Title: A Midwinter Day's Nightmare
Author: Dana Katherine Scully
Category: Crossover between XF/Shakespeare's "Midsummer
Night's Dream", Mulder/Scully romance
Spoilers: Mild "Field Trip," not much else that I can
think of
Description: When a three year old William finds the
mysterious love flower from the famous Midsummer Night's
Dream, he finds a million ways to make his parents' lives
miserable. Caution: You will not understand this story at
all if you haven't read Midsummer Night's Dream.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine at
all! They belong to the Bard and 1013. No copyright
infringement intended.
"A Midwinter Day's Nightmare"
Dana Katherine Scully stood in the doorway to her living
room, hands on her hips, as she surveyed the lovely pile of
toys and something that stunk sitting smack dab in the
middle of her white carpet. "William Scully you get in here
right now!" she called, her voice betraying her
exasperation.
Within seconds, a little tuft of red hair poked around the
corner of the wall. "Yes Mommy?" the little voice pleaded
sweetly.
But Special Agent Scully was not to be dissuaded. "Who made
this mess William?" she asked firmly.
"William did," said William, pointing a pudgy finger at his
chest. "But William very sorry," he continued, "And William
never do it again." He nodded emphatically for emphasis.
"Come in here and pick it up please," Scully said, her eyes
softening.
"But Mommy..." William whined.
"No buts William," she stated firmly. "You need to learn to
pick up after yourself."
William's little lip trembled. His eyes filled with tears.
"Mommy, I can't," he whined.
"Why not?" Scully asked, trying hard not to give him an
inch.
"Because my leg hurts," he stated, suddenly doubling over
and grasping it. "Ow, ow Mommy!"
Scully walked over and kissed his knee. "There. All better.
Now pick up your toys."
William looked heart broken, but he went into the room and
began the task that every three-year-old dreads: cleaning
up. Scully smiled wanly, and walked back into her bedroom to
get ready for work. Meanwhile, William had other plans.
Fox Mulder met Mrs. Scully at her daughter's door. He smiled
at her, and she asked, "How are you this morning Fox?"
Mulder thought, Well, my bed fell in last night, my roof
started leaking, my fish died, and now I get to baby-sit for
the little terror, who is likely my son and needs a father
but doesn't even call me Daddy! Of course Scully's never let
him get DNA testing for paternity, oh no, even though he
might be my child she doesn't want him to endure all the
poking! All in all I'm great thanks! Instead he said, "I'm
fine, thank you."
Mrs. Scully smiled again, then knocked for the third time.
"Dana?" she called.
There was a cry from inside; "One second Mom!"
She and Mulder stood at the door for another few minutes
before Scully opened the door.
Mulder was always a little shocked when he saw her these
days. She was no longer the nicely polished woman he had
known. She had the glow of motherhood about her, yet somehow
the scraggly hair and bags under her eyes made her look
somewhat......haggard. Oh well. She was his Scully, and her
baby, as much as he complained, was as much his as if he
knew he was the father.
"Hi," she breathed, looking rather hurried. Then she saw
Mulder. "Mulder what are you doing here?"
He smiled. "I came to tell you that one, I have a job, and
two, Agent Doggett just called and gave you the day off
because the decision from OPR about Agent Reyes 'misconduct'
hasn't yet been rendered, and until it is the X-Files is
closed, so I decided to spend the day with you guys."
Scully nodded. "Okay......" She gestured them inside.
"Anyway, what about this job?" she asked Mulder as she
closed the door behind him.
Mulder smiled. "You're not going to believe me, but I'm now
an employee of the Georgetown Memorial Hospital Psychiatric
Ward. They were a little reluctant to hire me because I've
been a patient there and just earned my M.D. this year, but
they said I was the best they could come up with."
Scully smiled encouragingly. "That's great Mulder," she
said, while washing William's breakfast bowl. "Thank God
I've got the day off," she said. "I might be able to
partially restore order around here."
Mulder took the unfinished bowl from her hands. "Scully you
need some rest," he said. "Go lie down for a while, I'll
clean the kitchen."
Scully's eyes betrayed her gratitude, but she wouldn't hand
him control until she was SURE he was alright with it.
"Mulder are you sure?" she asked, hoping that yes, he was
quite sure thank you.
"Yep," he said, already filling the sink with water and
suds.
"Thank you," Scully whispered in his ear. Her arms came up
around his waste, and she planted a small kiss on his cheek,
standing on tip toe to do so. He turned his head to catch
her lips, but she was already shuffling off to her bedroom.
He smiled, dismissed Scully's mother from baby duty, then
returned to washing the dishes.
An hour later...
Mulder heard the door to Scully's bedroom creak open while
he was "de-gooing" the rug.
"Hey Scully," he said as he scrubbed the Goo Gone into the
rug. When she didn't reply he looked up and saw that William
was the one who had just emerged from the bedroom. "Oh hey
buddy!" he began. "Whatcha got there?" he asked when he saw
the flower in William's little hand.
"Flower for Mommy," he stated matter-of-factly.
Mulder nodded. What a gentleman, he thought, chuckling.
Wait a minute... "William why didn't you give her the
flower?" he asked.
William walked over to the man he knew as Mulder. "She made
me clean up the mess," he explained, defiantly crossing his
arms across his chest. "I put stuff on her eyes," he said.
At Mulder's alarmed expression he tried to justify his
actions: "She puts stuff on her eyes every morning."
Mulder looked slightly confused. "What stuff did you put on
her eyes?" he asked, getting worried.
"This stuff." William elaborated by squeezing a little bit
of juice from the flower onto the spot Mulder had just
cleaned.
"Oh no William!!" Mulder yelled, frustrated. Then hearing
Scully stir (and William start to cry) and quieted his
voice.
"William I just cleaned that rug!" he whisper-yelled.
William sobbed. "But Daddy!" he sniffled.
Mulder stopped dead on his way to the kitchen. "Wh-what?" he
stuttered.
William kept sobbing. "Daddy I didn't know!!!"
Before Mulder could continue his interrogation, there was a
knock on the door.
Well, more like a pound.
"Agent Scully!" called Agent Doggett from the hallway.
"Agent Scully!"
Mulder quickly ran to get the door, but the damage was done.
Scully walk-stumbled to the door, eyes still closed
sleepily, and without even a glance at Mulder, she opened
the door and her eyes, still sticky with the flower juice.
"But soft! Before my eyes hast my true love appeared!"
Scully's soft blue eyes seemed to drink in the sight of
Agent Doggett. Mulder was slightly confused.
"Okay Scully, come on it's not funny." He tried to make a
weird face and make her laugh, but when he tried to look her
in the eye, she ran to Agent Doggett.
Agent Doggett seemed just as confused as Mulder. "Wait a
minute. Agent Scully..."
