Title: Suspension 
Author: Mrs. T.J. 
Type of Story: DSR  
Rating: NC-17 (sex, language)
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine.
Summary: Doggett puts Scully ahead of FBI protocol and gets in 
trouble for it. 
Feedback:  tjeras@juno.com


Dana Scully had promised not to leave her partner out of any 
more cases. She thought if she left John Doggett a message so 
that he knew where she was going, it would be good enough. She 
now knew damn well it wasn't good enough. 
She felt her lip puff up where the man had struck her, and a 
trickle of blood roll down her chin. He hit her again, and fog 
rolled into her brain as she hit the floor. She fought it, until 
she felt the man start tearing at her clothes. She knew damn 
well what he was going to do, and if she were at all lucky, 
she'd be so out of it she wouldn't have to see him, or hear him 
or most of all feel him. 

She was aware, in spite of the buzzing in her brain, of the man 
climbing on top of her. Blackness was swirling around in her 
head, and she hoped it would settle soon. She hoped it would all 
be over soon. 
Then she heard a loud explosion. She forced open her eyes for 
just a moment, and saw another pair of eyes. 
Three weeks later John Doggett was sitting in the Office of 
Professional Review, examining each of the six faces before him. 
The only sympathetic face he saw was A.D. Skinner's. Alvin 
Kersch, he knew full well, would toast his ass and enjoy doing 
it. Thank God he wasn't in charge. Jana Cassidy, one of the few 
female deputy directors, was. Maybe that was a plus, not that he 
really cared. 
Jana Cassidy sighed as she looked at the file in front of her. 
Why did the hardest problems to solve always have to do with the 
X-Files personnel? She looked up at Doggett. "You must 
understand, Agent Doggett, that in view of Waco, and Ruby Ridge, 
we have to be very careful in appearing to condone excessive 
force." 
"Yes, Ma'am, but my partner's life was in danger." 
Kersch broke in. "You shot an unarmed man in the back, Agent 
Doggett. That man is now dead." 
Jana Cassidy looked at Kersch, annoyed, then turned back to 
Doggett. "I do not want you to feel, Agent Doggett, that none of 
us are sympathetic to your plight. You found yourself in...an 
extemely distasteful situation. While I will acknowledge that, 
there are those here who would argue that Agent Scully's life 
itself was not in immediate danger. We have therefore, reached a 
compromise. Two weeks suspension without pay. Do you have 
anything else to say?" 
"Only that it's worth every penny. I thought at the time I was 
doing what I had to do." 
"I'm sure you did, Agent Doggett." 
John Doggett got up and walked out of the room. There was a 
bench in the hall, and he sat down on it, and put his head in 
his hands, trying to calm himself. A shadow loomed over him, and 
he saw Skinner standing there. 
"I'm sorry, John. I did the best I could." 
"I know you did, but like I said, it's worth it. That guy was 
wanted for breaking and entering, and when we get the DNA 
evidence back, I just know he's going to turn out to be our 
serial rapist." 
"I think so, too." 
"I'm just not sorry I shot the son of a bitch. I never will be," 
"John," said Skinner softly, " I would have done the same 
thing." 

When Walter Skinner got back from the hearing, Dana Scully was 
waiting in the hall outside his office for him. 
"What happened?" She asked. 
"Agent Doggett was suspended for two weeks without pay," He told 
her straight out. 
Dana was outraged. "That's so unfair! How could you!" 
"There was nothing I could do! Kersch wanted him fired, and some 
of the others were willing to go along with that just to get the 
whole thing over with! Trust me, this is the best we could do." 
Dana glared at him. "Who's idea was suspension?" 
"Jana Cassidy suggested it as a compromise. You're lucky she was 
on the board. Ever since she got the X-Files reopened after that 
business in Dallas, she has kept an eye on you." 
"How sweet," Dana said sarcastically. "John shouldn't have had 
to take the blame for this. I shouldn't have been in that 
building alone. They should have suspended me for not following 
procedure, instead of suspending John for shooting that 
asshole!" 
"He WAS an asshole," Skinner agreed, "But the man was unarmed. 
It falls under excessive force. They think that John should have 
been able to pull him off you." 
"If John hadn't shot him when he did, if he had waited one more 
minute, he wouldn't have had to pull him OFF of me, he would 
have had to pull him OUT of me, and you know that!" 
Skinner embarrassed, blushed bright red. "I know, and I told 
John that I would have done the same thing. He understands why 
he was suspended. He knows why it has to be this way, and he 
accepts it. I suggest you do the same." 
"If he's suspended, I still say I should be suspended, too!" 
"Dana, I can't suspend you because you feel sorry for John 
Doggett. He did kill a man, even if it was to protect his 
partner." 
"That's not the only reason he did it!" Dana said stubbornly. 
Skinner looked at her warily. "If there was more involved, you 
should have testified to that. Do you know something else that 
you're not saying? Something that could have helped Agent 
Doggett at the hearing?" 
"No," said Dana softly. "What I know would not have helped him." 
Then looking more determined, she said, "I'm taking two weeks 
off. I don't know if you want to call it a leave, or a vacation, 
or what, but I'm not coming back to work until John does." 

Skinner watched her walk out of the office, with her head held 
in the air, and swore. 
Dana got into her car and drove home. All she could see in her 
mind was the look on John Doggett's face when he had shot the 
rapist. She could always, now that she knew him well, look into 
John Doggett's open blue eyes and tell what he was thinking. 
John Doggett had shot that man for attacking his partner, true, 
but there had been more to it. She had seen it in his face. John 
Doggett had been outraged to see that man touching her. The look 
on his face had told Dana that it was personal. She was sure of 
it. John Doggett was in love with her. 
Dana got an idea, and the more she thought about it, the more 
determined she became. She took off her suit and blouse, and 
pulled on a pale blue tank top and a pair of white shorts. She 
put on socks, and a pair of gym shoes, kicking her black high 
heels under the bed. She shut off her cell phone, and got back 
into her car. 


All the way to John Doggett's house, Dana thought carefully 
about what she wanted to do. She felt a twinge of guilt when 
Mulder came to mind. They had spent a lot of years together. 
They had a close personal relationship, but Mulder was always 
off doing his own thing, following his own agenda. She loved 
Mulder, and she knew he loved her in his own way, but she was 
not IN love with him, and the realization hit her like a 
lightning bolt. 
Dana had known for quite some time that she and Mulder were not 
meant to be. They would always care for each other, deeply, but 
Mulder needed support, and so did she. They were always fighting 
for the crutches, and letting each other down. 

Mulder had never really lived in a normal family. He had never 
been able to totally trust anyone. There had even been things he 
had done without telling her, things he kept to himself. Fox 
Mulder would never settle down and give himself totally to any 
woman. The CSM had been right. Dana had not allowed herself to 
love him, and it was because she knew he was not capable of that 
kind of love. If he had wanted her that way, for a serious 
relationship, surely they would have settled things between them 
years ago. 

She stopped thinking about Mulder and started thinking about 
John Doggett. She hadn't gotten off to a good start with him, 
but once Dana had gotten to know him, he had impressed her with 
his strength of character, his loyalty, and determination. This 
man had never let her down. He had gone after her even when 
she'd ditched him and backed her up even when he didn't 
understand where she was coming from. He'd thrown away a 
brilliant career to stick with her, and now he had risked his 
entire livelihood to protect her. Why hadn't she ever stopped to 
think about this before? It was so clear to her now. The man 
she'd wanted for so long was not the man she needed at all. She 
needed John Doggett. She needed him, and she wanted him, and she 
intended to tell him so. 
John Doggett had driven home and hung up his blue suit. "I won't 
be needing that for awhile," He sighed. He put on jeans and a 
black T-shirt, and wandered around the house trying to think of 
two weeks worth of projects to occupy himself. 

It was a depressing thought. He had used his work to keep his 
mind occupied for a long time. He finally just took a beer out 
of the refrigerator and sat down on the couch to drink it. He 
hadn't been drunk since his Marine days and he had no intention 
of getting drunk now, but he really needed a drink. 
The doorbell rang, and when he went to answer it, he found Dana 
Scully standing on his doorstep. 
"What are you doing here?" 
"I heard what happened. John, I'm so sorry." 
"Oh, that!" He shrugged. 
"Can I come in for a minute? I really need to talk to you, 
unless you've got company." Oh, God, she'd never even thought of 
that! 
"Oh, where are my manners? Of course! C'mon in." 
Relieved, Dana walked into the hall and kicked off her shoes, 
putting her purse down on the hall table. John Doggett looked at 
her slender shoulders and her ass in those tight white shorts, 
and was struck dumb. 
Dana turned and saw the admiration in his eyes. She smiled and 
he realized he had been staring. 
"Sorry. I'm not used to seeing you dressed like this. You really 
look good in casual clothes." 
"Thanks. So do you!" She let her eyes wander over his broad 
chest and tight jeans, and he became even more embarrassed by 
her piercing blue gaze. 
"I was just having a beer, trying to decide how to spend this 
little vacation of mine. Want one?" 
"Sure." Dana followed him through the house. It was military 
neat, and simply but tastefully furnished. It was a nice house. 
They got her beer, and went back to the living room. He sat down 
on the couch, picking his beer up off the coffee table. Dana sat 
down beside him. 
"I'm really sorry about what happened, John. All this was my 
fault. It wasn't fair for you to have to take the rap." 
"Oh, hell, don't worry about it. What's done is done." 
"If you really don't know what to do with the next two weeks, 
maybe I can help you. I took off for the next two weeks, too." 
He stared at her. "WHAT?" 
"I told Skinner I wouldn't go back to work until you did. " 
"Why?" He was dumbfounded. 
"John, I know why you shot that guy. It wasn't just because he 
was attacking a fellow agent. I saw your face right before I 
passed out. I know what you were thinking." 
He looked at her, his eyes like stone. "And what was that?" 
"You killed that guy because he was trying to hurt ME, and you 
couldn't stand that. Don't tell me it wasn't personal, because I 
know better, and I'm so glad. I've made such a mess of my life. 
You're always there for me, and I never show you what you mean 
to me, or how much I appreciate it." 
He looked down embarrassed. Dana reached out, and laid her hand 
on his cheek, turning his head until she was looking into his 
eyes once more, and then she kissed him. 


Because Dana was so unsure of what John liked, and how he would 
respond, the kiss had an almost inexperienced feel to it that 
was endearing, but it soon became intense. 
She very gently ran her tongue along his bottom lip, and when he 
parted his lips, she slipped inside. The kissing grew more 
serious, hungrier, and deeper. John Doggett let his eyes close, 
and groaned softly, turned on by her hot breath, soft lips, and 
the hands that were wrapping themselves around his neck and 
moving over his shoulders and back. 
Then he realized something was wrong with this picture, and 
pushed her away. Tears of humiliation sprang up in Dana's eyes. 
"You...don't want me?" 
"Oh, God, Dana, you're beautiful and smart, and funny, and sexy 
as hell! I'll bet half the guys at the bureau want you! But I'm 
not going to let you do something that you might regret later. I 
know how upset you were about this whole suspension thing. Let's 
be honest here. I'm not going to let you throw me a mercy fuck 
because you feel guilty!" He knew he was being harsh, but if he 
ever had her, and then had to give her up, he knew it would kill 
him. 
The hot tears spilled over at that point. "That's not what I 
meant at all, John. I want you to make love to me! I'm giving 
you these two weeks, and after that it's up to you. I'll be 
yours for as long as you want me. Let me show you how much I 
mean it, John. Let me show you how good we could be together. It 
took me a long time to get my head together, but I know what I 
want." 

He put up his hand, and brushed her tears away with his thumb. 
"You really mean it? You're really sure? Because I don't want 
you to get caught up in the moment, out of some twisted sense of 
justice or loyalty." 
"You already had my loyalty. I just want to know if you want the 
rest of me." 
Two sets of sky blue eyes met and linked. "You were right," He 
whispered. "I shot that guy because I loved you so much it would 
have destroyed me to have to watch that." 
"I love you, too. I love you so much!" And she kissed him again, 
trying to tell him with that kiss exactly what he meant to her. 
This time, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to 
him, meeting her tongue with his own, sucking on it, sweeping 
the inside of her mouth. He moved his hand over her breasts, 
feeling the nipples harden beneath the thin blue tank. He caught 
the hem of it, and pulled it over her head, and she reached out 
and tugged off his shirt. He reached for the clasp of her bra, 
and dragged off the whispy scrap of fabric. She moaned as he 
slid his mouth over her cheek, and throat, and ran his hand over 
her soft breasts, his thumb over each nipple until they were 
aching and hard. He pushed her back onto the couch, and slid his 
mouth down to the round, full breasts. His warm, moist mouth 
touched her, teasing and tantalizing. 

When John reached down to unsnap Dana's shorts, she raised her 
hips, so that he could pull them off in one smooth motion, her 
panties along with them. They were already damp. Sliding one 
hand behind his head, she drew his mouth back to hers, and 
started sucking on his tongue again, as her other hand unzipped 
his jeans. 
They both groaned as she freed his cock from the constraints of 
the fabric. He groaned because her soft cool hand was doing 
wicked things to him, while she groaned because he was hard and 
throbbing and incredibly thick. He kicked off his jeans and 
shorts, letting them land wherever. Dana lay back on the couch, 
and opened her legs, pressing his hard cock between them. He 
rubbed back and forth against the tender flesh, exciting her, 
making her want that thick cock inside her. She was already so 
wet, needing him so much. He kept teasing her for several 
agonizing moments, enjoying the way her breathing grew faster, 
the way she squirmed beneath him. Dana began to beg him to take 
her. She wanted him so much, she never even noticed the shadow 
that moved across the window. 

Fox Mulder was irritated. Since he had left the Bureau, he had 
been trying to start his own business. He had sold his parents 
summer home, and almost all fo the furniture he had in storage 
from his parents apartments to finance the venture, but he was 
still spread pretty thin. A lot of the clients that came to him 
with stories of UFO's and paranormal experiences were not well 
off, and if they told a good enough story, he looked into it 
anyway. He depended a lot on Scully to help him with his 
research. When she got done at the office, what else did she 
have to do anyway? 
Now he couldn't find her. There was no answer at her apartment, 
and her cell phone was turned off. When Mulder needed her, 
Scully was always there for him, and he had come to expect that. 
Finally he called Skinner. 
"Hey, I can't find Scully. Have you seen her?" 
"Not since this afternoon. She was pretty upset when she left 
here." 
"Upset about what?" 

Skinner told Mulder about Doggett's suspension, and Mulder 
sighed with frustration. Doggett was a pain in the ass. As many 
times as he'd told Scully not to trust anyone, she trusted John 
Doggett with all her heart. Mulder was tired of hearing about 
how Doggett had watched her back, and how worthwhile he was. 
Doggett seemed like a decent guy, and Mulder was grateful for 
the way he had protected Scully, but he didn't want to see 
Scully getting all upset because of Doggett's problems. 
"Could she have gone to see him?" Mulder asked Skinner. 
"Maybe. She felt really bad about what happened. Maybe she 
wanted to tell him in person." 
Mulder thanked Skinner and hung up the phone. He considered 
calling Doggett to see if Scully was there, but he decided 
against it. If Scully wasn't there, then Doggett would get all 
worried about her, like he always did. Falls Church wasn't that 
far away. Mulder decided to take a run out there. 
He was relieved to see Scully's car in Doggett's driveway, but 
annoyed to see how dark the house was. Where the hell could they 
be? Could they have gone out to eat, or maybe for a drink? If 
Scully felt bad enough about Doggett's suspension, she might 
have been willing to go somewhere and talk about it, even though 
Doggett was usually a bore. Mulder glanced in the garage window, 
and was surprised to see Doggett's silver pickup truck inside. 
Leave it to Doggett to drive a pickup truck, Mulder thought. No 
class. Now, where the hell could you walk to in Falls Church, 
Virginia? 
Glancing at the house again, he realized that there was one 
light on in the living room. He walked over to the window and 
glanced in. Stunned, he saw Scully and Doggett, doing things, 
doing things that he had only dreamed of doing. He was shocked 
and disgusted and furious all at once. Was she drunk or what? 
How had that dumb son of a bitch conned her into this? 
Mulder saw two beer bottles on the coffee table, and knew she 
wasn't drunk. Scully had a beer once in awhile, but she didn't 
like beer well enough to get plastered on it. And as much as Fox 
Mulder hated John Doggett at that moment, he had to admit to 
himself that Doggett wasn't the sort of guy to pressure a woman 
into screwing him out of guilt. 
Scully wanted to do what she was doing. It was obvious from the 
way she was kissing the man, clinging to him, responding to his 
every touch with a caress if her own. Shaken and sick, Mulder 
stumbled away from the window and got back into his car. 


Inside John Doggett's house, Dana Scully was being totally 
carried away by him and the longing she felt for him. All the 
doubts, and fears, and loneliness she'd felt over the last few 
years seemed to melt away like a snowbank she'd buried herself 
in. She needed no protection from John Doggett. There was 
nothing she had to hide from him, nothing she had to hold back 
in her efforts to please him. She was just worried about whether 
or not she would be able to please him well enough that he would 
see that they were doing the right thing, that they were meant 
to be. If he made love to her, and then told her that it had 
been a mistake, she would die. When the time came to actually 
guide him inside her, she was a bundle of nerves. 
He entered her fully, groaning with pleasure, and she tried to 
meet each long, leisurely stroke in a way that would satisfy his 
craving for her. When he began to move faster, she moved in time 
with him, concentrating on his rhythm. His harsh breathing 
rasped in her ear as he thudded into her. She held him tightly 
as he slammed down one last time. She felt him pumping inside 
her, filling her with warmth. When he collapsed on top of her, 
she clung to him, rubbing his damp neck and shoulders, sliding 
her fingers through his spiky thick hair. 
John buried his face in Dana's neck for several long moments, 
then moved his cheek across hers tenderly. 
"I'm sorry, Dana. I'm so sorry." 
"For doing that? But I wanted you to!" She was afraid for a 
moment. 
He shook his head. "That wasn't very good for you, was it? I'm 
sorry. It's been a long time. I couldn't wait." 
"It was great...are you crazy?" 
"But you didn't..." 
"I was too excited." 
"Too excited to come?" He laughed. "That's a new one on me!" 
"This is all so new. I have to get used to you. Don't worry 
about it. I just wanted to see if I could make you happy. Do you 
believe me now, that this is the right thing for us?" 
"You're really going to stay with me?" 
"As long as you'll have me," She replied. I'm not saying we have 
to plan out our whole future tonight, but I think we should give 
it a chance. Let's use this suspension thing to get to know each 
other better." 
"You mean get used to each other?" They both laughed, but she 
stopped laughing when he kissed her lips again, licking the 
corners, burying his tongue in her mouth, running it along her 
teeth, sucking on her lower lip. He gently caressed her breasts, 
bringing the nipples back to an aching hardness. Dana didn't 
think so much this time, she just let herself feel, and she soon 
felt a fire inside her as he propped her up slightly on the 
couch cushions, so that when he entered her he could probe her 
more deeply. She began to shake and moan, and this time he was 
able to hold off until she reached a shattering climax before 
finding his own pleasure. 
Afterwards they lay breathless and sated. He kissed her over and 
over. 
"Are you okay?" John asked softly, his eyes dark as a midnight 
sky, reflected in the faint light of the one lamp in the room. 
"I'm fine. I'm better than fine. I'm so happy." 
"Let's go to bed," He whispered, scooping her up. She wrapped 
her arms around his neck as he carried her up the stairs. They 
slipped naked under the clean sheets on his big bed, and rested 
in each other arms until they were both swept away once more by 
their passion for each other. 

