Title: Unexpected Author: Mummiehelen E-mail: grhesc@yahoo.com Rating: NC-17 Category: Skinner/Original Status: Complete Disclaimer: Not mine. All characters from the X-Files belong to the surfer dude among others. Just borrowing them for fun. No profit made. Summary: Skinner is attracted to a beautiful criminologist but the sparks don't fly till a horrific case has an unexpected effect on their fledgling relationship. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Washington D.C. Summer 1997 The day had started like any other. I woke with the alarm, peed, shaved, dressed and went downstairs to make myself my usual breakfast of toast and coffee. I ate with the morning paper for company, then went to work. Among my memos was a notice that we'd finally hired a replacement for Agent Pendrell. I sat back in my leather chair with the slip of paper in my hand. Pendrell, I hadn't thought about him in quite a while. He was top notch at his job but more than that, he was a good guy. He'd taken a bullet at an FBI hangout on Scully's birthday. Whether it was to save her or not was something I was never clear on but it wouldn't surprise me. He'd had a major crush on my agent if the rumor mill was to be believed. Now someone had taken his place and though the Crime Lab was utilized by all 10 departments, my own Criminal Investigations used it more than any other.I thought I should go down there and introduce myself. I hit shift F-3 to get my schedule for today and found an opening at 2:30 this afternoon. I'd make a quick run, shake hands with the guy and get back in time for my next meeting. My first mistake was assuming the replacement was a man. The second was presuming the woman who was lugging boxes around the lab was his assistant. I went down to the second floor where the Crime Lab was located to see a workman painting a name on the door. I hadn't looked at the name given in the memo because of my trip down memory lane and all the man had painted on the glass so far was Dr. Andr So, we were getting a PhD. to run the lab. Good, it'd been neglected since Pendrell's death and needed someone to whip it into shape---fast. I saw a young woman dressed casually with her hair pulled up in a high pony tail unpacking a large box and went over to talk to her. "Hello." I said. She turned around. "Hello." she answered. "I'm Assistant Director Walter Skinner." I said importantly. "You must be the doctor's assistant. Is he here? I'd like to meet him." She held out her hand with a wry smile. "Well, the doctor isn't scheduled to start till tomorrow. I'm just getting things set up to make the transition a little smoother." she said. "Oh well, tell him I'll come back some time tomorrow then, will you?" "Of course." she said. I was in the elevator before I realized I hadn't gotten her name and the picture I.D.around her neck had been turned inward. She must think I'm a real clod for not finding out who she was. Oh well, I'd ask when I came back. Right now I had to get ready for my three o'clock meeting. I made a point to look at the name on the memo so I could address the man by name when I came back tomorrow. It was A.D. Ballard PhD. The Following Afternoon I made my way to the Lab again and it looked completely different. Everything was in place and cleaned up. The assistant was very good, I thought as I went to the department head's office which was at the back. The door was open. I peeked inside. "Doctor?" To my surprise, the same woman stood from kneeling at a low file cabinet drawer. She also looked different, dressed in a suit, hair pulled back in a bun and wearing glasses. "Yes?" "Dr. Ballard?" "Yes, may I help you?" I crossed my arms and leaned against the door frame. "That wasn't very nice." I said in my best stern A.D. voice. "That should teach you not to make assumptions." she said smiling brightly. "You used you initials on your application?" "Always do. That way I'm judged on my qualifications and nothing else." "I suppose that makes sense but..." "You don't like tripping over your own preconceived notions?" she said, but there was a devilish smile playing about her very lovely mouth. "Fair enough but can we back up and start over again. My name is Walter Skinner." I said holding out my hand. "Andrea Ballard." she said and shook it. I looked at the framed certificates mounted behind her desk. "Dr.Ballard, isn't it?" "Yes, twice but whose counting?" she chuckled. I checked the documents more closely. There were two doctoral degrees. One in Forensic Pathology and one in Criminology. "Concurrent?" "Consecutive, with a minor in Psychology." "So, you can do both field and lab work." "I understood they were both required." I nodded thoughtfully wondering how to ask her out without sounding like a dufus. It'd been so long since I'd even tried to get a date, I wasn't sure what the etiquette was. But I tried anyway. "Would you consider having dinner with a stodgy Assistant Director?" I asked, hoping humor would work. "No." "Oh." "But I would have dinner with a colleague and fellow criminologist." she replied. My surprise slipped past my carefully constructed facade. "How did you..." "Know? Research is a big part of the job and since Criminal Investigations uses this department more than the others combined, I wanted to know as much as possible about who ran it." "There's not much to know but, there are several agents you might want a heads-up on." "Really?" she asked, her interest piqued. "Yes." I said, leaning