Title: Late Night Choices Author: FirePhile(FirePhile@aol.com) Spoilers: None Classification: VA Rating: R Summary: Alternate scene for The Second Ones. Scully and Jack talk. Disclaimers: Not mine. Scully: I turned off the tape and sat in the dark. The shadows twisted into horrific shapes, which mirrored the terror I saw each time I closed my eyes. My thoughts turned down the same dangerous path, the one that kept coming back like a nightmare. Too dark, it was too dark, I couldn't afford the visions. I flicked on the light near the bed and stood up, walking towards the window. I opened the curtains and looked up at the stars. I chided myself for the action, I wasn't the stargazer, my thoughts turned more towards the earth than the canopy above it. Mulder would have looked out at the stars like this. Anew, my thoughts turned towards him. Even though he was far away and I might possibly never see him again, I still could hear his voice in my mind. I wished he was here now. No, Mulder and I were never the type to talk until our eyes couldn't stay open, and if I woke up in the middle of the night after a horrific dream, I would never have knocked on his door or wanted comfort from him. No, I would lay in bed and clutch my pillow or read a book and wait for either daybreak or sleep to win out. Somehow, the sound of him moving on the other side of the wall, of a television blaring in the distance, was comforting. Most likely because I knew he would always be there. He was the one constant in my life, the one person who never left my side, and the one face I could always count upon seeing when I would awaken in a strange place. At least, that was before. But now he was there, and I was here, and his concern about me was negligible. I leaned against the wall, its structure a constant. At the moment though, it felt as if the laws of physics, of action and reaction, of force, were suspended and if I leaned back far enough, I'd find myself outside. A television flicked on next door, I could hear the canned laugh track. I smiled slightly and then the whispering began. "No she doesn't suspect. Talk about easy to manipulate. She's just the way you said she would be, but it's sad she has to die." I tiptoed back to the bed and grabbed my gun from the table. "She knows what's going on and she's not one of us - she never will be one of us." A few moments later, there was a knock on the door and I raised my gun, ready to defend myself. I opened it and pointed my gun at the figure in front of me. But, I wasn't prepared for the hands around my neck, or familiar hazel eyes staring at me with such hatred. Pain rushed through me like heroin and I felt myself slipping towards darkness. Ineffectually, I tried to pry his hands off, but he was too strong, and I couldn't fight anymore. His whispered, "I warned you" was the last thing I heard before I spiraled towards nothingness. I woke up with a scream and felt tears course down my face. Never before had my own death felt so real and inevitable. I heard a knock and tried to wipe the tears off my face, unsucessfully, and stood up to answer the door. Jack took in my condition and looked at me concerned. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. I heard the scream and feared that an attempt was being made on your life." "I'm fine. I just accidentally stubbed my toe." The way he looked at me made it clear that he didn't believe my lie. "I was a social worker once, for a few months. I also know the difference between a scream of pain and a scream of terror. You know, dreams can't hurt us." I smiled sadly, "I find that comment ironic." He realized his error. "I'm sorry, Agent Scully. I know how you must feel." "Congratuations," This was not a conversation I wanted to have. "Agent Scully...I know how you feel, I've felt the same way. But, why are you here, doing this? I have orders I have to follow, you have no such reason, you are free to leave at any time, you are not bound to them." I looked down at the floor, "I'm doing this because I know that he would...he has done the same for me. I'm not giving up, I'm not afraid. Why do you care?" "Because, I went through the same thing for someone that I thought cared about me...can I come in?" I nodded slightly and he moved past me and sat on the edge of the bed. "I've seen a lot of things, but nothing as horrible as this situation. Your life is in danger, I want to make sure you realize that, because I know they never told you about the possible consequences." "I know all about the consequences. Mulder's safety is worth any risks I need to take." I realized with some trepidation that I was trying to convince myself of the answers. "Even after everything?" I nodded, "He almost died saving my life, he is the most important person in my life...I can't...imagine my life without him." "Why?" I knew I should have shut up, but I kept talking. "I've shut myself off from everyone, he was the only one who could break through my walls. So much has changed, I've lost so much over these past six years, I can't lose him, not without a fight. And if there is even a one in a million chance of saving him, I have to take it." "I understand. But Agent Scully...Dana, this is not about him, this is about you. We've both seen the bodies, if we run into a gang of these...things, I don't know how you'll survive." "You still haven't told me why you care." I was taken aback by his use of my first name. His next actions took me completely by surprise. He stood up and walked towards me, slowly. It'd been so long since a man looked at me that way. I was equally torn between the desire to send him away and the desire to kiss him. He stroked the side of my face with the backs of his long fingers. "I've wanted to do that for years," he whispered tenderly. I swallowed painfully, and looked into his eyes. He wanted me. Dear God, he wanted me and at that moment, I wanted him. I felt his arm go around my waist and I didn't protest. I felt his strong chest against my body and I didn't know what to do. On one hand I knew this was wrong, I did. I didn't know this man at all. He was one of them and also had a past with someone who I was just starting to trust a little. This was also in a way, a betrayal of Mulder, for reasons that I couldn't afford to examine. It could have been our almost marriage-like partnership, or perhaps it was the memory of his lips almost touching mine. I blinked and Jack was there again, and his eyes, wide and gray as a cloudy morning, stared into mine. I felt the heat of his body through my silk pj's and he wrapped both arms around me and hugged me tightly. I breathed deeply, trying desperately not to think of another hug, another man, another time. