She Mends Me: Part 7

9:40 AM: Scully knocked on the door as it opened in front of her. She smirked a little bit as a smiling Reyes finished opening the door. "What's up?" she asked, smiling herself.

Reyes smiled again, then quickly closed the door, reached around Scully's torso and hastily pulled her into an extra tight embrace.

"Oh my. Will I always get this kind of welcome?" Scully teased as she leaned in, wrapping her arms around her and squeezing her extra tight herself.

"Umhum. Always," Reyes whispered. "Well. I mean, at least when we're alone."

"Well, hah. I know that," Scully said chuckling. ...God, you're so cute...

Reyes held her close for a few more moments, knowing that they did not have much time, then leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips before letting her go.

Scully looked up, wondering why she had let go of her so suddenly. And especially why all she had gotten was a wee, teensy-weensy, tiny little kiss on the lips. She wanted a little bit more of a kiss than that. A lot more.

Reyes cocked an eyebrow in response. "I'm sorry but... there's something I need to do."

"Oh. Okay. Well, um... By the way. Did you already pack up the BP Unit? I really needed to get another read."

"Oh. Yes, I did. Is that a problem?"

"No. I think you're okay."

Reyes snickered. "You think I'm okay? You're not sure? After what we...? Oh Lord," she chuckled.

Scully chuckled as well.

"Dana. I think I'm okay. And I doubt you're gonna get a very accurate read anytime soon anyway," she teased as she headed for the little table where they had sat for most of the night last night, and into the wee hours of the morning.

"Oh really? And why is that?" Scully teased back.

"Well. If you don't know, I'm not gonna break the news to you," Reyes replied chuckling.

Scully continued to chuckle herself as Reyes motioned for her to come on over to the little table with her and sit down. She obliged and walked on over to the little table, too. "What are you...? What's this about?" she asked as she pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. She could smell something strong in the air. ...What is...?...Oh God... It was the scent of Tiger Balm. ...Ohhh... Don't remind me...

"Dana, I, we need to do this for your hands, okay? So they'll heal more quickly and... And I don't want to upset you or anything. But..." Reyes hesitated as she pulled the little jar of Tiger Balm out of her pocket and quickly reopened it.

Scully nodded. Her expression had already begun to change.

...Oh Dana. Honey, don't be mad at me. It's for your own good... Reyes mused as she reached up and lightly ran her thumb along Scully's cheek for a moment.

Scully closed her eyes in response.

"Hey," Reyes whispered as she leaned over and lightly kissed her on the cheek.

Scully opened her eyes and smiled.

Reyes smiled in return, then leaned in again and lightly kissed her on the lips.

"Umm," Scully gutturally groaned, then reached up and cupped Reyes' neck with her palm, pulling her in for one more nice, little velvety soft kiss on the lips, before the inevitable.

Reyes obliged, then clasped Scully's hand, leaning back in her chair, and smiled. She then began to closely scrutinize Scully's hand and knuckles, pleasantly surprised with her findings. Actually, they looked much better than she had expected. They were healing quite nicely. Undoubtedly, the Tiger Balm had helped quite a bit last night.

She continued to closely examine Scully's hand, almost as a medical doctor would do, Scully had noticed. ...Amazing... But then again, Scully needed to remember that Reyes was a martial artist. And martial artists were use to these types of injuries, and learning out to decipher the magnitude of the injury, and then determining the best approach it would take to advance the healing process.

"Monica. I know we don't have enough time right now but..." Scully hesitated as she continued to watch Reyes study her knuckles.

"I know."

Scully bit at her lower lip. "You know what?"

Reyes inhaled deeply, sighed, and then scooped up a small amount of Tiger Balm out of the little jar. "I know that... that you want to... ask me about... your hands," she said. And she had stammered around and hesitated as well. She then began to lightly massage the Tiger Balm into Scully's knuckles.

Scully looked away closing her eyes.

Reyes glanced up at her for a moment, then back down to her task.

Scully mournfully sighed, then lifted her face up towards the ceiling, keeping her eyes closed. She inhaled deeply, then heavily sighed again.

Reyes glanced back up, watching her, as she continued to rub the Tiger Balm into her knuckles. What could she say? There was nothing to say. All she could do was try to help heal the damage that had been done last night, not only to Scully's knuckles and hands, but to Scully's very soul.

Scully inhaled deeply again, twisting in her seat a little bit, then opened her eyes yet again to meet Reyes'. "How much do you remember?" she finally asked.

Reyes closed her eyes for a moment, swallowing hard, then asked, "About what, specifically?"

"Last night."

Reyes finished rubbing all of the liniment into Scully's knuckles and hand, then scooped another small amount of Tiger Balm out of the little jar. She glanced up and raised an eyebrow.

Scully snickered a little bit, glanced down and then handed her her other hand.

Reyes smiled again, then asked, "Which part of last night? I mean... last night was a rather eventful night."

Scully smirked. ...No shit... she could hear Reyes say inside of her head. She smirked again. "Well. Okay. Since you want to play hardball..."

"Dana..." Reyes stopped her ministrations for a moment. "I don't play games. Sometimes I may be too impulsive or... or act without thinking but... Dana... Honestly... I don't play games."

Scully had cocked an eyebrow at Reyes' firm tone of voice. ...Okay... She sat there for a moment watching her.

Reyes smiled slightly, then glanced back down at Scully's hand as she continued to rub the Tiger Balm into her knuckles.

Scully inhaled deeply, then sighed again. She then cocked her eyebrow at her one more time as Reyes continued to rub the liniment into her knuckles. "Okay. Then... let's start with the compound," she said.

Reyes nibbled on her lower lip for a moment. "I um... I remember most everything, I would imagine," she replied, then looked back up at Scully locking eyes with her yet again. "I... I remember... how much I... I wanted to..." she suddenly hesitated. Her eyes began to flood with unshed tears. She swallowed hard regaining control of her emotions.

Scully's lower lip had dropped a little in response to the wave of emotion Reyes was obviously feeling, along with her own tidal wave of emotion.

"I... um... What do you want to know?" Reyes finally responded again.

Scully sat for a moment silent. "Everything," she replied.

Reyes stopped her ministrations along Scully's hand and knuckles. She had finished her task. She felt around for a moment, found the top to the Tiger Balm jar, then closed up the little jar, never once taking her eyes away from Scully's. She then began to nod. "Okay. That's going to take some time," she said.

Scully began to nod as well, never taking her eyes away from Reyes'. "I know," she responded, full of dread.

They sat there for a few moments in silence, never taking their eyes away from each other.

Reyes then reached up and ran her hand along the side of Scully's face, running her thumb along the edge of Scully's cheek, unshed tears beginning to flood her eyes all over again.

Scully swallowed hard at the visible outpouring of emotion she could see coming from Reyes, as well as the invisible outpouring of emotion that she could feel coming from Reyes' very heart and soul, stirring around within her own. ...Oh God... What did I do?... What happened last night to make you so...?...

..."I love you, Dana."...

Scully furrowed her brow. She could have sworn on a stack of Bibles that she had just heard Reyes' voice inside of her head say that she ...No. No. No. Don't. Don't say that. Don't you dare say that to me!... she thought.

Reyes suddenly glanced away, breaking the intimate eye contact, breaking the inner-link, and, ultimately, breaking the very moment that would change Scully's life forever.

...Peck. Peck. Peck...

They both jumped a little bit from the knock on the door. Reyes glanced at the clock while Scully glanced at her watch. 9:45 AM. It was not quite time. But then again, it would appear that their time had just run out.

Reyes got up from the little table and walked over to the door, then, suddenly, turned back around and locked eyes with Scully. "Just a minute," she called out to whoever was at the door. Scully watched her as she came back over to the little table, then put her arms around her shoulders, leaned down, brushing her hair to the side, and lightly kissed her along the back of the neck.

"Umm," Scully gutturally groaned in response as she clasped Reyes' arms and hugged them even more tightly against her body.

"We'll talk about it tonight, okay?" Reyes whispered softly into her ear, just before they both let go.

Scully nodded as she grabbed the little jar of Tiger Balm off the table and began to push her chair out.

Reyes helped to pull her chair the rest of the way out, then pulled her into another warm embrace as she stood up.

"Oh Moni. God, I... I'm so afraid of... of what I... of what happened last night," she mumbled as a few tears began to roll down her cheeks from all of her pent-up emotions.

"Shhh. It's okay," Reyes soothed as she held her even more securely in her arms.

"Agent Reyes?" Skinner called from outside the door.

They both jumped again at the sound of his voice as they let go of each other.

"Oh honey. It's okay. I promise," Reyes whispered, hoping to sooth her soul, as she grabbed on to her and hugged her real tight again for just a moment.

Scully latched on to her warm protective embrace.

Then, after another few seconds, they both let go again.

