(Begun: December 1998. Finished: January 1999.)
by Jen
Dana Scully turned her eyes off the road for a second to glance
at her groggy partner, Fox Mulder. She had to feel bad just by
looking at him. He had fallen asleep in the car as soon as he got
into it at the airport, but it didn't look like it did him
any good. He had circles under his eyes and his hair was now
sticking up in a million directions. He coughed again, large
hacking coughs that sounded worse then just a few hours ago. Of
course when you're sick, spending the night in a crowded
airport doesn't exactly help.
"Almost, Mulder," she promised, and made a mental check
of the baggage she had in her trunk. She had stopped off at her
apartment and picked up her gifts for her family (and managed to
sneak Mulder's gift past him) and threw them in the trunk
while Mulder slept on in the passenger's seat.
Now she continued to drum her hands on the steering wheel as she
waited for the stop light to turn green. The temperature was a
"lovely" 34 degrees out and the roads were a bit icy.
Finally however, Scully managed to reach her mother's house,
and its Christmas decorations stared back at her.
She smiled as soon as she saw the wreaths and Christmas lights.
Maggie Scully may not have any more kids at home, but that didn't
stop her from decorating. She would pay a local teenager every
year to hang her lights. Scully recalled Maggie saying how the
teen's rates had gone up but she didn't mind. As Scully
looked at the house, she had to agree that the teen did a good
job.
She parked the car on the street; she was lucky to find a parking
space not to far from the house. She took the key out of the
ignition and nudged Mulder, who had drifted off again.
"Mulder," she said softly, "wake up, we're
here."
Mulder stirred and coughed, lifting his eyelids to look at her.
"We're here?" he echoed, straightening himself up.
"Yep. Come on Mulder, my mom's waiting to see you. And
then I got to get you to bed." She opened the door, but not
before she heard Mulder answer, "Oh, Scully, is that a
promise?" She smiled as she opened the trunk. Typical Mulder
remark.
She looked at the three bags of gifts in her trunk, along with
the suitcases, hers and Mulder's, along with her medical bag
(with a sick Mulder, she never forgot that), and realized she
would have to enlist one of her brothers' help to carry
stuff in. She didn't want to bother Mulder, with him feeling
so bad already. She grabbed a bag of gifts, closed the trunk and
turned to find Mulder at her side.
He looked at her through fever-glazed hazel eyes. "One bag,
Scully? Do you need help?"
Scully shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll
get Bill or Charlie to get them later." Mulder grumbled at
the mention of Bill, and Scully knew this day would be
interesting. And it was hardly 10:30 a.m. They had the whole day
ahead of them.
Mulder nodded and stood there. Scully nudged him again. "Don't
just look at it, G-Men, let's go in." She began the
walk toward the house, Mulder trailing behind. She rang the
doorbell when she reached the door, though she could have just
walked in. She heard several sets of feet, the door opened, and
she was greeted by Maggie Scully, and a smiling Matthew Scully
not far behind her.
"Aundie Dane?" Scully looked down to find Matty at her
feet, squealing in his little one-year-old voice. She put her
bags down, to pick him up.
"Merry Christmas, Dana," Maggie said as soon as Scully
had Matty in her arms. "Where's Fox?"
"He's," Scully turned to find Mulder still
standing(leaning) awkwardly at the door. "right there.
Mulder, come in."
Mulder walked cautiously from the door, looking as if he expected
something to come out and hurt him. Scully smiled and grabbed his
hand. "Come on, Mulder, no one gonna hurt you. Yet,"
she teased, but frowned when she felt how warm his hands were.
She picked up her hand to feel his forehead, but he brushed it
away. Maggie saw the action and took Matty out of Scully's
hands.
"Dana says you're feeling a bit under the weather, Fox.
I'm sorry to hear that. Dana why don't you take him
upstairs?"
Scully nodded. "I think I'll do that, Mom. Where are
Bill, Charlie and company? I need some help getting some items
out of my car."
"Everyone's in the family room. Charlie brought up a
cassette of Patrick's Christmas play last week. It's
the cutest thing, too. Why don't you get Fox settled and I'll
tell them you're here. The kids will be happy you have lots
of items' to carry in." Maggie headed toward the
family room, Matty saying, "Aundie Dane's her'!"
Scully smiled and turned her attention back to Mulder who was
smiling faintly at her.
"Scully," he started, "This is your family day and
I don't--" He was interrupted by a fit of coughs.
Scully raised her eyebrow and waiting patiently for his coughing
fit to subside. "Mulder, stop it. Now let's get you
into bed." She turned Mulder toward the stairs and he let
her led him, like a child up them. Right now he felt too sick to
argue. A nice warm bed was sounding pretty nice to his ears.
He even let Scully tuck him into a bed, and she frowned,
concerned with his suddenly high cooperation level. He closed his
eyes as soon as he was in bed. Scully wasn't sure if it was
because he was feeling really bad or the fact that he didn't
want to face her brothers. Perhaps it was a little of both. She
laid her hand on his forehead, and satisfied that he would be
okay for a little while, she left him be.
She found her family in the family room, as Maggie had said,
gathered around the TV. It was quiet as they stared at the screen
and watched a smiling 6 year-old sing Jingle Bells.'
It was so unlike the noise that Scully was used to hearing on
Christmas day, but she did see wads of wrapping paper everywhere
and she did see Charlie's wife, Mary, picking up as she
could. Scully didn't see her mother or Tara anywhere, and
figured they were in the kitchen, cooking. Scully smiled at the
fact her mother had Tara to help her. But it also made Scully
miss this family "togetherness" a little more than she
was used to.
Matty was back on the couch sitting next to her older brother,
Bill. As she walked in, Matty acknowledged her by fidgeting and
Bill looked up.
"Well, look who's here. Dana! Merry Christmas!" He
said the words warmly, smiled, but she noticed he was looking
around her for someone else. Mulder. Her mom must have told him
he was coming.
"Merry Christmas," she said and the rest of the room
turned to look at her. Charlie got up.
"Wow, Dana, I haven't seen you in, awhile it seems. Mom's
been talking about you all the time though, in letters and the
phone. About Dana's new case and that she's--"
Scully heard him, but only knew he was babbling, because she knew
some of the things her mother talked about were not always good,
hell her cases were one of them. One thing she thought Maggie
disagreed with was her cases, but kept her mouth shut.
"—and the that partner of yours." Scully's
ears picked up at that word, along with Bill's. "In
fact Mom said he as coming by today. Where is he? I heard a lot
about Fox' Dana's partner," he said with a
smile.
"He's upstairs," Dana said and could swear she
heard Bill mutter something under his breath. "He's not
feeling that well. Cold he caught on our case in New Jersey. And
you better stick to Mulder' around him, Charlie. Mom's
the only one who can get away with calling him Fox'."