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you - I've wanted to hug you for so long," he had to lean down slightly to whisper in my ear. "I'm fine, I've always been fine." Then I realized that Jack was still fully dressed. "Why are you still in your suit?" "I can't afford to relax enough to sleep - not now. I never know when I'll need to make a quick exit." I nodded, "Must be a horrible way to live. Never being able to stay in one place, always on the run." "One day, I'll get to rest. I hear that Paris is a perfect place to lose all your troubles -- while still working for them, of course. But Dana, I've been watching you for a long time and what you've gone through and I can't believe they'd let you suffer so much," he said, reminding me harshly of exactly who he worked for and why this was such a bad idea. "How did you get involved with them?" His arms tightened around me. "I joined the CIA after college, my language skills were exceptional, and I met Larson during an assignment in the former USSR. He needed a bodyguard and offered me a hell of a lot more money than the CIA ever would. Yes, my motives aren't honorable, but Dana, yours are." "Jack, I'm not your savior, my motives aren't honorable, they're actually quite selfish." "Don't say that, your sacrifice is admirable. Think of all the lives you'll save. Think of the war you'll stop." "Jack, I know my reasons," I couldn't hear this now, couldn't have this conversation. He let go quickly and stepped back. "What would you have done if your partner was never contacted?" I blinked and looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" "If your partner never had the dreams, never met..." "Stop it." He continued anyway. "If none of the past few weeks ever happened. If you met Melora and she had no ties to your partner. If she died, but you still had the chance to get back the X-Files...and if your partner never suffered a breakdown. What would have happened?" "Jack, don't...please, don't do this to me," I said softly, regret bearing down on me. "Agent Scully, what would have happened? Would you have discovered the connection between the dreams and the murders? Would you be here looking to stop the war now?" "No, probably not. We would have never been allowed to investigate and all this would have happened without our knowledge. Then, OPR would have probably assigned him to work with Diana and he would have tried to refuse..." I trailed off, imagining this new scenario only too clearly. "But that would be preferable over this." "Agent Scully, do you have any idea what will happen if these others succeed?" I shook my head, not liking where this conversation was heading. "I don't either, but I know it will be catastrophic." Suddenly he stood behind me and touched the back of my neck. "You will save humanity," he whispered, his lips almost touching my ear. "Jack, I'm...not a saint, I don't have any power to save more than one person at time. I am little more than a compass in this situation." "No, you are vital, you saw the important connections -- without you, we'd be lost." His fingers stroked my neck gently and I gasped softly. "We can't do this," I said, more for myself than him. "Do what?" he asked, and I couldn't tell if he was feigning innocence or if I totally misread the signs. "Diana is next door," I tried again. "She took a pill, she'll be out for hours," he murmured and I had to force myself to concentrate. "Jack, we have to work together, we can't do this. I don't do things like this, it's been a hectic few weeks and I've been experiencing some lapses of logic, and I'm concerned for my..." He kissed the side of my neck, and I couldn't remember the rest of my argument. "Your skin is just like I thought it would be..." he whispered. "And your hair is so soft." His hands were hot against the silken top, but I couldn't allow this to happen. "I can't do this," I tried yet again, but my resolve was weakening. It had been so long since I was touched in this way. My nerves were on fire, emotions that hadn't been accessed in so long were begging for a release. He pulled away. "I understand," he said, hurt clear in his voice. "No, it's not you...it's...this situation." "So somewhere else then?" he whispered, and kissed me again on the side of my neck, sucking slightly. "Yes," I moaned softly, unable to stop myself. "If I ever get to Paris...perhaps then?" I closed my eyes and nodded. He turned me around and kissed me quickly, just a quick brush of his lips against mine. I pulled him back and deepened the kiss, running my hands through his dark blonde hair, feeling his hands against my back, going lower and lower and it had been so long, so long...but I had to stop. I pulled away and dropped my hands, my face stinging slightly from his stubble. "Paris," he whispered. "Paris, I promise," I whispered in return and watched him leave the motel room. I sunk down onto the edge of the bed and stared ahead, unable to believe what had just happened. I had just told a professional assassin that I would visit him in Paris and sleep with him. But, that was nothing compared to the other worries on my mind. Like getting out of this situation alive with my sanity intact. My body still tingled from his kiss as I lay down and tried to fall back asleep. END Followed by Anna's Obligation.