The Domino Effect Part 13
Headers and disclaimers in Part 1
The crowd said their goodbyes and went their separate
ways. The nurses went home to sleep and Skinner went
back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the
seminar. Once again, Scully found herself alone by
Mulder's side. He was sleeping comfortably at last.
She contented herself with having the simple pleasure
of watching his chest rise and fall and knowing that
he was over the worst. His face reflected a much
more peaceful look, in contrast to the painful
episodes he'd had before the procedure. The storm
had come and now the waters were calm again. She
hoped.
Poor Mulder, he'd been through seven kinds of hell
the past few days and Scully was happy that he was
finally getting some relief. She hated to see him in
such pain, this time feeling particularly helpless to
ease his suffering. When he was in pain, she
realized with some clarity, so was she.
A nurse had been in a few minutes earlier and had
announced that he had begun to pass pieces of the
stone. His last vitals check had revealed that his
temperature had dropped to 100. Things were looking
up.
In response to his fever breaking, Mulder had begun
to perspire heavily. Scully began to bathe his face
with a cool washcloth, smoothing his damp hair off
his forehead in gentle movements so she didn't wake
him. He'd been so uncomfortable the last few days
that she would do anything within her power to keep
him from suffering now. She carefully untied his
gown, folding it down in order to bathe his chest.
She treated herself to a few seconds of just looking
at him like this, chiding herself the next for
enjoying the view too much. She started sponging
him, barely touching.
"Umm, feels good," Mulder sighed.
Scully jumped back, startled. "How long have you
been awake?"
"Not long, just since you untied my gown." He gave
her a dopey leer that resembled his usual self,
giving Scully the immediate impression that this
scenario was ranked fairly high on his list of
fantasies.
"Feeling any better?"
"Actually, I think I do, but my back is really sore.
Goes well with my stomach muscles."
"That's from the lithotripsy. Push the button on the
pump if you need pain medication."
"I'm okay, just happy to see you. How about you?
You feeling okay?" His long fingers stretched out to
meet hers, stilling the hand that was sponging him
off. She hoped she wasn't quivering too much as he
gazed intensely at her. His eyes were full of
meaning, despite the drugs coursing through his
system. Her throat was suddenly very dry.
"Uh-huh." She began to bathe his chest again,
seamlessly reclaiming his hand in the one that wasn't
sponging his pectorals, squeezing his fingers in
reassurance as she did. "I feel pretty good now.
Just give yourself a few days and you'll be feeling
much better too." She could feel herself starting to
feel very warm now and hoped that he wouldn't mistake
that flushed look for lingering illness.
"I've been pretty out of it, huh?" His fingers were
absently stroking her palm as his eyes momentarily
left hers and flickered to the movements of the
washcloth over his skin before shifting back to her
face. Scully smothered her sharp intake of breath
with a chuckle.
"Yes, you've had a rough time of it, especially the
last eighteen hours or so."
"Don't remember much."
"It's probably just as well." She patted him dry and
pulled his gown up and re-tied it. "There, that
should help for a while." And a cold shower for me,
she thought unbidden.
"Thanks. When do I get to go home?" Mulder grimaced
as he shifted in bed.
"Maybe in 48 hours or so if you continue to do well,
and home is a relative word right now."
"I don't understand."
She smiled. Compusure regained. Just. "First,
you'll need to rest at the hotel for a day or two,
and then Skinner has offered us the use of his condo
in Destin for the next two weeks."
He nodded, a look of delight passing over his
features as he processed the implications of that.
"Yeah, I vaguely remember you mentioning that in the
recovery room."
Scully noticed a look of pain on his face and noted
that he pushed the button to release a dose of pain
medication from the pump.
"We'll talk about it later. You need to rest for a
while."
"Will you be here?"
"Of course, Mulder."
"Don't wear yourself out. Remember you've been sick
too."
