Title: Mulder's Creek: 19 Moose Mayhem 
Author: Neoxphile 
Author Email: neoxphile@aol.com 
Status: Revised - Series 
Rating: PG-13 
Archive at Gossamer: Yes 
Category: X-File , Friendship 
Keywords: Pre-XF, Alternate universe 
Pairings: Mulder/Scully Romance, Doggett/Reyes romance 
Crossover Info: Dawson's Creek 
Spoilers: X-Files seasons 1-8, Dawson's creek seasons 1-4 

Summary: Something is driving the wild animals in Capeside mad. Mulder
and Doggett vow to get to the bottom of it, and a reluctant Scully 
tags along to keep them out of trouble.
 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Opening Scene

The strains of a pop song on the cd player make the floor vibrate as
Mulder walks down the stairs towards the living room. Hed gone to
his room to find something, and didnt expect to see the sight hes
greeted by as he pauses on the landing.

Scully and Sam dance around the room, laughing as the song
progresses. Mulder sits on the stairs and watches them, awestruck. If
someone had told him six months ago that hed now be watching his
sister and his girlfriend spin by in their own joyful orbits, he
would have laughed at them, and said it was impossible. Mulder
decides that hes had a radical overhaul in his summation of what is
or isnt possible.

As Sully sings along to the song "Wont you stay? Wont you stay?
Forever and ever and ever," he decides not to, and instead sneaks
into the living room and joins their dancing, much to their
amusement.


**
Theme song- "Stranded" By Plumb
**

Saturday morning, McPhee home

It doesnt surprise Reyes very much to see that she has a message
from FLindley. After going several weeks without hearing from
"Fowley" one well worded message has gotten a response soon enough.
Reyes settles into her chair, preparing to enjoy reading the message.

6/1
Dear Reyes,
Im sorry to have made you worry, I didnt mean to. Things have
gotten weird, though, so I wasnt able to write back to you. First I
got caught trying to send you a message, the risk of which we both
knew existed from the outset. They didnt punish me or anything, but
they kept me under closer surveillance until I had my baby.

You were right to think that they werent to be trusted. I barely got
to see him before he was whisked away from the room, and I havent
seen him much since. Im glad that the Mulders brother is normal,
because.my son is not. I think some of the drugs they gave me, since
they thought he was one of their hybrid babies, damaged him. Its
really too terrible to talk about, so Im not going to elaborate. I
must be a terrible person, butI cant help but be almost relieved
that they are taking care of him, and wont let me have him back. I
think it will make returning to my real life easier this way. Id
prefer not to talk about this whole mess when I get home, you know,
so I can just put it all behind me as quickly as possible.

Hey, what did you discover about Spender that would make you consider
going to the police? I doubt he ever committed a crime, so I dont
know what could possibly be in his past that would be so dangerous.
If I were you, I think Id talk to him about it before doing anything
rash.

See you soon,
FLindley

Reyes rolls her eyes, and wishes that bad things will happen to
Spender. Of all the terrible ploys to keep her from talking to Fowley
about this, he has to invent a deformed baby thats too painful to
talk about. She supposes that he doesnt claim the baby died because
having it alive somehow forwards his sick little game. Well, she
thinks, I am going to talk to Fowley when she gets home, you jerk,
and I think shell be very interested in how her life has been going
according to you. Maybe Ill even tell her about who you really are.

** 

Sunday morning, Witter home

When Doggett pads downstairs to look for something for breakfast,
hes surprised to see his Dad and brother sitting at the kitchen
table, eating pancakes and laughing. Sheriff Witter smiles at his
youngest son and says "Hey, let me make you some pancakes. Your
brother has a story that youll love."

Doggett blinks and says, "Thanks for the pancakes Dad." Then turns to
his brother with an expectant look.

Kersh grins and starts his story. "Ok, so one of my friends whos on
the force in Boston swears that he saw this happen when he was
walking the beat yesterday afternoon. Seems that some guy lifted an
elderly womans purse, and by the time he caught up to the guy, the
thief was screaming bloody murder. Not to mention that the guy
smelled like crap and had it all over his hands. Once he got the
crook and the old woman to the station, to book the crook and take
her statement, he was able to piece together what had happened."

"Which was what?" Doggett asks, dying from curiosity.

