2nd Series 01/16 - Growing Pains

by Macx

Rollerblades, Cosmo and the hospital, oh my...

Growing Pains
by Birgit Staebler
idea happily donated by Laura Boeff

It was an emergency room like any other. Nurses bustling around, doctors calling orders or taking over a new patient from the paramedics, the sick and injured lined up in a grotesque waiting line to be treated. Everything looked disorganized, almost chaotic, but it wasn't. Whatever happened here, there was order, there was control, and there was the almost palpable tension of people fighting for the lives and health of others.
A man stood out among the crowd, tall, dark-haired with intriguing white stripes in his hair, clad in a dark attire complete with a cloak that hid the powerful frame. Gray eyes skimmed over the nurses, doctors and patients, then he walked over to the nurses' desk. A harried looking young woman was currently jotting down notes. Her brown locks hung into her face and she was a bit pale, but she still worked calmly and She looked up as he approached, eyes widening slightly.
Ace Cooper smiled. "Excuse me, Miss, but I'm looking for someone who was brought here about an hour ago. His name is Cosmo."
"Uh, yes, sure," she stammered, giving him the wide-eyed look Ace knew so well.
Ace was aware of the effect he had on women, but he was rather disinterested in following up on the almost adoring look the young woman gave him. First of all, this was not the time, and second, he was not interested. There was only one woman who held his love.
"What's his last name?" the nurse asked.
Somewhere in the background, a male voice demanded adrenaline.
"Only Cosmo."
"Oh." She typed again. "Accident?"
He nodded.
"He's in the second wing for the so-called light cases. It's down the corridor and left."
Ace smiled. "Thank you." Then he went off, long strides taking him out of the chaotic loudness and into the calmer second wing.
As he walked down the corridor, trying to ignore the injured and healing around him, he felt a new bout of anger rise. So stupid! So absolutely stupid! Ace wasn't prone to letting the anger surface and hit a target that was probably already suffering enough, but he felt it nevertheless. Half an hour ago he had received a call from the Electro City Community Hospital that a young man had been brought into the ER with injuries from a rollerblade accident. In his wallet, they had found Ace's number as next-of-kin, and a check of his insurance card had revealed the same. Ace had raced to the hospital at the other side of the city in record time, worry and anger battling for dominance. Right now, worry was much stronger and it would always remain that way.
A rollerblade accident! Cosmo had received the blades as a gift last Christmas. He had been bouncing with joy at the expensive gift, telling Ace in the same moment that he shouldn't have done it. Right now, Ace could only agree. Cosmo was experienced, not a beginner, but the rollerblades were professional ones, easily attached, quite enduring, and with wheels that were meant for speed as well as safety because of their construction. Ace had had the confidence that Cosmo wouldn't play reckless; he had a reckless and temperamental streak, but he was a teenager. He hadn't thought of him as suicidal.
Arriving in the second wing, Ace asked for Cosmo again and was told to wait. He was still in treatment. Sitting down on one of the rather comfortable chairs, the magician tried not to fret or appear nervous.
"Ace?"
The voice startled him and he looked around. His eyes fell on a woman with a golden-brown skin color and long, braided, dark brown hair. She was dressed in dark pants and a dark red shirt with yellow swirls on it. Dark brown eyes met his. The woman sat in a wheelchair. It wasn't the same as Blackjack's, which hovered all the time. Hers was built after the concept of the null grav cars.
"Shawna?" Ace exclaimed. "Shawna Miura?"
She smiled. "Yes, Shawna Miura. What are you doing here?" She gave him a closer look. "Show accident?"
"No. I'm fine. It's not about me. Cosmo had an accident."
She frowned. "Bad?"
"I don't really know. It was a rollerblade accident. What are you doing here?"
"One of mine decided to play Supergirl and jumped off a wall. She broke her leg. "
Shawna ran a youth center and Ace had held several special shows for the kids there. All came out of families who either didn't want their children or who had abused them. Many were barely eighteen and already mothers. Shawna and her team tried to help wherever they could, even if it was just an open ear for their worries.
"She's a kid from one of my charges," Shawna went on, shrugging. "So your kid tried out his flying skills?"
Ace had to laugh. His kid. Shawna was the first and only one who called Cosmo that. She had joked about it, had teased Ace mercilessly about taking over guardianship for the teen, and she had approved of it in the same breath. Ace liked Shawna. As direct as she was, she was a woman with a big heart and an open ear for whatever worry someone had.
