7:03 PM: Scully and Reyes had both managed to get a good 5 hours sleep, or maybe even a little bit more, after Reyes' quick little invention on the Bureau Jet. And, as far as they could tell, no one had noticed a thing. Both Doggett and Skinner had walked through to go to the little unisex bathroom, for Reyes had stirred just enough to hear the small doors open and close to each area. But, unless either one of them had peeped over into her cot and realized it was empty, well, she and Scully had pulled it off. And she was quite proud of herself about that because now, they were about to be separated for the night - the entire night. And that was a bitch.

Scully had taken a nice, comfortable seat on the big, plush couch inside the main lobby of the hotel. She glanced over at Reyes as she stood up by the check-in counter waiting to find out her room number. ...Oh wow... Scully did not like it at all, this feeling she was getting deep down inside her gut. She squirmed a little bit in her seat. It felt like a big gaping hole, swallowing her up into nowhere. And she wasn't sure exactly what was causing it either. But then she and Reyes had not eaten anything else after that little breakfast at McDonald's earlier this morning either. There had been some snacks on the plane. But they both had been sound asleep. And the guys just did not feel right about waking either one of them up just for another quick little snack. Skinner and Doggett both knew that they needed their sleep more than they needed another little snack. She glanced back over at Reyes again. She could tell by her stance how tired she truly was. And for some weird reason Reyes' tummy was still bothering her, too. But, the day had been rather stressful to say the least. And then that asshole pilot, giving her a problem, had not helped.

Reyes turned around and glanced back over at Scully for a moment.

Scully cocked an eyebrow. Something was not right. And the look on her face had said it all. She got up from the nice, big, comfortable couch and walked over to her. "What's up?" she asked.

"I don't know. They can't seem to find the right confirmation number. And none of our names are listed. I've had them check them all. It's weird," Reyes said as she glanced over at Scully. "Oh geez... And all I want is a nice, comfortable bed. You know?"

Scully smirked. "Well. Where's that little piece of paper?"

"He's got it," Reyes said nodding towards the hotel clerk.

"Okay. Well. Skinner wrote down the Suites, right? Georgetown Suites."

"Yeah. I guess so. Why?"

"Well. There's also a Georgetown Inn, just a few blocks from here."

"Oh. Well then, that might be the problem."

"Yeah. Let's get that little piece of paper back and go check it out."

"Okay. But can't we just call them or something from here? Instead of driving all the way over there?"

"It's not that far. But that's a good idea."

Reyes nodded as the hotel clerk came back up.

"Sorry, ma'am. I'm not sure what the problem is. I..." he hesitated.

"Okay. Well. Actually, we might be at the wrong place. So I need that little piece of paper back with the confirmation number."

"Sure. Here it is," he said as he handed it back to her.

She then handed it back to Scully.

Scully reread the address. ...Nope. He's got Georgetown Suites. Weird... she thought, then took out her cell-phone and began to call information. Reyes grabbed her overnight bag, and then motioned for them to go and sit down again, over at the nice, big, plush couch for a minute. Scully smiled as she led the way to the couch. They both plopped down as Scully's call was transferred to Georgetown Inn, just a few blocks away. She began to converse with them and give them the confirmation number as Reyes just laid her head back against the back of the couch. Scully was on the phone another good 5 minutes or so waiting for them to look up the number.

After a few more seconds, "No such number," the motel clerk on the other end of the line informed her.

...Well... What the...? Crap!... she thought. Then she had an idea. "Reyes. I got an idea. I don't know what the problem is. But Georgetown Inn is saying no such number, too, and, well... How did you feel about a little Bed and Breakfast just up the street?"

"A Bed and Breakfast?" Reyes responded cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah. There's Harrington Inn, Capitol City B & B and, oh let's see. We could try the Embassy or..."

"Whatever. I'm game."

Scully smiled as they both began to get up. They walked the short distance to Scully's sedan, reloaded Reyes' overnight bag, and then headed for somewhere. Reyes really didn't care at this point where she ended up, as long as she found a nice, warm and comfortable bed soon.

7:23 PM: Scully pulled up to the curb finding an empty parking spot out in front of the older building. Reyes opened her eyes, raised her head up off the headrest, checked out the street, and then the nice, older decor along the side of the building's walls. She quirked a lip.

Scully glanced over at her as she turned the engine off. "Well? You want to come in with me or just sit in the car? I can go check it out and see if she's got any vacancies for the ni..."

"Oh no, I'm not sending you on another wild-goose-chase without me," Reyes teased as she began to get out of the car. "Come on. Where is it? What level?"

"Third, I think."

"Okay. Geez," Reyes sighed as she shut the passenger's side door one more time.

They had been by two other motels and Scully had called a couple of other B & B's on her cell-phone with no luck. Some type of convention was in the area. And all of the bigger motels and hotels were booked solid. And even the smaller B & B's were booked solid, too. Scully had gone in and dealt with a couple of motel clerks trying to find the closest available room. And Reyes had not minded it. Besides, Scully knew the area. She lived here. Reyes had not a clue where anything was, or how far it was from where they were right now. And all she wanted was a bed. A nice, warm and comfortable bed.

Scully grinned. "Okay. Come on. I've got a good feeling about this one," she teased.

Reyes cocked an eyebrow yet again.

Scully grinned again. "Why don't you get your bag?" she said.

"I don't want to lug the damn thing until I know I've got a room."

Scully grinned yet again. "Oh come on. I'll carry it then. I mean, if it's on the third floor I don't want to have to walk all the way back down here to..."

"Okay, okay, okay... God, woman," Reyes teased as she opened up the back door and pulled her overnight bag back out.

Scully grinned, hiding her smile, as she opened the door to the main entrance and headed for the nearest elevator, Reyes following along behind. She hit the button for the elevator. The door immediately opened. They both walked in and then Reyes leaned up against the back wall closing her eyes yet again. She was just so tired. Scully hit the third level button. Within seconds, they were on the third floor as the elevator door reopened. Scully walked out leading the way down the hall.

Reyes followed her out glancing around and suddenly becoming quite suspicious indeed about this particular little Bed and Breakfast. "Um, Dana? You sure about this?" she asked.

"No. She runs a small establishment. But, it's worth a try, don't you think?" Scully replied.

Reyes cocked an eyebrow hiding her own grin.

Scully walked up to the Apt No. 5 door inserting the correct key into the door-lock.

Reyes quirked her lips. ...Um-hum... she chuckled. "And how long has she been running this place?"

"Oh about 7, 8 years I think. It's nice. She's got a washer and dryer. Nice little kitchen and dining area. And she's got a great bed," Scully said as she finished opening the door up to her own apartment.

Reyes giggled as she walked into Scully's apartment for the very first time. "You're really sure about this?" she asked again.

"As sure as I'll ever be."

Reyes smiled as she glanced around the living room. "Well. I think you're right. It's very nice. Where's the manager?"

"Right here," Scully said cocking an eyebrow.

"Okay, manager. Where do I check-in?"

"Right here," Scully said again as she then reached up and pulled Reyes in close, wrapping her arms around her torso and began to kiss her fully on the lips.

"Mmm," Reyes moaned dropping her overnight bag to the floor and wrapping her arms around Scully, deepening the kiss. The heatedly-passionate kiss lasted a few more seconds before they finally broke contact. "Mmm. Well. Does that mean I'm checked-in?" she teased still panting a little. ...God...

