Title: Mulder's Creek: 25 New Mexico
Author: Neoxphile 
Author Email: neoxphile@aol.com 
Rating: PG-13 
Category: X-File , Friendship 
Keywords: Pre-XF, Alternate universe, Crossover 
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: Reed and Krycek's band, Beer Is Not A Sex Crime, 
has its first gig, but Mulder misses it when he takes his sister back 
to New Mexico.

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

Opening scene

Price lays sprawled on his stomach on Mulders bed. He lifts his head
up so he can watch his older brother, who is putting something on his
desk. Mulder notices this and turns to the baby with a smile.

"Hey, youre getting good at that." Price doesnt respond with words,
of course, but does look at Mulder. "I bet youll be sitting up on
your own in no time, then walking a few months later. I guess Ill
have to put a lot of my stuff up on the shelves when youre mobile."
Price demonstrates one of his other new skills, and grants Mulder a
toothless smile.

Mulder kneels down by the bed in Prices line of sight, and continues
to talk to him. "Mom says youre too little to understand what I say,
but I know youre a little genius."  Hes rewarded with another baby
smile. "Sams a genius, and Im a genius, so you must be one too,
right? The genes run in the family." Price gurgles with what Mulder
considers to be assent. "See? I knew you understand what Ive been
telling you. "

Mulder traces the pattern on the back of the babys sleeper. "Sodo
you like trains, or what? Sure, the engine matches the blue of your
eyes, but doesnt it get old having no say in what you wear? Mom
dresses you in things with trains and cars on them all the time, but
maybe youd like blocks better." Price gurgles again. "You have a
silly brother, dont you, Price? Oh yes you do!" Mulder says,
scooping Price up and wondering how long it will be before his
brother starts to laugh. He just hopes that a biting sense of humor
doesn't come along with the genes for intelligence, since itd be
nice to have someone who isnt sarcastic in his life.

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

Sunday, 10am, Witter home

The door to Doggett's room opens slowly. Doggett, who is half awake,
curls more tightly into a ball and is glad that he's facing the wall.

"Doggett." A hand pokes his shoulder.

Doggett squeezes his eyes even more tightly closed.

"Doggett." Someone sits on the foot of his bed and bounces. 

Doggett breathes deeply and evenly, and doesn't open his eyes.

"Doggett." One hand grabs his foot and another begins tickling it.

"Ahhhh!" Doggett sits up with a shocked look on his face.

Gretchen gives him a sweet smile. "Does pretending to sleep actually
fool Mom and Dad?"

"Every weekend." Doggett moans. "What do you want?" 

"If you'll look at your clock, you'll see that it's so late that most
people have already joined humanity."

"So?" Doggett grumbles. "I like sleeping." 

"So I thought that today would be a good day to go fishing. I'm only
going to be home for a few more weeks and- "

"Save the guilt trip. I'll go with you." Doggett says, heaving
himself out of bed.

"Oh good. See you downstairs." Gretchen says, bounding out of the
room.

Doggett shakes his head and rubs his eyes. He then grabs for a pair
of khaki shorts and a dark blue t-shirt. Five minutes later he's a
presentable as he has the energy to be.

Once he's in the living room, he notices that Kersh is home and
whistling a happy tune. "Hey, Kersh, do you have today off?" He asks.

"As a matter of fact I do." 

"How are you going to spend a hard-earned day off?" He asks without a
trace of sarcasm, since he really does think his brother is
over-worked.

"I'm going fishing." Kersh says with a grin.

"Hey that's funny, because-" Doggett stops when Gretchen walks into
the room.

Kersh holds up his car keys and lets them jangle. "Everyone ready to
go?"

Doggett follows his older siblings with a confused look on his face,
still trying to figure out what he'd gotten himself into.

**

Noon, Leary home

While the parents aren't watching, Sam flicks part of her egg salad
sandwich across the table at Mulder. He grimaces and is about to
retaliate when he notices that his father is looking at him. He
guiltily lets his hand drop back to the side of his plate.