"Oh spite! Oh hell!" Scully cried. "Only shalt my surname be
spilt from mine true love's tongue! My name, fair John,
spoken from thy lips, shalt be to me as delicious as the
summer rain to the cowslips! My name..." she gushed.
"Now that's enough Agent Scully," Doggett said, but Scully
winced as if in pain at his "Agent Scully."
"Dana," he began, more gently. "Agent Mulder's getting a
little antsy over there..." Doggett would have continued,
but he saw that past "Dana," Agent Scully hadn't heard a
word.
Meanwhile, Mulder was getting REALLY antsy. "Scully, how
long has this been going on?" he asked through gritted
teeth.
For the first time since Scully had seen Doggett, she turned
to Mulder. "Since time, and yet not. Since life hath made
itself known to me have I loved my John, and only before
life's first breath did I run with you. Therefore, bootless
excuse for a man, be gone with you!" She made a sweeping
gesture with her hand, as if to shoo him away, but Mulder
refused to be shooed.
Doggett piped in, "Agent Mulder if there's something goin'
on here I had no idea."
"Alright Scully look. I don't know what's wrong with you,
but I hope you see what you're throwing away here." Vaguely
he registered William escaping into the hallway with a new
flower, but he wasn't really paying attention.
Agent Doggett, who was getting more and more confused by the
minute, suddenly felt Agent Scully's hand massaging his
neck, and jumped away. "Now look here Dana. This is getting
ridiculous. I just came to tell you that OPR suspended Agent
Reyes indefinitely."
Mulder's face fell; his X-Files were in danger again. "How
is Agent Reyes?" he asked, trying to change the subject to
help him resist the primal urge to strangle Scully.
"She's scared," Doggett said bluntly. "She really needs the
job, and her specialty is rather limiting."
Mulder nodded, his anger at the current situation flaring up
again. "How long have you been seeing Agent Scully?"
Doggett looked up at Mulder sharply, as if his head was
jerked up by a rope attached to Mulder's words. "What?!" he
asked incredulously.
"How long have you been seeing Agent Scully?" he asked
again, more slowly.
"Agent Mulder my relationship with Agent Scully is strictly
professional," Doggett said, voice bordering on awed.
"Bullshit!" Mulder exploded. Scully looked stunned, and
Mulder turned to her, appealing to her. "I heard those same
words from my own mouth the day I fell in love with you!"
Scully seemed unmoved by Mulder's tirade, but Agent Doggett
had started to suspect that this was no joke. "Agent Scully,
I have to ask, what brought on this sudden change of heart?"
"Thou asks the impossible; the reasons for my devotion are
innumerable and beyond elaboration. My kiss bestow'd upon
thine lips will prove the only explanation." She reached up
to kiss him, but he pulled away.
"Agent Scully this is too weird."
"'Too weird, too weird' laments my love; this mystery of
true devotion beyond thy comprehension? This love burning in
my breast; methinks it cannot be false! Hark! The flames
crackle and pop! Hear the beatings of mine heart against
thine own!" Scully passionately drew Doggett to her chest.
She was a petite woman, but he was amazed at the fact that
it took considerable exertion on his part to extricate
himself from her grip.
"Agent Scully I hope you can get your act together," he
gasped, finally out of her grasp. In his rush to get away,
he tripped over his legs and, hitting his head against the
floor, he fell unconscious.
Scully practically threw herself onto him, sobbing
hysterically. Mulder saw now that this was no joke;
something weird had happened to her. He also saw that Agent
Doggett was as confused as he, and that William's flower
had....wait a minute. Where was William?
"William!!" Mulder cried, running back into the house.
"William!!"
As he frantically searched Scully's apartment for her son,
Mulder came across a vase full of the purple flowers William
had used on Scully's eyes. He made a mental note to have
them analyzed, but William still hadn't been found.
When he came back out to the hallway to inform Scully that
her son was missing, she found her playing with him, flower
in his hand. "Thou art my most precious gem," she cooed to
William, who laughed and said, "Mommy talks funny."
Mulder grabbed William from his mother's arms, put him down
on the floor, and squatted down to just above his level. "Do
you have any idea what you just put me through?!" he
scolded, eyes starting to tear. "Do you know?!"
William began to cry. "D-d-d-daddy!!" he sobbed. "I didn't
m-m-mean to!"
Mulder stopped dead again. "William what did you just call
me?" he asked, very slowly.
William looked up at Mulder, relieved that he might not have
to be scolded. And in that moment, Mulder realized that he
was looking into his own eyes. "William did you call me
'Daddy?'" Mulder asked gently, his eyes full of tears.
William nodded slowly. Mulder's tears spilled over, and he
hugged the boy close to him. "I hope so buddy," he said,
smiling as he felt William's little arms around his neck.
Just as Mulder was starting to ignore Scully, she began
wailing over Agent Doggett's unconscious state. Mulder
picked William up and carried the boy to his mother. He
intended to teach William a lesson about playing with
chemicals he knew nothing about, but he noticed that Agent
Doggett's eyes had already been sloppily anointed with he
flower's juice, and he knew of no antidote.
As he prepared to take William inside, he heard someone's
footsteps in the hallway. Within seconds, Agent Reyes came
into view.
"Agent Mulder! It's nice to see you," she said, although
Mulder could see right through her facade and she knew it.
Then she saw Scully sobbing over Agent Doggett.
Agent Reyes immediately rushed over to Agent Doggett,
checking vital signs and informing Agent Mulder that she had
never seen Agent Scully in quite such a condition herself.
Should they call an ambulance? No? Okay........
"Agent Scully, are you alright?" Reyes asked, keeping on her
investigator voice.
"How canst thou ask such a question? My love lays injured
and thou inquireth after my health!? How darest thou!?"
At Agent Reyes's startled look, Mulder explained, "William
put some stuff on her eyes. She fell in love with Doggett
and started talking like Shakespeare." Mulder tried to make
his explanation non-chalant, but Reyes could hear the worry
in his voice.
"Agent Mulder this may sound rather foolish, but did you
ever read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream?'" Agent Reyes asked.
William piped up, "Mommy wead [read] that to me. It was the
kid vewjin [version]." He nodded all-knowingly. "I'm like
Puck," he continued. "I use flowers for ev-wee-one
[everyone]."
Reyes's face started to register comprehension. Then she
went over to Doggett's side and gently shook him awake.
"John!" she said.
His eyes opened slowly, and finally Reyes's face came into
focus. "My dearest love, what angel art thou? The raven's
wing could not compare to thine hair, nor thy glorious dark
eyes! Thou must be as wise as thou art lovely, and thou art
more fair than Diana herself!"
William giggled. "He talks funny too!"
Mulder's face registered shock. Agent Reyes just laughed.
