Title: Home
Author: Rusty Armour ([email protected])
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Medusa; Brief reference made to Within.
Warning: This story contains excess silliness.
Summary: Doggett thought his troubles had ended when he managed 
to escape from the subway tunnels, but he hadn't counted on the 
not-so-gentle ministrations of Special Agent Scully, MD. 
This story was partly inspired by Mary Greten's "Housecall". 
However, it was my mom who sparked the idea when she asked just 
what Scully meant when she said, "Let's go home." *g* 


Disclaimer: You know the drill. The characters aren't mine but 
the property of Chris Carter and Twentieth Century Fox. Yada, 
yada, yah... 





"We've got victims. Dead bodies." 

"Infected by a pathogen of unknown entiology. Look, Agent 
Doggett, a criminal charge isn't going to stick. These guys were 
just doing their job: keeping the trains running. They've got you 
to thank, and not just for saving their butts." 

"No, you figured it out. I was just your eyes and ears...Agent 
Scully-" 

"Let's go home." 

***

As Doggett followed Scully through the hospital and out into the 
parking lot, he dreamed about the long bath he was going to take 
back at the hotel. He'd lie there until every taut muscle relaxed 
and his joints no longer ached. He'd lie there until his skin 
pruned and the water started to go cold. Then Doggett remembered. 
His room didn't have a bath but a shower stall. 

Well, a nice hot shower would be good too. His skin wouldn't 
prune and the water wouldn't turn cold as it did when he had a 
long soak in the bath: a long, luxurious soak in the bath. 
Doggett held back a sigh. 

They reached the car, and Doggett searched his pockets for the 
keys. Ah, of course. She would have them. He tried to grab them 
from Scully's hand, but she pulled them away. 

"You've got to be kidding, Agent Doggett." 

"What?" 

"You've just been released from the hospital. You're in no 
condition to drive." 

"Then why did they release me?" 

"Probably because they assumed I'd be driving." 

"But I'm okay, aren't I?" 

"For a man who has survived a deadly flesh-eating contagion and 
has sustained a possible concussion, I'd say you're holding up 
pretty well, Agent Doggett." 

"But...?" 

"As you may recall, the nurse gave you some painkillers and 
warned you not to get behind the wheel of a car or operate any 
heavy machinery..." 

"All right, all right. Point taken." Doggett walked around to the 
passenger side of the car, and Scully tried not to smile as he 
grumbled on the way. 

"Don't forget to buckle up." 

"Yeah, yeah." Doggett did up his seat-belt with a loud click, 
while Scully struggled to push the driver's seat in the right 
position, one in which she could reach the pedals. "You know, 
it's only about a 5-minute drive to the hotel. I'm pretty sure I 
can handle it. It's not too late to change your mind," said 
Doggett. Scully turned the key in the ignition. Doggett shrugged 
and leaned back, closing his eyes. 

Maybe it was the painkillers, but he was feeling wiped out. He 
started sinking and soon he was lost. 




Doggett jerked awake as Scully's foot hit the brake. She swore 
under her breath at the driver who had just cut her off. Then 
she noticed that her partner's eyes were open. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, Agent Doggett." 

"Uh...that's okay." Doggett was looking at the passing scenery 
with a wrinkled brow. "I know I took a blow to the head back in 
those tunnels, but shouldn't we have reached the hotel by now?" 

"We're not driving to the hotel," said Scully, glancing at him 
briefly before her eyes returned to the road. "I checked us out 
while you were in the hospital. Your bag's in the trunk." 

"We're driving back to Washington tonight?" asked Doggett in 
surprise. 

"You said you wanted to go home. Besides, it's pretty hard to 
take a long bath when all you've got is a shower stall."

Doggett stared at her, but Scully's eyes remained fixed on the 
road. "You don't have to do this, Scully." 

"Yes, I do. I owe you." 

"No, you don't owe me anything. I was just doing my job." 

"And you did it very well." 

"Yeah, sure. I did a great job. I destroyed all your evidence for 
you," replied Doggett sarcastically. 

Scully turned to him sharply. "In case you've forgotten, you 
saved lives down there. That's much more important." 

Doggett nodded reluctantly, not entirely convinced. As Scully 
continued driving, Doggett could tell by the intense expression 
on her face that she was still back in that control room arguing 
with Karras. 


"Agent Doggett." 

"Hmmm...?" Someone was shaking his shoulder. 

"Wake up, sleepyhead, we're home."