"In a way. I don't know the whole story." Ace sighed and rubbed his neck. "Just what I needed."
"Ace, he's a teenager. A teenage boy, to be exact. They do stuff like that." Shawna grinned. "Ask me all about them, I can tell you. And I told you when you took him in, right?"
"Yes, but I expected more of him."
"Not to scrape his knees? Not to try out how fast he can go on his gear? Ace, don't tell me you were a little angel when you were his age." Shawna raised an eyebrow.
Ace rolled his eyes. "That's not the same."
"It is. Boys will be boys."
He snorted.
"You can't expect him to follow reason. He's a teenager, Ace! They pull foolish stunts!"
The magician shrugged. Shawna patted his arm.
"Get used to it, big guy. It won't be the last accident."
"Thank you for the encouraging words, Shawna."
She laughed.
Ten minutes later a young man appeared, walking straight for him.
"Mr. Cooper?"
He snapped to his feet. "Yes. How is Cosmo?"
A name tag told Ace the man's name was E. Tyrone, medical student.
"He's fine so far. Abrasions on his knees and the left thigh, as well as on his hands and one elbow. His left wrist has a hairline fracture, but that is no reason to worry. He landed right on it when he fell and he was lucky it didn't break. We had to stitch the laceration over the brow. He'll have bruises all over by tomorrow and it will be hard for him to move much in the next two days because of his bruised muscles, but he should be back to normal within two weeks. I have a pain-killer I'd recommend he takes when it gets too bad, as well as when he feels a headache. Cosmo has a light concussion."
Ace felt anger melt into relief, while the worry doubled. "What happened?" he wanted to know. "The nurse said a rollerblade accident?"
Tyrone nodded. "Cosmo took on the new highway and lost. From what we could get out of him, he was too fast and misjudged the road, went straight past it and made a flying leap down into a ditch."
Ace briefly closed his eyes. Reckless.
"Told ya," Shawna said, smiling at his glare.
"Where is he?" Ace wanted to know.
"In number eight. A nurse is currently dressing up the last injuries. He should be ready to go in another fifteen minutes. I can show you there."
Ace nodded thankfully.
"I'll see you around," Shawna said, still smiling. "Don't be too hard on the kid, Ace. He's a teen."
Ace snorted. "Bye, Shawna."
The medical student walked with him down a row of curtained cubicles to another one that was halfway open. Ace spotted a familiar mop of red hair and steeled himself for what he would see. Tyrone just smiled and went to another cubicle for the next patient.
The magician inhaled deeply, then stepped into the cubicle. Cosmo looked up as he entered, his gray eyes going wide, then he dropped his gaze.
"Hello, Cosmo," Ace said evenly.
Cosmo mumbled a reply, refusing to meet his eyes. Ace studied the bruised and battered teenager, sighing silently. Cosmo looked like he had tackled with a bunch of wrestlers and lost. His face featured a bruise around the cheek and a stitched cut that was covered by a band-aid to hold the wound together. One wrist was in an ace bandage. His bare upper body showed numerous bruises and abrasions, as did his legs, which were covered by torn pants. Dirt clung to the fabric. Cosmo pulled on his shirt, visibly in pain as he moved, and the nurse who was present in the treatment room helped him.
Ace discovered the rollerblades on a table and took them, stashing them in his cloak. Magic took care of where they went. Then he turned to his young charge again as Cosmo tried to get off the table. He winced profoundly and swayed slightly as he stood on his own two legs.
They left the hospital in mutual silence, Cosmo keeping his eyes turned away from Ace and Ace trying to sort through his feelings. Worry was still there, kept there by Cosmo's all-too-visible injuries, and the relief that nothing really serious had occurred danced around the edged of his mind. Then there was the anger at Cosmo's recklessness, but that was just a token anger. As a guardian, he was entitled to it; as a friend, he knew Cosmo didn't need an angry or furious sermon about safety and stupid stunts. Not that Ace wouldn't give him a piece of his mind, but not as a parent. More as a friend.
Getting into the Racer was another obstacle for the teenager, but he refused to ask for help and Ace had to wince as well as he watched. It would serve Cosmo as a reminder of his foolishness, but he didn't have to suffer eternally. The ride home was equally silent, only interrupted when Ace stopped to get the prescribed pain-killers. He parked the Racer in the vehicle bay and they took the stairs to the upper level, Cosmo limping slightly when he arrived in the living room/library.
