Title: The Chronicles of John and Monica: Egg Drop Soup Author: agent myers Rating: R Keywords: DRR Summary: Things never go as planned, do they? Spoilers: None. Disclaimer: They're not mine. Duh. Feedback: I live for it. Archive: Gossamer, XFMU, yes. All others please ask, I'm sure I'll say yes! Author's Notes: The next installment of The Chronicles...hope you all like it. *** The Chronicles of John and Monica: Egg Drop Soup by agent myers *** Agent John Doggett closed the file folder and sighed. It felt good to close a case, to be done with the seemingly never-ending paperwork. Agent Reyes sat across from him, her mind completely focused on the computer screen. He watched her with silent admiration, and thought to himself just how far they'd come in only six weeks. She was staying at his house almost every night now, and most of her necessary things were there. He'd forgotten, these past few years, how wonderful it was to have a woman around. With everything that had occurred since his wife had died, he'd barely had a moment to acknowledge the fact that he was lonely. He could't help but smile to himself as he watched her. She had an exotic beauty to her, probably some sort of ethnicity, but he wasn't sure. He made it a point to ask her later. She looked so different sitting behind that desk. Her hair was combed and manicured, she was wearing lipstick and eye shadow and rouge. But this morning her hair had been a mess, and she'd been without makeup, and still he loved to see her that way. Was it love? It felt like it, though they'd never said those words to each other. Those three words were the point of no return, and he didn't want to screw up what they already had. He was just being a coward, he knew, but the fear of losing her was a deep-seeded fear born from the scars of losing his family. To endure it again, he knew, would break him. But to avoid a possible relationship altogether was irrational. He just wasn't ready to pick out china patterns, and neither was she. They were both on a high, a kind of magical euphoria that comes with a new love. They spent all of their time together, made love whenever the mood struck, and got a thrill out of hiding it their little secret from the bureau. But that high would eventually wear off, as it always does, and would be replaced by comfort. John knew all about that. He remembered the first time his would-be wife passed gas. He'd cracked up, but thinking back on it, it had been the point in which he realized that they were finally in the comfort zone. He didn't have to shut the door anymore when he went to the restroom, and she stopped shaving her legs every single night...and it was okay. It was then that he realized that she could know every little embarrassing detail about him, and she'd still love him. He'd bought the ring that same week. "Whatcha thinkin' about?" Monica asked suddenly. He shook his head. "Nothin' in particular. Why?" "You've been staring at your screen saver for five straight minutes, John." He laughed. She was right, he thought, glancing at the bouncing NASCAR emblem on his screen. Monica stood suddenly. She didn't look so good... "You okay? You look a little green." "I don't feel very good. I'll be back in a minute." She said, and left the office quickly, presumably to go to the restroom. John scratched his head. She'd been feeling ill for two days now. She'd told him this morning she thought she was coming down with the flu. He'd hoped to take her out to dinner tonight, but it didn't look like that was happening. Oh well, he thought, a nice, quiet evening at home sounded good too. *** Monica bent over the toilet, clutching the handrails of the stall. She vomited twice before flushing the stool. Her whole body felt flushed, and she felt dizzy. It appeared that the flu bug that was going around the office had gotten the best of her. She'd felt fine the night before, but the sickness had returned as soon as she arrived at work. She knew John wanted to go out tonight for Chinese, but the thought of fried rice and egg drop soup made her stomach turn. She rinsed out her mouth and washed her hands, and returned to the office. "You don't feel good, Monica. Why don't you go home, and I'll pick up some videos and some chicken soup on the way home." Monica's face contorted with nausea. "Soup?" "Er...forget the soup. Are you okay? Want me to take you to the doctor?" "I'm fine." He shrugged. "Okay, if you say so." The returned to their work. John glanced up at Monica every so often. She was hunched over her desk, attempting to make corrections to a case report. She put her head in her hands and moaned. "Monica, are you sure-" Suddenly Monica's head disappeared behind the desk. Her heard her throwing up in the trash can. He winced. John stood up out of his chair. "Okay, sister...that's it for you today. C'mon...I'll drive you home." Monica nodded, staring into the trash can. Home. What he meant was his house, not her apartment. The thought would have made her smile if her bubbling stomach hadn't been causing her to gag. John grabbed her purse and her coat, and helped Monica too her uncertain feet, and left the office. *** Two days later... John pulled in his driveway. Monica's car was there, and he was glad. She'd left work early, for the second time that week. She'd been acting strangely, but didn't seem to want to talk about it. She'd just said she had something to take care of, whatever that meant. He was just glad that she was feeling better. He walked in the house, hung up his coat and threw his keys in the basket by the door. "Monica?" "In here." He walked into the living room to find Monica sitting on the couch. Her face was full of worry, and John knew that something was wrong. "We need to talk." She said. Uh-oh, John thought. A million things raced through his mind as he came to sit next to her. She took a deep breath. "I...don't think I have the flu." He looked puzzled, and urged her to continue. "I'm late." "Late for what?" It was almost funny. "My period is late. Ten days." John's eyes grew