(Disclaimers in Chapter 1)

PARKER MERIDIEN HOTEL
ROOM 1246
MONDAY MORNING
4:00 AM

Byers was groggy when the alarm went off. He thought they 
might have managed three and a half hours of sleep, but 
wasn't sure. Actually, he didn't even want to know. What he 
wanted was to go back to sleep with Doggett's arms around 
him, but the man was stirring next to him.

With a huge yawn, Doggett stretched. "Mornin'," he mumbled.

"It can't be morning yet," Byers complained, "the birds 
aren't awake." He yawned as well, stretching, then wrapped 
himself back around Doggett's solid body.

Doggett's arms curled around him, holding him close. "No, 
but anybody who wants to be on our flight back to D.C. has 
to be. You can sleep on the plane." He nuzzled his nose 
into Byers' hair and sucked on his ear.

Byers sighed. He moved his head and looked into Doggett's 
tired eyes. "We don't have time."

"I know." There was regret in Doggett's voice. "Doesn't 
mean I can't want to."

Byers nodded. "I guess we'll have to settle for saving 
water."

Doggett chuckled quietly. "I guess."

Byers reached up and caressed Doggett's cheek. "Thank you." 
He kissed Doggett softly.

"I'm glad you came," Doggett said. "It was a good weekend."

Byers smiled and lowered his eyes. "I really did enjoy it. 
I can't believe you actually did all this for me. It must 
have cost a fortune."

"Only a little one," Doggett said, returning the smile. "I 
think it was well spent." He slid a hand along Byers' back, 
over the curve of his cheek, and around to his hip. "But we 
gotta get out of bed and get ready to go."

Byers groaned and rolled over, tossing the light covers 
back. He sat and slid his feet to the floor. "I get the 
bathroom first," he said.

"What is this, a competition?" Doggett asked, looking up at 
him.

Byers chuckled. "Years of habit. You live with Langly long 
enough, you learn you have to get to the bathroom before he 
does, or he uses all the hot water washing his hair."

Doggett laughed. "I thought we were gonna share the 
shower?"

Byers looked down at him, arms crossed over his chest. 
"That doesn't mean I want you in the bathroom while I'm 
taking a piss." That was something Byers honestly found 
embarrassing. He was far too shy to relieve himself in 
front of anyone under anything approaching normal 
circumstances. He may have spent more time than he ever 
wanted to in city and county jails over the years, forced 
to do his duty in public, but it didn't mean he had to let 
anyone violate his privacy when he had any choice in the 
matter.

Doggett shook his head, still laughing. "Okay, not a 
problem. You go first."

It wasn't long before they were in the shower together. 
Byers found himself moving a little more slowly than usual, 
despite their deadline. It was his last chance to see 
Doggett like this, nude and relaxed, muscles rippling 
powerfully under his skin. His last chance to touch him 
with nothing between them. He didn't know if they'd be 
together again, no matter what Doggett had said. There had 
been too many broken promises in his life, too many 
disappointments. He would cherish this for what it had 
been, and drink in the last moments of it, because the 
future was uncertain and words were never sure.

He wanted to believe Doggett, still wanted to trust him, 
but the paranoid cables knotting his guts wouldn't let him. 
Last night had been reassuring though, particularly when 
Doggett had listened when he'd asked to slow things down. 
He was genuinely beginning to believe that Doggett actually 
respected him. If respect was all that came with the 
pleasures he'd had, it was still a good thing, and more 
than he had really hoped for. It was more than he got from 
most people.

After they washed, they stood under the hot water, holding 
each other, sharing a deep kiss. When they were dry, before 
they dressed, they did again. As they packed, their bodies 
brushed against each other, and before they stepped out the 
door of their room, after the final check of all the 
drawers and tables and closets, one last embrace and a 
hard, sensual kiss. They would have no more privacy, no 
more opportunity.

"When we have time," Doggett said, "I do want to see you 
again. We won't be able to do anything like this again for 
a long time, but I still want to spend time with you. I 
mean it. More than just coffee or lunch." He looked into 
Byers' doubting eyes. The doubt bothered him. "Maybe you 
could come to my place for the night sometimes when we're 
not both buried in work."

