From: susanf34@comcast.net   
      
   *NO ARCHIVE*   
      
      
      
   Title: Bennie   
   Author: Susan   
   E-mail: susanf34@comcast.net   
   Classification: vignette   
   Spoiler: Requiem   
   Rating: G   
   Archive: No archive without permission.   
   Disclaimer: One character is mine. The other   
   isn't. Is that good enough for you?;)   
      
   Author's notes at the end.   
      
   Summary: His emotions are everywhere,   
   and so are mine.   
   ***************************************************   
      
   Bennie   
   by Susan   
   ~~~~   
      
   They're coming today.   
      
   I don't know when they're due to arrive or how   
   they're going to be dropped off, but they're   
   coming, and I have a lot to do to get ready.   
      
   Of course, everyone else around here will be   
   doing a lot to get ready too, but I'm especially   
   busy because he's coming.   
      
   I wonder if he'll talk to me when he gets here.   
      
   I hope so.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   I've been doing some reading, preparing myself   
   for what I might be able to talk with him about.   
      
   From what I've read, he's very intelligent.   
      
   Will he want to talk about books when he gets   
   here?   
      
   I've read a lot of books since I've been here,   
   and I have a lot to say about them. Maybe if I   
   get a chance, I'll tell him about my favorite   
   one.   
      
   He probably won't want to say much though,   
   especially if he's taken to the Circle Room.   
      
   I don't like that room.   
      
   No one ever wants to talk after being there,   
   and everyone always leaves there looking   
   different than when they went in.   
      
   I hope he doesn't have to go there.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   I call myself Bennie.   
      
   Everyone else here has a name too, but they put   
   numbers after their names like Jack13 and Tim25.   
      
   I'm just Bennie.   
      
   I'm also different because I'm able to feel   
   things the others can't.   
      
   Sometimes it's hard being made this way, but   
   most of the time I like it because it helps me   
   understand them better.   
      
   I wonder if it'll help me when he gets here.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   The first group just arrived, and things are   
   really busy now.   
      
   Some of them are immediately sent to the Circle   
   Room. Some are taken to their own rooms, and the   
   rest are in the Holding Area with me.   
      
   I like being with them here because it gives me   
   a chance to study them in a way that's so much   
   better than reading a book.   
      
   They're strange creatures, these humans, and   
   their minds are filled with information that   
   fascinates me.   
      
   How can they possibly deal with all the thoughts   
   they have running through their brains?   
      
   But more importantly, how can we use those   
   thoughts to make ourselves better?   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   It's been several hours since the first group   
   came, and I'm beginning to worry.   
      
   Maybe he won't be coming tonight after all.   
      
   Maybe the second mission failed, and I'll have   
   to wait even longer to see him, or maybe they're   
   gathering more passengers than they planned on.   
      
   Whatever is happening, I hope I find out about   
   it soon.   
      
   Having to be Patient is a feeling I'm not sure   
   I like very much.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   He's here. He's really here.   
      
   All this time, we've wondered about him, about   
   how his mind works, about what secrets his body   
   holds, and now he's here.   
      
   He's taller than I thought he'd be.   
      
   I can't wait to read his mind when he's awake.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   It's been two hours since he was brought to the   
   Holding Area, and though I've arranged for all   
   the others to be brought to their rooms, I   
   wanted to keep him here with me.   
      
   It's been quite incredible, really.   
      
   Having him here alone with me to study, to feel.   
      
   His emotions are everywhere, and so are mine.   
      
   Touching him, feeling his losses, seeing all the   
   scars he carries around inside him has been   
   almost too much for me, and yet I find myself   
   unable to turn him over to the others yet.   
      
   How is it possible for a man to endure so much   
   pain for so long?   
      
   I have to know.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   "You have to send him to the Circle Room now,   
   Bennie," says Jake24, wheeling in the cart next   
   to his bed. "They're waiting for him."   
      
   "I'm not ready yet," I reply, protectively   
   moving closer to his bed. "I need more time."   
      
   "You've had him long enough. You know the rules,   
   Bennie. They're only supposed to stay in the   
   Holding Area long enough for you to do a brain   
   and body scan."   
      
   "I know. It's just that..." I stutter, trying   
   to think of an excuse to keep him here with me   
   longer.   
      
   "It's just that what?" asks Jake24, his eyes   
   turning darker as he impatiently taps his foot   
   against one of the wheels on the cart.   
      
   "It's just that I'm having a hard time getting   
   a read on him. He's got more information to   
   process than the others, and I haven't gathered   
   it all yet," I reply.   
      
   "Well, hurry up. You know they like to move   
   everyone through the Circle Room as quickly as   
   possible."   
      
   "I know, but give me a few more minutes, okay?"   
      
   "Okay. Five minutes, Bennie, but no more."   
      
   I've got five minutes. Five minutes until he's   
   taken to the Circle Room and has his body turned   
   into something that will be unrecognizable.   
      
   It's not much time, but I'll use it the best way   
   I can.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   "Agent Mulder, can you hear me?" I ask, leaning   
   over him and pressing my hand to his forehead.   
      
   I notice several small creases there...I think   
   they call them worry lines...and I immediately   
   wipe them away with my finger.   
      
   "Agent Mulder," I say again, taking note of how   
   different the hair on his head feels than my   
   own and of the rough dark stubble on his chin.   
      
   His eyelids flutter at the sound of my voice,   
   and I take a step back, watching in amazement   
   as he slowly opens his eyes.   
      
   "Do you know where you are, Agent Mulder?" I ask   
   excitedly.   
      
   "Scul...ly..." he whispers, turning his head and   
   trying to look at me.   
      
   The name confuses me for a moment, and then I   
   remember. She's his partner. The one person he   
   trusts more than anyone.   
      
   The one person he feels with both his heart and   
   mind.   
      
   And the only person who can save him.   
      
   "I'm not Scully," I say, watching the hopeful   
   look in his eyes quickly turn to disappointment.   
      
   "Who are you?" he rasps.   
      
   I know I'm not supposed to tell him anything   
   about who I am or what we do here, but I also   
   know what Honesty is, and I want to try it.   
      
   "I'm Bennie. My name is Bennie," I reply.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   His eyes closed again, I sit by his side with   
   my hand on his arm.   
      
   He's too weak to talk with me the way I want him   
   to now, but I can still feel what he thinks, what   
   he dreams, what he hopes, and I eagerly absorb   
   as much of it as I can.   
      
   In just a few short minutes, he will leave the   
   Holding Area and go to the Circle Room, and   
   though I know I'll see him again later, he won't   
   be the same when I do.   
      
   And neither will I.   
      
   ~~~~   
      
   "Take it easy with him," I say as Jake24 roughly   
   drags his lifeless body onto the cart and slides   
   his wrists and ankles into the straps.   
      
   "What does it matter? He can't feel anything,"   
   replies Jake24, tightening the last strap and   
   wheeling him towards the door.   
      
   "You're wrong," I whisper as I watch them leave   
   the room, then carefully pull out the small gold   
   necklace I took from his neck when he first got   
   here. "He feels everything."   
      
      
   ~end~   
      
   This idea of a clone watching over Mulder and   
   caring about him took hold of me the other day   
   and wouldn't let go until it was written, and   
   even now that the story's done, I still can't   
   stop thinking about it. It is my hope that it   
   stays in your thoughts as well.:)   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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