From: Rotem Shahar <laughsr@prodigy.net>
Date: 24 Feb 2002 16:10:14 -0800
Subject: [all-xf] NEWFIC: Champagne Supernova (0/13)
Source: atxc

Title: Champagne Supernova

Authors: Rotem Shahar and Cathey Scully

Feedback: Yes, please! Rotem: LaughsR@prodigy.net Cathey:
Catheyscully@the-pentagon.com

Category: S, R, H

Keywords: Pre-XF, AU, MSR, MT

Spoilers: none

Rating: R

Summary: "And maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me.  And after
all, you're my Wonderwall."

Authors' Notes: This story takes place in modern day, 2001.

To Kate - we used your two quotes, just like we said we would!

Rotem:
This fic I originally started with someone else, but I got the first
part written and that's all that ever came of it, so I decided to ask
Batty if she wanted to write it with me, and she said yes.

This fic wrote itself. I know that I never planned for it to be this
long! We just kinda wrote and next thing we knew it was 50something
pages long! I was really surprised. I had no idea that we'd written so
much or where it all came from!

So, this is what we ended up with. A zillion pages longer than we
expected, but lots of fun to write! Hopefully we'll co-write another fic
soon!

Cathey:
Yea, like I could refuse an offer to write fic, especially an offer that
came from Ro.  And I was in one of my single-minded band moods and
begged to name the fic "Champagne Supernova" after that wonderful song
by Oasis.  It really doesn't have much basis in the story; I just love
the song and had to have it in there somewhere.

This fic spanned an entire summer for us, the longest fic I've ever
written with someone else.  It was a wonderful experience, and while I
hope that our next co-written fics aren't as long, I had tons of fun
writing.

It didn't end the way we'd expected; heck, it didn't start the way we
expected, but I'm proud of this.  It helped me get through the beginning
of the school year, and the last few days.  This fic has been my
therapy.

I send my general thanks to anyone who has helped me and supported this
fic; especially you Ro.

Dangit, how come I wrote so much and Ro wrote so little? Enjoy!

Archive: All of the archives of the lists that this fic is originally
sent to are fine. Anywhere else, just ask us and we'll say yes!

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to us. They belong to FOX,
1013 Productions, and Chris Carter. No infringement is intended. The
title of this fic comes from the song "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis who
are an awesome band. The summary is also from a song by Oasis called
"Wonderwall."

~    *    ~

(1/13)
~ * ~

******************************************
"Wake up the dawn and ask her why
A dreamer dreams she never dies
Wipe that tear away now from your eye
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannon ball
Where were you when we were getting high?

Some day you will find me
Caught beneath the landslide
In a champagne supernova in the sky"
~ "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis
******************************************


*~*X*~*

She hadn't told anyone yet. She wanted to say goodbye, 
but everyone
would make a big deal out of it. She just wanted to be 
able to say
goodbye to her friends in peace.

*~*X*~*

Los Angeles, California
April, 2001

7:34 p.m.

Today was her last chance. She had already told most 
of her friends
after school, and Kim was the last person she had to 
see.

"We're moving. Again. And to Massachusetts this time. 
To some place
called Martha's Vineyard," Dana told her friend 
emotionlessly. She had
gotten used to moving often, and had resigned herself 
to the fact that
they she would never live in the same house for, on 
average, more than a
year. Kim broke into tears upon hearing the news.

"Oh my god, Dana! I'll miss you sooo much!!" she 
sobbed while hugging
Dana close.

"I'll miss you too, Kim." Dana said reassuringly. "But 
we can still keep
in touch. We can email each other, and write each 
other letters and call
once in a while."

Feeling a little better, Kim loosened her grip on Dana.

"Well, I've gotta go." Dana said. They were heading 
for the airport soon
and had to do some last minute packing.

*~*X*~*

Airport

9:54 p.m.

They checked their bags and waited. The flight didn't 
leave for another
twenty minutes. The entire family was there, which was 
unusual. Her dad,
William, was usually away on business. He requested 
time off to help his
family move, and surprisingly, his request was 
granted. He would resume
work as soon as they were settled in.

They all sat there, staring into space, not speaking, 
until their flight
was called.

"Flight 527 is now boarding rows 20 through 30. Flight 
527 is now
boarding rows 20 through 30."

They gathered their carry-ons in anticipation of their 
row being called
next.

"Flight 527 is now boarding rows 10 through 19. Flight 
527 is now
boarding rows 10 through 19."

They boarded the plane and found their seats.

~*~
10:27 p.m.

"Due to heavy weather we will not be taking off at 
this time. We'd like
to invite you to disembark and stretch your legs a 
bit; we're not sure
how long this storm will last. There will be a 
boarding call as soon as
the storm lifts and we are clear to take off. Thank 
you." The captain's
voice said over the speakers.

Dana sighed. She was not looking forward to spending 
who knows how long
in the airport with her family. She just wanted to get 
on the plane,
fall asleep, and not wake up until they got to 
wherever they were going.

They waited for the people to file off the plane. 
There was no rush. The
airport would still be there when they got off the 
plane. They could
only hope that the delay wasn't too long.

~*~
12:38 a.m.

They had played 'I spy' and other various travel 
games, along with seven
games of 'Go Fish,' two games of 'War,' and three 
games of 'Kent.'

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Charlie whined for the billionth 
time in three
minutes.
Dana's parents were sick of it. They got up and left. 
A few minutes
later, they returned, pizza and ice cream in hand.

"Flight 527 will now begin the process of boarding the 
plane. The
weather has cleared up and we are cleared for take 
off. Thank you." The
flight attendant said over the speakers.

The family got up, out of the uncomfortable chairs and 
off of the floor,
and joined the crowd approaching the gate.

A few minutes later they were on the plane and seated, 
waiting for the
plane to take off.

*~*X*~*

Airport

5:41 a.m.

The flight attendant awakened the family. The plane 
was ready to land.

They got off the plane, and split up. Mrs. Scully, 
Maggie, went to rent
a car, while the rest of the family went to get their 
luggage. She would
meet them at the baggage claim to lead them to the car.

They drove to their new house, the kids sleeping in 
the back seat the
entire trip.

*~*X*~*

965 North 60th Lane

6:45 a.m.

As they pulled up in front of the house, Maggie woke 
the children. They
went to the trunk and got their luggage as she 
unlocked and opened the
house door.

Instead of unpacking then, they simply unpacked 
sleeping bags and a few
personal items and went to sleep.

*~*X*~*

Living Room

12:03 p.m.

"Time to wake up." William Scully said. "I want you 
all to be able to
sleep tonight so you can get up the tomorrow morning."

The four children protested, but when they realized 
their protests were
futile, finally got up. William and Maggie gave them a 
tour of their new
two-story house, showing them where each of their 
rooms would be.

*~*X*~*

2:31 p.m.

All of their furniture had arrived, and everyone 
helped arrange the
house. The unloading of the furniture and moving it 
into its proper
rooms went relatively fast. Arranging it all in a 
fashion that everyone
agreed on was a little more difficult.

They argued for a good hour about how the living room 
should be set up,
and at the end, they decided that each person would be 
in charge of
arranging their own rooms and that the rest of the 
house would be left
to William and Maggie.

By six o'clock p.m. the entire house had been arranged 
and the family
was ready to eat dinner. They ordered Chinese.

As they ate they talked about their new school. Missy 
and Dana were both
juniors despite their age difference, and Charlie was 
going to be in
sixth grade. Bill had decided to take a break from 
school in order to
work, and start college the next year. They would all 
start school the
next day while Bill would start looking for a job.

After dinner they decided to call it a night.

*~*X*~*

6:00 a.m.

Monday Morning

A shrill ringing woke Dana and Missy. Dana made her 
bed and pulled a
pair of jeans and a tank top out of her closet. She 
dressed quickly and
headed into her bathroom to brush her teeth and hair.

Missy, on the other hand, grabbed a nice flowing dress 
out of her closet
and proceeded to spend the rest of the hour in the 
bathroom preparing
for school.

It was times like these that they were both grateful 
that they each had
their own bathrooms.

*~*X*~*

7:02 a.m.

Dana had finished eating breakfast and was ready to go 
to school. She
idly talked to her parents as she impatiently waited 
for Missy to be
ready.

"Missy! Let's go! We're going to be late if we don't 
leave now!" Dana
yelled.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Missy yelled back as she ran 
down the stairs.

Maggie grabbed the keys off the counter as she led the 
girls outside.

*~*X*~*

Vineyard High

7:23 a.m.

"Ah, here it is, our new home." Missy sarcastically 
remarked.

"I'll have you know that it's one of the best schools 
in the state." Her
mother informed her.

"I'm sure it is Mom," Melissa replied.

Mrs. Scully parked the car and the three of them made 
their way to the
office through the mobs of people waiting outside.

Upon entering the office they were greeted by a short, 
plump lady. "May
I help you?" she greeted.

"Yes," Mrs. Scully replied, "we just transferred here 
from Los Angeles
and this is the school we were told to go to."

"Follow me, please." the oompa-loompa replied.

She led them to a room and told them that someone 
would be with them
shortly.

After half an hour of waiting, a tall, thin man 
entered the room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he stated. "I'm Dr. 
Morgan, the assistant
principal of the school. I understand that you've just 
transferred
here?"

"Yes, from Los Angeles," Mrs. Scully replied.

"And these are your daughters..."

"Dana and Melissa Scully"

He flipped through the files on his desk, finally 
finding the two he was
looking for. He handed each a schedule.

