“Déjà Vu”
by Andra Marie MuellerPart 1
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place in the a/u established in my "Reunion" series. All things X Files are the legal property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and 20th Century Fox. But they wouldn't recognize their characters in my world anyway. Thanks to BEKi for her input on the original ST:VOY version of this story and this rendition done XF style. And thanks to Shea for the usual reasons, especially for the online laughs :)
"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." - Proverbs 27:19
As the flames consumed his flesh and the screams of his dying partner faded away, Doggett realized his life was about to end and allowed himself a nanosecond of rage at the futility of it all. Using his last ounce of willpower, he focused his last conscious thought on the joy in his children's smiles, and the taste of Jessica's kiss. His brain reached for the memories and clasped them tightly to his consciousness. Then the fire overwhelmed him at last, and he felt a brief flash of searing pain before awareness vanished into a black void of nothingness.
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FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA: TWO HOURS EARLIER
It started as an ordinary day, with nothing to indicate how it would end or the anger and anguish it would leave in its wake. Jessica awoke alone to find the sun streaming through the bedroom windows and the telltale rustling in the bathroom told her that John was all ready up and about.
The early bird that catches the worm has nothing on John, she mused silently.
"Good mornin', beautiful," Doggett greeted softly.
Jessica glanced over her shoulder to find her husband standing in the doorway, dressed in a charcoal gray suit and tie with a sky blue shirt that matched his eyes. "Good morning yourself," she greeted. "How long have you been awake?"
"A while," Doggett answered, and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "The twins are still sleepin', but the Three Stooges wanted breakfast."
She smiled at his use of the nickname he had bestowed on their dogs. As the result of an off hand remark made by Mulder, Grace and Matthew had given Doggett a puppy for his 50th birthday three days earlier, a female bulldog they had named Georgia. She was all of thirteen weeks old and weighed less than a sturdy pair of boots, yet she was all ready taking charge of the family's other dogs, two extra large Saint Bernards Spooky and Semper Fi.
"Just goes to show that when you're dealin' with females of any species, size don't matter," Doggett had observed wryly.
"What about you?" Jessica asked. "Do you have time to have some breakfast with me before you head to work?"
"I wish I did, but I have a meetin' with Deputy Director Kersh this mornin'."
"Dare I ask what about?"
Doggett shrugged. "I have no idea, but dollars to donuts it ain't cuz he wants to commend me for my work on the X files," he responded dryly.
"Very funny, Sunshine."
They exchanged a smile as he leaned over to give her a warm kiss. "I'll call you later to see what you want to do about dinner."
"Don't forget that the twins are staying with Fox and Dana tonight," Jessica reminded him. "Will wanted them to have a sleep over."
"I don't suppose we could convince them to take the dogs, too?"
"Good-bye, John."
"Bye, Jess."
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HOOVER BUILDING - WASHINGTON D.C.
Walking through the front doors of FBI Headquarters, Doggett had just reached the elevator when he heard his name being called. "John, wait up..."
He turned expectantly to see Mulder approaching him. "Mornin', Mulder," he greeted.
"I'm glad you're here. I just got a message from Greg Burlinksi, and he wants to see us right away. Apparently one of the hospices that are using the alien technology is here in D.C."
Doggett sighed. A former Navy S.E.A.L., Burlinski had been given an honorable discharge following a covert mission in Europe wherein his unit had been ambushed and he had been the sole survivor. The government had lied to the public and said that the soldiers had been killed in a routine training exercise. They had declared the deaths a "tragic accident" and closed the case after only minimal investigation. Upon his return home, Burlinski had begun telling anyone who would listen that his unit's real mission had been to destroy a secret facility where doctors were using alien technology to heal critically wounded or terminally ill patients. Because his brother was one of Jessica's officers at Alexandria P.D., word of his ranting had reached her, and she in turn had presented his story to Mulder. The initial interview with Burlinski had not yielded any proof of his claim, as he was unable to provide the agents with the specific location of this mysterious facility. Yet what he had told them regarding the procedures being done there too closely paralleled the genetic manipulation that had been done to Jessica so many years ago, and Mulder and Doggett had continued to pursue the case.
