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Title: What to Expect When You're Babysitting Summary: Ladies and germs, I present to you... John Doggett!
The day I was assigned to the Spooky Patrol was a triple-H day in mid-August. The temp soared to a scorching 101 degrees, 97 in the shade. The air was thicker than Jell-O, and tasted a bit like old chocolate pudding. I'd been called down from Boston that Friday. The e-mail from Assistant Director Skinner offered me a window office on the third floor of Hoover, plus a very decent pay raise. Lindsay was starting to hound me about child support, so I jumped at the chance. I spent the weekend packing for a month, studiously avoiding the lure of the Sox. I called Lin to let her know what was up and to say goodbye to Steph. She wasn't terribly heart-broken. By 9AM Monday morning I was outside Skinner's office wondering what this great assignment could possibly be. Section Chief? Deputy AD? Heck, maybe even AD itself? "Agent Doggett, I want you for what amounts to a babysitting job, to be honest," is what Skinner told me. Now, I am a smart man. Graduated top 4% out of Harvard Law, passed the Bar in a single go. I'd worked my way up from an Omaha Satellite to Boston as an SAC. So I knew not to question an AD why he wanted me to baby-sit. And, of course, he explained. "Agent Doggett, do you know of the division known as the X-Files?" My eyes widened. "Yes, sir. Yes I do. The X-Files deal with cases that have a paranormal edge to them. Founded by Agent Fox Mulder, and he was soon given a partner, Agent Dana Scully. We call them the Spooky Patrol up in Boston." Skinner nodded. "Agent, what is your general opinion on the validity of those cases?" Now I had to be careful. I wasn't sure what Skinner was looking for, a skeptic or a believer. I figured I'd be safest telling the truth. "Honestly, sir, I don't put much stock in ghosts and aliens. They're great for entertainment, but I think they only exist in CGI." Once more, Skinner nodded. "That's fine, Agent. There was no right or wrong answer. I was merely curious." He paused a moment, the dropped the bomb on me. "Agent Mulder is missing. We're trying to keep it under wraps, but the official story is that Mulder disappeared from the woods of Bellefleur, Oregon ten days ago. There has been no sign of him since." Two words caught my ear. " 'Official story', sir? Am I to understand that certain information is being withheld from the public?" Without a word, Skinner passed me a file. It looked like any other file, save the red and white stripes at its edges. An X-File. I opened it, and a face stared up at me. Agent Fox Mulder, Spooky himself, was starring in his very own X-File. "Read that, Agent Doggett. It includes all the top-secret findings. Be advised that only Agent Scully and I have access to this file. You are not to discuss its contents with anyone without the presence and consent of either Agent Scully or I." "Understood, sir. But before I read this, may I ask what the assignment is?" Skinner stared at me for a long moment, and I feared my chances for promotion were seriously blown. But then he nodded, leaning forward. "I want you to watch out for Agent Scully. Her partner's ab...disappearance has greatly shaken her, and I need someone to make sure she isn't here for all hours, hunting for clues. Though I am not at liberty to elaborate, I can tell you that she has a, um, health issue that requires constant attention. "Also, while the Director has granted her a bit of leeway to search for Mulder, she is still required to fulfill her normal duties for the time being. I'll need you to accompany her on cases to watch her back." "So, you want me to be her partner?" "No! No, you won't be a partner, really. It's more like a supervisory role. You'll keep her on target, approve travel requisitions, that sort of thing." It is a babysitting job, I thought, a bit disgruntled. "To be honest," Skinner added, his voice low, "I'd much rather look over her myself. She knows and trusts me; for you to gain her trust will be extremely difficult. However, I have other duties to perform, and it's easier to teach someone to do this job than my job." He looked at me expectantly. I glanced down at the file again, skimming the report for the bare essentials. Certain words popped out at me: "cloaking device," "large, triangular ship," "into the sky." And the single eyewitness: Assistant Director Walter Skinner. I met his eyes, and they were almost begging me for help. Despite any personal beliefs, there was only one thing to say. "Where's my office?"
