Title: "Blood Drops"
Written by: Cassie
Date: June 15, 2007; July 27, 2007; August 15, 2007; September 20-29, 2007; September 30, 2007
Air Date: October 1, 2007
Rating: PG-13
Series: FRVS - Episode #186
Spoilers: Past episodes of FRVS may be spoiled.
Feedback: We love it. There is a form at the bottom of this story that you can use to send us feedback. Thank you.
Archiving: "Fox & Rat" Virtual Series only!
Disclaimer: We do not own anyone. They belong to Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and 20th Century FOX Broadcasting.
Author's Note: The personalities of the characters within the world of "Fox & Rat" are not those you know from "The X-Files" television series. We have warped them and given them a common past, immature behavior and a sense of humor. Any horrid behavior should not be mimicked in your every day life.
Summary: Is there anything out there to keep fighting for when the world around you continues crumbling at your feet?

---

FADE IN:

INT. NEW YORK RESEARCH FACILITY – SCULLY’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
JANUARY 30, 2007

The hollow sound of night awakens Scully with a start. Her eyes shoot open as if alert to something or someone in her room. Though the moonlight shines in through the window, she cannot see anything out of the ordinary, but that doesn’t keep her heartbeat from racing.

Perhaps she has trouble sleeping here because if the memories this place holds for her. She once contemplated taking her own life rather than spend one more night with the Cigarette-Smoking Man at her side, but she had been strong. She went to John Montgomery for help and he found a way to get back to-

WOMAN’S VOICE
- John Doggett.

The voice follows Scully’s thoughts so perfectly that it seems to her she is hearing her own voice speak, and for some reason this woman’s voice doesn’t startle her, rather it has a calming effect on her racing heartbeat. Dana can’t help but smile upon hearing John’s name spoken aloud. She rolls over in bed to see who spoke to her. A red-headed woman is sitting on the side of her bed, she looks younge, early 20s, but wise with age nonetheless. She smiles at Dana with a look in her eyes that we cannot define. In a way she looks sad and in another way she looks happy to see Dana.

Scully sits up in bed, wondering where this woman came from.

SCULLY
How’d you get in here? There’s no way-

WOMAN
- that Knowle would let anyone get
by him while he’s on guard duty.

The red-headed woman finishes Dana’s sentence. This throws Dana off but doesn’t worry her.

WOMAN
I’m glad you don’t fear me, Dana,
but I fear the news I have brought.

SCULLY
What news is that?

Scully, more worried now by the tone in the woman’s voice, raises her bed sheets up against her body. The woman looks away from Dana’s eyes and down at her own hands.

WOMAN
(soft)
Dana, sweetheart...

Dana’s heart leaps up into her throat, only John Doggett ever called her that. The word “sweetheart” stings her eyes with tears that long to be wiped away by his hand.

WOMAN
... your cancer has come out of remission.

The woman looks up at Dana and their eyes meet. Scully’s eyes widen, how’d this woman know this could happen to her? Only Skinner is supposed to know that removing the chip in her neck could bring back her cancer. Who is this woman and where did she come from?

SCULLY
(demanding)
Who are you?

WOMAN
Dana, don’t ignore what I said. (beat)
Be strong and believe in miracles.

Tears well up in the woman’s eyes and she reaches out to touch Dana’s hands, but Dana pulls away.

SCULLY
(holds back tears)
I asked who are you? And how do
you know about my cancer?

WOMAN
You’re a medical doctor, Dana, you
know in this time it will be more
difficult than before, but you must
try to remain strong and always believe-

The woman reaches out and touches Dana’s hand.

Scully gasps loudly and sits up quickly in bed, sweat from the outside heat and humidity rolling down her forehead, some strands of hair cling to her face. Scully looks around quickly and sees that she is all alone. She had been dreaming.

Dana uses the back of her hand to wipe the sweat from her face and she gets up out of bed and walks into the bathroom. She turns on the water faucet and splashes lukewarm water onto her face. She runs her hand over her face and opens her eyes, half expecting to see blood drops in the sink as she experienced so many years ago when she first learned she had an inoperable cancer in her brain. She lightly touches one fingertip to her forehead where the cancer resides, where it may still be lying dormant.

Is it still dormant? The woman in her dreams said her cancer has come out of remission. Her cancer has quietly been tormenting her ever since Knowle removed the chip from the back of her neck. A part of her hopes that it will never come back, but what if it has? It’s very possible it is killing her right now and not yet giving her any signs of its attack on her body.

Dreams are answers to questions that we don’t know how to ask. Dreams are answers to questions we may not want to know the answer to either. Our dreams can be our subconscious speaking to us, letting us understand the issues that eat away at our souls, that try to point us in the right direction. The woman in her dream said her cancer has come out of remission. The woman could very well be her body speaking to her through her dreams, letting her know that she is sick.

Scully looks herself in the eyes through the mirror as if asking her own soul to give her a sign. Her soul responds with a hollow feeling in her heart that tells her that her worst fear and maybe even her deepest hope, has indeed begun its attack on her.

Dana takes a short, deep breath and closes her eyes. Her heart and soul knows to trust the mysterious woman in her dream. Tears flood Dana’s eyes and stream down her face. Her eyes are burning red now. She opens them and again looks herself in the eyes with a sense of defeated strength and with acceptance of her fate, death.

