5 Days Later

"Agent Doggett?"

Doggett stirred out of his fitful sleep, his vision slightly obscured by a brightness that he could not explain. Quickly, his vision recovered enough that he could see the room around him, and he remembered that he was lying in a hospital bed.

"Agent Doggett?"

He turned to one side, blinking, and saw Skinner sitting there, looking into his eyes with concern.

"Can you see, Agent Doggett?"

"Yeah," he rasped, and almost immediately coughed. He tried to sit up, and found that he was still slightly weak. He slumped back into the bed, running his hand over his face. Something brushed against his cheek, and he jumped slightly, pulling the hand away in fear. He belatedly noticed that it was just the IV.

"Take it easy, John," Skinner said, patting him lightly on the shoulder. "You've been through a long road to recovery. It took a while to work on those acid burns up and down your back."

Doggett didn't understand at first, and then the memory returned. "That bug, that insect...I was infected." Doggett's eyes fell fearfully on the shape of his legs under the sheets. "My legs, they were infected, and my shoulder."

"All healed completely," Skinner said, assuring his friend. "Agent Scully managed to confirm a method of treatment that could be used to kill the infection before too much tissue could be lost or damaged. The fact that you managed to get as close to the bright lights as you did probably saved your legs, if not your life."

"Scully," Doggett said, clearing his throat. "How is Scully? Is she-"

"She's fine," Skinner interrupted. "She was marginally infected, but she was cleared almost immediately." He pointed at Doggett's eyes. "They had to keep you under some very bright lights during the treatment, strong enough to penetrate your skin deeply enough to kill all of the infection. They were afraid it might have some effect on your sight."

"No, I'm OK, I think," Doggett replied, blinking from the thought of losing his ability to see. "How long was I out?"

"Five days," Skinner answered. "Now that you're awake, the doctors said they want to take a final blood sample, to be sure that everything's back to normal. The burns will be tender for a while, but the medics on the scene were able to keep them to a minimum. Virtually no scarring, they say."

"Good to know," Doggett said with a weak grin. His expression sobered. "I imagine Kersh wants a word with me."

"As soon as you're able," Skinner confirmed ruefully. "He's already caught up with me and Scully. He gave her a bit of a hard time, but considering the circumstances, I think he's saving the best for last."

Doggett shook his head. "It shouldn't be this way, sir. You know it, I know it. I shouldn't have come to this."

"I know," Skinner agreed, his voice sympathetic.

"I just hope Kersh is willing to hear that."

***

Washington, DC

1 Day Later

"...five men confirmed dead, several others wounded, including a number of local law enforcement officers, the total destruction of a private warehousing real estate."

Deputy Director Alvin Kersh glanced up from the report held tightly in his hands, glaring at Doggett with his typical lack of patience.

"Shall I go on? In addition to the confirmed dead, there are allegations by this Detective Thomas Egan that as many as several dozen victims might have been killed under the same circumstances over the past few months.

"And according to your report, while you admit that these deaths were nominally the result of actions taken by the late Mr. Michael Londner, you go on to say, and I quote, 'Mr. Londner was under the control of a parasitic insect that guided his actions to the ultimate purpose of perpetuating its species in the New York Metro area.'

"Now, Agent Doggett, would you like to explain that one to me in a little more detail, because unless I am mistaken, this does not even begin to explain what you were doing working on a case in Queens during a requested personal leave, or why you felt the need to burn down half a city block."

Doggett sat uncomfortably in a wooden chair, trying to get the stiffness in his back to go away without giving Kersh the impression that he was actually starting to squirm.

"May I be honest, Director Kersh?"

Kersh raised an amused eyebrow. "Oh, please do, Agent Doggett."

"This has nothing to do with me investigating a case while on personal leave, or Agent Scully conducting unauthorized autopsies, or the cost in lives and real estate that resulted from what we found up there."

Doggett leaned forward, staring Kersh down in the process. "I acted in accordance with the task that I was assigned months ago when I was ordered to find Agent Mulder. Whether or not I took leave under false pretenses, and you can do whatever you feel is necessary in response to that action, I involved myself in that case because I had reason to think that there was a connection between the circumstances of that case and what was left unresolved in Arizona."

"From what I can tell, Agent Doggett, the only connection between the two cases has something to do with a similar puddle of green liquid." Kersh returned Doggett's intent stare. "What in the name of hell does a puddle of green liquid have to do with Agent Mulder?"