Doggett's eyes flew open in surprise. They had been driving 
through Pennsylvania the last time he had been awake. He sat up 
groggily, rubbing his eyes. Sure enough, they were sitting in his 
driveway. Doggett smiled sheepishly and unbuckled his seat-belt. 
"Thanks for driving me home. I'm sorry I was such lousy company." 
Doggett stepped out of the car and walked to the trunk to retrieve 
his luggage. He was halfway to his front door before he noticed 
that Scully was standing on his porch, waiting for him. He lifted 
an eyebrow. "You want a nightcap, Agent Scully?" 

"No, not particularly, Agent Doggett." 

"Oh." Doggett fished around for his house keys. Scully didn't 
move. "You know, I'm pretty sure I can unlock this door all by 
myself." 

"I have complete faith in you, Agent Doggett." 

"Uh huh." He inserted his key in the lock. Scully was still 
standing there. The door swung open, and Doggett switched on the 
lights. "No little green aliens," he announced. 

"They're grey," said Scully. 

"Right. Okay." Doggett put down his bag and glanced at his 
answering machine. No red, blinking light. He turned around. No 
Scully either. "Agent Scully?" he called. 

"In here," she answered. 

"Where's here?" muttered Doggett. He walked into the living 
room, expecting to see her there. Then he thought he heard a 
noise in the kitchen. Scully had her head in his fridge. 
"Uh...what are you doing?" he asked. 

"Looking in your fridge." 

"Find anything interesting?" 

"Agent Doggett, I'm having trouble finding anything at all!" 

Doggett leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. "I was 
going to pick up some things on the way home," he said with a 
grimace. "There must be something in there." 

"There's a bottle of ketchup, a carton of orange juice and half 
an onion." 

"Oh, well, I wasn't all that hungry anyway." 

Scully closed the fridge door and started to go through his 
cupboards. 

"Hey, do you mind?" 

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do mind. This is a kitchen. You must 
have something to eat in here!" 

Doggett dropped to his haunches, opened a cupboard door, and 
extracted two tins of baked beans. "There you go. See? I told you 
there had to be something." 

Scully didn't look impressed. "I'm ordering pizza. Why don't you 
take that long bath you were talking about?" 

Doggett stared at her. "You're ordering pizza?" 

"Yes, I'm ordering pizza." 

"I see." Doggett placed the two tins back in the cupboard, 
turning his back on her. "Look, it's really sweet of you, but I 
can take care of myself. I'm a big boy. You don't have to do 
this." 

"Actually, I do. They would only release you from the hospital on 
one condition: that you were released into my care." 

Doggett's head snapped around. "What?" 

"You might have a concussion. If they had had their way, they 
would have kept you overnight for observation. However, because 
I'm a doctor-" 

"Why am I only hearing about this now?" 

"I thought you might object." 

"You're damn right! I do object! No offence, Agent Scully, but 
I feel absolutely fine. As enjoyable as your company might be, I 
don't need it." 

"And is this your opinion as a trained physician, Agent Doggett?" 

"No, it's an opinion from someone who knows his own body well 
enough to know that it's working just fine." 

"Well, if that's the case, what do you think your body wants on 
its pizza?" asked Scully, heading for the phone. 

"God, you're so pig-headed!" yelled Doggett. 

"Me?" exclaimed Scully with a laugh. "I'm not the one who was 
screaming at every nurse in the hospital." 

"I-!" shouted Doggett. Then he lowered his voice. "I wasn't
 screaming. I just raised my voice a little." 

"You're the worst patient I've ever seen!" 

"And it's taken me years of training to earn that status," 
quipped Doggett. 

"I'm ordering pizza, Agent Doggett. Go take a bath." Scully 
stood with her hands on her hips, unwilling to back down. One 
man had already defied her authority today. She wasn't about to 
tolerate the same behaviour from another. 

Doggett threw up his hands in surrender. "Fine. You win. I'll go 
take a bath." 

Scully nodded curtly and started flipping through the phone book. 

"Do you think I'm well enough to draw my own bath, Agent Scully? 
Maybe you'd better do it for me." 

Scully looked up from the phone book and glared at her partner. 
"If you're not in that bathroom in the next 30 seconds, I'll throw 
you in head first." 

"All right, I'm going! I'm going!" 



Doggett slipped down into the water with a contented sigh. He had 
dumped the remains of a three-year-old bottle of bubble bath into 
the tub. Some relative had given it to him as a present. He 
couldn't remember which relative or what the occasion had been and, 
at the moment, it didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was his 
bath. Everything outside of it was immaterial. 