She slowly walks back to her bed and turns on a soft light on the nightstand. She takes John’s Purple Heart off of the nightstand and holds it in her hand. Knowle may have given her a picture of John, but she feels him closer to her when she holds his Purple Heart. The metal conducts the energy of souls and she feels him close now and takes a deep breath. She sighs, not in fear of death, but in acceptance of it. She knows there is nothing that can destroy the cancer inside her and she’s comforted by the fact that when she dies she will be reunited with John. She lies back down in bed, holding the Purple Heart over her own heart and cries herself to sleep.

FADE OUT

FADE IN:

EXT. O’REILY’S CAMP – 2 P.M.
JANUARY 30, 2007

Orange flames whip the smoke-filled air. The sound of human screams numbs the ears. Distant sounds of gunfire can be heard. The shots are not constant indicating that only a few people are defending themselves with weapons.

Blood splatter stains the dead grass on the ground where dead bodies of men, women, and children have fallen. They are beaten, raped, and eaten at their final resting place. There’s an uneasiness in the sight as we wonder what has happened. Has anyone survived? Though aliens have colonized the planet, this is not the work of extraterrestrials, but rather of men gone mad.

The sounds of running and exasperated breaths draws closer and closer, we can almost feel our own heartbeats pounding in our chest as the panicked breaths draw near.

From the depths of the smoke-filled air, Mulder and Samantha run, hand-in-hand. They are running away from O’Reily’s camp. This says alot about the devastation the camp has suffered. On any other day, Mulder and Samantha would fight alongside their fellow human-beings, but now they run. Where to even they don’t know.

They don’t stop to look behind them. All they need to know is that if they don’t run, if they stay to try to help, they will be killed.

Their faces are covered with dirt and blood. Mulder’s knuckles are white, his grip on Samantha’s hand is strong. He will not lose her again.

Samantha redirects her eyes to Mulder. As a result she loses her balance and falls, taking Mulder down with her. Mulder is back on his feet in no time. Samantha struggles to stand, she landed directly on her knee.

MULDER
(out of breath)
Get up.

He looks down at his sister, she struggles to stand again.

SAM
My knee-

MULDER
- Worry about it later. Knees
heal, death is death.

Mulder’s voice shows his concern for Samantha and his impatience with being slowed down. Samantha gives her brother a look, she understands. She pushes herself up from the ground, wincing in pain.

Mulder and Samantha start running again. Mulder’s hand reaching out for Sam’s, but before their hands can meet, Samantha is blindsided and tackled to the ground by a man who is out of control of himself. The man we recognize as Scott Williams, the man who raped Scully and abused her in high school and who kidnapped her nearly a year ago.

Samantha screams as Scott tries to rip her T-shirt off. His eyes are hollow. A growl comes from deep in his throat. He pulls his fist back and punches Samantha, not to control her or to shut her up, but because he cannot control his own actions in the state of being that he is in.

Mulder’s eyes widen in fear of what Scott is doing to his sister. His eyes scan his surroundings, searching for something to use to take Scott out, killing Scott is not out of the question for Mulder.

He spots a palm-sized rock. He picks it up and smashes it as hard as he can over Scott’s head. Scott screams and redirects his crazed anger at Mulder, hitting him. This hurts Mulder but doesn’t deter him.

Scott turns back to Samantha, digging his fingernails into her arm as he presses his large body against hers.

Mulder’s knuckles go white around the rock in his hand. He lets out a loud grunt as he smashes the rock over Scott’s head over and over and over and over and over again. Mulder’s motions are savage, primitive, violent in his protection of his sister’s life. Blood starts to fall endlessly from Scott’s skull and with one more blow to the head, Mulder hears his skull crack. Scott’s body collapses on top of Samantha and convulses, but even that does not stop Mulder. He continues smashing the rock against Scott’s head until his body lies motionless and without life.

The moment of Scott Williams’s death is marked by a haunting silence as if his soul’s damnation had been decided immediately. The evil in him set free in Hell. The part of him that hated what had happened to him because of the aliens in Sing Sing prison, what made him unable to control what he has done to the men, women, and children of O’Reily’s camp, the sliver of good in him that was not apparent earlier in his life, that part of his soul being sent up to Heaven. His soul split in two, evil and good. He is dead now, his good unable to show itself to the world, and his evil made incapable of ever hurting another soul again.

Mulder hears his sister sob quietly. Mulder takes a deep breath and pushes Scott’s lifeless body off of her.

The sounds of the world around them slowly get louder and louder. Only now there’s less gunfire, indicating that more human lives have been lost.

Mulder kneels down next to Samantha and wipes blood and tears from her face. She flinches.

MULDER
He’s dead, Sam. You’re alive.

Mulder’s voice is soft and loving. He’s also very worried for Samantha. Scott accomplished quite a beating on her in a very short amount of time. Mulder looks around to analyze their safety, he doesn’t see anyone.

MULDER
We may be near Sing Sing prison.

Samantha sits up and wraps her arms around Mulder’s neck.

SAMANTHA
(quiet)
I’m afraid.

Mulder rests his chin on Sam’s shoulder.

MULDER
I know. (beat) So am I.

Mulder’s eyes look over at Scott Williams’s dead body. He thinks of Scully for a moment, knowing she likely is somewhere on the East coast. He hopes she never ran into Scott. He hopes that she’s still alive through his heart is heavy. From all that he’s seen and experienced, the lives lost, it is unlikely that Scully survived. If alien invasion didn’t kill her for sure these crazed me did. A tear falls down his face, filtering slowly through the stubble on his face and seeping into the fabric of Samantha’s T-shirt. He does not wife the tear away, his humility evident.

For Scully he feels justice has been served. The justice system could never give proper justice to Scully for what Scott put her through.

