Softball Accident

By Erin M. Blair

At noon, Mulder decided to play softball with his fellow agents. He reasoned that he was in the

best shape ever in his life. After going through a horrifying case while barely escaping injury,

he needed to kick back and enjoy himself. Usually, he was too busy with cases to take part,

but this time he was free. He waved to Scully, who was sitting in the stands, not wanting to

take part. She agreed to come and watch him play.

Just a simple game – what could go wrong? He thought to himself as he ran to first base.

Nothing could go wrong, right?

But nothing was simple for Mulder.

On that day, everything turned out so wrong that a few simple calls did not pan out for his

team. When he was sliding onto third base, he got his foot caught on the base and twisted his

ankle. Although the ball gently hit his ankle, it still made the matter a lot worse for him. He

was still in pain. The first thing he heard as he hit the ground was Scully’s screams to let her

onto the field. He writhed into a ball on the ground holding his leg, grimacing as the pain

reverberated in and around his ankle.

Scully arrived at his side. Her doctor bag ready in her hand – the one she always carried with

her – for emergencies. “I think the game’s over for you.”

He carefully got up and nodded. “I know. It’s very hard to walk.”

A pale-faced young FBI Agent Jim Rodgers stood by, looking on helplessly with concern lining

on his face. He was the second baseman who had accidentally hit Mulder with the ball. “I’m

sorry, Mulder. I hope you’ll feel better. I… feel bad about this.”

“Don’t be, Rodgers. It could have happened to anyone.”

He turned towards Scully who was carefully helping him walk off the field. “Do you need help?”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

The young agent quickly got on the other side of Mulder. With his assistance, Scully was able

to help him off the diamond while bystanders looked on with worry. They took him to the

team’s clubhouse and sat him down on the bench.

Scully inspected the injury, sighing. She put her doctor bag underneath his foot for elevation.

“Mulder, you’ve certainly done a number on this.”

“It’s not broken, is it?”

“No. It is tender to the touch but I think we should get this checked out at the ER – just need

to be sure that you didn’t tear any ligaments. It’s probably an ankle strain,” she said, carefully

placing ice to his ankle to stop the swelling. After that, she carefully wrapped an ACE bandage

around his ankle after putting on a protective brace for support.

Jim sighed. “This game was the first that I’d played. I graduated from Quantico last month

and this was the first chance I was able to play.” He paused. “I played college softball.”

Mulder nodded thoughtfully. He sighed, wincing as he limped along with them. “I played

cricket at Oxford. However, I always loved baseball.”

Scully smiled. “And basketball.”

“Yeah,” Mulder said.

Scully and Rodgers helped him to Scully’s car. His car wasn’t working and he’d left it at the

duplex. Besides, they enjoyed commuting together to work. “I guess it was a good idea that I

arrived with you, Scully.”

“It makes things a bit easier, that’s for sure. Besides, we saved a lot of gas money.”

“What kind of treatment will you be giving him?” Jim asked, as he helped to put the seat

buckle on Mulder.

“I’ll be taking him to the ER and taking it from there. Probably RICE. I am hoping that he

didn’t tear anything, but his ankle looks badly bruised and very tender to the touch.”

“I hope nothing’s broken,” Mulder said. He winced with the pain throbbing from ankle to his

brain. It was so hard for him to walk and took almost all his strength to try.

“Call me with updates, Agent Scully,” Jim said. He looked at Mulder, sighing. “Again, I’m so

sorry. You’re in my prayers.”

“Thanks, Rodgers.”

* * *

Scully arrive with Mulder at the ER. The on staff doctor took an X-ray of his ankle. They waited

in Mulder’s examining room for the results. He was the first one to speak. “How bad do you

think it is, Scully?”

“I’m hoping for the best, Mulder. I think we need to wait and see what your X-ray shows.” She

paused. “I already know what the treatment there will be.”

“You do?”

Scully nodded. She was about to say something when the doctor came in with Mulder’s file in

hand.

Dr. Kennedy smiled at them. “Agent Mulder has a tiny tear in the ligaments of his ankle.”

“Grade 2?”

He nodded. “We’ll give him crutches and a prescription for a pain reliever. He’ll need to be on

crutches for a week and he has to keep it elevated. He’ll need some physio.”

Mulder nodded. He didn’t like it, but knew it could have been a lot worse.

“It’s recommended that you follow RICE protocols, Agent Mulder. And don’t walk on it for a

couple of days.”

“RICE means rest, ice, compression, and elevation.”

“If you’re still in pain, come back in a couple of days so I can reevaluate you.”

“Just two days of elevating my ankle?” Mulder asked. He wanted the doctor to reaffirm the

length of time.

To his relief, the doctor agreed. He gave the prescription for a pain reliever and crutches to

him. After the doctor left, he turned towards Scully. “I guess there won’t be any cases for

awhile.”

“Mulder, you have to take it easy.”

Although he was in pain, he smiled at her remark. “Oh, don’t worry, Scully. I’ll be a model

patient.”

Scully smiled at him. “Why do I think you won’t be?”

* * *

After going home with Scully to their duplex, Mulder wondered how he was going to let himself

rest his ankle. He’d always been a bad patient, but this time he vowed that he’d do anything

to speed up the recovery process and let Scully take good care of him.

After she propped up his foot with pillows on their bed, Scully looked at him. He was finally

listening and following doctor’s orders. “Wow, Mulder. I’m impressed. You’re actually doing the

whole RICE protocols without any fuss.”

“Aw, Scully, I’m trying to see the silver lining in all this. I admit that it’s hard for me not to

walk. There are times when I want to go out and jog around the block. Whenever I put weight

on my ankle, it hurts.” He paused. “I know I’m whining…”

“Mulder, you know you’re taking too much by heart. It’s just a tiny tear. And you have to tell

yourself that you’re healing.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself.”

* * *

Mulder had fully recovered from his ankle injury, according to the new X-ray that his doctor

was holding in his hands. He smiled. This was the news he wanted to hear. When he saw

Scully in the waiting room, he gave her the brightest smile he could muster. “I’m healed,

Scully!”

There were no words, but a matching smile appeared on her face. She knew they would be

having their own private party later.

~ * ~ *

The End