Let's Face the Music and Dance-Part 2/7
Summary and disclaimers in Part 1

*****

J. Edgar Hoover Building

Special Agent John Doggett sat at his desk in the basement
office that had officially become his almost seven months
earlier, reading the police report that had been faxed to
him that morning. Once he finished reading it, he read it
again. But reading it a second time did not ease his
concern. In fact, it only made it worse.

His partner, Monica Reyes, walked through the door, casually
throwing her coat onto the rack, a small smile on her face.
It was a rare day indeed that she came to work unhappy.
"Morning, Agent Doggett," she said as she made her way over
to the other desk. The desk that had been his when Dana
Scully had run the X-Files. She paused when she reached it,
a frown taking over the smile. Her dark brows furrowed as
she looked at him. "What's wrong?" she asked. "You seem more
dour this morning than usual."

Doggett couldn't help but smile at her comment. She never
failed to make him laugh when she set her mind to it. He
looked back at the report in his hand, sobering instantly.
With a grimace, he leaned forward and shoved the papers her
way. Curiously, she took the report from him, then leaned
back, half sitting on her desk, to read it. He kept his eyes
glued to her face, easily reading the moment she understood
what she was reading and recognized the names of the people
involved. 

She finished and looked up at him, her eyes wide. "When did
you get this?"

"This morning," Doggett said roughly. "From persons
unknown."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I called the Bellefleur Police Department, and they
don't know who sent it. They said they had no reason to send
it to the Bureau." He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"But someone thought we should see it," Reyes said, her
voice contemplative. Her gaze seemed to turn inward, and
Doggett knew she was thinking about something important. "We
should tell them," she said finally.

"Who?" Doggett asked, though he knew very well who she was
talking about.

Reyes simply glared at him.

"Nah-uh!" Doggett said, rising from his seat. "They don't
need to know anything about this."

Reyes also stood straight. "What? Why? This may concern
them!"

"I don't see how it could," Doggett argued. 

Reyes' voice rose. "What do you mean, you don't see how it
could?! They have a connection to this woman, especially
Mulder! What if this means their child is in danger?
Shouldn't we at least warn them?!"

Doggett shook his head determinedly. "They don't need to
have their lives turned upside down again, especially if
this is completely unrelated to what happened more than a
year ago."

"John," Reyes said, her voice calmer. "What if it isn't?
Someone wanted us to know about this. Why?" She shrugged.
"What can it hurt to at least put them on alert?"

Doggett didn't say a word, but he folded his arms and stood
staring at her, holding back his frustration. 

Reyes seemed to sense it anyway. "They may need our
protection, John, but they also deserve the truth."

"We don't even know the truth," he growled.

"And we'll find out the truth, but not before we tell Mulder
what's going on." Reyes' voice was firm; she wasn't about to
back down.

Doggett felt his shoulders droop. "Okay," he agreed. "But if
it's nothing...if we worry them for nothing, I'll..."

"You'll what?" Reyes asked with a grin.

"Never mind," Doggett grumbled, then headed for the door.
"Come on. Let's get this over with."

*****

When Scully's first class of the day was interrupted by a
phone call from her former partner, she knew the rest of the
day was bound to get interesting. Her first thought was that
he needed her help on an X-File. Instead, he had requested a
meeting with both her and Mulder at their apartment. Was it
important enough for her to blow off her classes? Yes, he
had said, his voice dark. It was.

Worriedly, Scully excused herself from her class, leaving
her assistant, an energetic would-be Quincy, ME, in charge
and headed for home.

When she arrived, she found both Doggett and Reyes sitting
comfortably on her couch and Mulder pacing the room. Monica
had Will in her lap. Scully had debated several months ago
on making Monica Will's Godmother, but felt it was only fair
since the other agent had been witness to the little boy's
birth. Besides, Scully really didn't have any other female
friends to ask. She and Skinner took their roles as
Godparents seriously, taking turns baby-sitting Will
whenever possible. 

At the moment, Monica seemed content and relaxed, and
Doggett also seemed at ease, but Mulder looked as if he was
about to explode at any moment. "What's wrong?" Scully
demanded as she entered the apartment, her eyes on Mulder.

"I don't know," Mulder griped. "They won't tell me."

Scully looked back at the agents, her eyebrows raised. 

"We wanted to wait until you got here," Doggett told her,
casting a glare in Mulder's direction.

