The Impossible Children

Scully could not measure the amount of time in her life she had spent in the basement office of the J. Edgar Hoover Building listening to Mulder talk about aliens and the latest UFO sightings. In short, it was a lot of time, and it was both amusing and a little concerning just how easily they had fallen back into their old routing after being reinstated to the FBI.

Presently, he was explaining how there had been an unusually high amount of sightings in certain areas of the country, particularly as of late the New York City area. It was apparently something Mulder wanted them to investigate, but Scully just wasn't convinced that they had a real case. Besides, old routines dictated that she had to skeptical of what he was presenting her with; it was and always had been for his own good.

“There have been tons of these reports of people seeing strange lights in the skies,” Mulder continued.

“Tons?” Scully interjected, playfully poking fun at his word choice.

“Well, a lot,” Mulder said with a slight eye roll, “And a few individuals have come forward claiming to have been abducted.”

“And I'm guessing that's where we come in,” Scully said dryly.

“Bingo,” Mulder affirmed, “Specifically, there's a woman located in a town just outside of New York City who claims that not only has she been abducted by aliens, but that she's been impregnated with an alien-human hybrid.”

“And does she have any proof of this claim?” Scully questioned.

“Well, I'm sure she would say that she does,” Mulder replied, “At any rate, I was hoping to meet with her and discuss it.”

“But how is this even a case for us, Mulder? So, some woman claims to have been impregnated by aliens, so what? What exactly would we be investigating?”

“Francine Blomstein's claims could mean something; they could be connected with all the UFO sightings reported in that area, and I think they are.” He lowered his voice and looked at Scully seriously. “I think we could be dealing with some sort of colonization attempt or some part of that process. I think it's imperative that we look into it.”

Scully would need more proof before she could draw any conclusions herself (and certainly before she could reach any conclusions as outlandish as Mulder's), but she recognized how important this matter was to her partner— and how important it would be to a great many people if his theory proved at all accurate.

Francine Blomstein lived in a small, old house in the outskirts of town. Mulder and Scully managed to get lost at least twice just trying to find the place. They pulled their rental car into a rough driveway behind an old Lincoln that had clearly seen better days.

Mulder placed a knock on the front door and was answered swiftly. “Hi, I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, and this is my partner Special Agent Dana Scully,” he said as he and Scully showed their badges, “Are you Francine Blomstein?”

“Fran,” the woman corrected, “but yeah, this is she.”

“May we please come in? We'd like to talk with you regarding your reports of alien activity,” Mulder continued.

“Yeah, sure, of course, come in, come in,” Fran said, stepping aside and allowing them entry.

Fran's house was cluttered and cramped but not dirty. The lighting was dim, and the curtains were drawn. Scully gave Mulder a look, but Mulder clearly did not share her concerns about their informant.

“Can I get you two anything? Coffee? Tea? Just kidding, I don't have tea. Go ahead, and sit down, make yourselves comfortable,” Fran said.

“No, we're fine, thank you,” Scully said, taking a seat in a worn, old arm chair. Mulder sat on the couch adjacent to it, on the end nearest Scully.

Fran took the seat on the opposite end of the couch from Mulder. It took her a moment to get comfortable. Scully estimated just by her appearance that Fran was approaching the end of her second trimester. Her large belly was made all the more noticeable by her small frame and short stature.

“To be honest, I'm just surprised that the FBI's interested in such things,” Fran said, “Alien abductions, lights in the sky, alien-human hybrids, I mean it's all a bunch of crazy science fiction until it becomes your life!” Fran spoke quickly and very clearly liked to talk a lot. Scully wondered how difficult it was going to be to keep her on topic.

“And it's become your life, Ms. Blomstein?” Mulder asked.

“Please, call me Fran,” Fran replied, “And yes! It certainly has. Let me tell you, I never believed in aliens and that stuff before, you know; I was just a normal girl trying to make it in the world, but then I started having these strange things happen to me. I'd black out for hours and not remember anything, and I've got a really good memory usually. I used to remember all my dreams and everything, but not when I blacked out. I'd wake up in the morning more tired than I was when I went to bed, and I wouldn't remember my dreams, and that's how I'd know that I'd blacked out again.”

“Did you see a doctor about these episodes?” Scully asked.

“I did, but he said he didn't know what was going on. He did tests and everything. He said it had to be psychological or something. I think he just thinks I'm crazy,” Fran answered, “but it wasn't just blackouts. I started having these weird dreams, and they almost always had the same sort of stuff in them, like bright lights and weird voices. Then, I started having them when I was awake sometimes. Then, I started getting really sick all the time, so I went back to my doctor, and he asks me all kinds of questions and does tests. Lo and behold, I'm pregnant.” She gestured towards her stomach.

Scully was about to ask another question, but Fran continued, “Now, I'm right in the middle of a major dry spell, like I can't even remember the last time I had sex with anyone, which, of course, my doctor, he looks at me like I'm crazy when I first tell him that because 'hello, baby's gotta come from somewhere.' He made some kinda crack about the Virgin Mary, which I kinda laughed at, even though I didn't find it funny, and I'm a Jew anyway— ”

“So, then you think that you've been impregnated by aliens?” Mulder interjected.

“Absolutely, I do,” Fran said, “I know I have.”

“You said that you remember certain details of your abductions. Would you mind sharing these details?” Mulder asked.

