8x06 "Close To You"
by Kristi

The story for "Close To You" has been in my mind since 1998. Some may think I've taken "Nightmare on Elm Street" and worked the story into "Fox & Rat", but this is not true. I never saw "Nightmare on Elm Street" until a couple years ago, can you believe it?

In 1998 I had this dream, the images of it are still vague in my mind, but I was stabbed in the back by a knife. When I woke up, I felt the pain in my back for a week. Now, whether this was because of the dream or something I did in my sleep, I don't know. But the idea of dreams affecting what physically happens in life intrigued me.

The original story was titled "Träume Süss", which is German for 'sweet dreams'... probably horribly translated too. It was about a young girl who was murdered in her sleep and there were no outside physical evidence. Everything was internal. The story never took off because I didn't feel I had the right agents working the case. Back then it was just Mulder and Scully. And yes, this story was not ever going to be part of "Fox & Rat" Virtual Series, instead it was supposed to be an independent X-Files fan fiction story.

Then came Agent Monica Reyes. She was the perfect agent to fit the story about dreams and mental connections to people. It took a few years, and I never considered it until I sat down with the idea and realized that this was the perfect casefile for her. It not only affected her because of her Gift, but it was also a perfect reason for her to leave the FBI, which was a goal in our eighth season. So "Träume Süss" became "Close To You". Why that title? Because I love the song and the image of the song, in it's loving lyrics, mixed with the dark images of murder was the perfect feeling I wanted for the episode and Monica's connection to the murder.

And that is how "Close To You" became what it is today.

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