Mrs. Leary smiles at them both, which makes Mulder nervous. Mr. Leary
clears his throat and says, "We have something we wanted to talk to
you both about."

Mulder braces himself. Well, he thinks, it can't be that they're
having another baby since Price is only three months old, and we're
not having turkey dinner with friends. If Sam has any suspicions, she
keeps them to herself.

Mrs. Leary says, "I've been offered a job covering a huge arts
festival for two weeks. The station is doing an exclusive on it, and
it's supposed to be a fairly big deal. "

"That sounds great, Mom." Mulder says, wonder why his mother's
reporting counted as news. At least of a family variety, anyway.

"It's in New York, and your Dad is coming with me." She concludes.

"Oh." 

"Your Aunt Gwen has agreed to take Price while we're gone, so you
won't have to worry about him. Mulder, do you think you could handle
taking care of the house with your sister," Mulder thinks it's nice
that he said 'with' instead of 'and' as not to wound Sam's nearly
teenage dignity. "While we're gone?" Mr. Leary asks.

"I think I can handle it. Sam will be a big help, right?" Mulder
asks, and Sam nods.

"I'm glad to hear that." Mrs. Leary says. "We'll leave money for food
and such of course."

"Ok." Mulder replies.

"Did I tell you we're leaving tomorrow?" Mrs. Leary asks. Mulder just
shakes his head with a surprised look on his face.

**

12:30pm, The Weathervane

The waitress smiles as she places the plates on the table. Doggett
gives his food a quizzical look. "I dont get it."

"Were having lunch." Kersh helpfully explains.

"I understand that." Doggett snaps, glaring at Kersh. "What I dont
understand is why Gretchen asked me to go fishing if we were only
going to lunch."

"There are fish here." Gretchen says, gesturing with her hand. "On
our plates, even."

Doggett sighs in defeat. "You just cooked this up between you to
drive me crazy." He says mournfully.

"Too late." Kersh shoots back gleefully. 

"Were not trying to drive you crazy, Doggett. Were saving you!"
Gretchen exclaims.

"From what?" Doggett plaintively asks.

"From a fate worse than death." Kersh intones. Gretchen swats at him.

"Kerry is on vacation. She called mom this morning and threatened to
bring the kids over for lunch." Gretchen explains.

Doggett shudders. "Thank you for sparing me from putting up with Sis
and the no-neck monsters. But why?" He asks, looking at his brother.

Kersh gives him a friendly cuff on the shoulder. "Even I like you too
much to allow you to be subjected to that."

"Thanks. I think. What was the cover story?" Doggett asks.

"You and I promised last week that wed go with Kersh today to keep
him company while he fished. Were sorry, but we cant break a
promise."

"Wont the lack of fish tip her off? I suppose we could bring home
the leftovers, but the breading will probably give us away."

"The fishing gear is in the trunk. Well go after lunch." Kersh says.

"The deviousness of this whole afternoon is a little scary." Doggett
says in awe.

Gretchen pats his hand. "We expect great things from you in the
future too." Doggett grins at his siblings.

**

Monday11am, Leary home

"make sure you lock both doors if neither of you is going to be in
the house, don't let your sister stay up past midnight, and double
check that the stove is off when you're done with it." Mrs. Leary
says, then pauses for breath for the first time in fifteen minutes.

If I let Sam stay up past midnight will she turn into a gremlin?
Mulder wonders, but doesn't ask. "Mom, when have you known me to use
the stove? We'll stick to using the microwave only. And we'll be
safer for it." Mulder assures her.

She nods, but Mulder worries that she might cry again when she turns
her shiny eyes towards Sam. She had already burst into tears once
that morning, right after Gwen left the house with baby Price on her
shoulder.