Scully slipped off her coat and set it aside. She smiled at
Mulder. "Then why do you resemble a caged lion?" Make that a
panther, she thought to herself. Sleek and graceful and
ready to kill to defend his own.

"Muldah, sit down." Doggett demanded. "You too, Scully." His
voice was softer when he directed it toward her, as were his
eyes.

Will reached for his mother as she sat in the chair
kitty-corner from the couch, and she hefted him onto her
lap. "How's my boy?" she asked him. He responded with a
grin. Mulder moved over and sat on the arm of her chair, and
she felt the tension in his body as her arm touched his
thigh. She looked up at him with concern. When he didn't
return her gaze, she turned back to the agents. "Okay, I'm
here. What's going on?"

Monica gave Doggett a nervous glance, then started talking.
"We were faxed a police report from the Sheriff's Department
in Bellefleur, Oregon this morning. We called them, and they
confirmed that the report was real, but they don't know why
we were sent it."

Scully's body had tensed at the mention of Bellefleur, and
as Monica explained about the report, she again looked up at
Mulder. This time, he met her fearful look with one of his
own. 

"Just what is this report about?" Mulder asked, his voice
husky. Bellefleur. Their first case together. Their last
case together. The place Mulder had been abducted.

Doggett sighed. "A woman was found murdered in her home two
days ago. She was stabbed in the back of the neck. Her
twenty-month-old baby was taken from the home, apparently by
the killer or killers, and they are still looking for the
boy."

"It was Theresa Hoese, wasn't it?" Scully's voice was shaky,
and she immediately cleared her throat after asking the
question, as if that would help her voice steady.

"Yes," Monica confirmed. "She went to the police over two
weeks ago, telling them she felt her baby was in danger.
That someone was after the child." She glanced down, a frown
settling on her face. "They didn't believe her. They said
she had been...acting more than a little odd after she
returned from Absolom's camp in Montana. She had been living
with her mother, Wendy Nemman, who was not at home the night
of the attack." She looked up again, and Scully recognized
the glow in the other woman's eyes. She had seen it often in
Mulder's at the beginning of a new case. "They feel pretty
bad now, of course."

"Now, there is most likely no connection between what
happened here and what happened last year," Doggett started
to say.

Mulder interrupted. "Like Hell, there isn't!" Will frowned
up at his father, not liking the anger in his voice.
"Theresa knew something. That baby was taken for a reason."
He looked down at his own son, and Scully saw the worry in
his eyes. "Whatever it is, we need to figure it out."

"Wait a minute. We?" Doggett's tone was incredulous.

Mulder turned his attention to the agent now in charge of
his X-Files. "You're going out to Oregon, I presume?"

Doggett looked at Monica, who gave him a slight nod. "Yeah.
I guess we are."

"Then I'm coming with you."

*****

From the moment Agent Doggett and his partner stepped on
board a plane in D.C., and all through the three hour flight
to Chicago, the one and one half hour layover there, and the
nearly four and one half hours of flight time to Portland,
he had been more than aware of the tall, dark haired man
following them. Now, as they drove southward in their rental
car, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw the other
rental shadowing them.

"Wish I could lose him," he said softly.

Monica didn't even look up from the book she was reading or
ask who he was talking about. "Why don't you?"

"Scully would kill me," he told her. "It would probably be
impossible to do, anyway." Whatever negative feelings he had
for Mulder, Doggett had long ago admitted to himself that
the man had been one hell of an agent. A little impetuous at
times, more than a little apt to bend the rules. But Fox
Mulder's mind was sharp and his knowledge of subterfuge and
evasion was on par with the best spies in the business.
Doggett doubted he had lost much of his expertise in the
past year.

"Why didn't you let him travel *with* us, then?" Reyes
asked. 

"It was his idea to 'tag along'," Doggett said with a
grimace. "So he can do just that." He looked over at his
partner and friend, only to see her frowning. "Hey! He
didn't argue. He knows how much trouble we could get into if
we allow a civilian to become part of an official
investigation. Especially if they find out *who* that
civilian is."

Reyes nodded. "I guess. Still...it seems so rude. It almost
feels like we're driving along in a model-T while Henry Ford
himself is being forced to follow in a horse drawn
carriage."

"Well, in this case, Ford gave up that Model-T because he
didn't want it to endanger his wife and son."

Reyes was quiet for a while. "You think that's the real
reason he's been so content to let us run the X-Files?" she
asked. "Because he thinks if he gets involved again, it will
only put Will in danger?"