DAY ONE: 
Dana woke up to find the sun streaming in the window, and John's 
arm thrown protectively over her as they lay together in the 
middle of his bed. She eased out from under him, and when he 
rolled onto his back, still sound asleep, she began to study him 
carefully. 
John's face was relaxed in sleep, but it was still the craggy 
face of a hard working man. From what Dana had heard, the 
Marines were the toughest branch of the service, and being a cop 
in New York couldn't have been easy. This man had led a hard 
life. He deserved some happiness now. 
She let her eyes roam over his muscular shoulders, and broad 
chest. His belly was flat and hard. She thought about the night 
before when that body had been pressed close to hers, and had to 
close her eyes, overwhelmed by the memory. 
John had carried her carefully to his bed. She had felt like 
something out of "Gone with the Wind". It had been so romantic. 
Studying him, she giggled. His ears stuck out exactly like Clark 
Gable's. Why hadn't she ever noticed that before? John had held 
her gently, and they had talked. She had admitted how she had 
come to respect him, to care for him, to need him. 
"The fantasies I had about you! You'd have died if you had known 
how many there were!" 
"Tell me one," He'd said. 
"Well, remember when we were on that nine hour stake out for 
that bat thing?" 
"Oh, God, yes," said John. "You hardly said a word. I thought 
you still didn't trust me." 
"I was picturing what you'd do if I suddenly had stuck my head 
in your lap." 
He grinned. "I wish I'd known that. Those woods were pretty 
deserted. I could have thought of a few things to do, too." 
She hit him playfully on the arm. "You really had thoughts like 
that about me, too?" 
"Everytime you brushed past me in the elevator in those tight 
skirts of yours I damn near got a hard on. You're lucky you keep 
such a cluttered desk, or I would have thrown you right across 
it." He had stroked her bright hair then and sighed. "It would 
probably have been a mistake, though. We weren't ready. We 
probably would have regretted it." 
I don't know, Dana had thought, that might have been fun. 
Watching his eyes, seeing the hot light begin to shine in them 
once more, she realized it no longer mattered. 
He had brought his mouth back to hers then, and let his hands 
wander down her body. They had run over her with long firm 
movements, sweeping from her shoulders to her breasts, to her 
belly to her thighs. John had run his hands down the outside of 
her thighs, then up the inside, to the center of her. Shifting 
his weight, he had pulled her close with one arm and began to 
kiss her deeply again, as the other hand moved between her legs. 
She had sighed with pleasure as he had slid one finger inside 
her wet cunt, leaving his thumb to circle around her hard clit. 
He had begun to move his tongue in her mouth in the same 
circling motion as his thumb, and she could only grab onto his 
shoulders and hang on as he teased her and excited her. She 
hadn't wanted to come without him, and had begun to beg once 
more. "Please, John, please, I want you so much. I want you 
now!" 
He had obliged, pulling himself on top of her, spreading her 
thighs, and driving home. She was so ready that she had found 
release almost instantly, gripping his hard cock and bringing 
him along right behind her. 
Looking at her sleeping lover, Dana smiled. Maybe this was going 
to work out after all. She very carefully slid out of bed, and 
slipped into his bathroom. She took a quick shower, and finding 
a brush began to work the knots out of her hair. It was such an 
intimate thing to do, use this things, but her hair was so 
tangled from going unbrushed the night before, she couldn't do 
anything with it. With a towel wrapped carefully around her, 
Dana quietly slipped downstairs. 
"Hey, wake up!" 
John Doggett opened his eyes to find Dana Scully standing next 
to his bed, dressed, with her purse slung over her arm. He 
stared at her. "Either this was the shortest two weeks of my 
life, or you're the most fleeting romance I ever had." 
She laughed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I didn't come 
here prepared to spend the whole two weeks. That would have 
jinxed it. Now that I know you're interested in my offer, I'll 
have to pick up a few things." She leaned over and kissed him. 
"By the way, I made some coffee and some toast. I was snooping 
in your kitchen. You don't cook much, do you?" 
"Not really." 
"Well, tonight I'm making dinner. I'll stop at the store on my 
way back." 
"You WILL come back?" He looked at her, doubt in his eyes. 
"Because if you don't want to come back, just tell me now and 
I'll go back to sleep and pretend I dreamed the whole thing." 
She kissed him again, holding his head in both of her hands, 
licking the corner of his lips, pushing her tongue into his 
mouth, dancing with his own. She moved her lips across his 
cheek, to his ear. She breathed into it, licking the outside, 
nibbling on the lobe. 
"Do I really seem like a dream?" 
"Yeah, in some ways you do." 
"I'm real, I'm yours, and I'll be back soon." She whispered. 
"Now let me go, or I'll never get out of here." 
"Tell you what," He whispered back. "Bring back something 
classy. If you cook tonight, I'll take you out some place nice 
tomorrow." 
"It's a deal." 
Dana drove to her apartment, mentally making a list of what to 
pack for a two week stay at John's house. She was so happy. 
Three times in one night, and each time had gotten better. She 
didn't even notice the car parked down the street from the 
apartment. When she unlocked her door, a head rising up off the 
couch scared her silly. "Oh, my God, Mulder! What the hell do 
you think you're doing here!" 
"I'm surprised to see YOU here, actually. How did you ever 
manage to tear yourself away? Did you break the springs on that 
couch?" 
Dana stood stunned, realizing at once what he was saying. "You 
know where I was? You followed me? How could you!" 
"How could you act like a bitch in heat for John Doggett?" 
"You were spying on me?" Dana was furious. "How dare you spy on 
me in a private moment! Get out of here! And give me back my 
key! I don't ever want you coming in here again when I'm not 
home!" 
He took the key off his keyring and thrust it at her. "Take it! 
I'm not coming back here, ever! Not unless you apologize!" 
"I have nothing to apologize for!" 
"Scully, what kind of future are we supposed to have if you're 
going to run off and screw Doggett every time he gets in trouble 
at work?" 
"The same kind of future we always had...NONE! If you wanted for 
us to have a future together, you should have said something! 
Years ago!" 
"I thought you knew how I felt about you. I thought you'd known 
for years. I thought everybody knew!" 
"Mulder, I do care about you, but I don't love you. I thought I 
did once, but there was nothing behind it. You can't be what I 
need you to be, and I can't wait anymore." Dana sighed. "Now if 
you'll excuse me, I need to pack. I'm going to be gone for two 
weeks, so don't try to call." 
"Believe me, I won't. You're making a big mistake, Scully." 
"I'm in love with a wonderful man, who loves me back, and isn't 
afraid to say it or show it! How can that be a mistake?" 
Mulder walked out slamming the door. 
Dana stood trembling, unable to think clearly. She began to 
mechanically pack her bag, trying to keep her hands busy and her 
mind occupied. Something classy...she dug out the black dress 
that the CSM had bought her. This is appropriate, she thought. 
He would be so amused. She crawled under her bed to retrieve her 
black high heels, and banged her head. Tears sprang to her eyes, 
but the pain wasn't all in her head. 
She dragged the heavy suitcase out to her car, and drove to 
John's house in a daze. He heard the car pull into the driveway, 
and went out to help her. "You didn't go to the store after 
all?" 
She just stared at him for a moment, and then burst into tears., 
burying her face in his shirt front, as if she wanted to hide in 
his heart. "John, oh God, John, it was so awful!" 
"Shhhhh, it's okay, it'll be okay. C'mon in." She buried her 
face in her hands as he grabbed the suitcase, and put his other 
arm around her shoulders. He dropped the suitcase in the hall, 
and pulled her over to a chair. 
"I was so mad," She sputtered, "But I was sad, too. It was so 
terrible! It was all wrong. It should have been different." 
John sat down and pulled her onto his lap, settling her in the 
crook of his arm. "Dana, honey, start over. I don't know what 
you're talking about." 
She took a deep breath, and told him about Mulder. "I got so mad 
when he called me a bitch!" She finished. "I've been as good a 
friend to him as I could be, I really cared about him, but it 
wasn't working. It never did! It wouldn't have worked!" 
John Doggett groaned. "Dana, are you sure? The man is obviously 
in love with you. If you think there's a chance you'll change 
your mind, you gotta go after him now." 
"I'll never change my mind! I gave him eight years of my life 
and it wasn't good enough! I'm sorry he found out the way he 
did, but he shouldn't have done what he did. I didn't want to 
hurt him. I never wanted to see him hurt, but I can't love him. 
I love you." She began to weep again, more quietly. "It's not 
the same with us as it was with Mulder. I'll always love you. I 
swear it." 
"I believe you." He kissed her cheek gently. "Don't cry anymore. 
What's done is done." Doggett wasn't thrilled with the idea of 
Mulder looking in his windows, but he wasn't going to let this 
woman suffer because she had finally made a choice that had to 
be made. He brushed away the tears that were making wet paths 
down her cheeks. All he could do now was make sure she never had 
a reason to regret that choice. 
He kissed each damp cheek once again, and she met his kisses 
eagerly, her mouth soft and warm. He raised her in his arms and 
bore her once more to his bed. Standing her down beside it, he 
pulled off her shirt, exposing her lace covered breasts. He 
kissed her throat, her shoulders, her back, tasting the salty 
softness of her skin. He hesitated between the bra and the 
shorts, and decided to go for the shorts. Dana helped him slide 
them down her legs. He cupped one lace covered breast and kissed 
her deeply before unfastening her bra. John began to caress both 
breasts, pushing them against her ribs. She sighed as he began 
to kiss and nibble at them. He finished stripping her, and she 
began to strip him. 
She pulled him down onto the bed, her hands behind his neck. She 
moved them over the muscles in his shoulders and back, and along 
his spine as he once more sought her breasts, alternating his 
kisses and caresses. She moaned softly, feeling his hard cock 
against her, and reached down to stroke the smooth shaft and 
round head. She guided him in between her legs, and he began to 
rub up and down against her, making her hot and wet. She became 
so excited and slick that he was able to slip right into place. 
Dana arched up against him as he entered her. "Oh, God, John, 
you feel so good!" 
"So do you." 
He began to pump inside her, and she arched up to meet him until 
she was on the verge, and had to grab hold of his ass to pull 
him in as far as possible. A shiver went through her inside, and 
out, and she moaned his name as he filled her full. Falling back 
onto the bed, utterly spent, Dana was sure she would never 
regret loving this man. 

"You feel better? John asked Dana gently, his breath warm in her 
ear. 
"I'm okay now. I just had to calm down. You're good at 
distracting me, anyway," She smiled. "I've always liked that 
about you. You're always so steady and serious." She traced a 
finger around his jaw. "You make me feel so safe." 
"I want to keep you safe. I never want to see you cry again." 
"Crying's part of living. Maybe that's why I've done so much of 
it the last two days. I haven't really been doing much living. 
It's been a long time since I let myself feel." 
"Dana Scully, the ice princess! If they only knew!" He teased 
her. "I always thought there was more to you than you let anyone 
see." 
"I don't think there's much left you haven't seen." She sat up. 
"God, I'm starving. I didn't have any lunch. I wish now I had 
gone to the store." 
"How about a shower? Then we'll get dressed up and I'll take you 
someplace special." 
"Sounds great. Get me my bag, though, I'll need it." 
"Meet you in the bathroom," He said, kissing her quickly. He 
pulled on his shorts and jeans and went downstairs as Dana 
ducked into the upstairs bathroom. She used the toilet and 
turned on the shower. Stepping in, she had just gotten the water 
adjusted and washed her hair, when he joined her. 
"I called for reservations for tonight. You'll need to take your 
bag with you. We're staying over." 
"Staying over where?" 
When John answered with the name of one the most luxurious 
hotels in Washington, Dana gasped. "Are you insane? A friend of 
mine had her wedding night there and it cost $290 five years 
ago! Why in the world would you want to go there?" 
"They only play slow songs in the lounge. That's the only way I 
dance," said John innocently. As Dana started to sputter, he 
laughed. "It won't be that bad, Dana. A friend of mine from New 
York is now head of security there. He's getting me a break. I 
told him," He said wrapping his arms around her, "That I had a 
very special lady I wanted to pamper, and speaking of 
pampering," He leaned over and kissing her deeply, took the 
washcloth out of her hands. He soaped it up and began to slide 
it over her shoulders and back and down her ass, all the while 
holding her close and kissing her. As he swept his hand up the 
crack of her ass she trembled. He ran the washcloth up her arms, 
then across her breasts, causing her to gasp, then down over her 
belly and her thighs. 
She caught his hand and said, "Your turn," and began to wash him 
with the same care, except when she got between his thighs, she 
set the washcloth aside, and wrapped her hand around his 
stiffening cock. Kissing him deeply, she began to slide her and 
up and down on the water slicked shaft, over the round head, 
paying special attention to the ridge behind it. He began to 
breathe hard, and as she gently cupped his balls, he moaned. She 
went back to stroking his cock, her mouth sweeping the inside of 
his mouth. He held her tightly, bracing himself against the 
shower wall, and her efforts were rewarded with a loud groan as 
she felt him come, pulsing in her hand, the warm wet stickiness 
swept away by the equally warm water. They stood for a moment, 
swaying together, just kissing, until he caught his breath. Dana 
smiled wickedly. "You owe me one." 

That night Dana found herself in a 500 square foot deluxe room, 
overlooking Rock Creek Park, getting ready to go to dinner in 
the most elegant hotel she'd ever stayed in. 
"You look so beautiful," said John, admiring the way her dress 
was cut across her breasts. 
"Thank you. You look very handsome yourself." 
"I didn't think I'd need a suit for a couple of weeks, but 
anything for you. Ready to go?" 
"Absolutely. I'm starving." 
The restaurant was also elegant. It was an indoor garden, with 
glowing candles, beautiful china and silver. 
"They play great jazz here on Wednesdays," said John, ordering 
wine. He told her to choose anything she wanted on the menu. 
"They have to make some money off us somewhere." 
Dana decided to try the crown roast of pork with apple, apricot 
and rice stuffing, and John took prime rib with a baked potato. 
The waiter had just taken their order when a well-dressed man 
about John's age, carrying a headset, came up to their table. 
"Hey, John, you made it!" 
Doggett stood up and shook the man's hand. "Good to see you 
again, Jeff! This is Dana. Dana, this is Jeff Ryan. We used to 
work together in New York." 
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Ryan." 
John's friend whistled. "The pleasure is all mine. You're as 
pretty as John said you were." He grinned at an uncomfortable 
Doggett. "This one's got class, John. You're a lucky man." 
Dana smiled. "He's lucky to have friends like you. We have you 
to thank for all this, don't we?" 
"Forget it! We were 35% empty tonight anyway. Besides, I'm 
hoping if I spoil this guy enough, maybe he'll come to work for 
me someday. We don't pay as much as the FBI but there are fringe 
benefits." 
"You need an assistant?" asked Dana. 
"I may need a replacement. I have a chance to transfer to 
Chicago." 
"You're kidding!" said Doggett. "Are you sure you want to do 
that?" 
"Pretty sure. My wife is from the midwest. She'd like to go 
home, but," He shrugged. "It all depends." 
"Well, let me know one way or another," said Doggett. "If you 
decide to go, we'll have to get together before you leave." 
"Sure thing. Enjoy your evening," Jeff said, as the waiter came 
with 
their food. "It was nice to meet you, Dana. Take care of my 
buddy here. He's a good guy." 
"I know and I will." 
Their dinner was delicious, and John hadn't been kidding about 
the music. All of the songs were romantic, and after they had 
eaten and killed their first bottle of wine, she got him to 
dance. Dana loved dancing with John. She loved having his arms 
around her, feeling his cheek against her hair. They danced, and 
talked, and had more more wine, then danced and talked some 
more. 
He told her about New York, and the police department, and what 
a good buddy Jeff had been. She told him about medical school, 
and her family, and they traded stories about the academy. She 
had so much fun that she totally forgot how miserable she'd been 
earlier in the day. By the time their second bottle of wine 
kicked in, all she could think of as he moved her around the 
dance floor, was that king-sized bed with its down pillows and 
goose feather duvet waiting for them upstairs. 


Dana started in as soon as they got in the elevator to go back 
upstairs. She slid her arms around John's waist and began to 
kiss his mouth, then his cheek, then his ear. She ran her mouth 
around it, nibbling, licking and sucking at him. He closed his 
eyes and slid his hands over her ass. 
"C'mon, Dana, don't. We're almost there." 
"What I wouldn't give for a power failure!" 
"Interesting thought," He murmured against her lips. "What would 
you do?" 
"Beg." 
"Beg for what?" He asked her, ready to enjoy another fantasy. 
"If the power went off, I'd want you to take me, right here in 
the dark, and bang me against the wall." 
"Oh, God!" The elevator stopped at their floor,and he led her to 
the room. As he slid the keycard in and the green light when on, 
he grinned at her. "Does green still mean go?" 
"Oh, yeah." 
As they stepped into the room, they saw that the bed had been 
turned down invitingly. Someone had also thoughtfully angled the 
TV toward it, but neither of them had any plans to take 
advantage of that little extra touch. 
John tossed his jacket on the dresser, and they wrapped their 
arms back around each other. Slowly he peeled the black dress 
off as she undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. She kicked 
off her shoes, and stood there in her black lace panties as he 
pulled off the shirt and tie, and as he reached for his belt 
buckle, she helped him. Dana pushed him back toward the bed, and 
as they bumped into the edge of it, they stipped off each others 
underwear. Dana pushed John again, and he lay down. She leaned 
over him, kissing him, running her hands over his broad chest, 
and down to his cock which was already starting to respond to 
the nearness of her body. She rubbed his thighs and cupped her 
hand around his balls, and then moved up the shaft as he slipped 
his tongue around in her mouth, and his hands over her slender 
shoulders and warm back. 
She straddled him, guiding him inside her steamy center, and 
sitting up, she began to rock her body on his throbbing 
erection. He reached up to run his hand over her breasts, and 
she leaned in for another long wet kiss. Sitting back up, she 
began to move again, up and down, around and around, and it felt 
so good, she wanted to ride him forever. His hot cock was 
hitting deeper inside her than he's ever gotten before, but he 
wasn't sure if that was enough, so when she sat back up, he slid 
his hand between their bodies, finding the spots that had made 
her so excited in the past. When he began to rub, she moaned. 
"That feels so good! Oh, yeah, right there!" 
"You like this?" He asked her, enjoying the way he was able to 
look up at her face and see her response to his touch. 
"Yes, I do...you know I do. Oh, God, you do me so good. Am I 
good for you?" 
"Oh, yeah." He closed his eyes and panted as she began to move 
faster. Catching her hips, and working his own, he helped her 
move and called out her name when he came. She collapsed on top 
of him, shuddering through her own orgasm, feeling once again 
their combined juices running down her thighs. 
He wrapped his arms around her body, limp on his own, and held 
her carefully, kissing the top of her head. "I love you." 
"I love you, too," She murmured, clinging to him. "I always 
will." 


DAY TWO 
Dana came awake slowly, feeling warm on one side and cool on the 
other. The warmth, she realized was from John Doggett's body 
spooned against hers. The coolness came from the fact that they 
had completely torn the bedding off the bed with mind ripping 
sex. The sheets and blankets and bedspread were all hanging off 
the foot and the sides of the bed. 
Shivering slightly, she leaned over trying to catch the edge of 
the woolen blanket. 
"Where are you going?" murmured John sleepily. 
"I'm cold." 
Opening his eyes, he helped her pull the sheet and blanket back 
onto the bed. He wrapped both arms around her, and laid his 
cheek against her hair once more. She sighed with contentment, 
finding total peace in the feel of his breath on her neck, his 
chest against her back, but now that he was awake, He was awake 
for good, and his mouth began to find its way along her ear, 
down her cheeek, over her neck to her sholder. As he began to 
nibble on her ear, he moved his hands across her breasts, 
cupping them, then squeezing them gently. Her nipples got hard 
under his practiced hands, and she gasped as she felt him push 
his hardening cock up against her ass. She could literally feel 
his desire for her grow. She rolled onto her back so she could 
look up into his blue eyes, dark with desire. 
"You are so beautiful," He muttered, now in a position to do 
more than cup her breasts. He slid his hands and mouth over 
them, teasing them with his teeth. He loved her tits. The hard 
brown nipples stood out against her pale skin like precious 
stones set in porcelain. He ran his tongue around each breast, 
in a wide circle that gradually moved in until he could catch 
each nipple in his mouth and suck on it. As he played with her 
tits she closed her eyes, and ran her fingers through his spiky 
hair, encouraging him. 
"Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh keep doing that! That feels so good." His 
warm wet mouth left her trembling, but he continued on until 
each nipple was throbbing and aching, but even the pain was 
welcome. 
"You taste so damn good," He murmured, running his mouth down 
her smooth stomach, tracing circles with his tongue around her 
belly button. He put both hands on her thighs, and spread her 
wide, letting his thumbs then slide up to spread her open, so he 
could taste the rest of her. She was already wet, and he was 
pleased that he could get her so hot so soon. Dana moaned as 
John slid his tongue between her legs, finding her round clit, 
circling it, then moving up and down over it with sweeping 
stokes. She began to work her hips up and down, in time with the 
movements of his tongue. She was about to scream when he moved 
lower, probing her, lapping up her salty juices, slipping his 
tongue inside her. 
"Oh, don't," Dana cried out, "Oh, God, I'm gonna come. I want 
you with me. Oh, God, please, stick in in. I want to feel you 
inside me." 
"I want to be inside you. I want to be all the way inside you. 
You're ready. I can feel how ready you are." 
He covered her body with his own, and rammed his cock in her 
swollen cunt, pushing down hard. She arched up to meet him, and 
as he pulled back slightly, and rammed in again, she found 
herself coming. She grabbed his shoulders, and literally 
screamed his name. Her felt her internal muscles grip down, her 
whole body shake, and when she collapsed back onto the bed, he 
caught her legs and drew them up. When he began to move inside 
her once more, he was able to pound between them. She had gone 
limp with the force of her orgasm, but she found herself going 
up again. She didn't think she could survive another climax as 
strong as the one she'd just experienced, but as she felt him 
slam into her one last time, and hold her body open as he 
emptied into her, she was once again rocked by the feel of her 
body responding to his cock in her cunt. When she collapsed this 
time, he collapsed on top of her, covering her body with his 
own. 
"John, oh, John, that was so perfect," She moaned, when she 
caught her breath. "I've never done that twice at once before. 
What the hell are you doing to me?" 
"What the hell am I doing to you?" He gasped. "What the hell are 
you doing to me? I would never have believed it." 
"Well, believe it. I told you I was real, and I was yours." 
"This," He said, listening to their breathing slow in unison, 
"Is going to be one hell of a suspension." 
"Let's go get some breakfast," John said. "I'm starved." 
"Maybe we should go someplace else," Dana said. "Everything is 
so expensive here." 
"Don't worry about it. I'm not. I haven't had a lady to take out 
for a long time, and I want to enjoy it. Besides, like I told 
you, Jeff got us the room." 
They got dressed and went downstairs to The Seasons Restaurant. 
Dana got poached eggs on an English muffin with Hollandaise 
sauce and Canadian bacon, and John got a minute steak with fried 
egg, grilled sliced tomatoes and potatoes. In spite of John's 
nonchalance, Dana winced when the bill came. She had never seen 
anybody pay over forty dollars for breakfast before. 
"You're here to be pampered," John reminded her. "So what do you 
want to do now? Want to go to the gym? The sauna? The pool? Back 
to bed?" 
She laughed. "The pool will be fine. I didn't go pick up a 
swimsuit for nothing. Besides, we can have sex anywhere." 
As they got up from the table, he slid his arm around her waist. 
"Is that a promise?" 
His breath was warm and tickled her ear, sending a thrill down 
her spine. 
"What did you have in mind?" 
"I'll think about it and let you know." He kissed her cheek, and 
they went back to their room, where he called to reserve a lap 
lane in the pool. Dana walked up behind him while he was on the 
phone, and slid her hands over his back, and began to kiss his 
neck. She rubbed his shoulders and back, and moved her hands 
around his chest to hug him tight. She moved her hands down, and 
was reaching over to undo his his belt buckle, when he hung up 
and grabbed her. "What are you trying to do, kill me? I'm not 
sure how much more of this I can take, and you WERE the one who 
wanted to go swimming." 
"I don't know about you, but I can take a lot." 
"Later. Maybe I'll have more energy after I see you in that 
bathing suit." They had started to get ready, when the phone 
rang again, and he answered it, eyeing her warily. 
"Hello? Oh, yeah, everythings great...couldn't be better...what? 
Now? Well, we were going swimming...Okay, I'll meet you by the 
pool...I'll listen but I'm not promising anything...okay, 
goodbye." 
Dana watched him hang up. "What was that all about?" 
"Jeff wants to talk to me. Do you mind? I'll meet you at the 
pool in about twenty minutes or so." 
"I don't mind. We owe him big time." 
"Thanks," He said kissing her. "I'll see you in a bit." He left. 
When Dana came downstairs she found the two men deep in 
conversation by the pool with another man she'd never seen 
before. The stranger walked away and Jeff and John continued to 
talk. Not wishing to disturb them, Dana went to a lounge chair 
next to the pool, and took off her robe. 
"Holy shit," said Jeff, looking over. "I set people up with 
rooms for shack jobs all the time, but I've never envied anyone 
the way I envy you." 
Turning around, John Doggett's jaw dropped at the sight of Dana 
wearing a few scraps of royal blue material held together with 
an ingenious collection of knots and strings. 
"This one's a knockout, John. Where did you find her?" 
"At the Bureau. She's a doctor. She does a lot with forensics." 
"Smart and sexy" said Jeff. "Don't screw this one up. You'd have 
to be an idiot to let this one go." 
"I have no intention of letting her go. I love her. I never 
thought I'd ever get serious about any woman again, but this is 
it." 
"I don't blame you. Have you told her yet that you're serious?" 
"We haven't exactly discussed the future, no." John admitted. 
"You ARE an idiot! How long have you known her?" 
"Almost two years." 
Jeff groaned. "You're a total idiot! Marry the girl!" 
"I wish. It's complicated." 
Jeff shrugged. "Well, good luck, and think about what I told 
you." He slapped John on the back, and left the poolside. 


It was a beautiful pool with two lap lanes beneath a skylight in 
a vaulted ceiling. They took turns swimming laps for awhile, 
then, putting on the hotel's thick, monogrammed robes, they sat 
for awhile next to the pool talking. 
"How would you like to stay here for another day?" John asked 
Dana. 
"I'd love it. Is that what Jeff wanted to talk to you about? 
That we could keep the room?" 
"We talked about a lot of stuff." 
"He seems very nice," Dana offered. 
"He liked you, too, what he saw of you, which was a little more 
than either of us expected," John said, as he eyed the gap in 
the top of the robe, which was showing off her cleavage to its 
best advantage. 
She laughed. "Well, you said you wanted to see me! Do you like 
what you saw?" 
"Oh, yeah, you know I do," he leaned over and kissed her, and 
smiled. 
"You know what I'd like?" 
"What?" 
"Let's take another shower together." 
"You're on! But first I want to make dinner reservations, and no 
sneak attacks this time!" He said sternly as she grinned. "Let's 
go back to where we had breakfast." 
As John made the reservations, Dana got in the shower, and 
washed her hair. He joined her and as he washed his hair, she 
soaped up his back. 
"I love your hair when it's all wet and spiky," She said. 
"I love everything about you, all the time." 
"There are certain things about you that I'm beginning to like 
more than others," Dana admitted, and sliding her hands down his 
body, she began to stroke his penis again. Her fingers moved 
easily over his water slicked skin, and he began to breathe 
faster as she slid her hand up and down the hardening shaft, and 
around his balls. He went to kiss her, but she shook her head 
mischievously, and as he stared wide eyed, she got down on her 
knees in front of him. Sliding one hand around his hip to his 
ass she steadied his cock with the other as she took him into 
her mouth. He closed his eyes and groaned as she slid her head 
up and down, sucking him and working her fingers along the base 
and over his balls. When he came, he was so excited she never 
thought she'd swallow it all. Finally, it was over, and Dana got 
up. 
"You owe me another one." 
He was still so wiped out he couldn't even answer. 
 