wide. "Huh?" "I missed my period." She repeated. John's eyes darted around, searching for alternate possibilities. "Could you have maybe just had it and not noticed?" Monica stared at John, deadpan. "Right. Stupid, ridiculous..." He mumbled. Monica sighed and for the first time, John noticed that she was holding a pocket calendar in her hand. "I'm pregnant." The statement caused John to catch his breath. He looked up at her. Monica's expression was full of worry, but it seemed she was more afraid of what he would say than the pregnancy. "Are you sure? I mean, absolutely sure?" She held up a small white stick. "Blue. It just turned blue." John stared at it. Could this really be happening? "Those things can be wrong." "Yeah, but not four of them." She said, picking up three more of the things from the table. He hadn't noticed them sitting there. John exhaled a deep breath. "Oh boy..." *** A million thoughts raced through Monica's mind as she watched John's reactions to the...news. He didn't appear happy, she noticed. She hadn't been very happy with the news either, but it was more shock than anything else. As she waited for John to get home, she couldn't help but think of the baby. She'd always loved them, and always pictured herself having children, but she'd always imagined it would be when she was married, financially secure, and in a more stable work environment. As it was, she was unmarried, pregnant with her partner's child, and assigned to the X-Files. It sounded like a familiar story. She looked up at John, who was staring at the pregnancy test. He was turning it over in his hands. "Is that all you're going to say? 'Oh boy'?" "Well, what should I say?" She shrugged her shoulders and looked away, as though she was angry. John felt a pang of guilt for being so self-absorbed. She was the one who had to endure this, physically, anyway. He knew they needed to makes some decisions, but they'd never even discussed children. He had no way of knowing how she felt about this. Back in his father's day, if you "knocked up" a girl (as he put it), you were supposed to "do the right thing" and marry her. But with divorce on the incline, John knew that marriage was not always the right thing. John put his hand over Monica's. "How are you feeling about this?" He asked empathically. She shook her head. "I don't know...I'm just...in shock." "Me too. But we have to make a decision." "I know." "There's lots of options." Monica nodded. She spoke slowly. "I can have the baby, or give it up for adoption, or I can have...an abortion." She looked at John, gauging his reaction. "But what do you *want* to do, Monica?" She shot him a look. "Why is it just my decision?" He shrugged. "If you want it be my decision too..." "Of course I do." He sat silently for a moment, regarding her. She was waiting for his opinion. She wanted to know what he wanted to do. He didn't really know himself. But he did know what he *didn't* want to do. "Well?" She pressed. He looked down. "You want me to tell you what I think we should do, or what I want to do...but...I'm afraid it might not be what you want and I don't want to hurt you, or upset you." She was afraid now. "Hell, I'm not sure what I want..." He said, the frustration evident. Monica put her hands up between us. "Wait. I think we should...take a little while to think about this. Think about what we really want to do." John thought on this for a moment. "Okay." Monica looked as though she was on the verge of tears. She cupped John's face and kissed him, and went off to the bedroom. John hung his head and shook it. This was so untimely. They'd been doing great, and then, bam! Out of the clear blue. He couldn't help but recognize the different situations, though. Monica had never been married or had children, and so, she was afraid. But John had once had both, and that was precisely the reason he was afraid. He weighed the choices. There was the most obvious...having the baby. Another child? So soon? They'd barely begun to discover each other. He'd thought about marriage, but that was down the road. Children hadn't even occurred to him yet. Still, the idea of having another was tempting...and horrifying at the same time. Adoption didn't seem right. After all, he could never go through the stages of pregnancy, watching her belly get bigger and going through the delivery and all, and give away the child. No, he thought...it wouldn't work. And then there was abortion. He sighed. *** Monica walked slowly into the den. John sat in front of the blank computer screen, staring at it intently. He turned when he heard her. "Hey." She smiled slightly, and sat down next to him. "I had a chance to think..." he began. "Me too." She said. He took her hand. Her expression was one of fear, and John hoped he was saying the right thing. He could only imagine what it would do to him if he lost her over this. "I know this is crazy, but...I want us to have this baby." He said. Her face didn't change, but she exhaled sharply. He continued. "Before my son's death, if I'd been in this kind of situation, being unmarried and...being your partner and all, I might have said abortion. But I can't stand the thought of...killing a life. Not after losing a child. I just can't...I couldn't... "But it's your body, and in the end, your choice. But I *love* you, Monica. I've just been too afraid to say it, until now. I do, and though it might be a little early...I think this baby would be great." Her eyes welled up with tears, and she clamped down on John's hand. "Oh, John..." she wept. "I love you too..." He smiled, this being their first admission of their feelings. "So, what do you want, Monica." She hesitated, holding back the tears. "I want to have the baby, John. I want to have *your* baby." His eyes lit up. "You do?" He exclaimed. She nodded, and they embraced, hugging and kissing madly. She wept, and he was close to it. Maybe those china patterns weren't so far down the road... ~F~ Please let me know what you think! check out my other fanfic at www.agentmyersexperience.digitalbomb.com