On the Outside Looking In, by Rusty Armour Title: On the Outside Looking In
Author: Rusty Armour (armour_rusty@hotmail.com>)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Mulder returns and Doggett decides that it might be time to transfer to another department.Obviously I'm writing this before we know what actually happened to Mulder or what things will be like when he does return. This story is sheer speculation on my part and an exercise of the imagination.
Disclaimer: You know the drill. The characters aren't mine but the property of Chris Carter and Twentieth Century Fox. Yada, yada, yah...
Agent Doggett flipped through an issue of National Geographic, his eyes wandering aimlessly through the pictures, his brain no longer digesting the information. His mind was in the ICU where Fox Mulder and over a dozen tubes and wires lay. And no doubt Scully was there too, whether it was with the medical team's approval or not. Doggett decided that he would check up on her again in 20 minutes. This time she might accept the cup of decaf coffee or his offer to fetch some things from her apartment.
Ever since Agent Mulder had mysteriously appeared at her doorstep and collapsed across her floor, Scully had been unwilling to take her eyes off of him for a second. She had been there in the ambulance, had run beside the gurney, and had barged into the ICU. It had been Skinner who had come down to their basement office to tell Doggett the news.
It had hurt a little. After all the months he had spent trying to track down any clue that might help her find Mulder, it would have been nice to have heard the news from her, not Skinner. Then he had seen her in the hospital and had understood that she had much more important things to dwell on than the bruised feelings of her partner. Her *other* partner.
Doggett wondered how much longer she would have to call him "partner". If Mulder recovered, and Doggett was sure that he would, he would be back on the X-Files and Agent Doggett would be out.
He was pretty sure that they would transfer him to another department. If they didn't, he would request a transfer. Mulder and Scully weren't just a team: they *were* the X-Files. And the X-Files didn't need Agent Tag Along as the wrench in their well-oiled machine. The saying "Three's a crowd" definitely applied to this situation.
Doggett put down the magazine with a sigh and decided to try flipping through the pages of Readers Digest this time. He was just reaching for a very dog-eared copy from four years ago, when his cell phone went off and he almost jumped out of his skin. He removed the phone from his pocket, his heart still thumping a little wildly.
"Doggett."
"Hi, it's Skinner. Kersh wants to see you a.s.a.p."
"I'm on my way." Doggett rose to his feet and stretched. Mulder had barely been back ten hours and Kersh was already shuffling the deck. So be it. He'd rather have Kersh swing the axe quickly and render a clean blow.
- Two Weeks Later -
"What are you doing here?" Doggett's eyes flew from the computer monitor. He had been so intent on his research that he hadn't heard the man entering the office. He now found himself looking up at Fox Mulder."I was doing research, Agent Mulder."
"At 10:30 on a Sunday night?" Doggett quickly consulted his watch. Yep, it was 10:30 all right.
"I guess I just lost track of time. Would you believe I only came in here to pick up a file I'd forgotten to take home?" Mulder didn't answer, only stared. Doggett decided to stare back. Mulder still looked pretty rough, though this was certainly an improvement on the man Scully had introduced him to at the hospital.
"Were you planning on coming in tomorrow?" asked Doggett.
"No, I was planning on coming in now," said Mulder. Doggett didn't miss the icy tone.
"It's your office," he answered quietly.
"Yes, and yours too, apparently." Mulder crossed the room and sat down behind his desk. He began to search through the drawers, and Doggett knew that he was trying to find his name-plate.
"Hey, I was as surprised as anybody," said Doggett.
"Were you?"
"Yeah, I was." Doggett was starting to get irritated. He was tired and he had originally hoped that it would be at least a few more days before he had to face this conversation. His mood didn't improve when Mulder found his name-plate and plonked it down on the desk.
"Well, I think that's my cue to go," stated Doggett, rising from his chair.
"So who are you going to report our little conversation to? Kersh or someone higher up on the food chain?"
"What?" Doggett stared at Mulder in disbelief.
