Title: NEW: Chip Off The Old Block II: Serendipity Author: mimic117 Email: mimic117@yahoo.com Rating: PG-13 for naughty language Category: S, MSR Spoilers: Absolutely everything. But while baby William is present, I'm ignoring anything else that happened last season or this. So Mulder hasn't left, nor has he lost his job. ~phbtt~ Check out the first story in this series, Chip Off The Old Block, for full convoluted spoiler. In fact, you'd better read that one first or you won't understand this one. Summary: Mulder and Charlie are bonding over a basketball game. What can go wrong, you ask? They're about to find out. Keywords: Charlie Scully, baby Will, sorta AU Archive: The Charlie Scully Fic Archive for sure. You can find them at http://www.geocities.com/charliefic/ I'll do Gossamer and Ephemeral on my own, but if anyone else wants it, feel free. Just let me know so I can brag. Disclaimer: Nuh uh. I'm not disclaiming anything anymore. As far as I'm concerned, they're mine, considering the way they've been treated recently. The only people these characters belong to are David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. And I'm not even sure *they* want to claim them now. So there. Author's Notes: To all the people who were told that I wasn't writing a sequel to the first story - I lied. Or rather, my muse got loose and wrote one while I wasn't paying attention. This one is for all of you who quietly requested another story. There will also be a third story in this universe. After that, we'll start negotiations. Thanks for giving me permission to annoy you again. Author's Thanks: To my Big Guy for the idea that led to the original story. He doesn't have the vaguest clue why I write fic, but he knows it keeps me out of worse trouble, so he tolerates it. To Cindy, again, for her Flying Karamazov beta. Spot on as usual, Twinsy. It appears Northern wits are simply sharpened by the cold. Feedback: Is kept in a little shrine and worshipped daily at mimic117@yahoo.com. I even print everything out so I can look at it again and again and again. Come visit all my other stories at my archive: www.surfacing.com/mimic117/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chip Off The Old Block II: Serendipity by mimic117 5:45 PM "So, Charlie, how many different places have you lived?" Tabulating in his head, Charles Scully followed Mulder into the kitchen, carrying his dirty dinner plate. "Umm, about eighteen or so, I think. If you count the places where I stayed for less than six months." Supper had been spent catching up on Scully family talk and discussing the newest addition. Mulder had offered to do the dishes while Scully fed Will, volunteering Charlie to help him. The offhand gesture made Charlie feel welcome in a way that he hadn't for far too long. "Where did you live the longest?" Mulder pulled a dry towel out of a drawer and flipped it over his shoulder. Charlie caught it in mid-air. He raised an eyebrow at the water thundering into the sink, then looked pointedly at the dishwasher. "Not enough to bother running it," Mulder responded. "Besides, it'll be full of baby bottles soon, and Scully doesn't like to take a chance with food bits getting on them. Didn't you notice my dishpan hands?" He swished a rag into the sudsy water and repeated his earlier question. "Alaska," Charlie answered. "I worked on the pipeline for eight years. It was a bit of a jolt going from there to Hawaii." Now it was Mulder's turn to quirk a brow in question. "I found out a friend of mine needed a pilot for his Island volcano tours," Charlie said. "I flew a chopper for him for over a year. It was boring as hell, unless you were unlucky enough to fly over just as an eruption started." "Scully told me you were in the military, too." Charlie nodded. "I learned to fly choppers in the Navy. I stayed for a four year stint, but I was never as gung-ho about it as Bill or my dad. I got out as soon as I could and just started wandering." "We called him 'the whistling gypsy.'" Both men turned to see Scully leaning in the kitchen doorway, a grin tilting the corners of her mouth. Mulder held his hands up, over the sink, suds dripping down his forearms and off his elbows. "Wanna take over?" "Nope." Scully shook her head, smiling. "I like seeing my men display their domestic talents. Maybe later I'll deign to let you give me a foot massage." "I could always do your hand-washable lingerie," Mulder offered with a leer. Scully snorted. "Not after what happened to my wool sweater, you're not." Pushing herself away from the door frame, Scully left the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder. "We need more diapers, Mulder. One of us will have to go back out later and get some." "I'll try to remember." "It's either that, or I let Will hose down your Knicks shirt. Your choice." Mulder and Charlie watched her retreating figure. "Your sister really knows how to hit where it hurts." "She always has," Charlie nodded. "Believe me." Dishes were finished in companionable