Two hours later, I met Agent Dana Scully. She was sitting quietly at the single desk in the basement office, thumbing through a book. I tried to read its cover, but she hid it from my sight when she noticed my arrival. "May I help you?" she asked. Her voice was calm and professional, as was her face, but I was sure that underneath her outer layers she was worried and scared for her partner. I didn't know anything about Mulder and Scully's relationship, nor did I feel the need to participate in the pool that was slowly working its way across the continent. If they were lovers, I couldn't see the harm. Lindsay's mother had always warned her not to marry a cop, but when I stopped my lawyering two years after we married, she began to find out why that bit of advise was well worth taking. We lasted until 1995, when Steph was 2 and Lin found the perfect single-mother job. I know how hard it is to have a relationship in this business, so Mulder and Scully would probably be smart turning to each other when the tension was just too much. "Agent Scully, my name is John Doggett. Skinner said you know about his plan?" She sighed and nodded, obviously not thrilled by the idea of having a babysitter. "Yes, Agent Doggett, I am aware of it. Am I to assume that you're the agent who will be supervising me?" "Yes. And Skinner made it very clear to me that I am not your partner. I have an office upstairs where I am to screen any potential cases that come through from the VCU or elsewhere. You, of course, are welcome to find your own cases. You just have to ask me." She stared into my eyes, as though trying to find out if I had an agenda. "And will I get permission, sir?" My nose wrinkled at the 'sir'. "I can't see why not, ma'am. You've been working the X-Files a tad longer than me; you must know what an appropriate case is, right?" Her face softened, and she pointed to a chair. "Have a seat, Agent Doggett." I sat. "Um, are we going to call each other 'sir' and 'ma'am' all the time?" I shook my head. "I really hope not. I hate 'sir'; it reminds me how old I am. You can call me John, if you feel comfortable with that, Agent Scully." She spent a good two minutes seriously thinking about my proposition. I hadn't meant to make it a Final Jeopardy! question, just something to break the ice. Finally she nodded. "That's fine, John. And I would appreciate it if you called me Dana." "Sure, Dana. That's fine." There was an awkward pause, and I felt that I should make some of my opinions known. "Dana, you must know how, uh, legendary you and Mulder are in the Bureau. I was at the Academy in '91, and I heard all about Spooky Mulder, and once I made it out of Nebraska and into Boston, there were constant discussions about the Spooky Patrol." I saw her tense in acknowledgement of their (in)famous partnership. "And I'm sure you know that most people have their own ideas about what goes on down here," I continued, motioning to the basement office. "However, I am not one of those people. I avoid gossip as much as possible, and I never pass on information unless I know it's the God's honest truth. And I'm an excellent secret-keeper. If, in the course of this assignment, I find out things that you'd rather not be out in the open, just tell me. I've known more than one person whose career was ruined by false rumors that hit the wrong ears." "So, you're telling me," she said quietly, "that you'll treat this like a classified assignment. For Your Eyes Only?" "You have my word," I swore. "And if you want to know how secure my word is, just call my ex-wife. She lives on Cape Cod with our daughter, Stephanie." Dana smiled. "You have a daughter? How old is she?" "She's seven. She was two when Lin and I divorced, so I don't get to see her as often as I like, but unless a case gets in the way, I always see her when I tell her I will." Dana frowned. "So, this assignment will keep you from your daughter, won't it?" I shrugged. "No more than usual, I guess. I've got to go back up to Boston in a month to pack up the rest of my apartment. Hopefully I'll have found a place here," I added with a smile. Her eyes widened when I mentioned my search for an apartment. "Um, actually, I may know of a place in Georgetown. Would you be interested?" "Sure," I said, wondering if the apartment she was thinking about was her partner's. "Oh, and Skinner mentioned something else to me. He said you had a 'health issue' that needs attention? Do you mind, um, is it anything serious?" She did her staring thing again, and I tried not to squirm under the intense glare. "Well, it is serious, John, but not life-threatening." She thought for another moment, then added, "I guess I should tell you about it, because you'll know soon enough even if I don't tell you, and if you're going to help me out, I'd rather not have secrets between us. "John, I'm pregnant. This is one of those 'top- secret' subjects, too, okay? AD Skinner is the only other person in the Bureau who knows. And outside the Bureau, only my doctor, mother, and three friends know. You're in a very elite club, Agent Doggett." It was a good thing I'm not into gossip, 'cause that information would move like wildfire if it ever got out into the mainstream. I had a partner a few years ago who maintained a website, for FBI agents only, that kept track of the various pools and bets about the Spooky Patrol. I never saw it, but from the water-cooler talk on Monday, it was a well-hit webpage. "Well, Dana, I hope congratulations are in order. I mean, this is a good thing for you, right?" She sighed, but there was a gentle smile on her face. "The timing sucks," she admitted, "but I'm not one to pass up a miracle." "Thanks for telling me," I added sincerely. "This whole assignment makes a bit more sense now. I couldn't figure out why you couldn't get a partner from a local field office when you were on a case. I guess Skinner wants someone who knows the whole story and is prepared to protect two lives, not just yours." Dana was quiet for a few moments, and I took the silence to study the office. The object that caught my eye first was, of course, the poster. I WANT TO BELIEVE. I supposed that summed it up for her right then. She wanted to believe her partner was all right. She wanted to believe that her baby would be born healthy. She wanted to believe that I was there to help her. A muffled beeping cut through the