From: Humbuggie/Spooky San/San Subject: Canadian Dawn Disclaimer: Not mine, ain't that a shame? Fox and Dana belong to CC and his FOXy gang. Canadian Dawn by Y.H. Spooky San based on a title suggested by Exodus The collegues of Sylvie Chaplin, Private Secretary to Sectionchief McGrath at the Federal Bureau of Investigation saw the 40-year-old woman drop. She just fell. Her chair fell next to her. Her hand still clamped on the pen she was holding before she died. She rolled on her belly. By the time two of her collegues reached her desk, she had already left life.. 'CPR,' McGrath said. 'Call 911, now!' One of the younger agents rushed towards her phone, dialed 911, and came running back. They tried to get Sylvie back for more than ten minutes. Then the ambulance arrived, and others took over. But Sylvie Chaplin's heart failed. She died, surrounded by her year-long collegues, leaving on her desk nothing more than a small bottle of perfume, a bunch of roses (given a day before for her 40th birthday), and pictures of her children and husband. Agent Dana Scully found herself standing in front of Sylvie's grave, wondering how a healthy 40-year-old Private Secretary could die from a heartattack. It could happen to anyone, but this event had shocked everyone at the Bureau. Fox Mulder stood next to her, and thought exactly the same. He had seen Sylvie two, maybe three times in all the years he worked for the Bureau, but still it felt like one of the family had died. Sylvie had a reputation of being discreet, distant, efficient, good at her work. She had started out as the youngest Secretary, and worked her way up to the top. She did 12-hour-days. Working for a strict man like McGrath left her no other choice. But she had always loved her job, and everyone knew McGrath was going to miss her. Mulder looked around. He saw the entire FBI-Executives-top, other agents, secretaries, co-workers. New faces - old faces - faces he had never seen before. Scully and Mulder waited patiently until it was their turn to give their regards to the familymembers. Then Mulder took his partner by the arm, and brought her away from the scene. He saw her eyes dwell to the place her sister was buried, and said: 'Come on, Scully, let's go.' As they walked to his car, Scully turned around and saw a young blond woman stand near McGrath. She couldn't tell why, but this woman drew her attention. Her eyes were covered with dark sunglasses. Her hear was cut short and distinguished. She wore a small black dress. Her fingernails were bloodred, her figure was slim. She followed McGrath where ever he went, as if to guard him. Scully couldn't see her eyes, but she felt the woman watching her. It made her feel uncomfortable. 'Scully, is something wrong?' she heard her partner say. 'No.' Scully smiled softly and opened the cardoor. 'Everything's fine.' It was one of those days at the office where you wish everything would turn out differently. But it didn't. Scully didn't feel like going back to work straight after the funeral, and yet it kept her mind from dwelling. She hated funerals. During the past few years she had had her share of them. She didn't want to have to join another one. Mulder left her alone at the office. He had taken an early night. His mother was coming over. They had a lot of catching up to do. Scully had just taken a seat behind Mulder's desk, when she heard a knock on the door. As she looked up, she saw the woman from the funeral standing in front of her - without the dark sunglasses. 'Excuse me,' she said. 'I eh - I just wanted to introduce myself.' 'Oh?' Scully waited until the woman continued. 'My name is Lisa Randall. I'm filling up Mrs. Chaplin's place.' 'Pleased to meet you,' Scully said while shaking her hand. 'What can I do for you?' 'Nothing really. I eh - I just saw you at the funeral, and the man you were with. Is he here?' 'You mean agent Mulder? No, he's not in. Can I help you with something?' 'No, eh - You see, I'm new here. This is the first time I work for the Bureau, and Mr. McGrath said I should get to know everyone - including the fieldagents. You seemed like a nice couple, so I -' Scully smiled, as she saw the nervosity of the girl. She was young - much younger than she looked at the funeral - and oh so insecure. Scully couldn't help but wonder how this newie could have landed the Private Secretary job so quickly. Then again it wasn't so hard to figure out. Everyone knew about McGraths passion for the young. 'Well, I've got to go,' Lisa said. 'I only start work tomorrow, so ...' Scully looked with resentment to the files on Mulder's desk, stood up and said: 'Would you like to have a drink with me, Ms. Randall?' For a second she looked stunned, then she hesitated: 'Oh, I don't know - I -' 'You would do me a favour. You see, I'm looking for an excuse to get out of here.' Lisa smiled. 