"John, you're a nice guy, but I don't think you've got the
right girl."
Special Agent John Doggett was stabbed to the core. "My love
hast forsaken me? Oh woe is me!!! O but mine eye could see
another; oh but thy sweet self should be mine!"
"My love, do not see another!" Scully piped in, her face
also falling. "Look to me my John, see my devotion! That
which she cannot offer can be yours from mine own heart! Thy
face...."
"Never shall I love you!" Doggett declared, jumping wildly
to his feet. "Never shalt I bestow my love upon your
crippled soul!"
Mulder stepped in before Doggett tried to slit a weeping
Scully's throat. "Knock it off!" he shouted. William covered
his ears. "I don't want to hear a word out of either of
you!"
Doggett and Scully shut right up, and Mulder escorted
everyone inside due to the rather curious glances of
Scully's neighbors. After sitting Doggett and Scully down in
separate rooms, and putting William in bed for his nap
(which he was NOT too happy about), Mulder sat down with
Reyes at the kitchen table. They quietly discussed the
decision from OPR over lemonade.
"Suspension?" asked Mulder.
"Indefinite, without pay," Reyes replied, downcast. "I need
this job. I'm helping my sister put her son through
college."
"How old's your sister?"
"She's 34. Her son was born when she was 14."
Mulder's jaw dropped. "Fourteen?!"
"Fourteen," she repeated, then yawned.
Mulder silently prayed that that would NEVER happen to his
daughter (if he had one). Then he asked, "Would you like to
lie down?"
She looked at him gratefully. "Please. I'm exhausted."
Mulder nodded, then got up and beckoned for her to follow
him. "We converted the guest room into a bedroom for William
when he outgrew the bassinet, but you can still sleep in
there. Just please let him nap okay?"
"No problem here," Reyes replied, yawning again.
Mulder smiled as he opened the door to William's room,
revealing a dark room with Winnie the Pooh wallpaper and a
double bed that was never removed from the room. The night
light in the corner illuminated the room with a soft yellow
glow. William, lying in his navy blue crib, was sleeping
soundly, his little chest rising and falling. "He's
beautiful Mulder. Really," whispered Agent Reyes. "And what
wonderful parents he has," she added, seemingly to herself.
Mulder shrugged, shaking off the very fatherly urge to brag
about how smart and funny his little William was. "Well, you
can lay down right there," he whispered, indicating the "big
person" bed.
Agent Reyes nodded to him gratefully, then went into the
room. Mulder smiled back, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Don't worry Mulder. Dana will be fine."
Mulder nodded, although he didn't believe her. "Have a nice
rest," he said.
Meanwhile...
Scully had snuck into John Doggett's room while Mulder
wasn't looking, and the two were at present engaged in a
passionate....argument.
"Hast thou gone mad?!" Scully asked, her newly acquired
British accent showing that her "illness" was progressing.
"Thou canst not understand that thy infatuation with love's
very opposite will yet become boredom and despair! Thou
canst not want such!"
"But thou canst not see beyond thine own rose-painted
sphere, for thine own love should prove murder to those
fools that receive it!" Agent Doggett hadn't quite yet
developed the English accent, but he was getting close. He
pronounced his vowels like a Brit.
"O how canst my love be more stubborn? A mule, a crude and
soiled mule could not compare to thy stubbornness!"
"Thou hypocrite!" proclaimed Doggett loudly. "Thou
professeth true love yet thou snear'st in true love's face,
and love call false!"
Mulder burst in and whisper-yelled, "The baby is sleeping!
Not a word out of either of you. Scully get back in your
room!!"
Scully walked over to him from Doggett's side, spat in his
face, and went back to her room.
Mulder's face fell. He had still harbored some hope that the
mention of Scully's baby might bring her around, but there
was no hope for her. As he wiped the spit off his face, he
decided to make himself some tea.
Just as he was sitting down to drink it, he heard "Daddy!"
Apparently the little terror wasn't going to be napping
today. Mulder hoped his cries hadn't awakened Agent Reyes;
she looked like she needed a nap. He got up, sighed, then
walked down to the bedroom.
He got in there and picked William up from his crib. "Hey
buddy!" he whispered. William giggled, dropping the flower
in his hands back into the crib before Mulder could notice
it.
Behind Mulder, Agent Reyes sat up in bed, saw Mulder, and
jumped up. "Wilst thou turn and allow me thy face to look
upon?"
"Oh damn," Mulder said, slowly turning to her. "Agent
Reyes..."
"O but thy lips should speak my true name! I know not why
true love should take the form of so impersonal a name.
Please good sir, call me by the name Monica."
"Agent Reyes, don't start with me," Mulder admonished as he
closed the door.
Right after the click of the door shutting, Mulder heard a
wail from inside. "Dear God," he sighed. William giggled.
Several Hours Later
A pounding on the door woke Mulder from his nap on the
couch. He started awake and immediately searched for
William. After realizing that William had finally fallen
asleep (on top of Daddy of course), Mulder gently stood up,
cradling his son against his chest. Then he swiped both eyes
with the back of his hand, and discovering no sticky
substance, decided that maybe Skinner's yelling meant that
he'd better get the door.
"Shhhhh!" he admonished as he opened the door, pointing at
the sleeping three-year-old in his arms.
Skinner nodded, and stepped inside. "I sent Agent Doggett
over here to speak to Agent Scully," he whispered, sounding
slightly confused. "Where are they?"
Mulder looked at Skinner pointedly, then whispered, "I
suppose you'll find out sooner or later." He then proceeded
to explain the events of the morning, on through now (4:00
in the afternoon) and describe everyone's.....condition.
"Scully's gone completely," Mulder said first, referring to
her new Julie Andrews-esque accent and Shakespearean speech
pattern, and also her incessant wailing, which had lulled
momentarily while she slept; sheer exhaustion from the
morning's exertions overcoming her completely.
"Agent Doggett's not far from Agent Scully," Mulder
continued. He hadn't started moaning yet.
"And Agent Reyes has just recently developed the British
accent," he finished.
Skinner was having a terrible time keeping from laughing.
"You mean to tell me," he began, voice still professional
but cracking, "that Agent Scully's three year old has
suddenly become Puck the Mischief Maker and has proceeded to
destroy everything you hold sacred?"
Mulder simply stared at him, and repeated a line he'd used
on Scully years ago; "It sounds like shit when you say it."
Skinner was trying very hard to keep a straight face, but
his facade was weakly constructed, and finally crumbled.
"Mulder, you're crazy," Skinner said, a grin still trying to
break onto his face.
Finally Mulder cracked. It was just too humiliating. "Would
you stop disbelieving and at least see for yourself?!" he
yelled at the top of his lungs. William awoke with a start
and started to wail, which woke Scully, Doggett, and Reyes,
and the house became a cacophonous mad house of wails and
cries. The cries of the Shakespeare-overtaken adults (and
little William) were enough to wake the dead.