Mulder never could understand why rapists were not punished as harshly as the likes of murderers. For the survivors of rape must learn to live with the memories, the nightmares, the flashbacks, sometimes reliving the entire rape over and over again... a lifetime sentence the rapist imposed on his innocent victim. No prison sentence given to a convicted rapist could ever take away the effects of rape. For Scully and for Mulder only one sentence would have been the proper one... death. A death sentence would ensure the rapist, or in this case, Scott Williams, could ever hurt another person again.

Mulder sobs in Samantha’s arms. He weeps for Scully, he weeps for everyone who struggles now to survive and he weeps for his sister who has been hurt.

SAMANTHA
We’re near Sing Sing, huh? (beat)
Thinking of going there for shelter or supplies?

Mulder pulls away from Sam and looks her in the eyes.

MULDER
No. (beat) The man who attacked you...
he hurt Scully and was sentenced to
Sing Sing... that’s how I know.

Mulder gently touches his sister’s face, checking the fresh wounds. He has nothing on him to properly clean and bandage her.

SAMANTHA
That man... was he always that violent?

Samantha looks away from her brother, momentarily thinking of how her own brother was never a violent person, wouldn’t even hurt a fly, until minutes ago when he killed a man with his own hand.

MULDER
If not worse than what he tried
to do to you.

SAMANTHA
Did the aliens make him that way?

Samantha’s question is a simple one. One Mulder hadn’t thought of. When O’Reily’s camp was attacked by men like Scott, they believed it was another group of survivors out to do anything to get food, weapons and supplies to survive.

SAMANTHA
How do we know the aliens aren’t
brainwashing survivors to have us
kill each other? (beat) Like how
they gave you amnesia.

The very thought of aliens being able to turn human against human is chilling and even more frightening than the aliens themselves. If the aliens can turn human survivors against other human survivors, then you’d never know who you can trust and even then if you trust someone in any given moment that person could become a very dangerous enemy.

Mulder looks at his sister and holds her hand.

MULDER
I think that’s a very real
possibility, Sam.

SAMANTHA
We should find some aluminum
foil and make hats out of it.

Mulder nods his head.

MULDER
Yeah, right now, even such a thing
like that sounds like it could
work and isn’t just fabricated out
of cheesy sci-fi.

SAMANTHA
So where’s the nearest grocery store?

Mulder smiles, sounds like he and Samantha are setting out to prevent alien mind-control on them.

In the distance they hear the human growl of a man gone mad. Mulder stands up immediately as does Sam, despite her hurt knee. Mulder searches the pockets of Scott Williams and finds a hunting knife, he takes it and pockets it. He also takes Scott’s prison ID. If he ever finds Scully alive she will be relieved to know that Scott is dead.

Mulder and Samantha once again run away from the camp that has been ravished and destroyed. From here on out they are on their own.

CUT TO:

EXT. AIRPORT – 5 P.M.
JANUARY 30, 2007

DOGGETT
(yelling)
What do you mean you know he left?

John Doggett’s eyes look like they are about to bulge out of their sockets, muscles in his face contract with contained anger.

SHANNON
I ordered him to leave.

Shannon stands at attention. Though typically she takes higher rank than John, in this moment she deserves to be treated inferior.

DOGGETT
Now why the Hell would you do that?!

SHANNON
Gut instinct, Sir!

This just about boils John’s anger and frustration right over the top.

DOGGETT
Gut instinct?!

SHANNON
Sir! Yes, Sir!

John runs his hand through his hair. It’s obvious he’s impatient with Shannon.

SHANNON
Sir, gut instinct based on information
I gathered from General Roger Thompson, Sir!

John casts an annoyed glance at Shannon.

DOGGETT
I’m not a fucking Drill Sergeant, Shannon.
You don’t have to speak to me like that.

He’s calmer, but his voice betrays him, he’s still angry.

SHANNON
Charles’s father may be alive contrary
to popular belief, and he may play an
important part in our survival. (beat)
I sent Charles to Antarctica.

DOGGETT
Antarctica? How the Hell’s he going
to get down there? You might as well have
sent him to the butcher, do you know what-

SHANNON
- Yes, I know what’s out there,
what he will no doubt have to face
alone on his journey, but he’s good, John.

DOGGETT
He’s Dana’s little brother!

John’s starting to take this personally. Charles is like family to him, he was going to be his brother-in-law if aliens didn’t invade. He was going to marry his sister.

DOGGETT
You can’t just order him away like that!

Tears sting John’s eyes, Charles is the closest thing he’s got to Dana these days. He feels responsible for him. If anything were to happen to him... he doesn’t even want to think of that right now so he changes the subject.

DOGGETT
And what about Michael? You order
our only medic to leave too? ‘Cause
if you did, Shan’, then we have a
serious communication problem here.

SHANNON
Communication problem?

DOGGETT
Fact is you and I need to be on the same
page, Shan’. It needs to be our business
to know where everyone in our group is and
what they’re doing.

Shannon looks away from John. He’s right. She subtly nods her head.

DOGGETT
If we can’t do that then... then we risk
losing control of this group and that’d be
one more thing we don’t want to deal with.
We already have enemies on the outside. The
aliens and men gone mad... I’ve overheard
people talking about how you and I don’t know
what we’re doing-

SHANNON
- No one knows what to do anymore, John.
Our world is dead. We’re no longer the top
of the food chain. Every time we’re attacked
we lost more lives. We don’t have the advantage.
(beat) Out here... we’re already dead.

John gives her a look. He doesn’t like to hear her talk like that.

SHANNON
(harsh, blunt)
And you... you’ve got to get your
head out of your ass-

DOGGETT
- Excuse me?

