Title: Of Man and Machine
Author: Dilby
E-mail: abbela@members.limitless.org
Rating: PG
Category: V
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Yeah, I know, not mine.
Summary: Inspired by a hypothetical suggestion.  I took it and ran
with it.  Frohike ruminates on something that happened in his youth.



You know, the guys never really asked about it.  I never bothered to
tell, either.  Not as if I would have particularly minded doing so,
but in our line of work, there's always ten other things to do that
really should have been done yesterday.  It doesn't really leave much
room for much stirring revelation about your past.  Of course, it's
not like we don't ever get any.  I never in my wildest dreams imagined
they'd find out about Miami.  But then, that's another thing our job
gets you accustomed to.  The unexpected.  How I got to Miami, however..
That's a different story entirely.

I love cars.  It's no secret.  Never has been.  My affinity for all
things mechanical tends to show itself rather quickly.  Anyway, I'll 
get back to the point.  I'd managed to acquire an old broken down '56 
T-bird, for probably less than the metal it was made out of.  That was the
starting point.  I began to pour a ton of energy, sweat, and cash into
that thing until she looked better than new again.  Boy, did that baby
purr.  It still sends a tingle up my spine remembering the first time I
started her up after I'd finished.  There's nothing in the world 
exactly like that sound.

I think that out of anything I'd ever owned, I loved that car the most.
It wasn't so much the car itself as the knowledge that I'd given life,
as it were, to something that was lacking it.  Probably the closest 
I'll ever come to giving birth.  Not that I want to get any closer.  I drove
that car all over the place, and everywhere we went, we turned heads.
Not only had I given birth, I'd given birth to a beauty.

Which is why it broke my heart when she got stolen.

Some idiot kid hotwired the car and drove her off while I was grocery
shopping, of all things.  I walk out the door, plastic bags of food in 
my hands, and see an empty parking spot where there used to be a fully
restored T-bird.  My baby.  The next words that came out of my mouth 
are not worthy to be repeated in mixed company.  Sure, the cops eventually
found her.  Completely gutted.  I felt as if my heart had been ripped 
out of my chest, tossed to the ground, and then stomped on a few times for
good measure.  Very few times in my life have I had that experience.  
That was the first.  The most recent was when I got that call from Scully 
saying that Mulder had been found, and the news wasn't good.  I never want to 
feel that again.  Never.

I was inconsolable.  With the insurance money, sure, I could have 
gotten another car.  At that point, though, I didn't want one.  So I took the 
cash, bought a Harley, and hit the open road.


Author's Notes: Quick and simple, yes, but I rather enjoyed writing it.  
If there's enough desire, I'll write a follow-up.  If there's not, well, 
that's okay, too.  The story is a story in and of itself.  ^_^  Enjoy!