Rated: PG. Certain words may induce queasiness.

Category: MT, MA, SA, UST, Story.

Timeframe: Set in Season 7.

Feedback: Good or bad, warmly received
at: patfiler2016@outlook.com

Archive: Gossamer. Anyone else, please ask before
taking.

Disclaimer: All characters and The X- Files belong to
Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen and Fox Studios. I make
no money at this little hobby and intend no copyright
infringement.




AGENT DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, DC
FRIDAY EVENING
6:00 PM


Mulder left Scully's bathroom still drying his hands,
holding a wrench and a plunger under his left arm.
"No more hair in the drain. So Scully, what're you
doing this weekend?"

Scully closed her laptop and stood from her desk. "The
usual: laundry, groceries, sleeping in. Thought I might
drop in on my Mom on Sunday. And you?"

"Well, much the same. But that can all be done tonight.
I thought maybe I'd ask a favor of you, since I did un-
clog your bathroom sink." He placed the wrench down on
her desk and smiled sheepishly. "The Gunmen are out of
town, the Y's doing repairs, so no b-ball."

Scully glared at him. "And just what is this favor? If
it's another alien hunt, forget it. I have my books."

"No, no. It's nothing like that. You like sailing,
right?"

"Yeah. I've been taken out by my father and Bill ever
since I was a kid. Why?"

"Well, uh, I was hoping , I mean I'll pay and
everything... I was hoping you might want to rent a
boat and we could go for a sail, maybe see the usual
tourist attractions."

Scully had to laugh. "Mulder, you get sea-sick! You
wouldn't get off of the pier without getting nauseous!"
Mulder took offence at that remark.

Putting his hands on his hips, he shot back: "I'll have
you know I did quite well when I was in the Bermuda
Triangle, Agent Scully!"

"Oh, you did. That's right. In a hallucination, and damn
near getting yourself killed! Mulder, you wouldn't want to
go out on a boat with me. Trust me." She went into the
kitchen, and set out two coffee mugs. "Besides, I wouldn't
want to spoil your free time away from me."

His heart sank. He sat on the couch. After a long pause
he told her the truth. "I just don't want to be alone,
okay?"

Scully stopped filling the coffee maker and approached her
partner. "Mulder, I'm sorry. I didn't realize... Come to
think of it, I don't really want to be thinking about all
that's happened at work, either. Especially that last case.
It's been absolutely crazy. I do need a break from the same-
old-same old. Where would you suggest?"

"Well, maybe the Vineyard would be nice. It's only six-ten
now. If we pack tonight I could pick you up around six in
the morning... "

"Eight," she corrected him. "I'm doing my laundry and shopping
tonight. The Vineyard sounds nice. Would you like a coffee
before you go?"

Mulder was relieved Scully was taking him up on an offer to
get away from things. "I'd love some. Thanks, Scully."

Scully put her hand on his shoulder, placing the mug on the
coffee table, then sitting beside her partner. "No problem.
Just take some Gravol before we hit the water."

***

ALDO'S MARINA
SATURDAY
12:35 PM


After they had checked into a motel, Mulder and Scully rented
a cabin cruiser complete with captain. Mulder unzipped his
navy blue windbreaker as they approached the boat.

"Weather looks great," Scully remarked. She was wearing blue
jeans, white tee shirt and a grey kangaroo jacket. "So is
this Captain Bentley a friend of yours, Mulder?"

"Never met the man. By the way, I took the Gravol."

"Thank God for that."

When they reached the boat, Mulder extended his hand. "Hi,
I'm Fox Mulder, and this is my friend, Dana Scully."

"Captain Fred Bentley, pleased to meet you. Welcome aboard.
She's all set to go." The Captain was a man in his mid-
fifties and slightly over-weight, but he seemed to be fit
to sail a cabin cruiser for a couple of hours. He took
Scully's hand as she boarded the boat.

"How long have you been doing this?" Scully inquired.

"Two years," Bentley said, as he prepared to cast off. "I
retired from the Navy."

"Scully's father was in the Navy, and so is her brother,
Bill."

"I wondered where I'd heard that name before. I served
under Bill Scully, the older one, for sixteen years, then
got transferred a couple of times. How is Captain Scully?"

Dana Scully's eyes began to mist over. "He... he passed
away five years ago." She felt Mulder's arm around her back
and drew on it for comfort.

"Sorry to hear that. He was stern but fair. Okay, we're
ready to go here. Just sit down right there, life jackets
and seatbelts are a must, and I'll start the engine."

***

They had been on the water for about three-quarters of an hour
before Mulder fished into his jacket for the Gravol."Oh, no..."

As Scully enjoyed the wind in her hair and remembered with
fondness her outings with her father, the carefree little
girls she and Melissa were back then, Mulder was feeling the
up-and-down, up-and-down motion of the waves and his face was
turning ghastly white. Scully smiled while remembering her
childhood trips and abruptly ceased smiling upon seeing
Mulder's face. "Don't tell me, let me guess... "

"Yeah," Mulder answered weakly. "Uh, Scully... " The odds
were fifty-fifty as to whether the words or his stomach
contents would come out first.

