Truth And Life (2/?)
by Namarie

Spoilers: IWTB, all of Life
Keywords: MSR, XF/Life.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Slightly AU. What if there was a very good reason we
never saw Charlie Scully on the show? What would happen if he
met up with his sister again, much later on in both of their lives?
Disclaimer: I don't own Life or XF, or their associated characters.
Feedback: Would be most welcome. Send it to pomme_noire AT
hotmail dot com

Once again, many thanks to comice for her invaluable input on the
plot, and helping me move the story forward. And thanks to
missmonkeh for her keen eye and very helpful comments.

 ~
Chapter 2
Saturday

Charlie hung up the phone and stared at it a moment before starting
to dial the next number. It was still a bit hard to process, the idea
that his sister was on her way to his house at this very moment.
Exciting, too. He hadn't yet had what anyone could call a family
gathering at this house. The closest thing he could think of were
dinners with Ted and Rachel - which hadn't been happening very
recently.

Speaking of which, Charlie thought, I should probably tell Ted.

Almost as soon as he had finished the thought, Ted came into the
kitchen. He stopped upon seeing Charlie. "Hey, Charlie."

"Hi, Ted," Charlie smiled, picking up a pear from the fruit bowl.

"I-- I didn't know you were back already," Ted said. "Aren't you
supposed to still be on vacation?"

Swallowing a bite of the pear, Charlie nodded. "I am still on
vacation. I just chose to take some of my vacation here. Maybe,"
he reflected, "it's just the state of being on vacation that's important,
not where I am."

Ted blinked, then shrugged. "Sure." He had turned to leave before
Charlie remembered what he was going to tell him.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he said. He took another bite while Ted
turned around. "My sister and her partner are coming over today. I
don't know how long they're staying. She said they don't have a
definite departure date for their trip." He shook his head
wonderingly.

"Your sister?" Now Ted's expression changed from somewhat
anxious to completely shocked. "You... have a sister?"

Charlie felt a brief stab of pain, which he concealed by turning to
throw away the seeds and stem from the pear. "Uh huh. She lives
out in Virginia, but she and her partner happen to be on vacation
right now, too. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Ted's expression hadn't changed. "And she's coming here with her,
uh, partner? Are they...?"

"What-- oh, no." He almost laughed as he tried to picture Dana
coming to a family member's house with a female partner, of the
kind Ted had thought. "He used to be her partner at the FBI, and
he's still her partner."

"FBI?" Ted now looked downright alarmed.

Charlie leaned against the counter. "Former FBI, Ted. Don't worry.
They're just visiting."

"If you say so," muttered Ted, obviously not convinced.

"I do," Charlie said. "Anyway, I'm gonna call Reese now."

"Why, is she coming over, too?"

Charlie blinked, wondering at the additional note of panic in Ted's
voice during this question. He couldn't be scared of Reese, could
he? "I don't think so," he said. "I'm pretty sure she's still on
vacation, too."

Ted nodded slowly. "And she's not going to spend some of her
vacation time here, then?"

He smiled. "I'm not sure. But I don't think so, Ted."

"Okay." Ted waited a moment, and when Charlie said nothing
further, he exhaled, shook his head, and departed.

Charlie picked up his phone from the counter where he'd set it,
dialing Reese's cell number. After two rings, she answered.

"Reese."

He thought he could hear a man's voice in the background, but he
wasn't sure. "Hey, Reese. How's your vacation going?"

She gave a little sigh. "It's fine, Crews. But I'm guessing yours isn't
going so well, since you apparently have nothing better to do than
to call me."

He shrugged, although he knew she couldn't see it over the phone.
"I guess I just wanted to check up. I got used to calling you while
you were away."

"Right." But her tone had softened slightly. "Well, like I told you,
I'm doing fine. Relaxing, having a good time and everything." She
paused. "And uh, how are you?"

"Me? I'm doing fine, too," Charlie answered. "Actually my sister is
coming over for a visit today."

There was another pause. This time Charlie was already expecting
her next question, so it didn't hurt as much. He knew that he could
have spared himself and his friends some confusion if he just went
ahead and said 'half-sister' instead of 'sister', but he just did not
think of Dana as 'half'-anything.

"You have a sister?"

"Yep. She's former FBI. I think you'd like her."

Reese took a breath. "Wow. Um, well, how long is she going to be
in the area?"

"Don't know," Charlie said. "She said she and her partner don't
know for sure when they're leaving."

"Okay," she said. "Well, I'm coming back to work on Monday. I
was planning on coming back to LA tomorrow night."

"I'll keep that in mind." Charlie imagined Reese looking confused,
and he smiled. "Anyway. Talk to you later, Reese."

