From: X-Phan Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:28:14 -0800 (PST) Subject: New Story "Road Less Travelled" by X-Phan Source: direct TITLE: "ROAD LESS TRAVELLED" BY: X-Phan E-MAIL ADDRESS: xphan1013@yahoo.com RATING: PG CLASSIFICATION: SR, Story, Romance TIMEFRAME/SPOILER WARNING: As always, set before the last 2 seasons, during the "status quo" time before "the baby", Doggett, Mulder's abduction etc... but no serious spoilers. KEYWORDS: MSR SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully discuss which path to take, metaphorically speaking. ARCHIVE INFO: Can be archived anywhere as long as my name, address and disclaimer stay intact. FEEDBACK: Please email me with any comments, reviews, constructive criticism, etc... DISCLAIMER: The X-Files and the characters of Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, no profit will be gained. BETA-GIRL'S NOTE: Beta-Girl is genuinely impressed but refuses to give any kind of witty comment due to concussion, metaphorically speaking. ___________________________________________________________ The X-Files: "Road Less Travelled" or "Dragon Slayers" whichever you prefer by X-Phan *********************** Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost *********************** ---- Somewhere in the continental United States 10:35pm The car came to a halt on the unpaved road. The headlights illuminated nearly identical diverging paths ahead of them. "Which way, Scully?" "I don't know, what does the map say?" "It doesn't help, doesn't show this fork in the road." "It's not much of a guide if it doesn't even give a clue." "Looks like we're on our own with this one." "Oh well, we can figure it out, we faced worse things than a few unmarked roads." "That's certainly true, but it isn't a trivial decision. One path puts us where we should be, the other gets us lost." "Aren't you being a bit melodramatic there Mulder, I mean they're a couple of dirt roads. It's one or the other. We can always backtrack if we choose wrong." He was silent for a moment. "Not always." "What are you thinking about Mulder?" "Nothing, just thinking. You know old Spooky Mulder, thinks too much for his own good." "I thought I was the one who analyzes everything to death." "Perhaps you're rubbing off on me." "Maybe so. Nowadays you don't run off half cocked nearly as often as you used to." "If I wasn't so tired from driving I'm sure I could come up with something clever about always being fully cocked." She didn't hide her smirk. "If we could return to the matter at hand." She paused for a second, not sure if there was any unintentional innuendo in there somewhere. He seemed to be considering it too. She ignored it and continued. "It looks to me like we can either go right or left and I'd like to get going to avoid being out here all night. Man used to navigate by looking at the stars in the sky, so go ahead, give it a shot." "Believe it or not, I've looked to the stars. They're stingy with their answers, if they even have any. You're the sailor's daughter. What do they say to you?" "I was never good at astronomy. It all seemed too... hypothetical, too far away to touch." "We all want things we can hold in our hands. It's how we convince ourselves they're are real." "Well Mulder, you're the man, the half of our species incapable of asking strangers for directions - so choose, right or left." "Right or left, backward or forward, continue on or stay put, those are our choices. In the end though, it's your decision. It always was. That's just the way it is." "I'm getting the feeling we're not on the same page. We haven't been talking about dirt roads for a while now, have we?" He didn't answer. He was thinking again. She watched him until he spoke up. "Maybe that's the real danger, Scully, not choosing, because of the fear of making the wrong decision. But in not moving perhaps you lose both options. Maybe that's worse than being wrong." "Mulder..." She sighed. "Why must everything be a metaphor?" "I'm sorry." A long silence followed. They stared straight ahead to avoid reading each other's expressions. "You insist it's up to me, but how would I choose? There's so much at stake. I decide things by weighing the evidence making the logical choice. But this..." "I'm afraid the scientific method won't help you here. I guess you have to go with you're gut or your heart." "I'm not good at that. If only there was a simple unambiguous sign one way or the other." "Here There Be Dragons." "Yeah, something like that." "I won't lie to you Scully, there is the distinct possibility of running across a few dragons." "If I choose... the way with dragons and I'm wrong..." "Well we won't know until we get there." "But the bridges will have already been burned behind us, we'll be stuck, no going back." "Perhaps. It is a risk." "I'm not sure I can choose, Mulder." "I've seen you make leaps of faith before and land on you feet." "Not without stumbling." "I'll be there to catch you." She smiled. "You will, won't you. Of course we still may end up together on our asses." "But together." "We hope." He nodded. "You're really not afraid of those dragons?" "I have a healthy fear of dragons from years of being singed, but I won't let that stop me from trying to find the same happiness everyone deserves in life. I think I could take some time away from my busy schedule of tilting at windmills to face down some overgrown lizards with bad breath." "Hmmm, we really are Don Quixote and Sancho Panza aren't we? Side by side through all the great adventures, fighting the good fight regardless of the seemingly immovable opponent, and of course there's the fear it's all for nothing." "Except for that last part, that's the spirit. There are however a few notable differences between the fictional characters and us. For instance Poncho wouldn't look quite as good in silk pajamas and I hope the Don didn't have as many impure thoughts about his loyal companion." "Come on, I'm still waiting for some witty comparison between Sancho's donkey and my ass." "I was getting there, maybe something about them both being fine specimens." "Well anyway I guess we established you're in favor of 'dragons'. That just leaves me." "I'm sorry, I know it must seem like I'm forcing this on you." "No you're right, you deserve a decision. I deserve a decision. We can't go on forever in some kind of limbo. It's been put off too long." She was silent for a while. "You know I really envy your ability to just leap sometimes. It's one of your great strengths, making leaps of logic, leaps of faith." "Part of it is what I put my faith in... and who, that keeps me from falling." "My strengths are the opposite. No one can ignore something they don't want to face like I can." "I have seen you walk past quite a few pink elephants in the living room without batting an eyelash. Still I can't think of anyone with more courage than you. You're also much better at choosing your battles than I am." "Are you trying to imply that we compliment each other pretty well?" "I just like to hear myself talk, anything you happen to get out of it is purely coincidental." "You'll get no argument on the first point and I reserve my decision on the second." There was another few minutes of silence. "Whatever happens, you know how I... you know don't you." "Yes Mulder, I know. Me too." Mulder nodded again. "It's okay, Scully we'll go. We'll try left and drive until we find a motel for the night and start out again tomorrow." "I thought you said it was up to me which way we went?" "It is but I just thought we'd worried about it enough tonight and we're both tired." "Mulder, let's take... let's take the road less travelled." She really looked at him for what seemed like the first time all night. He smiled and gazed upon her with such overpowering love and admiration, it was hard to resist the impulse to look away. "Do you think it will make all the difference Scully?" He whispered. She took his warm hand in hers. "I think it already has." The End ___________________________________________________________ Just a little thing so it didn't take up much of your time. I had this idea and had to write it up to get it out of my head. However if you liked it and have comments or ideas for my next story, send them to xphan1013@yahoo.com.