"Milagro"

What a way with words...

The poignant truth is best spoken from the keystrokes of a talented writer.  This became vividly, nearly devastatingly true at the fingertips of on Philip Padgett, an extremely insightful, intelligent man who had become enamored with Special Agent Dana Scully.  His designs for her may well have succeeded if not for one crucially misjudged factor: partner and soul mate forever, Special Agent Fox Mulder to one titian-haired temptress.

Milagro presented us with such a multitude of well-spoken, clearly laid truths that I found myself dwelling on a feeling of discomfort and exposure myself.  Never have we been allowed into the life of Scully in such intimate detail without a certain objectivity shedding doubt on the information we recieve.  We finally see Scully in a light we knew possible before but were never fully allowed to believe; one of sexuality and longing and of a multi-layered persona that craves, like all women, to be attractive and admired and above all...loved.

With Gillian Anderson's granite-solid performance, (strong evidence of her undeniable growth and development as a talented actress) Scully became believable in this different light, when the character could so easily have come across as phony or out-of-touch.  Dana Scully, as we have all believed, has loved Mulder all along...an overwhelming love that has far transcended the traditional (but still popular <g>) physical and been the full range of intellectual to spiritual.  But one's heart tends to wander, especially one whose mind second-guesses and analyzes every piece of information, categorizes, makes decisions.  

Scully, like any individual in love, feels so strongly for her partner that she would find it horrifying to learn that he didn't feel the same (case in point: the very unusual territorial behaviour ala Diana Fowley).  Finding comfort in a lonely writer who is able to pinpoint her life to a tee in the middle of an empty church and speaks to her a river of flattery is a sort of lure in the uncertainty of unspoken love.

But with only the soft touch of Scully's hand on Mulder's forearm, calming him as his rage threatens to spill over to Padgett's misfortune, this writer got the message, sharp cookie or not.  Leaving Mulder and Scully in a very interesting situation, he makes the following statement/admission:

Quote of the Week:

Padgett: I made a mistake myself. Mulder: How's that, Mr. Padgett? Padgett: In my book I'd written that Agent Scully falls in love, but that's obviously impossible.  Agent Scully is already in love.

Padgett finishes his book with the help of his psychic surgeon which outlines the climax of his book.  It appears his heroine with flaming tresses is to die the same cruel death as the others Padgett wrote about.  Perhaps realizing his mistake, however, this lonely writer opts to burn his novel and face whatever truth may come to him.

Meanwhile, the psychic surgeon is carrying out his work orders on Scully, trying to extract her heart (oh God, the excruciating pain!)  After pursuing Padgett, Mulder realizes that Scully is in danger and bursts into his apartment to find her motionless and bloody on the floor (if I see one more of those white blouses I swear to God...so far it's been The Ghosts That Stole Christmas and Tithonus - and that's just the Scully's-gonna-die-of-blood-loss scenes!)  A look of horror slips slowly across his face as he approaches her in disbelief.  

Scully gasps, awaking from unconsciousness to find Mulder rather than the killer.  Her arms reach out for him in a rare moment of vulnerability and pain as his arms encircle her protectively. At the shock of all that has happened Scully begins to sob uncontrollably, consoled only by Mulder's warm embrace.  Mulder cringes at her pain, his desire to comfort her so great that he hurts physically as well.  She clings to him, her only lifeline.  

Scully has realized what Padgett already knew and she had not allowed herself to fully realize until this point: she had already found love in Mulder.  While it might not have become a physical love yet, it is and always will be as fufilling and intimate as two lovers, complete with the admiration and sensuality that she found herself longing for.  True love comes in many forms.

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