"The Laws of Intergenerational Relationships" (1/1) by Jean Helms (jeanlhelms@yahoo.com) TITLE: The Laws of Intergenerational Relationships AUTHOR: Jean Helms CLASSIFICATION: V, MSR SPOILERS: "all things" RATING: PG ARCHIVE: Gossamer, yes. Tamra, yes. Others, please ask. DISCLAIMER: Ideas cannot be copyrighted, but their expression can. Mulder and Scully aren't my idea, but this story is. Make of it what you will. FEEDBACK: Oh, yes, I love it so. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Intergenerational laws courtesy of my mom, who was right all along. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Laws of Intergenerational Relationships by Jean Helms "Dr. Waterston?" I looked up from my hospital bed. A young man, tall but rather thin and terribly earnest in appearance, was standing in the doorway. "I'm Daniel Waterston," I said. "What can I do for you?" "I'm sorry to intrude, sir," he said, walking in the door. "This is ... a bit awkward. I'm here to talk to you about a recent experience you had." "I can't imagine what experience that might be," I said. "Come on in, Mr. ..." "Mulder," he said. "And it's Agent Mulder, actually. I'm with the FBI." "Ah," I said, waving a hand toward the visitor's chair next to the bed. "The plot thickens. A friend of Dana's, no doubt?" "You could say that," he said, taking a seat. He seemed ill at ease, and little wonder. If Dana had told him anything about us ... but that seemed unlikely, quite out of character for her. I relaxed a bit. "What can I do for you, Agent Mulder?" I said. "It's about a faith-healing experience you had," he said. "I investigate paranormal phenomena for the Bureau, and I'm interested in your view of what happened." "My view, Agent Mulder, is that nothing happened," I said. "Nothing of the paranormal or religious variety, at any rate. Whatever Dana's told you about that is malarkey of the purest ray serene. I simply experienced a remission. End of story." "I don't think Scully sees it that way," he said. Scully? I hadn't heard anyone refer to Dana by her last name since I dropped in on her gross anatomy class during her first year of med school. I myself had never referred to her in that way: It seemed entirely too harsh, too impersonal for so soft, childlike and gentle a woman as Dana. "I'm aware of how Dana sees it, Agent Mulder," I said, stressing her name just a little. "I am also aware that Dana seems still given to the same flights of fancy that led her to give up a career in medicine. I wouldn't put too much stock in her latest enthusiasm." "I haven't known her to indulge in flights of fancy, doctor," he said. "For her to put any credence in this sort of thing is damned unusual in my experience." "Your experience differs from mine, then," I said. "Believe me, Agent Mulder, Dana is a very credulous, very impressionable young woman. Somehow, this faith healer tapped into that and got lucky: I got better, but it was certainly no thanks to him. Whatever he did was mere chicanery. You'd be doing her a favor if you'd just drop this inquiry and urge her to do the same." Oddly enough, that seemed to amuse him, although he tried to hide it. "I'm sorry, doctor," he said, after a moment. "I'm just trying to imagine myself telling Scully what to do. Braver men than I have tried and failed." "Quite the contrary," I said. "I assure you, Dana wants firm guidance from someone in authority. She needs it. If you're her supervisor, you'd be well advised ..." "No," he said, quickly, interrupting me. "I'm not her supervisor. I'm her partner. And when she tells me she's experienced something inexplicable by ordinary scientific means, I listen to her. She said that you shouldn't have recovered but you did. She credits a supernatural intervention. That's all I need to convince myself to look into it." "Then you're wasting your time and mine," I said. "And time is one thing of which I have no great excess lately. My heart is badly damaged and my days are numbered, faith healer or no faith healer. If you'll excuse me, I need to rest." "Certainly," he said, rising. "I apologize for interrupting you, sir." He extended his hand. I was reaching up to grasp it when I caught a faint scent, something a little too feminine to be aftershave. I knew when I'd last smelled it, too. Yesterday -- on Dana. This callow youth was the reason Dana wouldn't stay with me? Her standards had certainly changed, if nothing else. "Your interest in me is something more than purely professional, isn't it, Agent Mulder?" I said, hoping I didn't sound as hurt as I felt. "I'm sorry?" he said. He really didn't seem to get it. "You're here because you want to see what Dana's old lover looks like," I said. "That's the truth, isn't it? All this hogwash about paranormal experiences and faith healing -- it's a smokescreen. You're just scoping out the competition." "No," he said, and his eyes were cold. "I'm here because this is what I do, and I'm always looking for proof of the existence of paranormal phenomena. My relationship with my partner is no one's business but hers and mine, if you'll pardon my saying so." "Oh, you're pardoned," I said. "Say what you like, Agent Mulder, I know what's happening. Just let me give you a word of warning: You're not the kind of man Dana needs." "I'm not?" he said, with a hint of amusement. "How unfortunate for me." "Perhaps," I said. "Perhaps not. Just keep this in mind: Dana's a fatherless child, for all intents and purposes. You're too young to be her father. Eventually, that will become a problem for you both." "I appreciate your interest," he said, and the amusement was gone. "And now I think I will be going. I hope you continue to recover, Dr. Waterston." "Agent Mulder," I said, "recovering from a damaged heart is easy. Recovering from a broken heart can occupy a man for decades. Believe me; I know." "As do I, sir," he said. He extended his hand again, and this time I shook it. "Again, sir, my best wishes for your recovery." He turned, and he was gone. I settled myself back against the pillows again. Dana, Dana, I thought ... you haven't got it in you to make a life with someone like him, someone incapable of protecting and caring for you the way I did. But I knew she'd learn, one day ... and when that day came, no matter what I had told young Mr. Mulder, I meant to be here, waiting for her, ready to welcome her back into my life, perhaps with a gently chiding, "I told you so." She needs that sometimes; she needs someone to take over, to keep the cold, hard world at bay. She told me that herself. Bet she's never shared that with you, Agent Mulder, I thought. I was smiling when I fell asleep. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The First Law of Intergenerational Relationships: "Just because he reminds you of your father, it doesn't mean he thinks of you as a daughter." The Second Law of Intergenerational Relationships: "When you're really ready to grow up, you'll stop falling in love with men who remind you of your father." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ END "The Laws of Intergenerational Relationships" (1/1) by Jean Helms (jeanlhelms@yahoo.com)