Title: Mulder's Creek: 16. It Came From the Closet
Author: Neoxphile
Author Email: neoxphile@aol.com
Rated: PG
Category: C
Keywords: XF/Dawson's Creek crossover. Alternate universe.
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to the characters, except those I've created, as they belong to Chris Carter and Kevin Williamson

Summary: Scully's nephew, Alexander, is afraid of something that he claims lives in his closet. It's just a little boy's imagination.isn't it?

Opening scene-

Mulder is toying with the anatomical correct baby dolls his mother gave him as a joke for his birthday, while Scully watches with a smirk.

"You don't know how badly I wanted those when I was...seven."

"Want them?" Mulder asks, holding the dolls out to her.

"I think your mom would be crushed," Scully tells him sweetly. "Why do you think she got you a boy and a girl, though?"

"I guess 'cause they don't know what the baby is going to be."

"Maybe it's a hint. Could be twins."

"God forbid!" Mulder says, dropping the dolls. "I think there was a hint attached to this gift, though."

"What was that?"

"Mom said that they were 'for practice.' I envision myself doing a lot of baby-sitting in the future."

"Welcome to my life," Scully says sardonically. "The baby isn't even here yet, and he or she is already taking up a lot of your parents' time...how do you feel about your birthday having been so low-key this year?"

"You don't think I mind, do you? I'm ever so thrilled every year to be reminded that I was born on the first of April. "

Scully gives his arm a squeeze. "But you're my April fool, Mulder."

Mulder glowers at her. "Laugh now, little girl..," he tells her as ominously as he can.

"Oh...I'm so scared," Scully says, attempting to look frighten.

Thursday morning, Capeside high-

Doggett is on his way to his third period class when he sees Krycek walking quickly toward him. For a brief moment he considers ducking into the nearest classroom, but decides that'd be cowardly.

"Witter, how are you?" Krycek asks, looking a lot friendlier than Doggett thinks he ought to, so Doggett is immediately disarmed.

"uh..fine, you?"

"Great. So, I've been meaning to talk to you about that field trip last week."

Here it comes, Doggett thinks. "Oh?"

"That advice you gave me worked great."

"It did?" Doggett asks, trying not to let his confusion color his voice.

"Yeah. Sandy felt so bad that I got in trouble while trying to impress her that she asked me to go to the prom with her. Anyway, thanks a lot." Krycek calls as he walks towards his class. Doggett stands there for a moment, wondering what is wrong with society, then rushes off to class himself.

2am, Potter home-

Scully is in the middle of a pleasant dream. She's just to the part where she's sitting on the beach while Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny serve her non-alcoholic drinks with tiny umbrellas when a piecing shriek rips her out of her tropical vacation.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Alex cries, then hiccups. "Aunt Scully!"

Scully sighs and slips her feet into her bunny slippers. Bessie is a sound sleeper, and her room is farther from the little boy's, so Scully has been finding herself in his room a lot lately.

She isn't surprised when she sees him. His eyes are huge, and his dark curly hair clings damply to his forehead. At first his eyes don't seem to see her standing near his bed, and he's wearing a look of extreme fright that seems misplaced on a two and a half-year-old's face. Scully's heart breaks as she looks at him. "Alex, it's ok."

He blinks twice while looking up at her and then starts to cry. Scully gathers him up in her arms and tries to soothe him. He clings tightly and his tiny fists hold onto her night shirt, as if he is scared that she'll leave him if he loosens his grip. Scully paces the room while she waits for him to calm down some, and her eyes scan the room for what she knows she'll need next.

Eventually he allows himself to be put back down. "Monster in the closet," he says flatly, waiting for her to pick up the flashlight from off his dresser.

"Alexander, there is no such thing as a monster," Scully reassures him.

"Are too!" he insists, popping his thumb into his mouth and giving her a beseeching look.

Scully gives in and flicks on the flashlight. Alex burrows into his covers as she slowly opens the closet door. She shines the light into all the corners as he watches her. "No monsters here, kiddo."

Alexander hops down and peers into the closet, crowding close to her legs. " You don't see any do you?" she asks him, and he shakes his head. Scully closes the closet door and turns off the flashlight.

He protests. "No! Under bed, under bed!" he insists, pointing. Scully gets down on all fours and shines the light under his bed. There's nothing scarier than a Barney figure and a few dust bunnies under there.

"There's nothing under there either," she tells him as she scoops him up and tucks him into bed. "Now go to sleep." For a moment she thinks he's going to say something, but he closes his eyes. She leaves the door open a crack and goes back to bed, planning to complain to Bessie in the morning.