...Peck. Peck. Peck...

...Damn!... It was not quite time yet, not 9:50 anyway. ...Shit!... "Hang on," Reyes responded again to the knock. They were obviously out of time. And they knew it. She then leaned down and kissed Scully on the forehead as she rubbed a few stray tears away with her thumbs. "Honey," she whispered.

"I know," Scully responded, quite dejected indeed.

Reyes sighed, then walked over to the door glancing back and raising an eyebrow questioningly at Scully. She wanted to make sure that Scully was ready for her to open the door. And if she were not then, well, Skinner would just have to wait. But, Scully nodded. Reyes nodded in return, then double-winked at her, as only she could, just before opening the door.

"Wait," Scully whispered suddenly.

Reyes instantly stopped and turned around to face her.

Scully immediately ran over to her closing the distance between them.

"What?" Reyes whispered back.

"I... I need..." Scully whimpered, then suddenly reached up, cupping Reyes' face with her palms, and pulled her down for another soft, sweet velvety kiss on the lips.

"Um," Reyes whimpered in response as she pulled her in close, tightening her arms around her, then feathered her fingers through her hair.

"Um, umm, ummm," they both began to whimper, a little more loudly each time, as the intimate kiss began to rapidly deepen, their tongues beginning to dance, and push, and thrust together, entering and reentering each other's mouths, deeper, and deeper, and deeper still, as they both felt themselves begin to go weak in the knees.

"You two about ready?" Skinner asked through the closed door.

...Fuck!... They both jumped again at the sound of his voice as they both abruptly broke off the incredibly passionate and heated kiss. They both continued to stare at each other for a moment, breathing heavily.

Reyes smiled, swallowing hard, then cocked an eyebrow. ...Damn, woman! What a kiss! Holy shit!... she mused.

Scully smiled, too, through her heavy breaths, then closed her eyes and nodded, trying to regain some element of composure herself before Reyes opened the God-forsaken door.

"You sure?" Reyes whispered, still lightly panting and holding her palm over her chest. Her heart was about to beat so fast she thought it would just jump right out of there and onto the floor between them.

Scully smiled as she reached up and placed her palm over Reyes' hand for a moment. ...Ohhh... Did I do that?... She smiled again, interlacing her fingers and locking thumbs with Reyes' hand. ...Ohhh... She could practically feel Reyes' heart beating so fast it was practically trying to jump right out of there and onto the floor between them herself. She smiled again, still lightly panting herself. "No. But... We don't have a choice now, do we?" she whispered as she let go of Reyes' hand, then turned away and headed for her overnight bag.

"Oh my goodness," Reyes whispered to no one in particular as she took another deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, tussled her hair, and then finally opened the frickin' door.

"You two about ready to go?" Skinner asked again as she opened the door.

"Um. No, actually. I um... Could we have a couple more minutes?" she asked, frustrated.

Skinner wrinkled his forehead in surprise. "Okay. Well. Give me your room keys then. And I'll go ahead and..." he shrugged.

"Okay. That sounds good," Reyes said as she turned around to face Scully. "Honey, do you..." she immediately stopped her question. ...Oh my God... Her heart fell to the floor. There was no way in the world that Skinner had not heard what she had just said. And she knew it. The look on Reyes' face as Scully took over and walked on up to the door, two motel room keys in hand.

Scully reached out through the door to Skinner's waiting hand. "Here. Give us... give me a little more time, could you? Five minutes?" she asked as she handed him the two room keys. Reyes had walked back farther into the room.

"Sure. I'm a little early anyway so... I'll just... check you two out, and... um... And..." ...Oh. That was good... He could almost chuckle if the situation had not felt so tense.

Scully nodded, then barely smiled.

Skinner smiled, too, then noticed Scully's eyes beginning to water up yet again with unshed tears. ...Ohhh. Something's wrong. And I just interrupted it... he quickly realized. And then he very hastily realized that the very best thing he could ever do for Scully right now was to go on his way, and leave her in Reyes' very capable hands. So he took the two room keys from her hand, turned around, and went on his way, while Scully closed the door behind her.

"God, Dana. Did I just royally fuck up or what?" Reyes said.

"No. No problem. I'm not even sure if he heard you."

"Yeah, but... God, I hope not, I... Geez, I can't believe I did that."

"Well... Baby..." Scully glanced up making eye contact. "I've been calling you 'baby' for so long now, I can hardly remember a time..." She suddenly burst into tears.

"Oh honey, shhh," Reyes instantly grabbed on to her.

Scully began to tremble from all of her pent-up emotions. "I, Moni... I... I'm so afraid. I... Wh...? What happened to me last night?" she mumbled through her tears.

"Shhh, honey... you just, you're grieving. And sometimes the pain is so severe and so devastating that it... it... Well... it just takes over and... and sometimes we don't remember. But, baby, that's not a bad thing, okay? It's not a bad thing. It's just your mind, and your body, trying to protect you from such horrible memories. And Dana... honey, you're just going through too much right now and... and so your mind and your body are having to sort through it all and... and figure out what's best for you, okay? And... oh Dana... it's all right... I promise. Just trust in your body and soul right now, okay?" Reyes soothed.

Scully nodded as she desperately held on to her.

Then, suddenly, Reyes turned, reaching down with an arm and tucking it in underneath Scully's knees, and then in one fluid motion instantly pulled her up off the floor and into her arms, as she began to carry her back over to the bed.

"Whoa! What are you...?" Scully responded. ...Wow!... She had never been carried anywhere by a woman before.

"It's okay. Just gonna get us a little more comfortable. That's all," Reyes said as she set her down on the edge of the bed, then knelt down to her knees to face her. "Come here," she said as Scully instantly leaned into her waiting arms.

Scully then began to fitfully cry all over again.

"Oh, shhh, baby, I'm sorry. I... I thought I was doing the right thing and..."

"What?" Scully whimpered through her sobs.

"Your hands. All I wanted to do was take care of your hands. But I made a mistake. I mean, look at you now. Look what I've done. I..."

Scully continued to cry into Reyes' neck and chest as she listened to the beginnings of Reyes' tender little apology. "Shush... Needed it... Need this," she mumbled through her tears.

Reyes squeezed her real tight, then leaned away and gently took Scully's face into her hands, and then carefully pulled her face up and gently kissed her on the lips.

"Um," Scully whimpered through her tears in response to the gentle little kiss.

Reyes then began to shower her with tender little wet kisses all over her cheeks, and eyelids, and eyebrows, and then back down along her lips, and then back up along her cheeks, and eyelids, and eyebrows, gently and tenderly kissing all of the falling tears away.

"Oh," Scully lightly whimpered in response to all of Reyes' tender little wet kisses.

After a few moments Reyes finally slowed down her gentle and easy onslaught, kissed Scully one more time, deeply on the lips, then rested her head back down along her shoulder as she feathered her fingers all through her hair. ...God, I love you, Dana. I know you don't want to hear that, but... God, I love you... God, Dana, I do... she mused.

Scully suddenly stopped crying, for no apparent reason. She glanced back up, basking in the very nice and wonderful feel of Reyes' ever-protective arms surrounding her. She smiled as she gazed into Reyes' eyes, then sighed, a very contented sigh. "God, Moni," she whimpered. And that was all she could say for now, for she was just so overwhelmed with emotion. And how could she not fall head-over-hills-in-love with this woman? After this woman had just showered her with all of those sweet and tender little wet kisses? Well. She couldn't. For she was.

Reyes continued to hold her, ever so protectively close, as Scully just collapsed her body more deeply into her embrace. Scully was so very fragile again. And Reyes knew what had caused it - her pulling the little jar of Tiger Balm out and massaging Scully's injured knuckles and hands. That along with Scully's memories - or rather lack of memories - as to what all had actually happened out there at that God-forsaken compound last night. But, later tonight, when they had more time, much more time, and hopefully, much more needed time without any more annoyingly frustrating interruptions, they would be able to talk about it. And Reyes would tell her what she wanted to know, somehow, without adding any more fuel to Scully's distress. ...Yeah, right... she thought. Now how in the hell was she going to pull that off? And not add any more fuel to the raging fire of Scully's devastatingly painful and agonizing distress? "Um," she lightly groaned in response to her own growing discomfort. Her gut was already feeling the stress. And her tummy hurt.

