"A Little Bit of Nostalgia" by Zeke Ramone
an interview with Cassie - January 5, 2004
(spoilers: 6x13 "Big Christmas Plan" & 6x14 "Silent Night")

The holidays are over, the mad rush to the stores is finished, but one writer is kept very busy after the holidays. I caught Cassie after she got out of a writer's meeting, in which she wasn't able to discuss the content, however she was able to take some time to sit with me and have a little chat about the two most recent episodes of "Fox & Rat".

Zeke Ramone: So, how was your holiday?

Cassie: Fine despite a car crash on the way to the airport in which Kristi's car was totaled, I spent my time in Southern Texas, enjoying the nice 80 degree weather. You?

ZR: I was freezing, you don't know how lucky you are.

In "Big Christmas Plan" we see Mulder and Krycek fight like a married couple. What is this all about? Are they hiding something "in the closet", or what?

C: No, they are not hiding anything "in the closet" despite rather vague moments between them concerning their friendship. As an X-Phile, I am a fan of slash relationships, especially that of Mulder and Krycek. Having said that, I can't honestly picture the two of them as lovers - despite their characterization in the world of FRVS where they seem rather... colorful. The moments where they "fight like a married couple" comes from my like of teasing a possibility that they could be lovers because they act that way (though not physically). I want to make it clear that both Mulder and Krycek are straight in FRVS. I have a soft spot in my heart for Krycek and Marita, and Mulder and Diana.

ZR: Diana? As in Diana Fowley?

C: Yes, Diana Fowley.

ZR: I know she's been mentioned in the series before. Will we be seeing her in the future?

C: It's a very likely possibility.(she says with a sly smirk)

ZR: What is your take on the Krycek and Marita relationship?

C: Whew! My take on the Krycek/Marita relationship within the world of FRVS... I'm sure a lot of readers are confused with this one too (meaning I - as a writer - am confused with them somewhat). In FRVS, Krycek and Marita's relationship is clear to Krycek, they are in love. Well at least he knows for sure that he loves her despite some of his more interesting interactions with Scully and Monica. Krycek and Marita have been lovers, but when you ask Marita she denies that they've ever been together. I can assure you they have. In earlier seasons Marita has faced "events" (for lack of a better word) that may seem unchanging to us, but have obviously changed her (her childlike behaviour, selfishness, violent outbursts, jealousy). Despite that behaviour Krycek continues to love her, knowing there remains a warm, loving person somewhere underneath her bitter exterior.

We plan on addressing Marita's issues in the next few seasons. I feel if Marita is "fixed" that she and Krycek could develop a more mature relationship in the series. We have seen them interact maturely in past episodes and will see more of this later this season.

ZR: You mention Marita having a twin sister, Maria, and how she doesn't like her. Will we get a chance to meet her in the future? Also, what factors were involved in deciding to make Marita a twin?

C: You'll definately be seeing Maria in season six in an episode titled "Sleepless In D.C." It's a small scene that shows the nicer side of Marita (it's actually a scene written by Kristi, but is uncredited - until now). The factor that made Kristi and I decide to give Marita a twin is that we wanted to use Maria to show how money has corrupted Marita. You'll see that Maria is homeless and lives on the streets of D.C. How she got there will be brought up in our series later. Maria is the nicer of the two, one could say that Marita is the "evil twin".

ZR: That's all very interesting, and I can't wait to see more about it. Let's move on and talk about "Silent Night". We've known about Skinner and Kim and how they have a relationship growing on the series, and in "Silent Night", the rest of the gang finds out. What triggered this idea to have them in a relationship?

C: Correction, we haven't really stated that Skinner and Kim are officially together... but there have been hints throughout season six and a nod at what was to come in the Paris episode of "European Voyage". Poor Skinner lost his other red-head (Scully) so I thought he'd automatically be attracted to Kim after Scully since she is a red-head too. This relationship is young so I hesitate in discussing it further at this time.

