UNTITLED, PART III

Scully arrived at the J. Edgar Hoover building at five to eight. She went straight to Skinner’s office, knowing that he was waiting for her.

She was right. He stood directly in the doorway, leaning against the frame, arms crossed. “Agent Scully.”

“Good morning, Sir.”

“Have a seat.”

They walked into his office. Skinner shut the door and they both sat down.

“Scully, I hate to tell you this, but the bureau is trying you out with a partner.”

At her look of surprise, he held up his hand.

“Scully...I did everything I possibly could. I reminded them that you had just lost your husband...I tried everything. They wouldn’t hear anything I said. You have the strong capabilities that many others are looking for in a partner. The bureau feels that it would be a great loss for you to work alone. I’m sorry.” He looked down at his desk and waited for her to speak.

“Who will it be?” she asked quietly. He looked up to see her staring straight into his face. When he didn’t answer right away, she lifted an eyebrow and waited.

“His name is Jared Crighton. He’s 30 years old, originally from New York State, and he’s been with the bureau since late ‘99. He showed up shortly before you left. I believe you may have met him once.”

“So he’s fairly new to the bureau.”

“Yes, but he’s a remarkable agent. You’ve got to be careful, Scully. He’s sharp, a quick thinker. You’ll always have to be two steps ahead of him, provided you and he stay partners.”

When she didn’t say anything he spoke again:

“Scully, I understand that this will be very, very hard. You’ll have to go against every single thing you’ve ever been taught here. You have to win your partner’s trust, but be sure to breach it surreptitiously so that you keep it. It won’t be an easy job.”

“When do I meet him?”

“Right away.”

Her mind was racing. Why would Skinner allow her to be paired up with someone who could be dangerous to her situation? More, there were plenty of agents who worked without partners. Why couldn’t she be one of them? She was about to ask him these things, but realized it was too late as they arrived at Agent Crighton’s office.

The young man stood up when AD Skinner stopped next to his desk. “Sir.”

“Agent Crighton. You requested a partner a few weeks ago, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then I’d like you to meet Special Agent Dana Scully. You’ll be working together on a case, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”

Crighton held out his hand. Scully grasped it and they shook. “Nice to meet you, Agent Scully.”

“Likewise.” He was a handsome man, she noticed, tall, slightly built, fair hair, but deeply tanned skin. And light blue eyes to match.

He gave her an appraising look. Everyone knew Agent Scully’s past history, and he thought it would be interesting to get to know the infamous Ice Queen, and maybe a little more about the one man who’d finally won her over.

“Well, Agents. Get to know one another, and I’ll see about that new case.” Skinner took his leave and left them to initiate their first conversation.

Crighton nodded, and he and Scully sat down. He looked up at her. She stared coolly back at him. “Well. What did you do before you left the bureau, Agent Scully?”

“Please. Call me Dana. I worked on the section known as the X-Files. What are you doing now? I know that we’re going to be assigned to a case in the new Espionage section.”

“The files never closed, and they were definitely interesting...frightening, too, sometimes...when I left the bureau, my husband, who was also my partner, continued by himself. Now, there is no one left to do the work. I don’t know if they’ll close them down.”

“I’m very sorry about your loss. He was an acquaintance of mine, though I didn’t know him too well. I won’t ask you to talk about it, if you don’t want to.”

“No...not just yet. It’s all so recent, but life goes on.”

She looked up from her hands then and gave him a wane smile. He smiled back. Perhaps the Ice Queen had melted a little bit since she had settled down.

Just then, Skinner called them down to his office. They walked out of the small office and down the hall. Scully could have sworn she felt the pressure of a hand at the small of her back. She looked around her, alarmed. But Jared’s hands were hanging at his sides, nowhere near her. She smiled gently, then, knowing whose hand it must be.


***********************************************

She arrived home around five in the evening. She almost laughed, realizing that she would never have been on time when she was still on the X-Files. She was lucky if she’d ever gotten home before 9.

They had been assigned to their very first case. It wasn’t too big or important, at least outwardly, but it was a good start. Supposedly, some information had leaked out of the president’s office, and it was their job to clear it up and find the source inside the White House. No big deal. And it would give her the opportunity to find out who was working there, too.

She began to think about William. She’d only been able to call him once, on the old cell phone, which she kept specifically for that purpose. Frohike had already arrived to do his first search of her mother’s house. He always checked for bugs and any other signs of tampering or of the household being watched. It was fairly routine, and Scully was put at ease by the fact that they were still being taken care of. William absolutely adored Frohike, and his weekly visits made William’s adjustment a whole lot easier. She remembered how he had been so excited to hear from her, and the thought of his little smile made her smile, as well. He had babbled on and on about how her mother had had cookies waiting for him, and how she let him help cook dinner. Her mother must be enjoying the company, too, Scully thought, especially after two whole years of not seeing her grandson.

Just then the main phone rang, breaking into her thoughts. She picked it up, wondering who would be calling her so soon.

“Hello?”

“Dana...hi, it’s Jared. Sorry to be calling already, but I just wanted to let you know that the list of employees at the White House and their histories came in a little while ago. I just got the call.”

“So soon? That’s great.”

“Would you care to come and look them over with me? I know it’s your first day back, but this case looks interesting, and I’m anxious to get started.”

Scully almost laughed. She recalled so many times that Mulder would call her up and ask the same thing. “Sure, that sounds great. Where would you like to meet?”

“Well, we could meet at the office, if you’d like. I can pick up some dinner, too.”

“Okay, I’ll see you there in about half an hour, then.” They briefly discussed dinner, and then hung up.



End, Part III