Title: Cross Your Path 
Author: Ann Martin
Class: S. No MSR, no X.
Disclaimer: Fox "Spooky" Mulder and his partner in crime Dana "Ice
Princess" Scully belong Chris "The Board" Carter and his panel of
henchmen. No copyright infringement intended-- Hey, c'mon, Chris, we're
*family.*

Summary: In response to the "Halloween Challenge;" a black cat leads
Mulder and Scully on a Halloween trip.

**********

Dana Scully walked through the pharmacy, faced by mounds of candy.

"I can't believe this is what Halloween has become," Scully said to her
partner, as he tossed a bag of candy corn in the basket.

"What? Commercialization? The desecration of an ancient tradition? The
over hyping of young children's fantasies?" he asked.

"No. Poor nutrition."

He smiled a small, wry grin. "I think you're missing the point, Scully."

"Well," she said as she checked out, "I'll be missing the point tonight
every five minutes until 9 o'clock--"

"At which point you settle down and got comfortable just as a troop of
high schoolers come up the walk."

"Exactly. Hope you enjoy your Halloween, Mulder."

"See you tomorrow, Scully."

****

"Here you go," Scully said, with a fake smile. She leaned down to give
the ten year old a wrapped candy. As she watched his eyes drift from the
candy bar to the full bag she held, Scully stood up swiftly, readjusting
her sweater. "Keep safe, you hear?"

She shut the door and turned back to her oft-paused copy of "The
Breakfast Club." Nothing scared her just right for Halloween than
watching Molly Ringwald fall for... well, Marcus.

As she sat down, Scully heard a strange noise. It sounded a bit like a
baby crying, but when she heard it again and again, her attention was
suddenly drawn to the other side of the room. Atop her breakfast counter
stood a large, bony black cat, meowing. He stared at her steadily.

"Well, how did you--" Her eyes went to the door. He must have slipped in
while she was treating the last customer to her bounty. It wouldn't be
wise to disturb him, she thought-- cats like that often had a bit of a
temper. Besides, she was too tired to worry about it. Why not let him
have the run of the place for a few hours, let him out when she was more
rested. After all, he was probably cold and she wasn't sure but it might
be raining, would it rain tomorrow? She had to know which shoes to
wear.... sleep, sleep....

****

"AUUUUGGGGHHH!" 

Yet another little girl ran screaming from the Mulder doorstep. He looked
up innocently at her stunned yuppy parents. "Sorry," he said sweetly,
shrugging.

As he shut the door on the young family, Mulder collapsed against the
door in laughter. 

"What IS it about this costume that works so well?" he laughed at
himself. Maybe it was the long lanky frame dressed in black that brought
the costume to life. Or maybe it was the rumors circulating around the
building.

Mulder sat back down on his couch. Some comedy show or another was
blaring as he unwrapped Milky Ways and Kit Kats. Suddenly, he heard a
sharp rapping. Walking to the door, he found no one was there. ~Must be
hearing things again, Fox, he thought. ~No, wait-- there it was again. It
sounded like it was coming from--

Mulder threw the window open, stared out his fire escape. As his pulled
his head back in the window, a slick shape slid by his arm. He whirled
around, facing the room again to see a black cat staring him down. He
thought, ~ it must be a stray. But, black as night, he'd work great for
some unsuspecting victim.

****

Scully rolled over in her bed, trying to escape the monster. She could
feel its body weighing down on her as his fangs nipped. She sat up
straight in her bed, and realized it was the cat, clawing at her back. As
she stepped out of the bed to see what it wanted, it ran out her bedroom
door. She hesitated, and he dashed back in-- beckoning?

He led her to the door and she realized what he wanted.

"You take care of yourself." She opened the door and let him go through.
She turned around to shut it-- and he slipped back in. They both played
around the door until Dana finally conceded to following him. As she
walked down the hall in a slicker and sweats, flashlight in hand, she
hissed at the cat, "You think *you* don't want to go back out there
alone?" He didn't appear to have gotten in any fights, and looked to be
in perfect shape to her. Either way, he wasn't her responsibility, but
she wouldn't mind the walk and was-- for some bizarre reason-- mildly
interested in the stray system of the big city.

The cat tiptoed onto the sidewalk, and Dana happily followed. ~Wait--
what am I doing? As she turned to go back in the building, her nose was
suddenly filled with that crisp smell of fall. The rain refreshed her,
and her legs began to burn.. ~Alright, I'll go. But I want to take the
walk and that's the *only* reason I'm going.

Dana Scully trooped down the street, turning into an old forested
cemetery with not a weather balloon on her mind.

****

Mulder sat on the stoop outside his building, bathed in shadows. It was
late and he should get to bed-- but the look on the faces of those last
kids had been too precious. Next group that walked by, he'd jump out,
scare them, and go back in. 

Mulder's hand absentmindedly stroked the cat. He had wandered away and
come back several times, almost playing with Mulder. He figured he had
some big complex kitten Halloween party to get back to. As he pondered
these great mysteries of life-- the social system of the stray and how
many Skittles it would take before you exploded-- the cat swiftly caught
up his keys and ran down the street. Mulder rolled his eyes and stood up.
He didn't have the time nor the energy to chase after his keys at the
moment. He didn't have a spare either, though, so he had no choice.

As Mulder skipped down the street, the alleys were filled with, "Have you
seen the ghost of John? Long white bones with the flesh all gone..."