"I heard that, too."
Scully seemed thoughtful for a second. "Just how much about
my life does Mom tell you?"
Charlie smiled slyly. "You better pay me to shut up now,
Dana."
Scully laughed. "Charlie Scully, shut up? Now that's
something I'd have to see to believe!"
Charlie laughed himself. "Bill told me that about a half
hour ago, too. Want to see the tape of Patrick's Christmas
play? We've been carrying it around in Mary's purse
showing it to everyone we see."
"By the time we leave, your mom's whole neighborhood
will have seen it," Mary added.
"I'm just proud," Charlie admitted.
"Yep, proud of me!" a little voice piped up. "I'm
a star."
Charlie tousled his son's hair. "Enough, Patrick. Don't
want that head to get any bigger. Why don't you say hi to
your Aunt Dana?"
"Hi, Aunt Dana," the boy replied before running back
off toward the TV. He joined his sister, who was busy coloring on
the floor. Scully turned toward the girl.
"Hi, Lauren." The girl made no attempt to look up.
"Never mind her. She's been involved in that drawing
since she opened her new art kit from Santa' this
morning. Not bad for a five-year-old, I have to say."
Charlie turned. "Mom's in the kitchen with Tara. She
said she wanted to talk to you after you were done visiting'.
Dana's in trouble," he teased in a voice that reminded
her of many childhood memories.
"Am not," she said back. "How's the
accounting business going, Mary?" she asked Charlie's
wife.
"It's okay. Slow. But of course everything picks up
soon and I will have _no_ time on my hands."
"Since when do you have any now?" Charlie piped up and
she nudged him in the shoulder.
Scully turned to Bill, who was still sitting quietly on the
couch, Matty squirming in his arms. "How's things,
Bill?" She sat down next to him, and pushed a piece of fly-away
hair on Matty's head.
"Fine," he answered.
"Matty's getting big. I was so glad to hear he was
talking. Tara called Mom. She said as soon as he opened his mouth
he never shut up. And Mom told her she better pray we don't
get another one like Charlie in this family." Dana smiled
and was glad to see her brother crack a smile too.
"Yeah, just what we need. Not my son." He turned to
face Dana better. "Mulder's by, huh?" he asked
casually, though Scully could tell it was anything but casual.
"Yeah, he wasn't feeling well, and Mom invited him here."
She didn't say anything else on the matter. Neither did Bill.
After all it was Christmas.
"Anyway," Scully continued. "I could use some help
getting some things out of my trunk, and as much as I love
Charlie, I'd like to do without having my ear talked off, so
want to volunteer, Bill?"
She stood up and he nodded. "Charlie, can you watch Matty, I'm
going to help Dana get some things from her trunk."
Scully and Bill headed out toward the car, the sound of Scully's
car keys echoing through the cold late morning. They trudged
silently, and Scully didn't want to bring up the topic of
Mulder in a conversation, at least not with this brother. She
opened her trunk and handed a couple of bags to her brother.
Unfortunately, he got the bag that had Mulder's gift
sticking out of the top.
Bill sighed as he saw the gift. "How long is he here for,
Dana?"
Scully grabbed the remaining bags and closed her trunk. "Well,
Bill, _both_ of us may be leaving tonight."
"Dana, I didn't mean--"
"Bill, I know what you meant. It's Christmas, for God's
sake. Can we resume this conversation at some other time? I'd
like to get inside and give out some gifts to my niece and
nephews."
And with that Scully headed toward the door, Bill sighing and
following her.
"Presents," Scully said as she gave the presents out to
smiling kids. She had been surprised when she realized that with
the exception of Mulder's and her mother's gifts, she
really had wrapped everything after all. The kids tore through
the wrapping paper like it was tissue and soon were opening more
new toys and making more of a mess. Scully herself scattered
about picking up paper when she remembered her mother had wanted
to talk with her.
Scully entered the kitchen, the smell of her mother's
cooking hitting her before she even reached the door. "Something
smells good in here," she commented as she walked in the
door.
"Merry Christmas Dana," Tara said as she looked up from
peeling potatoes.
"Merry Christmas, Tara." Dana turned to her Mom who was
at the stove. She turned
and greeted her daughter, wiping her hands off on a towel on the
counter.
"I made some soup for Fox, honey. It's on the counter,
if he's up for it."
"Thanks, Mom. I'm sure when he wakes up he will be."
She peered into the pot, and got a stern look from her mother.
"Dana Katherine don't you go poking around on that
stove. I already yelled at your brothers for that. That's
why they're in the family room. How was your trip?"
"Busy. The airport was a madhouse this morning. Not to
mention the minor delays we ran into on the runway. But we were
lucky we got on an early flight."
Maggie nodded. "Terrible to be spending Christmas Eve in an
airport."
"Yeah, well it happens I guess." Scully opened her
mouth to continue her conversation when she heard footsteps
upstairs.
"Guess someone's up." Maggie handed Scully a tray
with the soup on it. "Just how is Fox, honey?"
"He's got a fever, and a little cough. I think it's
just a bad cold. I'll go bring this to him."
Scully took the tray, grabbed her bag, and made her way up the
stairs to find Mulder sitting up in the rumpled sheets, his new
short hair sticking up as much as it could.
"How are you feeling?" Scully asked as she placed the
soup on the bureau in the room. Mulder looked at her for a
second, as if regaining his bearing.
"I'm okay," he said, his voice raspy and tired
sounding.
"Sure you are," Scully said as she said on the edge of
the bed. "My mom made you some soup if you want it Mulder."
She gestured toward the soup on the bureau.
Mulder swallowed and made a face.
"Nauseous?" Scully asked, concerned. She was hoping he
would be able to hold something down.
Mulder shook his head. "Throat," he said, then looked
as if he regretted saying it.
"I'm fine, Scully. Really. Just not hungry."
Scully was already searching through her bag for a thermometer.
When she found it,
she turned back to him.
"Okay, you don't have to eat now. But I want you to try
later, ok? Now open up, I need to get a temp."
"Scully, I'm fi--," Mulder started to say but as
soon as he opened his mouth Scully shoved the thermometer in.
"Mulder, you are not fine. Let's not start this game
again, it's Christmas." The thermometer beeped and she
removed it and frowned.
"What is it?" he asked.
"102," she answered thoughtfully as she placed the
thermometer down on the table next to the bed. She went rummaging
through her bag again and came up with some Tylenol. She shook
two pills out and grabbed the water her mom had placed along with
the soup on the tray.
"Here take these. They'll bring the fever down,"
she said as she dumped the pills into his hands.
Mulder sighed, but took them willingly, grimacing when he had to
swallow them. Thankfully for him the gesture went unnoticed
because Scully had her back turned.
"Mulder, get some more sleep. It's the best thing you
can do. I'll be back in a while to check on you."
