The Perfect Christmas by Waddles52

Title: The Perfect Christmas

Author: Waddles 52

Summary: While transporting a prisoner, Mulder and

Scully are forced to spend Christmas away

from home.

Rating: PG

Category: MSR, MT

Disclaimer: Not for profit. Just for fun. No

copyright infringement intended.

Archives: Written for IMTP X-Files Virtual Season 10

Holiday Special.

Feedback: I’d love to hear from you.

Waddles52@wmconnect.com

“Were you able to get a flight out tonight?” Mulder

asked, his voice sounding like he’d gargled with

glass. He was nursing the Mother of all colds and a

sprained knee only added to his aggravation.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Scully griped. “I

couldn’t get anything until the 27th. I thought

Louisville was much more metropolitan than this.”

“With the city-county merger in January, Louisville

will become the 16th largest city in the U.S.,” Mulder

informed her.

“I guess I should just be thankful that our prisoner

decided to get appendicitis near a hospital with a

prison ward. He’ll be well guarded until he’s ready

to travel, then the local field office will make sure

he’s transported back to D.C.” Scully shrugged out

of her coat and sat on the side of Mulder’s bed.

“How are you doing?”

“They’re ready to release me. Just a sprain,” he

answered, trying to hold back a cough.

“The next time a 250 pound prisoner decides to pass

out in the aisle of an airplane, try to get out of

his way,’ Scully grinned.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Did you find us a place to

stay?”

“Yes. The local office is handling that. Agent Mike

Sumner should be here soon to take us to the hotel.

He said it wasn’t far from the hospital.”

“As soon as they put my knee in a splint and hand me

some crutches I’m ready to roll, er hop. I’m sorry

we’re stuck here for Christmas. Why don’t we rent a

car and drive back to D.C.?”

“I don’t think your knee is up to a 12 hour drive.

We’ll just hang out at the hotel and find a nice

restaurant for Christmas dinner,” Scully decided.

“That’s okay for me, but what about your family? You

deserve to be home for Christmas.”

“They will get along just fine without me. I’ll be

able to spend some time with them when we return.

They won’t be leaving until next week.”

“Looks like I’ll have you all to myself,” Mulder

grinned. “I could think of worse things.”

“Let’s not think about those things. Let me check

with the nurse about your discharge.”

An hour later Mulder was looking out his hotel

window, watching a barge make its way down the Ohio

River. He turned as the door opened and Scully

stomped in.

“I can’t believe this city!” she fumed. “They roll up

the sidewalks at 6 o’clock on Christmas Eve. If we

have a Christmas dinner it will have to come from

room service.” She plopped down on the bed. “And

how did you manage to get a room with a nice view?

All I can see is the building across the street from

my window.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He turned and made his way over to

the bed, moving carefully with his crutches. “You’ll

be here with me, so you can look at the river all you

want. Of course, I’d like to be included in the

sights you want to see but if you want to look at

water and barges, my window is at your disposal.”

Mulder carefully laid on the bed. “I feel like crap,”

he sniffed. “You wouldn’t happen to have any cold

medicine in your first-aid kit?” he asked hopefully,

then began to cough.

Scully turned to feel his forehead. “You’re a little

warm. I checked and I didn’t pack anything like

that.” She looked at her watch. “Since the

sidewalks rolled up 30 minutes ago I doubt I could

find a drugstore open. I can ask at the desk

though.”

“No, don’t bother. I got some pain medication at the

hospital. Maybe I’ll just take a couple of pills and

sleep until this cold runs its course.”

“You haven’t taken anything yet?”

“I really didn’t want to. I hate to feel groggy.”

Scully was off the bed in a flash getting a glass of

water. “Take them now. Maybe the rest will do you

some good.”

“How can I rest when I can’t breathe?”

“You’re breathing or I wouldn’t be able to hear you

whine. Just take them and sleep,” she ordered.

Two hours later Scully was flipping through the TV

channels, sampling what Louisville had to offer.

“Thank God for cable,” she muttered as Mulder snored

loudly.

The pain medication had hit him like a ton of bricks.

Between that and his worsening nasal congestion, his

snoring had become very irritating, not to mention

loud.

