Title: Mulder's Creek: 31 Mister Sandman
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: Desperation forces Scully to work with Mulder to 
discover the reason why no kids, including her nephew and Price, 
are sleeping.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 
Opening Scene

On his way back from a middle of the night bathroom visit, Mulder
pauses in the hallway. At first hed chalked it up to his sleepy mind
imaging it, but there was definitely someone talking in Prices room.

He pushes the door open, and is hardly surprised to see his brother
standing in his crib, holding on for dear life, which is typical
since he cant quite stand on his own yet.

What is surprising is that Price is chanting, or doing a babys
approximation of a chant, anyway.

"Outoutoutout"

"Hey, what are you doing awake?" Mulder asks, glancing at the
glow-in-the-dark face of the nursery clock. Its nearly 3am.

"Out!" 

"Arent you tired?" Though Mulder himself is yawning, Price looks
wide-awake.

"No." Its unclear to Mulder if the baby is answering his question,
or just felt like saying the word. He knows his brother understands
more language than he can say, but not how much more.

Mulder yawns again. "Its bedtime." 

If Price understands that he gives no indication. Instead he braces
his chest against the crib rail and holds out his arms to Mulder.
"Pwease?"

Though hes tempted to take him out and let him play, he knows its a
bad idea. "Sorry, Buddy. Its time to sleep."

Mulder picks him up and puts him on his back. Unimpressed, Price
practices one of his new skills. Pouting. Which suits Mulder better
than having an object propel itself at him unexpectedly, which
occasionally happens when Prices will is thwarted.

"Out." Price whimpers, staring up at him.

"Whats up?" Mr. Leary asks, making Mulder jump out of his skin.
Nearly. "I heard you talking."

"Price thinks its time to get up." Mulder explains, yawning yet
again.

"Ok, you go back to bed. Ill try to reason with the munchkin." 

"See ya, then." 

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

7am, Tuesday, Potter home

"Bessie, are you feeling ok?" 

Bessies eyes are bloodshot and it looks as though making toast
requires a great deal of effort.

She looks weary as she answers. "Alex decided last night that
sleeping is an optional activity. He work me by playing loudly in his
room. Which is what hes still doing since I couldnt get him back to
sleep."

"That sucks." Scully sounds sympathetic, but shes also thinking that
shes grateful that his room isnt near hers.

"Yeah, well, he better not pull that again, or Im going to sell him
to gypsies before he gets too old to bring in a good price."

"Boy, remind me not to keep you up all night." 

"You better not." Bessie growls. "Unless you like the idea of being
sold into white slavery."

**

Capeside High, Art class

While art isnt the favorite class of most of the people there, the
fact that theyre allowed to talk sweetens the experience. Mulder
sits at a table at the back of the room with Reyes and Fowley. If
Scully was talking to him, he might have qualms about sitting with
Fowley, but since she isnt - much - its nice to sit with people who
are. Theyre trying to work on their collages amidst a chorus of
yawns.

"Does everyone seem extra tired to you today?" Mulder comments.

"Not everyone, but a lot of people." Fowley replies.

Reyes looks up from gluing buttons onto a supermodels head. "Maybe
Alexander wasnt the only kid keeping people up last night. Scully
said her sister was threatening to sell people if they robbed her of
sleep again."

Mulder feels a pang of envy. It used to be that hed be the one to
hear something like that. "Thats funny, Price was up at 3am this
morning, too."

Reyes face softens, she adores his brother, as most girls do. "Aww,
was he sick?"

"Nope. He was begging to be released from the imprisonment of his
crib."

She rolls her eyes, but chuckles. "I bet you were just like him as a
baby. At least were not experiencing sleepless nights."

Fowley frowns. "Speak for yourself. I started to have trouble
sleeping after after we found Spender." He voice drops to a whisper
on the last word.

"Woware you still having trouble sleeping?" Reyes asks. "That was
July"

"Nah. I began sleeping better in December. But not every night." 

"Hey." Mulder thinks of something. "I bet if you did a survey of the
people who look dead on their feet, eighty percent of them have
little brothers or sisters."

"Interesting theory." Reyes remarks. "But could we get extra credit
for such a survey? Maybe for social studies?"

Mulder and Fowley shrug.

**

Leary Home, Thursday afternoon

"What do you think of this?" Mulder asks, sliding his collage across
Sams desk.

"Pretty neat. I like how you used fabric and paper both." Wisely, she
doesnt ask him what it is. Its a sunflower on a blue background, at
least in his mind, but it seems a little abstract to everyone else.

