Moments Like These: Introduction

Progress had been slow, and some days were definitely harder then others. He had little to do anymore. He read a lot, but usually found himself unable to concentrate. His mind often drifted away from him, letting his memories flow freely. Like his first day meeting Boston's very own "Mulder and Scully".

"What do you think, Doc?"

"I'm not the resident conspiracy theorist."

"You guys are like a regular Mulder and Scully. You know, except switched around. You're more like Mulder… and you're more like…"

"Thanks Woody. I got it."

"I love that show…"

His face slightly reddened at the memory. He had grown up a lot since then, but the more he thought about it, the more he doubted he was even the same person. And he couldn't be sure if that was a good thing. If he wasn't so physically exhausted and emotionally drained, he might have laughed at the naivety he once held.

It was moments like these that he hated her. He hated having those few memories when he was just completely content with her just being herself. Simply herself.

He hated that he had been so close to her… had her just within his grasp… and if maybe he had reached a little further… a little sooner… maybe things would be different.

But now? Now he's lost any chance of ever being able to lift her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Kiss away all those insecurities, doubts and fears. Regret can be one of the most painful things to experience. And he seemed to have a lot of that lately. Regrets.

Author's Note: I've actually been sitting on this story for a while but my failure-of-storytelling made it very difficult to finish. I am in no way a professional writer, I've never taken a formal writing class and I'm a highschool dropout. An audio commentary by Joss Whedon actually pushed me to finish.

He explains that one of the first lessons he learned as a writer was that when a story doesn't work, you have to take the part that you loved, the part that made you write the story in the first place, and cut it. And the story will work.

So that's what I did. I have a feeling this won't turn out how I want it... but I'll finish if anyone out there thinks they might enjoy it.