"Yeah. Have a good time with your sister." She hung up.

Charlie closed his phone and walked over to the back door to look
out. There were still a few hours before he could expect Dana and
Mulder to arrive. Meanwhile, he should probably make some
preparations - like check to see if there was a guest room ready for
them. Even though Rachel wasn't going to be back for another
week, he guessed Dana would rather not stay in his sort-of niece's
room.

He walked upstairs to the room he had in mind. There was only
one bed, but it was king size, and he wasn't worried that sharing
would be a problem for Dana and her partner. No sheets on it
currently, but he could fix that.

After everything was set up, Charlie went downstairs to find Ted.
He wasn't sure whether Ted would want to eat dinner with them,
but he would at least ask.

~

Charlie watched from the front porch as Dana and Mulder pulled
up in a nice-looking rental car. They both looked amazed as they
got out, staring up at the house.

"Charlie, this place is... it's incredible!" Dana called, walking
toward her brother with Mulder right behind her.

Charlie smiled. "You like it?"

She nodded, still staring. Then she managed to tear her gaze away
to focus on him, in time to give him another hug. "Thanks for inviting
us over," she said, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"Thanks for coming," Charlie replied, closing his eyes for a second
to savor the feeling. They broke apart and he shook Mulder's hand.
"Need any help with your luggage?"

"Thanks, but I don't think so," Mulder said. He glanced at Dana.
"We could bring it in later..."

Dana hesitated. "You really wouldn't mind if we spent the night
here, Charlie?"

"Not at all," he said. He gestured toward the front door. "Or more
than one night. I have plenty of space."

She smiled. "All right, then let's bring in our bags."

Charlie got them settled into the guest room. His guests made a few
more admiring comments and glances as they walked through the
house, and Charlie realized halfway to the staircase that they might
like a grand tour. "I can show you around the place after you drop
off your stuff," he offered.

"Sure." Dana seemed pleased.

He thought the tour went well. Of course, there was one area of the
house that he did not show to his guests - although from what he
knew about Mulder, he thought the man might be an asset in
helping untangle the conspiracy. But he wasn't planning on showing
that room to anyone else, for the moment at least.

It took until they came back downstairs for Dana to comment on
the lack of furniture. "A lot of these rooms don't have much in them,
Charlie. Don't you want more couches, or chairs, or something?"

Charlie shrugged. "Not really. I like open space." It was the first
thing his big sister had said that could be considered advice, but it
didn't bother him.

She looked at him, and then said, "Well, you certainly have plenty
of it. It's a beautiful house."

Mulder, who was looking out the back door at the pool, murmured
his agreement.

"Do you--" Dana started, and then stopped.

"What is it?" Charlie asked.

"Do you live here alone?"

Charlie shook his head. "Nope. Ted lives here, too. And Rachel,
but she's gone for another week."

The inquisitive expression on his sister's face told Charlie he'd
better explain a little more. "Ted's my friend, and my financial
advisor. We met in prison."

"Ah." Dana nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Charlie realized that was the first time he had said the word 'prison'.
He didn't like making Dana feel uncomfortable, but on the other
hand, they were never going to be able to regain any kind of sibling
relationship if they tried to ignore the issue. If you cannot find the
truth right where you are, he recited to himself, where else do you
expect to find it?

"And Rachel is Rachel Seybolt," he continued. It took a moment,
but he saw understanding dawn in Dana's eyes... and in Mulder's.
The man had come up behind Dana during the conversation, and
was now listening silently.

There was a short pause. "How is she doing?" Dana's voice was
quiet, and she was looking at him with the same honestly caring
expression as she had in the restaurant yesterday.

Charlie smiled. "She's doing much better." Then he turned to walk
toward the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, "You two want to
eat?"

"That depends," Dana answered, following him with a small teasing
grin. "Did you cook?"

He bit back a laugh. "I'll have you know that I can cook just fine,
thank you." Putting a hand on her shoulder, he pushed her gently
toward the cupboard against the opposite wall. "You can set the
table, just for that."

Mulder was standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway during
this exchange. Catching his eye, Dana gestured to him. "Come on,
Mulder, give me a hand with these plates. If that's all right with my
brother, that is." She glanced at Charlie, raising an eyebrow in
challenge.

"Go right ahead, Mulder," Charlie said, standing aside to let him
cross the room.

Dinner was, once again, a good time. Ted didn't make an
appearance, although Charlie thought he heard him rustling around
in the kitchen at one point. He probably still wasn't sure that these
former FBI agents would be comfortable dinner companions,
Charlie guessed.