Friday afternoon, Capeside High School-

Mulder is talking to Scully as they put things in their lockers. After a couple moments of only his voice filling the void, he notices that Scully seems less enthused about the weekend than he does. He turns to her to ask her why that is when he realizes that she seems to be having trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Uh... you not get enough sleep last night or something?"

Scully waves her hand tiredly " Alex again."

"Oh. He's still convinced that there are monsters in his closet, then. Guess it's better than the little green men I thought I saw lurking outside my bedroom windows, but not much better."

"And under his bed, where ever. The lack of sleep is catching up to me, all I want to do is take a nap, but... if I go home it will be too noisy to sleep. The lack of sleep during the night doesn't affect Alex because he just sleeps later in the morning to make up for it."

"Ok, then, come home with me. You can take a nap in my room," he tells her and earns himself a skeptical look. "Don't look at me like that. Mom is on a cleaning kick, you know how pregnant women get, but she's too awkward now to do much bending and lifting, so my afternoon is going to be taken up by being instructed on how to organize the guest bedroom and bathroom. I'm not going to see the inside of my bedroom for hours."

"Well, if it's ok with your mom..."

To Scully's great relief, Mrs. Leary had no problems whatsoever with her sacking out in Mulder's room. His room is quiet, and dimly lit with the blinds closed, and his bed is soft and comfortable...Scully wakes up and looks at the clock. She's surprised to find that two hours have passed since she first closed her eyes. To her dismay a look in his mirror shows her how tangled her hair is, so she rummages through her backpack for a hairbrush.

Five minutes later she wanders down the hallway towards the sound of Mulder and Mrs. Leary's voices. "Thanks, Honey. It looks great." Mrs. Leary says leaving the room. She smiles at Scully as she passes her in the hallway.

Scully pokes her head into the room and admires Mulder's work. The room is neat as a pin and has brand new sheets and drapes, the packages to which Mulder is gathering up. "Looks nice, Mulder."

"Oh hi, you're awake. Thanks. One of my aunts is supposed to come stay with us for a week or two after the baby is born, so Mom wanted to make sure that everything was all ready."

"Isn't it a little early to be worrying about that?"

"Well, yeah, it's supposed to be another month, but my mom has a feeling that the baby is going to be early for some reason. She said something about not thinking the due date is completely accurate."

Scully looks around the room and notices all the feminine touches. "In any case, I think your aunt will like it."

"Me too. Knowing Aunt Gwen, though, she'll bring some of her paintings to decorate the room with," Mulder says with a smile.

"Does she still have the one she did of you, Doggett, and I when we were seven?"

"She did the last time I was at her house."

"It will be nice to see her again. But I'm not posing again." Scully says.

"Awe, come on. You, me and Doggett hugging, what could be better?" Mulder teases.

"Lots of things!"

Thursday, 7:45pm, Witter home-

A large bowl of potato chips and a container of dip sit on the coffee table, nearly forgotten as the action heats up. Doggett, Mulder and Sheriff stare intently at the television screen. The Bruins are playing the Senators, and Sheriff Witter doesn't think that they are playing to their full potential.

"Look at that. They need to put some heart into it if they're going to beat the Senators and the officials. You know, that's how it always is at away games. The New England teams are always getting screwed on the calls..." He rants, not noticing that the boys are both rolling their eyes. They've heard this all before. "What the Bruins need to do is pull that idiot DeFoe out of the game. He couldn't save his own *ss the way he's been playing lately. I think we should call him Byron DeBlow since he's deblowing the game. If they don't put another player in goal he's going to keep dragging the team down and they can kiss another Stanley cup goodbye..." Sheriff Witter continues to insult both the player and his manhood until the period is over.

Several minutes into the break he turns off his rants and speaks calmly. "So Mulder, Doggett here tells me that you're dating that little red-haired girl Scully."

"Yes, sir," Mulder tells him with a smile.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Sheriff Witter asks in a conversational tone.

"N-n-no sir." Mulder stammers.

The sheriff nods. "Good. She's a nice kid and one hell of a shot. I wouldn't want you to be responsible for ruining her future." Mulder wishes the floor would open up and swallow him. "Maybe she'll go to the police academy with this one here."

Sheriff Witter says, jerking his thumb in Doggett's direction.

