St. Mary's Memorial Hospital – Washington, D.C.

When Scully returned to the hospital, she found John pacing the hallway outside Monica's room. She rushed up to him to question him.

"What's going on, John?" she asked nervously. "Why aren't you with Monica?"

"The nurse had to run some tests. She said she'd only be a minute and it seems more like a goddam year," he replied angrily.

"It'll be okay, John," Scully tried to calm. "She'll be out in a minute, and you can go back in."

"What if it's not okay, Scully? What if there's some horrible result to her test she's not okay? What if she never wakes up? She'll never know how much she means to me." He sat down and buried his face in his hands.

"Don't be so cynical, John. I saw her charts and she's going to be fine."

Just then, a nurse burst from the room, exclaiming, "Agent Doggett, come quick!"

John's face paled, and he rose and sprinted to Monica's room, expecting to see her convulsing off the bed. Scully rushed after him, equally worried.

As he burst into the room, his look of fear turned into one of sheer happiness. Monica had woke up. Scully breathed a sigh of relief and announced, "I think I'll come back later."

Once Scully and the nurse had left, John shut the door and walked over to Monica's bed.

"John," Monica managed, "I'm so glad you're here."

"I never left," he replied with a smile. He paused, took her hand, then looked her in the eyes and continued. "Monica, I was so scared. Scared you would die, scared you wouldn't wake up, but mostly scared that you'd never know how much you meant to me."

Monica made as if to interrupt him, but he put a finger to her lips as a sign not to. "Let me talk. If I don't say this now, I never will. You mean more to me than anybody could ever wish to. I don't know why I fought it for so long. I was in denial, but now I've changed. Now I can say for certain that I love you, Monica, with all my heart."

Monica eyes teared up, and she whispered, "Oh, John, I love you, too. I wanted to tell you for so long, but I was convinced you didn't feel the same." She tried to laugh, but ended up coughing instead. John took the opportunity to pat Monica's back and then pulled her into a hug.

"I'll never let you go again, Monica," he whispered into her hair. His moist breath against the nape of her neck sent shivers down her spine and she closed her eyes in happiness.

"John, I have just one request of you," she murmured breathily.

"Anything," he muttered back.

"Kiss me." Her eyes shone with joy and John's usually cold exterior melted under her gaze. He gently braced her head and moved closer to her, their breath mingling. The kiss started out gently, but grew more passionate and fiery as the seconds passed. Finally, John reluctantly pulled away, brushing Monica's hair behind her ear.

A light tapping on the door broke them from their reverie, startling them both. They both looked towards the door, where Assistant Director Skinner was standing.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said in a voice that said he knew he was. "I just heard Monica was awake, and I came to see for myself. Now that I see she's alright, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing." He turned to leave, but felt a hand on his shoulder before he could go.

"Sir, I hope this isn't going to make things awkward or difficult," John tried explaining. "We know how to handle ourselves, and you don't have to worry about walking in on anything inappropriate at work."

"I had the same problem with Mulder and Scully," Skinner replied knowingly. He sighed, scratched his head, and continued. "As much as I don't like going against the Bureau, I'm not going to stand by and watch people being miserable because of some stupid rule."

"Thank you, sir," Monica gushed warmly. "You don't know how much this means to us." She gazed at John, her eyes glowing.

"Like I said, I'm not going to sacrifice your happiness. But, remember, if anyone catches you, you're out of the Bureau."

"We know, and we don't want to live without either each other or the Bureau, so we'll be extra careful," John promised.

"You better be. I have to get going. It's nice to see you're better."

"It's nice to be better." Skinner walked out of the room, and John sat down, taking Monica's hand. "Especially now that you're here."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere, so get used to it." He leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss.

THE END