feedback: msnsc21[at]yahoo.com

December 5, 2004
Title: Lost in the Stars
Author: ML
Distribution: Yes to Ephemeral and Gossamer, or if you've
archived me before. If you haven't, please drop me a line
and let me know, and leave headers, etc. attached. Thank
you!
Spoilers: Various S9 eps through The Truth
Classification: Vignette
Keywords: Lone Gunmen
Summary: ...and we're lost out here in the stars...

Written for the E-Muse Secret Santa Swap. Thanks to Carol
for Speed!Beta.

Note: This is a follow up story to "Where the Boys Are," so
if you've read that one, you know that it dealt with the events
in "Jump the Shark" and its aftermath. If you haven't read the
first one, this one will still make sense. I'd prefer that JtS
had never happened, but for the purposes of this story, it did.

Disclaimer: All the characters named in this story belong to
Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and FOX. I mean no
infringement, and I'm not making any money.

=====

Lost in the Stars
by ML

Byers, Langly and Frohike looked around them with bemusement.
Their former home was changing before their eyes.

Walter Skinner stood in the door of the transformed kitchen in
the former Magic Bullet headquarters. He surveyed the main floor
of the warehouse, now cleaned and painted and re-equipped.

"Welcome to Skinner, Incorporated," Langly said. "Who's he gonna
get to run all this stuff?"

"I miss *our* stuff," Frohike complained.

"You may recall that most of it was sold before we, um, left,"
Byers reminded them. He still had trouble reconciling himself
to their fate, such as it was.

None of them had any idea as to the how and the why of their
continued presence in their former haunts -- a word that Frohike
often used deliberately.

"Probably another bureaucratic screw-up," Frohike had suggested.
"Eventually someone'll figure it out, and poof! We'll be gone."

"Gone to where?" Byers asked.

"Dunno, man. But I'd think there'd be others like us. Do you
suppose everyone exists on his or her own astral plane?"

"If I'd been given a choice, I don't think I would have chosen
to spend eternity with you guys," Langly said.

"Love you too, man," said Frohike. "Anyway, who says it's for
eternity?"

"Well, it feels that way," Langly muttered.

An alarm bell rang. The three ghosts jumped but Skinner didn't
bat an eye. He moved to the door and peered through the peephole,
unlocking the multiple locks to allow Jimmy Bond and Yves Harlow
to enter.

Jimmy looked around and whistled. "Cool. I bet the guys would
love this."

"Bet they wouldn't," Langly muttered. Byers didn't bother to
shush him.

"Doggett and Reyes should be here soon," Skinner said. "I'll
give you the tour then."

In due time the two agents arrived. Monica Reyes held up a
six-pack of beer. "Maybe we should have brought more," she
suggested.

Langly, Frohike, and Byers looked at each other. Could she see
them? But it appeared Monica was talking about Jimmy and Yves.

Skinner gave them the tour and the Gunmen followed along, shaking
their heads at the changes and additions.

"Where does he get the dough?" Langly whispered to Frohike and
Byers.

"Good investments?" Frohike hazarded. "He's a single guy, a
workaholic, he probably just socked his money away over the
years."

"Instead of buying a cabin in the woods, he's doing this," Byers
said.

"Glad to see he's taking care of security at least," Langly said.
There were cameras inside and out, and thick doors with keyless
locks. Even Frohike couldn't find fault with them.

"Not the same old homestead, that's for sure," Frohike commented.

"It certainly isn't," Byers agreed.

"Do you suppose he's going to live here?" Langly wondered.

"I have an idea about that," Byers said, but wouldn't elaborate.

The group moved into the kitchen and sat around a big table there.
Every surface gleamed with a spit and polish shine.

"Boy, what a difference. You had to have gutted it and rebuilt
from the ground up," John Doggett commented.

"Again with the insults," Frohike muttered.

Skinner cleared his throat and all idle conversation stopped.
"I'm about ready to go on a fishing trip. Anyone have any
ideas about location?"

"Well, I guess you could start in New Mexico," Doggett
said. "That's pretty close to their last known location."

"It would be safer to find a way to get word to them through
other channels," Monica said. "Where did Gibson go?"

"He's back at the reservation," Doggett answered.

"Then he'd know if Mulder and Scully were anywhere near,"
Monica answered.

"Can we get in touch with Gibson? Is it safe for him, and
for them?" Skinner asked.

"Good question. Jimmy, do you have any idea?"

Jimmy thought for a moment. "I wish the guys were here.
They had contacts in a lot of places, through their
newsletter, through MUFON --"

"Nice to be missed, isn't it?" Frohike murmured to Byers.

"Can we get into their hard drives?" Skinner asked. "Yves?"

"It would be tricky, but possible. I don't know if any
of their contacts will talk to us, though. They're a
suspicious lot."

