Theory and Practice

Fanfiction
Title:	Theory and Practice
Author(s):	Nascent
Date(s):	1999 or before
Length:
Genre:
Fandom:	The X-Files
External Links:	Fugues Fiction Archive
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Theory and Practice is an X-Files story by Nascent.

Summary

"Scully and Mulder investigate mysterious deaths at a biotechnology company and quickly find themselves at odds over a working hypothesis. Oh yeah, and Scully has cancer. Timeline – set between Demons and Gethsemane."

Author's Notes

From a very lengthy acknowledgment:

NOTES:

I’m trying something a little different here.

First, I wanted to write an X-File where something rare and wonderful happens, but I can’t tell you right now what that is without giving away a crucial part of the plot.

Second, this is set after Demons, near the peak of the cancer arc. There’s been a lot of fanfic about this period asserting that Mulder is trying to get Scully to talk about the disease because it’ll be good for them both. I don’t exactly see that in the show, though–Elegy would seem to indicate that they don’t talk about it but that he understands she prefers it that way and respects that. I think the disease _does_ cause problems for their relationship, but it’s something more complex than that, which is what I’ve tried to present here.

Reactions and Reviews

1998

It seems like I was just recommending this author a few months ago. Oh, that's right, I was. Well folks, it should be repeated. I finished Nascent's most recent work, "Theory and Practice", and was literally stunned. This piece contains one of the most beautifully written sections about Scully I've ever read. It's set during the cancer period, so buckle your Angst belts and be on your way.

I honestly don't know what more any fanfic lover could ask for after reading this phenomenal story. It has so much to offer -- a fascinating case file, detail that awed me, characterization so perfect I felt as though I were watching an episode and not reading a story, angst like you wouldn't believe, great secondary characters, and a look at a Mulder and Scully we didn't get to see enough of during the latter part of the fourth season. Yup, this one's a cancer story, and it explores what this "invader" is doing to both Mulder and Scully in a way that the series failed to do. If I could put this story in the hands of every fanfic reader, I would. It's that good! Read it now, and please, please send Nascent feedback. We need more from this extraordinary writer.

... speaking of insider knowledge, that old phrase "write about what you know" has been applied handily by nascent, in her masterpiece, "Theory and Practice." It's a murder/mystery/x-file based on science, and nascent, being in that academic field, writes so with such confidence and conviction that the plot alone is enough to make the story way above average.

But what gives this tale its absolute magic is the interaction between Mulder and Scully, emotion realized and expressed without exclamation marks or capital letters. And yet I dare you to read the last chapter without at least a small catch in your throat. We hear again and again that these people have too much emotional baggage to get together, but how often do we peek inside those bags and really understand where the problems lie? Superficial treatments too often use exposition, an inner monologue or just plain telling us the story: nascent uses interacting dialogue to SHOW us the depth of maturity, love, and strength in our heroes, how they enhance each other through their partnership. BTW--all the main characters, including M and S, have sex in this story, but not in the combinations you might expect.

All this, and more. The heart of the story deals with an uncanny similarity between the scholarly rubric about the classic hostage situation and the M and S dynamic, expressed through "Interludes." Don't skip over these, or think they're just in there as some sort of official sounding dogma. Each small section, placed like an afterthought, has critical bearing on what's going on in the story, to add layer after layer of depth.

Absolutely amazing, nascent. Find her at [email protected], and pat yourself on the back for discovering this author's finest work so far.

1999

Theory and Practice by Nascent, for a gripping case file and angst that never loses its honesty.