"Thanks! I knew if someone would know if it was any good, itd be
you."

Sam gives him shyly proud look after that. "My opinion is worth that
much?"

"You are the family artist." Mulder tells her, pointing at the
drawing of tiger cubs shes working on."

"Youd already claimed photography by the time Id come along." She
tells him with a smirk. "Thats ok, this is more fun."

"Looks hard to me Hey Sam, you asked me a while back if I knew about
Bloody Mary-"

"And you said Oh no, not you too so I dropped it." 

"Then we got distracted by pie-" 

"Mmmmm, pie." 

He rolls his eyes; Weebl and Bob have been performing on her computer
quite frequently lately. "But I meant to ask you why you wanted to
know."

"Oh. Some of the girls at school said that if you look in a mirror
and say Bloody Mary three time, shell show up in the mirror and
get you."

"Thats the legend Ive heard too." 

"I wont do it, so they think Im chicken." 

"Nothing really happens when you do that, you know." 

"I know, but"

"And what do you care if some girls from school think youre
chicken?" He asks, thinking its a sensible question.

Sam sighs, and gives him a look that confirms he will never, not
ever, understand the motivations of teenage girls.

**
 
Potter home
Saturday 11pm

"Go to sleep, Alex." 

"No! Im not tired." Alexander insists, giving her a defiant, and
wide-awake stare.

Perching on the end of his little twin bed, Scully wonders what keeps
Bessie from throttling him when he acts up this way. Bessie is out
with a friend for a rare girls night, and Scully has been trying to
get Alexander to go to sleep for the past two hours. He has twice as
much energy as she does, and shes worried that shell fall asleep
before he does.

"Did you sleep last night?" 

He shakes his head, making his dark curls bounce. "All done with
sleeping."

"For how long?" She asks, thinking hes being silly.

"Forever!" He declares, jumping up onto the bed. "Dont gotta sleep
no more."

"Of course you have to sleep! Everyone has to sleep, thats the way
our bodies work. If we didnt sleep wed be all weak and tired." She
decides not to mention and die since hes not quite four, and has a
fuzzy concept of death anyway.

"I didnt sleep last night." He points out. "You look sleepier than
me."

"I am, Alex. You wear me out." 

He stares at her in alarm.

"What?" 

"Mommy said I cant wear my sponge bob shirt no more cause it all
worn out, and fallin apart. Youre not gonna fall apart too, are you
Auntie Scully?"

"NuYes. If you dont try to go to sleep, I might fall apart, all
over your floor. Then no more Auntie."

"Oh no! Ill go bed now!" He says, sounding shocked. To her amusement
he scrambles into bed, and shes glad that shed at least been able
to get him into his PJs before he declared that he wasnt go to bed.

"Night, Alex." 

"Night!" 

As she clicks off his light, she wonders if Bessie will be amused or
upset about how she answered his question. Knowing her sister, shes
betting on amused.

**

Lindley home
1am

Things happen in a pattern. She goes downstairs, pours a cup of water
for her pill, takes it. Goes up to the bathroom, washes her face,
brushes her teeth, and goes back to her room.

As always, hes there, waiting for her.

"Hello, Rabbit." 

"Im not a rabbit." 

"Forgot my carrots. Forgot my tea set too." 

She gives Spender a puzzled look. "Tea set?" 

"To read the leaves." 

"What for?" Fowley climbs onto her bed and pulls the covers over her,
hoping that this time he might get the hint and leave. It doesnt
work. Never does.

"I want you to build something." She waits for him to go on, and
eventually he does. "A walrus."

"A what?" 

"Badger?" He sounds uncertain.

"Ok, Im supposed to build a walrus. Or a badger. Out of what?" 

"Umbrellas." 

She lets her head skin into her pillow. "Go away, Spender, you dont
make any sense."

"Two for a penny, three for a nickel." 

Groaning, she sits up, pillow in hand to throw at him, but hes
already gone. She doesnt know how he left, shes just glad he did.

**

Leary home
3am

Finally ready to call it a night, Mulder turns off his computer and
cd player. Once he does, he realizes that he can still hear
something. Singing. Blinking in wonder, Mulder wanders towards the
source of the noise, which is rather odd for this time of the night,
even if it is the weekend.

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him two lips like roses and clover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

The door to Prices room is barely open, and he peers in, completely
unnoticed.

Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mister Sandman, bring me a dream

With Price on her hip, Gale dances the two of them about the room,
enthusiastically singing the Emmylou Harris version of the song, the
one thats about a man, instead of a woman.