9:52 AM: Skinner glanced over at Scully for the umpteenth time it seemed. He was concerned, deeply concerned. He had never seen Scully so emotionally fragile and weak in all of her years of service with the FBI. And, he had to admit, Reyes seemed to be the only one that could reach her, and keep her semi-together right now. But, what was going to happen after Reyes went back home to New Orleans? And, had Scully and Reyes actually crossed a fine-line? And done something that would probably end up hurting them both even more, than if they had never crossed that fine-line in the first place? ...And then what?... Skinner thought, rather frustrated for his friend. He really didn't care if Scully and Reyes had fucked each other's brains out all night last night, for it was really none of his business. But then he knew better than that anyway. He knew the odds of that actually happening, between two fine conscientious federal agents, was pretty slim. And besides, Reyes had been too damn sick to be up for much of anything that required much physical excursion at all last night anyway. So. ...And she had been so cute and knocked out on her ass... All that pumping and getting fucked up... He grinned, in spite of himself, at the cute little memory. But then again, there had been no doubt in his mind what he had heard come out of Reyes' mouth just a few minutes ago. She had most definitely called Scully "honey". But then that was not necessarily a telltale sign of anything out of the ordinary. No. Many women used that term towards another woman when one was so upset. And Scully had been very upset. And she was still upset for that matter, although she was doing a very good job of hiding it. He glanced over at her again. He was concerned, deeply concerned, about his special agent and friend, Dana Scully. And he'd give just about anything if Reyes could hang around for several more days and help her through all that she was going through. He was not so sure how Reyes did it, but Reyes obviously had a gift, when it came to Scully. Scully had never reached out to anyone ever - that he was aware of anyway - as quickly and completely as she had to Reyes. And in some ways, she had not even reached out like that to Mulder. She never allowed Mulder to show the affection towards her that she allowed Reyes to show. But then again, Scully and Mulder had to think about their careers, and the "sexual harassment" issues, and all of that sort of thing, whereas, Scully and Reyes did not. Well, they did. But two women together, showing a lot of affection towards one another, was not something that sent up a red flag, compared to two men, or even a man and a woman, for that matter, showing the same kind of affection towards one another. And that could make a big difference. A huge difference, indeed.

He glanced back over at her again. "How you doing this morning?" he finally asked breaking into the silence.

Scully sighed. "Oh. I don't know," she mumbled.

...Well... At least she's being honest... he thought. "So... How's Reyes?" he asked.

Scully smiled almost immediately. Her reaction had not gone unnoticed. "She's okay," she said.

"Yeah? No more pumping?"

Scully began to giggle. "She's never gonna live that one down."

Skinner began to chuckle as well. "Did you tell her?"

"No. She hasn't a clue."

"How do you think she'd react if I teased her about it?"

"Oh wow, I don't know. She might... wow... there's no telling," she said as she began to shake her head at the memory of Reyes telling him that she had been pumping her "all night long with something" and that she was "so fucked up right now" she couldn't think straight. She giggled again.

"Well? Should I? I mean I want her to feel like a part of the team, you know?"

...Well that ought to do it... Scully thought through her giggles.

"You know, it really bothered me last night what you told me, about her not feeling like she could call me or ask me for some help. That really bothered..."

"Oh, no, I... I'm not completely sure about that, I... I was just... I don't know, I don't... Maybe you just need to ask her why she didn't call you or Doggett... She um... she's pretty honest with how she feels about something, and going ahead and telling someone. You just might have to coax her a little bit." ...And since when did I become the expert on how to coax Special Agent Monica Reyes?... Scully smiled at the thought.

Skinner nodded. "Well. I still want to talk to her about it and tell her that she was a God-send with this case. I guess I need to say something to Doggett about it, too. It kinda pissed me off at first but... after I..."

"Yeah, I know. Me, too. He should've at least asked us. Or told us about bringing her in on the case," Scully agreed as she glanced out the window for a moment. "But... on the other hand... if he had, I probably would have been so angry with him, I... I doubt that I'd have even..." she hesitated. ...Oh wow... I'd have never even given you the time of day, now would I?... And you knew that, too, didn't you?... Oh God, Monica. I'm sorry... Scully's heart ached at the thought and the memory of some of Reyes' earlier ramblings.

Skinner glanced back over to her noticing the troubled look in her eyes. "What?" he asked.

Scully just swallowed real hard and shook her head.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Oh my," Scully sighed, in spite of herself, closing her eyes and placing her face in her palm. ...Oh God, I more than like her... Way more... she thought, then nodded, as she felt more tears begin to surface. She swallowed hard regaining control of her very fragile emotions. "Yeah," she barely mumbled.

Skinner glanced up in the rear-view mirror. He looked at Doggett, then over at Reyes. ...Yep. She's not bad to look at, Agent Doggett. I'd have to agree with you there... he thought, then glanced back over at Scully. ...And neither is this one. And neither one of them seems to need us "knights in shining armor, coming to the rescue" either... Ain't life a bitch... He smiled, in spite of himself. "Oh. Before I forget," he said as he reached down in his shirt pocket and pulled out a little piece of paper. "Here. Reyes' motel confirmation."

"Oh. Okay," Scully said as she took the little piece of paper from his hand and quickly read it. "Georgetown? The Suites?"

"Yeah. I thought that would be handy."

"Yeah. Great," she said as she shoved it down into her pants pocket.

They rode along in silence for a few more seconds.

"Skinner? Do you know what time...? What time did we...? Did you...? Did they find... Mulder?"

He glanced back over at Scully. "Um. I think it was around 6:30, 7:00? Something like that."

"Can you remember for sure?"

"Well. Let me think. I glanced at my watch just as we reentered the compound. And that was around 6:40. But, I'm not positive. I'd have to look at the report. Why?"

"And what time did Reyes and I actually leave... for the motel?"

"Whoa. Hum. Let me think. Let's see. Wasn't it around 8:30 or so? What time did you two enter the ER? That should give you a ball-park figure."

"Hum. Yeah. That's about right. 6:40, 6:45. Maybe 7:00, at the latest. Then around 8:30," she said, as she thought out loud. ...Oh God. An hour? Hour and a half? And I can't remember? How in the hell can I not remember? How could I just lose an hour and a half of my life?!... she mused.

"Why?" Skinner asked again. Scully had begun to breathe a little more heavily. He glanced back over at her. She had placed her face in her palms, hiding the fresh new tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "Scully?" he said again, concern in his tone.

"God, Skinner, God! I don't... I can't remember!" she whimpered through her tears.

"You can't remember what? What are you talking about?" he said furrowing his brow.

"The compound. I don't, I can't... Oh God." She sounded so tormented.

"Well. What does Reyes say? I mean, she was there the whole time."

Scully began to full out cry. "I know and... and thank God she was there."

"Well. Have you two talked about it? I mean, does she know that you...?"

"Yes. Yes, and she... Oh God, I did something. I just know I..." ...I hurt her... Oh God, I hurt you... I think I hurt you with my fists. God! I did, I think I did! I did, didn't I? Oh God! Why can I not remember?! Oh God, please! Help me! Help me remember! Please!... Scully's thoughts kept rolling around inside of her head.

"What are you talking about?" Skinner asked as he reached over and began to massage her shoulder.

Scully began to shake her head. "I can't... I just... I can't," she whimpered continuing to cry.

"Well. Whatever it is, you need to talk to her," he said growing more concerned at Scully's outburst of emotion.

"I know. She knows," she said, swallowing hard and trying to make an effort to get her fresh new tears and emotions back under control.

9:57 AM: Doggett glanced back over at Reyes for the umpteenth time it seemed. His ole buddy, Agent Reyes, was being awfully quiet this morning. Usually, she would be talking his ear off about the latest things happening in her life, and, too, asking him all about the latest things happening in his life as well. And this was the first time they had had any time together alone in several months. And that last case they had been on together had gone down so quickly that they had not had any time to really catch up. And now, here they were, alone, with no one else around to be concerned about. And yet she was so distant, so quiet, and so lost in thought. Needless to say, Doggett was concerned about his ole buddy, Agent Reyes.

He glanced back over to her again. "You awfully quiet over there," he finally said. "You feelin' all right?"

Reyes smiled as she turned to glance over at him. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just tired," she said.

"You scared the hell out of me last night."

"I did?" she teased rather playfully.

"Reyes. Now that ain't nothin' to be jokin' about. Crap! You're lucky! My wife 'bout died from that! And you..."

"Um, I remember. It happened just after..." she hesitated. ...Luke... Doggett's ex-wife had almost mourned herself literally to death after her son's passing. The guilt and remorse had been almost more than she could bear. And Reyes had stepped in one night to help. And soon after that, Doggett's marriage was on the rocks. And Doggett and his wife had separated. And Reyes had again stepped in to try to help. And she had tried to intervene, and help them save their marriage. But Barbara Doggett had been a very stubborn woman. She was almost as stubborn as her husband, John. And that had been the downfall to their marriage. Neither was willing to give in just a little, and try to save what they both truly wanted. But, that's for another time and another story.

Reyes then reached over and clasped his hand for a moment. "So. What about you big guy? How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm aw right," he mumbled as he pulled his hand back. He was just not comfortable with Reyes' spontaneous shows of affection. At least not all the time anyway.

