From: Erinstone1@aol.com


Shrink - Chapter 2
ErinStone1@AOL.com
Rated: PG-13
Spoilers: none
Category: Scully/Slash
Archive: Yes-please make me aware of any final posts to a site.
Feedback: Any/all is welcome
Disclaimer: Scully and Mulder are not mine. I make no profit from this story.

Summary:  Scully decides she needs to take responsibility for her unhappiness.





Marlene raised her eyes to the redhead standing before her in the lobby. Dr. 
Scully started to talk and Marlene acted for a moment as though she was 
listening. Then shook her head vaguely and pulled back the glass over her 
desk that separated her area from the lobby. The redhead looked mildly 
irritated.

"I'm sorry." Marlene used her detached office manager voice. "I didn't hear 
you Dr. Scully."

Scully raised a brow at her, "Obviously."

Marlene said, "Just cleaned the glass."

"You do good work, I didn't even see that it was there."

"Seamless." Marlene stated, lips tight.

Scully gave her a tight lipped smile in return. "I'd like to make another 
appointment."

Marlene's eyes and demeanor softened. She was used to other doctor's waltzing 
in and out of the office. They treated Dr. Aris as if she had a revolving 
door. No appointments set, no appointment times valued. It pissed her off. 
Normally they'd leave without making another appointment and then call a week 
later in a panic wanting to see Dr. Aris 'immediately'. She had figured Dr. 
Scully as one of those. She was wrong.

"So your appointment went well?"

Scully was suspicious of her sudden change and interest. "Yes. It was very 
helpful."

Marlene smiled at her genuinely, "I'm glad."

Scully smiled back. "Is Friday at the same time all right?"

Marlene consulted her scheduling book, "Yes, it sure is. Shall I make it 
ongoing?"

"That would be great. Thank you." Scully turned to leave, thought better of 
it and turned back around, "What's your office policy on cancellations? My 
job dictates that I go out of town often and most of the time I don't get 
much of a notice."

"Well, Dr. Aris has a strict 24 hour cancellation policy. The Dr. charges the 
full one hour rate if we don't receive notice at least 24 hours in advance."

Scully winced and Marlene added, "I, however, ignore that policy." She smiled 
broadly at Scully. "Just call when you can."

"Thank you..."

"Marlene."

"Thank you Marlene."

"Any time Dr. Scully. Have a nice weekend."

"You too."


After Dr. Scully had left the lobby Marlene rang Dr. Aris phone intercom.

"Yes?"

"Doctor, Mr. McCain canceled his appointment. Dr. Scully was your last for 
today."

"That bastard!" Came loudly back at her over the speaker.

Marlene smiled at her phone. Dr. Aris' sense of humor often came in the form 
of over reaction. Although Marlene thought the outbursts to be funny she 
rarely let the doctor know it. She saw no good reason to encourage her.  "I 
noticed that you didn't pass my office on the way to your appointment with 
Dr. Scully."  She could hear some paper shuffling and a vague 'ya?'. 

Marlene pursed her lips. "Don't you think that's a bit unfair?"

"What's that?" 

"Springing out of your wall at new clients."

A slight laugh over the intercom, and then, "When have you ever seen me 
'spring' Marlene, honestly."

"It's got to be terribly intimidating." Marlene scolded.

"How would you have me enter?"

"Through my door. Better yet, turn that paneled number into a real door so 
people can see you coming. As it stands your like Eddie Munster, coming out 
of the steps."

Having no idea what she was talking about Dr. Aris continued her defense. "I 
enjoy my panel door. I happen to think it makes me look cool."

"Yes, well I think it makes you look odd. I'm packing up."

"Have a good weekend Marlene."

"You too Doctor."



Marlene walked to her spot in the parking lot. She struggled with her keys 
and her purse, the purse that Dr. Aris referred to as her 'luggage'. 
"Marlene, do you have a Band-Aid in your luggage? I've got a wicked paper 
cut..."

In the two years she'd worked for the doctor Marlene had never once felt the 
need to call her 'Gail'. 

