Doggett dropped his bags as soon as he stepped into the house. For a moment Reyes wondered if he'd be angry with her, since she thought anger would probably be justified. She might have been upset, and thought her careless, even selfish if their roles had been reversed.

There was no expression on his face as he walked towards her, but he held out his arms. Reyes pressed herself as closely to him as her belly would allow and nearly fainted from the joy of having him hold her tight. His lips brushed against her forehead, and when she looked up at him, he looked happy.

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to be home."

"That's fitting, because I don't think I've ever been so happy to have you home." She quietly joked. "Are you mad at me, for going off without telling you?"

She had time for a anxious searching look while he thought about his answer. "Did you find them?"

"They're gone, both long gone." Reyes sighed. "I met one woman who helped me find where my mother lived, and when I got there I met another who explained what happened. They'd wanted me, but my father died in the war, and my mother couldn't bear to raise me alone...she died in a fire a few months later."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." His hand rubbed comforting little circles on her back. "It must be terrible, knowing they're both gone."

She gave a tiny shrug. "I want it to feel terrible, but...they never seemed real to me, like characters in a box I started to read but lost. It's hard to grieve for people I never met."

Doggett nodded. "But don't be surprised if it does hit you some day. Maybe you won't mourn who they were, since you never got to know, but you might feel a sense of loss for what might have been."

"Maybe. At least now I know why they never looked for me. That's the only thing I wondered growing up, why didn't they want to know me? But obviously they couldn't. It wasn't me that was the problem."

"I hope you didn't spend too much time dwelling on things like that." Doggett remarked, suddenly feeling pity for the child she'd been who'd thought she'd done something wrong.

Reyes gave him a crocked grin. "Like Maria would let anyone under her roof spend much time feeling bad for themselves. Fear not, I wasn't terribly wistful as a child."

"Good to know. Speaking of Maria...Does she still want to come for a couple of weeks after the babies are born to help out?"

"I should call and find out. But later." She decided, not ready to leave his embrace.

"Mommy and Daddy stay home." William stated as he and Emily watched a video that night.

"Well, they do have to go to work on Monday, Will."

"No Em. Mommy and Daddy stay home. No more Gramma's." His voice took on a note of anxiety.

"Oh! Right. Mommy and Daddy will be home after work. They're not going away again. We'll stay home too. They'll be home to tell you bedtime stories."

"Good." He replied, popping his thumb into his mouth.

Listening to them from another room, Scully's face crumpled. A couple of tears trickled down her face.

"What's the matter?" Mulder asked, gathering her into his arms.

"I remember that." She whispered.

"Your father going away?" He asked, and he felt her nod.

"I missed him so much."

"It's a good thing we only go away on cases once in a while." Mulder said slowly, so she'd register how the two situations weren't parallel.

"Yes..."

"He's fine, really. They both are. You shouldn't worry so much."

"How can I stop?"

"We'll have to work on that." He said, kissing her on the forehead. "If we don't, Will might turn out like your older brother."

She gave a strangled laugh in spite of herself, and figured that Mulder was probably right. They would only be required to leave the kids for long, and they really hadn't been damaged by it.

"If he turns out anything like Bill, we're saving up for military school." Mulder added, earning a real chuckle from her.

"Deal."