Three hours later...

Doggett returned to Reyes' room after he walked Gibson out to her car, which he was going to take home for the night. He was still slightly nervous about him driving, and had requested a call as soon as Gibson got to the house. (Then he tried not to let his relief come out in his voice as they spoke a half-hour later. He chalked it up to new parent's nerves, but when he told Reyes about it later, she replied that it was probably natural to be concerned that way about his 'nephew' by marriage, given that he was their responsibility too.) It took less than ten minutes to see the boy off, but it felt like forever.

She didn't notice his absence, she was as sound asleep as she'd been when he and Gibson had begun the trek to the parking lot. The nurses had wanted to put the babies in the nursery while she slept, but she had protested that she wouldn't be able to rest peacefully if they weren't in the room. So the row of bassinets was against one wall of the room.

He stood over them, looking down. One blue knit cap, and two pink ones. He was still feeling stunned that their children were triplets rather than the expected twins. Reyes was thrilled, instantly accepting their surprised son into her heart.

As much as it killed him to admit it to himself, Doggett was of more mixed feelings. He thought it might had been different if the "extra" baby had been a girl like his sisters. He'd so been looking forward to his little daughters, knowing that they'd be sweet and beautiful- and they were, he thought, reaching down to touch them each gently- and only capable of reminding him of their mother. Not Luke.

Which was his newborn son's only flaw, being male like his lost brother. The doctor had explained that he must have been positioned behind his sisters en utero, which is why Reyes' one brief sonogram hadn't detected him. Another later in the pregnancy probably would have revealed him, but Reyes' journey had precluded opportunities for them. The doctor had also said it was remarkable for that reason that the pregnancy was sustained long enough to allow for all three babies to weigh just over five pounds at birth. Which meant, coupled with their fully developed lungs, that they were not facing the long hospital stays that many newborn triplets had. Exhausted but amused, Reyes thanked everyone's insistence that she eat more for that. Doggett found it hard to adjust his thinking to the view that these babies were actually "big" not "small" like they looked to him.

Doggett frown, angry at him self for thinking that word. Flaw. It wasn't fair. Sighing nearly inaudibly, he reached into the third bassinet and picked the little boy up. Gently cradling his head and neck, Doggett hugged his son to his chest and walked slowly to a window. One of the nurses had told Reyes she'd gotten deluxe accommodations since there were three windows in the room rather than the standard two. Doggett had to smile thinking about it; extra window, extra baby.

It surprised him a little that the stars will still out. Together with the moon they provided enough light to examine the tiny form he held in his arms. The baby didn't look like Luke. Luke had been born with wispy white-blond hair and sky blue eyes. This son had blue eyes too, like his sisters and most white babies at birth, but they were already so inky that they suggested that blue was not the color he'd end up with in a few months. And his hair was already dark, though not as dark as Reyes'. Looking at the baby he realized that he was being supremely unfair. If he didn't remind Doggett of Luke in looks, there really was nothing to suggest that he, any more than his sisters, would remind him of Luke later.

Which, he thought as he slowly rocked the baby in his arms, was something he really needed to work on. He hadn't lied to Reyes shortly before he'd proposed, he really had moved on enough to love again. But not so much that thinking about his slain child brought anything but pain. He wondered if one of the triplets reminding him of Luke might actually be a good thing; perhaps it'd be made less painful by frequent repetition, eventually attaching more joy than sorrow to the memories.

Looking at the innocent baby snuggled against him and lost to sleep he silently vowed at that moment to never mention his momentary resentment to anyone. It had already left his heart and mind, so he didn't think it would be a promise that'd be hard to keep. "Well," He whispered. "You're a lovely surprise...Daddy and Mommy's third little angel."

The room was crowded the next morning even though the Doggett grandparents' flights were not due until evening; The Reyes wouldn't arrive until it was time for the babies to go home. Gibson had arrived as soon as family visiting hours started, which was very appropriate in their opinion, since as far as they were concerned he was. It took a little fibbing to the nursing staff, though.

The others had arrived the minute that regular visiting hours started, which made Reyes suspect they'd been waiting before hand, perhaps pestering the staff to be allowed in early. She wouldn't have put it past Mulder, at least.

Since the hospital was more progressive about visitors than the one Emily had been in for her bone marrow transplant, Mulder and Scully had brought William and Emily with them. Skinner and Kimberly completed the visitors from the Hoover building, although Kersh shocked them all by sending a bunch of balloons. Reyes' friends Sita De Brabant, Kate Queen and Lee Murasaki completed the visitors who stopped by first thing.

The babies were utterly unimpressed by the people who'd come to admire them, and slept through being held. To Doggett and Reyes' surprise, Skinner was the one who'd asked the question they'd been expecting; they'd been sure one of the women would have asked first.

"What are their names?"

Doggett and Reyes exchanged a look, thinking about the discussion hours before.

"I want two minutes." Doggett repeated.

"They can hold out a little longer than that." Reyes insisted. "I'll go with five minutes."

"Boy, you're an optimist." Doggett drawled.

"Maybe." She allowed. "We've got three hours before they get here, and only one until Gibson does, although he'd probably not even bring it up. But you know as soon as everyone else does they'll be asking their names." She wrinkled her nose as she said it.

"Hence the bet." Doggett said with a grin." And what's to worry about? We've already got the girls' names picked out." He said lightly. "All we need is a name for the young man."

"Right. That's all." Reyes smirked. "John... I heard you talking to him last night-"

"You were supposed to be asleep!" Doggett scolded, embarrassed that his 'talk' to their son had been overhead.

"Whatever. Angel can be a boy's name, you know. Not just Hispanic babies, either these days, thanks to the TV show." She pointed out.

Doggett shook his head. "I don't want to name my little boy after a vampire with a girl-y name."

"It was just a thought." Reyes said, surprised that he his reaction hadn't been more negative, since she'd been pulling his leg. "It's your turn to come up with a suggestion, though."

"Give me a minute..." Doggett's thoughts returned to angels.

Reyes gingerly leaned forward when his eyes lit up. "You have an idea." She stated.

"Yeah." He said with a broad smile. "Did you ever watch a show called 'Highway to Heaven'?"

"No."

"It was a show from the eighties about two male angels who helped people long before Della ever touched anyone."

"And?" She asked, wondering where he was going with it.

"And Michael Landon was the star of the show." He paused. "What do you think of Landon as a name? I think it'd go well with the girls' names." He offered.

"It's perfect!" Reyes exclaimed. "Little Landon...Landon what? John?"

"Do you know the bible story about Job?" He asked her.

"Yes. God took everything from a man on a bet from the devil." She frown.

"But in the end everything was restored to him. I feel like that some times." He confessed.

"The young lady Scully is holding is Jacey Anne Doggett, and Skinner is holding Quinn Reyes Doggett." Reyes told them with a smile.

"And this fellow," Doggett said while holding his son. "Is Landon Job Doggett."

"Funny names." William remarked from his vantage in Mulder's arms.

"Unique names." Scully corrected, more for the adults' benefit than her son's.

"We thought so too." Reyes said, not insulted by the toddler's honesty.