"I've got a meetin' with Kersh in about two minutes, so you and Monica should head on over to see Burlinski. I'll contact Jess when I'm done with Kersh and we'll meet you there."
Mulder nodded and Doggett stepped into the elevator, then rode up to the fourth floor and made his way down the hall to Kersh's office. His secretary was nowhere in sight, so Doggett approached Kersh's door and knocked twice, then stepped inside at Kersh's muffled "Come in."
"Good morning, sir," Doggett greeted.
"Good morning, Agent Doggett," Kersh echoed. "Thank you for being prompt. Have a seat."
Doggett settled himself into a chair in front of Kersh's desk, and the other man waited until he was comfortable before continuing. "We're both busy men, so I'll get directly to the point," he said. "As you're aware, the Bureau has yet to find a permanent replacement for Brad Follmer. Given the fiasco that arose last year after his connection to Nicholas Regali was revealed, the powers that be have been reluctant to put just anybody in the Assistant Director's chair. They last thing they want or need is another reason for the press to rake the Bureau over the coals."
"Frankly, sir, I'm not cryin' in my coffee over the Bureau's bad publicity," Doggett replied dryly.
Kersh stifled a sigh. He has been spending too much time with Mulder, he thought to himself. Aloud he said, "Based upon your performance since joining the X files, as well as a strong recommendation from A.D. Skinner, the position of Assistant Director is now being offered to you."
Surprise flickered across Doggett's rugged features. "You're offerin' me a promotion?" he prompted.
"Yes. I don't know why you're so surprised, John. The powers that be offered to bump you up in rank once before, but you chose to stay with the X files. Agent Reyes and Agent Mulder seem to work well enough together, and now that you have a family to consider, we felt you might be ready to accept a position with a more regular work schedule. I'm certain Captain Doggett would appreciate the chance to spend some extra time with you."
The faintest of smiles creased his face. "With all due respect, sir, you're not tryin' to promote me simply because you think it'll make my wife happy to have me workin' nine to five," he replied.
"Perhaps not," Kersh allowed, "But from where I sit that would be a strong motivator to give the offer serious thought. Agent Scully gave up the X files three years ago in order to spend more time with her family. You could do worse than to follow her example."
Doggett pointedly ignored the small voice in the back of his mind whispering, He's right. "I'll need to talk to Jess before I make a decision either way," he demurred.
"Of course. Talk it over with Captain Doggett and let me know as soon as you've reached a decision."
"Yes, sir."
Rising to his feet, Doggett bid Kersh farewell and exited his office.
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ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Jessica was in her office reviewing a case with one of her homicide detectives when a knock on the door signaled the arrival of another person, and they glanced up as Doggett opened the door.
"Mornin', Captain," he greeted with mock formality.
"John...this is a pleasant surprise."
"Unfortunately it's a business call."
"Ah." Jessica gestured at her detective. "Special Agent John Doggett, Detective Royce Davis."
The men exchanged a handshake as Davis remarked, "Nice to meet you, Agent Doggett, although with the way the captain speaks about you, I was expecting you to be ten feet tall and bulletproof."
Doggett gave his wife as amused smile as she shot Davis a quelling look. "Unless you want to start a new career as a stand up comedian, Royce, I suggest you keep your comments to yourself," she cautioned.
"Yes, Ma'am."
Bidding them farewell, Davis exited the office and Jessica waited until the door had closed behind him before addressing her husband. "So what brings you here?" she asked.
"Mulder got a call from Burlinski this mornin' askin' to meet with us," Doggett told her. "Apparently there's a clinic like the one he told us about here in D.C."
"And what makes him willing or able to tell you where this one is, when he didn't know the specific location of the one his friends died trying to find?"
"He called us for a reason."
"Maybe because when it comes to anything remotely resembling an X file, he knows all he has to say is 'Jump' and Mulder will ask 'How high?"."
Doggett cocked an eyebrow. "Somethin' buggin' you, sweetheart?"