Doggett is smirking through this exchange, and he suddenly has a sneaking suspicion that his father knows that. "And you," he says, turning towards Doggett. "You better keep it in your pants too. Your girlfriend is nice enough, but I already have enough snot-nosed grand kids around without you adding to their number. You better not be responsible for making me a grandfather until you're out of the academy, Boy."

"Yes, dad," Doggett says, his cheeks now the same rosy color as Mulder's. They're spared any more advice because the game comes back on.

"Is the ref blind??? My grandmother could call the game better than this, and she's dead!" Sheriff Witter grumbles. Doggett and Mulder both plan to get snacks during the next break. Snacks that'll take several minutes to prepare.

Tuesday afternoon, Capeside high school-

Reyes watches the buses pull away while she waits for Mulder to say goodbye to Scully. She turns her head when she hears him explain that Doggett had asked him to talk to her, and is a little surprised when Scully looks like she more or less expected that. For a moment she wonders what sort of things Scully and Doggett talked about during the zoo trip. Embarrassed to be eavesdropping, Reyes turns her thoughts to other things.

Reyes decides that though she has no real qualms about teaming up with Mulder to try and figure out if Spender is the long lost boy from Maine, she can't tell him her suspicions about Fowley. For one, Fowley has hinted that Mulder's mother might be involved, and she doesn't want to worry him needlessly about his unborn sibling; revelations might be better after a problem seems to present itself, not before. And furthermore, she thinks, Fowley is his former crush, so the revelation is sure to cause him some anguish, no matter how happy he is with Scully. No, she tells herself, I need to find out if Fowley really is in danger on my own. But how?

A brilliant plan begins to formulate in her mind. She is on the yearbook staff's insert committee, and she can use that to her advantage... She blinks in surprise when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Mulder looks concerned, and she blushes because she has no idea how long she's been in her own little world: that Scully doesn't seem to be there any longer doesn't make her feel better.

"Um...are you ok?" Mulder asks her.

"I'm fine. I was just lost in thought is all."

"Well, that's ok, we all concentrate on our inner-workings now and again. "

"Thanks. So, you said you thought you might have a way to prove that Spender is really Scott Martin? What did you have in mind, finding someone who can do dna samples? Unless you have an uncle or someone who's a biologist..." Reyes trails off doubtfully.

"Nope. Nothing that scientific, though it would be nice if we had the means. I think we can satisfy ourselves with this," Mulder says, pulling something of his backpack.

Reyes takes the cardboard folder and asks " What's this?"

Reyes opens it as he says," The class picture from my kindergarten class. Spender is the last one on the right," Mulder says pointing to the smiling little boy.

"Oh gosh, there's you, Doggett and Scully in the front row...awww. This is cute, but what does it prove?" Reyes asks.

"By itself, nothing. But if we can find a picture of Scott Martin on the Internet, it could help prove, or at least disprove to ourselves that they're one and the same person."

"Ok, great. Let's go to my house, then. I'll drive," Reyes says.

"Ohhhh, scary." Mulder teases her.

"Well, here's a picture of Scott Martin," Reyes says.

"Are you sure? There could be a lot of Scott Martins, and I don't want to get our hopes up for the wrong reason." Mulder cautions.

"This one is on a missing children's website, and it says he was kidnapped from his home in Maine thirteen years ago this August," Reyes explains.

"That sounds like our boy. Let's compare the pictures," Mulder says, holding the photograph up to the computer screen. "I'll be damned."

"It has to be him, Mulder. The resemblance is uncanny."

"Yup. Now you need to decide if you think that his being a kidnap victim lends to or detracts from his credibly in regards to what he claims to know about your friend."

"Thanks Mulder. I'll have to give it some thought before I decide whether or not to confront him."

"Glad to be of assistance," Mulder says with a bow. "Once you've talk to him let me know, then we can consider broaching the subject of my sister with him."

"Sure. I'll get back to you," Reyes says, planning to put off actually speaking to Spender for as long as possible.

Thursday 9pm, Potter home-

Scully smiles to herself when she thinks about the phone conversation she had with Mulder earlier in the day.

"Mulder...do you think you could come over and help me babysit?"

"I don't know...if I do, do you promise not to become deathly ill immediately after?" Mulder asks.

"Mulder..."

"I mean it. If it happens again, I'm liable to develop a complex of some sort. Not to mention that I'd be forced to sue you for causing me emotional distress."

"Mulder..."

"No, don't make light of it. It was really scary to watch you be so ill and not be able to do anything to change that. A feeling of complete helplessness-"

"Mulder, I promise not to get sick."

"Well, ok, then. See you tonight," Mulder says, hanging up. Scully sighs.

