Rating: PG

Summary: I absolutely, positively, totally ripped off the line where Mulder tells Frohike he's a hard guy to like, but Frohike says, yes, but easy to love. It's Gizzie's line, and her only protection at this point is to write some fic of her own (hint, hint). Otherwise, I'll just keep stealing from her, with no shame whatsoever.

Spoilers: Nah.
 

It takes about a year or so to get out of the mall parking lot, and once we get on the highway, it's snowing a little. Ally lets me drive, which is cool. I don't mind the snow, and she does.

Anyway, princesses like to be chauffeured.

I shouldn't be so hard on her. She's really got a kind heart, and she's been my ally when nobody else would be.

But she surprises the shit out of me while we're waiting for the light so we can turn left on to the artery that leads to Dad's and my place.

"I wanted to get people something really special for Christmas this year. I mean, I can afford it for once, and I'd really like to do this."

Okay. Princess has a bit of noblesse oblige in her. Finally, a sentence I can use that term in.

I did learn something this semester past.

"So I was thinking. I know you need a car. So I have a proposition for you."

Okay. I'm listening.

"Michael, I'd really like to just give you the money...but I think that would be an insult. I know your dad would kill me."

I could stand to be insulted in this case, but she's right. Dad would have another coronary.

"So what I'll do is, I'll lend you the money at no interest, and we can work out a payment plan you can live with. I was a student once, you know."

Yeah, I'll bet.

"I waited tables. My parents were having some...difficulties with the business at the time."

This is a surprise. Who'd have thought.

"Kelly waits tables. But not for long."

"She got the job?"

"Think so. Bergman talked to the lady who would be her boss. Looks like she's gonna hire Kelly."

"Oh God, I hope so. Kid deserves a break. She's smart."

"Yeah, and she really hates working where she does."

"Don't blame her. We've shared a few waitress stories."

Wonder what else they've shared.

I think that's one of the differences between men and women. Women share. Men, we just talk at each other.

We're by our building, and I'm ready to get out. I'm hoping I heard her right when she said what she did.

"Offer's open, Michael. It's up to you."

"Uh-that's cool. I gotta find a car first, but it'd be really cool for you to do that."

"Well, I guess you're gonna have to visit Jaleel, aren't you?"

Oh God. Not that maniac.

Still, he does have cheap cars...
 

ALLY:

December 23, 2000

Saturday night.

No kids.

It's wonderful.

And the irony of it is, Miranda's spending the night with Shelby and Mary.

In fact, nobody's here but Langly and me. No one in the office, no one raiding the beer shelf in the fridge, nobody squabbling in the dungeon over what movie to watch.

This needs to happen more often.

We just came back from Bustamante's, where we stuffed ourselves on Italian and Bud longnecks. We took forever to eat-partially because we were by ourselves, and partially because we were so damn tired that it was an effort to lift things up. I'm speaking of things like forks and beer bottles.

We're exhausted.

He's on the sofa, channel surfing, looking for a movie that will help crush our few remaining brain cells. Shouldn't be hard. Looks like he's settled on a Jackie Chan flick. Granted, it's in Chinese without the dubbing in English, but it's not as if we can't figure out the plot line.

I need to wrap a few packages. Tomorrow night we're celebrating Christmas Eve and we've got an entourage coming-Joan, Mary and Shelby, Frohike and baby, and Byers and Juliet-and Kat and her husband and two kids, who've come down to spend the holidays with Byers and Juliet, and Juliet's parents and brother, who've also come for the holidays.    I told Michael that he could bring Kelly, but he says she probably won't come, her mom's place is open till 11 and she's trying to work as much as possible there before she quits right after New Years. She got the job in the lab at GWU.

According to Michael, Mom is not taking this development well.

I don't get it. I'd be so happy for Miranda if she got work in a field she was interested in. I know I'd be sad if it meant for her to move away, but still...isn't your job to turn your kids loose on the world? It sounds ironic, but it seems the whole point of parenthood is to get them to where they don't need to depend on you anymore.

And I'm sorry, but other than for love and affection, I don't think you should lean on your kids. And even there, draw the line. They need lives of their own.

I ended up having a long discussion about this with Michael last night on the phone. Kelly had called him to tell him she got the job, but she was working and couldn't talk for long and couldn't come by. He called me-I think he's getting bored being in lockdown-mostly to discuss his upcoming journey to Crazy Jaleel's, but we veered off into the subject of parents and children after he announced Kelly's coup.

And I can see how much he's matured.

He still gets surly sometimes, and he'll probably always be moody and obnoxious. He's got a ways to go on social skills, but I think tutoring people was a great experience for him. I think in that kind of structured situation, he can be very patient. And he is thorough and clear in his explanations. When I've had trouble with some of my statistical programs, sometimes Langly will get off on a tangent and be way above my head, but Michael seems to keep it in English, and oddly enough, when he's in this mode, he's not patronizing, even if he does think I'm too stupid to live. Which, admittedly, sometimes I am.