"Sleeping through the day was not what I had in mind when I
thought about how I would be spending Christmas," Mulder
mumbled as he fought off a yawn and ended up as coughs instead.
"Wait a second, I want you to take something for that cough,
too." She went back to searching through her bag, and
produced a bottle of cough syrup. She grabbed the spoon off the
tray on the bureau and headed back over toward Mulder.
"Jeez, Scully, what do you carry around? A drug store?"
"With you, Mulder, it never hurts to be prepared," she
teased as she spoonfed him cough syrup.
"Now go to sleep, Mulder. I'll be back later."
Mulder watched Scully walk out the door and yawned. Some
Christmas this was turning out to be. He was stuck in bed by the
order of one very convincing redhead. One very beautiful
convincing redhead. Woh, don't got there, Mulder. Not
now. He was also putting out Scully's family. He felt
horrible about that. He'd have to find a way to pay Mrs.
Scully back for this. He yawned again, unable to keep his eyes
open. He'd find a way.
Scully tiptoed down the stairs, making sure she didn't make
a lot of noise to disturb Mulder. She walked back into the
kitchen, still reveling in the smell of the food cooking inside
of it. She opened the door to find Tara still peeling at the
kitchen table and her mother still stirring at the stove.
"How's Fox?" Maggie asked as she began to get
plates from the cabinet.
"He's ok, considering. He's still running a fever,
102, and coughing, but I think he'll be okay."
"Good. Now would you count the plates and see if we have
enough. Then put yourself to good use by setting the dining room
table." Maggie placed a bunch of silverware next to the
plates. "And get Bill to get the highchair out. Oh, and ask
Charlie if Lauren needs a book to sit on. I don't now if she's
tall enough to reach the table, yet."
"Mom, I'm sure she's fine. But I'll ask."
Scully scurried out of the kitchen quickly before her Mom began
assigning her too many things. She dumped the plates and "accessories"
down on the white linen that was draped over the dining room
table. She ducked into the living room, and found the video of
Patrick's Christmas play long over, a football game was on
in its place. Even Mary was engrossed. One thing Charlie had told
his family about Mary when he started dating her was that she was
one the biggest football fans he had ever meet. Interrupt her
during a game and you deal with the consequences.
"Bill, Mom says get out the highchair, and Charlie, Mom
wants to now if Lauren needs a book to sit on."
Neither person looked up.
"Sure, Dana, I'll get it."
"No, she doesn't need one."
Then they were back to their game. Figures Scully
thought, remembering once how engrossed Mulder had been in a
Knicks game. She could have stripped and walked around naked and
he still wouldn't have noticed her. She smiled sinfully at
the thought.
The thought still floated through her mind as she set the table,
silverware and all. Folding the napkins, and setting the glasses.
When she was done, she stood back and admired her work with
satisfaction. When she reentered the kitchen she found Tara no
longer at the table with the potatoes but tossing a salad.
"Tell the boys and company dinner's going to be on in
five minutes. And if they're late, well they know the rules,"
Maggie sat as she bent to check things in the oven.
The rules. Scully smiled at the remembrance of the rules set
during her childhood and when she returned to her mother's
house to this day. And one of them was be on time for dinner or
expect to go out to eat.
She gave the message to her brothers and within the next twenty
minutes she was sitting down and highly engrossed in another one
of her mother's holiday meals. Scully's mind however
kept wondering toward Mulder upstairs, though she heard no
movement and assumed he was still sleeping. She set aside a plate
for him and hoped he was feeling up to eating something or she
was going to get seriously worried.
Dinner ended a bit early when Patrick accidentally knocked over
the gravy and it stained the white linen tablecloth. Maggie
shrugged it off, saying "it can be washed" and "he's
only a child." Dana helped her mother clean up.
"Dana, the kids and I are going down to park to see if the
pond's frozen over. If is it, we're skating, if not
well, we're throwing stuff into it," Charlie said with
a grin that reminded Scully of the days when Charlie used to drag
her down to the park with its pond and how he would throw rocks
at the birds on the pond, and how she hated when he did it. He
would tease her for it and they would usually get into a fight
and come home either cold, wet, muddy, or sometimes all three.
"Anyway, want to come? Show the kids how far their Aunt Dana
can throw a rock," he
teased.
"I can't Charlie. Mulder's upstairs sick and I
have to check on him and bring him this-"
"Dana, go with your brother. You'll have fun with the
kids. I can take that up to Fox and watch him for you. You
yourself said he'll be fine." Maggie had taken the
plate out of Dana's hands and had grabbed her coat.
"Go on," she urged. Scully reluctantly took her coat
and followed Charlie outside, Patrick and Lauren running ahead of
them. Charlie had even bundled little Matty up and he ran as fast
as his chubby little legs could carry him.
"Make sure he's zippered," Scully heard Tara call
to Charlie as they walked out the door. Maybe her mom was right,
she did need a little "family" time out. Hopefully
Mulder would be ok until she got back. She followed her brother
and tried to push the little nagging bad thoughts out of her head.
"Fox?"
Mulder heard the voice but tried to ignore it. The last thing he
wanted to do was open his eyes and have Scully shove some more
medicine down him.
"Fox?"
That wasn't Scully's voice, he realized. He slowly
dragged his tired eyes open and found a concerned Maggie Scully
looking down at him. He struggled to get up, but Maggie laid a
hand down on him firmly, pushing him back down.
"Fox, stay put. Dana went out for awhile and I just wanted
to check to see how you were feeling." She sat on the edge
of the bed in a motherly fashion, it reminded him of one of the
rare moments his mother had taken care of him when he was sick,
before Sam was gone.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Scully," he replied, but his voice
sounded raspy and he found it hurt his throat to talk. Damn
cold he thought as he tried to look more healthy and less
sick in front of Scully's mom.
"I'll don't appreciate lying, Fox, even when it is
with good intention." Damn, this woman is good
Mulder thought as she turned toward the bureau.
"Dana made you a plate. I brought it up, hoping you would be
up to eating, but it doesn't look as if you are,"
Maggie continued with a touch of a frown. Now Mulder knew were
Scully got that frown of hers.
"No, I'm really fine," Mulder started again as he
began to sit up, but found himself fitting a bought of dizziness.
He let himself fall back down to the pillow under Mrs. Scully's
careful gaze.
"Well, you certainly don't look fine to me,"
Maggie said as she reached for his forehead. She gave a frown not
unlike Scully's best ones. "Does Dana have a
thermometer around here somewhere or do I have to go downstairs,"
she muttered, half to herself. She finally spied what she was
looking for and Mulder grimaced. He could hardy stand _one_
Scully woman taking care of him, let alone _two_. This was some
Christmas.
