This is another Maddie story.  I couldn't resist.  It's too much fun.  I have
no idea yet why I named it Animal Crackers...except for the fact that that was
what I was eating while I wrote it.  But I'm sure I can find *some* way to tie
it all in.

DISCLAIMER:  i do not own the characters that i do not own.
CATEGORY:  MSR Maddie
RATING:  you know by now that i don't believe in censorship.
TIME SPAN:  present day.
SUMMARY:  maddie spends more time with the g-people.


*******************************
Thursday Morning
Dana Scully's apartment


        Dana Scully pursed her lips, planted her hands firmly on her hips and
said in a deadly voice, "Fox William Mulder, if you drink straight from that
milk carton, I will not be responsible for my actions."

        Mulder ran a hand groggily through his hair, which was still standing
on end from the previous night's sleep.  What the hell was wrong with Scully,
anyway?  She'd been testy for the past couple of days.  PMS probably.  Women.
Who can figure them out?  "Come on, Scully.  You and I are the only two people
who are going to be drinking this...and I'd say we know each other well enough
to forego such pleasantries, wouldn't you say?"  He waggled his eyebrows at
her, half expecting her to blush after last night.

        She never batted an eyelash, just stood there, trying to look menacing
at 5:30 in the morning, hair tumbling all around her face, wearing nothing but
Mulder's oversized Knicks jersey.

        Well, never let it be said that I backed away from a challenge, Mulder
thought, taking a huge gulp from the carton.

        Scully silently started counting to ten, as she'd learned to do a long
time ago when it came to Mulder's ability to infuriate her as no one else
could.  She was almost up to three when she saw Mulder scrunch his face up and
spew the milk out all over the front of her shirt and face.

        "Jesus Christ, Scully!  How old *is* this milk?"  He made a dash to
rinse out his mouth in the sink.

        Scully glared at him.  "I just bought it two days ago, thank you *very*
much."

        "Well, it's bad."  He held the carton out to her.  "Taste it."

        "Mulder, why would I want to taste bad milk?  Besides, I'm wearing
enough of it to *smell* that it's bad."  She paused, wiping the milk from her
face with her shirt.  "That's what you get for drinking out of the carton,
Captain Caveman."  She pulled the shirt over her head and flung it at him.  "I
need a shower."


        Boy, did she look pissed.  Mulder stared after her naked form, the milk
and the jersey forgotten.  He was just about to start sulking when Scully stuck
her head back out of the bedroom door.  "Get a move on, Caveman.  We're already
going to have to share the shower if we intend to make it to work on time."

        Mulder leapt at the invitation.  Okay, so maybe women weren't so bad
after all.

        Scully smiled as she sensed Mulder stepping into the shower behind her.


        "Can I do your back?" he asked.

        "I've already done my back."

        Kissing her neck, he tried again.  "Can I...do your front?"

        Turning to face him, Scully pulled his head down to kiss him.  "Agent
Mulder, what is this obsession you seem to have developed for doing me?"


                             *************************

        Scully sighed and looked up from her desk.  Let's see...paperwork,
paperwork, and more paperwork.  Well, that just about covers it.  She finally
had her office back, and was trying to think up an excuse to go down to
Mulder's office.  Maddie Skinner had been returned safely to her parents, much
to Mulder's delight, over a week ago.  After the last little incident, Scully
supposed Mulder deserved the little reprieve.  He'd been rummaging around the
bathroom Scully and Maddie were sharing when he came across a package of birth
control pills.  Just to antagonize, Maddie had declared that they weren't hers.

Must have been Dana's.  Then she had suggested that Mulder watch out for a
jealous boyfriend once they were back in D.C.  That was all it took for Mulder
to pout straight on through lunch.  Maddie had finally relented, saying, "Okay,
they're mine.  Now stop being such a baby, Slick."

        But that hadn't made things any better.  Scully remembered wondering
what the hell they were talking about when Mulder responded, "That doesn't make
it any better, Maddie.  In fact, that makes me worry even more."

        Maddie had just sighed and asked Mulder if he needed an explanation of
PMS.  Remembering that weekend in San Francisco, Scully still didn't know what
to think about Madison Montgomery Skinner.  But she had to admit that she
missed the girl's energy.

        The phone startled her out of her reverie.  She was greeted by Mulder's
sexy voice.

        "Skinner wants us in his office."

        Scully grimaced.  They'd already been on two cases this past week.
Surely they weren't being assigned another so soon.  And that could only mean
one thing.

        "Okay, Mulder, spill it.  What did you do this time?"

        "Not a thing.  I swear it.  I'll meet you up there in a couple of
minutes."

                                ******************

        "Agents."  Skinner greeted them, not looking up from his desk.

        "Sir," Scully acknowledged politely.

        "Have a seat."  He looked up at his two rogue agents.  "First of all, I
wanted to thank the two of you for looking after Madison for me.  Sharon and I
both appreciate it."

        Scully smiled.  "Maddie's a great kid.  Any time."

        Skinner didn't miss the lethal look Mulder shot his partner.  "How is
the little angel?"  Mulder asked innocently.

        Skinner tried not to laugh.  "She's fine.  Wreaking havoc on me, as you
can imagine.  At the moment she's mad at me for cutting down the tree outside
of her bedroom."

        Mulder almost laughed out loud.  The image of Maddie climbing out of
her window was just too vivid.  But he somehow doubted that cutting down the
tree would stop her.  "Is that right?" was all he could manage.

        Skinner scowled at Mulder.  "That and she doesn't want to go to Florida
with us tomorrow to visit some of Sharon's old friends."

        Scully piped up.  "Why don't you let her come stay at my place?  I have
no plans for the weekend, and I'd love to see her again."

        Skinner couldn't imagine the oh so proper Agent Scully dealing well
with his rambunctious teenage daughter.  "That is really not necessary, Scully.

But thanks for asking.  I actually called you up here to see if you had that
latest report ready for me."

        Scully handed over the report.  "Really, Sir, it wouldn't be an
inconvenience at all for Maddie to stay with me.  I really enjoyed getting to
know her."

        Mulder felt like he could strangle Scully.  What did she have, a death
wish or something?  He couldn't take another weekend of Maddie.

        Skinner shook his head.  "Well, if you want to ask her, be my guest.
By all means, be my guest."  The phone buzzed at that exact moment.

        "Mr. Skinner, your daughter is here."

        "Speak of the devil," he muttered.  "Send her in."

        Maddie stepped through the door, looking more subdued than Scully had
ever seen her.  Her face lit mischievously as she caught sight of Mulder and
Scully.

        "Hi, Day, how's it going?"  Maddie perched precariously on the edge of
Skinner's desk.

        "It's going well, Maddie.  How've you been?"  Scully couldn't help
noticing how tired the younger girl looked and wondered if she still wasn't
sleeping.

        "Fine."  Maddie turned to Mulder.  "Hey, Slick.  I see you're still
dressing in the dark."  She wrinkled her nose at his tie.

        "And I see you're still your usual charming little self,"  Mulder
replied.

        Scully suppressed a grin.  This was just too much fun.  Mulder had
finally met his match.  "Maddie, would you like to come spend the weekend at my
place?"

        The girl shook her head.  "I'd love to, but we're going to Florida."
She made it sound like a death sentence instead of a weekend at the beach.

        Skinner sighed.  Well, if Maddie would rather stay here, let her.
"Madison, you can stay if you like."

        Maddie grinned.  "Great!"  She shot Mulder an evil look.  "We can
finish our shopping, Dana."

        Mulder looked positively green.  He guessed he could stay at his own
apartment this weekend...but then again.  There was no way in hell he was
letting Scully go off with Maddie again.  No telling where she may end up with
a tattoo.

        "Then it's settled,"  Scully stated.  "Why don't you just come to my
office tomorrow afternoon and ride home with me?"

        As they walked back down the hall, Scully shot a sideways look at
Mulder.  He may never admit it, but she thought he was actually looking forward
to the weekend as well.

        Placing a hand in the small of Scully's back, Mulder leaned down to
whisper into her ear.  "We are definitely putting a deadbolt on your bedroom
door this time."

***********
end part 1

khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu


Several people said they didn't get this part, so here it is again!

DISCLAIMER:  Alien on Board.  (oops, sorry.  i just bought a bumper sticker
with that on it, and i'm still pretty much happy about my purchase.  amazing
what the little things can do for you!)  i don't own the characters that i do
not own.  aardvark says hello.
CATEGORY:  MSR Maddie
RATING:  i'm not even going to dignify this topic with response.
SUMMARY:  maddie is spending the weekend with scully.  can we say...tattoo's,
anyone???
TIME SPAN:  present day, take your pick of weekends, but not the twentieth, i'm
booked solid for that one.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  i don't have any, i just like being able to loosely call
myself an author.

*********************
Favors:  Animal Crackers -- 2/?
by kris

Friday afternoon
FBI Headquarters

        Scully looked up from her computer, wondering what the commotion was in
the hallway.  Thinking she heard Mulder's voice, she walked over and peered out
the door.  The sight before her was almost enough to make her laugh.  Madison
Skinner was rollerblading down the hallway, backwards and blindfolded; Mulder
was propelling her by the arms.

        "Trust, Maddie, it's all about trust,"  Scully heard Mulder say as he
picked up his pace.  "Oooh, a little to the right, you're about to run into the
wall."

        Maddie hit the wall.  "Obviously," she said in a deadly voice, "that
would be *your* right.  My left.  Didn't they teach you the difference
somewhere in all that G-people training of yours?"

        Mulder looked sheepish.  "Sorry, start again.  From now on, left means
right, right means left, okay?"  He started pushing her backwards again.

        "You are so obnoxious," Maddie muttered.  "Next I suppose you'll tell
me that yes means no and no means yes.  I think I've heard that line before and
I'm not buying it."  She wrenched her arms free and took off the blindfold that
had been rigged up from the tie that Mulder *had* been wearing when they'd left
his apartment that morning.

        Maddie wheeled around suddenly and found herself face to face with a
rather amused looking Dana Scully.  "Could I borrow your gun?  Dad confiscated
mine, you see, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to shoot your partner."

        Scully lifted an eyebrow.  "I've already shot him.  Trust me, a bullet
in the shoulder won't deter him for long."

        Maddie smiled sweetly.  "Oh, well, I was going to aim a little lower."
She skated to the end of the hallway and back.

        Mulder raised his eyebrows at Scully.  "Looks like fun, huh?"

        She crossed her arms.  "No way, Mulder.  Forget it.  I'm not putting on
a pair of those death traps."

        Maddie gave her a sour look.  "Don't be prudish.  We'll let you wear a
helmet--and knee pads and elbow pads.  But I have to warn you, you're going to
look about twelve in that get-up."

        At that moment, the elevator doors opened, Walter and Sharon Skinner
stepping out into the hallway.

        Skinner gave Maddie one of his looks that were meant to intimidate.
Even Mulder had trouble standing his ground when that look was tossed his way.
"Madison Montgomery Skinner, I have told you three times in the past hour that
this is no place to skate."

        "I'm not hurting anything, Father dear.  Besides, this place needs some
excitement.  It's amazing you're not all in comas by the end of the day."
Maddie turned to her mother.  "Besides, I feel taller this way.  Even Mom is
five-seven.  How did I get stuck being five-three, anyway?"

        Sharon Skinner smiled and put an arm around her daughter.  "We were
about to leave for the airport.  Do you have everything you need from the
house?"

        "Yep.  Let me drive you to the airport, and I'll keep Dad's car for the
weekend."

        Skinner scowled.  "Not a chance."

        Maddie pouted.  Scully found this amusing.  Skinner had warned them
about this pout, but she'd never actually witnessed it.  "Daddy, I *know* how
to drive.  I have my license, remember?  Why can't I keep your car?  Don't you
have faith in my abilities?"

        Skinner didn't budge.  "Forget it.  You don't need a car this weekend."

        Maddie pursed her lips.  "So can I drive it next week?"

        "NO!"

        "Oh, this is so unfair.  What do you need with that car all day?  It
just sits there in the parking garage.  I don't know why you had to buy such a
nice car if you weren't going to let me drive it."  Maddie increased her pout.

        Skinner rubbed his head.  "Madison, I do not have time for this."

        "Well, you should have bought a Ford if you didn't want to go through
this every couple of days.  That Porsche is just too tempting."

        "You can't drive a stick shift, Maddie."  Skinner looked really annoyed
to Scully.  More annoyed, even, than Mulder managed to make him.

        "Oh, I can handle a stick, Father."  Maddie smiled an innocent little
smile and batted her lashes.

        Scully's eyes nearly popped out of her head.  She was never having
children.  Sharon put a calming hand on Skinner's arm.

        "Maddie, I'm sure your father does not want to hear about your
experience with 'sticks' at the moment."  She kissed Maddie's forehead.  "We'll
see you Sunday night."  Turning to Scully, she said, "It's very nice of you to
invite Maddie over, Dr. Scully."

        "Call me Dana, please.  And it's no trouble at all.  I have an annoying
neighbor.  I'm sure Maddie can think of some way to pay him back."

        "I'm sure she can, Dana.  Of that, I am certain.  And call me Sharon.
Maddie knows where to reach us if the need should arise."  She looked
meaningfully at Maddie.  "Which of course, it won't.  It's nice to see you
again, Mulder."

        "You, too," he said politely.

        Maddie smiled, looking like a cheshire cat, and called after them.  "I
hope a plane doesn't miss its mark and crash into the parking lot on that car
of yours, Dad."

        Mulder and Scully heard Skinner speaking to his wife.  "She needs
discipline, Sharon."

        Sharon gave him a look that had Maddie written all over it.  "If her
military father can't handle her, I'd say she's pretty much beyond discipline,
wouldn't you, A.D. Skinner?"

        Maddie looked at Scully and Mulder.  "Let the games begin."

                        *********************

        Maddie wandered around the sporting goods store aimlessly.  How in the
hell could it take Mulder so long to buy a pair of roller blades?  Scully
smiled at her from her seat.

        "Listen, Slick.  Just buy a pair and let's get a move on.  Contrary to
popular belief, the entire world is not on Mulder time."  Madison tapped her
foot impatiently.

        "Okay, these feel good."  Mulder stood up and nearly fell back down.

        "Great, pay for them and let's go."  Maddie headed for the front of the
store.  She had convinced both Mr. and Mrs. G-people to buy a pair of roller
blades.  Now if they could ever get to the park, she'd be happy.

        An hour later, Mulder sat down on a bench.  This was definitely not
fair.  Scully had taken to rollerblading like a fish to water.  And Maddie had
obviously had plenty of practice.  Well, at least he wasn't tripping every
couple of minutes now.  Scully skated up beside him.  She looked so cute in
that get-up.  She had, at Maddie's insistence, done without the helmet and
pads.  But she still looked about sixteen with her hair in a ponytail and
black Umbro's.  Mulder suddenly felt decidedly old.