SHANNON
It’s been nine months since the invasion
began and you still hold out hope that she’s alive.

John’s heart skips a beat. He lowers his eyes. That hits him as hard as it gets.

SHANNON
(softer)
Now I know that’s hard for you to hear,
but it’s the truth, John. All the time I’ve
seen you take to think about her could have
been time spent planning our next move or
coming up with a way to defeat these alien assholes.

DOGGETT
Shannon, Dana means more to me than anything
else in this world. Hope to find her alive
is all I have to keep going.

SHANNON
And that’s why I’m relieving you
of any command.

John feels as if she’s hit him in the stomach as hard as she can.

DOGGETT
You’re taking full responsibility for our group?

SHANNON
Yes.

DOGGETT
You can’t do that.

SHANNON
I’m doing it, John. You’re too distracted
with Dana. And what’s the old saying? (beat)
A distracted Marine is a dead Marine.

The expression on John’s face is harsh.

DOGGETT
(angry)
You’re only sayin’ that ‘cause you’ve
got a hard on for power, Shan’! Ever
since I’ve known you, you’ve wanted
to hold the highest military rank and
now you’re using my hope and my love
for Dana to-

SHANNON
- I’m not using your vulnerabilities-

DOGGETT
- Dana is not a vulnerability!

SHANNON
She always has been, John! Admit
your denial and maybe you’ll be on
your way back to the hardass Marine
you were back in ’91. That Dana has
softened you, weakened you-

DOGGETT
- Don’t you fucking say that, Shannon.
You don’t know the first thing about Dana and I!

SHANNON
Women make strong men weak!

DOGGETT
Dana saved me, Shannon, saved me from
a life of misery. I keep hope alive
that she’s out there hoping that I’m
alive because I know that when I find
her, this world, this shit we deal with
day in and day out will be that much
more tolerable with her by my side.

Their argument starts to fade as we slowly move away from them and into the airport where Kevin and Kate are watching them, hearing bits and pieces of their argument.

KATE
How do we know he wasn’t infected
with the alien virus when the
alien clawed him?

KEVIN
I’m not saying that’s not a possibility.
I just don’t trust either one of them anymore.

KATE
He’s more and more aggressive lately.

KEVIN
They only discuss serious matters
amongst themselves first. Shouldn’t
we all take part in that?

Another man joins the discussion. This man’s name is Brian Gallagher. He’s an older man, in his mid-50s, tall with brown hair and a muscular build.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
They’re products of the U.S. military,
we can’t trust them. They’re government.
They probably knew all this was going to happen.

KATE
What if he’s working with the men who
attack us? We get attacked so often now
that I try not to sleep at night. What if
he’s a spy?

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Kate’s got a point there, Kevin.

Kevin runs his hand over his face.

KEVIN
Ok, say that he’s one of them, that
he’s the reason why we’re being attacked...
What do we do?

MAN
Kill ‘im, that’s what we do!

A few people gathered with them shrug their shoulders.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
I say we question him until he
tells us the truth we all know.
That he’s one of them.

More people nod their heads.

KATE
What about her?

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Restrain her, she’s a hothead, she’ll
only cause us more trouble if we
continue to let her boss us around.

Brian look around at the people listening to his idea. Finally, after all this time they feel like a group with a leader who knows how to take charge.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Kevin, Steve, Brody... restrain McMahon.
I’ll get John Doggett.

Brian pulls out a thick rope from a bag on the ground next to his feet. He nods his head at the men and they quickly move in on John and Shannon who are still arguing.

DOGGETT
... are afraid they lost their
medic, we don’t even know where
Michael went.

SHANNON
Michael is a coward. The shit became
too much and he deserted us.

DOGGETT
You don’t think that if I found Dana
that I wouldn’t leave this group to be with her?

SUDDENLY, Brian throws his rope around John’s neck and pulls it tight, he kicks the back of one of John’s knees and John falls to the ground, his hands pulling as hard as he can on the rope which digs into his neck. Blood begins to trickle out from the lacerations.

Several men stand in Shannon’s way as she tries to fight her way through them to get to John, and in moments their strength overtakes her and she is held still. She yells at them with all the authority she learned over the years of watching her father deal with military men who were misbehaved. She yells at them, pleading them not to take John’s life.

Off yells, and John Doggett gasping at life... the noise building and building, becoming so LOUD that no words are recognizable:

SMASH CUT TO:

COMPLETE SILENCE. DARKNESS.

We hear the sound of heavy breathing. Deep breaths of someone who is relaxed, calm, and at peace.

WE SLOWLY FADE IN:

INT. NEW YORK RESEARCH FACILITY – SCULLY’S ROOM – 7 P.M.
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
24 DAYS LATER

Dana Scully is staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. She knows it’s there. Two weeks ago she woke up at night with a nose bleed and that’s the only warning she’s received from her body that told her that the cancer is back. She hasn’t told anyone yet, and she doesn’t want to. They’re always so preoccupied with other things.

In her mind’s eye her life shares with her memories, scattered memories: her first real kiss with Mulder, her mother taking her shopping for new pink shoes when she was six, her father reading “Moby Dick” to her as she sits on his lap and calls him “Ahab” and he calls her “Starbuck”. The feeling of being in love for the first time when she was involved with Skinner, walking on a beach in Cyprus hand-in-hand with John Doggett, Fourth of July when John told her “semper fi” when he intended to tell her “I love you”...