"Yes, actually. I'm getting a little tired of my brother dragging you along on every wild goose chase that crosses his path. Once in a while it would be nice if he could find someone else to follow along whenever he gets the urge to go ghost busting. It's not like he doesn't have another partner."
"Why is it okay for him to drag Monica into his business and not me?" Doggett queried. "Hell, the man's my brother-in-law."
"To paraphrase a familiar quote, that doesn't make you his keeper," Jessica countered. "And Monica isn't married with children."
"So that makes her more expendable?"
"That's not what I said," she responded tightly. "Despite her lingering feelings for you, I've come to consider Monica a friend. She's always been there for you and Fox when push came to shove and I'm grateful for that. But I won't stand here and pretend she means as much to me as you do. You're my husband and the father of my children, John; I won't let Fox's obsession take you away from me."
Confusion was evident on Doggett's rugged features. "Where is all of this comin' from, Jess?" he asked. "It's not like I haven't been in dangerous situations before, with or without Mulder."
"If it were still just the two of us, then I'd be willing to let you and Mulder chase little green men until the cows come home. But we have the twins to think about now, and Mulder has Will. Don't you think its time the two of you put the brakes on?"
Doggett flashed his wife a faint smile. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd been talkin' to Kersh," he replied dryly. "When I saw him this mornin', he offered me a promotion to Assistant Director and said now that I have a family I should start considerin' a more stable work environment."
Jessica returned his smile. "Well then for once he and I agree on something," she said. "You and I had this discussion when I was offered the promotion to Captain."
"So you're sayin' you want me to quit the X files and accept the promotion?"
"I'm saying I want you to take a long, hard look at the rest of your life and decide how you want to spend it," Jessica corrected. "I love you, John, and if in your heart of hearts continuing your work on the X files is truly want you want , then I will support you 100%. But if you're only staying with it out of some misguided loyalty to Fox, than maybe you do need to reconsider your career track."
Any response from Doggett was prevented by the ring of his cell phone, and he pulled it out of his jacket. "John Doggett."
"It's me," Mulder's voice replied. "Where are you?"
"I'm with Jess. Where are you?"
"Burlinksi told us where to find that hospice," Mulder said, and gave him the address. "Monica and I will meet you and Jessica there."
"We'll see you in a few minutes."
Doggett ended the call and replaced the phone in his pocket. "That was Mulder," he told her. "He got an address for the hospice Burlinski told us about and he and Monica are gonna meet us there."
"We'll take my car," Jessica said. "Those cars the Bureau makes you drive practically scream 'federal vehicle'."
"And yours is any less conspicuous with personalized 'DONT TCH' plates?"
"I couldn't find a way to condense 'Property of John Doggett' into seven letters."
"Very funny, sweetheart."
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WASHINGTON D.C.
Reyes and Mulder were waiting outside a large, abandoned building in downtown D.C. when Jessica and Doggett arrived and parked her Expedition near the entrance. They climbed out of the car and Jessica retrieved her gun from the glove compartment before walking over to join the others.
"It doesn't look like much on the outside," Jessica remarked.
"Were you expecting a sign out front that said 'E.T. found here'?" Mulder asked dryly.
"So what's the plan?" Reyes prompted.
"I thought we'd split into pairs and divide and conquer," Mulder said. "You and I will go around back and enter through the back door; John and Jessica can go in through the front. We'll communicate via our cell phones."
"Has it occurred to you that even on the one in a million chance we do find evidence there are questionable medical practices being performed here, nothing we find can be used in a court of law because we entered the building without a search warrant?" Jessica prompted.
"Spoken like a true police captain," Mulder replied.
"Someone in this little party has to remember the rules."
"Can we save the squabblin' for later?" Doggett interjected. 'We have work to do."
"Sorry," Mulder and Jessica muttered in unison.
Reyes and Doggett exchanged an amused look, then the foursome split into pairs and started toward the building. Drawing their guns, Jessica and Doggett cautiously entered via the front door and at first glance, found nothing unusual. It appeared to be a typical office, with a small reception area and a pair of doors leading to the heart of the building. A single landscape painting adorned the far wall, the only décor in the stark room, and the silence seemed to indicate there was no one present.