        Scully grinned down at him.  "You ready to leave?"

        "Yes, please.  My calves are killing me."  He extended a hand to
Scully.  She hauled him up, kissing his neck as she did.  Mulder couldn't get
over how relaxed she seemed.  The park was deserted, but public displays of
affection really didn't seem Scully's style.  Maddie whirled past them, giving
Mulder a little push.  He fell over backwards...right into the fountain.  He
had tried to take Scully with him, but she was too quick.

        "Damn it, Maddie!"  Mulder hauled himself out of the fountain.  "I
can't believe I'm doing this again."  He looked accusingly at Scully.  "You lik
e
seeing me at my worst, don't you?  That's why you invited that little monster
over."

        A wave of sympathy haulted Scully's fit of giggles.  "Oh, Mulder.  I'm
sorry."  But she took one look at him and started laughing again.

        Well, Mulder's pride was a little injured to say the least.  Without a
second's thought, he scooped his tiny partner up and planted her firmly in the
fountain.  Mulder expected a flood of fury.  What he didn't expect was for Dana
Scully to continue laughing and splash him from her ungraceful position in the
fountain.  Okay, so maybe having Maddie around could do some good after all.
Maybe.  Scully really did look relaxed.

        "Hey, Slick,"  Maddie yelled as she skated up to him.  "Is that a gun
in your pocket, or are you just happy to see your partner."

        The wet clothes were pretty incriminating...didn't leave much to
the imagination.

        Mulder saw red.  No, forget it.  This couldn't be worth it.  God, how
did Skinner manage to have *any* hair left?

**************
end part 2
khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu


DISCLAIMER:  i do not own the characters that i do not own.  we are not who we
are, you know, that kind of thing.
CATEGORY:  MSR Maddie (i've created my own category.  sue me.)
RATING:  i give it a tree...tree an' a haf...wow, i gotta get out more.
SUMMARY:  maddie spends the weekend at scully's...mulder goes grey...
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  have you *any* idea how difficult it is to convince a three
year old that her father is *not* an alien?  well, it took me half an hour to
calm the little girl down today because her older brother told her that their
father was an alien, although their mother was not, thus, they were both
earthlings.  she started crying when her dad came home from work, and wouldn't
let go of my knees.  it was so pitiful.  i hated to leave her, so i stayed,
trying to convince her that her father wouldn't eat her liver or anything.  why
can't i have a nice, peaceful life?  is that too much to ask?  uhhh...oh yeah,
the story...

************************
Favors:  Animal Crackers (3/?)
by kris


Friday Night
Some Supermarket  (author's note:  i don't go to the supermarket.  i hate
grocery stores, so i don't know any particular names.)

        Maddie shifted her feet, waiting impatiently for Dana to hurry this
little excursion along.  Why couldn't they have just ordered pizza?  But no,
they had to go to the grocery store.  Well, at least Mulder looked as miserable
as she did.  Or at least, he had looked as miserable a moment ago.  Now he was
nowhere in sight.  Where had he gone?  Great, leave her there to contend with
Dana and her obsessive compulsive shopping habits.

        Scully held up two boxes of something.  "Which would you prefer, Mad?"

        Maddie ground her teeth together.  "I don't care.  But I don't eat pork
and I don't eat chicken."

        Scully gave her a skeptical look.  "Why not?"

        "It feels funny in my mouth.  I don't eat tomatoes or applesauce,
either, for that same reason.  Or anything that is leafy and green."  Maddie
studied the lights on the ceiling.

        Scully sighed.  "Okay, what do you eat?  You have to pick something,
otherwise we're going to be here all night."

        Maddie rolled her eyes.  Like they hadn't been there long enough as it
was.  Hell, most of the stuff would be expired by the time they got to the
check out line.  "Look, I don't care what we eat.  Eating ranks right up there
with sleeping in my book.  I have better things to do with my time."  She
looked at the contents of the shelves around her.  "Here, these will do."  She
tossed the huge bag of animal crackers into the buggy.  "Okay, shopping's done.

Let's go home."

        Scully lifted an eyebrow.  "Don't tell me you eat animal crackers."

        "They're fun, they're tasty."  Maddie started to pout.  "Now, please,
Day, let's get out of here."

        Scully resumed her reading of the back of the boxes in her hand.
"We're almost done."

        Maddie felt like throwing a damn temper tantrum.  She was quickly
deciding that boarding school had its perks after all.  No grocery shopping.
No parents.  Plenty of freedom...well, if you played your cards right.  The
cell phone in her bag rung at that exact moment, delaying the tantrum she was
on the verge of throwing Dana's way.

        Scully gave Maddie a surprised look.  Who would be calling her?

        "Skinner's Escort and Personal Entertainment Service.  Would you like
to hear about this weekend's specials?"  Maddie was feeling bitchy and figured
her parents were calling to harrass her, so why not harrass her father while
she was at it?

        "OOooohh, I want to hear about your specials.  I'm looking for a
redhead, preferably small, so she doesn't put up much of a fight."

        Maddie recognized Mulder's voice.  "I'm gonna tell."

        "Who you gonna tell?  My momma?"

        "Worse...I'll tell your girlfriend."

        Mulder cringed at Scully being called his girlfriend.  "Okay, okay.  I
give."

        "Where are you?  Do you think this is funny?  I'm being tortured
endlessly over which Rice-A-Roni I prefer here,"  Maddie whispered into the
phone so Dana couldn't hear.

        Scully, of course, was trying to appear uninterested, but she couldn't
help wondering what Maddie had up her sleeve.  She had no intentions of bailing
Skinner's daughter out of jail later tonight for being at some wild party.

        Mulder spoke into his cell phone, looking up into the observation
mirror above his head.  Holding up two boxes of hair dye, he said, "Look up
into the mirror.  So, which color do you think Scully uses?"

        Maddie stifled a giggle.  "Ummm, that one...no, not that one.  The
other one.  Yeah, what's it called?"

        "Uhhh, candy apple red?"

        "Hmm...sounds like the color of a car.  She wouldn't go for that.  Name
another."

        "Let's see, we have apricot?  Who the hell would want to walk around
looking like an apricot?  And we have sunset strip.  Hey, I wouldn't mind
seeing Scully's strip."  Mulder leered as he held up the box.

        Maddie wrinkled her nose.  "Hey, I don't want to hear about your little
sex games right now, all right?"

        Scully shot the teenager a strange look.  Maddie all but bit her tongue
in half trying not to laugh.

        Mulder disappeared out of the mirror's viewing area then returned,
holding up two other boxes.  "So, ribbed or glow in the dark?  Which do you
think she'd prefer?"

        Maddie pursed her lips as if considering that.  "Well, do they have any
with aliens on them that glow in the dark?...no, then you'd better get ribbed.
I figure you need all the help you can get while performing in the sack."

        Mulder felt like strangling the girl.  He started reading the back of
one of the boxes.  "Scully doesn't seem to have any complaints.  Ask her.
Hey, did you know they have female condoms now?  I wonder how the hell this
thing is supposed to work?"

        At that moment, Scully turned the corner of the aisle, catching
Mulder's last few sentences.  "Fox William Mulder, what do you call yourself
doing?"

        Maddie watched the exchange in the mirror.  Mulder looked like a bug
under a microscope.

        "Uh, nothing Scully.  I was just, uh, well..."

        "I thought so.  Don't worry, you won't be needing *any* of those
tonight.  What are you, twelve?"  She shot him a disgusted look, then glanced
up into the mirror at Maddie, taking the phone from Mulder's hand.  "Madison
Montgomery Skinner, hang up that phone and get over here right now."

        Maddie skipped around the corner.  Scully glanced from Mulder to Maddie
then back again.  "Neither of you is to leave my line of vision until we get
back home, do you understand?"

        "Yes, dear," Mulder drawled.

        "Yes, mother," Maddie chimed in.

        Scully tossed a bottle of Aleve into her shopping cart and rolled her
eyes.

                               ********************

        Scully finished putting the groceries away, then looked to Mulder and
Maddie.  "Okay, I did the shopping.  You guys cook it."

        Maddie gave her a disbelieving look.  Mulder snorted.

        "Well, good.  What's the number to the nearest pizza place?"  Maddie
asked Mulder.

        Scully smiled.  "I take it you have as much skill in the kitchen as
Mulder does."

        Maddie sniffed.  "I don't even make tea.  I buy it pre-made."

        "Well, that leaves you and me, 'Slick'," Scully poked Mulder in the
ribs.

        Maddie looked relieved.  But Mulder looked ready to throttle her.
"Listen, why don't I go around the corner and rent a couple of videos for
later?"

        Scully shook her head.  "No, you don't need to go alone."

        Maddie looked offended.  "I'm a big girl, Dana.  I can go a couple of
blocks and rent videos.  Give me a break, would you?"  She paused.  "I'm not
going to pull anything, I promise.  I'll wait until you're asleep for that,"
she called over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

        Mulder chopped up the stuff for a salad while Scully made some sort of
pasta.  He felt Scully's arms go around his waist from behind.

        "Do you always play with your food, Mulder?"  Scully peeked around him,
watching the little exchange he was enacting between the knife and the
tomatoes.  He was such a little kid sometimes.

        Mulder finished his 'battle' and put down the knife, turning in
Scully's arms.  "Well, it really wasn't a fair fight.  The tomatoes were
defenseless."  He bent his head to nuzzle her neck.  She smelled so good.  He
still couldn't believe how much things had changed between them in the past
couple of weeks.  It was hard to imagine not touching her, not loving her.  In
a burst of affection, he lifted her up and spun her around in a huge hug,
depositing her on the counter.

        "Have I told you lately that I love you, Dana Katherine Scully?"
Mulder laced his fingers through her hair.  He noticed the funny look on her
face.  "What?"


        Scully dropped her eyes.  "You've never told me that, Mulder."

        Mulder looked astonished.  After all they had been through, he couldn't
believe he hadn't actually told her.  What a jerk he was.  Now that he thought
about it, she probably had every reason to think that he didn't really love
her, that he was just physically attracted to her.  No, this was Scully.  She
knew him inside and out.  Surely she knew how much he cared about her, how much
he needed her.  Taking her face in his hands, he pulled her to him, looking
directly into her eyes, "Well, I should have told you a long time ago.  I guess
I've loved you for so long that I can't remember a time that I didn't.  And I
guess I thought you knew."

        Scully smiled a little, tears prickling her eyes.  "I guess I did.  But
it sure feels nice to hear it, Mulder."

        Mulder kissed away the tear that had escaped one eye.  "Well, in that
case, I love you so much it hurts."

        Scully put her arms tightly around him.  They had, by unspoken consent,
kept things light between them.  Their work was always so serious, so
foreboding, that perhaps they had shied away from the serious side of
lovemaking.  Not that sex was just physical for them, it was so much more.  But
they didn't *talk* about the emotional side of it.  That just didn't come
easily to either of them.

        Mulder realized that she was shaking.  "Scully, what's wrong?"

        Scully sniffed, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.  "I'm
scared."

        Whoah, this couldn't be his Scully talking.  She never admitted fear.
"Of what?"

        "Of losing myself in you."

        Mulder smiled.  At least now he knew what to tell her.  "You can't lose
yourself in me, Scully.  You're a part of me.  We're a part of each other.  If
anything, we're more complete because of this."  He ran his hands down her
back in a soothing motion.

        Scully lifted her head to kiss him.  "Well, in that case, I'm pretty
crazy about you, too, if you don't mind my saying."

        "Does that mean you like me?" Mulder asked in between kisses.

        "I suppose so."  She tried to sound grudging.

        Mulder nibbled on her ear.  "Do you, I don't know, maybe even...like me
a lot?"

        Scully smiled into his neck.  "Perhaps."

        "Hmm...so, would you say that you love me?"  The niggling of fear,
deeply embedded in him, that she didn't really love him, made his voice quiver
just a bit.

        "Well, I guess you could say that.  But do you know what else, Mulder?"

        "What?"

        "I've always loved you.  Now, ask me why I feel so ridiculously happy
now as opposed to then."

        "Why?"

        "Because I'm *in* love with you as well.  It just doesn't get any
better than that."  Scully saw the worry lines fade from his face.  He looked
ten years younger when they did.

        "Oh, yes, it does, Scully.  With you, it just keeps getting better and
better.  Willing to let me prove it?"

        Scully lifted an eyebrow.  "Are you expecting to get lucky?"

        "No, just hoping."  Then he pulled her hips towards him, noting idly
that on the counter, she was the same height as he was.

                        ***********************

        Maddie opened the door to Scully's apartment, dropping the videos onto
the floor.  She heard a low laugh coming from the kitchen, then a moan.  And
then something that sounded suspiciously like, "Mulder, don't stop."

        Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Maddie walked back out the door.  If
Dana thought she was eating *anything* that came from that kitchen
after this, then she had another thing coming.  Well, maybe the animal
crackers were still safe.  *Maybe*.

        
***************
end part 3

okay, i'm getting a little discouraged.  this is my least favorite part so far.

if anyone has any suggestions, i'd greatly appreciate them at this point.

khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu


DISCLAIMER:  i do not own the characters that i do not own.
CATEGORY:  MSR Maddie


*************************
Favors:  Animal Crackers (4/?)
by kris


        Maddie slipped silently out the door and wandered down the hallway.
Now what was she supposed to do?  Honestly.  Why did Dana even invite her over
if she and Mulder were going to screw around in the kitchen?  Reaching for her
cell phone, Maddie realized she had left it in Dana's apartment.  Well, this
was shaping up to be a damn nightmare.  All she wanted was to be somewhere,
anywhere that she felt comfortable.  Walking out onto the street, she hailed a
taxi.  She had her purse and keys, so at least she could go home and take a
shower.  And her parents weren't home.  It just didn't get much better than
that.

        The past two weeks had worn Maddie's patience thin.  Walter Skinner was
not an easy man to live with.  She'd always known that; but now, he seemed even
more distant, to Maddie, at least.  The only time he spoke to her seemed to be
when he was pissed at her--which was actually a great deal of the time.
Sighing as she stepped into her shower, Maddie wondered when everything had
gone wrong.  She could remember a time when her parents were the happiest
couple in the world.  And a time when she thought her dad had hung the moon.
Everyone had known that she was 'Daddy's little girl.'  Who was she kidding?
She knew when it had all gone wrong, even if she didn't completely understand
why.  And this was not something she wanted to dwell on.

                        **************************

        Slumped against Scully, Mulder traced her collarbone with his tongue.
"I think your pasta's done," he said, still trying to catch his breath.

        Scully slipped past him and shrugged into his discarded t-shirt,
turning the pasta off.  She couldn't remember being this happy in a long
time...maybe never.  Seating herself in his lap, she ran a finger along his
jaw.  He caught it between his teeth as it passed over his lips.  "I've
developed quite an appetite, Scully."  On cue, his stomach rumbled.  "When are
you going to feed me?"

