Title: the Fallen God Author: Hawthorne Kessler Rating: R for language Classification: H, MT, UST Spoilers: Just various Mulder injuries Thanks to: Chloe, whose kind words regarding my first fan fic attempt produced a smile unrivaled in human existence. Distribution: Anyone who wishes to archive this piece may do so, but please let me know where it's going. (Thanks!) Summary: An unfortunate accident lands Mulder in the ER Disclaimer: Anyone you may recognize belongs to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox Broadcasting. No infringement is intended, no money is being offered or taken, etc, etc. T H E F A L L E N G O D by Hawthorne Kessler Fox Mulder's apartment, Tuesday, 2:55am His teeth were tightly clenched, resulting in a fair imitation of his boss. His breath held, he waited in agonizing curiosity for the resulting wave of brutal agony. He had heard the crunch, and with his eyes wide, he could almost see the pain waft up his limbs to land in the pain center of his brain. Oh, yeah, there it is... He fell to the floor, the breath knocked from his body, his hands frantically grasping his right foot. "Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!" He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to take a deep breath. Unsuccessful in his endeavors, he settled for tiny, harsh pants. "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" Oh, yeah, there it is... Broken toes. Shitfuck. All he had wanted was a glass of water, so he had rolled off his sofa, intent on making his way to the kitchen, had taken two steps, and made brisk, hardy contact with the leg of his coffee table. He lay on his floor for a while, waiting for the pain to recede. After about five minutes, he was able to breath, at least, so he concentrated on that, even trying Lamaze techniques, which only left him light-headed. I want an epideral... Eventually, he managed to turn himself around, and gingerly slide/crawl, still holding his right foot, over to the desk. He grabbed the phone cord and pulled the whole unit down to the floor. He picked up the receiver and hit the #1 to speed dial Scully's home number. It rang just once before she answered. "Mulder, it's three am. It better be invasion time, or I'll kill you," she snapped in a raspy voice. "Scully, hey," he gasped in greeting. He could hear the rustle of bedcovers as she sat up, could imagine the look of concern that crossed her face as she took in his tone of voice. "Mulder, what's wrong?" He winced as he let up his death grip on his foot. "Did I wake you?" "Cut the crap, Mulder. What's wrong?" He tried to move his toes, a stupid move, and yelped hoarsely in agony. "Mulder? Are you at home? Do you need an ambulance?" "Ambulance?" he groaned. "God, no, please, no more ambulances!" "Mulder, I'm coming over." She hung up. He dropped the phone on the floor and presently followed it down. Shitshitshit. Twenty minutes later, Scully was unlocking his front door and flinging it open in sheer panic. She had to swallow a scream when she saw him lying on the foor, curled up in a fetal position. She ran to him and kneeled by his side. Brushing her hand tenderly over his hair, she whispered, "Mulder? Can you hear me?" He nodded. "Tell me what's wrong. What happened?" "I... stubbed... my... toes...," he gritted out. Scully's mouth dropped open and the tense, frightened breath she had been holding escaped in a whoosh of disgust. She plopped backwards onto her butt. "You... stubbed... your toes... You stubbed your toes!" she shrieked. You woke me from an incredibly erotic, sex-filled dream because you stubbed your goddamned toes!" "Sex-filled?" She growled and slugged his shoulder. He chuckled weakly. "Uh, Scully, I broke some bones, here." "With more to come!" she snapped. Then she sighed. "Which foot?" "The right." She huffed and got up to turn on the lamp. "Okay, let's see," she said as she hunkered back down to the floor. Mulder very slowly sat up and gave his foot over to Scully's tender ministrations. She placed her palm beneath his heel and guided it up to sit atop her thigh. His three smallest toes were swollen to twice their size, and had already turned black and blue. "Okay, tell me if this hurts," she instructed as she gently applied pressure to his pinky toe. Mulder's back arched and he let out an unearthly howl of pain. She snatched her hand back and sighed. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, Mulder, it seems you have broken your toes." He glared at her, panting and sweating. She got up off the floor and extended her hands to him. "Come, on, let's go to the emergency room." "What for? There's nothing to do for broken toes." "Well, they can confirm diagnosis and tape them. And they can give you some pain medication." "Ah, hell, another hospital." Shitfuck. Georgetown Medical Center 4:30am "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Mulder groused as Scully leafed through a magazine. She looked up at him and actually smiled. "You know, Mulder, I sort of am enjoying this." His face became a mask of hurt and shock. "You get off on my pain?" "No, Mulder, I don't. I don't like seeing you in pain. It's just that all those other trips to the hospital were the result of legitimate injuries. You've been shot, poisoned, been in car accidents, almost drowned... and as careless and stupid as the intention may have been that resulted in those incidents, at least they were sort of job related. You stubbing your toes... I don't know, it just seems so ordinary, so silly, and... I guess it just makes you more human." He shook his head slowly. "I sort of though I'd always been *too* human, Scully." "Not to me. It's weird, but I suppose I've always thought of you as some kind of Superman, although without the x-ray vision and ability to fly." "Really? Thanks, Scully!" "But, Mulder, what made you like that was your strength in times of adversity. You've always been so strong. To see you lying on the floor because you stubbed--" "Broke." "--your toes, it made me see you as fragile. I liked that. I know you've had your share of fragile moments, emotionally speaking, but this was different. I don't really know how to explain it." "So, I've been kicked off the pedestal, huh?" "So to speak, yes." "Oh, well. The god has fallen." "God? I don't think so." "Well, thanks for being there, Scully. Now you have to do something to fall." "Oh, I'm up there too?" "Yeah, you are." They smiled at each other, reveling in the new-found intimacy, both of them realizing this was one of the first times they had so willingly shared such personal thoughts with one another. It felt wonderful, but a little scary. Thankfully, the doctor came back into the cubicle and reported that Mulder had broken five bones in three of his toes. He proceed to tape the broken digits, splint his lower leg, give him crutches, and a perscription for Tylenol 3 (r). "Do you know how to use the crutches, Mr. Mulder?" the doctor asked innocently. The agents looked at each other and burst out laughing. "If you only knew," Scully murmured, rolling her eyes. Mulder threw a mock glare in her direction and informed the doctor that he did, indeed, know how to use them. As they walked out of the ER, slowly, Scully by his side in case of a slip, Mulder felt the need to make her fall. "So, Scully, was exactly does "sex-filled" imply, anyway?" end transmission... thanks to MTA for simply existing!!! and thanks to you for reading!!! Thora