No copyright infringement intended. All characters are the property of CC
and company, and I'm using them without permission, but I do  promise to
return them when I'm done. No sex, violence, or profanity, but I'll give
it a PG13 because Scully's in the bathtub. All comments appreciated, but
please be gentle with me; it's my first time....

All comments, suggestions, flames, and  general chat should be directed to
Possumstew @ aol. 

Chloe


Dana Scully sighed deeply as she sank into the fragrant bubbles. She had
outgrown Chloe over five years before, but Melissa had not taken the hint
and continued to gift her with bath sets every Christmas.  The cosmetics
went unused. Dana had progressed from a simple preference for White Linen
to a full-scale dislike of her former favorite; Chloe had come to
symbolize Melissa's casual disregard of her decisions and likes. 

Dana sniffled and molded a mound of bubbles into a peak. Her sister's
protectiveness had annoyed her, exasperated her even, but that seemed to
be what she missed the most. Missy had mothered her, dominated her at
times as well; she realized in retrospect that this had been done with the
best of intentions. Missy had a strong personality,  combined with an
unfortunate absence of subtlety. She saw a problem, she cared, she tried
to solve the problem - even if it wasn't hers to solve. In the end, that
had been the death of her. Dana dabbed at her eyes with the soapy rag.
"What did I do to you, Missy? This was MY fight, not yours."

"I'd say the quest for truth and justice is open territory. Rather
high-handed of you to claim it for yourself, don't you think?"

Dana's eyes and mouth flew open in tandem. "I - you - they... You're dead!"

"Thanks; I figured that out pretty quickly." Melissa was perched
cross-legged atop the toilet seat. She wore a floor-length white robe and
smiled as matter-of-factly as if she were stopping by to return a
forgotten jacket. She stood and walked over to squat by the tub. "You need
to stop taking responsibility that is not your own. It was my time, not
yours." 

Melissa was silent for a moment, then continued. "If you want to take on a
responsibility that DOES belong to you, start with Fox Mulder." She looked
toward the bathroom window. "His entire world has altered; nothing was
what he'd thought. He's a sweater with a loose piece of yarn hanging from
it. YOU have to keep him from unraveling."

"Melissa, I..." Scully was no longer attempting to fight back tears. "I
miss you. So damned much...."

"Move forward, Dana. You will always have my love, but I have to move on.
For me to progress you must progress..." She was getting hazy as she
spoke. "Find the truth, Dana, for Mulder and for yourself. Find HER. Only
then can you do what you must do to let me back into your life."

"Melissa, I don't understand. I..."

"And for pity's sake don't name your firstborn Melissa; I want a new
name...." With that she flickered out entirely, leaving Dana in a tubful
of tepid Chloe... 


10/26/95