Title: The Flip Side
Author: Redfox
Feedback: [email protected]
Classification: AU, V, A
Spoliers: None.
Rating: PG
Archive: Please ask, I will almost certanly say yes.
Summary: AU angst in a car.
Disclaimer: They belong to CC and Fox. Not mine,
never will be.
~*~
The Flip Side
by Redfox
~*~
"I don't like it here anymore."
Dana almost missed the statement since she was just
getting into the car. She slammed the door of the
dark blue Taurus and relished the cool air coming out
of the vents. Looking out over the flat east Texas
landscape, she said, "Well, it's not a very good
view."
Sam sighed. Dana knew she wasn't talking about the
scenery. She'd known this would happen, warned her.
She shouldn't feel sorry for her friend when she'd
warned her and Sam had ignored it.
Since when did Sam take her advice?
"You okay, Sam?" Dana asked, keeping her voice easy.
Push, and Sam'd push back. Give her room and just she
might talk.
"It's just...cases like this..." She bent over and
fiddled with the air conditioner's controls. Outside,
it was broiling. Inside the car, with the air on and
the fan on max, it was just bearable. "They being
back bad memories, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." Dana sought out her friend's eyes,
but Sam was looking down at the sleeves of her suit
jacket. "You okay?" Dana asked. Sam shrugged and
pulled a few strands of hair out of her neat, dark
brown ponytail. It was an unusual nervous habit, but
there wasn't much about Sam that was usual.
"Are we friends, Dana?" she asked suddenly and Dana
tried not to be hurt by the question. Sam sought out
reassurance, but only from the people she was close
to. She never would have asked the question if they
weren't.
"Best friends," Dana said.
Sam nodded intently, as if hearing something for the
first time. She pulled a few more strands out of her
ponytail. "Can we go home then?"
Dana bit back the first comment that came to her mind
which was that she hadn't wanted to be on the case
from the beginning. Dana was the one who had argued
that this wasn't an X-File. That Sam was going to
take it too personally. All she said now was, "Sure."
Sam gave her a grateful smile, then looked past her
at the dark green house and Dana knew she was
remembering. "I wish I could have met your brother,"
she said, hoping the statement would actually be
conciliatory and not just bring up more bad memories.
Sam smiled again and restarted the car. With an
embarrassed shrug, she put the Taurus in Drive and
pulled away from the house. The tires kicked up a
cloud of dust. When they'd pulled onto the paved
road, Sam said, "He was a good kid. He used to
tease me, but that was just him being a big brother.
When it was really important, he came through for
me." She stopped the car at a red light and Dana
knew she was trying to decide how much to say.
"Dad used to get angry when he drank. Fox
would...he protected me. Right up to when they
took him."
The light changed and Sam got the car moving again.
"He was a good kid," she repeated. Dana barely heard
her over the air conditioning when she added, "I wish
I knew what kind of man he became."
"You'll find out," Dana said. "You'll find out what
happened to him."
"How can you be so sure," Sam asked. She could be so
fierce, so brave when she had to be, but right now
she sounded like a tired little girl.
"Because you're not going to give up," Dana said.
"You won't stop until you find him." 'Even if it
kills you' added the part of her mind that worried
about things like that.
"He would have done the same for me," Sam said.
Dana tried to picture the man Fox Mulder could have
been, if he'd never been taken. "Yes," she said, "he
would have." For some reason, she knew that to be the
absolute truth.
~*~
Completed February 14, 2002
Author: Redfox
Feedback: [email protected]
Classification: AU, V, A
Spoliers: None.
Rating: PG
Archive: Please ask, I will almost certanly say yes.
Summary: AU angst in a car.
Disclaimer: They belong to CC and Fox. Not mine,
never will be.
~*~
The Flip Side
by Redfox
~*~
"I don't like it here anymore."
Dana almost missed the statement since she was just
getting into the car. She slammed the door of the
dark blue Taurus and relished the cool air coming out
of the vents. Looking out over the flat east Texas
landscape, she said, "Well, it's not a very good
view."
Sam sighed. Dana knew she wasn't talking about the
scenery. She'd known this would happen, warned her.
She shouldn't feel sorry for her friend when she'd
warned her and Sam had ignored it.
Since when did Sam take her advice?
"You okay, Sam?" Dana asked, keeping her voice easy.
Push, and Sam'd push back. Give her room and just she
might talk.
"It's just...cases like this..." She bent over and
fiddled with the air conditioner's controls. Outside,
it was broiling. Inside the car, with the air on and
the fan on max, it was just bearable. "They being
back bad memories, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." Dana sought out her friend's eyes,
but Sam was looking down at the sleeves of her suit
jacket. "You okay?" Dana asked. Sam shrugged and
pulled a few strands of hair out of her neat, dark
brown ponytail. It was an unusual nervous habit, but
there wasn't much about Sam that was usual.
"Are we friends, Dana?" she asked suddenly and Dana
tried not to be hurt by the question. Sam sought out
reassurance, but only from the people she was close
to. She never would have asked the question if they
weren't.
"Best friends," Dana said.
Sam nodded intently, as if hearing something for the
first time. She pulled a few more strands out of her
ponytail. "Can we go home then?"
Dana bit back the first comment that came to her mind
which was that she hadn't wanted to be on the case
from the beginning. Dana was the one who had argued
that this wasn't an X-File. That Sam was going to
take it too personally. All she said now was, "Sure."
Sam gave her a grateful smile, then looked past her
at the dark green house and Dana knew she was
remembering. "I wish I could have met your brother,"
she said, hoping the statement would actually be
conciliatory and not just bring up more bad memories.
Sam smiled again and restarted the car. With an
embarrassed shrug, she put the Taurus in Drive and
pulled away from the house. The tires kicked up a
cloud of dust. When they'd pulled onto the paved
road, Sam said, "He was a good kid. He used to
tease me, but that was just him being a big brother.
When it was really important, he came through for
me." She stopped the car at a red light and Dana
knew she was trying to decide how much to say.
"Dad used to get angry when he drank. Fox
would...he protected me. Right up to when they
took him."
The light changed and Sam got the car moving again.
"He was a good kid," she repeated. Dana barely heard
her over the air conditioning when she added, "I wish
I knew what kind of man he became."
"You'll find out," Dana said. "You'll find out what
happened to him."
"How can you be so sure," Sam asked. She could be so
fierce, so brave when she had to be, but right now
she sounded like a tired little girl.
"Because you're not going to give up," Dana said.
"You won't stop until you find him." 'Even if it
kills you' added the part of her mind that worried
about things like that.
"He would have done the same for me," Sam said.
Dana tried to picture the man Fox Mulder could have
been, if he'd never been taken. "Yes," she said, "he
would have." For some reason, she knew that to be the
absolute truth.
~*~
Completed February 14, 2002