Author: RPcrazy
Category: MSR, DRR
Rating: PG-13 language, violence
Keywords: Mulder, Doggett, Scully, Reyes. casefile, X-File, romance.
Summary: On a case where there seems no escape John Doggett and Fox Mulder spend some bonding time together.
Chapter One
�Tell me why we�re here again?� Mulder moved his flashlight over the furniture and walls of the dark abandoned house.
�Keep the voice down Mulder. They might hear us.� Doggett whispered as he led the way through the living room and into what appeared to be the kitchen.
�The �they� as you put it have left for the night.� Mulder stopped and directed his flashlight to the open back door and slowly moved over.
�Don�t tell me you don�t believe in ghosts Mulder because that�s not what I�ve heard.� Doggett flicked the light switch back and forth but there was still no light in the house.
�So we�re the �Ghostbusters�,� he said drawing out the final word with a hint of sarcasm. With his flashlight he did a quick sweep of the back yard and seeing it empty closed the door.
�You could say that.� Doggett nodded and rolled his eyes. �Come on Mulder, let�s find the switchboard. We need some light in this place.� Without waiting for acknowledgement he slinked silently down a long hallway.
�So the unbelieving Agent Doggett believes in ghosts now?� The former X-Files agent chuckled. �So I suppose you�ve seen one or two in your time on the X-Files.�
�Yes I have.� Without flinching he continued. �Up there, we need a chair or step ladder. He shone his flashlight half way up the wall of the tall hallway. He could only imagine Mulder�s disbelief but smiled knowing that the man who was his partner for the evening knew very little about him and his experiences. To him it was the advantage he needed to hopefully be taken seriously by the other man.
Not waiting for Mulder, he retraced his steps entering a side room. Moments later he placed a chair against the wall.
Climbing the chair brought him face to face with a wall mounted wooden box.
�Is that it?� Mulder provided a little extra light.
�A-ha.� Doggett placed the flashlight between his teeth and did some fiddling. All of a sudden the hall was filled with light, illuminating for the first time the expanse of the imposing entrance hallway to the mansion on the outskirts of DC.
�So you come in handy after all Agent Doggett.� Mulder mentioned as Doggett began going back over their steps to the kitchen. �Agent Reyes must think you�re a wonder around the house.
Doggett just smiled to himself and continued, �To answer your earlier question about believing in ghosts, I�ve seen one or two or what I thought were ghosts at the time but I�ve been doing some research and almost all cases of sightings can be explained by other means.�
�Such as?� Mulder only just realized he should switch off his flashlight now that the house had power again.
�In this case it wasn�t a ghost that shut off the electricity, it was a man.� Doggett let the faucet flow, checking the working order of the place�s facilities.
�So you think that the Fletchers are lying about the ghost?� Mulder followed Doggett up the narrow flight of stairs off the kitchen.
�I don�t think they�re lyin�. They seemed genuine enough when they made an appointment to see me in my office this morning.� They came to a small room that looked like it could have been maid�s quarters a few generations ago but had been converted into a child�s playroom. Double glass doors led out onto its own balcony. �That�s why we�re here to check things out.�
�So why me?� Mulder already knew but wanted Doggett to express the reasons, so 'he' could be empowered.
That was the first time Doggett actually looked at Mulder even though he was about to turn the handle to what was either another room or a built in closet.
�Because Mulder, as soon as I say the word �ghost� at the bureau they all run the other way.� He smiled as he turned the handle and opened the door.
�Welcome to the Bureau�s most unwanted.� Mulder stood there with a smug expression.
What happened next was a bit of a blur. It was as though something rushed past them pushing them with a thud into the wall and then was gone down the stairs.
�����
�You right Mulder?� Doggett tried to lift himself off the floor to run after whoever had side swiped them but was a little too disoriented. �Did you get a look at the guy? Mulder?� He eventually lifted himself off the ground and surveyed the room. It was empty of any human life.
Rolling his eyes and then frowning, he whispered �typical� under his breath. Doggett could have been dying but Mulder still had to run off and leave him there. His partner for the evening could go off on his own for all he cared! Reyes wouldn�t have left him like that.
The door he had opened was indeed to a closet. It displayed a few children�s outfits but probably not enough of a wardrobe to indicate a child lived there. The room probably catered for the Fletcher�s grand children, Doggett deduced.
He frowned with concentration as he wondered why the perp would be holed up in a closet while they were casing the place but maybe their entrance surprised him. Doggett began pushing on the walls and one gave way a little.