"There's a fold-out bed right over there. I'll lie
down if I feel I need to." She gave him her best
smile, absently rubbing his fingers as she held them.
"Promise?"
"Yes."
"Need to sleep now," he yawned.
"You go right ahead."
Mulder smiled and closed his eyes.
When he woke again Scully was sitting patiently by
his side. They were connected as one by the clasp of
their hands, unspoken comfort that filled his heart
with warmth he'd rarely had the joy of knowing.
"Still here, huh?"
"Where else would I be?"
"Lots of other places would be nicer," he suggested,
his hand slipping from hers to cup her cheek,
smoothing his thumb over her jaw, his eyes sparkling
with indefinable emotion when she didn't pull away as
he'd expected.
"But you wouldn't be there."
"Thanks, Scully." He reached for her hand again and
gave it a gentle squeeze.
She squeezed back, grinning, her own eyes shiny with
emotion. "They brought some water in while you were
sleeping. Would you like to try a sip or two?"
"I guess so. Fair warning, though, if I puke again
I'm giving up taking anything by mouth."
Scully chuckled. "Something tells me that you won't
need to get that drastic. Think positively. This is
going to stay down."
She held the cup while he took a quick sip of the
ice, cold water.
"Oh, that was nice," he sighed.
"One more. Let's not push our luck."
Mulder took a longer sip then relaxed back onto his
pillow. "More later?" Scully ruffled his hair and
she placed the cup back on the nightstand.
"Let's wait at least fifteen minutes then you can
have two more sips. If you keep this down you'll
probably get some broth and jello for dinner."
"I hate to admit this, but that actually sounds
good," he grinned.
"What sounds good to me is hearing those words come
from your mouth."
"I am feeling better, except for, ow!"
"Ow?"
"Another of those sharp pains. It's easing off now."
"You're sure?" Scully reached for the pain
medication control.
Mulder caught her hand. "I'm sure. No pain meds
right now, okay?"
"All right, Mulder, but there's no need for you to be
in pain. You've had enough of that already." She
hoped that good sense would over ride his stoic
tendencies. He nodded, closing his eyes.
The day shift nurse came in and his eyes sprang open
again with apprehension, especially after she spotted
the large instrument tray she was holding. "Hello,
Mr. Mulder. I see you're finally awake. I was
beginning to think you were trying to avoid me."
"Depends on what you need to do," he answered warily.
"Just the usual, Mr. Mulder. I need to take you
temperature, get your pulse and BP, check your IV and
get a urine specimen. All you have to do is lie
quietly."
"No needles?"
"Not at this time."
He visibly relaxed.
"You've had a pretty rough time over the past 12
hours Mr. Mulder. We're not going to cause you any
pain unless it's unavoidable. Let me get your temp
first." She smiled as she finished and ejected the
sanitary cover into the trashcan. "Still coming
down. You're at 99.8. Now, let's get the rest."
His BP and pulse were both within normal range. The
nurse changed out the urine collection bag after she
secured the urine sample, and noted that several
pieces of the kidney stone had passed.
"When do I get rid of this?" He pointed to the new
collection bag.
"You'll have to ask your doctor about that."
"Oh, I intend to. Ow!"
"Another sharp pain?" Scully inquired anxiously,
moving in close to him.
"Uh, yeah, um, a little sharper than the others."
Mulder began to pale as the pain continued.
Scully took his hand and urged him to squeeze as hard
as he needed. Then she reached over with her free
hand and pushed the button for his pain medication.
Mulder didn't comment as he concentrated on blocking
out the latest painful assault on his body. His
breathing was coming in fast little gasps.
The nurse and Scully stood by ready to help in any
way possible when she felt him suddenly relax.
"Phew! That was intense," he announced, his voice a
little shaky.
"Is the pain completely gone?" the nurse questioned.
"Seems to be. How many more of those things do I
have to pass?"