Doggett shrugged. "I honestly don't know, Monica." He
glanced in the mirror again. "All I know is that he and
Scully seemed to think Will wasn't in any danger right after
Billy Miles and his...friends...left you guys alone the
night of his birth, and now they seem worried again." He
paused. "Maybe they should be worried."

"Yesterday you didn't think Mrs. Hoese's death had anything
to do with Mulder," Monica reminded him.

Doggett didn't answer. He wasn't going to explain that it
wasn't that he hadn't thought there was a connection. It was
that he hadn't *wanted* there to be a connection. 

But, what if...?

He shook his head. The last six months of his life had been
very interesting. He and Reyes worked well together, and
they had managed the X-Files satisfactorily. Doggett had
even begun to respect and trust in Reyes' 'feelings'; they
had gotten him out of more than one mess in recent history.
He often called on Scully to help by doing an autopsy or to
get her medical opinion on a case. And Reyes had, from time
to time, met with Mulder to get his view on a certain
subject. He also knew that both Reyes and Skinner had been
to Scully's apartment from time to time for dinner or to
baby-sit Will. But, he had rarely seen either of Will's
parents outside of a professional setting. 

Despite this, he still felt a certain protectiveness over
Scully...and Will. The child, whom he rarely ever got to
see, was special to him. He didn't know if it was because he
had been able to watch him grow while he was still in his
mother's womb, or simply because the boy had grabbed his
heart when Doggett had first seen him in the hospital six
months ago. It didn't matter. He knew he would do everything
in his power to keep William Fox Mulder safe. And if little
Raymond Hoese II's kidnapping had any connection to Will,
Doggett was going to find it. 

It wasn't long before they pulled into Bellefleur. It was a
nice looking little town, but it's small population had
decreased significantly since the incident last year when
two of the counties best deputies had disappeared and one of
the department's detectives had been found dead in the trunk
of his vehicle. Doggett shook his head. Not the kind of
place you would want to settle down and raise your kids,
that's for sure.

He pulled to a stop in front of the Sheriff's Office,
noticing the odd looks he and his partner were receiving
from a couple of middle aged women standing on a nearby
street corner. Glancing at Monica, he noticed that she, too,
had seen the women, and was frowning back at them. "Look's
like strangers aren't very welcome around here," he said as
he unbuckled his seat belt. He cast a quick glance in the
rearview mirror. Mulder had parked behind them.

"With all that's happened in this town, I'd be surprised if
they didn't look at outsiders with a little trepidation,"
Monica responded, opening her door and slipping out onto the
street. 

Doggett followed suit, then looked back at Mulder, who was
already walking toward them. The faint, autumn sunlight
flashed off the former agents sunglasses as he grinned at
Doggett. "Well," he said, placing his hands on his hips.
"Fancy meeting you here, Agent Doggett."

"Muldah, shut up," Doggett growled, then headed for the
entrance to the Sheriff's Office. But not before he noticed
the grins Mulder and Monica shared before following him.

Once inside the building, Doggett turned to the other man.
"Now remember, you're here to observe, NOT ask questions."

"Yes, sir, Agent, sir," Mulder said. Doggett could tell he
was having a hard time keeping a straight face.

"Hey, this is serious," Doggett said softly.

Mulder's expression darkened. "You think I'd be here if I
didn't know that, Agent Doggett?" 

With a grimace, Doggett turned toward the admissions desk.
Damn, this was gonna be a long day.

*****

The day had already been long, and it wasn't nearly over
yet. Mulder grimaced, then rubbed his forehead, where a
tension headache had been teasing him since Chicago. He had
spent years flying from city to city around the country, but
it had been several months now since he had been on a plane.
He had never minded traveling before, but at the moment, he
hated it. He would like nothing better than to be back home,
doing his best to make both Scully and their son laugh. 

Why the hell had he come here, then? he asked himself.
Because Theresa Hoese had been killed and her baby had been
taken. Theresa Hoese. Who, like him, had been abducted,
tested on, and left for dead, only to be saved by a
different kind of miracle than the one that saved him.
Theresa Hoese, whose son could very well be as special as he
knew his own son was. He suddenly itched to grab his cell
phone and call home again, even though he had just talked to
Scully not thirty minutes ago. Even though Skinner and the
Gunmen had promised they would help look after his family
while he was gone.

As if they could do anything to stop someone like Billy
Miles if the replicant came calling.

He shook his head to try and rid himself of this thought,
and only increased the intensity of the throbbing behind his
temples. With a sigh, he concentrated on the words being
spoken between the two FBI agents and the deputy they were
questioning.