Dana wore a beige lace dress to dinner which made her auburn 
hair look even more striking than it usually did. John Doggett 
was beginning to enjoy the way heads turned to follow them as he 
walked around with this gorgeous woman. Mine, he thought, she's 
really mine. It was a good feeling. The had duck for dinner, and 
champagne, and white peach sorbet for dessert. As Dana ran her 
tongue around her lips, licking off the last of the tangy 
sweetness, he thought about that tongue, and what she could with 
it, in his mouth and on his body, and grinned with pleasure. 
"What's so funny?" 
"I can't believe you did what you did upstairs in that shower." 
"Why is it so hard to believe?" 
"Most women I've known didn't like that. I got the impression 
that it was pretty nasty." 
"Picture hot, slippery dishwashing liquid and you'll be pretty 
close." 
John winced. "Sorry about that." 
"Don't be. A girl just has to be motivated, and you really 
motivate me." 
"This is a ridiculous conversation." 
"We've had worse...I remember a time when you thought everything 
I said was ridiculous," Dana reminded him. 
"Forgive me?" 
"Long ago, John." 
He grinned again. "I was just thinking...I still owe you 
something, don't I?" 
"Interesting point. Why don't we break up into small groups and 
discuss it?" 
He paid the check and she followed him to the elevator, where 
she said, "Damn it!" 
"What's wrong?" 
"I want to call my mother. I didn't tell her I was taking a 
vacation. I want to have her keep an eye on my apartment and 
take in my mail, so I don't have to bother with it." 
"Are you two close?" 
Dana shrugged. "We go in cycles. We are, and we aren't, but she 
really worries about me." 
"She seemed really nice when I met her," offered John. "Of 
course, that wasn't the best place to meet somebody," He said, 
thinking back to Mulder's funeral. 
"She thought you were nice too. She thought you were a real 
gentleman." 
"If she only knew!" 
"You're a real gentleman, John. You're one of the most 
considerate men I've ever met," said Dana, getting off the 
elevator. 
He looked at her carefully. "What would your mom think of us?" 
"I don't know. Why don't I tell her and find out? About the 
relationship, I mean, not the blow job." 
"I should hope not!" He hesitated. "Are you sure you want to do 
that?" 
"Why not?" asked Dana as he opened the door to their room. 
"She's got to find out sometime, unless you don't think this is 
going to last." 
"It better last," He said. "This is the best thing that ever 
happened to me...the relationship, I mean, not the blow job, I 
though I loved that, too." 
"We are getting ridiculous," Dana sighed, kicking off her shoes. 
Dana sat down on the bed and dialed the phone, as John took off 
his jacket and tie. 
"Hi, Mom. It's me." 
"Dana, I've been trying to call you," said Maggie. "Where are 
you?" 
"I took a little vacation. I was wondering if you could keep an 
eye on my apartment and take in my mail until I get back?" 
"Sure, honey. How long will you be gone?" 
"About two weeks. I'll call you when I get back. Mom," She 
hesitated, "I'm with John." 
"John Doggett?" Maggie was shocked. "When did all this happen?" 
"A few days ago. We talked and decided we had to get to know 
each other better." 
"What about Fox?" 
"That's over, Mom. It just wasn't working." Dana glanced up as 
John began to kiss the side of her neck. She pushed him away, 
but he just smiled at her as he moved his mouth around to the 
warm skin of her back. 
"Well, I have to admit, John Doggett seems to be very concerned 
about you. Fox doesn't seem to have a life, outside of his work. 
Do you think you and John have a chance?" 
"Yeah, Mom, I do." Dana stifled a giggle as John pushed her back 
over the edge of the bed and began to slide up her dress. He was 
getting even, and now she could really see how he must have felt 
when she had tried this. "He's really good to me," She said to 
her mother, and whispered to him, "Okay, I get it. Cut it out!" 
He shook his head, as Maggie said to Dana, "I guess that's all 
that matters. Do you love him?" 
On the other end of the line, John started pulling off Dana's 
panyhose. "Oh, God, I do," said Dana, as he knelt in front of 
her, sliding his hands, and then his mouth up her thighs. 
"Then I hope it works out," said Maggie. "I always thought you 
needed a man who would pay more attention to you." 
"He definitely does that," said Dana, closing her eyes as John 
pulled down her panties and spread her legs. She fought to keep 
her voice even as he slid his fingers over her cunt, spreading 
the lips. He slid his fingers up and down, and traced his thumb 
over her clit. 
"That's nice," said Maggie. "Have a good time, then, Dear, and 
call me when you get back." 
Dana heard her mother hang up, just as John replaced his thumb 
with his tongue. She threw down the phone. 
"Are you crazy?" 
He laughed and hung it up. "Remember, I owe you one." He brought 
his mouth back down betwen her legs, and Dana closed her eyes 
once more as he began to eat her. He kissed her cunt over and 
over, and ran his tongue back over her throbbing clit. She 
clutched the bedspread with both hands as he slid his tongue in 
and out of her wet pussy. It was so good, like nothing she'd 
ever experienced. She came over and over as he buried his face 
in her, until she cried, "Oh, God, stop, I can't take it 
anymore." Then he looked her right in the eye, and kissed her 
mouth, and she could taste herself on him, and she didn't even 
mind. 
DAY THREE 
Dana felt a little sad as they checked out the next morning. It 
had been a delightful interlude. 
"We still going back to my house?" asked John. 
"I can'think of anyplace else I'd rather go." 
"Well, it won't be much fun for you. I"ve got some stuff I 
really have to do." 
"That's okay." She kissed his cheek. "I just want to be with 
you." 
They were so happy that they never noticed that they were being 
watched as they pulled away from the hotel. As they pulled into 
the driveway at John's house, he groaned. " I really need to cut 
the grass." 
"Why don't you do that, and I'll go to the store? I did promise 
to make you dinner, and I'll pick up something for lunch." 
"Sounds good," He said, as he unloaded the luggage. 
Dana checked out his kitchen one more time, making a shopping 
list, and then went outside where John was starting up the 
mower. 
"Be back soon," She said, kissing him. 
"Be careful," He said. As Dana drove to the grocery store, she 
giggled. I feel like a housewife, she thought, and it's not so 
bad. She had the same feeling as she bought the groceries, 
thinking about what John would like. She was startled, though, 
when she came out of the store, and saw Fox Mulder leaning 
against her car. 
"I thought you were out of town." 
"I told you I wouldn't be at home, not that it's any of your 
business. What are you doing here?" 
"I saw you and I decided to follow you." 
Well, quit following me! You and I are through." 
"Scully, you can't throw away what we have like this! You're 
going to regret it." 
"I'll never regret it. Now, don't follow me again! If I see you 
anywhere near John's house, I'll shoot you myself." 
Dana drove away conflicted. She didn't want to tell John what 
had happened with Mulder. Mulder was her problem and she had to 
handle it. She was so upset, though. On the street up ahead, she 
saw a Catholic church, and impulsively decided to stop. She 
hadn't been to church since William had died, but she still felt 
the pull of her Catholic roots when she was troubled. She 
decided to go in for a few minutes. Maybe she'd be able to 
meditate her way into a clearer state of mind, or she'd get a 
sign or something. There was a mass going on. She was just in 
time for the responsorial psalm, which on this day was "They who 
do justice will live in the presence of God." She went into a 
pew and sat down for a few minutes. She kept thinking about 
Mulder, and John Doggett, and comparing them in her mind. She 
felt guilty about Mulder, but she couldn't picture ever giving 
up John. She snapped out of her reverie when the choir started 
to sing the offertory song. It was "The Summons". 
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name? 
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same? 
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known? 
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me? 
Will you love the 'you' you hide if I but call your name? 
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same? 
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around? 
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me? 
Lord, your summons echoes true when you call my name. 
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same. 
In your company I'll go, where your love and footsteps show, 
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me. 
That's my sign, thought Dana. I'm not the same person I used to 
be. I can't be. As she unloaded the car at home, she thought 
about how much this house was starting to feel like home to her. 
Looking out the kitchen window at John cutting the grass, she 
began to think about what it would be like to live with him, to 
have this be her real home, and her yard. She liked the image 
she was getting. Dana had gotten some chicken salad for lunch, 
and she made iced tea. When he came in, she had everything 
ready, and hugged him extra hard. "Hey this is great," He 
smiled, accepting a glass of tea, and hugging her back. He 
smelled like sunshine and freshly mown grass. As they ate lunch, 
she told him, "I got some pork chops and I'm going to make a 
salad for dinner. Is that okay?" 
"Fine," He said. "This will be a treat for me. I usually just go 
out to eat." 
"Are you done with the lawn?" 
"Yeah. I think I'll wash the truck. It needs it." 
"Maybe after I do these dishes, I'll come out and keep you 
company." 
"I'd like that, he said, kissing her again as he headed outside. 
Dana washed the dishes and put them away with special care. She 
almost considered this her home, too, now, and she wanted to 
keep it nice. She went over to the front door, and looked out at 
Doggett on the driveway. Watching him standing outside in his 
tight jeans, with his shirt off, spraying off his truck was a 
treat for Dana. When he finally went to pull the sparkling 
silver truck into the garage, she climbed into the passenger 
seat. 
"Are we going somewhere?" 
"Yeah," She grinned. "Somewhere I've wanted to go for a long, 
long, time. Shut the garage door." 
He pushed the button, and as the door went down, he got out of 
the truck and walked around, pulling open the passenger door for 
Dana. 
"Very funny, Dana." 
"I'm dead serious." 
Turning on the seat to face him, she put both hands on his head, 
and pulled his face down for a long blistering kiss. She ran her 
tongue around his lips, and inside to caress the roof of his 
mouth, and slide around his teeth. 
"I've always had a thing for this truck," She sighed, when she 
finally drew her head back. 
"Are you serious?" 
"Try me," She said, unsnapping her denim shorts, and pulling 
them down. Her white lace panties followed. "Just try me." 
His eyes widened, and then he thought, what the hell, why not? 
He began to kiss her in return, and to move his hands over her 
legs and between them. She leaned back into the cab of the 
truck, and opened her legs so that he could get in between them. 
She rubbed his back and shoulders as he slid his finger in and 
out, brushing her clit with his thumb, feeling her getting 
hotter and wetter by the minute. This was an incredible turn on, 
and he found himself straining against his jeans. She was well 
aware of the bulge in his pants, and ran her hands over the 
rough material, causing him to yelp before she unsnapped him, 
unzipped him, and pulled the restrictive clothing down, freeing 
his swelling cock. She manuvered herself on the seat, bracing 
her butt against the edge of it, so that he could kneel on the 
edge of the cab and ram himself inside her. In this position, he 
was able to rock back and forth, building his drive as she 
nearly came off the seat. When she arched up, their bodies 
slammed together making slapping sounds that excited both of 
them even more. He was grunting with each thrust and she was 
gasping for breath when she felt herself begin to violently 
climax. As her vaginal walls clamped down on his hard throbbing 
penis, he began to spurt inside her. He slumped on top of her, 
and she leaned over, wrapping her arms around his back, feeling 
the damp skin as he buried his face in her shirt. 
"I just love a guy with a pickup truck." 
"I love you, too." 

DAY FOUR 
The next day was the most ordinary day Dana had spent in a long 
time, and it was such a welcome change for her that she found 
herself enjoying it very much. They ran errands together, and 
she helped John with his housework and yardwork. For some reason 
she didn't mind it at all. This is what average couples do, she 
thought. 
"You should put some bulbs in this fall," Dana told John as they 
sat on the porch that afternoon, enjoying the nice weather. "It 
would look so pretty here in the spring if you had some 
flowers." 
"I have enough trouble with the grass and trees and bushes that 
came with the house," He said doubtfully. "I don't know much 
about flowers." 
"I could help you, if I'm still here." 
"You'd better still be here," He said. "I'm just starting to get 
used to you." 
"Is that hard?" 
"Well, you do sleep with your mouth open." 
"How revolting! Do I really?" asked Dana. 
"But you're really fun to wake up next to." 
"I want to wake up next to you every day," She admitted. 
"And I want to wake up with you in my arms, looking at your 
silly sleepy face." 
"I love you," Dana said, and meant it. 
"I love you, too," John said. "I want to live with you forever." 
He wanted to add, "So what are we going to do about it?" but he 
sensed it was too soon, so he just said, "Want any help with 
dinner?" 
"You can set the table," She told him. 
Dana made salmon steaks with herb butter, and garnished them 
with lime slices. She added a salad and sweet-sour green beans. 
John raved about everything. When they had a big breakfast, and 
planned a special dinner, they'd agreed to start skipping lunch. 
"I'm just not used to eating the way we've been eating," Dana 
had said apologetically. 
"I agree, but I could sure get used to eating like this," said 
John. 
"When you get right down to it, we've been doing nothing all 
week but eating and making love." 
"I could get used to that, too." Then thinking for a moment, he 
asked her, "Do you have a bike?" 
"Not for years," said Dana. "Why?" 
"I have a mountain bike. I thought maybe we could go riding." 
"I'd like that. I could certainly use the exercise. Maybe I 
should get one. Could I keep it here?" 
"Sure," He said, "but until we get around to it, I can think of 
other ways to exercise." 
"How about helping with the dishes?" teased Dana. 
"That's not what I had in mind, but I'll do it," sighed John. 
After they cleaned up the kitchen, they watched TV for awhile, 
but they kept turning away from the set to kiss and cuddle, so 
they finally gave up and got ready for bed. He held her to him, 
inhaling her, tasting her, his hands in her hair, his mouth open 
to hers. He unbuttoned her shirt slowly, watching her watch him, 
and kissed her breasts, sucking on her nipples, then slipping 
off his own shirt so that he could press her hard nipples to his 
chest. She unzipped his jeans, and slid them off along with his 
shorts. He got her out of her shorts and panties. She looked 
down at him, at how ready he was. He was hard already. She 
reached for his stiff cock, and traced the swollen tip with her 
fingers. 
Now he pushed her down on the bed, licking her stomach and her 
inner thighs, kissing his way back up to her breasts, to her 
face. He kissed her mouth, burying his tongue in her, enjoying 
the way she met him with her own. 
She lay quietly as his cock slid into her, as he began to move 
inside her, then she couldn't lie still any longer. She had to 
move with him, and then she was coming, coming and groaning, and 
wrapping her legs around him as he shot into her. 

DAY FIVE 
When John Doggett woke up he could hear Dana moving around in 
the kitchen. He missed having a family. It was nice to at least 
have a woman in his life again. He cleaned up, got dressed and 
by the time he got downstairs, she was putting bacon and eggs 
and toast on the table. He hugged her. "Good morning." 
"Good morning to you." 
"I never thought of you as being the domestic type, but you're 
good at it. 
"Thanks. I don't mind doing it for you. I even brought in the 
paper." 
He laughed, and they sat down to breakfast. Once again, he 
praised everything she'd made. 
"It's been awhile since you've had anyone to take care of you, 
isn't it?" 
"I thought I was supposed to be taking care of you." 
"Maybe we should just agree to take care of each other." 
"I thought we already did." He paused. "What are we going to do 
when we have to go back to work?" 
"Let's just worry about that when the time comes." 
They started talking about the X-Files, the FBI in general, and 
the new director they were getting. 
"Maybe if you hadn't gotten mixed up with me, you'd be the 
director by now," said Dana. 
"I'd rather have you. Besides, Kersch would have found a way to 
sabotage me somehow, even if it hadn't been because of the X-
Files. He's a user." 
They complained about Kersch for awhile, and then talked about 
what a good guy Skinner was. "He's always been such a help to 
me," said Dana. 
"He probably has a thing for you." 
"John, that's a terrible thing to say!" 
"Everyone who works with you gets a thing for you." 
"Speak for yourself!" 
"I've got better things to do." He caught her wrist as she got 
up from the table, and drew her onto his lap, where he began to 
kiss her and stroke her bright hair. Dana felt cherished, and it 
was a wonderful feeling. She kissed him back, lightly, 
delicately. He slid his arms around her waist and they began to 
kiss with more passion. When the phone rang, they both groaned 
in frustration. "Hold that thought," He said. 
"No problem," said Dana, getting up to clear the table as he 
answered the phone. 
"John Doggett." 
"Skinner here." 
"Yes, Sir? I'm surprised to hear from you." 
"I'm looking for Agent Scully. Have you seen her?" 
Doggett hesitated a moment, then answered without going into 
detail. "She's here, actually. We had breakfast together this 
morning." 
"Can I talk to her? It's important." 
Dana who had turned to watch him, was surprised when he mouthed 
Skinner's name. "Yes, Sir?" 
"Dana, I don't know how to tell you this, but something's 
happened you should know about. We've turned up another illegal 
cloning lab. They had samples of human ova and sperm, and some 
of those vials had your name on them." 
"Oh, my God!" 
"The police are trying to contact everyone. The vials either 
have to be transfered to legitimate fertility clinics or 
destroyed. What do you want to do?" 
"I don't know. How much time do I have?" 
"It'll take a few days to sort things out. Not more than a week, 
though." 
"I'll call you back when I decide." She hung up the phone and 
literally crumpled into a chair, crying. John was there in a 
moment. 
"Honey, what's wrong?" She clung to him and sobbed out the 
story. 
"Does this mean you could have another baby?" 
"John, I don't want another baby! I can't lose again. It would 
destroy me. I won't risk my heart like that again. You know what 
it's like!" 
"I do know what it's like. I know what it was like for me, and I 
think I know what it was like for you, but you don't know that 
you'd lose again. You don't have to decide now, Dana, but don't 
let them destroy your chances. You may change your mind 
someday." 
"All right," She said wearily. "I'll arrange for a transfer, but 
I don't want to think about it for awhile, and I don't want to 
talk about it anymore today." 
"It's a deal. How about if we go out? Get your mind off things? 
"Where could we go that I could do that?" 
"How about a movie? A nice matinee with popcorn and Pepsi, and a 
big box of candy?" 
"You're on!" She said, "But I'm warning you, I don't like butter 
on my popcorn." 
"Neither do I. I don't like the way the grease feels." 
Dana smiled. "Perfect!" 
"So," He said, nuzzling her ear, "Where did you put that paper?" 


They went to see "Pearl Harbor" because it was long, John was 
interested in seeing how accurate the battle scenes were, and 
Dana was in the mood for a good love story. She was wondering if 
it would be half as interesting as their own. 
When they walked out of the theatre, holding hands, they were 
both satisfied. 
"Thank you," said Dana, kissing him lovingly, right in the 
middle of the parking lot. 
"I had fun, too." 
"I was thinking about that theme song. It reminds me of you. 
You're always there for me, and you give me strength. I'll never 
hear it without thinking of how much I love you." 
He was embarrassed, and she smiled to see him blush. 
"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time." 
They got into his truck, and sat for a moment, both lost in 
thought. Finally John snapped out of it. "How about dinner? Or 
are you too filled up on popcorn?" 
"I'd love to go to dinner with you, but let's go shopping first. 
You can help me pick out a bike." 
"Okay. I know a good bike shop. I've bought some things for my 
bike there. Let's try it, It's not far away." 
They picked out a bike, and John wanted to pay for it, but Dana 
wouldn't let him. They dropped the bike off at his house, and 
Dana said, "Ready for dinner now? What do you feellike eating?" 
"How about Italian? I know just the place." 
"Is it romantic?" 
"Everywhere I go with you is romantic." 
The restaurant was romantic, with drippy candles, and red 
checkered tablecloths. Dana had fettuccini alfredo, and John had 
lasagna. They killed a bottle of wine, and Dana fell asleep in 
the truck on the way home. Poor thing, thought John, she's all 
worn out. It's just one thing after another with her. 
He carried her to bed, and took off her clothes gently. She 
murmured sleepily, but she never came fully awake. he climbed 
into bed beside her, and put his arms around her. Pressing his 
cheek against her hair, and his chest against her back, the 
slept spooned together. 
He woke up in the middle of he night to find Dana covering his 
face with small, sweet kisses. He drew her into her arms once 
more, and began to touch her, delicately as if they were in a 
dream. Neither of them said anything, they just slowly began to 
make love, taking their time, kissing, stroking, and touching, 
touching until they were both warm and tingly.She put her hand 
down to guide him, and he slid inside her, and postioning his 
pelvis slightly above hers, he began to rock back and forth, 
until she was sighing with pleasure. When they came they came 
together, and then almost immediately, she fell back asleep. 
"I love you," He whispered, as he kissed her. 
"Me, too," She whispered back as she drifted away. 


DAY SIX 
The next morning after breakfast, they tried out the bikes. 
"It's so nice to spend time outdoors," said Dana. That gave John 
an idea. 
"How would you like to go away again for a couple of days?" 
"Not the hotel again!" 
"Not by a long shot! Quite the opposite, in fact. I know a guy 
who's parents have a cabin on the river. They're getting older 
and don't use it much, and he and his family live in Atlanta. We 
used to get a bunch of guys together to go fishing there a 
couple of times a year, sort of a Marine reunion thing." 
"A cabin? That might be fun." 
"We can barbecue, go boating, hell, we could even go fishing if 
you want." 
"I'm not a very good fisherman. I like sitting in the boat, but 
I don't like putting the worms on the hook or cleaning the fish. 
I do like the outdoors, though." 
"Fine. I just need to make a couple of calls. Do you need to 
pick up anything from your place?" 
Dana considered this. "Sunscreen." She said. " I burn easily, 
and when I burn I don't like to be touched." 
"Well, we can't have that," He grinned, giving her a kiss. 
"Maybe I'll take those fancy dresses back home, if we're not 
going anyplace else where I need to dress up." 
"This trip will be casual, for sure." 
She drove to her apartment, and hung up the formal dresses, and 
dug out some more casual clothes, sunscreen and bug repellant. 
She checked her messages, but they were all from her mom or 
Skinner, left before she had spoken to them. No Mulder, she 
thought. I wonder what he's up to? Oh, well. Maybe he's finally 
dealing with it. She grabbed some medical journals and books she 
had been meaning to read, in case she had some free time. Dana 
then drove back to John's and he loaded her suitcase back into 
the truck and they set off. It was a beautiful day for a drive, 
and they were in good spirits. He told her some more stories 
about his service days, and she told him about some of her 
friends from high school. She even told him the story about how 
her friends had started the bonfire after the prom and how they 
had wound up riding home on the firetruck, and he laughed. 
They came to a little town near the river, and he stopped 
outside a Real estate office. "This is where we pick up the 
keys." 
The office was next to a little, old-fashioned old movie theatre 
that was having a Marx Brothers revival. 
"I love them," said Dana. "Can we go?" 
"Why not? We have to get settled in, though. Maybe tomorrow or 
the next day." 
They went grocery shopping, looking for foods that seemed 
appropriate for camping, and headed out to the cabin. Dana had 
expected a cabin like she'd stayed in during her Girl Scout 
days, but this was a gorgeous log home. 
"Oh, my God! This is beautiful!" The house had a perfect view of 
the river, a stone patio with a barbecue pit, and it's own 
private dock. There were two bedrooms furnished with rustic 
looking furniture, and a beautiful kitchen complete with a 
dishwasher and microwave. "I thought we were going to be 
roughing it!" 
"Well, it's not the Four Seasons." 
"I like it, though." 
They unpacked the groceries, and their clothes, and went for a 
walk. Everything was fresh and green and they were both able to 
relax and enjoy the scenery, stopping often to kiss and cuddle. 
When they got back to the house, John stopped on the porch, and 
pulled Dana into his arms. They kissed passionately, and seeing 
how isolated the place was, Dana had no qualms when he pulled 
her over to a lounge chair, and started unzipping her jeans. She 
returned the favor,and wearing nothing but their shirts, he sat 
down in the chair, pulling her after him. She straddled his 
growing erection, and he helped her guide it inside her pussy, 
which was wet with anticipation. She began to move up and down, 
around and around, and it felt so good, and so daring, that she 
was soon groaning with pleasure. "Oh, God what you do to me!" 
"You're doing it...come on, Dana, work with me here!" 
She slid her arms around her neck, and shifted her weight, so 
that he was able to reach deep inside her, and she soon felt 
that wonderful quiver inside that meant he was going to start 
pumping into her. She felt him come, and his pleasure triggered 
her own. Even the mixture of fluids pooling between her thighs 
felt good. She leaned against him, and he buried his face in her 
neck, as they let the cool breeze off the river calm them. 

