I got to believe that I did
everything I could to Save Him,
to get him back safe,
to not let him down.
I got to believe that I did everything humanly possible 'cause if I can't believe that then these other possibilities that you talk about, that Mulder talks about, that Agent Scully talks about...
If they're real... if they're real, then...
That's Something Else
I could have done to Save My Son.
-- Caesar,
Battle for The Planet of The Apes
SCENE 10
(SCULLY is lying in the bed in her hospital room. Clock reads 8:30. AM, probably. DOGGETT stands beside her bed watching her. SCULLY wakes. She is surprised to see DOGGETT.)
SCULLY:
What are you doing, Agent Doggett?
DOGGETT:
I was, um...
I just came by to see how you're doing.
SCULLY:
I'm, uh... I feel all druggy.
Do you mind?
(She points to the bed table. DOGGETT pours a glass of water and hands it to her.)
SCULLY:
Thank you.
DOGGETT:
They say you're stabilized but we've been worried about you.
SCULLY:
Who's we?
DOGGETT:
You know... me and Agent Mulder ...
SCULLY:
What's wrong, Agent Doggett?
You don't seem too good yourself.
DOGGETT:
You worked with Agent Mulder for how long?
A long time.
SCULLY:
Mm-hmm.
(Her eyes briefly flutter closed as if reliving the exhaustion of the last eight years in 2/3rds of a second.)
DOGGETT:
You never believed in any of this stuff.
This paranormal or whatever you call it.
So, what changed your mind?
(SCULLY is very sleepy.)
SCULLY:
I realized it was me, that I was afraid.
Afraid to believe.
(DOGGETT starts to leave the room, then turns back. Again, he is in the wooded area. He is standing a few yards away from the police and FBI agents who are standing in a small circle around something on the ground. As he watches, REYES, in a brown trenchcoat, slowly turns and looks at him. SCULLY's voice brings DOGGETT back into the hospital room.)
SCULLY:
Why do you ask?
(DOGGETT is silent.)
SCULLY:
Agent Doggett, why do you ask?
DOGGETT:
Some other time.
(DOGGETT leaves. SCULLY closes her eyes.)
SCENE 14
(Night. Clock says 3:20. MULDER enters SCULLY's hospital room. She is asleep. He calls softly from the doorway.)
MULDER:
You awake?
(SCULLY wakes up and looks at MULDER.)
SCULLY: Yeah.
(MULDER closes the door as he walks to the bed. SCULLY is resting her hands on her abdomen.)
MULDER:
What did the doctor say?
SCULLY:
That I had a partial abruption. Which means that my placenta started to tear away from the uterine wall. They're going to need to monitor me for awhile.
(MULDER smiles a little.)
MULDER:
But you're going to be fine?
SCULLY:
Yeah.
(MULDER reaches out and rests his hand on her swollen belly for a moment. His expression is one of wonder, awe, and joy. He and SCULLY smile at each other.)
SCULLY:
Where have you been?
(Almost reluctantly, MULDER slides his hand off of her stomach.)
MULDER:
I've actually been out in the field with Agent Doggett
and this, um, female Agent from New Orleans.
SCULLY:
Agent Reyes.
MULDER:
Yeah.
SCULLY:
I like her.
(MULDER laughs softly.)
MULDER:
You're nothing at all alike.
SCULLY:
Well, then neither are you and I.
So this is a case you're working on?
MULDER:
Yeah. Actually, one that involves Agent Doggett's son,
the son who died.
SCULLY:
Yeah, he's never talked to me about him,
but I know something.
Are you able to help him at all?
(SCULLY is getting sleepy again.)
MULDER:
You can't help a man who can't help himself.
SCULLY:
He's worth the effort, Mulder.
(They look at each other. MULDER considers.)
SCENE 16
(DOGGETT is sitting at the X-Files desk. He is on the phone.)
DOGGETT:
Jeb Dukes, middle name, Larold. No, Larold. Okay, thanks, anyway.
(He hangs up as REYES enters and hears part of the conversation.)
REYES:
What are you doing, John?
DOGGETT:
I'm looking into this case.
REYES:
You're looking in the wrong way.
There are a hundred agents in this building who can phone canvass.
DOGGETT:
Ah, but there's only two who can solve crimes with mental telepathy-- you and me.
So we'll just read the tea leaves on this one
and there it is, right? Case closed?
REYES:
John...
DOGGETT:
Damn it, Monica, you want to find this guy.
I'm trying to find him.
What do you want from me?
REYES:
I want you to be honest with yourself
about what you saw that day.
Honest about what your feelings tell you.
DOGGETT:
Feelings don't solve crimes.
What the hell does it matter what my feelings are?
How the hell's that going to get the job done?
REYES:
I'm not talking about The Job, John.
What are you scared of?
Why does it scare you?
DOGGETT:
I got to believe that
I did everything I could to find my son.
REYES: (reassuring)
You did do everything to find your son.
DOGGETT:
I got to believe that I did everything I could to save him,
to get him back safe, to not let him down.
I got to believe that I did everything humanly possible
'cause if I can't believe that
then these other possibilities that you talk about,
that Mulder talks about, that Agent Scully talks about...
if they're real... if they're real, then...
that's something else I could have done to save my son.
(Pause. REYES' cell phone rings.)
REYES: (on phone)
Monica Reyes.
Katha? Katha, wait.
(She hangs up.)
REYES:
Jeb Dukes' sister.
He's there at the house with her.
DOGGETT:
This guy somehow has some link to my son and I'm damn sure going to find out what it is.
(DOGGETT grabs his coat and precedes REYES out of the office.)