"With good reason," interjected Langly. "Look what
happened to us."

Byers watched Monica Reyes. Every now and then she'd get
a thoughtful look on her face, as if she could hear more
than the conversation of her colleagues.

"We have to find a way to contact them outside of normal
channels," she said. "But we have to be sure it's safe
first. And it has to be someone that Mulder trusts. If
a stranger tries to approach them, I don't think it'll
work."

"I never thought I'd say this, but with Kersh's help, I
think that Mulder's conviction will be overturned,"
Skinner said. "The tribunal is being investigated now,
and since one of the judges has disappeared, everything
is being called into question. Then at least officially
there won't be any danger. There will still be danger
from the unofficial channels -- which at least we're
learning to deal with."

"What about Dana?" Monica asked.

"She was never implicated. She wasn't at the prison when
we broke Mulder out. She was reported missing later --
there are no eyewitness accounts of seeing them together,
after."

"Is Mulder being blamed for her disappearance, too?"

"Not 'officially.' Kersh saw to that."

"So they could both come back openly?"

"Yes, pretty soon. And the more openly, the better,"
Skinner said. "Their -- *our* enemies would have a
better chance at them where they are now, outside of
any protection we can offer them. Wherever they are.
In the meantime, we need to find a way to get word to
them, a safe way. Any ideas?" he asked again.

Silence around the table.

Byers said to his friends, "Maybe this is where we
come in. Gentlemen, we can sit idly by or we can do
what we can."

"What the hell does that mean?" Langly asked.

"Let's go see Mulder," Frohike said.

"Beats hanging around here," Langly agreed. "But how
can we let these guys know we've got it covered?"

"I think Agent Reyes can sense us," Byers said. "She
seems aware somehow."

"Worth a shot, I suppose," Frohike said. He leaned
into Monica's ear. "Hey chickie. We're gonna go
talk to Mulder."

Monica Reyes started and knocked over her beer. The
others looked at her as she quickly righted it. "Can
you give me a couple of days?" she asked the group.
"I have an idea."

Skinner nodded. "We need to proceed slowly. Let us
know if you come up with anything. I'll be talking
to Kersh again in a day or two."

"She better not try any of that seance crap," Langly
said.

x-x-x-x

Wherever they were, it was very dark. Though they
couldn't feel the cold, they could see the snow lying
in drifts between patches of bare earth. The stars
were high and distant in the black sky.

Not far away from where they stood, they could see a
few buildings, light leaking around the edges of the
curtained windows. Smoke curled out of chimneys and
stovepipes, like wraiths against the night sky.

"So where's Mulder?" Langly asked.

"Give it a minute," Byers said.

A door slammed in the distance. A lone figure approached,
shoulders hunched, hands jammed in pockets.

They stayed where they were. Mulder stopped and looked
up at the sky, breath materializing in the air. He
closed his eyes, face still turned skyward.

The three friends waited.

Eventually, Mulder moved. He walked along slowly,
eyes now trained on the rocky ground, scuffling through
the dirt and snow.

"If he's gonna take a piss again, I say we speak now,"
Langly said.

"Mulder," Frohike spoke.

Their friend started and peered into the darkness.
"This is a habit I wish you guys would break," Mulder
said.

"We could say the same to you," Langly said. "Got something
against indoor plumbing?"

"That's not why I'm out here," Mulder said. "And not that
I'm not glad to see you, but is there some reason you're
here? I don't need another lecture."

"You wouldn't listen to us anyway," Frohike said. "So why
*are* you out here?"

"Maybe I came out to wait for Santa Claus," Mulder said.

"Is it Christmas?" Byers asked curiously. "I hadn't
noticed."

"Yeah, it's not exactly ho-ho-ho around here either,"
Mulder said. "If you're here to haunt me, let's get it
over with. Which of you is which? I thought the ghosts
were supposed to come on different nights."

"Huh?" said Langly.

"You're supposed to show me my past, present and future,
right? And tell me to mend the error of my ways?"

"Shit, Mulder, I don't know what we're doing here. Near
as I can tell, when there's something you're supposed to
know, we tell you. Maybe that's how it works."

"Advice from the Great Beyond?" Mulder asked.

"What's so great about it?" Langly said. "All I can
tell you about it is the whole thing sucks."

"Yeah, I've had some experience with that, as you may
recall," Mulder said. "Without visiting privileges."

"Oh yeah," Frohike said with some embarrassment.

"What are you doing out here, Mulder?" Byers asked.
"Where's Scully?"

"Back there," Mulder gestured with a shrug of his
shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be inside with her instead of freezing
your ass off out here?" Frohike asked.

"We had an argument," Mulder admitted sullenly.

"Why the hell are you picking fights with Scully?"

"I'm not," he said. "I made a suggestion. She didn't
take it well."

"You tried to send her away, didn't you?"

