Truth's End
By: Olivia
One Week Later
Chapter 1
John and Monica sat on a bench outside the conference room where the Office of Professional Review had convened to pass judgment on them and on the X-Files unit.
John adjusted his tie and leaned back against the wall. He looked at Monica and tried to reassure her. "I don't think it's gonna be that bad. They let Skinner and Kersh off with a lil slap on the wrist. They don't know that we all helped Mulder escape."
Monica met John's gaze. "They took all of our files, John. They took our desks, our computers. We're lucky they left the "I Want To Believe" poster so we can have a souvenir of our brief stint on the X-Files."
John could feel Monica's anger and frustration. More than that, he understood it; he could empathize with it, because he too felt the same way. He wondered again for what to him seemed like the millionth time how some people could hide the truth from the light of day and how others, too scared by the truth, would allow them to do so as if ignoring it would make it go away. John put a comforting hand on Monica's arm. "Don't worry about it, Monica. We're gonna get the files back. We're gonna keep workin' on the X-Files."
Monica smiled sadly at John's words. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I don't accept the fact that I was just gettin' the hang of this job and now they're gonna take it away from us."
John took his hand off Monica's arm when he heard the door creak open. A man stepped out. "Agent Reyes, the Board is ready for you now."
John and Monica stood up. The man reentered the room, but left the door open for Monica. They two looked at each other. This was it. Soon their fate and the fate of the X-Files would be decided upon. For the first time today Monica could see John's real worry behind his eyes. He remembered how angry she had gotten at Mulder's trial. Anger was only going to hurt them today. "Don't be a hero, Monica. Whatever comes down, you lay the blame on me, okay? I'm the one that brought you into this unit. I'm not going to let it bring you down."
Monica was greatly touched by John's concern, at his wanting to protect her, just as she had been in the desert. And just like then, she refused to accept saving herself at the cost of John sacrificing himself. "You know I could never let you take the fall for this. It was my choice to come here. I wanted to be here. I'm as much a part of this as you are."
And with that Monica left John and walked into the room and closed the door behind her. All John could do was stare at the door and worry. He imagined that he saw the words "abandon hope all ye who enter" written above the door. John inwardly cursed the fact that they didn't call him first. He had been counting on it so he could take whatever blame was coming down and spare Monica.
Chapter 2
Monica stood before the panel of judges seated at the table in front of her.
Assistant Director Jana Cassidy sat in the middle of the judges. She was highest-ranking member on the panel of the OPR. She adjusted her glasses and studied Monica for a moment before speaking. "It seems once again that I have the unpleasant duty to review not only the X-Files Unit, but its Agents as well. Quite frankly we never really have thought very highly of the Unit and previous attempts to disband it have failed. Not only is it a superfluous drain on Bureau resources, it also seems to be one of continued embarrassment."
"If I may be allowed to speak on behalf of...." Monica never got to finish her sentence.
"No you may not, Agent Reyes. This is not a hearing. You may make a statement at the end, but this meeting has been convened in order to render our decision. If you would like to make a formal protest of the decision, you may do so through other channels."
Cassidy took off her glasses and continued, "Quite frankly, my colleagues and myself are appalled at one of our former agents, Fox Mulder, being found guilty of murder and what we find even more appalling is that he escaped punishment for his crime. We strongly suspect that his former partner, Agent Scully, had a hand in his escape since she too has disappeared to whereabouts unknown. Not only is that suspect, but so is the fact that the child she gave birth too was more than likely fathered by Fox Mulder. This is an embarrassment. The office and its Agents, including you and your partner, continue to be an embarrassment to the integrity of the Bureau. If we ever find out that you and Agent Doggett had a hand in Mulder escaping you two will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Monica couldn't take it any longer. Her anger had reached its boiling point. "If you take away the X-Files, you take away the power to protect people...."