�What�s the hell?� One part of the wall totally collapsed and immediately Doggett shone his flashlight into the darkened recess behind. Tentatively stepping through, it seemed to be another small room devoid of any windows or any other light source. By the looks of cobwebs and dusty furniture it had not been lived in for quite a while.
Moving cautiously around the room led him to a dark narrow hallway. Avoiding cobwebs he stealthily crept along until he came to a set of stairs. Before descending he turned the flashlight back the way he had come then preceded down the creaky steps. In the dimness it was difficult to see where they were leading, then all of a sudden he was on level flooring again with a blank wall staring back at him.
�What the f***!� There seemed no way out but back the way he came until something that he touch clicked. The whole wall swivelled on a middle axis and light from the other side pulsed into his eyes briefly blinding him.
When the brightness faded to normalcy he found himself in what looked like the library. The pivoting wall was actually shelves of books. So the phenomenon was not only one he�d seen in the movies! It made him wonder how many other secret passages there were in the stately old home that would have dated back to the sixteen hundreds. The Fletchers had told him in their earlier meeting that the mansion had been in the same family since old Frederick Bourke had built it back in 1658. The Fletchers were the first owners since then to be of a completely different bloodline.
�Mulder?� Doggett called as he exited the library into another hallway they had not yet explored. �Mulder!� he said with more urgency. Then he heard some kind of knocking sound. Doggett stopped in his tracks to listen. A few seconds lapsed until he heard it again. Following the sound that could have easily been a tree in the wind hitting up against the house, brought him back to the vast kitchen.
The light had been turned off since they were there last. Fumbling for the switch he once again illuminated the room.
Knock, knock�knock. It was coming from a cupboard near the fridge. In agent mode he noiselessly crossed the room. The sound was intermittent as though there was a logical reason for the occurrence but it still needed to be investigated.
With hand poised at the doorknob he bit the bullet and quickly pulled it open. Shining the flashlight inside revealed nothing unusual except it was empty.
No, wait! There was something. Doggett shifted a little closer and moved his head inside.
That�s when he felt a forceful push from behind and he was on a downward spin into nothingness.
~~~~~
�Glad you could drop in Agent Doggett,� came the familiar haughty voice from somewhere in the vicinity.
�What happened to me?� Apart from the hit to the back of the neck upstairs he now nursed a sore buttock and left wrist. The room or wherever they were was pitch black and quite damp but as his eyes adjusted he could see two elevated windows letting in some moonlight. They were laced with thick bars.
�You were ghosted.� Mulder didn�t seem to be too upset. He had been through many an ordeal in his time on the X-Files. Maybe he took each set back with more grains of salt that Doggett cared for.
�Ghosted!� Doggett tried to stand but winced as he straightened his body. At least he hadn�t broken anything. A fall like that could have been more damaging.
�The verb of ghost. Surely you learnt that at elementary school. When a ghost plays funny buggers with its unsuspecting victims and pushes them into an inescapable cellar.�
�So you still think it�s a ghost, Mulder. With no evidence, not even a sighting, an apparition pushed us down here!� He cringed again as he tried to walk, the pain surging down his right leg. Feeling on the floor for his flashlight he saw a glint of metal reflected by the dim moonlight.
�Just because a ghost appears to be opaque doesn�t mean it has no substance. There are such entities as poltergeists that have been known to create havoc with furniture and people hurling them around a room.�
�I�ve seen the movie Mulder but from what I�ve read poltergeists can be talked down to being created from people�s imaginations.� He switched on the flashlight and combed the room for his partner.
�Whatever you say Agent Doggett, you�re on the X-Files now, you�re the expert.� Mulder�s voice faded away seeing no further use in continuing the topic if everything he said was being explained away with non-belief and Doggett-logic.
�You looked round this place?� Doggett questioned. Mulder was sitting on the floor, legs out in front of him and leaning against one wall.
�Looks like some sort of cellar but with no way back out except up there.� Mulder looked up the way they�d entered the room. Doggett shone his light revealing a hole in the tall ceiling. There was no light coming from the other end. Unless they had a ladder or rope there was no way of reaching it.
�What would be the use of this room with no way back out?� Doggett voiced the statement Mulder had already thought about.
�Maybe back in the dark days this was the family�s dungeon.� Mulder made his voice sound spooky.
�It�s no time for playing games. Come on Mulder, help me find a way out.� His flashlight shone over the walls with no clear way to exit except the way they had come.