"I'd like that," Byers said quietly. That tiny smile of his 
appeared again, and Doggett felt something in himself 
lighten. Seeing it meant something to him.

They checked out and left the hotel, grabbing a cab to the 
airport. Doggett watched Byers during the trip. Both of 
them were tired, not saying much. He was pretty sure Byers 
would sleep on the plane. The bearded man looked exhausted. 
In fact, he spent most of the cab ride leaning on Doggett's 
shoulder, half asleep.

Doggett slid an arm around Byers as he leaned, knowing the 
cab driver didn't give a shit. Byers was too tired to 
protest, and just lay his head against Doggett and rested.

As Doggett paid the driver at the airport and he and Byers 
hauled their luggage out of the trunk, something in the 
crowd caught his eye. He blinked and looked more closely, 
not sure of what he'd seen -- not wanting it to be what 
he'd thought.

It was.

Knowle Rohrer was standing down the concourse. There was a 
newspaper in his hands. Doggett was sure he'd seen Rohrer 
looking their way before he'd looked back down at the 
paper.

Shit.

Cold fear gripped Doggett's gut. If his suspicions were 
correct, and Rohrer was one of the supersoldiers, they 
could be in over their heads in a bad way. He wondered how 
long Rohrer had been shadowing them, and if the man had 
identified Byers. The last thing he wanted was to endanger 
his companion.

Suddenly, he realized that Byers had been right. They 
hadn't been paranoid enough. He saw the shy man's 
insistence on keeping their expressions of affection 
private in a very different light. Blackmail, Byers had 
said, was only a minor worry -- it was being used against 
his friends or murdered that were his real fears. Doggett's 
understanding of the hacker's paranoia, and his wisdom, 
deepened.

Nervous, he hurried Byers through the crowd to the security 
checkpoint. He wondered if he should tell the man what he'd 
seen. He spotted Rohrer once more as they passed through 
security, but lost track of him in the crowd. Why was 
Rohrer here? Why was he in New York at all, and how long 
had he been here? It might be a big city, but his presence 
was too unnerving for Doggett to consider it a coincidence.

If he didn't tell Byers, and the man found out, he'd never 
earn his trust. He knew he couldn't keep this disturbing 
fact from him. Unfortunately, Byers was probably his best 
bet for finding out why Rohrer had been in New York, and 
for how long.

At the gate, he looked around again, scanning the crowd.

"Is everything okay?" Byers asked, looking sleepy but 
puzzled. "You've been rushing us to the gate, and you look 
like you're looking for someone.

Doggett sighed. "We've got trouble. We're being tailed."

Byers stiffened, still exhausted, but alert. He scanned the 
crowd as well. "By whom?"

"Guy named Knowle Rohrer. Used to be a buddy of mine back 
in the Marines. He's the one who set me and Mulder up, 
tried to get us killed, when you guys were trying to hack 
the Census Bureau records a while back. I'm not sure, 
but..." Doggett paused, nervous.

"But what?"

"I think he may be one of the supersoldiers."

Byers' eyes widened. "What do you think he wants?"

Doggett shook his head. "No idea. Maybe it has something to 
do with those files you guys got for me last month."

"Damn. Maybe there's something here in the City, and he 
thinks you're on to it? Do you think he knows we're here 
together?" Byers asked softly. He shuddered.

Doggett grimaced. "I'm pretty sure he saw us getting out of 
the cab together, and I saw him when we were passing 
through security, so yeah, he knows we're traveling 
together at least. I don't know if he knows who you are, 
though. I sure as hell hope not." The thought of Rohrer 
identifying Byers twisted Doggett's gut.

"God, I'm glad we're going home," Byers said, tense and 
anxious.

Doggett laid a hand on his shoulder. "When we get back to 
DC, we'll need to find out what we can about what he's 
doing here and why."

Byers nodded. "I know."

"But there's nothin' we can do until we get home anyway 
except keep an eye out for him until we get on the plane. I 
know you're still really tired. I want you to at least try 
to sleep once we're off the ground," Doggett said.