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him the word that I'm not a rover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

Mulder grins broadly, watching his mother attempt to get Price to
sleep. Unfortunately for her, Price isnt having any of it. He looks
gleeful and entirely too awake as their mother finishes the song.

Mister Sandman, bring me a dream
Give him a pair of eyes with a come hither gleam
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace

Mister Sandman, someone to hold
Would be so peachy before we're too old
Sp please turn on your magic beam
Mister Sandman, bring us
Please, please, please
Mister Sandman, bring us a dream 

"No luck, huh Mom?" Mulder asks, breaking the spell.

"Mulder!" She gasps. "How long were you standing there?" 

"Long enough to remember when you used to sing to me when I was a
little boy. Boy, that was a long time ago."

"I stopped because you became a critic, and told me I sang terribly."
Gale says, not looking upset. "Even at three you knew what you
liked." Price, on the other hand, looks astonished when she puts him
back in his crib.

"Well, your voice has improved since then." He laughs. "What are you
going to do about him?"

"I made an appointment with his pediatrician for tomorrow. Over the
phone he advised me not to worry if he didnt look run down. I get
the feeling he only made the appointment to humor me. Baby doctors
probably take classes in humoring their patients parents."

"Yeah"He sees that Price is pouting again. "Youve got to sleep some
time, kid."

"Out!" 

"Go back to bed, Mulder. Since we cant get him to go to sleep with
help, Im just going to leave him in his crib and hope he gets bored
enough to lie down and sleep on his own."

"Wont he cry?" 

"Probably. He has to learn that he cant always get what he wants,
though."

"Ouch. Such a painful lesson." 

Back in his room, Mulder smiles to himself when he thinks that its a
good thing that Price cant levitate anything heavier than a stuffed
animal, or he might try to use his skill to get out of his crib. Not
that, with crawling as his locomotion of choice, he could reach the
doorknob.

Humming his mothers song, Mulder crawls back into bed. Almost
asleep, he bolts up when a strange idea occurs to him. Its
impossible, yet

**

The Ice House
Sunday 11:30am

Price never did go to sleep, and he did cry to show his unhappiness
at being alone, so Mulder is drafted to go buy lunch; his yawning
parents swore theyd set the house on fire if they tried to cook.
Since everyone is hungry as well as tired, eight burgers and fries
seems like a good choice, so he swings by the Ice House, half
wondering whos working that day.

Scully is at the counter, and she gives him a look thats
half-polite, half-wary.

Before he thinks better of it, he blurts out. "You look terrible." 

"Thanks." 

"Sorry. Its just, you look like my parents. Let me guess, Alex isnt
sleeping either, right?"

"Why wont they sleep?" She groans. "Theyve been awake for days,
isnt that supposed to kill you or something? I got Alex to lie down
for about an hour last night, but he was up again right after that."

"You probably dont want my theory." Mulder tells her.

"Oh go ahead and tell me. Im tired enough to have an open mind." 

Thrilled that theyre having a real conversation, Mulder is slightly
hesitant to tell her about the idea hed had hours before. But
eventually his eagerness to share the thought gets the best of him.
"Way early this morning, My mom was singing that Mister Sandman song
to Price, trying to get him to go to sleep. He didnt, of course, but
it made me think what if theres something wrong with the Sandman?"

"What Sandman?" Scully asks, giving him a blank look.

"You know, the Sandman. Sprinkles sleepy dust on little kids eyes to
make them sleepring any bells?"

"Yeah, thats something from cartoons." 

"What if hes real? It wouldnt be out of keeping with the rest of
the strange things that happen in this town-"

"Ok." 

"Ok what?" He gives her a puzzled look.

"Ok Ill go with you to look for him." When he looks shocked, she
adds, "This town is pretty friggin weird, so who knows, maybe he is
real. Im willing to try anything at this point. Tell me when and
where, and Im there."

"Tonight at midnight?" He ventures. "And bring Alex with you." 

"What? Why?" 

"Ive got a gut feeling that well have better luck if we bring him
and Price along. Im not sure why, but"

"You want to follow your hunch. Ok, if Bessie falls asleep, Ill
bring him with us."

"Great. See you tonight." He pauses. "Oh yeah I need eight
hamburgers and four orders of fries."

"Now you tell me." She does her best to sound put out, but theres an
excited sparkle in her eyes. Hes sure that she misses their
adventures as much as he has.