Reyes smiled. She knew him. She knew him better than probably anyone else on this earth, except maybe his ex-wife. And in very recent years, she knew him probably even better than her. And she knew that he was coping with his own emotions in his typical Doggett-style, just stuff it, ignore it, and be the tough guy.

"John. I know it brought back..."

"Reyes?"

"Okay, but... John... You know that if you ever need to talk about it or... Well... You know I'm here for you... Always," she said, then reached back over and lightly stroked the top of his hand.

"Cut it out will you? You know I ain't no good at that kinda stuff," he said as he squirmed a little bit in his seat.

She giggled. Some things never changed. "John. Do you mind if I light one up? I'll roll the window down."

"Oh hell. You know you don't have to ask me that. Crap. Go ahead."

...Thank God... she thought as she pulled her pack of Morley Lights out of her coat-pocket and began to light one up. She had needed a quick little smoke for hours.

"Thought you were tryin' to quit," he commented.

"I am."

Doggett nodded chuckling.

"So. Tell me about DC. Are you liking it any better?" she asked.

"Naw."

"Why?"

"Scully. She hates my guts."

"What? John. No, she doesn't."

"Shit. And whadda you know?"

"I know her well enough to know that she doesn't hate anybody. That's not who she is."

"Bull shit."

"John. She doesn't hate you. She just, she's frustrated with everything she's been through. And now? Losing her partner? My God!"

"But she don't trust me."

"Well. I think she does as much as she can. But John..." she hesitated. "What happened last night? Hum?... What happened?... You tell me what happened to Agent Mulder," she said.

"Look. I don't believe in all that crap. I ain't never gonna believe in it. All that 'little green men' and 'alien' bull shit. Ain't no way. There's gotta be another explanation."

Reyes shook her head, sucking on her lower lip, in response. "Okay, I'm not going to argue with you about it but, that's partly what's keeping Dana from trusting you completely. And John, damn!... Now come on. Think!... She's a scientist herself for Godsakes. A forensic scientist, a trained medical doctor. Now don't you think she would approach just about anything from a scientific forensics-pathologist prospective? And yet...?"

"Bull shit."

"Okay... whew..." she sighed. ...Umm. Some things just never change... she thought as she sucked a nice long drag from her cigarette, then blew it out the car window. ...Um, um, um... Time to shut the fuck up... she mused. "Well. At least think about this," she tried again.

"I'm done thinkin'."

Reyes snorted, then they both began to laugh. "No, seriously now," she said. "Think about this. She's trusting you to escort Agent Mulder's remains all the way back from this airport to Raleigh, North Carolina, right? And, from what I understand, you'll be stopping through Quantico. And yet she's trusting you to protect him from a medical autopsy and Kersh and... Hell! The entire friggin' FBI from what I understand! They want to cut him all up and... Good God, John! Now that's trust, ultimate trust!"

"Well... I ain't thought about it like that."

"Well then, think about it!" she said.

Doggett snickered a little bit, then after a few more moments, said, "I knew you were good for somethin'."

"Oh. Just something? And what something is that?" she teased, then sucked in another long drag off her cigarette.

"Makin' me think and... Givin' me birthday presents," he said, then glanced back over at her again and winked.

Reyes giggled again. ...Ohhh... "I take it you liked it?"

Doggett glanced back over at her and winked again. He wasn't going to say quite yet.

Reyes giggled again. "So... I take it you haven't had any in a while?" she teased him.

"Oh crap."

"Have you used it?"

"Reyes."

"Well? I hear it works great."

Reyes had bought him a nice little present for his last birthday to help with some of those lonely nights. It was made out of silicone, and was actually shaped very similar to a woman's genitals - nice folds and inner lips with a nice little love button and everything on top. And it even had a nice little G-Spot simulation on the inside. And not only that, it would heat up to one's body temperature in no time. And from what she had heard, and observed on occasion, it was almost as good as the real thing for a guy's manliness and an unrelenting erection. It was a very fun little toy, to say the least.

"I think I broke it," he finally replied.

Reyes cracked up laughing. "Already? Ohhh. Poor baby," she responded as she continued to laugh.

"What about you? Got anybody yet?"

...Oh God... She glanced up at the car in front of them. She could barely see Scully's pretty little red auburn-haired head above the headrest. ...Ohhh... She took another nice long drag off her cigarette, held it for a moment, then blew it out the window. "Nope. Not really. I've started seeing somebody, but..."

"Oh yeah?" Doggett replied, glad to hear it. She had been alone for a very long time. And he was glad to hear that she had finally stepped out and begun to circulate again.

"Yeah, but..."

"How long?"

She furrowed her brow for a moment in thought. "Hum. Not long. Maybe 3 months but, we didn't do anything until about month ago."

...What?! Poor kid. Probably had his plumbin' all stopped up... Doggett smirked, then said, "You're amazin'."

"What?"

"You're a rare breed, Reyes."

"Why?"

"Most people are gonna jump in bed together before they even know each other's last name."

Reyes smirked. That was true. "Yeah, well, that's not who I am. And you know that."

"Yeah, I know. But you get too emotionally involved."

"Hah. Well you're one to talk," she said a little defensively. Doggett was still not over his ex-wife. And she knew it.

"Aw now, I didn't mean... I think it's great."

Reyes smirked again. ...Yeah, right... Until it rips my heart inside out...

"So. What's his name?"

"Eric. Eric Mason."

"So, think you two'll get serious?"

She glanced back up at the car in front of them. "Nope," she said as she took another nice long drag from her cigarette.

"Why not?"

She took another nice long drag from her cigarette. "Because... he's not the one, you know?"

"Ah now," Doggett replied glancing back over at her. "And howdiya know that?"

"John... You just know, you know?... You know it in your heart."

Doggett shook his head. ...You and that soul-mate crap... "So what are ya gonna do about it?" he asked.

"End it."

"Really?" Doggett said, surprised at that.

"Yep."

"Just like that?"

"Yep."

"Well now, how can you be so sure he ain't the one? You ain't even given him much of a chance now have ya?"

Reyes crushed out her cigarette. She was beginning to get into the filter. It was time for another. She reached down and pulled out another, lit it up, sucked in a nice long drag, held it for a moment, then blew it out the window.

"Monica? It ain't cause a Follmer now is it? That asshole..."

"No. No. I'm over that." ...I ought to be anyway... she thought. It had been a little over a year and a half. And yet, she still felt some underlying anger and resentment over that last relationship.

"Did ya hear? He's transferred to DC now."

"What?!" ...Oh shit!... she thought. The last person she wanted to run into was AD Brad Follmer during her little stay in DC.

"Yeah. He's such an asshole. I coulda killed him for what he did to you!"

"John, don't. I don't want to talk about it, okay?" she said as bad, bad memories began to flood her thoughts. The last thing she needed right now was old memories of a relationship gone bitterly sour to resurface. And, ironically, Doggett didn't know the half of it. And she would never tell him, or she'd be breaking him out of jail and fleeing to Mexico to protect him from the death penalty. Because if he did ever find out the whole story. Well. He probably would kill him - in cold blood. But that's for another time and another story as well.

"That son of a bitch! He never did believe..."

"John... Please?" Reyes reached over and clasped his hand yet again.

Doggett hushed up, squeezed her hand, then brought it up to his lips and kissed it before placing it back down in his lap. "I worry about you, you know?" he said.

"Why? I'm okay," she replied glancing back over to him.

"Naw. Not when you get like you did last night. You care too much. And one of these days it's gonna kill ya."

"Hah... John."

"Tell me that ain't the truth! Tell me it ain't! I know what you did for Scully last night! And you did the exact same thing for my wife! And it about killed you then! Just like it about killed you last...!"

"What?" Reyes said shocked.

"I know what you did!"

"And just what did I do?" she said calmly, furrowing her brow, and very interested in hearing his explanation of just what he thought she had done for someone in trouble last night.

"I don't know how you do it, but, somehow, you take on somebody else's pain and... and you try to bear it all by yourself and... And then... Oh hell! I don't know how you do it, but, somehow, you take it out of 'em or somethin'. You literally take it out of 'em! And... and then you suffer through it yourself! And..."

...Whoa! My God!... she thought as her heart jumped to her throat. "I... Wow! What makes you think that?" she said, astounded with Doggett's outrageous theory and yet how accurately he was actually describing her extra-sensory abilities. ...My God! I can't believe...! You've never told me this before!...

"My wife! My ex-wife! She told me somethin' that night, that I ain't never been able to come to terms with until now. Not until last night, when I heard that Agent Scully had to rush you to the ER and... Damn, Monica!" he choked a little. "I just knew that you weren't gonna make it and... Damn it! You barely pulled through it then! When Luke and Barbara..." Doggett choked again as his eyes watered up.

"Hey," Reyes soothed as she reached up and caressed his cheek, her own eyes beginning to water up from the horrific memories.

