Author's Notes: I'm going to try my hand at humor again. This is nothing more than a short little fluff piece. So give it a chance, 'kay?

Disclaimer: Straight simple and to the point: Mulder and Scully are property of FOX Television, 1013 Productions, Chris Carter, and probably a bunch of other people. If I owned them, I wouldn't need student loans. :-) Harry is mine, but I doubt anyone will want him. :-)

The blank screen stared at him accusingly, as if taunting him. He had a report due in to Skinner in fifteen minutes, and nothing to show for it. For two hours he had sat at the computer, typing, correcting and trying to make sense of his notes from the last case. And then it had happened.

The screen blinked, and where there had been words only moments before, there was only a blank screen. Looking at his watch, he groaned. He knew excuses wouldn't fly with Skinner. His frustration mounting, he angrily hit the computer screen.

"Ouch!"

Mulder jumped back, his head dodging crazily for the source of the voice. "Scully?"

"Do I sound like Scully to you, Mulder?"

Now standing two feet away from his desk, he stared unbelievingly at the computer. "Too much caffeine, not enough sleep," he found himself muttering.

"Nah. You've just been stuck in this basement too long. Well, then again, not as long as me. So if anyone deserves some pity, it's me."

"And you are?" Mulder began walking around his desk, looking at the offending machine.

The computer sighed, "Well, my friends call me Harry."

"Harry," Mulder repeated, shaking his head. "Wait a minute, your friends?"

Electronic laughter echoed on the dark walls. "I do have friends, you know. We're not all loners. There's Leigh, Agent Scully's laptop, and Michael, the coffee maker. And I've got my eyes on the phone over there. We're working on building a relationship, but you know, she's concerned about the office politics."

Mulder cringed as he found himself asking, "And the phone would be . . ."

"Laura," the computer stated. "Quite a dish."

"Aren't you worried she might hear you, then?" Mulder couldn't believe it when he found himself glancing over at the phone.

Again, Harry laughed. "Nah. She's pretending to ignore me right now. Laura's quite spunky you know. She kinda reminds me of your partner."

"Leave Scully out of this," Mulder said somewhat defensively.

"Touchy . . ."

Inching closer to his desk, Mulder spoke. "So how come you've never spoken till now?"

"And end up in one of your little files? I'd be laughed out of the building, or dissected like a freak!"

Mulder dropped into his chair, giving himself up to the absurd conversation. "You didn't answer my question. Why now?"

"You hit me, you barbarian!" Harry exclaimed.

Mulder laughed. "Not like it was the first time."

"Don't I know it," the little box muttered.

Mulder rubbed his eyes tiredly, when he found himself trying to visualize a face on the computer screen. "Wait, what about my file? What did you do with it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know . . ." An evil snicker came from Harry. "Maybe you'll learn to be nicer to me, huh, Fox?" He stressed his first name, appreciating the glower that appeared on Mulder's face.

"No one calls me that."

Laughing, Harry continued. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. We all know. No one calls you Fox. Well, what ya gonna do about it, huh, Fox?"

Mulder fought the urge to reach over and strangle the computer, stopping only when he realized the futility of it. "Listen you . . ."

"Uh-uh-uh. Play nice or I won't give your file back!" Harry taunted.

Standing, Mulder started to walk around his desk, ready to pull the plug on his computer. He was almost behind the computer when he tripped over one of several power cords.

The last thing he heard before striking his head on the floor was Harry's scoffing voice. "Uh-uh-uh, Fox. Play nice . . ." With a loud crack, Mulder's world grew dark.

***

"Mulder? Can you hear me?"

Wearily opening his eyes, Mulder struggled to focus on whoever was standing over him.

"Look at me. Are you okay, Mulder?"

Raising his arms weakly, he muttered. "Stop it Harry. This isn't funny."

Scully took a step back, confused. When she had walked into the office a couple of moments before, she had been surprised when she saw her partner sprawled on the floor behind his desk. It hadn't taken long to see that he had somehow gotten entangled in the cords that littered the floor and tripped.

"Mulder? Who's Harry, Mulder?" She asked, as she helped Mulder to his chair. After sitting him down, she spoke again. "Okay, Mulder. Follow my hand, all right?" She moved her fingers in front of his face, testing his vision. Finding a flashlight, she shined it in his eyes and relaxed when she saw his pupils dilate properly. "Well, I'd say you managed to avoid a concussion."

Scully saw him cast a glance over toward his computer. "Mulder, who's Harry?"

Leaning over, Mulder pressed a key to stop the screen saver, and couldn't believe it when he saw the file Harry had lost. "What?" He asked, when he realized Scully was waiting on an answer.

"Who's Harry?"

Mulder spared another glance at his computer. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you . . ."

fin

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