"You should change," Ace simply said and Cosmo silently went off toward his room. Ace sighed softly and shed the cape, draping it over the armchair.

Cosmo felt like hell. He hurt all over, his body radiating pain from the most unlikely places, and he was exhausted. On top of that, he was also haunted by guilt and embarrassment, and he couldn't shake the feeling that any moment, Ace would start yelling. Okay, it didn't fit his older friend and he had never really yelled at him, nor had he ever lost his patience in the way his father always had, but this would probably do the trick.
It had all started out like such a great day. He had had a date with Ulene at the arcade, had hung out with the gang, had enjoyed life as a teenager, and had eaten so much ice cream he had felt slightly sick afterwards. Then the others had told him about the new section of the Highway 5 that was currently under construction and what a great place to speed race it was. Cosmo had listened up immediately, always interested in places where no one would interrupt teenagers playing wild or trying out their roller-gear. Ulene had been skeptical because the road was still uneven, but Cosmo hadn't listened. He should have. Man, he should have.
While the others had gone home or see a new 3-D movie Cosmo had already seen, Cosmo had gone out to the highway section and tried out the blades Ace had given him. They were great gear, really professional, and expensive. He had felt happy an embarrassed in one last Christmas when he had unwrapped the package. All he had been able to give Ace had been some cheap nothing. Cosmo saved his money when he could, but he was also not someone who wouldn't go to a movie or pay the latest dance club a visit because it was expensive. He earned money; he could spend it. But Christmas had reminded him of just how big the difference between him and Ace was. Ace had money to spend on such stuff; Cosmo didn't.
And now that.
Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
He had been too fast, had felt the adrenaline rush, and had misjudged the bend. Cosmo had sailed over the road, hit the ground and rolled down a long ditch. Someone had found him and brought him to the hospital. He was lucky nothing had been broken and that all he was suffering from were bruises and a light concussion. He knew he'd suffer some more soon.
He deserved it.
Sitting down on the bed, he pulled off his jacket, feeling sadness rise inside of him at the poor state it was in. It was his most favorite jacket, the really expensive one Mona had helped buy years ago..... and now it was ruined. The elbows had holes, there was dirt all over it and some places were deeply abraded. Ruined.
Cosmo threw it onto the floor, sighing. He then slowly peeled out of his shirt and pants, wincing more. Geez, he hurt! Limping to his wardrobe, he evaded a glance in the mirror and pulled out his sweat pants and matching shirt. Getting the clothes on was even harder and when he was done, Cosmo felt even worse. He sat down on the bed again and studied the floor. He knew he had to face Ace sometime, but somehow he wished he wouldn't have to. He sighed and rose slowly after a while. No use prolonging the inevitable.
Shuffling back into the living room he discovered Ace was going through the mail that had been thrown on the side table. He dropped the pile as Cosmo entered and the teenager winced.
He sat down on the couch, slowly, and stared at the floor, unable to look at Ace. He knew what he would see there. Disappointment, anger, whatever else went with it....
"Cosmo?"
He winced. Ace's voice was calm, not laced with anger, but he knew it would come soon.
"Care to tell me what happened?"
"Fell down a ditch," he mumbled.
"That's what the doctor told me. How did you fall down the ditch?"
Cosmo sighed. "I raced, I misjudged my speed, I lost," he then said quickly. "Won't happen again. I'm sorry."
He risked a quick glance and met two gray eyes looking at him. Cosmo flinched and lowered his gaze again.
"Well, I hope it won't," Ace said and approached. Cosmo wished he could sink through the floor. "Why?"
He sighed. How should he explain it? Need for speed? Stupidity? Wanting to impress Ulene? Trying out his limits? Probably all. He bit his lower lip. He had disappointed Ace, that was all he could think of right now. Ace had given him those really nifty blades and he had gone out and done some foolish stunt.
"Dunno," he finally mumbled.
"That's not exactly the answer I had expected," the magician told him. "You risked your life today. You could have broken your back, cracked your skull, maybe even broken your neck, Cosmo. It was a stupid stunt and I would like to know why. I thought you had more common sense than that."
Ace still didn't sound truly angry. It was more disappointment than anything else and that hurt Cosmo more than any harsh words could have done.
"I.... I...." he stuttered, then bit his lips. "They talked about it and Joel said he'd already done it... and... "
Ace frowned. "And because Joel said so, you had to try as well? If he had jumped off the Harriert Bridge, you'd have done the same?"
