Mulder lay low for the next couple of days. He didn't want to risk the chance of bumping into Reyes or Doggett, and he was happy to stay at home and play house for Scully. He had put up the Christmas tree one day whilst she was at work and he decorated the apartment so much it looked like Santa's Grotto. Scully loved it and was relieved that she hadn't had to struggle to put the star on the top of the tree. She made more of an effort to get home from work earlier so that she could be with Mulder and they could be like any other couple that are in love.

She was happy, and she was sure that Mulder was happy too. But she didn't know what he was hiding from her, and she didn't know that he had a flight to Massachusetts booked for the next day. He had decided to pursue his suspicions on Reyes true identity and until someone could prove to him that she wasn't his sister he was not going to dismiss the idea.

Reyes and Doggett had finally agreed that their parents would come and stay at Doggett's place for New Years. His house was a lot bigger than Reyes' apartment and they could easily find places for everyone to sleep. Doggett's parents could have his bed, and Reyes' could have the bed in the spare room, and Doggett and Reyes would share the sofa. Reyes wasn't convinced that it would go down well with her parents if she was shacked up on the sofa with a man, but there were few alternatives as the one thing both she and Doggett could agree on was that they wanted to be together for the New Year.

It was the day of their first anniversary, dating, and Doggett had made a reservation in

the most expensive restaurant in the city. He hadn't told Reyes where they were going, he just told her to dress up and that he would pick her up in a taxi at seven. She was so excited that the day couldn't have gone fast enough and she spent almost two hours getting ready which was not like her at all. She never had much occasion to dress up glamorously but she decided that just this once she would allow herself to push the boat out and make an effort.

She was wearing a long black dress that reached her ankles, it had thin straps that fell perfectly on her shoulders and she had a white wrap around her shoulders to protect her a little from the cold night. She spent almost an hour working on her hair alone, but she thought it had been worth it when she caught her reflection in the mirror before answering the door to Doggett.

"Wow, I'm sorry, I was supposed to be picking up Monica Reyes, is she home?"

Reyes smiled embarrassed and Doggett stepped inside to kiss her.

"You look amazing Monica."

"You don't look too bad yourself."

Doggett's blue eyes were glowing at the sight of her and Reyes could feel her heart racing. She loved this man more than anything in the world; it felt like magic to know that he felt exactly the same way.

Doggett could barely keep his eyes off of Reyes during the drive to the restaurant, but it was totally worth it as he saw the look on her face when she realised where they were going. They got out of the car and Reyes' face lit up as she and Doggett walked inside. She had never seen anything like it. Everybody turned to look at them walk in, and it was blatantly obvious when all the men stared at Reyes and all the women stared at Doggett. Reyes giggled to herself and Doggett took her hand and kissed her.

"Happy anniversary Monica."

They were shown to their table and seated by their waiter. They were offered the wine list and Doggett ordered a bottle of champagne, not the most expensive one on the menu, but it wasn't the cheapest either. They tried to make conversation but they barely spoke to each other once they had ordered their starters and main meals. They just held each other's hand and stared into one another's eyes. They didn't care who saw them, or what everyone around must have thought as two fully-grown adults were making puppy-dog eyes at each other, because they were in love, and nothing mattered apart from that simple fact.

The meals were delicious, and they each tried some of the others food and agreed that

their own choice was the best. They talked a little whilst they ate, a little about work, a little about Scully and William and the news that they were trying to get William back. They also talked about their families and how each family had taken the news of where they were spending New Years. Doggett's family were fine with it, they had met Reyes before, and Doggett's mother was delighted that her eldest son was finally settling down with someone and wasn't going to be alone.

Reyes' mother had taken on a slightly different attitude and was a little concerned about her daughter having to sleep on the sofa with 'this John Doggett', who hadn't bothered to meet her parents in the year they had dated. The main reason for this was that Reyes had prevented any kind of meeting at all costs. Her father would more than likely think that Doggett was great, but her mother was fussy and would only want the very best for Reyes, all Reyes had to do was convince her mother that she had met the very best.

After they had eaten they both looked at the desert menu but decided that they would

prefer to go home for desert. Doggett paid for everything and Reyes called for a taxi to take them back to Doggett's place. It had been a wonderful evening and Reyes was sure that this restaurant must have been on wheels because it was so beautiful that she couldn't imagine it always being here and be in all of the fairy tale stories she knew she had seen the building in.

As she and Doggett made their way up to his bedroom, the dog sat patiently at the door expecting one of them to come back down and take him for a walk. But after twenty minutes, Oliver went to his basket in the kitchen and gave up on the hope of an evening walk. Reyes and Doggett had no intention of getting up, or going back down the stairs for anything. They were in bed holding each other and caressing each other and after making love they both knew that this was what they were living for. This was why they had been born into this world, for that exact moment lying together in bed. This was exactly how it was all supposed to be.