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mytardisisparked · 2 months ago

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For a Moment, I Could Picture

In a wild twist of events, Tardi writes some DRR instead of MSR! Because I like them too!

Summary: John and Monica babysit William while Mulder and Scully go out on a date.

Read on AO3.

“All’s quiet on the western front.”

Monica smiled as John’s thick accent rolled softly over the couch as he left the nursery. “You got him to sleep?”

“Sure did.” John plopped down next her her with a quiet sigh, his arm automatically stretching out over the back of the couch behind her. “Just a few minutes of rocking and he went out like a light.”

She patted his knee. “Good job, Agent. Dana and Mulder aren’t going to fire us as babysitters.”

The corner of his mouth quirked. “Well, this ain’t my first rodeo, Agent Reyes.”

She chuckled as his voice moved somewhere between his usual New York accent and a southern drawl in a way that absolutely did not work. By the silly grin on his face, Monica guessed he knew it didn’t and didn’t really care.

She studied him for a moment. He had alluded to Luke again – not for the first time this evening. The subject had come up earlier when he had showed her how to change William’s diaper, and again when they had prepared his formula. Every time, Monica had looked at him expecting to see sadness and pain in his eyes, but instead there was only something joyful and, perhaps, a little wistful.

Nostalgia, maybe? Either way, Monica was proud of him. There was a time where the mere mention of Luke would have shut him down for a day. Or two. Or a week. John was growing.

She realized, suddenly, that she had been staring, lost in thought. John was staring back, studying her face with warmth in his eyes and…

Oh, he was looking at her lips. Her own eyes flicked down to his before she could stop herself. She felt her pulse picking up and��

A cry from the nursery broke the silence. And the moment. John sighed, looking towards the door.

Monica collected herself and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, John. All is no longer quiet.”

John nodded as he stood. “I must have left him too quickly. He needs more time to settle.”

Monica’s eyes followed him as he headed back towards the nursery. “Bring him out here; we can hold him for a while.”

A few minutes later, John was back in the living room, a bundle in his arms that was now only lightly fussing.

As he moved to sit on the couch, murmuring soft reassurances to William, Monica felt her stomach flip. Something in the way John’s face transformed into something softer as he focused on the baby, in the way he gently adjusted the blanket around his face, in his deep, melodic voice…

She swallowed and turned her eyes to the baby, who was now smiling up at both of them, his earlier tears well on their way to drying. She scooted closer so she could see better. And only so she could see better.

“He looks like Scully.” John muttered, letting William wrap his tiny hand around his pinkie finger.

“Mostly. Those eyes are Mulder’s, though.” Monica reached over to brush a finger over William’s soft, warm cheek.

“Hm. Yeah.”

They were quiet for a moment, smiling at William as he played with John’s finger.

“I wonder–” John started and then cut himself off, swallowing.

Monica looked at him. Was that a tinge of red in his cheeks? “You wonder…?”

John shook his head. “Nah. Forget it. Dumb question.”

“I don’t believe in dumb questions.”

He looked back up at her, blue eyes darting over her face. “Forget it.” His voice was soft, tinged with a hint of embarrassment and maybe just a touch of begging.

She kept watching him as he adjusted William in his arms.

“He does have Mulder’s eyes.” John agreed. Again.

Monica’s thoughts ran in a thousand different directions, and suddenly, through the hurricane in her mind she clearly saw a little baby with John’s eyes.

Had he been thinking the same thing? Had he wondered what her darker features might look like, blended with his? Would their baby have brown eyes instead?

Monica punched the brakes on that line of thought. What the HELL am I thinking?

She felt her cheeks burn and glanced at John. He was still looking at William, thankfully. Hopefully he wasn’t secretly telepathic.

Suddenly, William dropped John’s finger and stretched out his little, chubby hand toward her. John looked at her with a grin. “Looks like it’s Aunt Monica time.”

Monica smiled. “Good! I was hoping it would be my turn soon.” She took William from him, ignoring the way their arms brushed against each other as he passed her the bundle of blankets. Mostly.

She and William settled as John’s arm, once again, found its place on the back of the couch behind her. Her shoulder was nearly tucked into his and she could feel the warmth radiating off of him. In her arms, William stretched up his hands until he could wrap them around a couple locks of Monica’s hair.

Monica laughed. William wasn’t pulling on it, so she let him play for a little bit.

“I’ve seen him do that with Scully, too. He must have a fascination.” John said with a smile.

