Author's Note: Short chapter is short, now that I look at it. It's the Mayor's fault.

Chapter 14

Sportacus was... agitated. The day had not gone well. Stephanie was old, and mad at him because of it. Well, actually he wasn't sure WHY Stephanie was upset with him. But that didn't make it any better. He didn't like it.

This was all Robbie's fault. He'd never been so mad at that meddlesome man. Whenever the schemes were just between the two of them then it was just a game. Sometimes he'd involve the 'kids', but never in a direct fashion, more of a 'here's another way to be lazy and stop listening to that blue elf man' fashion. If he was going to start involving Stephanie... Sportacus wasn't sure what he'd do to put a stop to that just yet, but he'd have to find a way.

Sportacus thought of the remote that Robbie had built. He wondered what Robbie's plan had been. He was less concerned with that at the moment than he was with how Stephanie was faring though.

After Stephanie had fallen asleep Sportacus had laid her down and put her blanket over her, then retreated back to the living room. The Mayor was waiting for him with a cup of tea in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Here. You looked like you could use it." The Mayor handed him the tea. Sportacus sniffed it and smiled. Decaf unflavored mint, a favorite of his.

"Takk." Sportacus said after he took a sip.

"Oh, you taught me all that so long ago..." The Mayor hesitated a moment. "Vel-Velkomin?" His accent wasn't the most accurate.

"Close enough." Sportacus laughed. He sat down on the couch and sighed. The Mayor sat down on a nearby chair.

"This is all my fault." Sportacus said after a moment. "I should have been able to catch that remote."

"Don't be silly." The Mayor said. "It's hardly your fault that a tree got in your way. If anything it's the trees fault. I'll cut it down right away." The Mayor said with over the top conviction. Sportacus rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright." Sportacus agreed. "I'll try not to beat myself up about it... don't hurt the tree."

"Stephanie doesn't blame you." That Mayor thought to add. Sportacus flinched and took a quick gulp of tea in order to avoid answering right away.

"I never thought she did." Sportacus lied unconvincingly. He coughed, the tea had burned a little on the way down.

"She's just a little upset. Her body changed very dramatically and very quickly. And none of those changes were for the better and she knows it. I can't imagine going from a very healthy and spry teenager to an old woman in moderate health is a pleasant experience. No doubt when she wakes up she'll feel a little better and apologize for being, as she puts it, 'cranky'." The Mayor went on.

Sportacus didn't know how he felt about that either. He didn't want Stephanie to apologize for anything when he felt like it was his fault. But he didn't want her to be mad at him either when maybe it wasn't actually entirely his fault. He just didn't want anyone to end up feeling bad. Except maybe Robbie, he wouldn't mind if Robbie felt bad about all this.

"What's it like to get old?" Sportacus asked, his thoughts taking a left turn. At the Mayor's amused expression he tried to rephrase the question. "I mean..."

"Oh don't bother taking it back. It hasn't escaped my notice that I was much younger than you when we first met and now I'm a fair bit older." The Mayor replied.

Sportacus coughed and fidgeted and looked away as he took another sip of tea. This was a subject he avoided almost religiously. It still didn't sit well with him that the Mayor had found out so much.

"Lets just say that it's something many people try to avoid for a reason." The Mayor said, addressing Sportacus' question.

"It seems like such a terrible thing to have happen to Stephanie." Sportacus lamented. The Mayor chuckled and Sportacus frowned at him.

"Sorry." The Mayor said. "It's just, you make it sound like this incident is how it usually happens."

"Don't be ridiculous." Sportacus scoffed. The Mayor waved a placating hand.

"Still, it's just something that happens to people. It's not something you can change." The Mayor said. Sportacus suspected he probably could, for Stephanie at least. But that was an idea for another time. Sportacus made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat before taking another sip of his tea. The Mayor gave him a suspicious look at that.

"Anyway. It's not likely that Stephanie will wake up any time soon is it?" Sportacus asked, getting up suddenly to avoid questioning.

"Oh..." The Mayor was startled out of his thought process. "I guess not. I wouldn't expect her up until tomorrow really."

"Really?" Sportacus asked, his escape slightly derailed.

"Well, she's had quite a shock, and she doesn't have as much energy as she normally has. She'll probably want an extended night's rest. If she gets up at all it won't be for very long. "The Mayor clarified.

"Well. I'm going to go check on Pixel, and make sure things are just fine in town, and then maybe I'll be back later." Sportacus informed him.

"Feel free to spend the night. I know you'll be up all night worrying about Stephanie anyway." The Mayor commented.

Sportacus stopped in his retreat. He scratched the back of his neck as he thought about it. He wasn't really sure.

"I'll think about it." He answered finally. He looked down at his hands and noticed he still had an empty mug in one of them. "Thank you for the tea." He handed the mug back to the Mayor.

"Well, have a good day then Sportacus." The Mayor said as he took the dishes back into the kitchen.

Sportacus bid the Mayor farewell and then left rather swiftly. He DID intend to check on Pixel... but he thought maybe he'd pay Robbie a visit first.

Author's Note: Yeah, that conversation between the Mayor and Sportacus took a completely different turn than I expected when they started talking. You know how that goes, I'm sure.