        Scully smiled at him.  "As soon as Maddie gets back."

        Mulder wrinkled his brow.  "She should already have been back."  He
glanced at his watch.  It had been well over an hour since Maddie left.  The
video store wasn't even a ten minute walk from Scully's apartment.  Scully
stood up, looking a little worried.

        "I'm sure she's fine, Scully."  Mulder slipped his jogging pants on and
followed her into the living room.

        Scully seemed to be looking for something.  She came up with two
videotapes.  "Looks like she's been back."  After checking the guest room, she
began to feel guilty.  It didn't take a genius to figure out that Maddie had
decided to get lost for a while.  She and Mulder had been pretty loud in the
kitchen earlier.

        Mulder grimaced.  "Great.  Now she has something else to hold over my
head," he mumbled.

        Scully picked up the phone and dialled Maddie's cell phone number.
When she heard the ringing from within the apartment, she hung up and went over
to the discarded phone.  "Looks like she forgot her phone."  She chewed on her
lower lip.  "Now what do we do?"

        Mulder put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  "Relax, she'll be back.
She's fine."  He pulled her back into the kitchen.  "Do you want to wait for
her to eat?"

        Two hours later, Scully was bordering on hysterical.  She was pacing
the floor like a caged animal.  "How am I supposed to explain to the Assistant
Director of the FBI that I lost his daughter?  Tell me that, Mulder.  Well,
gee, Skinner, I don't know how long she's been missing.  I was too busy fucking
my partner to notice."  She was yelling now, face flushed.  Mulder knew better
than to try to calm her down at this point.  He decided to just let her vent
for a while.  "Oh, yeah.  That's going to go over quite well, don't you agree?"

She looked at Mulder expectantly.  "Answer me, damn it."

        Mulder just kept staring at the television.  "Scully, there is nothing
we can do at this point.  Maddie has pulled crap like this before, you know
that.  She's known for it.  We just have to wait it out."

        Scully scowled at him, then started pacing again.  She noticed for the
first time that the message light was blinking on the answering machine.  The
phone must have rung while she and Mulder had walked around outside the
apartment earlier.  She slapped the button.

        Maddie's voice rang out through the apartment.  "Hi, guys.  It's me.
I'm at home right now.  You were a little, um, busy when I dropped the tapes
off.  So I decided to take a shower here.  I'll be back there soon.  You have
the number, if you want to call."

        Scully dialled the number immediately, feeling more than a little
foolish.  "Maddie?  It's Dana."

        Maddie closed the book she was reading.  "Hey, what's up?"

        Scully felt like she wanted to strangle the girl.  "Where the hell have
you been?  I have been worried sick.  This is not the sort of behavior I would
expect from you.  At least not towards me.  I thought we understood each other
a little better than that, Madison."

        Maddie couldn't believe what she was hearing.  What the hell???  This
was the sort of lecture she got from her father.  And the last part was a low
blow.  "Excuse me, but I left a message on your machine.  I have been right
here for the better part of two hours, waiting until I wouldn't be interrupting
something.  I was trying to be thoughtful, Dana."

        There was an awkward silence.  Then she heard Mulder take the phone.
"Mad?  You okay?"

        "Yes, I'm fine.  Nothing to get bent out of shape about.  A
miscommunication, I suppose.  No harm done."  Maddie tugged at an invisible
speck on her shorts.

        He dropped his voice.  "Scully was just a little worried.  I think she
felt guilty for the situation we placed you in."

        "And what?  She decided to try and reverse it by making me feel
guilty?"

        Mulder didn't know how to respond to that.  "Listen, we'll be over to
pick you up in a few minutes, okay?  Give me the address."

        "Don't bother."  Maddie hung up the phone.  She immediately felt bad
about it.  Dana had to have been worried to react like that.  She was just so
accustomed to being defensive about her actions.  Sighing, she picked up her
book again.  A quiet weekend alone was probably what she needed, anyway.  Maybe
she'd even get some sleep.

        Yeah, right.  Who was she kidding?  She walked over to the stereo and
cranked it up loud.  At least she could enjoy her music with the house to
herself.  She figured she'd give it fifteen minutes or so, then call back and
smooth things over with Dana.

                                ******************

        Scully reappeared from her bedroom, fully clothed.  "So, are we going
to pick her up?"

        Mulder was still holding the phone.  "She said not to bother."

        Scully looked confused.  "Is she taking a cab?"

        Mulder shrugged.  "She didn't say.  She hung up."  He ran a hand
absently through his hair.  "But I doubt she'll be coming back over here on her
own."

        Scully heaved a heavy sigh.  "I feel like a real bitch."

        Mulder pulled her down onto his lap.  "You were worried."

        "Yeah, and I had no reason to be.  And I immediately thought the worst
of Maddie.  I figured she had gone out, not even bothering to let us know that
she was okay."

        "Scully, it was a misunderstanding.  Don't worry about it."  He rubbed
a hand over her back.  "Maddie will get over it."

        "Is she very mad?  I wasn't very nice to her."  Scully rubbed her eyes.

        "Not mad.  She seemed a little perturbed, however."

        "Well, we can't let her stay home by herself.  I'm responsible for
her."

        Mulder hid a grin.  Scully had responsibility ingrained upon her.
"Give her a few minutes to cool off.  Then you can call her back."  The phone
rang at that moment, and Scully snatched it up.

        "Hello?"

        "Dana, it's Madison."

        "Hi.  I was just about to call you back.  Are you all right?"

        "Yep, I'm fine.  Are you thinking more clearly now?" Maddie teased.

        Smiling in self-reproach, Scully teased back.  "I haven't been thinking
clearly in four years.  Having Mulder for a partner makes that difficult."

        Maddie laughed.  "Well, no harm done.  Forget it ever happened.  I'll
talk to you guys later, okay?"

        Scully frowned.  "You're not coming back over here?"

        "Nah, I think I'll stay home.  Give you two some quality time
together."

        "Maddie, you can't stay home alone.  I promised your parents.  Let us
come get you."

        Maddie ground her teeth together.  "I'm not going to do anything that
would discredit you, Agent Scully.  I can be responsible when I want to be."

        Scully rolled her eyes.  Why was Maddie being such a brat about this?
"I'm not worried about my reputation with your father, Madison.  I'm worried
about you.  I don't want to leave you alone for the weekend.  You're not going
to let something this silly come between us, are you?"  Scully felt like she
and Maddie had really made a connection that weekend in San Francisco.

        "Dana, I'm not letting anything 'come between us.'  I'm just tired, and
it is late."  She paused.  "You're not going to leave me alone unless I stay
over there, are you?"

        "Nope."

        "Okay, fine.  I'm on my way," Maddie grumbled as she put on her shoes.

        "How are you getting here?"  Scully demanded.

        "On my broomstick."  Maddie hung up the phone.

                        *************************

        Thirty minutes later, Scully opened the door to find Maddie and some
guy waiting outside.

        "Hi, Dana.  This is Gregg Patterson.  His parents own the house next to
ours."

        Scully shook the guy's hand.  Then he was introduced to Mulder.  Mulder
looked him over, thinking he had to be at least twenty-three.  Where did Maddie
get these guys?

        "Gregg just got a new car, so he offered to give me a ride.  Wanted to
show out, I guess."  She looked at Scully.  "Can he use your phone?  I left
mine here, and he hasn't had one installed in his car yet."

        Ten minutes later, Mulder gave Maddie the third degree.  "How old was
that guy?"

        Maddie looked surprised.  "I don't know.  Twenty-five?  I think.  He's
a law school student at G.W."  She narrowed her eyes.  "Why?"

        Mulder set his lips in a tight line.  "No reason.  How long have you
known him?"

        "About a week.   Are you going to interrogate every guy I sleep
with?  You're not my father."  Maddie put her hands on her hips, enjoying the
confrontation.

        Mulder did a double take.  Did she just admit she was sleeping with
this guy?  He scowled.

        "Simmer down, Slick.  I was just kidding.   I've known him forever.  He
used to live next door to me, remember?  It's not like I would just jump in bed
with a stranger."  Maddie smiled and batted her eyelashes.

        She could see the muscle working in Mulder's jaw.  Scully put a hand on
his arm.  "You are not amusing, young lady."

        Maddie laughed.  "Yes, I am.  I'm amusing myself."

        Another scowl from Mulder.

        "Oh, give me a break.  I'm not screwing Gregg, all right?"  She walked
past them, placing the bag of Chinese takeout on the table.  She had realized
on the way that she was starved.

        Scully sat down across from her.  Mulder was still brooding in the
living room.  "We still have pasta, you know."

        Maddie lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow.  "I'll pass."

        Scully looked offended.

        "It's not your cooking, Day.  It's the fact that pasta wasn't all
that was cooking in there tonight that sort of makes my stomach churn."  Maddie
cracked open the fortune cookie.

        Scully blushed.  "Sorry," she mumbled.  "What does the cookie say?"

        Maddie grinned.  "It says, 'Don't worry.  It'll all come out in the
wash.'"  Then she deadpanned.  "What's in your washing machine, Dana?"

        Scully blushed again.  Okay, so she had to wash the clothes she and
Mulder had been wearing earlier.  So what?  And how did Maddie know that?

        Maddie bit her lip to keep from laughing.  "I thought so."


                                ******************

        Mulder was in the shower, so Scully thought now was a good time to talk
to Maddie.

        "Maddie?"

        "Hmm...."

        "Have you been sleeping at *all* lately?"  Scully sat down on the bed.

        Maddie sighed.  "A little."

        "Want to talk about it?"

        "No."  She bit her lip.  "It's just so weird being back.  I don't know
anyone here anymore."

        "I thought Sarah and Jason lived around here."

        "They do.  But I haven't spoken to either of them."  Maddie felt a
headache coming on.  She didn't want to talk about this.

        "Why not?"  Scully could see that something was wrong here.  How could
it not be, given what she knew already about Joel.

        "I don't know, Day.  I haven't really felt up to company.  I feel
horrible for not returning their calls, but it's just so much easier not to."
Maddie shrugged.

        "I can understand that."

        "And then, there's my father.  He is just so convinced that I'm always
doing something behind his back.  And I haven't done anything, gone anywhere,
since I've been home.  Did you know he cut down the tree outside my bedroom
window?  I guess he thinks that was how I was sneaking out.  Pretty ironic,
huh?  When I needed him to play the overprotective, military father, he was
nowhere to be seen."  She knew she sounded bitter, but that was how she felt.

        Scully just waited, sensing there was more.  She could see Mulder
standing in the doorway, just out of the corner of her eye.

        Maddie noticed Mulder as well, but she kept talking.  "That night that
Joel killed himself.  I told you he had been fucked up.  But what I didn't tell
you was that the substance in his body was unidentifiable.  It was one part
LSD, but the other part couldn't be identified.  Even if it had just been LSD,
no one had access to that, Dana.  They couldn't have.  Not in our school.
People smoked a lot of pot, sure.  Alcohol, yes.  But not anything heavier."


        Scully wasn't sure she liked what Maddie was implying.  "Maybe he was
more messed up than you knew."

        "He was an athlete, Dana.  They took drug tests every few weeks.  Not
even two days before, he'd had one.  I'd always felt safe at school before
that.  But not anymore."  She shuddered.  "I don't think I'll ever feel safe
again.  I was a fool to be lulled into a false sense of security that time."

        Mulder stepped into the room.  "What are you implying, Maddie?"

        "I think you know the answer to that question better than I do."
Maddie gave him a scathing look.  "Joel didn't just try to kill himself that
night.  He came this damn close to putting that bullet into my head."

        Scully took a deep breath.  "Assuming what you said is, in fact, the
case, why would they want you dead?"

        "Maybe for the same reason they wanted you and Mulder dead all those
times--you got too close.  Don't look at me like that.  I'm not obtuse about
all this.  I know how the government works."  She tried to collect her
thoughts.  "When we pulled off that Ski trip fiasco, I hacked into my father's
computer at work in the process.  Don't ask why, it's a long story.  I needed
to access a certain database, and I knew I could get to it through his
computer.  Somehow, I actually got in, by going through his personal computer
at home.  I intercepted a mail message regarding his assassination attempt.
Let's just say it was a not so subtle attempt to insure that a certain
microcassette never fell into the wrong hands--those hands, I'm assuming, being
yours."  Maddie waited a moment for this to sink in.  "My father is in no
position to discredit these people, or to expose their work on his own.  But
I'd be willing to bet that he's more on your side than you know.  Especially
since he has a personal, as well as moral, stake in it."

        Mulder let out a slow breath.  "Meaning what?"

        Maddie met his gaze directly.  "Meaning me.  I disappeared for a period
of about two weeks.  Like I said, I really think it was just a scare tactic,
trying to keep him from getting too close through his position as the Assistant
Director.  But it was the wrong scare tactic.  I don't remember anything about
it.  In fact, I'm not even supposed to know.  That's why my parents eventually
split up, I think."  Maddie had done a little research of her own--and she knew
that her disappearance had probably just been pressure to convince her father
to close down the X-files.  But *that* she wasn't about to tell Mulder or
Scully.  Nor did she want to tell them that she wasn't so sure her father
hadn't already sold his soul to the devil.

**************************
end part 4

well, that's it for the serious stuff.  i just wanted to establish a basis
for future stories with dramatic potential.  plus, this way, it gives maddie a
firmer basis in her relationship with mulder and scully, as well as explains
some of her feelings towards her father.

khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu


DISCLAIMER:  these characters aren't who you think they are.  most of them
aren't mine, either.  but i always return what isn't mine.
CATEGORY:  kiss me.  (oops, i'm confused again.  make that MSR Maddie)
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  a warning to you all.  i'm having mood swings.  i think i have
multiple personalities inside my head at the moment.  a friend's coming over
later to exorcise them.


*********************************
Favors:  Animal Crackers (5/?)
by kris

        Scully couldn't sleep.  In her mind, she kept replaying the
conversation with Maddie.  She'd known the girl was astute, but she had never
even considered that Maddie may know so much about the conspiracy surrounding
the X-files.  And then there was the fact that Madison Skinner was a lot
smarter than anyone gave her credit for.  Any sixteen year old who managed to
hack into the Assistant Director of the FBI's computer account had to have her
act together.  And her father had never even known.  That was the scary part.
He still didn't know about what happened with Joel.  Maddie had made Mulder and
Scully swear they wouldn't look into it.  And she was right.  If certain people
found out that they were snooping, they would see that Maddie was confiding in
the two agents.  But Scully wasn't so sure Maddie was making the right decision
in keeping this from her father.  That was a lot of guilt for one person to
carry around.  And Maddie shouldn't have to sacrifice her innocence to the
truth.  But that's what was happening.