Doggett struggled for some kind of response, but ultimately, he sat back into his seat, unable to give a reply that would satisfy Kersh.

"Sounds to me like we're back to the pie in the sky, alien fairy tales, Agent Doggett. And to be honest, as much as I expected that from Agent Scully, and at this point even Director Skinner, I would have hoped that you might resist the urge to engage in this kind of sloppy and frankly unprofessional nonsense."

"Nonsense?" Doggett retorted, finally losing his patience. "All I deal in is nonsense, sir. That's what you dropped in my lap when you assigned me to the X-Files. Frankly, I am having a bit of trouble understanding exactly what it is you are expecting from this investigation.

"Ever since Arizona, have we gotten any leads from even one field office in the Bureau? Have we been given the same resources and the same level of attention that we were afforded before things started to spiral out of your frame of reference?

"Of course not. Instead, we've been assigned everything from missing children to some mechanic with X-ray vision. What do any of those cases have to do with Agent Mulder? At least I took the chance to go out there and find out if there was a connection, no matter how bizarre it might be. It's a hell of a lot more than the Bureau has given us to work with."

Kersh slapped the report file onto his desk. "Are you telling me that you feel that your assignment to the X-Files is a waste of your time? You seem to place a high value on your talents, Agent Doggett. Some might consider that a sign of arrogance."

Doggett shook his head. "Absolutely not. But I am questioning why I was assigned to the X-Files in the first place. I'm not Agent Mulder. I have no personal stake in those kinds of cases, or a need to validate the paranormal on taxpayer's dime. And if you really want to know, I question why Agent Scully is still assigned to the X-Files, when there are several times in the past seven years when Agent Scully has been reassigned due to irregularities in the department."

"Agent Mulder's disappearance created a vacuum in that department. Someone needs to fill that void until his whereabouts can be determined, and if necessary when that time comes, a replacement can be assigned. As the agent in charge of finding Agent Mulder, you were the logical choice."

"That still doesn't explain why the X-Files is even still open in his absence," Doggett said, his voice weary.

"That's not your concern," Kersh replied harshly. "Execute the cases assigned to you, and let those of us in the proper position handle the whys and the wherefores."

"That's exactly what I was doing," Doggett snapped back.

"As far as I can tell, Agent Doggett, you were chasing shadows, nothing more."

"Because that's the only thing I have to work with," Doggett said bitterly. He stiffly stood. "Give me something to work with, and maybe I'll chase something more substantial."

Kersh pushed himself out of his seat. "I expect you to take that kind of initiative, Agent Doggett. I suggest you stop waiting for the Bureau to provide you with a break, and do your damned job."

Doggett stared back into Kersh's eyes, for a moment, and then nodded. "Understood."

"Thank you," Kersh said, his tone far from pleased. "Then I expect that you will work within channels in the future, and avoid this kind of sloppiness. It's what I would have expected of Agent Mulder, not what I was expecting from you."

Kersh's expression softened into a patently false smile. "I can understand how this has been a hard week for you. Get some rest. I'll try to do what I can to minimize the damage on this end. Dismissed."

Doggett nodded his head slightly, and then walked out of the room, confident that the damage was far from minimized.

***

Washington, DC

4 hours later

Doggett sat staring at the files on his desk, unsure as to where to resume his work. The meeting with Kersh had been a complete waste of time, more of a game than a true resolution, and that kind of double speak always left Doggett with a bad taste in his mouth.

Truth be told, he was conflicted. Kersh had all but ordered him to take charge of finding leads on Mulder, and yet he had a strong feeling that he would have to be very careful about what kind of leads he might choose to explore. The last thing he needed was another black mark in his file with Kersh.

His choices were clear. He needed to keep his head above the water on the X-Files while also pushing for some kind of progress on the Mulder case. If nothing had surfaced on that case since the time of Mulder's initial disappearance, then the only alternative was to keep clutching at straws like they had been doing every Friday night for weeks, or take a look at what Mulder had been doing just before his fateful trip to Oregon.

Which brought him to the file sitting on his desk. Mulder's had taken a solo trip to a small town in Pennsylvania in early May, and there were a few oddities that might provide some kind of lead. It was a long shot, but at this point, it was better than nothing.

"You're working late tonight."

Doggett glanced up, and saw Agent Scully standing by the door, her eyes reflecting his own weariness. "I could say the same to you."