"I know you saved my wife's life that night! I know it! I dunno how you did it! But I know you did it! Both of you lyin' there in that damn fuckin' ER! One in each little room, Barbara just barely hangin' on, and you... you in there vomitin' your guts out, and doctors runnin' in and outta that little room, ain't none of 'em knowin' how to stop it! I... Damn, Monica!" he choked again as tears began to run down his cheeks.

"Oh, my God... John, I... I had no idea... that you..." she stammered, utterly flabbergasted with his ramblings and yet amazed at how accurately he was replaying the events.

"I loved her! I loved her, God damn it! And I loved you, too! Just as much! And I 'bout lost you both that night! Right along with my son!"

"What?!" Reyes exclaimed. ...Oh my God!... John!... Surely, you don't mean...?... She was completely thunderstruck with what her ole buddy, John Doggett, had just said. "What?!... John?... Jesus!... What are you saying?" she exclaimed again as she quickly crushed her newest cigarette out and put it in the ashtray. Surely, he did not mean that he had loved her just as deeply as he had loved his ex-wife?

"I'm sayin' I almost lost you, God damn it! And don't you ever do that to me again! You hear me?! Don't you ever!" he yelled at her.

"I... um..." ...Whoa! Holy shit!... "Well... I... um... wait a minute, now just wait a min... What in the hell?" she replied shaking her head. ...Holy shit!... She was at a complete loss as to what he had meant by that latest statement as well.

"Look. I ain't in-love with you or nothin', but... Oh hell! I could be... Damn!... But I know I ain't your type, so. But... Look... You're the best friend I ever had and... and I'd die for you today if I had to... You know that donchya?" he said glancing back over at her.

"Ohhh... God, John..." Her heart had again jumped to her throat.

"Just don't be doin' that kind a stuff anymore, aw right? Don't be lettin' yourself get so sick! Hell! If Scully hadn't been there..."

"Ohhh... I know, I..."

"No, you don't know! You don't! Scully saved your life last night! And put her career on the line for you!"

"I... I know. But I signed the... Oh God! Don't tell me..."

"No. Desai ain't gonna do nothin', cause you were already improvin' before y'all left outta there. But..."

"Okay... Oh God. If I hurt Dana's career..."

"No. But I talked to that cute little nurse and..."

"Danielle?"

"Yeah. And she told me about everything."

"And?"

"And she told me enough for me to tell you right now... Don't! Okay? Don't!"

"Hah!" Reyes huffed, her eyebrows shooting up to the ceiling yet again. They had been hovering around up there for the last few minutes.

And she was completely flabbergasted at Doggett's passion over this. And not only that, but that he actually seemed to believe that she did have the ability to, at times, take on another's pain and sorrow, and then bear it herself, deep down inside of her own soul. And that was exactly what she had done several years ago for his wife. And that was exactly what she had done for Scully last night, too. And it might piss Doggett, and her grandmother, and anyone else that may be lurking around listening, off, but she would do it all over again, if she had to, to protect Scully. She loved her just that much.

"John?... Now you listen... I'll do whatever I deem necessary for Dana, and... and don't you ever say that to me again, because... well... you just never know, but one day, I may have to do the very same thing for you! And, John Jay Doggett, I'd die for you today, too, if I had to, okay? And... and so... so you just... Oh wow!" she hesitated. Tears had begun to roll down her own cheeks as well.

Doggett glanced back over at her, still sniffling a little bit himself.

"God, John? What are we doing? Why are we arguing with each other like this?" she whimpered through her tears looking back over at him. She didn't need this. And neither did he.

He shrugged a little, glanced back to the road, then pulled her hand back up to his lips and kissed it yet again. After a few moments, he said, "Monica J. Reyes? Now don't you be takin' this the wrong way, but... I love ya."

Reyes chuckled through her tears. "Well, I don't know why? But I love you, too, big guy."

Doggett chuckled and then smirked. He knew she was teasing him.

Wow! Where was all of this heart-felt emotion coming from anyway? But then again, they both knew and felt what Scully was going through to some degree. With an agent down it hurt. And it hurt like hell. And seeing Scully's pain and anguish at losing her partner? And then Doggett, having to escort his fellow brother in the Bureau, Fox Mulder, to his final resting place? Well, it tended to make them all think a little more seriously about things, for they all knew, that on any given day it could be any one of them - dead - killed in the line of duty. And, at times like these, it tended to make people either clam up so tight it suffocated them, or open up and release all those pent-up emotions, and then, actually, verbally, tell someone what they had wanted to tell them for a very long time. And that was exactly what Doggett had done. He had wanted to tell Reyes how much he cared about her and loved her for a very long time. But he just wasn't very good at that sort of thing. But he had done all right today.

Skinner had turned off the main thoroughfare and into the little McDonald's parking lot. Doggett followed suit. It appeared that they were going to get to grab a little bite of breakfast after all.

10:08 AM: "What is going on out there?" Scully asked, to no one in particular, as she continued to watch Doggett and Reyes still sitting in the car. Neither had budged. She had gone ahead and found a little booth for all of them, while Skinner got in-line at the counter. ...Finally... she thought as she saw Doggett open his door. Reyes followed suit. He then walked around to the passenger's side and gave her the biggest bear-hug a man could give a woman as she got out of the car. Scully felt an immediate sense of jealousy begin to creep in. ...What the fuck?... she thought as she continued to watch them. ...What the fuck do you think you're...?... Within moments they were both headed for the restaurant. Scully quickly noticed the tear-streaked cheeks on Reyes' face. ...What in the...?... Then she looked over at Doggett and saw what appeared to be the same thing. ...Hum... His son... Must be something about his son... Her feelings of jealousy began to calm back down.

They walked through the door. Doggett quickly asked Reyes what she wanted, then went to stand in-line with Skinner, while she walked on over to the little booth and ultimately to Scully.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey yourself. You okay?" Scully asked as Reyes sat down across from her.

"Yeah. What about you?" Reyes replied as she noticed the tear-streaked cheeks on Scully's face as well.

"I'm okay," Scully said.

Reyes smiled, then leaned across the little table, reached up, and lightly stroked her cheek for a moment.
BR> Scully smiled in response.

They were going to have to be extra careful for the next several hours. And they knew it. But Reyes had managed to sneak in a sweet little display of affection without anyone looking.

"Did you take that Prevacid for me?" Scully asked. She had given Reyes a dose to take just before leaving the motel.

"Umhum."

"It should help."

"I hope so. But, Dana... I still feel so... My stomach is just so..."

"Did you order the biscuits and gravy?"

"Umhum."

"And milk?"

"Umhum."

"Okay. You know we need to get more solid foods in you."

"I know, but I can't right now. My stomach is just..."

"I know. But we still need to get more solid foods in you so that you can get your strength back. And I needed to take another BP read on you, too. But I never did get around to it."

Reyes chuckled. "I wonder why?"

Scully chuckled, too. "I don't know. What do you think?" she said, grinning.

"I think my attending physician was too busy giving me mouth-to-mouth."

"Shhh. Shush!" Scully said, her eyes widening, as she glanced around really quick to see who may have been within earshot.

"Oh. And now you're gonna get nervous?" Reyes teased. She had already checked out the surroundings. No one was around within hearing distance. Scully had actually blushed a little bit. "Hey. You know what?" Reyes said.

"What?"

"John just told me the most amazing thing. And, well. The funny thing, I bet if I'd wait a week he'd deny the whole thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well. It has something to do with his son, Luke, and his ex-wife. And my... you know... gift or whatever... But... anyway... he said something to me that... Wow! Gosh! I'm still just beside myself!... But... anyway... I think he actually believes in my abilities."

"Really? Well that's good."

"Yeah, but... I know him and, well, I bet you this time next week he would completely deny the whole conversation."

Scully nodded. "Mon... Reyes. Why do you think he does that? I mean. Surely, by now, he has seen enough evidence to..." she shrugged.

"I know. I think he's just scared," Reyes replied as she glanced up for a moment to make sure Doggett was still in-line with Skinner. "And I'm going to tell you something right now that is between you and me, okay? And if he ever found out that I told you this he'd be royally pissed."

"Okay," Scully said, quite intrigued indeed.

Reyes glanced over at Doggett for a moment, standing in-line, then back to Scully. "John... Sometimes... Sometimes, I think John has some of the same abilities as I do. I mean, well, not all of them. But... Well, anyway... Just before we found Luke, I was seeing all kinds of visions and things. And the night before we found him, I was having nightmare after nightmare and, well. Come to find out, John was, too. And, what was so terrible about it was, Luke was... He was... he was still... Oh God," she groaned in pain. ...Still alive... Her tummy was really beginning to hurt bad.

Scully instantly reached over and placed her hand along her cheek.

"Dr. Scully?" a young, familiar, female voice said.