The angry banging of the gavel by Cassidy drowned Monica's voice out. "Protect people from what exactly? From alien invasion, from colonization, from a conspiracy by government officials to hide this? Nothing has ever been substantiated in the X-Files. This is an imagined threat propagated by Fox Mulder. And now he has you two believing it. Our job is to meet out justice, to protect and serve."
Monica interrupted again, angrily and desperately. These people needed to understand what was at stake. "The X-Files doesn't not strictly investigate alien conspiracies, there have been other crimes committed where the paranormal phenomena is the only way to explain these crimes and meet out justice as you yourself so eloquently put it. These cases will be filed away as unexplained and a unit that is highly qualified to handle these cases will be nonexistent."
"We are not a scientific organization out to investigate the paranormal," said Cassidy seething with anger at Monica's second outburst. "It is the decision of this panel that...."
"Wait!" said Monica. "You said I could make a statement before you passed your decision."
"Very well," said Cassidy, "even though you seemed to have said plenty throughout this hearing."
Monica took a deep breath trying to reign in her anger. If she wanted the blow to go easier on John she had to keep her calm. "As I'm sure you all are aware after having read Mulder's trial transcripts, Agent Doggett is a skeptic. He doesn't believe in the paranormal; he does not believe in aliens. He served his Country as a U.S. Marine and then later as a police officer in New York, before joining the Bureau. His reputation and integrity as an investigator are spotless. He does not deserve punishment for trying to fulfill a task in a unit to which he was assigned by A.D. Kersh."
Cassidy put her glasses back on. "Well at least we agree on something Agent Reyes. We have high hopes that Agent Doggett is redeemable. We can make a better use of his talents by reassigning him to another unit at Bureau Headquarters, a unit that would better suit his talents."
Monica felt relief wash over her that John was not going to face the full wrath of the panel-that his job and reputation would remain intact except for the unavoidable smirks about his past assignment to the X-Files.
"However, you Agent Reyes are a different matter altogether," said Cassidy. "We hope that you too are redeemable and hope that your talents can best be made of use in some other unit. We don't think you and Agent Doggett, especially given your past with the death of Agent Doggett's son, make the ideal Bureau partnership. It is the decision of this panel that the X-Files be closed and you be transferred effective immediately back to the New Orleans field office. It is in violation of Bureau protocol that Agent Doggett assigned you to the Unit without authorization from the unit's supervising A.D. in the first place. We think your talents would best be served where you have shown they can be, back in New Orleans."
Monica felt a wave of sadness now wash over her. She had hoped that even if the X-Files unit was closed that her and John would be reassigned together her in D.C. Or at the very least, if they could not be partners, they could at least be at the same field office. But this was not to be.
"You are dismissed Agent Reyes. When you leave, please tell Agent Doggett we will see him now," said Cassidy unsympathetically.
Monica turned and walked out of the conference room. When she was out in the hallway, John stood up and walked over to her. Their eyes locked. John could tell immediately that whatever had happened it wasn't good.
"What's wrong, Monica? What did they say?" asked John worriedly.
But Monica couldn't find the words to tell him. All she could get out was, "They're ready for you now, John." And with that she turned and walked away down the hall wiping a stray tear away that John was unable to see. All he could do was stare after her and imagine the worst.
Chapter 3
A few hours later John wandered into the basement office, formerly known as the X-Files office, formerly known as his and Monica's office. That's where he found Monica packing up her few personal belongings, cleaning up the office that had been left a mess after their files had been unceremoniously removed without their knowledge or consent.
Monica smiled sadly at John. This was the last time she would see him walk through that door. This was the last time they might see each other. The panel upstairs had decided their fate. John for his part simply looked at her, his expression unreadable.
"Well I think I've got everything of mine packed up. When I get home, I'll pack and make arrangements to have my furniture moved back to New Orleans. I just wanted to wait...to say good-bye, to say thanks, and..."