"I'm just wondering who you're really working for, Doggett. Are you just Kersh's mole or are you on someone else's payroll as well?" Doggett felt his hands tighten into fists.
"I'm not a spy and I'm nobody's patsy."
"Hmm...I think Krychek said something along those lines once...or was it Spender?" Now one of the fists came crashing down on Doggett's desk.
"Damn it, Mulder! Scully gave me a chance. Why can't you?" Mulder smiled and crossed his arms.
"I've seen more than she has, things she hasn't even experienced in her worst nightmares."
"Bullshit."
"Excuse me?"
"She's seen plenty, and so have I." Mulder laughed.
"You'd better be careful, Doggett. If you keep telling yourself that, you might start believing it's true."
"Go to hell!" spat Doggett.
"Probably will," answered Mulder calmly, swinging his heels up on the desk.
"And you'll drag Scully down with you." That hit the mark. Mulder's feet were off the desk and he was walking towards Doggett.
"I would *never* hurt Scully."
"Could have fooled me." Mulder grabbed the other agent by the lapels.
"Are you looking for a fight, Mulder, or are you hoping to find that bug Kersh planted on me?"
"Maybe I'm looking for both."
"Then you'll have to throw the first punch, buddy, 'cause I'm not hitting a man who just got out of the hospital." Mulder glared at Doggett, then released his jacket. Doggett took a step back and, to Mulder's surprise, removed the jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. He then whipped it open, exposing his chest.
"Look, Ma, no wires," commented Mulder blandly.
"Maybe you'd like to conduct a strip search, hook me up to a lie detector, shine a big light in my face?" Mulder winced but Doggett didn't seem to notice. He had started snatching files off his desk and was hurling them on the floor.
"These are all cases Scully and I worked on. Maybe you'll find something there." He pulled out the drawer from his desk and tipped everything out of it. "Don't forget to sift through this stuff. You never know." He grabbed a pen and pad from the floor and started to write furiously. When he was finished, he ripped off a sheet of paper from the pad and banged it on the desk.
"Here's the name of my last girlfriend, the name of the store where I bought food for your damn fish, and the name of my dentist because who knows what he might have stuck in my tooth."
"Doggett-"
"I didn't ask to stay here, Mulder. I asked for a transfer because I knew that something like this was going to happen. Well, you can keep the X-Files. I'd rather keep my sanity, thank you." Doggett picked up his jacket and headed for the door. "I'll get my transfer, even if I have to climb over Kersh's head to do it."
Agent Doggett stepped out of the office and slammed the door. He let the sound ring in his ears for an instant, before he leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he heard the sound of heels clicking on floor tiles. Scully.
There was no mistaking who it was with that fiery shade of red hair. Well, wherever Mulder went she was sure to follow.
Maybe he could brush past her. It wasn't as if she had come down to the basement looking for him. And if she was trying to find Mulder, nothing would distract her. Doggett had learned that lesson quickly enough.
Doggett strode purposefully down the corridor, crossing paths with Scully somewhere in the middle.
"Doggett?" He wanted to walk past her, but she had placed a hand on his arm. "Are you...uh...okay?" She was staring at him, no doubt wondering why he had his jacket thrown across one arm and was sporting an open shirt.
"What's going on?" she demanded. Doggett was too angry to speak and didn't relish the thought of shouting at a pregnant woman, even if it was Scully.
"Ask your partner," hissed Doggett at last. "He' back there in *his* office." Doggett pulled his arm away, and Scully stepped back. She had seen fire behind the cool depths of Doggett's eyes.
She watched Doggett walk briskly down the corridor and heard a door swing open as Doggett chose to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Yes, it was safe to say that Agent Doggett was angry: furious would be an even better description.
Scully turned and headed to the office to find Mulder and an answer to her question.
Agent Doggett breezed into the Hoover Building at 9:45 am. He had slept until almost 9:00 after finally succumbing to sleep around 4:30. He was supposed to be at a meeting in Skinner's office with Scully, but he was planning to hold his own meeting with Kersh instead. However, it was not to be.Kersh's secretary informed Agent Doggett that Deputy Director Kersh was at a conference and inquired, somewhat snidely, if Doggett had received Kersh's memo. Doggett had been tempted to ask her for a copy of that memo so that he could stick it where the sun didn't shine, but antagonizing Kersh's secretary wouldn't help him get his transfer.