When it got toward evening, John got the barbecue pit going. 
They'd gotten baking potatoes, which they wrapped in foil and 
cooked ont the grill. John put on steaks, and Dana threw 
together a salad. They ate on the patio, watching the sun set, 
and got silly making S'mores. 
"Now THIS reminds me of Girl Scouts," said Dana. "Did you know 
the Girl Scouts invented S'mores?" 
"Leave it to a bunch of girls to figure out a new way to use 
chocolate," said John, trying to get a hot marshmallow on a 
graham cracker without burning his fingers. 
"Don't knock it," She said, helping him. 
"Oh, I'm not," He said quickly, before she pushed the gooey mess 
in his mouth, following through with a warm, sticky chocolate 
kiss. 
After they ate, they went down on the dock to have a beer, and 
watch the sun set and enjoy the breeze. Eventually, the breeze 
off the river got to be too much, though, and drove them 
indoors. 
John started a small fire in the great room's large stone 
fireplace, and they lay in each other's arms, watching the 
dancing flames. 
John loved the way Dana's hair picked up the fire's glow, 
radiating a shimmer of its own. He ran his hands through the 
thick mass, enjoying the fluffy feel of it, 
She closed her eyes and sighed with contentment as he began to 
stroke her cheek, and smiled as his hand moved down to stroke 
her breast. They knew each other so well now that they could 
respond at once to each other's needs, and they were soon making 
love on the hearth rug, in the debris of their clothes, his long 
hard cock stoking into her, her warm breath tickling his ear, 
her legs wrapped tight around him, pulling him in as far as he 
could go. Their warm bodies moved together until they were both 
sated and exhausted. 



DAY SEVEN 
"So," said John at breakfast, "You want to go out on the river?" 
"I'd love to!" 
"Ever go canoeing?" 
"Years ago. Where do we get a canoe?" 
"There's a place in town. We can rent a canoe, and they'll drop 
us down river. We canoe back to their landing. We can do a short 
trip or a long one." 
"How short is short?" 
"About three hours." 
"I think that would be enough. I'm pretty rusty." 
"Fine. I'll give them a call." 
They soon found themselves being driven along the river by a 
cheerful old man from the livery, a bright yellow canoe on top 
of his van. They were given oars, life jackets, and dropped off 
at a launching area. 
"When you go down the river," He said, "You'll pass under two 
walking bridges and three car bridges. When you pass under the 
last car bridge, start looking for our sign on your left." 
John got in the back of the canoe, and Dana got in the front, 
and they soon found themselves on the river. They had to steer 
carefully, and paddle quite a bit, but there were places where 
they could just drift, enjoying the beauty around them, looking 
at the trees and the sparkling water. They saw herons, ducks, 
and geese, and the occasional turtle sunning on a log. 
"This is so wonderful," said Dana. "It's so peaceful here. I 
don't feel like myself at all. Who are we really?" 
"Two lonely people who really needed each other. This suspension 
was the best thng that ever happened to me. If I hadn't of 
gotten suspended, who knows how long it would have taken us to 
figure that out." 
"I like to think that we would have, eventually," said Dana,as 
she looked away at the beauty of the scenery, and lost herself 
in thought. She dabbled her hand in the water, and John watched 
her, seeing all the beauty he needed right in front of him. Her 
auburn hair glowed in the sun, and her skin had become golden in 
its warmth. When they had paddled under the last bridge, they 
started looking for the landing, and found it without any 
trouble. They dragged the canoe out of the water, and turned in 
the oars and life jackets to the office. 
"Any problems?" The proprietor asked. 
"No, it was great," said Dana. "We didn't even tip over once!" 
By the time they got back to the cabin, though, Dana didn't feel 
that great. "My shoulders hurt," She complained. 
"Too much paddling, maybe," said John, who was getting the 
barbecue pit ready. "Take a shower, and try letting the hot 
water hit them. I'll get dinner ready." 
She smiled at him gratefully, and went in to try it, but she 
continued to wince as she ate. After they had cleared away the 
dishes, he took her by the hand and led her to bed. he undressed 
her carefully, and had her lie down on her stomach. He began to 
massage her shoulders and back. John's hands were so large and 
strong that he was able to work deep into the muscles, and Dana 
began to purr with pleasure. 
"Oh, God that's better. That's so much better..." He kissed the 
back of her neck, and moved his mouth along her spine, working 
his thumbs ahead of his lips. When he drew back, she started to 
protest, then realized he was getting undressed, and she smiled 
as he climbed back onto her. He began to rub his growing 
erection up and down between the cheeks of her ass, as he 
continued to massage her back and shoulders and neck. When he 
finally leaned back and pulled up her hips so that he could 
reach down between her legs, she was feeling no pain whatsoever. 
He worked his hand up and down over the center of her, finally 
parting her lips and sliding a finger into her wet pussy, making 
her want him. She raised her hips, bracing herself on her knees 
as he replaced the finger with his hard throbbing cock, shoving 
into her from behind. Dana gripped the bedspread with both 
hands, as he slid in and out of her slippery cunt until he 
pushed her over the brink. She dropped her head, exhausted to 
the bed as he finished the job by filling her up with his life 
force. 

DAY EIGHT 
After breakfast, John and Dana went for another walk in the 
woods around the cabin. It was such a nice change from being in 
the city. They didn't have to say much, they just enjoyed each 
other's company the way people who know each other well 
sometimes do. 
They drove into town in the afternoon, and went to the little 
old movie theatre. John got the tickets for the Marx Brothers 
festival he had promised her. 
The lobby was carpeted in red and had beautiful old benches 
along the walls to the auditorium. "I love old theatres," said 
John. "The new ones all look like funeral home lobbies." 
Dana giggled. He bought popcorn and drinks, and handed her the 
popcorn bucket. "No butter." 
"Thank you," She said. 
There were a lot of people in the theatre, considering it was 
such a small town. Dana figured there probably wasn't much else 
to do around there. They chose red velvet seats in the middle of 
the auditorium. It was an atmospheric theatre, with a false 
ceiling above their heads, painted to look like the sky. Little 
lights were set in the ceiling and they twinkled like stars. "If 
we get bored with the movie, we can look at the ceiling," said 
Dana. 
"I could think of better things to do if I were bored," John 
teased her, "But you're out of luck. I love old movies." 
"Me, too," said Dana as the lights dimmed and the old fashioned 
curtain parted. "This reminds me of places I used to go to when 
I was a kid." They sat chummily together, munching popcorn, 
their shoulders touching as "Room Service" started. "Oh, my 
God," said Dana, "Is that Lucille Ball? She looks so young!" 
"She WAS young then,"John whispered back. They laughed at the 
story of the hapless playwright, and the antics of his 
tormentors. When the movie ended, they stood up to stretch and 
wait for the next one to start. 
"I'm going to the ladies room," said Dana. "Too much Pepsi." 
"Good idea. Don't run out on me, though." 
"Where would I go?" 
"Back to Mulder?" 
"Are you still worried about that? I told you...no chance." 
The second movie was "Duck Soup" and the idea of Groucho Marx as 
the leader of a country was irresistable. On the way out of the 
theatre after the show, Dana shook her head. "How did Margaret 
Dumont ever work with those guys so many times? They were crazy. 
I love their movies, but they were nuts, especially Groucho. I 
wish I could get away with talking to people like he did." 
"I like Harpo," said John. 
"Why?" Because he was always chasing girls?" Dna whacked John on 
the arm playfully. 
"No, he was supposedly the nicest. Groucho really had a sharp 
wit, and used it. Chico was a gambler. Harpo was supposedly 
sweet. He and his wife adopted a bunch of kids. George Burns 
asked him once why they got so many, and Harpo said when he and 
his wife went out, they wanted to be able to look back and see a 
kid in every window of the house, waving goodbye." 
"I didn't know that. That IS sweet!" 
As they got back into the truck, John asked Dana gently, "Have 
you given any more thought to what Skinner told you?" 
"Why? Do you want a kid for every window of your house?" 
"Try me and see." 
Dana gave him a long look, then shook her head. "I'm not ready 
to make those kinds of decisions. I love you, but I just can't 
think about it right now. I appreciate what you're saying to me, 
but I just don't know what to say back." 
"Just keep thinking about it." He turned on the ignition, afraid 
he'd pushed her too far. When they went to bed that night, she 
seemed preoccupied, and he just held her close. She fell asleep 
with his strong hands cupped around her ass, and slept a 
dreamless sleep. 