"Well, there's only a month left of school, so fitting 
in shouldn't
really matter, but the kids here are nice, and I'm 
sure neither of you
will have any problems," he told them. After making 
sure they didn't
have any questions, he wrote them a pass to go to 
class.

*~*X*~*

8:17 a.m.

Dana's schedule read as follows:

First period she had Spanish 2 Honors, second was AP 
English and third
was Hebrew 2. Great, she thought to herself. All the 
languages clumped
into a big blob. How in the world am I supposed to 
keep them straight?
Well, I guess it could be worse, they could have not 
offered Hebrew and
I'd have to start some other class now.

Fourth period was AP Chemistry, fifth was AP Calculus 
AB and sixth was
AP American History. Seventh period was Creative 
Writing. Well, at least
I have an easy class at the end, she told herself.

Room 2228. Spanish. Second Building. Second Floor. 
Room 28. She found it
with ease.

She opened the door silently and entered. As she 
walked through the
room, she noticed how everyone was grouped together; 
friendships and
cliques had formed in that first week of school, and 
now that they were
in the last month, she didn't think she'd be able to 
make any friends.
The class had already been instructed on their work, 
so a few kids were
working while the rest were sitting and talking.

Dana took a seat near the back, next to a guy with 
dark hair and a
brooding look on his face. She turned to introduce 
herself to the guy
when a tall blond cheerleader type bounced up to her. 
Dana inwardly
cringed as she spoke in a voice that was all too perky 
and high-pitched
to be genuine.

End of Part 1

Part 2

"Hola! I'm Brittney! Como estas?" she squealed. Dana cringed inwardly at both 
the girl's horrible Spanish accent and the eagerness with which she spoke.

"Hola. Me llamo Dana. Asi Asi." Dana answered back expertly. Brittney blinked 
uncomprehendingly at Dana for a moment before squealing and saying,

"Come on, I'm gonna introduce you to some friends."

Dana grudgingly followed the perky girl and was introduced to the group 
sitting in the front corner of the room. There was Whitney, Kasey, Courtney, 
Jake, Scott, Amanda, more Whitney's, Jodi, Emily, Jessica, and many, many 

others that Dana wouldn't and didn't care to remember. Dana looked back at 
her seat longingly, and noticed the dark haired guy watching her. The 
bleached blond Whitney said something to her and Dana snapped her head back.

"Que?" Dana spoke, noticing the teacher re-enter.

"I said," Whitney huffed angrily. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"Espanol por favor senoritas!" the teacher called.

"Gracias, pero, yo tengo una silla ya," Dana spoke clearly. Half of the group 
before her stared blankly at her before someone in the back said.

"She's already got a chair."

"Okay, fine." With that the girls turned their backs on Dana, who stood 
rolling her eyes before walking back to her seat beside the boy with dark 
hair and brooding eyes.

"Hola," he spoke. Dana looked startled at the depth his voice had compared 
to the boys at the front of the room.

"Hola." She smiled genuinely at him.

He spoke again, choosing his words carefully.  "Mi nombre es Fox." He stuck 
his hand out to Dana.

"Dana." she answered, shaking his hand firmly. He was silent for a while then 
spoke quietly.

"I don't know much else in Espanol, so you'll have to forgive me for speaking 
in English." He smiled slightly.

"That's okay. So what exactly are we doing right now?"

"We," Fox began, looking down at his books, "are reading and conjugating 
irregular verbs. Here. You can share my book until you get one of your own."

Dana leaned over and looked at Fox's book with him. "Thanks."

Just then the teacher tapped on the board. "Silencio por favor. Silencio, 
clase. Gracias. Su misin es trabajar en grupos. Los grupos son como sigue, 
y nadie puede cambiar a grupos." As the teacher began to read off names, Fox 
turned to Dana.

"What the hell did she just say?"

Dana laughed. "She said that we're being split into groups, and no switching." 
Just then Dana heard her name called into a group that wasn't with Fox. 
"Well, thanks for sharing your book with me Fox. I'll see ya around." With 
that, Dana collected her stuff and moved over to her group.

"Hi, I'm Dana."

"Hey Dana." A tall blond guy answered. "I'm Daniel and these knuckle heads 
are Chris, Richie, Sarah, Amber and Kristen." He pointed out each of the 
people to Dana. She sat, smiling softly.

"Nice to meet you guys. So, what exactly are we doing?"

"We're going to be making a house and labeling all the parts, not to mention 
putting a family in there and writing dialogue for their life," Sarah 
answered, plopping her textbook in between her and Dana. 

"Ugh. Sounds like a blast."

"Oh yea, the highlight of this year," Sarah replied sarcastically. As the 
rest of the group began to talk, Dana looked back toward Fox. He sat alone 
still at his desk.

"I see you're scouting out Fox Mulder," Sarah whispered.

"Why's he all alone?" Dana asked.

"Cause he's always all alone. I think you're the first person he's spoken to 
since class started this year.  We used to hang out in middle school, but 
that was forever ago.  Fox is nice though.  A little bit strange, but nice."

They didn't talk about Fox anymore and when the bell rang Dana went off in 
search of her next class, AP English. It was right down the hall. She 
introduced herself to the teacher and asked for an overview of what went on 
in class till this point, not wanting to be completely lost during class.

While waiting for the class to start, she looked around the room. She noticed 
groups the same type of groups as she had in her Spanish class, and felt a 
longing for Los Angeles, where most of her friends were. She would have 
someone to talk to, instead of just sitting there. She briefly wished her 
father had a normal job, so they wouldn't have to keep moving.

Class had started and Dana focused her attention on the teacher. 

The class was discussing The Scarlet Letter, which had been on the required 
reading list for her previous school, so, luckily, she'd read it. 

She had timidly asked the girl sitting next to her to share a book, 
explaining her situation to her. 

"Hi Dana, nice to meet you! I'm Ali." 

Mrs. Rice shot them an evil glare; they giggled and refocused their attention 
on the discussion.

Dana had readily participated in the class discussion and impressed them all 
with her insight. She had also made quick enemies with the lazy half of the 
class, who had immediately realized that they would now have to study even 
though the school year was almost over.

When class ended, she asked her teacher for directions to her next class. 
"Go down the stairs and it'll be on the right," she was told. 

*~*X*~*

"Just take a seat and pay attention. You should be fine. Last week we started 
a new project. Each person is writing a children's book in Hebrew to present 
to the class for their final."

Then she started class. "Shalom ve boker tov. Hayom atem ta'avdo al ha 
sfarim shelachem."

At this point Dana jotted down a few quick notes and blocked out the droning 
of the teacher to doodle in her notebook.

"Psst." Dana felt someone poke her side. "Hi, I'm Mary," the girl said.

"Hi, I'm Dana." She replied.

"You're new here?" Mary questioned.

"Yeah just moved here from LA."

"Oooo, really? Wow. What's it like in LA? I've never been there before." 
Before she gave Dana a chance to answer, she said, "Hey, this is my friend 
Vikki," she said pointing in front of her.

"Hi, Dana."

"Hi, Vikki."

"And this is Patrick."

"Hey, Dana."

"Hi, Patrick."

They would have continued their conversation, but they realized that Morah 
Chana had stopped talking and expected everyone to work on their books. So 
they did.

The bell rang and everyone rushed out of the room and towards the cafeteria. 
Dana followed the crowds, seeing if she could spot Ali or what's her face 
from Spanish class, or Mary, Vikki, or Patrick who had rushed out the door 
before Dana could gather her stuff. The only person she saw that she 
recognized was Fox, sitting at the end of a long table alone. Dana quickly 
made her way over to him.

"Hi, is it okay if I sit here?" Dana asked him. Fox looked up, surprised 
that someone was talking to him.  His lunch periods were usually filled with 
silence.

"Sure." Fox moved his bag from the spot next to him and Dana set her tray 
down.

"Thanks for letting me sit here. I didn't know if you'd want to be bothered, 
you seemed engrossed. What are you reading?" Dana spoke quickly.

Fox smiled a little. "It's no problem. Good to have someone to talk to. 
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison." Fox showed her the cover.

"That's a good one. I read it last summer." Dana smiled.

"Don't tell me how it ends." Fox shut the book and turned to Dana. "So, 
where're you from?"

Dana opened her mouth to answer when she heard a crash and her name being 
called. She looked across the table to see Daniel, Richie, Sarah and Kristen 
setting their stuff down.

"Hi Fox." Kristen spoke softly, bashfully, and Dana could see a hint of 
attraction on Kristen's part. Unconsciously, she scooted a little closer to 
Fox.

"Hi, Kristen isn't it?" Fox replied, unfazed by her. He turned his gaze back 
to Dana.

"You were about to answer?"

"My Dad's in the Navy, so we move a lot. This time we moved from LA. That's 
my sister Melissa over there." Dana pointed out another red head coming out 
of the lunch line. All the guys except Fox twirled in their seats to get a 
glimpse of Missy.

"What's your next class?"

"AP Chemistry."

"Ooo," Fox teased, "lucky you."

"I have that class too Dana," Sarah responded. "We can go together."

"Okay, sure."

The rest of their lunch was spent in broken conversations. Dana switching 
back and forth from talking with Fox and talking to the rest of them. When 
the bell rang the group split up, with Sarah and Dana heading off to 
Chemistry.

Dana found chemistry to be extremely easy. Her old chemistry class was a bit 
ahead of this one so she knew and understood the material. They had just 
finished up a lab that Dana had done last week at her old school, so she 
scribbled the answers onto the lab paper and put it in her folder. It was 
more of a biology experiment, so she wasn't sure why they did it in AP 
Chemistry, but she did it without qualms. It wasn't due until tomorrow. With 
plenty of time left, she spent the rest of the period trying to explain the 
concepts to Sarah.