        Maddie obviously felt strongly that the need to bring all of these
secrets and cover-ups into the open, the ones Scully and Mulder--and maybe even
Skinner--were working so hard to uncover, outweighed the sacrifices she was
having to make.  And the sacrifices weren't all that small.  Especially not
from a sixteen year old's point of view.  She'd lost her faith in her
government, her innocence, and maybe even her faith in her father.  Now Scully
knew why she'd felt such a connection to Madison.  She'd lost those things
herself.  Well, not faith in her father.  Never.  But because of her mission,
her father had lost his faith in her.  He may never have said it, but he'd
never given her his support when it came to her job at the Bureau.  And it had
hurt like hell.  It still hurt.  She'd lost her sister.  And Maddie, whether
she knew it or not, had come close to losing both her mother and her father.
Mulder had already lost his sister, his father, and in many ways, his mother.
And somewhere along the way, Scully realized, they had each lost a piece of
themselves.  But maybe that was what they could give each other.  Something to
help them get back that part of themselves.  Someone to trust.

        She sighed and flipped over again, trying to get comfortable.  Mulder
felt her moving around and reached an arm out to stroke her back.  "You still
awake?"  His voice was rough from sleep and just hearing it sent a shiver down
Scully's back.

        "Yeah.  I guess I just can't get tonight out of my mind."  She rolled
into his arms, burying her face in his neck.

        "It was pretty shocking, huh?"  Mulder propped himself up, sensing that
Scully needed to talk about this for a while.

        "That's an understatement.  Do you think it's worth it, Mulder?  I
mean, for us, it's different.  We are propelled to find the truth, we have to
now.  We're in too deep not to continue.  But Skinner, I just don't understand
him.  I mean, I don't see how he could put everything on the line like that.
Not when there's a child involved.  And not when his wife was almost killed for
his job.  With us, our work brought us together.  With them, it nearly tore
them apart."  She shifted restlessly.

        "I guess he's in it for the truth itself, Scully.  It seems Socratic,
but I suppose it could be reason enough for someone to risk it all."  Mulder
kissed her cheek, her forehead.

        "I still don't know that I trust him, Mulder.  He's obviously playing
both sides because of his position.  We know he associates with CancerMan.  So
which side is he really on?"

        Mulder knew that Scully wasn't as easily convinced as he was, and even
he still had a small seed of doubt regarding where Skinner's loyalties truly
lied.  "I don't know, Scully.  But he's the closest you and I have ever been to
being able to trust anyone else.  He's put a lot on the line for us."

        They heard a noise in the other bedroom.  Glancing at the clock, Scully
saw that it was three a.m.  "Mulder, Maddie has to sleep sometime.  She exudes
so much energy.  I am a doctor, and I *know* that it isn't possible for her to
maintain such an energy level without resting."

        Mulder sighed heavily.  It was his place to take the weight of the
world on his shoulders.  Not Scully's.  "Call her in here, if it'll make you
feel better.  But I have to warn you, I think she's getting ready to pounce
again.  She's been too damned nice to me the past few hours."

        Scully chuckled.  "No, maybe if we leave her alone, she'll fall
asleep."

        "No, she won't.  Call her in here, give her a lecture on the adverse
effects of not sleeping enough.  You've given that lecture to me a thousand
times."  He paused, flipping on a bedside lamp.  "MADDIE!"

        Maddie appeared at the doorway, eyes wide.  "What?  What is it?"
She was wearing a pair of blue boxers and a white t-shirt with blue trim.  It
matched her eyes perfectly.

        "Nothing.  Just wanted to see if you were awake."

        Maddie scowled at him.  "Sure you're not just checking that I'm not
planning to sneak out?"

        Mulder rolled his eyes.  "No, we were actually worried that you weren't
sleeping."

        Maddie stepped hesitantly into the room, not at all sure she trusted
Fox Mulder when he said he was just worried about her.

        Mulder patted the bed.  "Come on.  Sit down."

        Maddie walked over to him, pulled an ear down and appeared to be
studying the backside of it very carefully.  "Who are you, and what have you
done with Mulder?"

        Scully laughed.  Mulder slapped her hand away.  "What are you doing in
there this time of night?"

        Maddie sat down on the bed heavily, bouncing up and down.  "Hey, it
doesn't squeak.  That's a relief.  But you do, Slick.  I didn't have you pegged
for a moaner."  She grinned at Mulder's look of discomfort.  He'd almost
forgotten that she'd heard them in the kitchen.

        Mulder looked at Scully.  "See, I told you she was waiting to pounce."

        "Meeeoooowww."  Maddie went into a fit of hysterical laughter, jerking
out of Mulder's reach.  "Can I go now?  I happen to have a guy in my room.
Don't want to keep him waiting."

        Scully sat up fully, shaking her head.  "Really, why aren't you
sleeping?"

        Maddie stretched out, making herself comfortable at the end of the bed.

"My people don't require much sleep.  I told you already.  I sleep standing up,
usually right through my father's lectures."

        The girl joked everything off.  Scully could see why she and Mulder
were always at odds.  They were too much alike.  "Maddie, you need to sleep."

        Maddie hung her head off the edge of the bed.  "If I told you I've been
sleeping anywhere from seven to nine hours a night, would you leave me alone?"

        "Would you be telling the truth?"  Scully lifted an eyebrow, daring the
girl to lie to her.

        "Yes."  Maddie met her gaze directly.

        "No, you're lying.  I can tell."

        "Okay, then, tell me a bedtime story.  Maybe then I'll fall asleep."

        Scully sighed, exasperated.  "Once upon a time, there was this bratty
kid..."

        Maddie made a distateful face.  "Is this a story about your childhood?
Because if it is..."

        Scully hit her over the head with a pillow.  "Let me give you something
to help you sleep."

        Maddie shook her head.  "No."

        "Maddie."

        "I said, No, Dana.  I don't like drugs."  She crossed her arms
resolutely.

        Scully knew she wasn't going to budge.  She recognized that look on her
face.  It was impassive, and had Skinner written all over it.

        Satisfied, Maddie reached up to snatch the covers off of Mulder.
"C'mon, Slick.  What *do* you wear to bed?  I promised the secretaries in Dad's
office I'd find out."

        "Do you see it as part of your job to torture me?"  Mulder gripped the
quilt around himself.

        "Nope.  Just a whole lot of fun.  Now, come on, don't be modest.
Enquiring minds want to know."  Maddie tried again to remove the quilt from his
lap.

        Mulder footed her off of the bed, and she landed with a heavy thud.
"Ow.  Naked male insecurity," she shrugged as she stood back up, pouncing again
on the bed, this time right between the two agents.  "*Are* you naked under
there?"

        Mulder scowled at her.  "Are you sexually frustrated, M&M?
Otherwise, what's this obsession you have with torturing me by imposing upon my
sex life?"

        "I'm not frustrated, *Fox*.  I already told you I've got a guy waiting
in my room.  Besides, I'm too young to be sexually frustrated.  I'm nowhere
near my peak yet."  She poked a finger in his chest.  "I just like to see you
squirm."

        Mulder grimaced.  "You know I don't want you to call me that."

        "Then don't call me M&M.  I'm not a bag of candy."  Maddie looked at
Scully.  "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

        Scully yawned.  "We're sleeping until after noon."  Looking
meaningfully at Maddie, she added, "ALL of us."

        "Are you harboring multiple personalities in there, Day?  Because
there's no way *I'm* sleeping until noon."  Maddie tucked a lock of chestnut
hair behind her ear.  "Bet you're wishing Mulder had never called me in here
now, aren't you?"

        Scully smiled again, trying to keep her eyes open.  "Nah, it's worth it
just to see your smiling face."

        Mulder snorted.  Maddie elbowed him, catching him off guard.  She
managed to peek under the covers.  Boxer briefs, with little Marvin the
Martian's all over them.  Mulder tackled her, trying to tickle her.  When he
got no response, he looked up, surprised.  "You're not ticklish?"

        Maddie squirmed away from him.  "Not anywhere *you're* going to touch
me."

        "Oh, God.  You are really bad.  It's amazing your father doesn't send
you to a Catholic all girls' school."  Mulder gave up, stretching back out.

        Scully opened one eye.  "Watch it, Mulder.  I'm a good Catholic girl."

        He snorted again.  Maddie hopped off the bed.  "Well, my mission has
been accomplished.  See you two in a few hours.  Good night, Marv.  'Night,
Dana."

        "Night, Maddie."  Scully curled back up against Mulder.

        "Night, M&M."
        
        Maddie made a show of walking back around to his side of the bed, and
tucking the covers around him.  She leaned down really close to him, kissing
his cheek.  Scully watched, amused.  "Night...Foxy."  With that, Maddie dashed
from the room, hair flying everywhere, slamming the door behind her.

        Mulder tried to be stern as he rolled back into Scully's warmth.  "What
are you smiling at?  That child is a menace.  She's probably going to end up
pregnant within the next year," he grumbled.

        Scully slipped her hands inside the elastic on his boxer briefs,
running a finger lightly over his lower back.  "No, she's not.  She's a smart
kid."  She nipped at his ear.  "And, you love every minute you spend with her."

        Mulder tried to remain grumpy.  But the truth was, he already regarded
Maddie with a disdainful affection that he would a little sister.  She helped
fill that gap in his life, and he didn't even realize it consciously.  "Do
not."  He rolled on top of Scully, pinning her beneath him.  "Take it back."

        She pushed up against him, not really making any effort to get away
from him.  "Never...'foxy.'

        Mulder tickled her mercilessly.  Scully, he knew, was *quite*
ticklish...in lots of places.

        Down the hall, Maddie rolled her eyes at the soft laughter coming from
the room.  Weeeelllll...at least there'd be breakfast conversation in the
morning....

********************
end part 5
khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu


DISCLAIMER:  i do not own the characters that i cannot control.
CATEGORY:  MSR Maddie
SUMMARY:  it's another saturday with maddie for our duo...things get a little
crazy for them...as usual.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  well, this has been too long in coming, due to unforseen
and unspeakable circumastances.  but not unwriteable:  my seven year old sister
came to stay a week with me...did you know that children have to eat at least
three times a day?  and i don't just mean half a sandwich and a coke.  i'm
talking meals here--the little monster actually expected me to cook for her.
thank goodness for chef boyardee...and then, my little brother felt neglected,
so i had to bring him for the weekend...and he's overtaken my bed.  what a
nightmare.  so, now i have time to write this story out.  it's taken a rather
strange turn in my head, so let me know what you think. and yes, there's a
reason that i'm devoting a lot of time to ellen and her son in this
installment.

********************************
Favors:  Animal Crackers (6/?)
by kris

        Maddie sighed restlessly in the doorway of Scully's bedroom.  Weren't
they *ever* going to wake up?  She'd already been rollerblading, it was ten
o'clock...and she was quite bored.  The sun was shining, the birds were
singing.  Well, they would be if you could hear them over traffic.  And she had
some very fun plans for the two agents...if she could get them out of bed.
Pulling out her cell phone, she dialled a number.

        Scully reached groggily for the phone, trying to get it before the
answering machine came on.  Too late.  BEEEEEPPPP.  God, she hated that thing.
Well, she'd just ignore the message and go back to sleep.  But the voice on the
other end of the line seemed to be in stereo surround sound.

        "Good morning, G-people.  This is your rhetorical question of the day,
brought to you in part by 31 Flavors and Playboy Magazine."  As she suspected,
that last part got a reaction from Mulder.  "Now, for your question:  If birds
are singing in the park, but no one can hear them over traffic, are they really
singing??"  Maddie yelled into her cell phone, imitating the annoying voice of
a radio D.J.

        Mulder reached over Scully and slapped the answering machine off.  But
the voice still wouldn't go away.  In fact, the voice's owner had just planted
herself firmly on the bed between himself and Scully.  He opened one eye, ready
to inflict bodily harm on Maddie.  She held out two cokes and a bowl of animal
crackers.

        "Look, mommy and daddy.  I brought you breakfast in bed."  Maddie
smiled broadly at Mulder, doing her best to look the part of an adorable eight
year old.  It wasn't working.

        Mulder opened his mouth, planning to give her a ten second warning to
remove herself from the room and not come back for three more hours, but
suddenly his mouth was full of the rather bland substance in the bowl.  Well,
Maddie thought, that's one way to shut him up.  She crossed her legs Indian
style, placing the bowl on her lap.  "Okay, so I have your list of options for
the day."

        Scully covered her face and whimpered.  "Maddie, it's Saturday.  We're
supposed to be lazy on Saturdays."

        Maddie held out her hand.  "Do you want a lion or an elephant?"  Scully
let out a little growl.  "Okay, the lion it is."  She popped the elephant into
her own mouth.  "Now, we can be lazy and still have a good time.  Here are your
choices:  more rollerblading, a friendly game of frisbee in the park, the
tattoo parlor, sailing, or waterskiing.  Come on, cast your votes.  And any
combination of these choices is legitimate.  None of the above is not an
option, resistance will not be tolerated, and please deposit your cranky
dispositions onto the couch on the way out the door.  They will be returned to
you at the end of our funfilled day."

        Mulder had a feeling she wouldn't go away.  Now he really wished he had
gotten that deadbolt for Scully's bedroom door.  "Tattoo's are out of the
question.  You're not even eighteen."

        "Hey, remember what happened last time you thought I wasn't old enough
for something?"  Maddie gave him a meaningful look.

        Mulder would rather not remember, thank you very much.  "I hated
rollerblading, and chasing around after a frisbee is a dog's job.  Why don't
you go get yourself a puppy and teach it to fetch.  Then you'll have someone to
play with."

        "Why do I need a puppy when I have you?"  Maddie stuck out a tongue
full of chewed up animal crackers.  "Look, you can't even tell what animal it
was," she said with her mouth full.  "So, that leaves sailing or watersports.
What's it going to be, Day?"

        Scully pretended not to hear her.  Mulder spoke up.  "I don't like
boats."

        "Okay, so we take the jet skis."  Maddie was not about to let them out
of this.  "Come on, Slick.  It'll be fun...and Dana bought a cute little,
little being the operative word here, bikini while we were in San Francisco.  I
know she's just dying to try it out..."

        Mulder considered that...Scully showing a lot of skin.  He could handle
that.  "Okay, watersports it is.  Come on, Scully, it's time to make a splash."

        Scully didn't think spending a day in the sun sounded all that fun.
Maddie and Mulder didn't have to worry about it; they were both more dark
complected.  "We don't have a boat."

        Maddie nodded her head.  "Of course we do.  We have all sorts of water
equipment at our condo on the res.  All we have to do is drive out there."

        "I'll burn,"  Scully reminded her.

        Maddie remained undaunted.  "Wear a hat.  We have plenty of sunscreen.
Mom's fair complected, too."

        Scully had always liked being on the water, and at least this would be
fun.  "Okay, okay."  The phone rang again and she answered it.  Mulder was
already up, looking around for swimming gear.  Maddie scampered out to put her
things together.

        "So, who was on the phone?"  Mulder asked, his mouth full of
toothpaste.

        "Ellen, an old friend of mine.  She wanted me to get together with
Trent and her today."