And in spite of his more negative attributes-and he does have many of them-he's possessed of a certain sweetness and vulnerability which, to say the least, can be very endearing.

Mulder once told Frohike he could be a hard guy to like, to which Frohike responded, "Yes, but easy to love." The same could be said for his son.

I finish wrapping a number of packages for tomorrow evening. I've got some left, but I've done enough for one night. And besides, we're all alone, no company, no kids, and the cats and the dog have seen it enough that they're not interested.

It's time to state my evil intentions to my husband...

Who is sound asleep on the sofa, remote still in hand, glasses ajar. I know he's out for the count, because he's murmuring softly like he always does when he's fallen into a deep, exhausted slumber.

So much for romance.
 

MICHAEL:

December 24, 2000

I got to get Kelly's present to her. It's Christmas Eve, I'm not gonna see her tonight, and I've got to get out there. I was hoping to hit Jaleel's before Christmas but Dad's been keeping me pretty much locked up.

I've gotta stop coughing soon or I'll die in this apartment. I can see it now. I'll be 50 years old, and Dad'll still tell me I have to stay in and go to bed early.

This is a horrifying thought. Not even so much the lockdown, but living with Dad when I'm 50.

Much as I love him, I hope to God I'm not here when I'm 30, forget about 50.

I think I'd like to get married someday.

Where the hell did that come from?!

Oh God.

Pretty soon I'm not even going to recognize myself.

Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
 

Dad's been working today, I've got the place to myself. We're supposed to go to Ally and Langly's tonight, and Dad says I can go IF I rest up during the day.

Christ, all I do is rest up lately.

I've got to get out to Warrenton.

There's no bus service to Warrenton.

Maybe Ally would lend me hers. She's usually real good about that.

But to do that, I have to go to their house first.

Fuck. Dad will have a cow, but I'll have an even bigger one if I don't get to see Kelly and give her her present before tonight.

I hope she likes it.

I hope I don't look like a total idiot.

I hear keys in the door. What the fuck is Dad doing home early? He said he wasn't coming back till around 5. Right now it's about 1:30.

Not only do I have no life, I have no privacy as well.

It's not Dad, it's Langly. And it's not just Langly, but Langly, carrying a small evergreen, and grinning wickedly.

Great. An afternoon of brotherly hassling is within my grasp.

I need this right now like I need a new asshole.

"C'mon, Junior, you're not too dead to help me set this up," he tells me.

"What the fuck are you doing, asshole?"

"What's the matter, Junior? Never seen a Christmas tree before?" He skitters out, and comes back with a couple of Target bags. Decorations.

It's been so long since I had a Christmas tree...

Shit. My eyes are getting wet.

"Does my dad know about this?" I ask him.

Langly's just grinning like a cat that ate a bird. "Nope. It's a surprise. So Junior, you gonna help me put this up or what?"

Oh God, I really want to put the tree up, but I've got...

Hey. Langly's got a car. Unless he walked over here with the fucking tree, which somehow I doubt.

"Hey asshole. I need to get Kelly her present. Can I use your car for a little while? Shouldn't take long."

"What? And miss the tree trimming party?" He's hassling me, but there's an expression in his pale blue eyes you can miss sometimes if you're not watching.

Compassion. And affection. And understanding.

He tosses me the keys.

"And Michael? You puke in it, you're dead."

"You're never gonna let me forget that, will you?"

"Nope. Gotta keep you honest, Junior."

"Fuck you, Langly."

He grins at me. "Don't be too long, Junior. I can only lie to your dad for so long and then he has my ass."

I race out.
 

It's not busy when I get there, thank God. And luck is with me-Kelly's counting her checks at the register when I walk in.

And I get a big smile. Oh God. She smiled at me.

Maybe she doesn't think I totally suck.

"Hey. Merry Christmas." I tell her, not sure of what to say.

"To you too. What's up?"

"Uh-well, I-uh-I just picked up something for you for Christmas. Nothing big. It's not like I'm rich-" I hand her the package, which is wrapped real bogus, but at least it's Christmas paper. Ally gave me some.

"I'm just about to go on break, which I really need. Wait here a minute and I'll get my coat and we can go outside."

She comes out wearing a jacket I haven't seen before. She models it, sort of runway style, and she's so adorable.

"Like it? I needed one, so my mom gave it to me for an early present."

It's okay. It's dark blue with green trim, and it looks warm enough.

She'd look good in anything. Swear to God.

Especially nothing at all...

"So what time'd you start?" I ask her.

"Seven. And it's 2:30 and this is the first time I've had a chance to sit down."

She looks tired. But so incredibly cute. And she's got two coffee mugs with her.

