From: 'J' D Files Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 22:26:59 -0800 (PST) Subject: Tell Tale Moving Source: direct TITLE: Tell Tale Moving AUTHOR: DreamerFiles EMAIL: Dreamerfiles@yahoo.com DISCLAIMER: They aren't mine...I wish they were...blah, blah, blah...BLAH! RATING: SPOILERS: KEYWORDS: Scully/Reyes Romance AUTHOR'S NOTES: The very first story I wrote following this subject like was 'Lost Keys and Good Mornings' If you'd like to read from the beginning, refer to that story, please. ... Oh, and please do not use any of my stories without my permission, BLAH! SUMMARY: Continuation to 'The Return'. Tell Tale Moving ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ "Hey Mon," Dana called from the bedroom as she tossed a laundry basket on the queen size bed. Getting up from the couch, Monica walked to the bedroom doorway and leaned against the doorjamb. "Hmm?" "You know I've been thinking, it seems pretty ridiculous for you to have to continuously shuffle your things back and forth between apartments..." Dana glanced up to measure the look on Monica's face. "And William and I have plenty of room for your things here. What would you think if I were to ask you to move in on a more permanent basis?" Slowly Monica moved away from the door and made her way over to the bed to stand beside Dana. Biting her lower lip, she picked up one of William's baby blankets and began to fold it. "Well, you do know that people would be asking questions then, don't you?" "We only have to tell the people that we want. Let others think what they want." "And your mother? And Doggett? What about Skinner?" Monica questioned. "We tell them the truth..we tell them that we love each other." "Somehow I don't think it's going to be that easy Dana..." Monica tried to reason. "They'll take one of us out of the 'X files' office?" "I have my connections, leave that up to me Monica. So what would you say to moving in here with us?" Dana repeated. "I'd say it's an offer I can't refuse. But it will still be a long road." "I know," Dana smiled in reassurance. "Who do we tell first? Or should we make it easy on us and do it all at the same time?" Sighing Monica gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. "I guess we might as well hit them all at once." "Done, I'll fix a dinner and everything. We can invite Skinner, John and my mother over." "And what about your brothers and sisters-in-laws?" Monica winced. "You know Bill is visiting your mother right now. And Charlie, Tara, Heather and the kids will be coming tomorrow. When are you expecting to get Maggie alone?" At that moment a cry was heard from the other bedroom and Monica turned her head to listen. "William's awake, I'll get him. It's time for him to eat anyway." "Alright," Dana sighed as she took a blanket from Monica. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Later that night... "Mon, I've decided I'd like to tell my brothers and their families also. How do you feel about that?" Dana asked soon after William had fallen asleep for the night. "Well, that depends..." Monica started to reply but trailed off as she climbed into bed next to Dana. "Depends on?" "On how you think you'll get treated afterwards. If you think you're going to be tarred and feathered Dana, then I opt for not telling them." Sliding under the covers, Monica wrapped her arms around Dana's stomach. "Telling your mother is one thing honey, but telling Bill is a whole different ball game." "I know, I just don't want 'us' to be a secret anymore. I want to be able to live together and not have to be worried about you answering the phone or worried about mentioning you too much to my mother. I'm so afraid right now that someone who doesn't know will say 'what's up with you and Monica?' Just because I'm being overly cautious to hide our relationship. I don't want to have to do that Mon. And I really don't care what my brother thinks. I didn't care what he thought of Mulder..." "That's right," Monica chuckled. "He absolutely hated Mulder with a passion, didn't he?" "Uh huh," Dana grinned back. "So, first you're moving in. Then we'll tell people about 'us' and they can do what they want with the information. Sound like a deal?" "Yeah, it does actually. Now get some sleep. We have to be to work half an hour earlier tomorrow for that meeting with Kersh, remember." "Night Sweetie." "Goodnight Dana." ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Monday Two Days Later F.B.I. Building 'X files' office Dana walked into the X files office to find Agent Doggett hard at work trying to figure out the ING system as usual. The F.B.I.'s Intelligence Network Gateway was always a confusing maze for John who seemed to be electively computer literate. Monica was no where to be found at the moment, and Dana guessed she had run over to the computer crimes lab to drop off the hard drive of the last computer they confiscated. Now was Dana's chance to invite Doggett to a dinner. 