Scully smirked. "And what do you think?"

"Hum. Well.. I think you're beautiful. And I think you're exhausted. And I think you need a little something to eat yet. And I think that you need to get into your pajamas, while I go and get us something to eat. And then, maybe you need to call your mom or something, while I..."

"Shhh," Scully whispered reaching up and kissing her quite passionately yet again on the lips.

"Oh," Reyes whimpered lightly in response. She just could not help herself. Scully's soft, full lips, pressing against her own, disarmed her practically every time.

Scully then broke off the passionate kiss.

Reyes opened her eyes just standing there, lightly panting, while she watched Scully for her next move.

Scully smiled, then glanced down to Reyes' overnight bag. "I bet you've got some clothes in there that need to be washed. Come on. Let's get a load started. And then I'll come up with something for us to eat."

"No. I don't want you to do that. You're exhausted," Reyes began to argue. "Let me go pick something up. What do you want? Chinese? Or a sub? There was a little Subway just down the..."

"No baby. We're home. I'm home. And I don't want to go back out there tonight, okay?"

"I know. And you don't have to. I'll go. Just give me your keys and I'll..."

"No, shush," Scully responded as she placed the tips of her fingers over Reyes' lips to silence her. "Gosh, Monica. I've had a lot more sleep than you've had these last few days. And besides, you need something very mild for your stomach. And I've got some clam chowder, or cream-of-chicken in the cabinets, and..." she shrugged.

"But, Dana... Are you sure? I mean, I just..."

"Yes, baby. I'm sure. I'll just heat us up a couple of cans of soup. Is that all right?"

"Yeah, I guess, I mean, I don't know, I..." She glanced away.

"What?"

"It... It just feels weird being in your apartment and..."

"Why does it feel weird?"

"I... I don't know, I just, I mean. I don't want you to cook for me. God! And I don't want to have to use your washer and dryer either. And... Oh, I don't know." She glanced away again.

"Well. Monica, if you're not comfortable here, then I can take you to a motel. If that's what you really want. I certainly don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"No. I just..." Reyes turned away again for a moment, deep in thought. ...God. If I stay here tonight? Holy shit!... But she didn't want to trouble Scully anymore for the night. And besides Scully was exhausted, too, which may very well be the key to keeping things under control. At least for the night. "Oh geez," she sighed, then turned back around to Scully. "Well. Okay. Let's get a load started... But then I think we need to talk."

Scully raised an eyebrow. ...Talk?... Hum... Well, that doesn't sound very good... she mused.

Reyes picked her overnight bag up off the floor and followed Scully into the little utility room area where the washer and dryer were. It was just off from the kitchen. Scully had left her overnight bag down in the car and neither had remembered that until now. She had been playing a little joke on Reyes, had driven by a couple of other motels just for the fun of it, and then had offered her final destination, her own apartment. And it had worked. For Reyes had not suspected a thing until they pulled up in front of the building. And even then, Scully was not quite sure that she had caught on to her little plan. And if Scully had carried her own overnight bag up along with Reyes', well, that would have spoiled the whole thing. And Scully had enjoyed the nice little joke she had pulled on Reyes, and the much-needed distraction from all that was troubling her wounded soul. It had felt good for a few minutes to play a little joke on Reyes. But now somebody needed to go back down to the car and get Scully's overnight bag as well. Reyes had offered to go down and get it. But Scully would hear none of it as she went back down the three flights of stairs herself.

Reyes sat down on the couch beginning to think more seriously about the situation. They needed to slow things down. She needed to slow things down. But she didn't want to slow things down. And her heart didn't want to slow things down either. But all the logic in the world was screaming at her to slow this fast-moving train back down. She took a deep breath and then sighed. She could keep her libido under control. That shouldn't be a problem. Besides, Scully would freak for sure if she saw the big, dark, black-and-blue bruise that had fully developed during the night all along her lower torso. So, she would have to think of something, if things got too overly-heated tonight. But her heart, now that was a different story. Her heart was already in deep. Very deep. Very, very deep. Much too deep. Her heart was already in so deep she could drown. "Oh God, Grams, I need to talk to you. Can you hear me? I need to talk... bad," she whispered into the empty apartment. "I don't understand what's happening to me. God, Grams. I'm falling-in-love with her. And how could I do that? God, Grams, we've just met! And yet I'm falling-in-love with her! What's wrong with me?" She sighed deeply, then put her head in her palm for a moment. "God. And I promised myself I would never get involved with another woman after Jen. So what the fuck am I doing?" She jumped a little bit as she heard Scully open the door lugging her overnight bag in. "Here. Let me get it," she quickly said as she jumped up off the couch and grabbed Scully's overnight bag from her hand.

"Hah. I can get it," Scully teased and yet was a little frustrated with Reyes' inclination to treat her like she was helpless or something.

"I know. But you're pregnant and... just let me get it, okay?"

Scully smirked. "Well, what does me being pregnant have to do with anything?"

Reyes grinned. "I don't know. I just, you're tired for one thing and..."

Scully chuckled again. Well, yeah. She was tired. Exhausted was more like it. "Um, um, um," she finally responded as Reyes finished taking her overnight bag over to the little utility room area for her.

Within moments, they had a nice, large load of clothes washing. They had playfully argued about who was going to take the first shower. Scully had finally convinced her that since she was the guest in her home, then she needed to be the first one to take a shower. Reyes had finally agreed. Scully had gone back into the bedroom and retrieved a pair of Mulder's hardly-worn flannel pajamas out of the closet that she had given him last Christmas. He had left them there on purpose for those times when he occasionally stayed overnight at Scully's place. It had not happened often. But, on occasion, he would stay the night at her place, and sleep comfortably on the couch. And, on occasion, he had even slept beside her in her own bed. After all, they loved each other and were best friends. She had come back out into the living room toting the practically brand new and hardly-worn bright red flannel pajamas, then had handed them to Reyes. Reyes had been a little bit uncomfortable with that little gesture, too, Scully had soon realized. But she had finally convinced her to go ahead and slip them on after she had taken her shower, so that they could wash all of her other clothes and not just part of them. Reyes was being somewhat difficult for some reason Scully had decided. And she was not quite sure why. "What's the big deal? I can't believe you're being so difficult about Mulder's pajamas... For Crissakes," she whispered as she began to rummage around through the cabinets and find a couple of cans of potato soup to heat up. ...That'll work. Be gentle on your stomach... she thought as she opened the cans and poured the contents into a nice, big pot, added enough milk from the fridge and then began to heat the soup up. Neither was very hungry anyway. And Reyes' stomach needed something gentle and easy to try to digest. She listened closely as she heard the water in the shower stop. She smiled. The coffee-maker had just finished brewing a nice, big pot of freshly made decaf. She was content for the moment.

After a couple of minutes Reyes walked back out into the main living room area wearing Mulder's bright red flannels in her bare feet, with her recently-brushed hair still wet from just a quick little towel dry. Scully glanced up and smiled at the beautiful sight before her. Reyes was gorgeous in the bright red flannel outfit, with her dark, damp mane cascading down all around her neck, and down her back, her nipples slightly erect, and pushing through Mulder's red flannel pajama top, and her dark brown-black, fur-covered mound filling Mulder's red flannel pajama bottoms just perfectly. ...Oh yeah... She glanced down towards that quite pronounced mound and licked her lips as a fleeting memory of last night and Reyes' naked body, including that very mound and crotch, flashed before her eyes. ...Oh God... She then began the effort of trying to calm her libido back down - at least for the moment.