"Monica," said John interrupting her, "I know the decision to close the X-Files isn't what we'd hoped for. I feel sorta like I've let Mulder and Scully down in way. When I was first assigned to this Unit, the only thing I could think of was how I couldn't wait to get out of here, but while I was here I was going to show 'em all, ya know. And now this is the only place I want to be. We can work to get the X-Files reinstated."
"I don't know how I'm going to go back to New Orleans after all I've seen and experienced here. I'll do what I can from there. Maybe I can try and get some of the cases routed through me there, but John you have a chance here to get back on the fast track in the Bureau."
John walked over to Monica and stood in front of her. His face was mere inches away from hers. His voice went low, full of emotion. "I don't care about getting' back on the fast track. I want us back workin' on the X-Files and until that time comes, until that time comes, I want us working together. We were separated once before, after Luke's death. I'm not about to let it happen again."
Monica felt overwhelmed with emotion at John's words and overwhelmed at the thought that there was nothing they could do to change the panel's decision. "They don't want us working together, John."
"The Bureau might not want us workin' together, but I'm not allowin' them to separate us. I spoke to a friend of mine from Brooklyn. He pulled a few strings. There's an opening for a Detective in the New Orleans Police Department."
Monica shook her head. "I'm not allowing you to make that sacrifice, John. That's like taking a step backwards for you."
John put his hand on Monica's arm. "The only thing that is holdin' me back from acceptin' it is you. If **you** don't want me there with you."
Their eyes locked and John knew, he knew the answer. He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around him. They stayed that way for a long time. The OPR might have won the battle, but they hadn't won the war. John felt the same as Agent Scully. He might be leaving this Office without proof of the paranormal, but he was walking away with proof of more important things. He was going all the way to New Orleans with it.
The End
"Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee: for whiter thou goest I will go."-Ruth 1:16
"I am certain of nothing, but the holiness of the heart's affection."-John Keats
"Ah, when to the heart of a man/Was it ever less than a treason/To go with the drift of things/To yield with a grace to reason/And bow and accept at the end/Of a love or a season?"-Robert Frost-"Reluctance"
By: Olivia
One Week Later
Chapter 1
John and Monica sat on a bench outside the conference room where the Office of Professional Review had convened to pass judgment on them and on the X-Files unit.
John adjusted his tie and leaned back against the wall. He looked at Monica and tried to reassure her. "I don't think it's gonna be that bad. They let Skinner and Kersh off with a lil slap on the wrist. They don't know that we all helped Mulder escape."
Monica met John's gaze. "They took all of our files, John. They took our desks, our computers. We're lucky they left the "I Want To Believe" poster so we can have a souvenir of our brief stint on the X-Files."
John could feel Monica's anger and frustration. More than that, he understood it; he could empathize with it, because he too felt the same way. He wondered again for what to him seemed like the millionth time how some people could hide the truth from the light of day and how others, too scared by the truth, would allow them to do so as if ignoring it would make it go away. John put a comforting hand on Monica's arm. "Don't worry about it, Monica. We're gonna get the files back. We're gonna keep workin' on the X-Files."
Monica smiled sadly at John's words. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because I don't accept the fact that I was just gettin' the hang of this job and now they're gonna take it away from us."
John took his hand off Monica's arm when he heard the door creak open. A man stepped out. "Agent Reyes, the Board is ready for you now."
John and Monica stood up. The man reentered the room, but left the door open for Monica. They two looked at each other. This was it. Soon their fate and the fate of the X-Files would be decided upon. For the first time today Monica could see John's real worry behind his eyes. He remembered how angry she had gotten at Mulder's trial. Anger was only going to hurt them today. "Don't be a hero, Monica. Whatever comes down, you lay the blame on me, okay? I'm the one that brought you into this unit. I'm not going to let it bring you down."
Monica was greatly touched by John's concern, at his wanting to protect her, just as she had been in the desert. And just like then, she refused to accept saving herself at the cost of John sacrificing himself. "You know I could never let you take the fall for this. It was my choice to come here. I wanted to be here. I'm as much a part of this as you are."