'Alright, thank you - eh -' 'Scully. Dana Scully. Just call me Dana.' 'Only if you refer to me as Lisa.' 'That would be a pleasure.' Scully grabbed her coat and briefcase, and closed the door. As they walked up to the parkinglot, Scully said: 'Are you going to follow me, or-?' 'I don't have a car,' Lisa responded swiftly.' 'Oh, alright. Get in then.' Lisa smiled, stepped in and watched Scully drive off. About twenty minutes later Scully had chosen a small tavern in the center of town. It was kind of crowded, but neither of the two woman minded. Scully put down her briefcase, ordered two drinks, and relaxed for the first time that day. Her feet hurt, but she didn't pay attention to it. Lisa waited for her drink, before she sturred it a bit, and took a sip. Then she looked up, and said: 'What exactly do you do, agent Scully? I've heard stories about paranormal things and aliens. Is that true?' 'Yes, sort of. We do lots of things.' 'And your partner, agent Mulder? I heard he had a nickname.' 'Mulder?' Scully smiled. 'You mean 'Spooky' Mulder? Yeah, that's common knowledge around here. But you would get bored with stories about our cases, Lisa. Tell me, are you looking forward to starting here?' 'Oh yeah,' she responded. 'Definitely. This was a dream come true. After having lived in South-America my entire childhood, this is like a dream come true.' 'South-America?' 'Yeah, my mother was Southamerican. She's dead now, so is my father. He brough me here after she died, but he didn't take care of me. He put me in with fosterparents.' 'And you don't have any relatives left?' 'No. Just an aunt, but she's dead too. I'm all alone. And now I'm here; having the time of my life. Unfortunately that was not the case for Mrs. Chaplin. Tell me more about Mulder.' Scully drank, looked at Lisa and wondered if this girl already had a crush on Mulder. She hadn't even met him. God, she really was wet behind the ears. Scully suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable talking about Mulder without him knowing. If Lisa wanted to get to know Mulder, she would have to do it herself. Scully looked at her watch, stood up and said: 'I've got to go, Lisa. I have an appointment in half an hour. Can I drop you off somewhere?' 'No, I'll take a cab.' 'Are you sure?' 'Yes, thank you, Dana.' 'Alright then.' Scully took her briefcase, put on her coat and said: 'I'll see you later then. Take care.' 'Bye.' As Scully turned around and left the tavern, Lisa stayed behind, putting her head between her hands. In her mind she had already made a perfect image of agent Fox Mulder. Life goes on. It always does. Who ever dies, whatever happens, the clock just keeps on ticking. Scully didn't tell Mulder about Lisa Randall. Why should she? He would soon find out for himself that someone at the Bureau had a crush on him. And he did. The day after the funeral, a young blond woman 'accidently' bumped into him in the hallway near Skinner's office. He didn't even see she dropped everything on purpose. 'I'm sorry,' he said and bent over to pick up her papers. She kneeled down with him. Her hand almost touched his shoulder, but didn't. As he looked up and smiled apologizing, her heart beat faster. She wanted to touch him - she wanted to know he was hers, but she didn't move. She was paralized. He handed over the papers, said: 'Here you go.' And continued. She saw him step into Skinner's office, and wanted to wait, but McGrath called her, and she had to return to her office. Later on, she saw him again in the meetingroom. She took notes for McGrath, Mulder's Sectionchief, and couldn't take her eyes of him. Scully saw it, but didn't say a thing. Mulder didn't even notice it. Later on, Lisa didn't drive home, but followed him until they reached his appartment. She saw Mulder and Scully enter the apartmentbuilding. Why was Scully there? She saw the lights in his apartment go on. She knew exactly which one was his. She saw shadows before the closed curtains. Then, a few minutes later, Scully left the building, and drove home. Lisa wanted to go inside, and tell him how she loved him - how she wanted to take care of him. But she didn't. She couldn't. Not yet. He had to ask her first. She started the car after a few minutes and drove home. She had time. Plenty of time. Mulder would be hers soon. He couldn't refuse her. 'Mulder, I don't know how to say this but ...' Mulder looked up at the woman sitting on top of his desk, and smiled. 'What is it, Scully? Lost for words? That's a first.' She grinned, before she stood up, and walked through the room, looking at the pictures on the wall. 'Someone in the Bureau fancies you.' 'What?' Mulder laughed. 'Don't tell me we are having an affaire without my knowledge, Scully.' She grinned again, and then said: 'No, seriously -' 'We are not having an affair?' 