Kershs grin transforms into a broad smile. "Heres where it gets
interesting. It seems that the woman was walking her dog when the man
accosted her. She told my friend that she hated the idea of carrying
around a pooper scooper, and the idea of carrying around a baggie of
dog poop was even more horrifying since she often ran into friends
while on her walk. So to compromise shed bought an old purse at a
thrift shop, so she could store the offending baggie out of sight
until she got home."

"Oh no." Doggett remakes, seeing where this is all going.

"Anyway, this method was working great until the guy nabbed the
purse. She tried to yell at him what was in it, but he took off
before he heard her. So he gets about a block away and shoves his
hand in the purse to find out what hed gotten. Apparently his prize
was less than pleasing to him. My friend figures thats the last
purse that man will ever attempt to steal." Kersh says laughing.

Doggett laughs too, finding it surreal, if pleasant to be included in
a shared joke between Kersh and their father. He takes the next shift
cooking pancakes.

** 

Monday, Capeside high school

The TV is center stage in the classroom. The man on the screen is
middle aged, thin, wearing thick glasses and a blood spotted lab
coat. Hes outdoors standing next to a wood-chipper into which he is
throwing rubber chickens while screaming "Its not a biological
imperative!" He repeated this ritualistically, even while a pile of
shredded yellow rubber grew next to the machine. At last his screams
fade away as does the picture.

The teacher shuts off the television, and begins to address the
class. "This is an example of vague symbolism used to manipulate
viewers into thinking of worse things, in this case the slaughter of
animals. This example is, of course, produced by a group of militant
vegans. Other examples of this method include"

As the teacher drones on, Scully finds herself paying very little
attention, which she supposes is normal for June. A sudden scream
pierces her thoughts, and for a moment she looks at the television,
confused, because its screen is blank. Then she notices that a few of
her classmates have just bolted from their seats and run towards the
windows. She slides out of her chair and joins the crowd at the
windows.

The screamer is a student, who she supposes was part of a class
having their lesson outdoors. This student isnt staying with his
class however, but is running around aimlessly. Since there are three
squirrels with their teeth sunk into his arms, drawing blood, Scully
doesnt blame him. Eventually his teacher tackles him and gets the
crazed animals off of him without being bitten herself.

Scullys teacher wisely realized that trying to gain control of the
class while the drama played itself would have been a futile effort
at best, but orders everyone back to their seats as the bitten boy is
lead back into the building.

**

Talk of the boys strange attack is the buzz in the lunch room when
Scully joins her friends at their table. Mulder smiles at her as she
sits and goes back to debating with Doggett. "Doggett, I dont think
its normal for squirrels to attack people, not singularly, and
certainly not in packs."

"Three is hardly a pack." Doggett scoffs. "And maybe he did something
to scare them."

"Maybe." Mulder says grudgingly. "But I still think that theres
something strange going on."

Scully shakes her head and turns to Reyes. "Whats all that about?" 

"Oh, you know, another rousing round of skeptic vs. believer." She
says rolling her eyes, then looks more serious. "The kid is suffering
the misfortune of being administered a series of rabies shots. I
dont think hes going to be back to school for a couple of days"

"The poor kid." Scully says, then tries to steer the conversation to
more pleasant lunch-time topics.

** 

3pm, Leary home
 
Mulder puts his backpack down and wanders over to the kitchen table
to see what Sam is working so hard on. From a distance he thought she
was doing some of the homework that their mother assigned her, but up
close he could see that she was using colored pencils to draw in an
art pad. Mulder suddenly remembers his parents making a fuss because
she somehow indicated to him that she wanted the paper and colored
pencils. So his father when out right then and there and bought the
highest quality ones he could find.

Mulder thought at first that it was silly to buy professional quality
art supplies for a child, but looking at her picture, he is stuck by
how skilled at drawing she is for someone so young. The picture is
flawless, and it is creepy. Mulder feels the hairs on his neck rise
as he looks at the picture.

In the foreground of the picture there are a lot of pine trees,
densely packed, grudgingly giving enough room for a narrow path that
leads up to what Mulder assumes to be a cottage. Theres something
sinister about the way Sam has drawn the cottage, though Mulder cant
figure out what about it gives him that impression. There are only a
few windows in the cottage, and the pencils shading makes them all
look dark and abandoned. Except one. In one theres a figure half
swallowed by shadows, who almost seems to be peering out of the
window.