Alexander has been asleep for an hour and Scully finds herself getting bored of the TV. She shuts it off and figures that Mulder's lack of protest is a good sign.

"So, what do you want to do until e.r. comes on?" he asks her.

"How about talk? At least until Alex wakes up and starts crying."

"He's still afraid of the boogie man?" Mulder asks sympathetically.

"Unfortunately, yes. He wakes up in tears three or four nights a week. Were you ever afraid of stuff like that?" Scully asks, letting the exasperation she feels seeping out into her voice.

"Sure. I wasn't kidding when I told you that I was afraid of the little green men. I used to have horrible nightmares about them for two solid years after Sam disappeared. Didn't you fear things in the dark? It's a fairly typical little kid thing."

Scully shakes her head. "I didn't start developing my fears until I was quite a bit older than Alex."

"Fears are a pretty strange thing. And closets, well, you know, they're dark and closed, so that makes them the perfect hidy-hole for whatever we're afraid of. So...what's the most terrifying thing you could find in a closet?"

"What a silly question." Scully chides. "Ok, if I'm really going to answer this, I'd guess I'd have to say a clown. Wild ferocious eyes, knife in hand, ready to spring out at me...I know for a fact that Bessie would say hers would be a horde of large venomous spiders. What would freak you out, Mulder?"

"I should think you'd know the answer to that already, my dear. A flock of ducks, of course."

"Mulder, I love you so it pains me to say this...even your fears are weird. I know that you are afraid of ducks, but why??"

"Ok, picture this. I'm three years old, and almost as little as Alex. My parents bring me to a petting zoo type place called Friendly Farms. My dad leads me by the hand to the duck pen. There are lots of little ducklings there, and they are so cute. I reach out my chubby little hands, desperately wanting to touch one of those little yellow balls of fluff. My dad tells me to be careful, and I very gently touch one of the ducklings. Its warmth surprises me, and it peeps softly. Then it happens."

"What?" Scully demands.

"The peeping must have attracted the attention of the mother duck, because she rushes over to investigate. She flies up near my face, and I fall over because I'm so startled. She must be startled too because she attempts to get away, but in her haste beats her wings and whacks me in the head several times. My dad scoops me up, and I leave with him, sobbing, scared I'd hurt one of the ducklings when I'd fallen. I hadn't but the bad feeling about ducks was then forever burned into my impressionable mind," Mulder finishes.

Scully wraps her arm around his neck. "My god, Mulder, you're completely insane," she says, kissing his cheek.

"But that's part of my appeal, right?"

"Of course."

"That's good to hear, but I'd rather discuss your appeal..." Mulder says, sweeping her off her feet and making her giggle.

9:15 Witter home-

After his parents went to bed, Doggett abscond with the cordless phone and brought it up to his room. Half expecting to be politely explained to by a roommate that she was out for the night, Doggett was pleasantly surprised when his sister answered the phone. After a few moments of exchanging niceties, Gretchen cut to the heart of the matter, as was her way.

"So, Doggett, why are you calling?"

"I need some advice. It's about Dad."

"Oh, God, you didn't get your girlfriend pregnant, did you?"

"No!! What is with you people? She's not that type of girl, ok? First Dad, then you... Anyway, dad hinted strongly at something, and I don't know how to respond if he ever does ask for one."

"It would help if you'd tell me what he said." Gretchen grouses.

"Ok, so when he was interrogating Mulder and I about our sex lives, see what I mean? He told Mulder that maybe Scully could be a cop, and be in my class at the academy."

"So?"

"So I don't know that I want to be a cop. Yeah, it's a family tradition and all, but could you picture me with a gun every day?"

"Maybe, maybe not. You handled yourself ok when Chad broke in." Gretchen reminds him.

"I was scared to death! I probably couldn't have pulled the trigger."

"Probably? I don't know, Doggett, maybe in a few years you'd make a good cop. You should give it some serious thought before deciding for or against it."

"I plan to, but do you think that Dad really expects me to do what he and Kersh do? I mean, yeah Kersh embraced it whole hog, but I'm not Kersh." Doggett gripes.