Dana smiles a very sincere smile and looks herself in the eyes in the mirror. She’s washed over by overwhelming happiness. The love she shared with John was short-lived but was enough to teach her what love is and to bring her so many good memories, like the time she and John shared a sleeping bag while winter camping in Colorado and he cried because his toes were so cold, or the time when she, John, Alex and Marita played strip spin the bottle on John’s first time Super Buddies adventure game night. There are also the tender moments between them that healed her soul... his touch, his understanding, knowing her so well, protecting her... with one look they could convey to the other what they were thinking. His proposal of marriage... the dozen roses he left for her throughout the day, his tearful proposal, the platinum engagement ring engraved with “semper fi”, which she lost when Henry Gibbs kidnapped her and took her to an alien breeding camp.

Dana rubs her finger over her ring finger where the diamond engagement ring should be. It is forever lost now because the aliens took it from her.

Semper fi...

WOMAN
(off screen)
Happy birthday, Dana.

In Dana’s mind’s eye she sees the same red-headed woman that visited her in her dreams almost a month ago. Only this time the woman is holding her in her arms, and Dana is not a grown woman, but rather a two year old. This woman is about 8 months pregnant. She kisses Dana on the top of her head.

Scully gasps out loud and steps away from the bathroom mirror. Tears welling in her eyes as if her heart misses something that it hadn’t missed in nearly a lifetime... the woman looks familiar, but Scully is sure she’s never seen her before.

SKINNER
(off screen)
Dana?

Dana wipes tears off her face and turns around to see Skinner enter her room.

SKINNER
You’ve been quiet today. Are
you doing all right?

SCULLY
Another day older.

SKINNER
And deeper in debt.

Scully cocks an eyebrow, what’s he talking about?

SKINNER
”Sixteen Tons”, one of my favorite songs.

He’s trying his best to bring a smile to her face. She never seems to be happy anymore. There’s an uneasiness in the air between them, if you asked them why, even they could not explain it.

SCULLY
Do you believe that dreams can unlock
secrets you never knew existed in your memories?

SKINNER
Are you talking about flashbacks?

SCULLY
Maybe, I don’t really know for sure.
A month ago I had this dream and this woman...
and just now I was thinking back on my
childhood and I had this memory that included
her... the woman from my dream.

SKINNER
Sounds to me like a repressed memory.

SCULLY
Maybe...

She looks down not sure of she wants to continue on with their discussion.

SKINNER
I came to wish you a happy birthday.

The look on his face changes dramatically when he sees a spot of blood coming from Dana’s nose. His eyes soften from initial shock of realizing what this could mean.

SKINNER
Dana... your nose.

He touches his own nose as he speaks. Scully rushes to the bathroom and she grabs a tissue and dabs the blood away, holding the tissue on her nose to ensure that she’ll get the bleeding to stop.

SKINNER
It’s back, isn’t it?

She removes the tissue from her nose and throws it away in the waste bin. She looks Skinner square in the eyes.

SCULLY
I didn’t want anyone to know.

SKINNER
Why?

SCULLY
I can’t be a burden on everyone when
you still have a chance to fight for
survival.

SKINNER
Let us take care of you.

Skinner touches her gently on the shoulder. He wants her to know that she can lean on him, confide in him.

SCULLY
You can’t. I’m dying. There’s
nothing anyone can do to stop it.

SKINNER
I can’t believe that, Dana.

Scully rolls her eyes and lets out a laugh that says she can’t believe he said that.

SCULLY
The chip Knowle destroyed was what
kept the cancer in remission, Walter.
(beat) The Syndicate developed the technology.

SKINNER
We’re here at their facility, surely there’s a way-

Scully places her finger on his mouth to prevent him from talking.

SCULLY
Don’t tell anyone, ok?

Skinner holds onto Dana’s wrist and removes her finger from his mouth.

SKINNER
Dana...

Now that her secret is out, Dana feels vulnerable, afraid of the pain she will feel due to her slow death. A tear involuntarily rolls down her cheek. Skinner gently wipes it away with the back of his hand. Scully caresses his forearm, a part of her longing for comfort, safety and protection. She longs to feel a man’s arms around her, his breath warm on her neck. She knows that comfort can never be John... she looks up at Skinner, her eyes lingering on his lips. Her heartbeat races at the thoughts going through her mind. She licks her lips and looks up at Skinner. She can see he’s confused by the tension between them, his eyes try to read hers to figure out her intentions.

Scully goes up on her toes and kisses him. Her mouth remains closed against his lips. She closes her eyes as she feels Skinner’s hands grasp onto her back, sending a shiver through her body. IF she doesn’t think about it, this almost feels like John is touching her, not Skinner.

A cry escapes her mouth and she’s quick to cover it by progressing her kiss with him. She slowly slides her tongue into his mouth and he does the same. She presses her chest against him and directs her hands down to the zipper of his pants.

Her world is destroyed and outside of Skinner, Knowle, and Montgomery, she has nothing. She has only death to look forward to. She has being with John in the Afterlife to look forward to as well. But in this moment, knowing she will soon be with him in death, is not enough. She needs to feel a man touch her, hold her and make her feel loved, and she’s chosen Walter.

She pulls away from him just slightly. She glances down at his erection. She pulls her T-shirt up over her head.

Skinner stares at her. He knows he shouldn’t do this. He knows she’s grieving for John still and he knows that if he sleeps with her she’ll regret it later. He doesn’t want her to further her feelings of grief and sadness by continuing any further. She presses herself against him again. One of the black bra straps slips off her shoulder. She rises again on her toes, her hand grasping onto his erection, her mouth moves in to meet his again.

SKINNER
I can’t.

He feels guilty for letting this come as far as it has.