�That�s going to be a little difficult under the circumstances.�
�Oh?� Doggett was more interested in feeling the walls to see if there was some trick exit like the one he�d encountered into the library.
�Don�t be too alarmed Agent Doggett but I think my ankle is broken.� Mulder made it out to sound something quite everyday. �Up to my knee.�
�Just great!� Doggett voiced under his breath and continued moving around the dark basement room, this time a little more urgently.
~~~~~
�Found a way out yet Agent Doggett?� Mulder suffered his pain well. Doggett had also endured broken bones and particularly an ankle. He knew his partner for the evening would need medical attention soon if not just something for the agony.
�No!� He sat down on one side for the time being exhausted and his head and rear end hurt like hell.
�I could ring the girls.� Mulder took out his cell phone. �Ever carry one of these Doggett?�
�No never!� Doggett rolled his eyes and wondered how Scully could put up with him all day every day. When was the man going to get a real job? �I promised Monica I�d not bother her tonight, no matter what.�
�No matter what?� Mulder repeated with faux indignance. �No matter that we�re caught in a dark, damp cellar with no way out except a hole in the ceiling and one of the occupants is immobile?�
�We both know the ladies are having some girl time.� Doggett reminded.
�If you call, going to see a seedy romance film with a group of chicks and back to Scully�s place to talk and listen to Barry Manilow CDs, girl time, then I think I prefer to be here with a broken leg.� He began dialling the number.
�Monica�s taste is more contemporary than that, I�m sure Dana�s is too.� He decided that sitting on his ass wasn�t achieving anything and stood again, yelling to the person above. �Hey!! You up there! Get us outta here! I�m a federal officer.�
�It won�t do any good, Agent Doggett.� Mulder put the cell phone to his ear.
�And why not?� With his flashlight in one hand he began to feel around the walls for anything that might possibly be an alternate way out.
�I just feel it.� Mulder looked at his phone and frowned a little and mentioned to himself more than present company, �She must be watching the movie and has her cell phone turned off. I�ll text message her.�
Mulder was starting to sound like Reyes except a lot more annoying. He did give the guy some credit for hiding his obvious pain.
�Doesn�t it strike you as odd that there�s nothing else here except us? No storage boxes or other sh**?� Doggett kept running his hands over the walls looking for any incongruence that could lead to another way out. �Seems this place has been dug out of the earth. No support beams. Perfect for a wine cellar but why the entrance through one of the kitchen cupboards?�
Seemingly not having heard what Doggett was questioning to himself he changed the subject.
�So what made you change your mind?� Mulder replaced the phone in his pocket.
�Change my mind?� Doggett placed the light between his teeth to use both hands on one area.
�You know, about getting married.�
�There are some of us traditionalists still around Mulder.� After finding nothing unusual he carried on with his task to find an exit. �I�m surprised you haven�t popped the question to Scully yet. What�s it been, ten, eleven years?�
�The phrase �pop the question� indicates a little urgency that I�m not too comfortable with.� Mulder chuckled. �Besides Scully and myself are happy just living together for now. But, big boy, I�m asking you the questions. So who asked who? The new age Reyes or the traditionalist Doggett?�
�It was mutual.� Doggett turned back to Mulder after the search around all four walls proved fruitless. �Looks like that leg of yours will need to go unattended for a while longer.� He sat back on the ground but more carefully than the previous time.
�I know, she�s pregnant!� Mulder effused.
�What makes you say that?� Doggett felt a little uneasy.
�Because you didn�t deny it.�
�Okay Mulder. She�s pregnant.�
Chapter Two
Georgetown, 8pm
�Do you think you�ll ever have that many?� Scully pulled out the plate of sashimi from the fridge and uncovered the plastic wrap.
�Twelve kids, no way.� Reyes busied herself finishing making the punch. �It�d take me to way past fifty to have them all. I�d be happy to have one that�s healthy and happy.�
�So you�ve thought about having children?� Scully heaped some steamed rice into a large bowl and arranged the tempura on a platter together with the dipping sauce.
�John and myself have talked about lots of things.� From the cupboard she pulled out six punch cups. She decided to play down her pregnancy for the time being. She was only eight weeks gone and was not sure how the Bureau would handle both her engagement to her work colleague and also her pregnancy in one hit. �Including what we�ll both do in the Bureau when we�re married.�
�Seems to me that this would be a chance for John to finally get out of the X-Files.� Scully picked up the sashimi with one hand and tempura with the other. �Ready with that?�
�I�ll follow you Dana.� Lifting the bowl of punch she trailed behind her good friend. �I suppose you�re right but I don�t want to push him either.� She could also have added that if John was out of the X-Files what would happen to the division when she left on maternity leave? That was another big hurdle that she and her fianc� would need to discuss.