He sank down deeper and closed his eyes. Then his head jerked up as 
he heard a knock. 

"You okay, Agent Doggett?" came Scully's voice through the door. 

"No, I've drowned," answered Doggett. 

"Just checking. I'll fish out the corpse later." 

"You do that." Doggett closed his eyes again, and for a long time 
the only sound he heard was the lapping of bathwater. 



There was another knock on the door. 

"Still okay, Agent Doggett?" asked Scully. 

"No, my back needs scrubbing," he said, his eyes still closed. He 
chuckled quietly to himself when Scully chose not to reply. "Are 
you okay, Agent Scully?" 

"Yes, I'm fine, Agent Doggett." 

Doggett sat bolt upright, a wave of water splashing over the side 
of the tub. Scully was standing in the bathroom. "What the hell do 
you think you're doing in here? Get out!" 

"You said your back needed scrubbing," she replied, closing the 
door. 

"For Christ's sake! I was joking, Scully!" 

She smiled and walked closer to the tub. Doggett drew his legs 
up to his chest and tried to reach for his towel. 

"What's wrong?" said Scully. "Don't tell me you're shy." 

"Yes! Very!" 

Scully was now kneeling at the side of the tub. "I only caught a 
quick peek of you in that hospital gown. I was hoping to see 
more." Doggett's eyes widened as she reached into the bath. 
"There you go." Scully had retrieved his missing bar of soap. 
While Doggett tried to decide if he was relieved or disappointed, 
she began to rub the soap between her hands. Then she reached 
towards Doggett to lather his back... 

"Damn it!" yelled Doggett as there was another knock at the door. 
"Who the hell is it now?" 

"Agent Doggett! Agent Doggett, can you hear me?" demanded the 
voice on the other side of the door. 

"Scully...?" 




Doggett woke with a start. Scully was pounding on the door, 
calling his name. "I'm okay," called Doggett. "I...uh...I just 
fell asleep." 

"Well, if you're going to do that, use your bed!" 

"Yeah, I'll try to remember that next time," said Doggett. "I'm 
getting out of the bath now. That is, unless you want to come in 
and scrub my back." 

There was a long pause on the other side of the door. "I think you 
must have been hit harder on the head than anyone realized, Agent 
Doggett." 




Agent Doggett walked into the living room in a t-shirt and track 
pants. An open pizza box sat on the coffee table. He smiled 
slightly when he noticed that at least four slices were already 
gone. 

"I was hungry," said Scully, somewhat defensively. 

"I like a woman with a healthy appetite. I'm surprised you 
didn't lose it after spending the day with Karras." Doggett 
plucked a slice of pizza from the box. 

"It doesn't have anchovies," stated Scully. 

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Doggett stretched out on the couch, 
one leg dangling over the side. 

"I was about to get another glass of water. Would you like one?" 

"Only if you promise to keep it in the glass this time." 

"I think I can manage that." 

Scully went into the kitchen, and Doggett chewed on his pizza 
thoughtfully. Well, the situation wasn't as awkward or 
uncomfortable as he imagined it might be. It was almost casual, 
or as casual as things were ever likely to be between him and 
Scully. 

"Here you go." Scully had returned from the kitchen and was 
handing him a glass of water. 

Doggett lifted it to his lips and froze, remembering the 
salt-water pathogen from the Boston subway system. He glanced at 
Scully, who was studying him with an amused but sympathetic 
expression. She lifted her own glass and took a large sip. Doggett 
did likewise. 

"How are you feeling?" 

"Okay," said Doggett, taking another bite of pizza. 

"Any headache? Dizziness?" Doggett didn't answer for a moment. 
"Doggett?" she prompted. 

"Slight headache," he admitted. 

"Well, that's not unusual given the fact that-" 

"I have a concussion?" 

"A *possible* concussion." 

"Ah." He took another sip of water, then eyed the pizza box on 
the table. "Well, I think I'll now have a possible slice of 
pizza." Doggett leaned across the gap from the couch to the table, 
then quickly leaned back again. "Oh...I think I just had a Jimmy 
Stewart moment." 

"Dizziness?" 

"Uh huh." Scully stood up and walked over to the couch. 

"No, sit still," she said. She bent over and proceeded to examine 
his eyes. 

"What's the diagnosis, Doc?" 

"Both pupils are fine." 

"So I'm fine?" 

"That depends." 