2009

Set between Demons and Gethsemane at the height of the cancer arc, it is as much about the emotional impact that Scully's illness is having on their relationship, as it is about the case file itself. Nascent's theory about that impact is unique, but it seems far more consistent with the canon characterizations than many of the stories set during the time frame. While it is not a romance in any conventional sense of the word, let me reassure you, this is a love story. "Theory and Practice" could have been filmed as written, except for the sex scenes, of course. If it had been, it would have been a damn memorable episode. The dialogue is snappy: Mulder sounds like Mulder, Scully sounds like Scully, the original characters sound like real people. Their discussions of the case sound like they could have been lifted from the show. The x-file is truly creepy, and the relationship stuff is interwoven into the plot very deftly. This fic is not as long as you think, which I discovered when I printed it out to read. There is another story, also very good, that is attached to the file. It is called "Insider Trading." You should read it, too. Krycek plays a major role in that one, and so does Skinner.

Holy crap, I just finished reading it and... it pretty much blew my mind. The characterizations girl, guh, they're so spot on! ♥ I love it when I find a story where I can say, 'Wow, that's Mulder!' or 'That IS Scully talking there.' It really could have been a perfect episode of the show (except the sexy tiems, of course. We know how Chris is about those *cough*). The structure of the story in itself is great too--loved the interludes! The way the author treats the cancerarc there is--I have no words. It's just so them, the way they want to talk but without actually doing the talking. Am I making sense? Anyway. The casefile was amazing; it really sounds like something CC and Co would've come up with--or even more brilliant than that, heh. All in all this was definitely a great read. Bookmarking it, and I'm off to read the other story :)

The way the author treats the cancerarc there is--I have no words. It's just so them, the way they want to talk but without actually doing the talking. Am I making sense?

You have no idea how excited I am by this. I now know two (!!) people who have read and loved this story. Because Nascent let her site go down so long ago, and had never archived anything at Gossamer, this story and many of her others are not getting the attention they deserve. Her version of the Mulder/Scully relationship is so much like the series' that it just thrills me to pieces. Finding her fic was like discovering filmed new episodes that had never been broadcast.

Yes. I know exactly what you mean about the way they want to talk without talking. And, yes, the casefile is a real x-file, one whose solution isn't immediately obvious, either. I think it is way better than the average MOTW, in terms of dramatic structure and dialogue and the Mulder/Scully characterization is dead-on. The science even sounded plausible (although Nascent acknowledges in her author's notes where it is and where it--isn't) which means she went to extra trouble to make it sound that way. The themes tie together, too: Scully's cancer as a result of what happened to her at the hands of the Shadow government dovetailing with the tragedy of what happened to the scientist's family. All of the stuff about hostage negotiation throughout the story tying in with the story's climax. My brain is doing a happy dance about the scene between Mulder and Scully at the end, and how it ties in with Gethsemane.

Since you love the story, I would save it to your hard drive. Wayback links often go wonky.

I've only read one story by Nascent before ("Metaromance"), but you're so right: her stories deserve so much more attention! They really are all like new episodes! She's got such an impressive hold on the characters, and knows how to speak through them, and just exactly HOW to make them seem like, well, the real M&S. Plus, the original characters and the situations she puts them through are so real and dinamic. That's something that you don't find easily these days, which makes her website look like a gold mine right now :) I can't wait to get more free time to read the rest of her work!

I'm a pharmacy student, so you can't imagine how much I enjoyed seeing someone with such a grasp on science too (even the whole sonicator thing seemed plausible! Goes to show how much research Nascent made for the story). All those notes at the end were very interesting too. .... And the last scene with M&S! I love how Mulder didn't let her say what she was going to say (even if my little shipper heart suffered a bit for it, lol). It makes the whole story work so perfectly within canon! Gosh, how I wish this could have been made into an episode :3

Thanks! I've been saving a lot of my favorite fics lately, since the problems with Geocities and everything. You never really know when the links are going to go all wonky on you.

Hey, it was great! I loved their relationship, and though at first I didn't like the interludes too much (I started digging them like at the middle of the first one) at the end I thought they were a very good idea.

The biology student in me loved the science to pieces, and I don't know why since obviously it was all invented. Well, I do know why, it was because I could tell that the people inventing them knew what they were doing. :D

I loved the secondary characters, though the sex felt a little tacked on. I mean, both in the same night? But in general, I felt all the charatcters in the background were very well done.