�At least you�ll still be there. That place needs an open mind as I now know.� She smiled and placed the platters on the table in front of four other chatty, happy women. I�ll just go back and get the rice.�
�This looks delicious,� Leyla Harrison was the first to comment. �Japanese, I can�t remember the last time I had sashimi.�
�They�re not home made if that�s what you�re thinking,� Scully called from the kitchen. �I did make the tempura and rice though.� Also placing the rice on the table she finally sat.
�So Monica,� One of the ladies was a friend of hers from her New Orleans office who had travelled up to be with Reyes on her special girls� night before the wedding. �What�s John doing tonight, out with the boys?�
�He�s home alone tonight Jenni with strict instructions not to call me.� Reyes smiled widely and went for the punch. �Who wants some?�
�So what does this man of yours do when he�s home alone?� Kate Becker asked, a friend of Leyla�s from accounting who they had met a week previously.
�Oh, miss me I suppose.� Reyes chuckled and handed out drinks.
�You�re not having some? It�s very tasty.� The other woman, Crystal inquired. Scully and she had become close when William was a baby. They each had similarly aged children.
�I�m not a big drinker,� was her excuse.
�Just a taste,� Leyla half filled a cup for her.
�I�ll just have water.� Smiling sweetly she stood and as she moved to the kitchen Scully�s gaze looked after her with curiosity.
�So where�s Mulder tonight?� asked Crystal. �Kick him out?�
Scully only half heard the question, as she was deep in thought.
�Oh, I just told him to make himself scarce before we got back.� A rumble came from her pocket. She slightly frowned specifically remembering asking to not be on call that night. �Excuse me everyone I have a message.�
As she read the text her face clouded over in bafflement.
~~~~~
Mulder�s laugh filled the dark basement room.
�Now you�re in it deep buddy.� He winced from the pain but kept laughing. �You nail your own partner getting her pregnant and you�re marrying her. All big department no-nos.�
�We�ll work something out.� What else could he say that wouldn�t make him look more of the fool that he was feeling right then? The area was beginning to become a little too claustrophobic.
�Hope help comes soon or that wedding of yours tomorrow might need to be postponed.� Mulder reminded with a smirk.
�Let�s hope it doesn�t come to that.� Just then Doggett�s eyes were drawn to something on the far wall. �Did you see that?�
�See what?� Mulder queried.
�That! There it is again!� Doggett stood and immediately made his way to the part of the wall where he saw what looked like a sliver of light coming from the other side. �This can�t be. It�s all solid earth here.� He pushed with all his strength, ignoring the sharp pain in his left wrist. If Mulder were fighting fit they would have had the power of two men.
Taking a breather to rest his muscles he resumed again with more force. Then suddenly the earth gave way crumbling to the ground and spilling over his shoes. He just managed to move back before it was half way up his legs.
�Looks like our way out Agent Doggett.� Mulder stated the obvious.
The light was dim but managed to make the basement look a little brighter.
�Let�s hope so Mulder.� Doggett stepped over the dirt and took a look through the hole in the wall. �Can you walk at all?� He walked over to his companion and helped him to try and stand.
With an arm around his shoulders Doggett let Mulder put all his weight onto him but they didn�t get past lifting his butt off the floor. For the first time Mulder called out in agony aborting the attempt.
�You go Doggett and bring back help.� Mulder�s face tried to relax as he found a comfortable position of the floor.
He was no doctor, Doggett knew he couldn�t do anything to help him physically but to go and get medical aid.
Stepping back through the hole he knew it would be hard going climbing the narrow staircase. There was enough light for him not to need his flashlight.
�Hello! Anyone there?� At the top of the stairs was what looked like a two room furnished apartment. One area was the living room with wall heater, a few couches, a bookcase rested against one wall. �Come out and reveal yourself. I�m FBI.� There was no sound, the place seemed empty and yet there must have been someone there recently. The place looked well and truly lived in.
Making his way to the next room there was a kitchenette and a bedroom area. Opening the fridge revealed it as well stocked, same with the cupboards. Shuffling through a few paper on the bench revealed nothing that would give away anything about the occupants.
Doggett wondered if the Fletchers knew about this part of their house. Did they know about the concealed hallways and rooms?
Unusually there were no windows to the outside and yet he seemed to be on ground level. There was one door but on inspection it was locked.
