By Daydreamer
Daydream59@aol.com
Rating: NC-17 for language
Category: V
Spoilers: Zero Sum
Keywords:
Archive: Yes, please.
Feedback: Yes! Please!
Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and Skinner are owned by
Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, Fox Television Network, etc.
They are wonderfully brought to life by David Duchovny,
Gillian Anderson, and Mitch Pileggi. I will make no profit
from this, and neither will Fox if they sue me, for I am poor
and have nothing material they can profit from.
Notes: In keeping with the spirit of the Crystalship
challenges, this contains 20 (Jan 20 - birthday of
basketball) basketball terms. Can you find them all?
(Answers at bottom)
Comments: Check out my web page, Daydreamer's Den
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/2113
Summary: Basketball -- Post Zero Sum
Hoops
He was barefoot. Stripped to the waist, his shirt
and tie and suit coat lay draped on the bleachers by
the wall. He dribbled the ball once, twice, three,
times, then shot and watched as it swished through
the hoop. He raced after it, ignoring the painful
impact of his bare feet and the wooden court. It
didn't matter. He couldn't play in his dress shoes,
and he'd slide all over the damn place in his socks.
He jogged back to center court, bounced the ball twice,
then drove for the basket again, weaving left and then
right and he plowed through imaginary opponents.
Only he never made it to the hoop. Instead, he ran
straight into the infamous immovable object in the form
of AD Skinner who had planted himself on the court, in
his way. The impact with the larger man made him forget
the pain in his feet.
"You're blocking," he said, when he got his breath back.
"And you're charging," Skinner replied. "And I have reason
to be blocking. Charging is just a foul."
"Fuck you, Skinner," he said as he stepped back and lobbed
the ball over the older man's head. "If I can't get what I
need through standard channels, I have no problems with
charging."
Skinner turned and watched the ball bounce off the
backboard and then drop into the basket. "Nice bank,"
he offered.
Mulder snorted. "You should know banks. What'd they
pay you, Skinner? How much does a life go for these
days?"
Skinner stepped off the court and stripped off his coat
and shirt and tie, laying them next to Mulder's. His shoes
and socks followed. "You're so fucking predictable, Mulder,"
he said without rancor. "And you fouled me." He held out
his hand for the ball. "I get a free-throw."
"I think you've already gotten your free-throw," Mulder said.
"You didn't get caught." But he passed the ball over.
"You're the shooter."
Skinner stilled, holding the ball but staring at the
ground. "My gun, Mulder, but I didn't shoot anyone."
Mulder shrugged. "No officials here. You don't have to
explain to me. And besides, I was talking about the ball."
"Yeah, sure," Skinner murmured as he lined up his shot
and took it. The ball swished through and Mulder jogged
over to retrieve it.
They played in silence after that, hard and fast and mean.
One flagrant foul after another, elbowing and body slams
that bordered on tackles, hard shoves and harder falls
and neither really knew why they were so angry -- only
that they were, and this was one way to work it out.
Mulder grabbed the ball on the rebound and stopped, then
dropped it and watched as it rolled out of bounds.
"Dead ball," Skinner said, as he chased after it and
picked it up.
He nodded. "She's not getting any better," he said softly.
"The period's not over," Skinner replied. "The game is
far from done." He tossed the ball to Mulder. "And you're
in possession now."
The younger man just stood there, staring at the ball. "I'm
not sure I want to play."
"If you don't play, you'll be open," Skinner said in a
deadly quiet voice. "No one can help you -- or Scully --
then."
Mulder nodded then turned and tossed the ball through
the hoops. "'s all we do -- go through hoops," he said
in a dejected tone.
"It's part of the game." Skinner stepped forward and
laid his hand on Mulder's shoulder. "You all right?"
"My feet hurt," he answered.
Skinner snorted and looked down at his chest. "Yeah,
tell that to my ribs. I'm gonna have a rainbow along
here." He traced the red marks where Mulder had slammed
into him.
"Sorry," the younger man said shortly.
Skinner shrugged. "No pain, no gain. It's all part
of the game."
End
Backboard: the rectangular structure to which the basket
is attached.
Bank shot: a shot where the ball is bounced (or banked)
off the backboard and then drops into the basket
Basket: consists of a metal rim with a corded net hanging
off of it; attached to the backboard
Blocking: the use of a defender´s body position to prevent
an opponent´s advance
Charging: when an offensive player runs into a defender
who has established position; this is an offensive foul
Court: the area in on which a basketball game is played;
bounded by 2 sidelines and 2 end lines, containing a basket
at each end
Dead ball: any ball that is not live; occurs after: each
successful field goal or free-throw attempt, after the
whistle is blown, or if the ball leaves the court
Dribble or dribbling: repeatedly batting or bouncing
the ball toward the floor with one hand; used to advance
the ball
Drive to the basket: to move rapidly toward the basket
with the ball
Elbowing: throwing your elbow(s) during play in order
to hit another player or push him away; it is a foul if
contact is made
Flagrant foul: unnecessary or excessive contact against
an opponent
Free-throw: an unguarded shot taken from the foul line
by a player whose opponent committed a foul; worth 1 point
Guarding: following an opponent around the court to prevent
him from getting the ball, taking a shot or making a pass
Officials: the people on the court wearing black and white
striped shirts who control the game
Open: when a player is unguarded by a defender
Out of bounds: the area outside of and including the end
lines and sidelines
Period: any quarter, half or overtime segment
Possession: to be holding or in control of the ball
Rebound: when a player grabs a ball that is coming off
the rim or backboard after a shot attempt
Shooter: a player who takes a shot at the basket