Title: St. Joseph Author: Kelly S Rating: PG Keywords: AU, Angst Summary: an extreme possibility for the series finale Disclaimer: These characters are owned by 1013 and Fox. No infringement or profit is intended. Author's Notes: at the end of the story Feedback: gleefully answered at kelly37421@mindspring.com OK to archive at Gossamer and Ephemeral. All others please ask first. Grateful thanks to Khyber for his fast betaing. Any medical errors are mine. St. Joseph's by Kelly S "The patient is a vegetable, Dr. Scully. Wanting to believe something doesn't make it so. You are wasting my time and valuable hospital resources with these tests." She took a step closer to show him the chart, trying not to breathe the miasma of cigarette stench surrounding him. "If you'll just look at the data. This patient shows brain wave patterns that I've never seen before. As far as I know, no one has ever seen activity like this. Delta waves are emanating from areas that have never been known to produce them before, and the alternating pattern of delta and extremely slow alpha CPS in this area of the brain suggests --" "This patient has been in this facility since he was a child. He will be here until the day he dies. You *will not* pursue this matter further, or I will have you before the hospital review board. Do you understand?" "Respectfully Sir, I believe --" "Do you understand?" "... Yes, Sir." "Good. I don't want to hear any further about this matter. We have enough patients we *can* help without spending our limited resources on the produce aisle." With that, he was gone, and she could almost hear Darth Vader's theme as he marched out of the room. She walked to the head of the bed and looked at her patient. She knew his history inside and out - extreme Catatonic PTSD since the kidnapping of his sister when he was twelve. Until that time, he'd been healthy, active and outgoing. His school test scores showed near genius level IQ. He could have become anything he wanted, done anything with his life. Perhaps they even could have been friends. He was only a few years older than she was. "It's me again." She brushed his hair back from his pale, unlined face. "What's your secret, Fox? What happened to you?" Dana whispered, wiping at some drool on his chin with the bed sheet. She jumped slightly, startled from her contemplation as the nurse entered the room. "I'm sorry, Dr. Scully. I can come back later . . . ." "No, that's fine Nurse Skinner." The nurse began changing the bags on the IV and the Foley catheter. "I have some research I need to attend to anyway." Because no matter what Chief of Staff Dr. CGB Spender thought, there was something unusual about this patient. And even if she couldn't cure him, she was still determined to find out what it was. She gave one last look at Fox Mulder before she went through the door. What are you thinking about? Because something's going on in that brain. I believe it. "I'll see you tomorrow, Fox." As always, he remained non-responsive, staring at the large x-shaped crack in the ceiling. Closing her hand briefly on her crucifix, she said a quick prayer for him and went back to work. End Author's Notes: In the recent TV Guide, Ward Sutton suggests humorous ways The X-Files could end, including emulating famous finales of other series. This brought to mind my favorite series finale - the ending of St. Elsewhere. This story is my version of a St. Elsewhere ending to The X-Files. St. Joseph is the patron saint of social justice, and is also a common name of hospitals, so he seemed an appropriate choice for a title.