Reyes looked at the screen in disbelief. This didn't keep the doctor from smiling at her, however. She'd taken the afternoon off, leaving Doggett to work on a case involving a woman who claimed to have a talking goat, so she could come to what was supposed to be a routine doctor's visit. Up until the ultrasound, everything had been normal except the doctor's concern about the baby's size. He didn't scold, however, so Scully had been right.
"Do you think it's possible that you're farther along than we initially thought?" Doctor Brooks had asked at the beginning of the appointment. She'd picked him because he seemed perfectly innocuous; a nondescript sort of middle-aged, dark-haired man you'd see anywhere. Now he was beginning to annoy her, or maybe worry her.
She shook her head in response to his question. "Absolutely not." She and Doggett hadn't planned to abstain before they were married, but with the wedding planning and trying to be there for Scully and Mulder during Emily's illness, it had just worked out that way.
Doctor Brooks nodded, and made a note on her chart. "Yes... in that case, I think it would be best to test your blood sugar and do an ultrasound. A big baby can be a sign of gestational diabetes and I don't think we should take any chances. "
"Whatever you think is best." Reyes hoped that she didn't sound as nervous as she felt. Come on, she chided herself, you'd faced much scarier things than this. Fortunately the doctor didn't notice her internal dialogue.
A few minutes later, she found herself lying on the table, her exposed belly covered in a chilly goo. She'd seen ultrasound pictures before, of course, but instead of helping her interpret what she saw, it made it harder to comprehend. It didn't look like anything she'd seen before.
The doctor, however, was unfazed by the image on the monitor. "Oh would you look at that?" Brooks exclaimed. "Twins! Would you like to know the genders? I'm sure if we wait a few moments, they'll move so we can see. Oh yes. There! Did you want to know?"
"No, that's all right." Reyes said quickly, starting to sit up.
"Maybe next later, then." He said, patting her hand. "I'll mark it on your chart that you asked not to be told today, so no one will accidentally let it slip until you call and ask. You can do that any time you like."
"Ok." She answered distractedly.
"You'll need to gain more weight now, you know." Doctor Brooks added as she put her sweater on. "Instead of one big baby, you have two that are currently a bit small. Not to worry, I'll have the nurse give you a booklet of weight-gaining advice for mothers-to-be expecting multiples."
She didn't really hear him because her head was spinning. Twins. Twins!
Meanwhile...
The goat nibbled on Doggett's scarf as he talked to its owner. Annoyed, Doggett gave it a disgusted look and tugged the scarf away from the inquisitive lips. Fortunately, the goat hadn't had a chance to damage to it. He tapped his foot as he and the goat waited alone in the living room. The room was ugly. He particularly disliked the afghan thrown over the couch, both of which had goat hair spouting from them.
The goat's owner, a large florid woman with big hair, bustled back into the room with store-bought cookies and mugs of milk. Doggett took a mug and a cookie, but gave the woman an exasperated look. "Ma'am, with all due respect, I don't understand why you don't give the goat away if its talking bothers you."
Doggett had spent 45 minutes trying to convince her that it would not talk in front of him, despite her desperate prompting, because goats don't talk. This didn't sink in, and he admitted defeat. At least to himself.
The woman gave his question a shocked look. "Oh no, I simply couldn't." She told him with a sharp shake of her head.
"Why not?" He asked patiently.
"Because Frans is my business partner." She explained with a vapid smile.
Doggett was afraid that his composure slipped then, because he was sure he wore a shocked look on his face. "Your business partner?"
"Oh yes." She said, nodding emphatically. "When my husband, Ted, was alive he, Frans and I were all partners, but since Ted passed on, it's just been Frans and I. 50-50."
"Do you mind me asking what sort of you and business you and Frans have?" Doggett asked without cracking a smile. That took a Herculean effort.
"Oh no, dear, I don't mind at all. There are certain people with more of a concern for the environment than brains." Doggett swallowed a snigger. As if she was one to talk about brains. "They're vain too. That's where Frans and I come in. We offer a guilt-free outlet for that vanity. Frans is a 100% environmentally safe lawn trimmer." She gave the goat's side a fond pat, and the goat bleated. Whether the goat was expressing happiness or complaint, Doggett couldn't tell.
He didn't know what to say to the woman about the business. Or anything else. Finally, he looked at them both and said, "Ma'am, I'm afraid that if the goat has not committed a crime, there's nothing the FBI can do for you. If perhaps he'd said something lewd, we could pursue sexual harassment charges, but this doesn't seem to be the case from your account. All I can suggest is that you sit down with him, and uh, discuss your differences." Doggett felt the whole dream had a surreal, dream-like quality. No, a nightmare one.
The woman nodded sadly. "Well, thank you for your time, Agent Doggett."
When he left, he kept being overwhelmed with an urge to pinch himself. Just to see if he was really awake.
When Reyes got home, she was relieved that Gibson had told her that he was going to a basketball game after school. Given her mixed emotions, being around a mind-reader was just about the last thing she wanted.
The house seemed to have new charm, however. Doggett had liked it more than she right from the start, and she suspected the big old farm house reminded him of his boyhood home. It reminded her little of where she'd grown up in Mexico, so she had no fond memories to color her view of it. It was only after the former owners repainted it a gleaming white that she began to think more favorably about it. That and it was only four blocks from Mulder and Scully's house. Now, knowing that there were to be twice as many babies than anticipated, she was glad of the five bedrooms.
Before long, she found herself wandering up to the room they'd assigned as nursery, planning. The TV she'd entertained Scully's children with days earlier had been removed, moved into Gibson's room, so the room stood completely empty.
Looking around, she decided that the room was large enough to accommodate two cribs and any other furniture the babies could ever require with a great deal of room left over. There was, she reasoned, no sense in rooming them apart before they'd left babyhood. It was supposed to comfort multiples to be near each other when they were small.
As she thought through the practicalities of preparing for twins, her shock wore off enough that she was able to begin to think about how she was going to tell Doggett.
Do you WRITE DRR fics as well as read it? If so, The Nursery Files (my babyfic archive) and DRipp are co-sponsering a contest this you might be interested in. The DRR Babyfic-Cover contest =)
http:www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/nfdpcontest.html