400 Words: Gazing by Maureen B. Ocks maureen_b_ocks@yahoo.com Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and all other familiar X Files characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and FOX. No copyright infringement intended. Archive -- Sure, just tell me and keep my name with it. Spoilers: Late season 6 Keywords - 400, schmoop, dark skies x-x-x Linden House Plantation Bed and Breakfast's Back Porch Champlain, VA April 11, 1999 1:34am "I feel like Sally Brown." "Sally Brown?" "Charlie Brown's sister." "Why?" "Sally Brown spent Halloween in a pumpkin patch with Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin instead of trick or treating." "Were you planning on trick or treating this evening? Halloween is months away. No one would have candy." "No, I was going to relax at home, read, watch some TV." "You can do that anytime." "No, Mulder, I can't. You usually have some pumpkin patch you want us to sit in and wait for the Great Pumpkin." "I'm not waiting for the Great Pumpkin and despite Mr. Shelton's cows over there, we're hardly in a pumpkin patch." Mulder picked up his high power binoculars and looked to the sky. "No, you're not. We're sitting here." "There it is." Mulder handed Scully the binoculars. He could see the skeptical look on her face. "Find the moon, a little west, a little south." Scully looked through the binoculars and followed Mulder's lead. Hell, she followed him here for no real reason, why change now? "It's beautiful." She started smiling. "What is it?" "The Gunmen said there would be some shooting stars tonight. Or possible testing of secret government weapons made to look like shooting stars. Either way, it is going to be a show for the next hour or so." "Secret government weapons?" "Byers' theory. Langly favors space garbage re-entering the atmosphere from Defense Department satellites. Frohike just wanted to come and watch the stars with you." She dropped the binoculars long enough to give him a look then returned to her stargazing. "Really, why are we here? This is lovely but it can't be why we're here." "It is. A couple of years ago I asked you about looking up at the stars. I just wanted to see you do it once." "So we're here in the middle of nowhere...." "We're here at a very nice hotel." "Noted, we're here at a very nice hotel in the middle of nowhere, watching the stars." Scully never took her eyes off the sky. "You're watching the stars. So tell me Dr. Scully, think anything up there is looking down at you?" "No." She smiled. "Why would they be looking at me when it is so beautiful up there?" He had an answer, but kept it to himself. x-x-x Author's notes. The image was supposed to be two characters in a field full of cows but as a city person, I'm having a hard time figuring out why anyone would do that. I spent part of the blackout watching the stars from my stoop. You forget in big, bright cities that there are things out there like stars that you just can't see. That's where this came from. I didn't run this by beta goddess Shari. All mistakes are mine. I tried to punctuate it as best I could. Feedback will be gazed upon lovingly, I promise. maureen_b_ocks@yahoo.com