'If only Monica was all moved in already', she thought to herself. They had started packing up Monica's things the very next day. And they figured all that would be moved would be done within 5 days. She didn't have a lot of things and her apartment wasn't crammed with furniture, so it wouldn't take long. Walking over to Doggett's desk, Dana peered at his computer screen. "Having problems again John?" "Always," he grumbled. "I thought they called these things 'user friendly'? They hate me!" "It just takes awhile to get the hang of it. And ING is tricky. I bet it's a big change from the NYPD networks, right?" "Huh, oh yeah." Doggett pressed a few more keys before letting his fist fall hard on the desk. "Hey, I was wondering..And I know this is a bit of advanced notice, but I thought I'd give you some time..I'm having some people over for dinner and I'd like you to come. It'd be like probably Friday night, how does that sound? Think you can come?" "Yeah, I can come..Monica gonna be there?" "Oh yes! Monica will be there," Dana smiled. "I'm going to ask Skinner also I think." "Ok, sure..what about them friends of yours?" Doggett asked scratching his head as he tried to think of some names. "Friends?" "You know the weird guys?" "Oh.." Dana sighed as her smile faded. "I forgot about them. Oh boy...well, we might end up going out, my treat. We'll just have to see. Listen I need to head to the restroom. I'll be back in a few." "Oh, ok." John muttered as he went back to hitting various keys on his keyboard. Quickly, Dana headed out of the office and down the hall towards the stairs. She had to find Monica and there were only three places in the huge building she knew to look. First stop was computer crimes on third floor. Running as fast as she could in her heels, Dana made her way to Agent Jeff Owens desk near the elevator. "Agent Owens!" She called as she tried to catch her breath and speak at the same time. "Agent, has Agent Monica Reyes been by here?" "Agent Reyes? Yes, she was here about 5 minutes ago. But she's not on this floor anymore Agent Scully." "Ugh!" Dana cried out as she turned and headed towards the stairs again. Next stop fifth floor! Arriving at fifth floor, she walked as fast as she could past the few agents in the hall to A.D. Skinner's outer office. "Kimberly!" "Agent Scully?" The confused receptionist replied. "Have you seen Agent Reyes lately?" "Yes, she's meeting with the Assistant Director now, Agent." Kimberly stated as she stood and walked over to the door which led into the main office. "If you'd like me to call the A.D. I'll do so Agent Scully, but you just can't walk in. You know that." "Kimberly, you should know by now that I don't listen to that rule." Dana muttered with a role of her eyes before pushing the woman aside and barging through the door. Inside she found the Assistant Director and Agent Reyes seated at opposite sides of the A.D.'s large desk. Surprisingly they were alone. "What's this? A little surprise meeting that two of the X Files agents weren't called for?" "Agent Scully, that's enough! Come in and close the door!" Skinner ordered. Dana closed the door behind her and stepped in a few feet before crossing her arms in front of her. 'What the hell was going on? Why was Monica meeting secretively with Skinner?' "There wasn't any need for you or Agent Doggett to be present." Skinner stated as she glared at Dana. "Agent Reyes was just asking me for some personal time off. Apparently she's moving and needs to get it done immediately. She'll be taking off the next two days. Do you have a problem with that, Agent Scully?" Dana swallowed and looked from Monica to Skinner and back again. "Sir, you may not approve...But we are very lite on our cases right now. And Agent Doggett is doing well by himself right now. I have some vacation time coming to me, I would like to take some personal time to help Agent Reyes move." Skinner's face frowned for a minute before looking to Monica. "I suppose you could use all the help you could get, isn't that right, Agent Reyes?" "Yes Sir," Monica spoke quietly. "Alright, both of you have two days vacation. Starting immediately. Now, go!" "Thank you Sir," Monica smiled as the two women headed out the door. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Monica and Dana had deliberately walked side by side in silence to the elevator and down to the X Files office where they found Doggett still at work with ING. "John, you'll be getting a memo from Skinner, but we thought we'd let you know also. Agent Scully and I are taking two personal days. She's helping me move," Monica stated as she found both her's and Dana's purse in a file cabinet drawer. Handing Dana's purse to her, she turned to look at a confused Doggett. "You're moving?" He asked with a scratch of his head. "You didn't tell me that you were moving Monica." "It's been a long time coming, but I made the decision just a few days ago." Monica replied before turning and heading for the door. "Well, don't you think you could use some muscle to move?" Doggett asked. "No offense to Dana and yourself Monica, but the two of you aren't exactly built for moving." "We'll be just fine, thanks!" Dana exclaimed before pushing Monica out the door. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ In the parking lot, Monica breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought he was going to insist that he take two days off as well! Can you just imagine the mess we'd have been in?" "No," Dana stated in all seriousness. "He just would have found out before everyone else." "Fine. How did you happen to come bursting into Skinner's office anyway?" "Ugh, that's right!" Dana sighed. "I was searching for you, John asked if I was inviting the Gunmen. I actually think it's a good idea. What do you think?" "I think it's a lot of people. But I think that they may be your best support system." "Correction," Dana whispered, leaning in an inch or two. "Our best support system." "Dana, let's get out of here. This isn't the place to be talking about this." "Ok." ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ 45 Minutes Later Monica Reyes' Apartment "How long is your mother keeping William for?" Monica called from the kitchen. Dana was in the living room packing up Monica's CD collection. "All night if we need her to. I told her I was helping you move. Oh, and she told me to tell you she hopes you've found a really nice apartment." Laughing, Monica emerged from the kitchen. "Gee, thanks?" "So? Did you find a really nice apartment?" "Couldn't have found a better one," Monica smiled. "It even comes with it's own girlfriend and baby. Isn't that amazing?" "Absolutely wonderful," Dana grinned. "Hey, you've got a lot of CDs that I have. Weird, I didn't think we had the same taste in music at all." "I like a variety of tunes." "Like whales?" Dana grinned. "Something like that," Monica laughed. "Hey, when you're done with the CDs, you wanna start in on the videos. You'll find a lot of things to comment on there." "Sure, I'm almost done here anyway." "So, what were you saying about John and the Gunmen?" Monica asked as she took a mirror off the living room wall. "Oh, right. So John asked if the Gunmen were going to be there. And I had forgotten all about them. But you know how I feel about them Mon. They've been wonderful friends to..well they've been a great support system to me before and after William..." "Dana, it's alright. I know how great of friends the guys have been to you. Don't worry about it, I support you one hundred percent on inviting them. It's just that, well, what do we do about the amount of people we're inviting?" Monica asked with a raised eyebrow. "I guess I could make reservations somewhere." "Oh come on, we can't afford that." "We? I'll pay for it. They're my family and friends Mon." Dana insisted. Monica shook her head as she went to kneel beside Dana on the floor. "Dana, you still don't get it. Us moving in together is going to make us a couple. That means we share things. That means if we make reservations, I'm going to help pay for it. I'm going to help pay for everything from now on; including things for William. Now, if you have a problem with that you'd better tell me now. Because I'm not going to be in a relationship that I can't contribute to." Dana nodded and smiled, "I love you Mon." Smiling Monica leaned in and touched her lips gently to Dana's. Slowly the kiss deepen as Dana's tongue slipped past Monica's lips. Pulling away, Monica whispered into Dana's ear. "We'd better keep packing, we only have two days remember?" "Ugh, it's hard to remember anything in here. It's too hot!" "Ha! It wasn't this hot five minutes ago!" Monica teased. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ After six hours of packing, the majority of Monica's apartment had been placed into boxes. The two women had discussed the furniture situation throughly and had come to more than a few decisions. Both agreed that Dana's bedroom and living room furniture was much nicer. However, they would keep Monica's dining room table. Dana had also opted to replace her coffee table and end tables with Monica's. Her only explanation was that they were 'more Monica'. Anything extra would be donated to the organization for battered women which Monica often volunteered for. After further discussion on the dinner situation, Monica and Dana decided to make reservations at Val's a small Italian restaurant near by. