mother in disbelief, upper lip curled in disgust. "Mom, he is crazy. Why are you even still with him?" Emily knew she was way overstepping her boundaries with that question, but she was tired of wondering, and tired of her friends constantly asking her that question. Her parents were nothing alike, and her Mom was even capable of being relatively normal at times. "And if it's your responsibilities, than why aren't you, Uncle John, or Aunt Monica running over there? Just Dad."
Dana felt dull fury surge through her. "Has it ever occurred to you Emily that perhaps you don't know everything? If you knew a quarter of what you think you know you would never even think about suggesting that your Dad is crazy. As for why I am with him, you had better think long and hard about what questions you have any right to ask me, because that is far from being one of them." Dana paused, attempting to cool down. Moments ago she'd been about as annoyed with Mulder as Emily was, but now suddenly found herself leaning more towards being on his side. "Go get back in the car Emily. You're Father will be back in a few minutes. But we're not done discussing this. We need to talk, and you need a serious attitude adjustment."
Emily stomped back to the SUV without a word, arms crossed, and slammed the door good and hard when she got in.