"Mr. Mulder, I honestly don't know. The only comfort
I can provide is that most of the pieces are small
enough that you're not even feeling them as they pass
through."
"Well, that's something I guess. Could I have
another sip of water please?"
"Sure." Scully reached for the pitcher and began to
pour water into a cup.
"Oh, that reminds me!" the nurse interjected. "I'll
be back in a minute to post an input/output sheet.
You'll need to write down everything that you drink
and how much. We'll take care of recording your
output until the catheter is removed."
"I'll be sure to record everything that he drinks."
Scully promised as she held the cup for Mulder.
"Thank you. I'll be right back with that sheet."
Mulder finished drinking and shifted in bed, turning
to face Scully. "Ohhh! Big mistake!"
"Pretty sore, huh?"
"Yeah, but it was worth the pain just to see you more
clearly."
She gave him a rueful smile has she perched on the
side of the bed. "I honestly don't know why you
would make the effort right now. I'm pale as a
ghost. I didn't put on any make up and these jeans
are not my top of the line wardrobe."
"Scully, you're a beautiful woman whatever you're
wearing and as far as I'm concerned, you don't need
any make-up. As for your pallor, perhaps we can work
on that while we're in Destin. I'm sure I'm a little
pale too." Scully was pleased to see his boyish
smile return.
"You're right. You're not your usual golden self,"
she laughed. "You mean you actually intend to take
Skinner up on his offer?"
"Only if you promise to be there too." Mulder's
eyelids began to grow heavy.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Gotta sleep, Scully. Maybe I can stay awake longer
the next time. Wanna talk to you." He took both her
hands into his own, intertwining their fingers.
Scully leaned in and kissed him on his forehead, her
head pressed against his for a long, silent moment.
It was their special communication. No words needed.
Finally she sat back, observing his exhausted but
delighted face. A small nod, a sleepy grin and he
lay back. "Sleep, Mulder."
"Umm, nice," he mumbled as he drifted off, his
fingers slipping from hers almost immediately as
sleep claimed him.
End Part 13
Headers and disclaimers in Part 1
The crowd said their goodbyes and went their separate
ways. The nurses went home to sleep and Skinner went
back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the
seminar. Once again, Scully found herself alone by
Mulder's side. He was sleeping comfortably at last.
She contented herself with having the simple pleasure
of watching his chest rise and fall and knowing that
he was over the worst. His face reflected a much
more peaceful look, in contrast to the painful
episodes he'd had before the procedure. The storm
had come and now the waters were calm again. She
hoped.
Poor Mulder, he'd been through seven kinds of hell
the past few days and Scully was happy that he was
finally getting some relief. She hated to see him in
such pain, this time feeling particularly helpless to
ease his suffering. When he was in pain, she
realized with some clarity, so was she.
A nurse had been in a few minutes earlier and had
announced that he had begun to pass pieces of the
stone. His last vitals check had revealed that his
temperature had dropped to 100. Things were looking
up.
In response to his fever breaking, Mulder had begun
to perspire heavily. Scully began to bathe his face
with a cool washcloth, smoothing his damp hair off
his forehead in gentle movements so she didn't wake
him. He'd been so uncomfortable the last few days
that she would do anything within her power to keep
him from suffering now. She carefully untied his
gown, folding it down in order to bathe his chest.
She treated herself to a few seconds of just looking
at him like this, chiding herself the next for
enjoying the view too much. She started sponging
him, barely touching.
"Umm, feels good," Mulder sighed.
Scully jumped back, startled. "How long have you
been awake?"
"Not long, just since you untied my gown." He gave
her a dopey leer that resembled his usual self,
giving Scully the immediate impression that this
scenario was ranked fairly high on his list of
fantasies.
"Feeling any better?"
"Actually, I think I do, but my back is really sore.
Goes well with my stomach muscles."
"That's from the lithotripsy. Push the button on the
pump if you need pain medication."
"I'm okay, just happy to see you. How about you?