Mulder is seized by an urge to ask Sam if this picture has any
significance to her, and her kidnapping, but he knows what will
happen if he does. Shell look up at him with luminous hazel eyes, so
like his own, and give him an innocent look that gives nothing away
at all.

Instead he runs up to his room and grabs his camera, intending to
take a picture of her drawing. His parents gave him the camera for
his birthday, after he expressed interest in photography, and its as
high in quality as Sams art supplies. As Mulder is rushing back down
the hallway, he hears a noise from Prices room, and looks in the
open door. Price, who has apparently just woken up, gives Mulder a
sleepy look through the bars of his crib. Mulder blinks, and realizes
that Prices eyes are still midnight blue. Though his parents assume
that the babys eyes will change to brown or hazel like Mulders and
Sams, there is no indication yet that his eyes actually will.

Price gives a small yawn and falls back to sleep even as Mulder
watches him. Hes tempted to take Prices picture too, but fears that
his mother will kill him if he wakes the baby up, so he trots back
down to the kitchen. Sam doesnt even seem to notice that he takes
her picture. Shes concentrating that hard on the drawing.

**

Thursday 5pm, the video store
 
Doggett is stocking the shelves with newly returned videos when he
hears the bell on the door jangle to announce that a customer has
come in. He turns towards the door and tries to keep his welcoming
smile from sliding off his face when he sees Krycek walking towards
him carrying a large bag over one arm.

"Hey, Witter, just the person I hoped to run into." Krycek says,
grinning broadly.

"Hi. Whats up?" 

"Well, since you were so helpful with finding a way for me to
convince Sandy to go to the prom with me, I wanted to thank you and
show you my tux." He says, unzipping the garment bag.

As Doggett looks at the black and white tux, he figures that Krycek
will look as much like an overgrown penguin as anyone else there that
night. "Looks good, man."

"Thanks!" Krycek exclaims. "For everything, I mean." He gives Doggett
a good-natured cuff on the shoulder and leaves the store. Doggett
stares after him. Did that really happen? He thinks, shaking his head
in bewilderment.

** 

9pm Friday night, McPhee home

Reyes brings a huge bowl of freshly popped popcorn into the living
room. Skinner sniffs appreciatively, and Scully looks up and smiles.

"It wouldnt be movie night without popcorn." Reyes says, putting the
bowl on the coffee table.

"You know, Scully, around these parts, Reyes skills as a popcorn
maker are renowned."

"So my ears deceive me? A compliment from my brother? Why thank you,
Skinner."

"Youve earned it. It took a lot of work on your part to garner the
necessary skills. Remember the first time we tried to make popcorn-"

"Skinner." Reyes says with a note of warning in her voice.

"- and you accidentally knocked the cover off the air popper, and the
popcorn exploded all over the room while we scrambled to unplug it?"
Skinner finishes with a grin.

"Anyway, lets start the movie." Scully says, hoping to distract them
from an argument that could lead to bloodshed.

"Sure." Reyes says happily. "I love Drive me crazy."

"Because it reminds you of Doggetts attempts to drive you crazy, I
bet." Skinner says leaning as far away from Reyes as possible.

"No hitting!" Scully admonishes Reyes as she leans over Scully and
tries to swat her brother. "I wonder if Mulder and Skinner are having
a good time, too." Scully muses.

"Who cares? Its time to start the movie." Skinner says, settling
back against the couch as the credits roll. "Ow! I thought you said
no hitting!" Skinner says to Scully as he rubs his shoulder. Both
Reyes and Scully stick their tongues out at him.

** 

11:30pm

Fishing poles poke out of the rear passenger window as Doggetts
borrowed car sails down the highway back towards Capeside. Mulder
turns his face towards the open window, enjoying the rush of night
time air.

Doggett turns down the radio to get his attention. "Looks like well
get back home before curfew."

"For once." Mulder says with a snort. "Do you think wed ever get
busted?"

"You maybe, if youre by yourself, but me? Forget it. As soon as they
see my face they say dammit, Witter, go home! There are some perks
to being the sheriffs son." Doggett says with a grin.

"Just dont say that in front of your brother. Hed probably force
his friends to write you up to spite you."