"That's for damn sure. I think that Dad realizes that you and Kersh are fundamentally different. Our half-brother has only had Dad to hold onto, you know? I mean when Dad and his mother got divorced, he was only a very little boy, and she flat out told him she didn't want him, which is why Dad was getting custody of him. That's got to put some deep scars on a little kid...so of course he idolizes Dad and grew up to be just like him. We're the lucky ones, you know, in this family. Mom and Dad have been together since before we were born, so we missed out on all the drama that Kersh and our older sisters endured. It's made us different than them in some ways, I think. I've gotten pretty far afield here, but the point I was trying to make is that Dad must realize that his sons are two totally different people. And if you tell him that you don't want to become a police officer, I think that he might be disappointed, but he'd understand. Does any of this help?" Gretchen asks.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for the advice," Doggett says, only half listening to her tell him a story about her idiot roommate. Instead he finds himself thinking about his older brother. He knows from family lore and photos from his parents' wedding that his sisters had been seven and eight at the time of the wedding, and Kersh had been almost six. The girls were thrilled, but Kersh had a hard time letting another woman into his life. From what his mother once said, it took until after Gretchen's birth for Kersh to truly accept his father's remarriage. By the time Doggett was old enough to be aware of other people's feelings, Kersh's bad feelings towards his mother were so long past that it shocked him to find out that Kersh wasn't his mother's son. Somehow that his oldest sisters weren't his father's daughters had seemed far less surprising in contrast.

That Kersh eventually was able to bond to Doggett's mother seems to him to be slightly less than miraculous. On one of the rare occasions that their father was inclined to speak of his first wife, he had said that she hadn't wanted to get married in the first place. He asked her several times, and each time was refused; she repeatedly told him that she didn't think a mixed marriage could ever work out. However, the stigma she perceived to be attached to marrying a white man was lesser than the one of bearing a child out of wedlock, so eventually she relented and accepted his proposal. From the start things were rocky, and Sheriff Witter said he was not surprised that she ended up leaving them. But Kersh was clearly was surprised, even though he endured her verbal abuse for years. She wasn't shy about telling him that it was his fault, at least in her opinion, that she was stuck in a loveless marriage. Kersh, Doggett thinks, must be a strong person indeed to have gotten past all that and have a positive relationship with his stepmother.

When Doggett finally finishes talking to his sister several minutes later, he vows to himself to do two things: one, think realistically about the possibility of following his father's footsteps, career-wise; two to attempt to get to know his brother better.

9:30pm, the Ice House-

Skinner has been carefully cultivating a platonic friendship with Reed since the field trip, and has grown to like the other boy a lot. He's now sure that the initial impression he'd gotten of Reed was due only to shyness, but he's equally certain that it's why he seems so lonely. He needs to meet other people, Skinner thinks, and I have an idea of how he can do that.

As they get ready to go home, Skinner taps Reed on the shoulder. Reed looks slightly startled, and Skinner wonders why. Shrugging the odd reaction off he asks," Do you ever do any hiking?"

"What exactly do you mean by 'hiking'? I don't mean to be insulting, but people usually mean one of two things: getting to the top of a mountain, or taking a stroll in the woods. Which did you mean?"

"Mountains. Chcora, actually. I've heard that it's nice this time of year, so I was hoping to get some people together to give it a shot. Interested?"

"Yeah, it sounds like it could be fun," Reed says with an enthusiasm that belies the look of apprehension that filled his eyes as soon as Skinner said "people."

Tactfully pretending not to notice Reed's nervousness, Skinner gives him a pleased look. "Great. I haven't asked anyone else yet, so I'll have to get back to you on who else will be coming, and when we'll go, ok?"

"Fine with me. Thanks," Reed says, putting his coat on and slipping through the door before Skinner has even reached for his jacket.

9:45pm, Potter home-

A shriek from the nursery sends Scully and Mulder running into Alexander's room. The toddler is bolt upright in bed with huge tears running down his cheeks. For one second Mulder watches in fascination as a tear rolls itself down the boy's smooth mocha skin, then he sits on the bed and pulls the boy into his lap, giving Scully a "let me handle this" look. Alex immediately buries his face against Mulder's shoulder and continues to sob. Mulder rubs his back and makes soothing noises for a while, then leans the boy back so he can look him in the eyes. "What's the matter, Buddy?" Mulder asks, sounding both friendly and concerned.

The boy draws another hitching breath and squeaks," Monsters!"

"Where are they?" Mulder asks.

Not used to an adult taking his fear seriously, Alex gives Mulder a suspicious look before replying. "Monster in closet."

Mulder holds up his hand to keep Scully from correcting the child. He listens hard and hears something, once, twice. Both times from the direction of the closet. A look of confusion crosses his face, and he swiftly picks the boy up. " I think you should try to sleep in your Aunt's room while we look for the monster, ok, Alex?"