silence. Handing the last clean plate to Charlie, Mulder pulled the plug on the sink. "By the way," Charlie asked, "what did you do to her sweater?" "How was I supposed to know it would shrink so much in the dryer that it hardly fit Will, let alone Scully?" Mulder complained. "I'm a permanent press man, myself." Charlie's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. When he caught the mischievous gleam in Mulder's eyes, he stopped holding it in. This is how brothers should be, he thought. Easy, friendly, comfortable together. Not judgmental and hostile, always quick to find fault, the way Bill was with him. Charlie was starting to understand what his sister saw in this man, despite the doom and gloom reports from his other sibling. You just had to like a man who could take a joke, even when it was on him. "You wanna blow this hot dog stand?" Mulder asked. "I mean, I know you came to see your sister, but I usually go play some pick- up b-ball on Saturday evening so she has a little quiet time while Will's napping. You interested?" "You kidding? At my height, you learn to play basketball just so everyone will stop bugging you about it. Thing is, I actually learned to like it, too." Charlie draped the damp dishtowel over the faucet and motioned Mulder to precede him through the door. "But *you* get to tell Dana we're cutting out on her." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7:35 PM parking lot of Jim's Gym "Did you see that one guy? What was his name? The one built like a Sherman tank." "Garneski?" "Yeah. Did you see how high he got on that one lay-up? I mean, how did he do that? I'm taller than he is, and I can't jump that high." "Garneski has steel springs in his calves or something. He whips my ass every time we go head to head on a jump shot, but I'll thank you not to tell him I said so. I heard he's got one of the best times on the Bureau obstacle course. You'd think all that muscle would weigh him down -" Mulder's hand went still, key poised above the door lock. Both men heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind them. Charlie knew there wasn't much chance of help arriving. The lot where they'd parked was hemmed in on three sides by windowless brick buildings and rear exit doors. There were very few cars left, and no other people in sight. The empty storefront with the "For Sale" sign across the street didn't give him much hope, either. Unless somebody jumped out of one of the trash cans waiting for next week's refuse, they were on their own. Glancing sideways at Mulder, Charlie saw his other hand twitch, as though it wanted to grab something. But Charlie knew Mulder hadn't brought his gun for a simple basketball game. The only thought that formed in his mind was "We are so fucked." "Put your hands up and turn around." Charlie and Mulder found themselves facing a skinny young man with a gun in his shaking hand. Stringy blond hair hung in his watery, bloodshot eyes. He used his other hand to wipe at his runny nose, shifting from foot to foot as his gaze twitched from one man to the other. He was so close, Charlie could see that his pupils were huge, the irises just a thin ring of color. "Settle down, dude," Mulder murmured. "We don't want anyone to get hurt." The gun swung in line with Mulder's head. "Shut up! Hand over your wallet right now, man!" "Our wallets are in the car," Charlie said, and the robber turned the gun on him. "We just came out of the gym. Let us open the car so we can get them for you." The words just seemed to confuse the gunman. He jerked back and forth, wildly swinging his weapon. Anger twisted his face. "Don't fuck with me, man! I should just do both of you and then break into the car! I want that money, and I want it now!" Glancing around for a way out, Charlie spotted a metal garbage can standing upside down. "You'll have to let us open the car. We can't get to the money from out here." He concentrated on the trash can even as the gun swiveled in his direction again. He spoke soothingly, trying to hold the other man's attention. "We'd like to help you out. I'm not shittin' you, dude. We just need to unlock the car first." Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as the can rose into the air and sailed toward the gunman. If either of them had been looking at Mulder, they would have seen his mouth drop open. The garbage can whacked the robber in the back of the head with a satisfying clang. He dropped to the ground, never aware of what had hit him. Charlie leapt over his body, and grabbed the gun off the ground, just in case he was only stunned. When Charlie looked up, he realized that Mulder was even more stunned. Hands still in the air, Mulder stared wide-eyed at the prone gunman. Then he stared at the dented trash can rolling to a stop several parking spaces over. Then he stared at Charlie. His mouth was working, but no sounds emerged. Setting the gun on top of the car, Charlie gingerly touched Mulder on the shoulder. He jumped and lowered his arms. "Maybe we should