"Duly noted." Doggett says. "Hey, you know how the prom is tonight?" 

"How could I not? Most of the older girls in my classes spent the day
saying oh no, how could they be so cruel to assign homework this
weekend? The prom is tonight! "Mulder says, rolling his eyes.

"AnywayThe strangest thing happened yesterday while I was at work.
Krycek came in and thanked me profusely for that bad advice I gave
him about that ditz and showed me his tux."

"It doesnt seem that cold out for June"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Doggett asks, confused.

"Hell froze over, didnt it?" Mulder asks with a grin.

Before Doggett can retort, the police ban radio on the dashboard
comes alive with a squawk. "accidentrt 212Capeside"

"Looks like we ought to expect a delay." Doggett says with a sigh.

Five miles later they come to the scene of the accident. There is a
scatter of red and white glass ahead of the car, which has sustained
heavy damage to the front end. Doggett is about to drive by when he
sees the cars occupants huddled by the side of the road, waiting for
the police. Doggett pulls over to the side of the road.

"What gives?" Mulder asks.

"Did you see who it was? Krycek and his date. I dont like them, but
Im not going to leave them here all alone until the police show up."
Doggett says, getting out of the car. Mulder sighs and scrambles out
after him.

** 

The heavy bass of a southern rap song spills out from the damaged
car, because no one has thought to turn off the radio. Krycek and
Sandy look alert, if upset, as the boys approach them. "You guys ok?"
Mulder asks as they get nearer. Sandy is huddled next to Krycek, her
face streaked with tears, but shes not crying now.

"Yeah, were fine." Krycek tells him. "Just bruised." 

Doggett stares at him. "You have a nasty gash on your arm, Krycek." 

Krycek looks at his arm, his expression dumb with surprise.
Apparently he hadnt noticed his injury before now. "Oh."

"We heard on Dads police ban radio that the police are on there way.
Im going to go back to the car and use the CB to tell them to send
an ambulance too, ok?" Doggett asks.

"Yeah, sure." Krycek says, sounding a bit vague. As soon as Doggett
walks away he turns to Mulder with a stricken look. "Im not going to
get the deposit back on the tux, huh?"

"Probably not." 

Once hes back in the car, Doggett puts on the cars emergency
flashers, and grabs the CB from off of the seat. "This is sheriff
Witters son, Doggett. My friend and I came across the accident scene
reported a few minutes ago. Over."

"Is the cruiser there yet? Over." 

"Not yet. Theres a minor injury also, one of the two passengers is
going require stitches. Over."

There was a momentary pause, then the voice came back. "An ambulance
is on the way. Over."

Doggett grabs a flashlight and runs around the car to the trunk,
hoping that what hed seen in there a week ago is still there.

Mulder stops his attempts to reassure Krycek that his mother wont
kill him when Doggett rejoins them, carrying an unopened water bottle
and a pair of gleaming white handkerchiefs.

"My dads aunt sends him these by the truckload, so Im glad to have
found an unopened package of them in the trunk. Krycek, help is on
the way, but I think we should try to slow the bleeding while we
wait." Krycek nods. "Mulder, can you roll up gently his sleeve?"

Krycek winces as the fabric goes over his wound. Doggett pours some
of the water on the cut to wash out debris, then carefully wraps the
handkerchiefs around the cut. "That should help some."

"Sowhat happened?" Mulder asks.

Sandy, who looks more together during a crisis than either of them
would have ever dreamed of giving her credit for, explains. "We left
the prom a little while ago, and were on the way to an after party,
when suddenly a moose-"

"There arent any moose in Capeside." Doggett objects.

"There was one today." Sandy insists." A moose ran out in front of
the car, so we stopped dead in the road, figuring that we'd wait for
it to cross the road. After a couple of minutes it left, so we
started driving again, then the damn thing dove out in front of the
car, like it had just been waiting for us to move to attack."

"It was the strangest thing Ive ever seen." Krycek adds.

"That does sound strange"Mulder says, give Doggett a "is that
possible?" look. Doggett shrugs slightly.

The ambulance suddenly arrives, killing all further conversation.

** 

12:39 am, Leary home

Mulder stifles a yawn as he opens the front door. He cringes as he
hears his fathers footsteps, and braces himself for being lectured.
To his surprise, his father doesnt raise his voice, but instead
calmly asks "Why werent you home a half hour ago?"