She brought Sarah back over to the lab table and picked up the test tube.
"Any microbe, no matter how 'safe', will cause infection if put into the 
wrong place in large enough quantities," Dana read off the test tube. 

Sarah giggled as Dana said, "Where do they think we're gonna put this stuff?"

They finished at the lab table and cleaned up, gathering their books since 
class was almost over. Sarah and Dana exchanged phone numbers, with Dana 
promising to help her after school with the chemistry she didn't finish.

She asked Sarah for directions to her next class, AP Calculus AB, and thanked 
her and walked off.

She entered the classroom and smiled as she saw Fox sitting in the back of 
the room. She made her way over to him, taking the seat next to him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," he replied, surprised to see her in another of his classes.

"You're in this class?" he asked, not quite believing it.

"Yep," Dana told him. " And then history and then creative writing."

"Creative writing seventh?" Fox asked.

"Yea, last class of the day."

"Mine too," he said, glad to know that he'd finally have someone there to 
talk to.

The teacher then started the lesson, explaining decomposing fractions in 
order to integrate, so they both stopped talking and took notes. Homework 
was assigned as the bell rang, and Fox and Dana grabbed their stuff and left 
the room.

"See you later," Dana said as she walked to her history class.

"See you."

Dana walked into the history class and sat down in the desk in the far back 
corner of the room. A few seconds later her sister walked into the room 
surrounded by a group of friends. Missy looked up and Dana could have sworn 
she looked straight at her, but turned back to her group of friends so fast 
that she could have imagined it.

The class proceeded ever so uneventfully until they started talking about 
the Vietnam War, and Missy said, "Wait, so Vietnam is successful 
containment?"

"Would anyone care to answer?" the teacher asked, wanting to test the 
students' knowledge.

Dana raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Korea was successful containment, not Vietnam. We lost in Vietnam." She went 
on. "In Vietnam, LBJ lied to the public, saying that we were winning, when 
in reality, we weren't. They spread out the death toll numbers to make it 
appear as though we were winning, when in reality we were losing. The Viet 
Cong took over our embassy there and there was televised news coverage, which 
showed the Americans that they'd been lied to, and they stopped supporting 
the war. Nixon came into office and slowly replaced American troops with 
Vietnamese, thereby getting America out of the war." She took a breath. "Now, 
on the other hand, Korea is an example of successful containment. We went 
in, pushed back the Northern Korea boundaries all the way to China, and then 
China attacked and we were pushed back to where we started. But it ended 
there, and communism didn't spread, therefore it was successful," Dana 
finished. Dr. Spector was impressed. Maybe I should get her to teach this 
section, he mused.

"How did you know all of that?" he asked.

"Oh, my dad is in the Navy, he tells history stories sometimes and has told 
this one before." Dana said, fully knowing it would hurt Missy by stating 
that it was her father and not their father.

"Hmm," Dr. Spector said, and continued the lesson.

Class ended and Missy rushed out of the room, not waiting for her new 
friends.

Dana walked over to creative writing, happy to be out of history. She never 
really liked history, and being in the same class as Missy just added to 
that dislike.

She took a seat in creative writing and waited for Fox to arrive. The teacher 
started talking. Fox hadn't come to class.

"Well, today you're all to keep working on your group stories. Get together 
with your partner and keep writing. I expect a write-up of the progress 
you've made at the end of class."

The door opened and Fox walked in. A wave of relief flooded over Dana. She 
hadn't realized how much she had been looking forward to seeing him again. 

"Sorry I'm late," he told Mrs. Gately, handing her a pass.

She stared at him for a second and then asked, "Would you mind working with 
Dana on a new story?" 

"Sure."

"Dana, come up here," Mrs. Gately said.

Dana walked over to her desk, wondering what she wanted.

"You and Fox will be writing a story together. It's due in two weeks. I 
suggest you get working."

"Yes, Ma'am." Fox smiled and shifted his books, allowing Dana to lead him 
back into the back. They sat down across from each other and smiled.

"So, how's the rest of your day been?" Fox asked.

"It's been okay. I was able to completely humiliate my sister last period. 
Something tells me it's not gonna be a pretty site when I get home.  She 
really hates to be second-guessed.  'Specially by her younger sister who's 
in the same grade as her."

Fox laughed. "Tell me more about your family."

"Um, well, Dad's in the Navy, Mom kinda does a little of everything. I have 
three siblings.  One sister, two brothers. Bill's the oldest. He's four years 
older than me, and Missy's next, she's two years older than me, and then 
there's me and my younger brother Charlie who's almost four years younger 
than me. And you're probably about to fall asleep you're so bored." Dana 
laughed, embarrassed.

"No, I asked, didn't I? Why would I ask if I didn't want an answer? So if 
Melissa's two years older than you, what grade are you really supposed to be 
in?" Fox asked.

"Ninth." Dana spoke softly. Fox's jaw dropped. This smart, good-looking girl 
couldn't just be."Oh gosh, you probably think I'm a baby now." Dana covered 
her face with her hands. Fox reached out and pulled her hands down.

"No, I don't think that at all. So, Miss Dana Scully, how'd you come to be a 
junior if you're only supposed to be a freshman?"

"Basically, I started kindergarten at four instead of five and then somewhere 
in there I skipped a grade. Second grade." Dana paused. "Okay, that's 
disinterest that I see in your eyes. I'm shutting up about me." Dana 
protested.

"No, I'm not disinterested."

"You say that, but I know better."

"Can I see your schedule?" Fox asked, changing the subject.

"Sure," she said as she handed it to him, confused by this change in subject.

After looking it over a few times he asked, "Why so many languages?"

"Cause they interest me, I seem to have a knack for grasping other languages 
easily, understanding the sentence structures and letters, and I figure it 
could come in handy later on when I'm doing whatever I end up doing."

"What do you want to end up doing?"

"I don't know, I really have all these different jobs in mind, ranging from 
a preschool teacher to an astronomer to a psychologist to a linguist." She 
paused a moment and shrugged. "I really have no idea. What about you?"

"Something English-y. I'm not sure what yet."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Dana asked,  "So, what're we 
writing about?"

"No idea."

"How about...No, that's dumb..." Dana stopped.

"What was your idea?" Fox asked, and Dana told him. They continued to fling 
ideas back and forth, some more ridiculous than others. Finally, the bell 
rang and they walked to Fox's locker. Fox suggested that they work it out 
after school.  Dana was about to agree when she remembered that she had said 
she would help Sarah.

"That's okay. Here's my number, you can call me when you get done and we can 
discuss." Fox handed her a sheet of paper as they walked out to the parking 
lot where Dana was being picked up and where Fox's car was. Dana looked 
around, but saw no signs of her mother. She looked around and saw Melissa 
getting into the back of a 'Vette with some of her new friends.

"Melissa!" Dana yelled. "Where's mom?"

End of part 2

Part 3

"Oh! I called her; told her we didn't need a ride. Guess you're gonna hafta 
find your own way home huh little sis? See, this is what happens when you 
'forget' to acknowledge family.  I'm sure 'your' dad will love to hear about 
this." Missy laughed as the driver sped off.

Dana quickly shouted, "Hey, you failed to acknowledge me first!" After a 
minute of silent fuming, she walked slowly back over to Fox.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Melissa getting revenge for something I said in history class. I'm without 
a ride."

"Where do you need to go?" Fox asked.

"Sarah's, then home."

"Give me directions to both and I can take you."

"Fox, no. You're not my personal chauffeur. I can't ask you to-"

"Sure you can. I'm your friend, and well, you're not gonna find anyone else." 
Fox grinned. "It's me or nothing."

"Thanks, Fox," Dana said as they went off to find Sarah.

They found her easily and they got into the car and went to her house.

"I'm gonna go, Dana.  Call me when you're done and I'll come get you and 
drive you home."

"You're welcome to stay, Fox." Sarah said. "After all, you did bring us 
here; the least you can do is stay. You can do homework or watch TV or go 
online or something."

That sounded much more appealing than going home, so he agreed. He sat 
himself in front of the TV and opened his math book, pencil in hand.

Sarah and Dana sat across the room from him with their chemistry book open. 
Dana was pointing to something in the book, explaining its meaning to Sarah.
 Fox watched Dana. He watched as her auburn hair fell in front of her face 
and she brushed it behind her ears. He watched as her face crinkled in 
thought, trying to figure out a simpler way to explain the concept. He 
watched as her eyes lit up when she figured it out. He watched the joyous 
smile on her face when Sarah finally understood what she was talking about 
and was able to do the problems. Fox quickly looked down at his paper and 
scribbled a few numbers down, pretending to be doing math homework.

She walked over and sat down next to Fox on the couch while Sarah put her 
book and papers away.

"We're done."

"Great!" Fox said.

Dana picked her book up off of the floor and said goodbye to Sarah.

"See you tomorrow!" Sarah exclaimed. "Thanks again for the help! I really 
appreciate it."

"No problem," Dana told her.

They walked out of her house and got into the car. Dana gave Fox her address 
and hoped he could find it. She had no idea how to get anywhere from her 
house yet or where her house was in relation to anything.

They spent a good half-hour trying to figure out where her house was, but 
neither minded. They enjoyed each other's company. They talked about 
everything and nothing, from music to family, from favorite shows to favorite 
colors.

When they arrived at Dana's house, she invited him in. They entered the 
house and were greeted by a very worried Mrs. Scully and a very punished 
Missy.

