"Agents, glad you were in, sit down." Assistant Director Walter Skinner sat down on his comfortable executive leather bound chair. He was immaculately attired as always, his white shirt pristinely clean. Mulder, impatient with bureaucratic formalities, cleared his throat and asked,

"Sir, why have we been called here?" The Assistant Director's serious expression did not soften as he looked down onto the file before him.

"Agent Mulder, you and Agent Scully's presence has been requested by one of the violent crimes units trying to solve a case with - " his pause was scarcely detectable, "certain perceived paranormal activity. In light of your combined expertise in this area you will for the time being be attached to the unit in an advisory capacity only. Agents, I cannot stress this to you enough - " and here he aimed his glare at Mulder, "that this issue came directly from the Director and any, and I mean any breach of protocol from you will have serious consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

Mulder arched an eyebrow in the direction of his partner and partially rolled his eyes, to which Scully sensed his increasing frustration at being kept from field work. She knew he was thinking that it was a deliberate ploy by the smoking man to manoeuvre them out of position to make some as yet unknown discovery. However, reflecting that Mulder was approaching displaying his overt insubordination to their immediate superior, Scully tried hard to redeem her partner's unseemly reaction.

"Yes sir, it is perfectly clear." She kept her voice cool and answered with clarity. "Please be assured that Agent Mulder and I will comply with the terms of attachment to the violent crimes unit stringently and regularly." She shot Mulder a cool glare, warning him from making another quip at their career's expense.

Skinner looked down onto a hastily scribbled memo delivered by his secretary, Kim. He frowned.

"Agents, I'm going to have to step out for a minute. But this meeting is not over." With that he disappeared out the door.

As soon as Mulder was sure he was out of hearing ranger, he let his frustration run unchecked.

"Sure you did enough butt kissing for the both of us there Scully?" I mean, you probably missed a sport or two somewhere a long the way." Mulder always had a way of making her answerable to her actions.

"Mulder, it's not like you were at all forthcoming about your assent to this arrangement. It's clear to me that this isn't a request as much as it's a veiled command, and after being pulled off the X-Files and getting stuck with background detail last year, I for one am happy to do whatever they assign to me as long as it leaves us in a position to continue searching for the truth." Scully looked like she wanted to say something slightly more personal, but at the moment Skinner came back in and she retreated back into her seat. Sitting himself down again he found a pair of cool blue eyes and a pair of intent hazel ones waiting for further instructions. He could see that Mulder's in particular were filled with a keen, repressed fire.

"The violent crimes team you've been assignment to just arrived and they're coming in as we speak." On cue the door opened and Skinner's youthful looking secretary showed the other agents in. There were four in total. All six agents were busy engaged in the customary sizing up when the assistant director continued.

"Special Agents Mulder and Scully, this is Special Agent Croydon, Agent Waters - " he gestured to a middle-aged man with dark hair and a cautious demeanour and a much younger looking one with more than just an intelligent glint in his bright blue eyes, "Special Agent Parker and Agent Bartovksi." Skinner then gestured to a bright, blonde, vibrant looking man in his late twenties and a woman with raven black hair and sombre expression. Scully was surprised to note that as far as seniority went, Agent Croydon and Mulder were going to be roughly equivalent. She had no idea that violent crimes units could be so young in composition.

After Skinner had filled them in on the remaining details, there were dismissed in order to prepare for their trip to the New York field office. Scully thought that there must have been heavy political pressure on the FBI to warrant putting so many agents on the one case; Mulder wondered whether it would be entirely inappropriate to lug half a dozen tapes from his own special collection with him to New York.

* * *

"Hi, Agent Scully, I was wondering whether I could sit down." Scully looked up in surprise and stared at Agent Bartovski, nodding assent. Mulder had just gone to the bathroom and she thought that it would probably do him good to annoy someone other than herself for a change.

"So how long have you been with the Bureau Agent Bartovksi?" Scully took off her glasses and folded them meticulously and placed them in her case. She did not often have the opportunity to speak, much less socialise with fellow agents around work. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was stuck in the basement, a place where not many agents knew was actually deemed a work space.

