WITHIN/WITHOUT
Doggett was awoken by a phone call which occurred about ten minutes before his alarm went off, "John Doggett." He said.
The voice on the other end belonged to Monica, "Umm John. I have bad news for you." She sounded serious and his heart sank. He prepared himself for the worse, "The cat has run away."
"What the hell are you telling me for?" Doggett said, "I don't care about the damn cat."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, "I just thought you'd like an update." She explained her urge to call.
"Thanks." Doggett said coldly.
"There's been a change of plans John." Kersh told him, "I want you to head up a task force and find Agent Mulder." He said.
"Sure." Doggett replied, "Anything to get a missing agent back."
"Glad to hear that John." Kersh said, "I want you to 'accidentally' meet Agent Scully and see what you can find out."
"Yes Sir." Doggett said, he was glad to have such a tough assignment.
"Don't let me down John." Kersh said, "I pulled some strings to get you here."
"Thank you sir."
John sat on the couch near the water cooler with a cup of water. When he saw Scully walk in, he flipped his ID badge around so the picture was against his chest… She sat down next to him. But his thoughts weren't just on the case, it was shocking for him to be thinking of the Cat and if it was alright.
Scully picking at his jacket snapped him out of it, "What the hell are you doing?" Doggett asked.
"You seem to have fur all over your jacket." Scully said.
"Would you stop it?" Doggett responded.
He talked about how he knew Mulder awhile back and how they were questioning him. But then he made the fatal mistake of questioning the trust he had for her.
"I don't think you knew him at all." Scully said as she turned over his badge, "John Doggett… Kersh's Task Force Leader." She spat out, "You could have just introduced yourself."
"I was getting around to it." Doggett said.
Scully stood up and emptied the cup of water in his face. Sure he could have been mad, maybe he should have but he just stood up and wiped his face while remaining emotionless, too bad the people who observed the spectacle couldn't do the same thing.
Doggett stopped off at home to have some lunch. Sure bacon still wasn't the healthiest option. But he found himself cooking that and was deep in thought. There was a large knock on the door. He went to answer it, but nobody was there. Since the postman had driven down the street, he might as well pick up the post while he's there.
The sight that greeted him almost made him scream. The damn kitten was on the table eating his damn bacon, "Cat!" He shouted, "Damn it… That's my bacon."
He put the kitten out as he was heading to Mulder's apartment.
Doggett stepped out the car and made his way to Mulder's apartment, he couldn't understand why he was getting strange looks from people he passed. Monica was glad to hear that the Cat was alright but she wasn't surprised that it had made it's way back to Doggett's place.
He used the key to get into Mulder's apartment.
PRRREOWWW
"You're kidding me?" Doggett said as the kitten rushed in, "How'd you get here?"
Something made Doggett stop, there was someone lying on the bed… On Mulder's bed, he stepped toward the bedroom and the cat decided to jump on the bed, knead and start purring. This woke Scully up.
"What are you doing here Agent Scully?" Doggett asked.
"I was here to feed Mulder's fish." Scully answered.
"And then you got tired and decided to take a nap." Doggett stated.
There was banter going on between them as the cat got fixated on the fish and it's tail began swishing back and forth. Scully began looking for the fish-food. If she was here to feed the fish, she didn't know where the fish food was?
"Second drawer." Doggett told her.
The Cat jumped up onto the shelves, but the vibration caused the basketball to fall off the book case and landed in the fish tank splattering Scully's face and jacket.
"Give a little, get a little." Doggett quipped.
"I'm surprised you own a cat Agent Doggett." Scully said.
"I don't own a cat Agent Scully." Doggett replied, "This damn cat just keeps following me around. Don't even know where it came from."
Finally they had found Mulder. Doggett had him right where he wanted him and in his firing line to. It was too hot for this BS and fortunately Mulder had let go of Gibson. Mulder still wouldn't talk to him.
"Come on Mulder." Doggett said.
Mulder stepped closer to him.
"No wait." Doggett wasn't yelling at Mulder, "No cat! Damnit Cat." The Cat leapt up at Mulder with claws out. He was taken so much by surprise that he was knocked off balance and he and the cat went sailing off the cliff face.
By the time Doggett got down there, there was no Mulder and the Cat was calmly cleaning himself to get rid of the desert dirt, "Damn you cat." He saw that Scully and Skinner were coming to so he picked up the cat and put it down his shirt, "Now behave and I'll cook you extra bacon ok?"
"What happened?" Scully asked him.
"I saw Mulder." Doggett began to say, "He jumped from that cliff and then he was gone."
"That wasn't Mulder." Scully said.
The cat reared it's head and Doggett pushed it back down, "Then who was it."
Scully ignored the question.
"Don't walk away from me." Doggett said, "It's a fair question."
"It may have looked like him." Scully said, "But it wasn't him."
After the case, Doggett handed him the report. Kersh was angered by it and made some passing comment.
"You mean it reads like an X-File." Doggett said.
Kersh reached for another tissue and he coughed and sneezed. Any other day he would have enquired about his superior's health. But Kersh didn't deserve it today. Doggett left Kersh's office and stood in the hall.
Cat poked his head up from inside his shirt and surveyed the FBI. Before anyone else saw this, Doggett pushed it's head down and continued walking.
The case had been tough on them and Doggett found that he was now assigned to the X-Files as Scully's new partner. Kersh said that it was his time to shine, but maybe Skinner was right, he was set up to fail.
Doggett pressed the print button the computer and printed out the sheet. LOST: One small kitten. Please enquire at this address.
"There you are cat." Doggett gave him some of that promised bacon, "You earned it. But don't think I'll be naming you.