**

Leary home
11:35pm

Mitch and Gale must be delirious with their lack of sleep, since they
immediately take up Mulders offer to entertain Price downstairs so
they can get some sleep. Sam is at a sleep-over so things are a
little out of routine anyway, so maybe that makes them more accepting
of another challenge to the status quo.

" I dont have school tomorrow, so Ill just stay up watching
movies." Mulder offers, watching the two of them fight to keep their
eyes open.

"Thats nice of you, son." Mitch tells him, yawning sleepily, and
stumbling up the stairs.

Price, from his baby swing, gives Mulder a look that asks now what?
but Mulder really puts on a movie, in case they come back downstairs.
When they dont after fifteen or twenty minutes he sneaks up to their
room and listens. Theyve both snoring.

Grinning to himself, he dashes into Prices room for his current
favorite blankie and the new baby blue hoody that Gale thought the
baby just had to have. Hes still struggling to get the sweatshirt on
his brother when theres a knock on the door.

Alex is holding Scullys hand very tightly, and he looks very
excited. Once Mulder joins them, blanket wrapped baby in arms, he
comments on Alexs new sneakers. "Wow, I used to have light up
sneakers like that once too."

"You did?" Alex seems awed, probably because Mulder is still one of
his favorite people, no matter what Scullys feelings.

"Sure did. I bet youll be a big help lighting the way." 

"Its a good thing that we have tomorrow off." Scully says as Mulder
begins to lead the way. Her flashlight is much more illuminating than
Alexs sneakers, but neither of them have the heart to tell him that
since hes taking path lighting very seriously. "Where are we going
anyway, Mulder?"

"After lunch I got on the Internet and looked up the Sandman-" 

"And you were able to find references that didnt pertain to that
bore Gainman? Im shocked."

"I was too. Boy, the comics must be better than his novels anyway,
from what I was able to learn, the Sandman is one of the fey."

"Hes a fairy? No wings, though." Scully points out.

"Guess they dont all fly." Mulder shrugs, which makes him have to
shift his grip on Prices wiggly little body, so he decides not to do
that again. "But being a fairy, he probably likes living in the
woods."

**

"Mulder! We cant wander the woods all night!" 

"Why not?" Alex asks. "Woods are fun." 

"See, I thought of that." Mulder sighs theatrically. "So I narrowed
it down to the most likely spot. Sparkle Point."

"Wow, its been years since weve been there. You do know, though,
that the rocks there only glow because theres laced with
phosphorous, right? Its why that grave stone up in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire glows in the dark too. No fairy dust involved."

"No one likes a science geek." Mulder teases. "I know why Sparkle
Point glows, but I think it might be just the sort of thing a fairy
might get a kick out of."

"Ah, like crows and shiny objects." 

Alex stops dead, making Scully stumble. "I dont wanna see a crow." 

"Were not going to see a crow, I promise." Scully tells him. "All
the crows are sleeping. Why your Mommy let you see that movie, Ill
never know."

"The Crow?" Mulder guesses.

"No, The Birds." 

"Good Lord." 

"Lud! Lud!" Price attempts to mimic.

"Stop the world, I want to get off." Scully mutters as Price
continues to chant and Alex goes into detail about what other birds
he doesnt want to see, either, which makes Mulder think of nasty
ducks. Scully looks more miserable, though, her lack of bird fears
aside. If things were different between the two of them, Mulder would
have given her a reassuring hug, but theyre not so he doesnt.

**

Its fortunate that Sparkle point isnt too far from Mulders house,
because already Alex is getting tired of walking, and Price seems to
have doubled his weight. At last the four of them reach the strangely
glowing rocks. He has a moment to reflect on all the time he, Doggett
and Scully had played there as very young children before everyone
demands that he tell them what to do next. Or Scully does, anyway.
Alex and Price dont seem to care.

"Now what?" Scully asks.

Resisting the urge to shrug, Mulder calls out. "Hello? Mister
Sandman? Weve got two very awake kids here that really need some
sleep!"

"Oh, like that is going to work." Scully scoffs.

Alex, on the other hand, thinks that Mulder is hysterical. "Youre so
funny. We dont ever have to sleep again!"

"Too bad everyone else has to sleep." 

"Yah, too bad!" Alex giggles.

"Bad Der." Price agrees.

Mulder would have been shocked that his ten-month-old brother had
just strung two words purposefully together, except something else
even more astonishing grabbed his attention.

"What do you want?" A cranky voice asks, behind them.

