So began the fan fiction I dubbed Strange Bedfellows. It was to follow a case in which “Law&Order” met “The X-Files” and show how the characters would react to one another. Created in early 2000, it was the result of ideas I had been kicking around for quite awhile regarding the paranormal. I wondered what Briscoe, Logan, Van Buren, and the rest of the crew would make of a case they could not explain. Further more, how would McCoy react, given the fact that we know he is a skeptic when it comes to anything. Strange Bedfellows was my answer to these questions. Its home was originally my X-Files website, ‘The Basement Office X-Philes’ but when I lost interest in “The X-Files” I started a new site ‘The View From Behind The Desk’ in June 2001. The fanfic found a new home here and a new fan base. At first, I figured that the story would take, at most, a month or two to write. Boy, was I wrong! Here it is three years later and I’m finally putting up the final chapter!
Along the way, many asked why it was taking me so long to write. Well, there are several reasons it took three years. Way back in 2000 when I wrote the first 3 chapters in fairly quick time, I was going on an idea that I had no idea how I would end. After 3, I sputtered out of ideas and decided to take a break to re-think. I considered scrapping the fic at this point but was nagged by E-Mails from readers who had become fans of this story and couldn’t wait for me to write more. I knew that I couldn’t let these people down so I left the story alone with a promise to keep working on it. Not long after, I decided to revise the story I had up so I could connect it to some new ideas I had. With a new, condensed format, I struggled forward.
It was my junior year of high school that year and I was in marching band. We had high hopes for the season but hope was not enough- the show stunk that year. Most of my spare time was spent at sectionals or practicing. And then came September 11. The horrific events of that day made me set aside the trivial matters of fan fiction and work to do my part to help. As if things in 2001 couldn’t get worse, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of that year. Luckily, it was caught in the early stages (Thank God for mamma grams! Get one if you haven’t!!! They save lives!) and doctors were able to stop it by removing the lump and radiation treatments.
Finally, 2001 came to an end and I started getting back to work on my websites. As I looked at my fan fiction I came to a revelation- the way to write was to let the characters tell it. I had so carefully studied the characters that they could, in a sense, tell me what they wanted to do or say. Now, I’m not saying they literally talked to me. I’m saying that knowing what I did of these fictional people I knew pretty well how they would act and how they wouldn’t act. With this knowledge, I went on my way and used dialog to tell most of the story, instead of narration or description. But another problem came up- as I mentioned before, I lost interest in “The X-Files” during the 8th Season as I saw it becoming more and more idiotic. How could I write on something I disliked? The solution I came up with was to once and awhile use Mulder and Scully for comic relief and center the remaining part of the story on the “Law&Order” characters. When Mulder and Scully were used seriously I was basing them on how they were before the 8th Season.
As to different writing styles- I already mentioned that I used mostly dialog to move the story along. In addition to this, I used the direction of the dialog- whether it be McCoy said something or Jack said something- show the mood of that character and relationship to whoever they were talking to. When a character was talking to someone they didn’t know very well I used the last name to signify this. When they were having an emotional conversation or were talking to someone they were friends with, I used first names. The only exceptions to this were Mulder and Scully. Anyone who has watched “The X-Files” knows that they never refer to each other by first names.
I also worked hard not to over-use words like ‘said’ and ‘looked’. This was an easy trap to fall into because of the extensive use of dialog. I had to come up with different ways of describing how a character said something and to direct the reader’s attention to something that the person is seeing or how they were looking in the story. If there is one thing I can’t stand in writing its repetition without reason.
In the end Strange Bedfellows was a test for me. A test to see if I could actually start a fan fiction and finish. Three years later, I’m happy to say I passed this test. Inspired by listening to Metallica, Def Leppard, Weird Al, Celine Dion, The Seatbelts, The Beetles, and who knows what else I tirelessly worked to bring you a fan fiction worthy of the television shows that inspired it. While it has its moments, I think overall it is a good story that is a tribute to what one can do if they have excellent material to work with. It is the product of three years of blood, sweat, and tears and reflects the moods and stages I went through while writing it. This is not only a story about Jack or Scully or Van Buren- this is a story about me. Oh! And for those of you who are wondering where the Briscoe/ Rogers relationship came from- they have a similar sense of humor and I could see them going out. Couldn’t you? Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading Strange Bedfellows as much as I enjoyed writing it. Look forward to seeing you all again in Memories In The Night!
And if you didn’t like it well, as Craig Morgan would say, “Sometimes strange things happen.”
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