Present Day, X-Files Office...

Monica walked into the office and was glad to find it empty. The last thing she needed was a bright and cheerful face welcoming her back to work when right now she really didn't know where she should be. She looked at John's desk and saw that it now occupied her things, the photographs and paperwork, and files that she had been working on. She knew the order would have been given to Agent Carmichael to not take John's desk, she also knew the order would have come from Skinner, and she was grateful.

She was in charge down here now, so she got the desk that had been Mulder's, Scully's, John's and now hers. She had moved up the chain of command

and got to call the shots on the x-files. She wasn't quite sure how that made her feel as she set about organising the things that had been strewn around her new desk without any order or care. Everything had been put there so as not to be in Phoebe Carmichael's way. Monica resented the act but tried to not dwell on it. The sooner she got used to sharing this office space with someone else the better.

By nine o'clock Monica had straightened up her desk and was staring at the photograph that John had kept on his desk for years. It was just the two of them, it looked less conspicuous to have a photograph without their daughter in it at work, but now that didn't matter. In the photograph they were smiling, and holding hands. It was the day that they had gotten engaged and they had their whole lives ahead of them. John had put the photograph in a frame right away and taken it into work for his desk. It was his favourite photograph of them together and he didn't care if it looked suspicious to the FBI, he loved her and he wanted the whole world to know it. And now Monica could have a dozen photographs of them around her desk, Anna included

and no one would care. Because now he was gone.

Monica was so engrossed in memory lane and the photograph of the two of them that she didn't notice somebody walk into the office and stand awkwardly in the door way as if waiting for permission to come into the cramped basement office. She couldn't tear her eyes from the two happy people that were together to think of herself alone.

Phoebe Carmichael felt as if she was in the way, which was ridiculous, she was here to work too. But there was something about this woman staring at a photograph that told her she should allow the woman some privacy and time. She was grateful for the opportunity to see her new partner before she saw her. She knew that she would be seen as this new green and annoying agent who would come across as being in the way, but she had heard good things about Agent Doggett, formerly known as Agent Reyes. Surely those things would all be true?

Monica looked up suddenly with tears running down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away as she stood up and looked at the woman in front of her.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I mean no, umm, I'm Phoebe Carmichael, umm, your new partner."

"Oh. Well, don't just stand in the doorway Agent Carmichael, this is your office too."

Phoebe smiled slightly and sat down at her desk. She split her coffee and cursed to herself, she wasn't a clumsy person but now she'd look like one. In all honesty Monica didn't care if she'd split ten cups of coffee. She was getting more and more unsure of the fact she was back at work.

June 27th, Silver Spring Maryland...

Monica was unaware of how far out of the building she had ran until she looked at her watch and realised that she had been outside for over half an hour. The sight of Katha Dukes like that had had an unbelievably hard effect on her, it had made her feel almost criminal. She couldn't take this anymore, the Monica Reyes she knew and was proud of being wouldn't let this happen, she knew her job and she had never regretted anything she had done whilst working. But all of sudden this case was killing her. More than anything she just wanted to go home.

When John spotted Monica he sighed with relief and ran over to her. She heard him coming and tried to smile but it was counteracted with tears and she literally fell into his strong arms as he reached her. John was as shaken up by this as Monica was, this wasn't like her and he wanted to make it stop. Make it all go away. She cried in his arms and all he could do was stand and hold her, he didn't realise that this was exactly what Monica needed.

Driving to the police station Monica stayed quiet and John did the same. This was beyond anything they had been through before, and he wasn't sure how to progress with it. The biggest part of him wanted to take this case and shove it up Skinner's ass.

Over the years things had become strained between all x-file employees, past and present, and Skinner. He had made some decisions regarding his career and his place within the FBI's hierarchy of power that didn't sit well with being close to the x-files despite the fact he was still the superior in charge of them. Skinner's job was to read over the case reports and keep an eye on the goings on down in the basement, but he couldn't have shown less interest if he tried. It was hard for Dana because Skinner had been such an important person in her life when she was pregnant with William and when Mulder was gone. But now Skinner was just their boss, and he was suddenly being a pain in the ass about it.

When they arrived at the police station Monica got out of the car and waited for John

before walking inside. She seemed almost insecure in being alone. She took his hand and squeezed it softly before letting it go to walk inside the building. John was worried about her. Monica spoke to the officer in charge and dealt with all her unfinished business. When she walked back over to John she was smiling and he was glad to see it.

"Lets go home."

"We're done here?"

"Yeah."

"What about Mia Dukes? She wanted to see you."

"I've left a message for her, there's no reason for me to see her. It's over."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. I wanna go home John."

Monica walked out of the building and John watched her until she was out of sight before following. The quicker he got her home and helped her forget about this whole situation the better.