They turn around, and see a man standing there. Hes wearing a long,
red stocking cap, and a long night shirt that looks like its cotton
with vertical tan and red bars on it. A red velvet bag is lashed
about his waist with a silky cord. If its not the Sandman, they
dont know who he is. Mulder and Scully exchange a look. They dont
know what to say.

**

Luckily, Alex takes this in stride, and speaks up for them. "Are you
the Sandman?"

"Yup, thats me." 

"You dont look sleepy." Alex accuses. "My mommy says the Sandman is
sleepy and he yawns a lot."

The Sandman nods. "Usually I am. But Ive been drinking a lot of
coffee lately."

That response satisfies Alex, but not Mulder. "But why?" 

"To stay awake, of course." 

"We stay awake too." Alex informs him, and Price gurgles what could
almost be an agreement. "Dont gotta sleep no more."

"Well, of course you do." The Sandman says, giving the boy an
indulgent look. "All people sleep."

"Not me! I havent slept for a year!" 

"A week." Scully corrects. "But it feels like a year." 

"Not really." The Sandman insists.

"Yes really. My baby brother hasnt slept since Monday night either."


The Sandman sits on a pile of the glowing rocks, modestly tucking his
night shirt along his legs. "Oh dear. Is it just these two who
havent been sleeping?"

"Judging by the crankiness of most adults and older kids lately, Id
say no kid in Capeside under the age of ten has slept all this week."
Mulder says, and Scully nods vigorously in agreement.

"I thought the position was largely ceremonial" The Sandman
murmured. "This wont do at all. I never thought"

"Why havent you been visiting the kids?" Scully asks, which
surprises Mulder. Shes taking the whole the Sandman is real thing
pretty well in his opinion. Theres hope for her yet.

"Well, last week was my two hundredth birthday, and one of my friends
gave me a DVD player. Wonderful thing, DVD players. I discovered the
most wonderful show on DVD and I bought all the seasons of it. I
guess I sort of let watching this show take over, and shirked my
duties, Im afraid."

Curiosity gets the best of Mulder. "What show?" 

"Sex and The City. Have you ever seen it?" 

"No We dont have HBO." Mulder tells him, which is true, but not why
hes never seen the show. Really, he was expecting the mans answer
to be something like M*A*S*H or StarTrek:TNG.

"Ah. You should see it some time. Its wonderful. Too wonderful." He
stands up. "Guess I better get back to work. Shall I start with these
boys?"

"No!" Alex and Price cry.

"God yes." Mulder and Scully tell him.

**

"Sorry boys, its bed time." He reaches for the bag at his waist and
loosens it enough to stick his hand in. "The sands rather pretty,
though, dont you think?"

Neither of the little ones can drag their eyes away from the
sparkling sand held flat on his palm, even when the Sandman bends to
blow it gently in their eyes. Giving little sighs, they quickly fall
asleep, Alex sagging against Scullys legs, and Price suddenly
drooling on Mulders shoulder.

"It was really nice meeting you." He tells Mulder and Scully. "I
guess I needed a wake up call. I think I better be going, Ive got a
lot of home to visit."

"Wait, before you go." Mulder stops him. "Where do you live?" Hes
been trying to figure out where the Sandman could possibly keep his
DVD player.

"Normally the fey arent supposed to show humans something like that,
but since you brought this matter to my attention before I got
written up by the council, Ill make an exception just this once."

He blows some more of the dust, this time into their own eyes. "Dont
worry, it only puts kids to sleep. But it helps older people see what
they do."

They blink a few times, then they can see a cheery little cottage
about three hundred feet away from where theyre standing. They must
have gone right past it earlier in the night.

"Why didnt we bump into it when we went through here?" Scully asks
critically.

The Sandman gives her and indulgent smile. "There are some things
that dont exist within the bounds of the scientific, and me and my
home are two of them. Have a safe walk home."

When they blink again, hes gone, and the cottage fades a little more
from view with each blink that dislodges the sand from their eyes.
"Hey, I think wed better swap kids. Alex is too heavy for you to lug
all the way home."

Mulder hefts Alex from the ground, and Scully cuddles Price. Neither
boy seems to care who is carrying them, theyre more or less dead to
the world. Even still, Mulder and Scully dont say anything as they
walk home, and its only half out of fear of breaking the Sandmans
spell.

Once they get to Scullys door, though, Mulder decides to brave an
attempt at conversation. "Wild, huh? Ive really missed this. The
adventures, I mean."

"Me too." She agrees, suddenly looking wistful. 

"Maybe well find more adventures." Mulder suggests hopefully.

"Thatd be nice." She opens the door quietly. "Good-night, Mulder." 

"Night." 

