Kathleen A

Kathleen A. Klatte

"From the Files of Rebecca Fogg: The Stuff of Legends"

Feedback and commentary are most welcome.

Disclaimer: The X-Files is the property of Chris Carter, FOX, and Ten Thirteen productions, et al; the Secret Adventures of Jules Verne is the property of the Sci-Fi Channel, et al; this is a recreational endeavor, no profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.

Crossover: The X-Files/The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne

Timeline: Sometime after Mulder left, but before Scully returned to work.

Companion Piece to "Beyond the Sea" and "Witch Warrior?"

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THE J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Special Agent John Doggett sat in his office in the basement of FBI headquarters staring at the steaming cup of coffee that sat on his desk...and the steaming cup of herbal tea that sat on his partner's.

"'Morning, John," Special Agent Monica Reyes greeted him cheerfully.

"Huh? Oh, good mornin'," he replied, startled out of his reverie.

"Is that for me?" she asked, gesturing to the cup as she settled herself at Scully's desk.

Doggett flushed. "You're gonna think I'm nuts," he warned.

"Only if you tell me that the tea is for J. Edgar," she teased.

"Awright...before Agent Scully went on leave, I usta get her tea when I went for coffee. Why make a pregnant lady walk the whole length of the building, ya know? Well, today, I go to the cafeteria, and I'm all the way back here before I realize that I got her cup of tea. Now, like I said, it's nuts. She's been out on maternity leave for weeks. I don't know what I was thinkin.'"

"You know what I think?" Monica asked mischievously.

"Oh, no...here it comes..."

"I think this assignment is having an effect on you. All this exposure to psychic phenomenon..."

Doggett rolled his eyes.

"...how else would you know that Agent Scully is upstairs in Skinner's office right now?" Monica concluded with a smug grin.

******

A.D. Skinner checked his watch irritably. It wasn't like Agent Scully to be late for a meeting. He buzzed his secretary, but she seemed to have gone missing as well. Upon opening his office door, Skinner saw at once why no one had replied to his call. There were simply too many people crammed into too small a space, making too much fuss over one tiny infant. Normally staid and reserved FBI personnel were cooing and babbling and generally making fools of themselves. Someone in security had gone so far as to make the baby a badge that read "Agent in Training."

His expression softened somewhat when he saw Dana Scully's radiant expression. Surely she deserved this small measure of happiness after all that she'd been through. Therefore, Skinner's tone wasn't quite as gruff as might be expected when he cleared his throat and spoke above the happy tumult. "Is National Security no longer a concern at this institution?"

Most people heard everything else that Skinner didn't say quite clearly and melted back to their desks.

"I apologize, sir," Dana said quietly as she entered the office.

"No need, Agent Scully," Skinner replied genially. "I'd say it was all the fault of this little fellow," he added with a rare smile. "Please, have a seat." He waited for Scully to settle herself. "How are you and the baby doing, Agent Scully?"

"Very well, sir. It's...amazing. I know, intellectually, that every new life is a miracle, but..."

"But this seems even more miraculous? I think you're quite entitled to feel that way, Dana," Skinner said gravely, recalling the harrowing months preceding the baby's birth. After a moment, he continued in a more normal tone, "Have you given any thought to when you'll be returning to work?"

"Yes, sir. I've considered the Bureau's day care facility, but he's still so little...I'll miss him," she concluded abruptly, recalling that this was her superior that she was speaking to. "That is, I'll miss all the little day-to-day changes."

"I suppose it's always a hard decision to make, Agent Scully, but the day care facility is well staffed and he'd receive excellent care, and of course, you'd b able to look in on him during the day. That's actually why I asked for this meeting...how would you like another two weeks leave?"

"Sir?"

"The media relations people have given me a small project...your name came up because of that episode of "Cops" that you and Agent Mulder were featured on."

"What sort of project?" Scully asked curiously.

"Well, it seems that a few months ago, a sealed vault at Scotland Yard was opened for the first time in over a century. It contained the files of Rebecca Fogg, the first woman to become a British Secret Service agent. One of Rebecca Fogg's descendants, Juliette Fogg, is a reporter for the London Times. She's written a book about her great-grandmother's exploits. Miss Fogg will be travelling the U.S. in conjunction with an exhibit about her great-grandmother, which is on loan from the British Museum. Her publisher is interested in the reaction of a modern day female agent. All that's required is for you to read the book and grant Miss Fogg a brief interview. As I said, this would be considered a flex-time assignment, so you'd have another two weeks paid time at home to spend with your baby."

"Thank you, sir," Dana replied with a brilliant smile.

Skinner tried to speak with his normal gruff detachment, but couldn't quite manage it. "If there's nothing else, Agent Scully, some of us do need to get back to work."

******

Scully tapped lightly on the door of the basement office before letting herself in.

"Dana!" Agent Reyes exclaimed.

"Come on in," a grinning Doggett invited, springing up from his chair.

"I hope we're not intruding...I had a meeting with A.D. Skinner and thought we'd just stop in and say hello."

"Hey, it's your office!" Monica teased as she engulfed mother and child in a friendly hug.

"Would you like to hold him?" Scully offered.

A comically horrified expression crossed Agent Reyes' face. "I don't know how to hold one of those things!" she exclaimed, backing up several paces.

"Fer cryin' out loud, you helped deliver him!" Doggett said.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't actually have a choice..."

Doggett rolled his eyes. "May I?" he asked politely.

"What do you say, baby...you want to go to your Uncle John?" Scully crooned. She smiled at Doggett as she gently transferred the baby to his waiting arms. Baby William laughed and reached out one tiny hand to bat at Doggett' s security badge.

