Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998

THE SICK DAY

SUMMARY: When Mulder arrives to work sick one say, he has to set about
proving to Scully he's fit enough to work even though his actions prove otherwise.

RATING: ??? Humour/Muldertorture

WRITTEN BY: Sarah Prior E-MAIL: sa.prior@rocketmail.com

Scully unlocked the office door and stepped inside. She looked around
and realised how strange it was that Mulder wasn't there first. He
usually was, but she then remembered they had had an argument last night. He was probably toying with her just to annoy her, she decided.

Scully sat down at her desk and began to read a case file that Skinner had handed to her the day before. Yesterday, with all the turmoil of their last case, she hadn't even set about looking at the case file yet. As Mulder hadn't yet arrived she decided to read up and maybe try some solo investigating.

Suddenly the door was flung open, and Mulder entered clutching a can of diet cola. Without a word, he sat down at his desk and began gulping down the drink.

He looked tired and feverish, Scully noted. She smiled at him and he smiled back, trying hard not to let on the way he felt, inside he felt.

In truth he felt sick. And dizzy. And his head ached so much he thought he was going to pass out. Carefully placing the can of cola on the desk, Mulder pretended to read a case file. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Scully was still staring at him intently. Finally he looked up.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering why you bothered to come in today," she replied.

"What do you mean?" he asked, playing the fool. In reply Scully gave him her usual 'stop fooling around' look. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then hesitated.

"What?" he asked again.

"Mulder, you're sick. You might as well go home," she said, shutting the case
file that lay on the desk in front of her.

"I'm fine," he replied flatly.

Scully darted an annoyed look in his direction. "How many times have you said those words in your life, Mulder?" she asked.

"Never counted," he said, smiling.

"I have," Scully answered. She was definitely not smiling.

"Look, I am fine. I just got up late, that's all." Scully stood up and walked toward him to place her hand on his forehead.

"Fine?" she questioned, feeling the heat of his skin under her hand.

"I walked to work," Mulder explained. Scully nodded, then pointed to the case file Mulder had been pretending to read.

"Didn't know you could read upside down, Mulder," she remarked as she reached out to turn it around so that it faced him. He gave her an embarrased smile but no explanation. Scully sat on the corner of the desk, eyeing her partner with some concern. "Mulder, maybe you should let me take your temperature."

He shook his head. "No, I'm here to finish some work, just like you." He glanced up at her as he read the now right-side-up file. "You're blocking my light," he said pointedly. Scully stood up and let the light from his lamp brighten the desk. "Thankyou," he said without looking up from reading the case file in front of him.

Scully walked over to her desk and sat down. She was angry with Mulder. Why did he go out of his way to prove that he can live with anything? Did it really mean so much to him that he would have to lie? And what would it prove; that he was a big strong man?

Suddenly she found herself blurting out that question. "Why do you lie, Mulder?"

His head snapped up, and he stared at her warily. "About what?" he asked cautiously.

"Being sick," she replied. "It's obvious that you're not telling the truth. Do you think you're a big, tough man if nothing like being sick gets you down?" Even as she spoke, she was already feeling guilty over her last words.

Mulder just shook his head. "No, I just don't want you to worry about me." He returned his attention to the file before him, looking down at his desk. He felt a little hurt by Scully's words, but letting her know would only make her feel more guilty. And she already felt guilty; he knew when she felt guilty because her tone and her look always gave it away.

But she didn't feel more guilty than angry, evidently. Scully stood up abruptly. "Fine, Mulder, then I won't worry about you. In fact, I'm going to see Skinner," she snapped.

As she stormed out of the office, Mulder sat back in his chair and sighed. Now he was never going to escape. Scully was going to tell Skinner he was sick. Skinner would now hassle him all day in addition to Scully. Mulder wished he'd never bothered attending work. But if he had called in sick, Scully would just have gone to his apartment and hassled him there. Would he ever be able to be sick without anyone noticing?.

SKINNERS OFFICE
9:11AM

"He's in a meeting," the secretary informed her with a smile.

"I'll wait" Scully snapped. Sitting down on the couch, she crossed one slender leg over the other and folder her arms.

"Hows your partner?" the secretary asked cheerfully. A little too cheerfully, Scully decided.

"Mulder? He's fine," Scully said, smiling back. Something in her smile made the secretary look twice.

"I'll just buzz him for you," she said, pushing a button on the phone.

Skinner's voice came back. "Yeah?" he said.

"Agent Scully is here to see you," the secretary informed him, eyeing Scully warily.

"Okay," Skinner replied. The young woman took her hand away from the phone and sat back in her chair, sighing in relief as Skinner's door opened. Two agents walked out and passed them, heading for the door. Skinner followed and moved to stand in front of Scully.

"What is it, Scully?" he asked.

"I need to speak with you in private," she said, smiling pointedly at the secretary.

Skinner nodded. "Come right in," he said, walking in to the office, carefully shutting the door behind them. "Take a seat," he offered as he sat down at his desk. Scully accepted her usual seat in front of him.

"What's on your mind?" he asked, noting the anxious look on her face.

"It's Mulder," she replied flatly.

"What's he done now?" Skinner asked with no great enthusiasm.

"Nothing. He's just sick, and he won't go home, sir." Scully could see Skinner loosening up. With her official approach, she guessed he thought it was something more serious.

He smiled at her tolerantly. "Mulder is an adult, Scully. You can't make him go home if he doesn't want to."

"But sir," he has a pretty high fever," she protested, "And he looks really miserable," she added, trying to make Mulder seem much worse.

Skinner looked at her for a moment, considering her message. "Okay, I'll go down and have a word with him."

"Thank you, sir," Scully replied, standing up to leave. Skinner stood up and walked towards the door with her.

