From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 21:38:48 -0600 Subject: Framing the Picture by jeri Source: direct Reply To: jerbear_luvs_msr@yahoo.com TITLE: Framing the Picture AUTHOR: jeri E-MAIL: jerbear_luvs_msr@yahoo.com WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/jerbear_luvs_msr RATING: PG CATEGORY: SA, D-POV, S-POV KEYWORDS: MSR (implied) SPOILERS: Requiem, Within/Without ARCHIVE: Yes to Legacy, Gossamer, Doggett House, and those who ask nicely. STARTED: January 21, 2001 FINISHED: January 22, 2001 SUMMARY: Doggett begins to connect the wayward dots of Scully's behavior. **DISCLAIMER: My Mulder and Scully are just clones and hybrids, and I don't have a Doggett at all (...yet...). The Great and Powerful CC has custody of the originals, and I can't think of a better owner ;) You da man, Chris! DEDICATION: For Mellie :) I hope this is what you had in mind, hehe *g* ^*^*^ ------- Doggett ------- It's staring at me. It's lying on the desk...*staring* at me. And I have no clue how to react to It. She'll probably be back in a minute or two, so I've got to get over my shock and act like it don't see It. I try to focus on something -- anything -- else, but it's not working. The doorknob begins to turn; I'm going to have to confront her about this. "Good morning, Agent Doggett," she greets in her normal, stand-offish way. Sorry, *Agent* Scully, but it's not gonna work today. We're gonna have a serious pow-wow here. "Mornin' Agent Scully. How was your weekend?" She hesitates for a moment before nodding. "It was good," she admits, and I can just barely make out a smile on her oh-so-serious face. That must mean I'm interpreting the thing on her desk correctly. "How was yours?" she asks in a manner not as robotic as the question usually is. She truly seems curious this Monday morning. "It was fine. I, uh, had some family over. It'd been a while since I'd seen 'em, so it was nice to get caught up." She sits down behind her desk and releases a sigh. "That's good." For a second it seems like she's gonna add something, but then her eyes drop to the desk and she begins shuffling papers around. As she does, It falls to the floor. And lands at my feet. Guess I won't need to be subtle. Before I reach down to pick It up, I steal a glance at her face. She's an interesting cross between pale with shock and red with embarrassment. She breaks eye contact first, and I pick It up and pass It back to her, saying the only words that come to mind: "Looks like you've been visiting with family, too, Agent Scully." ------ Scully ------ Well...he was going to find out sooner or later. Boy, do I wish it was later. I suppose I can only blame myself. What was I thinking, leaving the ultrasound picture out on Mulder's desk for all the world to see? I avoid Doggett's eyes, focusing on the blurry, black and white photo that's the first hard evidence of our little miracle. This isn't like a blood test where there's a chance of falsifying the results; I watched the whole procedure from under a layer of lukewarm gel. Doggett clears his throat, so I'm forced to make eye contact with him. The disappointment I expect to see isn't there; instead he looks apologetic and curious. "Agent Scully?" he prompts. For a split second I think about telling him that the print is of a niece or nephew, but then I remember that my name is on the print, too. I've been caught. "Agent Doggett...I, um..." I can't think of anything to say. What does one say in these awkward situations? I decide on nothing. He knows my secret now. He can just take it or leave it. Somehow I don't think he'll leave it. Finally he realizes that I'm not going to offer any new information, and I see a cloud of annoyance cover the curiosity and apology in his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice is low and surprisingly gentle. But I don't answer him. "I think I had a right to know. I mean, this may only be a temporary assignment," his voice begins to become louder and angrier, "but I don't want you having an accident while I'm on duty. I get the feeling Agent Mulder would hold me personally responsible should something terrible befall his child..." He stops abruptly as he realizes what he just said. I'm in a *bit* of shock myself... "I...I'm sorry, Agent Scully. I don't know where that came from," he mutters, eyes cast down. I sigh. "You're not the first to come to that conclusion, Agent Doggett, and you certainly won't be the last." He doesn't respond. "Fine. I suppose I should have told you before, but it's not exactly something I wanted to announce quite yet. It's just the excuse Ass...um, Deputy Director Kersh needs to shut down the X-Files, and right now they're my best resource to find Mulder." He raises a hand in a "stop" gesture. "I can understand that, Agent Scully. I know that finding Agent Mulder is very important to you. Really... I do..." Hm...there's something behind that understanding... not just sympathy, but empathy. "I just wish you woulda confided in me. It makes a whole lotta things make sense now." I'll bet... "Look, I have to have your word that you won't mention this to anyone." Doggett's hand comes up again, this time signaling an oath. "You got it, Agent Scully. I'll put it in da vault." Luckily I contain my smile at his phraseology. "Thank you, Agent Doggett." He *does* smile. "And don't you worry, Agent Scully. I'll find your baby's father." THE END ^*^*^ NOTE: If you didn't figure it out (though I'm sure you did, you smart Phile you) the title is from Doggett's line in Without: "You've painted me a picture, now put it in a frame." 4 out of 5 doctors say expressing your enjoyment of a fanfic to its author increases your life expectancy 23-23.8 years. The other doctor was killed by Cancerman before we could ask him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For fic and more, visit Jeri's Basement: http://www.geocities.com/jerbear_luvs_msr http://www.egroups.com/group/jeris_basement ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~