"Well, there was some paperwork thanks to Kersh and his objections to the autopsy. And some issues with the hospital and my records." She shook her head. "I think they know me on a first name basis by now."

"OPR, or the hospital?" Doggett asked.

"Both," Scully said with a slight smile, walking over to her desk. She tapped one of the files as she slumped into her seat. "Detailed results from the chemical tests."

"I think we're long past the time for that, Agent Scully," Doggett said, shaking his head. "I'm not looking to revisit this one, if I can help it. And since it had nothing to do with Mulder, what good would it do?"

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that," Scully said. There was something in her eyes, a barely concealed excitement. "I found something very interesting."

Doggett looked far less excited. "And what would that be?"

Scully opened the file, paging through the results. "Remember that unknown organic compound that I mentioned? The one you thought was the liquid extracted from the Amazon? Turns out that it was something else.

"The organic compound was a by-product of the degeneration of a particular type of retrovirus. It's very unique, but I've seen it before. So have you. It was the same retrovirus that Skinner was infected with in Arizona."

Doggett found himself unable to respond. He walked over to Scully's desk, scanning the pages of results himself, and then shook his head. "Are you trying to tell me that those bugs were somehow related to that alien bounty hunter business?"

Scully sighed, hearing that familiar tone of disbelief in his voice. "No. I'm saying that the insects might have been the result of an experiment utilizing the tissue or DNA from something similar to the bounty hunter. There's plenty of evidence of similar experiments involving human subjects in the X-Files."

"And there are just as many reports of bizarre and seemingly alien insects and diseases coming out of the Amazon and other remote areas every week," Doggett replied, much more harshly than he intended.

Scully took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "The experiments are on record. It's just a matter of taking the leap-"

"It wasn't too long ago that you were telling me how you couldn't take those kinds of leaps anymore, that you couldn't keep trying to be Mulder," Doggett said, holding back his frustration as much as possible. "This is not the way to find him, Agent Scully."

"I have to trust my instincts," Scully replied. She looked him in the eye. "I'm asking you to trust my conclusions. Can you do that?"

"It's not a matter of trust, Agent Scully," Doggett shot back. "As a partner, I trust you. I know you think you're doing the right thing, taking the right approach. But this is not a matter of trust. It's a matter of faith. A matter of belief."

"Belief in what?" Scully asked.

"In Mulder's methods," Doggett answered. He gestured towards the file cabinets. "You try to be Mulder because you've learned to believe in his methods, in his cause. But I can't operate that way. I have to have something concrete to work with, something I can understand and follow without making these leaps you keep talking about. Or as you put it, keeping an open mind."

Doggett shook his head. "I can't put my faith in alien bounty hunters and experiments using alien DNA. If I did, I would be lying to myself, and then I'd be guilty of exactly what Kersh was accusing me of."

"And what was that?" Scully asked.

"Chasing shadows," he replied. He sighed heavily, unwilling to continue the argument. "So how did your personal business go while I was away? Do you mind if I ask what you were doing?"

Scully thought about the news she had received, and the unexpected revelation of her sudden good fortune. "Chasing shadows," she said finally, with a slight smile.

Doggett wanted to press, like he always wanted to, but once again he let it drop. "Not sure how to take that, but I'll take what I can get."

Scully smiled, a signal of her appreciation. "Are we still on for tonight? I think the boys are waiting impatiently to find out what I'm going to wear next."

"Just watch for the digital cameras," Doggett said with a wink. Then he glanced at the file on his desk, and shook his head. "No, I think that's something I'll skip this time around. Like I said, I need to work with something a little more concrete for a while. And I could do with a weekend without Langley."

"They'll be so disappointed," Scully said wistfully. She glanced at the file, unable to read the title. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No, not at the moment," Doggett said evasively. "I just need to catch up after my time in the hospital." He looked her over, and saw the careful way she was holding herself, her slightly stiff posture. "Why don't you get away for a few days, take it easy?"

"I think I'll do that," Scully said, her smile far more genuine. "I could do with a weekend without Frohike."

They laughed together, and moments later, Scully left for the night, leaving Doggett to his thoughts once again. He opened the file on his desk, scanning the report once again, and then started filling out the vehicle requisition forms he would need to start the trip the next morning.

Maybe this would give them the answer they needed, or maybe it would just give him some sense of purpose and progress. Either way, more than ever, he felt as though he was on the right track. He would find Mulder.

For Scully's sake, and for his own, he had to.

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