Dana Scully's Senior Thesis by Athene (PG)

[bachlava.livejournal.com]

Hi! I’m bachlava, and I’ll be your driver for The X-Files this month. In fannish terms, I tend to be a big fan of seasons 1-5, and of Doggett later on. I gravitate toward MSR or gen (UST-y or otherwise), but I’m not exclusive about it, and there are some slash pairings I like very much. In fic, I also tend tend to prefer character-driven pieces over casefiles, but there are some exceptions to that rule too. Having hung out a bit in fandom as a young'un, before the days of LJ or anything, I will tend to rec a good number of older fics that might not be familiar to the fandom's relative newcomers, or that have gotten lost amidst the deluge of excellent, more recent fic.

So with that in mind, let’s start at the very beginning...

Fandom: THE X-FILES
Pairing: none
Length: 27k
Author on LJ: athene1121
Author Website: Fic archived at author's LJ and Gossamer page
Why this must be read: There is, understandably, plenty of fic that gives Scully's perspective on her first meeting with Mulder: her reaction on receiving the assignment, what her expectations and fears might have been, whether she knew more (or less) about Mulder and the X-Files than she let on in her initial meeting with Blevins, what things were like in the rest of her life at that point. But there isn't nearly as much fic that explores Mulder's take on the situation. The relevant scenes in the pilot episode are crucial, but also are primarily exposition, leaving any number of blanks to be filled in. Subsequent canon lets us know, in bits and pieces, that Mulder had a major personal and professional relationship fall apart and that he wanted to work alone. This fic, I think, does a great job of imagining how Mulder in those circumstances might have taken the news that he was being assigned a partner who seemed inexperienced and incompatible. Athene brings out all the difficult aspects of Mulder's personality - his stubbornness, his self-absorption, his nasty streak - without making him into the villain of the piece. His sense of justice is just as strongly present, along with his tendency toward self-reproach and the keenness of his observations. For windows into early!Mulder, in my reading, this fic doesn't have many equals.

He had trimmed the presentation down to 3 minutes, being
careful to include the slide on which the chemical
composition of the substance common to all five victims was
displayed. Mulder had a pretty strong suspicion that this
slide would ensure her interest and cooperation; his
failure to find any biochemist or xenobiologist who could
identify it led him to believe this would be a challenge
his new partner would undertake with relish.

The presentation all set up, he straddled his office chair
and began reviewing some other slides on his lightbox. The
sound of the clock ticking in the background was his only
reference to reality as he immersed himself in the
photographs.

It was several minutes later when he heard the sound of
high heels clicking on the linoleum in the hallway outside
his office. The steps slowed as they neared his door, and
in spite of his resolution to be indifferent, he found his
heart pounding in anticipation.

With a light knock, the door pushed inward. "Sorry, nobody
down here but the FBI's most unwanted," he said in a smart-
assed tone that he immediately regretted.

Read the whole fic here or at the author's Gossamer page.