"You get rid of it?" The child asks hopefully as they walk to Scully's room.

"We sure will," Mulder says, setting him on Scully's bed. Scully gives him a questioning look as she tucks Alexander in. They wait until his eyes droop shut before closing the door behind them.

Once they've walked back to Alex's room, she puts her hand on her hip. "Care to explain why you're feeding into his fear that there's a monster in the closet?" she fumes.

"Scully, there is something in the closet. I'm not saying it's a monster, but I heard it twice."

"What do you think it could be?"

"I don't know, and I have a feeling we're not going to be happy when we find out," Mulder tells her flatly.

Scully presses her ear against the closet door. She jumps back with a startled look on her face. "I heard something!"

"I told you," Mulder tells her smugly.

"It's not as thought I didn't believe you..." Scully mumbles.

"You're a terrible liar. I think we ought to see what this is, don't you?"

Scully's eyes become huge. "Are you sure?"

"Well, whatever it is, I doubt that it will leave in handcuffs if we called the police on it," Mulder says, but his face clearly says he's amused by her apprehension.

Scully, who correctly interprets his look, pushes his shoulder. "Here's the flashlight."

Mulder takes it, put slips it into the back pocket of his jeans. "I don't want to scare it to death...whatever it is."

"Hey, uh, Mulder, what are we going to do with it after we open the door?" Scully asks.

"That's a good question," Mulder says, thinking for the first time that it might be something other than a renegade toy. "You don't have a cage or anything around, do you?"

"I think there's a pet carrier downstairs from Bessie's old dog." Scully tells him.

"Ok, why don't you go get it," Mulder suggests.

Scully locates it after a few moments, which surprises her considering how long it has been since the dog was still living, then hears a girlish shriek. For a moment she wonders if Bessie is home, then realizes that as improbable as it is, it must be Mulder. Worried about why he'd make such a sound, Scully rushes back up stairs in time to see Mulder slam the door to the closet closed. Mulder's face is white and his hand trembles as he drops it away from the doorknob.

"Mulder, are you ok?"

"Yes..." he squeaks.

"What happened? And did anyone ever tell you that you have a girly scream?"

"I do not." Mulder indignantly replies. "Anyway I reached into the closet, and something touched me. Or I touched it, it amounts to the same thing either way."

"What was it?"

"I don't know! But it was furry."

"So it is something alive, then."

"Obviously. I'm going to open the door again, and if I yell it will be a very masculine yell, and look for it."

Scully tries very hard not to smirk. "Was it big?"

"I don't think so," Mulder tells her. "Ok, here we go," Mulder says throwing the closet door open. Something from the depths of the closet screeches angrily and rushes them. There are two girlish screams and then it's in the room.

The raccoon pounces on Alexander's bed and snarls at them. Scully wrings her hands, but Mulder has an idea. He grabs for the extra blanket on the top shelf of the closet and throws it over the irate animal. It squirms furiously, but he manages to bundle the blanket around it. "Watch for teeth!" Scully shouts.

"I am, I am!" Mulder says, stuffing the yowling bundle into the pet carrier. The masked creature has hand-like paws and shakes the cage like an indignant prisoner calling for the guard. "Now what?"

"I suppose we bring it outside and let it go," Scully says, shrugging.

"Ok, but how did it get in here in the first place? I think we ought to see where it got in."

Scully looks at the rattling pet carrier and grabs the handle saying " First things first."

They release their bandit back into the wild, then troupe to the closet. Mulder shines the flashlight into the back of the closet and exclaims "Ah ha!"

"Ah ha?"

"Yup. There's a hole in the back wall. Not too big but perfect for a raccoon.. My guess it a shingle fell off and it dug its way through. Tonight we can shove something heavy against the wall, and I bet my dad and I can fix it for you tomorrow."

"Great," Scully says, with a smile, then helps Mulder find something to shove against the hole, and puts Alexander back into his own bed.

Outside, the raccoon chitters to itself and stalks off into the woods. Once it's deeper into the forest, it looks in all directions with a hard shine in its beady eyes. It shrugs down its shoulders and suddenly grows much larger, its claws longer and its fur a uniform color. It bares its fangs and looks at the Potter house, giving a regretful shake of its shaggy head before lumbering off in the direction of the nearest porch light it can see.

Credits

Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile

< Voice Over>

This episode of Mulder's Creek featured music from:

Santana feat. Everlast ("Put Your Lights On")

Prime Sth ("I'm Stupid")

And

White Zombie ("I'm your boogie man")

Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulder's Creek