NEW: Needles 1/1
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 ***********************************************************

The story is based on a type of dream I have where the story is told
in installments. This is the opening scene to one of the episodes of my
dream. It was written because of the kind and gentle encourgement of Char
and Kylie Loxton and the loving support of Steve, my husband. Three words
of advise:

RUN! and HIDE!!!!

I intend to <grin and heads for cover>.

Disclaimer:

This is a fiction story based on the characters created by Chris
Carter. No infringement of copyrights held by 10/13 Productions,
Twentieth Century Productions, or Fox Broadcasting is intended.
All unrecognised characters and plot-lines belong to me. Names,
characters, and places exist solely within my imagination, or are
used fictitiously. No connection to any person, living or dead, is
intended, and any resemblance is entirely coincidental. Feel free
to distribute, but please keep me as the author.

The description of the underground offices of the VCU is from page 32 of
"Mindhunter" by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker.

Needles (was formerly: Untitled)
by Lee Ann Wagner
(lawagner@mindspring.net)

-----

Washington, D.C.
FBI Headquarters
Basement Office
11:21A.M.

Special Agent Dana Scully paused while reading an autopsy
report to glance over at her partner who was seated at his desk,
feet perched on the edge, one resting on top the other, glasses
perched on his nose, reading a file, and humming. Now under
normal circumstances, this sight would have made her feel good.
Her partner, Fox Mulder, was seated at his desk, which meant he
was not out hunting UFOs, EBEs, sea serpents, or anything else
that might get him hurt or killed. The fact he was reading a
case file, a non-X-file case file, meant that they were not going
to spend the night running around some cold, wet forest. Humming
was usually a sign of a good mood and Mulder in a good mood was a
thing to treasure indeed. But the fact he kept humming the same
song, over and over again, made Scully want to scream. She had
tried to be tolerant. She had ever tried to distract him with
sunflower seeds. But to no avail. After thanking her for them,
Mulder had put the seeds on his desk and went right back to
humming again. That was infuriating enough, but when you add the
song Mulder kept humming, well it was almost too much. Scully
liked a wide range of music, but Rap had never interested her
very much. *So what does Mulder pick to hum,* she thought,
*Coolio's 'Gangsta Paradise'. I may have to do something drastic
here.* She turned back to her monitor screen.

Several minutes later, movement caught her eye. Mulder had
stood up and was stretching. His glasses lay on top of the file
folder. And, miracles of miracles, the humming had stopped.

"How about I get us some lunch from the deli," Fox Mulder
asked as he walked around his desk.

"Sure," Scully replied reaching for her purse. "Just a
salad and some ice tea today, Mulder," she said handing him a
twenty.

As soon as the door closed, Scully leaned back in her chair
reveling in the silence. She took a minute to examine the
basement office she shared with Mulder. It was decent size but
cluttered. *I have more space in an autopsy room,* she thought,
*but at least it does have a window in here.* But she also knew
Mulder was happy with this office. She never understood this
until the first time she visited ISU. The Unit was located out
at Quantico in a space originally meant for a secure law
enforcement headquarters during times of national emergency.
There was NO windows as it was sixty feet below ground level.
She shuddered just to think about trying to work down there.
Shaking her head to clear the images out, she turned back to the
autopsy report.

But an hour and a half later, she was ready to send Mulder
sixty feet underground herself. He had started humming that
blasted song as soon as he finished lunch and showed no sign of
stopping anytime soon. For a few seconds, Scully contemplated
shooting him in the leg. She smiled at the thought. But then
reality kicked in. *He'd look at me with those hurt puppy eyes
and I'd feel bad,* she thought. *Then I'd have to take care of
him. Which would be a pain. Then there's all the paper work I'd
have to fill out. Not to mention the review board. Nope, that's
not the way to stop this concert.* But then she remembered a
memo she had seen on his desk about him needing to update his
inoculation record in his medical file. She gave a quiet snort.
*There's a snowball's chance in Hell of that happening
voluntarily.* She considered the problem for a moment. *But as
his partner and a medical doctor, it is my duty . . ., my
obligation, . . . IT MUST BE DONE. After all, what good would he
be to me if he's laid up with flu because he was too pin-headed
to get a shot.* Smiling, she punched up his medical file on her
computer, pulled out a notebook, and started making a list of
shots she thought would benefit her partner.

An hour and a half later, Mulder was still humming the same
tune. Scully had listed all the normal boosters that his file
mentioned. Then any new inoculations she found mentioned in the
CDC bulletins. She looked over at her partner. He was
scribbling notes on a yellow legal pad and he had stopped
humming.

*Maybe I'm being to hard on Mulder,* she thought. She
reached for the list to rip it up just as Mulder started
humming again. She turned back to her terminal and punched up
the State Department web page. *Nope. If anything, too easy.*

Forty-five minutes later, Scully had listed all the
inoculations the State Department advised for travelers.
Smiling, she sat back. *After all,* she reasoned, *Mulder has
taken off on a moments notice. He went to Hong Kong, so there's
nothing to stop him from ending up in Bangladesh or some other
corner of the world. Now I have better add in all the
vaccinations he should have gotten as a child. With Mulder's
history, you can't be sure of anything.*

Scully's thought were interrupted by a knock at the door.
Without waiting for a reply, Skinner's temporary secretary walked
in. The A.D.'s regular secretary was out on maternity leave.
The women was dressed in a short, slinky dark red dress which was
cut very low in the front. It complimented her dark hair and
fair skin beautifully. She walked straight for Mulder's desk
without looking anywhere else.

"Agent Mulder," the secretary purred. "Assistant Director
Skinner assigned this case to you and I thought it might be
important. So I just thought I'd run it down to you personally."
She leaned across his desk giving Mulder a clear view down her
dress. Her hand 'accidentally' brushed his as she handed over
the file.

*Oh, brother!* Scully rolled her eyes. *Could she be more
obvious? She's probably even wearing a 'Wonder Bra.'* Mulder
flashed the women, one of his most appealing smiles as he took
the file. *He's eating this up. It's going to be a long six
weeks.*

After watching the woman glide out of the office, Scully
turned back to her list. *I wonder if the rabies vaccine that
they give animals works the same way in humans. Well, I'll just
put it on the list and find out later. Might as well put
distemper on the list as well. After all, Mulder is always
dragging me off to some woods. With Mulder's luck, I can't be
too careful,*

A half hour later, Scully's on-line search of the AMA
journals was interrupted by her partner.

"Hey, Scully," Mulder stated. "Looks like we have our next
case." He handed her the file. She scanned it.

"But this is a serial killer, not an X-File," she protested.

Mulder sighed. "I know. But the agents in San Francisco
can't get a handle on it and neither can ISU. So. . ."

"Then they sent it to you," Scully finished. "I hate what
these cases do to you, Mulder."

He flashed her his best lopsided grin, "Maybe it would not
be so bad this time."

"Yeah, right. And maybe, NOW will endorse Dole." She
relaxed her shoulders and slowly breathed out her anger. "So,
when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Mulder replied. "By the way, what have
you been doing all day?"

Scully grinned. "Just a little medical research." She
closed her notebook and stuck it back in her brief case.

*****

End