From: ThePimpernel@waitrose.com   
      
   Title: Splinters of Rainbow IV   
   Date: June 2004   
   Author: The Pimpernel   
   Rating: PG-13 but I don't want to offend anyone so let's say R   
   for sexual situations, and bad words.   
   Summary: An irreverent look at biological imperative and   
   genetic predisposition -- possibly. Just read and enjoy   
      
   Classification: SRA   
   Keywords: AU -- a 'what if' parallel time line that mangles the   
   two, angst, MSR sort of.   
   Spoilers:  YES, but I haven't yet evolved past season 7. Play   
   spot the reference.   
   Feedback: Pretty please with knobs on -   
   thepimpernel@waitrose.com   
   Archive: I'd be stunned but go ahead. It's written to be read.   
   Disclaimer: Just five more minutes Dad, then I promise I'll put   
   them away.   
   Fanfic is a self-indulgence of the non-fattening type for neither   
   body nor bank account. In other words any reference to   
   characters created by Chris Carter real or imaginary is purely   
   deliberate but they're not mine. And in this part, I have   
   borrowed shamelessly from the script -- no point tampering   
   with the text when it works so well.   
      
   I'm English, forgive me my spelling.   
      
   A bagful of rainbow crumbs to Elsie, a wonderful beta, who   
   colours and sparkles my grammar and punctuation into   
   something comprehensible. That just leaves the plot holes as a   
   distraction.   
      
   Fourth part of the story. You probably need to read the other   
   three for this one to make sense. More to come, so check your   
   WIP tolerance before continuing.   
      
      
   **************************************************   
   Part 2 of 3   
      
   "You're joking? How'd he recognise her?" asked Frankie   
   around a mouthful of pasta. The story was interesting, but she   
   needed to get back to work promptly -- budget meeting   
   immediately after lunch. So she was multi-tasking by   
   necessity, not from any urgent desire to part from her   
   companion.   
      
   "Apparently, Dana keeps an old family snap in her purse,   
   which Mulder saw. Still, seeing the resemblance between a   
   young teenage girl and that facial reconstruction was a leap in   
   the dark. You know, you've got enough time to savour your   
   food -- you don't have to inhale it."   
      
   Frankie scowled at Rudiger. Part of her wanted to bite his head   
   off for presuming to tell her how to eat, another part was   
   acknowledging that he was probably right. And yet another   
   was musing on the judicious changes that Dave was displaying   
   with regard to her eating habits -- actually, her health in   
   general. Subtly discouraging her from eating fat-laden, artery   
   clogging, cholesterol burdened, carbohydrate boosted, vitamin   
   deficient, comfort-giving food for every meal. He didn't, in   
   fact, interfere or evangelistically try to convert her to rabbit   
   food or anything. They'd had pizza on Friday nights, for   
   example. But, somehow, she found herself eating salad instead   
   or fries, pasta instead of pizza, fruit instead of pie. The ice   
   cream and chocolate stayed though; there were limits after all.   
   Not only that, now that she came to think about it, but he'd   
   actually gotten her to walk around the park with him the other   
   day. Walking! Frankie's idea of exercise usually involved a   
   trolley and a food market, or just to add excitement to her life,   
   occasionally a video store. Yet she'd gone without hesitation,   
   tempted... blinded... enticed by a juicy bit of gossip. Could you   
   get addicted to gossip?   
      
   She'd obviously paused long enough for Rudiger to reassess   
   what he'd just said to the point where he was now squirming.   
   Oh, not visibly, but inside he was bracing himself; she could   
   just see a faint sign of perspiration on his brow. Decisions,   
   decisions. Which way to jump? His wife's illness and his   
   consequent care had made him more aware of people's eating   
   habits, she knew. The repetitive questioning -- was she eating   
   enough, too much, not enough of the right things, how to tempt   
   her appetite? Old habits died hard, including her own. Would   
   her dignity be that compromised if she swallowed it now? Was   
   this a slippery slope though? Oh stuff it! Poor old duffer   
   needed to wean himself off his habits slowly. What harm did it   
   do to let him use her? She wasn't easily budged. Rampant   
   curiosity won the day. Besides, she was beginning to enjoy her   
   conversations with Dave -- you know, as in looking forward to   
   them. That was worth a bit of nagging any day.   
      
   "Yeah, Dana was upset -- understandably. Being asked to   
   identify your sister from a faxed facial reconstruction is pretty   
   low on most people's list of highlights for the day. How long   
   had she been dead?"   
      
   Dave slowly let go the breath he hadn't realized he'd been   
   holding. "Couple of years. The body was badly decomposed   
   when it was found and was mistaken for someone else until   
   that woman turned up some months later -- also dead. It looks   
   like Dana's sister's death was the result of her being in the   
   wrong place at the wrong time. The local cops never got any   
   leads. Even when they did the facial reconstruction no one   
   recognised the face. That picture had been hanging on the   
   notice board for months. It was sheer serendipity that someone   
   was clearing a few notices from the board and uncovered that   
   one just as Mulder was walking passed."   
      
   "And he recognised it? Just like that?"   
      
   "No. He kept going back to look at it. He mulled it over for a   
   couple of days before faxing a copy to Dana, but whether that   
   was from a reluctance to give her bad news or because he   
   wasn't certain, I'm not sure."   
      
   "She was... She went white, but quickly got herself under   
   control."   
      
   "She wanted to come out. Mulder had to explain the   
   background and then ask for her mother's address. She didn't   
   have a current one. He traced her to Baltimore."   
      
   "Didn't know... Is that trouble brewing there?"   
      
   "Possibly. Mrs. Scully collared Mulder just as we were   
   leaving. I couldn't overhear their conversation but there were a   
   couple of occasions when it looked like Mulder was   
   squirming."   
      
   "And I missed it. Damn!"   
      
   Rudiger grinned. "Have you got some cruel and spiteful streak   
   I should know about?"   
      
   "No.... not really... maybe occasionally. Okay, maybe I'm   
   displaying a petty human trait. It's not that I don't recognise   
   Mulder's arrogance for what it is. But you have to admit that   
   seeing Mulder squirm features high as an entertainment factor,   
   if only because he's rarely discomposed. Stop smiling at me   
   like that."   
      
   "I can't help it -- you, admitting to a human trait."   
      
   "Careful, you wouldn't want to see my 'beastly' side," she   
   countered, but she wasn't really offended.   
      
   "I think it's adorable," he smirked.   
      
   Frankie snorted. "I think the sun's fried your brains. You   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)