Okay, I know the minute I start this all you brainiacs are going 
to know where I'm going with it, but I'm going to do it anyway, 
because I think it works. 
****************************************************************
* John's house was starting to feel very much like home to Dana. 
He was still worried about the truck, so after they unpacked he 
decided to take it for an oil change. She stayed behind, and 
started straightening up for him. When the doorbell rang, she 
had no qualms about answering it. There was a very neatly 
dressed elderly man on the doorstep. 
"Yes? May I help you?" 
He looked at her in confusion, and then looked at a piece of 
paper in his hand. Glancing up at the house number, he said 
tentatively, "I'm looking for John Doggett." 
"He went out for a few minutes, but he'll be back soon. Is there 
something I could help you with?" 
"Are you his wife? I didn't know he married again. He used to be 
my son-in-law." 
Dana looked at the older man amazed. "Your daughter is John's 
ex-wife?" 
"She was." He looked down and visibly trembled. "She died 
recently. I wanted to tell him in person. I thought he'd want to 
know, and there are certain things we need to discuss." 
He looked so sweet and woebegone, that Dana said impulsively, 
"Come in. Please." 
She took him to the kitchen and gave him coffee. "This is very 
kind of you," he said, then hesitated. 
She understood at once. "Call me Dana, and I'm not John's wife. 
I've known him for two years and we're pretty serious about each 
other, but we haven't made those kinds of plans yet." 
"I'm Mike. I'm pleased to meet you, Dana. I always hoped and my 
wife did too, that John would get a chance to be happy again. 
He's a wonderful man, good man." 
"Then what happened? I hope you don't mind my asking, but he 
doesn't talk about it much." 
"After Luke died, my daughter had kind of a nervous breakdown. 
She blamed John for everything. It wasn't his fault that Luke 
was taken, and he did everything he could to get Luke back, but 
she wouldn't listen to reason. She left him and came home. We 
tried to get her to work things out, but she threatened to run 
away. We had just lost our only grandchild. We didn't want to 
lose our daughter, too, so we quit trying to make her talk to 
him, and they got divorced." 
"Losing a child is hard on a relationship," said Dana gently. "I 
lost a baby once, and it ruined everything between me and the 
man." 
"Then you understand!" Mike shook his head. "I don't know if 
John will understand, though. He's liable to throw me right out 
of the house." 
"I don't think so," said Dana confidently. "He doesn't hold 
grudges." 
They sipped their coffee, and then heard the front door open and 
shut. 
"Dana, where are you?" 
"In the kitchen. You have company." 
"Company?" John walked in and stopped short when he saw the 
vistor. "Mike? It can't be?" 
"It is." The old gentleman stood up and shook John's hand. "And 
don't blame this nice lady. I wheedled my way in." 
John looked at Dana, and she got him a cup of coffee. "Sit down, 
John. Mike has something to tell you." She glanced at Mike, and 
added, "Maybe I'd better leave the two of you alone." 
"No, dear," said Mike. "You'd better stay. What I have to say 
might matter to you, too." John stared into his coffee cup for a 
moment, then said quietly, "How's Gwen? Still head of the 
gardening club?" 
"She's okay," said Mike. "Her arthritis is getting worse, but 
she does the best she can." 
"And how's..." 
"She's dead, John. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." 
"Dead? But how? When?" 
"She died three weeks ago of cancer." 
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for you and Gwen. I truly am," said John. 
"And I'm glad you thought enough of me to come and tell me." 
"We always liked you, John. We felt terrible about how things 
turned out, but she wasn't herself after Luke died. She went a 
little crazy." 
"Mike, you know I did everything I could to find him..." 
"I know you did, but we had to let her come home. She was 
scared. She threatened to run away. We couldn't risk losing 
her." 
"She was scared of me?" John asked brokenly. 
"She was scared of it happening again." 
"I don't get it," said Dana, who had been watching the two men 
talk like a spectator at a tennis match. 
Mike looked at her, his face anguished. "When my daughter left 
John, she was pregnant again. She never told him." He looked at 
John. "You have a daughter of your own." 
John Doggett went white as a sheet. "Are you serious?" 
"That's why I'm here. Sarah is nearly six, and Gwen and I are 
too old to handle her. We wanted to know if you might want to 
spend some time with her, maybe share custody." 
Dana was outraged. "He had another child and you never told him! 
That's despicable!" 
Mike held out his hands. "What could I do? If I had told him, my 
daughter could have run off, had that baby in a ditch somewhere 
and died! I couldn't tell him...until now." He looked at John. 
"We'll do anything to make it up to you. Anything! If you want 
us to keep Sarah, we will, but if you want her you can have her, 
but please..." Mike begged, "Let us see her once in awhile. 
Don't pay us back in kind. My wife couldn't stand it." He looked 
at Dana imploringly, as if she could influence John. 
"I don't believe this," said John, getting up and pacing in the 
kitchen, "But I want to see my daughter! Hell, yes!" He 
hesitated. "Does she know anything about me?" 
"Whenever she asked if she had a Daddy, we told her you were far 
away.That's the deal we made. We never talked bad about you. 
It's the best I could do." 
John sighed. "I appreciate that, but Christ!" 
Mike stood up. "I have to get back. It's going to take all 
afternoon to drive home, and I want to get there before dark. 
Here's the address and the phone number. Let me know what you 
decide to do. Come whenever you want. Come tomorrow if you 
want." 
They led him back to the front door, where he stopped, fumbling 
in his pocket. "Here. You might want to have this." 
It was a picture of a little, blue eyed girl.When the elderly 
man had left, John ran his hand through his hair, and said, "Oh, 
shit! Shit! Shit! Shit" 
Dana went to him and laid her hand on his arm. "John, this is 
good news! You were just talking about having kids in this house 
again!" 
"What am I going to do with a little girl? A little girl who 
doesn't even know me?" 
"Get to know her!" said Dana. "You can be a dad, again. You'll 
be great at it." She pointed to the picture. "Let me see." 
They sat down on the couch and looked at it carefully together. 
"She's cute," Dana said. "She's got your eyes." 
"She looks a lot like Luke did. It's just so hard to believe!" 
"I know," Dana said, "But I think you should go. I think you 
should go tomorrow." 
"Come with me." 
"John, I don't know if that would be the right thing to do. Mike 
seemed nice, but maybe his wife won't want you showing up with a 
strange woman to meet her grandchild. This had nothing to do 
with me." 
John looked at her, confidence coming back into his face. "It 
has everything to do with you. I love you. I don't want to lose 
you. You have to be on board with this, Dana. I can't do it 
without you." 
"Are you sure that's how you feel?" 
"Do you even have to ask?" He reached out to cup her chin, and 
kissed her. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, thrilling 
to the feel of his mouth and his hands and then a thought stuck 
her, and she broke the embrace. 
"What is it?" He asked. 
"We should do something to celebrate. After all, this may be the 
last night we'll ever be alone." 
"And what is it you want to do?" 
"I want you to make love to me, right here, just like you did 
the first time." 
"I thought we'd agreed that the first time wasn't that great." 
"I never agreed," said Dana, leaning over to slide her mouth 
over his. 
He parted his lips to let her in, meeting her tongue with his 
own, sliding it gently around the inside of her mouth. He moved 
his hand down her arm in a slow lazy motion, then cut across to 
her breasts. As their mouths worked avidly, he explored under 
her shirt. She was soft and warm, but her nipples soon hardened 
to his touch. Her hands slid down his back, then fell to his 
delicious ass. They undressed each other slowly, moving hands 
and mouths over each section of newly exposed flesh. When he 
finally slipped his hand over her pubic hair to the soaking 
folds below, they were both breathing heavily. 
"Oh, yes, oh right there," Dana whispered. "That's so good, oh, 
John, that's so good." She paid him back in kind, running her 
hand over his erect penis, her thumb over the smooth head. 
"Now? Please now?" He whispered. "I want you." She kissed him 
again, looking deep into his eyes, and obligingly spread her 
legs, leaning one against the back of the couch to give him 
easier access. She wanted him inside her as much as he wanted to 
be inside her. His thick cock filled up the empty space inside 
her and made her feel whole. It had been good in a way the first 
time, and it got better every time. How long could it go on 
getting better every time? Dana thought about the first night 
she had spent in his arms, and was very happy to still be there. 
One thing that remained the same, though, was the face at the 
window. Only this time Mulder wasn't shocked.. He was very, 
very, pissed off. 
After they'd had their little interlude on the couch, they'd 
cleaned up together, soaping each other up, acting silly, and 
made some dinner. As they were cleaning up the kitchen, John 
suddenly turned serious again. 
"Are you sure you'll still want to be with me if I have a kid?" 
"John, I want to be with you no matter what. If anything I want 
to be with you more. It's like getting a second chance," said 
Dana, quietly. "Did you ever hear about Emily?" 
"A little bit, when I was going through the X-Files, but after 
you told me not to look at your personal files, I set aside 
anything that had your medical records in it. Emily was the 
little girl you wanted to adopt, after you found out you had 
fertility problems. She was a sick little girl, and she died, 
right?" 
"There's more to it than that." Sitting at his kitchen table, 
Dana told John about Emily. 
He was stunned. "They took ova from women and used them to 
create kids? Kids they used as guinea pigs? No wonder you got so 
upset when Skinner told you they'd found another lab!" 
"I was a doctor, and I couldn't help her!" 
"Hey, I was a cop and I couldn't save my son!" 
"I know that you understand how I feel. That's one of the 
reasons I love you so much. That's one of the things that makes 
this so right. No one could ever understand what it was like. I 
was so angry, and so helpless. I wanted that little girl so 
much. I wanted a chance." 
"You said I was giving you a second chance," He said gently, 
"But you're giving me one, too." John leaned over and kissed 
her. "I told you, I can't do this alone. I don't want to. If 
this works out, I don't want it to be at the expense of what we 
have." 
"Nothing can shake what we have. We've both been through so 
much, and yet we're still standing, and we've had enough hope 
left to let ourselves be happy." 
"I want to make you happy." He said, his eyes dark with emotion. 
"Then love me, and let me love you." 
He took her hand and took her to bed, where they wound up making 
love very tenderly. She kissed his mouth, his cheek, and the tip 
of his nose. She ran her lips gently over his eyebrows, and down 
his temple to his ear, where she kissed and licked and nibbled 
at him. She ran her mouth down his jawline and under his chin to 
the other ear, where she kissed and licked and nibbled again. 
She slid her mouth down his throat, as he stroked her back and 
shoulders and neck, and ran his fingers through her bright hair. 
She drew herself up, and he began to kiss and lick and suck at 
her nipples, first one, then the other. She felt electricity 
shooting from her breasts down to the very center of her, and 
shifted her weight, so that his hard cock was pressed tight 
between her thighs. She was so hot. She had to have him, and 
guided him in. He grabbed her ass, and helped her get a rhythm 
going. She rode him to the brink, and as she felt him come 
inside her, she began to swivel her hips, setitng off her own 
massive orgasm. She collapsed on top of him, and he held her 
tightly in his arms, and she knew she was exactly where she 
should be. DAY TEN John called as soon as they got up in the 
morning to tell his former in-laws that he was coming to meet 
Sarah. 
"Everything okay?" Dana asked when he hung up. 
"Yeah, I talked to Gwen and she was pretty nice, considering. 
She thought maybe I should go slow and just meet Sarah, and 
maybe spend a little time with her before we make any big 
decisions." 
"I agree," said Dana. "You need to get to know each other. Did 
you tell her I was coming?" 
"Yes, and she was fine with it. Mike told her we had a serious 
thing going and that you were a good person." 
"I think he's a good person, too. They were in a lousy 
situation, John. I think they tried to do the best they could." 
"I know." He put his arms around her, and held her close. "What 
if she doesn't like me?" 
"Your daughter? She'll be okay. Kids are resilent at that age, 
John." 
They didn't say much on the long ride north. They took Dana's 
car because it got better gas mileage than the truck. They were 
so nervous. When they found the street, Dana started checking 
the house numbers, but she needn't have bothered. On the cement 
steps of one brick bungalow, a little girl was waiting. 
Whwen they turned into the driveway, and John switched off the 
ignition, the child looked up. 
"Oh, my God," John said, "This is it." 
"Go on," Dana encouraged him. "This is your moment." 
He got out of the car, and walked toward the house. The child 
came down the steps to meet. him. 
"Are you Sarah?" 
"I'm Sarah and I'm five and a half years old. My Daddy is 
supposed to come and see me. Are you my Daddy?" 
Joh Doggett bent down so he was eye to eye with her. "Yeah, 
Sarah, I am, and I'm really glad to see you." 
"Grandma and Grandpa said you were far away." 
"I was as far away as I could be, but I'm back now. Is that 
okay?" 
"Okay." The child put her arms around his neck and he stood up 
holding her. Dana, standing next to the car, had tears in her 
eyes at the sight of this man she loved so much holding his 
daugheter for the first time. She saw Mike and his wife in the 
doorway of the house, and she could see that they were touched, 
too. 
Still holding Sarah, John looked at Dana and gave a slight nod 
of his head. 
She went up to him nervously. 
"Sarah, I want you to meet someone. This is Dana, and she's a 
good friend of mine." 
"I don't have a mommy any more. Did Daddy bring you to be my 
mom?" 
Embarrassed, Dana glanced at the couple on the porch and thought 
hard. "Sarah, I'm sure your mom loved you very much. She'll 
always be your mom, even if she isn't with you, but I love your 
Daddy, and I'd like to be your friend." 
Dana could almost feel John's relief. "Let's go talk to Grandma 
and Grandpa." Dana had been concerned that their visit would be 
an awkward one, but it really was not. Mike and Gwen were really 
very gracious, considering, and Sarah entertained them by 
bringing things to show them. She must have shown Dana every 
doll and stuffed animal she owned. 
"Where do you live if you're not far away any more?" 
"I'm still pretty far away, just not as far as I was," said John 
gently. "I have a house in Virginia." 
"Can I see it?" 
"I was hoping you would come and stay with me sometime." 
"I'm in kindergarten. For two more weeks. Then I'll be in first 
grade. Do they have first grade there?" 
"I'm sure they do." 
"When I'm in first grade I'll be a Brownie. I'm a Daisy now. 
I'll show you my vest." Sarah ran off and John looked at Mike 
and Gwen. 
"She seems so happy. Doesn't she miss her mom?" 
"I don't know if she really gets it," said Gwen. She looked over 
at Dana, trying to include her in the conversation. "Her mother 
was in the hospital for most of the last year. Sarah got used to 
being without her, to being with other people." 
Sarah reappeared with a blue Girl Scout vest. "This is my Daisy 
vest," She said, climbing on John's lap. "This is my Daisy pin. 
When I get my Brownie pin they'll put him on upside down. I 
can't turn him around until I do a good deed. Do they have 
Brownies where you live?" 
"I guess so. I'll have to find out. I used to take your brother 
to Cub Scouts." 
"My brother died before I was born," said Sarah solemnly to 
Dana. "That means he's gone. Grandma said Mommy went to be with 
him." 
"I hope she's with him right now," Dana said gently. "That would 
be nice." 
"Are you going to stay at Daddy's house, too?" 
"She just visits for now," said John quickly, "But maybe when 
you come, I can get Dana to stay for good. Then Grandma and 
Grandpa can visit all of us, and we can visit them." 
"And no one will die anymore?" 
"I hope not. Not for a long, long time." 
"Why don't you go see your Daddy's house after school gets out?" 
said Mike, "And then if you like it, you can go there and stay 
longer." 
Sarah looked at John. "Can I bring my videos? And my Powderpuff 
Girls and my Barbie house?" 
"Sure. Anything you want. I have a big yard. Maybe we could put 
up a swingset." 
So it was agreed that Sarah would start spending weekends with 
John after school got out, and then when she was used to him, 
she could move in. Whwen John and Dana were leaving, Sarah 
hugged them both and they both hugged her grandparents. "Thank 
you," said John. "Thank you so much." 
"It's better this way," said Gwen. "Nice to meet you Dana. I 
hope we get invited to the wedding." 
"I'll let you know when we decide something, " said Dana, a bit 
embarrassed. 
All the way home John raved about how well things had gone. He 
told Dana a dozen times how proud he was of her. "I know that 
must have been hard for you. Thanks for coming with me. I needed 
you so much." 
"Thanks for trusting me enough to take me. Sorry about that 
wedding business. I hope you weren't embarrassed." 
"No..maybe some day we'll get to that point. I'm not going to 
con you. I love you, and I do hope that eventually you'll want 
to be my wife." 
"I'll think about it," said Dana. "You're certainly acting like 
an old married man." 
"What's that supposed to mean?" 
"You haven't touched me all day," She teased. 
"Any special place you want to be touched?" 
"Everywhere?" 
"Good idea." He pulled into a dead end street next to a park, 
and shut off the engine. 
"What are you doing?" 
"Just a little old fashioned necking." He kissed her, and she 
laughed, and kissed him back in the twilight. It was so high 
school naughty it was fun, to have him sliding his all hands 
over her in the car. "Ever do it in car? 
"John! If I did, I wouldn't tell you." 
"Show me! There's no one around." 
They got in the back seat like a couple of kids, and started 
fooling around, playing with each other. Dana found herself, 
devoid of her underwear, with John on top of her. "This is 
ridiculous," She started to say, then gasped. "Oh, do that 
again, that feels so good! Oh, yeah, right there." 
"Come on," He whispered, and she felt him slide inside her, and 
it was an incredible turn on. She wound up with her feet up over 
the seat cushions, yelping with pleasure. The windows literally 
steamed up as they found release. 
"John Doggett," She panted. "That wasn't fair." 
"But you liked it." 
"Yeah, she whispered, holding him close, stroking his spiky 
hair. "I liked it." 
DAY ELEVEN When Dana got up the next morning, she found John up 
and dressed, and looking around the spare bedroom. He had one 
real bedroom, one spare bedroom and one room he used to store 
things in. 
"How can I put a little girl in here?" 
"The furniture is okay, and so are the walls," said dana, 
looking at the light blue paint. "You just need some cuter 
curtains and a bedspread to match." 
"Help me pick something. I don't know what little girls like." 
"Come downstairs," Dana said, laughing at his eagerness. "I'll 
make you some breakfast, and then we can go find something 
pretty for Sarah." 
Since the carpet was blue, and the walls were light blue, Dana 
convinced John to buy a light blue gingham checked bedspread and 
curtains, and some frilly pillows to match. They got a cute lamp 
shaped like a teddy bear, and picked up a small table and two 
chairs so Sarah would have a place to sit and play with her 
dolls. When Dana got the new curtains up, and the bed arranged, 
and a nice little corner fixed up for Sarah's toys, John was 
amazed at the difference in the room. "How did you know what to 
do?" 
"Do you think she'll like it?" 
"Yeah, it really looks nice. I told you I couldn't do this 
without you." 
"Well, we didn't actually have to do this today. She's not 
coming for two weeks." 
"I know," He said sheepishly, "but I can't wait. I still can't 
believe I have a daughter!" 
"I believe it. She's as sweet as you are, but I have to admit, 
for someone who just got docked two weeks pay, you've been 
spending money like water. On Sarah, and on me!" 
"It's worth it, but I do have some bills to pay, and some mail 
to go through. Do you mind?" 
"No, I have a pile of medical journals I've been hauling around 
all week that I need to get to." 
"Sit in the den with me and keep me company, at least." Dana 
did, and it felt good to be able to look up from her comfy seat 
in John's reclining chair every once in while and see him 
working at his desk. She caught him glancing up at her from the 
computer occasionally and whenever it happened they both smiled 
at how at ease they were with each other. When Dana got up to 
make dinner, and kissed his cheek, it was as if they had been 
together forever. After dinner they went for a bike ride, and 
stopped at a park to enjoy the sunset and talk some more about 
Sarah. 
"You're going to be great dad," said Dana kissing him. 
"You're going to be a great stepmother." 
"Pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?" She teased, tickling him. 
He rolled over onto his side, and pinned her on the grass, 
kissing her. She enjoyed his kisses for awhile, but when his 
hand slid to the snap of her jeans, she laughed. "Cut it out! 
This is a park, for God's sake!" 
"No one can see through me, and no one can see through those 
bushes behind you. Relax." 
He covered her mouth so she couldn't protest, and slid his hand 
down into her panties, and between her legs. If anyone had 
walked past, they would just have seen a couple kissing, a 
muscular male body blocking out a smaller, female one, but the 
moaning that began to emanate from the female one would 
certainly have tipped off anyone with good ears. He probed her, 
working his fingers until she was breathless, and fighting not 
to squirm. 
"John, this is crazy! Ooooooh, God! Oh, John!" 
Like the night in the car, this was incredibly daring and 
erotic. He was enjoying himself too, just because it pleased him 
to be able to please her, to be able to concentrate on her 
response to his touch. He felt her contact around his fingers, 
and smothered a louder moan with another kiss. Her panties were 
rather sticky, and her legs were wobbly. It was a few moments 
before she could stand up and get back on the bike to go home. 
"I'll get you for that!" 
"God, I hope so! When?" 
She whacked him on the arm, and they rode back to the house. DAY 
TWELVE "John, what's it going to be like when we go back to work 
on Monday?" Dana asked on Saturday morning, when they were lying 
in bed together trying to decide how to spend their last weekend 
of suspension. She was lying comfortably in his arms, her head 
on his chest. He was stroking her bright hair, something he 
loved to do. It was thick and shiny, as it slid through his 
fingers. He thought she was so beautiful. 
"Well, we're going to probably have a whole pile of paperwork to 
go through. I don't think I'll be able to throw you down on my 
desk until at least noon." 
"That's not funny, John. You know we're going to have to meet 
with Kersch before we can officially start working again." 
"You want to do it on Kersch's desk, then?" 
"Oh, God, can you imagine if he saw us doing that!" 
"He's probably get off on it, the tight-assed bastard." 
"Will you be serious?" Dana sat up. "What do you think he's 
going to say?" 
"He's most likely going to say that I need to watch what I do 
from now on if I want to keep my job, and he'll probably tell 
you that you were stubborn and unprofessional to walk out the 
way you did." 
Dana curled back up at his side, enjoying his warmth. "I'll 
never be sorry, though. This was the most important two weeks of 
my life." 
"Mine, too. I got to spend it with you," He said kissing her 
cheek. 
"And you found out about Sarah," added Dana. 
"Yeah. My whole life is set now. When I came to Washington, I 
thought it would be nothing but work for the rest of my life." 
He continued to kiss her cheek, then her neck, then her breasts. 
"I'm glad I was wrong." 
Dana closed her eyes, and began to stroke HIS hair, as he sought 
out this now familiar territory. No matter how many times they 
made love, it got better every time, because it meant more 
everytime. The pleasure grew as they grew closer, and they got 
closer every day. 
Can you ever, Dana wondered to herself, know anyone completely? 
She felt as if she knew this man better than anyone she'd ever 
known in her life. 
He certainly knew how to arouse her. The sex was perfect. She 
blushed when she thought of some of the things they'd done, 
things she would not ever have been comfortable doing with any 
other man. How had she ever managed to go without it for so 
long? I didn't have John, she thought to herself. It's different 
with him. No matter what I do to him, or he does to me, it's 
right. This was meant to be. 
His mouth and fingers on her nipples brought a sigh of 
satisfaction from her. He teased each one with his tongue, 
nibbling, and licking and sucking, as his hand moved over the 
opposite breast. He went on and on, until they were hard and 
aching, and she was squirming with excitement. When he brought 
his mouth back up to hers, he held her tight, and she felt her 
overstimulated flesh press against his strong hard chest, as his 
hand moved lower. She clung to him, kissing him furiously, 
sweeping her tongue through his mouth, moving her hands over his 
back and shoulders and neck in similiar sweeping movements, 
enjoying the feeling of his warm skin. He covered her like a 
blanket, molding himself into her, and she whispered, "I love 
you," as he slipped inside her. 
This man's body did such incredible things to her. She welcomed 
the feel of him moving in and out, enjoying the way they fit 
together, the way she could shift herself around to grip him 
even tighter, helping him bring her to the brink, than letting 
him push her over. He kept moving until he was finished, and she 
found herself looking into his intense blue eyes, seeing nothing 
in them but desire and love. DAY THIRTEEN When John put Dana's 
suicase in her car, it felt like he was tearing away a piece of 
his heart. "Do you really have to go so soon?" 
"John, I have things to do at home. I'll see you at work 
tomorrow, and we'll figure out what we're going to do from 
there." 
"I love you so much. I'll miss you like crazy tonight," He said, 
his blue eyes bright. 
"I'll miss you, too, but I'll make it up to you, sometime" 
"Promise?" 
"I promise. I love you, too." 
"And you promise to be here when Sarah comes?" 
"I will," She said. "I'll never miss a visit." 
He took her head in his hands and kissed her goodbye. She drove 
home, and let herself in with a heavy heart, but she was soon 
busy going through her messages, and her mail. She called her 
mother first. "Hi, Mom! I'm home." 
"Hi, Honey. How was your trip?" 
"Wonderful. We did so many things! We went canoeing and saw 
movies and had barbecues, and oh, God, Mom, it was great!" 
"So you and John are getting along okay?" 
"We're getting along fine, and Mom, I got to meet his daughter, 
Sarah. She's so cute! She's almost six years old and so sweet!" 
"I thought his daughter died!" 
"No, Mom, he lost a son. His daughter was living with his ex-
wife, but she died of cancer recently, and John is going to get 
custody, so it was important for me to meet Sarah. She's coming 
for a visit in two weeks. I want you to meet her and her 
grandparents. I think you'll like them." 
"I don't know Dana, This is a lot to take in all at once!" 
"Trust me, Mom. You'll love John as much as I do, and Sarah's 
going to be fine." 
Right after she hung up from talking to her mother, the phone 
rang. She thought it would be her mom calling back, or John 
calling to tell her he missed her, but no such luck. It was 
Mulder. 
"What do you want Mulder?" 
"You know what I want. I want you back." 
"Well, you can't have me. I'm with John now." 
"Is he that good of a lay?" 
"That's none of your business. You need to let me go and get on 
with your life." 
"How can I do that?" 
"Mulder, believe me, you're going to be fine." 
"That's a fucking stupid thing to say, Scully! What am I 
supposed to do? Just forget seven years of partnership? Wave at 
you and Doggett when we pass on the street?" 
"Mulder, you may feel lonely now, but that will pass!" 
"If you ever loved me the way I loved you, Scully, you'd feel 
just as bad as I do!" 
"If you ever loved me, you should have told me!" Dana slammed 
down the phone, and went into the kitchen to scrounge something 
to eat. When she went to bed that night, she twisted and turned. 
Her pillow had no shoulder to lean on, no firm ribs for her to 
caress, no warm breath to tickle her ear. It was a very long 
night. John Doggett got back to the office before Dana did. It 
had felt strange, sleeping alone, but he understood she'd had 
things to do at her apartment. He'd planned on going straight 
downstairs to wait for her before seeing anyone else, but as 
soon as he walked in the building, he was told that Deputy 
Director Kersch was waiting for him, and he went to Kersch's 
office. 
"Sit down, Agent Doggett," said Kersch coldly. Doggett got a 
slight smile on his face as he looked at Kersch's desk, but he 
sat. 
"I've received some very disturbing information, Agent Doggett. 
Serious allegations have been made." 
"It's nice to see you again, too, Sir." 
Kersch ignored John Doggett's sarcasm. "I have received reports 
from a reliable source that you and Agent Scully have been 
flaunting the directives of this agency. My source has alleged 
that she has been living with you in your home, and that the two 
of you have stayed together at a prominent Washington hotel, 
registered as man and wife. Do you have anything to say about 
that, Agent Doggett?" 
"Only one person could have told you that, Sir, and I never 
thought I'd live to see the day when you'd call him a reliable 
source." 
"Is Agent Scully really your wife?" 
"No, but if I'm very, very lucky, she soon will be." 
"You don't deny that the two of you have engaged in an improper 
relationship?" 
"My relationship with Agent Scully is the only proper thing I've 
done in years," said Doggett. "If you're asking me if we sleep 
together, the answer is yes, Sir, we do, and I certainly plan on 
making it legal." 
"Agent Doggett, I am appalled! This is a disgrace to the 
Bureau!" 
"If the Bureau can survive Waco, Ruby Ridge, Robert Hannsen and 
Timothy McVeigh, I think it can survive two field agents making 
love at the Four Seasons!" 
"That's it! I'll expect to see your resignation on this desk by 
the end of the week or I'll start temination proceedings! 
"You can have it by the end of the day. I've got better things 
to do than deal with this bullshit!" 
And with that, John Doggett walked out of Kersch's office. He 
left a note on Scully's desk. Dana, Sweetheart, 
Tell the son of a bitch to go 
to hell. I did. I'll meet you 
at your apartment later. 
I love you. 
John He was going to put it in an envelope, but he decided not 
to bother. He didn't care who saw it. John Doggett was whistling 
happily as he pulled out of the parking garage. Dana paced back 
and forth in her apartment like a caged lion. Where could John 
be? She clung to his note, which she had brought home with her. 
I disgraced him, she thought. I cost him him job, but he loves 
me. Oh, God, he loves me, and I love him so much, but where can 
he be? 
She couldn't reach him on the his cell phone, or at his house. 
Dana was so worried. Who knows what he might do or what he might 
be feeling, she wondered, and continued to worry. 
Dana stared for two hours at the phone, willing it to ring, and 
out the window waiting for a familiar truck to come nosing down 
her street. Finally, she sank down on the couch, fighting back 
tears that spilled out in spite of her best efforts. 
A knock on the door caused her to leap up. He was there and he 
was smiling! 
"Hi, Honey! Am I glad to see you! You're sweet enough to eat for 
dinner." He pulled her into his arms, his mouth warm and hard 
and possesive. She pulled back. 
"That's not funny, John! It may be awhile before we can afford 
food again! I'm so sorry about Kersch. I should have been with 
you. He was probably much harder on you than he was on me." 
"Oh, the hell with him!" He pulled her back into his arms, 
cupping one hand behind her head, so she couldn't draw away from 
his next searing kiss. 
"John, are you crazy? Do you realize we both got fired! Don't 
you care? And where have you been anyway?" 
"So many questions! Jeeze, Dana! I only have one question for 
you." 
She looked at him suspiciously. "And what's that?" 
"How would you like to marry the head of security for the Four 
Seasons Hotel?" 
She stared at him, and then screamed, jumping up and wrapping 
her arms around his neck. "You didn't! You got the job? Oh, my 
God, I don't believe it!" 
"If you don't believe me, maybe Jeff and his wife can convince 
you. We're having dinner with them tonight, so put on something 
gorgeous." He eyed her carefully, "And do something with your 
face. You know I love you, but I've never seen you look this 
horrible." 
"You still really want to marry me?" 
"With all my heart. Will you?" 
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" 
She covered his face with kisses, crying and laughing like a 
madwoman, until he held her down and still. 
"Go on, get dressed! We've got a lot to celebrate before we go 
ask our new daughter if she wants to be a flower girl.""You're 
getting married?" Jeff Ryan said, excitedly. "All right! I told 
this jerk not to let you get away." 
"Oh, Jeff," sighed his wife, Kate. "Can't you just say 
congratulations and be done with it?" Kate was a very pretty 
strawberry blond, and she and Dana were getting along great. 
"I hope you two can come to the wedding," said Dana,. "When do 
you leave for Chicago?" 
"Not for at least two months," said Jeff, signaling for some 
champagne to celebrate. "I'll help John figure things out here, 
and the guy I'm replacing isn't leaving until the end of the 
year, so this is going to work out perfectly." 
"That's so exciting for you guys," said Kate. "A new job, a 
wedding, and you're getting custody of your daughter, all in a 
month!" She turned to Dana. "Are you nervous about Sarah 
coming?" 
"No, I'm looking forward to it. I had fertility problems, so it 
means a lot to me to get a chance to be a mom." 
"She'll be wonderful at it," said John. "I've just about talked 
her into trying for one of our own. We're looking into IVF." 
Jeff gave John a weird look., "You know what that involves, 
don't you?" 
"Yeah, but I figure if I tell them Dana's a doctor, they'll let 
her come in with me and make sure everything comes out all 
right." 
"John Doggett!" Dana blushed scarlet. "That's a terrible way to 
put it!" 
Kate laughed. "If that's the worst thing you ever hear out of 
these guys when they get together, you're lucky." 
"Speaking of medical things," Jeff interjected, trying to get 
off the subject of his and John's bawdy sense of humor, "Are you 
going back into the medical field now that you're out of the 
FBI?" 
"Maybe eventually," said Dana, "But I'm going to take a break 
first just to be with John and Sarah. Thanks to you, we can take 
it slow." 
Their champagne arrived, and Jeff proposed a toast. "To a new 
start! For all of us!" And they all drank to that, four friends 
together. When Dana and John got home, they started kissing as 
soon as they'd hung up their coats. He stripped away her skirt 
and silk blouse, and she pulled off his shirt and tie. Dana 
looked so pale and slender in John's arms, that they wound up 
making love on the living room carpet, amidst the debris of 
their clothes. She closed her eyes as her lover pulled her down, 
running his tongue along her throat to the hollow between her 
breasts. She stroked his hair, his neck and shoulders, and felt 
his erection grow against her thigh. He pushed both of her legs 
up and back so that he was able to pound into her, with long 
hard strokes. 
"Oh, yes, oh God, yes! That feels so good, John!" 
"You like it like this?" He gasped, his eyes glittering in the 
dark. 
"You know I do. I want you so much. I want all of you." 
He obliged her, pumping deep as he worked one hand between them 
over her hard throbbing clit. He felt his climax coming, and 
slammed down even harder. Dana screamed as she felt the rough 
carpet beneath her shoulders, an ache in her legs as John pushed 
them back even farther, and his hard cock entering so far into 
her that she thought he would burst through her cervix. Her 
vaginal walls clamped down on him, pulsing from the force of her 
orgasm, and she could feel his cock pumping inside her, filling 
up the deepest parts of her body. As they both collapsed on the 
carpet, she was sobbing with the intensity of it. 
"Oh, shit! Honey, are you all right?" 
"Yes," She whispered. "Yes, I'm fine...that was just so...wow!" 
She caught her breath and gave him a sly look. "We're not going 
to be able to do this when Sarah comes, you know." 
"That's why I thought we should do it now. I love going to bed 
with you, but having sex all over the house has been awesome." 
"You're always awesome." Dana smiled at the pleased look that 
appeared on his face. Men were so silly sometimes! 
The next morning when John Doggett woke up, Dana was not beside 
him in bed, and the house was silent. He went looking for her, 
or for a note, or something, but she was no where to be found. 
Then he noticed the door to the upstairs bathroom was closed. 
Opening it, he almost choked. "Dana, are you all right?" 
"Shut the door...you're letting all the steam out!" 
"I doubt it. It's hot enough in here to melt the paint off the 
walls." 
"I'm sorry, but I hurt everywhere and I mean everywhere! I 
thought soaking in a hot tub would help." 
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." He knelt by the tub and kissed her 
tenderly. "I should have known we were playing too rough last 
night." 
"Don't be sorry. I wanted that as much as you did, but I have a 
colossal case of rug burn, and I strained muscles I'd forgotten 
I had." 
"Want me to scare up some breakfast?" 
"No, John. I'm going to stay here for awhile, and then go back 
to bed." 
"Well, maybe I'll run over to the hotel and see Jeff. We've got 
some details to work out about the job. Are you sure you'll be 
all right?" 
"I'm sure. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine if I don't put my 
legs behind my head for a few days!" 
"I'll try to remember that." 
He kissed her again, and sighed. "You are so beautiful with your 
hair piled up like that, and your cheeks so pink." 
"Later," She said, flicking water at him. "MUCH later! Now go 
away! Use the downstairs bathroom." 
He smiled. "Don't forget to call your mom, and if you get a 
chance call your landlord and tell him you're not renewing your 
lease." 
"I will." 
He left and she stayed in the tub until the water cooled. She 
felt better. Her back and her shoulders felt almost normal, and 
her legs weren't so sore, especially the area between them. She 
got into a pair of white satin pajamas, and curled up on the bed 
for a nap. Hours later the phone ringing woke her up. 
"Hello?" 
"Dana, it's Jeff." 
"Hi, Jeff. How's it going?" 
"Not good. Do you know a guy named Fox Mulder?" 
"Oh, God, he's my ex. Did he come down there and start an 
argument with John?" 
"A fight, actually." 
"What happened?" 
"He showed up in the parking garage and John went down to talk 
to him. He took a swing at John. We have four witnesses that 
this Mulder guy started it." 
"Did John hit back?" 
"I think he broke the son of a bitch's big nose. Mulder's at the 
hospital but so is John. Mulder pushed him and he hit his head 
on the concrete. Can you get down here? It's Washington 
Memorial." 
"I'll be right there!" Dana threw on some clothes, and drove to 
the hospital, counting on the Federal plates that were still on 
her car to keep her from getting a speeding ticket. She saw Jeff 
first. "How is he?" 
"I think it will be okay," Jeff said, putting a comforting arm 
around her. "But he has to stay here tonight for observation. 
Don't worry about a thing. One of the witnesses is a lawyer with 
a top firm. Your old boyfriend's ass is toast." 
"What the hell good does that do me if my husband has brain 
damage?" Dana practically sceamed, not even realizing she had 
refered to John as her husband for the first time since they had 
agreed to marry. Then she saw a familiar figure at the end of 
the hallway, bloodstained tape across his nose, being questioned 
by two D.C. cops. 
"Mulder, you moron! How could you do this to me?" 
"Scully, will you listen to me? I never meant for it to go this 
far!" 
"Wait a minute," said one of the cops. "Who are you?" 