Mrs. Scully hugged Dana tightly.

"Oh, sweetie, I was so worried about you! Where have you been!? Why didn't 
you call?!"

"I was at Sarah's house. She's in my chemistry class and needed help, so I 
offered to help her after school. I don't know the phone numbers here, so 
it's kind of hard to call."

Missy just stood there, glaring at her sister. 

Mrs. Scully eyed Fox and asked, "Who's this?"

"Fox Mulder," he stated, stretching out his hand to shake hers.

"He's in my Spanish, math, and creative writing class and he offered to drive 
us to Sarah's and then home. And now we have to work on our writing 
assignment." Dana led Fox upstairs and into her room.

She haphazardly threw her bag onto the floor and plopped down onto her bed. 
Fox stood next to the bed for a few seconds and then sat down tentatively. 

"So, what do you want to write about?" he asked.

"I still have no idea. You got any?" 

"Nope."

"Well, let's do math homework and see if we can come up with anything then."

"Sounds like a plan," Fox said, wondering how she knew he hadn't done it. He 
hoped he hadn't been too obvious about watching her. He had thought he'd done 
a pretty good job of hiding that fact, but apparently not. He shrugged. Oh 
well, he thought as he opened up his math book and pulled out a few clean 
sheets of paper.

They worked in silence, only speaking when they needed help or to compare 
answers. 

When Mrs. Scully called them down for dinner, Dana looked at the clock on 
her wall.

"Eight thirty?!" She exclaimed. "Where did all the time go?!"

"Time flies when you're having fun," Fox said sarcastically.

"Right," Dana said as she led him downstairs to the dining room.

As she went down the stairs she realized he wasn't following her.

"Come ON!" she said, going back up the stairs. She grabbed his arm and led 
him back down the stairs. She let go of him once they were down the stairs, 
confident that he wouldn't run away.

"Dana, I don't have to stay." Fox still hung back. "You guys just moved in 
and everything, I can't make my self a nuisance."

"Sure you can. You're my guest," Dana told him, exasperated. She took his arm 
and pulled him into the kitchen.  Everyone was seated and already eating. 
Dana pulled Fox down into the chair next to her and they served themselves.

"So Missy," Dana asked. "How was your ride home?" She noted Fox attempting to 
hide a grin in his napkin.

"Leave it alone Dana," Missy snapped, "You've already gotten me grounded 
after the first day of school. Thanks a lot."

"It was your screw up, Mis, mot mine." Dana countered, leaving it open for 
interpretation whether she was talking about class or leaving her stranded.

"Whatever," Missy replied. The table was silent again.

"So, who's he?" Charlie, the ever-tactless youngest Scully asked.

"I was thinking that myself. Thank you for asking, little brother." Bill Jr. 
held out his palm for a high five. Charlie slapped it enthusiastically. Dana 
rolled her eyes.

"This is Fox Mulder. He's my partner in creative writing. He's also the 
reason I got home today." Dana shot a look at Missy. "But we have to write a 
story, and we're so stumped about what to write."

"We're thinking, though," Fox assured.

"When is it due?" Maggie asked.

"Two weeks," Fox answered.

"Well, you have time. So, Charlie how was your day?" Maggie asked.

While Charlie began to babble about his day, Fox turned his attention back to 
Dana. They started to talk quietly about ideas for their story. After dinner 
was over, Dana and Fox volunteered to do the dishes, and then went back 
upstairs to jot down their ideas before Fox left. Dana walked him to the door 
and thanked him for the ride and the help with the project. He smiled and 
told her it wasn't a problem, that he'd be happy to give her a ride every 
day.  Then he offered to give her a ride the next morning.  

"Sure," Dana smiled.  Before he left, Dana handed him a sheet of paper with 
her email address on it. Without thinking, she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Bye, Fox. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Dana." Smiling for the first time in months, Fox left Dana's house.

Dana smiled and went upstairs to finish the rest of her homework. Despite the 
amount of junk she had to do, she was smiling, actually content with their 
move.

The next morning, Dana awoke, hearing Fox's voice coming from downstairs. She 
quickly dressed and washed, speeding downstairs to meet Fox.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen to see Fox helping her 
mother with breakfast. "You're early." 

"Yeah, your mom invited me to breakfast so I figured the least I could do was 
get here early to help make it."

She shrugged and went back upstairs to gather her backpack and books, so 
she'd be ready to leave after breakfast.  They'd decided to leave early, so 
they could go to the library and work on their creative writing project 
before school.  They would stay at Dana's house, but with three siblings and 
two parents, there would be too many distractions. 

Missy, Charlie and Bill were all awakened when Mrs. Scully called them down 
for breakfast. They got out of bed and sleepily headed downstairs and sat 
down at the table. No one realized that Fox was there until everyone was done 
eating and they started clearing the table and getting ready for school.

"Why are you here?" Bill asked, not so nicely.

"Dana and I are going to school early to work on our story." Fox said as he 
and Dana finished loading the dishwasher, unfazed by Bill's attitude.

"Okay, Fox, I'm ready, Lets go," Dana said. And with that they walked out of 
the house.

*~*X*~*

Fox and Dana sat in the library surrounded by books and other kids trying to 
do their homework. They all kept their voices low, respecting each other's 
needs. It was Fox's turn to write. Dana was reading over his shoulder. 

"Fox!" she hissed. "They can't do that!"

"And why not?" Fox asked, amused by her strong objection.

"Because first they have to destroy the thingies to give them their powers 
back," she explained logically.

"Well, I guess," he reluctantly said, crossing out what he had written.

"Much better!" Dana exclaimed happily as she read his revised version.

The bell chose that moment to ring, and they gathered their papers and made 
their way to Spanish.

*~*X*~*

They walked into class together, taking seats at the back of the room and 
scooting the desks together. Fox whispered something about the group at the 
front, making Dana laugh.

"Buenos dias clase. Consiga por favor en sus grupos de ayer y comience a 
trabajar. Gracias," the teacher, Senora Perez requested. Dana smiled sadly 
at Fox and went to move her stuff. She got an idea and walked up to the 
teacher's desk.

"Profesora, con permiso. Nadie en el grupo de mi amigo est aqu'. Puede l 
trabajar con mi grupo?" Dana spoke perfectly for the teacher.

"Si. El Puede. Sientate por favor." 

"Gracias." Dana walked back to Fox and pulled him over to her group. "Guys, 
Fox is gonna work with us, that okay?" she asked, not giving anyone room to 
argue.

"Oh, okay Dana. Welcome to the group, Fox," Kristen greeted him softly. Dana 
knew that the other girl had a small crush on Fox from what Sarah said, and 
she found herself bristling at the thought.

"Yeah, hi, Fox." Sarah echoed. The rest of the group greeted him 
enthusiastically. Dana smiled at how quickly her friends had accepted Fox. 
They began to work, talking quietly. Every so often, Fox would make some kind 
of sarcastic, smart-ass comment that would send Dana into hysterics and leave 
the others gaping. In the years that they'd known Fox Mulder, he'd not once 
seemed as happy as he was then.

"Welcome aboard, this is Captain Rehab speaking, I hope you'll enjoy your 
fabulous rehabilitation trip," Fox chanted.  Dana giggled into her hand and 
he smiled triumphantly at her.

"What's that from?" Sarah asked.

"Made it up." Fox grinned.

All too soon, the bell rang and class was over. Dana and Fox left the room 
and went their separate ways.

*~*X*~*

More dissection of The Scarlet Letter. 

Doesn't this teacher ever rest!? Going over and over the same lines. We get 
it, we understand, we've memorized what you said. Okay, move on already! 
Those were the thoughts going through Dana's mind as she sat in her English 
class, completely and utterly bored. 

Well, it's my turn anyway. I might as well do something productive, she 
thought as she pulled out the story. Pretending to take notes, she worked on 
the story until the bell rang. 

*~*X*~*

Morah Chana allowed them to work on their books the entire period. Dana 
worked on hers for the first fifteen minutes, and she then joined Vikki, 
Patrick and Mary in conversation.

Class ended and she walked into the cafeteria looking for Fox. He wasn't 
where he sat yesterday. As she looked around the cafeteria she felt someone 
tap her shoulder. She twirled around and found herself face to face with Fox.

"Don't DO that!" Dana exclaimed. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he apologized. "Come on, let's go sit outside. We can eat out there 
and have some peace and quiet." Dana was about to respond when he hastily 
added, "And we can work on our story."

"Oh, okay," Dana said, wishing that he hadn't added that last part in.

They went and sprawled out in the grass, making themselves comfortable. There 
were a few other people eating outside and they chose the most isolated spot 
they could find so they could work in peace. They ate and wrote their story 
simultaneously, each interjecting little additional-but-needed bits and 
pieces as they saw fit. 

All of a sudden the sprinklers started.

Dana shrieked and Fox cursed.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly as they quickly gathered their stuff, shoving it 
into their backpacks.

Fox got up, putting his backpack on his shoulders. He then reached out to 
help Dana, who was still seated in the grass.

Then the rain started. Not little drizzly drops, but real heavy raindrops, 
tropical storm-like weather.

She slipped and fell, pulling him down with her.

She laughed and childishly stated, "Oh, no you don't! If I'm sitting here 
getting wet you're getting wet too!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Dana told him as she got up and ran towards the school - shelter from 
the torrential rains.

She was quick but not quick enough. Fox caught up with her and grabbed her 
around the waist. He dragged her back to where they were sitting, back out 
into the rain.