Scully and Reyes both jumped as Scully quickly retrieved her hand. Neither of them had heard anyone walk up.

"How's your favorite patient?" Danielle, the cute little nurse from the ER last night, asked as she glanced over at Reyes and smiled.

"Danielle," they both responded in unison.

"Who's your friend?" Reyes asked, hiding her discomfort and noticing a very pretty young lady standing next to Danielle.

"This is my roommate, Leslie. Les meet Dr. Scully and Agent Reyes. She was the one I was telling you about last night."

Scully and Reyes' eyes both widened a little bit. ...How cute.... they both thought.

"So you're an FBI agent? I mean, both of you?" Leslie asked all starry-eyed.

"Yes. Yes we are. But we don't like to go spreading it around," Scully teased.

"Oh. Right. I'm sorry. I guess you have to stay undercover and stuff like that."

Reyes giggled. "Yeah. But you're okay. She's just messing with you," she said as she glanced back over at Scully for a moment.

Scully cocked an eyebrow in response.

Reyes then offered her right hand to the pretty young lady. "Monica Reyes. And it's nice to meet you, Leslie. Your friend took very good care of me last night."

Danielle actually blushed. "I didn't do much. It was Dr. Scully. She was awesome," Danielle said to her friend, and then it suddenly hit her that Scully was sitting right there hearing every word. She blushed again as she turned to Scully and said, "You were awesome! Simply awesome last night."

"Well, thank you," Scully said quirking her lips slightly in response.

"Who was awesome?" Doggett asked teasingly as he and Skinner walked up to the little booth with two trays of food in hand.

"Oh. Mr. Doggett, I mean, Agent Doggett. This is my roommate. And I just wanted her to meet you. We saw Agent Reyes and Dr. Scully sitting over here and... and I hope we haven't..."

"Oh no. You're fine," Reyes reassured her. "Thanks, Danielle. I owe you one," she said as she winked at her.

Danielle smiled as she felt her heart skip a beat. "Well. We'll leave you alone now. Sorry if we..."

"No problem," Scully said as she glanced over at Reyes and winked.

Doggett took a seat next to Reyes as Skinner slid in next to Scully.

Danielle and her pretty little roommate went on their way.

10:22 AM: Doggett and Reyes were standing just outside the main entrance to the restaurant along the concrete sidewalk. Reyes had needed another quick little smoke. And so, she had retrieved her short leather jacket, put it back on, and headed out the door, with Doggett following along behind. She had been the object of two young ladies' very careful scrutiny for the last few minutes, along with Scully's. Everything Reyes or Scully did, every little move they made, every little gesture they made towards each other, none of it had gone unnoticed by Danielle, or her pretty little friend, Leslie. They were totally in awe of the two beautifully gorgeous female federal agents. And Danielle just knew it in her heart that they were a couple.

Reyes could feel all the eyes on her back as she continued to smoke her cigarette and talk to Doggett. She shivered for moment. It was so cold in this state. And she was still not use to the cold, wintry air. She rolled her neck a little from all of the scrutiny along her backside. ...Damn...What is it?... She could feel three sets of penetrating eyes boring holes into her back and backside, along with a few other areas. ...Damn... What is so interesting about my ass? Shit!... she thought.

"Is that her gun?" Leslie asked noticing the slight bulge underneath her leather jacket and along her waistline.

"Yeah. Isn't that cool? That's where she wears it. And it fits down inside her pants and..."

"Ooohhh. How cool!"

Scully was just as bad. She was boring a penetrating hole into Reyes' back and backside, too. And Reyes could feel the difference as she glanced around at Scully for a moment. Scully quickly glanced away. Skinner had asked her something else. But she really was not doing a very good job of listening. She was so distracted by Reyes, standing out there smoking and shivering a little bit from the cold. ...God, you're beautiful. And that jacket?...Oh my... Reyes' short, waist-length black leather jacket about took her breath away. She began to watch her again and notice just what a cute little ass Agent Reyes really did have. She still had not had her hands on that cute little ass. But things were, most definitely, headed in the right direction. She glanced back over at Danielle and her little friend. She had to hide a grin. She glanced back over at Reyes. Reyes was taking what appeared to be her last full drag off her cigarette, before crushing it out. Scully had already figured it out. When she was about to end her smoking session she held the cigarette a little differently between her fingers. She held it just a little lower, towards the "V" of her knuckles, sucked one last strong drag off of it, then would reach around and grab it with the tips of her fingers, flick it to the ground, and crush it out with her boot. She would then reach down and pick it up to go put it in the closest ashtray. Scully smiled at her own surveillance. But then federal agents were trained to watch and observe and survey. And she was watching and observing and surveying this gorgeous female federal agent like a hawk. Reyes glanced back around and caught her eye. Their eyes locked for a moment. Reyes then smiled and double-winked at her, just before turning back around and flicking her cigarette down to the ground. ...Ohhh... Scully's heart had just jumped an extra beat at that tender little smile and double-wink.

"Did you see that?!" Danielle said to her little friend, all giddy inside, as she noticed Reyes' warm, loving smile and double-wink towards Scully.

"Yeah! Wow! I think you're right! They've gotta be! They've just gotta hide it, that's all," Leslie replied.

"Yeah. How horrible. I wonder if their partners know."

"Hum. Probably not. I don't think the Feds are too cool to gay people."

Reyes came back inside, leaving Doggett outside to go and start the car. He was going to warm it up a little bit before they all headed for the airport. She glanced over at Danielle and her little friend for a moment and smiled, then she put her crushed cigarette in the ashtray by the door, then made her way back over to the little booth.

Skinner got up. "Looks like Doggett's got the right idea," he said. "I'm gonna go on out and start her up."

Scully nodded as she glanced at her watch.

He headed on out of the little restaurant and to the other rental car.

"You about ready?" Reyes asked as she sat back down for a moment. She was still just so weak and exhausted.

"Yeah. But I'm gonna get me another refill before we leave."

Reyes glanced back over at their two little fans. "Geez. Why are they watching us like that?" she asked.

"Well. They think we're a couple."

"Really?"

"Umhum."

"How do you know?"

Scully chuckled. "Well. For one thing, they are. And they think they've found another couple that's just like them."

Reyes nodded. "Okay. But why are they starring at us for Godsakes?"

"Well. I think it's because, sometimes... Hum... I don't know... I guess it's like a comfort zone when you see others in a crowd that you suspect are just like yourself. And you can't afford to say anything, or do anything, but you just... It's like you just acknowledge each other, in your own quiet subtle way, and... Oh, I don't know. I guess it's a type of support system or something... Does that make any sense?"

Reyes listened closely as she casually glanced back over at Danielle and her pretty little friend. She nodded, then whispered, "But that's so sad."

"Sad? Why?"

"Them. Feeling like they have to, I mean. Geez! Nobody should ever have to hide who they are or who they love. God! What kind of a world do we live in when two people can't just be themselves and love each other?"

Scully smiled, her heart melting yet again. "I agree. But... if we don't..."

Reyes glanced back up. "The only reason why I would ever hide anything is because of our jobs not our life together."

Scully's eyes had widened. ...Our life together?... Whoa!... And she had not even intended to refer to herself and Reyes. She was just going to refer to alternative lifestyles in general.

"Gosh. What did I just...? I'm sorry. I'm not sure where that came from," Reyes said.

"Hum. Which part?" Scully chuckled.

"Um... the 'our life together' part. I mean... Well, I guess I just meant that... if I love someone, then I'm not going to hide it when I don't have to. I mean, I'll protect my job, my career. But when I'm out on my own time, or in an area where I don't have to be concerned about that, then. Well... it's none of their damn business who I love, or who I want to spend the rest of my life with or... or..." ...Shit... Shut up, Reyes...

Scully was sitting there listening with one eyebrow cocked. ...Indeed... "Well," she said as she reached across the table and lightly caressed Reyes' cheek for a moment. "I think that's beautiful," she finished smiling.

Reyes smiled in response.

"And I think it's time for me to get up and go get myself a refill and then get the hell out of Helena. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Then they both got up and headed for the counter. Scully handed the little clerk her empty coffee cup as Reyes looked on. Scully glanced around at Danielle and Leslie. She chuckled a little bit, for they were still watching every single move she and Reyes made. Reyes reached over and grabbed a couple of sugars and a creamer, then handed them to Scully.

"Thanks," Scully said.

"You're welcome," Reyes replied as she suddenly cupped Scully' face with her palm, leaned in and tenderly kissed her right squarely on the lips before letting her go, then took the freshly-poured cup of coffee from the stunned little clerk's hand.

Scully stood there trying to catch her breath. ...Oh my...

"You ready?" Reyes asked as she handed Scully her freshly-poured cup of coffee.

"Umhum," Scully responded as she licked her lips. ...Oh wow! Just take my breath away, why don't you?...

