"We stayin' at your place or mine tonight?" Doggett was bored and fed up of writing reports, he stood up as he spoke but Reyes didn't turn to him to answer his question.

"You shouldn't really leave Oliver alone again."

"He was fine when I got home this morning."

"Yeah, but there was no one there to take him for a walk last night, or to feed him when he woke up."

"Monica, he's just a dog for cryin' out loud."

"A dog that it took me three months to get you leave home alone for just one night."

"Well he was just a puppy then."

"He's four years old John, and you've had him for eight months."

"He's at a vulnerable age."

"You are too soft with him."

"He's obedient."

"He walks all over you, he knows that he can get away with anything." Doggett was standing behind Reyes as she was looking over a case file; he walked over to her and put his arms around her waist.

"What can I say, I just love those big brown eyes."

"I'm more a blue eye fan myself."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." Reyes laughed and turned around to kiss Doggett. They both smiled and pulled apart to finish their work for the day so they could go home, to Doggett's house, to take care of his dog, Oliver.

Scully had been walking through the past six months like she had been programmed to do it without showing any kind of emotion or unhappiness with her life. But she was miserable. She longed for her son, and she no longer felt close to Mulder, she loved him but she felt that they were drifting apart, and she couldn't cope with him being sat at home all day doing nothing, not even trying to get a job.

Her mother had kept Scully's apartment leased whilst they were on the run, she said it was because she refused to believe her daughter wouldn't come home. Scully was grateful, but all her apartment did was remind her of William. The places he had sat, the places she had played with him and changed him, the bathroom where she bathed him, the bedroom where he slept and she used to spend hours on end just watching him sleeping.

William's nursery had been kept locked since he was adopted. Scully wasn't even sure where the key to the door was, she just knew that if she went in there she would never leave, and she would never be able to continue her life knowing her son was out there somewhere without her.

Sometimes she pretended he had died. It made it easier to let him go. But then she felt like a bad mother for thinking of her son this way, she already felt like a terrible mother for giving her son away. At the time it felt right, but if she had the chance to go back in time she knew she wouldn't make the same decision. If she had known then the pain it would cause not having her son with her she would never have let him go. Being on the run made it easier to not think about him. But now she was back. She was home where her son had been home for so little a period of time.

As she sat looking at the mountain of paperwork in front of her she glanced at the clock.

She was going to be late home. Again. She called Mulder, but he wasn't in, she left a message and picked up the first file on her desk. She couldn't help but think something was wrong because Mulder wasn't home. She just had a gut feeling something was going on, and she had learnt that it was best to follow her instincts. She made a call that she had been avoiding since her return to DC. She called the x-files office.

"Hello Monica Reyes."

"Agent Reyes? It's, it's Dana Scully."

"My God Dana, how are you?"

"I'm ok, I'm actually looking for Mulder, I had a bad feeling that maybe he had been to see either you or Agent Doggett."

"He was here earlier today, but not for very long."

"I see. And you've no idea where he went?"

"None."

"Well thank you for your time..."

"Dana wait."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you're ok? You've been in DC for six months and we haven't seen or heard from you since the day you got back."

"Well I've been busy."

"It'd be good to see you some time."

"Maybe, if I get time."

"Sure. Could you tell Mulder that I'm sorry I lost it a little this morning, and that I hope I

was of some help to him. I really hope that this works out for the two of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Finding William, Mulder seems to have his heart set on getting him back, you must be so happy about the prospect of getting your whole family together at last. Dana?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"Well I'll let you go, take care Dana."

"You too." Scully put down the phone and took a deep breath. She began to pack her things into her bag and as she did so she took out the small photograph of William she kept with her. She felt herself prepare to cry so quickly put the photo away. She refused to cry anymore over something that she could not un-do. And she intended to make sure that Mulder knew this too.