"Really, Mrs. Scully--" Mulder began to defend his case
again, but lost as Maggie Scully shoved the thermometer once
again under his tongue and Mulder was forced to do nothing but
sit and wait under Maggie's ever so cautious gaze. He
sighed, and he didn't want to admit it he was grateful for
the care he was receiving. Though he would never admit it, he was
feeling pretty bad. Headache, dizziness, and a sore throat that
wasn't seeming to get any better. Throw on a hacking cough
and he wasn't really a very happy camper. But he never let
on. That would ruin his "game" with Scully. The game
they played a lot more often than he wished they did.
The thermometer beeped and he waited patiently as Maggie looked
at it. She didn't seem happy with its results. "When's
the last time Dana gave you Tylenol?" she asked, fingering
the bottle Scully had left out on the nightstand.
"I don't know," Mulder admitted, guessing his
fever must have gone up if Mrs. Scully wanted to shove more
Tylenol down his throat. "When she last came up, I think."
Maggie looked at her watch. "That was about 3 and a half
hours ago. Better wait a little while longer." She looked at
him, pure concern in her eyes and Mulder once again felt so
guilty for putting her out. She didn't need to be worrying
about him.
"Do you want anything?" she asked him and Mulder felt
another pang of guilt hit him.
"No, I'm okay, Mrs. Scully." He watched as Mrs.
Scully looked at him again then left him alone in room. Maybe he
could repay Scully's mom by taking her out to dinner with
Scully one night or something.
She and Charlie had a good time chasing after three children and
talking about childhood days. They discussed the weather and work.
"So, who is this Mulder', Dana? I've been
getting mixed signals from Bill and Mom. I've given Mom more
credit because her patience certainly didn't get passed down
to Bill."
Scully looked at her brother and out at the park, assuring
herself the kids were okay and within range. So, she knew how
Bill felt about Mulder, and her Mom's attitude was plain,
she was used to her trying to set her up with many men, and
Mulder was no acceptation. Though she did find her mother hit a
few sore spots with him when it came to some of the touchy "events"
that happened in the last six years she had been partnered with
Mulder.
"He's my partner, Charlie. He has been for the last six
years."
"And I've never meet him."
"What is this, Charlie? The younger brother's version
of _Twenty Questions_?"
Charlie smiled and leaned back against the park bench he and Dana
were sitting on. "Guess you could say that." His grin
increased. "It's hard to get a straight answer from our
family."
Scully laughed. "Mom and Bill do disagree when it comes to
Mulder."
"So what is this guy like, Dana? You work with someone for
six years and you don't exactly--" He raised his
eyebrows in question, letting Scully complete the thought herself.
She hit in the elbow. "Charlie Scully, we are not sleeping
together!"
He looked at her innocently. "I never suggested you were
doing such a thing."
"Yeah, right. Mulder and I are partners, that's all."
"That's all?" He looked at her as if he didn't
quite believe her. Scully rolled her eyes; this was what you got
from Mom's and Bill's opinions combined?
"Yes, we're partners and friends."
"Friends?"
"You now what I mean, Charlie. Friends." She stopped
herself before she said anything else; the last thing she wanted
to do was tell her brother Charlie about her relationship with
Mulder. Not that there was anything there; it was just her
thoughts and if she told Charlie she might as well call the
newspaper and have a story run on it in the morning edition.
Charlie wasn't talkative for nothing.
"Okay, Dana. It's just a younger brother wants to know
what's going on his sister's life. And if Mom is going
to be calling me about any weddings soon."
Scully gave her brother another punch in the arm. "You sound
like Mom."
"Dana, Mom only wants you to get out more. You need to get a
life. Whether it's with this Mulder' or not, she's
worried about you."
"And she voices these concerns with you?" Scully
sounded surprised. She knew her mother discussed her life, but
she was hoping she didn't discuss her _love_ life with her
_brother_.
"Well, I called her and we got to talking. She didn't
want to talk to Bill, so."
"She talked to you. She could have talked to me."
"And what Dana? Have you deny it? You really do need to get
out then. And she means more than the usual plane trip you take
on a case. A _real_ night out."
"With a man you're implying?"
"Well, it helps." He glanced toward the kids, happy to
see they had moved to the swings and that Patrick and Lauren were
taking turns pushing Matty in the baby swing. He sighed. "I'm
just saying, _Mom's saying_, that you should get out at
least once in awhile. I've never meet Mulder, but Mom says
he's nice, Bill says he's well, Bill's opinion
never did matter to me. He'll hate any guy that goes after
you."
Scully's eyebrow raised. "Goes after me?"
"Yeah from what Mom described, I would say he--"
"Mulder and I are not involved."
Charlie backed off, seeming to sense the forceful tone his sister's
voice had taken. Scully didn't want to sound cold, but she
didn't feel much like discussing this topic now, in a park,
in the cold, with her younger brother. Somehow she had pictured
her brother Charlie like Bill, hating Mulder at first sight.
Maybe he didn't hear the whole list of reasons to hate
Mulder from Bill. She certainly didn't expect her brother to
encourage her to "get out more" even if that meant
getting out with Mulder. She felt Mom's influence in the air.
"Yeah, I know, you said that. I'm just talking, Dana.
The whole family knows I do a lot of that," he said,
cracking a grin.
Scully smiled herself. "Yes, you do." She glanced down
at her watch and realized she and Charlie had been out for almost
an hour and a half, talking and catching up before the topic got
to Mulder. The sky was beginning to darken, it was almost 5 o'clock
"We better get going."
"Yeah, Mary wanted to get back to the hotel early tonight.
The kids were up forever last night and she hopes to get them
down early tonight."
"Hotel?"
Charlie looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah. We didn't want
to put Mom out. There's four of us and she has enough to
worry about. Plus Patrick's in his messy' stage."
"Mom wouldn't mind."
"Mom hasn't seen how much damage Patrick can do."
Scully grinned. "Couldn't be worse than you and Bill."
"Maybe you've got that right, but"
"So it's just Mom, Bill, Tara, and Matty at the house
tonight?"
"And you and Mulder if she succeeds in convincing you to
stay."
Scully got up off the bench. "Mom can be convincing."
"Maybe not that much, Dana. Look at you so far."
Scully stood still for a second, considering the comment. It wasn't
meant to be an insult, that Scully knew. Yet she knew it was true.
Her mother had a totally different plan for her youngest daughter
when she was born Scully suspected; one that didn't include
the FBI, cancer, and infertility. Yet her mother still respected
her decisions, to a degree. Respect and liking were two different
things.
"I guess you're right. Let's go back to Mom's."
Scully walked over toward the swings and scooped Matty out of the
swings and began a walk back toward the house.
"Mom, we're home!" Scully called as she, Charlie
and the kids walked into the door.
"Aunt Dana, what time is it?" Scully looked down to
find Lauren at her heels. She glanced at the nearest clock.
"It's 5:15, Lauren." The little girl lit up.
