Title: Tummy trouble Part One   Dana was slightly calmed by the sensation of Walter grasping her hand. She hadn’t been sure coming to the hospital was the right thing to do. She knew from experience that gastric surgery was a major event and she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to see Walter in pain. Hearing that he knew his attacker made her shiver.   ************************   The ambulance slowed and Walter half opened his eyes, saw Dana sitting over him and frowned, sensing her unease. Moments later, the doors were open, he was shivering in the late-night chilly air and he could hear Dana’s voice as she ran from the ambulance.   ********************   He was returned to the hospital he had left, and woke to see Dana’s concerned face looking down at him.   ‘Hey.’   He smiled. ‘Are you okay?’   Dana nodded reassuringly. ‘Yeah. I’m fine.’   Walter saw a sadness in her eyes, and put his hand on hers. ‘What?’   ‘Luis Cardinale killed my sister. I’m sure of it. And I can’t get in to see him. Someone above you is blocking my access.’   Walter sighed. ‘Dana, I’m sorry.’   Dana forced a smile. ‘How are you feeling?’   Walter stroked her hand with his thumb. ‘Dana, I thought we said we’d be honest.’   Dana heard the soft chiding tone behind the words and blushed. ‘If the police hadn’t turned up when they did, I would have killed him.’   ‘I’m glad you didn’t.’   Dana looked down at Walter. ‘Oh?’   Walter nodded. ‘You have no idea of the paperwork I would have…’   Dana slapped Walter’s bare shoulder. ‘Walter!’   Walter flinched. ‘Ow!’   Dana got to her feet. ‘I’m just gonna call Mulder. You need anything?’   Walter shook his head. ‘No. Say ‘hi’ from me, okay?’   Dana smiled, leaning to drop a soft kiss on Walter’s forehead. ‘Wait a couple of hours, and you can tell him yourself. Has he missed a day?’   Walter laughed. ‘No. I’m surrounded by my loyal staff.’   Dana’s smile faded. ‘In view of recent events, that’s just as well.’   Walter sighed, closing his eyes as Dana left the room.   ************************   Walter moved slowly, packing his bag, hoping Dana would be on time. He couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital. The care had been excellent, the staff attentive and caring, but he hated being dependent on anyone. And his injury had been such that he had been forced to be totally dependent on the staff, and Dana, for almost a month.   He was certain, although he made no mention of it, that his transfer order, seemingly unable to be traced to any member of the medical staff, had been arranged specifically to enable him to be easily targetted by the hired gun who had been arrested. If Dana hadn’t discovered the move and been riding with him in the ambulance…   The door crashed open and Walter turned swiftly, regretting his sudden movement. ‘No way are you ready to be discharged!’   Walter sighed. ‘Dana, I’m leaving.’   ‘Men!’ Dana snapped. ‘Walk to the door.’   ‘What?’   ‘Walk. To. The. Door.’   Walter restrained his temper, left his bag on the bed and took a few steps, desperately hoping his discomfort didn’t show on his face. Halfway, he slowed, feeling his wound pulling painfully. He looked at Dana, seeing a smile soften her frown. Without comment, she walked to his side, put a hand around his waist and helped him back to the bed. He took her hand as she stepped back. ‘I have to get out of here Dana.’   Dana smiled. ‘You can’t.’   Walter looked up at her. ‘Please?’   Dana sighed, shaking her head. ‘Option one: You stay at my place. Option two: I stay at yours.’   Walter’s eyes widened. ‘What?’   Dana shrugged. ‘You can’t get upstairs. You can’t drive. You *can’t* be on your own.’   ‘Option two.’   Dana smiled at Walter’s soft answer.   ‘I’ll go home, pack a bag and meet you back here in an hour or so, okay? Do NOT leave before I get back or I’ll be performing your autopsy inside a week, understand?’   ‘What happened to your bedside manner Dana?’   Dana picked up her keys and left without reply.   *****************   Walter dropped onto the couch, exhausted by the short walk from the underground carpark to the elevator, and from the elevator to his door. He knew he was leaning more and more on Dana’s small frame as they closed the distance between the elevator and his door, and he tried to relieve her of some of the weight. It hadn’t gone unnoticed.   ‘Don’t try to be heroic. Let’s get inside, okay?’   ‘Yes Ma’am.’   Dana laughed. ‘Careful. I could get used to that.’   ‘So could I.’ Walter said softly, his voice tinged with tiredness and pain.   Dana hoped her reaction to the comment didn’t show on her face. She took his key from him and let them into the apartment.   ‘Let’s get you comfortable, then I’ll get your pain meds, okay?’   Teasingly, Walter said: ‘Yes Ma’am.’   Dana groaned and guided Walter to the couch. ‘Sit still. And quiet.’   *******************   Gently, Dana lifted Walter’s feet onto the couch, easing his shoes off. ‘The meds should kick in soon.’   ‘Thank you.’ Walter smiled, shyly Dana thought.   ‘I’m gonna go get settled in. You need anything?’   ‘No. Thanks.’   ‘Okay.’ Lifting her bag, Dana climbed the stairs, not realising that Walter’s eyes were watching her as she did so.   