"Unforeseeable circumstances." Mulder says, aiming for levity. Mr.
Leary doesnt smile. "We were on the way home when we ran across an
accident scene. It was two kids from our school, so we didnt feel
right just leaving them there, so we waited with them until the cops
and the ambulance came." Mulder explains.

"Someone got hurt?" 

"Yeah, but not badly. He just needed some stitches for a gash in his
arm."

"What happened? Was there drinking after the prom or something?" Mr.
Leary asks, his brow furrowed in concern.

"No, nothing like that. But its the strangest thing Sandy claimed
that she and Krycek were on their way to the proms after party when
a moose attacked their car."

"There arent any moose in Capeside." 

"Yeah, thats what I thought too. The police pointed out thick brown
fur caught in the cars ruined front end, though." Mulder told him,
not bothering to add that the officer only showed them to earn
brownie points with Sheriff Witter.

"That is strange." Mr. Leary agrees as Sam pokes her head into the
room. Mulder blinks in surprise, he hadnt heard her come down the
stairs. "Oh, that reminds meI agreed to let your sister stay up
until you got home. She has a surprise for you."

"For me?" Mulder asks, and Sam smiles broadly and nods vigorously.
Sam leads him up the stairs and into his room. She snaps on the light
and he immediately sees the surprise. The top of his dresser, which
usually had nothing on it, now had a five gallon fish tank, with a
bright blue base, sitting on it. Inside the tank there is a blood red
Siamese fighting fish, and a small gray catfish.

"Wow, Sam, thanks!" 

"I think she saw how hurt you looked when Scully and Reyes accused
you of only liking fish to torture them." Mr. Leary uses their
euphemism for fishing. "So she drew me a picture and insisted we go
to the pet store." Mr. Leary says with a fond smile at his daughter.
Sam grins back and her hands dance- first in a circle near her face,
then swimming away from her body, thus signing pretty fish.

"Youre right," Mulder instantly agrees. "Theyve very lovely fish. I
guess Ill have to name them" Mulder thinks for a moment, then his
face brightens. "I know, Ebert and Roper!" Mulder decides that Scully
might be having a bad influence on his sister as she pulls her hands
on her hips and rolls her eyes.

 ** 

Dusk, Sunday

Mulder twines his fingers around Scullys as they take a peaceful
walk at the tail end of a relaxing weekend. Mulder is happy to have
time alone with her, since it has seemed like his time over the past
few weeks has been being booked on him before he had any say in it.

"What are you thinking about?" Scully asks, breaking their
companionable silence.

"You." He tells her truthfully.

"Oh? What about me?" 

"I was thinking about how its almost summer, and how it will be nice
to be out of school and spend more time with you. And wondering if
youd ever dye your hair blue."

"Why would I dye my hair blue??" Scully asks sounding very puzzled.

"Why would anyone? I saw a girl on TV with her hair dyed blue last
night."

"Youre weird, Mulder." 

"Thank you. What were you thinking about?" 

"Oh, how nice it is that after I get home Ill still have a couple of
hours to study for finals before Bessie brings Alexander home from
our aunts house."

Mulder stops and gives her a serious look. "I think the romance is
dead, Scully."

"You." She says, throwing her arms around his neck. Mulder laughs as
his arms go around her waist and pull her close enough to smell her
flowery shampoo. After a moment Scully disappoints him by pulling
away. "Whats going on over there?" She asks, a note of concern in
her voice.

Mulder turns around and sees a flurry of black-tipped wings. Then he
realizes that the seagulls seem to be dive bombing a couple who is
having a picnic in the park. The man throws a jacket over his and the
womans heads as they try to avoid the sharp beaks.

Mulder and Scully notice that theres some sizable sticks lying
around, so they grab them and rush at the birds, hoping to drive them
away. After a few angry parting shrieks, the birds fly off.

"What the heck happened?" Mulder asks the man.

"I dont know. We were just sitting here having our picnic when they
flew at us. We figured that they wanted the bread, so we threw it to
them, but they ignored it and attacked us instead."

"Are you hurt?" Scully asks, not seeing any blood.

"I dont think so." The woman says, giving herself and the man a
look-over. "If you hadnt shown up when you did, I bet we would have
been."