"Hey. Mmmm, that smells good," Reyes moaned as she walked on over to the kitchen and behind her glancing over her shoulder.

"Ummm, and you smell good. Damn good," Scully huskily growled as she caught a nice little whiff of Reyes' cologne, then turned, reached up and pulled her down for another nice wet, hot and juicy little intimate kiss on the lips.

"Um," Reyes lightly whimpered in reaction to the unexpected kiss. ...Oh, Dana. God... she thought as she started to remind herself yet again to somehow slow this fast-moving train back down. ...God, honey... But she went ahead and obliged her anyway as she felt herself getting all swept up in this latest, most wonderful and tender little wet kiss. ...Oh well. It's just a kiss. No harm in that... she thought as she whimpered a little bit more from Scully's tongue lightly teasing her. "Um," she whimpered again as she wrapped her arms more securely around Scully's torso. They kissed a couple of more times before finally breaking contact.

"Ummm," Scully gutturally groaned again. "I love the taste of your lips," she said as she reached up and lightly caressed Reyes' lower lip.

Reyes smiled, then took Scully's hand in her own and lightly kissed her healing knuckles. She was not quite sure what to say. So she just smiled and said nothing.

"I hope you like potato soup," Scully said.

"Um, yeah, I love it. But I owe you one. No, actually, I owe you several."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tomorrow, I'm taking you anywhere you want to go for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And then maybe even a nice little night-cap if you want."

"Oh no, you don't have to do that. It's no big deal."

"Sure I do. After everything you did for me last night? Gosh, Dana."

"Gosh, Moni," Scully teased as she turned and smiled.

Reyes smirked. "Well. Honey, at least let me finish that, okay? While you go and get your shower?"

Scully smiled again. ...Am I your "honey"?... I must be. You keep calling me that... she thought.

"Go on. I'll finish it up, okay?"

"Okay," Scully whispered then turned towards her. "Moni?"

"Hum?"

"Would you...?" she started then hesitated. "Oh nothing," she said as she glanced away and began to walk towards the main living room area.

"Wait. Dana. Would I what?"

"Oh nothing. It's nothing, okay? Just keep stirring the pot," she said as she headed for the shower.

Reyes quirked her lips a little bit in response, then continued to do what she had been told to do, stir the pot.

********************

7:57 PM: Reyes had just finished setting the two very pretty ceramic bowls, filled with piping hot potato soup, down on the little kitchen table. She had found everything she had needed as Scully took her shower. A couple of nice, large soup spoons. The ceramic soup bowls. Some cups for the freshly-brewed decaf coffee. Cream, sugar and sugar substitute. Some paper towels, that could be used for napkins, and an already-opened box of crackers, just in case Scully wanted some crackers to go along with her soup. And a little bag full of grated cheddar cheese that she had sprinkled in the middle of the piping hot soup. The cheese was already beginning to melt as Scully opened the door to the little bathroom and headed for her bedroom for a moment. Reyes glanced down the hallway. Her timing had been perfect. She smiled as she grabbed the dirty pot, carried it to the sink and quickly washed and rinsed it out. Scully finished toweling dry her hair, quickly ran a brush through it, then walked back out of her bedroom towards the kitchen and the waiting Reyes. Reyes glanced back up and smiled at the beautiful sight before her. Oh yes. She was falling-in-love with her all right - Special Agent Dana Scully - the beautiful, red auburn-haired woman, dressed in the prettiest shade of light blue - baby blue - satin pajamas walking up the hallway towards her. The baby-blue shade of her pajamas brought out the beautiful varying shades of ocean-blue in her eyes just perfectly. Reyes smiled again before reminding herself that she was still going to have to be careful, and take things slowly, even though Scully was the one that had been making most all of the moves. Of course, Reyes had not been turning any of those smooth little moves down. She just could not help herself, for she wanted it, too, probably more so than Scully, if truth be known. But then she wanted more than what Scully wanted for the moment. All Scully wanted was a quick little "fuck". At least she thought that was all she wanted. She was so full of it, it was pathetic. But she wouldn't admit to it, that way down deep inside of her very soul she wanted more, too - much more. And that what she really wanted was the very same thing that Reyes wanted. A friendship - that would develop into a relationship, that would one day develop into a partnership, that would end up lasting an entire lifetime. Built on friendship, love, and respect, with unwavering devotion, and admiration for each other. Full of never-ending love, trust, support and companionship. Oh yes, a lifelong partnership. That would last and last, through thick and thin, and to the end of time. Through all the trials, and tribulations, that life can sometimes throw into one's path. Along with all the joy and happiness one can share with another, when one has another by one's side. And Reyes truly didn't care if they made-love tonight, or tomorrow night, or next week or next month or even six months from now. All she truly wanted was Scully's love and the freedom to love Scully truly, openly, honestly and unreservedly in return. And then everything else would fall into place. And she already had that. She already had that kind of freedom, along with Scully's immense love for her in return. But neither of them had realized it quite yet. Scully was too stubborn to admit these things to herself. And Reyes was too afraid to hope for them.

"Soup's on," she teased as Scully walked into the little dining area.

"Oh wow! You've already washed the pot?" Scully asked, surprised, as she glanced over at the sink.

"Yep. I wasn't going to leave it for you to do."

"Hah. Well around my house whoever did the cooking never had to wash the pots, too."

"Well. You did the cooking. You started it and I finished it."

"Oh yeah? And what else have I started?" Scully teased as she walked right up and pulled Reyes down for another deep, wet, hot and passionate little kiss on the lips.

...Oh God, Dana... Reyes thought, but quickly obliged and gave her another deep, wet, hot and passionate kiss on the lips anyway, then said, "Honey. I think we need to talk. Don't you?"

"Nope."

"Hah. Dana?"
"What? Talk about what?" Scully said as she turned and headed for dinner.

"Dana? Come on now. You know what I'm talking about," Reyes replied as she followed her over to the little kitchen table. They both sat down. Scully's eyes had begun to water with unshed tears. ...Oh for Godsakes... Reyes thought as she noticed the unshed tears in Scully's eyes. "Dana... Honey..." she whispered softly as she reached over and clasped Scully's hand.

"No. I don't want to talk. Let's eat," Scully said as she retrieved her hand and began to take her first bite of soup.

...Oh God... Reyes closed her eyes for a moment breathing out a frustrated little sigh. "Dana..." she tried again.

"No. Okay? No."

Reyes sat for a moment more, still frustrated. She sighed, then took her own first bite of soup as well.

"Umm. You added some cheese," Scully commented.

"Umhum. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Of course it's okay," Scully smiled glancing back over at her.

Reyes smiled in return as she took another bite. She knew that she somehow had to breach the subject and talk about the increased intimacy and passionate kisses that where beginning to occur more frequently between them with each passing minute. "Honey... Oh frig... Shit. I'm sorry. I guess I need to quit calling you that for one thing, but..."

"Monica. No. Okay?" Scully stated emphatically.

"No what? What do you think I'm going to say, hum?"

Scully blew out a deep breath, set her spoon back down on the table, and then placed her forehead in her palm beginning to stroke her temples with her fingertips. "I don't know. But, whatever it is, I know I don't want to hear it."