“Hm. Mine’s not quite as colorful as Dana’s.” Monica unwrapped one of William’s hands from her hair as he pulled it a little too hard.

“Sure it is,” John said quickly before looking away, as though he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Monica looked at him, feeling slightly bewildered. “What do you mean? My hair is black.”

“But it’s not just black.” John turned back to her. “It’s got little highlights in it, when the light hits it just right. They’re like honey. And sometimes, when we’ve worked outside in the sun a lot, the ends of your hair turn more of a brown color. Sometimes it gets a reddish tint to it. It’s not just black.”

Monica couldn’t help but smile as the words tumbled from John’s mouth. “Well, I stand corrected.”

John smiled back, looking more comfortable than he did a moment ago.

They sat quietly for a moment, watching William slowly start to settle. As his eyes drifted shut, the air around them seemed to still, becoming impossibly quiet.

Monica looked up to find John looking at her with some unreadable expression in his eyes. He quickly looked away before she could begin to decipher what he was thinking.

“Do you think the little guy would mind if I threw a pizza in the oven while he falls asleep?” John asked quietly. William’s eyes fluttered for a second, but he did not fuss.

Monica smiled. “I think that would be alright. Just don’t forget to turn the timer alarm off.”

“You got it.” John winked and smiled as he padded into the kitchen.

Monica felt something warm in her chest as she listened to him quietly turning the oven on and setting a frozen pizza on a cooking sheet. The casual way they worked together to watch William pleased her more than she thought it would; caring for a baby wasn’t easy, but partnering with John made it easier. And fun.

It felt comfortable. Like something she could get used to. The thought scared her, a bit, but in a way she rather liked.

She glanced over the back of the couch to watch John place the pizza in the oven, the edge of his T-shirt pulling up just a bit in the back as he bent over to reveal a sliver of skin above his jeans. She smiled, and turned back to William.

He was fast asleep, making a little suckling sound as he started to dream.

“I wish fallin’ asleep was that easy for us old folks.” John whispered over her shoulder.

Monica smiled at him. “At least we have melatonin.”

He smirked. “At least we have that.”

He came to sit next to her again. “I’d probably sleep better if I–” He stopped short, glancing at her. “Nevermind. I um–”

Monica couldn’t help but smile even wider. She reached over with her free hand and laced her fingers with John’s. He looked up in surprise.

“I’d sleep better, too.”

A smile flickered on the corners of his mouth, his eyes filling with mirth. “You’d sleep better if you had a beautiful woman holding you, too?”

Monica laughed, both at his newfound bravery and his comment. “Sure,” she squeezed his hand, “but that’s not what I meant.”

John’s face looked a bit more serious, even as his eyes were still bright. “What do you mean?”

Monica opened her mouth to respond, but closed it suddenly, opting instead to lean forward and kiss him.

He kissed her back, and she was pretty sure she felt him smile against her lips. She savored the warmth spreading through her body, the way he tasted just a bit like mint bubble gum, his hand reaching up to squeeze her arm.

They lingered only for a couple moments before breaking apart. As Monica let her eyes flutter open, she realized John was looking at her with something like wonder.

She smiled and tilted her head. “That’s what I mean.”

He smiled back, his face lighting up in a way she had rarely seen before. “Message received.”

Just because she could, Monica pressed one more quick kiss to his cheek, and then turned back to William, watching him sleep with a smile on her lips and the electric warmth of possibility in her heart.

—

As soon as they opened the door to their apartment, Scully smiled and turned to Mulder, placing a finger to her lips. Mulder nodded and looked past her into the living room, where Monica, John, and William were all fast asleep on the couch.

Mulder smiled, too. Monica was holding William on her lap, tucked cozily into John’s side. He had his arm around her shoulders and was resting his head on top of hers. The coffee table in front of them held two plates of pizza crust and an empty formula bottle. All around, they looked rather cozy.

Scully crossed her arms, looking pleased. “I think our evil plan is working,” she whispered.

Mulder put his arm around her shoulders. “I think you’re right.”

They grinned and then headed into the kitchen as carefully as possible, not daring to disturb the quiet.

#the x files #fanfiction #DRR #John Doggett #Monica Reyes #x files #fox mulder #dana scully #msr #txf #txf fanfiction #x files fanfic #x files fanfiction #william scully #john doggett x monica reyes #doggett x reyes #look i just think they're really cute and deserve good things #and kisses

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