Skinner didn't need to pretend not to be laughing anymore.
In fact he had an expression of horrified wonder on his
face. He stood there with his hands over his ears just
staring. With *that* look.
"You see what I'm saying?" said Mulder, as three alien
British voices clamored for each other. Mulder's morbid side
kicked in, and he could barely keep from laughing at
Skinner's expression. "What the HELL are you going to do?!"
shouted Skinner above the din.
"Well, rationality seems to have had little affect," Mulder
imparted to Skinner. "Therefore my approach will now center
around a less rational thought; inspire jealousy and have
them all duel to the death."
Skinner's horrified expression told Mulder his crack hadn't
had the desired affect. In fact Skinner hadn't realized it
was a joke at all. "Mulder I hardly think that's the
solution to the problem," Skinner shouted back.
Mulder nodded, turning his attention to the boy in his arms.
"Hey Buddy," he whispered in William's ear. The toddler was
upset by the noise, but he seemed to relax when he heard his
Daddy's voice. Mulder saw the effect it had on the boy and
continued to whisper to him; whispering nothing that really
meant anything, as parents do to children. He calmed down,
but William was beginning to miss his Mommy.
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!!!" Mulder screamed at the top of his
lungs.
For one sacred moment, the house was silent. Then Scully
started to whimper, Doggett began pleading for Agent Reyes,
and Reyes couldn't contain her rather comical Shakespearean
insults. "Milk-liver!" she would cry. "Loveless coward!"
Then she would break down into tears, apparently still
pining away for Mulder.
"This is ridiculous," Mulder said. "Sir, I'm sorry but I
can't deal with this anymore. I'm gonna take William out to
Mickey-Ds for a while. Keep an eye on things, will you?"
With that, Mulder left and headed out to his new SUV (he'd
bought it when William was born.)
Skinner simply stood in the middle of the living room for a
moment, then wearily sat down on the couch. As he lay back
and tried to block out the yelling, he noticed that one
voice had stopped. That voice was Agent Scully's.
Remembering from several years ago when he'd been in
Scully's apartment, Skinner knew where her bedroom was. He
ventured in, and found her fast asleep on the bed. Her
eyelids were giving off a very faint pink glow, and her hair
seemed to have grown 3 feet. It was now down to about her
hips, and brilliantly gleaming in the sunlight from her
window. Skinner walked over to the bed and whispered to her.
"Agent Scully?"
She rolled over in her sleep, but did not open her eyes.
"Agent Scully!" he whispered again, a little louder. This
time she moaned a little but didn't awake. Why he was trying
to wake her he couldn't say, but he was slightly
disconcerted by the rapid growth of her hair and thought
maybe it was a new stage in this odd transformation they all
seemed to be undergoing. Apparently Mulder's
investigative/observatory skills were getting rusty; he
hadn't reported any kind of transitional phases.
He got very close to her ear, and then whisper-yelled "Agent
Scully!!"
She awoke with a start, and immediately saw Skinner. "Who
dare'st waken me?!"
Skinner was a bit shocked, even after Mulder's warnings.
"Agent Scully this is ridiculous," he began.
Scully cut in. "And who are you, sir, to judge true love and
deem it 'ridiculous'? Are you a heavenly deity? No, I
suppose not."
"Nobody said anything about love, Agent Scully."
She stared coldly at him. "Then I be deaf." With that, she
lay down and immediately fell back into sleep.
Skinner left her room and puzzled over the problem at hand.
What could prove an antidote for this certain illness? A
different flower's juice? Well, what was the opposite of the
flower William had painted their eyes with? He knew that it
was purple, so maybe a red flower, one part of purple, would
prove to be an antidote. He began to search her house for a
red flower.
Skinner found the vase containing the flower William had
used. Interspersed with William's purple irises' were red
lilies. He pulled one from the flower arrangement and
decided to call Mulder before testing his theory on any of
the afflicted persons.
Using his cell phone, Skinner dialed Mulder's. He noticed
that everyone had fallen into the same comatose-like state
as Agent Scully, which made using the phone much easier.
Mulder answered his cell phone with a gruff, "Mulder."
"Mulder it's Skinner. I think I found an antidote."
Skinner could almost hear Mulder's mind working. "We'll be
right there," Mulder replied after a moment.
A few minutes later......
Skinner applied the red flower juice to Scully's eyes, then
stood back. Mulder stood behind Skinner, holding William.
Scully stirred, then awoke. Her eyes settled on Skinner.
Then, "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
William started to cry, Skinner jumped two feet into the
air, and Scully scurried from the bed and tried to get as
far away from Skinner as possible. She shook with fear. "Get
away from me!!"
Mulder thought Hey, at least she's talking normally.
"Scully, it's alright, it's just Skinner." He walked towards
her slowly, William now slightly more calm.
"Mulder he's trying to kill me!" she whispered to him,
clutching her clothing fretfully in clenched fists.
"Scully he's not trying to kill you; he's trying to help
you!" Mulder was thoroughly annoyed. This business was
getting out of hand. "Scully this is ridiculous!"
He marched out of the room, Skinner close on his heels. The
door was shut, and all seemed well for a moment. Mulder
stood in the middle of the hallway that Scully's room opened
onto, balancing William on his hip. Then it hit him.
Ten Minutes later.....
Mulder stood beside Scully's bed as she again slept. Agent
Doggett, who had been dragged by both Mulder and Skinner,
stood next to him, looking very confused. Doggett held the
red flower Skinner had just applied to Scully's eyes.
"Now John, this is a magic flower," Mulder explained
carefully. "It will make Scully not like you anymore. But,
YOU have to be the one to apply it. Okay?"
Doggett nodded warily. "How shall I see to the task?" he
asked.
Mulder told him how to apply the flower, and he did.
Scully's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around the
room. "Mulder? Whuh....wait. Agent Doggett what are you
doing here? And Skinner, sir, what's going on?"
Mulder breathed a deep sigh of relief, and Agent Doggett
huffed, "'Tis a good riddance!" and left the room. Skinner
was relieved, and said, "Glad to have you back Agent
Scully." He then left to have Reyes fix Doggett.
After everyone had left, Mulder sat down beside Scully on
her bed, his head in his hands. He was so relieved that
tears were coming to his eyes, and little William was so
happy that his Mommy was all better that he ran over, sat in
her lap, kissed her, then promptly fell asleep. "Mulder,
what was that all about?" asked Scully, bewildered.
Mulder smiled, his tears dissipating. As he placed a sound
kiss on her lips and played with her new long hair he
whispered, "Long story."
