Quantico: An X Files Origin

2

"So, is speed dating after target practice or-" Dana joked.

Eric chuckled and said, "If only it was that easy. No. Monica and I met in college, Brown University. We had mutual friends and often found ourselves being the last ones to leave the party. We never officially dated but It wasn't until graduation that I realized how much I loved her and that I never wanted to be without her. I had graduated with a Masters Degree in Literature, but changed my whole life plan and followed her here to Quantico."

"Wow Eric, that's - that's almost a fairytale," Dana said as she readjusted the duffle bag on her shoulder.

"Well, I hope this fairytale has a happy ending." He reached into his back pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes.

He held the pack out to Dana, as he slipped on in between his lips.

Her heart pounded.

"Uh- no thank you. I recently quit." She stepped back an inch.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Eric smiled. "I know how hard quitting is. I've tried four times." He took the lit cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it on the ground.

"You didn't have to do that," Dana said shaking her head.

"It's no big deal. After all, the last thing I wanted to smell was the smoke when I tried quitting. Anyways, let's go get these things up to your room." He pulled the handle up on her suitcase and headed for building 3C.

The two new friends lugged her belongings up four flights of metal stairs. Dana's calf muscles began to burn but she had to keep going. She couldn't pause on the stairs to catch her breath. Especially on her first day at Quantico.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Eric didn't have a bead of sweat on his forehead, and Dana, quite the opposite of the huge mass of muscle that was Eric, wanted to collapse on the floor.

"Do you remember what room Monica assigned you?" He asked.

"Oh yes- it was 424." She exhaled.

She followed the tall blonde down the hall and around a corner. The building was old and worn, a new coat of white paint adorned the walls, trying to hide its dinginess.

"Well, this is it," he said as he pushed the handle back down on the suitcase. "I'll catch you around, Dana. It was great meeting you." He grabbed her hand, gave it a squeeze, and then jogged down the hall.

"Bye," Dana said quietly. She hoped she would see her new friend again soon, and if not, she hoped to one day meet another guy like him.

Eric's story about him and agent Reyes haunted her mind. That was honestly all she wanted in life. She often times wished that she had dropped out of medical school to marry and raise a family. Most of her friends were mothers by now and she envied them, to put it lightly. She was ready for the next chapter in her life to begin, but for some reason, the next chapter took place in Quantico, Virginia.

Dana opened the door to her new room. As it swung open she saw two girls, about her age, one sitting at a desk, blonde with blue eyes and the other reading on her bed, African American with tight curls atop her head.

"Hello." Dana meekly said.

The girls both looked up.

"Hi! You must be Dana!" The girl reading the book squealed. She leaped to the door, her brown curls bouncing up and down. "I'm Chanel Dawson."

"Nice to meet you, Chanel," Dana said warmly as she stepped inside the door.

The girl at the desk glanced up at Scully and back down at her writing.