"So," Doggett asked in a voice that he tried very hard to keep neutral, "have you decided yet when you'll be coming back to work?"

"Not exactly," Scully replied slowly. "I have at least two more weeks to decide...Skinner gave me a small project for the PR department that I can work on at home."

"And after that?' Doggett asked carefully.

"I guess I'll have to see," Scully answered vaguely. "It's hard to think of leaving him when he's still so little."

"If you use the Bureau's day care facility, you could check in on him during the day," Monica said.

"I know."

Monica glanced from Doggett to Scully and back. She sensed that Doggett had something to say, but she also knew that he wouldn't say it in front of an audience, so she excused herself on the pretext of an errand.

Scully watched as Doggett gently tickled the delighted baby, then she cleared her throat softly. "So, as long as I'm here, is there anything you need to know? Any files you can't find, or anything like that?"

"We're muddling along awright, Agent Scully," Doggett chuckled, his attention seemingly still focused on the baby. "I miss workin' with you," he blurted out a few moments later. "But I understand how precious this time is. I'll understand whatever decision you come to, and anything I can do for you..."

Doggett's voice trailed off as Scully leaned forward and gently laid her hand on his arm. "Thank you, John." She looked around the office with a faintly nostalgic smile. "It may sound crazy, but I think I miss all this."

"You're right," Doggett agreed amiably, "it does sound crazy."

Scully's smile faltered slightly and she looked away before speaking again. "I've been offered a transfer...to Quantico...a teaching position at the academy. I haven't decided yet..."

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I'll miss havin' you here, Dana," Doggett said slowly, "You know a hell of lot more about this stuff than I ever will, but you've got this little guy to consider. You're all he's got in this world and you'd be safer workin' at Quantico." He shifted the baby to the crook of his arm and wrapped the other around Dana's shoulders. "I think we've been through enough together that you know I'll always be here for you."

Scully rested her head against Doggett's shoulder. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Any time," he replied heartily, but it was just as well that she couldn't see his eyes, which betrayed a vague pain and sorrow. He cleared his throat. "So, what's this big project a yours?"

"I get to read a book and do an interview with the author."

"A book, huh? What's it about?"

"The first female British Secret Service operative."

Doggett shrugged. "Could be interestin.' Let me know if it's worth readin.'"

"Well, she must have done something interesting," Dana conceded with a smile as she took the baby back into her own arms.

"You stay in touch, OK? Whatever you decide."

"I will, John."

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AGENT SCULLY'S RESIDENCE

Two Weeks Later

Scully checked the peephole before answering the knock at her door. The woman standing outside was rather tall, with red-gold hair that curled softly around her face and wide, intelligent blue eyes. She bore a striking resemblance to the portrait of Rebecca Fogg on the cover of the book that Scully had spent the last two weeks reading.

"Agent Scully?" she asked in a cultured British accent. "I'm Juliette Fogg, from the London Times."

"Excuse me for staring," Scully hurriedly apologized, "but you look so much like the pictures of your great-grandmother... Please, come in."

"I know," Juliette laughed. "I've been hearing that all my life, but I never quite believed it until I started working on this project. I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read the book and speak with me."

"I've enjoyed this very much," Scully admitted. "Your great-grandmother was an extraordinary woman. Did you know her at all?"

"No," Juliette replied. "My great-grandparents died before I was born, as did Uncle Jules. But I suppose there must be a bit more than Shakespeare supposed in names, because I have the Fogg love of adventure, and the Verne love of the written word."

"So, Rebecca Fogg really did know Jules Verne?"

"Oh, my, yes! Uncle Jules' different ways of looking at the world often helped my great-grandparents to see their way through things that contemporary thinking just wasn't prepared to deal with. And before you ask, to the best of my knowledge, everything that I documented in the book did indeed happen. Some law enforcement agents refused to grant me an interview, because they felt that the events depicted in my book were too implausible."

Scully chuckled softly. "Well, while I am a trained medical doctor, for the last eight years I've been assigned to a project that handles cases considered inexplicable by normal means of investigation. Actually, I was amazed by the similarities in our careers. My family wanted me to go into private medical practice, not chase exotic criminals."

"This century's variation of 'a suitable occupation for a lady,'" Juliette commented.

"I think I'm a little envious," Scully admitted, "your great-grandmother had a distinguished career, but she also managed to have love and a family. It' s not an easy combination."

"It isn't - and wasn't. But there was a strong bond between Rebecca and Phileas since childhood, and a very great love. The kind of love that gives you the courage to follow your beloved into harm's way...and even through time. That's something most of us only ever dream of. But it seems to me that you must have a great love in your own life, Agent Scully," Juliette observed, gesturing to the ruffled bassinet that stood in the corner of the sunlit room.

"Something like that," Scully admitted.

There was such deep sadness in her eyes that Juliette chose not to pursue the topic.

After her visitor had departed, Scully sat thoughtfully holding her baby for some time. She thought about someone who loved her enough to pursue her, quite literally, to the ends of the earth. And how she'd followed him through a rip in the fabric of time itself. And about the miraculous new life she cradled in her arms, and the good friends who had stood by her through so much.

Although she hadn't mentioned it to anyone at the Bureau, since the baby's birth, the Scully clan at large had redoubled their insistence that she leave the FBI altogether and follow a more sensible medical career, but she knew now that that had never truly been an option for her. She would take the teaching post for now, the safer position, for Baby William's sake, but remain at the Bureau, where she could somehow still continue to work for Mulder's safe return.

Dana Scully smiled faintly as she laid her baby back down to sleep. If a lady of Queen Victoria's time could manage to have it all, why shouldn't she?

Fin.