        Maddie came back in, waiting impatiently for Scully to start getting
ready.  "Who's Trent?"

        "Ellen's eight year old little boy.  Actually, he's my godson, although
I rarely see him these days."  Scully rummaged around, trying to decide what
all she'd need.

        "So, call her back and invite them along.  The skiboat is plenty big
enough, and it will be more fun with more people.  We can take a picnic lunch
and have a slolem competition."  Maddie loved to slolem; she'd been doing it
since she was four.  When she was that young, two skis had just been more than
she could handle.

        "A what?"  Mulder asked.

        "Slolem, you know, just one ski?"  Maddie looked at him like he was
from outer space.  These people needed to get out more.

        "Oh."

        After much debate, Scully called Ellen back.  She and Trent were going
to come to her apartment and ride with them.  Since everyone was getting
hungry, they decided to have an early lunch at Scully's and take a picnic for
later.

                                **********************

        Scully answered the knock at the door, welcoming Ellen with a quick
hug.  "Hi, you guys.  Come on in."  She looked at the dark haired little boy.
"Trent, you've grown a foot!"  He never looked up from his GameBoy.  Ellen
wrenched it out of his hands.

        "Say hello to Dana, Trent."  Ellen shot him a warning look.

        "Hello, Dana."  Trent smiled, then scowled at his mother.  She returned
the GameBoy and he wandered over to the sofa to play it.

        "You look great, Dana Katherine."  Ellen studied her friend for a
moment.  "What's your secret?"

        At that moment, a loud thud sounded against the closed apartment door.
Someone on the other side let out a screech, trying in vain to open the door.
Maddie finally threw the door open, arms laden with bags of food for lunch, and
slammed it behind her.  She handed the bags to Scully and fell back against the
door, breathing hard.

        Scully raised an eyebrow.  "What's going on?"  Mulder started beating
on the door.

        Maddie tried to hold the door.  "Nothing.  Why would you think
something's going on?"  Mulder managed to get an arm through the crack.  "Stop
that."

        "Then open the door," Mulder called.

        "No, not until you say you're sorry."  Maddie crossed her arms
resolutely over her chest.

        "You started it.  You say you're sorry first."  Mulder managed to throw
her back from the door and get in.  Maddie scrambled behind Scully for safety,
still not noticing that the guests had arrived.

        "It was just a little joke, Slick.  Besides, yours was a lot meaner."
Maddie dodged Mulder's attempt to pull her from behind Scully.  "Make him stop,
Day."

        After a few more seconds of fighting, Scully demanded to know what had
gone on and if it was going to cost anything in damages.  Neither of them
seemed willing to tell Scully what had happened.  This did not look good.  Then
she noticed that Mulder had some sort of whipped cream in his hair...and on his
chin and all over his shirt.  She turned to Maddie, whose hair was a sticky goo
of...syrup?  Oh, god.  What a headache.  Noticing the hand Mulder had behind
his back, she demanded, "Hand it over, Mulder."

        "What?" he asked innocently.

        "The syrup."  She reached around him and took it.  Then she turned to
Maddie.  "Yours, too."

        Maddie grinned sheepishly.  "I used all of mine.  But we bought two
cans."

        Scully gave them both withering looks.  "Go get cleaned up, both of
you, and when you are presentable, I'll introduce you to our guests."  Maddie
and Mulder both tried to look apologetic.  But they failed miserably.

        As they scurried towards the bathroom, Maddie flicked her finger over
Mulder's chin.  "Tastes okay," she said, sticking her tongue to it.

        Ellen gave Scully an indredulous look.  "Well, it looks like you have
your hands full these days."

        Scully refused to take the bait.  "That's my partner, Mulder, as you
probably remember.  The other is our boss's daughter, Maddie.  Don't even ask."
They wandered into the kitchen to get lunch ready to serve.

        "DAAANAAAA, come quick," Maddie yelled.  "I think Mulder hit his head."

        Scully raced into the bathroom, only to be met by a spray of water.
She was never going to survive this.  Why did she suddenly feel more maternal
than Ellen??

                        **********************

        Ellen Edwards looked across the table at her friend.  Life certainly
seemed to be agreeing with her.  Dana Katherine Scully had never seemed the
type to engage in a water fight in her own bathroom and come out smiling,
especially since she was assigned to the X-files.  Nor did she seem the type to
deal so well with a teenage girl.  She'd always been great with Trent, but
she'd always seemed a bit reserved around him...a bit reserved around everyone.

Ever since college.  Today could be a lot of fun, and she hoped Trent would get
into it and enjoy himself.  He'd been withdrawn since his father had left over
a year ago.

        Maddie looked at the little boy across the table, who was eyeing
something over on the counter.  She turned to see a GameBoy lying there.
Mulder, Scully, and Ellen seemed to be talking about rather boring issues, so
she slipped out of her seat, casually picked up the GameBoy and motioned for
Trent to follow her quietly.

        Trent looked at his mother.  "May I be excused?  I need to use the
bathroom."

        Maddie pulled him into a little room where Dana kept her computer and
work stuff.  "Can you beat this?"  she asked in a challenging voice, indicating
the game.

        Trent shook his head.  "No, I always get stuck."

        Maddie nodded and turned on the computer.  "There's probably a trick to
it.  I think I can access a guide on the computer that will give you some hints
on how to beat it."

        Trent sat down beside her, looking eagerly at the screen.  Maddie typed
a string of things, then scrolled down, trying to find the right game.  "So, do
you like to waterski?"

        The little boy turned his big brown eyes on her and shrugged.  "Well,
I'll make you a deal.  You teach me that computer game, and in return, I'll
teach you to waterski.  Sound good?"  Maddie held the game under his nose like
it was candy.

        Trent smiled for the first time.  "Deal.  That's the game," he said,
pointing to the screen.

        Twenty minutes later, they had printed out the info on all the games he
had in his backpack.  Maddie was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to defeat a man
in armor of some sort.  "Dammit," she muttered, "how'd you get so good at
this?"

        The boy took the game from her and helped her beat the knight or
whatever it was.  "Practice."

        Maddie scowled.  "Well, I'm going to kick your butt at waterskiing."

        Trent laughed.  He liked the way Maddie spoke to him.  Not like he was
a little kid who didn't understand, but like he was just as intelligent and
grown up as she was.  And she had a pretty smile...she was a lot of fun.  "No
way!"  he said loudly.  "You're a girl.  I'll cream you."

        Maddie jerked the baseball cap off of his head and placed it on her
own.  "I doubt that, Ace.  I'm pretty good."  Trent lunged for his cap, but she
was too quick, streaking down the hall and back into the kitchen.  Ellen looked
up as Maddie skidded in, Trent close behind her.  Both were laughing, her son
lunging for his cap, which Maddie was now waving in the air.

        "Take back those chauvinistic remarks, Ace.  Or your cap gets shredded
in the disposal."  Trent's eyes widened.  That was his favorite hat.

        "Okay, I take it back.  Girls are just as good as guys," he said
obediently.  Maddie rewarded him with his cap.  Placing it on his head again,
he smiled innocently, "At *some* things."

        Mulder decided he liked this kid.  "You tell her, Trent.  Listen up,
Scully, you might learn something."

        Scully and Maddie both glared at Mulder.  "Try not to be so
Neanderthal, Slick.  We prefer modern men."

        Ellen shook her head.  This place was a madhouse.

                        *********************

        Mulder looked up worriedly from his position on the intertube.
Somehow, he just didn't trust Maddie to drag him behind a boat.  He didn't
trust Maddie with anything that had a motor.  In fact, he feared for his life.


        "Hold on, Slick,"  Maddie called over her shoulder, gunning the engine
on the skiboat.  "You are going for the ride of your life."  She grinned evilly
at Trent, who had insisted on taking the seat next to her.  "This is going to
be too much fun," she whispered to the boy.

        Scully and Ellen waved to Mulder, who was looking a little green.
Scully leaned over.  "Don't hurt him, Mad.  Someday, I may want him to bear
children," she whispered.

        Ellen couldn't hear what Dana was saying, but she saw Maddie give her a
slow, happy smile.

        "You guys would make great parents, Day.  I didn't know you'd thought
about it."  Maddie studied Dana's face, which was right next to her own.

        Scully felt a little embarrassed and dropped her eyes.  "Well, it's
hard not to sometimes."  Then she grinned.  "Besides that, I don't want you to
jeopardize his ability to perform *any* of his duties as my partner."

        Maddie returned the grin.  "Point well made.  I won't hurt him...I just
want to have a little fun with him."  She gunned the engine again and threw it
into gear.

                        *************************

        Mulder dragged himself into the boat.  He could swear he had swallowed
six gallons of water.  "What were you trying to do, Maddie?  Kill me?"

        Maddie rolled her eyes.  "No, I was trying to throw you off."

        "Why?"

        She looked exasperated.  "Because that's the idea.  And I did it.  So I
win."

        Mulder towelled off.  "Okay, now it's my turn at the wheel."

        Maddie fastened her life jacket.  "Give it your best shot."

        Almost two hours later, everyone had participated in some sort of
watersport.  Scully had taken well to the slolem, Ellen was a great skiier, and
Mulder loved the kneeboard.  Trent, however, tried everything.  At the moment,
both he and Maddie were on kneeboards, trying to spray each other without
toppling off.  Scully glanced behind her to make sure they were still up.  She
loved the water, the wind in her face and hair.  Everyone was so relaxed, and
Ellen seemed to be having fun, as did Trent.  She knew things had been rough
for them since Mike had walked out on them.  And oddly enough, Maddie was great
with her godson.

        Maddie pulled the handle of her rope close to her, indicating for Trent
to do the same.  "I'm going to show you how to do a 360, okay?"  Maddie did
one, managing to stay up.  Trent bit his lip in concentration, then whirled
around like Maddie had.  He got it right on his first try.  "Wow, you're a
natural at this, Ace.  You and I should enter the WaterRumble competition
together," Maddie said as they sat down in the boat again.

        Trent looked really interested.  "Can we, really?"

        Maddie nodded.  "Sure.  I used to take part every year that I was home.

You're too young for the adult competition, I suppose, but they have a division
where brothers and sisters compete together; we could enter that one as a team.

What do you think?  Want to be my brother for a weekend?"

        Trent tried not to be.  "I don't know.  I guess you'll do," he said in
a put-out voice.   Maddie tossed him over the side of the boat.  Mulder tossed
Maddie into the water.  Scully pushed him, but he grabbed her around the waist,
taking her with him.  Ellen stood there, completely dry now, laughing.  Maddie
looked at Trent knowingly.

        "You know what this means, Ace?"

        Trent climbed casually up the ladder, Maddie following him.  "Have a
nice swim, Mom."  Together, they managed to throw her in;  Maddie started the
boat, making sure the three in the water were all wearing life jackets and were
far enough away from the boat.  "Hey, Trent?  Want to steer the boat?"

        Mulder noticed Maddie climb up onto the back of the driver's seat,
letting Trent slide in and take the wheel.  "Hey, wait, you can't leave us
here," he called.

        "Then you have thirty seconds to haul your butts out of the water,
because Ace here is a madman.  He's taking the boat out for a little spin."
Maddie called.

        All three of the adults scrambled for the ladder.  Ellen looked a
little worried, so Scully sat in the seat right across from the driver's.
Trent turned his cap around backwards.  "Hit it, Maddie."

                        ****************************

        All five of them were sprawled out on blankets under a little gazebo.
Maddie had discovered that Mulder wasn't all that fond of crickets and was
torturing him mercilessly with one she had caught.  She'd hold it out beside
him, let it jump onto his stomach, and he'd scream like a little kid.  Scully
shook her head.  That put the whole circus fiasco in a different light--the
look on Mulder's face when she'd eaten that cricket....She felt compelled to
share the whole story with Ellen and Trent.

        Mulder, however, soon discovered Maddie's weak spot.  She was allergic
to dandelions.  They made her nose red and itchy.  He was scouting the area and
came back with at least twenty.  Maddie was lying on her back in the sun, cute
little black bikini and all, totally unsuspecting.  He crouched down quietly
beside her, then blew all of them right at her.  Maddie twitched her nose, then
went immediately into a fit of twenty-three sneezes.  They knew, because Trent
counted along, playing the sportscaster like it was a viscious game.  "Oh, and
she goes for twenty-two....no, wait, twenty-three.  We have a new world record,
folks.  Twenty-three sneezes in a row...and the crowd goes WWWIIIILLLDDD..."

        Maddie bowed ceremoniously, rubbing her hand across her nose.  She
walked up and wiped the hand off on Mulder's chest, still huffing from all
those sneezes.  "Why, thank you, Slick.  Now if I sneeze all night, you can sit
up and act as my human Kleenex."  Mulder looked disgusted and plunged back into
the water from the pier.

                        *************************

        At 5:30, they all collapsed into Scully's living room, exhausted and
waterlogged.  The phone rang.  Scully declared that she was too tired to answer
it.  Let them leave a message.

        The voice on the machine, she did not recognize.  Maddie dashed to the
phone.  "Kay, I'm here."  Scully couldn't see Maddie anymore, she'd gone into
the kitchen.

        About ten minutes later, Maddie came back out, looking pale.  "Who was
on the phone?"  Mulder asked.

        Maddie looked at him, dazedly.  "What?  Oh, that was Kay Phillips, the
friend my parents went to, um, visit."  She looked like she was going to pass
out.

        Scully looked at the girl anxiously, waiting for her to tell them what
the phone call was about.  She didn't.  She resumed her game of Battle with
Trent.  "Maddie, are you all right?"

        Maddie never looked at her.  "Huh?  Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

        "I think maybe you got too much sun," Scully said, sitting up
straighter.

        Maddie bit her lip.  "You're probably right. I'm going to take a
shower, okay?"  She walked out of the room.

        Five minutes later, the phone rang again.

        " Ms. Scully?  This is Kay Phillips, a friend of the Skinners.  Uh,
Walter said I should call and make sure Maddie had talked to you."  The woman
hesitated.

        Scully felt a sense of foreboding.  "About what?"  She sat there for a
couple of minutes, listening.  "No, I, I won't.  I'll take care of it.  She'll
be fine here with me."

        Mulder noticed Scully's sticken expression and went to stand behind
her.  "Scully, what is it?"

        Scully looked up at Mulder, her face expressionless.  Trent had
wandered into the kitchen.  "That was Kay Phillips again.  Sharon Skinner was
killed a couple of hours ago, when the car she was driving blew up."  Mulder
put a hand on her shoulder.  "Skinner can't make it home until after
everything's been taken care of, probably Monday.  They wanted me to make sure
that Maddie was all right."

        Mulder pulled Scully into his arms, completely blown away.  Maddie
hadn't even said anything.  He heard the shower turn off, and they stood there,
waiting for Maddie to reappear.

        Ellen stood up.  "I should probably take Trent home now.  Dana, please
call me tonight.  If there's anything I can do, you know where to reach me."