in conspiratorially."I think we'd better go someplace where they serve large portions and multiple courses." "There's that much to know?" she asked in round eyed wonder, playing along with the intrigue. "No, I just have a big appetite." I said, breaking into a grin that felt good, if unfamiliar on my face. At this she burst out laughing. after that, it was just a matter of settling the details. I took the stairs instead of the elevator back to the fourth floor because I suddenly had some excess energy to expend. I Friday Night I arrived at the address Andrea gave me at seven o'clock and rang her bell, wondering what to expect. She was dressed in jeans with her hair in a pony tail the first time I saw her, tweed suit and glasses with her hair pulled back in a serious chignon the second time. Now she looked completely different as she opened the door for me. Her hair was loose and fell in soft curls to the middle of her back. The dress was an off the shoulder style. I think it's called a portrait neckline.The dress itself was purple and skimmed over her body to the hem, just above her knees. "Hi, come in." she said, standing aside so I could. "I just have to get my purse." She disappeared briefly and returned with a jeweled clutch and we were off. "Are you a carnivore?" I asked as we got into my car. "Very definitely." she assured me. "Then a steakhouse would be a good choice." I said, happy for her enthusiasm. I guess it's a male supposition but, most of us really didn't want to take a woman out and watch her pick at her food. They talked about work over their first glass of wine but, when Andrea suggested they try another subject, he clammed up. "What do you do when you're not working?" she asked. "Not much." She cocked her head and gave him a dubious look. "You work out, don't you?" "Yes, I weight train. I also swim and run." "It's a good balance to add cardio to weight lifting." she said, hoping to get a new conversation going. "Eh huh." he said, happy their meals arrived and he didn't have to say anything more. He was impressed that she put away the better part of an 11oz. prime rib which gave them something more to talk about. Conversation stalled though by the end of the evening. When they came outside, it was pouring rain and it wasn't a place that had valet parking. Skinner wanted her to wait in the doorway while he ran to the parking lot. "That's alright. A little water isn't going to hurt me." she said and started running with him. They drove in silence. By the time they got to her apartment building, it was a real downpour. Andrea was about to say goodnight as she reached for the door handle. "Why don't you wait a few minutes? Heavy rain like this usually doesn't last long." "Alright." she said thinking he might want to talk a little before the date was over but, no such luck. As soon as it lightened a little she thanked him for a nice meal and scrambled for her door. It was Tuesday before they saw each other again. **** The director called Skinner in for a meeting between himself and the sheriff of Salisbury, a little town on the Delaware border. After the introductions, he explained that there had been several deaths that could be connected but, they simply didn't have the man power or equipment to handle it themselves. "So they've turned it over to the FBI. I'm giving this one to you cause I believe you have a team of agents that can handle this type of unexplained case." "Yes Sir." he said accepting the files he was handed. Later that day, he called a meeting with Mulder, Scully and Ballard. They would need to work on this together so it was about time they met. "Mulder will be in the field. Scully, you'll do the autopsies on the three bodies that have already come in and co-ordinate your findings with Dr. Ballard, who'll handle all the forensic aspects from the Sci-Crime Lab. Any questions?" No one moved. "Very well. Best get started." Andrea was going to go down to the morgue with Scully to ask if she could sit in on the autopsy. She knew the agent by reputation and hoped that working together they might find some commonality between the cases. Bur Skinner stopped her after the others left. "Sir?" she said turning back to face him. "I wanted to ask you about the other night." he said. "What about it?" she asked, trying to stay neutral. "You ducked out pretty fast." "I thought the evening was over." "I know parts of the evening were stilted but I thought we were having dinner as colleagues. When you got off the subject of work, I was a little surprised." "I thought talking about work was a good way to break the ice but I didn't realize it was the only topic open for discussion. Obviously, we had different ideas of what the evening was supposed to be.Now if you'll excuse me I really need to talk with Dr. Scully." she said and left before he could argue. She caught up with the agent, who was already gowned and gloved when she entered the morgue. "Sorry, I had to stay after class." she said with a smile. "I was hoping to observe your autopsies." "Of course. You can scrub and gown through there." she said, pointing to a door at the other side of the lab. Dr. Ballard sat silently on a stool and watched intently as Scully went through the steps of the first autopsy, making her own mental notes as Scully spoke into the overhead microphone. "External examination reveals no ligature marks, no signs of strangulation or petechial hemorrhage. No puncture or defense wounds. No signs of trauma.