Title: His Name Is Daniel
Waterston
Author: Gillian Leigh
Summary: Scully tells Mulder about
Daniel Waterston. Missing scene from "all things".
Author's Notes: This fic is based on the director's commentary by
Gillian Anderson about the episode, on the Season 7 DVD. It sure explained a
hell of a lot to me, and I hope it does to you. Oh, and you should probably
read the author's notes at the end in case there's something you don't quite
get.
-X-
This is the side of my partner that I never knew. Sure, I knew she'd gone to Med School, that was common sense. I also knew, well I assumed, that she'd been involved with her fair share of men before me.
Err...before me? Did I just say that? Focus, Mulder, focus.
Anyway, so I thought I knew pretty much everything about Dana Scully, Pre-XF. Then she tells me about Daniel. Whoo boy. Back up the train there buddy, did she just say "involved"?
"We were..." she paused, "involved." Yep, she said involved.
"Involved?"
"Yes," she looked me in the eye. "Involved."
"Romantically?"
"Yes."
".....Sexually." She sighed. I clearly expected another yes.
"No." My eyebrows went up.
"No?" I questioned.
"No," she responded. "It never got to that point. I found out he was married... and I left."
"So you were 'romantically involved' but you never slept with him?" I ask, not truly doubting her, but still harboring slight disbelief.
"*Yes* Mulder. Believe it or not, two people can be involved, even romantically, without having to have sex. Daniel treated me as an intellectual equal. He made me feel special, beautiful, like there was no one else in the world. It was just the two of us. We dated, yes, and had our fair share of 'make-out sessions'..." Oh dear God, she just used air quotes. "But we never had sex." She paused, and looked at me, clearly embarrassed to be telling me this. "We might have, if I hadn't found out that he was married and had a daughter. So I left. I couldn't be responsible for ruining his family, although his daughter still holds me responsible for that."
"What, did they divorce?" I asked.
"Yes, and then he moved into an apartment. His wife followed him a few times, and because she was thoroughly convinced that he was sleeping with me, she hanged herself in their bedroom." I felt my jaw drop.
"Oh my God." She nodded, seemingly having a hard time finding the strength to continue.
"Yeah...um...Maggie was the one who... who found her." My heart fell to about the pit of my stomach. "She knew about me, though only what her mother told her, and she found me at fault. But who can blame her? I would've hated me too," Scully said, tearing up. Oh God, Scully, please don't cry. I reached for her hand, and she grasped mine firmly, intertwining our fingers. I handed her a tissue.
"Seeing him, and seeing all the anger and resentment Maggie still harbors toward me made it all come back full force; all the guilt. And talking to Daniel about the path that I chose in life made me realize something...." She took my other hand in hers and looked me square in the eye.
"I wouldn't have life any other way." Wow. Talk about knocking a guy for a loop. I'm guessing that was about as near an admission of love as I'll get from Scully, at least for a while.
"Now clear up what happened in that Buddhist temple for me...." I said, and she smiled a bit and launched into the story of her revelation in the temple in Chinatown. It was gonna be one hell of a night.
Big, Huge, Giant Author's Note: In the commentary, Gillian Anderson explains the relationship of Daniel Waterston and Scully in more detail than the time constrictions of the episode itself would allow for. In the commentary, she explains that she had created a scene, in which the elements of the Scully/Waterston relationship were explained. (She didn't give any details, however, as to which characters were involved in said discussion.) She said that Scully and Waterston were never involved sexually; that Scully found out about his wife and daughter and left before she ruined their family. She also said that Waterston then moved out, and into an apartment, in an effort to pursue Scully, and try to keep their relationship alive. Gillian (should it be Ms. Anderson? Eh, what the hell, we can be on a first name basis with her...) said that his wife followed him, and was convinced that he was having an affair, and she then hung herself. Maggie was the one who found her, and then she harbored the well-known resentment toward Scully and her father. She blamed Scully for screwing up their family more-so than her father, and hated that he still wanted Scully in his life. So all in all, the commentary explained a lot more than the episode did. If you ever get the opportunity, listen to it while watching the episode, it's a great thing full of interesting tidbits and some cool quotes to live by from Gillian herself. OK, well thanks for reading, and if you've gotten this far, more power to ya! Feedback is always appreciated and treated like gold. xxilovedavidduchovnyxx@yahoo.com