        Scully nodded, not even looking at her friend.

        Trent refused to go without saying goodbye to Maddie.  He knocked on
her door, not caring what his mother said.  Maddie opened the door, towelling
her hair.

        "I had fun today, Maddie."  Trent smiled at her.

        Maddie smiled back.  "So did I, Ace.  Let's get together and practice
some more soon...then we'll be ready for WaterRumble, all right?"

        "Okay.  Can I have your phone number?  And I'll give you mine."  Trent
pulled a notepad out of his backpack and scribbled it down.

        Maddie wrote hers and he tucked it away.  He looked back up at her.
"You look tired."

        She shrugged.  "It takes a lot of energy to keep up with you.  Hey,
don't forget those printouts, all right?"

        After Ellen and Trent left, Maddie wandered back into the living room.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk to wind down, okay?"

        Scully bit her lip.  She had no idea how to handle this.  "Maddie...Kay
Phillips called again."

        Maddie stopped in her tracks and turned back around.  "Oh."

        "I don't know what to say to you, Maddie."  Scully looked tormented,
hating the way this was being handled.  Maddie didn't deserve to be told
something like that over the phone.

        "You don't have to say anything, Dana.  I'll be fine."  Maddie headed
towards the door.  Scully noticed that there wasn't any sign of tears on her
face.

        "You're not fine, Maddie.  At the very best, you're in shock.  I'm
terribly sorry about your mother."  Scully took a step towards Maddie, who
backed away.

        "Look, I just need some time alone to deal with this, Dana.  Please, I
need to be alone."  Maddie took a deep breath.  "I'll take my cell phone, and I
won't go far."

        Mulder put a hand on Scully's shoulder.  "Let her go, Scully."

        Scully nodded numbly as the door closed behind Maddie.  "Oh, God,
Mulder.  This is so unfair."  She couldn't imagine losing her mother.  No
matter what sort of relationship a child had with their mother, that loss was
said to be the most difficult.  And she'd nearly buckled when her father had
died.  Not to mention that Maddie had no family besides her father now.  None.
And she didn't even speak to her father most of the time.  "She doesn't really
have anyone now," Scully said, sinking down into the couch.  "I mean, we know
how bad things are between her and Skinner."

        Mulder sat down beside her, rubbing his thumb across her fingers.  He
was no stranger to loss himself.  "She has us," he said.

                        *************************

        Maddie walked for over thirty minutes, staring mindlessly at the
scenery.  She could do this.  She could be strong.  It wasn't like she had a
choice.  For a minute, she contemplated going home and staying there alone.
But she couldn't.  Dana would never allow her to.  And it probably wouldn't be
the wisest thing she could do.  So far, she hadn't even felt the urge to cry.
It wouldn't get her anywhere.  She headed back to the apartment, hoping a
confrontation wasn't waiting for her there.

        Scully heard the key she had given Maddie turn in the lock.  She looked
up from the couch, where she was staring at the television, not even seeing
what was on.  Maddie dropped down into an armchair.  "Where's Mulder?"

        "He went to pick up the pizza we ordered earlier."

        Maddie nodded.  "No anchovies, I hope."

        Scully made a distasteful face.  "Let me guess.  They feel funny in
your mouth."

        Maddie smiled a little.  "You got it.  Besides, fish do not belong on a
pizza."

        Scully smiled back.  "Maddie, when you're ready, I'm here.  I don't
know how much I can help you, but I'll always be here if you need me."  That
seemed to take a lot out of her.

        Maddie nodded at her.  "I know I don't seem very grateful, but that
means a lot."  She paused.  "It meant a lot even before this happened."

        Scully averted her gaze.  "And, um, Mulder wants you to know that he's
issuing the same services, so to speak."

        Maddie knew *that* had been even harder for Mulder to say.  In fact,
he'd probably said it in those exact words.  "I know he is, Dana.  He's a tough
case, isn't he?"

        Scully gave her a meaningful look.  "He can be.  But not as tough as
some."

*****************
end part 6

hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu
or khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
sorry, you guys.  i had to do this.  if you hate me, you can.  i sort of hate
myself.  i liked the idea of exploring skinner and his wife.  but i can still
explore this way.


***************************
Favors:  Animal Crackers (7/8)
by kris

Tuesday
1:30 p.m.

        Scully stood next to Mulder, watching Maddie carefully.  In a cruel
twist of fate, it had rained all of Saturday night and straight through until
Tuesday morning.   Only as she was leaving her apartment for Sharon Skinner's
funeral had the sun broken through.  Now the air was cooler and the birds were
singing...

        Mulder and Scully hadn't heard anything from Maddie after she'd left
with her father for their house on Monday.  For the rest of the weekend, Maddie
had seemed like her usual self--although a bit more subdued.  Scully had
offered to stay home from work with her on Monday, but instead Maddie had
insisted she go--Although Maddie spent most of the morning down in the
basement with her and Mulder, reading a book and being a general nuisance to
Mulder about his taste in ties and his choice of reading material.  Scully had
started to worry that Skinner wasn't going to make it back that day.  But at
5:15 his secretary had called to ask Scully to have Maddie meet him in the
parking garage.  Apparently, he had gone to work that day.

        Maddie stared at the coffin, wondering why they had even bothered.
>From what she knew, there hadn't been much left to put in the coffin.  But she
supposed it had seemed the thing to do.  She had gone down to pick it out
herself, knowing her father wouldn't do it.  He would just let them deal with
it impersonally. She gave her father a sideways glance, taking in his impassive
face.  Never let them see your weakness.  That seemed to be his motto.  They
hadn't even discussed it.  In fact, they hadn't really even spoken.  Sighing,
Maddie wondered when it would all be over.  Her mother had been very popular,
and all of her friends and acquaintances had shown up to pay their respects.
If she heard one person ask how she was holding up, Maddie knew she'd let them
have it.  How the hell did they think she was holding up?  She was watching as
her mother was put into the ground, of all the barbaric things.  This was one
ritual she would never stand for.  She wanted her ashes spread over the ocean,
or the mountains.

        The scariest part wasn't death.  It was the consequences of death:
she'd never get another five a.m. phone call from her mother, asking her
whether she should wear heals or flats to her morning meeting.  She'd never see
her mother smile as she walked barefoot on the beach.  And worst of all, she'd
never feel her mother's strong but gentle touch ever again.  Her mother had
only had to place a hand on her arm, and Maddie had calmed down immediately.
The same was true for her father--one touch, and you could see his muscles
relax ever so slightly.  God, her father.  Not that she'd have to deal with him
for much longer--he'd already made that clear.  She was already booked on a
Thursday morning flight to Colorado; she was supposedly staying in some
mountain resort, teenage camp thing.  Her father had said he thought it was
just what she needed.  End of discussion.  But the earlier part of the
discussion had left her furious.

        Walter Skinner stood looking down at his sixteen year old daughter.  "I
realize that Agent Scully has been nice to you.  But developing a close
relationship to her is not in your best interest, nor is it in hers.  The same
holds true for Agent Mulder."

        Maddie had looked up at him incredulously, rising to her feet from the
sofa in the family room.  "And who the hell are you to say what is or is not in
her best interest?  Or in mine for that matter?  If you had it your way, I'd
never be close to anyone.  Well, I can't live like that, and I shouldn't have
to."  She felt dangerously close to tears for the first time since before Joel
had died, and her voice was rising with each word.

        "I am your father.  I know what's best for you, whether you believe it
or not."  Skinner tightened his jaw, obviously not about to give an inch.

        Maddie looked at him, hating for the first time in his life.  "No, you
don't know nor do you care what's best for me," she said in cold, quiet voice.
"You know what's easiest for you."  She turned to go upstairs.

        "Madison, I do care," he said in the same rigid tone.  "And I know what
course of action is the most beneficial to your safety and well-being."

        Maddie laughed harshly.  "I'm not one of your agents where your only
concern is that matters are handled efficiently and in the most productive
way.  I'm your *daughter*, and there's more at stake here than official
guidelines.  This is my *life* you're making calls on.  And whether you want to
admit it or not, emotions are involved in life.  Otherwise, it's an empty
existence."

        Skinner knew all too well that emotions were involved.  But there was
much more to it than that.  Maddie may hate him for it, but at least she'd be
alive to hate him.  Rubbing a tired hand over his face, he thought how much
like her mother she was.  He didn't know how he was going to stand it, she
looked and talked so much like Sharon.  "I think you need to get away from
here, Madison.  There's a great camp in Colorado, plenty of water activities,
hiking.  Just the thing you enjoy so much.  Kay's husband Jeff told me about
it;  I've already made the arrangements."

        Maddie threw him a disbelieving look.  She needed to get away from
here?  She'd been away for practically five years.  "Is that all, Sir?"

        Skinner sighed.  She sounded all the world like Scully at that exact
moment.  "That is all."

        Maddie shook herself out of her reverie.  Well, so much for all those
summer plans she'd made.  She and Dana had planned to take a weekend trip to
Boston.  And Mulder had been dying to see a ball game at Madison Square
Gardens.  She thought about Trent, how she'd promised him they'd enter the
WaterRumble together.  That was one promise she had no intention of going back
on.  Like it or not, camp or not, she would be here for that.

        Mulder watched as the people started dwindling away.  Soon, only he and
Scully stood there, waiting for the chance to approach Maddie.  A tall blonde
woman was talking quietly to the girl.  As she walked away, she patted
Skinner's arm.

        "Skinner," Mulder said, offering his hand.

        Scully did the same, then looked at Maddie, slipping an arm around her
shoulders.  "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

        Maddie nodded.  "Yeah, I'm fine."  She let her own arm go lightly
around Scully.  At the moment, she needed a little human contact.

        Mulder kicked at the ground a little, feeling awkward in front of
Skinner.  "Hey, Mad."

        "Hi, Mulder."  That she hadn't said 'Slick' wasn't lost on either
Scully or Mulder.  "Your tie matches," she noted in a surprised voice.

        "Well, I have a few decent clothes," he said sheepishly.

        Skinner waited for the two agents to give their regards and leave.  But
they didn't seem about to.  Instead, they just stood there with Maddie, and he
felt like an intruder.  "If you'll excuse me for a moment."  He nodded briskly,
walking off towards Kay and Jeff Phillips.

        Maddie sighed, then looked unhappily at Scully.  She walked away from
the red-haired woman and tipped her head back.  "I'm going away on Thursday,"
she stated simply.

        Mulder furrowed his eyebrows.  "Going where?  I thought you were home
until the end of August."

        Maddie turned her back on them.  "This isn't my home anymore."  She
crossed her arms over her chest.  "I'm going to Colorado for the rest of the
summer.  There's a camp-like resort there, near Boulder."

        Scully widened her eyes.  "Are you sure that's what you want."

        Maddie turned back around.  "What I want is of no consequence in this
matter."

        Realization dawned on Scully's face.  "Oh, Maddie.  He's having as
rough a time with this as you are.  I guess he doesn't know how to deal with
you all alone."

        "No, you're wrong.  He doesn't *want* to deal with me."  Maddie felt
her eyes stinging.  She walked quickly away from the casket, towards a little
band of trees.

        Mulder followed her, Scully close behind him.  "Stay with me for a
while, Maddie.  You know you're welcome.  And I have plenty of space.  It may
not be the best solution, but at least you'll be around people who know you and
care about you."  Scully didn't want her to go away by herself.  That wouldn't
help her get through this.

        Maddie shook her head.  "I can't.  My father won't let me."  She felt
her voice break.

        Mulder didn't know what to do.  "Well, you can at least ask him.  How
do you know he'll say no?  He may feel better if you're closer."

        Frustrated, but not wanting to hurt Scully's feelings, Maddie tried to
choose her words carefully.  "I don't think he'd feel very secure with that
situation.  And besides, the two of you are out of town so much, he'd never
agree."

        Scully knew there was something going on here that she couldn't quite
put together.  Something in Maddie's choice of words had set off warning bells
in her head.  Without warning, she felt Maddie slip her arms around her, her
body shaking with unshed tears.  Scully wrapped her arms around Maddie in
return.  "Go ahead and cry, Maddie.  This has all been too much to keep
inside."

        "I don't want to leave you guys yet,"  Maddie said softly.  "It's not
fair.  If I leave, I'll be all alone.  And I know you, Day, you'll worry.
Promise me you won't worry all the time."  She stepped back, the unshed tears
still shining in her eyes.  She gave Mulder a quick hug, straightening his tie
as she moved back.  "I'll probably spend most of tomorrow packing, trying to
get everything organized.  Maybe we could get a pizza or something?"

        Mulder nodded.  "Better than that, we can blow off work that afternoon
and drblading or whatever you feel like."

        Maddie smiled.  "I'd like that."  She could see her father standing
impatiently at the car.  All she really wanted was to go home with Dana.
Resolutely, she told them she'd come down to their offices tomorrow and get
them.  "I have to go, I guess."

        Halfway back to the car, Maddie turned and walked back towards Mulder.
She hesitated before wrapping her arms around him.  Mulder sat on a bench and
pulled her into his lap while she cried.  Scully fought to keep her own tears
from falling as she listened to Maddie's heartwrenching sobs.

        From the car, Skinner watched the exchange, feeling helpless and cold.
Why had his daughter felt that she could turn to Fox Mulder with this?  And not
her own father?  He hadn't realized how badly it was going to hurt Maddie to
sever all contact with them until this moment.  If anything, he'd thought she
had been spending time with the two agents as another rebellious act.

        Mulder felt the tears in Maddie subside and her grip on his jacket
loosened.  She sniffed.  "I guess I do make an okay human Kleenex, huh?"

        Maddie managed a watery smile.  "The best."  Mulder kissed her
forehead, feeling fatherly and brotherly all at once.  She stood up, smoothing
her simple black dress.  "See you tomorrow, Day."

        Scully put an arm around her again and walked her to her father's car.


                        ****************************

        Lying in Mulder's bed that night, it hit Scully.  Skinner had warned
Maddie away from her and Mulder.  No, he'd *ordered* her away from her and
Mulder.  "That bastard," she said aloud.

        Mulder muted the television.  "What?" he asked, concerned and
bewildered.

        "Skinner.  I don't know why I didn't figure it out.  He's told Maddie
she can't have anything to do with me."  Scully sat upright, a bundle of
furious energy.

        "Why would he do that?  He's the reason we even met his daughter."
Mulder was a little confused.

        "Yeah, but he never expected her to get close to us.  We were safe as
long as we kept our distance."  Scully shook her head bitterly.

        "Safe," Mulder echoed.  Oh, my God.  "Scully, she's as safe with you or
with me as she is just being his daughter."  He couldn't believe it.  "The only
way Maddie will ever be safe is if she feels safe.  Feeling secure is always
going to be her only safety net--because she's in the middle of this, whether
he realizes it or not."