There was a knock at the door. Scully got up to

answer it, fully expecting a member of management

demanding them to turn off the buzz saw. Agent Mike

Sumner greeted her instead.

“Agent Scully,” he greeted her, confusion evident on

his face. “I thought this was Agent Mulder’s room.

I’m sorry to bother you.”

“Come in, Agent Sumner. This is Mulder’s room, but

since he’s developed a rather nasty cold in addition

to his knee injury I thought I should keep an eye on

him. He’s taken some pain medication and he’s not

too steady on his feet.” Scully’s explanation was

punctuated by several window-rattling snores.

“I could tell he wasn’t feeling well when I brought

you here. Actually, that’s why I came.”

Scully directed him to the sofa as she turned off the

TV. At least the Louisville office arranged for them

to stay in one of the best hotels available. The

Galt House was leagues above their usual

accommodations.

“I was telling my wife, Carol Ann, about your

situation. She’s a physician’s assistant at one of

the Immediate Care Centers in town. I mentioned

Agent Mulder’s cold and she insisted that I see if he

had any medication to take.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Scully sighed, ” And I’m afraid

he’s developing bronchitis.”

“If you could write down his symptoms and a brief

medical history, I’ll give her a call. She wants to

run it by the doctor there and he’ll prescribe some

medication for him. They have loads of samples and

she’ll bring them home when her shift ends at 10:00.”

“That’s very kind of you. I’m surprised that there

is something open on Christmas Eve.”

“They’re open 365 days a year. She also insisted

that I ask you to share our Christmas dinner.

Neither one of us could get enough time off from work

to go home for Christmas so it’s just us and our two

children.”

“Thank you for your offer but I don’t think we should

expose your children to this. It’s a pretty nasty

bug,” Scully declined.

“Agent Scully, our two toddlers are in day care.

Odds are they’ve already been exposed. In fact, they

may have already had it. They’re both getting over

colds.”

“We wouldn’t want to put your wife to any extra

trouble. She sounds like she has her hands full with

the children and work.” Scully wrote Mulder’s

information as she talked.

“Carol Ann will cook enough for a small army whether

you come or not. You could help put a dent in the

leftovers I’ll be eating for the next week,” he

laughed. “I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ll

pick you up around noon. That will give Carol Ann a

chance to doctor Agent Mulder and let him rest before

we eat, around 3 or 3:30. I guarantee you it will be

much better than room service.”

“All right, Agent Sumner. You’ve got two guests for

Christmas dinner. We’ll be ready at noon,” Scully

agreed as she handed him Mulder’s information.

“Great! I’ll call this in to Carol Ann and she’ll

have everything ready when you get there. Oh, and

dress is casual.”

Christmas day found Mulder’s cold to be much worse.

Soon after their arrival at the Sumner household,

their hostess whisked Mulder off to a bedroom where a

vaporizer was already set up. After a brief

examination, Carol Ann determined that he did indeed

have bronchitis with a temperature of 100.8. She

turned on the vaporizer and administered the

prescribed medications. An ice pack for his knee

completed Mulder’s treatment.

“Agent Mulder, I’d like for you to rest here until

dinner is ready. I’m sorry the kids are so rowdy,

but they’re still excited with all the toys Santa

brought. I’ll try to keep it down to a dull roar out

there.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Sumner. You’ve really gone out of your

way here,” Mulder said, his voice barely a whisper.

“No problem. Just relax and let the medicine start

to work. You’ll feel much better soon. I’d better

go and check on your partner. The boys may have her

tied up and surrounded by now.”

Mulder laughed. “I’d like to see that.”

“Don’t laugh. They’ll probably come after you when

you come out for dinner, so rest. You’ll need your

strength.”

Mulder slept soundly for an hour or so then woke with

the uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched.

He opened one eye and found two little boys staring

at him.

“Mister, you gots a big boo-boo,” the oldest

informed him, touching the splint on his right leg.

“Yep, I guess I do,” Mulder agreed.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little.”

“Maybe your mommy will kiss it and make it better.

I’ll go get her.”

The two boys turned to leave.

“Boys, wait a minute,” he called after them, but they

were already gone.

