Disclaimer: They're not mine. I'm borrowing. If everyone behaves, maybe I'll give 'em back...or not. <EG>

Authors note: This is a vignette. Yes, EvilTwin, a vignette. For real. Just a little something to show ya I haven't totally withered up…and that I'm willing to give these post-ep thangies a whirl.

Created for: After the Fact: Pilot Episode

The 'Eye' in FBI

By Susan Proto

I put all of my confidence into the knock. Unfortunately my knees are knocking together just as loudly.

"Sorry, nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted."

I open the door and enter his office. I see him sitting with his back to me, hunched over something on a lit table. Slides. I think he's looking at slides.

As I walk further into the room, I look at the eclectic postings displayed on the wall. What an odd poster print - I Want to Believe... Believe what? I see newspaper photos of what appear to be flying saucers.

Oh my God.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

I take a small breath and will myself to regain some semblance of control over my nerves. I take confident steps toward him and as he finally turns around I extend my hand in greeting.

"Agent Mulder - I'm Dana Scully - I've been assigned to work with you."

"Well, isn't it nice to suddenly be so highly regarded? So - who did you tick off to get stuck with this detail, Scully?"

Scully? Well, of all the arrogance? I'm *Agent* Scully to you, bub.

"Actually," I say, trying to gather my wits and not say something I'll immediately regret, "I'm looking forward to working with you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh, really? I was under the impression that you were sent to spy on me."

You egotistical sonofabitch!

"If you have any doubt about my qualifications or credentials - "

"You're a medical doctor...," he says as he takes off his glasses.

Those glasses… Oh my. Oh my, my.

"...and you did your undergraduate degree in physics - Einstein's Twin Paradox: A New Interpretation - Dana Scully's senior thesis. Now that's a credential - rewriting Einstein."

Those eyes. What an amazing color. But the combination of the glasses and those eyes…those eyes…

"Did you bother to read it?" I ask, trying to follow the conversation.

"I did...," his voice cracks. What an amazing voice. It's almost hypnotic...like those eyes.

"...I liked it," he affirms. "It's just that in most of my work the laws of physics rarely seems to apply."

He walks over to the light switch and darkens the room. I watch in amazement as he shows me slides of some anomalies, and listen as he poses his odd little questions and arrogant suppositions. I try my best to expose his ideas for the foolishness that they appear to be on the surface, yet he keeps hammering away. He's relentless! What kind of a naive, gullible fool does he take me for? I'm a scientist for God's sake.

"The answers are there!" I say emphatically.

"That's why they put the 'I' in FBI - See ya tomorrow morning, Scully, bright and early. We leave for the very plausible state of Oregon at 8 a.m."

Oh my God.

I'm a scientist.

What have I gotten myself into?

And bring the damn reading glasses.

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End of Pilot Vignette