'Mulder, please let me finish. Do you know Lisa Randall, McGraths new secretary?' 'No, should I?' 'Well, she knows you. Or she thinks she does. She's telling everyone you are engaged.' 'What?' Mulder's smile changed in a sort of honest surprise. 'Why?' 'She's having a crush on you, Mulder. Isn't that obvious? And you have to do something about it before that girl is freaking out by you.' Mulder smiled. 'So, the girl is having a crush. And then what?' 'Mulder, this is serious business. She's only 24. If she gets too hung up by you - she could make mistakes. This is her second position. McGrath isn't easy to work for. Come on, talk to her.' 'Alright, alright.' Mulder stood up. 'I'll do as you say ... mom. I'll have a talk with her.' 'When?' 'Later.' 'No, right now, Mulder. Go on.' Scully practically had to push her partner to the door, closed it behind him and smiled. Then she left the office herself to speak with Skinner. Mulder's short tick on the door made Lisa jump out of her chair. She wanted to fly of the handle, but then saw the love of her life, and smiled: 'Oh, Fox, it's you.' Mulder recognized her from the bump in the hallway, but that was all. He had never spoken to her, never discussed anything with her. Yet she called him Fox as if she knew him better than anyone. 'Are you Lisa Randall?' he asked. She smiled, looking at the others in the office, and said: 'Of course I am. You should know my name after all this time, Fox.' 'Can I speak with you?' 'Anything you have to say you can say in front of my collegues, Fox.' He looked at the curious faces around them and said: 'You could regret that.' 'Alright then.' She stood up, and wanted to touch his ellbow with her hand, but he walked faster than her, and walked up the corridor. People passed them. 'Follow me,' Mulder said, as he walked back to the room in the basement. They were alone. He closed the door behind him, saw her nervously trembling around and said: 'Ms. Randall, I think there has been a mistake. Why did you tell everyone we were engaged?' Her smile vanished as she said with frightened voice: 'We are engaged.' 'No, we're not. I don't even know you ! If you're having a crush of some sort, please stop it. You're too young for me, and I don't think we would get along.' 'How could you say that?' she whispered with tears in her eyes. 'I love you, Fox. I always have.' Her hand touched his cheek. He waved her away, and said: 'Look, Ms. Randall. I'm sure you are a nice woman. You look good, your character is nice, but we do not know each other, alright? And if you don't mind, I prefer choosing who I am engaged to myself.' 'Is it her?' 'Who?' 'Dana. Are you in love with her?' 'Dana Scully has got nothing to do with this. Please, Lisa. Just go. It's about time you grow up, isn't it?' Mulder opened the door, and waited patiently until she finally seemed to get the picture and turned around. Mulder saw her leave with her head between her hands, but didn't say anything anymore. The shortest pain was the best - the only way for her to find out he wasn't interested. Relieved it was over he grabbed his cup and left the office. When he got back a few minutes later, a small package was standing on Scully's desk. He picked it up, saw a bottle of perfum without wrapping, and read 'Canadian Dawn'. Never heard of it. There wasn't a note attached to it. It wasn't Scully's regular perfume. ------------------------------ Mulder screwed open the bottle, smelt it, and closed it again. Scully arrived just a minute later. 'Hey,' he said, while handing over the perfume. 'This is for you.' 'Oh, thank you, Mulder,' she said surprised. 'Don't thank me. I didn't give it.' 'Oh? Then who did?' 'I don't know.' She screwed it open, smelt, and said: 'Nah, not my brand.' Carelessly she put it on her desk, and shoved some papers around. Mulder prevented the bottle from falling, and said: 'Scully, dear, handle your presents more careful, will you?' 'As long as I don't know who gave it to me, I don't really care,' she grinned. 'Who ever bought it, didn't know this definitely isn't my sentage. Keep it, Mulder. Give it to your mother's, or something. It has a weird scent to it. But perhaps your mom will be pleased with it.' 'Alright, I will.' Mulder smiled while putting the bottle on his desk. 'So,' Scully said. 'How did your conversation with Lisa go?' 'She got the picture.' 'Good. Let's get to work then.' Mulder screwed open the bottle of Canadian Dawn, and smelt. In a large empty box Lisa started had packed all of Sylvie Chaplin's things. No one of her collegues had come around to it. They all were too emotional involved. But it didn't affect Lisa one little bit. She was alone in the office. The others went to lunch. Until the door went open. She didn't even hear it until someone stood in front of her. Lisa looked up and saw agent Scully. 