And with that Monica left John and walked into the room and closed the door behind her. All John could do was stare at the door and worry. He imagined that he saw the words "abandon hope all ye who enter" written above the door. John inwardly cursed the fact that they didn't call him first. He had been counting on it so he could take whatever blame was coming down and spare Monica.
Chapter 2
Monica stood before the panel of judges seated at the table in front of her.
Assistant Director Jana Cassidy sat in the middle of the judges. She was highest-ranking member on the panel of the OPR. She adjusted her glasses and studied Monica for a moment before speaking. "It seems once again that I have the unpleasant duty to review not only the X-Files Unit, but its Agents as well. Quite frankly we never really have thought very highly of the Unit and previous attempts to disband it have failed. Not only is it a superfluous drain on Bureau resources, it also seems to be one of continued embarrassment."
"If I may be allowed to speak on behalf of...." Monica never got to finish her sentence.
"No you may not, Agent Reyes. This is not a hearing. You may make a statement at the end, but this meeting has been convened in order to render our decision. If you would like to make a formal protest of the decision, you may do so through other channels."
Cassidy took off her glasses and continued, "Quite frankly, my colleagues and myself are appalled at one of our former agents, Fox Mulder, being found guilty of murder and what we find even more appalling is that he escaped punishment for his crime. We strongly suspect that his former partner, Agent Scully, had a hand in his escape since she too has disappeared to whereabouts unknown. Not only is that suspect, but so is the fact that the child she gave birth too was more than likely fathered by Fox Mulder. This is an embarrassment. The office and its Agents, including you and your partner, continue to be an embarrassment to the integrity of the Bureau. If we ever find out that you and Agent Doggett had a hand in Mulder escaping you two will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Monica couldn't take it any longer. Her anger had reached its boiling point. "If you take away the X-Files, you take away the power to protect people...."
The angry banging of the gavel by Cassidy drowned Monica's voice out. "Protect people from what exactly? From alien invasion, from colonization, from a conspiracy by government officials to hide this? Nothing has ever been substantiated in the X-Files. This is an imagined threat propagated by Fox Mulder. And now he has you two believing it. Our job is to meet out justice, to protect and serve."
Monica interrupted again, angrily and desperately. These people needed to understand what was at stake. "The X-Files doesn't not strictly investigate alien conspiracies, there have been other crimes committed where the paranormal phenomena is the only way to explain these crimes and meet out justice as you yourself so eloquently put it. These cases will be filed away as unexplained and a unit that is highly qualified to handle these cases will be nonexistent."
"We are not a scientific organization out to investigate the paranormal," said Cassidy seething with anger at Monica's second outburst. "It is the decision of this panel that...."
"Wait!" said Monica. "You said I could make a statement before you passed your decision."
"Very well," said Cassidy, "even though you seemed to have said plenty throughout this hearing."
Monica took a deep breath trying to reign in her anger. If she wanted the blow to go easier on John she had to keep her calm. "As I'm sure you all are aware after having read Mulder's trial transcripts, Agent Doggett is a skeptic. He doesn't believe in the paranormal; he does not believe in aliens. He served his Country as a U.S. Marine and then later as a police officer in New York, before joining the Bureau. His reputation and integrity as an investigator are spotless. He does not deserve punishment for trying to fulfill a task in a unit to which he was assigned by A.D. Kersh."
Cassidy put her glasses back on. "Well at least we agree on something Agent Reyes. We have high hopes that Agent Doggett is redeemable. We can make a better use of his talents by reassigning him to another unit at Bureau Headquarters, a unit that would better suit his talents."
Monica felt relief wash over her that John was not going to face the full wrath of the panel-that his job and reputation would remain intact except for the unavoidable smirks about his past assignment to the X-Files.