        Scully nodded.  "I know that already.  But he's not allowing her a
safety net."  She jumped out of bed, throwing sweatpants on.

        "Where are you going?"  Mulder was up right behind her.

        "I have a few things to say to Walter Skinner, and it is not in the
professional sense."  Scully rummaged for her other tennis shoe.

        "You can't go over there and bawl him out, Scully.  He buried his wife
today."  Mulder could see that this situation was getting dangerously close to
being out of hand.

        "Oh, yes I can, Mulder.  You just watch me."  Scully could be fiercely
protective, he knew that.  But this didn't seem the wisest thing she could do.

        "Scully, listen to me.  You need to stop and think.  At least take a
minute to calm down, all right?"  Mulder put a hand on her arm.

        She took a deep breath.  "You're right.  He's going through an
incredibly rough time.  But he can't ignore the living, Mulder.  And if he puts
her on that plane without making things right, she'll resent him for the rest
of her life."

        Mulder knew he wouldn't talk her out of it.  She was already out the
door.

                        ***************************

        Skinner opened the door to find Dana Scully on his doorstep.  "Agent
Scully.  It's a little late to be visiting Madison, don't you think?"

        Scully refused to be treated like a teenaged friend.  Nor would she be
intimidated.  "Actually, I didn't come to see Maddie.  I came to speak to you."

        Skinner looked surprised.  "Come in."

        Clearing her throat, Scully tried to decide how to open this
conversation.  "Why did you tell Maddie that she couldn't have anything to do
with me?"

        "I think you know why, Agent Scully."  Skinner crossed his arms.

        "No, Sir, I don't know why.  Why don't you explain it to me."  Scully
crossed her arms as well, doing her best to look formidable in an old t-shirt
and sweatpants.

        Sighing, Skinner walked to the window.  "I do not want Madison's safety
jeopardized.  Nor do I think you should put yourself at an unnecessary risk.
We both know what a dangerous life you have."

        "And you knew how dangerous this position would be with regard to your
family when you took it, Sir.  I do know that much."  Scully's expression
softened the softest bit.

        Walter Skinner knew the truth in her statement better than anyone.
He'd lived with enough guilt to kill a man ever since.  "Why is it that you've
formed such a bond with my daughter?"  he tried to steer the conversation away
from himself.

        "I really don't know," she said truthfully.  "Perhaps I see some of
myself in Maddie; I can relate to some of the things she's done and been
through."  Scully was no more willing to talk about herself than he was about
himself.  "There are no guarantees on life, Sir; but we have to make the best
of it, by way of our connections with people who care about us."

        "I've just lost my wife, Scully.  I can't handle losing my daughter as
well."  Skinner started to show her to the door.

        "With all due respect, Sir, I'm afraid you already have."  Scully
walked out, not looking back at him.  She knew it was a low blow, but maybe it
was what he needed to hear.

        Skinner hated to even reconsider.  But that last accusation had really
hit home.  Actually, it hadn't been an accusation, really.  More of a bleak
statement of truth.  It sounded like something Sharon would have said to him.
She'd never minced words for the sake of his feelings.  What would she do in
this situation?  Hell, he knew what she'd do.  But he didn't know if he was
strong enough to make that decision.

*************
end part 7
khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu

        






DISCLAIMER:  me no own them.  me want cookie.  me thinks me needs some sleep.
CATEGORY:  MSR Maddie
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  okay, so i feel really bad that i have neglected this story. 
i just haven't felt up to dealing with maddie lately.  and i had to figure out
a way to get this back on track.  this is the seventh time i've started over on
this conclusion.  some of this drunkenness (!!) is based on actual events, as
i have a thing for infinity and revealing rather personal things when i'm
drunk.  or so i'm told.  i think it's all a ploy on the part of my friends to
aggravate me.  

******************************
Favors:  Animal Crackers (8/8)
by kris

Wednesday 10:13 p.m.
Scully's Apartment

        Dana Scully lay stretched out on her stomach, completely oblivious to
everything except the weight of her partner straddling her hips and his hands
working magic on her neck and back.  They'd given up trying to work over three
hours ago.  A phone message from Walter Skinner asking if Scully had heard from
Madison had zapped the remnants of Scully's concentration.

        She'd been worried all afternoon--she and Mulder had ditched work at
lunch, as planned, but had no luck in finding Maddie.  After calling her at
home and her cell phone for two hours, they'd given up and gone back to work. 
Every thirty minutes she'd tried again to reach Skinner's daughter.  Mulder
had, in return, spent the majority of the afternoon trying to convince her that
Maddie was probably out piercing her navel or something equally barbaric and
would show up eventually.

        "Oh, right there," Scully murmured as Mulder's fingertips touched an
especially tense spot.  She felt his warm lips touch the spot gently as he
finished kneading out the kinks.

        "Better?" he asked, his breath soft and hot against her skin.

        Scully flipped over quickly and took his face in her hands, pulling him
down on top of her.  Sometimes, the intensity of her feelings for Fox Mulder
knocked her breathless.  Looking back, she realized she'd started falling in
love with him on their very first case, lying on his bed in an Oregon motel
room, staring into those bottomless hazel eyes as he told her about Samantha. 
And every time she looked into those beautiful eyes, she got a glimpse of the
warm and caring soul that hid behind them--and every time, she fell a little
further.  In the three short weeks since their relationship had changed, Scully
had fallen in love all over again a thousand times a day.

        Looking into those eyes once again, Scully placed her lips on his and
kissed him, trying to put everything she was and everything she felt into it,
knowing that no kiss would ever be quite enough...

        Mulder was taken aback by the intensity of her kiss...and he never
wanted it to end.  Every time his partner opened up and showed him that streak
of passion and fire that ran so deep behind those icy blue eyes, Mulder's heart
turned over.

        "What was that for?" he asked as she finally broke the kiss, leaving
him trembling and desperate for more.

        "For letting me in, letting me love you," she said simply.  Mulder
averted his gaze, looking almost...bashful.  Scully lifted his chin so she
could see his eyes again.  Mulder still had trouble believe anyone could really
love him, she knew.  "And I do love you, Fox Mulder.  No matter what happens,
that's one truth you can always trust in."

        Mulder wrapped his arms around her, not knowing how to
respond...knowing he didn't really have to.  Scully just knew.  She always did.

                        ************************

        They were still lying there like that, listening to the other breathe,
when someone knocked on the door ten minutes later.

        Scully opened the door, not willing to let just anyone find Mulder at
her apartment so late.  Seeing who it was, she quickly undid the chain and
opened the door completely.

        There stood Maddie, leaning against Jason Shelby.

        "Hi," Scully said, motioning for them to come in.  

        Maddie pursed her lips and tilted her head to one side, in a gesture
Scully had never seen her use before.  She looked from Scully to Mulder  and
then dropped onto the couch.  "I have to go to the bathroom," she announced,
but made no effort to get up.

        Jason knelt beside her.  "Do you really have to go to the bathroom?"
His concern was evident in both his body language and his tone of voice.  

        Maddie looked at him, confused.  "Why?  Do you?"  She put a hand across
her eyes.  "It's so quiet in here.  It hurts my eyes."

        Jason stood back up and sighed.  He handed Maddie a pair of sunglasses
that he just *happened* to have on hand, which she took and put on.

        Scully put her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow, giving Maddie
her most intimidating look.  "Maddie, have you been drinking?"

        Mulder snorted.  To say Maddie had been drinking would surely have been
the understatement of the year.  The girl was obviously wasted.

        Maddie shook her head.  "Why?  Have you?"  Then she busied herself by
trying unsuccessfully to take off a bracelet she was wearing.

        Scully turned to Jason, who rubbed his eyes.  "Don't ask me how long
she's been drinking or even *what* she's been drinking.  She just showed up at
my apartment around two this morning, too upset to talk.  I knew something had
to be really wrong.  I just put her to bed, but she was gone before I got up
this morning.  She and Sarah came back to my place about an hour ago--both in
this state--and all Maddie said was something about Dana, a fox, and animal
crackers.  I tried to get her to just sleep it off..." he shrugged.  "But you
know Maddie.  Once she sets her mind to something..."

        Maddie stood up and shoved at Jason's chest.  "A mind is a terrible
thing to waste," she muttered before walking over to give the plant on Scully's
windowsill a close inspection.  Then she turned to Mulder.  "Hey, Slick, How
many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?"

        Mulder hid a smile. "I don't know, how many?"

        Maddie frowned. "How many what?"

        Mulder did smile that time.  "Psychologists."

        "I don't know any psychologists."  Maddie tilted her head again in that
way, which was actually rather endearing.

        Mulder grinned.  "I'm a psychologist."

        "Oh."  Maddie looked at Scully.  "One," she said, holding up her left
index finger in front of Scully's face.

        Scully sighed.  "One what?"  <What the *hell* am I supposed to do with
my boss's drunk sixteen year old daughter??>

        "One psychologist,"  Maddie answered, as if it were obvious.  "But the
lightbulb has to really want to change."  She looked at Mulder again, noticing
his smile.  "You have sexy lips, Slick.  You should wear green more often. 
Jason has sexy lips, too, but he should wear blue."

        Mulder looked down, obviously trying to figure out what the connection
between lips and green and blue was.

        Jason looked at Scully.  "So, uh, what should I do?"

        "She'll be fine here, I guess.  You can't take her home."  Her father
would kill her, no doubt, Scully thought.

        Jason nodded and walked over to Maddie.  "Hey, beautiful, I'm going
home.  You sure you don't want to go with me?"  Maddie nodded.  "Okay, then
call me if you need anything."

        Maddie reached up and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt.  "What
should I call you?"

        He dropped a kiss on her forehead.  "You can call me 'collect'," he
joked.

        Maddie grimaced and removed the sunglasses.  "I may be drunk, Jason
Shelby," she said pushing against his chest, "But your humor still leaves a lot
to be desired."

        He laughed.  "Are you absolutely sure you don't want to go back to my
place?  We've been in this situation before, Mad."  He pushed a lock of hair
out of Maddie's face.

        She shook her head.  "Indeed we have.  And it's been the other way
around before, too.  Don't forget that.  I'll be fine.  Stop worrying."

        "Okay, then.  You know where to find me."  Jason walked to the door and
looked at Scully.  "She'll pass out eventually."

        Scully let out a breath as she locked the door.  Maddie kicked off her
shoes.  "Is it cold in here?  My eyes are cold."

        Mulder wondered whether one of them should call Skinner--that one
preferably being Scully.  For all he knew, his daughter could be anywhere.

        "I'll call," Scully offered, reading Mulder's mind.

        But so had Maddie. She turned her icy blue eyes on Scully.  "If you
call my father, I *am* going to Jason's."

        Scully debated what to do, annoyed, but not unsympathetic to Maddie's
distress.  "He's worried about you, Maddie.  I just want him to know that
you're here with me and that you're safe."

        Maddie laughed harshly.  "I'm not okay, Dana.  But if you want to lie
to him, be my guest."

        Scully wondered what had happened at the Skinners' after she'd left
there last night.  "Did you have a fight with Skinner last night?"

        Maddie shook her head.  "Why?  Did you?"

        Rolling her eyes, Scully trudged into the kitchen to make tea.  She
remembered that Maddie was supposed to be on a plane some time early in the
morning.  "Are you still going to Colorado tomorrow?"

        Maddie put her head down and let out a long, shuddery sigh.  "No.  That
plan is off.  He's going to keep me here and torture me personally.  I'm not
allowed to breathe without his permission.  That's a direct order," she mocked. 

        Mulder sat down at the table.  "Straight from the horse's mouth?" he
asked idly.

        Maddie snorted and muttered something that sounded suspiciously close
to "more like the horse's *ass*."

        Scully let it slide, relieved that Maddie wasn't leaving--not in the
emotional state she was obviously in.  She called Skinner anyway, telling him
that Maddie was fine, a little upset perhaps, but that she'd keep an eye on
her.  She noticed how tired Skinner sounded and told him not to worry about his
daughter.

        Before hanging up, Skinner issued a quiet, "Thanks, Scully.  For
everything."

                        ************************

        Mulder watched Scully putter around the kitchen, making tea, while
Maddie munched on animal crackers.  He was amazed by her technique:  she had
dumped them all into a large cannister and was systematically working her way
through them.  First, she'd picked out all the elephants, biting off their
trunks, legs, and heads, discarding the bodies into a bowl.  Then, she'd moved
on to the lions.

        Through a mouthful of lion limbs, Maddie shook her head adamantly at
Scully.  "I'm telling you, Day, Americans produce more waste annually than any
other two countries combined.  Disposable culture."

        Scully set cups of tea in front of Maddie and Mulder before joining
them at the table with her own.  Maddie was still talking nonsensically.  Any
effort to engage the girl in an extended conversation was completely wasted. 
She had spoken brokenly for ten minutes on the nature of infinity and whether
or not somewhere along the way positive infinity met negative infinity and if
so, was two larger or smaller than infinity?

        Mulder semed to be enjoying the whole thing immensely, saying he'd give
anything for a video camera.  Scully wasn't quite so amused herself.  This was
ten times worse than the time she and Mulder had spent all night with the two
stoned teenagers in a greasy diner.  She had to bite her tongue to keep from
issuing Maddie a lecture on underaged drinking and responsibility.  

        Maddie closed the cannister and began working her way through the
elephant and lion bodies, dipping each one into her tea before eating it.  The
phone rang, startling Scully.  It was well after eleven, and now that Mulder
had all but moved in, no one called her that late.

        It was Jason.  Maddie took the phone, abandoning her animal crackers in
favor of Jason's voice.  Maddie's side of the conversation went something like,
"No...uh-huh...of course...I will...Why? Do you?...Me,too..." And then, "I
think I left my birth control pills there...No, in the bathroom...I already
told you, that's not my black bra...I don't *know* who else's it could
be...yeah, well, unless you've taken up cross dressing, you'd better think
*really* hard...okay...bye."

        Well, Scully thought, that was definitely more than she'd either wanted
or needed to hear.

        Maddie looked up.  "Jason says hi."

        Mulder twirled his spoon in his tea.  "Maddie?  Are you a virgin?"

        Scully choked on her tea, shooting Mulder a disbelieving look.

        Maddie didn't appear offended. "Why?  Were you at my age?"  she asked
instead of answering.

        Mulder turned red and looked uncomfortably at Scully, who was suddenly
very interested in this conversation.  "Why must you answer a question with a
question?"

        Maddie shrugged.  "Why must you?"

                        ************************

        Scully lay in bed an hour later, tracing the contours of Mulder's back
with her fingertips.  As Jason had promised, Maddie had indeed passed out
eventually.  She had gone into the extra bedroom to change clothes and never
come back out.  When Scully had gone to make sure she was still at least
breathing, she'd found Maddie curled up on the bed, sound asleep, wearing an
athletic jersey that said Shelby across the back.  Feeling maternal, Scully had
spread a quilt over Maddie, glad to see her sleeping, if only for the effects
of alcohol.  Then she'd joined Mulder in the shower, not feeling so maternal
anymore....