Dana looked up at the cop. "My name is Dana Scully. I'm engaged 
to marry John Doggett. This man is a former partner of mine. 
He's been stalking me and attacked my fiance." 
Mulder's jaw dropped. "Scully, you can't be serious! You can't 
marry him! I won't let you!" 
"See, officer? He's threatening me again! He had no business 
going to my future husband's place of employment and starting a 
fight. I want this stopped! I don't want him anywhere near me or 
John again." 
"Don't worry, Ma'am, we'll straighten this out." The cops took 
down some more information from Scully, asked Jeff some more 
questions, and checked the statements from the witnesses. Then 
they took Mulder away, still begging Scully to talk to him, but 
she marched down the hall, head held high to see about John. 
"It's a mild concussion," the doctor told her, and after she 
identified herself as a doctor, he showed her everything he had. 
Dana was relieved to see that it didn't look serious. When she 
got to John's room, he was awake, but groggy. She took his hand 
and kissed him. "How do you feel?" 
"Stupid. I should never have fallen. What happened to Mulder?" 
"They patched up his broken nose and took him to jail. I'm 
having him prosecuted for stalking as well as assault. He's been 
following us for awhile." 
"I thought so. He's the one who tipped off Kersch anyway," said 
John slowly, trying to keep his focus. 
"I'm so sorry, John. This is my fault. I should have done 
something about him sooner, but I never thought it would go this 
far." She ksised him again, a lump in her throat. 
He shook his head but was unable to clear it. "I guess tonight 
we both need some rest." 
"Do you want me to stay here with you?" 
"No, Honey, go home. I'm okay. Get some sleep and come get me in 
the morning." 
"Okay. I love you." 
"I love you, too," He said drowsily. Dana didn't want to stay at 
John's house without him, so she went to her apartment. She 
talked to her landlord and told him she was getting married, and 
would not be renewing her lease. It had three more months to 
run, which would give her plenty of time to sort through things 
and move. 
Dana then called her mother to tell her that John had proposed. 
"Oh, Dana, isn't this a little sudden?" 
"Mom, I've known the man almost two years, and I'm not a 
teenager any more. I know what I want." 
"All right, Dear, if you're sure. Do you want a big wedding?" 
"No, just you and Bill and Charles and some friends of John's, 
and we're going to have his ex-in-laws bring his daughter." 
"Are you sure they want to see him get married again? It might 
bring up bad feelings." 
"No, they're okay with us being together.They're coming to 
dinner with Sarah in a week or so, and I want you to come, too. 
You need to meet them, and then you'll see. You'll love Sarah. 
Matthew will have a cousin almost his age!" 
"It'll be nice to see you finally settled down," Maggie 
admitted. "If you're happy, I"m happy." 
Dana had just hung up from talking to Maggie when Skinner 
called. 
"Dana, I just had a call from Mulder. He wanted me to get him 
out of jail." 
"Did you?" 
"Not yet." He hesitated. "I hate to get in the middle of this." 
"He had no business going to John's new job and causing a 
scene." 
"I agree, but are you and John really getting married?" 
"Yeah, you want to come?" 
"I guess, but Dana, you've got to realize how much strain Mulder 
is under." 
"I have no sympathy for Mulder. I've tried to reason with him 
over and over. He cost me and John our jobs, and he could have 
killed John today. I want him to stop, and he's going to stop, 
if I have to get a restraining order." 
"Maybe I should try and talk to him." 
"Go ahead, Sir. I hope you have better luck than I did!" 
Dana went to bed, but didn't sleep well. She had no strong 
shoulder to lean on. She had nothing but the slight leftover 
ache in her body to remind her that she was loved. 
The hospital let John go the next morning, but they told him to 
take it easy. He sighed on the way home. "You guys shouldn't 
have gotten so worked up. I hit my head harder than this when I 
fell down that trapdoor looking for Agent Harrison last year." 
"How about when that jackass hit you in that subway tunnel? That 
had me so worried. I knew you were down and I didn't know why. I 
was going crazy watching that monitor." 
"You were really that worried about me then?" He looked at her 
tenderly. 
"Yeah, I was." 
"Actually, I think the guy on the oil rig hit me harder." 
"Oh, God, John! You sure had a rough year that year!" 
"I have a hard head, I guess." 
When they got home, she made him go take a nap. He was still on 
painkillers, so he went out pretty quickly. She lay down on the 
side of the bed, where she could watch him sleep, and wound up 
dozing off herself. 
When John woke up, it was late afternoon, and Dana was curled up 
at his side. He looked at her, and gently brushed a lock of hair 
away from her face. She was so beautiful and he loved her so 
much. She opened her eyes and smiled. 
"How are you feeling?" She asked, laying her hand carefully on 
the side of his head. 
"Better. How are you feeling?" He answered, laying his hand on 
her belly and sliding it downward. 
"Much better." 
"Is that so?" He lay on his side facing her, and they began to 
kiss. This time he was careful and gentle and tender. She lay 
facing him, and her hand caressed his back while his kisses gave 
her cause to sigh. He aroused her purposefully, pressing small 
kisses against her cheek and throat. Her soft breasts pressed 
against his chest, the nipples responding to the warmth of his 
body. They rolled slightly, so that she could wrap her legs 
around him, and they began to make love side by side, facing 
each other. By leaning back she was able to give him full access 
to her breasts, which he mouthed as his hand moved between their 
bodies, making sure she was as ready as he was. 
She reached down with one hand to cup his ass. The best part 
about the whole trip to Boston was that she'd gotten to see it 
for the first time. If she'd only known then what she knew now! 
She loved his ass. She could feel the muscles move as he thrust 
into her. She squeezed with her hand each time he pressed in, 
and they both came together, feeling a magic, pulsing sensation. 
Dana was so happy that John was all right, and back where he 
belonged. The next morning, John Doggett stood for a long time 
before knocking on Fox Mulder's door. When he finally did, no 
one answered at first, and he hoped for one wild minute that 
Mulder wouldn't be home, so he could avoid the whole mess, but 
Mulder answered at last. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt, and 
jeans, and looked as if he hadn't slept for the whole three days 
since Doggett had seen him last. Before Mulder could say 
anything, Doggett said, "I had the charges dropped." 
"I heard." 
"That lawyer in the Lexus was really disappointed." 
"Did you tell him there was nothing left you could take from 
me?" asked Mulder bitterly. 
Doggett sighed. "Come on, we've got to talk." 
Mulder held the door open, a touch of respect flickering in his 
eyes. "Okay. Come in." 
Doggett did, and stood, his hands jammed in his pockets, looking 
at Mulder. "Do you really think I took Dana away from you? That 
anyone could force her into doing something she didn't want to 
do?" 
Mulder flopped down on the couch and ran his hand through his 
hair. "No...I don't think that. I just felt cheated. When I went 
looking for her at your house, and saw what she was doing, and 
the way she was looking at you, I felt so damn cheated. It had 
been so long since she looked that way at me." He looked up at 
Doggett, anguished. "Do you know what it's like to spend your 
whole life looking for what you need, and then find out you'd 
had it all along, but it was too late? All along Scully was the 
one, and I didn't know it." 
"How could you not know?" 
"I don't know. I just missed all the signs. It didn't seem 
fair." Mulder shook his head. "She's my best friend, and I want 
her to be happy, but it's so hard to let her go." 
"I can understand that, but it can't go on like this." 
"I can't believe, after all we've been through, that she hates 
me so much," said Mulder mournfully. 
"She doesn't hate you." 
"You didn't hear her at the hospital," Mulder said stubbornly. 
"She hates me." 
"She wasn't mad at you as much as she was worried about me. My 
ex-wife died recently and I'm getting custody of my daughter. I 
can't have this shit going on around her. She's only in 
kindergarten, and she's been through so much already." 
"Wow, Scully gets you, and a house, and a daughter, too? She'll 
love that. Why don't you get a dog next? Then you'll be all 
set." 
Doggett ignored Mulder's sarcasm. "You can't go back and try to 
recreate something that might have been. It's too late, Mulder." 
"I know, and I'm sorry." 
"Will you be okay?" 
Mulder shrugged. "I guess. I can't hold on forever, can I?" 
"I hope not," Doggett said. "Look, I have to go." 
"Then I guess it's time to say goodbye." 
Outside the building, Doggett let out his breath in relief, then 
got into his truck and drove to his next stop feeling a whole 
lot better. When Doggett left, Mulder slumped back on his couch. 
He wanted to fight to get Scully back, but his broken heart was 
telling him that it was no use. "I'll be okay," He whispered but 
he didn't really believe it. What was he supposed to do now?" 
The phone rang and he picked it up. 
"Yeah?" 
"Agent Mulder?" 
"Not anymore. Who is this?" 
"Sorry. Old habits die hard. It's Monica Reyes." 
"Agent Reyes? I always wondered what happened to you." 
"I'm in Alabama, working on a case. I need some help. Have you 
got time for a little consulting job, or are you working on 
something else right now?" 
"I could use a vacation, actually," Mulder said wryly, "But why 
do you want me?" 
"It's a case involving the paranormal. No one believes me, but 
it is." 
"And you think I'll believe you?" 
"I know you will. Have you ever heard of a ghost committing a 
murder, Mulder?" 
He grinned in spite of himself. "Okay, you've got my attention. 
What's the deal?" 
"A man was found drowned under his boat dock. He'd been missing 
for four days. There's no evidence of foul play, but the man was 
a good swimmer." 
"What makes you think it was a ghost?" 
"One of his neighbors broke her leg last year. She says she was 
walking through her yard when someone grabbed her 
ankle...someone invisible." Monica paused, then added, "Another 
neighbor said she was pushed by someone invisible as she was 
walking on a hillside near the same cabin. She broke her arm, 
but there was no one there." 
Mulder considered this. "So you think the same neighborhood 
ghost killed this guy?" 
"The police theory is that this man apparently tripped or caught 
his foot on something and fell into the lake, but I've been all 
over that pier and there's nothing there that he could have 
tripped on." Monica hesitated. "I know we don't know each other 
that well, but I know I need you. The minute I got here I 
started thinking of you, and I haven't been able to get you out 
of my mind." 
"Where is here?" 
"Smith Lake...northern Alabama. The lake was developed in the 
1950's to generate electricity for this part of the state. When 
the Alabama Power Company completed it in about 1960, they 
stocked it with fish and started selling lots around the lake to 
sportsmen." 
Mulder considered this, then shrugged. Why not? Why the hell 
not? 
"Okay, I'll come. God forbid I get in the way of one of your 
intuitions." 
Monica laughed. "I have to admit, it's not all intuition this 
time." 
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mulder asked. 
"The people around here," said Monica, "Have a name for the 
ghost. They all call him Spook." 
************************************** 
The story of Spook the malevolent ghost is real. An account of 
Spook's doings was written in April of 1989 by a wonderful 
writer named Glen I. Taylor, for "Fate" magazine. When John got 
home he left the surprise in the hall and went back to the 
kitchen, where he found Dana wiping her hands on a towel. She 
gave him a very evil look when he went to kiss her. 
"Thanks a lot, Buster! You could have at least warned me about 
what you were doing!" 
"What do you mean," hedged John, wondering which part of his day 
she'd gotten wind of, and how. 
"The police called. They told me you'd dropped the assault 
charges on Mulder and wanted to know if I still wanted to follow 
through on the stalking charges." 
"Oh, that!" He was relieved. 
"What do you mean 'oh, that' John?" Dana glared at him 
furiously. 
"What did you tell them?" 
"I told them I'd have to talk to you, which is what I'm trying 
to do here!" 
"Don't press charges, Dana. There's no need. It's going to be 
all right now." 
"How can you be so sure?" 
"I went to talk to Mulder this morning." 
Dana was stunned. "What happened?" 
"Just don't worry about it anymore, okay?" 
"No, it's not okay. I want to know what you guys said." 
John took her in his arms. "Dana, the guy really loved you. He 
just didn't have it in him to show you. He's trying to start a 
new business, and he's grief stricken over losing you. Mulder 
has enough burdens. I had to let it go. He knows he screwed up 
and that he has to move on." 
Dana buried her face in John's shirtfront. "I can't believe you 
went over there after what happened. You're so sweet! Much too 
good for me!" 
"Let's see about that." He went back out into the hall and came 
out with a huge bunch of Mylar balloons, all saying "I love 
you." She laughed at the sight. 
"You nut!" She reached for the shiny ribbons, and then realized 
the weight at the bottom was a small black jeweller's box. She 
picked it up with trembling hands as the balloons bumped gently 
on the ceiling. Inside she found a two carat, emerald-cut blue-
white diamond ring. 
"I wanted to surprise you," He said softly, "But if you don't 
like it, we can take it back and get something else." 
"I love it!" I love you!" John took the ring out of the box and 
slid it onto her finger, where it sparkled brightly. 
"I love you, too." he said, and kissed her. She kissed him back, 
parting her lips, letting his tongue wander into her mouth to 
dance with her own. They kissed and kissed until they were both 
so breathless, she had to lean up against the kitchen table for 
support. Doing that gave him access to the zipper of her jeans, 
and he took advantage of that, pulling them open to reveal her 
white lace panties. He slid his hand inside them, and began to 
work his fingers between her legs. Kicking off her jeans and 
panties, she clung to his shoulders, gasping as he expertly 
probed her hot slick center, hitting all the right spots until 
she was shaking and moaning, her wet cunt pulsating around his 
fingers. 
"John Doggett that wasn't fair," She whispered, catching her 
breath. 
"Didn't you like it?" He grinned and she smiled back. 
"You've got something I'd like better." She ran her hand over 
the bulge in his slacks for emphasis. 
"Oh, well, we've done it everywhere else. Why not the kitchen?" 
He reached for his belt buckle, but she beat him to it, and he 
was soon fucking her on the table. The edge of the table was 
hard, but he braced her carefully, moving with long smooth 
strokes so he wouldn't hurt her this time. They moved in unison 
until they were both coming, moaning and shaking together. Dana 
and John decided to have Gwen and Mike bring Sarah to dinner so 
that she could see his house and get more used to him. They 
invited Dana's mother for ballast. Maggie had never seen John's 
house and was very impressed by it. She had been nice to John at 
first for Dana's sake, but she soon liked him for himself. 
He was an honest, considerate, good-hearted man, and he was 
obviously crazy about Dana. His open blue eyes followed her 
everywhere. Maggie enjoyed their obvious fondness for each 
other. There were moments, however, when watching them watch 
each other, that the mutual appeal in the air around them was so 
plain to see it was almost embarrassing. As a nonstarter in such 
endeavors, she felt a little out of place. 
When Gwen and Mike arrived with Sarah, things got better. 
"That WAS a long way," said Sarah, "But I like your house." 
Dana and John introduced Gwen and Mike to Maggie, and gave 
everyone a tour of the whole place. "If you decide to come and 
stay with me," said John to Sarah, "This will be your room." 
He opened the door, and she said, "Wow!" and jumped on the bed. 
"I'll have two rooms!" She looked at her grandparents. "Can I 
really stay here sometimes? I've never been on a sleepover!" 
"Sure," said Mike. "You'll probably like it here so much when 
you get used to it, that you won't want to leave!" 
John said quickly, "Let me show you the outside." 
"Can I see where you're going to put my swingset?" asked Sarah. 
"We can go pick a spot right now." 
"While you do that," said Dana, "I'll go check on dinner." 
When the rest of them got outside, Gwen and Maggie discovered 
their mutual passion for gardening. 
"Oh, John," said Gwen, "What you couldn't do with this!" 
"Dana wants me to put in some flowers, but I don't know," He 
said. 
"Oh, yes," said Maggie. "You need some roses on the side of the 
house." 
"Yellow ones would be nice," said Gwen. "Sunbrights have a nice 
light scent." 
"Or Gold Medal." said Maggie. "Those are so hardy." 
Gwen considered this. "Golden Melody might be better with Sarah 
around. They don't have so many thorns. And if you put the 
swingset here," She offered, "You could put some bulbs over 
there, and it would be so pretty in the spring. Tulips, maybe, 
or hyacinths." 
"Hyacinths smell so nice," said Maggie, "But perhaps daffodils 
would last longer." 
By the time they got back in the house, the two women were fast 
friends, Mike was amused, and John was totally confused. They 
stopped in the kitchen for drinks as Dana was finishing up 
setting the table for dinner. As she did this, her ring sparkled 
like Tinkerbell, and her mother finally noticed it. "Dana, what 
a beautiful ring! Why didn't you show it to me right away?" 
"I wanted to see how long it would take you to notice," laughed 
Dana, extending her hand. "John surprised me with it the other 
day." 
Everyone admired it, and hugged John and Dana. 
"What does that mean?" asked Sarah, confused. 
"They're getting married, Sweetie. There's going to be a 
wedding!" said Gwen. 
"Oh, boy! can I come?" 
"You can be IN it, if you want," said Dana. "Your daddy thinks 
you'd make a great flower girl." 
"I told you I was going to try to get Dana to come and stay," 
said John. "What do you say, Kiddo?" 
"I say great!" 
They all laughed. 
When everyone had gone, John and Dana both let out sighs of 
relief. Sarah was coming for her "sleepover" the following 
weekend, Maggie and Gwen had promised to get together and go to 
a Garden Show, and the dinner had been perfect. Everyone was 
looking forward to the wedding. There had not been one harsh 
word spoke. Dana went into John's arms a happy woman. 
"The kitchen is a mess, but other than that," She murmured, "I 
think everything is under control." 
"Never mind the kitchen," He replied, burying his face in her 
hair. "It'll still be here in the morning." 
He began to kiss her gently at first, then deeply, sliding his 
tongue in to meet hers. She immediately felt a familiar warmth 
rush from his mouth into her mouth, and down to her groin, which 
tingled with anticipation. 
"Let's go to bed, then." 
"Good idea." 
They went upstairs,her arm around his waist, his hand resting on 
her round ass. 
In their bedroom, she turned to face him, her fingers going to 
his chest, unbuttoning his shirt. She covered his throat with 
small moist kisses. He slid his hands under her shirt, unhooking 
her bra with precision. He stepped back a bit, pulling off her 
shirt and bra with one fluid motion. Dana helped him off with 
his shirt and they slid off each others's slacks and underwear. 
He pushed her back on the bed. They lay side by side, kissing 
and touching each other everywhere. Dana put one leg up over 
John's hip, giving him access to her warm, wet cunt. 
"Ooooooh, John, do that again," Dana breathed. He smiled, and 
obliged, sliding in one finger, then two, massaging her hard 
clit with his thumb, teasing and arousing her. He was so good at 
this now. His fingers felt good, but she wanted more. They 
rolled around on the bed, kissing wildly, until she was holding 
him between her legs as they settled back on their sides. 
"Oh, John, now please! I'm gonna come and I want you inside me." 
"I always want you." 
He loved the way she responded to his touch. He's never known a 
woman who was always so hot, so ready. He loved the way he could 
do this for her. He pushed in, amazed as always at the way it 
felt to be inside this woman. They were a perfect fit, and that 
was rare. He rocked in and out, and felt her quiver with 
pleasure. He came in a torrent, calling her name, certain that 
he'd never love anyone the way he loved her. John spent most of 
that whole week training for his new job, and Dana spent a lot 
of time at her apartment, getting ready to move. She went 
through her things, deciding what to take to the house. She 
planned on moving some things to her mother's house for storage, 
and had decided to sell some and give some away. The only 
sticking point was William's baby furniture. If she and John 
decided to try for another baby, they would need it, but that 
was a complicated issue. 
She knew that John was willing to make the attempt, and she let 
him think he was talking her into it, but she really didn't need 
much convincing. 
Dana had all the hopes and fears any woman would have concerning 
a possible pregnancy, perhaps more fears than most, but she was 
fairly certain she wanted another child. She wanted a child of 
John's. She wanted to defy the fates which had struck them down 
in the past. Dana knew John would never leave her and that he 
would be a good father. They both understood how precious life 
was, and how easily it could be stolen, but Dana felt they were 
destined to do this. After they got Sarah settled in she would 
tell him. 
The first weekend they had Sarah was an experience. They brought 
her down to Virginia on a Saturday morning. Because they didn't 
know what she liked to eat, Dana took her grocery shopping. They 
looked at everything in the store, buying whatever appealed to 
the child. Dana didn't know much about cartoon-themed breakfast 
cereals, or the latest treats aimed at children, but she got a 
crash course, and she was also able to figure out some of 
Sarah's favorite foods. When they passed a display of baking 
items, Sarah looked at the chocolate chips longingly. 
"Can you bake cookies? Grandma makes good cookies." 
"We can try." Dana checked the package's recipe to find out what 
else they'd need. "We might not have time today, though. Maybe 
next time you come." 
After they put the groceries away she and John gave in to 
Sarah's plea for lunch at McDonalds. They soon figured out that 
she was after the latest Happy Meal toy, and had to tell her to 
finish her food before she could play with it, but they were 
starting to feel like a family, and it felt good to John. He was 
in such a good mood he offered to take Sarah to look at 
swingsets after lunch. 
"Are you sure you can put this together?" Dana asked doubtfully, 
looking at the elaborate structures at the Home Center. She knew 
he was handy, but this looked complicated. 
"Piece of cake," He asssured her. "Besides, I promised her. I 
can't break my very first promise." 
Sarah was beside herself with excitement. "Can you do it today?" 
"Not all of it today! It'll take awhile," Joh said, as all the 
wood and bolts and the plastic slide were loaded into the truck. 
They did sort out all the pieces when they got back to the 
house, an interesting process that took hours. 
Sarah was so tired that she nearly fell asleep as Dana helped 
her with her bath after dinner, and they had no trouble getting 
her to bed. 
Sarah wasn't the only one worn out. When Dana came out of the 
batrhroom that night, John had already falled asleep. 
"Get used to it, Dad," She gigggled, and climbed into bed beside 
him snuggling up to his warmth. 
Sarah didn't even want to go home the next night, but when they 
assured her she'd be back the following weekend, she climbed 
into the car. They'd made a start.When John and Dana dropped off 
Sarah, Gwen invited them in for coffee. Sarah told her 
grandparents aobut her new swingset. 
"It sounds like you had fun," said Gwen to Sarah. 
"We all did," said Dana. 
"Have you decided what you're going to do about the wedding?" 
asked Gwen, as Mike took Sarah off to unpack. 
"We're going to keep it simple," said Dana. "My mom's trying to 
figure out when she can get my brothers to come in. We'll 
probably go to City Hall, or have a judge come to the house." 
"You don't want a big wedding?" 
"No," said Dana. "We just want to do it and be done with it. 
We're too old to do something elaborate." 
"Don't worry, though," said John. "We'll still get a fancy dress 
and some flowers for Sarah." 
Gwen looked at Dana. "Aren't you even going to have a real 
wedding dress?" 
"Not a long one. Maybe a short one, or a nice suit." 
"Once I get settled in with the new job," said John, "We'll go 
for a license. We'll let you know." 
On the ride home, John asked Dana thoughtfully, "Are you sure 
you won't miss having a big wedding? You've never had one. It 
doesn't seem fair." 
"No, John. I don't have a big family or a lot of close friends. 
It would be silly to get all worked up organizing something like 
that. I want to be your wife, not put on a big show." 
"You want to go on a honeymoon, though, don't you?" He grinned, 
his blue eyes sparkling. "Take pictures? Send postcards?" 
"What would I write on as postcard? 'Nothing new here...what's 
new with you?' Really John! I think your suspension was better 
than any honeymoon could be." 
"We'll see,"He said mysteriously. "By the way, did you have a 
good time the last time we went home this way?" 
"What do you mean?" 
"We're almost to the park," He leered. 
"You wouldn't!" 
"Oh, yes. I would!" He said, pulling down a certain dead end 
street. 
Dana got willingly into the back seat, and they began to fumble 
around under each other's clothes, petting and probing. 
"God, you're good at that! Do that again" John muttered, as Dana 
slid her hand down his hard shaft to cup his balls, and then 
teasingly ran it back up, pausing at the tip to run her fingers 
over the smooth head. 
"You, too," She whispered, as he ran his hand over her labia and 
down between until he could trace the smooth patch of skin 
between her cunt and her ass with a gentle fingertip. He moved 
back to her cunt, working his hand back and forth, rubbing her 
so that each movement pulled on the delicate tissue underneath. 
He was teasing her, quickly flicking one finger in every couple 
of strokes. 
"Aaaaah, I can't take it any more!" She begged him. "Stick it 
in, oh please, stick it in! 
He was ready to oblige, and was soon sliding in and out of her 
hot, wet pussy, groaning with each movement. She was literally 
going crazy from the sensations he inspired. She braced her feet 
against the car roof, enabling him to pound even deeper, until 
she was coming, and screaming, and clinging to him. She felt a 
familiar warmth coat her insides, and she knew that he'd found 
his own pleasure as well. They lay in the darkness for long 
while, panting. 