X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*X*
Je finis! Feedback greatly appreciated:
Dana_Katherine_Scully64@yahoo.com
Author: Dana Katherine Scully
Category: Crossover between XF/Shakespeare's "Midsummer
Night's Dream", Mulder/Scully romance
Spoilers: Mild "Field Trip," not much else that I can
think of
Description: When a three year old William finds the
mysterious love flower from the famous Midsummer Night's
Dream, he finds a million ways to make his parents' lives
miserable. Caution: You will not understand this story at
all if you haven't read Midsummer Night's Dream.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not mine at
all! They belong to the Bard and 1013. No copyright
infringement intended.
"A Midwinter Day's Nightmare"
Dana Katherine Scully stood in the doorway to her living
room, hands on her hips, as she surveyed the lovely pile of
toys and something that stunk sitting smack dab in the
middle of her white carpet. "William Scully you get in here
right now!" she called, her voice betraying her
exasperation.
Within seconds, a little tuft of red hair poked around the
corner of the wall. "Yes Mommy?" the little voice pleaded
sweetly.
But Special Agent Scully was not to be dissuaded. "Who made
this mess William?" she asked firmly.
"William did," said William, pointing a pudgy finger at his
chest. "But William very sorry," he continued, "And William
never do it again." He nodded emphatically for emphasis.
"Come in here and pick it up please," Scully said, her eyes
softening.
"But Mommy..." William whined.
"No buts William," she stated firmly. "You need to learn to
pick up after yourself."
William's little lip trembled. His eyes filled with tears.
"Mommy, I can't," he whined.
"Why not?" Scully asked, trying hard not to give him an
inch.
"Because my leg hurts," he stated, suddenly doubling over
and grasping it. "Ow, ow Mommy!"
Scully walked over and kissed his knee. "There. All better.
Now pick up your toys."
William looked heart broken, but he went into the room and
began the task that every three-year-old dreads: cleaning
up. Scully smiled wanly, and walked back into her bedroom to
get ready for work. Meanwhile, William had other plans.
Fox Mulder met Mrs. Scully at her daughter's door. He smiled
at her, and she asked, "How are you this morning Fox?"
Mulder thought, Well, my bed fell in last night, my roof
started leaking, my fish died, and now I get to baby-sit for
the little terror, who is likely my son and needs a father
but doesn't even call me Daddy! Of course Scully's never let
him get DNA testing for paternity, oh no, even though he
might be my child she doesn't want him to endure all the
poking! All in all I'm great thanks! Instead he said, "I'm
fine, thank you."
Mrs. Scully smiled again, then knocked for the third time.
"Dana?" she called.
There was a cry from inside; "One second Mom!"
She and Mulder stood at the door for another few minutes
before Scully opened the door.
Mulder was always a little shocked when he saw her these
days. She was no longer the nicely polished woman he had
known. She had the glow of motherhood about her, yet somehow
the scraggly hair and bags under her eyes made her look
somewhat......haggard. Oh well. She was his Scully, and her
baby, as much as he complained, was as much his as if he
knew he was the father.
"Hi," she breathed, looking rather hurried. Then she saw
Mulder. "Mulder what are you doing here?"
He smiled. "I came to tell you that one, I have a job, and
two, Agent Doggett just called and gave you the day off
because the decision from OPR about Agent Reyes 'misconduct'
hasn't yet been rendered, and until it is the X-Files is
closed, so I decided to spend the day with you guys."
Scully nodded. "Okay......" She gestured them inside.
"Anyway, what about this job?" she asked Mulder as she
closed the door behind him.
Mulder smiled. "You're not going to believe me, but I'm now
an employee of the Georgetown Memorial Hospital Psychiatric
Ward. They were a little reluctant to hire me because I've
been a patient there and just earned my M.D. this year, but
they said I was the best they could come up with."
Scully smiled encouragingly. "That's great Mulder," she
said, while washing William's breakfast bowl. "Thank God
I've got the day off," she said. "I might be able to
partially restore order around here."
Mulder took the unfinished bowl from her hands. "Scully you
need some rest," he said. "Go lie down for a while, I'll
clean the kitchen."
Scully's eyes betrayed her gratitude, but she wouldn't hand
him control until she was SURE he was alright with it.
"Mulder are you sure?" she asked, hoping that yes, he was
quite sure thank you.
"Yep," he said, already filling the sink with water and
suds.
"Thank you," Scully whispered in his ear. Her arms came up
around his waste, and she planted a small kiss on his cheek,
standing on tip toe to do so. He turned his head to catch
her lips, but she was already shuffling off to her bedroom.
He smiled, dismissed Scully's mother from baby duty, then
returned to washing the dishes.
An hour later...
Mulder heard the door to Scully's bedroom creak open while
he was "de-gooing" the rug.
"Hey Scully," he said as he scrubbed the Goo Gone into the
rug. When she didn't reply he looked up and saw that William
was the one who had just emerged from the bedroom. "Oh hey
buddy!" he began. "Whatcha got there?" he asked when he saw
the flower in William's little hand.
"Flower for Mommy," he stated matter-of-factly.
Mulder nodded. What a gentleman, he thought, chuckling.
Wait a minute... "William why didn't you give her the
flower?" he asked.
William walked over to the man he knew as Mulder. "She made
me clean up the mess," he explained, defiantly crossing his
arms across his chest. "I put stuff on her eyes," he said.
At Mulder's alarmed expression he tried to justify his
actions: "She puts stuff on her eyes every morning."
Mulder looked slightly confused. "What stuff did you put on
her eyes?" he asked, getting worried.
"This stuff." William elaborated by squeezing a little bit
of juice from the flower onto the spot Mulder had just
cleaned.
"Oh no William!!" Mulder yelled, frustrated. Then hearing
Scully stir (and William start to cry) and quieted his
voice.
"William I just cleaned that rug!" he whisper-yelled.
William sobbed. "But Daddy!" he sniffled.
Mulder stopped dead on his way to the kitchen. "Wh-what?" he
stuttered.
William kept sobbing. "Daddy I didn't know!!!"
Before Mulder could continue his interrogation, there was a
knock on the door.
Well, more like a pound.
"Agent Scully!" called Agent Doggett from the hallway.
"Agent Scully!"
Mulder quickly ran to get the door, but the damage was done.
Scully walk-stumbled to the door, eyes still closed
sleepily, and without even a glance at Mulder, she opened
the door and her eyes, still sticky with the flower juice.
"But soft! Before my eyes hast my true love appeared!"
Scully's soft blue eyes seemed to drink in the sight of
Agent Doggett. Mulder was slightly confused.
"Okay Scully, come on it's not funny." He tried to make a
weird face and make her laugh, but when he tried to look her
in the eye, she ran to Agent Doggett.
Agent Doggett seemed just as confused as Mulder. "Wait a
minute. Agent Scully..."