A few minutes later Scully came into the room. “I

hear you have a big boo-boo and your mommy needs to

kiss it,” she grinned.

“Oh, yeah. Where do you want to start?” Mulder

grinned.

“You must be feeling much better,” she laughed.

“I’ll live.”

“That’s good because dinner is almost ready.”

“So, what have you been doing while I’ve been in here

breathing this wonderful mentholated air?”

“Oh, I’ve played about a hundred games of Candyland

and Chutes and Ladders. I’d probably be doing the

same thing at home. Micah and Jacob are really

cute.”

“Which is which?”

“Micah is the oldest. He’s almost four and Jacob

just turned two.”

“Okay. Could you hand me my crutches? I guess I

should wash up before dinner.”

Scully handed him the crutches. “Take it easy. You

might be a little light-headed from some of the

medications,” she warned.

“Thanks, Mommy,” he teased as he stood up. “Wanna

come with me and check my hands and face after I’ve

finished?”

“I think I’ll save that inspection for later, after

we get back to the hotel.”

“You’ve got a deal.”

Micah and Jacob were fascinated when Mulder made his

grand entrance to the dining room.

“Look Mommy! He gots crunches,” Micah announced.

“Yes, sweetheart. He has to use the crutches because

he has a sore knee,” Carol Ann replied, emphasizing

the correct pronunciation.

“Can I have some?” Micah asked innocently.

“Me too!” Jacob joined in.

“Looks like you’ve started a trend,” Scully quipped

as they sat down to eat.

Later, Mulder followed Scully into the hotel room

and shed his coat. He sat on the bed and very gingerly

lifted his leg and stretched it out. “Damn, my knee

hurts like hell. Must be the cold, damp weather,” he

groaned.

“You don’t suppose it could have anything to do with

getting on the floor and acting like a three year old

do you?”

“Aw, Scully. I haven’t played with Legos since I was

a kid. We had a pretty neat fort under construction,

and the Hot Wheels race set was really cool.”

“Especially when one became airborne and landed in the

left-over cranberry sauce,” Scully giggled.

“Well, Mike said he wanted help getting rid of the

leftovers,” Mulder explained.

“Other than your knee, how do you feel?” Scully

asked, feeling his forehead.

“I’m pretty tired, but I think I’ve turned the corner

on this bug.”

“I think you have too. I don’t think you have a fever

now. Just remember to keep taking your meds.”

“I will,” he promised. “And how do you feel? Still

missing your family?”

“Of course, but I must admit Micah and Jacob were

great substitute nephews. I’ll see my family in a few

days and we’ll still have plenty of time to catch up

on all of the news.”

“I’m glad you’re okay with being stuck here. I’m sorry

we can’t leave for another day though.”

“Well, it just so happens that Carol Ann has tomorrow

off and we’ve decided to hit the after-Christmas sales.

It seems that Louisville has several large shopping

malls and we’ve already mapped out our strategy. We’re

going to start early and shop until we drop.”

“Well, I guess that’s a good plan. I guess I’ll just

hang out here and watch some of the bowl games,”

Mulder said, his disappointment evident.

“You know, Mike has the day off too. He’s planning

on playing with the boys and watching the games. He

said he’d love to have some company to help eat some

of those leftovers.”

“Now you’re talking!” Mulder exclaimed. “Carol Ann

is a great cook. Maybe I’ll even be able to taste

a little more by tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you will. We can drop you off on the way

to our first mall.”

“So, I guess this wasn’t the worst Christmas ever?”

Mulder asked.

“No, it wasn’t. We were together and we made some

new friends. Actually, I’d rate it pretty high on

my list of favorites.”

“Me too. You know, I have some gifts for you but

of course, they’re at home. I didn’t think we’d be

spending Christmas in Kentucky,” Mulder explained

as Scully took off her shoes and lay on the bed

beside him.

“Same here, but I think we’ve overlooked our biggest

gift.”

Mulder looked puzzled.

“We’re here together, in reasonably good health with

the promise of many more Christmases together,” she

explained as she leaned in to kiss him.

As Mulder turned to accept her kiss, he caught the

view from the window out of the corner of his eye.

It was beginning to snow. It only served to accent

what was quickly becoming the perfect Christmas.

The End