They sat in the rain together giggling and laughing. Fox brushed a strand of 
hair stuck on her face behind her ear.  Dana sighed and scooted a bit closer 
to Fox. They ever so slowly leaned in towards each other.

End of part 3

Part 4

The loud clash of thunder broke them apart.

"We'd better get back inside." Fox stated, getting up and pulling Dana along 
with him.

They ran together to the cafeteria. They opened the doors and entered. The 
doors forcefully slammed shut behind them. Some turned their heads to see 
what had created this disturbance. Imagine their surprise when they saw Fox 
Mulder, the antisocial, running into the cafeteria, dripping wet, alongside 
some new girl. Oh, the rumor mill was going to have fun with this one!

They walked out of the cafeteria and into the school building, leaving many 
people wondering what was going on.

Dana shivered.

"It's cold." She said. "We shouldn't have stayed out there for as long as we 
did. We're going to get sick if we stay in the air conditioning."

Dana pulled her sweatshirt out of her bag, grateful that she had remembered 
to stuff it into her bag this morning. She walked into the girl's bathroom to 
change out of her wet shirt. Her jeans and shoes would have to stay. She 
walked back out of the bathroom to see Fox standing where she had left him, 
only now he held his jacket. She walked over to him, still shivering.

"Here." He said gently, as he handed her his jacket.

"I can't take it, Fox. You'll get sick!"

"Come on, take it, Dana. I'm not using it anyway."

"Are you sure?" She asked, her resolve breaking.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said as he draped it over her shoulders.

She threaded her arms into the sleeves gratefully.

"Thanks." She told him.

The bell rang and Fox walked her to chemistry.

*~*X*~*

Dana tried to pay attention in chemistry, but her mind kept wandering to what 
had happened in the grass, not to mention the looks she was getting because 
she was obviously wearing a guy's jacket and her pants and hair were dripping 
wet. A puddle was forming around her chair. Finally, during their teacher's 
break from his long, never-ending speech, Sarah leaned over and whispered, 
"Dana, what the hell happened to you? You're sopping wet, not to mention that 
you're wearing a guy's jacket. Whose is it?" she asked, wanting to confirm 
her suspicions. 

"Fox's." Dana replied.

"Oh really. Care to explain?"

"It's not what you think. We were eating lunch outside and the sprinklers 
came on, then you know that rain we weren't supposed to have? We had some. A 
lot. Fox and I ran back inside, and I was wet so I changed into my sweater 
and I was still cold so Fox gave me his jacket."

"Uh huh." Sarah drawled. "Is that all?"

"Yes." Dana hissed.

"Girls, perhaps I should postpone today's lesson so you can continue to gab. 
How does that sound to you?" Mr. Albright spoke condescendingly.

"Sorry sir. We're done." Sarah tried to look repentant, but failed.

"Both of you, detention, after school today." Mr. Albright was done with them 
after doling out punishments, and he went back to his lecture. Dana and Sarah 
when back to chatting about Dana's relationship, or lack of one, with Fox.

After chemistry, Dana made her way to calculus to see Fox. She wondered why 
after one day, the classes didn't matter as long as she got to see Fox.

"I don't believe it, you got detention? On your second day in that guy's 
class? Damn Dana, I didn't even manage that last year. I'm impressed."

"Well, shut up unless you want me to have to stay tomorrow too." Dana smiled 
despite her words and Fox quit talking, allowing her to turn back around to 
face the teacher and write down their assignment.

They worked for the rest of the period, talking little, and all too soon, 
the period was over and Dana was off to history.

Today's class was better than yesterday. Dana wisely kept her mouth shut 
when her sister was talking, even when she was wrong. Whenever Missy would 
get an answer correct, she'd spin in her seat and shoot a triumphant glare at 
Dana.  Finally, Dana could keep quiet no more to Missy's ignorance. The next 
time Melissa made a mistake, Dana raised her hand and proceeded to not only 
correct Melissa, but also suggest that she do a little reading on the matter.

After putting Missy in her place, Dana was quiet until class was over and she 
was on her way to writing. She met up with Fox in the hallway outside the 
room. He leaned against the wall and commented on the fact that she was 
flushed.

"Just another knock-down-drag-out fight with my sister in history today."

"Aww you poor dear." Fox clucked his tongue. "Come here, let Fox make it all 
better."

Dana laughed. "Maybe later, we gotta get into class."

"All right." Fox didn't mean to sound as disappointed as he did. Dana looked 
up at him and leaned up, giving him a kiss on the cheek. As they walked into 
class, Fox asked about how Dana was going to get home after detention.

"I'll call my mom. After all, I do have my cell."

"She won't be happy that you got detention. Here, I'll stick around and after 
Albright releases you, I'll pick you up and drive you home. We can say we 
were doing extra study time."

"Okay Fox. Thanks."

"Not a problem. Do you have your permit?"

"Yeah, I got it last year. Why?"

"Just wondering. Let's get to work on our story. That way we have less to 
write later."

Dana agreed and they began to work on their assignment, trying to see if 
anything had been damaged in their lunch escapades. A few pages had to be 
rewritten, but all in all, they got a fair amount of work done. Pretty soon, 
the bell rang signaling that class was over and the school day had finished. 
Dana and Fox walked to Mr. Albright's classroom so Dana could serve her 
detention. She moved to enter the room, but Fox stopped her and leaned down, 
giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

"I'll be waiting outside, okay?"

"Okay." Dana squeezed Fox's hand, a bit confused by his actions.

Detention was dull, and Dana was bored. Albright had given her and Sarah work 
to do, and then he had gone to a staff meeting. Dana sat close to the window 
but was still surprised when someone tapped on it. Dana turned and saw Fox 
grinning. She opened the window and leaned out.

"Whachya doin'?" Fox asked playfully.

"Book work. Basic stuff. I'm finished anyway."

"Fun fun. Where's Albright?"

"Meeting. There are only a few more minutes left. Stay over here and talk to 
me."

"Okay. Wait, I hear footsteps. I'm gonna disappear. Later babe." Fox grinned 
and leaned in to kiss Dana. She returned his kiss quickly and ran back to her 
seat. Dana ignored Sarah's questioning glances and acted like she was working 
when their teacher returned.

After detention, Fox pulled Dana over to his car and tossed her the keys. She 
was surprised that he was letting her drive. Most guys would rather argue 
than willingly pass over the keys. Dana drove them back to her house, where 
they ran up the stairs and into her bedroom after telling her mother that 
they'd been studying at the library.

They worked at Dana's computer, typing up what they had of their story. They 
took turns and actually got more done despite the length of the breaks they 
took. Dana had gone down stairs to ask a question of her older brother and 
when she came back, she found that Fox had begun working again. She crossed 
the room and bent down, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and resting 
her chin on his collarbone.

"Hmm. Fox, leave out the part with the innuendoes, I don't think they'll be 
appreciated."

"But Dana, if we take those out, the story will lose something." Fox looked 
at her sideways, giving her the puppy look.

"Okay, leave it in."

"Thank you."

Dana kissed Fox's cheek in answer. She released her grip on him as her back 
began to protest at being hunched over like she was. She started to run her 
hands through Fox's hair and he leaned his head back to look up at her. Dana 
smiled down at him and bent to kiss him when her mother's voice rang up from 
the hall.

"Dana! Fox! Dinner!"

Dana groaned. "Okay Mom! We'll be down in a sec. It's okay that you stay, 
isn't it?" She asked, leaning down to Fox again.

"Well, let's see, tonight is the beginning of my weekend with Dad, so I'll 
stay as long as you'll have me." Fox smiled up at Dana before heaving himself 
out of her desk chair.

Dana raised an eyebrow and considered his comment. He reached for her hand to 
lead her downstairs and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Dinner can wait for a few minutes." Dana's voice was low as she stood on 
tiptoes and brushed her lips over Fox's.

Fox broke away from her and sat down on the steps and pulled Dana into his 
lap and brought his mouth back to hers.  She stiffened and pulled away 
slightly.

"Fox,"

"It's your call if you want me to stop." Fox loosened his hold on her.  She 
smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Let's just go a little slower, okay?" Dana prompted.  At Fox's nod, she 
kissed him again.

A few minutes had gone by and Mrs. Scully sent Charlie upstairs to drag them 
down to dinner. He started up the stairs and as he approached them his eyes 
widened.

"Ewwwww!!" Charlie shrieked. Dana quickly climbed out of Fox's lap and helped 
him up.

After getting over his initial disgust, Charlie started chanting "Kissy face 
kissy face..." and twirled around in circles on the step.

Dana violently grabbed his collar and venomously hissed, "Shut up." And he 
did. Dana smiled sweetly and led them down the stairs to dinner.

*~*X*~*

They went back upstairs after dinner and Dana sat down to type the rest of 
what they had written of their story. Fox trailed butterfly kisses up her 
neck. She squirmed and swatted at his face.

"After I finish typing," she said promisingly.

Dana finished typing but by then Fox had chickened out. He gathered his stuff 
and hurriedly said, "I should be getting to my dad's, I don't want to make 
him mad." And he left.

Dana flopped down onto her bed. She was frustrated and confused. What the 
hell is he doing?! she wondered. One minute we're making out, the next he 
doesn't even want to talk to me. He really should make up his mind! she 
thought as the tears trailed down her cheeks.

She sat up and violently pulled out her chair. She sat down and pounded the 
keys on her keyboard while typing in her password to get online. She needed 
to talk to Kim, to help her sort her emotions. And to just rant and rave 
about everything that had been going on.

After talking to Kim for about an hour, Dana felt much better. 