It's impressive that it feels like an episode; more than that, it would've made a good episode. Particularly the beginning with the music and the attack, it really has the X-Files feel, you know? It also made me giggle a little.

The science geek in me loved the science parts, too, for exactly the same reasons. I also thought it was neat that this seemed like an episode, even to the point of having a music sound track and the teaser. Re: the sex scenes. I didn't think they were tacked on. Instead, I thought they were a necessary and logical progression of obvious emotional distress that Mulder and Scully were both in over her recent biopsy. I also thought they showed the reader how in synch they were, too, in that they were both trying to defuse at the same time and in the exact same way. It also forces them to begin to deal with their feelings for each other, leading to the scene on the cliff. Without that catalyst, their relationship talk never would have happened, that's how I see it, anyway. The after-sex talking scene with Mulder and Anna let us get into Mulder's head to see how he is dealing (badly!) with his emotions about Scully's cancer, much in the same way that the scene with the social worker in Elegy allows us to see how Scully is doing. This is not something that would necessarily work for me in any other fic or in any other time during the series. That window of time between Demons and Gethsemane is just crying out for something like this, and I think Nascent pulled it off very well.

That was fantastic. I couldn't put it down, so to speak.

The only thing by Nascent I'd read before was 'Said the Spider to the Fly' which was... a bit different to this.

This absolutely could have been an episode- the case was genuinely intriguing, dissolving people felt completely in line with the canonical creepiness of Them, the science had me convinced (but since I haven't studied any apart from Maths since I was sixteen that doesn't take much), and the Mulder-Scully interaction was spot on. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the sex- I can definitely see how it works for the plot, and the scene with Mulder and Anna afterwards is really great, but it still didn't sit entirely right with me. Maybe I am just in a heightened state of shippyness at the moment; I could go and watch Never Again to see if I like it a bit less or something...

That said, part of me really loves that this is an NC-17 MSR story where there is no actual sex between Mulder and Scully. That should win some points somewhere.

Anyway, I'll definitely be going back and reading some more of her stuff once I have the time (and saving some of it; I really need to get into that habit).

Set between Demons and Gethsemane, at the height of the cancer arc, “Theory and Practice” is as much about the emotional impact that Scully’s illness is having on their relationship, as it is about the case file itself. Nascent’s theory about that impact is unique, but it seems far more consistent with canon than most fic set during the same period. While it is not a romance in any conventional sense of the word, let me reassure you, this is a love story.

“Theory and Practice” could have been filmed as written, except for the sex scenes, of course. If it had been, it would have been a memorable episode. The dialogue is witty and crisply written. Mulder sounds like Mulder, Scully sounds like Scully, the original characters sound like real people. Their discussions of the case could have been lifted from the show. The X-file is scarier and better plotted than most episodes.

In part, I love this story because I empathize so much with Mulder in his role as the reluctant confidant, wanting to hear the truth about her illness but fearing it as well. They are both afraid, and I know exactly what that feels like.

2016

I don’t like most cancer arc fic for the same reason I don’t like most hurt/comfort stories: unless the illness/injury is canon, they feel contrived, created to further the romance between the chosen pairing. Cancer fic has another, different strike against it. I’m an RN who spent most of my career taking care of cancer patients, and most writers get it wrong (including the scriptwriters). However, there is one story I can recommend without reservation: “Isometry” by syntax6. She gets the details of Scully’s illness right, she gets the characterizations right, she even creates a believable romance for Mulder and Scully. The story slots perfectly into canon, apart from the sex, of course.

If today’s fic rec isn’t on your must-read list, you might want to consider updating your list. It’s an incredibly well-written, scintillating casefile, which should be enough in and of itself to rope you in. But when you add a little cancer arc, a few incredibly well-rounded original characters (beware, here be some /Other that may or may not resolve into MSR…but spoiler alert, we love /Other that resolves into MSR), MSR from an outsider’s perspective and a LOT of angst, you’ve got one helluva good fic on your hands.