"Okay," his partner whispered, "Slow, deep breaths, and
just... just think of something nice and soothing. While
you do that, just get your Gravol out and... "

The poor man was close to heaving. "Left at motel," came out
of his mouth, and then his lunch. Overboard, thankfully. Not
only that, he noticed a graying of the sky. He pointed to the
clouds so that Scully could see his concern, while he rinsed
his mouth with bottled water. "Look."

"It's clouding over, but I don't think we'll..."

Just then, Captain Bentley shouted back to them, "Folks, we're
a little too far out to avoid what's up ahead. I just radioed
the Weather Bureau. Looks like a little thunderstorm is on the
way. Best you go into the cabin while I turn us around!"

"Oh, sh--!" Mulder exclaimed. "The sooner the better."

The two agents went down to the cabin and Mulder washed up as
Scully searched for anything that would help her partner's
stomach settle. The last thing she wanted was to see Mulder
hovering over the toilet for forty-five minutes or more. She
finally found the First Aid Kit, and there were sample strips
of Gravol tablets available. Mulder tried to grab them, but
she held them back. "I have to look for an expiry date,
Mulder!"

"I'll expire if I don't stop... " that which he was already
doing over the bowl. He stood, splashed water over his face,
and tried to stay upright.

"It's okay... it's okay, Mulder. As soon as this wave of nausea
stops, I'll give it to you. I'll look for something to wash it
down with." She opened cupboards, then the refrigerator.
"Perrier! Nothing but the best." She opened the bottle and
the pill packets and handed them to Mulder. "Okay. Small sips.
Then I want you to lie down over there. I know you're dizzy as
hell. You shouldn't be up anyway."

There was a small sitting area with a couple of couches and some
chairs. She grabbed a bucket from underneath the sink in the
galley, just in case, and sat down beside Mulder, who was quite
perturbed.

"Sorry, Scully," he weakly whispered. "I thought I would give you
a special weekend, and since you love sailing... "

"Don't be sorry. You didn't have to do all this just for me. You
don't have to prove anything to me."

The water was getting rather turbulent. The thunder was becoming
louder and closer making Mulder's head throb like a jack-hammer.
"Ugh... " He rolled over and bent over, and was thrown head-first
onto the floor, while Scully managed to hold on to her seat. She
helped him up.

"You all right, Mulder?" She examined his forehead.

"Ow! No, I'm not." Mulder cupped his hands over his forehead.

"You'll have either a nasty bruise or a bump. It's too soon to
tell."

"Oh, joy. Wait till Monday when I have to explain to Kersh... "

"Never mind. Hold on tight. We're in for a rough ride, I'm afraid.
Just take it easy and try to breath deeply, slowly and sip some
water."

Of course, after a falling light fixture glanced off of his right
shoulder blade, Mulder's mind was temporarily occupied with something
other than his stomach. "AHHHH!!! I think something cracked, Scully!
And it hurts like hell!!"

She felt his back. "I think you're right, Mulder. As soon as we get
back to the pier, you're going straight to the hospital. You may have
a fractured scapula."

The ship's awaying and tossing only exacerbated the man's pain and
nausea. It seemed if he wasn't hovering over a bucket, he was
wincing in agony. It pained Scully to see her partner in such a bad
way.

Scully carefully climbed the stairs to the deck and called out to
Bentley. "We've got a medical emergency here! Radio in for an EMS!
How much longer?"

Mulder's temples were throbbing at the sound of Scully's bellowing.
He couldn't hold his head with both hands, though. "Damn
shoulder..." he muttered.

"About ten minutes, Ms. Scully! Get back down there!" Scully went
down, put her arm around Mulder and said a silent prayer that his
nausea would just go away. "It's okay, Mulder. We're almost back
to shore."

"Uhh..." he moaned. "Hate hospitals."

"I know, I know." Her hand found his and she patted it gently, then
hung onto it. "I know. Just hang in there. You probably won't be there
long, this time."

"This time," Mulder echoed. He figured by now he had the Guiness World
Record for FBI Agent Hospital Stays. *If there wasn't such a category*,
he was thinking, *I'll suggest it to them.*

***

The ambulance was present when the boat docked. Scully managed to keep
Mulder on the deck until the paramedics eased him onto the gurney.
"Special Agent Scully, FBI. This is my partner, Special Agent Mulder.
I'll ride with you. I'm a doctor. His personal physician. Let's go,
Sailor Spooky. I can get the car later."

When they were well on their way to the hospital, Mulder reached out
for Scully's hand. "Hey."

"Hey, yourself. Wait! Don't *hey* me, G-man. You wanted to take me
sailing, you made yourself sick to prove a point or earn some points,
I really don't know which... " And how she could go on. "You don't
really need to prove anything, Mulder."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. At least I'm not sea-sick anymore."

"No, Mulder, you're not. Although you do have some injuries. You
know, once I was stuck on a crossword puzzle. I need a four letter
word for crazy, and I think it applies here."

"And what was it, Scully? Daft? Bent?"

"Let's just say, I think you're still a bit asea."


END