At first Mulder had figured that Price would be the only one of them
that would be hard for her to leave for two weeks, since he was just
an infant and most mothers found it hard to leave their new babies.
But then he realized that though Sam was quite a big girl, their
mother hadn't had her much longer. He represses his sigh as his
mother gathers his sister into her arms, and worries about how she'll
take it in two years when he's off to college for the first time.

"You be a good girl and mind your brother, ok?" 

"Ok." Sam says. She'd added a few words to what she was willing to
say, much to the delight of their parents.

"I'm so sorry that I'm not going to be here for your birthday. I
tried to get them to let me leave for the day, but it's just not
possible. Daddy and I will have to make a big deal of it when we get
back." She says in a sad tone, making Mulder feel bad for her since
she looks so heart-brokenly guilty.

"Don't worry, Mom, I've got something in mind to make her birthday
special while you're gone." Mulder says, trying to cheer them both
up.

"That's sweet of you Mulder." 

After a few more lectures and hugs, their parents leave Mulder and
Sam standing at the window waving.

"You were just saying that to make Mom feel better, right?" Sam asks.

"Of course not. I'm not going to let your first birthday go by
without being a memorable one." Mulder says with a grin.

"It's not my first birthday, I'm going to be thirteen, after all."
Sam objects.

"Ok, first one with us, then." Mulder corrects himself. "I've
actually got to go do something related to it right now, so try not
to destroy the house, ok?"

"Ha." Sam flops onto the couch and gives him a sour look.

**


Tuesday Capeside town beach, 4pm

Scully lets her ankle trail back and forth in the water as she props
herself up with her arms behind her on the dock. Reyes, on the other
hand, is sitting up straight so her legs are in the water up to her
knees. Theyd swam most of the afternoon and are too tired to swim
any longer, but too hot to leave the water entirely.

"We seem to be doing this a lot lately." Scully remarks, turning her
head slowly to look at Reyes. Her sunglasses slip on her nose, so she
makes a quick grab for them.

"Its summer, its what we crazy kids do." Reyes sunglasses stay
firmly on. "You should put on more sunscreen, youre starting to
burn."

Scully sighs and grabs the bottle up off of the dock. "They claim
this crap is waterproof. I should sue."

"Hey why not, its probably make a good school project for the fall."
Reyes agrees. "Ive been meaning to talk to you about something, but
I dont think youll like it"

"So it has something to do with Fowley?" Scully asks with a tilt of
her head.

If Reyes wasnt wearing sunglasses, Scully would be able to see her
blink in surprise. "Wow, youre good."

Scully shrugs. "Nah. Barring you shockingly confessing that you have
designs on my boyfriend, I cant think of anything else youd ever
bring up that Id object to."

"Do you still hate her?" 

"I never hated her! It was just extreme dislike." Scully says
defensively.

Behind her shades Reyes rolls her eyes. "Ok, whatever. Do you still
dislike her to great extremes?"

"No, I no longer have any reason to. To be perfectly honest, I
havent given her a lot of thought since she came back. I do feel bad
about what happened with Spender, though. She must be lonely."

"Exactly!" Reyes exclaims.

"Exactly what?" Scully asks, sounding bewildered.

"Sorry, Im getting ahead of myself. Anyway, what I really want is to
enlist your help on a project."

"Which is?" 

"Helping Fowley get over Spender. There are a lot of nice single
guys, weve just got to help her find one thatll take her mind off
of her grieving. "

"I dont knowpeople dont usually like it when others decide to
meddle with their personal lives-"

"Meddle? Youre saying I meddle?" Reyes sputters. 

Scully ignores her interruption. "-and it takes a long time to get
over the death of someone you love. You must know that from
experience." Scully adds, thinking of Reyes older brother, Tim.

"Im not saying that were going to set her up on a blind date or
anything, but find a likely guy and give her a nudge in the right
direction. It cant hurt, right?"

"It cant hurt as long as you promise me that youll back off if she
gets upset with us. I dont think having her pissed off at me would
be a step in the right direction if I ever want her and I to be able
to be on friendly terms." Scully says firmly.