The stunned little clerk began to smile a warm and fuzzy little smile at the realization of what she had just seen. Danielle and Leslie were practically fanning themselves to keep from passing out to the floor from what they had just seen. And Doggett and Skinner hadn't a clue. Because they were both still outside doing the manly thing and warming up the cars, while Reyes was still inside doing the womanly thing, and warming up Scully. Everybody seemed to be nice and toasty for the moment, in spite of the cold wintry air of Helena, Montana.

10:38 AM: Reyes had just climbed aboard the small Bureau Jet that DD Kersh had sent up from Quantico, Virginia. It had been awhile since she had flown on a "bubird", as many federal agents liked to call them. And the bubirds were nice. They all had all of the nice little conveniences and necessary little accessories available for when a squad of agents was going to be in the air for a long time. And a little bubird could fly non-stop at least 2,000 miles, and sometimes even further, depending on the size of the jet. And this one was large enough to fly non-stop from Helena Regional Airport, Helena, Montana to Reagan International Airport, Washington DC. Which meant, they were all in for a nice, quiet ride. No stopping off and having to switch planes. No layovers. Nothing like that, that the general public had to put up with. And it would be nice for a change. For many federal agents used the regular commercial flights as well. But this situation was different. An agent was down. And so this situation was enough different that it had warranted a ride on a bubird.

Reyes walked on up the small little corridor, checking out the small little snack and kitchen area. She opened up one of the compartments and, sure enough, it had a full supply of all types of dried goods, a few canned items, some dried soup mixes, all kinds of things. She then opened up the little refrigerator bolted in next to the little counter and found most anything one would care to drink to wet their whistle. And then there were even a few bottles of various liquors, wine coolers and beer. She chuckled a little bit at that. No agent was to drink on the job. But, on occasion, it did happen. So if anyone felt hungry, or thirsty later in the day, well, all they had to do was come back here to the little kitchen area and make themselves at home.

She leaned up against the small little counter for a moment, still feeling so weak, then began to pull her leather jacket off. She readjusted her SIG-P226 and holster, then pulled the bottom of her black turtleneck sweater out of her jeans. She was trying to relieve some of the pressure against her stomach, for the two biscuits and gravy earlier had made her tummy feel a little queasy all over again. Either that, or the movement of the car itself, or the idea of flying, or just the stress of the day. But whatever it was, something was affecting her gut. And usually she did not have any problems with motion sickness. But then again, her tummy was still on the mend. And it was making itself known that it didn't like something. She had not begun to vomit again. But she most definitely felt nauseous again. And she had not told Scully about it either. But then she had not had to. The minute they had all arrived at the airport and Scully had laid eyes on her she knew, and had sent her directly to the plane to lie down. Reyes had not made it to one of the convenient fold-out cots yet. But she soon would, because she was beginning to really feel the exhaustion all over again. Four or five hours of sleep was just not enough in a 49-50 hour period, federal agent or not, and especially one that had been so sick just the night before.

Scully and Doggett were still working out the details, and getting Mulder's remains moved to a transporting cart, while Skinner discussed the flight-plan with the navigator. They were to fly non-stop to Washington, DC, Reagan International Airport, drop Scully and Reyes off, then fly directly to Raleigh, North Carolina, with no stops to Quantico. At least that was what Skinner was pushing for, even though the flight-plan said something different. Reyes and Doggett had discussed the arrangements over at the restaurant, while standing outside as she took a smoke-break. And they had decided, between the two of them, that the best approach would be to just bypass Quantico all together. If Mulder's remains never touched ground in Quantico, then what could DD Kersh do about it? And besides, Reyes was right. Scully was the Power of Attorney. And the Cause of Death and Certificate of Death had already been signed last night, by the County Medical Examiner. So Mulder's remains were now in the custody of Dana Scully - period. So that should be the end of it - once and for all - for that was the law - Federal law - and surely DD Kersh would not try to argue with that.

She stepped into the little unisex bathroom down near the rear of the plane for a moment, laid her jacket by the tiny little sink, found a washcloth, began to soak it with cool water, then began to dab the cool, damp cloth all along her face and throat and around the back of her neck. Something about a cool, damp cloth to one's face, throat and neck could actually help with the beginning stirrings of nausea. She finished washing her face off, sighed, grabbed her jacket, stepped out of the tiny little room, and then headed back up the corridor towards the main cabin of the small jet. She walked on up to the front, just behind the cockpit area, found a little closet and then hung up her leather jacket. She then turned and saw a couple of the little fold-out cots attached securely against the side of the wall of the plane. She pulled one of them out, stretched it out and sat down on it for a moment, just to make sure it was working properly. She was satisfied. Scully would need one, too, because she was going to insist that Scully try to get some much-needed sleep as well. She got back up, folded the little cot back up and reattached it to the wall for the time being. She then walked over and glanced out the little window by the cockpit panel. Off in the distance, she could see the transport cart with a United-States-Flag-covered casket loaded on top. She strained her eyes for a moment looking for Scully, or Doggett, or even Skinner for that matter. Suddenly the red, white and blue, flag-covered casket and cart began to move towards the plane. Reyes watched as she saw Doggett quickly appear, out of the blue. He laid his right hand along the heart of the casket and began to walk steadily along the side of Agent Mulder's body. Reyes felt her eyes begin to flood with tears at the sight. ...Ohhh, God... This was harder than she had ever dreamed to watch, as a fellow brother in the Bureau was escorted down that lonely path. And her buddy Doggett was struggling, too. She could tell. He was choked up himself. She glanced behind him and there was Skinner and Scully, strolling along behind. Skinner was holding on to her, because she was having a hard time even walking. ...Ohhh, Dana... Reyes could feel the turmoil raging within Scully's soul, along with her very own. She glanced back up at the casket. ...Ohhh, Agent Mulder. God, I wish... I wish I could have known you... She felt her tears begin to roll down her cheeks as she continued to watch the small procession, slowly making its way towards the rear of the plane. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks as she thought about others she had known in the past that had been killed while in the line of duty. Some had been local police, men and women alike, that she had known and had had the privilege to work with through the years. Others had been firefighters, one of those firefighters actually being a man she had dated for a little while in college. And a couple of the more recent ones had been fellow brothers within the FBI family itself. Her heart ached for all of them, and the families, partners, wives, husbands, and children some of them had left behind while doing their jobs and trying to serve and protect the citizens of these United States of America. The cart had stopped. Doggett had stopped, and was now standing at perfect attention. His military training had kicked in and Reyes had decided right then and there that he had never looked more handsome than he did right then, standing there proudly as Agent Mulder's escort. Whatever differences Mulder and Doggett may have had - had they ever have had the privilege of working together on a case - this was different, and this was the time to put all of those differences aside, and show honor and reverence for such a man as Fox Mulder. And, by the look on his face, Doggett was doing just that.

She glanced back over to the flag-covered casket as a few airport workers came out to help begin to move it off the cart and onto the plane's cargo area. Skinner and Scully had already begun to walk towards the boarding ramp to enter the plane. She swallowed hard as she wiped away a few more tears. She glanced down at Scully, just as Scully glanced up. Their eyes locked. Scully then took the first step onto the ramp. Reyes had to break the eye contact and turn away. The intensity was just too much as she wiped her eyes and cheeks yet again from all her tears. Ironically, Scully's eyes had been dry, as if she had cried all the tears she could cry for the moment. And maybe she had. Just maybe she had, for the moment.

Reyes walked away from the little window, then stopped for a moment and leaned up against the wall of the plane to take a deep breath. Her tears had slowed. But her heart still ached. Suddenly, she heard a male voice talking to the flight tower undoubtedly through his headset. It was one of the pilots. The male voice had startled her at first. But then she had hastily realized that it was just one of the pilots. She finished wiping the last of her tears from her eyes, glanced up and opened the luggage area just above the fold-outs looking for some blankets. She found what she needed, pulled a couple down and out of the little cubby-hole, then reached over and began to close up some of the windows. Hopefully, she could get most of the sunlight out of the little area. It would help when she and Scully tried to get some sleep.

"Hey! Is that who I think it is?" Reyes heard an older man's gravelly voice say. The pilot had stepped out from the cockpit and recognized Reyes.

"Paul? Hey. It's been awhile. How are you?" Reyes said, quite surprised indeed to see the older, retirement-aged, grey-haired pilot still on the job and flying this jet. She walked on over towards him.

"Well! My favorite Lady A!" he said as he came on over to her, gave her a big hug and a wet sloppy kiss on the cheek. He then reached down and barely grazed the top of her left breast with his thumb before letting her go.

Reyes had already backed away a little bit, but not enough for him to get a quick little feel. ...Bastard... she thought.

"So. I heard you were on the Squad last night. How the hell did you end up here? On this mission?" he asked.