amicable repose, and Dana stood up and glanced at her watch. "Well, John, I hate to cut this meeting short, but I have to get going. I've got a doctor's appointment," she explained. I nodded. "That's fine, Dana. Say, do you want me to look through any files? I'd like to start working right away; inactivity brings out the worst in me." "Um, sure, I guess," she said, gathering her briefcase and some files that were in basic manila folders, not the FBI's property. "There's a few in the IN box on the desk. They've been there for weeks, but we didn't have a chance to review them before the audit and..." She stopped talking and closed her eyes, collecting her composure. "Great," I cut in. "My office is in room 325, if you want to stop in later today. Good luck at the doctor's." "Thanks." Dana paused at the open door and added, "Thanks for believing enough to help, John. Not many people would want to waste their time looking for Spooky Mulder." Before I could reply, she was out the door and on her way to the elevator. I shrugged to myself and walked over to the desk, intending to grab a few files to read through. The desk's nameplate read Fox W. Mulder. It wasn't neatly placed at the edge of the desk; instead it was back about six inches and at a severe angle. She must have been holding it, then replaced it hastily. Then my eyes alighted on the book she'd been reading when I entered. I flipped it over to read the Title: "What to Expect When You're Expecting". I smiled, recalling Lin reading this same book seven years ago. I opened the cover, curious as to how many editions had been made, but on the Title page was a handwritten note: "Scully, we found this in his stuff last weekend, along with the receipt. He got it from Amazon about the time he was released from the hospital last fall. Thought you could use it, though why he bought it, we've got no idea. Much love, FLB" I wondered who "FLB" was. The writer talked in the plural person, so perhaps F, L, and B were the three other friends who know. I doubt her mother would sign a message to her daughter like that. Carefully, I put the book back like I found it, grabbed a few files from the IN box, and left the office.
By the time Dana came up to my office four hours later, I was thoroughly enjoying the tall-tales of the X-Files. I really was looking forward to working with Dana, as I'd gotten good information about how she conducted herself during an investigation. I'd feared she was as open as her partner; I now knew this not to be true. On the contrary, she was skeptical almost to exhaustion, unless she was shown hard facts. She could believe science, and she did everything in her power to find science to back up her partner's theories. They must be quite a team. Dana's timid knock brought my attention back to reality, and I called for her to enter. Her expression was one of a very confused woman. She looked like she was straining to just be happy, but at the same time she looked as though she were about to cry. "Everything go okay?" I asked cautiously. I hoped the baby was okay. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, everything went fine. I, uh..." She blushed and looked at her tightly clasped hands in her lap. "I had an ultrasound done. Everything looks normal, and the baby's developing nicely." I reached into my back pocket for my wallet. "Did you get a printout?" I asked, retrieving my own ultrasound print of Steph. I slid it across the desk as a humble offering to encourage the lines of communication. She took the well-creased print and looked at it, a tiny smile barely curving her lips. Without a word she pulled out a shiny new print from her purse and slid it over to me. I picked up the familiar black and white picture and tried to discern the various body parts in the blur. I think I picked out a hand, but I couldn't be sure. "Do you know what it is?" I asked. She shook her head. "Wasn't facing the right way. I think, though, that I want to keep it a surprise. My mother is begging me to find out, but that's just because she wants to start on a blanket. She's hand-knitted blankets for all three of my nephews." I sensed the perfect opportunity to ask the question I was so desperate to have answered. "Does the baby's father want to know?" I knew she wasn't married, and I had my suspicions about the baby's paternity, but there was enough room for doubt in my theory. Now Dana looked straight into my eyes again, and I knew the answer to the question I really asked. "Sorry," I mumbled, handing back her picture. "Can you blame me?" That relaxed her a bit. "No, I guess I can't. But that's another bit of classified information, understand?" I suppressed the urge to salute her. "Completely. Does Skinner know?" "He hasn't come out and asked me, so I haven't told him in so many words, but AD Skinner is a smart man, John. When I tell him that I *have* to find my partner, then announce that I'm pregnant..." Dana didn't finish the sentence, her point clearly made. I decided to reroute this discussion. "So, Dana, what can I expect from this assignment? I mean, will you spend the necessary time on other cases, or will you just do brushovers? Should I bother finding X-Files?" "John, my first priority is to find my partner. Skinner has told me, however, that I must keep up the appearance of doing my normal duties. So, I would appreciate it if you skip over the haunted houses and werewolf sightings and bring all cases involving UFOs or alien abduction to my immediate attention. Any of those cases my provide us with a solid lead on Mulder, and so those will get my full attention." I nodded. I adn't really expected anything differently, actually. I was surprised that she was allowed to work on her partner's case at all, seeing that she had personal interest that could get in the way of any investigation, but I supposed Skinner had pulled his strings just the right way. And somehow, I get the feeling that she's really the best person to find him. After all, she'd been solving X-Files for the last seven or eight years, why would this one be any different? The End
4 out of 5 doctors say expressing your enjoyment of a fanfic to It's author increases your life expectancy 23-23.8 years. The other doctor was killed by Cancerman before we could ask him. jeri quinne, president, xpab (x-philes against bees) G
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