"She could go back," Mulder said defensively. "She
didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, but do you really think she'd go without you?"

"Maybe you guys could help convince her," Mulder said.

"I don't think we can talk to her the way we talk to
you," Byers said. "We think you're the key to all this."

"So what's new?" Mulder muttered, kicking at rocks.
"I'm damned tired of being the key. I might open a door,
but it leads nowhere. Every single damn time."

"At least you're not in jail, or dead," Frohike pointed out.

"Yeah. Guess I got my Christmas wish after all," Mulder
replied, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"Are you better off than last year?" Byers asked.

"Let's see -- I was on the run, in fear for my life, and
had no contact with family or friends. This year: more
of the same."

"Yeah," said Frohike, "but this year Scully's with you."

"So: add to my tally of blessings that Scully is also on
the run, in fear for her life, and has no contact with
family and friends. I feel so much better now. Thanks,
guys."

"Do you really think she'd be happier without you?"

"I don't know. Maybe if she'd never met me she'd be
better off."

"No way to know that now. This isn't 'It's a Wonderful
Life,' and my name isn't Clarence. What does Scully say?
Have you asked her lately?"

"It's Christmas. She's not with her family. She had to
give up her child -- our child. I feel so fucking helpless."
He turned away from them.

It hurt to see Mulder this way. There were so few times
that they'd seen him truly at a loss. Hardly anything
fazed him. Unless it affected Scully, too.

Langly poked Byers. "Weren't we going to tell him
something?"

"Mulder," Byers said, "I think what I'm about to tell
you might help."

Mulder turned to Byers. "Unless you can tell me how to
get William back, or get Scully home, I don't see how."

"Well..." Byers said. "In a round-about way..." He began
to lay out what Skinner had been working on, with
interjections and asides from Frohike and Langly.

When they were finished, Mulder looked a little more like
his old self. "You're sure about this?" he asked.

"Pretty damn sure," Frohike said. "We heard it with our
own ears, in our own headquarters. Well, Skinner's now.
Maybe yours, too."

"One thing at a time," said Mulder. "When can we leave?"

"We're not sure yet. They were more concerned with getting
word to you -- they had no idea where to even start
looking," Byers said. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Montana," Mulder said. "Not far from where I was, uh,
found." He ran his hands through his hair. "Shit, how
can I explain all this to Scully? Tell her I had a
Christmas vision? After our last conversation, I don't
think she'll buy it."

"Maybe you should just tell her the truth," Byers suggested.

"Who knows?" Frohike added. "She might even believe you."

"Stranger things have happened," Mulder agreed.

They stood around awkwardly for a few moments.

"You should go back inside," Byers said. "I'm sure you're cold."

Mulder made no move. "Will I see you guys again?"

"I'm pretty sure you're stuck with us a while," said Frohike.
"We'll probably come back to tell you the coast is clear, if
they can't do it another way. I'm sure they're being watched."

"Thanks, guys," Mulder said. "I wish there was something I
could do for you."

"Talk to Scully," Byers said.

"Do you --" Frohike hesitated. "Do you think we could see her?"

"She might be asleep," cautioned Mulder. "At least, I hope
she is."

"We won't wake her. Hell, we probably can't wake her."

"Yeah, and I probably couldn't stop you seeing her, either,"
said Mulder.

They walked toward the buildings. Mulder opened their door
and peered inside, gesturing for the three to come forward.
They stole quietly into the dark room.

They saw an impossibly small form huddled under the blankets.
They moved a little closer. Scully's face was turned toward
them. She wore a little frown, as if puzzling something out
in her sleep.

"Sweet dreams, Agent Scully," Byers said softly.

"Yeah, don't dream about us," Langly chimed in.

Frohike said nothing. He reached out his hand, snatched it
back, then reached once more, his hand hovering over her
but not touching.

Scully sighed and turned slightly, breaking the spell that
held them in thrall before her. Silently they turned and
filed out.

Mulder stood outside the door, watching the stars.
"Everything okay?" he asked.

"That depends on your definition," Langly said. "I don't
think anything's been okay for a long time, but it hasn't
gotten worse in the last five minutes."

"We'll be seeing you soon," Byers said.

"Yeah," Mulder replied, looking into the dark room.

Frohike finally spoke. "Get some sleep, Mulder. You've
got some explaining to do in the morning."

"Yeah," Mulder said again. "Thanks, guys."

"We didn't do anything," Langly said.

"That depends on your definition," Mulder said with a
half-smile. "See you later."

"Can't wait," said Frohike.

Above them all, the silent stars whirled their way
through the night sky.

end.

=====

Acknowledgment: The title comes from the song of the
same name, music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Maxwell
Anderson and Alan Paton.

http://libretto.musicals.ru/text.php?textid=213&language=1

=====

feedback, as always, is much appreciated: msnsc21@aol.com

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