'Oh, agent Scully,' Lisa said, while her hands were holding Sylvie's things. Scully saw her nervosity, and felt sorry for the girl. 'Lisa, I heard what happened with Mulder. I just wanted to know if you were alright.' 'Oh, yes, I am,' Lisa said, carefully examining agent Scully's face. 'I know Mulder doesn't feel about me the way I do about him, but it'll change. I've got time.' 'If there is anything I can do for you ...' 'No, thank you, agent Scully. I would like to be alone now.' Scully nodded her head, turned around and left the office. Lisa was acting strange, there was no question about that. Something bothered Scully, but she couldn't lay her finger on it. What was wrong in this picture? Mulder got a slight headache at the end of the day. As he got up to go to the bathroom, the room tumbled. 'Mulder, are you alright?' Scully said, watching him. 'Yeah, I think so. It's just a headache. I'm just gonna throw some water on my face. Will be right back.' She watched him leave the office, and looked at the opened bottle of Canadian Dawn. She stood up, smelt the sentage, and looked at the label. She had seen it before. She knew she had. She remembered. Scully left the office, walked rapidly to Lisa Randall's office, but didn't find the woman behind her desk. There were more people in the room. 'Where are Mrs. Chaplin's possessions?' Scully asked. One of the secretaries said: 'I don't know. Lisa has them. Over there.' She pointed at Lisa's desk. Scully walked behind the desk, bent over and found the large box underneath the desk. She grabbed the box, and started unloading. McGrath came out of his office, saw her, and said: 'What is going on here?' Scully found a bottle with 'Canadian Dawn' labelled on it. She turned around and asked: 'Does anyone know how Mrs. Chaplin got this bottle?' 'It was sent to her by mail, agent Scully,' the secretary answered. 'I remember her telling me about it.' Scully smelt and noticed the same weird scent as she did with the other bottle. And she realised what was going on. Skinner came in, saw the commotion and said: 'What's going on here, agent Scully?' 'I think Lisa Randall poisoned Mrs. Chaplin, sir,' Scully said. 'And Mulder. I have to find him.' 'What?' Skinner and McGrath looked at each other, both with the same unbelief, but as Scully left the office, they both went after her. She had to find Mulder. Fox Mulder felt worse within a few seconds. Within ten minutes his legs went numb. In the restroom he threw icecold water in his face, but it couldn't prevent him from getting more sick. He opened the door, ready to ask anyone for help. The room tumbled. Everything turned shady. He heard footsteps, and hands stopped him from falling. 'It's okay, Fox,' he heard a voice say. 'I'll take care of you. This wasn't supposed to happen, but I'll take care of you. I promise.' He felt the wall against one hand, and her arm supported him. Then there were footsteps again, and this time a very familiar voice said: 'Lisa, let go of him. Lisa, step out of the way.' Mulder opened his eyes, and saw Scully. He said: 'Scully, I'm not feeling too well.' 'I know, Mulder,' she said stepping forward. 'It's the perfume. Canadian Dawn. She poisoned it. Didn't you, Lisa?' Lisa's hand reached out for his gun. She was fast. Within a second she had pulled it out and pushed it against his neck, while saying: 'It was supposed to be you, Dana. You are standing in between us. Only you.' McGrath did a step forward. Immediately Lisa screamed: 'Don't come any further ! I swear I'll kill him. If I can't have him, no one can.' 'Lisa, please, drop it,' Scully said. 'He's going to die if you don't let us take care of him. How much time did Sylvie have before she died? A few minutes, an hour? What is in it? A Southamerican poison? You said you had lived in South-America. Native Americans know much more about poison than we do. It would cause cardiac-arrest, wouldn't it, Lisa? And then no one would notice that you didn't die of natural causes. How much time has Mulder got left, Lisa?' 'He will die. There's no stopping.' 'No !' Scully yelled. 'Think, Lisa. Think ! There has to be a way to save him. You don't want him to die, do you?' Lisa smiled nervously. 'No, I don't ... And he doesn't have to. You see, I hold all the cards. I have the antidote.' 'Where, Lisa?' 'At home ... In my apartment in town ...' 'Where?' '...' 'Where, Lisa??' Scully asked hard. '58 Popexe Street. Apartment 408. I've got it in my deskdrawer, under the window. I ...' Lisa looked up and saw several people. 'Don't you understand?' she screamed. 