"No," Cosmo mumbled, shrinking back into the couch.
"Cosmo, you don't need to prove anything to anyone. I thought you had understood that," the magician went on. "Your friends accept you without such stupid stunts."
"Yeah." Another mumble.
Cosmo felt really bad now. Part was the constant pain and the headache, another was the truth behind Ace's words. He had wanted to prove something; to Ulene, to the others, to himself. All it had gotten him was a personal introduction to the new highway and a rather angered friend.
"'m sorry," he added, unable to speak up any more. He wished he could undo what had happened.

Ace looked at the bowed red head, taking in the slight trembling of the thin shoulders, and he felt something inside of him melt. Cosmo had behaved like a teenager. Of course. He was one. He had just turned sixteen, had a girl-friend, several friends who liked to play wild games..... he was bound to get into trouble. Ace wasn't so much angry at what had happened but what had been the result. And he had given Cosmo the rollerblades to begin with, thinking them safer than a motorbike. How wrong he had been. So he was to blame for it as well.
Ace sighed and sat down next to his young friend. "Cosmo?"
Cosmo didn't turn to look at him.
"Promise you never try such a foolish stunt again," Ace said softly.
"'kay...."
"Not because I say so, but because it's dangerous. This is your life you're playing with, Cosmo. You came away with minor injuries. It could easily have been so much worse." Ace carefully touched a trembling shoulder. "Cosmo, please?"
Cosmo looked at him and Ace was slightly shocked by the emotional turmoil in the gray eyes. "Okay," Cosmo repeated, voice shaky.
Ace smiled, trying to show Cosmo he wasn't mad at him, just worried. Deeply worried. "Looks like we need to go clothes shopping too," he remarked, trying to sound light. "There are better ways to tell me you had another growth spurt."
Cosmo didn't join in. Instead he ducked his head. "I'll pay them from my money," he mumbled.
Ace blinked. Okay, that had not been the intended reaction. "Cosmo, I'm not mad at you," he said gently, knowing fully well what this was all about. Cosmo was self-confident on the outside, but when he messed up, he fell back on his old behavior pattern. "You don't have to pay for it."
The teen glanced at him, absent-mindedly rubbing over the bandage on his wrist. "You aren't?" he tried to make sure.
"No. I'm worried, I'm relieved nothing happened, I'm slightly disappointed you pulled that stunt, but I'm neither angry nor mad. I have to confess I was at first, but not any more. As long as you don't do it again."
Cosmo nodded and grimaced, wincing.
"You should take a pain-killer and lay down," Ace advised.
"I'm fine."
"Cosmo....."
"'kay...."
Cosmo rose laboriously, grimacing again. He limped out of the living room and toward his own. Ace sighed and briefly dropped his head, massaging his neck. He had known what he was getting into when he had taken over guardianship for Cosmo: a teenager with an attitude, and who had developed just like a normal teenager. Rambunctious, temperamental, and pulling stunts Ace felt his hair gray one after another. This had been just another reminder. He could have gone without one.
Well, no use thinking about it. It had happened and he knew Cosmo wouldn't do it again. Cosmo kept his promises.
Ace grabbed his cloak and pulled it over the table. The blades appeared beneath it, sitting on the polished surface, and he studied the slightly scratched gear. They had come away much better than either Cosmo or his clothes. Good gear, he thought with a smile. Cosmo could use them again -- when he had healed his bruises. He smiled slightly. That would take a while.
And it might happen again, he reminded himself. Shawna was right. Cosmo was a teenager and teenagers did stupid things. He had to brace himself for more of them in the future.
Ace could just imagine Vega's comment on that and he grimaced. Oh, joy. The cop would have a field day, gloat and tease him, then remind Ace of his own youth and the stunts he had pulled, and in the end tell him he had told him so.
"Just what I needed," Ace sighed.
He flopped onto the couch and looked up as Zina slunk into the room. The black panther rumbled softly, rubbed her head against his thigh and he petted her.
"Well, I still have back-up, right, girl?" he asked.
Another rumble answered.
"Cosmo could need some cheering up and loving care, Zina," Ace went on, grinning.
Zina purred, rubbed herself along his legs, then padded off toward Cosmo's room. Ace put his feet up on the couch and folded his hands under his head, looking at the ceiling. Oh, yeah, it would be fun to see more of Cosmo's stunts. Definitely.