�Anyone?� Doggett knocked on the door and rattled the knob.
Looking like it was the only way out he decided he�d need to do something drastic. With his stronger leg he lifted it and rammed it hard against the door in the attempt to force it open. Nothing happened except Doggett grimacing at the pain. Then slowly he heard what sounded like cracking. It was coming from the door. The cracking increased, then he saw the door begin to fall down from the top.
Quickly before it fell on him he moved back just in time for the wooden door to fall with a thwap on the ground.
With an intense frown he looked up at the doorway. Instead of leading to escape all he saw was a similar wall of earth to the basement.
�Mulder?� he called before moving back down the stairs to tell him the bad news. �Mulder?� There was no reply. Lifting his flashlight for support illumination he moved it all around the room before realizing it was completely empty.
�Mulder!� The sound echoed off the earthen walls before feeling intense pain in his head and slowly blacking out.
Chapter Three
�He�s still unconscious.� Doggett saw flashing lights and heard a few voices around him but made out little. �How is he?� Into his subconscious came a woman�s voice. �The head wounds are not so serious.� It was a man�s tone he didn�t recognize and he was moving as though in a vehicle. The flashing lights began to slow and fade until they were only pinpoints.
�John?� Even though barely clinging to reality it was that sweet voice that made him smile and then slowly fluttered his eyes open. Her hand caressed his face and the other held his hand. �John.� Her voice was even more tender as she bent down and kissed his forehead and then his lips lightly. �You�re on your way to hospital.�
His voice still hadn�t returned.
�Here, he might need this,� came the man�s voice again.
�Can you sit up John?� Reyes tried to help him a little but the pain in his head shot through like lightning and he fell back on the pillow of the trolley.
�We�ll do some tests Agent Reyes but I�ve seen cases like this before and I�m sure he�ll be fine for tomorrow.� From the paramedic�s words Doggett found it hard to think about tomorrow when the pain was so bad presently.
�John, here, have this.� She placed a straw in his mouth and he began to sip the cool water. It was difficult to estimate the time since he and Mulder had begun their investigation and how long since blacking out he had been found. Where had Mulder gone? Was he okay?�
�Mulder?� Doggett managed a hoarse whisper.
�He�s also on his way to hospital.� Reyes looked to the paramedic with silent permission to mention how he was. �He has rather bad concussion, a broken leg and a possible broken wrist but I�ve been assured he can still be our best man tomorrow.� She squeezed his hand and showed a smile mixed with love and concern.
�What?� He could still only manage single words and a small frown. Any more caused his head to pound. So Mulder was a stronger man than he thought. Not only was he valiantly hiding and downplaying the pain of his broken leg, his wrist was also throbbing.
�I wasn�t there for you tonight John.� The paramedic took the empty glass away and gave them some privacy.
�Your night,� he managed an extra word.
�Yes, the night was for me but you are part of my life now.� She paused and wiped his brow with a cool cloth. �Promise me you won�t go off into possible danger without letting me know.�
�What happened?� He had remembered nothing from the time he must have been hit over the head in the damp basement.
�Dana got a message from Mulder saying where you were and needing medical help.� The paramedic took the towel and refreshed it with more water. �After contacting AD Skinner he informed us about the nature of the case so we got a team together to go find you.� She placed the new towel on his forehead and rested it there to continue explaining. �We caught the guy, John.�
�What?� he frowned again. �Sure?�
�Why?� It was Reyes� turned to frown a little confusion.
�Go on.� Doggett wasn�t too sure in his own mind to express his feelings about the case so it was better to hear the facts first.
�A Raymond Geoffrey Bourke�, last known whereabouts Arlington, Virginia 1995.� Reyes waited for her fianc� to cotton on.
�Bourke, 1995?� Doggett was beginning to get more of his voice back. �Bourke mansion.�
�Yes John, it looks like he thought he had some sort of claim to the house as the last surviving member of the Bourke dynasty but it was thrown out in court early 1995. After that he disappeared.�
�Only to be found living in the secret rooms of the Bourke mansion.� Doggett was coming to terms with the facts but something still niggled at his ordered mind.
�And that must have been the �ghost� the Fletcher�s kept hearing and the reason for the furniture being moved around and things in their home going missing.�
Doggett was still not convinced that the case was closed so neatly.
~~~~~~
�How did you find us?� Doggett wasn�t sure if Mulder had explained all in his text message to Scully. How would they have been lifted out of the cellar especially given the condition of Mulder�s broken bones? There had been no other way out than the way they had arrived.