"Patrick, Rugrats® is on!" Suddenly two pairs of feet
were making a beeline for the family room.
Scully watched Charlie trail after them and she was handing Matty
over to Tara when her mom walked in.
"Mom, did you check on Mulder?" She shrugged out of her
coat and shoved it into the hall closet.
"Honey, make sure you hang it so it doesn't fall,"
Maggie warned as Scully was hanging her coat. "And yes I did
check on him. He'd didn't look like he was doing very
well. I took his temperature and it was 103. That was up from
before, right?"
"Yes," Scully said, with a frown, growing concerned as
her mom spoke.
"Well, at the time, he said you had given him Tylenol only
about 3 hours before, so I waited awhile. I went upstairs about a
half hour ago and his temperature was still the same, so I gave
him some more Tylenol. I did nurse some kids though some illness
at one time in my life, Dana," she added with a small smile.
Scully relaxed a bit. "Thanks, Mom. I think I forget that
sometimes. I'm going to check on him."
"He fell asleep as soon as I left Dana, so be quiet."
"I will, Mom," Scully replied as she headed for the
stairs.
Mulder was still sleeping when Scully got upstairs. He had kicked
the blankets down to the edge of the bed, and his brow was dotted
with perspiration. She frowned a bit at that, but had to smile as
she watched him sleeping. Just like a baby. And acts like
one, too she thought, laughing to herself. She bent down to
bring the cover back up over his shoulders when he stirred.
"Scully?" he mumbled and his hazel eyes opened, fever
bright and unfocused.
"Shh," she said, as her hand ran across his forehead.
Her frown deepened as her fingertips met the hot flesh. Her hands
reached for the thermometer; his temperature hadn't seemed
to diminish any.
"Open up," she said.
Mulder shook his head. "Damn thermometer. Scully you have to
get one of those ear ones," he said with a smile that didn't
last long. His voice sounded weak, like he was losing it.
"Sorry, Mulder. We FBI woman aren't made of money,"
she added with a touch of a smile. "Now, open up before I
stick it somewhere else."
Mulder sighed, well really coughed, and reluctantly opened up.
Three minutes later the thermometer beeped and Scully removed it.
"103.4," she said to herself. She turned to Mulder.
"Mulder how do you feel?"
"How do I feel?" Mulder thought the question sounded
odd. "Do you want an honest answer?" he asked with a
sly grin hoping to get a smile out of Scully.
"Yes, I want you to be honest." There was no smile on
her face.
"Honest?" Scully sighed and sat on the bed.
"Yes, honest, Mulder. Think you could try that for once,
Mulder? Trying something new each day is good for you," she
teased.
Mulder looked her, but decided to play along with this new "honesty"
thing. "I feel bad, Scully. Sick."
Scully looked at him with a face that said, No, duh.'
"I know that, Mulder. I wanted you to be more specific."
"Okay, okay. My head hurts, I'm achy and most of all my
throat is killing me. That specific enough for you?" God, he
hated being sick.
"Yes." She sat on the bed for a second, thoughtful,
then walked over to her bag and rummaged through it again.
Mulder grimaced when she did that. No more medicine.
She came back with her penlight and a tongue depressor. "Open
up, Mulder," she instructed.
"Huh?" he said, looking at her.
"I said open up. I want to get a look at your throat."
She looked at him seriously and he knew she meant business. He
opened his mouth and let her peer down it. I need to make a
mental not to get sick anymore he thought.
"I think you might have strep," she announced when she
was done.
"Strep?"
"Yep." She sat on the edge of the bed again. "Of
course you'll have to have a throat culture done to be sure.
I think your FirstCare doctor is at GW tomorrow."
Mulder put his hand up. "Wait a second, Scully. My FirstCare
doctor?" He looked down sheepishly.
Scully sighed. "Mulder, you didn't." He nodded and
didn't meet her eyes. "Damn it, Mulder. Would it kill
you to keep one physician for longer than three months?"
His fevered eyes twinkled. "Why bother? I have you."
Scully caught herself blushing at that statement. Luckily Mulder
didn't seem to notice. "Mulder, a pathologist is not
the person you want to name on your insurance forms."
He shrugged indifferently. "It works for me."
Scully sighed again, though this time it was more of a tired sigh.
"Well, Mulder it's not going to work for your insurance
company. Ok, I'll try and see if I can get you an
appointment with another doctor tomorrow, and we can get you on
antibiotics. For now you stay in bed, you're probably still
contagious."
Mulder had begun to fall back down to the pillow, but his head
perked up at the word contagious.'
"I'm sorry, Scully," he mumbled. "I didn't
mean to--"
"Mulder, if I caught everything you came down with, I'd
be a complete wreck. You might not even be contagious. How long
have you been feeling sick? And don't tell me it's the
snow bank in New Jersey, because I doubt you picked up strep from
that."
Mulder laid his head back down on the pillows and sighed. "A
week, I guess. I don't know."
"A week? Mulder, you have to tell when--"
"I don't feel good," Mulder finished, interrupting
her. "I'm sorry, Scully. I've intruded your family
time and--"
"Mulder, one thing you have to learn is to stop apologizing
to me. It's getting old," she said with a touch of a
smile. She got up and tucked the covers back over Mulder's
shoulder and tousled his hair. "You get some sleep. I'm
going to see if I can make that appointment. Maybe if you're
really lucky," she added, "I'll run out and see if
there's an all-night pharmacy so you can get some more
medicine tonight."
"Oh joy," Mulder mumbled sleepily.
Scully watched him close his eyes. He was so cute when he was
vulnerable. She smiled. She wouldn't admit it to him, but
she enjoyed taking care of him. She had once told her mother that
and her mother had smiled.
"I used to love taking care of your father when he was sick
too," she had said. "He was whiny, uncomfortable, and
always in a bad mood, but he looked so vulnerable and forlorn in
those blankets. It always made me fall in love with him all over
again. Florence Nightingale syndrome, they call it."
"Mom, Mulder and I," she had paused, choosing her words
carefully, "I'm not involved with Mulder."
Her mother had sipped her tea and looked up at her. "I never
said you were, dear."
Scully smiled at the memory, which was only a few months old, not
too long after her return from Antarctica "trip" with
Mulder. A nice quiet day, the last one she had had in a while.
She stared back at his sleeping form, and suddenly felt some form
of comfort.
"My Mulder," she whispered to herself and did a double
when she realized what she had said and that she had said it out
loud. She took another glance at Mulder, who was still snoring
lightly. She sighed, grateful he had not heard her. She slipped
out the door, closing it softly behind her. Her cheeks colored as
she recalled the thought that had just run through her head.
"Dana."
Scully looked up and realized someone was calling her. It was
Mary.
"Dana are you all right? You look a little red."
Scully blushed a little more at the words but shook her head.
"I'm fine," she answered.