"Looks like nobody's home," Jessica observed quietly.
"Let's see where the doors lead," Doggett said.
His wife nodded in silent acknowledgement, and followed a step behind as he approached the doors. Freeing one hand, he reached down to turn the knob, and the door swung open. A corridor perhaps fifty yards long contained half a dozen doors on either side, and at the end of it was another set of double doors. As with the reception area, the walls were painted white and free of any decoration.
"I guess there wasn't much room in the budget for interior decorating," Jessica remarked.
"Or maybe they wanted to give the place a feel of sterility by avoiding any color," Doggett suggested.
"Let's see what's behind these doors. I'll take the six on the right; you take the six on the left."
"Be careful," Doggett instructed. "Some of 'em could be booby trapped."
She nodded again, and they carefully began testing each door. The first two on each side were locked, and as they approached the third, they heard the door leading to the corridor swing open. Jessica and Doggett spun around with their guns leveled, only to find Reyes and Mulder approaching them.
"Are you nuts, Mulder?" Doggett asked as he lowered his gun. "We could have shot you!"
"Sorry," Mulder muttered. "There was no back door, so we came back around front to help you guys. Have you found anything?"
"Just a bunch of locked doors," Doggett told him.
"It is still relatively early," Jessica reminded them. "Maybe whoever is working out of here just hasn't shown up yet."
"I'll keep watch out front to make sure we don't have any party crashers," Mulder said. "If you find anything in these rooms, call me."
Doggett nodded, and Mulder headed out of the building as the others made their way to three of the four remaining doors. Monica and Doggett's were both locked, but when Jessica tried the knob of the second to last door, it slowly swung open.
"We've got an open door here, guys," she announced, and leveled her gun in front of her as she stepped inside. Keeping her gun aimed and ready with her right hand, she used her left to feel along the wall for the light switch, and she flipped it on just as Reyes and Doggett stepped into the room behind her.
"Sweet Jesus..." Doggett muttered.
"Somehow I doubt He has anything to do with whatever this stuff is used for," Jessica responded.
A large metal examination table was bolted to the floor in the center of the room, surrounded by EKG monitors and other medical equipment. The far wall was a series of shelves lined with specimen jars containing liquids of various colors and other substances best left undefined, and the countertop was stacked with various known and unknown medical instruments.
"Well it certainly appears that someone is doing some sort of medical procedures here," Reyes observed. "All we need to figure out is who, what and why."
Jessica glanced at the exam table, and was suddenly assailed by memories of a similar table that she had been strapped to during her imprisonment in Mexico three years ago. A mixture of fear and disgust registered in her elegant features as she gave an involuntary shiver. Standing a few feet away, Doggett caught her reaction and walked over to stand beside her.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"Yeah. This just brings back bad memories."
"Stuckhold?"
She nodded, and he used his free hand to give hers a reassuring squeeze. Jessica flashed him a grateful smile before speaking again. "You guys check the last door," she said. "I'm going to get Fox."
Leaving Reyes and Doggett to their search, Jessica made her way back down the corridor and through the reception area to exit the building.
"I'm going to try the last door," Reyes said. "You keep searching in here and see what else you can find."
Doggett nodded and began rifling through the drawers as Reyes crossed the hall and jimmied the knob on the last door. It too was unlocked, and Reyes swung the door open to reveal a room similar in appearance and equipment to the one she had just exited. Yet just as she was about to begin searching the room, she noticed a loud ticking noise coming from the cabinets.
"I hope that's just an overly loud time clock," she muttered to herself.
Walking over to the cabinet, she released a deep breath before swinging open the doors, and discovered a small black box sitting on the bottom shelf. It was surrounded by numerous wires that appeared to run into the back of the cabinet, and a small digital display read 0: 08.
"Damnit!" Reyes declared, and spun on her heel to shout at her partner. "John, get out of here! It's a trap!"
Across the hall, Doggett heard the shout but could not understand what she had said, and he stepped out into the corridor just as Reyes ran out of the other room.