"Agent Doggett called me in," she said as she turned away and continued to rummage around in the luggage area looking for some extra blankets to use as pillows.

"Ah. Yes. To find 'Spooky'. Well. Looks like they found him," he sniggered glancing out the window and rubbing his crotch for a moment.

Reyes furrowed her brow in response to his snide comment and his little rub of the crotch, then glanced back out the window herself. Scully had been detained by Skinner for a few moments, but was now a good three-fourths of the way up the small ramp, quickly climbing, up-and-up, to get out of the wintry cold air. And she looked beautiful. Grieving or not, she looked simply amazing. Reyes smiled for a moment as she watched her take another quick step.

"So. That the little Ice Queen?" the old pilot asked, then mumbled, "Bet I could heat her up," under his breath as he tried to inconspicuously rub his bulging crotch again.

"Excuse me?!" Reyes said, anger setting in, as she glanced back around at him. ...Ice Queen? Heat her up? You Son of a Bitch!...

"You know, Scully. Surely, you've heard of her. His partner in crime... And all them little green aliens and spooks and..."

"Right," Reyes stated flatly trying her best to regain control of her anger. It would probably not be a good idea to punch the old pilot's lights out before they even got off the ground. But after they had landed safely...

"Yeah. Did you have to work with the little...?"

"Yes, I did as a matter of fact," Reyes responded calmly, as her blood began to boil over the top. ...Shut up. You better shut the fuck up...

"So, did you find any of those flying spaceships? UFO's? Any of those spooky little aliens? I hear that's what his little bitch is saying, that he was abducted or..."

Reyes had grabbed him by the shoulders, shoved him into the cockpit and had him slammed up against the back wall of the cockpit so fast he hadn't known what had hit him. And now she had her hand down between his legs, where it could either be ecstasy or agony, depending on how hard she squeezed. And she was beginning to squeeze his little balls so hard it was causing him to squirm.

"Look, you Son of a Bitch!" she said. "If I ever hear you say anything like that again in my presence about Agent Scully or Agent Mulder I'll rip these little peanuts of yours off so fast they'll hear you screaming all the way to Alaska! Do you understand me?!"

"Ngh... But... I..." he muttered.

"Answer me! Yes or no!" She squeezed a little harder.

"Yeah... But... I didn't mean nothing..."

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I'm not finished!"

"Ngh... But... Oh God..." he groaned as she moved her hand up and folded her palm around his hard, bulging dick.

"Oh. What's this? Hum? What's this?" she spit at him as she squeezed a little harder and began to pump his hardening erection through his pants.

"Ngh... Ngh..." he groaned.

"Tell you what. How about I heat you up? Hum? How about I heat you up, you sick bastard," she spit into his ear as she pumped his hardening dick a little harder and a little faster.

"Ngh... Ngh..." he groaned.

The sweat was pouring off of him. She knew exactly what she was doing, giving his bulging erection just enough manipulation for an ejaculation, and yet just a little bit too much for it to be enjoyable. She had him by the balls, no shit.

"Ngh... Ugh... Don't... hurt me..." he whimpered.

"Oh. Don't hurt you? Don't hurt you?!" she spit again into his ear. "After what you just called Agent Scully? And how you think you can heat her up? You Mother-fucking Son of a Bitch!" she said, squeezing even harder, as she continued to roughly pump his penis through his pants and feel it steadily growing larger in her hand. And she knew exactly what she was waiting for. And he was almost there, as she felt his pulsating penis throbbing through his pants and into her palm. "You little wimp," she said as she suddenly reached up and roughly pinched the very tip of the sensitive head with her fingers before letting him go.

"Ughhh! Oh God!" he groaned as he grabbed on to his shriveling little erection and poor little peanuts with both hands, doubling over in pain.

Reyes then grabbed his chin and pulled his face up for eye contact. "And by the way, keep your nasty, dirty little hands off my boob. Got it?"

He nodded in pain, his eyes wide as saucers.

She then glanced down between his pants and cocked an eyebrow. "You better do something about that. Looks like you might have hurt yourself," she said as she walked back out into the main corridor. ...Damn sick bastard... she thought as she blew out a deep breath, then glanced up and caught Scully's eye. ...Oh shit!... How long have you been there?...

Scully was quietly sitting down at the other end of the small corridor. "Is there a problem, Agent Reyes?" she asked softly.

"Um. No, nothing I couldn't handle. Just need to wash my hands," Reyes said as she continued to walk towards her, and then on into the little unisex bathroom to wash her hands off of the filth she had just experienced.

Scully smiled. She had heard everything, from something about "UFO's" and "spooky little aliens", to Mulder and her being called his "little bitch". Then there was something about his "little peanuts" getting ripped off and him being heard "screaming all the way to Alaska". And then there was something about him thinking he could "heat her up". Oh yeah. She had heard enough. Plenty. And she had thoroughly enjoyed the way Reyes had handled it. And, obviously, one had better not fuck with her. And especially someone she loves. Or she'll get you - when you least expect it.

11:45 AM: Scully had agreed to try and get a little shut-eye along with Reyes. But she was just not having any luck at all. She was thoroughly exhausted. And yet she just could not seem to go to sleep. She glanced over at Reyes peacefully sleeping on the little fold-out cot. Well. She wasn't going to bother her with her insomnia. She had liked the idea of them moving to the back of the plane and using the fold-out cots near the rear cargo area. But, if anyone needed to go to the bathroom, they would have to open the little door and walk through this area to get to it. And that was a problem in Scully's mind and where she really wanted to be right now, for she knew that if she could just get up from where she was, walk about four feet, and then lie back down, and into Reyes' arms she would have no problem at all in going to sleep. And it was almost worse, lying in this little tiny area, so close, and yet so far from where she truly wanted to be.

Reyes slightly stirred in her sleep.

Scully glanced back over at her.

Reyes slightly stirred again, then mumbled a little something in her sleep.

Scully glanced back over at her again wondering what she had just said.

"Dana?" Reyes suddenly whimpered, barely audible.

Scully cocked an eyebrow. Well. She thought she had been asleep.

"You awake?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

"I just, I can't go to sleep," Scully responded. Now how in the world did Reyes just wake up from a deep sleep and know that Scully was not asleep? ...Amazing... she thought.

"Okay. Hang on," Reyes replied.

Scully furrowed her brow as Reyes began to get up. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Helping you sleep," Reyes said as she grabbed one of the blankets off her fold-out cot and carried it with her to the end of the small little cabin area.

"What the hell are you doing?" Scully whispered again.

"Just, hang on," Reyes said as she reached up and pushed the ceiling tile up just enough to tuck the end of the blanket inside it. She then began to work her way down the aisle tucking the edges of the blanket along each little corner of a ceiling tile, slowly making her way down to the other end. She then grabbed another blanket off her fold-out cot and began the same process, tucking the edges of the blanket along each little corner of ceiling tile, until she had made a nice little path, or hallway if you will, from the little door of the main cabin to the little unisex bathroom. Now, if anyone needed to go to the bathroom, there would be no problem. They could open the little door, walk through, and never disturb Scully or Reyes sleeping on either side of the little homemade, blanketed ceiling-to-floor hallway. She pulled the edge of the blanket away from the wall and the edge of Scully's fold-out cot, then asked, "How's that?" as she peeped around the corner.

Scully giggled a little bit. "Great. But, are you sure it'll work?"

"Why not?" she asked as she crawled into the little single cot and next to Scully, then readjusted the folds of the blanket to cover her tracts. As far as anyone could tell, Reyes would be sleeping on one side of the little homemade hallway while Scully would be sleeping on the other side, in separate areas, and in separate little cots. And Reyes truly doubted that Skinner or Doggett would peep around either corner to check and see.

"Umm," Scully sighed as she crawled into Reyes' arms. She wasn't going to argue about it.

"Better?" Reyes whispered grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Umm. Much better," Scully sighed as she collapsed more deeply into her arms. "Oh," she suddenly gasped holding the side of her abdomen. "Did you feel that?" she whispered.

Reyes giggled. "Umhum. Yeah, I think I did," she teased as she reached down and rested her hand along Scully's growing abdomen as well. "My goodness, he's active this morning," she commented as she continued to feel the little movements from Scully's unborn son.

"Um. And just when I'm trying to go to sleep," Scully whispered softly.

Reyes giggled again. "Oh well. He's just saying 'good morning'."

"You think?" Scully quietly whispered, then smiled, almost asleep, as her body began to collapse back down into Reyes' arms and torso yet again.

"Umhum," Reyes quietly responded, too, as she wrapped her arms more securely around her.

Within seconds, Scully was sound asleep.

"Mmm," Reyes lightly moaned herself, then kissed Scully gently on the crown. Within seconds, she had dropped back off into a nice and peaceful sleep as well.