He left Kersh's office and headed down to the basement. He could probably find some work to take home with him. He had a feeling that both Scully and Mulder would be attending Skinner's meeting, and that they would have a *lot* to discuss. He'd pop into the office quickly, grab some things from the floor, and be out of there before either of them returned.
The door to the office was closed, which Doggett took to be a good sign since he and Scully, and assumedly Mulder, usually kept the door ajar. He opened the door slowly, trying to prepare himself for the mess he would encounter on the floor. To his astonishment the mess had been cleaned up. Pens, staples and paperclips were back in the drawer. However, the case files were stacked on Mulder's desk. Mulder himself was sitting there reading one.
Doggett debated whether he should back out of the office and make a hasty retreat, but then Mulder looked up. The two men stared at each other for several seconds before Doggett moved towards his desk.
"I...uh...forgot my favourite coffee cup. I can't drink my coffee if it isn't in my favourite coffee cup." Doggett retrieved the faded grey mug, with the words US MARINES stenciled on it, and moved towards the door.
"I've been reading your case reports, Agent Doggett," said Mulder.
"Uh...yeah. I can see that. I won't bother asking you what you thought." Doggett was almost out the door before Mulder gave him his assessment.
"I think they're excellent." The other agent whipped around and looked so shocked that Mulder wondered if there was an alien standing behind him.
"Come again?" asked Doggett.
"This is excellent work, Doggett. Scully said you were good, that you were very good, in fact, but I didn't believe her. I'm sorry." Doggett took a tentative step forward.
"Scully said I was good?" Mulder laughed, though it was in genuine amusement this time.
"Yes, Scully said that. She also gave me a real earful after you left last night. She said, and I quote, 'If we lose Doggett because of you, I'll kick your ass from here to-' Well, you get the gist."
Doggett sat on the edge of his desk, still staring at Mulder in disbelief. "Are you sure it was Agent Scully you were talking to and not one of those alien bounty hunters because back in Arizona-" Mulder raised a hand, cutting off Doggett.
"No, it was Scully, all right. You seem surprised."
"Well, quite frankly I am, Agent Mulder. I was under the impression that she didn't like me very much."
"Are you kidding?" cried Mulder. Judging by the expression on Doggett's face, Mulder could see that he wasn't. Mulder shook his head. "You should have stuck around last night. She was singing your praises then."
"Scully?"
"Yes, Scully. You were her rock. She says you kept her together when she was ready to fall apart. Oh, and she just happened to mention how you saved her life a couple of times, which puts you pretty high in my book, Agent Doggett."
Doggett looked down at his feet, unable to meet Mulder's eyes.
"You went to see Kersh, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I couldn't get in. Kersh is away on some conference. Apparently, there was a memo." Doggett glanced at Mulder. Something that almost resembled a boyish grin had spread across his face.
"There wasn't any memo. There wasn't even a conference. I bribed the secretary."
"What?" exclaimed Doggett.
"I wasn't sure when, or even if, you were coming in today, so rather than hang around outside Kersh's office, I asked his secretary to lie to you."
"This-this is unbelievable! Why would you do that?"
"Because I think Scully's right. We can't afford to lose you." Doggett opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.
"Man! I sure wish you could have told me that before I decided to skip Skinner's meeting."
"Oh, don't worry about that. Scully covered for you. She told Skinner you were sick with the flu."
"The flu?"
"Yeah, you have a temperature and everything. At least, that's what Scully assumed when she saw you walking down the hall with your shirt open, looking hot under the collar." Doggett burst out laughing and revealed something rare: a smile. Mulder rose from his desk and held out his hand.
"I think you'll make a great partner, Agent Doggett," he said. Doggett stared at the hand for a moment, then grasped it in his own.
"I'll do my best, Agent Mulder."
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