'I've loved him since the moment I saw him at the annual dinner. I was there with my aunt, with Sylvie Chaplin. No one knew she was my aunt. I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted to be there without being noticed. And I saw him. Three months I have waited for this. I followed him, photographed him, waited for him to notice me, but he didn't ! He didn't even see me ! The only way to approach him was to get inside the Bureau. So I killed her, to take her place. The only thing I wanted, was for him to notice me ...' Lisa felt tears run down her face. She looked at Mulder. His eyes were closed. His hand slipped away from the wall. His legs lost their strength, and as he fell on the ground, she lost her grip on him for just a second. One shot fell. It came from behind her. She didn't even know who shot her. Scully heard herself scream: 'No !' But she saw Lisa Randall's chest being struck by one bullet which brought her down. Lisa's face smiled as she fell next to the man she loved. Her hand still held the gun, but she wasn't dead. 'Mulder.' Scully bent over her partner. He was still alive. 'Call an ambulance,' Skinner said. 'No, there isn't any time. We'll have to take him to my car, and drive to her apartment. He has to be treated immediately. Call the hospital and let them get an ambulance at her apartment. And take care of her.' Scully grabbed a keychain from Lisa's right pocket, and said to Skinner: 'Sir, I need your help.' 'Come on.' Skinner and one of the other agents picked Mulder up, and carried him downstairs. After putting him on the backseat, Skinner got in next to Scully, and saw her leave the parkinglot. Never before had he seen her like this. The determination on her face betrayed her fear for her partner. Scully ignored every stopsign, and drove through everything. Twice they almost had a crash, but they made it without accidents. Skinner pulled Mulder out of the car. They heard sirens. Scully opened the frontdoor, held it open for Skinner and saw him carry Mulder to the elevators. On the 4th floor, Scully opened the apartmentdoor. They heard another elevator slide open. Two men in white and red uniforms came running towards the apartment. Skinner lay Mulder on the sofa, and saw Scully open the drawer to find a small bottle. 'Hurry,' she said to one of the helpers. Not more than a minute later Mulder was injected with the antidote. 'Let's get him to the hospital,' Skinner said. Scully felt herself tremble. She saw Mulder being strapped on the stretcher. As they carried him outside, she heard Skinner say: 'Oh, my god.' Only then she saw that every inch of the apartment was covered with pictures of Mulder. Lisa Randall woke up two days later in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. She was tight down to her bed. As soon as she opened her eyes she asked for Mulder, but she wouldn't get to see him. She was in isolation, and would stay there until her trial. Analysis of the bottle of Canadian Dawn told Scully right. It had been treated with an unidentified (presumably Southamerican) poison. After waking up, Lisa Randall did not speak another word. She was placed under arrest for the murder of her aunt, Sylvie Chaplin. Only later on, things got more clearer. Lisa was the daughter of Sylvie Chaplin's halfbrother Bruce, who went to South-America in 1971, where he met an Indian woman and fell in love. He married her, but never told the family. After the death of his wife he brought Lisa back to the States, where he put her up for fostering, since he wasn't prepared to raise her himself. Her aunt was the only one who cared for her, but bound to a promise to her brother, she never told her family about Lisa. She did however take her to several occasions, where Lisa saw Mulder for the first time. Due to her strange, twisted youth Lisa wasn't an average young woman. In her mind a cancer started to grow. A cancer which would finally turn her against her aunt, the only one who loved her. Lisa sent her the perfume by mail, knowing it would kill her aunt. Then she applied for the job, and got it. Knowing that Scully was the only one standing between Mulder and her, she decided to get wrid of the agent the same way she got wrid of her aunt. It didn't turn out that way. Mulder didn't need much time to recover from the poisoning. After two days he was allowed to leave the hospital. He never visited Lisa. The memories of what happened in the corridor, were twisted and strange, but he heard the entire story from Scully. They both agreed that Lisa Randall should never be visited by one of them. Lisa Randall got sentenced to life in prison, but her insanity brought her to maximum lockup in a state psychiatric institution. The doctor treating her, described her as sitting on the ground all the time, staring at the only photograph of Mulder she was allowed to have. She just keeps on sitting and sitting. And no one knows what goes through her mind, while her hands touch his face. She knows that some day she will get out, and that Mulder is waiting for her. One day they'll meet again. The End?