You feeling okay?" His long fingers stretched out to
meet hers, stilling the hand that was sponging him
off. She hoped she wasn't quivering too much as he
gazed intensely at her. His eyes were full of
meaning, despite the drugs coursing through his
system. Her throat was suddenly very dry.
"Uh-huh." She began to bathe his chest again,
seamlessly reclaiming his hand in the one that wasn't
sponging his pectorals, squeezing his fingers in
reassurance as she did. "I feel pretty good now.
Just give yourself a few days and you'll be feeling
much better too." She could feel herself starting to
feel very warm now and hoped that he wouldn't mistake
that flushed look for lingering illness.
"I've been pretty out of it, huh?" His fingers were
absently stroking her palm as his eyes momentarily
left hers and flickered to the movements of the
washcloth over his skin before shifting back to her
face. Scully smothered her sharp intake of breath
with a chuckle.
"Yes, you've had a rough time of it, especially the
last eighteen hours or so."
"Don't remember much."
"It's probably just as well." She patted him dry and
pulled his gown up and re-tied it. "There, that
should help for a while." And a cold shower for me,
she thought unbidden.
"Thanks. When do I get to go home?" Mulder grimaced
as he shifted in bed.
"Maybe in 48 hours or so if you continue to do well,
and home is a relative word right now."
"I don't understand."
She smiled. Compusure regained. Just. "First,
you'll need to rest at the hotel for a day or two,
and then Skinner has offered us the use of his condo
in Destin for the next two weeks."
He nodded, a look of delight passing over his
features as he processed the implications of that.
"Yeah, I vaguely remember you mentioning that in the
recovery room."
Scully noticed a look of pain on his face and noted
that he pushed the button to release a dose of pain
medication from the pump.
"We'll talk about it later. You need to rest for a
while."
"Will you be here?"
"Of course, Mulder."
"Don't wear yourself out. Remember you've been sick
too."
"There's a fold-out bed right over there. I'll lie
down if I feel I need to." She gave him her best
smile, absently rubbing his fingers as she held them.
"Promise?"
"Yes."
"Need to sleep now," he yawned.
"You go right ahead."
Mulder smiled and closed his eyes.
When he woke again Scully was sitting patiently by
his side. They were connected as one by the clasp of
their hands, unspoken comfort that filled his heart
with warmth he'd rarely had the joy of knowing.
"Still here, huh?"
"Where else would I be?"
"Lots of other places would be nicer," he suggested,
his hand slipping from hers to cup her cheek,
smoothing his thumb over her jaw, his eyes sparkling
with indefinable emotion when she didn't pull away as
he'd expected.
"But you wouldn't be there."
"Thanks, Scully." He reached for her hand again and
gave it a gentle squeeze.
She squeezed back, grinning, her own eyes shiny with
emotion. "They brought some water in while you were
sleeping. Would you like to try a sip or two?"
"I guess so. Fair warning, though, if I puke again
I'm giving up taking anything by mouth."
Scully chuckled. "Something tells me that you won't
need to get that drastic. Think positively. This is
going to stay down."
She held the cup while he took a quick sip of the
ice, cold water.
"Oh, that was nice," he sighed.
"One more. Let's not push our luck."
Mulder took a longer sip then relaxed back onto his
pillow. "More later?" Scully ruffled his hair and
she placed the cup back on the nightstand.
"Let's wait at least fifteen minutes then you can
have two more sips. If you keep this down you'll
probably get some broth and jello for dinner."
"I hate to admit this, but that actually sounds
good," he grinned.
"What sounds good to me is hearing those words come
from your mouth."
"I am feeling better, except for, ow!"
"Ow?"
"Another of those sharp pains. It's easing off now."
"You're sure?" Scully reached for the pain
medication control.
Mulder caught her hand. "I'm sure. No pain meds
right now, okay?"