"Depends on what?" Scully wandered around the room for a minute, 
finally stopping in front of the certificates and plaques hanging 
on one wall. "What rank did you hold in the army?" 

"It was the Marine Corps not the army and I was a sergeant." 

"What city were we just in?" 

"Is this for real?" asked Doggett with a laugh. Scully wasn't 
laughing. "Boston." 

"What year did you graduate from the Academy?" 

"I'll choose 1995 for 500, Alex." 

"Great. You're fine," stated Scully, returning to her chair. 

"I'm so glad to hear that. Would you mind telling me what that 
was all about?" 

"I was checking to see if your brain was still working. 
Sometimes an injury to the head tears certain structures in 
the brain, including blood vessels. This can interrupt the 
messages travelling within the brain. One symptom of concussion 
is memory loss or forgetfulness. As the brain swells, the 
patient can experience confusion or drowsiness. If the patient 
becomes confused or is difficult to wake, he or she must be 
given medical attention immediately. By asking you simple 
questions, I can monitor these symptoms more effectively." 

"Hold on. When you asked me for my address in Pennsylvania, the 
one I thought you already knew, you were just testing for 
concussion?" 

"Uh...yes." 

"And when you called Lieutenant Bianco Sergeant Bracco, that was 
a test too?" 

"'Fraid so." 

"What would you have done if I had gotten any of those questions 
wrong?" 

"Driven you to the nearest hospital." 

"Guess I'd better keep on my toes, then," said Doggett, covering 
his mouth in an attempt to stifle a yawn. 

Scully crossed the room again and stood beside the couch. "You're 
tired. You should go to bed." 

"If I do, will you go home?" 

"You know I can't do that." 

"Then I'm staying right here." 

"You need to sleep, Doggett." 

"And you don't?" 

Scully placed her hands on her hips, unwilling to back down. "If 
I get really tired, I'll crash on the couch." 

"The bed will be free. You can crash there." 

"No, you'll be sleeping in the bed, Agent Doggett." 

"If you say so," countered Doggett with a huge yawn. Suddenly 
Scully grabbed his arm and, with more strength than he would have 
given her credit for, hauled him to his feet. "I guess I'm going 
to bed," observed Doggett. "All right, I remember how to walk!" 
Doggett managed to extricate his arm from Scully's firm grasp and 
moved out of the living room. "Do you mind if I take a call?" 

Scully's forehead creased in confusion. "The phone isn't 
ringing." 

"No, I was thinking of a different call, a call of nature," 
said Doggett, coming to a halt outside the bathroom. Scully 
blushed and nodded, and Doggett stepped inside. 

When Doggett emerged again, he expected to see Scully standing 
there with crossed arms, stamping her foot impatiently. "Agent 
Scully?" he called. 

"In the bedroom." 

Doggett laughed loudly. "Lord, I never thought I'd hear those 
words coming from your lips, Agent Scully!" 

"Ha. Funny," answered Scully. 

Doggett walked into his bedroom. "Find anything?" he asked. "A 
pair of handcuffs lying where they shouldn't be?" Scully 
ignored him, pulling back the sheets on his bed. Doggett couldn't 
believe it. She was going to tuck him in. "Uh...I think I can
take care of things from this point on. Thanks for everything. 
Good night." 

"Get in, Agent Doggett. Now." Her voice was stern. She wasn't 
taking no for an answer.   

Doggett sighed and climbed into bed. He had barely laid his head 
against the pillows when Scully pulled the sheets up around him. 
"Those are some maternal instincts you've got," grumbled 
Doggett as she folded the covers over his shoulders. 

Scully froze and stared at Doggett, a peculiar expression on her 
face. "Really...? Do you really think so?" She sounded nervous 
but also excited. 

"Uh..." Doggett had originally intended to tell her that she'd 
be a good mother because she had the nagging part down pat. He 
couldn't and wouldn't say that now. "Yeah," he said at last. "I 
think you'll make some lucky kid a great mom one day." Scully put 
a hand to her head for a moment, obscuring her face. "Agent 
Scully?" 

She slowly removed the hand. Her eyes were shining as if she was 
trying to hold back tears. "Thank you," she whispered and, to 
Doggett's surprise, she bent down and kissed his bruised cheek. 

"What...what was that for?" he asked, bewildered. Scully smiled 
but said nothing. She walked to the door and flicked off the 
light. "Agent Scully!" 

"Good night, Doggett." She turned and disappeared, leaving her 
confused partner lying in the dark. 

"Well, if that isn't the damnedest thing," said Doggett.