Title: Step #9: Paging Dr. Mulder...
Author: Susan Frankovich
E-mail: sus...@ticnet.com or filesfa...@yahoo.com
Classification: vignette
Spoiler: post all things
Archive: No.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to each other,
not me.

Author's notes: This is the ninth in a series of
vignettes occurring late in season seven that
chronicle the start of Mulder and Scully's romantic
relationship.

*********************************************************

Paging Dr. Mulder...
by Susan Frankovich
~~~~~~

Mulder's Apartment
12:38 pm

"Feeling better, Scully?" I ask as I walk into the living
room.

My back a lot more relaxed after taking a shower, I
energetically plop down on the couch beside her, shaking
my head and flicking several water droplets from my still
wet hair on her t-shirt.

"You apparently are," she replies, trying to suppress a
smile as she bends forward and adjusts the ice pack on
her ankle.

"Yes, I am," I say as I take the ice from her and set it
down on the coffee table.

"I'm sorry you had to drag me through the park like that."

"I'm not."

"You practically carried me for a mile, Mulder."

"I'd carry you for ten miles if I had to, Scully," I
say, knowing my words sound sappy, but also that they're
true.

She doesn't say anything back, but the slight tilt of
her head and the softening around the edges of her eyes
tells me that she knows it too.

"Here, let me," I say as I carefully lift up both her
legs, swing them to the right and reposition them on a
pillow on top of my lap.

"What are you doing, Mulder?"

"Playing doctor," I reply, gently pressing my fingers
in various places on her tender ankle.  "Just relax,
and let me do my thing."

She smiles and leans back against the cushion.  "Your
thing?"

"Yeah, my thing," I reply, lightly running my fingers
over the arch of her foot, along the inside of her ankle,
then back around to the most swollen area.

Leaning back against the pillow, she closes her eyes and
lets out a contented sigh.

"Better?" I ask, letting my fingers wander up past her
ankle under the cuff of her jeans.

"Mmmm..." she purrs, her eyes still closed, her cheeks
quickly becoming flushed.

"I'll take that as a yes," I remark, my own cheeks
beginning to feel warm.

"Anyone ever tell you that you have a great bedside
manner, doctor?" she asks, sliding down even deeper
into the cushions.

Opening up her eyes, she looks up at me and smiles,
and almost instantly all the warmth from my cheeks
travels straight to my groin.

"You just did," I say simply, casually sliding my
hand even farther up underneath her jeans.  

She lets her body relax then, lets her eyes close
again, and so I begin.

Lightly massaging her calf muscle, I slowly work my
way down to her ankle and back up again, savoring
every contented moan, every whispered gasp.

But most of all, savoring the fact that I'm the one
who's making her feel so good.

"I should probably put this ice pack back on your ankle,
Scully," I say several minutes later, not wanting to
stop my ministrations, but knowing that cold ice is
really the best thing for her at this point.

Leaning over and picking up the slightly melted ice
pack from the coffee table, I gently set it on the
puffiest part of her ankle.

"That feel okay?" I ask as I adjust it so it fits over
her foot better.  

Getting no response, I look over at her, her lips
slightly parted, a tiny trickle of drool in the corner
of her mouth, and it's then that I realize she's fallen
asleep.

That's my Scully.  

Able to take down mutants and high-ranking government
officials one minute.  Falling asleep the next minute.

Softly brushing the hair from her forehead, I lay my
head back against the cushion and smile, then let my
own eyes slip shut.

~step nine completed~

Steps Series (so far)

#1: The Unexpected Curve Ball
#2: The Realness of Red Hair
#3: The Power of the Shower
#4: Lonely Man Walking
#5: A Bad Case of Jet Lag
#6: The Scent of a Man
#7: So Much for Spontaneity
#8: Working Out the Kinks
#9: Paging Dr. Mulder...