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PLOT: Reyes is involved in a horrific traffic accident and is barely hanging on to life as Doggett copes with his feelings for her and refuses to believe she's gone.

Before we were partners, we were friends...

For some odd reason, that phrase is knocking around my head as I think about this episode. Unlike Mulder and Scully, who were forced together by factions supporting Cigarette Smoking Man, Doggett and Reyes knew each other both professionally and personally before being assigned together on the X-Files. That kind of history is difficult to ignore on a daily basis, and it seems to be very significant in this latest installment by writer, Steven Maeda, who also wrote one of the better episodes of Season 9, "4-D."

Though there is a bothersome sub-plot of a psychopathic doctor apparently killing patients with no motive, the main focus is on Doggett and Reyes. Unfortunately, they are separated for most of the episode. It's reminiscent of one of my all-time favorite episodes, "One Breath." Yet, that one had Scully involved in the overall conspiracy that was basically still in its infancy at that time. While this one is more of a self-contained episode where Monica finds herself in what appears to be a hospital that has been otherwise abandoned.

The teaser was definitely compelling. It was nice to see Doggett and Reyes in a moment of vulnerability with each other and outside of their normal professional environment. It is difficult to place these events as something that would have occurred shortly after the events in "Provenance" and "Providence." Doggett actually looked relaxed! In any event, he definitely showed his personal feelings for Monica in how uncomfortably awkward he felt with her at that particular moment. You would think he had never been alone with a woman! Monica noticed the subtle change in his demeanor as well, since she drove away with just a hint of regret of his inactions. But before we can further linger in the events, Monica is suddenly sideswiped by another car. I must admit that the X-Files crew know how to stage car crashes (remember the horrific one from "Leonard Betts"?).

Monica's predicament was life-threatening, but it was her "other worldly" experience that was another reminder of "One Breath." It seems to further certify that we all have something (a soul perhaps?) that refuses to just die even if our own brain functions are not considered to be alive by all modern medical standards. It is to Monica's credit and her own sense of curiosity that she doesn't panic when finding herself in a most unusual circumstance. Ever the investigator, she is not satisfied with just letting the time pass on her situation. Monica needs to explore and find out as much information as possible. When she finds two other patients in the same predicament, Monica is puzzled to know why they are the only ones aware of their situation and to be later alarmed to discover that when taken off life support, they truly do "die."

Hence, while Monica is struggling to understand why she has been placed in this strange environment, Doggett is struggling a bit more in the "real world." He is struggling with his own strong feelings for his partner as he sees Monica slowly dying on a hospital bed. When her doctor (whom I can fondly remember as "Magillicuddy" on the 80s classic TV show, "Moonlighting") reports to Doggett and Scully that Monica is essentially brain dead, he refuses to just "pull the plug." For someone so keen on hard evidence and facts, Doggett is not willing to let someone special to him in more ways than he cares to admit die quietly. Ironically, Scully, who experienced the otherworldly events in the aforementioned "One Breath" is more than resigned to admit defeat so easily. For all her experiences, she takes the medical evidence at face value to Doggett's chagrin.

So while Monica is seemingly lost to the world, Doggett is more than determined to fight for her. This is where Maeda's plot seems somewhat inconsistent. Why is Doggett so determined to fight for Monica's life when all evidence is to the contrary? Why is Scully so unweilding in her belief that nothing else can be done for Monica? For that matter, why doesn't she show a bit more emotion for both of her friends' situations? Heaven knows that Monica is the first real female friend she has had in a long while, and who respects her opinion so highly that Scully would just soon forget that. There is no explanation for that behavior any more than for Doggett's own determination.

When Audrey Pauley comes around, she is a mystery figure that is never fully explained. What kind of power does she have that allows her to send comatose patients to this otherworldly hospital? How can she just go in and out of this otherworldly existence so easily while the patients, such as Monica, seem to have no escape given to them? If all that seems a bit contrived, how about Doggett's easy acceptance of what Audrey can do? It's difficult to believe that John is grieving that badly for Monica to set aside all his prior pretenses and trust a total stranger. On top of that, Monica has no real reason to trust Audrey as well other than the fact that she can communicate information to Doggett for her. Yet, Audrey seems to sacrifice herself so that Monica lives. Considering that Audrey was played by the same actress who played Lucy Householder in "Oubliette" and her character sacrificed herself for another, it just seems too convenient here.

Despite the lack of explanations to help move the story along better, we do get some good characterization in this otherwise lacking episode. Seeming to continue the X-Files' tradition that no partners will ever truly show their innermost feelings to the other, Doggett and Reyes also continue a history that came before their partnership. It has always been surmised that Monica helped John through the difficult time of his losing Luke. Yet, we never really saw from John how important a friend, possibly even a confidante, that Monica is to him. Robert Patrick definitely conveyed Doggett's own longing to be a little more intimate with Monica. His hesitation both in the teaser and at the end showed that there was something that was definitely preventing him from acting on his own impulses. Certainly, he owes much to Monica for helping him in his past, which could easily explain the need to prolong her life. Yet, he also hints that he may not feel worthy of her affections for him. It's sad but seems very true to his own character.

Will John and Monica get together before the series ends? Considering the X-Files' tradition, that is highly unlikely. Yet, we can only hope that with only a few remaining episodes, there is some need to show a bit of closure between these two. Since we have no idea at this point where exactly Ten-Thirteen is wanting to direct the overall scheme of the series once Mulder returns and the movies beckon, we can only hope that the events between them shown in this episode aren't too soon forgotten.