Author: Tesla

Address: gah1093@hiwaay.net

Rating: NC-17 (sexual situations, adult language & lawyers)

Category: Mulder/Other. You've been advised.

Spoilers: Assume that this alternate universe careens off track after "Field Trip,"

But spoilers for "Orison".

Archive: Sure, everyone, I would be in a tizzy of pleasure and tell everyone I knew.

Feedback: See above, only I'll write fulsome thanks.

Disclaimer: If Ten Thirteen is even reading this, settle with Duchovny!

Summary: Continuation of "Flying Under the Radar", "Gaining Altitude", "Some Turbulence Expected", "Visibility Zero" and "Flight Delayed".
 

As workmen installed the new steel-cored office door, Janet read a copy of Dana Scully's mental evaluation.
 

MENTAL STATUS EXAM:
 

Dr. Scully was appropriately attired and well groomed for this evaluation. She was wearing a business suit that was clean and pressed. She was wearing jewelry and makeup. There was nothing remarkable about this woman's physical appearance. Dr. Scully's thinking was logical and orderly. Her memory function was intact. Dr. Scully did not seem depressed to me. Her affect was normal. She was able to smile on occasion. She made good eye contact with me. She did not cry….
 

Janet flipped the page.
 

Throughout my time with her, I found Dr. Scully to be cautious and reserved, although striving to appear otherwise. She seems to be in denial regarding the dangers of her occupation. Dr. Scully's judgement is intact. Her insight is fair to poor.
 

Whoops, thought Janet. Did you piss the guy off, Scully?
 

The MMPI-2 was administered to Dr. Scully in order to assess her current psychiatric status. She completed this test independently and in a timely fashion. The results indicated a person who was striving to give "correct" answers; however, this is not unusual for persons of her educational level. It should be noted that Dr. Scully shows no evidence of depression, anxiety, or generalized distress. There is nothing here to suggest a psychotic illness. Dr. Scully shows clear signs of a dependent personality disorder. Indeed, she is likely to be passive-aggressive and attracted to dominant and/or maladaptive people.
 

Janet grinned. Battle of the doctors, and the Ph.D. is showing definite wounds at the hands of the M.D. Well, time for the J.D.
 

Someone knocked on the doorframe. Janet looked up. "Hi, Dana," she said, "Good. You got my message."

Scully's eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded.
 

Janet held up the pages. "Got your psych eval. You're going to feel all warm and tingly about this guy."
 

Scully sat down abruptly, and took the pages.
 

"We also need to think about referring you to another lawyer, "Janet said benevolently. Thank you, Jesus, she thought.
 

"Why?" Scully demanded.
 

"Oh, well, because if this," she picked up a letter, "goes any further, I'm going to have a conflict of interest."
 

"Because of Mulder? Why now?"
 

"Well, this and that. Because Mulder and I weren't seeing each other when I actually started representing you, and because I felt I could quash the Bureau investigation as well as the criminal charges." She held out the letter. "I actually think I can quash this, but now, Mulder would be a witness."
 

Scully made no move to take the letter. "What is it?"
 

"It's a demand letter by Donnie Pfaster's sister. A wrongful death suit."
 

Scully actually felt the room move. "What?" she asked faintly.
 

"Like I said, I think this will go away. But I think I better let one of my cohorts take over, now."
 

"I can't go through this again," Scully said. "I thought it was over." Her face was vanilla-colored. "I don't want to talk about this to a stranger. To a new lawyer."
 

"Well," Janet said, her voice suddenly formal, "I have advised you of a possible conflict of interest, in that I am involved with your partner, a potential witness. Do you ask that I still represent you?"
 

"Yes, of course," Scully said.
 

"Okay. Then, let me summarize. I think this is a nuisance suit. I think this sister is hoping you will pay her something to make her go away. I would like to write a strong letter telling them to go fuck themselves--"
 

"To use the legal term," Scully said, with a faint smile.
 

"To use the legal term," Janet agreed. "I would actually state that we would counter-claim against the estate for a lot of zeros. After all, he broke into your apartment. Property damage, bodily injury, emotional distress, punitive damages…I think, on the whole, we should meet with your Mr. Skinner. "
 

"Why?"
 

"Because the sister cc'd the Bureau."
 
 
 

Janet was used to striding through crowds, but she thought the number of people walking through the corridors to Skinner's office was excessive. She wasn't to know that Skinner's secretary had alerted her friends that Scully was on her way in with her lawyer, who was Mulder's girlfriend. (Kimberly's best friend bowled with Henderson and the ViCap guys and knew all about Janet.) Most of them were former bullpen colleagues who had a pool going as to whether Mulder was in a threesome with Scully and Janet.
 

Janet always picked up a weird vibe from Skinner. Today, while giving Skinner a copy of the demand letter and her draft of a reply, she studied him as she spoke.

Damn, she thought, a light coming on, he's got a jones for Dana! She looked at Scully, who was all wound up as usual, but in an impersonal sort of way. And she doesn't have a clue!
 

Not for the first time, Janet wondered if Scully was asexual.
 
 
 

The meeting with Skinner went well; he gave his blessing to Janet's proposed plan of action, and greeted with obvious relief her plans to withdraw as Scully's lawyer, should litigation ensue. That made both Janet and Scully wary.
 

"With all due respect, Sir, I do feel that I would be better represented by my own counsel, rather than Bureau counsel," Scully said stiffly. Janet, lolling disrespectfully in her chair, grinned.
 

"Agent, I do not think you would enjoy having some--" he stopped, obviously trying not to say insulting things about lawyers--" Plaintiff's attorney quizzing you as to your knowledge of your partner's romantic--" he paused again.
 

"Entanglements?" Janet said, in a spuriously helpful tone.
 

"Partners," Skinner said, giving her his best Level Two glare.
 

Janet was unimpressed. "A little alliterative?" she queried. Skinner's head began to redden. "Look, Mr. Skinner. Right now, we're all on the same side. So can we skip the dancing around here? I'm out of here as soon as Agent Scully lets me go. She is satisfied that there is no conflict of interest, and frankly, so am I."
 

"Very well," Skinner said, standing up.
 

Janet nodded, seized her briefcase, and left, several paces ahead of Scully and Skinner. Through the open suite door, they (and Kimberly) heard her say, "Why don't some of you get the hell out of here and go find the Atlanta bomber? Jesus. Our taxes at work."
 

Scully and Skinner exchanged glances.
 

"Frankly, Agent," Skinner said weightily, " I think Mulder has met his match."