"All right, Mulder, but there's no need for you to be
in pain. You've had enough of that already." She
hoped that good sense would over ride his stoic
tendencies. He nodded, closing his eyes.
The day shift nurse came in and his eyes sprang open
again with apprehension, especially after she spotted
the large instrument tray she was holding. "Hello,
Mr. Mulder. I see you're finally awake. I was
beginning to think you were trying to avoid me."
"Depends on what you need to do," he answered warily.
"Just the usual, Mr. Mulder. I need to take you
temperature, get your pulse and BP, check your IV and
get a urine specimen. All you have to do is lie
quietly."
"No needles?"
"Not at this time."
He visibly relaxed.
"You've had a pretty rough time over the past 12
hours Mr. Mulder. We're not going to cause you any
pain unless it's unavoidable. Let me get your temp
first." She smiled as she finished and ejected the
sanitary cover into the trashcan. "Still coming
down. You're at 99.8. Now, let's get the rest."
His BP and pulse were both within normal range. The
nurse changed out the urine collection bag after she
secured the urine sample, and noted that several
pieces of the kidney stone had passed.
"When do I get rid of this?" He pointed to the new
collection bag.
"You'll have to ask your doctor about that."
"Oh, I intend to. Ow!"
"Another sharp pain?" Scully inquired anxiously,
moving in close to him.
"Uh, yeah, um, a little sharper than the others."
Mulder began to pale as the pain continued.
Scully took his hand and urged him to squeeze as hard
as he needed. Then she reached over with her free
hand and pushed the button for his pain medication.
Mulder didn't comment as he concentrated on blocking
out the latest painful assault on his body. His
breathing was coming in fast little gasps.
The nurse and Scully stood by ready to help in any
way possible when she felt him suddenly relax.
"Phew! That was intense," he announced, his voice a
little shaky.
"Is the pain completely gone?" the nurse questioned.
"Seems to be. How many more of those things do I
have to pass?"
"Mr. Mulder, I honestly don't know. The only comfort
I can provide is that most of the pieces are small
enough that you're not even feeling them as they pass
through."
"Well, that's something I guess. Could I have
another sip of water please?"
"Sure." Scully reached for the pitcher and began to
pour water into a cup.
"Oh, that reminds me!" the nurse interjected. "I'll
be back in a minute to post an input/output sheet.
You'll need to write down everything that you drink
and how much. We'll take care of recording your
output until the catheter is removed."
"I'll be sure to record everything that he drinks."
Scully promised as she held the cup for Mulder.
"Thank you. I'll be right back with that sheet."
Mulder finished drinking and shifted in bed, turning
to face Scully. "Ohhh! Big mistake!"
"Pretty sore, huh?"
"Yeah, but it was worth the pain just to see you more
clearly."
She gave him a rueful smile has she perched on the
side of the bed. "I honestly don't know why you
would make the effort right now. I'm pale as a
ghost. I didn't put on any make up and these jeans
are not my top of the line wardrobe."
"Scully, you're a beautiful woman whatever you're
wearing and as far as I'm concerned, you don't need
any make-up. As for your pallor, perhaps we can work
on that while we're in Destin. I'm sure I'm a little
pale too." Scully was pleased to see his boyish
smile return.
"You're right. You're not your usual golden self,"
she laughed. "You mean you actually intend to take
Skinner up on his offer?"
"Only if you promise to be there too." Mulder's
eyelids began to grow heavy.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Gotta sleep, Scully. Maybe I can stay awake longer
the next time. Wanna talk to you." He took both her
hands into his own, intertwining their fingers.
Scully leaned in and kissed him on his forehead, her
head pressed against his for a long, silent moment.
It was their special communication. No words needed.
Finally she sat back, observing his exhausted but
delighted face. A small nod, a sleepy grin and he
lay back. "Sleep, Mulder."
"Umm, nice," he mumbled as he drifted off, his
fingers slipping from hers almost immediately as
sleep claimed him.
End Part 13