Over the meal, the three of them shared a few stories of some of
their more unusual cases. Charlie wasn't too surprised that the
strangeness of the X-Files that Mulder and his sister brought up
more than topped even the strangest of his and Reese's cases. But
he decided he was just fine with the LAPD's more limited range of
bizarreness. Mutants and vampires were not something he felt
compelled to have more experience with - or any experience, for
that matter.

After the meal, Charlie offered them their choice of wine, coffee,
and fruit sorbet. He had managed to track down a few local
vendors who sold real fruit sorbet, and had been buying one carton
of each flavor that sounded good to him per week. This week it
was kiwi. Charlie was pleased that both Dana and Mulder tried
some, and called it delicious.

Silence fell for a moment, as they each finished off their dessert.
Then Charlie spoke up. "If you two brought your swimsuits, we
could swim. Unless," he turned to Dana, "it's too soon after eating
for us to be swimming."

"That's actually a common misconception," Dana told him. "There
has never been a drowning proved to be caused by going into the
water too soon after eating." She looked at Mulder. "And yes, we
do have our suits. I wouldn't mind a swim."

Mulder opened his mouth, then paused for a second before he said,
"Sounds good to me, too."

"Great," Charlie said, wondering what the man had been about to
say. "I'll meet you out there."

He found his towel and changed into his swim trunks quickly
enough to beat his guests out to the pool. The summer heat still
lingered in the air, and Charlie savored the coolness of the water as
he dangled his legs over the side.

The sliding glass door opened behind him. "Mulder can't find his
suit, but he'll be-- oh my God, Charlie, when did you get shot?"

"Earlier this year," Charlie answered, looking up at her as she
stared at him with her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth. "It's
all healed, Dana. Don't worry about it."

She swallowed. Her eyes were roving over the other scars on his
torso, and she was clearly getting even more upset. "Charlie..."

He reached up a hand and took hers. He was reminded somehow
of the time he had come home from school with a bloody nose after
tangling with Ty, the third grade king of the playground bullies, and
Dana had been the first one to see him.

"Dana. Stop worrying about it. I'm fine." Smiling, he squeezed her
fingers lightly in his. "Besides, they're very impressive - or so I hear.
They go well with the tattoos."

"I'm sure." But she managed a smile in return, before walking over
to set down her towel on one of the deck chairs. She was wearing
a fairly modest two-piece; Charlie debated commenting on the exit
wound scar he could see on her lower back.

As he stood up, he said, "Yours isn't nearly as impressive," and
stepped off the edge into the water before she could react. He let
the water envelop him completely for a few seconds before coming
to the surface. Dana had turned to face him, one hand on her hip.

The sound of the door opening and closing again announced
Mulder's arrival. Charlie watched, treading water in the deep end,
as Mulder set down his towel next to Dana's and handed her an
elastic band.

"Oh, thanks, Mulder." She took it and then frowned. "But it'll still
get in my face if I put it in a ponytail."

Mulder rolled his eyes and sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine, Scully, I'll
braid it. But you know I'm an amateur at best at this girly stuff.
Don't expect it to look like a picture in a magazine."

Dana sat down at the edge of the pool, bending her head forward.
"I'm fairly sure I don't want to look anything like the pictures in your
magazines, Mulder."

Charlie smiled, then turned to float on his back and look up at the
sky.

~

That night, Charlie was brought out of a deep sleep by the sound of
someone walking down the hall to the stairs. He was instantly alert,
and he reached for his weapon before realizing that it was probably
either his sister or Mulder having trouble sleeping. Probably. He
would make absolutely sure who it was before shooting this time;
one family member shot was more than enough to last the rest of his
life.

Charlie crept downstairs as silently as he could, gun at his side. He
recognized Mulder's silhouette against the back door before he got
too close, and coughed quietly to alert him to his presence.

Mulder tensed and turned quickly, relaxing when he saw who it
was. Then his gaze traveled to the gun in Charlie's hand. "Whoa."
He raised his hands. "I swear, I'm unarmed."

"Sorry," Charlie said. He walked over to the one piece of furniture
in the room - a table with a lamp on it - and set down the weapon.
"Couldn't sleep?"

Mulder nodded. "Oh - I'm sorry, I guess I woke you when I came
downstairs."

"I'm a light sleeper," Charlie told him. "Not your fault."

There was a pause. Charlie got the feeling once again that Mulder
was sizing him up, trying to judge how he would react if he asked
the questions he wanted to ask. Unlike other people that Charlie
met now, though, he could tell that Mulder would not be put off by
any kind of offhand answer. Maybe Charlie could get in a few
questions of his own. But he'd try to be polite.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" he offered, keeping his
voice low in deference to his sister. "I have lots of fresh fruit... and
beer. And we could sit down."