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Friday Morning Dana and Monica's Apartment It had taken every minute of the two days of time off, but Dana and Monica had finally gotten everything moved to Dana's that would be moved. Dana had made arrangements with the Gunmen for the dinner, and with everyone else to meet at Val's at 7 that evening. The whole morning had just been nerve-racking. William had woken them up at 5:30, Dana verbalized her annoyance when she realized the alarm hadn't even gone off yet. But as soon as Monica reminded her what day it was, Dana flew out of bed and headed for the shower. When Dana emerged from her shower, she found Monica and William indulging in breakfast in the kitchen. "Sorry Monica, I am just...I don't know what I am today! I..ugh!" Dana tried to get the words out as she leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of William's head. "Mommy loves you Will." "It's ok Dana, just relax! It's any other day...well, until this evening," Monica grimaced. "That's right, today is like any other day. I'll act like nothing is going on. And then, wham! You know the thing is, I'm not worried about Doggett, or the Gunmen, or Skinner, or maybe even my mom...ok, that's a lie, I am worried about my mom...she's going to freak and go all holy saints of whoever on me. But I am SOO worried about Bill." Dana said and looked toward Monica for support. "Hey, you haven't been close to him for years! Especially since Mulder came along. What's the harm now?" Monica tried to reason. "Ok, that wasn't that great of a pep talk I know, but the words just have to be floating around in me somewhere." "It's ok. Is William almost done eating?" "Yea, almost." "I'll finish up," Dana stated then nodded her head towards the bedroom. "You go get ready for work." "Thanks," Monica smiled as she got up and headed to take a shower. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Friday Afternoon J. Edgar Hoover Building FBI Dana had been sitting at her desk, starring at her the cursor on her computer screen for over fifteen minutes now. John started taking notice at least five minutes ago, and Monica was fairly sure she was going on ten minutes now. Monica and John sat across from each other at another desk. They had been going over a recent case that had been somewhat solved, until Monica had begun starring in Dana's direction. Now, John had taken up the starring also, and the two were studying Dana's motionlessness. Finally, John got up the nerve to break off what ever was going on in the X Files office. "Umm, anybody want any coffee? I'm due for a refill." "I don't want any," Monica spoke up. "But I think Dana could really use some John. What do you think Dana?" Not getting a response, she repeated her question. "Hey, Dana! Think you could use some coffee to wake you up?" "Hmm? Yea," Dana whispered. "Alright," John sighed grabbing Dana's coffee mug off her desk along with his own. "I'll be back in a bit." After John had left the room, Monica turned to Dana again. "Hey Dana, snap out of it! Come on, I thought we were going to act like this is a normal day?" "It is a normal day," Dana rolled her head towards the sound of Monica's voice. "Then why do you look like someone just ran over your puppy?" "Better not." "Ugh." "Did you call to check on the reservations Mon?" "No, why would I do that?" "I dunno, just getting paranoid that something will go wrong." "Nothing will go wrong. You made the reservation, they're giving us their small party room, everything is going to go perfect." "Optimist, Pessimist, Optimist, Pessimist." "And don't even ask me which one you're being right now!" "Ok!" John called as he came through the office door. "Scully, I sure hope this coffee wakes you up!" "Me too," Monica grumbled. ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Friday Evening 6:20 P.M. "Monica! Please hurry! We can't be late!" Dana called from the other side of the bathroom door. "Hell Day, we didn't tell them to be there until seven! Give me a minute will ya!" "I don't know why you wouldn't let me see what you're wearing. This is stupid, really stupid. I mean, I've seen you in everything you own. What's the point?" Dana asked. Just then the door opened and Monica appeared in front of her. "But you hadn't seen this!" She was wearing black boot cut pants with a sexy tank top and boots with three inch heels. "Ok, those boots aren't even fair," Dana said shaking her head. "I put on heels to try to get up somewhere in your range even and you put on heels to get further up!" Laughing Monica put her hands on either side of Dana's face and gave her a quick kiss. "Want me to take them off?" "Course not, you're sexy as hell. Just means I have to go find some higher heels." Turning around she headed back into the bedroom and into the bedroom closet. A couple minutes later Dana came out with a whole new outfit on. She now wore a black satin above the knee dress with black heels that Monica knew were more than three inches. "You look great Dana, perfect!" Blushing, Dana murmured a 'thank you'. "Ok, ready to go?" Monica asked. "Yep. Let me get the diaper bag. You grab William, and we'll get going." ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Val's Italian Restaurant 6:50 P.M. "Looks like we're here before anyone else," Dana stated as they walked into the waiting area of the restaurant. "Could be a good thing, could be a bad thing." Monica said. "Hello, how may I help you?" A host asked as he approached them. "We have reservations under the name of Scully for the small Party room." Monica replied. "Ah, yes. And how many were you expecting tonight?" "Sixteen, but we'll need two high chairs and two booster chairs," Dana stated. "Alright, if you'll just follow me, I'll show you to the room." After the Host had gotten them settled with the high chairs and booster chairs in the party room, he left the women alone. "I just hope Bill doesn't come first," Dana whispered. "Me too. Hey, maybe you should have told them 7:15." Monica laughed. Dana couldn't help but smile. Five minutes passed and Walter Skinner arrived. "Agents," he greeted them. "Hello Sir," Dana and Monica responded. "I do hope this won't become a regular thing. This social dinner thing?" The A.D. nodded his head towards the table. Dana understood that it was just his hard exterior that he kept up. "No Sir, it won't become a habit. Sir, I have a feeling that after tonight's dinner I'm going to need you to pull some strings for me again." "Scully?" Skinner furrowed his brow in confusion. "Concerning what might I ask." "It's going to come up, trust me. It's why you're here, why we're here." "Why Agent Reyes is here?" "Very much so Sir," Monica responded. "Ok Agents." At the time, John Doggett and the Lone Gunmen walked in. Byers was in his usual suit while Langly and Frohike had made semi attempts to dress up and failed. "Hi Guys," Dana greeted them. "Hey John." "Where's the little man?" Frohike asked as he came hobbling over to William who sat on Monica's lap. "Come to Uncle Frohike little guy!" "Don't scare him!" Langly called as he rounded the table and followed Frohike and William off to the other end of the table. "Hello Reyes," Byers greeted Monica. "Nice to see you Byers, have a seat." Monica replied. "Hey Dana, Monica, Sir." John greeted people as he entered the room. "I didn't know there were going to be this many people here." "Oh, there's going to be more than this John," Dana smiled. "We, waiting on my family right now." "And we're all here because?" John asked leaving the question open for anyone to answer. "Because, you'll find out later." Monica stated firmly. "Everyone has to be here. That's how it has to be, it's easier that way." 15 Minutes Later... Dana's family had arrived and everyone had ordered. Now came the time for why they were there. "Dana, honey? Is something wrong? Is that why we're here?" Maggie Scully asked in a quiet voice. "No Mom, this is good news. Well, I mean, I think this is good news. It's very good news for me." "Dana's in love!" Tara, Bill's wife exclaimed. "No she isn't," Bill argued as he shook his head. Then he looked up at Dana. "Tell me she's wrong. And if she's not wrong, tell me it ISN'T Mulder!" "She's not wrong Bill," Dana replied. "Damnit!" Bill shouted. "BUT, it's not Mulder." "Thank God for that!" "I liked Mulder," Maggie stated. "He was an asshole Mom!" Bill shouted. "Hello? In a restaurant and you're talking about the father of my child here." Dana reminded her brother. "So who's the lucky guy Dana?" John asked. Looking up, Dana looked John straight in the eyes then looked to Monica for help. "Gee, I think that food should be coming anytime now. Don't you think so Dana?" Monica asked. "Yeah! Why don't we eat and then talk?" Dana suggested. "We can talk and eat at the same time, always have," Maggie smiled. Slapping her hand to her forehead, Dana groaned. "Oh, I knew this wouldn't go well." Standing up she pointed toward the door. "I have to go use the rest room, I'll be back in a bit." After Dana had left, everyone but Monica and Skinner went back to their talking. Finally, Skinner motioned for Monica to come sit down at his end of the table. Getting up she almost let out an audible grown. Sliding into the chair next to the A.D., she gave a fake smile. "Yes Sir?" "What's going on here Agent?" "Nothing Sir." "Now I remember the last two times Dana Scully asked me to pull some strings for her. One of them was for her and Mulder to have a relationship yet stay partners in the X Files, number two it was concerning her pregnancy. Now here, I've heard that she's in love." Lowering his voice, he whispered the next few sentences. "But I already know it involves you, Agent Reyes. A few ideas are going through my head. So you want to support or deny any of them?" Bowing her head she replied. "Sir, right now I'd just like to find the easiest way out of here for Dana." "Then I have to know what for sure is going on Reyes." Monica looked around the room to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. Bending her head back down, she went to an extreme whisper. "Sir, Dana and I are in love. I've moved in with her." "Now, that wasn't that hard, was it Reyes?" "Not hard on me Sir. Hard on Dana, yes. Her family...her family has extreme views, Sir." "So I see. Go check on Scully. I'll get things in order here." "Thank you Sir." ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ The Women's Restroom Monica entered the restroom to find Dana sitting on the counter. "Day? Whatcha doin?" "I can NOT go back out there!" Dana announced. "Oh, sure you can. A little pep talk, and you'll be as good as new. Besides, Skinner is out there corralling your family for us." "What?" "Yeah, I told him. He was pretty much guessing things on his own anyway," "Oh." "Come on Dana, let's get the night over with, then we'll have the rest of our lives ahead of us." ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ The Party Room "So Bill, you didn't like Mulder huh?" Skinner asked. "Damn straight I didn't." "Why is that?" "He was crazy and he nearly got my sister killed more times than I can count...got Melissa killed, that's for sure." "So, you think the job your sister picked isn't dangerous if Mulder isn't around?" "I'm not saying that." "Who would you be happy to see your sister with?" Skinner asked. "Someone who loves her, someone who puts her first. Someone who loves William of course." "'Someone', does love her Bill." Skinner grinned. "What are you smiling at?" Charlie asked with narrowed eyes. "Ah nothing. She really is in love though you guys. And I'm talking to everyone in this room. That's why she brought ALL of you here, to tell you about her current and future plans. About her living situation..." "Her living situation?" Maggie asked in confusion. "But she's getting sick..physically sick, because she's so fearful of your reactions. And you know, she shouldn't be scared that you wouldn't accept her decisions. Because she's still Dana Scully! Right?" "Geez, who is she in love with, one of her aliens?" Bill asked with a roll of her eyes. "No, she's in love with me." Monica said from the doorway where she had just walked in alone. "What the hell?" Bill screamed more than too loudly. "I think we've heard that a few times too many from you tonight Bill," John muttered. "Where's Dana?" Maggie asked. "She won't be returning, I think we're going to pay the check and head home." Monica stated as she picked up her coat and purse. "I'm sorry that we've been the rude hostesses tonight everyone. Hey, Frohike?" "Yes Reyes?" "Would you mind babysitting William for the night?" "It would be our pleasure. "Thanks, everything you should need is in the diaper bag. I'll leave it over here. If one of you want to come out and get the car seat?" "I will!" Langly volunteered. Turning to Skinner, Monica gave a half smile. "Thank you, you made this a lot easier than it ever could have been." "Anything to help." ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ ~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~^/\^~~~ Dana and Monica's Apartment 9 P.M. The minute Monica and Dana had arrived home, Dana had headed to their bedroom. Her only words had been 'I don't want to talk about it'. Now twenty minutes later, Monica sat on the living room couch alone. "Well, I think that went well," she murmured sarcastically. Getting up she headed into the kitchen to find something to eat. "Hey Dana?" She called, "are you hungry? I can fix you up something if you want." "Sure, thanks Mon." Half an hour later the two had eaten and were seated side by side on their bed. "You know, after you think about it..tonight wasn't that bad after all Dana. I mean, everyone did get to hear what you wanted them to hear." Hearing that, Dana's head shot up. "Come again?" "Yeah, I walked into the room and Skinner was giving your family and everyone else a huge speech." "Speech? What kind of speech?" "That 'someone' does love you and care about you and they should be happy about it. And he told them that they were making you sick because you didn't know how they would react to your decision." Dana smiled at her bosses helpfulness and protectiveness. "Then Bill said 'who does she love, one of her aliens?' And I said 'she's in love with me'. Your mother asked where you were and I told her you wouldn't be returning. Then I asked Frohike to babysit." "Thank you Monica," Dana whisper as she leaned against Monica's shoulder. "Oh, and I think Skinner mentioned that your living situation has changed." Monica laughed. Dana's eyes grew wide, "he didn't." "He did." Laughing the two women kissed and laid down next to each other. "Let's not answer the phone tomorrow, ok Mon?" "Sure. Oh, and I told Langly we'd pick up William sometime before noon." "Does that mean I get to sleep in?" "As if." FIN