�What do you mean John? Mulder texted Scully the address.� Reyes could sense there was more.
�No, in the basement.� The painkillers the paramedic had given him were finally taking effect and he began to sit.
�The basement? What basement John?� Reyes looked over his face seeing his honesty. �We found you and Mulder in the Library.�
�Agent Doggett, I suggest you lie down until we examine your head wounds more fully.� The uniformed man was polite and made sense but Doggett was too confused to comply right away.
�We were in some sort of basement. The only access was through a chute inside a kitchen cupboard. That fall broke Mulder�s bones. That�s where I was hit over the head and don�t remember anything after that until here.�
Reyes looked really confused and took her cell phone out and dialled.
�Dana? It�s me Monica.�
<Monica, I�m quite busy right now. They�re taking Mulder to Radiography and they�re permitting me to tag along.>
�Then I�ll be quick. This is important. John says that he and Mulder fell down some sort of chute into a basement, that�s how Mulder was injured. Has he said anything?�
<Nothing like that!> Scully hesitated clearly also concerned about the curiosity of the case. <Mulder said he fell down a flight of stairs, blacked out and when he came to was in a locked attic with Doggett.>
�Dana says you and Mulder were in a locked attic.� Reyes mentioned to her partner as Scully hung on the other end.
�That�s not true! It was a room that had been cleared out of the earth. I dug a hole in the wall and found a flight of stairs to a secret apartment.� There was definitely something more at work there. How could Mulder lie like that unless he believed he was also telling the truth?
<Monica, I really have to go, they�re wheeling him into Radiography right now.>
�Wait!� Reyes saw Doggett thinking and sensed he wanted to ask one last thing.
�Tell her to ask Mulder what our secret is.� Doggett looked a little shamefaced but it was the only way to know for sure that they�d really had their conversation and it wasn�t all just in his imagination.
�You told him?� Reyes raised her eyebrows with disbelief.
�He wheedled it out of me.� He diverted his eyes from hers as she took a breath and asked the question.
<Secret? Okay, I�ll ask.> There was a moment�s pause on the other end.
�You owe me for that John,� his fianc� chuckled. �Maybe I�ll wheedle something out of you later?�
�I might have a headache,� he teased and smirked. He was clearly going to be much better for the wedding the following day.
<Monica, that�s so wonderful! Congratulations! I so envy you two. Mulder and myself have decided to try invitro again so junior might have a little cousin.>
�I�m happy for you and Mulder, Dana. Talk later. I�ll let you go. Bye.�
�I�m so confused Monica.� Doggett sat up but the paramedic came and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
�Agent Doggett, we�re here at the hospital and for your own health I ask you to lie down for now.�
He nodded as the doors opened and he was wheeled outside. Reyes stayed right beside him as he was taken into the ER.
�Monica, I know I was in that cellar. I just can�t believe it was my imagination. I remember it clearly.� Doggett was adamant, so much so that it received the attention of the attending doctor.
�What�s that?� He lifted one of Doggett�s hands. When Reyes noticed the sight she lifted his other hand particularly looking at his fingernails. �Looks like you�ve been doing some gardening Agent Doggett.�
Epilogue
Mulder could give a detailed description of his experiences at the Bourke mansion just as Doggett had described his. There was irrefutable physical evidence both ways including the soil found underneath Doggett�s fingernails, but nothing was ever proven as to why the two men could be in two different places at once and yet have a two-way conversation.
Search for the cellar was fruitless; it seemed to have never been there, also for Mulder�s attic. Where he had described it as being situated in the mansion was only a third floor balcony over looking the rose garden to one side.
As expected the Fletchers had been oblivious to their uninvited guest and also to the secret passages and rooms in the house. Needless to say the �ghost� activities had ceased leaving the case still deemed an X-File. Perhaps in the future the file could be reactivated and whatever caused the �hallucinations� could be found and proved.
Mulder was a sight hobbling over on crutches with his leg and arm in plaster to stand by the groom at the wedding but didn�t overshadow Doggett and Reyes� special day.
Scully, dressed to the nines, stood beside her life partner as they all watched Monica Reyes come down the aisle of the church. Her smile lit up the whole room as she never deviated eye contact from the man of her dreams, soon to be her husband and already the father of their unborn child.
As Doggett and Reyes stood side by side clearly the happiest in the room. Scully gave Mulder a small nudge and a grin that had a part of he and Doggett�s previous night�s conversation coming back to mind. Something about �popping the question�.
The End