"Wow." Dana typed. "It's already 10:30! I haven't finished my homework!"

"That sucks."

"Yeah, so I really should go finish it.  Talk to you later! Miss you!" She 
typed and signed off-line.

While getting out her math book, she remembered that she never changed out of 
her wet clothing though they had both been dry by the time they got to her 
house. She also saw Fox's jacket sitting on her floor. 

She tried not to think anymore about what had transpired between them and 
concentrate on her homework, but couldn't. 

"Damnit." She whispered as her eyes started leaking again. She closed the 
math book and set it on the floor. After setting her alarm clock to wake her 
up half an hour earlier than normal so she could do the math, she picked up 
Fox's jacket and placed it on the bed with her. She turned off her lights and 
went to sleep.

*~*X*~*

The next morning, Dana woke up, half hoping to hear Fox's voice downstairs. 
Then she remembered what had happened last night. What had actually happened? 
He said that he didn't want to make his dad mad. Maybe he wasn't lying; some 
parents were really strict about when their kids got home. Still, Fox could 
have kissed her goodnight.

Maybe he didn't want to, a little voice in the back of her head nagged. Maybe 
Charlie really did get to him. Dana thought about calling him and asking him 
what was wrong, but she only had his number at his mom's house.

With a groan, Dana remembered her math that she still had to do. Dana got up 
and halfheartedly did her homework, hoping that each car she heard on the 
street was Fox. Finally, she looked out the window and saw Fox pulling into 
the driveway. His face had bruises on it, but he still looked up at her 
window and smiled. Dana smiled back and quickly dressed, waiting for her 
mother to call for her.

After Dana's mom called her down, she grabbed a donut and gathered her bags, 
allowing Fox to take her hand and pull her out to the car. They were silent 
while Dana ate, even though she kept shooting him questioning looks. Fox 
turned to Dana at a red light and asked for a bite of her breakfast. Dana 
held out the donut to him and he took a bite.  As he chewed, Dana could see 
him flinch.

"Fox," She asked once they'd finished eating. "What happened? To your face, I 
mean."

Fox reached out for Dana's hand. "Do you mind if we blow off the first two 
classes today? There's a lot I need to tell you."

"No, I don't mind." Dana squeezed his hand tightly. He turned the car around 
and drove to the local park. He and Dana climbed out of his car and walked 
hand in hand over to the swings.

"Fox, what is it?" Dana asked worriedly, pulling his hand closer.

"Well, first off, I'd like to apologize about last night." Fox pulled Dana's 
swing close. "I'm sorry about running off like that.  I should have done this 
before I left." Fox gently framed Dana's face with his hands and kissed her 
softly.

"Fox, tell me what happened to your face."

End of part  4

Part 5

"My dad's one of those guys that you don't want to piss off. He wasn't always 
that way I guess. But after my sister was kidnapped about 6 years ago, he 
kinda went nuts. My parents got divorced, I see my dad one weekend a month, 
which oddly enough starts on Thursday nights and not Friday, and during that 
time I have to be extra careful to do things perfectly. Otherwise," Fox 
trailed off and gestured to his cheekbone and black eye.

"Yeah, he hits me. Sometimes harder than others. This time I was lucky." Fox 
covered her hand. "I knew I could come to you Dana, but I don't want my 
demons to affect you and school."

"You're my friend, I don't care about school, or else I wouldn't be here." 
Dana kissed Fox slowly. "Please let me in."

Once they were settled on the grass, Fox with his back up against a tree and 
Dana resting against his chest, he began to tell her about his sister and the 
circumstances of her kidnapping.

"They found her body in Rhode Island about a year later. The guy who'd taken 
her had held her in his basement for a few days. He beat her repeatedly and 
didn't feed her. He buried her in his backyard and sold the place. The new 
tenants found the body when they went to put in a swimming pool." Fox stopped 
his story and kissed Dana's hair. She pulled him close and leaned up to kiss 
him.

"What do you say we just don't bother going back to school today? I think 
it's a good time for a personal day."

"I agree. We can stay here until it's time to go home."

"Missy's gonna tell my mom that I wasn't in history."

"Does that bother you?"

"No." Dana leaned up and brushed Fox's lips with hers. "I don't know what to 
say to make you feel better about your sister and your father."

"You're here. And you haven't run away yet." Fox nuzzled Dana. "That helps 
more than any words."

They stayed like that and soon enough they fell asleep. When they awoke it 
was three o'clock. They had one hour until school got out, until they had to 
go to Dana's and explain where they had been. But until then, they were going 
to have fun, starting with getting something to eat. 

They got into Fox's car and decided they'd eat at the first place they saw. 
They saw Burger King.

*~*X*~*

"What are you going to tell your mom about not being in school today?" Fox 
asked curiously.

"I really have no idea." Dana told him after taking a bite of her burger. 
Dana looked at him questioningly.

"It's okay if you tell them."

Dana felt relieved that she didn't have to lie to her parents, but at the 
same time she felt bad that Fox was going through all of this and that she 
was using it as an excuse not to get into trouble. 

Fox saw and understood what Dana was thinking and offered to go and explain 
it for her.

"I can't ask you to do that." Dana objected.

"You didn't ask. I offered." Fox countered after taking a sip of his slurpee. 
"Look, if I hadn't have asked you to come you wouldn't be in this situation 
right now."

"No, if I hadn't agreed to come I wouldn't be in this situation." She 
retorted, emphasizing the word agreed.

"In any case, I'll explain it all to them. You don't have to."

Dana smiled in appreciation and scooted her chair next to him. She leaned her 
head on his shoulder. Fox kissed her forehead and they finished eating in 
silence.

*~*X*~*

They had decided to go straight to Dana's house after eating, in order to 
explain everything to her parents before Missy got home and told them, so she 
wouldn't get in trouble.

As they pulled into the driveway she told him, "You don't have to do this," 
giving him another chance to change his mind.

"I know." He said as he got out of the car and walked towards the house.

*~*X*~*

"Mom?"

"Dana? Fox? What's wrong?" She then got a good look at Fox. "Oh my god! Fox! 
What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Scully. Can we talk to you for a second?"

"Sure." Mrs. Scully said, not understanding what was going on.

After they'd sat down at the kitchen table with Dana cradling Fox's hand in 
hers, Fox began to tell Mrs. Scully the story about his sister and then his 
parents' divorce and his father's frequent beatings. He pulled Dana's hands 
close when he spoke of the previous night's fight and his subsequent need to 
tell his secret to someone.

"Today, I asked Dana if she would stay with me and keep me company, because I 
really can't go to school looking like this. We didn't go to classes today. 
And before you punish Dana, I want you to know that it was my fault, she was 
only staying with me."

Maggie considered what she'd been told. She opened her mouth to speak when 
Melissa ran in from the front. 

"Mom, you'll never guess which little sister of mine cut class today!" 
Melissa stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the three of them sitting at 
the table. "Coming to 'fess up Dana?" She sneered.

"Melissa, I need to speak to Dana and Fox alone. Please," Maggie requested. 
Once Missy was gone, Maggie turned back to the two teens huddled across from 
her.

"Although I'm not happy that you skipped school, either of you," She spoke 
slowly, choosing her words. "I can't, and won't, punish you for being there 
for your friend when he needed you. I know you can't assure me that it won't 
happen again, so just try to keep the skipping to a minimum. Please?"

"Yes, Ma'am." They answered in unison. Maggie reached out and placed her hand 
over their intertwined fingers.

"Get going, you two."

They got up and walked to Dana's room, ready to continue work on their story. 
They sat and brainstormed for about an hour and then put their thoughts and 
ideas in order. They took turns typing and when Mrs. Scully called them down 
for dinner, they were surprised that time had gone by so fast.

*~*X*~*

Missy was fuming. It wasn't fair! Dana skipped an entire day of school and 
not only didn't get punished for it, but Fox stayed over again, and he was 
still there! If it were me, I'd not only get punished, but I wouldn't be 
allowed to ever see him again! This isn't right. Missy wallowed in her haze 
of pity and anger. She trudged down to the kitchen where dinner was being 
served. She ate quietly, pouting and moping the entire time. 

"Is she okay?" Fox whispered to Dana.

"Yeah, she's fine. She just gets this way sometimes, especially when her 
little sister is treated like more of an adult than she is. She'll come out 
of it soon. Don't worry." Dana told him, used to this type of behavior from 
Missy. They usually got along fine, but ever since this last move, ever since 
that first day in history, their relationship had been on edge.  They 
couldn't be in the same room with each other for more than ten minutes 
without blowing up at each other.

Dana missed being able to talk to her sister about anything, but school was 
just about over for the year; she figured if they could make it through these 
last two weeks they'd be fine.

*~*X*~*

Saturday. The day of rest. Dana woke up at noon to a quiet household. Her dad 
had gone back to sea early that morning, they had all said goodbye late last 
night. Her mom and Charlie were probably grocery shopping, while Missy, no 
doubt, had a group of friends come and pick her up and go to the mall. Bill 
was working and Fox had promised his father that he'd help him out with 
something or another.

She lazily stretched and got up to turn her computer on. She got dressed and 
went into the kitchen to eat cereal before continuing her day. Back in her 
room she connected to the Internet and was glad to see a bunch of her friends 
from the other schools she'd been to online. She hadn't talked to them in a 
while and wanted to tell them all about what's been going on.

One of her friends suggested starting a mailing list, where she could keep in 
touch with all of them just by sending out one email to one email address. 
She liked the idea and spent the next half-hour creating and perfecting the 
mailing list.  She then added all of her friends to it and sent out an 
introductory email explaining what it was and why she created it, telling 
them they should introduce themselves and that they were free to talk to each 
other. 