"Oh sure, if she tells us to butt out we do immediately, no arguing."
Reyes readily agrees.

"All right. If I think of anyone who might be a good match for her,
Ill let you know." Scully reluctantly tells her.

"Great! What do you say to asking her to come with us to the mall
tonight?"

"Dont push it." Scully growls, then shrieks when a Reyes splashes
water at her with one foot.

**

Thursday 8pm, Leary home

Mulder pushes "send" then closes out the web browser once the
confirmed page pops up. He walks out of his room and listens at the
top of the stairs, checking to see if Sam is still playing a video
game. When he decides that she is, he goes back into his room.

His closet is neater than usual, so hes able to find what he wants
rather quickly. Only one thing falls on him as he wrestles the
oversized backpack out of the closet. Hed gotten the bag for
Christmas his Freshman year, to use on overnight school skiing trips.
It had been hanging in his closet since they got back from their
aborted ski trip in January. While he isnt planning to use it for
skiing, of course, its very roomy, which is what he needs

He hunts through his dresser for several days worth of socks,
underwear, t-shirts and shorts, and throws them into the bag. He adds
a pair of jeans and a hoodie for good measure, just in case things
get cooler than he anticipates. Once hed put his stuff in the bag he
checks again on what Sam is doing before carrying the backpack into
her room.

He throws in a similar selection of clothes into the backpack for
her, and looks around the room for the book shes reading and the
stuffed bear she wont admit that shed been sleeping with for the
past three months. Since there is still room he adds a couple of more
books for each of them and the book-lights that their parents have
recently given them.

Right before he goes down stairs he remembers that he needs something
from the attic, so he puts in a huge effort to go up the quietly and
quickly. Once hes got what he needs he buries it under his own
clothes.

Sam looks up him with interest when she sees the backpack. "Nice bag,
Mulder. Going camping?"

Mulder shakes his head. "Remember that I said I wanted to do
something special for your birthday?"

"Yeah, but its not for days yet." Sam objects.

Mulder adjusts the backpack before saying, "I know, but we need to go
right now for the surprise."

Sam gives him a suspicious look. "Youre not going to tell me
anything, are you?"

"Nope. Check to make sure the back door is locked and the stove is
off, ok?"

"But we havent used the back door or the stove." Sam objects.

"I know, but we promised Mom." Mulder tells her with a beatific
smile.

Sam sighs deeply and turns off her game. Mulder pats his pocket to
make sure that the note he wrote is in it, and grabs his cell phone.

When Sam comes back she gives him pleading eyes. "Will you at least
give me a hint about where were going?"

"First were going to Scullys house to drop off a note." Mulder
tells her. "Hopefully without getting caught by her and Bessie while
we do it."

"And then?" 

"And then the adventure begins." Mulder tells her with a grin, which
she does not return.

**

8:30 pm, somewhere near Scullys house

Mulder is able to tape the note to Scullys door without arousing
anyones notice. Hed been afraid that Fox might have heard and
started barking, but the puppy had been quiet. As he walks away he
wonders if four-month-old puppies sleep as much as three-month-old
infants.

Sam trails after him as he walks along the road. "Mulder, what are we
doing? Its dark out, why are we walking? I dont like walking in the
dark." She shivers despite the warmth of the night air.

Mulder gives her shoulder a reassuring pat. "We wont be walking much
farther, dont worry."

"Dont worry. Easy for you to say since you actually know whats
going on." Sam snaps.

Five minutes later a large well-lit building comes into sight. Its
surrounded by a huge parking lot that is flanked by sternly worded
signs that forbid parking. Sam shakes her head and is even less
thrilled when she figures out where it is that theyve walked to.

Mulder, ignoring the frown on his sisters face, strides up to the
counter and speaks politely to the bored looking woman. "Two tickets
to Manchester, New Hampshire please."

"Thatll be twenty-five fifty." She responds, sounding as bored as
she looks. Mulder slides the money over the counter, and is handed
two white and orange tickets. "The bus leaves in twenty minutes,
boarding begins in five."