"Oh spite! Oh hell!" Scully cried. "Only shalt my surname be
spilt from mine true love's tongue! My name, fair John,
spoken from thy lips, shalt be to me as delicious as the
summer rain to the cowslips! My name..." she gushed.
"Now that's enough Agent Scully," Doggett said, but Scully
winced as if in pain at his "Agent Scully."
"Dana," he began, more gently. "Agent Mulder's getting a
little antsy over there..." Doggett would have continued,
but he saw that past "Dana," Agent Scully hadn't heard a
word.
Meanwhile, Mulder was getting REALLY antsy. "Scully, how
long has this been going on?" he asked through gritted
teeth.
For the first time since Scully had seen Doggett, she turned
to Mulder. "Since time, and yet not. Since life hath made
itself known to me have I loved my John, and only before
life's first breath did I run with you. Therefore, bootless
excuse for a man, be gone with you!" She made a sweeping
gesture with her hand, as if to shoo him away, but Mulder
refused to be shooed.
Doggett piped in, "Agent Mulder if there's something goin'
on here I had no idea."
"Alright Scully look. I don't know what's wrong with you,
but I hope you see what you're throwing away here." Vaguely
he registered William escaping into the hallway with a new
flower, but he wasn't really paying attention.
Agent Doggett, who was getting more and more confused by the
minute, suddenly felt Agent Scully's hand massaging his
neck, and jumped away. "Now look here Dana. This is getting
ridiculous. I just came to tell you that OPR suspended Agent
Reyes indefinitely."
Mulder's face fell; his X-Files were in danger again. "How
is Agent Reyes?" he asked, trying to change the subject to
help him resist the primal urge to strangle Scully.
"She's scared," Doggett said bluntly. "She really needs the
job, and her specialty is rather limiting."
Mulder nodded, his anger at the current situation flaring up
again. "How long have you been seeing Agent Scully?"
Doggett looked up at Mulder sharply, as if his head was
jerked up by a rope attached to Mulder's words. "What?!" he
asked incredulously.
"How long have you been seeing Agent Scully?" he asked
again, more slowly.
"Agent Mulder my relationship with Agent Scully is strictly
professional," Doggett said, voice bordering on awed.
"Bullshit!" Mulder exploded. Scully looked stunned, and
Mulder turned to her, appealing to her. "I heard those same
words from my own mouth the day I fell in love with you!"
Scully seemed unmoved by Mulder's tirade, but Agent Doggett
had started to suspect that this was no joke. "Agent Scully,
I have to ask, what brought on this sudden change of heart?"
"Thou asks the impossible; the reasons for my devotion are
innumerable and beyond elaboration. My kiss bestow'd upon
thine lips will prove the only explanation." She reached up
to kiss him, but he pulled away.
"Agent Scully this is too weird."
"'Too weird, too weird' laments my love; this mystery of
true devotion beyond thy comprehension? This love burning in
my breast; methinks it cannot be false! Hark! The flames
crackle and pop! Hear the beatings of mine heart against
thine own!" Scully passionately drew Doggett to her chest.
She was a petite woman, but he was amazed at the fact that
it took considerable exertion on his part to extricate
himself from her grip.
"Agent Scully I hope you can get your act together," he
gasped, finally out of her grasp. In his rush to get away,
he tripped over his legs and, hitting his head against the
floor, he fell unconscious.
Scully practically threw herself onto him, sobbing
hysterically. Mulder saw now that this was no joke;
something weird had happened to her. He also saw that Agent
Doggett was as confused as he, and that William's flower
had....wait a minute. Where was William?
"William!!" Mulder cried, running back into the house.
"William!!"
As he frantically searched Scully's apartment for her son,
Mulder came across a vase full of the purple flowers William
had used on Scully's eyes. He made a mental note to have
them analyzed, but William still hadn't been found.
When he came back out to the hallway to inform Scully that
her son was missing, she found her playing with him, flower
in his hand. "Thou art my most precious gem," she cooed to
William, who laughed and said, "Mommy talks funny."
Mulder grabbed William from his mother's arms, put him down
on the floor, and squatted down to just above his level. "Do
you have any idea what you just put me through?!" he
scolded, eyes starting to tear. "Do you know?!"
William began to cry. "D-d-d-daddy!!" he sobbed. "I didn't
m-m-mean to!"
Mulder stopped dead again. "William what did you just call
me?" he asked, very slowly.
William looked up at Mulder, relieved that he might not have
to be scolded. And in that moment, Mulder realized that he
was looking into his own eyes. "William did you call me
'Daddy?'" Mulder asked gently, his eyes full of tears.
William nodded slowly. Mulder's tears spilled over, and he
hugged the boy close to him. "I hope so buddy," he said,
smiling as he felt William's little arms around his neck.
Just as Mulder was starting to ignore Scully, she began
wailing over Agent Doggett's unconscious state. Mulder
picked William up and carried the boy to his mother. He
intended to teach William a lesson about playing with
chemicals he knew nothing about, but he noticed that Agent
Doggett's eyes had already been sloppily anointed with he
flower's juice, and he knew of no antidote.
As he prepared to take William inside, he heard someone's
footsteps in the hallway. Within seconds, Agent Reyes came
into view.
"Agent Mulder! It's nice to see you," she said, although
Mulder could see right through her facade and she knew it.
Then she saw Scully sobbing over Agent Doggett.
Agent Reyes immediately rushed over to Agent Doggett,
checking vital signs and informing Agent Mulder that she had
never seen Agent Scully in quite such a condition herself.
Should they call an ambulance? No? Okay........
"Agent Scully, are you alright?" Reyes asked, keeping on her
investigator voice.
"How canst thou ask such a question? My love lays injured
and thou inquireth after my health!? How darest thou!?"
At Agent Reyes's startled look, Mulder explained, "William
put some stuff on her eyes. She fell in love with Doggett
and started talking like Shakespeare." Mulder tried to make
his explanation non-chalant, but Reyes could hear the worry
in his voice.
"Agent Mulder this may sound rather foolish, but did you
ever read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream?'" Agent Reyes asked.
William piped up, "Mommy wead [read] that to me. It was the
kid vewjin [version]." He nodded all-knowingly. "I'm like
Puck," he continued. "I use flowers for ev-wee-one
[everyone]."
Reyes's face started to register comprehension. Then she
went over to Doggett's side and gently shook him awake.
"John!" she said.
His eyes opened slowly, and finally Reyes's face came into
focus. "My dearest love, what angel art thou? The raven's
wing could not compare to thine hair, nor thy glorious dark
eyes! Thou must be as wise as thou art lovely, and thou art
more fair than Diana herself!"
William giggled. "He talks funny too!"
Mulder's face registered shock. Agent Reyes just laughed.