        Mulder sighed lazily, feeling his eyelids droop.  But Scully's voice
wasn't about to let him drift off.  "So?  Were you?" she asked.

        Mulder groaned.  "Come on, Scully.  Let it go."

        She sat up.  "It's nothing to be embarrassed over, Mulder.  I'm just
curious."

        He looked at her expression and could see that she was genuinely
interested.  "Okay.  Yes, I was a virgin at sixteen."  He paused.  "Were you?"

        Scully gave a little laugh.  "At sixteen?  Are you kidding?  I was most
definitely a virgin.  Hell, I was still Daddy's Little Starbuck at sixteen."

        Mulder smiled and pulled her back down.  "I know it's stupid, but I
wish I had been your first," he said, feeling idiotic for even voicing that
sentiment.

        Scully smiled and kissed his chest.  "You were, Mulder.  Maybe not in
the way you mean...but in other ways, you're the only one."

                        ************************

        Maddie curled her fists into tight balls, having the same nightmare she
always did when she slept.  But for some reason, she was too tired to wake
herself up this time.  She had no choice but to suffer through it.  Thrashing
around in her sleep, she hit her arm on the bedside table.  The physical pain
was enough to rouse her.  Blinking, she tried to remember where she was. 
Tiptoeing into the hallway, Maddie slipped into Scully's room.  The moonlight
was bright enough for her to see the figures in the bed.  How comforting it
must be for them to have each other to ward off the nightmares.  And she was
sure that both of them had more than their share of nightmares.

        Crouching by Scully's side of the bed, Maddie spoke in a soft whisper. 
"Dana?"  She touched the woman's small, jersey clad shoulder lightly.

        Scully opened her eyes, accustomed to being awakened in the middle of
the night by Mulder reaching out for her.  She noticed Maddie beside her. 
"What's wrong?"

        Maddie shook her head, biting her lip.  "Nothing.  I...well, I just
wanted to make sure you weren't mad at me."

        Scully shook her head.  "I'm not mad.  Just worried about you. 
There's a big difference."

        Maddie nodded.  "I'm sorry all the same for any trouble I caused you."

        Not really knowing what Maddie needed--reassurance? comfort?--Scully
was at a loss for words.  "Do you feel like talking about it?"

        Shaking her head, Maddie stood up to leave.  She looked back down at
the two figures.  Mulder stirred in his sleep, one arm snaking out to find 
Scully and wrapping around her waist.  "No.  I'm fine.  I just couldn't sleep 
without making sure you weren't angry."  She shuffled her feet.  "I miss my
mom, Dana.  I know it sounds silly, since I lived away from her for so long."
                                                                          
        Scully wanted to sit up, but Mulder's arm tightened around her waist.
"It doesn't sound silly, Maddie.  You miss the understanding and unconditional
love that only a mother can give.  It's not about physical proximity.  When
Melissa died, I was so worried that my mother would blame me, that she wouldn't
be there for me anymore.  It hurt like hell, just the idea of it.  I was closer
to my father, but mothers just understand things.  They have a way of making
things easier, if not always better."

        Maddie nodded mutely, hugging her arms to her chest.  

        Scully hated not being able to do anything, but Maddie invited contact
comfort almost as rarely as she did.  And she sensed that nothing she could say
would really comfort Maddie right then.  "Will you be able to sleep?"

        Maddie smiled.  "Yeah.  I can always sleep with alcohol in my system. 
I know how horrible for me it is, but I haven't really slept in months.  I just
needed to feel numb for a while.  Then I can get things into perspective."  

                        **************************** 

        Scully dropped Mulder by his apartment to get his car the next morning. 
It was inconvenient, but they never left their cars at each other's apartments
at night.  Maddie had been sleeping when they left--and hopefully, she'd stay
that way for a while.  She'd had to physically restrain Mulder from pouncing on
her, no matter how much he claimed Maddie had deserved a rude awakening.

        The first couple of hours at work passed in a blur of paperwork.  That
accomplished, she made her way to Skinner's office, half hoping that he
wouldn't be in.  But he was.

        "Scully.  Please, come in." Skinner looked almost...timid this morning. 
It was a rather discomfiting thought for Scully.  "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

        "Yes, please, sit down."  Skinner rose, motioning towards a chair. 
"Can I get you coffee or anything?"

        "No, thank you."  Scully sat primly in the chair, crossing her legs.  

        Clearing his throat, the Assistant Director sat back down and sighed. 
"I'm going to be straight with you, Scully.  I have no idea what I'm doing with
Madison.  No matter what I say to her, it's not what she wants to hear.  I
tried to tell her that she would be better off away from D.C., and she didn't
like that.  I agreed to let her stay here, and she got even more upset and
stormed out of the house."  He rubbed the bridge of his nose, discouraged. 
"It's all I can do to keep from losing my temper completely.  She is totally
out of control, beyond disciplining.  I don't know what to do."

        Scully pursed her lips.  She had never expected Skinner to turn to her
for parenting advice...of all people, why her?  She would probably never even
have the chance to be a mother.  But then, she understood Maddie better than
she did most people.  At least, Scully thought that she did.  "Skinner, I
really don't know what to tell you.  With Maddie, I don't think her behavior is
just about getting her way.  She knows the difference between you saying what
you think she wants to hear and what you really mean.  She doesn't want you to
*let* her stay here.  She wants you to *want* her to stay here, she *needs* you
to want her here."  Scully paused, letting her words sink into Skinner's thick
skull.

        "But I *do* want her here.  I just don't know if I can handle it." 
Skinner rubbed the bridge of his nose again.  "I didn't know parenting could be
this difficult.  Who would have guessed that adorable little girls grow up to
be incredibly moody young women?"

        Scully surpressed a smile.  "Who, indeed."

        Skinner frowned.  Scully was enjoying this, at his expense.  "I can't
even protect her anymore, Scully."

        "Of course you can't.  How can you protect her when you don't even know
what you're supposed to be protecting her from?  And even if you did know,
Maddie takes risks.  She's not afraid of the consequences.  You'll just have to
accept that and deal with it as best you can.  Given the chance, her life could
pretty much be the same as that of any other sixteen year old.  Stop sweating 
the what if's and worry about her school, her boyfriends, body piercing,
tattoos..."  Scully broke off, noticing Skinner's stricken look.  "You know,
normal worries for the father of a teenage girl."

        "Boyfriends?" he asked indredulously.  "What boyfriends?  And Maddie
had better not be piercing or tattooing *any* part of her body if she wants to
see daylight between now and the time she's thirty."  Oh, God.  This was really
getting complicated.  The Consortium's threats, he could handle.  Aliens, no
problem.  Conspiracies?  Piece of cake.  But boyfriends?  Tattoo's?  He was
going to be completely bald before the summer was out.

        Scully gave him a small smile.  He noticed that she was smiling more
here lately...or maybe it was just that he'd taken the time to notice.  "See,
you're getting the hang of it already.  Maddie will be utterly dismayed and
completely shocked.  That will give you the upper hand."

        Skinner smiled ruefully.  "Well, with Maddie, I won't have the
upper-hand for long."

        "Probably not.  I left her asleep at my place, by the way.  I know she
hasn't been sleeping well recently, so I thought she could stand the extra
hours."  Scully stood up, about to go, when the door flung open.  Maddie
stumbled in, arms laden with dry-cleaning and packages.

        Dropping the packages into a chair and flinging the dry-cleaning on top
of them, Maddie shoved a document under her father's nose.  "Hi, Day.  Why
didn't you wake me before you left?  Dad, could you sign this?"

        Scully gave herself a mental shake.  If she'd been as wasted as Maddie
had been, she'd be nursing a hangover.  Skinner took the slip of paper and
studied his daughter.  At least she wasn't fuming anymore.  Maybe they had both
needed some time to sort things out.  "What's this?" he asked cautiously,
trying to pull back enough to focus on the writing.

        "I have a new project.  I'm going to get my pilot's license.  Jason
Shelby has his and is going to take me up so I can accumulate hours and stuff. 
But you have to sign this release form, as I'm underage."  Maddie straightened
up, smoothing the wrinkles from her baggy khaki slacks and cropped white
t-shirt.  Scully wrinkled her nose at the wide suspenders the girl was wearing. 
Was this fashion?  She hoped not.  What was the purpose of wearing dress pants
and showing off one's stomach at the same time?  Glancing at Maddie's feet,
Scully saw why she looked so much taller.  The soles of her shoes had to be
three inches thick.

        Skinner blinked, giving Maddie a blank look.  "Pilot's license?"

        Maddie held her arms out.  "You know, airplane?  Big thing in the sky? 
Bears a resemblance to a bird?  Hello?  Is anyone home in there?"  She handed
Skinner a pen.  "Sign there."

        Skinner signed the papers, still reeling.  Why was Maddie being
so...civil all of the sudden?  He glanced at the chair full of stuff that
Maddie had dumped on her way in.  "What's all of that?"

        Maddie wrinkled her nose.  "Apparently you had about a month's worth of
dry-cleaning to pick up.  You owe me three hundred dollars and ninety-seven
cents.  But I'll just put it on your tab."  She paused.  "The rest is my pilot
gear."

        Scully lifted an eyebrow, still standing there.  "Pilot gear?" she
echoed.

        Maddie sucked in her bottom lip, pulling the packages out.  "Uh-huh.
See?  I got overall's, a leather bomber jacket, and mirrored sunshades."  She
shrugged at Scully's bemused look.  "Hey, don't knock it.  It all said 'Pilot'
to me...so I just went with it."

        Skinner scowled.  "Well, I hope you didn't just 'went with it' with my
credit cards."

        Maddie gave him her best pout, tucking a stray lock of deep brown hair
behind her ear.  "Of course not, Daddy.  I used my own credit cards."

        Her own credit cards?  What hadn't Sharon been telling him?  "Oh,
really?  And how do you propose to pay for those credit card bills?"  Scully
had to hand it to the man, he was really getting into this whole father
routine. 

        Maddie shrugged.  "I have plenty of money in my checking account.  You
know that.  But I also have a new job."

        Skinner looked surprised.  "A job?"  Maddie wasn't responsible enough
to go out and get a job...was she?

        "Yep.  A job.  I'm going to be a counselor slash lifeguard at the
daycamp on the res. starting Monday.  But it's only three days a week.  So, can
I use our pool to give private swimming lessons the other two days?  I already
have five prospective clients from the neighborhood."  Maddie said all of this
in one breath, then plopped down in another chair, exhausted.  

        "That's very responsible of you, Madison," Skinner ventured.  Maddie
twisted her lips, appalled at being called responsible.  It would ruin her
image.

        "Well, I'll get a great tan...even if I have to get grey hair to go
with it," she retorted.  "Eighty-six screaming five to eleven year old's for
the rest of the summer."  

        Scully sat back down.  "That sounds almost as much fun as chasing
aliens and mutants."

        Maddie swung her feet over the arm of the chair to face the female
agent.  "Almost.  But you have the pleasure of looking at Mulder's ties every
day.  I could never compete with that."

        "My ties are very G.Q." a voice said from the doorway that Maddie had
left open.  

        Maddie snorted as Mulder strolled in, hands in his pocket.  "Whatever
you say, Slick."

        Skinner looked for an escape route.  Having these three in his office
could prove dangerous to his health.  Especially with the strange moods they
were all in.  Maddie was being delightful (well, almost), Scully was smiling
for no reason, and Mulder seemed to be almost...normal.  

        Mulder dropped a file onto Skinner's desk.  "For your approval, Sir." 
He turned to Scully and Maddie.  "Anyone up for lunch?"

        Maddie hopped out of her chair.  "I feel like I haven't eaten in a
week."

        Scully stood up.  "I could go for some nourishment."

        They started to walk out.  Maddie turned back.  "Dad, are you coming?"

        Skinner hesitated.  Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Mulder and Scully
were looking at him expectantly.  Pod people.  "I probably need to work,
Madison."

        Maddie sighed.  "You probably need to get out from behind that desk
before you get arthritis.  It's not healthy to just sit there all day, you
know.  Now take Agents Scully and Mulder, here.  They chase aliens.  They gun
down UFO's.  They frequent the emergency room.  Take nasty bumps to the head. 
But they always make time for meals with me."  She batted her eyelashes. 
"Let's go.  We'll even let you pick the place."

        Skinner got up and followed them out.  Trailing the trio, he watched
Maddie loop an arm through Mulder's, look him up and down and say, "I told you
to wear green more often.  I did not mean for you to spill lime jello all over
your tie."

        Scully gave Mulder's tie a yank.  "Does this glow in the dark?"

        Before Mulder could answer, Maddie did so for him.  "Day, how many
times do I have to tell you?  They have to glow in the dark so he can find them
while he dresses in the dark.  Right, Slick?"

        Mulder lifted one corner of his mouth in a lopsided smile.  "So, whose
black bra *was* that at Jason's apartment, M&M?  Are your eyes still cold?"

        Maddie scowled for a moment, then changed her tactic.  She stopped
abruptly, smiling sweetly at the tall agent.  "So, tell me, Foxy.  *Were* you?"

        Skinner stood looking at them, completely baffled.  Why was Mulder
turning thirteen different shades of red?  He looked at Scully, whose lips were
twitching suspiciously.  "What?" he asked the petite redhead.  Maddie was still
holding Mulder captive with her questioning look of innocence.  Did she just
call Mulder Foxy??  Skinner really felt out of touch with reality.

        Scully chose that moment to erupt into a mirthful laugh, looking from
her boss to her partner to the little monster, as Mulder had dubbed Maddie. 
Skinner had never heard her laugh.  "That's it.  I'm eating lunch alone," he
announced in a grumpy voice.  

        Scully laughed louder; Mulder and Maddie continued walking, the three
of them now following Skinner.  Maddie licked her lips.  "Want to see my new
tattoo?"  She showed them a little moon and star on her abdomen.

        Skinner brought the caravan to an abrupt halt this time, turning to
look at his daughter's stomach.  "That had better be removable, Madison 
Montgomery Skinner."  

        Scully howled.  Mulder leaned down to further inspect the damage. 
"Looks real," he volunteered.  "Did it hurt?"

        Maddie shrugged.  "Nah.  Dana's getting, too.  Want to come along
for the ride, Slick?"  Then she burst into laughter, at the look on Mulder's
face, looping her arm through Scully's this time.

        Mulder and Skinner stood there, watching the two women laugh their way
out of the J. Edgar Hoover Building.  It was going to be a long summer, indeed. 
Mulder put his hands back into his pockets.  "Want to ditch them and get
something strong to drink?"

        Skinner mimicked Mulder's stance.  "You paying?"   

**********************************
END!!!!  finally!!!!
let me know if it doesn't live up.
khughes@msms.doe.k12.ms.us
or hughekd@okra.millsaps.edu