"Thanks." Mulder tells her, going back to Sam.

"Whats in Manchester, Mulder?" Sam asks, taking her ticket.

Mulder is surprised that she isnt argumentative about it. He begins
to sense that below her irritation shes actually curious about what
he has in mind, maybe even a little excited. "Truthfully? Not a whole
lot, which is sort of sad since its one of the states largest
cities. Its a starting point, though."

"Ok, whatever." Sam sighs and takes her ticket from him.

Mulder shrugs off the bag, and pulls the book-lights and their books
from it before closing the bag up again. By the time the bag is back
on his shoulder a man in a blue uniform opens the door to the bus
saying "Capeside Massachusetts to Manchester New Hampshire. Please
leave bags on the sidewalk for storage before boarding the bus."

Mulder herds Sam in front of him, and they have their choice of seats
since there are only three other people waiting to get on the bus.
"Do you want the window, Sam?" Mulder asks her.

Sam gives him a suspicious look. "You want me to sit by the window so
you can protect me from strangers?" The look on his face suggests
that the thought did occur to him, but it doesnt linger.

"I thought you might prefer it. Sue me for trying to be nice." Mulder
says with a pout.

"Thanks." Sam says, plunking herself down on the window seat and
taking her book from him. Mulder sits next to her and opens his own
book.

The bus is full fifteen minutes later, and pulls away from the bus
station.

**

12am, Manchester, NH

Mulder wakes Sam up, and he coaxes her off the bus and into another
building. Shes bleary-eyed but walks without stumbling. Mulder
himself is wide awake, and her realization of that doesnt do much to
improve her mood. Mulder tells her that she can take a seat, which
she collapses into gratefully. She yawns and only half hears the
conversation Mulder has at the counter.

"Hi, I ordered tickets on line. Heres my confirmation code." He
tells the man, sliding a piece of paper across the counter towards
him.

"Thanks, this makes it easier on me." The man remarks, before turning
to type at his computer. A moment later a set of tickets are printed
out. "Here you go. Your flight leaves in one hour."

"Thanks a lot, sir." Mulder says while scooping up the tickets.

"Were in an airport." Sam accuses him.

"Yes, I know." 

"We live an hour from an airport. Why did we take a bus to an airport
three hours from home?"

"Because the airline were taking doesnt fly out of Boston, it flies
out of Manchester. If we got a flight out of Boston it would have
cost nine hundred dollars, which I cant afford. Coming up her to
take this flight costs two hundred and fifty." Mulder explains.

"Ok, yeah, nine hundred is a lot of money. But where did you get
two-hundred and fifty dollars?"

"You know how I go to the video store and help people? They pay me
for that for some reason."

Sam punches him in the shoulder. "You are such a jerk." 

"People keep telling me that." Mulder tells her with a wry smile.

"Are you going to tell me where were going yet?" 

"Nah, I think Ill let you figure it out on your own. Do you want
something from Dunkin Donuts? Im having a coffee and a couple of
donuts."

Sam is about to wave off the offer when her stomach growls. "Yes
please. Two donuts, one blueberry and one honey dip, and chocolate
milk please."

"Ok, Ill be right back." 

By the time Mulder gets back shes already asleep again. He feels bad
waking her, but decides that she can sleep during the flight. "Wake
up, Sam."

She wakes up and takes her food. "Thanks." She nearly sounds thankful

**

Forty-five minutes later theyre sitting in the plane. Mulder has
defeated her best efforts to discover where theyre going, because he
wouldnt let her have her ticket, and covered her eyes when she tried
to read the terminal screens.

As theyre buckling their seatbelts the captain makes an
announcement. "thank you for flying Southwestern flight 208 from
Manchester, New Hampshire to New Mexico."

Sam turns to Mulder with wide eyes. "This is your idea of a good
birthday present?"

"Yup. This might be the only chance to give you something that
matters: The truth."