"House brew. Vile, but the price is right." She reaches into her pockets and pulls out a bunch of half and half containers and sugar. "I didn't know how vile it was until I went to Starbucks the first time. I should've never let that happen." Big smile.

"Yeah, now you're corrupt forever." God, she's right. This stuff is nasty.

"Having Java Centrale on campus isn't helping. I could probably save a fortune if I didn't feel the need to have at least one decent cup of coffee a day."

We're sitting at the picnic table behind the place, it's covered with filled up ashtrays and there's trash overflowing out of a container nearby. Must be where the employees take their breaks.

"So can I open it now?" she asks, and she sounds like a little kid who can't wait.

I hope she's not disappointed. I nod and tell her, sure.

She starts out being careful, why, I have no idea, because I can't wrap for shit, but she gets impatient and rips right into it. She gasps when she sees what it is.

Oh fuck. She was probably hoping for something else.

But she's smiling big time. And then...

She leans over and gives me a real soft, light kiss on the cheek. It's over in a second, but I'm dizzy for a long time afterwards.

She kissed me. Goddamn.

"Michael, this is so great! I have to have this book for some of my classes next year, and this one is so cool-oh God, this is so great!" She's just about jumping up and down.

Then she looks a bit sad. "I have something for you, too."

Oh my God. I wasn't expecting this.

"But it's back at my house...I was going to give it to you next time when I saw you."

"It's okay, I can wait."

"Well...I don't want you to wait. The only thing is-"

"What?"

She looks real embarrassed now. "You've probably figured it out by now, we're trailer trash. We live over there." She waves her hand at the ratty trailer park behind us.

This pisses me off. "You're not anything trash. Don't ever say that again."

I'm surprised at how vehement I sound. She looks a little surprised.

"And there's another thing."

"What?"

"Well, my mom's boyfriend got kicked out of his place, so he's staying at ours...and he's a real asshole."

"Well, you said it's a lifestyle with Mom."

"Yeah." She looks both sad and angry now. "This guy is a total waste. He's not working right now, he does construction, or so he says, but he says you can't work construction in the winter, so all he does is lie around, drink, and hassle me."

"But it's your house."

"Yeah. Try telling my mom that."

"Why? What's she say?"

"She says I shouldn't bug him." Now she looks REAL pissed off. "She says if I didn't have such a smart mouth I wouldn't make him so mad. I mean, just because I suggested he get off his ass and look for a job instead of mooching off my mom."

"You'd think your mom would want to kick him out."

"You would think. But my mom likes him-I don't even know if it's that. My mother is one of those women who cannot be without a man. They can beat her, insult her, mooch off her, but she's got to have one around or she's like in withdrawal. And there's no way I'm going to be like that." She stands up. "You know what? Screw it. I want you to get your present now, and screw Troy. That's his name. Besides, it'll only take me a few minutes. Wait here."

"I can come with you."

"I don't know. The place is pretty disgusting-"

"Kelly, I've actually lived on the streets, so I know about disgusting."

"You're kidding."

"Wish I was."

"Wow. I mean, compared to where I live, your dad's place and yours is like a palace."

It's not bad, but it's still modest digs. I mean, we're not Chateau Langly.

"Well...if you don't mind the mess...and maybe Troy will be out. Of course, I haven't been that lucky yet."
 

Kelly lets me in to a double wide that's...

Totally disgusting.

And I thought the Frohikes were slobs.

What makes the place even more disgusting is the burly dude on the sofa. He's drinking a Bud from a can and watching some talk show.

"Thought you were workin'," he growls at Kelly.

"I do get breaks every once in a while."

"Well, what're you doin' here?"

"Troy, I live here. I'm Betsy's daughter. Or are you too stupid to remember that?"

She vanishes for a moment, I hear her rustling through a bunch of stuff, and she comes back out.

"Y'know Kelly, if you'd be nice like your mama, maybe you'd have a man and you wouldn't be so uptight, y'know." Finally, he looks up. "Well, I'll be damned. You brought home one. And here I was thinkin' you wasn't ever gonna a get a guy. 'Course, this one's more like a dwarf."

Ooh, man, them's fighting words.

"Shut up, Troy."

"You gonna leave already? 'Cause some of us is tryin' to get some peace and quiet around here."

"You're right, Troy. Some of us are." She looks at me. "You ready?"

Oh, yeah.

"Y'know whatcha need, Kelly?"

"I know what you're gonna say, Troy, so save it, okay?"

"You need a good lay."

"Shut up," I hiss at him.

"Whoa. The dwarf speaks. And what're you gonna do, ya little twerp?"

"Don't ever talk to her that way."

"Or what? Whatcha gonna do, dwarf boy?"

"Come on, Michael. Let's leave Mr. Illiterate here by himself." She leads me out.

I'm steamed.

But no blood shed.

END OF PART 29