Strange Lunch

Dana Scully glanced up at the sound of her partner's name. A handsome man with wavy light brown hair was leaning against the receptionist's desk, a camera dangling from his shoulder. His worn brown trenchcoat and casual apparel made him look rather bedraggled.

Julianne Myers studied him. "Are you a reporter, sir?" She sounded doubtful and suspicious at the same time.

"Well, actually I'm a photographer, but that's not why I'm here. He's a friend of my brother's."

Intrigued, Scully approached the desk. "I understand you're looking for Fox Mulder?"

The man spun, startled. "Um...yeah."

"I'm his partner, Dana Scully." She held out one hand.

"Chance Harper. Nice to meet you."

"Chance. That's an unusual name."

He smiled cryptically. "Yeah, well I'm an unusual guy. Let's just say it fits me."

"You said Mulder is a friend of your brother?"

"Yeah. Eric Saunders. You know him?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't. Did he send you here?"

"Actually, I'm looking for him. He told me to come here if I ever needed to get ahold of him." He flashed her a lopsided grin and shrugged. "Which I actually don't right at the moment, but you never know."

"Well, I'm sorry I can't help you, but Mulder should be in soon."

"That's great. Do you have a cafeteria in here anywhere? I haven't had lunch, and if I'm going to wait, I might as well do something."

Scully smiled. "I think we can probably find you something edible."

"Do you want me to leave my camera here or anything?"

She laughed. "No, the cafeteria's not classified. You can take all the pictures of it you want, although I don't know that anyone would want them."

"I don't know. A photo expose on how government employees eat could be just the thing to get my editor off my back." He grinned again.

With an answering smile and a wave to Julianne, Scully started in the direction of the cafeteria.

"So do you live around here?"

Chance shook his head. "Nope. I was in town photographing a new exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, but my car got stolen."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He shrugged. "It's no big deal. I've always gotten it back before. And even if I don't this time, I could probably use a new one anyway."

Scully stopped and stared at Chance, amused. "Wait a minute. You mean your car has been stolen before?"

He nodded. "Yeah. A few times. Like I said though, I've always gotten it back."

"You seem awfully casual about it."

"Well, I just go with the flow. Roll with the punches. Expect the unexpected. All those cliches."

Scully made a mental note that some of those cliches seemed to contradict each other. Well, if he was the brother of one of Mulder's friends...

"So, how does Mulder know your brother anyway?"

Chance shrugged. "I don't know. I figured it had something to do with what Eric's wife got killed over. The chemical company she worked for was involved in germ warfare, or something like that. Do you guys investigate stuff like that?"

"No, although Mulder might have done so before he started working with the X-Files."

"X-Files?"

"Cases that appear to defy explanation or rationalization by normal means."

"Sounds like my life," he muttered with a smile.

"How so?"

"It appears to defy explanation and rationalization by normal means." His smile broadened at Scully's raised eyebrow. "Stick around me for very long and you'll see what I mean."

Chance studied the woman beside him as they carried their trays to a table. She was very pretty, although in an unusual way. Personality wise, she reminded him a little of Audrey...and Dr. Richter...and Angie for that matter. Actually, her appearance reminded him of Angie a little too, especially the red hair, though Scully's was not as dark as his friend's.

They sat down, and Chance studied his sandwich. "For cafeteria fare, it doesn't look half bad. Although I'd wager they don't make them half as well as Angie does."

Scully smiled. "Who's Angie?"

"A friend of mine. She owns a diner called the Blue Plate. Best food in town."

"Well, this place isn't as bad as its reputation." She smiled, nodding at his sandwich, and lifting a forkful of salad. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

"Don't mind if I do." Chance hefted the sandwich and bit down.

Something hard and metallic-tasting interrupted his bite. Curious, he took the sandwich out of his mouth and looked at it. There seemed to be something in the bread...

"You don't like it?" Scully asked.

"I don't know yet..." He set it down and ripped into the thick slice of bread.

The agent's mouth dropped open as Chance pulled a gold ring set with a solitaire diamond out of his sandwich. The photographer frowned.

"How did THAT get in there?"

Chance turned the ring over a few times in his hands, looking for anything that would give him a clue as to its owner. "It must have fallen in the dough. Do you know where they get their bread?"

Scully shook her head. "You can ask. Is there an inscription or anything in it?"

"No."

"Here, let me see it."

Chance handed it to her and the two studied it, completely oblivious to the conjectures being made by those who could see unusual scene, but not hear the conversation that went with it.

"It must be something important," Chance muttered to himself, wondering who the ring belonged to and why it had fallen into his hands. There had to be a why--at least with him, there always was.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because that's the way my life is."

Scully gave him an odd look, but he didn't volunteer to explain further. She handed him back the ring, shaking her head in wonder. "Well, I expect whoever owns that ring is probably looking for it. I know I wouldn't want to lose an engagement ring. I wonder what size it is?"

Chance slipped it onto his little finger, smiling at how silly it looked. "Not mine. You want to try it on?"

She nodded, and he slipped it onto her finger.

"Perfect fit." Chance commented, flashing that lopsided grin at her again. "Now I just hope that doesn't mean I just passed my Luck on to you, like I did to Angie the time she helped me deliver a baby."

She looked at him blankly. "Pardon? What do you mean, 'passed your luck on' to me?"

Still grinning, the photographer opened his mouth to tell her the story. He was interrupted by a loud chorus of screams, and an explosion of people outward from a point near the center of the cafeteria.

"What on Earth?" Scully sputtered, as Chance stood up to investigate.