TITLE: Pizza, Movies, Beer, and Love

AUTHOR: Jillian

CLASSIFICATION: DRR

FEEDBACK: Yes, please! I never wrote a strictly DRR fic before, although I have had DRR in MSR fics... Confusing huh? So since this is new to me, I'd like feedback. You can drop me an e-mail over at JILLIBEAN@aol.com or review it here.

RATING: PG

SUMMARY: After The Truth, Monica and John cling to old traditions to stay happy. My first DRR!

AUTHORS NOTES: Never did a DRR before. Truth is, I was watching that season nine episode 'John Doe' and I was in a DRR mood. Then I realized I'd never written a just DRR fic, and I thought I'd expand my horizons about. Now, DRR is a guilty pleasure of mine since originally, I didn't want Doggett and Reyes to get together. I felt like it was stealing Mulder and Scully's thing, but as the show unfolded, they wrote the situation to be very different than M&S's, so I was all for it. Anyways, I hope you like it, and I'd appreciate lots of feedback. Thanks! Enjoy!

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Despite the fact that Mulder and Scully had ran away together, and that the world was basically falling apart around us, it was still a Friday night. John insisted that we do what we did every Friday night, which was sit around, eat a pizza, watch a movie, and drink beer. We had Gibson around, but he had long since gone to sleep. Of course I was preoccupied the entire movie, and not with John, which is the usual preoccupation I have on a Friday night. I was worried, worried for Dana and Mulder, worried for Skinner, for Gibson, for John and I. I don't know what Mulder knew, and John and I are in the dark about most of this. All we know is there are Super-soldiers--plenty of them. At least we know there's a way to stop them.

Watching movies together is a little tradition that dates back to before John and I were lovers. We would do it once in a while back in New York, after he'd divorced his wife. When I came to be his partner on the X-Files, however, it was something we started up again. Every Friday night, I stopped by his house or he came to mine, and we ate, drank, and watched movies. Of course, once we became lovers, it was a lot more fun. I spend the night now, or he'll spend the night at my place. Tonight, though, I can't concentrate. Everything's been turned upside down, and here he is insisting we do continue our normal routine. I didn't even realize when the movie ended.

"Hey, Mon', what's up?" John asked, taking a swig of his beer.

"What do you think?" I ask lightly, managing to smile.

"Look, if you're worried about Dana and Mulder, they're gunna be fine... You know that. They always are."

"Yeah, I know, but... What about Gibson? I mean, let's say Mulder and Dana do find a safe place and do live in secret... What about the rest of us? We don't even know what they were looking for, or what they were hiding from."

"Exactly! We don't know. And the way Mulder was guarding that secret, I think we're better of not knowin'."

"Did you see the way it tore Dana apart, that he wouldn't tell her? It must've been big for him to keep it from her. I mean, just the way he looks at her, you can tell how much he cares about her. He wasn't doing it just to do it, there's got to be a big reason."

"I know, Mon', obviously it's somethin' that isn't fun to have on your chest. Why should we complain about not knowin'? We have our fair share of problems with these Super-soldiers anyways."

"Yeah. Still, though, I'm worried." I sighed, taking another sip of the beer.

"Don't worry. We got Gibson, and I ain't gunna let anything happen to him." He said, and then put his arm around me. "Or you. I ain't finished with you yet." He grinned, and I lay my head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad to hear that, because you're not finished either." I smiled.

"Whatchya got in mind?" John asked suggestively.

"Well, you can start by working the tension out of my shoulders," I smiled, turning my back to him. "And if you do a good job, maybe we'll continue." I teased.

He began to rub my shoulders, and I let a sigh escape my lips. This should be what life is about. Not conspiracies, not watching good people have to run off and abandon all they've worked for, not Super-soldiers, not the government. It should be about the people you love, spending time with them, making sure they know you love them. Look at people like Dana Scully, all the time she had to spend away from the man she loves... Could I live without John as she had lived without Mulder?

"Hey John?" I asked quietly.

"Uh huh?"

"I love you." I said, smiling.

"I love you, too, Mon'. Can I ask what brought that on?" He asked, not stopping the back massage.

"I just thought, that since we've got the time together, since we're lucky enough to have it, I should tell you how I feel about you more often."

"That's nice, Mon', but I'm not going anywhere." He said.

I turned around and faced him and said, "You never know when what you love can be taken away."

"They ain't takin' me nowhere." John smiled.

"Good." I replied, kissing his lips with a new energy.

This is what life is all about. For me, life is about what I care about most. My friends, my family, the man I love. Protecting these people to the best of my ability, making sure they can live their lives every day and love it. Sometimes, it doesn't work out, and maybe I'll never know if it did for Dana and Mulder. As long as I have this moment, right now, I know I have to take advantage of it. It's a lesson that's been taught to me over time... I let John slip away from me once, but he's not getting away again. Pizza, movies, beer, and love. That's what life is all about.

*end*