"The Ex-Pet Files II: Pooky the Fish Gets the Big Flush" by Margo Foster (Mishka2@aol.com) Mailed to EMXC December 28, 1996. Classification: H Rating: PG Summary: Mulder grieves the loss of his favorite pet fish. Background: In "The Ex-Pet Files I: Spiro the Frog Croaks Again", Mulder is visited in a dream by the spirit of his dead childhood pet frog, who lays a major guilt trip about Mulder's history of negligence with his pets. Spiro also informs Mulder that Mulder's favorite fish, Pooky, is the latest of Mulder's animal victims to join the choir invisible. You don't need to have read "Spiro" to follow this one, but, of course, I'd recommend it! I thought it was pretty fun. ********************************* The following work is for the distribution and entertainment of EMXC members only. Any further distribution of this work without the author's consent is in violation of international copyright law. Disclaimer: This is a parody of characters and situations from the Fox show, The X-Files, created by Chris Carter, and of fanfic written in honor of the show. Occasional reference is also made to comments from many Internet X-philes. No copyright infringement is intended, nor do I intend to discredit Internet fans or any of the wonderful fanfic writers out there that I admire so much. I'm just playin' with y'all, really. Characters not obviously recognizable from the show are mine. Feedback is requested and greatly appreciated. Especially constructive criticism; that's a big reason why I joined EMXC -- to get help with my writing! Please send any comments to me, the author (Mishka2@aol.com). ********************************** The apartment of Fox Mulder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 3:15 a.m. Sweating profusely after his horrible nightmare, Mulder reached for the remote and clicked off the T.V. -- right in the middle of Linda Blair's pea soup scene. He wearily sat up on the couch, rubbing the sleep out of his face with his hands. "Oh, Pooky, not you," he said aloud to the dark living room. To reassure himself, Mulder reached over to switch on the light to his aquarium. It had held hundreds of fish over the years; not all at one time, of course. He usually had four or five fish max in the tank that were alive at the moment. Pooky had lived the longest of all of them; she was actually a little older than Mulder was, in fish months. For the last few weeks, she had been the only fish in the tank. , he told himself. He remembered all the times he had left without notice, often nearly dying in his unannounced quest for The Truth. he wondered guiltily. "Pooky, I promise I'll never leave you like that again," Mulder said to the lone yellow blob he saw in the tank. "You deserve better than that." But Pooky the blob wasn't responding to his words. "Pooky?" Mulder tapped the glass of the aquarium. "Pooky!" he gasped in shock when he realized his beloved fish was not just "sleeping" or "taking a little break after a long day of swimming around", as he had first hoped when he saw Pooky's unusual lethargy. The fish, Mulder's last fish, Mulder's longest-lived fish, Mulder's favorite fish, was caught in the foliage of one of the aquarium plants. "Pooky, please, wake up!" Mulder said hopefully, shaking the tank as best he could without toppling it over. The vibrations he set off did get Pooky to move. The fish's body floated slowly up through the water in the tank, then turned belly up as it bobbed on the surface. "Nooooooooo!" was all Mulder could manage to moan before he broke into heaving sobs...for the second time that night. ********************************** F.B.I. Headquarters Washington, D.C. 10:13 a.m. Agent Dana Scully knew that this latest loss was going to take a toll on her partner and best friend. He hadn't called her directly to tell her he would be in late that morning; he had called Skinner's office first. That was always a bad sign when Mulder was concerned. Mulder apparently had explained to the A.D.'s secretary that a close friend had passed away during the night. When she heard the news, she had called Mulder immediately. She managed to coerce the truth out of her partner. The truth was that the close friend was his fish, Pooky. She knew that Pooky was important to him. He had never talked with her about their special bond, but she had seen the little presents he gave the fish from time to time, on holidays mostly. A plastic castle for Valentine's Day. A little fish menorah for Hannukah. Pooky was probably the most important "person" in Mulder's life since Phoebe Green, Scully surmised. And she had seen how emotionally scarred he had been from the termination of that relationship. As Scully thought of this, Mulder suddenly walked through the doorway to the basement office, looking disheveled and weary from lack of sleep. Taking in his appearance, her concern seemed justified. "Mulder, I'm sorry about your fish," she said when he glanced at her upon entering the office. She wasn't sure how he would react to her mention of the passing of Pooky. "It's okay, Scully," was all he would say as he sat at his desk and began looking through the report Scully had written up on their last case. Scully knew from experience with Mulder that he was not going to open up with her about this. "Listen, Mulder, I...I want you to know that I'm always here for you, if you want to talk," she said, trying to sound supportive, but not prying. Her concern was met with silence. "Mulder, did you hear me?" Mulder paused for a moment, then swiveled in his chair so that he wouldn't have to look Scully in the eye. "Yes. Thanks. I...I know you care. I'm okay, really," Mulder said to the wall. Another pause. "Her...her name was Pooky." He found himself having difficulty controlling his voice when he said the name aloud. Scully moved closer, squatting down beside her partner. Mulder thought as she rested her hand lightly on his shoulder. He got up quickly and walked determinedly to the filing cabinet in front of Scully's desk. The one with the X-Files in it, the source of information that had always helped him escape the pain and guilt he still felt over the loss of his sister. He opened a drawer and began to pretend to look for a file, wishing Scully would disappear and leave him to his misery. "Scully, I've found our next case. It involves the mysterious disappearance of a film actress," he said quickly, still not daring to look at his partner. "At first glance, it doesn't seem to be an X-File. But I have reason to suspect it's the work of a satanic cult. Possibly related to some of the darker fan groups that communicate on the Internet. I've never heard of her...she was in that movie about Drac..." "Mulder, I hate it when you do this!" Scully interrupted, trying not to shout at Mulder in his precarious emotional state. "You're just burying your feelings in your work! You need to talk about this...about Pooky!" Mulder slammed the drawer shut and took refuge in a corner of the office, as far away from Scully as he could get. "Dammit, Scully, I told you I was okay!" he growled, facing away from her. But he knew he wasn't okay. He didn't know if he would ever be okay again. Scully saw Mulder's resistance, and didn't know if there was any way she alone could reach him. She stood silently watching his back, waiting for him to make the next move. Mulder didn't say a word. "Fox..." Mulder moved even further into the corner, lowering his head and wrapping his arms around his chest, trying to keep his feelings inside him. He couldn't do it any more. This was just too much for him, and he knew Scully would never leave him alone until he talked with her about what had happened that night. If this got out, it could affect his career. They could make him take involuntary leave. There would be even more whispers about "Spooky" Mulder in the hallways. Scully continued to watch in surprise as Mulder's back began to shake with silent sobs. He still refused to face her, but she could tell that tears were streaming down his face. She knew her partner too well to think otherwise. "Scully...I'm all right; please don't worry about me," he pleaded, struggling to keep his voice steady. "It's just...it's just that Pooky...Pooky...s-she reminded me so much of...of Samantha!" It was this revelation that finally broke down the last of Mulder's defenses. He could no longer keep the flood of tears and sobs inside him. He fell to his knees in the corner of the cold office, turning to meet Scully's embrace as she came to comfort him. It was then that Scully knew that she had to get Mulder into counseling. ********************************** Next: "The Ex-Pet Files III: The Sessions"