TITLE:  "A Valentine in Three Acts"
AUTHOR:  Kathmak
EMAIL: Kathmak898@yahoo.com 
WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/kathmak898/
FEEDBACK:  Sure
RATING:  PG                                                       
CATEGORY:  S                                                      
KEYWORDS:  Doggett/Reyes (DRR) UST; RST; Romance; Married
SUMMARY:  Three different Valentine's Days in the lives of John
Doggett and Monica Reyes.                                         
SPOILERS:  None                                                   
DISCLAIMER: Not mine.


*****************************************************       

Valentines Day 2002:


His hand trembles slightly as he slides the pink-tinged envelope
onto the center of her desk.  He places the card and a single red
rose right next to her coffee cup where she is sure to see it. 
If there's one predictable thing about Monica, it's that she
never starts out her work day without a cup of the strong stuff. 
No decaf for her.

She strides into the office moments later, her eyes immediately
drawn to the foreign items on her desk.  
               
"What's this?" She asks softly.

He doesn't answer.  He has his nose is buried in a case file,
pretending to concentrate on the latest X-File du jour.  He's
trying hard not to watch her because it would be too painful to
see any sign of rejection in her reaction.  The silence is
interminable until he dares to sneak a glance at her.  

She is grinning as she looks over at him.  "Yes," she says
quietly.  

He stands up and nervously clears his throat.  "Yes?"  He echoes. 


One can never have too much reassurance, you know.

"Yes, John" she nods, "I will have dinner with you tonight.  On
one condition, though . . . "

Uh oh here it comes, he thinks, preparing for the dreaded 'let's
be friends' speech.  

But nothing of the sort comes out of her mouth.  Instead she
walks toward him and takes both of his hands in hers.   He
catches a whiff of her perfume and it makes him dizzy with
longing.

"What's the condition?" He croaks, still trying to process this
wonderful turn of events.

Monica gives his hands a little squeeze.  "That you'll kiss me."

His heart skips a beat.  No, make that two beats.  

"Now? Right here at work?"  He looks around furtively as if there
were hidden cameras recording their every move.

"Yes, right here.  I don't care who sees us."  Her tone is almost
defiant.  "I've been waiting a long time for a kiss from you,
John Doggett, and I'm not going to let anything get in my way
now."  

Almost immediately the tension in his body dissipates and he
feels free: free to make the move he should've made a long time
ago.  They share their first kiss, and then their second, and he
wonders what the hell took them so long.  Monica slides her arms
around his waist and he pulls her close.

"Wow," she whispers breathlessly.  

"You can say that again."

She adds coyly, "there's more where that came from, you know."

Doggett feels almost faint with the promise of things to come. 
"Happy Valentine's Day, Monica."

She beams and he kisses her again.  

***********************************************************

     
Valentines Day 2003:


His hand trembles slightly as he reaches for the lamp on his
night stand.  

He's nervous about asking her: that's why he didn't do it over
dinner as he had originally planned.  A small part of him is
afraid she'll say no, even though she has never given him any
logical reason to think that.  Quite the contrary, in fact.  But
still, there is that irrational bit of insecurity that he can't
quite shake: a vestige of his lonely life before Monica came into
it and rescued him from his solitude.
     
He flips on the light and attempts to open the drawer quietly so
as not to wake her, but it creaks a little as he tugs on its
handle.

Her eyes flutter open, and he quickly retrieves the small box
from its hiding place, stashing it surreptitiously under his
pillow for the time being.

"What time is it?" Monica asks sleepily.

He touches her lightly on the cheek.  "It's late.  Go back to
sleep, sweetheart." 

She yawns.  "You really know how to wear a girl out, John."  She
curls her body into him and he feels himself melting.  "Thank you
for tonight.  That restaurant was so romantic.  I had a wonderful
time."

"Me too."  His hands rest gently on her lower back and an intense
feeling of peace steals over him.  "That dress you wore was
somethin' else."

"Liked it, huh?  I wore it just for you."  Monica's right hand
wanders down to his bare hip where it lingers.  

He inhales deeply, and he finds himself becoming aroused all over
again.   This is a predictable response to the warmth of her
touch.

"Although I think I like the dress much better when it's layin'
on the back of the chair," he adds with a growl. 

Monica giggles.  "Do you realize it was a year ago today that you
first asked me out?" she murmurs into his chest. 

He smiles at the memory.  "Thank God you said yes.  I don't know
what I would've done if you'd broken my heart."

"Never," she rebukes him gently.  She sits up and looks him in
the eye.  "Never in a million years would I hurt you.  I've loved
you for so long.  I always will."  