"Yeah. Thanks a lot." The man adds.

"Glad we could help" Mulder says faintly, thinking that something
smells rotten in Capeside.

** 

5:30 Monday morning, McPhee home

The twins make an effort to spend quality time with their father
before school once a week. This week the morning is a bleary Monday
so, with the exception of Mr. McPhee who is dressed except his tie,
its a PJs breakfast type of morning. Skinner, dressed in an Incubus
t-shirt and sweat pants, pours out three glasses of orange juice, and
yawns. Reyes, wearing bright orange Tigger pajamas that shed rather
die than have anyone outside the family see her in, pulls cinnamon
buns out of the oven and puts them on a plate to cool. Mr. McPhee
tunes the small TV that lives on the kitchen table to the morning
news.

Theyre eating breakfast when something the monotonous news caster
says catches their attention. "the latest animal attack took place a
few hours ago when a pair of rampaging black bears attacked a bus
full of nuns, who were on their way home after a spiritual retreat,
when the bus stopped at a rest area so people could stretch their
legs. None of the passengers was seriously hurt, but driver was
bitten badly, and received 28 stitches before being released from the
hospital. The bears could not be found after the accident. Local
scientists are baffled as to why so many normally peaceful animals,
like raccoons and deer have suddenly taken to attacking people. And
in Red Sox news"

Skinner looks at his father, intending to ask him his opinions on the
attacks, but Mr. McPhee speaks first. "You know that they're still
going to lose this year. Every year they start off strong, then piss
away their lead" For a moment Skinner is baffled, then concludes
that his father must be talking about baseball.

Skinner shrugs. "You dont think that they could win the world series
this year?"

"I dont think theyll ever win one in my lifetime. The curse of the
Bambino." He says ominously.

Reyes shakes her head and heads up stairs to get dressed.

**

Mulder slings his backpack onto his shoulder, and hes about to leave
the house when he hears his father on the phone. The older mans
angry tone intrigues him, so he decides to take a minute to indulge
in his favorite pastime - eavesdropping on his parents. For a moment
he wonders if it has anything to do with the mystery people who had
Sam, but after a moment he realizes that its about a completely
different mystery all together.

"I dont know where you got your information, but I assure you that
Candling industries has nothing to do with the animal attacks." Mr.
Leary says heatedly, then listens to the person on the other end.
Mulder wishes he could hear the other side of the conversation, but
decides that beggars cant be choosers. "The accusation is as
unfounded as it is absurd. Candling has no more created genetically
altered animals than it has done anything to cause animals to run
amuck. Yes, you can quote me on that." Mr. Leary slams the phone
down, and Mulder decides that its a good time to walk out the door.

Its Mulders conclusion that whoever called must be a reporter who
has gotten the idea that Mr. Learys workplace is somehow responsible
for the string of bizarre animal attacks. Mulder sighs deeply as he
makes his way down the stairs; as much as hed like to take his
fathers word on it, thats proven to be a mistake in the past, so he
wonders if Candling has more to do with the animals than his fathers
angry statements would lead people to believe.

** 

As theyre leaving school that afternoon, Mulder throws his arms
around Scully and Doggetts shoulders. They both give him suspicious
looks. He ignores that and says,
"Neither of you has plans for tonight, do you?" 

"Why?" They ask him in unison.

"I think tonight would be a good night for an adventure." Mulder
grins.

"You think the night before the first day of finals would be a good
night for an adventure?" Scully asks him in disbelief.

"Why yes, yes I do. What are you worried about anyway? Youre going
to ace the next three days of tests just like you have every other
test youve ever taken." Mulder says, an exasperated note in his
voice.

"Mulder does have a point, you know. Youre a genius, what do you
have to worry about?" Doggett says with a smirk.

"I suppose that youre all set to go off on this adventure, without
even knowing what he wants to do." Scully says sharply.

"You know me too well. Anything to avoid studying." 

Mulder interrupts. "Anyway, a little bird told me this morning that
my dads company might have something to do with animal attacks, and
I thought a little snooping might be in order."

"You mean trespassing." Scully says flatly.

"Lets not quibble over words." Mulder tells her. "So Doggett, are
you in?"

"You bet, Man. Sounds like fun." 

"Scully?" Mulder asks.