"I hope you know what youre doing, Mulder." Sam sighs and leans back
in her seat so she can look out the window at the darkness.

**

5am, New Mexico

Mulder picks up his backpack from the luggage carousel and takes
Sams hand so they dont get separated in the airport.

Sam looks up at him with sad eyes. "No more planes or buses or even
trains, please Mulder."

"Not right now. Theres supposed to be a motel right nearby so well
crash there for a few hours, ok? Sleeping during the day probably
wont do a lot for jet-lag, but well feel better after sleeping."

Sam is too tired to respond, but docilely follows Mulder while he
makes arrangements to check into a hotel. Theyre checked in quickly
and go up to their room. Sam collapses on one of the beds and kicks
off her shoes. "Mulder, how did you get the room? I thought you had
to be eighteen to rent a room. "

"At some places youre supposed to be, but I think they only give you
trouble if you pay cash. Most people assume that youre over 18 if
you have a debit card." Mulder holds up a blue piece of plastic. "Our
bank is just progressive enough to let you get them at sixteen. They
didnt even ask me for ID. "

He might have continued his explanation if he didnt realize that Sam
is sleeping soundly on the top of the blankets. He smiles to himself
and pulls the covers up over her before going into the bathroom to
change.

**
Friday 8am, Leary home

Zane gives Scully a quizzical look as he notices her waiting on the
steps. She stands up and smiles weakly. "Youre Zane, right?" she
asks, although she already knows the answer.

"Thats right." 

"Good. Mulder must have stopped by my house early this morning,
because he left me a note. Apparently he and Sam went to spend the
week at his Aunts house. "Scully tells him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Leary said that Samantha would be looked after by
Mulder this week, so that there was no reason not to continue her
sessions in their absence. And Mulder didnt say that anything had
changed when I was here Wednesday." Zane says, sounding confused.

Scully shrugs. "I think that they decided that theyd feel better at
their Aunts house. In Mulders defense, Ive tasted his cooking, and
I dont think that anyone could survive an entire week on it." Scully
says, remembering that Home ec had been an all around disaster for
Mulder.

"Well, thanks for letting me know that theyre not here. Itll keep
me from wasting time checking back for them." Zane says, sounding a
bit annoyed to Scully.

"Youre welcome." Scully smiles. "Hey, do you like live music?" 

"Sure, why?" Zane asks.

"My friend Reeds band is playing at Petes Pockets tonight, and he
sort of asked me to spread the word. Its their first show, so
theyre worried that no one will come. I figured that youre young,
and probably like music, so you might like the heads up."

"Thanks. Ill probably drop by and check it out." Zane tells her,
thinking of his utter lack of weekend plans.

"Great. Maybe Ill see you there." Scully says, getting an idea that
she cant wait to share with Reyes. She watches as he gets into his
car and drives off.

**

7pm, Petes Pockets

The brand new dance floor at Petes Pockets is crowded as the very
first band to ever grace the stage comes out with the guitars. The
drum kit was put up hours before, so Craig is empty-handed as he
heads for it.

Krycek grabs the microphone and gives the audience his sexiest smile.
"Hi, were Beer Is Not A Sex Crime, and we want to thank you for
coming out tonight to see us!"

Theres an appreciative roar from the crowd as the band begins to
play. Reed, looking unexpectedly calm, takes his place before the
microphone and begins to sing.

I still remember you dressed in gray
working undercover for the CIA
You were cursing Silber living in Back Bay 
Sailing on the Charles when I heard you say

Lets go down
To normal town
Lets go down
To normal town
Right down.

Down, down, down, down
Down, down, down, down

Reyes pokes Fowley in the side. "I think hes over there!" she says,
pointing into the corner. Fowley struggles to see through the densely
packed people.

I washed you lover and scrubbed your face 
Running from Miss Porter's you showed up one day
 From a flat in South End where you made me strong 
You said, "We're burning out at both ends." 
So I came along. 
 