His grip on her body tightens just a little.  As she tilts her
head to kiss him squarely on the mouth, he thinks for the
millionth time that his fear of rejection is ridiculous and
unfounded.  Only now, he actually feels convinced of it. 

His lips are still on hers as he slips one hand under his pillow
and grabs the box from its temporary hiding place.  He is
breathless as he pulls his head back, gently breaking the kiss.

"Monica, I want to make a life with you," he finally says.

"You do have a life with me, John.  We're practically living
together now."

He swallows, nervously looking down as he opens his hand to
reveal the box   in his palm.  "Yeah, but I was hopin' for
something a little more permanent."  
John snaps the box open and Monica gasps as the realization hits
her.  

She stares at the diamond ring.  "Oh John," she whispers, still
in shock.  

"Marry me, Monica."  

He watches her face for an answer.  When a single tear streams
down her cheek, he feels confident enough to slip the ring on her
finger.  She gazes at it for a moment as if in a trance.  Then,
the tears begin to flow in earnest.  

She throws her arms around him and kisses him on the temple. 
"Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!"  Her voice is strong and sure.  

John closes his eyes and says a silent prayer of thanks.  "The
best is yet to come," he says.  

Monica pulls him down onto her and they make love again.

**********************************************************


Valentines Day 2004:


Her hand trembles slightly as she unlocks the front door and
slips inside the house.  As she tosses her leather jacket onto
the coat tree in the hallway, her mind races in a dozen different
directions, and she feels slightly overwhelmed by thoughts of
what lay ahead for her and John.   

She replays in her mind what had transpired just an hour earlier
in her doctor's office, and she thinks again about what John's
reaction will be when he hears the news.  They had talked about
starting a family, of course.  What newly-married couple
wouldn't?  Monica's heart beats a little faster and she starts to
worry that perhaps it is all happening too soon.  They'd had
barely been married six months, after all.  

Then a conversation popped into her head: she remembered
something John had said to her even before they had taken their
wedding vows.  He had told her that, although Luke would always
be in his heart, he wanted to be a father again.  And he had
looked into her eyes and kissed her and said that he wanted her
to be the mother of his children. 

"Someday, I want you to have my babies, Mon," he had said shyly. 

Monica grins happily at the recollection and relaxes a little.

So they were having a baby.  

She runs upstairs and hastily changes her clothes, opting for a
pair of baggy blue sweat pants and one of John's grey t-shirts. 
John had suggested they go out for dinner to celebrate their
first Valentine's Day as a married couple, but Monica had
politely declined.  She suspected that she would have some
special news to share with her husband, and she wanted to be
alone with him tonight.  

When she told him that she would be more than happy with take-out
Chinese food and sparkling grape juice, he had looked at her a
little quizzically.  But, she had insisted and John relented.

"Whatever Monica wants, Monica gets," he had remarked with a
bemused smile.

Little did he know that soon they were both going to get what
they had wanted for so long.  The butterflies in her stomach
start fluttering wildly again, but now she was anything but
fearful. 

On her way back downstairs she pauses briefly in front of the
bedroom mirror and turns to the side, touching her now flat
abdomen.  She lifts her  t-shirt a few inches above her waistline
and tries to imagine how her body will look over the coming
months as their baby grows inside her.  Unlike some of her female
friends, Monica wasn't at all worried about losing her slim
figure.  On the contrary   she was looking forward to
experiencing all of the changes that pregnancy undoubtedly would
bring.  Besides, she had always been secure enough to know that
John loved her for whom she was and not for how much she weighed. 
And for some reason, she suspected that he would be even more
aroused by the sight of her bare, swollen belly   if such a thing
was possible!

A few more minutes pass and she is still standing in the same
place, trying to think of the best way to tell John that he is
going to be a father.  Then, Monica hears the front door open,
and she listens for the comforting sound of his footsteps on the
tile floor in the hall.   

"Mon, you up there?"  He calls out.  "I come bearing gifts."

Monica pads down the stairs and pauses on the last step, taking a
moment to bask in his presence.  He is holding two dozen roses in
one hand and a plastic bag filled with Chinese food in the other. 
She decides that John has never looked so adorable.  She
practically skips over to where he is standing and throws her
arms around him.   

She covers his face with kisses.  "Happy Valentine's day, Daddy,"
she whispers, adding a little extra emphasis on the last word.

John's eyes grow wide and he drops the items he had been holding. 
Oblivious to the fact that wonton soup is now saturating his
shoes, he returns her embrace and holds onto her for dear life.  

Monica relaxes in his arms and starts to giggle.  
     
~End~