"However, you Agent Reyes are a different matter altogether," said Cassidy. "We hope that you too are redeemable and hope that your talents can best be made of use in some other unit. We don't think you and Agent Doggett, especially given your past with the death of Agent Doggett's son, make the ideal Bureau partnership. It is the decision of this panel that the X-Files be closed and you be transferred effective immediately back to the New Orleans field office. It is in violation of Bureau protocol that Agent Doggett assigned you to the Unit without authorization from the unit's supervising A.D. in the first place. We think your talents would best be served where you have shown they can be, back in New Orleans."
Monica felt a wave of sadness now wash over her. She had hoped that even if the X-Files unit was closed that her and John would be reassigned together her in D.C. Or at the very least, if they could not be partners, they could at least be at the same field office. But this was not to be.
"You are dismissed Agent Reyes. When you leave, please tell Agent Doggett we will see him now," said Cassidy unsympathetically.
Monica turned and walked out of the conference room. When she was out in the hallway, John stood up and walked over to her. Their eyes locked. John could tell immediately that whatever had happened it wasn't good.
"What's wrong, Monica? What did they say?" asked John worriedly.
But Monica couldn't find the words to tell him. All she could get out was, "They're ready for you now, John." And with that she turned and walked away down the hall wiping a stray tear away that John was unable to see. All he could do was stare after her and imagine the worst.
Chapter 3
A few hours later John wandered into the basement office, formerly known as the X-Files office, formerly known as his and Monica's office. That's where he found Monica packing up her few personal belongings, cleaning up the office that had been left a mess after their files had been unceremoniously removed without their knowledge or consent.
Monica smiled sadly at John. This was the last time she would see him walk through that door. This was the last time they might see each other. The panel upstairs had decided their fate. John for his part simply looked at her, his expression unreadable.
"Well I think I've got everything of mine packed up. When I get home, I'll pack and make arrangements to have my furniture moved back to New Orleans. I just wanted to wait...to say good-bye, to say thanks, and..."
"Monica," said John interrupting her, "I know the decision to close the X-Files isn't what we'd hoped for. I feel sorta like I've let Mulder and Scully down in way. When I was first assigned to this Unit, the only thing I could think of was how I couldn't wait to get out of here, but while I was here I was going to show 'em all, ya know. And now this is the only place I want to be. We can work to get the X-Files reinstated."
"I don't know how I'm going to go back to New Orleans after all I've seen and experienced here. I'll do what I can from there. Maybe I can try and get some of the cases routed through me there, but John you have a chance here to get back on the fast track in the Bureau."
John walked over to Monica and stood in front of her. His face was mere inches away from hers. His voice went low, full of emotion. "I don't care about getting' back on the fast track. I want us back workin' on the X-Files and until that time comes, until that time comes, I want us working together. We were separated once before, after Luke's death. I'm not about to let it happen again."
Monica felt overwhelmed with emotion at John's words and overwhelmed at the thought that there was nothing they could do to change the panel's decision. "They don't want us working together, John."
"The Bureau might not want us workin' together, but I'm not allowin' them to separate us. I spoke to a friend of mine from Brooklyn. He pulled a few strings. There's an opening for a Detective in the New Orleans Police Department."
Monica shook her head. "I'm not allowing you to make that sacrifice, John. That's like taking a step backwards for you."
John put his hand on Monica's arm. "The only thing that is holdin' me back from acceptin' it is you. If **you** don't want me there with you."
Their eyes locked and John knew, he knew the answer. He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around him. They stayed that way for a long time. The OPR might have won the battle, but they hadn't won the war. John felt the same as Agent Scully. He might be leaving this Office without proof of the paranormal, but he was walking away with proof of more important things. He was going all the way to New Orleans with it.
The End
"Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee: for whiter thou goest I will go."-Ruth 1:16
"I am certain of nothing, but the holiness of the heart's affection."-John Keats
"Ah, when to the heart of a man/Was it ever less than a treason/To go with the drift of things/To yield with a grace to reason/And bow and accept at the end/Of a love or a season?"-Robert Frost-"Reluctance"