"Ok," Mary replied. "Charlie and I are, despite
protests from your mother are going to take the kids back to the
hotel. I know it's only six-fifteen, but the kids are
starting to wear out. They wouldn't go to sleep until."
She pause. "1:30, I think it was. Something about staying up
so they could catch Santa'. Lauren is already nodding
off in front of Doug®, so I think that's our cue."
"You're coming back tomorrow?"
"For lunch. We're don't leave till Saturday."
"Yes, Charlie said you were leaving New Year's."
"I have tons of paperwork to do." She and Scully began
to descend the stairs. "You don't know how close I was
to dragging my laptop along on this trip. Charlie had to talk me
out of it," she said with a smile, then gestured her head up
the stairs. "How's your partner? Maggie said he wasn't
feeling well."
Scully stole a glance up the stairs herself. "Yes, I think
he has strep."
"Really. That's a bitch with kids and even worse with
adults. You must know your brother's a baby when he gets
sick."
Scully laughed as they made their way into the living room.
"I know. He's so dramatic. You would think he was dying."
"Who's dying?" piped up a voice from in front of
them.
"Speak of the devil," Mary said as Charlie approached
them and kissed her. "You're the topic of conversation."
"When am I not?"
Scully gave her brother a punch in the arm. "Don't you
get conceited."
"Don't you know I'm already conceited, Dana. The
kids are about to run to the rental car," he warned his wife.
"I said good-bye to Mom, but," he directed his question
to Dana, "I was hoping to meet this partner, Mulder',
of yours."
"Not unless you want to go back home with strep throat."
"Huh?"
Scully sighed and smiled. "You'll have to wait a few
days. Mulder has strep, so unless you want to catch it I wouldn't
go visit him if I were you." In truth, Scully was glad to
postpone the meeting of her brother and Mulder; not because she
was afraid they would hate each other, but because of the "ideas"
she was afraid Charlie might give Mulder. After her discussion
with Charlie she was a little afraid of his "ideas"
herself.
"I don't mind a little strep," Charlie said, but
Dana stopped him again.
"And he's sleeping. If you wake him, Charlie Scully,
_you_ can pay the consequences."
"Sorry, Dana. I didn't realize." He backed off; to
him his sister seemed to protect this man as if they were already
married. And he hadn't even met the guy yet! "I guess
we'll get going then." He called to Bill, who was
watching the news. "See you tomorrow Bill."
"Sure, Charlie. Bye Mary. Next time you should listen to Mom
and abandon this hotel nonsense."
"Sure, Bill. Just wait till your kid starts to _really_ talk
back. Bye, Dana." Charlie gave his sister a quick hug and
departed, stopping to hug his mother again as she appeared next
to the door.
"Don't forget lunch at 12," Maggie called as the
door closed. "I wish I could convince them to stay,"
she said, more to herself then anything.
"Don't worry, Mom. Charlie's will be back
tomorrow, _way_ before you want him to be. After tomorrow the
leftovers will be a distant memory."
Maggie smiled. "Well Bill I know you'll help him in
that department."
Bill sighed. "Well it's a tough job, but someone has to
do it."
"And you always volunteer," Scully teased as she began
to gather some of her things. "Mom, I think I'm going
to take Mulder home. I'm pretty sure he's got strep and
I have to make an appointment with a doctor for tomorrow."
Maggie grabbed Scully's things out of his hands. "Nonsense,
you and Fox can stay here. With Charlie and his family staying at
that hotel, we have plenty of room. You can stay here and make
the appointment."
"Mom--" Scully started to protest but Maggie
interrupted her.
"Don't argue with me Dana Katherine. You're
staying. I believe that Teresa Hamilton, remember the girl you
went to med school with, has a practice around here. I was
talking to her mother the other day and she was complaining about
how her daughter is workaholic, how she was going back to her
practice the day after Christmas. I'm sure you could make
Fox an appointment with her tomorrow. She's in family
practice, you know."
Scully nodded amazed at the things her mother knew. "Ok,
Mom, you win. We'll stay, but only because I don't
really want to drag Mulder back to my apartment. I'll look
up Teresa's number tomorrow morning and make an appointment."
"That's good." She looked toward Bill, who was
trying to hide the fact that he was less than enthusiastic at his
mother's suggestion. "Bill, close you mouth."
Scully shot her own look at Bill as she followed her mother into
the kitchen.
"Fox, help me. Help me, Fox!"
But he was frozen, and she just got farther away. Suddenly the
vision disappeared and was replaced with anther one.
She was laying on a table, people surrounded her, and she cried
out. They were hurting her and she kept calling out. She was
close to him, yet he couldn't move; all he could do was
watch, watch her torture. The smell of cigarette smoke floated
past his nose and she cried out again, the pain obviously evident
in her voice.
"Scully!" He cried at the top of his lungs. "Scully!!"
"Mulder, wake up."
Someone was shaking him, but the picture didn't disappear
from his head.
"Scully!" he called again, and heard the sound of his
own voice, raspy and weak sounding.
"Mulder, wake up, it's a dream."
Suddenly the vision disappeared and Mulder realized where he was.
He opened his eyes to find Scully shaking his shoulders, standing
in her bathrobe. Her red head fell to her shoulders, slept on yet
still beautiful to him.
"Scully?" he rasped, still hazy. "Where are we?"
He felt her settle next to him on the bed. Her weight pushed the
mattress down a little and he felt her warm hand find his own.
"We're at my mom's, remember?"
He glanced around the room, and realized he wasn't home; it
was Mrs. Scully's home. "I remember." He gulped
and relaxed, then realized he may have woken up the entire
household. "Did I wake--"
"No, you didn't," Scully answered. "No one
else is awake."
He sighed in relief. "Pretty bad, huh?"
He nodded and she gripped his hand a little tighter. "Want
to talk about it?"
"Not really."
She nodded. "Ok, we don't have to talk about it."
Her hand reached for his forehead and he let her touch it, and
could almost see her frown forming in the dark. "How do you
feel?"
"Tired, I guess."
Scully looked at him (at least he thought she was looking at him,
it was hard to tell in the dark), and finally turned to the
nightstand, turning on the small light on it. Mulder squinted as
soon as the small light hit his eyes.
"Mulder, are you okay?" Scully's concerned voice
asked.
"I'm fine," he replied as he watched her reach for
the thermometer on the nightstand.
"Mulder, open up." He saw her concerned face in the
shadow of the light. He felt so bad for waking her up that he
opened his mouth willingly, causing a strange look from Scully as
she put the thermometer in his mouth.
He looked down at the folds in her robe as he waited for the
thermometer to beep. Her robe, the same one she brought on every
case; the robe he had seen many times when he knocked on her door
in the middle of the night. He had thought of buying her a new
one for Christmas, but had realized he _liked_ her robe; it was
her. Suddenly he realized that he hadn't given Scully her
gift, it was still at home.