No, they had no leads on the missing child's whereabouts.
No, they had no idea who could have killed Mrs. Hoese or
why. She was stabbed in the back of the neck with a thin,
metallic object, possibly an ice pick, but the weapon itself
hadn't been found. Yes, she had had various bruises, proving
that there had indeed been a struggle. The only blood found
at the scene had been identified as the victim's.

Mulder felt a strong pressure in his chest, and as the
questions continued, it became nearly unbearable. He was
about to speak when Reyes asked the very question he had
been about to vocalize. "Has there been any bloodwork done
on Mrs. Hoese? Toxicology? That sort of thing?"

Mulder took a deep breath and looked over at the brunette,
his eyes wide. She glanced at him and winked, then looked at
the Deputy again, awaiting an answer.

"No," the young man answered. "No, I don't believe the ME
thought it was necessary."

"Do you think it's possible to do so now?" Reyes continued.
Mulder noticed Doggett looking at his partner with his brow
furrowed. Just like Scully used to look at him when he went
off on a tangent she didn't understand. He felt the corner
of his mouth quirk in amusement.

The deputy looked confused. "I don't see why not," he said.
"But--"

"Don't worry," Reyes continued. "It may be a long shot, but
it may answer a few questions we have, too."

Mulder sidled up to Reyes' back and said softly over her
shoulder, "You might want to make sure some of those blood
samples get to Quantico."

She turned and smiled at him. "I was just thinking the same
thing."

With a smirk of his own, Mulder replied, "Spooky," and
backed away.

Several minutes later, Mulder followed his companions back
out into the street. As he expected, Doggett turned on him
almost immediately. Unexpectedly, he included Reyes in his
angry speech.

"Would one of you please tell me what the Hell that was
about?" He glared at Reyes. "Bloodwork? Why?" He looked back
at Mulder. "And you want Scully to look at it. Any
particular reason?"

"So we get an honest answer," Mulder said without
hesitation. "I don't know about you, but I don't trust
anyone in this county." 

"And just what do you think she's going to find?" Doggett
asked, a little calmer now that he appeared to be getting
answers. "What are you looking for?"

Mulder looked at Reyes, who shrugged and answered with a
look that clearly said, 'you tell him.'

Mulder took a deep breath. "Theresa was an abductee. She had
been since her senior year in high school. She had the same
anomalous brain activity that I had, which was the reason
she was taken again--"

Doggett interrupted him. "Yeah, but you don't have it
anymore. And neither did she. Not since your...return." 

Mulder stood silent. 

Doggett's brow furrowed. "You don't, do you?"

Was that actually fear in John Doggett's eyes? Mulder
wondered. If it was, it certainly wasn't for him. Most
likely, it was for Scully. Doggett knew better than anyone,
even Skinner, what kind of tortures Scully had lived through
while Mulder had been missing.

"Not the way it was before my abduction," Mulder said
softly. "But..." He stopped and looked at Reyes imploringly.

The young woman faced Doggett. "He's becoming a telepath.
He's getting stronger and stronger all the time. In fact,
even I could hear him in there." She nodded back toward the
building behind them. "And his immunity to certain illnesses
is...well..."

"Out of this world?" Mulder finished when she couldn't. "At
least, that's what Scully calls it."

Doggett's eyes swept back and forth between them. "You're
joking. Right?"

"I need to know if Theresa was facing the same thing. If her
bloodwork shows she has the same abnormally high titers that
I do..." He stopped again, this time looking at the ground.

"What?" Doggett demanded.

"Will is even more immune to disease than I am. He's never
been sick a day in his life." He paused, then continued,
looking Doggett firmly in the eye. "And his powers of
telepathy are extraordinary, though not quite in control,
yet, since he's still too young to manage them. Apparently,
he got these traits from me. If Theresa's son has the same
talents, and he was taken because of them, then Will could
be next."

Doggett began shaking his head in confusion. "But, if Will
and this other kid are so special, why wait to take them
now?"

"That's something I haven't figured out, yet," Mulder said
softly.

Doggett glared at him. "You left Scully and your son--"

"I left them under guard," Mulder interrupted. "They're as
safe as they can be." He turned away from them and headed
toward his car. "But, if we don't find out the 'why' and the
'who' soon, there may be no way anybody can protect them."
He looked back at them as he opened his door. "So, Agents, I
suggest we get cracking."

*****

End Part 2/7

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