"What are you shoutin' about, Monica?" he asked. "I couldn't make out what you were sayin'."
She swiftly gestured toward the other room. "This is a trap," she repeated. "There's a bomb in there that's going to explode in less than ten seconds."
"Son of a bitch!" Doggett snarled, and shoved Reyes in front of him as they bolted for the door.
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Oblivious to the impending explosion, Jessica strode out of the building and glanced around in search of Mulder. She spotted him a few feet away leaning against her car, and he glanced at his sister questioningly when she approached.
"Did you find something?"
She nodded. "One of the last two rooms we checked was open, and inside was a virtual Pandora's Box of mysterious medical equipment. There's an exam table in the middle of the room surrounded by a bunch of monitors, and there's all kinds of rather nasty looking specimen jars lined up against the wall. Thankfully I didn't close enough to see what was actually inside of them."
"Well I can pretty much guarantee its nothing we've ever heard of before," Mulder replied. "I'm going to get a couple of samples and have forensics run an analysis on them."
"Maybe you should have Dana do it," Jessica suggested. "Until we know exactly who - or what - we're dealing with, it's probably better to keep whatever we find limited to as few people as possible."
"Good idea, little sister. There may be hope for you yet."
"Gee, Fox, thanks so much for the vote of - "
Jessica abruptly broke off in mid-sentence, and Mulder turned around to see her stopped in place and doubled over. Concern flickered across his handsome face as he quickly made his way to her side.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Jessica answered. "I was just overcome with a wave of nausea, and I got dizzy for a second. It should pass in another minute or two."
"Maybe whatever you ate for breakfast didn't agree with you," Mulder suggested.
"If I had eaten something for breakfast maybe I'd agree with you," Jessica responded.
"Skipping breakfast is not a healthy way to start the day," Mulder chided. "You stay here until it passes. I'm going back inside to see what you found."
The captain immediately opened her mouth to protest, but at her brother's expression, wisely changed her mind. "Fine. I'll stay out here and keep watch. That place triggers my claustrophobia anyway."
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud "whoosh", and they glanced at the building just as it exploded. Due to its proximity to the building, the Expedition's windows were shattered by the explosion's concussion wave, and shards of glass showered over Jessica and Mulder as pieces of the building - some burning - rained down on them. Mulder instinctively used his body as a shield to protect his sister and half dragged her to a safe distance away from the building.
"What the hell..?" Mulder muttered.
"Oh my God...John! Joohhnn!"
Jessica immediately took a step toward the building, and Mulder quickly stepped in front of her to block her path, holding her in place with his hands on her arms. "Jessica, no; you can't go in there!"
"Get out of my way, Fox" she demanded. "John's in there!"
"You can't go in there," Mulder repeated, and tightened his hold as Jessica began struggling to free herself.
"Damnit, Fox, let go of me! Joohhnn! Johhnnn!"
Mulder gave her a hard shake, forcing her to look at him. "Jessica, listen to me!" he instructed. "He's gone, Jessica; there's no way he could have survived the explosion."
"NO!" Jessica exclaimed, but just as suddenly realized he was right, and she began to sob as she continued her litany of denial. "No, no, no...oh, God...John..."
Satisfied she was no longer going to dash into the building, Mulder shifted his grip on her to encase her in a comforting hug with one arm as he used his free hand to retrieve his cell phone and call 911.
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FBI HEADQUARTERS
Some time later, Mulder returned to the Bureau to check on Jessica. Once the emergency personnel had arrived at the scene, Mulder had instructed one of the police officers to escort Jessica to the Bureau, where she would await official word on John's fate. She had protested at first, still half-convinced that he would somehow miraculously be found, and Mulder had been forced to be cruelly blunt to get through to her.
"If John didn't survive the explosion, and burned to death in the fire, do you really want to be here when they bring his body out?"