She'd answered an ad, shortly after her husband Al had died. She was 57 years 
old then. He had been 58. Prostate cancer had taken him nearly overnight. 
She'd worked some, but not for four years before she'd lost him. She'd 
retired early and they were going to travel together until they'd seen all 
there was to see. Things didn't work out the way they'd planned.

The ad she answered had read like this:

Needed for immediate opening: Surrogate Mother/Office Manager for 33 year 
old, grown women. Must be able to use a word processor and take endless crap. 
Please apply in person.

And now she was 59. Retirement rarely entered her mind anymore.

She loved her job. She loved Dr. Aris, although she'd never say so. Marlene 
had raised kids of her own; two of them. But she felt like the Doctor was the 
daughter she'd raised the best. Such a smart woman, so beautiful... funny. 
Marlene was proud of her. She kept a scrap book at home of all her 
accomplishments. From the published papers to the short quotes in the 
newspaper, Marlene had it all. She knew if she were to show the Doctor it 
would only serve to embarrass her, so she kept this to herself. 

The doctor never asked about her personal life, never prodded into her 
business. Once, when there was a health scare with one of her kids the doctor 
gave her time off without hesitation. She also made several phone calls to 
specialists to make sure her daughter Jenny had the best care. Marlene found 
out later that Dr. Aris had called a cleaning service to clean Jenny's home 
the day before she came home from the hospital. She remembered walking Jenny 
through the door and seeing the floor sparkle, flowers everywhere. There was 
of course no note.

Dr. Aris never mentioned it. Marlene didn't either. 

Marlene never asked about the doctor's personal life. I was not at all her 
business. She knew however that Dr. Aris was a lesbian. She'd taken too many 
calls from women asking for 'Gaily' to not get an inkling about her 
sexuality. She'd be asked by the doctor, rather frantically, to turn certain 
women away at the desk. She'd then help the doctor pretend to be out of town, 
smiling benignly at lovely young women looking desperately at the doctor's 
office door. 

She'd turn them away as politely but firmly as possible and intercom back to 
the doctor. "She's gone."

She'd get an embarrassed 'Thank you Marlene' back.

Fortunately for the doctor Marlene had no qualms regarding homosexuality. She 
found the anger some displayed toward it distasteful and simply bad time 
management. There were far better things to be upset about than what 
consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes. As for the religious 
implications, well, she didn't see the ruckus about that either. She 
considered herself Methodist. Her mother had called it 'Methodoitall' and 
Marlene supposed that was true but it worked just fine for her and her 
family. Most Methodist Churches allowed gays and lesbians to worship within 
their walls. She thought anyone who had a problem with that was most likely a 
moron.

She wished the doctor would go to church now and then. It might just cut down 
on the phone calls and the desk 'turn-aways'.

The thought made her smile. 

For as much as the doctor had done for Marlene she believed too that Dr. Aris 
would be completely lost without her. 

There was a time when the doctor was so ill with the flu that she'd canceled 
all her appointments. Marlene stopped by her house to drop off some files and 
found her in bed, her temperature well out of the safety range. She'd offered 
to get her to the hospital buy was refused without ceremony. Apparently Dr. 
Aris was afraid of medical doctors. An irony not lost on Marlene. She stayed 
at the doctor's house through the night and most of the next day. She ran 
cold washcloths to her, fed her soup, fed her cat...

Dr. Aris showed her appreciation for Marlene's help by giving her regular 
raises. It seemed to Marlene that when she did retire she'd be making more 
than the Doctor.

Through it all Marlene never let on to Dr. Aris that she enjoyed her jokes, 
or that she thought Dr. Aris was brilliant, or, that she truly loved her like 
she was one of her own children. She let her think that the jokes were 
irritating. She let her believe that she wasn't all that impressed with her 
brilliance. 

And Marlene supposed that it was the reason they worked so well together. It 
was the balance. The trust.

She turned into her neighborhood and wondered what had inspired these deep 
thoughts late on a Friday afternoon.  Then she considered the panel door. 
Somehow she'd have to talk the good doctor into changing that thing. 

-end-