Reyes smirked, then giggled.

Scully smirked in response.

Reyes then giggled even louder.

Scully glanced up and began to giggle somewhat herself.

Reyes then cracked up laughing at Scully's previous statement and expression.

"Well it wasn't that funny," Scully said teasingly.

"Oh geez, I guess it's just the stress that's getting to me," Reyes said through her giggles.

"The stress?"

"Yes, the stress. What a day. And yesterday? My God."

Scully chuckled again, then sighed. "Yeah. Well. We've been through a hell of a lot together these last couple of days, haven't we?" she said as she glanced back up and smiled.

Reyes reached over and began to massage her shoulder. "Yep. And I can promise you this. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else on this Earth but with you through all of..."

Suddenly, Scully began to cry softly.

"Oh no, baby, shhh, don't cry," Reyes whispered as she leaned farther over and cupped Scully's face with her palms beginning to wipe her cheeks and tears away with her thumbs. "Shhh, it's okay," she whispered again as Scully began to cry even more tearfully. "Oh no, baby," she whispered as she quickly got up from her seat and knelt down to her knees just to the side of Scully's chair. "Come here, let me hold you," she whispered as Scully leaned into her warm, protective embrace.

Scully continued to cry on her shoulder as Reyes whispered sweet words of love, comfort and support to her, occasionally kissing her on the forehead and crown while she held her so protectively tight in her arms.

After a few moments, Scully quieted back down and rose back up a little off her shoulder.

Reyes cupped her tear-streaked face again, then ever-so-gently leaned in and lightly kissed her on the lips.

Scully smiled at the tender little kiss.

"You know what?" Reyes whispered softly.

Scully shook her head.

"I love you."

"No. No, don't. Don't say that," Scully closed her eyes beginning to shake her head somewhat fretfully.

"Shhh," Reyes placed her fingertips along Scully's lips. "Dana. Now listen. Listen to me, okay? You're my friend. And I love you. Can you understand that?"

Scully glanced back up making eye contact.

Reyes smiled and then briefly double-winked at her.

Scully smiled a little in spite of herself.

"Now. Because you're my friend, I think we need to slow things down a little bit, don't you? Just a little? Hum?" she said.

Scully closed her eyes again whimpering a soft little sigh. She knew Reyes was right. She had even promised it to herself that she would not jeopardize this newly-developing friendship with Reyes and carry it into the bedroom too soon. She knew better. She was just battling with a very strong and highly-aroused libido at the moment. She finally nodded in response.

"Okay. Now. I want to say something else before we move on to another subject. Is that okay?"

Scully nodded, her face still cupped inside Reyes' palms.

"Dana... Under just about any other set of circumstances that I could ever even begin to imagine right now, I would be carrying you back there into that bedroom so fast to make sweet, passionate love to you..."

"What?" Scully just had to interrupt her.

Reyes smirked a little, then replied, "Umhum, I would."

Scully smirked. "Then, why don't you? Now. Tonight."

Reyes smirked again, then chuckled as she glanced away. "Hum. I need to get up for a moment," she said as she began to climb back up off the floor and sit back down in her chair to rest her knees. She sat there for a moment in silence, Scully looking on. "Dana," she started again. "Tell me something... Why is it okay for me to tell you that I want to make-love to you?... But it's not okay for me to tell you that I love you?... Explain that to me, could you?"

...Whooohhh... Scully smirked. She wasn't so sure that she could. ...Whooohhh... She smirked again. "Oh wow," she finally responded as she glanced away. "Wow," she said again as she placed her head in her palm again. "Oh God," she groaned under her breath. Reyes had her on that one. She was completely at a loss as to what to say or how to respond to that.

Reyes watched her for another moment, then grabbed Scully's bowl full of cooling soup up off the table and headed for the microwave, toting her own bowl of cooling soup as well. She quickly set the timer to reheat the two bowls of soup, started it up, then glanced back around at Scully.

Scully was still sitting there with her forehead in her palm, completely thunderstruck by Reyes' earlier question. And that damn phrase about "circumstances" was driving her nuts, too. She had quickly decided that she hated that word, "circumstances", the "right circumstances" and that phrase "any other set of circumstances" as well, for that matter.

"Dana..."

"No. I... um... God," Scully sighed again as she blew out another deep breath.

Reyes walked back over to the little table just behind her chair and began to massage her shoulders adding some much-needed delicious pressure with every stroke.

"Ummm. What are you doing? Why are you doing that?" Scully moaned rolling her neck in response to the wonderful massage, and quite surprised that Reyes would even want to touch her at the moment.

"Why am I doing this," Reyes softly repeated Scully's question as she continued to give her a nice, deep back-massage. "Because you're my friend. And you're going through probably the most difficult thing you have ever been through in your life."

Warm tears began to roll down Scully's cheeks again.

"And you're grieving. And you just lost your partner, your best friend."

Scully quietly sniffled.

Reyes then stopped her ministrations and knelt back down beside of her clasping her hand. "And because I love you. And I'm going to do everything in my power to help you through this, outside of making-love to you."

Scully quietly sniffled again.

Reyes then retrieved her hand, reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "And because I know that there is no way in hell that you are in the right frame-of-mind right now to be making-love to anybody."

Scully then began to full-out cry from the truth as she collapsed back down into Reyes' opening arms.

"Shhh," Reyes whispered wrapping her arms around her, and then continued, "And because I would never ever want to take advantage of you, or this situation. And Special Agent Dana Scully..." She pulled her back up off her shoulder for a moment to make eye contact. "If the time ever does come, when the situation is different. And we meet again, under far better circumstances than this, then... Well... If you still want me..." she hesitated swallowing hard as a few of her own stray tears began to roll down her own cheeks as well.

"Oh God, Monica," Scully whimpered as she leaned back down into her warm, comforting embrace wrapping her arms tightly around her. "God. How could I not? God, Moni," she whimpered again. How could she not want her? Not only now - right now - at this very moment. But one day, down the road, when the circumstances were far better than this? "God Moni, hold me. Just hold me. Please?" she whimpered through her tears again as she continued to cry on Reyes' shoulder.

"Shhh, I've gotcha. I gotcha, baby," Reyes soothed smiling a little bit through her own tears, for she was already holding her snuggly against her shoulder and chest.

She continued to hold her and stroke her back and shoulder-blades, gently kissing her and lightly rocking her in her arms. She loved Scully so much. And she had not allowed her fears to stifle her need to tell her that she loved her any longer. And she would do just about anything to help her, her wonderful new friend that she loved so deeply, through this horrible time.

Scully just continued to drink in the love and compassion Reyes so freely gave to her reveling in the intimacy and closeness of the moment.

After a minute or so had passed...

...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

The little buzzer on the microwave had begun to go off. Reyes squeezed Scully a little tighter in her arms for a moment, then asked, "Ready to finish your soup?" as she wiped the tears from her own eyes away.

Scully sniffled a little bit as she nodded.

Reyes kissed her gently on the crown then rose back up to retrieve their soup bowls from the microwave.

Scully watched her as she grabbed a clean spoon from the sink then lightly began to stir the reheated soup checking to see if it was hot enough. ...God... Where have you been all my life?... she thought. ...How could I ever hope to find a better friend than you?... God, Mulder... God, I wish you could have known her. You'd love her. And she's so good to me, Mulder. She's so good to me. Better than I deserve...