"I'll be down soon," he assured her, opening the door and letting her out.

MULDERS OFFICE

"Tell him?" Mulder asked as soon as she stepped through the door. He was obviously quite annoyed. Scully sighed.

"Yes Mulder, I did," she said, walking towards him.

"I can look after myself," Mulder informed her, giving Scully a dirty look he stood up. He instantly wished he hadn't as he almost passed out. Luckily, Scully was there to catch him and ease him to the floor. To make matters worse, Skinner chose exactly that moment to walk in and catch sight of Mulder lying on the floor in Scully's arms. Skinner walked toward them and stared down at this agents on the floor.

Mulder looked more than slightly embarrased. With all possible speed, he managed to get himself onto the chair, mercifully without Scully's help. Hiding his embarassment, Mulder began brushing the dust from his suit.

Scully stood up and knelt beside him. And you're okay," she noted cynically before feeling his forehead again. Her fingers informed her that her partner was not getting any cooler; if anything, he was getting worse.

"What happenedd?" Skinner asked, seing the worried look on Scullys face.

"He almost passed out," she said, her tone clearly worried.

"Maybe it would be a good idea if you went home, Mulder," Skinner said,
looking down at Mulder. Mulder gave him a dirty look and stood up a little more slowly this time. He hated being treated this way, but the Assistant Director had spoken.

"Okay," Mulder replied, walking slowly towards the office door.

"You're going to go?" Scully asked, shocked.

"Yup. Right after work," he said, forcing a grin.

Scully grabbed his arm firmly. "No Mulder, I'll take you home now and make sure you're okay. Or we can go to the ER and get you checked out down there." The threat was obvious.

"I don't need to be checked out anywhere," he protested angrily, glaring at Scully. Scully pulled back, releasing his arm. She looked hurt at his words, not to mention the glare he'd just scorched her with. He looked at her guiltily and smiled. "I'll be fine once I hit the fresh air," he assured her, rubbing her shoulder.

Scully looked up at him, meeting his gaze. "Whatever. Play it your way." She tried not to sound harsh. She didn't want Mulder storming off somewhere; she wanted to keep it sweet so he was in her sight all day.

The exchange was not lost on Skinner, and he smiled at Scully. "Call me if you need anything," he said to Scully as he walked out of the door.

Once the A.D. was safely out of their office, Mulder stormed over to his desk and slumped down, but not before handing Scully another dirty look. Scully noted it, but she decided not to give Mulder any reaction. Instead, she sat down at her non-desk and began typing with great concentration on her lap top. From time to time she glanced over at Mulder who was busily reading through a case file. He managed to catch several of her stolen glances, though.

"Is there any particular reason you'er staring at me?" he asked, keeping his
finger on the sentence he was reading.

"I didn't realise I was," she shot back hastily.

Mulder nodded and returned to the sentence he'd been reading -- or trying to read for the past ten minutes. She was really annoying him. By now, he wanted to get up and go some place, but he admitted to himself that maybe he shouldn't be alone, not after what had happened between him and the floor recently. Mulder closed the case report after the last case and sat back in his chair.

"Sorry," he offered softly into the silence between them. Scully looked at him in surprise.

"For what?" She asked, amused.

He smiled back. "For being such a jackass," he replied.

"You're no jackass, Mulder," Scully answered, closing the screen on her lap top.

"Never lie to me, Scully," he scolded. Smiling at her, he stood up and yet again he found himself on the floor feeling dizzy and hot. He looked up to find Scully hovering over him anxiously.

"Can you hear me?" she asked loudly. Mulder nodded and tried to shake the
dizziness from his head, but it didn't work. In fact, motion only made it worse. Mulder carefully sat up and instantly regretted it as his head protested, but he wasn't gonna let this thing get him down. Scully helped him to sit against the filing cabinet while she got him some water from down the hall. While she was gone, he tried to get himself onto the chair. It was a brave effort, but he couldn't. The chair was just too high and too vertical for his dizzy head to manage.

"Stay still, Mulder," she ordered gently, handing him the water. Mulder drank it slowly and handed her the empty glass.

"I think I should call an amubulance," Scully informed him, feeling his hot forehead.

"No, I don't need one," he said, finally managing to climb onto the Mount Everest of chairs. Scully noticed his effort as she put her arm around him.

"Mulder, I'm doing it for your safety."

"I know. But I don't want a fuss, Scully. I'll just sit here quietly and finish this case file." He attempted a reassuring smile. Scully smiled back uneasily and sat back down in her chair.

"I know what your thinking," he said, seing the worried look on her face.

"I doubt it. I'm thinking you're being childish," she snapped, her words quite loud in their small office. "You're letting your macho pride stop you from getting the medical treatment you need, Mulder," she added hastily as he stared at her.

"I feel fine now. Besides, I have no macho exterior, Scully," he teased, trying to annoy her, trying to distract her, but his humor only made matters worse.

"Fine, Mulder. You go ahead and crash out on the office floor. Maybe a good
knock on the head will knock your senses back into place. Then maybe -- just maybe -- you can think more rationally," she snapped.

Mulder decided it wouldn't be wise to argue with her anymore. Instead he took the time to try to think of something to say to apologise to her. It wasn't easy with his headache. It took time to think between the pounding. An hour had passed before Mulder decided to speak to her and offer his brilliant apology.

"Sorry," he said. It wasn't his most eloquent apology, but Scully looked up and smiled.

"I was waiting for that," she said.

"It's just that I hate a fuss," Mulder explained softly, closing the case file that was on the desk in front of him. That had been on the desk in front of him all day.

"Work is almost over," she informed him.

"I know. Now I'll take your advice," he said, offering a small smile. She smiled back.

"Good," she said.

THE END
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