"Oh please, call me Anya." Agent Bartovski smiled, somewhat shyly. "I've been with the Bureau for about four years, I've actually just been transferred from the New York field office, and what do you know, the first case I'm assigned to brings me right back." Scully looked at her and saw a mirror image of herself, back in the days before the X-Files. Something glinted in the background of the other agent's eyes, perhaps it was idealism, or naivety, or perhaps it was just the mere act of saying something without guile, without suspicion, with fear. Something that Scully could not remember herself doing for a long time. "Actually, the reason I wanted to talk to you first was because, well, we hear a lot of things around the office, about you and Agent Mulder, about the X-Files, and well -" here Scully exhibited her instinctive defensive reaction to any mention of the X-Files by giving the other agent a cool, flinty glare, which must have intimidated the younger woman somewhat as she hesitated, "I'd just like to say, that - even if only half of those things are true - I hope that one day you guys get all the credit you deserve." Anya seemed pent up with energy, unable to sit still. Scully thought the younger agent seemed very genuine, very affable, yet there was something else behind those seemingly guileless eyes. Something hidden, untouchable. Scully thought she must have imagined it, a product of her ingrained paranoia, because in the next instant the feeling was gone.

"Thanks, Ag - Anya." She caught herself just in time. "So, what about your background? When did you decide you wanted to join the Bureau?"

The younger woman visibly relaxed at the polite inquiry. She, along with every new agent at the Washington main office had heard the spooky jokes and the mist of confusion surrounding the semi-mythical Bureau division called the X-Files. Fox Mulder was reputedly as crazy as a bat; his 'quest' in life was to chase 'little green aliens', and he was generally attributed the blame for dragging the then young, clever yet idealistic special agent Dana Scully along for the ride, which incidentally she had failed to avail herself of. Anya did not want to get off on the wrong foot with them, she had to earn their trust, or else all might fail. She had purposefully picked Agent Scully as a starting point because she thought she had a better chance of reaching her, woman to woman in a male dominated environment. Anya could be very nice and genuine when she wanted to be.

Scully was remote, predictably detached. She did not really seem interested in what Anya had to say; she periodically caught Agent Scully's blue eyes flicker onto the case file that lay open on her lap. Anya resisted the urge to glance at the file herself - she did not want the other agent to think that she was spying on her. She was playing a role she had planned stage by stage, putting it into action was going to prove the most challenging aspect and she had to keep her concentration levels high.

No mistakes.

Not if she wanted to live long enough to pull this off ...

Anya's face cleared, and she smiled warmly.

"Oh, I've always thought that law enforcement might have been fun - I mean, fun, exciting, stimulating, challenging. I was recruited a semester before I finished my psychology degree at Oxford, and I can tell you, my parents absolutely rejected the whole idea out of hand. It was such a relief when they finally accepted that I wasn't going to change my mind about joining the FBI." And so she rambled on. Anya hoped that Scully was buying the whole charade. Personally if she ever encountered anyone as verbal as what she was portraying herself to be now she'd have them shot ... or tortured. Anything really, to shut them up.

But Agent Scully did not seem to mind. Anya had read dozens of reports detailing Scully's daily routines, movement, associates. She liked to think that her years cramming at Oxford were not an entire waste of time. Hopefully she would be able to get Scully's approval soon, at the very least, avoid any active distrust. Anya ventured that years of spending time around Agent Mulder would have ingrained in her a large dose of paranoia.

And so they chatted. Actually Anya talked most, Scully remained still and silent, only occasionally injecting a question. Anya was trying to spew out as many dates and details as possible - she knew that Scully would have remembered every single detail and if they compulsion ever took her, she would have her background checked out in a second. It was a very Scully thing to do.

Across the aisle, Mulder looked up to catch the two women laughing over something Agent Bartovski had said. He suddenly realised that it had been a long time since he'd seen Scully laugh, or even smile without anything bitter or ironic to reflect upon. It had been too long.