The brutal question had served its purpose, and the beautiful blonde had reluctantly returned to the Hoover Building. Mulder had phoned Scully and given her a brief explanation about what had happened, and the petite redhead was there to meet Jessica when she arrived. After allowing themselves a moment to share their mutual grief, Scully had taken Jessica to Skinner's office and they were now sequestered there as they waited for Mulder's return. Scully sat in a chair beside Skinner's desk, casting an occasional sympathetic glance at her sister-in-law as Skinner made an unsuccessful attempt to get some work done. Jessica was seated on the loveseat, her arms wrapped around herself as she stared listlessly at the floor. The awkward silence was broken when the door opened and a subdued Mulder entered the room. Jessica slowly rose to her feet as he approached her.
"Did they find him?" she asked evenly.
"No. I spoke to the fire captain and apparently whatever chemicals were present caused everything to burn completely to ashes, except for the exam tables. And this."
Mulder reached over and grasped Jessica's hand, turning it face up before dropping a small metal object into her palm. It was partially melted and covered with ash, but it was still recognizable as a wedding ring. Closing her eyes as a fresh wave of anguish rolled through her, Jessica closed her hand into a fist and clutched it against her chest, her body shaking with silent sobs. Scully felt her eyes well anew watching her sister-in-law's grief, and even Skinner felt his eyes grow misty. Mulder wordlessly wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug, and placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.
"I'm sorry, Jessica."
A knock at the door intruded on the moment, and at Skinner's invitation to enter, the door opened to admit Kersh. "Agents, Mister Skinner," he greeted. "I apologize for interrupting, but I need to speak with Captain Doggett."
Mulder snorted in disgust but said nothing, and sent Kersh an angry glare as Jessica withdrew from his hug.
"With all due respect, sir, now's not the time..." Skinner began, but Jessica cut him off.
"It's all right, Mister Skinner," she assured him, and wiped the tears from her face as she looked at Kersh. "What can I do for you, Deputy Director?"
"First of all please accept my sympathies on the death of Agent Doggett," Kersh said. "We may not have seen eye to eye on much of anything, but he was a good man, and I know he loved you and your children very much."
"Thank you," Jessica responded simply. "What type of information are you looking for?"
"I was hoping you could tell me what the four of you were doing at that building this morning," Kersh said. "I read the report that Agent Mulder filed but unfortunately it was rather vague."
"There's really not much to tell," she evaded. "Fox, John and I were working on a joint case between my department and the Bureau. One of our witnesses indicated that the building contained evidence that could prove helpful to the case and we were there in an effort to try and locate that evidence. Obviously it was a set up because ten minutes after we arrived, the whole place was blown to hell in a hand basket with John and Monica inside. Now if that's still too vague for you, perhaps the D.C. fire captain or your arson specialists can sift through the ashes and discover just how many pieces John and Monica were blown into."
Her tone and graphic remark made it clear that she was in no emotional state to be questioned further, and Kersh respectfully let the matter drop.
"My condolences again on your loss, Captain," he said simply, and exited Skinner's office.
"He really is a heartless bastard," Mulder muttered.
"He may be a few steps behind in the tact department, Mulder," Skinner allowed, "but we both know that when agents are injured or killed in the line of duty it's standard operating procedure to get a statement from the witnesses as soon as possible."
"I need to get home," Jessica declared evenly. "I have to tell the children what's happened before it makes the six o'clock news."
"I'll drive you," Mulder offered.
"Actually, Mulder, you're going to have to stay behind, at least for now," Skinner said. "Kersh is only going to back off long enough to maintain the pretense he's respecting Captain Doggett's grief. Sooner or later he's going to start fishing for information again, and the only way I can run interference is if I know exactly what you were doing at that building."
"Skinner's right," Scully replied. "I'll take Jessica home. You can meet us there after you finish."
Mulder reluctantly acquiesced to the A.D.'s instruction, and Scully lead Jessica from the office. Once they were gone, Skinner addressed Mulder.
"Have a seat, Agent Mulder, and start talking. Monica and John are dead and I want some answers. Because if it turns out this could have been prevented, Kersh is going to hang your ass out to dry and there won't be a damn thing I can do about it. Are we clear on that?"
"As crystal, sir."
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