“Well, I never get a good look at any of them, but they seem tall, really tall. The baby they put in me is gonna be really tall, too; my doctor and I both think so. I'm always strapped to a table that feels like metal, and they have bright lights, like super bright, all around me.”

“So, you don't know what the aliens look like, aside from their height? Or what their ship looks like?” Mulder asked.

“No, not really. If I do, I haven't remembered yet,” Fran replied.

“I think we'd like to speak with your doctor,” Scully said, “Would you mind telling us his name and how we might be able to reach him?”

“Yeah, sure,” Fran said, “He's Dr. Martis. I'll get you his address, just a second.” She got up and appeared to be searching for something. She continued speaking all the while, “He's a good doctor and all, but he's not too open-minded about the alien stuff. I'm sure he'd still be okay with talking with you though.” She located a pen and paper and scrawled an address for the two agents. “Here's some directions to his office and the address and everything.”

Scully got up, and Mulder somewhat hesitantly followed suit. She took the paper from Fran. “Thank you, Fran. If we need anything else, we'll be sure to stop by,” Scully said.

Mulder offered Fran a card with his name and both office and cell phone numbers typed on it. “And if you need anything from us or think of anything else we might need to know, here's my card.”

They weren't able to see Dr. Martis until the following day. In that time, they had each already developed vastly different theories (as was the norm) and had argued several times (which was only sometimes the norm.)

“Mulder, the woman is clearly mentally ill. You have to see that,” Scully restated as they approached Dr. Martis's practice.

“Maybe she is, and maybe she isn't, Scully. That's not the point. The point is she was abducted by aliens, and she has proof of that, even if it's proof no one is willing to believe,” Mulder countered, “Furthermore, Scully, so what if she is mentally ill? Can she not be mentally ill, but also a multiple abductee?”

“No, that's not what I'm saying at all,” Scully replied, “My point is that she's far from credible as a source.”

“Right, so since she's so apparently unstable she can't possibly be telling the truth,” Mulder responded with clear aggravation.

Scully knew they were dangerously close to not talking about Fran Blomstein anymore, so she simply said, “Look, Mulder, all I'm asking is that you consider that maybe this woman isn't

remembering or experiencing things as they really are. You and I both know from experiences we cannot deny that alien abductions are real, but that doesn't mean every report of them is true.”

“Alright,” Mulder conceded, considerably calmer, “but only if you consider that maybe, crazy or not, Fran Blomstein is telling us the truth.”

Dr. Martis was nearly the polar opposite of Fran Blomstein, with his extremely tall stature and cold, reserved manner. If getting Fran to stop talking had been an issue, Scully could only imagine the trouble they would have just getting Dr. Martis to speak with them.

“So, what can you tell us about Francine Blomstein?” Mulder began.

Dr. Martis looked at Mulder with sharp, dark eyes. “What would you like to know?”

“We're investigating her claims that she's been abducted by aliens,” Mulder explained.

Dr. Martis cut him off. “You can't be serious.”

“Excuse me?” Mulder said.

“Is this really the best use of our government's resources? Chasing UFOs? Listening to and actively encouraging the delusions of a very unstable woman?” Dr. Martis continued.

Funny, Scully had been worried he wouldn't talk, and now she just wished that he'd shut up. “We're not saying that we believe Ms. Blomstein's story, just that we're investigating it, due to the unexplained nature of her situation and reports of others that may be similar,” Scully said,” If you wouldn't mind answering a few questions, then we can continue our investigation elsewhere.”

“Of course, I will cooperate,” Dr. Martis responded, “but there's nothing 'unexplained' about her situation as far as I'm concerned.”

“Then, how do you explain it?” Mulder's tone was even and almost monotone, but Scully knew he was mentally cursing the man before them.

“Ms. Blomstein suffers from frequent dissociative fugue states that we're still investigating,” Dr. Martis explained, “it's entirely possible that in one of these fugue states— or 'black outs' as she sometimes calls them— she had sex and conceived a child. Or alternately, she's in some form of denial about the child she's conceived, possibly due to trauma, which would explain her outrageous claims and possibly her fugue states.”

Mulder looked at Scully, and she just shrugged. Scully could not deny that she found Dr. Martis's theory to be very sound, but, like her partner, she loathed his condescending and close-minded attitude. They both couldn't help but wonder if Dr. Martis was the sort of person Scully might have become had her life taken an entirely different course.

Something about that just set Scully even more firmly against the man. “So, then you haven't noticed any abnormalities in Ms. Blomstein's pregnancy or her baby?” she asked.

“There are some irregularities,” Dr. Martis answered, “but certainly nothing that cannot be explained rationally by factors such as congenital defect, exposure to teratogens, and so on.”

“Would it be possible to get a copy of Ms. Blomstein's medical records?” Scully questioned.

“It would be, although, I'm not sure what you expect to find,” Dr. Martis replied, “I mean, surely you don't expect evidence of any of Ms. Blomstein's outlandish claims.”

“We just want evidence of the truth,” Mulder replied, “Whatever that may be.”

After further discussion and obtaining a copy of Fran's medical record, Scully thanked Dr. Martis for his time (while Mulder was notably silent.) On their way out, the man sneered, “If you want to talk nonsense about UFOs and little green men, then I suggest you go see Dr. John Samuels at Marcus Blevins Medical Center. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to participate in whatever sort of investigation this is.”

The two agents left his office at that, with full intentions of looking up the man Dr. Martis had mentioned.