He turns his head to prevent her from kissing him again. Scully looks at him, confused. She thought for sure Skinner would do this for her. She watches as he zips up his pants. Her eyes fill with tears, how is she going to find physical comfort now?

SCULLY
(whisper)
Walter...

She holds onto his arm as he starts to walk out of the room. She stands in place, tears streaming down her face. He looks at her with a soft expression.

SKINNER
(shakes his head)
I can’t.

He walks out of her room, shutting the door behind him. Scully chokes back sobs and tries to find her strength. Why is she so afraid when she has nothing to fear in death? John is dead, he may even be watching over her now. She knows they will be reunited when she dies. She knows she has no reason to seek physical comfort with Skinner, it’s just something she’s always fallen back on in difficult times.

Scully picks her shirt up off the floor and puts it back on. She sits down on the edge of her bed and cries, long and hard.

CUT TO:

INT. NEW YORK RESEARCH FACILITY – LAB – CONTINUOUS

Knowle Rohrer and John Montgomery sit at a table in the middle of the room. A piece of stone is placed on the table. On it are markings almost exactly like the markings on the artifact Monica is carrying with her.

MONTGOMERY
I’ve been gathering smaller artifacts
like the one you see here for over twenty years.

KNOWLE
And this artifact is supposed to lead
the way, so to speak, of our survival?

MONTGOMERY
That’s what I’ve gathered over the years.
(beat) Carmen Reyes, Monica’s grandmother,
she led me on this path... one of her many
purposes in life. Everything she ever told
me has been true.

Knowle looks down, thinking about something Grandmama Reyes once told him when he was a boy... “mir”. He wonders to himself why, if Grandmama Reyes was always right, did that not happen.

MONTGOMERY
Would you believe that this single
artifact is made from many smaller artifacts?

Knowle looks at Montgomery and then at the artifact on the table. He picks it up and examines it.

KNOWLE
Upon first inspection, no, I
don’t believe that.

MONTGOMERY
I found the first piece of that artifact
in 1972 on my second tour in Vietnam. I
picked it up as a souvenir. (beat) I thought
it was part of a building that had been
destroyed or maybe some ancient artifact.
I wasn’t too far off with the latter, only
it wasn’t Vietnamese.

His voice tone invokes Knowle’s curiosity.

KNOWLE
An ancient artifact?

MONTGOMERY
It’s extraterrestrial. See here
(he points to a missing section)
how the circular shape is broken?

Knowle nods his head.

MONTGOMERY
I figure I need to find one more
piece to this before it is complete.
Only I’m not supposed to find it, it’s
supposed to find me.

KNOWLE
Grandmama tell you that?

MONTGOMERY
Yes. (laughs) I know what you’re thinking...
how is an artifact going to find me? (beat)
I don’t know. But I can tell you one thing.
I can’t wait to see how that’s going to happen.

Skinner quietly enters the lab and sits down at the table, deep in thought.

KNOWLE
And this last piece will connect
with this, and then what?

MONTGOMERY
Ahh... and so you ask the question
that even Carmen claimed not to know
the answer. (beat) What happens then
is a mystery.

KNOWLE
You say it’s extraterrestrial. How do you
know it is safe to complete? If this last
piece finds you, are you certain it won’t
help the aliens, kill us?

MONTGOMERY
Carmen said the symbols hold valuable
information important to the future of
our planet. Now if we can get Dana down
here and figure out how to download the
information from the chip implanted in her
neck, then I can continue translating-

SKINNER
- Today’s Dana’s birthday.

Skinner interrupts John Montgomery to prevent them from discussing the fact that the chip has been removed and destroyed and her cancer has come out of remission.

Knowle looks at Skinner. He senses something is bothering him.

KNOWLE
Is she all right?

Skinner shakes his head, there’s so much going on with Scully right now, he doesn’t even know where to begin. He only knows that she asked him not to let the others now about her cancer.

Skinner looks up at Knowle and Montgomery.

SKINNER
Honestly, she’s not doing well at all.

MONTGOMERY
How so?

SKINNER
It’s John Doggett. His death. It’s...
it’s destroying her. She does well covering
up her feelings but... this, everything she’s been through.

Tears threaten to fill Skinner’s eyes.

KNOWLE
How bad is she?

SKINNER
She kissed me, tried to get me
to sleep with her. (beat) She’s depressed.

Knowle and Montgomery share a look.

MONTGOMERY
We’ve been keeping her out of the loop.

SKINNER
It’s not that, she’s kept her distance
from us. Ever since she got back from that
breeding camp she’s been distant.

MONTGOMERY
It’s not knowing or the lack of closure
over John that is bothering her. Perhaps
if we hold a memorial service or funeral,
let her say goodbye to him. Because if we
don’t let her do that... she’ll only get worse.

Knowle looks down at his hands. He worries if Dana’s been distancing herself from them because she may blame him for John’s death. Hell, he blames himself only he is great at keeping it from consuming his mind. He knows he shouldn’t think that of her, after all it is he that he thinks she feels closest to, but his guilt in leaving John and the others at the Marine barracks in North Carolina is something that will haunt him forever.

CUT TO:

INT. AIRPORT – 9:43 P.M.
FEBRUARY 23, 2007

John Doggett lies, beaten severely, on the floor. The lights are off. He’s shirtless and lying on his stomach. We see that the scar from the alien claw has not yet diminished on his back, forever a memento of the moment he changed from disbeliever to believer. His back shines in sweat and humidity, there’s no fresh air flow into this room that Briand Gallagher and the others have locked him in.

He’s been held captive here for nearly a month now because the people in his and Shannon’s group accused him of being one of the men who attacked their camp, then accused him of being an alien.