"I'll take a beer," Mulder said. He followed Charlie through the
kitchen, where Charlie stopped and handed him a beer and got one
for himself. Then they continued into the living room, which actually
did have two couches in it.

Silence fell for a few more seconds. Charlie swallowed a mouthful
and asked casually, "So how long has Dana worn her hair that
long? She never used to let it get past her shoulders."

Mulder stretched his arms behind his head as he said, "Yeah, it's
sort of a new thing, I guess. She's been letting it stay long for about
two years." Then he smiled. "Fortunately, I've only been pressed
into service to braid it a few times. You saw how well that turns
out."

Charlie returned the smile. He was beginning to think Dana could
definitely have done worse in choosing a partner. Not that she
needed his approval, of course, especially after all this time.

Mulder took another swallow from his bottle and ran a hand across
his face. "You know, I've never known any member of Scully's
family all that well."

"No?" Charlie was a little surprised. Dana had been this man's
partner for more than a decade and he had seen her through
numerous crises, and yet he still felt like an outsider? Well, Charlie
could identify with that... for very different reasons.

"I guess there was a period of time that her mom and I talked
frequently," Mulder conceded, "but that was about it."

Charlie kept his face impassive with some difficulty. The ache of
that particular loss had not yet faded. "And I'm guessing my sister
hasn't told you much about me," he said.

Mulder hesitated, but met Charlie's eyes squarely. "No. Not much.
I didn't have anything but her reaction to the news, and family
resemblance, to go on when the story of your arrest broke."

This didn't surprise Charlie. Dana had always been a very private
person, and it had been early in her partnership with Mulder. She
probably hadn't known him well enough at that point, and then later
it was just easier to keep quiet about the whole thing. Ignoring the
pain Mulder's comment about family resemblance caused, he
decided to make sure it didn't take too long for him to come to the
point. "You're probably wondering why my last name isn't Scully."

"Well... yeah, actually, I am." He seemed embarrassed. "But, um,
we just met yesterday, and this isn't an interrogation. You don't
have to--"

"No, that's all right," Charlie interrupted. "Besides, this way, you
can hear my side of the story first, and then ask my sister later to
confirm it." His smile took the edge out of his words.

Mulder raised his eyebrows, then nodded slowly. "All right."

Charlie took a deep breath. It had been so many years - and many
of those years before he was inside, which added to the feeling of it
being almost another lifetime - but he could still remember it all. The
only trouble was figuring out what to say, now that he had decided
to say it. Maybe the fact that Mulder was still almost a stranger to
him would make it easier... or not.

"Dana is actually my half-sister," Charlie began. He waited a
moment, and saw the surprise and shock dawn on Mulder's face
before he continued. "I'm the only child of Margaret Scully and... a
family friend. None of us kids knew until I started looking into the
family's history toward the end of high school and accidentally
found some old letters. I ended up moving to California, changing
my name to my biological father's last name, and getting married
right out of high school." He took another long drink, once again
feeling the irony of his decision about his name.

"Well..." Mulder said, letting out a breath. "That does explain a lot.
And I think-- I think I'm even more glad Scully and I ran into you
the other day."

"Me, too." Charlie rotated the empty beer bottle with his fingertips.
He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Do you have
family, Mulder?"

He swallowed, and shook his head. "Scully's it for me."

And your son, Charlie thought, but didn't say it out loud. He still
was at a loss to understand how these two could have given up
their son, but he had the strong feeling that bringing it up with either
of them would only tear open old wounds.

After a few more moments, Mulder stood up. "Thanks for the
beer."

"You're welcome." Charlie took the other empty bottle. Ted
appreciated it when he remembered to put glass bottles in the
separate bin for recycling.

Just before Mulder left the room, Charlie thought of another
question to ask him. "Mulder."

He turned back. "Yeah?"

"Does Dana-- do you two go to church?"

Mulder looked surprised. "Uh, well, I think Scully spends time in
the chapel in her hospital fairly often, and she doesn't miss the big
Catholic holidays at the local church." His smile was wry as he
added, "But I don't usually go with her. I've never been much of a
churchgoer."

Charlie returned the smile. "I'm trying Zen."

"Zen?" Mulder repeated. "How's that working out for you?"

"I'm getting there, I think," Charlie said. He paused, and cocked his
head. "If there is a 'there' to get to... which I'm not so sure about."

He laughed quietly. "Sounds to me like you're getting it."

Another moment passed, and Mulder headed back upstairs. Lost in
thought and memory, Charlie stayed where he was for almost
twenty more minutes before finally following suit.

~

Author's Note for Chapter 2: In regard to the old wives' tale about
waiting an hour to go swimming after you eat, see the following link:
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/hourwait.asp . Scully would
totally know this, even though I just found out about it earlier this
year.