"Oh, I see him. Dont you?" Scully asks. Fowley shrugs, then catches
sight of him.

"I see him now." Fowley admits.

Lets go down
To normal town
Lets go down
To normal town
Right down.

Down, down, down, down
Down, down, down, down

"So go talk to him!" Reyes urges.

Hey! Wouldn't it be great to never worry about your future never
asking why? Hey! Hey? In a subdivision watching television and our
lives go by.

Zane notices that a pretty, dark-haired girl is making her way
through the crowd. Hes surprised when he realizes that she seems to
be heading right for him. She looks vaguely familiar, and it finally
occurs to him that he has seen her before, at the Learys house.

"Great song, huh?" She asks, looking a little shy, which amuses him
since she was bold enough to come up to him.

"Yeahfriends of yours?" He asks.

Lets go down
To normal town
Lets go down
To normal town
Right down.

Down, down, down, down
Down, down, down, down

She shakes her head. "Friend of friends. I was gone most of the time
that Reed has lived here." She says loudly, hoping to be heard over
the music.

Lets go down
To normal town
Lets go down
To normal town
Right down.

Down, down, down, down
Down, down, down, down

"Where were you?" Zane asks.

"Europe." Fowley shouts over the applause as the song ends.

"World traveler, huh?" Zane quips.

"Technically, I suppose. My parents and I are sort of estranged, and
they insisted on taking me with them for six months." Fowley says,
relieved that the sounds of the crowd have quieted to a dull roar
between songs.

"You dont sound very happy about that." Zane comments.

Reyes and Scully stare across the crowd room looking amused. They
sing along with the next song, laughing.

Cause everyone's a critic, and even on your best days
 Someone's got something bad to say

"Residual bitterness. I was happy enough in Capeside before they made
me an offer I couldnt refuse." She says with a wry smile.

"Thats the first time Ive hear someone say something good about
this town while sober."

Fowley tilts her head to one side. "You dont like it here, then?" 

They finally notice that the group has launched into another cover
when Reed and Krycek are singing the chorus.

When push comes to shove
Youve got to hold on 
Youve got to be strong
And look for that light from above
 Cause everyone's out to bring you down 
And if you can't keep your head up 
Then you're lost

"Its all right. Its just sort of lonely when youre from out of
town, you know?" Zane asks, turning his brown eyes back towards her.

"Sure. Once you meet someone nice itll be less lonely then." Fowley
says innocently.

"You think so?" Zane asks with a smile. Fowley blushes because she
hadnt meant to flirt, but he obviously thinks she had.

**

7:30pm Roswell, New Mexico

Since they were exhausted, Mulder and Sam end up sleeping until two
in the afternoon. They miss the nearest bus by one hour, so theyre
told that theyll have to wait for three hours for the next one.
Mulder is annoyed, but Sam thinks that its a wonderful opportunity
to do what most girls love to do: go shopping. Mulder first thinks to
object, but quickly decides that being dragged shopping by someone he
himself has dragged across the country is something he had better
suck up and deal with. He does, however, talk Sam out of buying
things that have "NM" printed across them, by reminding her that
their parents arent supposed to know where they are. She instead
buys herself her own backpack, explaining that if their parents ask
he can claim that he took her to back to school shopping.

At six pm they board their last bus west. The bus eventually comes to
a stop in the middle of a small desert town. Passengers begin to
disembark without needing to be told to do so. Once they get off the
bus, Sam and Mulder yawn and stretch their arms skywards. Sam rubs
her eyes with the back of one fist and looks at her brother. "Well,
now what?"

Mulder points to a restaurant that has a fake UFO stuck through the
side of it. "I think we should go there and grab a bite to eat. Then
we can ask one of the locals to recommend a nice, not too expensive,
place to stay."

Sam shrugs and follows him.

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

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

Better Than Ezra ("Normal Town") 
Trik Turner ("Sacrifice")
and
Econoline Crush ( "You dont Know What Its Like")


Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulders Creek