He’s been deprived of water and food. All they ever bring him to eat is insects, worms and leaves from the trees and bushes. For days he refused to consume any of it, but soon his hunger and need for nutrition overpowered him and he gave in and ate what they fed him. Once every two days they bring him just enough water so he won’t die of dehydration.

If he were any weaker he’d hope for death, but something has kept his heart beating this long. And as long as his body doesn’t give up on him he will not give up on life.

John groans as he rolls onto his back. He’s in dire need of a good shave, his beard and moustache are long and tangled. His right eye is swollen shut and there are many cuts and bruises all over his body. Brian Gallagher and his men have been questioning him for days, never once believing him when he tells them that he is not one of the men who attacked them, nor is he an alien in disguise. John refuses to give in and confess to something which he is not, that’s not in his character to do. He is an honest person.

The door to the room creeks open and Brian Gallagher enters with a small glass of water. The light hurts John’s one good eye and he places his arm over his face to block the light.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Rations are getting low so less
water for you today.

John sits up and reaches out for the glass of water. His throat has been burning and dry as sandpaper for two days. Brian moves the glass away from John, not letting him have it just yet.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Now how about you talk, tell me
what I need to know, John, and
you can have the water.

John tries to talk but his throat is so dry and sore that sound barely comes from his mouth.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
What was that? I can’t hear you.

John points to his throat and shakes his head.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
What? Can’t talk now? I’d say that’s
convenient. I figure you don’t want
to tell me where you and your men are
stationed. And why attack us? Do you know
that since we’ve contained you we haven’t
been attacked once? That all but proves
that you are what we say you are. One of the rabids.

John loses his strength and falls back down to the floor.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Giving up are you? Then perhaps
it’s about time that we give up on you too.

Brian pulls out a handgun from his pant’s pocket and aims it at John. He pulls the trigger, and a bullet rips straight through John’s gut. John screams hoarsely and Brian laughs at him.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
Slow, painful... you probably think I’m
some masochistic bastard, letting you
die slowly well...

Brian chuckles to himself, high on his feeling of power, he takes aim again.

BRIAN GALLAGHER
I’m not that sick. I’m not like you.
I’m just fucking with you. A shot to
the head will put you out of your
misery much faster and since I’m feeling
rather humane tonight I figure that’s the
way I’ll kill you.

SUDDENLY the sound of a woman screaming a war cry strong and loud enough to rival that of any experienced Drill Sergeant shakes the room. Shannon McMahon punches Brian with all her strength on the back of his head. The force and strength of her hit knocks him out immediately. She’s quick to act, grabbing Brian’s handgun from the floor and searching his body for anything else she could use as a weapon.

SHANNON
Johnny, we’re gonna get out of here.
(beat) Where were you shot? I heard gunfire.

DOGGETT
(weak)
Gut...

He struggles to speak and manages since it’s important that she knows he could die from a wound in his gut.

SHANNON
It’s gonna be easy getting out of here.
They think I’m doing my security check
right now. I had to convince them I shared
their views so our escape would be easier.

Shannon practically drags John out into the corridor. She looks both ways, the coast is clear.

SHANNON
They think you’re alien because
of that scar. All they’ve done since
relieving me of my authority is
screw things up. (beat) They’re planning
to go out in search of other survivalists
and attack them to get their food and
weapons. To be honest, the aliens are the
least of our worries now.

They track their way down the corridor. Shannon’s senses are on high alert.

SHANNON
It’s a big world out there, John,
and I doubt this group is the only
group of survivors. There have got
to be many more.

Shannon presses herself and John up against a wall and peeks around the corner to make sure it’s safe to proceed. They continue.

SHANNON
And if there are many, there are
many people desperate for resources.
Resources that are less available to us
every day. The heat, the drought, it’s
probably killed so many lives that we
could have hunted to survive. We’ll
have to worry about where our fresh water
sources will dry up too.

Shannon and John come to an exit door that leads out of the airport, to the world outside.

SHANNON
Now John, I understand how much pain
you’re in but I need you to remember
Al-Khobar when our barracks collapsed.
You were still able to carry Knowle out
to safety despite a shattered kneecap.
So I need you to run now, ignore the pain,
fuel off adrenaline because if we get caught
they will kill you sooner than that bullet
wound ever could. If we get away from here
I can save you.

John nods his head and removes his arm from around her shoulders. We can see he is weak, he looks dizzy, but is trying to find focus.

SHANNON
Plus... Dana may be somewhere out there
and I know you don’t want to die without
knowing for sure what happened to her so
if you can’t find the strength for you or
I, find it for her.

John tries to smile at Shannon.

DOGGETT
(hoarse)
I thought you said she makes me weak.

Even in the condition he’s in he’s found strength to crack a joke, to pick on Shannon for what she said about Dana a month ago.

SHANNON
I was wrong about that. When you’re
in a heated argument with someone
your IQ drops and that’s when you say
things you don’t mean. (beat) I’m sorry.

John nods his head.

DOGGETT
An apology from you is rare, Shan’.
I accept. Now let’s get out of here
before my body beats my determination.

John takes off running. Despite the pain he’s in and his poor health and dehydration he is able to run. Shannon runs next to him, always well aware of her surroundings. They run into the darkness with no direction, knowing only that they are on their own.

FADE OUT

FADE IN:

EXT. NEW YORK RESEARCH FACILITY – 10:39 P.M.

The darkness of night seems to have swallowed the world. The only light comes from a small fire burning. Around it stand Dana, Knowle, Skinner, and Montgomery. Their heads are lowered.