Later…   ‘You’ve got most of the things on this sheet…’ Dana held up the sheet the hospital had given Walter – how to care for his wound and himself. ‘Except for one or two things. I’m gonna go out and stock up. Where’s the nearest grocery store?’   Walter struggled to think clearly, blinking several times. ‘Um…down the block and turn left. It stays open late.’   Dana smiled. ‘Do you need anything before I go?’   Walter shook his head. ‘There’s some money in…’   Dana shook her head. ‘Forget it. We can settle up when you’re better, okay?’   Exhausted, Walter nodded. ‘Okay.’   ‘Try and get some rest. I won’t be long.’   ‘Yes Ma’am.’ Walter said wearily.   Dana laughed, and the sound carried into the corridor outside the apartment, making Walter smile as he drifted off.   *******************   Walter woke slowly, Dana’s smile coming into soft then sharp focus. ‘Hey. I got you a gift.’   Walter smiled. ‘At the grocery store?’   ‘No, the pharmacy.’   Walter gave up, waiting as Dana opened the white paper bag. ‘A baby monitor? Dana, you shouldn’t have. You *really* shouldn’t have.’   Dana laughed softly. ‘You might need something during the night, and this saves you having to yell.’   Walter had to admit that the idea made sense. It was possible he would need to call Dana during the night, and this was, as she said, the easiest way round the problem.   Walter smiled tiredly. ‘Okay.’   ‘We need to get you upstairs while you can still walk. Come on.’ Dana put a gentle hand between Walter’s shoulder blades and a hand on his arm.   Reluctantly, Walter lifted himself upright, grimacing. ‘Ah!’   Dana stroked Walter’s back in gentle circles. ‘Shh, it’s okay. Slowly.’   ‘You’re wasted doing autopsies Dana.’ Walter said between deep breaths.   Hiding her pleasure at the compliment, Dana asked: ‘Better?’   Walter nodded. ‘Yeah.’ He lifted himself slowly off the couch.   ‘This is too low.’ Dana nodded at the couch as they stood beside it. ‘I’ll think of something.’   Walter nodded tiredly. He didn’t care about the couch, only the mountainous staircase ahead of him. ‘Think later? I need to get upstairs while I still can.’   Dana smiled and put her hand around Walter’s back. ‘We’ll go at your pace. If you need to stop, tell me, okay?’   Walter took a couple of faltering steps. ‘I need to stop.’   Dana supported Walter. ‘Look…this isn’t gonna work. My place is all on one level.’   ‘Dana please…’   Dana thought about digging her heels in, but Walter’s tone tugged at her conscience. The man had been through enough, and deserved to stay in his own home. ‘Okay. Let’s go.’   It took several stops and at a few points Dana considered if she would be able to hold Walter’s weight if he began to fall backwards. At last, they made it and Dana left Walter sitting on the toilet seat while she turned the bed down and set the baby monitor up in the two rooms. Finally she came back in. ‘Okay, almost there. Up you get.’   The short distance between the bathroom and the bedroom took almost as long to cover as the stairs had. At last, Walter dropped onto the bed. ‘Thanks Dana.’   ‘Do you need a hand?’   ‘No! Skinner felt the heat rise in his face. As Dana walked to the door, Skinner yelped. ‘Yes.’   Scully walked back to the bed, lifting Skinner’s feet up. ‘Lay still. You’ll pull your stitches.’   Embarrased, exhausted, in pain, and without his earlier humour, Skinner whispered: ‘Okay.’   The feeling of Scully’s hands on his belt buckle was the last thing he remembered as Walter’s eyes closed. He barely stirred as his pants, then his shirt were removed, leaving him in a white cotton undershirt and boxers. Gently, Scully covered him, flicked the monitor on, then walked to the door, flicked the light off and pulled the door almost closed.   As she lay in her own bed, Scully realised Walter talked in his sleep. Scully stirred as Walter’s muttered comments came through the monitor’s speaker. She woke and listened as his voice became louder, his words more distinct. He seemed to settle briefly, his voice quieted and her eyes closed. Suddenly, he began to call out, his distressed cries pulling Dana from her bed, her towelling gown pulled around her as she ran from her room to his.   Carefully, mindful of his wound, she leaned down, stroking his forehead. ‘Shh…Walter, it’s okay. It’s just a dream. There…shhh…okay.’   Eventually Walter calmed, his breathing evening out. He opened his eyes, dull with pain and exhaustion. ‘Hurts.’   Scully heard the pained whisper. ‘I know. It’s okay. I’ll get you something.’   She was back quickly with a pill and a glass of water. She put her arm under Walter’s shoulders, lifting him slightly. He opened his mouth and Dana laid the pill on his tongue, quickly bringing the glass to his lips, allowing him to swallow it. Reaching behind, she flipped his pillow over. ‘Okay now, lay back. Shh.’ Dana stroked Walter’s cheek gently as she lay him against the cool cotton.   ‘Thank you.’ Walter managed a slight smile, looking up at Dana, her head and shoulders bathed in a halo of soft light from outside the door. ‘Stay.’   The softly-spoken word brought Dana across the room. She lifted the bedclothes back, climbed in beside Walter and laid his head on her chest. ‘There. Now, you need your sleep. Close your eyes.’   Scully’s even breathing was the last thing Walter remembered before he slept again.   Click here to go to Part Two