"Scully, your Christmas gift," he mumbled, but with the
thermometer in his mouth the sentence came out garbled and
strange.
"Shh," she said as the thermometer beeped, a beep that
Mulder come to recognize in the last twelve hours. Scully removed
it, glancing at the reading in the limited light.
"Your gift, Scully. It's at home," Mulder
repeated, this time the sentence making more
sense.
Scully looked up from the thermometer at him. "What?"
Then it dawned on her. "Oh, Mulder don't worry about it.
I still have to give you your gift."
Mulder began to sit up. "It's at home," he
repeated as Scully's hands gripped his shoulders and gently
pushed him back down into the bed.
"It's okay." She tucked the blankets around him.
"Get some more sleep. Your temperature isn't any worse,
but it also isn't any better. I'm making a doctor's
appointment in the morning."
Mulder wanted to open his mouth to protest, but was fast asleep
before he could open his mouth.
Scully listened to her mother make breakfast as she leafed
through the telephone book looking for Teresa Hamilton's
office number. She smiled when she found it and punched the
numbers into the keypad.
Her brother Bill sat at the kitchen table, the paper in front of
him, and Matty was smiling away in his highchair beside him. Tara
was out on an early morning diaper run, after she had discovered
she was low this morning.
Scully let the phone ring three times before a tired voice picked
up. Scully recognized it as her long-time friend's and soon
they were engrossed in a conversation, Scully almost forgot why
she called. Almost.
"Teresa, before I forget, I called to make an appointment
for my partner, Fox Mulder. I think he has strep."
"Yes, that's the Fox' my mom talks about."
Scully paused. "Yeah, 10:30 would be great. Thanks, see you
then. Bye."
Maggie looked up from the stove where she was making pancakes.
"make an appointment?"
Scully joined her brother at the table. "Yes, for 10:30.
Mom, how much do you talk about me?" Scully inquired with a
bit of a grin to her face.
Maggie smiled and shrugged. "You're my daughter. I talk
about all of you.'
"Be lucky your friends aren't ranked," Bill
muttered under his breath.
"I heard that," Maggie said as she put a plate of
pancakes on the table. "I'm proud of you."
"Run now, Dana," Bill said in a mocking tone.
"Bill," Scully warned. "I'm going to check on
Mulder." She shot a look at Bill and Bill played innocent.
"Dana, I've been good. I could have told that sob what--"
"William," his mother warned and Bill closed his mouth.
Scully escaped the room before things could get to become worse.
"Mulder?"
Scully opened the door to find Mulder sitting up in bed, the
sheets pushed down to his knees. He turned at the sound at her
feet.
"Morning," she greeted.
"Morning," Mulder echoed back, his voice practically
non-existent. It was still raspy and weak, yet worse then last
night's 1 a.m. wake-up call.
"I made an appointment for 10:30 and I don't want any
arguments."
"You weren't going to get any."
Scully stood back, puzzled by his attitude. If he was being
cooperative, he _must_ be feeling bad.
She sat back down on the edge of the bed and met his eyes. "So
can you get dressed?" He was still in the sweatpants she had
managed to convince to change into at some point yesterday. He
nodded.
"Ok, I'll be back."
She glanced at him worriedly as she left the room. He definitely
wasn't himself.
It seemed that a lot more people got sick over the holidays then
Scully's thought. When she reached Dr. Teresa Hamilton's
office, there were already people there. Not a lot but some.
Scully understood why Teresa wanted to open the office back up
today. She certainly had enough business.
Mulder was quiet and cooperative and that worried Scully more
than if she had dragged him here kicking and screaming. He had
grabbed a copy of People™ Magazine and was trying to look
engrossed in it. Scully sighed as she glanced around the room.
A man sat with a little girl, looking about five, on his lap.
Next to him was an annoyed mother glaring at her teenager son.
Then came another pair, a couple, Scully supposed. The man was
complaining and the woman was rolling her eyes. She turned to
Scully.
"Men are such babies," she commented, then glanced
toward Mulder. "Though your husband seems well-behaved. How
do you do it?"
Scully opened her mouth to say Mulder wasn't her husband,
but she was tired of the explanation. Instead she just smiled.
"You just happened to catch him on a good day. Usually he's
kicking and screaming by now."
The woman laughed. Mulder looked up from his magazine. "I
resent that," he said before returning to his article.
Scully opened her mouth to continue the conversation, but a nurse
interrupted and called Mulder's name. She heard Mulder sigh,
but after a punch in the shoulder, he reluctantly got up and
followed the nurse into an exam room.
Ten minutes later, Mulder was sitting on the exam table, and
Scully saw the relief that flooded through him when he realized
for once he wouldn't have to put on one of those gowns. The
nurse had been in to record his temperature already and now he
just sat there, waiting.
Scully handed Mulder another copy of People™ magazine.
"You seemed _so_ into in the waiting room," she teased.
"Don't you know Scully? Reading about the celebs in
People™ is a secret obsession
of mine."
"Now I know what to get you for your birthday."
"Ooo, have I graduated up from a tie?" he said, pausing
to cough and swallow painfully.
"But, Mulder if I didn't give you any ties, where would
you get some normal ones?"
He opened his mouth to respond, when he was interrupted by the
door opening and the door opening. Dr. Hamilton walked in,
already looking boggled down for ten in the morning. Her brown
hair looked as if it had just been pulled on. She sighed and
pushed it back.
"Toddlers just love to pull hair," she commented.
"Hi, Dana, nice to you. According to your mom, you don't
visit as much as you could.'"
Dana smiled. "Well, yes, my mom says that to all of her kids."
"I'll be doing that when my daughter, Sarah, I'm
sure, when she grows up. Is this the infamous Fox Mulder your mom
told me about? Your partner?"
Scully nodded. "Meet my partner, Fox Mulder. Thanks to him,
my medical skills never get rusty."
"Gee, Scully, thanks," Mulder mumbled and smiled at
Teresa, but grimaced as he swallowed.
Teresa saw the wince and walked over to get a tongue depressor.
"I guess I don't have to ask what the problem is.
Throat?"
Scully nodded while Mulder tried to look as health as he could in
a doctor's office. It wasn't working. The doctor
glanced down at the chart she had in her hands, and noted the
reading done by the nurse.
"Well, let's take a look there, then. Open," she
instructed.
Mulder groaned but obeyed and opened his mouth so the doctor
could have a look.
"Well, Dana I think you are right. It's looks like
strep," she said when she was done. She walked over to the
cabinets and got out what looked like a swab thing to Mulder.
"I'll do a rapid strep test here and then send it off
to the lab for a follow-up culture just to confirm infection."
She walked toward Mulder with her swab thing. "Open up wide."