When April Carey heard that Deborah Evans actually KNEW 
something, she went right over. The two women stood on tne porch 
of Deborah's Fall Church house, looking with interest at the 
house across the street. 
"God, Debbie, who told you that?" 
"Janet, and she ought to know. She lives right next door. He was 
cutting the grass and she went out and asked him what was up 
with the swingset." 
"Just like that?" 
"Well, you know Janet. He said that his ex-wife had died, and 
that his daughter was coming to live with him.' 
"I didn't even know he'd been married!" 
"It gets better, Deb. While Janet was there, a woman came out of 
the house and brought him some lemonade. He introduced her as 
his fiancee!" 
"What did she look like?" 
"She was small and had red hair. Janet said she was very nice." 
"Well, I wondered how he was going to take care of a daughter. 
He travels a lot for his job." 
"Well, Janet told me he quit working for the FBI. He's working 
somewhere else now. We'll probably see them all the time." 
April eyed the house and said, "Let's go see if she's there." 
Debbie blinked. "We can't just go up to the door and examine 
this woman." 
"We'll just say we're welcoming her to the neighborhood." She 
looked at the house carefully. "It's no big deal. Look, all the 
windows are open. Someone's got to be home." 
She marched across the street purposefully, and with a groan, 
her friend followed. 
Unaware that she was the topic of a neighborhood discussion, 
Dana was napping on the couch. She had switched the oven on, put 
in the chicken she was planning on having for dinner, and went 
in to lie down. 
When the two other women got onto John Doggett's front porch, 
they stopped short. 
"Do you smell something?" asked Debbie. 
"Yeah, it smells like gas." 
They knocked on the door tentatively, and got no answer. April 
went to a window. "It is gas! And I see someone on the couch!" 
"Should we go in?" 
"I'm not going in there! Come on! Let's call 911." 
When John Doggett headed home that night, he was in a good mood. 
The hotel security procedures were complicated, but after 
working on the X-Files, this was gong to be a cinch. 
His good mood continued until he turned onto his street, and saw 
a firetruck and an ambulance in front of his house. Parking the 
truck, he ran like hell down the street, until a fireman stopped 
him. 
"Hey, where are you going?" 
"That's my house! What happened? Where's my wife?" He asked, 
unaware of how easily that word had slipped out. 
"The electric starter burned out on your stove. The house filled 
up with gas. Come on." 
The fireman took Doggett over to the ambulance, where he was 
relieved to see Dana talking to the paramedics. Two other women 
he recognized from the neighborhood were there, too, but they 
stopped talking when this man, known for being so stoic and 
mysterious, ran up and seized Dana in his arms. 
"Oh, God, are you all right?" He rocked her back and forth, 
holding her tightly, kissing her long and hard. 
"I'm okay." Dana laughed. "Your neighbors smelled the gas and 
called the fire department." She indicated the other two women. 
John thanked them, his eyes filled with emotion. 
"No problem." 
"Glad to help." 
They watched as John Doggett cradled Dana in his arms again, and 
as he was looking back at his house, they decided it would be a 
good time to leave. 
"Well," said Debbie, "That was interesting." 
"I'll say. She's nice isn't she? I'm glad she's all right. They 
make a cute couple." 
"Yeah, they do. Wait'll Janet hears about this!"
"Are you sure you're okay?" John asked Dana anxiously as they 
sat in a Chinese restaurant waiting for their meal. 
"I'm fine. They didn't need to send an ambulance, but when those 
women smelled the gas and looked in the window, I was asleep on 
the couch. They didn't know if I was sick or not." 
"Well, the guy I talked to from the fire department said a new 
starter for the stove will cost around a hundred dollars or so. 
I'll get a repairman out there tomorrow." 
Her beef with pea pods and his chicken curry arrived, and they 
dug in. 
"Can we go back there tonight?" Dana asked, sipping some Oolong 
tea. 
"Better let it air out," said John. "I suppose I could see if 
the hotel would put us up." 
"Why don't we just go to my apartment?" 
"Yeah...I guess we could,." 
After dinner they were walking down the street, hand in hand, 
when Dana suddenly gasped. "Oh, my God!" 
"What's wrong?" John was instantly concerned. 
"Look," she giggled, pointing in the window of a pub. Sitting at 
a table, heads close together, also holding hands, were Fox 
Mulder and Monica Reyes. 
John started laughing, and Dana pulled him away from the window 
before the other couple could spot them. 
"I shoulda thought of that myself," said John, as he and Dana, 
leaned up against the side of his truck, still laughing. "It's 
too perfect." 
"Do you think it will work?" asked Dana. 
"Stranger things have happened," said John, opening the door for 
her. 
"Stranger things by far," Dana smirked as he got in on the 
driver's side. 
It was as if an emormous weight had been lifted off Dana's 
shoulders, and she was in a playful mood as John climbed into 
bed with her that night. She rolled around with him, giggling 
and kissing, and finally pushing him down. 
"Enjoying the change of scenery?" He quipped. 
"What I'm planning on enjoying, I've seen before." He gasped as 
she slid her mouth down from the base of his throat, down the 
center of his broad chest, to his navel. 
"Ummm, you taste good!" 
She nestled her head down against his hip, facing his groin, and 
cupped his balls, positioning herself to take him in her mouth. 
She was on him then, licking and sucking, her cheeks hollowing 
from the effort of making him writhe. He grabbed her head in his 
hands, and groaned, releasing a huge amount of fluid. It seemd 
to be coming and coming, and she gulped to keep up with him. 
When this warm tidal wave was over, she laid her head back down 
against his warm belly, and closed her eyes. He wanted to give 
her pleasure, too, and rolled her over onto her back. He ran 
circles around her belly button with his tongue, and pushed her 
thighs apart. He began to lick up and down her vagina, pausing 
only occasionally to suck on her clit. When his tongue slipped 
inside her, she became senseless, except for her quivering cunt. 
He was getting hard again, and sliding his tongue out of her wet 
opening, he replaced it with his stiff member and pumped into 
her. She had a massive orgasm, and feeling every pulse pushed 
him over the edge. His second orgasm was not as strong as the 
first, but it was still wonderful and he felt total love for her 
for being able to make him feel this way. 

"All right," said Dana, tossing a piece of paper at John as he 
at the computer one morning. "You win." 
"What's this?" He asked, glancing at the note. "Nine A.M. 
Saturday? What are we doing at nine on Saturday? I don't 
recognize this number." 
"We have," She said simply, "An appointment to talk to a 
fertility specialist about the IVF." 
"All right!" He pulled her down onto his lap, and kissed her. 
"Will we be done in time to go get Sarah?" 
"Sure. He's just going to go through the procedure with you. I 
already know the drill, so it shouldn't take long at all." 
He held her tightly in the crook of his arm. "What made you 
change your mind?" 
"It was more a change of heart." She kissed him back. 
"I'll have to clean out that other room upstairs so you can move 
in your baby furniture." 
"Not so fast! We don't know if this is going to work." 
"But you have to be out of your apartment in a couple of weeks 
anyway, " John argued. "Where else were you planning on putting 
that stuff?" 
"Just don't get ahead of yourself, John. Optimism is fine, but 
don't drown yourself in it," said Dana, as he began to kiss and 
nibble on her ear. "Oh, do that again!" 
"Like this?" 
"Uh, huh." 
She closed her eyes as he ran his tongue tantalizingly over her 
neck, unbuttoning her blouse at the same time. As he pulled it 
off, and went for her bra clasp, she leaned in. He kissed her 
deeply as he cupped her freed breasts, and she kissed him back, 
running her fingers through his spiky hair. She reached under 
his gray sweater to rub his back. He worked his thumbs over her 
nipples until they were hard and her pulse rate spiked. Dana 
could feel the bulge growing in his jeans, and pressed her 
pelvis in to rock against it gently, teasing him. He made a 
growling noise in his throat, that vibrated into her mouth. She 
undid his belt buckle, and unzipped his pants, pushing them and 
his underwear down, so she could straddle him, and feel his hard 
thick member between them. John pulled open her jeans and jerked 
them down, and kicking them off, she settled back on his lap, 
sliding his hard cock into her primed hole. It felt so good 
inside her, filling her up. He helped her establish a rhythm, 
and they moved together, making the chair creak, as they got 
more and more excited. He came inside her, his warm fluids 
coating her insides, and running back down his spent cock, and 
he moved his hand between their bodies to finish her off. She 
was so close, it was the work of a moment to send her over the 
edge. Dana rested her head on John's shoulder, and he wrapped 
his arms around her in a warm, loving hug. 


After their consultation, they started driving north to pick up 
Sarah. Dana eyed John warily. "Are you sure you understood all 
that?" 
"I think so." 
"Are you sure you want to spend that kind of money when I'm not 
working? I mean, we'll save a lot because we don't need the 
medications and procedures for egg retrieval, but it'll still be 
expensive." 
"I don't care. You expect me to put a price on a kid? You know 
me better that that I hope!" 
"But you heard him, John. Most women don't get pregnant on their 
first cycle of IVF," said Dana urgently. "The success rate is 
between 20 and 40%." 
"Dana, we're going to have a baby. It'll work. I'll bet you ten 
bucks it works." 
"Pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?" She whacked his arm 
playfully. "You know they're going to do three embryos at a time 
to increase the odds of having a success. What would you do if 
they all worked?" 
"Build a bigger swingset?" 
"Bite your tongue!" Dana shuddered at the thought of having 
triplets. That was going too far, and thank God,was highly 
unlikely. 
When they got to Mike and Gwen's house, Sarah was waiting on the 
porch. "I thought you'd never come!" She sighed in an 
exaggerated way. "Where you been?" 
Dana hugged her. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. I had to go to the 
hospital this morning and talk to..." 
Sarah let put a terrified shriek. "No! You can't go to the 
hospital! If you go to the hospital, you'll never come back!" 
She pounded frantically on John as he tried to grab her. "Don't 
let her go! Don't let them take her away!" 
"Sarah, what are you talking about?" He tried to hold her but 
she ran back to Dana, sobbing. 
Dana got it at once. "Sarah, this wasn't the hospital where your 
mom was. It's not like that." 
"They're bad places," sobbed the child. "They'll hurt you and I 
won't see you anymore." 
"You will so," said Dana soothingly, sitting on the porch 
gathering the child up in her arms. "I'm not sick...not that I 
know of, and your daddy didn't take me to the hospital to get 
rid of me." 
Sarah looked up at John and glared. "He better not!" 
Finally getting the whole picture, John sat down beside them. "I 
won't. She's staying, believe me, and if you want you can come 
stay, too, and we can all stay together." 
"You told me no one was going to die!" 
"Not for a long time, I hope. I remember saying that." 
"Then why did you go to the hospital? That's where people go to 
die." 
"Some people do," admitted Dana honestly, "But people go there 
for other things." 
"Like what?" 
"People have babies in hospitals," offered John. 
"Now, John," said Dana, alarmed, but Sarah jumped up excited 
before the words were even out of his mouth. "Are you going to 
get a new baby?" 
Dana glared at John for getting them into this mess, but she 
answered carefully, "We're not sure. We're thinking about it. 
That might be nice, but we have a lot of things we'd have to do 
first." 
"Do you think that would be a good idea?" John asked Sarah, 
grinning at Dana's discomfort. 
"Yeah! I like babies. I could talk baby talk to it!" 
Dana gave up. "We'll talk about it some more some other time. 
Let's go see Grandma and Grandpa now, and get your things."

Sarah had already dashed into the house and cornered her 
grandmother. 
"Grandma, if daddy has a new baby, I'll be a big sister, right?" 
Shooing Sarah off to get her overnight bag, Gwen shook her head 
at John and Dana. "What? Already!" 
"No," Dana groaned, embarrassed. "We're thinking about it, and 
because I've had some health problems in the past, we went to a 
fertility specialist this morning. Sarah wanted to know why we 
were late." 
"We told her we were at a hospital," said John, "And she flipped 
out." He shook his own head. "Maybe I shouldn't have told her 
what we were doing there, but we were having such a hard time 
calming her down." 
"I'll bet," said Gwen sadly. "She hates hospitals. She spent a 
lot of time in hospitals hanging around waiting for her mother 
to die. I wish you would have another baby. It would be nice for 
Sarah to be able to go to a hospital for something good. And I 
think it would be better for her not to be an only child. Was 
the doctor optimistic?" 
"Theres's a good chance that we can work out things someday," 
said Dana. "But not right away." 
They took Sarah home, and they all worked on the swingset for 
awhile. It was starting to shape up. Dana and Sarah went to the 
garden center and picked out the new rose bushes and had fun 
planting them. Sarah was exhausted by bedtime, and when she had 
gone to sleep, Dana and John were so confident of her staying 
asleep that they made love for the first time with Sarah in the 
house. They were paranoid enough to lock the door, but it was 
kind of exciting and daring to try to keep quiet, hushing each 
others moans with kisses. 
John and Dana had begun by touching each other with long 
sweeping motions everywhere. They slid their hands over each 
others bodies, not missing one precious inch. She loved the feel 
of his warm skin against her, enveloping her, the way he could 
excite her with his touch. They knew each other so well now, 
that they knew what spots needed the lightest touch to bring 
pleasure, and where they could be firm. Her hand on his cock 
made it pulse, but she knew how far she could go. His fingers 
inside her brought her right to the edge, and teasingly left her 
hanging. 
Dana rolled onto her back, and John climbed on top of her, givng 
her breasts more attention, licking and sucking her nipples, 
running his tongue over them. They were already hard and aching. 
"Now. Please now. Not without you, John, please," Dana 
whispered. 
He looked at her with blazing blue eyes, and she wrapped her 
arms around his neck as he moved inside her, gratifying her 
every wish. She bit her lip to keep from screaming as ahe had a 
massive orgasm, and he buried his tongue in her mouth as he 
pumped inside her. They, too, collapsed, exhausted, and went 
straight to sleep in each other's arms. 

In spite of Dana's protests, John started cleaning out his third 
bedroom, and insited on repainting the walls. When she refused 
to pick out paint, he threatened to go pick out something 
himself, and Dana, trying to imagine what he would choose, 
finally gave in. The carpet was dark green, that is, it was dark 
green after John shampooed it, so she picked out a light green 
for the walls. If they did wind up having another baby, it 
wouldn't matter what sex it was. 
They went with the truck to get the baby furniture and Dana had 
to laugh on the way back to the house. 
"The swingset was bad enough. Wait until the neighbors see 
this." 
He smiled, too. They stacked everything up in the middle of the 
room. 
"When I win that bet and get my ten bucks, we set it all up. 
Deal?" john said as the were getting ready for bed. 
"IF you win the bet," She said, kissing him. He held her close, 
his mouth responding to hers hungrily. He pulled his head back 
and gasped as her hand slid over his navel through the hair 
below it to stroke his penis and cup his balls. 
"And what do you think you're doing young lady? He said with 
mock severity. 
"Practicing." She grinned and they laughed together as she put 
both hands on his broad chest and pushed him back onto their 
bed. Dana kissed him deeply as she ran her hand up and down the 
hard shaft, paying special attention to the smooth head, and the 
ridge below it. 
This would have been worth the money even if they didn't get a 
kid out of it. Her cool hand was doing wicked things to him, and 
John Doggett loved it. He ran his hand through her thick, soft 
hair, enjoying its clean smell and soft texture. "Practice as 
much as you want," He sighed. 
Dana kept moving her hand up and down, sliding around the loose 
skin and slipping her fingers into each sensitive crevice below. 
"Oh, hell!" John gasped. "Get ready." Feeling his balls start to 
tighten, Dana slid down his body and slipped her mouth over him 
in place of her hand. Sliding her head up and down, she finished 
what she'd started. 

"Why don't we leave about nine tomorrow to go pick up Sarah?" 
John said over dinner one Friday night. 
"Oh, John, I can't go with you this time. My mom called. She has 
to go to the eye doctor tomorrow and she's worried about 
driving, because they're going to put in those drops that dilate 
your pupils. I'm going with her to drive her home." 
"Well, you could have told me." 
"I'm sorry. I just forgot," Dana said. "But you really don't 
need me to pick up Sarah, do you? Really?" 
He didn't, but he did miss Dana's company on the long drive, and 
Sarah did ask where Dana was. She chattered all the way back, 
and when they got home, Dana wasn't there. The light was 
blinking on the answering machine. "Hi, John. I'm at my mom's. 
We ran into some friends of hers, and decided to go out to eat. 
I'm going to stay here tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow by 
noon. Tell Sarah hello for me. I love you." 
"Oh, swell," said John. He and Sarah were getting more used to 
each other, but he'd never kept her all night alone, and he knew 
Sarah was going to miss Dana. That was an understatement. She 
threw a fit when he told her. 
"But Dana promised to make cookies with me!" 
"Well, she's not here. Her mom needed her." 
"I need her!" Sarah wailed. He didn't remember what she liked to 
eat, and didn't feel like cooking anyway, so he took her out for 
a pizza. When they got back he checked the mail, and when he 
went looking for Sarah, he found that as tired as she was, she'd 
put in her "Toy Story 2" video. 
"Sarah! It's time for bed!" 
"When this is over. Please? Please? Please?" 
He picked up the video box. "This is an hour and a half long. 
You can't stay up that late." 
"But I waaaaaant to!" 
"Come on, Sarah, you can watch it tomorrow." As she opened her 
mouth to wail again, he cut her off quickly. "How about a bath 
first?" He was hoping she'd fall sleep watching the movie. 
"Can I wear my pink nightogown?" 
"Sure. Where is it?" 
"I dunno." 
John went upstairs to Sarah's room, and went through every 
drawer until he found nightgowns neatly stacked in the bottom 
one. Taking a pink one, he tried to get Sarah to come upstairs, 
but she insisted on using the downstairs bathroom. He turned the 
water on and Sarah whined. "Don't make it too hot! And I want 
bubbles. I want the vanilla bubbles, not the roses. Dana always 
gives me bubbles." 
"Dana gives me a headache," muttered John, as he went back up to 
look through the bathroom until he found bubble bath. When he 
came down, his daughter was shrieking, "It's too cold!" When he 
finally got her out of the tub, she insisted on watching the 
rest of the tape, hanging on grimly until the end. When it was 
over at last, he told her to go to bed. "No! I'm thirsty! I'm 
really, really thirsty." 
John gave Sarah a drink and nearly tore his hair out as she took 
twenty minutes to sip it. When she was asleep at last, he felt 
like he'd run a marathon. Sarah was still tired and cranky in 
the morning. They fought over what she would eat for breakfast, 
what shirt she should wear, and whether or not she had brushed 
her teeth. She refused to brush her hair or let John brush it, 
and because it had still been a little wet when she'd gone to 
bed, it was a mass of snarls. When Dana walked in the door they 
were still arguing. 
"Hey, what's going on?" 
"She won't let me brush her hair. She looks like a rats nest! 
She's been stubborn since she got here." 
Dana looked at him glaring at the child, and the child scowling 
back, and laughed. "I wonder where she gets that?" 
"Oh, very funny." 
"He pulls," wailed Sarah. "It hurts. He doesn't spray me!" 
"Spray you with what?" John asked, exasperated. 
Dana laughed again. "She has a spray conditioner to take the 
tangles out." 
"Well, how am I supposed to know about that stuff? She could 
have said so! And you said you'd be here when she stayed over! 
If you weren't going to be here, you could have told me some of 
this stuff!" 
"Hey, wait a minute! She's your daughter! You have to learn to 
talk to her!" 
Sarah, watching the two of them face off, started to cry. John 
groaned. "Knock it off! Nobody's hurting you!" 
"Oh, shut up, John!" Dana took Sarah's hand and they went 
upstairs so that Dana could fix her hair. 

"Daddy doesn't like me any more," Sarah sniffled. 
"Oh, Sarah!" Dana was shocked. 
"Daddy doesn't like me because I'm bad." 
"Sweetie, your daddy loves you a lot! And you're not a bad girl. 
You guys just had a rough night." Dana began to brush the 
child's fine hair. "He just doesn't understand little girls very 
well, and he gets scared. He gets scared because he's afraid of 
doing something wrong." 
"I didn't know big people got scared." 
"We all do, sometimes." 
"What are you scared of?" 
Dana thought hard. "I guess I'm a lot like your daddy. I'm 
scared of doing the wrong things." 
"You're sure daddy still loves me?" 
"Certain sure." 
"I'm glad he came back, and I'm glad he brought you with him. 
Does he still love you, even if you guys holler?" 
"I think so," said Dana honestly. "I hope so. I love him even 
when he's angry. I think he loves me even when I'm angry." She 
had to smile. "The first time I met your daddy, I got so mad at 
him that I threw a cup of water on his head!" 
Sarah giggled. "Dana, that's silly! And he still loved you?" 
"He says he did. He says he did right away." Dana put the brush 
down. "Let's give daddy a break. You and I can go try and make 
those cookies." 
"All right!" 
As they went downstairs to the kitchen, they passed John. He was 
fast asleep in his recliner chair. 


Dana thought hard as she and Sarah mixed the cookies in the 
kitchen. The floodgates had finally opened, and that was 
probably a good thing. They had been living with tension for a 
long time, with leaving the Bureau, and John's new job, and 
Mulder's interference. They had dealt with finding out about 
Sarah, and trying to get to know her, and the question that was 
looming over their heads about whether or not they could 
successfully have a child together. 
The stress of planning a wedding and all the plans and hopes and 
expectations that went with a marriage were enough to make 
anyone hysterical. 
They would have to talk more. This was a good man, who had been 
through a lot of pain. She wanted to spend a lifetime with him, 
trying to convince him some of the pain had been worth it, but 
he was not, she realized, good with talking about his feelings. 
He told her he loved her, often and sincerely, and she had been 
pleased with that, but they had to talk about their other 
feelings, too. They would have to discuss their hopes and fears. 
When John woke up, it was to the homey smell of chocolate chip 
cookies. He went into the kitchen to find Dana and Sarah 
satisfied with their afternoon's work. His daughter was agog 
with pride. For the longest time, she just stared at the oven-
hot cookies, cooling on wire racks. Then she hugged Dana with 
excitement. 
"Did I really make them myself?" 
Dana laughed and hugged her back. "You sure did, with a little 
help." 
"Have a cookie, Daddy," Sarah implored. "Please let's eat some!" 
They all took one, no nonsense about leaving them to completely 
cool. 
"Good job," said John. 
"Can I go play on my swingset now?" 
"Sure," He said, ruffling the child's fair hair. When she had 
skipped outside, he looked at Dana sheepishly. "I'm sorry." 
"I'm sorry, too, but it's no wonder we flipped out, with 
everything that's been going on." She went to him, and he held 
her. 
"I love you," He said simply. 
"I love you, too, but we can't scare Sarah like that again. She 
thought we were going to split up because she was bad." 
"Oh, Christ!" 
"She's okay, now," said Dana soothingly. "I talked to her." 
"What did you say?" 
"That we still love each other, even if we get angry. I even 
told her about the time that I threw the water at you, and you 
fell in love with me anyway." 
"I sure did." He grinned. "You were so beautiful and spunky I 
couldn't help it." 
"You're just a glutton for punishment." 
"How about going out to eat before we take Sarah back?" He asked 
her. "Is that a good way to make up a fight?" 
"I can think of better ways." 
"You'll have to hold that thought for awhile," He said, but he 
kissed her again, and the kiss was full of promise. 