They are silent for a long time. Only the sounds of the night can be heard. A tear falls down Scully’s face and she carefully wipes it away with the back of her hand. In her other hand she holds the picture Knowle gave her of John and his Purple Heart.

The moment of silence is broken by Knowle Rohrer as he raises his head and speaks to his friends.

KNOWLE
(quiet)
Nine months ago the Marine barracks at
Camp LeJeune, North Carolina were attacked
by extraterrestrial enemies. Hundreds, thousands
of lives were lost, not only military but our
friends and family, men and women I considered
my brothers... Johnny Jay Doggett...

Scully can’t control the soft cry that escapes her mouth. Skinner puts his arm around her shoulder.

KNOWLE
Shannon Ann McMahon... Charles Edward
Scully... Ryan Thomas Bracker... Steven
Takeshi Maeda... Roger Lee Erickson...
these men and women joined the Marine
Corps not for political reasons, but because
they care very deeply.

Knowle pauses and looks at those around him and he realizes how much he doesn’t know any of them. Sure he knows that Scully loves John very much and her brothers, but did Skinner lose anyone close to him? What about John Montgomery?

Knowle lowers his eyes and continues.

KNOWLE
The more they had to sacrifice, and the more
they had to risk, the more their care deepened.
The men I served with didn’t care about political
agendas, they cared about loved ones at home and
the men and women beside them in battle who they
considered their brothers. They were all willing
to risk death when they were called to duty, believing
we were going to war with another country, but none
of them was ready to die.

Montgomery watches Knowle carefully, a sense of pride in him because of what he is witnessing, a man taking the reigns, becoming a leader. Grandmama Reyes wasn’t kidding when she told him that he would know this man when he saw him.

The fire crackles in the silence following Knowle’s words. Knowle looks at Scully, hoping that this memorial service will help her.

Scully steps forward, her head still lowered.

SCULLY
(soft)
The only comfort I have in John’s death
is knowing that he never got to see the Hell
that has been brought to our planet, and that
in Heaven he waits for me, side-by-side with
his son, Luke and other loved ones that passed
with him and before him.

Scully holds back tears as she makes sure to look everyone in the eye before continuing. Showing us more inner strength than she’s had in a long time.

SCULLY
I intended this to be my last goodbye
to Johnny, but in preparing what I wanted
to say I realized that I will never be able
to let go of him completely. He became a part
of me over the years which means that his memory...

She holds back sobs, knowing what she is about to say doesn’t really mean all that much anymore since she is dying.

SCULLY
... that his memory lives through me now.

Scully looks at Knowle, their eyes meet. She seens his eyes shining, tears welling in them. A tear streams down Knowle’s face.

SCULLY
John was special to everyone he met in
his life. He was a friend, a brother, a son,
a father, a role model, a healer and a lover.
His memory lives through in all of us who he has
touched. His loyalty and bravery and his dedication
to things he held dear inspires me every day to keep
going, to live for him, to not give up and to fight
for survival. Even in his death he gives me strength
and I feel his soul within me more each day and I look
forward to the day we are reunited in Heaven.

She looks down and a tear drips off her chin, falling to the ground. She raises her head and casts her gaze to the night sky as if looking at John himself.

SCULLY
(quiet, to John)
Semper fi. You’ll always be
a part of my heart.

Scully’s eyes linger on the stars above. Inside her heart and soul she feels a calm, almost as if she shares the same view of the Heavens above with John. This feeling brings her comfort, and through her mind is releasing him, now, in this time, her heart remains hopeful that they will someday soon meet again.

MATCH DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. STREETS OF CHICAGO – 10:47 P.M.

John Doggett’s soft blue eyes look up to the stars, searching for something his heart yearns for. For some unexplained reason, he feels comfort in the stars, but also tonight he feels a sense of hope. He may be beaten, malnutritioned, and dehydrated, and if what they say about when things are at their worst there’s only one way to go... up, then maybe better days lie ahead.

SHANNON
I’m just about done patching you
up. I hope it wasn’t too painful.

His eyes leave the stars and his attention turns to Shannon who sits next to him.

SHANNON
I’ll have to keep a good eye
on you for awhile to make sure
you’re all right. You’re not out
of the woods yet.

Shannon can tell John is distracted, thinking about something else.

SHANNON
What are you thinking about?

DOGGETT
Dana.

Shannon lowers her head. Has there ever been a moment when Dana isn’t on his mind?

DOGGETT
She would hold my hand on airplanes
to assure me everything would be all right.

SHANNON
She sounds very kind.

Doggett nods his head and looks down the road.

DOGGETT
It’s eerie sitting here in the middle
of downtown Chicago and being the only
two people here. (beat) What do you think
our chances of survival are out here
just you and I?

SHANNON
I don’t know. (beat) Almost seems like
we’re the only two people in the world.

DOGGETT
We should find a radio that works
and see if we can find other survivors
who need our help.

SHANNON
We can look around, but not tonight.
I want you to get rested and healthy
before we go out on a scavenger hunt.

Shannon stands up and offers her hands to John.

SHANNON
I don’t want you doing any strenuous
activity until I say so. Tonight we’ll
stay in that rundown motel across the
street. I say it’s about time we let
ourselves sleep in beds. And tomorrow
I’ll find you a razor and you can get
rid of that horrible beard and moustache.

John rubs the back of his neck, he doesn’t like looking this unkept. He takes hold of Shannon’s hands and she helps him to his feet. He wraps his arms around her shoulders for support and they walk across the street towards the motel. There they will get rested and able to prepare for the days ahead.

FADE OUT

THE END.

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