Byers sighed, still scanning the crowd. "I may have to. 
I've been having trouble keeping my eyes open since we got 
out of the shower. I don't like it, though. This bothers 
me. A lot."

"You're not the only one."

As soon as their row was called for boarding, they hurried 
to the plane, Doggett staying a few steps behind Byers to 
keep watch. He hadn't seen Rohrer again, much to his 
relief. It was vaguely possible that Rohrer's presence was 
a coincidence, but Byers didn't seem to believe in any such 
thing.

"Once may be chance, twice might be a coincidence, but 
three times is definitely a conspiracy," 
Byers observed as they climbed the stairs into the small 
plane.

"This time, I don't think it's your paranoia talking," 
Doggett conceded as they sat and buckled themselves into 
their seats. "But let's at least try to leave it for now. 
He's not on the plane with us, and he's really unlikely to 
make it back to DC before we get there."

Byers nodded. "That's a relief, at least."

When the plane was in the air, Doggett saw Byers relax, the 
tension sliding slowly away. The drone of the engines 
covered the conversations around them, and they had some 
feeling of privacy, at least to talk.

For a little while, Byers looked uneasy, as though he 
wanted to say something, but couldn't find a way to 
approach it.

"Did you want to talk about something, Johnny?" Doggett 
asked.

Byers looked over at him and blushed. "Uh... actually, yes 
I did." He turned his eyes down to his hands, folded in his 
lap.

"It's okay to talk to me, you know."

"It's more of a question, really."

Doggett touched his arm gently then drew his hand away. 
"What's on your mind?"

Byers shifted uncomfortably, clearly struggling with 
whatever it was. "It's... well, I kinda wanted to ask you 
something about when we were... at the club Friday."

Doggett leaned back into his seat. "Something about 
Sergio?" His curiosity was definitely piqued.

Byers shook his head. "No, actually. Something else 
entirely. It's... I guess there are things about the whole 
idea that I don't understand. Maybe this'll sound like a 
really weird question." Byers paused again.

"Well, I won't know until you ask."

"There was a man there, at the club," Byers said uneasily, 
"when we first went in. He was lying there on the floor, 
wearing a collar and a leash, and nothing else. It was like 
he was being a dog, lying at this guy's feet. I guess... I 
guess I don't get that. I mean, why would somebody want to 
be treated like a dog? What would he get out of that? It 
doesn't even seem like it would be about sex, you know?"

Doggett looked at Byers and sighed, thinking for a minute. 
"Well, I guess the best way to answer that would be to ask 
you why you want what you want? Why do you want to let me 
do the things to you that you let me do? You know it 
doesn't make sense to other people. You told me that your 
ex didn't understand at all. So why do you want it?"

They looked at each other for a moment, silent.

Byers looked down at his hands again, deep in thought. He 
started to say something several times, but stopped 
himself, thinking about it more. Eventually, he looked up 
at Doggett. "I'm not sure I can really explain it," he 
said. "I don't think I have the words to articulate what I 
feel. It's like... it's sort of like how the moon pulls the 
ocean into tides. There's this force inside me. It's deeper 
than just wanting something, deeper than a need. There's 
something... primal about it."

He took a deep breath and looked away from Doggett. When he 
spoke, his voice was quieter, barely audible over the 
engine noise. "After Doreen, I wondered if I should want, 
or need, or be... drawn to something like that. Her 
attitude was that a man shouldn't want to be tied up or 
dominated or penetrated. That a man should want power, want 
to be in control. I've run into that attitude in a lot of 
places. I guess it left me wondering if I really was much 
of a man."

Doggett reached out and touched Byers' cheek gently. "You 
are, Johnny. Believe me. I've got no question at all about 
your manhood. It takes an incredible amount of courage to 
do the things you do in your work. You're  not a coward, 
and you're sure as hell not a wuss. What you want to do for 
your pleasure has nothing to do with bein' a man or not. 
The scene's not that simple, and it never has been. A lot 
of really powerful, in control guys are subs when they're 
not in the office."