ZR: Out of curiosity, is this what your writer's meeting was about?

C: Nope.

ZR: Ok. So, Doggett's got a pretty animated pet beagle named Buddy. For a dog, he's got a lot of character (covering his eyes with his paws so he won't see his Christmas present, seems to understand English pretty well, etc.) What inspired this?

C: I love dogs. I also happen to think dogs and people are very similar. Perhaps human personality rubs off on dogs (maybe that's why some dogs steal their owners pizza instead of eating their own food). Buddy is a playful pet who cares for his owner. A little spoiler here for our seventh season... we will see a connection that Buddy has to the Syndicate that explains some of his "human" behaviour.

ZR: So, the Syndicate and dogs? Can you discuss it?

C: Not at present.

ZR: Damn! Anyway... "Silent Night" brings a new light to Marita. In the past, she's been a horrible person, and suddenly there is a calming change to her. She realizes she has let her friendships dissolve. She talks about her past with Alex Krycek. I found myself feeling sorry for her. I know many readers out there complain about her off-the-wall attitude. Was there any reason you decided to make her a more likeable character? Did "reader reaction" affect your writing decision for her scene with Robert Alfredo? Basically, what is your take on Marita Covarrubias?

C: Good to see I made you feel sorry for her character. I like doing that with characters after many moments of irrational behaviour. I like to make readers feel sorry for characters who are more or less disliked by the majority, that's the motivating reason to why the "calm Marita" scene was included in "Silent Night". It was also there to show readers that Marita does have a likeable side to her and not to give up on her completely. "Reader reaction" had nothing to do with my decision to include the Marita/Alfredo scene. Looking back over the seasons you can see the change in Marita and I actually think it's safe to say that her erratic behaviour began with the introduction of the Doggett character. It has something to do with her jealousy of the attraction that Doggett and Scully have for each other. Marita is lost and confused with her life right now. Hopefully in future episodes she'll find true happiness.

ZR: I hope so too. Speaking of Doggett and Scully, "Silent Night" seems to be moving towards a relationship between them. What are your thoughts about this? Will we finally see Doggett get brave enough to ask her out in the near future?

C: Ah yes, the Doggett/Scully relationship... "Silent Night" is probably the biggest step we've taken for this relationship. We've been teasing it along for a couple of seasons now and I felt, as did Kristi, that now is a good time to step it up a notch. Though I love the Doggett/Scully relationship, I continue to hesitate in bringing it out in FRVS until I feel my skills as a writer can bring justice to the development of their relationship especially after what they will be going through next season. I think our readers deserve good treatment of something that has been in development since season three. I can only say that the path they will take will only get more difficult and controversial before anything with them is definite. Yes, Doggett will get brave enough to ask her out before the sixth season finale. What happens after that is all a part of what will happen in season seven.

ZR: This is all very intriguing and I know you can't share with me the details.

In my opinion, "Silent Night" is one of your best episodes. It's got great characterization, and tops it all off with a happy ending. What does this episode mean to you? In your words, what is "Silent Night" all about?

C: Thank you. "Silent Night" is about friendship and how important it is to have the ability to have a close friend to talk to when you're down. I think a part of my writing it this way has to do with the fact that I haven't had that "close friend" since I graduated high school six years ago and unfortunately he is horrible at keeping up with emails, so we rarely talk much anymore. I guess "Silent Night" is me remembering how nice it was to have that close friendship that Doggett and Scully share. Though mine wasn't ever a romantic relationship. Nostalgia... I bring up one of the best X-Files episodes, "Beyond The Sea", from season one and I remember my own friendships all in this one episode. So perhaps "Silent Night" is about nostalgia and close friendships.

ZR: Well, thank you for sharing all of this with us. I'm sure your readers are now more intrigued about what's to come as much as I am.

C: I hope they are too.

A special thanks to Cassie for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions. Though I'm still curious about that writer's meeting, but I guess I can't know everything.

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