"John, you're a nice guy, but I don't think you've got the
right girl."
Special Agent John Doggett was stabbed to the core. "My love
hast forsaken me? Oh woe is me!!! O but mine eye could see
another; oh but thy sweet self should be mine!"
"My love, do not see another!" Scully piped in, her face
also falling. "Look to me my John, see my devotion! That
which she cannot offer can be yours from mine own heart! Thy
face...."
"Never shall I love you!" Doggett declared, jumping wildly
to his feet. "Never shalt I bestow my love upon your
crippled soul!"
Mulder stepped in before Doggett tried to slit a weeping
Scully's throat. "Knock it off!" he shouted. William covered
his ears. "I don't want to hear a word out of either of
you!"
Doggett and Scully shut right up, and Mulder escorted
everyone inside due to the rather curious glances of
Scully's neighbors. After sitting Doggett and Scully down in
separate rooms, and putting William in bed for his nap
(which he was NOT too happy about), Mulder sat down with
Reyes at the kitchen table. They quietly discussed the
decision from OPR over lemonade.
"Suspension?" asked Mulder.
"Indefinite, without pay," Reyes replied, downcast. "I need
this job. I'm helping my sister put her son through
college."
"How old's your sister?"
"She's 34. Her son was born when she was 14."
Mulder's jaw dropped. "Fourteen?!"
"Fourteen," she repeated, then yawned.
Mulder silently prayed that that would NEVER happen to his
daughter (if he had one). Then he asked, "Would you like to
lie down?"
She looked at him gratefully. "Please. I'm exhausted."
Mulder nodded, then got up and beckoned for her to follow
him. "We converted the guest room into a bedroom for William
when he outgrew the bassinet, but you can still sleep in
there. Just please let him nap okay?"
"No problem here," Reyes replied, yawning again.
Mulder smiled as he opened the door to William's room,
revealing a dark room with Winnie the Pooh wallpaper and a
double bed that was never removed from the room. The night
light in the corner illuminated the room with a soft yellow
glow. William, lying in his navy blue crib, was sleeping
soundly, his little chest rising and falling. "He's
beautiful Mulder. Really," whispered Agent Reyes. "And what
wonderful parents he has," she added, seemingly to herself.
Mulder shrugged, shaking off the very fatherly urge to brag
about how smart and funny his little William was. "Well, you
can lay down right there," he whispered, indicating the "big
person" bed.
Agent Reyes nodded to him gratefully, then went into the
room. Mulder smiled back, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Don't worry Mulder. Dana will be fine."
Mulder nodded, although he didn't believe her. "Have a nice
rest," he said.
Meanwhile...
Scully had snuck into John Doggett's room while Mulder
wasn't looking, and the two were at present engaged in a
passionate....argument.
"Hast thou gone mad?!" Scully asked, her newly acquired
British accent showing that her "illness" was progressing.
"Thou canst not understand that thy infatuation with love's
very opposite will yet become boredom and despair! Thou
canst not want such!"
"But thou canst not see beyond thine own rose-painted
sphere, for thine own love should prove murder to those
fools that receive it!" Agent Doggett hadn't quite yet
developed the English accent, but he was getting close. He
pronounced his vowels like a Brit.
"O how canst my love be more stubborn? A mule, a crude and
soiled mule could not compare to thy stubbornness!"
"Thou hypocrite!" proclaimed Doggett loudly. "Thou
professeth true love yet thou snear'st in true love's face,
and love call false!"
Mulder burst in and whisper-yelled, "The baby is sleeping!
Not a word out of either of you. Scully get back in your
room!!"
Scully walked over to him from Doggett's side, spat in his
face, and went back to her room.
Mulder's face fell. He had still harbored some hope that the
mention of Scully's baby might bring her around, but there
was no hope for her. As he wiped the spit off his face, he
decided to make himself some tea.
Just as he was sitting down to drink it, he heard "Daddy!"
Apparently the little terror wasn't going to be napping
today. Mulder hoped his cries hadn't awakened Agent Reyes;
she looked like she needed a nap. He got up, sighed, then
walked down to the bedroom.
He got in there and picked William up from his crib. "Hey
buddy!" he whispered. William giggled, dropping the flower
in his hands back into the crib before Mulder could notice
it.
Behind Mulder, Agent Reyes sat up in bed, saw Mulder, and
jumped up. "Wilst thou turn and allow me thy face to look
upon?"
"Oh damn," Mulder said, slowly turning to her. "Agent
Reyes..."
"O but thy lips should speak my true name! I know not why
true love should take the form of so impersonal a name.
Please good sir, call me by the name Monica."
"Agent Reyes, don't start with me," Mulder admonished as he
closed the door.
Right after the click of the door shutting, Mulder heard a
wail from inside. "Dear God," he sighed. William giggled.
Several Hours Later
A pounding on the door woke Mulder from his nap on the
couch. He started awake and immediately searched for
William. After realizing that William had finally fallen
asleep (on top of Daddy of course), Mulder gently stood up,
cradling his son against his chest. Then he swiped both eyes
with the back of his hand, and discovering no sticky
substance, decided that maybe Skinner's yelling meant that
he'd better get the door.
"Shhhhh!" he admonished as he opened the door, pointing at
the sleeping three-year-old in his arms.
Skinner nodded, and stepped inside. "I sent Agent Doggett
over here to speak to Agent Scully," he whispered, sounding
slightly confused. "Where are they?"
Mulder looked at Skinner pointedly, then whispered, "I
suppose you'll find out sooner or later." He then proceeded
to explain the events of the morning, on through now (4:00
in the afternoon) and describe everyone's.....condition.
"Scully's gone completely," Mulder said first, referring to
her new Julie Andrews-esque accent and Shakespearean speech
pattern, and also her incessant wailing, which had lulled
momentarily while she slept; sheer exhaustion from the
morning's exertions overcoming her completely.
"Agent Doggett's not far from Agent Scully," Mulder
continued. He hadn't started moaning yet.
"And Agent Reyes has just recently developed the British
accent," he finished.
Skinner was having a terrible time keeping from laughing.
"You mean to tell me," he began, voice still professional
but cracking, "that Agent Scully's three year old has
suddenly become Puck the Mischief Maker and has proceeded to
destroy everything you hold sacred?"
Mulder simply stared at him, and repeated a line he'd used
on Scully years ago; "It sounds like shit when you say it."
Skinner was trying very hard to keep a straight face, but
his facade was weakly constructed, and finally crumbled.
"Mulder, you're crazy," Skinner said, a grin still trying to
break onto his face.
Finally Mulder cracked. It was just too humiliating. "Would
you stop disbelieving and at least see for yourself?!" he
yelled at the top of his lungs. William awoke with a start
and started to wail, which woke Scully, Doggett, and Reyes,
and the house became a cacophonous mad house of wails and
cries. The cries of the Shakespeare-overtaken adults (and
little William) were enough to wake the dead.