Scully sighs deeply. "Yes. If only to keep you two out of trouble." 

"Great!" Mulder exclaims. "Lets meet at 7"


** 

7pm

"Its the next building. Park next to the other vehicles so itll
look less suspicious." Mulder tells Doggett.

"What could look suspicious about three teenagers just happening to
find themselves at the genetics lab that one of their parents works
at?" Scully says sarcastically.

"Hey, at least he didnt order us to where black and put on ski
masks." Doggett quips.

Mulder sighs. "All were going to do is look in the windows and see
if we notice any animals matching the deceptions of the attacking
ones."

"Right. Look for moose." Doggett says, nodding.

The three of them walk softly around the dark building, and shin
lights into the windows. After the peer into the windows of every
room on the first floor, they admit defeat. Mulders shoulders slump
as they walk back to the car. "They wouldnt keep animals above the
first floor, right?"

"Squirrels, maybe. But Id like to see someone get a moose or bear up
a flight of stairs or in an elevator." Scully tells him.

"I dont get it. I was sure from how angry my dad sounded that
Candling was involved some how."

"I dont know Mulder." Doggett says. "What was that?" He jumps when
he hears a crash.

"I dont know." Mulder tells him, switching on his flashlight. "Wait,
I think its over there."

They approach the source of the sound quietly and soon find
themselves about a hundred yards from half a dozen raccoons. "Dont
make any sudden moves." Mulder whispers.

"What do we do now?" Doggett whispers back as the raccoons begin to
walk away.

"Follow them." Scully suggests.

"What??" Doggett and Mulder ask, shocked.

"You promised me an adventure, and frankly, this has sucked so far.
If we follow the masked bandits over there, we might find out whats
really going on." Scully tells them. "Besides, Bessie makes me carry
pepper spray, so if they get to close we can douse them before we get
bitten or scratched."

"Well, you heard the lady." Mulder says, and they begin to follow the
raccoons at a safe distance.

** 

To their surprise the raccoons do not scamper off into the woods, but
instead they take a left out of the parking lot and walk slowly down
the road. Not knowing what else to do, the kids shrug and trail after
them.

After a mile or so they become concerned that theyll walk too far
away from the car to be able to get back to it without being
completely exhausted, but then the whisper to one another that an
animal with short legs probably wont be going too far. As it turns
out, theyre right.
 
Eventually the raccoons turn onto a dirt driveway and begin to mull
around a small white house.

"Did you hear that?" Doggett whispers.

"Hear what?" Mulder asks.

"That high pitch whine." 

"Nope." Mulder says with a shake of his head.

"You must hear it though." Doggett says to Scully.

"Sorry. I dont hear anything either." 

Doggett pulls at his ears. "Its painful, I cant believe you guys
cant hear in."

"Guess you have bat ears." Scully tells him with a grin that soon
fades. "Bat earsDoggett, how bad is the noise?"

"I dunno, what do you mean?" 

"Does it annoy you enough to cloud your thinking?" Scully asks.

"Not really, but if I heard it all the time it might drive me crazy."
Doggett tells her. "Wait"

"What if theres a noise that most people cant hear driving the
animals nuts?" Mulder asks, catching on. "How would we prove it,
though?"

"Look for moose." Scully tells him, as if its the most obvious
answer in the world.

The house is dark except for a light on the third floor. Figuring
that who ever was up there wouldnt be able to get to them quickly
even if they were spotted, they confidentially roamed the property.

It wasnt long before they found the moose out in a shed. Other sheds
littered the property, and peering into their depths revealed many
other animals, of all different sorts, both wild and domestic. Mulder
leaned against a window, hoping to catch a better look when Doggett
tugged on his arm.

"Weve got to go. Now." 

"Why?" Mulder asks unhappily.

"Because the noise stopped and I think someone is looking at us from
out that window." Doggett says urgently.

Mulder pulls Scully away from another shed that shes looking into
the windows of and explains whats going on. The three of them run
out of the yard and make their way back to the car. As soon as
theyre there, Mulder lends Doggett his cell phone so he can call the
sheriff.

** 

Tuesday lunch time, Capeside high

" and my Dad said that the guy used to work for Candling doing
animal research, but was fired when his behavioral experiments became
unethical. Apparently he decided to keep experimenting on his own,
and didnt care who got hurt or what the animals did." Mulder
concludes, finishing filling people in on what hed learned that
morning.