Byers looked over at Doggett again. "Well, what about you? 
Is it different, being a Dom?"

Doggett shook his head. "I've been a sub, Johnny. It's the 
same for me, whether I'm the top or the bottom. It's not 
something I can really talk about rationally. They're 
things you understand with your body, not your mind. It's 
about gut feelings. It's about what makes your blood hot 
and your dick stand up and what makes you scream when you 
come. That's stuff from before we were even human, about 
territory and animal instincts and hormones."

"I always preferred answers with words," Byers said. "I 
need to have definitions, Jack. I mean, I get what you're 
saying, but I still wish I could explain it."

"I don't think anybody can explain it anymore than they can 
explain why some of us aren't 'just' gay or straight," 
Doggett said. He chuckled. "All this 'gay gene' stuff, it 
doesn't leave any room for you or me, does it?"

Byers snorted. "No, not really." He pulled the arm rest up 
from between their seats and tucked it between the seat 
backs, then leaned into Doggett. Shifting his weight for a 
moment, he found a comfortable position. "And that's 
another thing I have no answer for, but I guess I was more 
comfortable contemplating that question because it didn't 
bother me as much."

Doggett slid his arm around Byers. "When you get right down 
to it, it's really just about what turns you on. All of it, 
whether you're talking about kinks or who you sleep with."

Byers yawned and settled against him. "God, I'm so tired."

"So sleep." The words were gentle and indulgent. Doggett 
leaned his cheek against Byers' head.

Byers sighed. It was probably a good idea. By the time he 
got home, the guys would be up and working on the upcoming 
issue. He was sure he'd have to give them some kind of trip 
report about his weekend. He hadn't really been ready to 
tell them he was going away with Doggett, but he couldn't 
exactly keep it hidden from them either. It wasn't like 
they wouldn't be able to figure it out on their own, so 
he'd told them as he headed out the door on Friday. There 
would be teasing and questions and explanations, and the 
inevitable questions from Jimmy that would probably require 
a sports analogy and single syllable words to answer. He 
needed to be in a condition at least vaguely resembling 
alertness to deal with it. 

And Rohrer. He'd have to tell the guys about Rohrer, and 
they would need to start looking into him fast. He yawned 
again. It was comfortable, leaning on Doggett's broad 
chest, resting his head against the man's shoulder. He was 
too tired to care that people could see Doggett had his arm 
around him, and too comfortable in the warmth of that 
embrace to fret. He'd worry later.

Doggett raised his head and looked down at Byers as the 
slender man fell asleep. The weekend had been eye-opening 
in so many ways. Rohrer's appearance, and his reaction to 
it, his desire to keep Byers out of harm's way, had gotten 
him thinking about what Brentali had said at breakfast 
Saturday. 

Talking to Brentali had left him questioning his own 
motives about Byers, about what he'd offered the man. Being 
with Byers had made Doggett think more about his needs and 
desires than he had in years, and not just because Byers 
had been questioning his own. There was much more going on 
here than he'd thought when he first suggested that they 
play together.

He'd been in and out of brief relationships for a long 
time, before and after his marriage. Most of them hadn't 
meant too much. Doggett had always been hesitant to get too 
involved outside of the game. It was mostly about 
satisfying his sexual needs, about mutual pleasure, and 
sometimes, if a guy seemed okay, about trying to stay 
together for a while. He really had tried, a few times.

With Byers, though, he thought about so much more. Yeah, 
the sex was good -- really good. But so many times over the 
weekend he found himself thinking about other things, 
wondering what was going on in the man's head, finding 
himself wanting Byers' trust more than he'd wanted it from 
other men. It felt different; important. Little things took 
on a life of their own. Byers was a man he could respect, a 
man he could trust; he was an honorable and decent man, 
even if he was a little odd. Doggett realized that he 
cared.

Maybe... maybe Brentali was right. He sighed and stroked 
the face of the shy, nervous man sleeping in his arms.

Maybe this thing with Byers was a lot more serious than he 
thought.

~~end chapter 4 of 4~~

**fin**