**** 

Scully was bone tired and didn't really want to be in a cemetery at two
in the morning chasing a cat. But, she had followed him into the woods
and was now so lost she had to follow him in hopes of recognizing his
home and gutter. She trooped on, her feet crunching on the leaves and
flashlight swinging at her side. Where was that stupid cat, anyway? 

Scully stopped for a moment, hearing a loud calling sound. Kids! Out in
the woods, messing around. She ran to catch up with the noise, hoping
they knew where *they* were. She rushed into a thicket-- and bumped
almost directly into Mulder.

"Fox!"

He looked up at her sharply. "Scully???"

"Yeah-- what are you doing out here?"

"Following a-- ah, uh, a walk I used to take. It um, it was a lot nicer
in daylight."

"Lost?"

"A little confused, maybe, but not-- yeah. Lost. And you?"

"I really just wanted to take a walk. That's really the only reason I'm
out here. Wanted to walk. Just out here, nice night, so I thought, `Why
not take a walk?'.... Passing the time, you know. Some of us don't
consider off-key singing too entertaining."

"Singing?" Mulder asked, puzzled. He'd missed the joke.

"Oh, I heard you singing from over there. I was hoping you were somebody
who knew how to find their way back to the city, so I rushed over."

"I wasn't singi--"

Then the noise sounded again, a loud echoing sound at a high pitch,
swirling through the night air. From the bushes, the cat stepped out into
the clearing. Both pretended not to see. Finally, the pressure was
unbearable for Mulder.

"My keys!" 

He leaned down to sweep the keys out of the cat's jaws, but he slipped
away. Exasperated, Mulder tugged at Scully's sleeve. "C'mon."

As they jogged through the forest, Scully asked him, "Your keys?"

"Yeah-- he, um-- took them, I guess."

"So you got lost out in the woods following a cat that had stolen your
keys? Sucker."

Mulder was about to protest when they heard the noise again-- only this
time, much clearer. It came from the throat of a human, and was full of
fear. Mulder looked straight into his partner's eyes. "It's Halloween.
Dare we?"

She answered him by walking in the direction of the sound. 

"Scully--"

She turned to him. "Maybe they can help us find our way back."

****

A long while later, Mulder and Scully were even more desperately lost,
and hadn't heard the call for quite a time. As they sat down against a
tree, Scully spotted the cat again.

"Oh, thank the Lord."

Mulder raised an eyebrow. "Is the cat a sign from God?"

"No. NO! I just, ah, you know, heard a rustling in the bushes. Thought it
might be, a bear, or something. You know."

Not speaking, they stood up to follow the cat, who stuck close by.

"So it ah, it wouldn't have anything to do with allowing a black cat to
lead you out into the woods at two in the morning on Halloween, would
it?" Mulder teased her.

"At least he doesn't have my keys."

They came to the top of a deep ravine, but the cat scurried down. 

"Um, Mulder? It's dark and wet and I don't think--"

"Oh, come on, have some Halloween fun, you'll be fine. The cat is out
there," Mulder said, starting to step down. Turning back to her, he
softened. "You'll be fine, just grip with your shoes."

They reached the bottom almost uneventfully-- Scully slid most of the way
down-- and continued to walk along in the direction the cat led them in.

"This is nuts, you know," Scully said eventually.

"Not as bad as trying to find our own way back. Cats have a good sense of
direction."

"Are you sure you don't mean pigeons?"

"Positive," Mulder replied, the end of the word cut off by another one of
the howls. 

"This way!" Scully ran off in the night, slipping a gun out of the pocket
of her slicker. Mulder raced after her. She didn't even check to see if
it was possibly the howl of a rabid animal I encountered once at Oxford,
he thought. Scully wasn't usually reckless-- was she starting to panic?

The two found their way to a rock outcrop. Scully looked at him, the
light falling in her eyes. And he knew she was thinking about just
sitting down and spending the night in that very spot. As she sighed, a
moan came from within a small overhang. The partners rushed in to reveal
a small body, one leg twisted in a strange position.

"Mulder," Scully breathed, shining her light on the form. "It's a little
girl!" She ripped off her slicker and put it over the small body. "Do you
have your cell phone?"

****

In the weak morning light of November 1st, Scully consulted with an
officer on the scene.

"She was probably out with her friends-- or worse, alone, and slipped on
the leaves down the ravine. She's only nine, you know, so it's a good
thing you found her when you did. It was very chilly last night."

"Thank you, Officer Hicks," Scully said, smiling weakly at him. She
walked over to Mulder. 

"Her parents thanked me a couple of minutes ago. Asked me to pass it on
to you."

Scully nodded. "They seemed like nice people. And she was all apologies
when they showed up. Don't think she'll have too many more Halloweens
like this one."

They stood in awkward silence at the edge of a space filled with a couple
dozen people. Alone, just the two, both thinking the exact same thing.

A slight jangling noise brought both their attentions to the ground
below. Mulder leaned down and stayed in that position for a moment,
thinking. When he straightened, the lanky man opened his hand to Scully.
"Keys," he said.

She smiled, looking at a stump. As she watched the every move of the
black figure on top of it, she commented, "What luck that we were out
here last night, just walking through the woods."

He nodded, bringing a mittened hand down on hers. "I can just imagine the
rumors of Spooky Mulder's Divine Intervention already at work. I guess
they'll just have to be happy with a simple story about a little jaunt
through the forest."
 *********

Tada! Feedback of any kind is appreciated; flames will provide real
s'mores to city kids everywhere. : )

Ann Martin
Gravity-- it's not just a good idea. It's the LAW