"Just think, if it hadnt been for my good high pitch hearing, we
might not have figured it out." Doggett adds with a grin.

Reed looks at Mulder with a concerned look on his face. "Are there
any adults in this town who arent completely nuts?"

"You sound really jaded for someone who has only lived here for four
months." Reyes says, with a smile.

"So, whats going to happen to the animals now?" Scully asks
anxiously.

"Well, he didnt do anything to psychically change them or really
hurt them, so they took the wild ones to be released, and sent the
domestic ones to the shelter so they can get decent homes.
Hopefully."

"Oh"Scully says, tuning out the rest of their conversation.

 **

Wednesday afternoon, Potter home

Scully opens the door and lets Mulder in, but hes startled as
something small and reddish runs over his feet and nearly makes him
lose his balance. Mulder looks at Scully and raises his eyebrows.
"What is that?"

"He, not it." Scully says sounding slightly indignant as she reaches
down and scoops up the wriggling bundle of fur.

"That still doesnt tell me what kind of animal HE is." Mulder points
out.

"Oh, Mulder." Scully sighs and runs her fingers over the little
animals head, which it seems to enjoy. "Its a puppy, obviously."

Mulder didnt think it was obvious. "Whats his name?" He asks,
staring at the puppys pointed little muzzle. In fact, he thinks, if
he didnt know better he would have thought it was a very large-

"I named him Fox." 

-fox kit. "How could you have named the poor little animal Fox?
Thats sogoofy."

"I think it has a certain charm to it." Scully says, thrusting the
animal into Mulders hands. "Dont you think hes sweet?"

As Mulder struggles not to drop him, he cant help but agree. "He
isbut how did you get him?" Mulder wonders how an animal that weighs
a fraction of what his brother does could be so much harder to hold.

"Well, last night I told Bessie how bad I felt about how your dad
said that all the animals being sent to the pound for new homes. And
I told her that there was a Finish Spitz and her puppies thereand
when I got home from school Fox was waiting for me."

"Oh, so thats what kind of dog it is." Mulder says, snatching his
fingers away from the puppys pink tongue. "And what you were looking
at when I pulled you away from that shed." Mulder realizes with a
grin.

"Yup. Bessie said that since we were living here without any
menfolk it might be nice to have a protective dog around. I think
thats an excuse, though, since Fox isnt likely to get big enough to
scare anyone, probably only 30 pounds or so that the most. She really
did it to make Alex and me happy, but wont admit it. It might even
be that shes feeling guilty that shes sending Alex off to preschool
this summer, but whatever the reason, he and I are both thrilled. The
vet said Fox about eight weeks old and healthy as a horse, so to
speak, so he should be around for a good long time."

"I think she made a good choice picking this particular puppyFox
does just about match your hair." Mulder says with a grin as he
reaches for the new leash hanging by the door.

**

Thursday afternoon, Leary home

The afternoon that school ends is a bright sunny one, and Mulder
itches to be outside, doing anything at all. Mrs. Leary smilingly
agrees that the fresh air would do everyone some good, so she puts
some sunscreen on the baby, and has Sam and Mulder help her put up a
hammock that is meant as a Fathers day gift for Mr. Leary, deciding
itd be criminal not to give it to him a couple of day early.

The three of them make short work of it, and take turns testing it,
while keeping an eye on Price. Price is less interested in what his
family members are doing than in what the fauna in the yard is. A
flurry of butterflies amuse themselves as Price watches from the
comfort of his baby seat. Mulder looks over and decides that his
brother is probably attracted to the bright colors, because he
remembers something from his health classs child development unit,
about young babies being able to see bright colors better than dull
ones. At any rate he decides that his brother looks quite content as
the insects continue their complicated dance far above his head. One
with wings as blue as Prices eyes dips down and nearly lands on the
infants nose, then flits away again. It bothers Mulder, for a reason
he cant quite put his finger on, that the butterflies scatter the
moment Prices eyes droop and he falls asleep.

**
Credits
Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile
**

< Voice Over>
This episode of Mulders Creek featured music from:

Kylie Minogue ("I cant get you out of my head")
Tori Amos ("January(Black Dove)")
And
Outkast ("The Whole World")