She spent the next hour or so online, just chatting with her friends. Her 
mother and brother then came home, and she got off-line to help put away the 
groceries.

*~*X*~*

After a blowout fight with her mother about spending too much time online, 
they came to a compromise. Dana would go spend time outside and then she 
could get back online. 

She begrudgingly made her way outside.

"Well, if you find someone else to join the game with you, you can play. That 
way the teams are even and no team has an advantage over the other." A kid 
told Charlie.

He looked around hopefully, looking for someone to drag into the game with 
him. His eyes landed on Dana. He bounded up to her and said in his sweetest 
voice, "Dana, you wanna come join a game of football with me? They say I can 
join, but only if I find someone else to play too, 'cause then the teams will 
be even, and if I don't then they won't be even and it wouldn't be fair to 
whichever team I'm not on, so you wanna play??" He paused. "Please?"

Dana was about to beg off, saying she wasn't in the mood to play football. 
But Charlie had said the magic words.  "It's tackle football..."

Dana turned around and walked with Charlie towards the group of boys out in 
the street.

Dana and Charlie were put on different teams. Then the complaining began.

"Why do we have to get the girl!?" one guy whined.

"Now we're definitely gonna lose." another remarked.

Dana rolled her eyes and ignored their comments. They'd change their minds 
once she got a chance to play.

The game started. It went on as normal football games do, except neither 
Charlie nor Dana was being thrown the ball.

Well, Dana got fed up with their "girls-can't-play-football" attitude and 
waited for the right moment to strike.

That moment came sooner than expected. The guy she was covering was thrown 
the ball. He reached out to catch it when Dana made her move. She jumped up 
and snatched the ball out of his hands.

Everyone was stunned. Well, almost everyone. Charlie knew it was coming. Fox 
knew it too. He had been sitting in his car for the past half-hour just 
watching Dana play football with the neighborhood kids. He recognized a few 
of them. They were in the same grade. 

They were all even more shocked when she started to run. As she whizzed past 
them a few of them spurred into action. They chased after her. She had 
brought it all the way back to the other end of the 'field' and was a few 
feet from the goal when she was tackled. Hard. Two of them came at her at 
once. With one hand she held onto the ball, bringing the other up to protect 
her face. She fell onto the concrete with a loud thud. The boys scrambled off 
of her, praying that she wasn't hurt. They'd be in deep trouble if she was. 

Charlie ran over to her.   "Dana?!" he called out.

She moaned and rolled over, letting go of the ball.

Fox was horrified when he saw the two guys run at her. He bolted out of his 
car and hurried over to Dana.

She sat up slowly.

Fox slowed his run to a fast-paced walk. Relief flooded over him when he saw 
her sit up.

She looked at her arm. It was bleeding, scraped, not broken. She brought her 
other arm up to her pounding head. She winced as she touched the gash in her 
forehead. 

Fox kneeled down next to Dana, sending evil glares at the two who hurt her. 

"Dana?" he asked worriedly.

"Mmm. Fox?" she moaned.

"Yeah, come on, we're gonna get you back inside."

"Hmm. Okay."

And with that he and Charlie helped her up and brought her inside.

"MOM!!" Charlie yelled at the top of his lungs.

Their mom rushed out to see what all the commotion was about.


"Dana?!  What happened?" Maggie asked as Fox settled on the couch with Dana 
in his grip.  He was rhythmically rubbing her side and whispering in her ear 
on her uninjured side.

"She was playing football because I asked her to," Charlie began.  "None of 
the guys were passing to her and she intercepted the ball and took off like 
someone lit a fire under her..."

"Charles, how did Dana get hurt?" Maggie interrupted, not wanting him to 
continue the saying he'd obviously learned from his older brother.

"Two guys tackled her." Fox answered, kissing Dana's head.  She let out a 
small whimper that she obviously didn't mean for them to hear.  "Let me get 
her bandaged up, okay?" He asked.

"Sure, everything's in the bathroom." Maggie answered, a bit miffed that Dana 
didn't want her to fix her up like she used to.  Sighing, she turned to 
Charles, "I don't suppose talking to those boys would help."

"Probably not, Mom."

*~*X*~*

"Fox, You don't have to do this.  I can get my mom to do it."

"Of course I have to," Fox kissed Dana quickly.  "After all, I gotta make 
sure I won't have to pound those guys for hurting you."

"You're too sweet." Dana smiled, hissing as Fox brushed antiseptic over the 
cut on her forehead.  The stinging eventually abated and Dana offered her 
elbow to Fox.

"Let me finish with your head first."

"Okay." Dana quieted and let him work in silence.

"That was a good play you ran, I hoped you'd make a TD."

"Me too, the alternative is crappy." Dana smiled ruefully.  "Those guys are 
never gonna wanna play with me again."

"That's okay, I know someone else who wouldn't mind playing tackle football 
with you.  Only he'll be a bit more gentle." Fox leered playfully as he 
bandaged Dana's arm.

Dana reached out for Fox's hand.  "Thanks for fixing me up."

"You're welcome, and as your fee, Dr. Fox requires something."

"Oh, really?  What do you require as payment, Dr. Fox?" Dana smiled as Fox 
wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, first I would say--" Fox didn't get to finish because Maggie knocked 
on the door.

"Dana, Fox?  Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, Mom.  We're almost done.  I just have to take some 
aspirin." Dana called, pulling Fox closer and resting her head on his 
shoulder.

"Headache?" he asked, stroking her hair that had escaped her ponytail.

"Yeah, I hit the ground pretty hard."

"Okay, aspirin, Advil?"

"Yeah." Dana answered, not releasing her grip on Fox to allow him to grab the 
bottle.  Sighing, he kissed her and gently pulled away to get the Advil and a 
glass of water for his patient.

"So, Dr. Fox, we were talking payments?" Dana asked.

"Uh huh."

"How much do you charge?"

Fox said nothing; he simply leaned over and gently folded Dana's sore body in 
his arms, kissing her breathless.  "That's part one.  Part two is that you go 
out with me tonight."

"I'll think about it." Dana said coyly.  She smiled as Fox helped her stand.  
"Fox, my arm and my head are hurt, not my legs."

They went back into the living room and assured her mother that she was all 
right. After some discussion, they walked back outside and sat on the 
sidelines cheering Dana's team on. Charlie was allowed back into the game out 
of remorse for injuring Dana.

It got late and the boys playing were slowly called in for dinner. 

"I'll be right back." Dana told Fox as she walked inside, leaving Fox sitting 
in the grass. A few minutes later she reappeared, purse in hand.

"Okay, lets go."

A smile appeared on Fox's face as he got up and opened Dana's door for her. 
He walked around the car and got in.

End of part 5

Part 6

*~*X*~*

They bought movie tickets and entered the theater. They sat down just as the 
movie started. As Evolution appeared on the screen, Fox put his arm around 
Dana. She leaned in towards him, wrapping his arms around her stomach. 

The movie started and they watched for a bit, until Dana turned around in 
Fox's arms and gently kissed his lips. He responded and a make-out session 
ensued.

When they finally came up for air Dana glanced at the movie screen. And her 
eyes stayed glued there. Her favorite actor had just mooned the audience. She 
watched until the scene ended and then turned back around towards Fox. 

"Enjoy the show?" he asked her amused.

"You have no idea." She told him.  She kissed his lips and then turned back 
around to watch the movie with Fox's arms around her.

They sat like that for the rest of the movie, and actually enjoyed what they 
saw of it.  After the movie, they left the theater hand in hand.

*~*X*~*

They went to the Olive Garden for dinner, and after they'd looked over the 
menu and ordered drinks, Fox reached out for Dana's hand.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay.  I'm sore, a little stiff.  But nothing really bad.  I'll live."

"That's good, because I'm not finishing that story alone." Fox smirked.

"I wouldn't dream of trying to get out of the work." Dana squeezed Fox's hand 
as their waiter deposited their drinks on the table.  Once they'd ordered, 
Fox turned back to Dana and lowered his eyes.

"Hey, what is it?" Dana stretched across the table and took his hand.

"I just remembered that I didn't tell my dad that I was going to go out."

"Oh, do we need to leave?" Dana asked.

"No, I'm pretty much screwed anyway, so let's enjoy our first date."

"No," Dana objected.  "I can't enjoy being here with you knowing that you're 
going to get into huge trouble when you go home."

"So I won't go home.  There are a few places I can go."

"You're staying with me." Dana decided.  "I mean, at my house.  We have a 
guest room, and I have the couch in my room.  I don't want you to get hurt."

"Dana, it's sweet that you're thinking of me, but..." Fox trailed off.  When 
he started again, he grinned widely.  "Do you think your mom will mind if we 
camp out in sleeping bags?"

"I don't think that'll be a problem.  Mom enjoys having you around.  
Especially for help on meals.  She tells me it's a good idea to find a man 
who can cook." Dana stopped, realizing what she just said.

"So, this is where we start picking out china patterns?" Fox grinned, easing 
the tension that had mounted.

"Don't think so." Dana smiled back self-consciously.  "So, what'd you think 
of the movie?"

"I liked it.  It was very funny.  Definitely better than the critics said it 
would be."

"Yeah, well, they're idiots."

"You're biased." He accused.

"Maybe so, but critics still don't know what they're talking about."

Fox grinned and gave her hands a squeeze.  Dana matched his smile and their 
waiter made his appearance with their food.  They broke apart and began 
eating.  Dinner went fast, with little breaks for them to joke and hold 
hands.  Soon, Fox paid the check and walked Dana out of the restaurant with 
his hand on her back.

