Doggett was surprised at how easily he remembered the way. After all – a whole month had passed. It was so fresh in his memory that he was certain he had only been here the night before. Of course he was wrong, but his gut told him that although there must have been searches made here already once he and Mulder had disappeared, there was something that he had to find.

He parked the car and slowly got out but before he'd even closed the door behind him he lost his balance and a painful vision swarmed his mind. He was back in that dark room with the mystery man beside him, the man was alive and trying to tell Doggett something but he couldn't work out what it was. When the vision had gone Doggett found himself sitting crumpled on the floor by his car.

When he made it to his feet he went on with caution. He hadn't thought about the fact that he may start remembering things. He knew that he should've considered the possibility but in all honesty he wasn't sure that he wanted to remember where he'd been. The only reason he was even here was because he thought maybe there'd be something to point him in the direction of Mulder.

Scully wasn't returning his calls and didn't want to see him. That hurt. So he thought maybe if he could help then she'd talk to him, help him see what had happened to him and maybe to understand it.

He stepped inside the house and immediately he was back on that night. Standing there with Mulder, being told that it was him they wanted and not William. That this was all a part of their plan. Well he was sick and tired of this plan, he wanted to get on with his life and he wanted to help those that he cared about do the same thing.

Doggett explored every room of the house. The whole place was empty; it had been long cleared, either by the FBI or by whoever it was behind his own and Mulder's disappearance. Hell, for all he knew they were one and the same.

When his cell phone rang he jumped and his heart was racing. He answered the call and didn't listen at first to what was being said on the other end.

"John? Are you listening to me?"

"What? Monica, yeah – I'm fine."

"Where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone at home?"

"I uh, I went out."

"You went out?"

"Yeah."

"For what? Bread? Milk?" she was being sarcastic and Doggett paused and thought very carefully about his reply.

"I'm at the Van De Kamps," there was a long silence and Doggett would've been sure she'd hung up on him if it weren't the fact the connection was still active on the phone. "Monica?"

"You shouldn't have gone there. There's nothing for you to see and nothing to be found. Go home."

"Monica…"

"I mean it John, leave. Now."

"Okay," the line went dead and now he knew she'd hung up on him.

Doggett didn't want to upset Reyes, he knew that she was worried about him, but he didn't feel as if he'd lost any time, it was she and Scully who had been left wondering all this time. He knew how hard it must have been for both of them, but he didn't want to just walk away from this. If he was back that meant Mulder could come back too.

When Doggett got home he was more than surprised to find Scully sitting on his porch. He approached her slowly and she stood as he drew near.

"It's okay Agent Doggett, I won't bite. Agent Reyes called me. She wanted me to make sure you got home safely."

"For cryin' out loud…"

"She was just trying to protect you John," Doggett opened his front door and the two of them stepped inside. "You won't find anyone or anything out there. He's not there."

"So what? I'm supposed to just move on? Get on with my life?"

"What choice do we have?"

"I wake up in a hospital and I'm told I've been missing for a month, I have no idea where I've been or what happened to me, and I'm supposed to just move on? I have to find him Dana."

"You won't."

"Why not?"

"Because he isn't anywhere that we can find him. Don't you think if he was I'd have tried? That I wouldn't have dedicated every waking moment to bringing him home?"

"So how are you doing it? How do you get up every morning and get on with your life?"

"You just do. It's not a process you think about. You get up, you get dressed, you go to work, you keep going. And I have William to think about."

"How's he doin'?" Scully smiled and for the first time since coming home Doggett felt his tension and frustration lift slightly.

"He's fine. He's safe and he's happy. And I have you to thank for that."

"So that's it? You're just going to forget about Mulder? Live your life without ever knowing if he's alive or dead?"

"He wouldn't want me to John, and you know that. I know how you feel believe me. I've been the adducted with no recollection about what happened, and I've been left behind when someone I cared about has disappeared. Again. I refuse to believe that he's dead John. I can't explain it to you, but I know he's okay and that he'll come home."

"I just, I want to understand it all," she smiled at him again and took his hand in her own.

"You will. It may not be today, or tomorrow, but you'll understand it all eventually. It took me a long time, but I promise you'll get there."

"And in the meantime?"

"We keep going. We keep getting up and going to work, and we keep coming home," she let go of his hand and then she turned and left.