Walking the rest of the way home, he wonders if tonight could be
considered a break-through. Theyd spent more than an hour together,
not fighting. Its a start.

**

Potter Home, Monday Morning

The sounds of snappy pop music lead Scully to believe that everything
is well in the house once again. Bessie is singing along to the radio
as she dances around the counters, cleaning them. Scullys giggles
give her away.

"Having a good morning?" 

"Its a wonder what a difference a good nights sleep makes." Bessie
tells her cheerfully.

"Is he still asleep?" 

"Hes sleeping like a log. I guess this week finally caught up to
him."

"Im surprised it didnt catch up to us, too." 

"He woke up for a little while ago and told me about a dream he had
before he feel back to sleep. That kids dreams are as goofy as he
is."

"How so?" Scully asks, pouring herself a glass of juice.

"He said that you, Mulder and Mulders brother went and found the
Sandman. Of course, he claims it really happened." Bessie laughs. "I
know Mulder would probably go for something like that, but you? What
a silly kid Ive got. I think he just misses Mulder."

Scully manages not to choke on her juice, and is glad that Bessie
decided it was just a dream. "I actually talked to Mulder yesterday.
He came by the Icehouse."

"Did you get into an argument?" Bessie looks faintly concerned.

"Nah. It was a completely civil conversation." 

"Good." 

"Why good?" 

"Just good." Bessies smile is knowing.

**

Leary home, Monday Afternoon

Sam bounds into Mulders room, and he holds a finger to his lip.

"Shhhh! Price is finally sleeping, you dont want to wake him, or mom
and dad will kill you."

"Oh, sorry." She looks contrite. "But I have to tell you what
happened at the sleep over."

"What happened?" 

"Ok, so Hannah and Megan said I was too chicken to call for Bloody
Mary-"

"I thought we talked about how that wasnt real." Mulder protests.

Sam ignores him. "So I said I wasnt and we all went into the
bathroom, with the lights all out. I said  bloody Mary, bloody Mary,
bloody Mary, come to me and they were all scared and giggly. Then a
white face with bloody lips appeared in the mirror-"

"What?!" 

"- and they ran off screaming. It was so funny." 

Mulder gives her a suspicious look. "You werent scared though. All
right, what did you do?"

"Me? I didnt do anything." She protests. "Except let Daden in. Hes
the one who put on the make up and wig, and hid in the bath tub,
behind the half closed shower curtain, until we said the words."

He chokes on his laughter. "Oh lord. You are definitely my kid
sister."

"Was there ever any doubt?" 

"Nope." Mulder agrees. "Are they mad at you?" 

"They still think it was real. And by the time they figure it out,
theyll be too embarrassed to say anything about it."

"That a girl." 

**

Lindley home
5pm

Grams is sitting in the living room, reading her bible to prep for
her Adult Bible study when Fowley hesitantly approaches her. She
looks up and sees the apprehensive look on her granddaughters face.

"Whats wrong, Fowley?" 

"Do you believe in ghosts?" 

Puzzled as to why this is so upsetting, she answers cautiously. "I
believe that our spirit survives after death, but Im more inclined
to think of it as souls going to heaven."

"But cant they get trapped here, unable to go on?" 

"I hope not." 

Fowleys face crumples. "If there arent ghosts, Im losing my mind."


"What do you mean?" 

"Spender. He keeps coming into the house, and talking to me." 

"Oh dear." 

"At first I thought he had to be a ghost, since everyone had seen him
before-"

"That is unexplainable." Grams mummers to herself.

"But he talks to me, and it makes no sense. None. Maybe hes not
really there, and Im just going crazy."

Grams hugs her. "My poor girl"

"Is there a history of insanity in our family? schizophrenia, maybe?"


"I dont think so." 

"But that doesnt mean that there couldnt be something wrong with
me." Fowley insists.

"No, it doesnt. Would you like to see someone? A doctor, I mean." 

At first Grams thinks that Fowley is going to cry, but she slowly
nods her head. "I think thats a good idea." Her voice is wobbly.

Grams gives her at gentle smile. "And if the doctor says theres no
problem, well get a priest to come to the house."

Fowleys laugh is wobbly too. "I love you, Grams. You always know
what to do."

"Not always. But I try." 

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

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

Emmylou Harris ("Mister Sandman")
REM ("I Don't Sleep, I Dream ")
and
Kent ("If You Were Here")

Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulders Creek

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Note: Starkweather's Creek by Scully3776 and I falls 
Between this fic and the next one (except for the final scene)