Reyes carried the two soup bowls back over to the little kitchen table and set them back down, then took her seat. She glanced over at Scully and smiled.

Scully reached over and clasped her hand. "Monica? I um... I need to tell you that, um... I think that was about the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me in my life, and, um... and I..." she hesitated for a moment regaining control of her emotions. "I um... You're right. I... Oh, wow. How do I put this? I... Sometimes I tend to use sex as a... a tranquilizer or something. And I... But I... I know you're right. I'm not... My emotions are so..." she hesitated again as she felt fresh new tears begin to flood her eyes all over again.

"Shhh," Reyes responded gently squeezing her hand. "I know. You don't have to say anything. I know. And it's okay. Now, come on. I want you to finish your soup. You need your soup. Okay?"

Scully chuckled. "And I thought I was the one that was supposed to be taking care of you for the next 24 hours."

Reyes glanced at her watch. "Time's up. My turn."

Scully chuckled again, then glanced down at her own watch as well. "Hum. 8:13. Well. It's not quite up. We were still at the compound this time last..." she suddenly hesitated again.

Reyes glanced back over at her.

Scully just licked her lips, then took a fresh new bite of her reheated soup. She was not quite of the right frame-of-mind to deal with her questions about the compound yet either.

They sat there finishing their soup, sharing a few crackers and another cup of coffee together, enjoying each other's company in a nice, warm and comfortable silence, each occasionally glancing at each other and smiling, feeling all of those wonderfully warm and fuzzy sensations stirring around inside of their hearts and souls. They were made for each other. They were perfect for each other. The perfect blend. But they had so much yet to face before they could truly be together. And somehow, way down deep inside of their hearts, their souls, their spirits, their sub-conscious minds, they already seemed to know and understand that, that their time together, to spend for the rest of their lifetimes together, had not yet come.

"Moni?" Scully finally broke into the comfortable silence.

"Yes?" Reyes quietly whispered back as she glanced back up.

"Does... What you said earlier. Does that mean that... we can't kiss anymore?"

Reyes smirked, then giggled. "Ah geez," she replied, then leaned over, cupped Scully's chin with her palm, and then lightly kissed her yet again on the lips. "You're gonna be the death of me yet, woman," she teased.

Scully grinned, then said, "8:17."

"Hum?"

"It's 8:17 PM."

"Oh. Okay," Reyes said nodding as she glanced at her watch.

They both had finished their meal, then began to rise up from the table, dishes and coffee cups in hand. Each seemed to know exactly what little chore to do, one busily washing and drying the couple of soup bowls and spoons, while the other cleaned off the kitchen table and wiped it down with a damp cloth, then both deciding they each wanted another cup of decaf. Luckily, they both liked decaf coffee. It seemed to be a nice little treat for the both of them. And Scully had all kinds of exotic flavors stashed inside her kitchen cabinet. They had all the nice, exotic-flavored coffee bean choices their little hearts could desire for the moment.

After a couple of more minutes had passed...

"Moni?"

"Hum?" Reyes responded as she finished placing Scully's chair back underneath the kitchen table.

"It's 8:19."

"Okay," she responded a little confused. Had she forgotten about something or what?

Scully just giggled at her response.

"Moni?"

Reyes smirked, then said, "Yes?"

"Do you mind giving me another hug? I think I could use..."

Reyes was already there, giving her another hug.

Scully just leaned in and held on.

After another minute or so, Reyes leaned down and lightly kissed her yet again on the lips.

"Moni?"

"What baby?" Reyes responded becoming quite frustrated indeed. What more could Scully want from her right now? She was holding her, and stroking her back, lightly giving her another nice little shoulder massage. And she had just kissed her again lightly on the lips.

Scully glanced at her watch as Reyes continued to hold her and stroke her back. "It's 8:20," she said.

Reyes smirked again. "Okay," she responded, then chuckled. "Am I forgetting something here?"

"No. I just thought I'd give you the time of day."

"The time of day?" Reyes said, furrowing her brow in total confusion, as she leaned away to make eye contact.

"Umhum. I'm just making sure that you know that I'd have given you the time of day. No matter how we met. Or what the circumstances might have..."

...Ohhh... Reyes immediately clasped the sides of Scully's face and pulled her in for another most heatedly-deep, wet-hot and passionate, lip-and-tongue-sucking kiss they had shared yet. And it lasted for a good half a minute, at least, before Scully finally had to break it off from the heated intensity.

She stood there, in Reyes' arms, trembling a little bit as they both breathed heavily. "Whew... God! You've got to cut that out now, if you don't want to..." she panted. "Whew... Damn, woman!"

Reyes just shrugged grinning from ear-to-ear.

********************

8:35 PM: Reyes was sitting on the couch looking over some of the case documents Scully had brought in from the car earlier in the night. She was reading, rereading, and then rereading again, the report, and what some of the other eye-witnesses had said about spotting a UFO, spotting alien spaceships and other eye-witness accounts of alien abductions. Well. She had said that she tried to keep an open mind. And this report was blowing her open mind wide open from what she was reading. But, she believed it, for she had seen one herself. She glanced at her watch. Yep. A little over 48 hours ago she had actually seen an unidentified flying object that just happened to be an actual alien and "out of this world" flying spaceship. And, just a little over 24 hours ago, she had seen another one hovering over that compound. And she believed that with all her heart, no matter what Doggett thought. She knew what she had seen. And that was what she had seen. And she had also seen many other unexplainable things inside that compound, too.

Scully walked back out into the main living room area and then over to the kitchen table toting Mulder's address book.

Reyes glanced up to watch her for a few moments.

Scully continued to just stand there, practically oblivious to her scrutiny.

"Dana, you can't keep putting it off," Reyes finally said.

"I know," Scully responded.

"Well. Come here. Let's call your mom first. What do you say?" Reyes said as Scully walked on over to the couch, closer to her, then just stood there in front of her, her knees just barely touching hers. Reyes suddenly turned and scooted up to the last cushion on the couch, leaned up against the armrest, lifted her legs up off the floor, and then, basically, ended up laid out prone on the couch. She spread her legs slightly in offering, then lightly tugged on Scully's hand. "Come on. Lie down here with me," she encouraged.

Scully stood there for another moment or so trying to regain control of her emotions.

"Come on, honey. I'm right here. And we'll do it together, okay?" Reyes tried again.

Scully nodded as she began to crawl into her arms and between her legs. She laid her head down against her chest listening to her heartbeat.

They lay there together on the couch for a few moments in silence, Reyes leaned up against the armrest as Scully lay on top of her, all curled up in her arms. Reyes then leaned in and lightly kissed her on the crown. "Honey, come on now. It's getting late. And you know you've got to do this," she gently reminded her again.

"I know. But... I can't," Scully whimpered through her beginning tears.

"Oh baby, shhh, yes you can. And I'm right here to help you, okay? I'm right here," Reyes whispered again as she leaned back down and kissed her yet again on the crown.

Scully began to cry a little more deeply.

"Ohhh, baby, shhh," Reyes soothed tightening her hold around her torso. "Shhh, it's okay, I'm right here, baby," she whispered softly as she gently kissed her on the edge of her forehead, and then began to feather her fingers through her hair and lightly stroke her back.

Scully just lay there sucking in the much-needed love and support she was receiving from Reyes right now. She needed someone like Reyes so much in her life. And especially now that her very best friend, Fox Mulder, was gone.