Dana was just finishing a list of things she had to do before 
the wedding when John came in carrying a gift bag. "Want your 
wedding present early?" 
"A wedding present?" Dana took the bag, and pulled the tissue 
paper out to find a small stuffed bear. "Oh, how cute! It's a 
Beanie Baby with the Four Seasons logo on it!" 
"There's more to it than that," John laughed. "I've been trying 
to think of the perfect thing to do with a red-haired bride and 
I finally decided to take advantage of some of those fringe 
benefits that Jeff promised me." 
"We're going bck to the hotel and try to top last visit's sex?" 
"Nope. Look at the tag." 
Dan turned the little bear in her hands. "It says his name is 
Issy." 
"There are bears for every Four Seasons Hotel in the world," 
said John. "Where's this one from?" 
Dana blinked at the small heart shaped tag. "Dublin? We're going 
to Ireland?" Are you serious?" 
"Happy honeymoon," He said, extending an envelope. She took the 
tickets and covered his face with kisses. 
"Oh, my God, John! That's fantastic! My Aunt Olive went to 
Ireland and she said it was gorgeous!" 
"Then it'll suit you," said John, pulling her onto his lap into 
a nearby chair. "Hey, there's something on your shirt!" 
"What?" She glanced down. 
"My hand." He slid his warm fingers over her breast, and kissed 
her. She leaned back enjoying the caress of his fingers, and his 
mouth against hers, tender, tasting, gently teasing. She let out 
a compliant moan, and he slid his other hand around her waist, 
pulling her up against his broad chest. She opened her mouth for 
him, wanting him desperately. 
Dana slid down in front of him, unbuckling his belt. She coaxed 
him into getting up just enough so that she could pull down his 
pants and underwear. Bending her head down she took him in her 
mouth, using her tongue to massage his hard shaft and its smooth 
head. He groaned, running his fingers through her bright hair. 
"Dana, you don't have to do this." 
"You make me so happy, I want to make you happy, too." 
She went back to licking and sucking, trying to take him into 
her throat as far as possible. He grabbed her elbows. 
"No. Don't. I want to be inside you." 
Dana nodded, smiling, and left his cock, slick from her wet 
mouth, and undid her jeans and pulled them down. She kicked them 
off, and was about to pull down her panties when John grabbed 
her, and began to kiss her belly and the mound hidden by the 
silky white underwear. He helped her strip them off, and pulled 
her back up onto his lap. She straddled him, bracing her knees 
on either side of his hips, guiding his hard cock inside of her. 
She closed her eyes and began to lever up and down. He put his 
hands on her ass and helped her establish a rhythm. He came 
first, filling her with quick pulses of white fire. Running her 
hands over his shoulders and back, Scully rode out his orgasm 
and then, grabbing his shoulders slumped against him in 
pleasure. 

Dana opened her eyes and looked at her husband dozing at her 
side. They'd gotten through the morning wedding with no 
problems, and had all gone to lunch at the hotel. It had been 
easy to see that attending John's second marriage had been hard 
on Gwen and Mike, but Sarah's excitement had gotten them through 
it, and the prospect of having her back at their house for a 
whole week had cheered them. 
Sarah had a terrific time racing around blowing off steam with 
Dana's nephew, Matthew. Matthew's parents, and Dana's brother, 
Charlie, were so relieved to see Dana married to a man they 
considered sensible that there had been no problems from that 
end. Maggie had tipped Bill and Charlie off as to how down to 
earth and sweet John was. They had never liked Mulder's crazy 
ideas and the way he had constantly put their sister in danger. 
They liked John simply for not being Mulder before they liked 
him for himself. Dana knew that was unfair, that John was 
himself, not Mulder's replacement, but she had given up on 
trying to reason with her family. What was done was done. 
Jeff and Kate had made great attendants. They were truly happy 
for John and Dana, and Jeff got an extra kick out of knowing 
that his getting John to take the job had turned their lives 
around. Walter Skinner had come to the ceremony as promised, but 
he skipped the luncheon. Watching John and Dana share their 
first kiss as man and wife had caused him to choke up for a 
moment, but he soon felt very happy for Dana, seeing her get 
what she wanted the most out of life. 
Now, having had to fly from Washington to Boston for their Aer 
Lingus flight to Dublin, they were happy to finally be settled 
on the plane. It was a long flight, but they needed time to wind 
down. 
They were grateful to find a line of taxis at the arrivals 
gateway. Everyone at the airport had been wonderful. Dana 
couldn't decide if the Irish liked American tourists, or 
newlyweds better, but everything went smoothly, and they were 
soon on their way to the Dublin Four Seasons on Simmonscourt 
Road, Ballsbridge. 
They had an executive suite overlooking Dublin Bay and the 
Wicklow Mountains, with a bedroom, living room, and a marble 
master bathroom, with a glass walled shower and a deep soaking 
tub. 
"Oh, John," said Dana, looking out the window. "There really are 
forty shades of green!" 
"Dana, what are you talking about?" He asked, coming up behind 
her, and sliding his hands around her waist. 
"It's a song my Aunt Olive used to sing to me," said Dana. "I 
close my eyes and I can almost see, those shamrock hills, and 
those forty shades of green, and the roots that tie me to the 
land I've never known, are calling me home." 
"I didn't know you could sing," said John kissing her cheek. 
"I can't...usually. I guess I was just inspired." She turned in 
his arms to kiss him. 
He held her tight. "You happy?" 
"Oh, John, so happy." 
"Know something?" He murmured in her ear. "We've been married 
almost a whole day and I haven't slept with you yet. How about 
it?" 
"What an oversite," said Dana, turning her mouth back up to his. 
Two seconds later, her hands were under his shirt, moving slowly 
over his bare skin. Ten seconds later he'd managed to strip off 
her sweater and bra, and was running his own hands over her warm 
round flesh. 
"Are you really mine?" He asked, sliding his mouth from her 
mouth, down her cheek, and along her neck. 
"Legally and everything, so don't try to get rid of me," said 
Dana, undressing him. She had his slacks open before she even 
finished getting the sentence out. 
"Never, never, never," He said, pulling her over to the bed, and 
before he got those words out, he was inside her, movng slowly, 
hard, deliberate thrusts and Dana was barely aware of the world 
around them, he had aroused such passion in her. It only took a 
few more thrusts to push her over the edge. "Wow," He whispered, 
and she felt his body convulsing inside hers. His weight was 
real and solid, like a shield over her. 
Unable to think of anything but how good it felt, she held him 
close until he finally relaxed. He was still inside her, still a 
part of her. 
"You know," she said, half to herself, "You're one of the only 
men I know who can say 'Wow!' like that and not sound like an 
idiot." 
"And you are the only woman I know who can make me believe you 
invented sex just for me." 
"Maybe we invented it for each other. Happy honeymoon!" 
"I think it will be," John said, kissing her warmly once more. 

Dana and John had breakfast at the Dublin "Seasons" restaurant, 
which overlooked a garden couryard. After Irish oatmeal and 
lingonberry pancakes, they decided to do a little siteseeing. 
They went to Trinity College, to see their library, having heard 
that no one could visit Dublin without seeing the Book Of Kells 
and the Book of Armagh. 
They went to the Natural History Museum next. 
"Did you know that Dr. Stanley Livingston was at the opening of 
this museum in 1857?" Dana asked John. 
"I don't think it's changed much since then," He said dubiously, 
eyeing the 65 foot whale skeleton that was suspended from the 
roof. 
They went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Christ Church 
Cathedral. They went to the Dublin Civic Museum and saw stone 
aged flints, Viking coins,old maps and prints of the city. 
They wound up at the Guinness brewery. They didn't give tours, 
but Dana and John went to the Hop Store on Crane Street. There 
they saw a presentation, and the audiovisual show ended with the 
curtain going up on an old fashioned pub. John became an instant 
Guinness devotee, but Dana found she prefered Harp. They enjoyed 
the gift shop, though. 
They looked at other gift shops, too. They bought Aran sweaters 
for themselves, and a soft wool stole for Maggie Scully. They 
got a tweed walking hat for Mike and a Belleek "Island" vase for 
Gwen. They also bought a doll dressed as an Irish step dancer 
for Sarah, and Dana picked up a shamrock shaped cookie cutter 
with the child in mind. They were at a jewelry shop on Upper 
O'Connell Street, looking at some pewter Celtic ponytail holders 
for Sarah when John said suddenly, "Hey! It's Jeff and Katie's 
wedding rings!" 
"That's a Claddagh ring, John," said Dana. "My Aunt Olive has 
one." 
A salesman took charge of the situation at once. "Ah, the 
Claddagh! The heart stands for love, the crown stands for 
loyalty, and the hands stand for friendship. If you get all that 
from your lady, Sir, you'll be a lucky man!" 
John grinned. "Come, on, Dana, you gotta have one of these!" 
"Wear the heart facing in if you're married," said the saleman 
with a wink. "Wear it facing out if you're available." 
"Not available," said John firmly. 
Dana tried to pick out a simple silver one, but wound up with a 
ring set with a heart shaped emerald, and a freshwater pearl 
Claddagh pendant. It was a beautiful necklace, but Dana had to 
drag John out of the store when he started looking at matching 
Claddagh bangle bracelets. 
They had dinner in Temple Bar at "Dish", filling up on basque 
seafood soup and crab cakes. They were exhausted when they got 
back to the hotel, but sleep could wait. John couldn't. Taking 
Dana in his arms, he covered her lips with his own. She wasn't 
about to turn down the invitation she felt in that kiss. He made 
leisurely, wet love to her with his mouth and tongue. His hands 
moved over her as well, touching her gently, pulling her against 
him. He made love to her with the confidence of a man who knew 
exactly what to do to please his woman, and loving Dana was 
something John had wanted to do since he'd first laid eyes on 
her. Now he could do it for the rest of his life. 
Dana returned kiss for kiss, losing herself completely in the 
sensations he was inspiring. She explored every inch of him, 
validating their togetherness. His broad shoulders, the muscles 
in his back, his strong arms, the prickly hair at the base of 
his neck, all wound up under her fingers. When he finally 
entered her, loving her with his body as well as his hands and 
mouth, his hard cock moving inside her with slow deliberate 
thrusts, she too thought about what it was going to be like to 
spend the rest of her life with this man. She wanted nothing 
more. 
******************************************** 
You can see all the gifts I described in this story. They came 
from www.shopirish.com and a portion of the proceeds from their 
site go to the Irish Children's Fund, to be used for their 
reconciliation program.

They decided to visit the old Jameson's distillery the next 
afternoon. Jameson's was one of Ireland's most famous whiskies 
and had been for nearly 200 years. 
The distillery had moved to an ultramodern facility years 
before, but the old distillery had been turned into a museum, 
where Dana and John learned more about the history of the 
whiskey industry than they had ever cared to know. 
John was surprised to find Dana liked whiskey, and knew to drink 
it straight. She was picked to participate in a tasting where 
different brands of Irish whiskey were sampled and compared to 
Scotch and Bourbon. She matched everyone sample for sample, but 
she was flying so high when they got out of there that John 
thought room service dinner at the hotel might be the wisest 
course. 
He steered he back into the room, where she flung both arms 
around his neck, and sighed. "I am having SOOOO much fun." 
"I'll bet you are," He grinned. 
"I love you." 
"I love you, too , honey, but I think you'd better take it 
easy." 
"Irish whiskey is better than Scotch." 
"I'll take your word for it, Dana," John said as she swayed in 
his arms. 
"You make Irish Coffee with Irish whiskey. Will you buy me a set 
of Irish coffee glasses? Then we get home we can sit in front of 
the fireplace and drink Irish coffee." 
"You're going to drink coffee and whiskey together? I don't know 
if I'll be able to handle you if you do that." 
"Forget it. I'll handle you." 
She put her hands on the hem of his T-shirt, and slid them under 
it, to his warm, smooth skin. She pulled the shirt up over his 
chest, and he lifted his arms so that she could pull it over his 
head. Then he reconsidered. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea. 
You aren't even going to remember this, are you?" 
"Don't be a spoilsport," She said. Giggling, she reached for the 
waistband of his jeans, fumbling with the button. In spite of 
his good intentions, he was already hard, and straining through 
the thick layer of cloth. Dana sank to her knees in front of 
him, and pressed her face against that bulge, kissing him 
through the denim and pulling down the zipper. He grabbed her 
and hauled up back to her feet with all his strength, and when 
she kissed him, he kissed her back, unbuttoning her blouse as 
her tongue ran around the inside of his mouth. 
"Ooooh, that's better," said Dana. 
She still tasted like whiskey. He unfastened her bra with one 
flick of his fingers, reaching under her skirt, pulled down her 
panties, which were already damp. 
I want you so much," He whispered, half to himself, and half to 
her, unbuttoning the skirt and pulling it down.. 
"I want you, too. Come on, John, I want you now." 
She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he turned around and 
set her on the bed. He kissed her mouth, her throat, and the 
space between her breasts. He kissed and licked and sucked each 
nipple, and kissed her stomach and the mound below. Then he slid 
his mouth between her legs, and she was already coming, a quick, 
sweet spasm of pleasure. 
"Hang on," He groaned in her ear, and grabbing her hands in his, 
holding them tightly, he spread them out across the bed, and 
slid down into her. She was wet and tight around him, and he was 
so hard and deep inside her that when they came together it was 
like an explosion that made them both cry out. 
He collapsed in her arms. They were both shaking, their hearts 
racing and their breathing raw. 
They lay like that for a long time, and finally Dana said, "W... 
what do you want to do now?" 
"You," He said firmly, "Are going to drink a big glass of water, 
and take a couple of aspirin." 
"Why do I want to do that?" 
"Just trust me, honey, you do." 
They had tickets to a play at the Abbey theatre for the next 
night, so they decided to spend the day at Phoenix park, 
visiting the Dublin Zoo, and watching the assorted cricket, 
soccer and polo players. 
"Sarah would love this," Dana said wistfully. "We'll have to 
take her to the zoo at home." 
John hugged her around the shoulders. "You two really hit it off 
then?" 
"Yeah. I miss her." 
"When we get back, we're still going to try for another one, 
aren't we? 
"If you don't mind," Dana said returning the hug, "I don't mind, 
but we'll have to get in some more practice." 
"I'm looking forward to that," He answered, giving her a very 
evil grin. 
Dana wore her new pearl necklace to the play, and it looked 
bewitching with her black dress. John wasn't that interested in 
the theatre, but he could watch Dana forever and not get bored. 
"You are so beautiful," John told her, on the way back to their 
room at the hotel. 
"You look pretty good yourself. I haven't seen you this relaxed 
since I got you suspended." 
"More good comes out of that every day," He said, reaching their 
door. 
"I've got a great idea," She said, when they were in their room. 
"Uh, oh!" He grinned. 
"How about a bath?" 
"You mean together?" 
"I think we'd both fit." 
"You're on!" 
They filled the deep soaking tub with hot water, and got in, 
facing each other. They both had washcloths, and began to soap 
each other up in tandem, laughing as they were running the 
washcloths over each other's arms. She rubbed his broad chest, 
enjoying the strength of him, and gasped when he moved his 
washcloth to her breasts, gently rubbing her in a way that was 
warm and exciting. Stomachs and legs were next, and the way 
their legs intertwined reminded Dana of other activities, and 
she grinned, leaning over to kiss him. They slid their arms 
around each other, enjoying the contact between their wet, slick 
skin. It was the sort of blazing kiss that never failed to 
arouse them both, with tongues sliding over teeth, dancing 
around each other, lightly touching and moving away. John's 
arousal was a little more obvious than Dana's, but she was 
aching for him as well. A promise was a promise, though, and 
settling against him, in the crook of his arm, partly floating 
in the warm water. she moved her hand down for the promised 
practice, sliding her fingers gently over his hard cock, 
slipping the loose skin back and forth, running gentle but firm 
fingers over the smooth head and the ridge behind it. He gasped 
in her mouth, and she started sucking on his tongue, not letting 
him escape. As she drew his tongue into her mouth, she slid her 
hand up the hard shaft, then repeated the whole process again as 
he twitched and trembled and finally came. 
"That was so good," He said softly, leaning back against the 
side of the tub and closing his eyes. 
"Glad you liked it," She said sitting up, "But this water is 
getting cold. I'm getting out." She wrapped a fluffy towel 
around herself, and looked back at him. 
"Are you coming?" 
"No, but I owe you one." 
Sliding out of the tub, he grabbed her in strong arms, and she 
gasped. The towel fell as he drew her down on the damp bathmat 
on the floor, slipping his head under her neck to kiss and lick 
and suck at her nipples, already hard from the cool air in the 
room. 
"Are you serious...oh, my God, you are aren't you? Oh, that 
feels so good!" He slid his hand between her legs, stroking and 
probing expertly, and she clung to him, eyes closed, letting 
herself be swept away by these slow endless sensations. He 
explored her body with his mouth and fingers, silently, 
insistently, finding delight in her as always. 
Then he spread her legs wider, and slid deep inside her. She 
loved this, the careful, relentless power of him, so rigid that 
the explosion, when it came, came from nowhere and everywhere. 
It was around them and inside them, like a violent storm turned 
their joined bodies into a living furnace. 

One night they went on a musical "pub crawl" tour. Led by 
professional musicians, who performed songs and told the story 
of Irish music, they started off at Oliver St. John Dogarty's 
and moved on to three other pubs. It was a rowdy evening. 
Apparently public drunkenness was a normal part of Dublin night 
life. At every stop, they heard a different kind of music. Some 
of the songs told stories. They both got a laugh out of "Red-
Haired Mary". 
While going to the fair at Dingle, one fine morning last July, 
When going down the road before me, a red haired girl I chanced 
to spy. 
I went up to her and said, "Young lady, my donkey he will carry 
two." 
"Well, seeing as how you have the donkey, to the Dingle fair 
I'll ride with you." 
When we reached the town of Dingle, I took her hand to say 
goodbye... 
When a tinker man stepped up beside me, and he belted me in my 
left eye. 
"Keep your hands off red-haired Mary, her and I will soon be 
wed. 
"We're seeing the priest this very morning, and tonight we'll 
lie in a marriage bed." 
Now I was feeling kind of peevish. My poor old eye was sad and 
sore. 
When I went and tapped him with my hobnails, and he fell back 
through to Murphy's door. 
A policeman came around the corner, and said "Young man, you 
broke the law." 
My donkey kicked him in the kneecap, and he fell down and broke 
his jaw. 
Then he went off to find his brother, the biggest man I ever did 
meet. 
He went and rapped me with his knuckles, and I was minus two 
front teeth. 
The red-haired girl she kept on smiling. "I'll go with you, 
young man," she said. 
"We'll forget the priest this very morning, and tonight we'll 
lie in Murphy's shed." 
Through the fair we roamed together, my black eye and her red 
hair. 
Smiling gladly at all the tinkers, and by God! We were a 
handsome pair! 
As they finished the song, John whispered in Dana's ear, "I 
wonder how Mulder's nose is doing?" and she laughed so hard she 
almost choked. 
"That wasn't nice," She gasped when she got her breath, but then 
they both started laughing again. 
The last song in the last pub was "The Parting Glass". 
Oh, of all the money that e're I spent 
I spent it in good company 
And all the harm that e're I've done 
Alas it was to none but me 
And all I've done for want of wit 
To memory now I can't recall 
So fill to me the parting glass 
Goodnight and joy be with you all. 
Oh, all the comrades that e're I had 
Are sorry for my going away 
And all the sweethearts that e're I had 
Would wish me one more day to stay 
But since it falls unto my lot 
That I should rise and you should not 
I'll gently rise and softly call 
Goodnight and joy be with you all. 
And they had time for one more glass, but then they had to go 
back and pack, because the next day they were going home. 

Dana hung up the phone and slowly walked to the window. John had 
finished cutting the grass and was going to put the mower away. 
This was it. There was no turning back. She picked up her purse. 
A moment later she was outside. Taking a deep breath, she walked 
up to John and put something into his hand. 
"What's this for?" 
"You won the bet." 
He opened his hand wider and saw he was holding a ten dollar 
bill. 
He looked at it blankly for a moment, and then said, "Oh, my 
God!" and hugged her. Dana, laughing, clung to him as he swung 
her off the ground. 
Sarah, coming down her slide, heard the laughter and decided she 
wanted to get in on the hug. She ran over and put one arm around 
each of them. 
"I want a hug, too." 
John picked her up. "I feel like hugging the whole world today." 
"You happy, Daddy?" 
"Very, very, very happy." He kissed the child and put her down. 
She skipped off, and he took Dana in his arms once more. "When?" 
"End of May, maybe the beginning of June." She shook her head, 
tears forming in her eyes. "I can't believe it. This all 
happened so quickly. Last spring I got you suspended, and next 
spring, I'll be waddling around here getting ready to have our 
baby." 
"You look great pregnant, and that suspension was the best thing 
that ever happened to me, aside from getting fired. Getting 
fired was great, too." 
"Listen to you!" Dana laughed. 

Epilogue 
One Year Later 
John Doggett sat in his recliner chair, making it rock back and 
forth slowly, compelled by things he'd never completely 
understand. 
"It's okay, little girl," He said softly, looking into his baby 
daughter's big blue eyes. "Daddy's got you and Mommy'll be back 
soon." 
Quiet at last, she looked back at him, his little girl. He and 
Dana had always said they were hoping for a boy, since they 
already had a girl, but looking into this baby's eyes, seeing 
her pudgy nose and pink cheeks, John Doggett knew in his heart 
that it was better this way. 
He could never have looked at his son without remembering Luke, 
and Dana would have thought wistfully of William a million 
times. It was better to have this child, who had no shadow over 
her, who could be loved for who she was. This way there would no 
no more regrets to add to the pile of things he regretted in his 
life. He wrapped the fuzzy pink blanket tighter around her, 
loving her so much it hurt, and loving her mother more. Dana was 
half of his soul. 
"Everything's okay now, little princess. I never thought it 
would be, but everythings's perfect." He shifted her to his 
other arm, and the baby yawned in his face. 
He grinned. "Think I'm boring, huh, baby? Do you? Well, you 
wouldn't be the first one to think that," John said in a light 
teasing voice. "A lot of people think I'm boring, but you're 
stuck with me, kiddo. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." 
At the other end of the house he heard the familiar bang of the 
front door, and the comforting sound of laughter, followed by 
running feet. Sarah burst in like a whirlwind. 
"Hi, Daddy." 
He eyed her blue blouse and brown vest, and teased her, too. 
"Hi, Brownie. I like Brownies. Should I eat you up?" 
"Daddy, you're silly." She kissed his cheek and ran a gentle 
finger over her sister's head. "I got two new Try-its! Want to 
see? This is 'Cookies Count' for selling Girl Scout cookies, and 
this is 'Art to Wear'. Remember when we painted those T-shirts?" 
John looked at the small Girl Scout badges, and nodded. 
"Good job, but you better put them somewhere where you won't 
lose them until Dana can sew them on." 
"Okay." Sarah danced out of the room, leaving her father to rock 
her now sleeping sister. 
Dana appeared in the doorway, and stood watching her husband 
cradling their small daughter in his arms. 
"How are we doing?" 
John looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. "Just fine." 

THE END.