From: magsrose@comcast.net   
      
   Chapter 4   
      
      
      
   I spent the weekend with some old friends of my father's. I learned to   
   throw a ball and went to an Orioles' game. While I was visiting them I   
   decided it was time to make a big change in my appearance.   
      
      
      
      
   On the trip home, Frohike thought a great deal about what Yves had   
   said. She was right, of course. Taking Emma with them on such a trip   
   just wasn't a good idea. Sure they got arrested fairly often but a bit   
   of hacking into the right computer systems usually solved that problem.   
      
   Police departments and courts were usually so busy and had so many   
   cases backed up or so often plea bargains were made that no one   
   noticed that their files were missing. But if the Gunmen had Emma with   
   them, she would end up in a foster home, juvie, or somewhere else   
   where she would be noticed. You can delete a computer file, even from   
   CPS but a living, breathing 12-year-old child sitting in a foster home   
   somewhere would be harder to forget making it more likely that   
   questions would be asked.   
      
   Frohike remembered a woman named Maxine Grey who he'd met in   
   Connecticut. She worked for the Department of Children and Families   
   there. She would remember a child like Emma and no amount of fancy   
   computer work would convince Maxine that the `problem' had just gone away.   
      
   They couldn't stop doing investigative work though. He had to consider   
   other options. Patty and Paul, the neighbors back at the house, were   
   great but he didn't want to overtax their good-natured acceptance of   
   Emma into their home. Yves had said that she wouldn't mind staying   
   with Emma but she wasn't always around.   
      
   He needed someone he could really trust, someone who liked kids,   
   someone who would understand a child who had lost a loved one. Someone   
   who owed him. An idea began to form in his brain. He'd left the two of   
   them, make that the three of them, alone for some time to give them a   
   chance to finally build a life together. All the Gunmen figured that   
   if their help was needed, it would be requested. Maybe it was time for   
   a little visit from `The Three Wise Men'.   
      
      
   Emma was doing pretty well. The whole incident didn't seem to bother   
   her too much. She had a few more nightmares but she was still seeing   
   the grief counselor and Frohike told her that she didn't need to keep   
   anything hidden about what happened that day; to feel free to tell the   
   therapist all that had gone on. Frohike was relieved that so far Emma   
   seemed to be handling it pretty well.   
      
   The weekend before the 4th of July holiday, the Gunmen needed to go on   
   another stake out. Emma asked to go with them.   
      
   The answer to that from all quarters was, "NO!" She was disappointed   
   that she couldn't go but she was also afraid for them. She knew now   
   that things could and did go wrong on these trips.   
      
   "Are you all going?" Emma asked at dinner at the warehouse. They had   
   decided to tell her together so she knew they all agreed on it.   
      
   "Yes, we're all needed on this trip," Frohike told her.   
      
   "Then I want to come, too."   
      
   "No." He could not bend on this and trying to reason with her might   
   make her think she could argue with him to try to change his mind.   
   "Patty and Paul won't be back until July 7th, so we need to find   
   somewhere for you to stay."   
      
   "How about Yves?" Emma could live with that. She was dying to see   
   where the mysterious woman lived.   
      
   Byers had talked to Yves. "She really wanted to stay with you, Doc,   
   but she's out of the country right now." John had taken to calling her   
   `Doc' since that ill-fated trip to Richmond. For some strange reason   
   it seemed to fit and Emma kind of liked it.   
      
   "You've heard us talk about Mulder and Scully?" Frohike asked.   
      
   "Yeah." Emma answered cautiously.   
      
   "Well, how would you like to meet them?"   
      
   "That would be nice." She paused looking around the table. "But why   
   are you asking me now?"   
      
   "They've agreed to let you stay with them while we're gone," Langly said.   
      
      
   Emma took several breaths to respond to that but expelled each as she   
   realized that everything she wanted to say would be pointless. She   
   finally settled on, "How long will you be gone?"   
      
   "Three or four days."   
      
   "Three or four days? What about the 4th of July? We were going to have   
   a picnic at the house. With fireworks and everything."   
      
   Her mom had never let her buy anything more exciting than sparklers.   
   Jimmy had bought a two big bags of things he called `festival balls'   
   and `repeaters'. She had gone with her dad and picked out some that he   
   said she could light herself. So, she was really looking forward to   
   this year's celebration.   
      
   "We will try to be back in time for the picnic." Her dad put his hand   
   on her shoulder. Emma made figure eights with her fork in the left   
   over gravy on her plate. She knew he was telling the truth. They would   
   try to be back but he wouldn't guarantee it. She did appreciate the   
   fact that he seldom made promises he couldn't keep but that didn't   
   lessen the disappointment.   
      
   Frohike took the fork out of Emma's hand and put it on her plate. He   
   stood up, picking up his plate and Emma's and walked over to the sink   
   with them. "Who's turn is it to do dishes?" he called over his shoulder.   
      
   "It's my turn," Jimmy lied.   
      
   "No, it isn't." Emma didn't want him doing the dishes when it was her   
   turn simply because he felt sorry for her. "It's my day. You did them   
   yesterday." She got up and gathered dishes to be washed.   
      
   "Oh, yeah, that's right." Jimmy was a little hurt that she wasn't   
   going to let him get away with his deception. She must be really mad.   
      
   "I'll help you," Langly offered.   
      
   "Don't bother, I can do them by myself." Emma was working her way into   
   a full-blown snit.   
      
   "Oh, don't be such a snotface!"   
      
   "Fine, do them yourself!"   
      
   Frohike listened to this exchange and decided that Langly had gotten   
   himself into the situation and he could get himself out of it.   
      
   "Nope, the offer was to help. Not to do them for you."   
      
   Emma knew what she wanted to say to him but her father was still in   
   the kitchen and she didn't feel like spending the rest of the evening   
   sitting in her room especially if they were all leaving the next day.   
   "Help if you want. I won't stop you."   
      
   Once the table was cleared, Langly rinsed the dishes while Emma loaded   
   the dishwasher. They worked in stony silence. That is until Emma   
   dropped a dish and it shattered on the floor at her feet. "Shit!"   
      
   "Watch your mouth! Your dad would have a fit if he heard you talk like   
   that."   
      
   Fortunately, Frohike had gone downstairs. Emma bent down to pick up   
   the pieces. "Don't move or you'll cut your feet." Emma wore shoes only   
   when she had to and it had been too hot recently to even wear socks.   
   She stood waiting impatiently while Langly went to get a broom and a   
   dustpan.   
      
   With the broken pieces cleaned up, the dishwasher running and the rest   
   of the pans, etc. washed, dried and put away, Langly went down to the   
   work area where the others were preparing to leave the next day.   
      
   "What was that crash?" Frohike asked Langly.   
      
   "Emma dropped a dish. It broke into like a thousand pieces."   
      
   "That's good."   
      
   "Huh?"   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)