A/N: Long time no post, huh? Sorry, life has been crazy. But here is the next chapter! Enjoy!
All spelling/grammar mistakes are mine. Sorry.
"Cosmo! Let's go! Leighton and Jackson are here!" Susan calls up the stairs at her son. On her day off, the last thing she wants to do is make sure her twelve-year-old gets up and off to school, but here she is: wearing pajamas, robe, and slippers, waiting for coffee to be done and calling her son (who should have already been downstairs ready to go) to get his butt into gear. It's been this way since the new school year has started, and Susan hopes it comes to an end very soon.
A minute later Cosmo appears at the top of the stairs, looking bed-ruffled and not the least bit awake and ready for school. As he walks down, backpack slung over one shoulder scraping against the wall, Susan swears he's wearing the exact same green flannel shirt he wore the previous day.
She surveys the rest of his outfit, shaking her head; it almost never changes: ratty, old Nike basketball shoes, jeans (though these are fairly new and currently holeless), a basic navy t-shirt, the aforementioned flannel, and a grey beanie sitting atop his head hiding the shaggy, messy hair he refuses to get cut.
"Did you grab your report off the printer?" Susan asks.
"Yeah," Cosmo grunts, going for the front door, hoping to leave as fast as possible.
"Good," she smiles, knowing how hard her son worked on that project. "So remember: you're going to your dad's this weekend, so take the bus to his house after school, okay?"
"I know," the seventh grader says.
"Okay," Susan says. "I'll bring your stuff by later, okay?"
"Okay."
"Have a good day. I Love you."
Cosmo barely spares his mom a quick side hug before he bounds out the door to meet his friends for a ride to school. Though he does turn and tell his mom he loves her, which makes Susan think her sweet, funny, energetic boy is still there behind the angsty, sarcastic, sometimes rude kid he currently appears as.
Once Cosmo is safely off to school, Susan, already come to terms with the fact that she will not be getting back to sleep, gets a giant cup of coffee and curls up on the couch to watch the morning shows she seldom gets to see anymore. By noon she has cleared her DVR and is working through her Netflix queue when her cell phone rings.
She regrets looking the instant she sees who is calling.
"Sam: It's my day off. I'm not coming in."
"I wasn't going to ask you too," her Chief, Sam, answers.
"Uh huh, I'll believe that when pigs fly," she retorts. "What's up?"
"Did you have a patient last night named Resner? Mid-twenties? Came in for the flu?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well her spinal tap came back, and it's positive for meningitis."
"Shit."
"Yeah, no kidding. Good thing you kept her overnight for fluids and observation. She's getting antibiotics right now."
"Thanks, Sam. You're the best!"
"I know. And you still owe Maggie a bottle of champagne."
"She did good for her first tap, didn't even cry."
"I know. She's told everyone about it."
Susan laughs at that. "Oh, no! I'm sorry."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Cool. Talk tomorrow. Bye." She hangs up her phone, feeling both upset and happy; partly because she wasn't there to tell the scared and alone young woman she had met yesterday how very sick she was, and partly over how proud she is of how much her med student has learned in just the two months she's been there.
After another episode of Gilmore Girls, Susan gives in and opens the new package of edible cookie dough she bought at the store the other night. She reclaims her spot on the couch, and digs in, moaning at how great it tastes.
She laughs at herself, realizing how crazy she must look right then, but she doesn't care; a woman's gotta have some cookie dough every once and a while. It's good for the soul.
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Susan wakes with a start, pushing the hair out of her eyes, and wincing as she moves her foot that had fallen asleep. She wiggles her toes, trying to get rid of the pins and needles feeling. She checks the time on her phone, groaning at how late it was and the fact that she told herself she wouldn't fall asleep, yet here she is: grumpy, disorientated and disheveled from taking a nap that she should not have taken.
Her son would be out of school by now and on the way to his father's house.
Despite their separation, Susan and Chuck have managed to maintain a friendly relationship. They don't fight, almost never have, and are (mostly) fine with each other seeing other people. Though memories of past love that has faded still stings a bit when said person is out romantically with another person. Cosmo appears fine about going back a forth between the two home every other weekend. And staying at the same school with the same group of friends seemed to have helped.
Susan gets up off the couch and heads upstairs to change. She collects Cosmo's duffle bag and pillow (and prized Blue Dog stuffed animal that no one is supposed to know he still sleeps with) and tosses them into the back of the car before getting in herself.
She wastes extra time by going through the drive-thru at Starbucks, knowing full well the after school-Soccer Mom crowd would be there. She orders coffees for herself, Cosmo and chuck and continues the chain when the car in front of her pays for her order. Susan leaves the crowded parking lot and drives the twenty minutes to her ex's apartment.
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A barking dog next door heralds her arrival and a second later, Chuck is pulling open the door and smiling at her.
"Hey," he says. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Susan says, stepping over the threshold and dropping her son's stuff. "I brought you guys coffee," she says holding up the cardboard tray the three cups are sitting on.
"Hey, mom," Cosmo says to her, not looking away from the video game he's playing.
"Hey. What are you playing?" She asks, handing over his drink.
"Thanks," he says, taking the cup full of frappuccino from his mom. "Destiny. 'Trials of Osiris' came out again today."
"Oh cool," Susan says, sitting on the couch behind him. Chuck laughs and sits down next to her, picking up the other controller.
"You wanna try?" He asks, handing over the controller.
"No, I'd screw it up. Probably make a fool of myself. Not giving you that blackmail fodder," Susan marks her sentence with a finger pointed at Chuck.
"Okay," he shrugs, putting himself back into the game. Susan watches them play for a little while, how they shout and smack talk each other and laugh and cheer, how her son smiles so widely; she loves her boys.
After another half hour, Susan stands and stretches. "Alright, I gotta go."
"No, stay! I'll order pizza, get you a beer, we can watch a movie," Chuck pitches, a hint of a whine in his voice.
"I would love too, but I have to work in the morning. Hey, you be good for you dad, okay?" She asks her son, ruffling his hair.
"Stop," Cosmo flinches away, annoying. "I will." He smiles, stands, and pulls him mom into a hug. "I love you, mom."
"I love you too, buddy." She moves to the door and pulls it open. "Not too late, okay?"
"Okay," Chuck says. "Bye."
"Bye."
And the boys are back in their game before the door fully closes.