The Life of Dana Katherine Scully

Being Nice

Charlie gave Dana a glare as they headed up the road leading to their new house. "You could have been a bit nicer to Mulder, you know."

She returned the glare. "I don't know him. I was asleep! You were the one getting chummy with a random stranger. Whilst I was asleep, might I add. It's not exactly how I wanted a random stranger to meet me."

"Don't you know how to make friends, Dana? You talk to people. If you get on, you become friends. If it doesn't work, you let it go. You didn't even give him a chance. And," Charlie held up his finger as she opened her mouth to protest again, "I didn't wake you because I know how much you needed to sleep. You barely slept at all on the journey here."

"I don't care. And there's not much point in trying to make friends when Dad is going to get moved again in another year."

"That shouldn't stop you from trying. And you never know. Dad might get a more permanent position and we might end up hanging around here for longer."

Dana rolled her eyes. "Doubt it," she muttered, but didn't pursue the argument. If she wasn't up for making friends at the moment, she didn't need to listen to her younger brother's friendship advice.

They made it back home just in time. The moving van had left, making the driveway looking somewhat barren. Boxes cluttered most of the rooms, but the furniture had already been moved into their permanent places. Maggie had almost finished cooking their evening meal, the first meal they would have together as a family in their new house. Missy had already set the table and had gone to help Ahab with unpacking boxes in the living room.

Their father looked up as Dana and Charlie walked in, giving them a smile. He seemed more relaxed than earlier, probably because the big jobs when it came to moving had already been completed. "Did you have a good afternoon?"

"We met a kid who lives around here," Charlie said, excitedly. "His name is Fox Mulder and his parents own a summer house around here. It sounds like he'll be here during the summer months."

Ahab looked at his youngest son with interest. "Was he nice?" he asked.

"He was, although a little quiet. But that was probably because I was talking to much."

"I hope you didn't scare him off," Ahab teased. "Are you planning on meeting Fox again?"

"He likes to be called Mulder. I said if I was free tomorrow afternoon, I would meet him down at the beach."

Their father nodded. "That sounds fine. I probably need to get down to Newport tomorrow anyway, so I don't think there would be anything else planned. What about you, Starbuck? What do you think about this town?"

She shrugged. "Its alright. Bit empty at the moment, but the beach is nice."

Maggie poked her head through the door. "How old is this boy you met, Charlie?"

Charlie thought a moment. "He's older than me and Dana. I'd say Missy's age probably, around 17."

Dana rolled her eyes. She knew what her mother was up to. Maggie couldn't resist a little matchmaking. The way that she pretended to be disinterested in the information, punctuating it with a little "oh," slipping out of the room with a glint in her eye infuriated Dana, but she stayed quiet. She would only be at the receiving end of her mother's matchmaking if Missy wasn't interested (and she rarely wasn't) and it only ever got serious if the boy got invited round for dinner by her parents. Somehow, Dana didn't think Mulder was going to stick around long enough to get that sort of attention from her parents. He didn't seem like the sort of guy who was interested in being in company anyway, so she was safe for now.