Skinner didn't need to pretend not to be laughing anymore.
In fact he had an expression of horrified wonder on his
face. He stood there with his hands over his ears just
staring. With *that* look.
"You see what I'm saying?" said Mulder, as three alien
British voices clamored for each other. Mulder's morbid side
kicked in, and he could barely keep from laughing at
Skinner's expression. "What the HELL are you going to do?!"
shouted Skinner above the din.
"Well, rationality seems to have had little affect," Mulder
imparted to Skinner. "Therefore my approach will now center
around a less rational thought; inspire jealousy and have
them all duel to the death."
Skinner's horrified expression told Mulder his crack hadn't
had the desired affect. In fact Skinner hadn't realized it
was a joke at all. "Mulder I hardly think that's the
solution to the problem," Skinner shouted back.
Mulder nodded, turning his attention to the boy in his arms.
"Hey Buddy," he whispered in William's ear. The toddler was
upset by the noise, but he seemed to relax when he heard his
Daddy's voice. Mulder saw the effect it had on the boy and
continued to whisper to him; whispering nothing that really
meant anything, as parents do to children. He calmed down,
but William was beginning to miss his Mommy.
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!!!" Mulder screamed at the top of his
lungs.
For one sacred moment, the house was silent. Then Scully
started to whimper, Doggett began pleading for Agent Reyes,
and Reyes couldn't contain her rather comical Shakespearean
insults. "Milk-liver!" she would cry. "Loveless coward!"
Then she would break down into tears, apparently still
pining away for Mulder.
"This is ridiculous," Mulder said. "Sir, I'm sorry but I
can't deal with this anymore. I'm gonna take William out to
Mickey-Ds for a while. Keep an eye on things, will you?"
With that, Mulder left and headed out to his new SUV (he'd
bought it when William was born.)
Skinner simply stood in the middle of the living room for a
moment, then wearily sat down on the couch. As he lay back
and tried to block out the yelling, he noticed that one
voice had stopped. That voice was Agent Scully's.
Remembering from several years ago when he'd been in
Scully's apartment, Skinner knew where her bedroom was. He
ventured in, and found her fast asleep on the bed. Her
eyelids were giving off a very faint pink glow, and her hair
seemed to have grown 3 feet. It was now down to about her
hips, and brilliantly gleaming in the sunlight from her
window. Skinner walked over to the bed and whispered to her.
"Agent Scully?"
She rolled over in her sleep, but did not open her eyes.
"Agent Scully!" he whispered again, a little louder. This
time she moaned a little but didn't awake. Why he was trying
to wake her he couldn't say, but he was slightly
disconcerted by the rapid growth of her hair and thought
maybe it was a new stage in this odd transformation they all
seemed to be undergoing. Apparently Mulder's
investigative/observatory skills were getting rusty; he
hadn't reported any kind of transitional phases.
He got very close to her ear, and then whisper-yelled "Agent
Scully!!"
She awoke with a start, and immediately saw Skinner. "Who
dare'st waken me?!"
Skinner was a bit shocked, even after Mulder's warnings.
"Agent Scully this is ridiculous," he began.
Scully cut in. "And who are you, sir, to judge true love and
deem it 'ridiculous'? Are you a heavenly deity? No, I
suppose not."
"Nobody said anything about love, Agent Scully."
She stared coldly at him. "Then I be deaf." With that, she
lay down and immediately fell back into sleep.
Skinner left her room and puzzled over the problem at hand.
What could prove an antidote for this certain illness? A
different flower's juice? Well, what was the opposite of the
flower William had painted their eyes with? He knew that it
was purple, so maybe a red flower, one part of purple, would
prove to be an antidote. He began to search her house for a
red flower.
Skinner found the vase containing the flower William had
used. Interspersed with William's purple irises' were red
lilies. He pulled one from the flower arrangement and
decided to call Mulder before testing his theory on any of
the afflicted persons.
Using his cell phone, Skinner dialed Mulder's. He noticed
that everyone had fallen into the same comatose-like state
as Agent Scully, which made using the phone much easier.
Mulder answered his cell phone with a gruff, "Mulder."
"Mulder it's Skinner. I think I found an antidote."
Skinner could almost hear Mulder's mind working. "We'll be
right there," Mulder replied after a moment.
A few minutes later......
Skinner applied the red flower juice to Scully's eyes, then
stood back. Mulder stood behind Skinner, holding William.
Scully stirred, then awoke. Her eyes settled on Skinner.
Then, "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
William started to cry, Skinner jumped two feet into the
air, and Scully scurried from the bed and tried to get as
far away from Skinner as possible. She shook with fear. "Get
away from me!!"
Mulder thought Hey, at least she's talking normally.
"Scully, it's alright, it's just Skinner." He walked towards
her slowly, William now slightly more calm.
"Mulder he's trying to kill me!" she whispered to him,
clutching her clothing fretfully in clenched fists.
"Scully he's not trying to kill you; he's trying to help
you!" Mulder was thoroughly annoyed. This business was
getting out of hand. "Scully this is ridiculous!"
He marched out of the room, Skinner close on his heels. The
door was shut, and all seemed well for a moment. Mulder
stood in the middle of the hallway that Scully's room opened
onto, balancing William on his hip. Then it hit him.
Ten Minutes later.....
Mulder stood beside Scully's bed as she again slept. Agent
Doggett, who had been dragged by both Mulder and Skinner,
stood next to him, looking very confused. Doggett held the
red flower Skinner had just applied to Scully's eyes.
"Now John, this is a magic flower," Mulder explained
carefully. "It will make Scully not like you anymore. But,
YOU have to be the one to apply it. Okay?"
Doggett nodded warily. "How shall I see to the task?" he
asked.
Mulder told him how to apply the flower, and he did.
Scully's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around the
room. "Mulder? Whuh....wait. Agent Doggett what are you
doing here? And Skinner, sir, what's going on?"
Mulder breathed a deep sigh of relief, and Agent Doggett
huffed, "'Tis a good riddance!" and left the room. Skinner
was relieved, and said, "Glad to have you back Agent
Scully." He then left to have Reyes fix Doggett.
After everyone had left, Mulder sat down beside Scully on
her bed, his head in his hands. He was so relieved that
tears were coming to his eyes, and little William was so
happy that his Mommy was all better that he ran over, sat in
her lap, kissed her, then promptly fell asleep. "Mulder,
what was that all about?" asked Scully, bewildered.
Mulder smiled, his tears dissipating. As he placed a sound
kiss on her lips and played with her new long hair he
whispered, "Long story."
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Je finis! Feedback greatly appreciated:
Dana_Katherine_Scully64@yahoo.com