The Aftermath
Written by: Juana
Story Summary: The aftermath of Game night leaves everyone unsure about the future of their present relationships.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story...they belong to the brilliant writers and creators of the hit WB show.
FELICITY: (Voice over to Sally) I thought the light of a new day would help to lessen the scars of the previous night…but somehow they just seem harsher. I’ve been living in this fantasy land for so long that I forgot how unpredictable and scary reality can be…..and believe me repercussions of game night gave me a healthy dose of that….reality I mean.
FELICITY IS WORKING AT DEAN AND DELUCA WHEN BEN WALKS IN.
BEN: (to Felicity) Hey….can you take a break?
FELICITY: (uncomfortable) I just got here like a half hour ago…I probably won’t get a break for a couple more hours.
JAVIAR: Go…go honey. Never keep a good looking man waiting.
FELICITY: (laughs) Okay…thanks Javiar.
FELICITY AND BEN GO AND SIT DOWN AT A VACANT TABLE WITH A COUPLE CUPS OF COFFEE.
BEN: So…Javiar sure is a character.
FELICITY: Why are you here Ben?
BEN: Okay…so much for small talk. I’m here because we need to talk.
FELICITY: Ben this is my place of work….I don’t want to get into this here.
BEN: Well….I’ve left you like seventy messages…all of which you’ve ignored. This was the only place I could think of that you wouldn’t run away from me.
FELICITY: I was going to call you back….later.
BEN: How much later? Felicity…I don’t understand… why you are avoiding me?
FELICITY: I’m avoiding everyone…so please don’t feel special.
BEN: Okay…well I don’t care about why you're avoiding everyone….I do care about why you're avoiding me.
FELICITY: What do you want from me Ben?
BEN: Some honest answers for a start.
FELICITY: That’s funny…you want honesty…I would have liked a little honesty too…so I guess we’re even.
BEN: Is that what’s bothering you? You're mad at me because I didn’t tell you about Noel and Julie?
FELICITY: Yes….Don’t you understand Ben how much I sacrificed personally to be with you. I went against everything I believed to do that…if you had just told me about Noel….
BEN: What? Then you would have been able to see me with a clear conscience?
FELICITY: Yes.
BEN: You really believe that don’t you?
FELICITY: It’s true…things could have been so much different.
BEN: You don’t know that….Felicity you’re basing all your anger at me on a hypothetical situation.
FELICITY: Ben…you kept a really big secret from me….that’s just as good as lying.
BEN: I made a choice to do something to protect you…if that was wrong….
FELICITY: Yes…that was wrong. Ben I could have handled it.
BEN: I guess we’ll never know now…so could we please move past this?
FELICITY: It’s not that simple Ben. I can’t just move pass this. I needed you to be honest with me and you weren’t…I don’t know why I’m surprised though. Our entire relationship was based on a lie.
BEN: That was low Felicity.
FELICITY: I’m sorry Ben….but I’m not exactly in a forgiving mood here…so maybe you should leave.
BEN: Yeah….maybe I should.
BEN GETS UP AND WALKS OUT THE DOOR. JAVIAR WALKS OVER TO FELICITY WHO HAS HER HEAD IN HER HANDS.
JAVIAR: Are you sure that’s what you wanted to do?
FELICITY: No. But right now….I can’t deal with him.
JAVIAR: You shouldn’t be so quick to discard a good catch like that.
FELICITY: I’m not discarding him….I’m putting him at arms length…so to speak.
JAVIAR: Whatever. Javiar is telling you from experience. You tell a man to leave….don’t expect him to be there for you.
FELICITY: Okay….thanks Javiar.
FELICITY GETS UP FROM TABLE AND GOES BACK TO WORK.
CUT TO: BEN’S APARTMENT.
LYSSA IS STANDING OUTSIDE BEN’S APARTMENT WAITING FOR HIM.
BEN: (surprised) Lyssa? What are you doing here?
LYSSA: We need to talk Ben.
BEN: Okay. Let’s go inside.
INT. BEN’S APARTMENT: BEN AND LYSSA WALK THROUGH THE DOOR. BEN SETS HIS BACKPACK DOWN AND LYSSA SITS ON THE COUCH.
BEN: So….how are you?
LYSSA: What happened to us Ben?
BEN: I don’t know. I think when we first met…I was in a lot of denial.
LYSSA: About Felicity?
BEN: Yes. Lyssa I don’t want to hurt you any more than I already have.
LYSSA: You really care about Felicity?
BEN: (pauses) Yes. I do.
LYSSA: So are the two of you together now?
BEN: No. There’s a lot of things we need to work out.
LYSSA: You two are having problems?
BEN: It doesn’t matter. You came here to talk to me…so let’s talk.
LYSSA: Actually…I came here to tell you something.
BEN: Tell me something?
LYSSA: I realize that you have no deep feelings for me….and that sleeping with me didn’t involve any form of love for you.
BEN: Lyssa…I cared about you. I did.
LYSSA: Anyway Ben….sometimes love changes a person’s life….sometimes it’s other things.
BEN: Okay….