*~*X*~*

Dana winced as they drove over another speed bump. 

"You ok?" Fox asked.

"I think the medicine is starting to wear off." She told him, bringing her 
hands up to her head to try and stop the incessant pounding.  He took one 
hand off the wheel and took her hand in his, offering her comfort.

"Can we listen to some music?" Dana asked, holding his hand tightly.

"Of course.  Put in anything you want."

Dana reached for Fox's CD's.  She found one of her favorites and placed it in 
the CD player.

"What did you choose?"

"Oasis.  What's the story Morning Glory?"

"Good stuff." Fox squeezed her hand and put the CD on song number three.

"'Wonderwall'.  One of my favorites." Dana snuggled close to Fox.  He patted 
her hand and turned back to the road.

"What're your other favorites?"

"'Some Might Say', 'She's Electric', 'Morning Glory', and 'Champagne 
Supernova.'"

"Same here.  Although I'm slightly partial to 'Don't Look Back in Anger' as 
well.  But 'Champagne Supernova' is definitely my favorite."

"'How many special people change?  How many lives are living strange?  Where 
were you while we were getting high?  Slowly walking down the hall, faster 
than a cannon ball.  Where were you while we were getting high?'" Dana sang 
timidly.

"'Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide, in a champagne 
supernova in the sky.  Someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide, 
in a champagne supernova, a champagne supernova in the sky.'" Fox finished 
equally as softly.  Dana smiled and squeezed his hand.  They sat in silence, 
enjoying the other's company until Dana took a breath and said, "We're here.  
And I don't want any arguments; you're staying."

*~*X*~*

They walked through the door and Dana headed over to the medicine cabinet 
while Fox went to get her a glass of water.  Then she settled down on her 
bed, pulling the covers up around her. Fox handed her the glass of water and 
she took it gratefully. When she had finished, she handed the cup back to him 
and he took it back down to the kitchen. 

When he got back, she was sound asleep.  He took up residence on her futon 
and had soon joined her in the land of dreams.

*~*X*~*

When he awoke Dana was no longer in her bed. Checking his watch, he realized 
it was already noon. He had slept much longer than he had intended.

After going to the bathroom, he found his way to the kitchen, where Dana, 
Missy, and their mother were eating and talking.

"Good morning" Dana greeted.

"Good afternoon" he replied.

"Want something to eat?" Missy asked.

"No thanks, I'm fine." He turned to Dana and said, "We should keep working on 
our story."

Dana quickly finished eating, put her plate in the sink, and went back up to 
her room to continue working.

When they were called down for dinner they both looked at each other. They 
hadn't realized so much time had gone by. 

Fox left after dinner and Dana went online to check her email and talk to the 
friends that she had left behind.  Time passed quickly and soon she was 
signing off to go to bed.

*~*X*~*

Dana woke up and groaned, immediately burying her face in her pillow.  She 
really didn't want to go to school that day.  Of course, going to school 
meant she got to see Fox, but still.  Dana closed her eyes again and drifted 
off, only wanting a few more minutes of slumber.

Dana was awakened almost an hour later by something warm and heavy bouncing 
on her bed and snuggling up next to her.  She smiled in her half sleep as she 
recognized the deodorant that the person was using.  It was Fox.

Fox circled his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest.  He 
dropped light kisses on her face and eyes, being careful not to hurt her 
healing forehead, before moving to her lips and gently caressing them.  She 
smiled into his kiss and pulled him closer.

"Nice way to wake up in the morning." Dana remarked, smiling sleepily at Fox.

"It was my pleasure.  Now hurry, or we're gonna be late.  I let you sleep 
until the latest possible moment." Fox kissed Dana before climbing off her 
bed.

"What time did you get here today?" Dana asked, looking over at her clock.

"Pretty early.  Dad was still asleep, which I'm still not sure who that's 
better for -me or him." Fox shifted his footing bashfully as Dana moved 
around, gathering her clothes from her drawers.  She passed him and stopped 
to give him a lingering kiss.

"Sit down, I'll only be a minute." Dana spoke as she disappeared into the 
bathroom.  Fox sat down at her computer desk and waited.

When Dana returned, she tossed her nightclothes onto the bed and walked up to 
Fox, settling between his legs, her fingers threading in his hair, lips 
landing on his.  Fox was surprised, but recovered quickly and wrapped his 
arms around her, holding her tightly in his embrace.

"Hmm, your mom's gonna start to wonder what happened to me."

"I'll tell her you went to the bathroom and fell in." Dana murmured making a 
move to sit on Fox's lap when Missy pushed open the door.

"Dana!  Jeez!" Missy screeched.  "Oh, you are so grounded for life.  MOM!!"

Dana quickly scrambled away from Fox and picked up her books from the night 
stand.  "Let's go, Fox."

They were down the hall and at the top of the stairs just as Maggie got 
there.  "What's going on, Dana?  Melissa yelled for me."

"Dana doesn't seem to remember the rules of the house that Dad installed last 
year." Melissa remarked offhandedly.  Maggie's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Shut up, Melissa." Dana snapped.  "It's not like you've never done anything 
potentially damning."

"Woah!  Woah!  Both of you, quiet.  I want to hear the entire story from both 
of you."

"Mom, we're gonna be late." Dana reasoned.

"Fine, we'll discuss this after school.  Have a good day you two and don't 
fight during class today." Maggie hugged each of her daughters and sent them 
downstairs.  She stood at the top of the steps as she heard Melissa use her 
sickeningly sweet voice to ask Fox to give her a ride.  Fox conceded and 
Maggie breathed a sigh of relief.

Dana was livid.  First Melissa tries to get her in trouble, then has the 
nerve to ask for a ride, then when she gets the ride, tries to take Dana's 
spot in the front seat next to Fox.  Fox gently touched Dana's waist.  She 
looked up into his eyes and saw what he was trying to tell her.  Let her get 
her way this time.  She might not be such a bitch later.  Dana nodded 
slightly and leaned up to receive a soft kiss.

The ride to school was filled with Fox attempting to fend off Melissa's 
unwanted advances and Dana shooting daggers at her sister as Missy gave Dana 
occasional triumphant glances.

As soon as they got into the parking lot at school, Missy jumped from the car 
and flounced off to find her friends.  Instead of getting out of the car, 
Dana stayed in her seat behind Fox and sighed.  He turned and smiled at her 
before climbing in the back seat.

"See?  That wasn't so horrible."

"She's set her sights on you, you know that now?"

"Doesn't matter." Fox replied pulling Dana into a hug.

"Why not?"

Fox didn't answer; he just looked at his watch and cursed.  "We are so late.  
Come on.  We'll finish this discussion after I make sure I'm still among the 
graduating class."

They hurried inside and got passes to their class.  The day progressed 
quickly and soon, they were meeting for lunch where they ate outside without 
the weather and the sprinklers interrupting their moments.  The day ended 
with only a mild disagreement between Dana and Missy in history, and soon 
Dana was curled up next to Fox in her 'spot' in his car.  Fox drove Dana back 
to her house and they worked on their story.  Maggie never talked to them 
about that morning.

Fox didn't stay for dinner that night, not wanting to risk anymore encounters 
with Missy, not only for his sake, but for Dana's as well.

She walked him to his car and they stayed out there talking, cuddling, and 
making out until Dana's Mom opened the door and yelled for her to come back 
inside. She gave him a last kiss goodbye and went back inside.

*~*X*~*

When Fox pulled into the driveway the next morning, Dana was standing out 
there ready to go.  As he slowed the car to a stop, Dana got in and they 
drove away.

*~*X*~*

The day passed as the days always do. Dana and Fox went to their classes as 
usual, ate lunch in their usual spot, and then the bell rang sending them 
back to class. Their normal class routine continued, the usual fight in 
history ensued, and when the bell to end the school day rang, Dana and Fox 
went back to her house and worked on their story and started thinking of ways 
to end it. After much arguing and debating, a decision was finally made. 

*~*X*~*

Fox didn't stay for dinner that night, claiming that his mother wanted him 
home more often.

*~*X*~*

On Wednesday their routine went back to normal. Fox came over in the morning 
and waited for Dana to get ready, helping Mrs. Scully with breakfast.

They ate breakfast and then left the house, without Missy, for school. Things 
went as usual until history. The late bell rang and Missy hadn't shown up. 
Maybe she's just late, Dana thought. When class was half over and Missy still 
hadn't shown, Dana started to worry. She seemed fine this morning, she 
thought to herself. She thought back through the day, realizing that she 
hadn't seen Missy at all since before she left the house.

Through the rest of history she contemplated the idea of calling home and 
asking her mother about Missy's lack of attendance in history class. She 
finally decided against it and when the bell rang she proceeded to creative 
writing, as usual. 

When Fox entered the class she immediately asked him about Missy. He hadn't 
seen her at school either.

"Why?" Fox asked.

"Cause she wasn't in history last period and I have no idea where she is!"

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure she's fine."

"I hope so." Dana said as she pulled out her notebook with their story in it.

"All right, class." Their teacher said. "You should all be starting to finish 
up your stories now, and be putting the finishing touches on them throughout 
the rest of this week. Have them ready to turn in on Monday."

"Okay, so we're in good shape." Fox said.

"Yeah." Dana agreed as she opened the notebook and found the place where they 
left off.

They were able to finish the story during class and agreed that they'd type 
it up that night at Dana's and then send it to a few of her friends to edit 
it for them.

End of part 6