"Where's the address book?" Reyes whispered.

"Floor."

Reyes rose up a little bit, then glanced down along the floor in front of the couch. And, sure enough, there it was lying directly in front of the couch. She quickly decided that she could get to it as she twisted her body, along with Scully's, reached out and then grabbed it up off the floor. Scully continued to just lie there in her arms, listening to her heartbeat, as Reyes began to open it up and look inside. She found the "S" page. Scully's mom and her ...Hum. Must be a brother... were the first names listed in the little book. She glanced on down. Scully must have two brothers, or uncles, or something, she quickly decided. Scully began to roll over onto her side, still lying comfortably in Reyes' arms, and all along her torso, with her lower body all tucked up between her legs, and her head tucked up into the crook of her neck. Reyes quickly kissed her on the forehead, then continued to hold the little book out in front of them, her arms still wrapped securely around Scully's torso. "So. Who do you want to call first?" she finally asked.

"Not mom."

"Okay." Reyes wasn't going to push it for Scully to call her mother. "Well, maybe one of Agent Mulder's friends then?" she offered instead.

Scully nodded.

"Okay. Tell me who and I'll look the name up."

"Byers."

Reyes began to flip over to the "B" section.

"No. Wait a minute. Try Frohike."

"How do you spell it?"

"F. It's in the 'F's. Melvin Frohike."

"Okay." Reyes quickly flipped over to the "F" section of Mulder's little address book. And, sure enough, there it was. "Dana. You know what you could do is ask some of his friends to do some of the calling for you. Let them pass on the word, too."

"Yeah. That's a good idea," Scully whispered as she began to rise up just a little bit off Reyes' torso.

"Ngh," Reyes grunted for a moment in pain. Scully had just put a lot of pressure on her injured gut and ... Oh God... had it hurt.

"What? Oh. I'm sor..."

"Umum, no, it's okay," Reyes responded squirming a little bit to get more comfortable. "Now. Frohike," she said as she sucked in her pain, reached over and grabbed the closest cell-phone, and then handed it to her.

"Is this yours or mine?" Scully said.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. I don't want to use your cell-phone. Your minutes to..."

"Oh, Silly. I think it's yours anyway. But, I'm not sure," Reyes shrugged.

Scully smirked. Their cell-phones looked exactly alike. And both had been lying within an inch or so of each other all evening. ...Oh well... If she doesn't care then I won't... she thought as she began the hard task of calling Mulder's friends and acquaintances, one by one, on down through the little address book, occasionally stopping to cry for a few moments, then resuming her task and calling another number or so, then stopping to cry for another moment, then going on down to the next number as Reyes just held her, comforted her, consoled her, and lightly kissed her occasionally, as she inwardly cried right along with her.

********************

9:15 PM: They both had decided to take a quick little break from the painful task, get another cup of coffee, take a bathroom break, put another load of clothes in the wash and then fold the clothes that had just finished drying from the first load.

Scully walked over to Reyes as Reyes finished folding a pair of Scully's pajamas.

"You know, you really don't have to do that," Scully said as she reached down and lightly patted the nice little pile of neatly folded clothes.

Reyes smiled. "I know. But I want to. Is that okay?"

Scully giggled a little bit. "Yeah, it's just, I'm not use to it, having someone else fold my clothes."

Reyes grinned again.

"Moni?"

"Yes?"

"What happened at the compound?"

...Uh-oh... Here we go... Reyes thought. And she knew that sooner or later she would hear that question. And yet she was still not quite prepared with an answer. She reached up and lightly caressed the side of Scully's face with the backs of her fingers, then lightly rested her palm along her cheek. She stood there watching her, not knowing what in the hell to say.

"Monica. Please. Tell me," Scully tried again.

Reyes swallowed hard, continuing to watch her for another moment, then leaned down and tenderly kissed her on the lips.

Scully whimpered a little from the tender little kiss.

Reyes backed away slightly, then leaned back in and gently kissed her yet again on the lips, never removing her palm from her cheek.

Scully had closed her eyes to the two gentle and tender little kisses, then opened them back up and locked eyes with her.

"Dana?"

"Hum?" Scully smiled in spite of herself. She loved the way Reyes said her name.

"Don't be angry with me now, okay? When I ask you this?"

"Okay."

"Dana... Honey... What do you remember? Tell me what you remember."

"Hah," Scully huffed, blowing a quick little breath out, then closed her eyes. "Monica? That's the problem. I don't remember. I don't remember a damn thing."

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Nope. Nothing."

"You're sure. I mean, you don't... Dana, don't you remember going inside the compound? And that big ship that was hovering over it? And then there were the sounds of all those people...?"

Scully began to cry again.

"Oh God, shhh, baby, no, shhh," Reyes whispered again as she pulled her in for another tight embrace. "Shhh, it's okay," she soothed again.

They stood there for several more minutes in silence, Reyes just holding her, as she cried on her shoulder.

********************

9:22 PM: They had decided to just wait until sometime tomorrow morning to breach the subject. It was getting late. And Scully still had a couple of more people to call, including her mother. Reyes had decided that she needed to go and take a quick little smoke-break before they finished the painful task. So she had put on her shoes and jacket, and had headed downstairs to the sidewalk area, just outside the building, to go and take a quick little smoke. And Scully was slightly upset with her for that. She wasn't angry with her or anything. But Scully had told her that she could go ahead and smoke in her apartment. But Reyes would hear none of it.

Scully continued to rummage around in the top kitchen cabinet until she found what she was looking for. ...There it is. Now. This'll stop some of that nonsense... she thought as she grabbed her little tabletop air purifier out of the back of the cabinet. "Damn," she fussed. ...Worried about second-hand smoke. Shit! Hell! I use to smoke myself! Damn it! Still do on occasion... she thought. Of course, Reyes had a legitimate concern, for, after all, Scully was pregnant. And the cigarette smoke could potentially hurt the baby.

...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

"What the...? Oh." Scully quickly grabbed the vibrating cell-phone off the kitchen tabletop before it hit the floor. "Scully," she answered.

No response.

"Scully. Agent Scully."

No response.

"Scully. This is Special Agent Dana Scully. Is someone...?"

"¿Esta la agente Reyes, por favor?"

...What the...?... she furrowed her brow, then looked at the phone. ...Oh crap... She had answered Reyes' cell-phone by mistake.

"Hola, señorita ¿Esta la agente Reyes? ¿Monica Reyes, por favor?" the sweet little older lady's voice said again, as she said "hello, miss" and asked for "the Agent Reyes, Monica Reyes, please" again.

"Um. I'm sorry," Scully responded. ...Oh God... "Um. Do you speak English?" ...Oh crap. Think, Dana, think... "El inglés? ¿Habla usted inglés?" she tried again using her old High School Spanish. She had forgotten more than she had ever known. But she at least knew how to ask someone if they spoke English. She hoped.

No response.

"Well, um. Don't... Don't hang up, okay? I mean... She... she'll be back in a minute. Okay?" ...Oh for Crissakes... She was beginning to panic. She didn't want the sweet little older lady on the other end of the line to think she had called the wrong number. "Um. I'm her partner, I mean, I work with her." ...Shit... She probably doesn't even...

"Scully?"

"Yes! Dana Scully!" ...Oh God! Think, Dana, think!...