LYSSA: I couldn’t change your life with love….but Ben what I am about to tell you will definitely change your life.
BEN: I don’t understand.
LYSSA: I’m going to have a baby.
BEN: What?
LYSSA: I’m pregnant…with your child.
BEN: That’s not possible.
LYSSA: I’m afraid it is. I’ve already been to the doctors and had a blood test.
BEN: I’m gonna be a father?
LYSSA: Yes. I know this isn’t the ideal situation for you….but Ben I’m keeping it. I won’t even discuss other options. I want this baby.
BEN: I can’t believe this. I’m going to be a dad.
LYSSA: I just thought you deserved to know.
BEN: Wow….I can’t believe this.
LYSSA: Don’t worry. I don’t expect anything from you.
BEN: Maybe we should talk about this.
LYSSA: I told you there’s nothing to discuss. I’m keeping the baby.
BEN: That’s not what I meant. I mean what this means for the both of us. Lyssa this is pretty huge.
LYSSA: Well there’s really no us. I can’t be with you when all you want is to be with Felicity.
BEN: I deserve to be a part of this.
LYSSA: I want that. But you have to make a choice here Ben….it’s either me and the baby or Felicity….not both.
BEN: What are you saying?
LYSSA: I’m saying choose. Me or Felicity.
BEN: That’s ridiculous Lyssa. You can’t keep me and Felicity apart.
LYSSA: I won’t even try….but I also won’t involve you in this pregnancy if you choose to be with her.
BEN: So that’s it….that’s your ultimatium?
LYSSA: Call it what you want. Bottom line….the choice is still yours to make.
BEN: Some choice. Desert my child to be with the woman I love or desert the woman I love to be with my child. Can you see how both these options kinda suck?
LYSSA: You painted yourself into this corner. So what’s it gonna be Ben?
BEN: I need some time to think about this.
LYSSA: Fine. Just give me a call when you decide.
LYSSA WALKS OUT OF BEN’S APARTMENT.
CUT TO FELICITY’S ROOM. THERE IS A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. FELICITY WALKS OVER AND OPENS IT.
FELICITY: What are you doing here?
NOEL: I think it’s time we talked about this.
FELICITY: There’s nothing to talk about Noel. We both cheated on each other. Our entire relationship was a farce.
NOEL: So it’s just that simple for you? Everybody loses…no questions asked…or answered?
FELICITY: Yes. I think to ask those questions that plague us…well I think it would just make this worse.
NOEL: So you just want this to be over with?
FELICITY: I don’t know what else to do.
NOEL: How bout fight for us?
FELICITY: Is that what you want?
NOEL: I don’t know….I do know I detest this complete surrender thing you’ve got going on.
FELICITY: I just think that it’s the painless way to go for all involved.
NOEL: You disappoint me.
FELICITY: Excuse me?
NOEL: I had you figured for someone who gave a damn. I foolishly thought that our relationship had some signifigance in your life
FELICITY: It did. But Noel if you take the time to examine the really bad things we’ve done to each other….well what makes you think we have anything left worth fighting for?
NOEL: I guess I just wanted Ben to be wrong.
FELICITY: Ben?
NOEL: Yes…God how could I have not seen it. Every time someone mentions his name you just perk right up. Ben said you and he had some thing much deeper than I could possibly know.
FELICITY: He said that?
NOEL: Is it true?
FELICITY: I don’t know…..yeah….I guess it is.
NOEL: Felicity…. I can’t believe I’m about to ask you this….when you were in Palo Alto over Christmas…..Did you….did you and Ben….sleep together?
FELICITY: (Voice over to Sally) I couldn’t believe that he would ask me that Sally. Even worse I couldn’t believe that I lied.
FELICITY: What? No…of course not.
NOEL: (surprised) No? (relieved) I was so sure that you were gonna say yes. I had this whole speech prepared for you….now I’m sorta speechless.
FELICITY: Um….okay.
NOEL: This is great….I’m so relieved. I mean if you had….I don’t know how we would have been able to get past that.
FELICITY: Wait…I don’t understand. You slept with Julie….why if I had hypothetically slept with Ben would it have been any different?
NOEL: Because Felicity….that would have made Ben your first. If you had let Ben have that honor….I would have felt like….well like maybe he was more important to you.
FELICITY: Well I’m glad you feel better Noel…but we still have a lot to resolve before we move forward… I mean if we decide that’s what we want to do.
NOEL: I know….but I’m sure you can see how that would have changed things for us.
FELICITY: Okay Noel…I get it.
SALLY: (Voice over to Felicity) Felicity….You know I’m not one to harp but please listen when I tell you “the truth shall set you free” I know admitting the truth to Noel would be hard but it’s really the only thing you can do now….more lies….well they can only cloud the truth….eventually it will come out and then it will be an unforgivable offense. I keep coming back to one of the first tapes you sent me about your good friends that you had made in New York….Noel and Julie. Give your friends the chance to determine for themselves if your having been with Ben is something they can deal with or not. You're mad at Ben because he wasn’t honest with you….why then would you be anything less then honest with Noel? Just a little food for thought…..Love Sally.