wait in the car until the cops get here," Charlie suggested. "You got handcuffs, or a rope, or something we can tie him with?" "Spare cuffs. Glove compartment." Removing the keys from Mulder's limp fingers, Charlie opened the car and retrieved the cuffs. He also grabbed the cell phone sitting on the seat console. Giving Mulder the handcuffs, Charlie ignored the surprised look in his eyes and dialed 911. Once the would-be robber was securely immobilized, Charlie returned the keys to Mulder and they got into the car to wait. Mulder slid into the driver's seat, automatically putting the keys in the ignition. He stopped short of starting the car, staring out the window at the blank wall in front of them. Charlie could almost hear the pieces shuffling into place in his mind. He knew when the last space was filled in, because Mulder pulled the keys back out and swiveled to stare at him. "Will gets it from your side of the family." His voice was hushed and awestruck. Charlie sighed, nodding. "It hop-scotches from generation to generation. It doesn't usually show up back to back, but it's not unheard of." "You know about Will." It wasn't a question. "I saw him make his mobile spin. He seemed pretty fascinated when I made it reverse direction on him." "I'll bet." Mulder's voice was almost back to normal. They sat in silence for a few moments before he asked, "Why hasn't Scully ever told me about this?" "Because she doesn't know," Charlie replied. When Mulder tilted his head in inquiry, he explained, "I didn't show the ability until I hit puberty. Mom and Dad were the only ones in the family who knew. Bill and Dana never did, but I think Missy suspected. They were just enough older that they were too busy with their lives to notice. Mom asked one of her uncles with this talent to help me learn control. It worked. Most of the time." The sound of sirens could be heard drawing closer. Mulder glanced out the window, then back at Charlie. "How will we explain overpowering a guy with a gun? And what about the trash can laying there?" Charlie smirked. "A dog knocked the can over, startled the gunman, he turned, and we jumped him." "You're used to covering your ass, aren't you?" "I've had some practice," Charlie admitted. Three police cars, lights blazing and sirens wailing, pulled into the far end of the parking lot. Mulder reached out for the door handle, but stopped and looked over at Charlie. "We thought Will had been affected by all the things that have been done to Scully and me over the years. We have to tell her as soon as we can. Hopefully she'll be relieved." "Don't count on it," Charlie advised as he opened his door. "She's always had a problem with this kind of thing." Mulder opened his own door to greet the approaching constabulary. "Tell me about it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 15 minutes later The scenery flashing past the car windows was starting to look familiar before Charlie finally broke the silence that had descended as soon as they pulled away from the parking lot. "Do the cops usually let people make a signed statement the day after a mugging?" "Scully and I know two of them. It was a personal favor. Especially when I told them you were her brother and we were on our way back home. They know we'll show up first thing tomorrow and take care of it." "The look on that druggie's face was priceless when he woke up with the cuffs on," Charlie chortled. "You think the police bought our version or his?" "Ours, definitely. Somebody that strung out isn't going to get an impartial hearing anytime soon. They'll just put it down to the crack and ignore him." "I almost felt sorry for him. He knows we never jumped him, so he knows we were lying. He looked like he was gonna shit his pants, he was so scared. Maybe we should have told the cops to give him a diaper, just in case." The car did a squealing 180 degree turn in the middle of the street as Mulder hauled on the steering wheel. His face was grim, set. Charlie clutched the dashboard as they straightened out and headed back the way they'd just come. Charlie cleared his throat. "Hey, man. Do Feds always drive this way? Where are we going?" Mulder's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "We forgot the damn diapers." He locked eyes with Charlie for a second before returning his gaze to the road. "I really like that Knicks shirt." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The End Serendipity: the faculty of making happy or interesting discoveries unexpectedly or by accident. (I'd say Mulder's pretty happy and interested right about now, wouldn't you?) Coined by Horace Walpole [from Serendip, an old name for Ceylon] in a fairy tale called "The Three Princes of Serendip." Bet you didn't know that, did you? Okay people, that's it for now. Ain't I a stinker? You can tell me so at mimic117@yahoo.com. I'll take comments on this story, another of my stories, or even a story by another author. Just keep the begging for a sequel to a minimum. I promise it's coming.