From: pdiddy@hotmail.com   
      
   -   
   Title:   A change of scenery.   
      
   Authors:  Erin, Mel, and Pattie. (Mulder's Refugees) muldersrefuge@yahoo.com   
      
   Rated: NC-17   
      
      
      
   Category: Angst, Humor, Story   (yet another MR word of the day challenge.)   
      
      
   Spoilers: Small hint at Fight the Future.   
      
   Summary:  Mulder's stress levels are sky high, so   
   he and Scully are ordered to take time off to   
   de-stress.   
      
   Feedback:? Sure why not.   
      
   Archive:? If you really want to that's fine by us. LOL   
      
   Disclaimer:  Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Kersh   
   and The X-Files are owned by Chris Carter,   
   Ten Thirteen, and Fox Studios.  No money is   
   earned from this lunacy...errr  fanfic, and we intend no   
   copyright infringement.   
      
   Authors' Note: This is a group effort.   
      
      
      
      
      
   F.B.I. Headquarters,   
      
   J. Edgar Hoover Building,   
      
   Washington, D.C.   
      
   Office of The X-Files   
      
      
      
   "Mulder, what is this?" asked Scully.   
      
   "It's a frog, Scully."   
      
   "I know it's a frog, but what's it doing here at the office."   
      
   "It's my new pet. I caught it yesterday at the park, but I hurt my toe   
   catching it."   
      
   Scully rolled her eyes as if to say it 'served him right'. "Only you can   
   manage that, Mulder. What did you do this time?"   
      
   He cringed and managed to halt an embarrassed heat rising over his face in   
   mid-flush. He blinked and chewed on his lower lip. "Errr, I   
   don't think you want to know, Scully."   
      
   His partner nailed him with an ice blue stare, one eyebrow rising   
   dangerously close to her hairline.   
   She said nothing.   
      
      
   Mulder began to fidget. He gulped a breath and pursed his lips with the   
   exhale, his eyes flickering around her, not meeting her focused   
   gaze. "Sculleee..." he whined hoarsely.   
      
   "Nothin' doin', Mulder, " she warned. "Spill. Frog."   
      
   "Errrm.."   
      
   "So, how did you fall anyway, G-man?" Scully asked.   
      
   Mulder's face turned into a beet red. "I, uh, tripped."   
      
   "Really?"   
      
   Mulder nodded. "It's so embarrassing, Scully."   
      
   Now Scully's curiosity was piqued. "On what?"   
      
   "I tripped and fell down over a hose."   
      
   Scully's face twisted in amused skepticism. "Mulder....a hose?   
   In the park? I'd think a park would be watered either left to   
   nature or using an underground sprinkling system in some places.   
   Which park, Mulder? Don't tell me you ran into an X-file right   
   On our door step?"   
      
   Mulder grinned sheepishly. "Uhh, as a matter of fact...."   
      
   "The hose or the frog?"   
      
   Mulder knew he had that terrible quirk of umming and ahhing when   
   he felt he was a bad little boy being confronted by 'Mommy Dearest   
   Scully'. He even knew when he was blushing, and right now he was a   
   nice shade of Bing cherry.   
      
      
   "Okay... Scully, this is going to sound really out..."   
      
   "Never mind. Most of your clumsier explanations are. Get to it."   
      
   He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, the hose...the hose was   
   running from the fountain, where I was letting the   
   frog play. A frog... likes... well, anything resembling a pond. Anyhow, he   
   jumped out over the other side of the pond and I ran   
   after him. That's when I tripped over the hose. A middle-aged man with...   
   remember the bump on the back of 'their' necks? Anyway, he   
   was siphoning off water for some reason I cannot begin to guess. I fell over   
   the hose, picked myself up, and then he was coming at me with   
   a rake."   
      
    "A rake? Farmer Brown doing a little gardening, alien style?"   
      
   Scully rolled her eyes and shook her head. The man was aggravating at times.   
   "Mulder, I have heard some crazy stories, but this takes the   
   cake!"   
      
   "Would it ease your mind if I said it was a lawn rake and not a soil rake?"   
   A boyish grin normally would have warmed his partner up a   
   little, but not this time.   
      
      
   "Okay, okay... I think I'm all right on this. I think I have it straight.   
   Now, how would this ever fit into, say, your adventures in   
   the colony of clones raising plants for the bees? That is what you're going   
   to propose, isn't it?"   
      
   Finally! Yes! She is enlightened! "Congratulations, Agent Scully. You have   
   learned well from the master. Your deductive abilities   
   have reached a very high level!"   
      
   Scully smacked Mulder's desk. "First a frog, now alien gardeners. In the   
   park. Related to the colony. Now, I'm just about to have a   
   hangover."   
      
      
   "You aren't drinking, Scully."   
      
   "I will be, in about an hour. Trying to get away from the images in my head.   
   Mulder, just WHAT are you going to tell Skinner and   
   Kersh, and even your dry cleaner? I'll get a bed for you on the psych ward   
   before I start on the drinks."   
      
      
   Bam! Mulder's forehead met the desk in his disbelief and frustration.   
      
   "Gee, Scully, what will it take for you to believe even a simple thing as   
   how I tripped in the park? Sheesh. The gardeners left their   
   equipment in the park. I was walking... thinking about our recent case when   
   I tripped on the hose while I was watching a frog. Then   
   this gardener came after me with a rake... I swear to you, Scully, I'm   
   telling you the honest truth here. I wouldn't lie about something like   
   this,"   
   Mulder said. His anger was pouring through in his veins. "When I fell on the   
   garden path near the oak tree, I hurt my toe."   
      
    "That's how you caught this frog?"   
      
   Mulder nodded. "Yes. Now do you believe me?"   
      
   "No," Scully said simply.   
      
   Mulder moaned. His head was pounding. "I think I'm going to have a   
   headache."   
      
   Then he fainted.   
   xxxxxxx   
      
      
   After the curvaceous, brunette resident gave Mulder a cursory examination,   
   she sat on the stool in the cubicle. Mr. Mulder, all   
   things considered, you have a bump on the head, and you should also try not   
   to fall asleep. If you do fall asleep, I suggest either a   
   friend or alarm clock to wake you every four hours. It's just a precaution.   
   You may have a mild concussion."   
      
   Mulder couldn't help but notice the young doctor's porcelain skin and full,   
   cerise lips. Scully couldn't help but give her partner   
   that "Down, boy" look.   
      
   "Uh, huh. Well, come on Scully. We have to get back to work." Mulder drew a   
   curtain around his cot and proceeded to get dressed.   
      
   Scully took the young doctor aside. "Look, is there anything else I need to   
   know? I'm his personal physician."   
      
   "His blood pressure is a bit on the high side, Dr. Scully. He has to learn   
   to manage stress. I think given the nature of his work,   
   there's quite a lot of stress."   
      
   "Yes, and perhaps he does need some time off. We've been all over the   
   country and back up until this week. Thanks, Doctor Meisner."   
      
   "You're welcome. Get him to 'chill out'. His reflexes are more indicative of   
   stress than reaction time."   
      
   Scully looked at Mulder who was laying down on the hospital bed. "Exercise   
   will relieve your stress, Mulder. It's a common medical   
   fact."   
      
   "I get plenty of exercise, Scully," Mulder said with a tired frown. Trying   
   to second guess Scully's reactions was sport enough. "Really."   
      
   "Umm, that's not what I had in mind."   
      
   "What exactly did you have in mind?" Mulder asked. His interest was piqued.   
      
   "Do you really want to know?"   
      
   "Um, yes."   
      
   "Let's just say that's for me to know and you to find out. When you get   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)