Mulder eyed the swab, but after a look' from Scully,
opened up and let the doctor stick the swab down his throat. It
was a experience he would regret. His gag reflex kicked in
immediately and all he wanted to do was reach up and pull the
thing out of his throat. Scully sensed his discomfort and grabbed
his hands, holding them. It had only been one second, yet Mulder
felt he was in danger of throwing up. Finally he felt something
scrape the back of his throat and the swab thing was removed. But
as soon as it was removed, his throat began to hurt even more.
"I'm am going to take this down to our lab and I'll
be back with the results in about twenty minutes," the
doctor promised as she walked out the door.
The doctor was true to her word, twenty minutes later she was
back with the results. "It's strep." She took out
Mulder's chart and began writing. "Are you allergic to
penicillin?" She directed the question at Mulder, who had to
look to Scully for the answer.
"No he's not," Scully replied. Teresa nodded.
"I'm going to write you a prescription for penicillin
then. You have to take this until it done, which should be about
ten days." She looked at Dana. "After a day, he should
be feeling better." Scully nodded and took the prescription
from Teresa's hand.
"Thanks, Teresa," Scully said as she offered Mulder a
hand off the exam table. He reluctantly took it.
"Till the meds are done," Teresa told Mulder one more
time.
"He understands, right Mulder," Scully answered for him
as they walked out the door.
Mulder gave a nod, and rolled his eyes at Scully. She shook her
head and smiled. Teresa watched the two walk out of the office as
she made a couple of more notes on the chart. Hmm, Dana didn't
tell me her and her partner were involved she thought as the
couple disappeared out the door.
"Bed, Mulder. You're still contagious," Scully
said as soon as Mulder walked back into the door.
"Scully," he whined, his voice raspy. "I went to
the doctor."
"Mulder," she said, "you have to be on antibiotics
for at least a day before I'll let you out of bed." She
looked at his eyes, as they put on their best puppy dog'
look. She sighed. "Listen, Mulder. I'm going to get you
a glass of water so you can take your medicine. Then you and I
can play one of the old board games my mom has around here. She
has tons."
"I thought I was contagious?"
"Mulder, I've been around you already."
"Oh, ok." As they were talking she was guiding him up
the stairs. She reached the bedroom that for the last day had
been his' and pushed him down on the bed. "Why
don't you get back into your sweats? And I expect to see you
in bed when I come back, ok?"
Mulder sighed. "For a game of Monopoly, I'll get in bed
for you."
"It's a deal," she promised as she left the room
and walked back down into the kitchen.
She found her mom, there, heating leftovers for lunch.
"Hi, Dana, I didn't know you were back. Bill and Tara
took Matty for a little walk."
Dana smiled at that. "I never figured Bill for the baby
walking' type."
"You'd be surprised, Dana. What did the doctor say?"
She got some plates out and placed them on the counter.
"Um, just that Mulder has strep. She gave him some
antibiotics and I tucked him back into bed."
"Good," her mother replied. "You know that you and
Fox can stay as long as you like here, honey."
Scully looked up from the prescription bottle she was reading.
"Oh, Mom, we'll both be out of your hair by tomorrow. I
would leave today, but I want to make sure Mulder stays in bed
for at least a _little_ while and it's easier to get him to
do it here," she said with a smile.
"Mothers' house work charms."
Scully reached into the drawer and pulled out a spoon. "Mom,
do you still have Monopoly™ around here?"
"Yes, it's in the closet in your old room, I believe.
Why?"
"I promised Mulder I'd play with him and he promised he'd
stay in bed."
"Sounds like a deal. Just don't beat him to badly,"
Maggie added with a smile.
"I won't, Mom," Scully replied with a smile of her
own. She grabbed a glass of water and headed up to see Mulder.
"Boardwalk, Mulder. With a hotel. You owe me 2000 dollars."
Mulder groaned. "You're a Monopoly™ shark, Scully.
You conned me."
Scully smiled. "I just said I hadn't played since I was
a kid. I guess I failed to mention I used to beat my brothers at
the game all the time when I was a kid. Won the Monopoly™
tournaments, too."
"Monopoly tournaments?"
Scully laughed. "Yeah, we use to have those every once in a
while in my house. It was part of the family togetherness'
thing I guess."
"Just like the good ole Scully Christmas'? May
you should consider creating your own line of Hallmark™
cards, Scully. You could make a mint."
"Just roll the dice, Mulder."
"Okay, okay." As he picked up the dice, she looked at
him. They had been playing for a few hours, and she was happy to
see Mulder was getting back to old self. She was surprise to find
he was into Monopoly, but then again she should learn not to be
surprised by anything new she learned about Fox Mulder. His voice
was still raspy she tell it hurt his voice to speak, but hat didn't
stop him. He did look tired though. The circles under his eyes
stood out against his still pale face. She hoped he would be
feeling considerably better in a few days.
"An eight. One, two, three" He began to move his
piece across the board and with his luck, landed on another one
of Scully's properties.
"How much do I owe?" he asked, grimacing as he spoke
the last word.
Scully shook her head. "Too much, Mulder. You're broke."
He looked down at his pathetic money pile. "I guess you're
right."
"I win," she said as she began to clear the board.
"No wait, give me a chance to beat you."
Scully smiled. "You can't beat me, Mulder. And besides,
you're beat. I can tell from your eyes. So this is what you
are going to do. You are going to let me check your temperature
one more time, and then you are going to take a nap. Sound like a
plan/"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
"I didn't think I did."
Scully reached for the thermometer on the nightstand. "Open."
Mulder sighed, but did as he was told. Three minutes late she
checked the thermometer with some satisfaction.
"102.4. Already done some. Good," she said. Mulder was
still sitting up in bed. She gently pushed him down.
"Gee, Scully, if your mother were to catch us now."
Yep, that was her Mulder.
"Lie down, Mulder."
"Is that an order?'
She gave him a look and he laid back against the pillows. She
looked at him. "Go to sleep." She got up and began
walking to the door.
"Scully?"
"What?"
"Thanks. Thanks for sharing your Christmas with me."
She smiled. "Anytime, Mulder." She remembered the gift
she had for Mulder and had forgotten to give to him. She opened
her mouth to tell him, but as she looked at the bed, she realized
he was already snoring lightly.
Oh, well. I'll give it to him later she thought as
she walked down the stairs to join her family for lunch. She
smiled as she descended the stairs. She realized Christmas had
been nice, even though she spent Christmas Eve and part of the
early hours a Christmas morning in an airport. It had been nice.
Her brother Bill hadn't said anything to Mulder, though she
knew it was partly because she wouldn't let him see him. She
could deal with Charlie _after_ he met Mulder. _If_ she decided
to let him. Yes, all in all is was a nice Christmas. No mutants,
just family. And Mulder. Well, she thought as she pushed
the door to kitchen open, Mulder's family, too. She
wouldn't have it any other way.
"The End"
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