"Gracias, Dana Scully."

"De nada." ...Wow! Where did that come from?... Scully thought. She had just surprised herself, as she said, "You're welcome," to the sweet little older lady on the other end of the line. Or at least she hoped that was what she had said.

Just then Reyes opened the door.

"Moni!" she cried out sounding quite panicked indeed.

"What? What's wrong?" Reyes responded, alarmed, as she hurried over to her.

"It, it, it's for you," Scully stuttered, hurriedly handing her the phone, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Okay," Reyes replied, her eyes widening as well. ...What in the...?... "Monica Reyes," she said into the mouthpiece.

"Baby Girl?"

"Grams?" Reyes responded happily.

"Shhh. Go to another room if you can."

"What? Why?" Scully heard Reyes say. She cocked an eyebrow.

"Shhh. Español," Reyes' grandmother quickly added.

Reyes furrowed her brow. Why in the world would her grandmother want her to speak in Spanish right now all of a sudden? ...What in the...?...

But her grandmother had quickly tried to cover her own voice from being recognized by Scully. So, she had hastily switched to Spanish, never in a million years considering the possibility that Scully would answer her "Baby Girl's" cell-phone if she called. And now, she needed Reyes to go along with the switch, so she could continue to cover her tracks, and prevent Scully from figuring it out, whom she had actually just spoken with via Reyes' cell-phone. For Grams did not want Scully to realize just yet that she had been the one to help Scully, and encourage her to trust in her instincts, and do the right thing last night by getting her "Baby Girl" out of that damn ER Ward, before it killed her, literally. One day Scully would be ready to hear, know and understand the truth. But now was not the time. It would potentially frighten her too much to know that someone could actually communicate with her through her thoughts, although, if she would just stop and think about it, Reyes had done the very same thing several times last night at the compound. And even once earlier in the day, just before they had left Reyes' motel room. But then again, Scully could not remember much of anything that had happened out at the compound. And right now, she was just too preoccupied with everything else happening in her life, to really stop, think, listen, and take notice of her thoughts, and the occasional fleeting sounds of Reyes' gentle voice, softly whispering to her, and soothing her with words of love and encouragement inside of her head. She was just not of the right frame-of-mind to deal with such things at the moment. So that would just have to wait for another time and another place when Scully was ready to hear, know and understand, and especially, accept, the truly amazing telepathic power that Reyes and her grandmother both possessed.

"¿Algo va mal?" Scully heard Reyes say as she began to walk down the hallway towards Scully's bedroom asking her grandmother if something was wrong in her native tongue again.

Scully quirked her lips at the sudden change to Spanish. She found it quite interesting to say the very least.

Reyes leaned up against the hallway wall, just outside of Scully's bedroom, continuing to respond in Spanish, as her grandmother hurriedly told her to be very careful. For she was still not at full strength yet when it came to her telepathic abilities, and that she should not use them in any form or fashion, for at least the next couple of days, or at least until the nausea in her gut was gone.

...But Grams?... "¿Pero Grams?" Reyes wanted to argue a little bit with her grandmother.

"No. You're too weak. You can't even hear me, hear my thoughts right now. So, no. Don't."

"Ah," Reyes responded as she glanced down the hallway looking for Scully.

Scully was not in sight at the moment. But she was just around the corner, and could hear most every word.

...But I... "Pero yo..." Reyes started again wanting to argue a little bit more with her grandmother.

"No, Baby Girl, no. Now you listen to me. I don't want to see you do to yourself what your mother..."

"No! No, por favor," ...No, please... Reyes softly whimpered under her breath as she closed her eyes to horrific memories of her childhood beginning to flood her thoughts.

Her grandmother hurriedly continued on with the conversation, telling her that her health came first, and was far more important than her using her extra-sensory abilities to help Scully right now. And that if she began to use her telepathic abilities too soon she would again become deathly sick. And she quickly reminded her, too, that Scully was a very strong and resilient woman. And that Reyes was doing all that she needed to do for the moment to help Scully through this difficult time anyway. And Reyes knew that. She just needed a little reminding, that was all. And she couldn't deny the immense seriousness of her illness last night, either. No matter how much she wanted to argue with her grandmother over it. And her grandmother had known what to do, to drive home her point, bring up her birth mother. And it had worked. And then her grandmother hurriedly continued with another topic of discussion and told her that soon, very soon, they would need to talk about what she was feeling for Scully, too. But that for now they couldn't, for Scully was right there in the very next room. Then her grandmother quickly had her to promise that she would call her, as soon as she got back home to New Orleans. And that she had some very interesting things to share with her "Baby Girl", very interesting things indeed. And that she had been waiting for this moment - this very right moment in time - before she told her these very interesting things - things that could potentially change her "Baby Girl"'s life forever.

"But... Grams?" Reyes slipped back over into English for a moment as she leaned back up off the hallway wall and headed down to Scully's bedroom. It was hard not to slip over into English with her grandmother speaking to her in English on the other end of the line. And besides, she didn't understand why her Grams wanted her to speak in Spanish right now anyway. ...What's the deal?... she mused. But, she most always did what her Grams wanted her to do. So, she continued to converse in Spanish, for the most part, with an occasional slip to English. ...Tell me... "Dígame," she said. She wanted to know, what were these "very interesting things" her grandmother referred to that could possibly change her life forever? Her heart had begun to flutter inside her chest at just the mere thought of learning more about the vast secrets of the Universe her grandmother continued to teach her, as she grew older, and matured, and became stronger, both spiritually and physically, so that she could handle the immense burden of such Universal Knowledge.

"No. Not now. When you get home. And Baby Girl, I love you. Always. Call me as soon as you get home, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, someone is here that needs to speak with you."

"Okay. También te quiero," ...And I love you, too... Scully heard her say in her native tongue, from all the way back in her bedroom.

She furrowed her brow. The occasional slips from Spanish to English and back into Spanish again had not gone unnoticed. And she had been eavesdropping a little bit in spite of herself. Generally, she would not be one to do such a thing to someone else, eavesdrop on another's conversation. But she was intrigued with whoever was on the other end of the line. And the more she thought about it, the sweet little older lady's soft and gentle voice had sounded somewhat familiar. Especially when she had said her name. ...No. That's crazy... she mused as a memory of last night in the ER, and again back at the motel room last night, flashed through her thoughts.

Within seconds, a little boy was on the other end of the line with Reyes. And Reyes was suddenly rattling off in Spanish, all giddy and happy, teasing and playing with him as they chatted away in their native tongue.

Scully cocked an eyebrow yet again at the sudden change in tone and attitude, then walked into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee.

Reyes then walked back out into the hallway and then back down to the main living room. She glanced up at Scully, then held one finger up to let her know that she would not be much longer on the phone. Her little nephew was rattling off 100-miles-an-hour about everything that had ever happened to him in his entire little 3 1/2 years of life.

Scully then poured her another cup of freshly-brewed coffee.

...Oh. I love you so much, Jacob... "Ah. Te amo tanto, Jacob."

Scully glanced back around. She was very intrigued indeed with Reyes' beautiful flow of the Spanish language. And she had not really thought about it until now. But Reyes' last name should have told her that Reyes had some type of connection with the Spanish-speaking world. She walked back over and handed Reyes her newly-poured and fresh cup of coffee.

"Gracias," Reyes whispered to her as she winked and took the cup from Scully. Scully grinned. Reyes had not even noticed that she had said "thank you" in Spanish, for she was in Mexico-mode all the way. "¡Ah, Jacob, estás tan grande!" Scully heard her say again in Spanish as she told her little nephew something he always loved to hear, how big he was getting. Scully smiled, her heart tingling inside her chest. Something about hearing Reyes speak in Spanish warmed her heart all over again, as if there were anything else Reyes needed to do to warm her heart. "Ah. Sí..." ...Oh. Yes... I love you... Always... "...Te amo... Siempre... Adios." ...Good-bye... And with that, Reyes collapsed her cell-phone. "Oh, my nephew. That was my nephew, Jacob," Reyes said, smiling, as she held her palm over her heart. "He's so beautiful," she said with a warm and gleeful sigh.

Scully nodded. "Well, who was the older lady?"

"My Grams. My grandmother. She helped raise me."

"Oh. Well. Why do they all speak Spanish? If I may be so bold?"

Reyes giggled. "Mexico. That's where I'm from."

"Mexico... Really?"

"Yep. And it's a long story," she replied as she took the first swig of her coffee.

"Wow. I'd love to hear about it sometime."

Reyes grinned. "And you will. Sometime. But right now we need to call your mom, don't you think?"

Scully smirked.

********************

10:07 PM: Reyes had just finished folding the last load of clothes from the clothes-dryer, then walked back out into the living room area to find Scully still sound asleep on the couch, just as she had left her a few minutes ago when the clothes-dryer buzzer had gone off. ...Thank God... She smiled. Scully needed her sleep so desperately. And the last hour had been very difficult and stressful, with all of the phone-calling and then Scully talking to her mother for those few minutes.

...Ring...

...Shit!... Reyes hurried over to the cordless phone to answer it. She didn't want anything waking Scully up. "Scully residence," she barely whispered as she hurried down the hallway.

"Monica?"

"John?"

"Yeah. What the hell you doin' over there?"

"Oh. Long story. What's up?"

"Scully wanted me to call her as soon as we got to Raleigh. Tell her no problems outta Kersh, okay?"

"Great. Oh God, what a relief. She'll be so glad to hear that," she continued to whisper softly into the mouthpiece.

"Whatcha whisperin' for?"

"She's asleep. And I don't want to wake her."

"Oh." Doggett suddenly became quite intrigued. "So whatcha doin' over there? I thought you had a reservation at a motel or somethin'?"

"I did. But they screwed it up. Weird. We couldn't find a room. Some big convention's in town so..."

"Oh."

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Don't let on to Skinner, would you?"

Doggett furrowed his brow. Now he was more than intrigued. He was down right curious. "Monica? What the... ? Are you two...?"

"No. No. It's nothing like that, but... Could you just cover for me? Please?"

"Sure. Ain't no problem."

"Thanks. I owe ya one."

A moment of silence passed between the two best friends.

"Monica? If there ain't nothin' happenin' between you two, then why do you need me to cover for ya?"

Reyes chuckled. "Because, I screwed up this morning and said something that may have sounded a little... Well... I just screwed up. And I don't want any problems for her, you know?"

"You screwed up?" he replied. Now he was very curious indeed. "She stayed with ya all night last night, right?"

"Yes."

"In the same bed?"

"John..."

"And?"

And nothing. Nothing, John, really. But... God, John. Please. Just... Can you do this for me? Trust me on this? Please?"

"Sure. Ain't no problem."

"Thanks. Good night."

"Night."

And with that they hung up.

Reyes walked back down to the living room, still slightly giggling at Doggett's speculation. He was her best friend. And it was hard for her to hide much from him, if truth be known. But, technically, nothing had happened between her and Scully last night. Nope. Nothing. Nothing at all ...Right... she thought as she placed the cordless phone back down on the charger, then glanced over at Scully. ...Nope. Nothing at all...She smiled. Scully hadn't budged. She was still sound asleep on the couch. Reyes smiled again, then quietly walked back down the hallway and into Scully's bedroom, then pulled the covers down. She fluffed Scully's pillow up, adjusted it, and then checked out anything else that might need to be fluffed up, or adjusted, before she went back to the living room to get Scully. A little nightlight was on over in the corner. She wondered if Scully slept with the little nightlight on or preferred complete darkness. ...Oh well... She would be finding out soon enough. She quietly walked back down the hallway towards Scully sound asleep on the couch. She knelt down in front of the couch and next to her, then checked out her bearings, and anything else that might be an obstacle in her path. Everything was clear. She then ever-so-carefully began to run her arms underneath Scully's slumbering body and then lift her up off the couch and into her arms. Scully stirred just a little from the movement, then collapsed her body completely into her arms. Reyes then ever-so-carefully began to stand, while Scully continued to rest so comfortably in her arms. Scully then barely mumbled something into her neck, as she ever-so-carefully began to turn and softly walk towards the hallway.

Scully stirred just slightly yet again, then, "Moni?" she whispered.

"Hum?" Reyes responded back as she lightly rested her chin along her crown, easily carrying her down the hallway.

"Where you taking me?" she whispered, her eyes still closed and resting peacefully in Reyes' arms.

"To bed."

"To bed?"

"Umhum."

"Really?"

Reyes chuckled lightly. "Umhum."

"Promise?"

Reyes giggled again, then said, "Promise," as she maneuvered her way down through the hallway and down to Scully's bedroom with her precious cargo, Dana Scully herself, in tow.

Scully giggled into Reyes' neck, never opening her eyes and still resting comfortably in her arms.

Reyes again leaned her chin down against her crown, then kissed her ever-so-gently on the forehead. "Umm. I love you," she whispered softly.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"But I do."

"Umum."

"Okay. But I do," Reyes said as she reentered the bedroom, walked over to Scully's bed and ever-so-gently laid her down on the bed. Scully rolled out of her arms and onto the bed. Reyes smiled as she began to tuck her in under the covers. Scully groaned a little as she rolled even farther over to her side and clutched her pillow. Within seconds, she was back sound asleep. Reyes stayed there, on her knees, just watching her sleep for a few moments, then leaned in and ever-so-gently kissed her on the lips. "I love you, Dana," she quietly whispered again into the darkness of the room, nobody awake to hear her. Scully lightly whimpered again in her sleep, then tugged on her pillow a little bit. Reyes stayed there, on her knees, watching over her as she slept peacefully in her own bed. She then reached up and gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes tucking it behind her ear. She then glanced over at the little nightlight still turned on and quickly decided to just leave it on. It didn't seem to be bothering Scully. And, just in case Scully needed her through the night, it would help her to see the room more clearly.

After a few moments, she leaned back down and kissed her one more time on the cheek just before rising up and heading back down to the living room and couch. They had decided earlier in the night that it would probably be best for the both of them to sleep separately tonight, given all of the confusing emotions and frustrating physical sensations they each were battling with inside. And it had taken Reyes several minutes of discussion to finally convince Scully that she would be fine on the couch. Scully needed to be in her own bed tonight and get some much-needed sleep. And Reyes was still so exhausted herself, she could probably fall asleep standing up in a subway, given enough time, peace and quiet. She found the folded blanket and pillow lying beside the couch, picked them up, adjusted her pillow, lay down and tossed the blanket over her body. She was fine. She was content with sleeping on the couch. And within moments, she had drifted off into a much-needed deep sleep as well.